A good selection of condiments, spices, herbs and other staples are vital to your kitchen. I usually spend more for good quality products here because they last a while anyway and it makes such a difference to your food. Wholefoods (or Greenlife as it's called here in Asheville) has a really excellent selection of this kind of stuff but if you are looking for something exotic or really rare, you could try World Market, Dean and DeLuca and even Amazon.
OILS
Oil isn't just something you fry with, it can add flavour to food as well. I have 4 types of oil that are always in the cupboard...
Olive Oil - Light and extra virgin. The light is for cooking (frying onions or garlic for tomato sauce, for example) and the extra virgin is for dressings. Don't bother using extra virgin for frying, the taste is marred and it's too expensive. It's difficult to say briefly how important olive oil is in a whole range of cuisines and the variety of flavours. Keep at least one type and try different ones from different countries and regions as the tastes are incredibly diverse. Download this article from Saveur to learn more about the complex wonders of olive oil.
Canola Oil - For frying and roasting. This is a very healthy oil. Don't be fooled into buying the more expensive that says it has Omega oils in it. It's a con. All canola oil has these oils!
Sesame Oil - For flavour. It burns at a low temperature so if you use it in a stir fry mix it with canola. Use it in marinades and salad dressing for that authentic Asian taste.
Truffle Oil - Decadent, delicious and addictive. My sister-in-law turned me onto this oil and I am hooked. Get a good quality oil without any chemical ingredients. Black truffle is most common, Antonio Carluccio sells a wonderful white truffle oil at his chain Carluccio's that I adore and is sadly not available in the US. Don't fry with this, it is for flavouring and a little goes a long way! Sprinkle over scrambled eggs, add to steak at the last minute before serving or make an eye popping caesar salad dressing.
In addition to these there are plenty of nut oils such as walnut and coconut that I urge you to try. Experiment and discover your next delicious creation!
Showing posts with label cooking oil. Show all posts
Showing posts with label cooking oil. Show all posts
Wednesday, June 08, 2011
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Fish Fried Rice
A great way to use up cooked rice – we always boil more than we need and freeze the rest for quick meals like this one. To keep this as healthy as poss I used canola oil which has omega oils in it. Choose a firm fish that will keep its shape when cooked – I used Nile perch (one of the few types of fish we can get here) but any thick white fish should do like cod or haddock though it may flake a little.
For 2
- 1 tablespoon of canola, vegetable or light olive oil
- 1 tsp on cumin
- 1 tsp or ground coriander seeds
- 1 large cup of cooked rice
- 1 medium sized onion finely chopped
- 1 large clove of garlic finely chopped
- 2 stalks of celery finely chopped
- 1 large ripe tomatoe finely sliced
- 2 white fish fillets cut into large bite sized chunks
- 1 small chilli finely chopped – optional
- 1 heaped teaspoon of ginger
- 1 dessertspoon of rice vinegar or lime juice
- 1 dessertspoon of fish sauce
- ½ dessertspoon of tamarind or pad thai sauce
- 1 dessertspoon of soy sauce (depending on how salty/sweet you like it)
- Heat the oil in a wok or large frying pan over a medium hear
- Fry the spices for minute or so
- Add the onion and soften
- Add the garlic and celery and fry until the celery is fairly soft
- Add the tomato and chilli if using and cook until tomatoes are liquid
- Add the fish and ginger and fry fish on all sides
- Add the rice and the rest of the ingredients
- Cook until fish is tender
· You could also add any of the following – cashew or peanuts, beaten egg, fresh coriander , tuna or crab meat, bean sprouts etc, etc, etc!
For 2
- 1 tablespoon of canola, vegetable or light olive oil
- 1 tsp on cumin
- 1 tsp or ground coriander seeds
- 1 large cup of cooked rice
- 1 medium sized onion finely chopped
- 1 large clove of garlic finely chopped
- 2 stalks of celery finely chopped
- 1 large ripe tomatoe finely sliced
- 2 white fish fillets cut into large bite sized chunks
- 1 small chilli finely chopped – optional
- 1 heaped teaspoon of ginger
- 1 dessertspoon of rice vinegar or lime juice
- 1 dessertspoon of fish sauce
- ½ dessertspoon of tamarind or pad thai sauce
- 1 dessertspoon of soy sauce (depending on how salty/sweet you like it)
- Heat the oil in a wok or large frying pan over a medium hear
- Fry the spices for minute or so
- Add the onion and soften
- Add the garlic and celery and fry until the celery is fairly soft
- Add the tomato and chilli if using and cook until tomatoes are liquid
- Add the fish and ginger and fry fish on all sides
- Add the rice and the rest of the ingredients
- Cook until fish is tender
· You could also add any of the following – cashew or peanuts, beaten egg, fresh coriander , tuna or crab meat, bean sprouts etc, etc, etc!
Friday, September 25, 2009
Zambia Here I come!
Market and village life in Zambia.
Top picture: Kapenta, dried fish
Middle picture: cooking oil for sale
Bottom picture: shelling maize to make mealie meal (flour)
I am flying out today to join my husband in Zambia. I hope my next blog post won't be too far behind this one, but we don't have internet yet because we don't even have a place to live! Still there are internet cafes so I hope to make good use of those.
Stay tuned.
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