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Cooking guidelines
!
Take care when frying as the oil and fat heat up very quickly.
At extremely high termperatures oil and fat will ignite spontane-
ously and this presents a serious fire risk.
9. Cooking guidelines
Cooking Tips
• When food comes to the boil, reduce the power setting.
• Using a lid will reduce cooking times and save energy by retaining the
heat.
• Minimise the amount of liquid or fat to reduce cooking times.
• Start cooking on a high setting and reduce the setting when the food has
heated through.
Simmering, cooking rice
•
Simmering occurs below boiling point, at around 85˚C, when bubbles
are just rising occasionally to the surface of the cooking liquid. It is the
key to delicious soups and tender stews because the flavours develop
without overcooking the food. You should also cook egg-based and
flourthickened sauces below boiling point.
• Some tasks, including cooking rice by the absorption method, may
require a setting higher than the lowest setting to ensure the food is
cooked properly in the time recommended.
Searing steak
To cook juicy flavoursome steaks:
1. Stand the meat at room temperature for about 20 minutes before cooking.
2. Heat up a heavy-based frying pan.
3. Brush both sides of the steak with oil. Drizzle a small amount of oil into
the hot pan and then lower the meat onto the hot pan.
4. Turn the steak only once during cooking. The exact cooking time will
depend on the thickness of the steak and how cooked you want it. Times
may vary from about 2 – 8 minutes per side. Press the steak to gauge
how cooked it is – the firmer it feels the more ‘well done’ it will be.
5. Leave the steak to rest on a warm plate for a few minutes to allow it to
relax and become tender before serving.
