Introduction

As a working professional who just moved out, it's exhausting to cook after coming home from work! Your hands smell like garlic after peeling, you're all clumsy when chopping vegetables, and the cooking fumes are overwhelming - it feels more tiring than work itself. Recently, I learned some amazing tips from food bloggers that have completely transformed my kitchen life! Today I'll share these with you so you can also thrive in the kitchen and cook great meals.

Microwave Magic

To be honest, I used to think the microwave was just for reheating food, at most for warming up meals and milk. Until one day I saw an amazing trick in a video - using the microwave to peel garlic!

That day I bought a whole head of garlic to make braised pork. Looking at all those cloves that needed peeling, I was overwhelmed. Just when I was worried, I remembered the video I had watched. I put the whole garlic head in the microwave for 25 seconds, and when I took it out - wow! The skin was loose, and the cloves popped right out with a gentle squeeze, completely mess-free! I was amazed at how magical this was!

The same principle works for corn. Peeling corn used to be such a hassle, with silk sticking to the kernels and making a mess everywhere. Now I'm smarter - I put the unpeeled corn directly in the microwave for 30 seconds, and the husk becomes super easy to remove. The silk doesn't stick to the kernels anymore, and you can pull off the entire husk and silk in one go - perfect!

But be careful not to microwave for too long. Once I got greedy and tried to peel multiple garlic heads at once, but I left them in too long and they got dried out. From my experience, 20-30 seconds is enough for one garlic head, and about 30 seconds works best for corn. If it's not enough, you can add a few more seconds, but make sure to watch carefully.

The microwave can be used for other ingredients too. For lemons, if you want to juice them, microwave them for 15 seconds first, and they'll become super soft and yield 30% more juice. The same goes for ginger - after 20 seconds in the microwave, it becomes soft and very easy to slice.

Storage Secrets

When I first started cooking for myself, I was really frustrated with ingredient storage. Especially herbs - they would always wilt and turn yellow, which was such a waste. Then I learned an amazing method from a food blogger.

First, cut the stems of the herbs at an angle to increase their water absorption surface. Then find a glass or small vase, fill it with some water, and put the herbs in like flowers. Finally, cover it with a plastic bag to maintain proper humidity. Put this simple "herb bouquet" in the refrigerator, and it can stay fresh for two weeks or even longer!

I now store my basil, cilantro, and mint this way. Every time I open the refrigerator and see a row of fresh green herbs, it makes me happy. Plus, I can just take what I need, which is very convenient.

Speaking of storage, potatoes and onions need special attention too. Many people don't know that potatoes and onions shouldn't be stored together because they affect each other's sprouting. I now keep potatoes separately in a cardboard box with an apple. The apple releases ethylene gas, which effectively prevents potato sprouting. Since using this method, my potatoes can last over a month without sprouting.

For onions, it's best to keep them in a well-ventilated place, stored in paper bags. If they're already cut, wrap them in plastic wrap and refrigerate. I discovered a particularly useful method - put leftover cut onions in a sealed bag, then use a straw to suck out all the air, which helps them last longer.

Fruit storage also has its tricks. For bananas, it's better to store them separately after buying, as keeping them together speeds up ripening. If bananas are getting too ripe, you can put them in the refrigerator - although the skin will turn black, the flesh will stay fresh.

Strawberries have their own storage technique - don't put them directly in the refrigerator, first soak them in vinegar water to kill bacteria and extend their shelf life. The ratio is about one part vinegar to ten parts water, and just a few minutes of soaking is enough.

Knife Skills Secrets

Chopping vegetables is a big challenge for many people, especially for someone clumsy like me - the pieces end up either uneven or all crooked. Until I discovered an amazing tool - a drying rack!

It's just an ordinary plastic drying rack, very cheap, but it works amazingly for cutting vegetables. For example, to dice potatoes, I first slice them, then put them on the drying rack and cut downward with the knife - instantly getting evenly sized potato cubes. This method works great for carrots and cucumbers too.

However, note that the knife needs to be sharp enough, otherwise it might damage the drying rack. Also, it's better to choose a drying rack with appropriate grid size to get properly sized cubes.

Besides the drying rack, I've discovered many other knife skill tips. For example, when chopping green onions, you can fold them in half and secure them with a toothpick - this way the pieces will be very uniform. When slicing ginger, cut it vertically to get especially fine strips.

Posture is also important when cutting. Hold the knife firmly, and curl the fingers of your other hand, using your knuckles to hold the ingredients - this is both stable and safe. My cutting speed is much faster now, and I don't worry about cutting myself.

Cooking Tips

When it comes to cooking, my biggest headache used to be pots boiling over when cooking noodles or soup, making a mess of the stove. Later I learned a super simple method - just place a wooden spoon across the pot. This trick is amazing - no more worrying about boiling over!

The principle is simple - the wooden spoon breaks the surface tension of the water, making bubbles pop faster, preventing overflow. But note that the spoon must be wooden, metal won't work. And it needs to be placed horizontally, not vertically.

Controlling heat while cooking is also important. Many people like to stir-fry on high heat, but this easily burns the food. Now I first heat the wok on high heat, then switch to medium-low heat to cook slowly - this gives better texture to the dishes.

Meat preparation also has its tricks. Don't cook meat straight from the refrigerator - let it warm up first. I usually take meat out 30 minutes to an hour before cooking, letting it return to room temperature. This way, when fried, the meat will be crispy outside and tender inside - perfect!

When marinating meat, besides salt and cooking wine, you can add a pinch of baking soda. Baking soda makes meat more tender, especially effective with pork and chicken. But don't add too much - just a pinch is enough.

When stir-frying greens, many people encounter the problem of yellowing vegetables. Actually, if you first heat the wok, add oil, and quickly add the vegetables, they'll maintain their bright green color. If you're worried about flavor, you can drizzle some garlic oil at the end - it adds fragrance without affecting the color.

Cleaning Techniques

Kitchen cleaning has always been a headache, especially cleaning the blender. I used to scrub it by hand, which was time-consuming and laborious. Later I discovered a super easy method - self-cleaning.

The specific method is to pour warm water into the blender, add a little dish soap, then blend on high speed for 30 seconds. This dissolves residue from the blender walls, and a final rinse makes it perfectly clean. If the residue is particularly stubborn, you can extend the blending time or repeat the process.

Pot cleaning also has its techniques. If food is burnt onto the bottom, don't rush to scrub with steel wool - first pour in some water, heat it to boiling, then gently scrape with a wooden spatula, and the burnt residue will easily come off.

The range hood is the most troublesome to clean, but there are simple methods. You can place newspaper under the hood to absorb oil, then just replace the paper when cleaning. The hood's filter can be soaked in hot water with laundry detergent, which will automatically remove the grease.

Conclusion and Outlook

Through these techniques, my cooking skills have improved significantly, and cooking time has been greatly reduced. Now when I come home from work to cook, it no longer feels like an exhausting task - I actually enjoy it.

These are experiences I've summarized through practice, and I hope they can help fellow beginners like me who are just learning to cook. Cooking isn't actually difficult - the key is mastering the right methods. With accumulated experience, I believe you can also become a cooking expert!

Finally, I want to say that these techniques are just the basics - there's still so much interesting stuff to explore in the world of cooking. If you have any useful kitchen tips, please share them in the comments section - let's improve together!