[thechat] Handling a knife like a pro (was: Cooked carrots)

[Madhu Menon]

At 02:49 AM 28-02-03, Judah McAuley wrote:
>He had an atrocious sense of humour
>though.  The puns were truly awful.

And his frequent references to how something was "five thousand years old!"

Yeah, the humour was of the "you're supposed to laugh now" variety, but
hey, I did learn a lot from him. I remember he once had chef Larry Chu as a
guest on his show, and they both started chopping garlic at the same time.
Their two cleavers rapidly destroying the garlic while going bang bang on
the chopping board was wonderful to watch.

If someone asked me what was the most important thing I ever learnt,
however, I'd have to say it was from the Frugal Gourmet Jeff Smith who
taught me: "Hot wok, cold oil; food won't stick"

Yep, that's the most important cookery tip I ever got. It allows me to use
less oil, prevents stir-fries from turning into stews, and stops food from
becoming greasy.

Madhu
(off to bed now)

Tomorrow's installment: how to make perfect vegetable stir-fries that are
neither mushy nor raw.