"I make roux with melted butter and flour in a mug in the microwave when I need something for last-minute thickening. It usually takes just a minute to get golden and works like a charm."
"When making burgers or meatloaf, combine a slice of bread with milk to make a sludge. Then mix it into your meat and cook. It makes the beef taste incredibly tender."
"Pop a ball of mozzarella in the freezer for an hour or two before you need it. It makes it so much easier to shred (and doesn't clog up your grater) when making pasta, pizza, lasagna, and more."
"If you’re making a dish that relies heavily on spices for seasoning, toast the spices before adding them to the recipe to bloom them. You only need to cook them in a pan until fragrant (which takes about 30 seconds to a minute). This quick step vastly improves their taste and amplifies the flavor so you can use less."
"I use olive, caper, or pickle brine to add flavor to a lot of savory dishes like casserole, tuna salad, soup/stew, vinaigrette, and more. Just a small amount adds a nice depth of flavor."
"I mix miso and butter into a paste and put it onto pretty much any vegetables before roasting them. It takes plain old veggies to the next level."
"If you’re making sushi rice (aka sticky rice), it’s usually better to not rinse the rice all the way through (or sometimes even at all). Cooked this way and combined with rice vinegar, it will be much stickier and more like the sushi rice you’re used to eating at restaurants."
"You can shred chicken so easily using a stand mixer. I buy rotisserie chicken from Costco each week and shred it in a stand mixer. Then I use it for soups, salads, and fried rice throughout the week."
"Whenever I bake I grease my pans, but instead of using flour to coat it I use granulated sugar. It makes the edges sweet and crunchy, and saves me from needing to use icing or frosting."
"I mix some soy sauce into beaten eggs when I'm making scrambled eggs and it adds good flavor. If you add some toasted sesame oil and a dash of smoked paprika, scrambled eggs begin to taste almost like bacon."
"Most people soak seeds or nuts before roasting them because it softens the shells and allows them to get crispier. My trick: Soak nuts and seeds in tea. Of course, there is a huge variety of different teas so you can get creative. The tea enhances the flavor of the seeds/nuts and makes them even tastier."
"I use kitchen scissors instead of a knife whenever possible. This is is a common trick in Korean households. When we first started dating, my now-husband was blown away by how much easier it is to cut things like pizza, chicken, and fresh herbs with shears."
"Whenever I'm making a cheese sauce I add a piece of processed cheese like Kraft singles. It basically turns it into Velveeta. It’s revolutionized my homemade mac 'n' cheese game.
"Add a splash of orange juice to tomato soup. The acidity really brightens the flavors. I learned this trick at a restaurant where they made tomato soup this way and it was so delicious."
"I add a splash of vinegar to the water I'm using to boil potatoes for potato salad. Or I'll add baking soda to the water to boil potatoes before roasting them."
"For the best fried rice, use pre-cooked rice that's been sitting in the fridge overnight. Leftover rice doesn't stick together in the skillet or wok when you fry it, and the final result tastes more like takeout."
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