2. PRAWN TEMPURA---- Prawns curl when fried. To prevent this from happening, make a few incisions along the belly of the prawn then fry.
3. NO-NO FOR SASHIMI---- Not all fish can be used for sashimi. Freshwater fish is one because it is prone to parasites.
4. CRISP TEMPURA---- Thinly coat all tempura ingredients with batter before frying. This makes tempura real crisp.
5. FRESH FISH---- When preparing sashimi, don't freeze the fish. Thawing removes the fresh flavor out of the fish.
6. SEAWEED---- Seaweed (or wakame) becomes jelly-like when prepared long before the cooking period. This makes seaweed lose its flavor. It is best to prepare seaweed at least 5 minutes before cooking time to retain flavor and color.
7. TOFU WATER---- Tofu retains water. To remove water from tofu, spread dry cloth on flat surface then place tofu over it and cover. Hold tofu together and let the water drain from the cloth.
8. HANDLING FISH---- Make sure to touch the fish as little as possible when preparing sashimi. The warmth of hands causes the fish to spoil and lose its freshness.
9. SPINACH SUB---- In Japanese cooking, spinach is a favorite ingredient. But if it is not available, you may substitute it with fresh string beans.
10. MOIST RICE---- Soak rice in water for at least 30 minutes before cooking. This makes for a moist rice.
11. JUICY ALTERNATIVE---- If you do not like to use wine as marinade because it's expensive, you may use apple juice instead. It tastes as good.
12. EGGS-XACTLY------ When cooking eggs as ingredient, it is best to use them at room temperature. When boiled, the eggs will crack if used directly from the fridge.
13. NICE FOODS---- In Asian cookery, onion and carrot are considered "yang" foods. Aside from their nutrients, they give a warming effect as well.
14. SWEET GINGER---- Next time you make a meal that calls for fresh garlic and ginger, try chopping the garlic first. The ginger, when chopped after the garlic, will remove the strong garlic smell.
15. BETTER BATTER---- Cake flour makes a light, low gluten content tempura batter. Plain flour makes a little thick batter.
16. STICKY RICE----- Ordinary rice can be transformed into Japanese rice by adding a little bit of honey while cooking. Rice will be sticky and a little sweet.
17. SWEET SUBSTITUTE---- If a recipe calls for sherry wine and it is not available, substitute it with Japanese rice wine. You won't notice the difference.
18. FLAVORFUL STIR-FRY------ Stir-fry seafoods. It enhances the flavor and gives the noodles a smooth, slippery texture.
19. SHIITAKE MUSHROOM----- Wash shiitake mushroom quickly, remove stems and dirt. Soak in cold water 30 minutes. Do not soak in boiling water because this loses flavor. Leftover water can be used for other Japanese recipes so, don't throw it away.
20. CRISP TONKATSU----- For crisp tonkatsu, chill in refrigerator first for a few minutes before frying. You'll have a crispy crust.
21. ALTERNATIVE COOKING----- To adapt your recipes to microwave cooking, find a similar dish in the cookbook that came with your microwave oven to determine cooking time, dish size and proportions of ingredients to use.
22. RIGHT TEMP----- For yummy puffed tempura, use cold ice water in tempura batter. This expands the temperature between the batter and hot oil.
23. FRY RIGHT----- For dieters who love tempura but not the oil, you can prevent the tempura from absorbing too much oil by dropping the pieces when the oil is smoking hot.
24. GO ORIENTAL------ For some oriental touch, add a little soy sauce and sesame seed paste to mayonnaise for your dip. Perfect for fried foods and chips.
25. JUICY TWIST----- Add a tangy twist to regular juice by mixing it with half ounce of liquor (white spirits).
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