NewsBite

Advertisement

Adam Liaw shares 25 cooking tips to help you be a better home cook

Adam Liaw
Adam Liaw

Adam Liaw's stroganoff fettucine includes some pasta water for a silky sauce.
Adam Liaw's stroganoff fettucine includes some pasta water for a silky sauce. William Meppem

It recently dawned on me that it has been about 25 years since I left the family nest and started cooking earnestly for myself. I like to think I've become quite a lot better at it over that time, so here are 25 tips I've picked up over the years that help me to cook better every day.

1. Heat your pan before adding the oil

If you put oil into the pan before you heat it, the oil will start to smoke before the pan reaches the correct temperature. Heat the pan first, then add the oil, then add the food.

Advertisement

2. Oil is a tool as much as an ingredient

Add as much oil to a pan as you need to cook, not the amount you want to eat. Excess oil can stay in the pan, but if you don't add enough you won't be able to cook properly.

A good sear on steak is vital (such as this
A good sear on steak is vital (such as this William Meppem

3. Wash frypans when they're hot

Buy good quality carbon steel or cast-iron pans and brush them out under running water when they're still hot. It takes seconds to clean a pan like that, but if you let pans cool down you'll be scrubbing off dried food for ages.

Advertisement

4. Mix in one direction

It might sound like an old wives' tale but mixing meaty fillings, such as for meatballs, in one direction aligns protein filaments. This helps them to trap more moisture for juicier fillings.

5. Bland is OK

Not everything needs to be turned up to 11 on the flavour front. A mild meal can be a gentle joy.

6. Rest everything

Advertisement

Most of us know to rest steaks, but I rest almost everything, from roast chickens (15-20 minutes) to batters (30 minutes) to salad dressings (10 minutes).

Mix these 'Mixed' meatballs in a saucepan, and in one direction (
Mix these 'Mixed' meatballs in a saucepan, and in one direction (William Meppem

7. Use a saucepan for mixing

If you're mixing anything more firm than a batter (for example dumpling fillings, meatballs, rissoles or hamburgers) use a saucepan rather than a bowl. The straight sides stop the mix from jumping out, the weight keeps it from moving around too much and it has an inbuilt handle.

8. Seasoning is more important than flavouring

Advertisement

Seasoning is what you taste with your mouth (the five tastes – salty, sweet, sour, bitter and umami) and it's far more important than flavourings that you smell (just about everything else).

Umami-rich side dish: miso butter brussels sprouts (
Umami-rich side dish: miso butter brussels sprouts (William Meppem

9. Umami is the whole ball game

Umami is the most important seasoning in cooking. To bring it out, brown meat well and use stocks, tomatoes, cheeses and mushrooms. Reach for the soy sauce, fish sauce, miso and Vegemite to increase the umami of your dishes.

10. Things taste better the next day, so …

Advertisement

Umami develops over time, so if you think your stew or curry got tastier overnight, it did! It's the same chemical process as ageing wine, but just on a faster timescale.

11. Cook earlier

Take advantage of this by cooking your stews the day before, or even just earlier in the day, rather than trying to time it to finish right on dinner time.

12. Alkalis tenderise meats better than acids

A little bicarb will help tenderise thinly sliced meats for stir-frying etc
by reducing the contraction of the muscle fibres as they cook.

Advertisement
Keep it simple: stir-fried choy sum with bacon (
Keep it simple: stir-fried choy sum with bacon (William Meppem

13. For stir-frying, think small

It's better and faster to make three small stir-fries than one big one.

14. Woks aren't always all-in

When wok frying, fry meats and vegetables separately then toss them together with any sauce at the end. It makes things much easier.

Advertisement

15. Balance your diet, not your meals

Sometimes a meal of just carbs is fine, and sometimes a meal of just vegetables is fine. Trying to be everything at every meal can be exhausting.

Adam Liaw's leaf salad with parsley vinaigrette (
Adam Liaw's leaf salad with parsley vinaigrette (William Meppem

16. Green salads are great

Just a few salad leaves and a vinaigrette. You don't need 10 ingredients for a side salad.

Advertisement

17. Marinades are overrated

I'm not against marinades, but often their moisture stops you getting a good sear on the meat. If you must marinate, go easy on the acid and sugar. Acids give meat a mushy texture and sugars will burn before meat properly sears.

Shiraz and aniseed beef cheeks (
Shiraz and aniseed beef cheeks (William Meppem

18. Brown on medium heat

When browning meats for stews, use medium heat instead of high. You'll get more even browning and the fond (the brown residue left in the pan) will be tastier and not burnt.

Advertisement

19. Deglaze with anything

Wine is often used to deglaze, but the most important thing is to scrape up and dissolve the fond (see above) to add umami. Whether you use wine, stock or water doesn't really matter.

20. Cook out the wine

If you're deglazing with wine, cook it until it stops smelling like wine. It's not so much "boiling off the alcohol" as allowing the alcohol to develop the flavour of the dish.

21. A good sear is vital

Advertisement

When cooking a thin steak you might have to trade off between getting it really brown on one side and cooking it evenly on both sides. Go for more browning. I'll cook a steak 90 per cent on one side if it needs it to get really brown, then just flash the other side.

Adam's Sri Lankan chicken curry (
Adam's Sri Lankan chicken curry (William Meppem

22. Tadka

Also known as tempering, this involves frying spices – either whole or ground – in oil to release their aroma. You can do this at the beginning of a curry or at the end to add another layer of flavour.

23. If it's not al dente, it's overcooked

Advertisement

I start tasting pasta two minutes before the time printed on the packet so that I can remove it from the water and finish it in the sauce (see below).

24. The key to great pasta is mantecatura

The most important part of making pasta is the mantecatura – mixing
the pasta and "sauce" with a little pasta water so that it emulsifies, thickens and coats the pasta (try my stroganoff fettuccine, pictured top).

Dutch processed cocoa powder makes a big difference in Adam Liaw's classic chocolate cake (
Dutch processed cocoa powder makes a big difference in Adam Liaw's classic chocolate cake (William Meppem

25. Ingredients matter

Advertisement

Making a good meal starts with choosing good ingredients. Put as much care into your shopping as you do into your cooking.

This article was originally published in Sunday Life magazine

The best recipes from Australia's leading chefs straight to your inbox.

Sign up
Adam LiawAdam Liaw is a cookbook author and food writer, co-host of Good Food Kitchen and former MasterChef winner.

From our partners

Advertisement
Advertisement

Original URL: https://www.theage.com.au/goodfood/tips-and-advice/adam-liaw-shares-25-cooking-tips-to-help-you-be-a-better-home-cook-20220907-h2684k.html