Instructions:
1.
Form a group in pairs or threes. (Other group numbers are not allowed.)
2.
Read up about the 11 different types of cooking methods (below).
3.
Select 1 (one) type of cooking method and search a foreign dish that uses this
cooking method (e.g. Baking – Italian <dish name>). Include a picture of this dish.
4.
‘Adopt’ the dish by adapting with a Singaporean twist / flavor. (e.g. adding an
local ingredient or dressing). The ‘adopted’ dish should have a local name.
(Note: Nothing rude or offensive.)
5.
Include a picture, the ingredients and the cooking methods used to cook the 'adopted' dish.
6.
Mention why this dish is healthy for a student’s diet.
7.
All submissions to be posted up on your respective class blogs, stating your
<full names> and <name of dish> as the title of the post.
Due
Date: Monday, 10 September
Introduction
In cooking, there are some basic methods of cooking that are
used. These commonly used basic cooking methods are divided into two general
groups. The groups are: Dry heat cookery methods and Moist heat cookery
methods. The methods of cooking are divided into these two groups because of
the way food is cooked and the type of heat that is used.
Let us have a look at
the Dry Heat cookery methods:
Dry Heat Cookery Methods
In dry heat cooking methods, the food being cooked does not
use water to cook the food. The food is left dry and heat is applied to cook
the food. Such methods of cooking are: baking, steaming, grilling, and
roasting. When heat is applied to the food, the food cooks in its own juice or
the water added to the food during its preparation evaporates during the
heating process and this cooks the food. Heat is applied directly to the food
by way of convection thus making the food to get cooked. The action or movement
of air around the food, cooks it. Let us now have a look at each of these
cooking methods.
1. Baking
In baking method of cooking, the food is cooked using
convection heating. The food is put into an enclosed area where heat is then
applied and the movement of heat within the confined space, acts on the food
that make it get cooked.
2. Steaming
To steam food, water is added to a pot and then a stand is
placed inside the pot. The water level should be under the stand and not above
it. There is no contact between the food and the water that is added to the
pot. Food is then placed on the stand and heat is applied. The hot steam rising
from the boiling water acts on the food and the food gets cooked. It is the hot
steam that cooks the food, as there is no contact between the food and the
water inside the pot. This method of cooking for vegetables is very good as the
food does not lose its flavour and much of the nutrients are not lost during
the cooking.
3. Grilling
There are two methods of grilling that are used these days.
One type of grilling is the one that is commonly used by the people in the
village. This is when food is cooked over hot charcoal on an open fire. The
food is placed on top of the burning charcoal. Sometimes people improvise by
using wire mesh and place it over the open fire to grill fish or vegetables.
The other method is using grills that are inbuilt in stoves. In this method,
the griller, which has a tray, is heated up and the food is placed on the grill
tray to cook. The heat can be gas-generated or electric-generated depending on
the type of stove used. The food is again left to cook on the grill with the
doors of the grill open. People who can afford to buy a stove would use the
grilling part to grill their food. What happens in this type of cooking is the
heat seals the outside part of the food and the juice inside the food cooks it.
The flavour of the food is not lost and much of the nutrients are not lost
either. Food is frequently turned over to prevent it from burning and to ensure
that equal heating and cooking time is applied to both sides of the food. By
doing this, the food is cooked evenly and thoroughly.
4. Roasting
With roasting, direct heat is applied to the food. The heat
seals the outside part of the food and the juice inside the food cooks the
food. Roasting is mainly used when cooking fleshy food like fish, meat or
chicken. When heat is applied to the outer covering of the food, it seals it up
thereby trapping all the juices inside the food. The action of direct heating,
heats up the juices inside the food, which then cooks the food. Again there is
very little nutrient lost and the flavour is not spoilt. Food is frequently
rotated over the spit so that there is even heating applied to all parts of the
food. This is so that heat is applied evenly to the food to make it get cooked
properly.
Moist Heat Cookery Methods
In moist heat cookery methods, liquid is used as a medium to cook the food.
