In daily life, many people will find that there is a significant difference between the taste of the dishes made at home and those in restaurants. So, what exactly is causing this discrepancy? Meanwhile, which is healthier home cooking or restaurant cooking?
First, let's refute a few common misconceptions.
First, the sword skill is not an insurmountable gap
Knife skills are indeed important, but as long as you have patience and are willing to work hard, you can practice well at home, even on par with a restaurant master. For example, someone can cut out a squirrel mandarin fish at home, and with more practice, they can continue to improve.
Second, although there is a difference in the heat, it can be made up
It is true that the heat of a household gas stove is weaker than that of a restaurant, but as long as it is done properly, it can also make a good effect. For example, when frying, you can preheat it to a slightly higher temperature than you need before putting it in the pan, and if necessary, re-fry it to achieve a crispy effect. For large ingredients, ensure sufficient oil content. When stir-frying, control the amount of dishes, and only fry one bowl of rice at a time, which can reach the restaurant's firepower level.
Next, analyze the differences between home cooking and restaurant cooking.
First, the pretreatment of ingredients is different
In the restaurant, pork and beef will be marinated in advance, and the best-selling dishes will even be marinated overnight. Beef marinated generally adds baking soda and egg whites, and water is added to more than half of the meat volume to ensure that the meat is tender and tender. It takes hours for this amount of water to be absorbed by the beef, and it's often difficult to marinate the meat a few hours in advance at home. In addition, if you add too much baking soda, the meat will be tender to the point that it has no fibrous texture, like chewing gum, and you need to add a small amount of granulated sugar to mask the alkaline taste.
Second, there is a big difference in the pre-cooking treatment of ingredients
Restaurants usually fry vegetables first because the actual stir-frying process is very short, measured in seconds. After the meat is starched, it should be oiled, and the vegetables that are difficult to cook should also be oiled.
- Eggplant: Stir-fry eggplant must be done in wide oil and over high temperature. If the oil does not submerge the eggplant, the oil temperature will decrease even if the oil is boiled until it smokes. When the oil temperature is high, the shell of the eggplant is quickly firm, and there is continuous water vapor coming out of the inside, which will not trap oil and will not taste greasy. And the high temperature can make the eggplant look like it is raw, but it is actually ripe, and there is a post-ripening process.
- Beans, green beans: These hard-to-ripen vegetables are over-oiled in restaurants, ripe quickly, and become beautiful dishes. And the home often has a plate of soup. Although a skilled home chef can achieve a taste close to the restaurant by simmering and properly collecting the juice, the appearance will still be a little worse.
- Catfish: Especially local catfish, there is a big gap between what you make at home and what you make in restaurants. The restaurant will be burned again and again, and the raw fish at home is easy to paste the pot, and after adding water, it becomes a stewed fish, the taste and fishy effect are much worse, and there will be a lot of soup in the finished dish, and the fish will fall apart as soon as it is dried up. At home, you can pre-cook peppers, eggplants or other vegetables without oil. If you directly fry cucumbers and other vegetables, add water carefully, pay attention to drying, and drizzle oil when getting out of the pot.
Third, the frying process is very different
The frying time is calculated in seconds. The basic step is to sauté the sauce and ingredients, then add the pre-cooked main ingredients, and then add the liquid seasoning or pre-prepared bowl sauce. Once the main ingredients are precooked, simply season them. All fermented seasonings, such as bean paste, chopped pepper and vinegar, must be stir-fried in oil at high temperatures to remove the undesirable odors generated during the fermentation process. Avoid adding too much water, the surface of the pre-cooked main ingredient is moist, and the base oil will generally not stick to the pan, and the water is generally added to slightly prolong the stir-fry time or get the sauce. If there is no pre-cooking treatment, the fried meat slices will stick to the pan, and the vegetables cannot be cooked, so you can only add water, so that the temperature in the pot does not exceed 100 degrees during the cooking process, and there will be no "pot gas". "Pot gas" refers to the temperature of the ingredients during the frying process, the temperature of the ingredients themselves is not low after they are precooked, the water is locked in the ingredients, the temperature in the pot rises quickly, and there is a crispy and tender feeling. Adding too much water can cause the temperature to be less than 100.
Finally, one thing that acknowledges that home cooking is not as good as a restaurant is the use of spices. Chicken essence and monosodium glutamate are used in more per dish in street restaurants, and even if they have them, they dare not use so much at home. There are also some popular street dishes, such as grilled fish, spicy shrimp, etc., which will use a lot of flavors and are not recommended by families. However, traditional restaurant stir-fry can be made at home.
So, which is healthier home cooking or restaurant cooking?
Home cooking usually pays more attention to the freshness and hygiene of ingredients, and the use of seasonings is relatively restrained. It can be adjusted according to the taste and health needs of the family, such as reducing the amount of salt, oil, and sugar. And home cooking generally does not use too many additives such as flavors.
In order to pursue texture and taste, restaurant cooking may use more seasonings and additives, such as chicken essence and monosodium glutamate. The freshness and hygiene of ingredients in some small restaurants may not be guaranteed. However, regular restaurants will have professional chefs and strict hygiene standards, and they will also have certain advantages in terms of ingredient pairing and cooking skills.
In general, home cooking has more advantages in terms of health, but if you can choose a regular, hygienic restaurant and order properly, you can also enjoy delicious and relatively healthy dishes. In daily life, you can choose the right cooking method and dining place according to your needs and situation.