Stock is essential in making soups and stews. Stock forms
the base for soups and stews. Adding a little stock to a stir-fry goes a long
way in improving its taste.
Vegetable stock
Most commonly used stock is vegetable stock. Vegetable stock
is fairly neutral and can be used in both vegetarian and non-vegetarian dishes.
Preparation time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: 30 minutes
2 onions, diced
3 carrots, diced
3 celery stalks, diced
1 small bunch parsley,
diced
1 teaspoon whole peppercorns
1 tablespoon olive oil
Onion |
Olive oil |
In a large stock pot add the olive oil. Heat it up. when the
oil is hot, reduce the heat to medium and add onion, carrot, celery and parsley.
Fry for about 5 minutes, stirring frequently.
Add enough water to cover all the vegetables. Idea is to
make a stock that is as strong as possible. When using the stock you can dilute
it as required.
Bring the stock to a boil on high heat. Reduce the heat low
and let the stock simmer for 30 minutes, covered.
Strain the liquid through a sieve and discard the vegetables.
Stock can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 3 days and
in the freezer for up to a month.
You can use practically any vegetable for making vegetable
stock. I often make vegetable juice in a Hurom slow juicer, which discards fibrous
parts of the vegetables. I collect the discarded items and throw them into the
stock pot. They make the stock tastier.
Chicken stock
Chicken stock is the most commonly used stock after
vegetable stock. It can be used in the preparation of other meats as well.
Preparation time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: 45 minutes
Preparation time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: 45 minutes
Ingredients
All ingredients of the vegetable stock above.
Carcass of one or two chicken and some chicken meat like
wings.
Method
Cooking process is same as that for vegetable stock. Add the
chicken parts to the vegetables before frying.
Normally I will simmer the chicken stock for 45 minutes instead
of 30 minutes for my vegetable stock.
Ikan bilis stock
This is the easiest stock to make.
Ikan bilis is salted and dried anchovies. It is available in all Asian grocery stores. You don't need high quality ikan bilis, which is used for frying and cooking. Lower grade will be acceptable.
Preparation time:15 minutes
Cooking time:30 minutes
Ingredients
100 gram packet of ikan bilis (dried anchovy)
3 cloves garlic, diced
2" piece of ginger, peeled and diced
1 litre water
Wash he ikan bilis very thoroughly ( 2 or 3 times).
Method
In a stock pot add all the ingredients. Bring to the boil.
Reduce the heat to low and let it simmer, covered, for 30 minutes.
Strain the liquid and discard the solid.
Ikan bilis stock is ready.
Stock cubes
If you do not have any chicken or vegetable stock which a
recipe calls for, you can make it with stock cubes. All the stocks in this article
are available in the form of stock cubes.
Generally you can add
about 500 ml of water to each stock cube to get acceptable quality of stock. The
problem is that the stock cube will have more salt than you would normally add
to your home made stock. If you find the stock made this way is too salty you
can dilute the stock with more water or reduce the amount of stock cube you add
to the water by crumbling or cutting the stock cube into smaller pieces. You
can also reduce the quantity or eliminate the amount of salt called for in the
recipe.
Stock cube |
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