Such medium could be water, coconut cream or oil. These liquids are added to
the food before heat is applied to it or sometimes heat is applied to the liquid
before the food is added into the cooking utensils to be cooked. The moist heat
cookery methods include: boiling, stewing, shallow frying, deep frying,
barbequing and basting. All these moist heat cooking methods use liquid to cook
the food in.
5. Boiling
This is the most common method of cooking and is also the
simplest. With this method of cooking, enough water is added to food and it is
then cooked over the fire. The action of the heated water makes the food to get
cooked. The liquid is usually thrown away after the food is cooked. In the case
of cooking rice, all the water is absorbed by the rice grains to make it get
cooked. During the heating process, the nutrients can get lost or destroyed and
the flavour can be reduced with this method of cooking. If you over cooked
cabbage, all the nutrients can get lost.
6. Stewing
In the process of cooking using the stewing method, food is
cooked using a lot of liquid. Different kinds of vegetables are chopped, diced
or cubed and added to the pot. Sometimes pieces of selected meat, fish or
chicken is also chopped and added to the stew. The liquid is slightly thickened
and stewed food is served in that manner. This method is also used when
preparing fruits that are going to be served as desserts. With this cooking
method, every food is cooked together at the same time in one pot. The flavour,
colours, shapes and textures of the different vegetables that are used, makes
stewing a handy method of cooking. The only disadvantage is that some of the
vegetables might be overcooked and thus the nutrient content becomes much less.
It is therefore important that the vegetables that take the longest to cook to
be put into the pot first and the ones that need least cooking to be put in
last. In this way much of the nutrient contents of the food does not get lost.
Frying
When food is fried using oil or solid fat it is important
that you observe some rules in handling oil or fat. Simple rules to follow
when frying: 1.Make sure there is enough oil or fat put in the frying pan
or a deep frying pan. 2.The food to be cooked must not have water dripping from
it. This is because when water comes into contact with hot oil or fat, you will
have the oil sizzling and spitting out of the pan, which could burn your skin
if you are not careful. 3.Put the food into the hot oil carefully. Try not to
make a big splash as the oil could burn your skin. 4.The oil of fat should be
heated to the right temperature before putting food into the pan to be fried.
If the food is put in when the oil or fat is not heated to the right
temperature, the food will soak up the oil and you will have food that is all
oily or greasy. If the oil or fat is over heated, you will end up with food
that is burnt. Sometimes the food especially dough nuts will turn brown on the
inside but the dough inside is uncooked. To cook food using the frying method,
there are two ways of doing it. There is the shallow frying and the deep frying
methods.
7. Shallow Frying
In shallow frying, food is cooked in a frying pan with a
little amount of oil or fat. The oil or fat is heated to the correct amount and
the food is put into the heated oil. The food is turned over a few minutes or
is stirred around a couple of times before it is cooked and dished out. If
patties, potato chips or coated foods are fried, it is best to put a piece of
brown paper or paper napkin inside the tray to soak up any oil from the food
before serving it.
8. Deep Frying
This is when a lot of oil or fat is used in cooking the
food. The oil or fat is usually put into a deep pan and is heated to boiling
point. Food is then put into the hot boiling oil and is cooked in that way.
Such food as fish fingers, potato chips, meat balls, and dough nuts to name a
few, are cooked using the deep frying method.
9. Barbequing
The method of cooking food by barbequing is usually
associated with fund raising activities, parties or picnics. It is most
suitable to cooking meat cutlets, fish or chicken pieces. The food is usually
marinated with spices and tenderizers (for meat cuts) for sometime before it is
cooked. With this method of cooking, a sheet of metal with stands is heated up
and oil is used to cook the food. A sufficient amount of oil is heated up and
food is added. The food is then turned over a couple of times before it is
dished out.
10. Basting
This method of cooking is usually associated with roasting.
The juice or liquid that comes out of the meat being cooked is spooned over the
roast frequently while it is being roasted. The outer part of the meat is
moistened frequently during the cooking process with the juice that is being
spooned over. Usually, the extra juice from the cooked meat is added to a
mixture to make the meat sauce.
