I had always questioned things like “what defines a “medium” onion?”, so I was glad she touched on that by mentioning that a well written recipe will give a measurement when it’s necessary for proper balance vs when the exact amount is less important to the end result.
Amen! Where I live, supermarket onions are routinely bigger than large grapefruits, but when I've traveled around the states, in many places I've visited the average onion is barely the size of a tennis ball. That means my onions are easily triple the volume of chopped onion as someone's in another state. I was totally dumbfounded. (BUT thankfully I love onion, so have never encountered "too much onion" in a recipe 😄)
Another useful tip: annotate your recipes during and after cooking. Add details like what setting to use for your particular cooktop, or to adjust quantity of a particular ingredient. For example, I have a chili recipe with annotations that clarify the recipe’s “medium heat” to be “use 7 on GE cooktop, 5 on KitchenAid” (I have two different houses where I cook, with those two cooktops) and another note that details the recipe’s “1 or 2 jalapeños” to be “use just 1 with seeds removed if cooking for Barry” If using a paper cookbook you can just write on it, but if you are digital (like me) you might do as I do, and copy the recipe from whatever source (web page, email, RU-vid, etc) and paste it into a new document in a recipe folder, that way everything is in one place, and I format them all the same when I paste them in, and include a link to the original source so I can re-watch a video if needed.
As the more enthusiastic of the two cooks in my family, cooking for them is a pleasure, and is a way of showing them how much I care. I therefore print, study, and annotate all recipes I use with the experience gained every time I make them, for the next time. How else can I deliver consistent results on second and subsequent uses of any particular recipe, let alone improve my performance? We've recently retired our old gas range for an induction range and new cookware, so there's a lot of adjustment at the moment, but my team are worth it!
@@julianopificius6910 yes, and I feel similarly, you expressed that sentiment eloquently; we go to the effort because we care, and “effort” refers not just to the effort of cooking itself, but of curating the recipes we use. I made the transition to induction in 2012 because I had moved into a house where natural gas wasn’t available, but having learned to cook with it (and having gone through the annoyance of replacing some pots and pans) I do now strongly prefer induction to gas. I wish you the best with your transition to induction cooking.
I do that too - I have an app where I copy my annotated recipes to, include a link to the original video, as well as add a photo of my end result (which I'll update if I manage to "level up" my skills 😂)
That’s a badly written recipe, which unfortunately are all too common, written by cooking personality wannabes. Like Lan said, proper recipes are carefully revised again and again before being published. They should be compact and uses common tongues. If there are pictures, even better. The point is: to make sure that the ones who wrote and follow the recipes, are on the same page. The steps might be methodical, but the process is done with approximation. This isn’t baking afterall.
I swear, over half the recipes in a few Japanese cookbooks I have do this. You have all your ingredients ready to go, and in step 12, BANG, a wild ingredient appears. If you have the ingredient right on hand, the end result is fantastic, but it still makes you think, "UGH! You had ONE job!" Also reminds me of that scene in _Julie and Julia_ where the "author" of an influential cookbook that predates _The Joy of Cooking_ says some of those recipes were ghostwritten by men and entirely untested, they just used her name and reputation to sell a crappy cookbook. (Or they bought the original cookbook from her for a pittance, or both... Publishers can be quite scummy.)
That's why Lan says read the recipe through, very carefully BEFORE you start so you can catch that step or that not mentioned, or "suggested" additional or subtitute ingredient. if I find a recipe I can print out I do, I read it all the way through and scribble notes in the margins with an arrow; circle key words; and key steps. Just like she mentions, line up your ingredients in the order they will be used. I separate my "reserved" portions of any ingredient (like the oil or a garnish ingredient to top at the end)
I often find a recipe at the last moment and use the recipe as a shopping guide when trying to make a meal happen with a mixture of staples and something appealing at the market. More often that leads to cooking the minute the shopping hits the kitchen. At home I don't have a printer nor would I print a recipe other than for a festive meal so the idea that I would be highlighting or notating a recipe is ludicrous. I'm a huge ATK fan but in this case I think they are tone-deaf to the audience which they in most ways serve very well.
