Seasoning meat before cooking

If you read my last post, the Crispy Spring Rolls recipe, you would see one of my cooking tips recommending you to season ground chicken beforehand. The reason that I suggested that is because it allows meat to absorb the seasoning.

When I started to cook for my self, especially ,stir-fry, I didn't marinate meat before cooking. I found that the sauce didn't coat the meat enough, so I had plain meat with tasty sauce. Now, when I stir-fry, I use half of the sauce as marinade, and the rest as I cook.You should season the meat before you prepare other ingredients, so it has time to absorb the flavor. Try to let it set at least 5 minutes,or, if you plan ahead you can put it in the fridge over night.

The seasonings which I use in Thai cooking and some other Asian cuisines are simple.You can get a lot of things that you're likely to find in your pantry such as soy sauce, garlic powder, salt and black pepper. The other kind of sauce I recommend to have in your kitchen,especially people who love stir-fry and saute dishes, is oyster sauce.

I'm giving you a recipe for simple marinade, but I encourage you to experiment and try to find your own style. You can add herbs or spices of your choice such as minced cilantro, mined garlic, minced ginger, sliced onion, paprika, cumin, etc. It depends on what dish you want to cook. Here is the recipe ^_^

For 1/2 lb of meat or seafood ; add everything as marinade

• 1/2 Tbsp of soy sauce
• 1 Tbsp of oyster sauce ( or add more soy sauce if you don't have oyster sauce)
• 1 tsp of garlic powder
• 1 pinch of ground black pepper ( I like to use ground fresh pepper because it gives a pepper's aroma)
  

Optional :
* 1 pinch of sugar ( you can add more sugar depending on how sweet you like)
* 1 tsp of Extra Virgin Olive Oil for over-night marinade ( the oil helps to soften meat)

Welcome to my kitchen

Since I love to cook so much, and my friends love to eat, I decided to start my own cooking blog. In this space, I will introduce you to Thai cooking and share my experience and experiments.

I want to give credit to my mother who forced me to help her in the kitchen when I was younger. I hated it at the time, but now I'm grateful to her for the knowledge that I absorbed under her guidance. Thanks , mom! I started to cook because it's cheaper, and it allows you to use ingredients of your choice. In restaurants, it's hard to avoid food that is greasy or sugary, which I found unappetizing. You are what you eat, so I choose to eat healthy. In my cooking, I like to use a variety of fresh herbs, spices and ingredients. Within one basic dish there is room for many variations depending on which ingredients you use. You can pick ingredients that you like to make your own recipes from my basic dishes. I will encourage you to cook with what ever is in your fridge. Normally, I don't measure exactly when I cook, but in this blog I will post recipes with measurements as guidelines for novice cooks. I hope that you will use my recipes as a starting point, but cooking is like art; feel free to experiment and be yourselves. If the idea of preparing a meal and cleaning up afterward is intimidating, don't worry. I'm here to help. ^_^

In this blog, I will post Recipes, Cooking Tips ( including how to find Thai ingredients), and Advice on Healthy Eating.

For next time, I'll start wit an appetizer that is in Thai restaurants, but surprisingly easy to make, and cheap too. ^_^"