Image by Oldmermaid from Pixabay 

Perhaps you are someone who is starting to get a feel of working around the kitchen. Or maybe you already developed a passion and interest in cooking, so you want to learn more skills. Regardless of your reason, cooking is a vast world that is pleasantly welcoming, whether you’re a newbie or not. 

Below are 12 cooking techniques that you can easily learn regardless of your experience around the kitchen.

Sous Vide

You are probably doubtful if the first cooking technique in this list is truly easy. However, just because you have to Google how to pronounce “sous vide” doesn’t mean it is as complicated to learn. In fact, you might be pleased by how easy it is to do, and the results of this cooking technique will surely impress your family and friends.

According to this source, sous vide gives you restaurant-quality dishes from only doing a simple process like using a vacuum sealer for sealing food in a bag. Sous vide literally translates to “under vacuum” in French. So as you can assume, it’s just a process of putting your ingredient in a bag, vacuum sealing it, and then cooking it. 

The steps in sous vide cooking are really as simple as that. All you need is a vacuum sealer for a bag or a resealable bag and a water bath for cooking your food. You will need to heat water precisely in a pot. You can set the duration and temperature to achieve your desired “doneness.” 

Now, you might be thinking if sous vide just means boiling food in a bag, but you’re wrong. Once you’ve set the time and temperature of your water bath, you will then clip your sealed bag to the side of the pot. The precise control that you have with the temperature yields a result that you can’t copy by doing another cooking technique. 

You can say goodbye to overcooked food that is flavorless and dry by doing sous vide. For example, why not surprise your family with a juicy restaurant-quality steak finished in the oven. Who would have thought that a simple cooking technique like sous vide can make anyone a pro when it comes to steaks?

Poaching

Another cooking technique that involves submerging ingredients in liquid is poaching. But unlike sous vide, you are directly submerging the food in the liquid. At the same time, you can also use a flavored liquid such as stock, wine, or milk. 

With poaching, you want your liquid to be as hot as 140 F to 180 F. This is important to remember because you are not trying to boil or simmer your ingredients. And since you are using a low temperature, you can easily cook foods like eggs or fish without resulting in them being broken down. However, note that you can also poach some vegetables and meats. For newbie cooks, the low temperature also makes it impossible for you to overcook your food items. 

Coddling

If you enjoy poached eggs, then you are also on your way to learn another technique that’s somewhat similar called coddling. This process is simply cooking your eggs in water below the boiling point. 

The results are tender and flavorful eggs because you can season and butter the dish where you will first crack your eggs into. Afterward, you will immerse the whole dish in the hot water bath. Simply put, coddled eggs are like poached eggs, but you will immerse the whole dish instead of the egg in the water. 

Blanching

A technique that you can use both for cooking and preserving is blanching. You can lengthen the lifespan of perishable ingredients such as vegetables by submerging them in boiled water quickly before putting them in ice-cold water or running tap water.

You’ll notice how fresh and vibrant your vegetables will be after blanching. The ingredients are also able to keep their flavors and crisp texture much better when you blanch them, especially before you’re planning to freeze them for later use. 

Shocking

The submersion in ice-cold water in the process of blanching is another cooking technique called shocking. What this does is that you’re halting the cooking process from putting the vegetables in boiling water. 

Shocking is not only useful for vegetables. You can also use this technique for noodles and pasta so that they won’t get overcooked and soggy.

Marinating

Since we are talking about preserving foods, you can take your food items up a notch by marinating them in flavorful liquids. You can do a lot of flavorful combinations using herbs, oils, stocks, and other ingredients to make every meal juicier and more exciting. 

Ideally, you want your ingredients to marinate for 24 hours, but sometimes, 30 minutes is enough to let the flavors seep in. Just remember to make a marinade that has acid such as vinegar or citrus and fats or oils alongside your choice of spices and other ingredients. You can even add enzymes like pineapple juice or yogurt to take the flavor to a whole new level. 

Dredging

If you are a fan of fried foods from mozzarellas to chicken lollipops, you want to have a nice layer of crispy coating to achieve the perfect crunch. The secret for this is dredging. As noted on Diligent Chef, This technique is as simple as coating your ingredient with flour, eggs, and breadcrumbs to create a nice crust. You can also add other dry ingredients or herbs to enhance the flavor of the dish. 

Charbroiling

You don’t need to go to restaurants to achieve a delectable smokey flavor on your barbecue. Charbroiling is a simple process of grilling your food items over a grated surface. Get it a high temperature for a smokey mild charcoal flavor. 

Braising

Another cooking technique that any meat lover will surely appreciate is braising. First, sear a variety of cuts until they are nice and brown before removing them in the pan. Then, the flavorful fatty liquid left is pretty much a blank canvas where you can add your choice of flavors and liquids. And to get the signature fall-off-the-bone succulent goodness of braised meat, add the meat back in the pan before finishing it in the oven. 

Tenderizing

Similar to braising that yields succulent and flavorful protein, tenderizing is another easy process to soften and moisten your meat. You can experiment with ingredients that will naturally tenderize the meat, including wine, lemon juice, vinegar, or buttermilk. 

You can choose to pierce your protein before soaking it in those ingredients or simply add them to the liquid where you’ll be cooking your ingredients.

Sweating

If you are looking for a way to cook your vegetables and enhance their flavors, you can also try the technique called sweating. The concept is simply cooking diced veggies over low heat with a small amount of oil. Stir the veggies continuously until soft and translucent but not brown. What this does is better distribution of flavor among the vegetables. 

Searing

Lastly, another technique that isn’t limited to chefs, and any homecook can learn, and master is searing. Searing can be intimidating because you don’t want to overburn your ingredient. However, when you do it right, you’ll get a distinct caramelized “crust” before finishing the dish like meats in the oven. 

Remember to use a stainless steel skillet at very high heat to get the perfect burn. Place the ingredient on its fatty side such as skin and don’t move it around. After it’s done, you can flip the ingredient on the other side to sear it as well.