this post was submitted on 06 Jun 2024
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Cooking. I've tried learning multiple times but I still can't really make anything more complicated than boiling pasta or frying eggs or a grilled cheese. I wish I could learn but everytime someone tries to teach me I can't retain what they teach me and do it independently. I'm constantly fucking up in the kitchen which leads me to waste food, which my parents drilled into me is like the worst sin you can commit, so I stopped trying. I hated throwing things out because I'd fucked them up, especially because by that point I'd be so hungry that my failure would have an outsized effect on my emotions, and I wouldn't want to try again. So I just order food, make simple things like noodles and sandwiches, and avoid anything more complicated.
What I did so far to overcome it:
Sometimes the rice is overdone or too sticky or the pasta is too salty.
Interrogate them if it's necessary. Until they stop with the "Do as much as you like" and instead instruct you with "Put about a cup of X and about a quarter of Y by volume". If you got this you are nore prepared for the measure by eye and feel.
It's like science. It is science.
My parents are the worst about this. It's all based on vibes. My dad acts like Amadeus in the kitchen, furiously experimenting and being creative. I've asked him to explain wtf he's doing and he never does. Like he'll tell me what he's literally doing, but with no explanation of why.
Edit: Particularly with cooking meat, which I never seem to do right. My parents both describe the temperature and time they choose purely in terms of vibes and I have no idea how to copy that when I go from trying to learn with them where I'm typically trying to cook for 3-4 people to trying to figure out how to cook for just myself.
Meat: get a ThermaPen instant read thermometer and cook meats to 120 for rare, 125 for med rare and 135 for medium. Pull the meat off heat 5 d before it hits you desired temp.
This book should take care of the basics: https://amzn.eu/d/16lMSZG
(If you are not in the EU area, just search for the title on your local amazon or book store)
What I read so far in it is bits of explanation of the science of taste and cooking whats happening inside the food and storytelling. This would give you an aid to be closer to what your father does being an able to experiment and deviate from a recipe.
Personally I enjoy the recipes from http://justonecookbook.com
The recipes are not very complicated and tasty. It usually is supplemented by a youtube video that shows the steps as well.
I get around this by asking them to make the specifics dish, gathering all the ingredients for them, then weighing everything before and after to get exact numbers.
It really is a matter of "do as much as you like", but without an intuition on how different ingredients taste and affect the dish at varying quantities, you're not going to know how much you like. So getting that starting point to experiment with is very important.
Usually my meals end up in "I feel like there is one aspect missing to tie the whole thing together".
I love cooking and I've gotten pretty good at making a lot of stuff completely from scratch. But my rice has always been awful, it seems so simple.
We got a $20 rice cooker a few months ago and its been a game changer. Perfect rice every time.
Also I just recently found out your supposed to wash rice before you eat it. Apparently its covered in a lot of heavy metals or something.
Dunno about the heavy metal stuff. I am in Germany and usually our stuff is (I hope so) relatively safe and if unsafe levels are noticee the product has to be recalled.
Usually to wash rice to get rid of the accumulated starches. Usually with short grain rice. Long grain didnt require ut the few times I did it.
Ahh I think I had it mixed up, in the states at least rice contains a lot of heavy metals so when my son was young we avoided giving him too much rice, which was difficult since basically every kid snack is rice based.
A quick google search says washing it 'could' get rid of some of those metals, but not really. Makes me feel a little better about not ever washing my rice but it does cook a lot nicer after washing which makes sense.
Cooking can be as simple or as complicated as you want it to be. Could it be that you're having problems because you're going too far into the complicated end?
If you care to share how things usually go wrong for you, maybe you'll get some useful tips in return.
Often I overcook or undercook things, use too much or too little of some ingredient, and generally have no intuition for the quantitative side of things. These aren't exactly recipes, just literal fundamental skills like cooking meat or vegetables for the right amount of time, at the right heat, with the right seasonings, etc.
So, I was in the same spot for a long time. The one thing I can suggest is to get a tiny portion of something you want to cook, for instance you want to make fried chicken at some point; in the beginning just get like 2 thighs that you aren't planning on really eating. It's literally just a test. The pressure is off for dinner that night and you get room to explore while still knowing if you have to throw it all away you are okay with it.
I used to struggle with picking seasonings too, but here's a strategy that I picked up from the internet somewhere:
Here's a baseline "basic flavors" that should always land you a flavorful meal:
But there's a few others that might come in handy, like:
Of course, figuring out which basic flavors you need is still a skill to develop, but this two-stage process helped me a lot. Plus, if you're trying to stay traditional, then the second stage where you pick the ingredient may already be chosen for you. Mexican food needs acid? Lime. Italian needs heat? Red pepper flakes. Asian needs salt? Soy sauce.
TL;DR: Don't go straight to choosing ingredients you need, instead choose a basic flavor you need then pick ingredients that will satisfy that flavor.
I totally get you, I'm the same with auto mechanics, I tried but no joy. But I do know a thing or two about cooking.
There are some things you can do to help yourself, get a list together of meats that are better with lengthy time cooking methods- for instance pork shoulder or sirloin.
Get a crock pot, slow cooker, or smoker.
Basically, you can get recipes for these which are literally the same: Season meat, add potatoes, carrots or other hearty vegetables. Set to cook and walk away- it cooks itself.
Cooking at home doesn't always mean cooking from scratch, you can absolutely grab a can of soup (cream of mushroom) and add it to boiled pasta with some canned tuna, then bake it with a little cheese over the top.
Focus on methods & repetitive dishes, then you can branch out from there.
Meats (braise, slow cooked)
Sides (potatoes, root veg, onions)
Seasonings (seasoning blends, packets, etc)
Sauces (bbq, salad dressings, soups, etc)
Don't be too hard on yourself, I am in the kitchen everyday and there is nothing better than a good sandwich for me at home. Simple, easy, not complicated flavors and filling. When we get busier the sandwiches get simpler, lol.
Good luck.