Wanting to learn cooking...

[azul123]

I have always want to learn cooking...I would like to start with baking of pastries which I think that it is the easiest among the other culinary type that requires frying and some hand art.

I think you have a misconception about pastry, it is not easy.. there are many techniques of folding and it is not as simple as you might think... I don't cook or bake but my wife does a decent job of it, from my pov it looks complicated.

Even baking have different types of yeast.. should try something easier so you won't get dissapointed from start and build up your confidence as you go along.

../azul123

 

[allenleonhart]

hehe tell u wad. learn like how i learn~~ go hawker center and SEE how those fellows cook. or just copy ur mum

start with eggs. i always say this. eggs are easiest to eat. yet freaggin hardto handle. ~~ got many ways to cook eggs. u wanna start from there?

experiment bah. and a tip. dun spam seasonings. always slowly add. cook more its ok. cause u gonna at least eat up half ur food while testing (cause we are beginners arent we?) until u think it tastes right

 

[lunas]

Hey guys,

Many thanks for sharing.

I would want to learn through a cooking class which is more interactive. Of course, for a start will need to learn how to fry rice or learn some simple dish...but I guess learning through a cooking class is much easier for a newbie like me to pick up.

I would love to learn from my mum, unfortunately she always have no time for me

 

[jsbn]

There's another way if you are a student, on holidays or unemployed.

Work in a fast food restaurant. You will pick up the art of cooking.... VERY FAST. And since you will be stung by popping oil day in, day out, you'll be used to it till you won't "Use the frying pan cover as shield" when you are cooking anything.

 

[jsbn]

Hey guys,

Many thanks for sharing.

I would want to learn through a cooking class which is more interactive. Of course, for a start will need to learn how to fry rice or learn some simple dish...but I guess learning through a cooking class is much easier for a newbie like me to pick up.

I would love to learn from my mum, unfortunately she always have no time for me

For a start, you can start off by learning how to:
1) Chop veggies
2) Crack eggs
3) Prepare the raw ingredients
4) Learn how to cook white rice properly

I won't say cooking is a science. Its more like an art. Go by feeling. Once you get the feeling right, you won't even need to measure out literally by quarts or litres or by the measuring cup.

You can dump in 3 cups of rice and just pour water straight in without measuring out how much water you'll need exactly.

 

[cheerful88]

some cc have cooking class....cheaper and should be able to learn something.

 

[Adam Goi]

This is interesting ... shall we start listing what we can do and hope to learn so that we can start sharing tips and know-how?

 

[lunas]

This is interesting ... shall we start listing what we can do and hope to learn so that we can start sharing tips and know-how?

Adam, you start a class for newbie like us lar?

 

[rncw]

This is interesting ... shall we start listing what we can do and hope to learn so that we can start sharing tips and know-how?

hi adam, i want to lean how to cook as well...

 

[Adam Goi]

Adam, you start a class for newbie like us lar?

Wah lao, I'm not an expert lah ...

I guess if one of us has a big kitchen and each of us chip in with a dish, that'll be fun ...

For starters, these are what I can do, other than simple tasks like cooking rice, cook instant noodles and frying eggs ...

1. Simple pastries like butter and fruit/sultana cake
2. Fried Rice
3. Fried Bee Hoon
4. I can work with vegetables such as spinach, beans-related foodstuff like tofu, string beans, carrots
5. Chicken fillet and pork (not into seafood though)
6. Simple soup like onion and potatoes, seaweed-based ones

Hoping to learn:

1. Chinese dumplings (Bah Zang)
2. Nonya crusines
3. Presentation (This is the ultimate killer to me, heh ...)

By the way, what have you picked up so far? Maybe you can teach me a thing or two ...

 

[Adam Goi]

hi adam, i want to lean how to cook as well...

Richard! You're serious ah ...

 

[rncw]

Richard! You're serious ah ...

of course..you see me smiling or not?

i want to learn how to fry beehoon/mee/kway teow;p

 

[contaxable]

Why would making pastries be seen as an easier start?

Before you even start making pastries, you have to cook the ingredients. Hence, cooking is still part and parcel of making food. Some may ask, why bother to do everything? Well, you have total control of your input so you can adjust your output with greater flexibility.

Reading from books is fun. But doing it can be disappointing. Remember, ingredients can differ from books, so do equipment and tools except weighing scales and measuring apparatus. A simple thing like age of the flour and even its PH can alter some chemistry.

Good brands like Mrs fields even ship in their own flour and ingredients to have a certain consistency of cookies worldwide. the only thing they did not really alter is water hardness and sugar.

Why not join a bakery class or something? Well, you will be taught some core basics. What these schools teach may not be enough to make a living but at least you would have started a passion burning.

A cheaper way is to join a community centre. They teach you how to make mooncakes, pineapple tarts.... should be a fun start. Dont stress the teacher with too many questions. Go find your own solutions to a problem and share your discoveries.

 

[aryanto]

wana learn to bake? why not start from shake and bake?
Add your own egg if required.
That way you learn to crack egg properly and not let any egg shell in, learn to operate mixer - got setting high low medium, learn to stir and pour the mixture into baking tray, learn to pre-heat oven, to wait until it is cooked, learn how to take out the cake from the baking tray, whack your head for not properly buttering and put some flour to prevent the cake from sticking in the tray, etc etc).

And they say shake and bake is easy... LOL