Kitchen Q&A | Developing cooking skills
Posted on Thu, May. 01, 2008
By KATHLEEN PURVIS
McClatchy News Service
Q: Do you have any suggestions on how to develop techniques? I'd like to work on my skills.
A: There are some great books out, including Tom Colicchio's Think Like a Chef and James Peterson's Cooking, which is packed with step-by-step photos. But another thing beginning cooks should consider is Chinese cooking. It's a great way to focus on techniques or methods. Preparing vegetables in uniform pieces for a stir-fry can teach you knife skills. Putting together the sauces can teach you balance of flavors. Most important, since wok cooking is so fast, you have to prepare everything in advance. That can teach you timing, one of the hardest things to learn. Bookstores are packed with great works on the subject, including Grace Young's The Breath of the Wok and Eileen Yin-fei Lo's The Chinese Kitchen.
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