Welcome to the page for cooking basics. As with anything else start with the basics before moving on. So take out your chef's knife and remember your matra: simplify simplify simplify!
Instincts:
First of all I want to take the opportunity to say that no recipe is set in stone. If you feel like something might work better, go for it. Trust your instincts while you are cooking. When mixing the consistency of the dough, spicing your foods and selecting what combinations to put in it and even cooking times.
Simplify:
It is often better to go with base ingredients that work well together. Follow your instincts that tell you to leave something out, or to add more of this. More often then not people over complicate dishes. In mathematics, in drawing, in everything simplicity is key.
Chef's Knife:
The single most important tool in a chef's kitchen. It is your best friend, an indispensable tool. You will cut most to all ingredients with this knife. Steak knifes, bread knifes etc should not be used to cut vegetables. The blade turned on its side can also be used to crush garlic.
Trial and Error:
Every mistake is only a chance to learn to do it the right way.
Fresh Ingredients:
The fresher the better and more nutrients they will contain. Fresh always tastes better and contains less harmful preservatives. However it is also a good idea to stock up on frozen or dehydrated vegetables in order to keep your stock full. My personal favorites are frozen peas, and dried shiitake mushrooms. Re-hydrating shiitake mushrooms also creates a good mushroom stock ,called Dashi, for you to use in many dishes.
Reserve Stock:
Always have a specified number of ingredients in your stock as backups. Cooking yourself uses more ingredients. A non cook may have one small bottle of soy sauce for flavoring. I cook many Asian foods, so I buy the biggest bottle (or jug) I can find. Then I make sure I have at least 2 on reserve. You will find out what ingredients you will need to keep on reserve. Its better to get that extra bottle of pepper before you run out of the one you have.
Dough Consistency:
Many of the recipes on this website deal with making your own dough. While we are conditioned to rely on purchasing items for this, dough is the base of many many foods and you can do so much with it if you learn how to make it. Making dough is a lot easier then it sounds. Mostly it has to do with the consistency of the water and flour, if you have too much of one to balance it out with the other. It will not take very long to learn the feel of the dough when it is ready. Also note that hot water and cold water make a big difference in the way the flour and the water chemically bond together. So make sure you are aware of what temperature of water your recipe calls for.
