I’m waiting to fall asleep so I’m gonna do some writing while I’m at it.

My friends and boyfriend considers me to be the best cook they know. This is because they haven’t met my mum, who’s a STHM and has been to culinary school.

I have some tips I’d like to share from my mum and my own personal experience. They are quite basic so if you’re an advanced homemaker then I’m sure you won’t be learning anything new. If you’re pretty new to cooking though, feel free to read on.

  • The basis of any good savoury profile is “salt, acid, heat”. In moderation salt is a flavour enhancer: it makes everything taste more like itself. Heat can come in the form of smoked paprika or pepper if you don’t enjoy spicy, it does imo add something interesting to a dish. Acid is the most overlooked part of cooking. If you think your dish is missing something, it’s likely something sour, even if you’re convinced that it doesn’t seem to belong.
  • You can switch out what type of acid you use to make your flavours more “authentic”. French/Italian? Use a dry wine. Thai/Southeast Asia? Try lime. Chinese? Chinese vinegar. Japanese? Rice vinegar. Lemon is good with most things. As a general rule, I like to keep around a dark vinegar, a light vinegar, citrus and use wine when I have it.
  • Another flavour profile that is frequently missing in dishes is umami, otherwise known as a deep/meaty kind of taste. A lot of foods like mushrooms, seaweed, red meats taste umami as it is. However, a lot of foods don’t and you may end up with a dish that feels empty or has nothing behind the eyes. I have a (controversial) solution to this: MSG. It’s scientifically proven to be harmless, so why not.
  • adding a little bit of sugar to savoury dishes and adding a little bit of salt to sweet dishes helps enhance flavour. (Sprinkling a little bit of salt into your hot chocolate and report back, I swear)
  • if a recipe calls for spices, and you want to make those spices really shine (especially if you only have the pre-grounded versions which tend to be less flavourful), you should fry off your spices before adding other ingredients instead of just stirring the spices in. Also consider marinating your proteins in said spices beforehand.
  • never underestimate how flavourful veggies can be. Spinach, mushrooms, celery, carrots, onions, broccoli, the list goes on and on. The next few tips are veggie based:
  • sautéed onion with garlic creates the most amazing smell and is the base to many many dishes.
  • you can make the best broccoli soup in the world with TWO ingredients: broccoli and water. I’m not lying, look up Gordon Ramsey’s broccoli soup. It’s so good
  • to make meals healthier, hide vegetables in dishes that don’t traditionally have vegetables. I’m a big believer in spinach in my meatballs, and my fried rice is probably 1/3 vegetables (I swear by corn, carrots, peas and edamame)
  • a lot of vegetables taste absolutely amazing roasted (broccoli, potato, eggplants, mushrooms, etc). Toss with Olive oil, salt and pepper and maybe chilli flakes or garlic powder if you want. You can use frozen veggies too.
  • if you have kids, make it a priority to really learn how to make veggies the right way.
  • for baked goods: I’m going to give American baking mixes some credit here: they’re surprisingly good/easy. However I grew up making everything from scratch and I definitely recommend that. It’s not too difficult and a lot of fun.
  • the one thing I DO NOT recommend out of a package is icing. In particular cream cheese icing. It’s really easy to make and it elevates a cake-mix carrot cake or red velvet to a whole new level.
  • experiment with new & exciting flavours: Earl grey, matcha, rose, honey & lavender, etc etc
  • baking powder and baking soda are not the same thing
  • in general, never be afraid to google. Even if you know how to make a dish, it doesn’t hurt to see other people’s twist on it. Google is also a life saver if you mess up: there are heaps of hacks on how to fix a dish.

Here are some stuff I found to be helpful when it comes to organically becoming a better cook:

  • Have cooking shows on the background and take inspiration from it
  • try new dishes from different cultures and different restaurants and note what you liked and disliked about them. Try to replicate dishes you like.
  • note your audience too: find out what kind of flavours your SO likes.
  • go to those hippie innovative overpriced ran by people with multicoloured hair kind of place once in a while and see if they have any ideas worth stealing. Sometimes they really do.

That’s everything I’ve got so far. If you have any to contribute then please leave me a comment. I’m always looking to hone my craft.

I hope I helped!