Prep Like A Pro: Cooking Secrets Revealed
August 18, 2019Learn to prep to cook like a pro and impress your friends and family your chef-like skills.
After getting home from a busy day, all you want to do is relax and not think about cooking and doing dishes. We totally get that! Thankfully, HelloFresh is here to not only save you time on grocery shopping but we’re also sharing our top-secret cooking tips so prepping dinner will be a breeze.
Trust us, when we say these tips for prepping dinner like a pro will have you on the road to dinnertime success in no time.
1. Mise en Place
This might be the most important tip of all. “Mise en place” is French for “everything in place.” Before you cook, have everything out of your meal kit and organized. This will keep your focus on cooking and not on looking for ingredients or cooking utensils!
2. Wet Paper Towel Technique
An unsecured cutting board is a dangerous cutting board. A simple fix is to wet two sheets of paper towel and lay them under the board. It’s a quick non-slip fix.
3. Stay Sharp
Make sure you are always using a sharp knife. Dull knives are dangerous and make chopping way more difficult.
4. Preheat
Heat is an essential part of cooking. Always make sure that the pan is hot when you add ingredients to sear, saute, stir-fry or fry. This ensures crisp, even cooking and browning of the food. PRO TIP: You’ll know your pan is ready when small drops of water sizzle and evaporate immediately!
5. Taste as you Go
Trust those taste buds. No more bland food! If it’s too tart add a sweetener like sugar or honey. If it needs a kick, add a bit of acidity like lemon juice. Always start with a dash and adjust at your taste!
6. Clean as you Go
Don’t let the mess get the best of you. If you clean and tidy up as you go, you’ll stay organized and have less mess to deal with after! Keep filling up that dishwasher and washing dishes while your delicious meal cooks in the oven! After all, you want to relax after cooking.
In search of more hacks to save you time? Check out these Kitchen Hacks We Bet You Can’t Live Without.