Once you enter the kitchen and start off with your work, time always seems to slip away with the speed of a light year. No matter how fast you try to catch up, some things are always left behind. But if you are well prepared, stocked up or strategise prior to your actions in the kitchen, things might pan out smoothly. Here are some Japanese kitchen shortcuts that you can try applying to a regular day in your kitchen and see if they speedup things.
Japanese kitchen shortcuts aren’t rocket science. In fact, they are simple and easy steps that can help you work smoothly in your kitchen.
Freeze your rice
Rice is a staple meal with most of the dishes. In fact, it is required in small or less portions almost every day. Whether you eat at home or pack it up for office, rice is a mandate. Sometimes, you cannot make a lot of rice in one go or sometimes you cannot frequently make rice as often as you would have liked. For such instances, prepare rice in a large batch, good enough to sustain for a week at least and freeze them in small portions in silicon wrap or parchment paper. Ideally, you can freeze them after dividing them in portions you would need each day. If required label them. This would help you select the portion; re-heat it and your fresh rice ready in a jiffy.
Clay-pot magic
For the Japanese, cooking is all about flavours – going the classic way, reinventing new ones or just cleverly weaving the best of both. With one-pot meals being a regular fit in the kitchens, a Donabe or clay pot is mostly used to make them. Cooking in clay pot has an old history and is culturally significant in several culinary evolutions across the globe. Not only does it fit the bill for the one-pot meal but also makes clean-up easier. However, what makes them a clear choice is the warmth and heat that penetrates through clay pots and its ability to merge flavours well, more than modern cooking utensils. It also keeps food warm for a long time naturally, without the use of any additional heater. Thus, if you are hosting a party at home, this is one of the Japanese kitchen shortcuts that would save your day.
Stock up spice packets
Here’s a common ground which has been practiced in most Indian households for a long time. Whenever you order takeaway meals and are presented with sachets of spices, do you not stock them up in your kitchen. The Japanese do the same. They collect bags of dried bonito or kelp and use these to make some of the finest broths. In Japanese cuisine, broth forms a pivotal part and a well-flavoured broth wins everyone’s heart. The same can be done with these collected sachets of oregano, tomato sauce, chilli flakes etc. which adds flavour to Indian broths in no time.
Pickles under 15 minutes
Before, delving into the hack one needs to pause and understand the meaning of pickles. While for Indians it may mean achaar, elsewhere pickles may mean vegetables in vinegar. With this basic difference cleared, you can keep jars of pickled vegetables at home which go well as sides with any dish or can be used in the making of some dishes as well. Vegetables like cucumber, zucchini, onion, cabbage, carrots, jalapenos can be pickled very easily with salt and vinegar.
Store up Sauces
Sauces stir unimaginably good flavours to dishes. You can always pre-prepare sauces like teriyaki or ponzu and store them in bottles / jars. This saves time while making quick fix snacks or dishes where you can quickly grab a spoonful of sauces and make a quick stir-fry or something.
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