Issue 5 - Airfryers and Velvet Chicken Stir-fry
And also the secret behind what makes restaurant food so good
As with all my newsletters I’ll be sharing:
1 Food related deep dive
2 Recipes you need to try
3 Interesting food pieces that caught my eye
If you haven’t already, subscribe to my newsletter and give it a share on Twitter
AND OFF WE GO
1 Deep Dive
Airfryers
You either love them
…Or think they’re just another kitchen fad capitalizing on the re-marketing of convention ovens and falsely promising healthy fried food to consumers
I’ll admit, air frying doubters are correct - air fryers are essentially portable convection ovens. By using fans to circulate heat, food dries out and can crisp up significantly more than when baked in a typical household oven. I cant deny that food comes out crispier when cooked in air fryer, but you won’t be tricking anybody into thinking it was deep fried.
Even if you aren’t obsessed with air fryers like a lot of social media is, they do provide clear advantages for the everyday home cook
They won’t heat up the whole house to make a meal
Because they are much smaller than a household oven, they don’t release as much heat. Your body temperature and your home cooling bill will thank you
They can act as a second oven
Most people don’t have more than 1 oven in their house. You can use an air fryer as a secondary oven to make or reheat food when your oven is full (For example when you have a turkey cooking for several hours on Thanksgiving and the oven is completely occupied for the entire day)
Also, if you have roommates, it can be a great way to avoid conflicting dinner times. Both of you can cook dinner in an oven
They’re easier to clean
If you’ve never cleaned an oven before, you couldn’t imagine how dirty they get. Because of their size and easy accessibility , air fryers are so much easier to clean
They are really low effort
Air fryers are a set it and forget it tool. For a busy lifestyle, an air fryer can be indispensable.
Whatever your feelings are on air fryers are, we can all agree that they are extremely popular and are really having a moment right now.
Let’s see how long they last
2 Recipes
Both my recipes this week are from my one of my favorite food blogs, The Woks of Life. If you have any questions about Chinese cooking, or are looking for Chinese recipes this is the place to go.
I’ve personally spent hours reading post after post on their site
A staple to my Chinese take out orders, Vegetable Lo Mein is an extremely simple dish, but a hard one to master. The keys to a good Lo Mein are the sauce, and smoky flavor you get from wok hei
Ever wonder why Chinese food restaurants stir fried chicken always seems to taste better than the kind you make at home?
The key is velveting your chicken.
The process of velveting is very simple - cut your chicken thin, marinate in soy sauce, coat in corn starch and then sear in a hot wok until opaque
3 Fascinating Food Posts
If you ever wondered how you can make restaurant quality food at home, look no further.
The key to good food is loads of salt and fat. Home chefs looking to cook healthy meals might shy away from generous amounts of butter, bacon fat or salt, but restaurant chefs who’s goal is for you to love the food and come back don’t hold back
Automated Fry Cook
The best fry cook since Spongebob has arrived and its name is Flippy.
Flippy is the AI powered mechanical arm taking over griddles across the country.
Okay maybe it it can’t fully replace a person in the kitchen but it can help with “prep work, grilling, frying, and final assembly in commercial kitchens”
And it’ll be coming a White Castle near you soon
This hard-hitting truth
A true moment of adulthood right here.
I felt the same utter disappointment when I realized I didn’t get 6 pans in my 6 piece stainless steel set
If you liked this newsletter share it with your friends and on Twitter
Tag me @Dudescook1