28. Recipe Breakdown Patterns
The Pattern Zeros
The Stewing Pattern
Context
You are wondering what to cook for dinner. You may
be having friends or family over for dinner, or you
might be looking for a recipe that can also be eat
the next day or be stored in the freezer for eating
later on. Or, you might just be looking for a chance
to enjoy an experience with rich and slow cooking.
Problem
You have much desires, but cooking in such amounts
may seem laborious and expensive. The large amounts
or ingredients may seem to cost a lot and take
endless times to cook. You might also be trapped to
think you have to stay by the pot the whole time
and can't get anything else done.
Solution
Cook some stew! The slow and gentle cooking will
cast a magic on any piece of meat or vegetable to
create a very tender and flavorful dish. The aroma
of stew cooking over the oven wafting in the air is
deeply comforting and brings up everyone's
appetite. All you have to do is perform simple
preparations to the ingredients and the rest of
the cooking the pot will do for you. You can cook in
amounts so you can save some to eat another day,
or you can cook for everyone for a good dinnertime
around the big table. Stew is a very inexpensive,
easy, flavorful, and a heart-warming dish loved by
everyone.
29. Stewing is a method of cooking
food Slowly and Thoroughly (2)
under low heat over a long period
of time. Meats which give the
depth and texture to the taste,
and Aromatic Vegetables (3)
which give a sense of sweetness
to the flavor are cooled together
with some "Herbs"in a moist
condition with a small amount of
liquid.
Inexpensive and tough-to-chew
parts of meat such as shoulders,
shins, or cheeks are best suited
for stewing. By cooking Slowly and
Thoroughly (2), the tough fibers
in the meats are broken down to
become tender, giving out
collagens and gelatins which give
the savory flavor to the dish.
This is the Magic of Stewing (1) -
inexpensive and tough meat turns
into a tender and flavorful dish
with little effort.
Meats which are to be stewed are
cut into rather small, bite-sized
pieces. They go through a process of
Pre-Seasoning (6) with some salt,
pepper, along with various spices and
herbs - usually a few hours to a day
before stewing. Season the meat raw
and store inside the refrigerator.
The long hours help the taste sink
down into the meat for a savory
finish. To make the meats flavorful
even more,
a Taste Trap (7) is made on the
meat by browning the meat in a
sautee pan before they go into the
pot for stewing. The cooked parts
made on the surface of the meat
forms a membrane which traps in the
tasty juices within the meat so
they stay tender and juicy even
after the long hours of stewing to
come.
Stewing
Slowly and Thoroughly
Aromatic Vegetables
Slowly and Thoroughly
Magic of Stewing
Pre-Seasoning
Taste Trap
Sample Recipe
Recipe Breakdown Patterns
30. Recipe Breakdown Patterns
Patterns for Stewing
#1 The magic of stewing
Context:
You have parts of meat such as the shoulder
or the shanks. These are the parts of meat
which contain the most muscular tissues, since
they are the parts the animals move the most.
Problem:
These parts of the meat are cheap and easy to
buy, but are hard and tough to chew.
Solution:
Take time to cook the meat slowly in a stew or
braise to make the meat tender for eating.
By cooking the meat slowly in a liquid, the
collagen in the tissues become softened. This
makes the collagen hydrate and turn into
gelatin, which dissolves into the stew to add
flavor and texture. The meat then reabsorbs
the flavorful stew to become tasty and tender.
#2 Slowly and Thoroughly
Context:
You are cooking a stewed or braised dish.
Problem:
It is hard to judge if the pan is being heated
properly, and you have to adjust the heat multiple
times. If too strong, the pan will start to burn or
boil over. If too weak, you are not sure if the meal
will be cooked thoroughly.
Solution:
Cook the pot slowly at a simmer. The liquid should
not be boiling, but show a few air pockets bubbling
once in a while.
If the heat level is hard to adjust and keep
constant, the pan can be heated in an oven. This
way there is no worries about the meal burning, and
its temperature can be kept at a steady level. Even
with the low heat level, when the liquid at the
bottom of the pan is heated, it rises to the top of
the pan, bringing the cooler liquid at the top to
the bottom to be heated. This creates a cycle in
the liquid, keeping the steady temperature in the
pan.
Patterns