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By Root 205 0

Vegetarian Cooking, we often use tofu, which comes in a variety of forms. Silken tofu is a softer form of tofu that is also known as Japanese-style tofu; it can be used to make vegan salad dressings, puddings, and a variety of other dishes that require a smooth consistency. Regular firm tofu, also known as Chinese tofu, is better suited for stir-frying because it maintains its form. Baked and flavored tofus allow you to skip the marinating process, giving more flavor in less time. Although we do not use soymilk or soy cheese very often in this book, if you are a vegan you of course can substitute anything you wouldn’t eat for the corresponding vegan product.

Techniques

Cooking asparagus: The ends of asparagus should be broken off, not cut. Hold the stem end in one hand and about 2 inches below the tip in the other. Bend the asparagus and break off the end. It may seem that you’re discarding more than you should, but what you’re throwing away is the tough portion that isn’t pleasant to eat. Cook asparagus in the same manner as broccoli, checking it often. It should be soft, not mushy.

Cooking broccoli: Broccoli is a vegetable that seems to cause people trouble. This one’s easy: just don’t overcook it. Place the broccoli in a pan with about 1 inch of water. Bring the water to a boil, cover, and cook over medium-high heat for 4 minutes. Check for tenderness and cook for 1 to 2 more minutes if necessary. Broccoli should be bright green and tender but not soggy. Under no circumstances should broccoli ever be cooked for more than 7 minutes. After that, it loses its color and becomes soggy.

Cooking pasta: The key to making perfect pasta is a lot of boiling water. If you don’t have enough water or the water isn’t boiling when you put in the pasta, you’ll end up with a large gelatinous mass. To cook 1 pound of pasta, use at least a 3-quart saucepan. Fill the pan with water, add a teaspoon of salt, and bring the water to a full boil. Add the pasta and stir frequently as it cooks. The cooking time will depend on the thickness of the pasta; angel hair will take about 5 minutes, but linguine or penne could take up to 15 minutes. Pasta is usually cooked al dente, which literally translates as “to the tooth,” meaning it should offer slight resistance when bitten into and not be overly soft. The easiest way to test for doneness is to remove one piece with a fork and taste it. If you’re still not sure, you can use the super high-tech method of throwing it against the wall. If it sticks, it’s done; if not, be more patient!

Cooking rice: For each cup of rice, use 2¼ cups of water. Place the water and rice in a small saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat. Cover and simmer over medium-low heat for 20 minutes, or until most of the water has been absorbed. You don’t need to stir it, and you shouldn’t take the cover off more than once or twice—this lets the steam escape. Remove from the heat and let stand for 5 minutes. Once you turn the heat off, the rice will soak up a little bit more water, but don’t count on that. If there’s still quite a bit of water in the bottom, keep the heat on. Brown rice is cooked the same way, except it needs to simmer for about 45 minutes.

Frying with oil: There are entire books written about kitchen safety, but the issue we feel compelled to mention here is that oil and water don’t mix. Whenever you’re frying something in oil, be sure to use a pan that is at least twice the depth of the oil. This allows room for the oil to bubble up without running over the sides of the pan. Also, make sure that the food you’re adding is as dry as possible. We know that it’s impossible for everything you fry to be completely dry, but it isn’t hard to avoid excess liquids. In the unlikely event that you do start a grease fire, do not use water to put it out. Water will make the oil spatter, spreading the fire. Sprinkling baking soda on the fire should put it out. As for all the different cooking terms—frying, sautéing, stir-frying—it all depends on heat and fat. (We know. Super appealing …) Frying involves very