In this time of “everyone’s a chef” I find it is even more important to read the recipe closely, and all the way through. It’s one good way to judge the quality of the recipe. The “techniquely” series is excellent! Thank you for the lessons.
It can seem like "everyone's a chef," but that's far, far from the case. At least it is in my circle. I know people who can't even cook a prepackaged boxed dinner properly.
I'm at the 6 minute mark and am thinking to myself in Lan's voice "If the recipe calls for transparent onions add 10 minutes to what the recipe calls for, if the recipe calls for caramelized onions add 30 to 60 minutes. I know, this seem like a lot, but it has been common for publishers to make recipes seem easier and quicker by taking creative license when it comes to onion cook times. "
When looking for the recipe of a certain dish on the internet, I usually look at three or four, done by different writers. That way I can see what everyone does the same and what variations (for good or ill) they have. This applies to both the ingredient list and the directions. I loved Lan's clear explanation of the parts of a recipe. Thanks, Lan!
What tripped me up when I first started doing recipes was not reading all of the steps ahead of time. It’d say “simmer for half an hour.” And I’d go take a break, only to find the next step says “Meanwhile, do X Y and Z” and didn’t know I was supposed to be doing stuff while it was simmering.
I have always taken a “How to Read a Book” (by Mortimer Adler) approach to reading recipes, sometimes even rewriting the recipe to make sure I have not missed anything. The tips here will help me even more-I found the bit about paying attention to comma placement extremely valuable. So much good info packed into a 10-min video. Thank you!!!
If you have to rewrite the recipe, then that's a sign it wasn't very good to start with. Having a step that requires an adjustable pepper grinder is probably a bad idea. There's recipes that require you to read to the end because you're putting day old rice or 12h marinated meat into a pan without having been told up front. Thanks bro, that's what steps are supposed to be for. And there's multi tasking issues (most pasta dishes have you cook pasta well before you need it). What makes for a good recipe is usually just having actual people who aren't chefs follow it and make mistakes, followed by correcting the recipe before publication.
@@AnimeReference I don’t have to, I like to the first time I cook from a recipe because it forces me to slow down. But I do agree that it helps to expose a badly written recipe. It is often during that first time through that I find the problems I missed when just reading.
“Divided” always gets me! Decades ago, when I was a kid, divided meant “divided in half”. Now it means “divided into two or more amounts that I won’t tell you up here, you’re just going to have to approximate amounts later in a panic”. I ran into this recently in a biscuit recipe and had to re-combine and try and properly divide out the correct amount of buttermilk (which actually turned out to be way too much to brush on top anyway). Before anyone jumps on me, I did read the whole recipe through first. The numerical amounts for half the buttermilk were very similar to the amounts called for in the main portion and my brain read them as the same. I maintain that unless divided means divided in half, specific amounts MUST be given in the ingredients list.
To me, only bad recipes say "divided" (sorry ATK!). It's much clearer to just list the ingredient twice, where it's needed both times and how much at each step. It's only forgivable for me if "divided" means "divided roughly in half, and it doesn't really matter too much if it's not close to being in half".
Chef Lan Lam, you rock, rock! The ease of your delivery and charisma make the lessons all the more enjoyable! I appreciate you bringing to our attention the importance of being an active reader of recipes.
@@AnimeReference If you follow the "mise en place" technique (as you should, and must with Asian (fast) cooking), then you do all the prep as you gather the ingredients, so it makes sense to put the prep details against the list. In that way, you can check not only that all the ingredients are present, but that they're appropriately prepared, while you have time to do so without panicking.
I've been reading Cook's Illustrated and using its recipes for ~15 years now. One of the things I appreciate is the clarity and completeness of them. When I follow the recipes (many of them yours, Lan), I find I never have a failure, even when it's something I've never worked with before. I've been cooking off and on for ~60 years, so I generally know when something is going to work, but when I venture into unfamiliar territory, I appreciate the very detailed and complete guidance I get from those recipes. Well done!
Good to see someone covering the basics. A lot of cooking content makes at least some assumptions about cooking ability and knowledge. Some people really do start from the beginning! But even sharp knives need to be honed, it's never a bad idea to remediate the fundamentals.
Thank you so much! I've been cooking for more than 60 years, and I still find myself wishing I had read the recipe better...or had written my recipe better for my grandchildren to follow to get a good result.
I'm a visually impaired cook - I have trouble with keeping my place in a recipe (and need very large print to avoid having to bend over to read). I tend to like very short lines of text. I often will reformat ATK recipes to help with this. If there may be several actions in a single step, I will break them all out so I can more easily return to my place in a new (to me) recipe. Also, I am not a fan of 'divided'. In reformatting any recipe, I will sort ingredients as they are used in the recipe (ATK does this well, but others are horrible) and for divided items, I will repeat each division with the appropriate amount in its place, e.g. 5 tbsps of butter might become 1 tbsp butter (for frying) and 4 tbsps butter, cubed (for sauce). But, I LOVE ATK recipes for already giving me what I need. So many recipes leave things out that you just have to know (and if you don't, you miss out). You guys taught me how to pan-fry with Becky's Chicken Francese recipe, and it turned out great!!!!
I am so with YOU 🙏 for “splitting”. I love your example with butter. And I commented about this recipe peppercorns/comma illustration: the wording WAS very “clear” to me, BUT …. wrongfully interpreted by me (English is my second language) 😂 I would have had that Tb spoon of coarsely ground peppercorns 😱, NOT a Tb spoon of peppercorns that I THEN would grind coarsely 🙃😄
I love watching Lan Lam's videos. Her voice is so smooth and just gives you the feeling of someone that really knows their stuff and you can learn from them.
Wow! Since I have more than 100 cookbooks, I initially thought this video is going to be lame and fit for novices. Boy, was I wrong? This video is so helpful to cooks of all skill levels. Only Lan Lam can make the prosaic sublime!
Another amazing technique video, Lan!! I typically skip reading the beginning text and go right to the ingredients and instructions; you've convinced me to take a closer look at the earlier info. Thank you🙏
I would have an easier time reading it if it was short and to the point and RELEVANT rather than a 5-paragraph description of "my son's birthday party where someone first made this cake"......
Lan, howdy! I always follow recipes, carefully. With one exception: Way back when (back in the day), before widespread internet was available I was living in a very nice mansion, where I did the handyman work and gardening in lieu of paying rent. The house didn't have an oven or a stovetop, but it did have a one of those newfangled microwave thingies! Needless to say, 1 round roast + 1 microwave oven didn't turn out the greatest food in this world of ours. I did follow the recipe for roasted duck a few years ago. OK, so I thought that it would just take the normal recipe for roasting a chicken. With a thermometer installed! I offered that to every stray cat and dog on my block with them looking at me as if I was crazed and they all left, staring back over their shoulders at me. Have a very nice day, Lan!
I love ATK recipies. Their recipies are like sheet music that a well trained pianist can sit down and play. Some people use handed down recipies from people who don’t know how to write recipies or measure. I can spot a bad recipie by reading it. Even home cooks with original recipies give clues if they really know what they’re doing. A big problem with many of the young home cooks is they have had so little exposure to cooking that they don’t know enough to have any frame of reference whatsoever. Cake mix has a horrible chemical flavor, yet many young people think it’s fabulous. It’s a sad situation.
:50 "...someone's life story." That cracked me up because it's so true. In so many recipe sites, the author prattles on and on about his/her culinary journey from the time they were weened from the bottle. You have to wear out your mouse wheel scrolling, scrolling scrolling to the bottom of the page before finally arriving at the actual recipe.
I love Lan Lan and all the other great cooks at CI. I wasn't going to watch the video thinking, once again, that I knew how to read a recipe, but I forced myself to remember how much I learned from the CI video. thanks, Lan Lan, for the breakdown of using commas and temperature variations. I learned that using different cookingware affects a recipe and how the chef sets up the recipe for us to follow. Thanks.
One thing I would add to the mise-en-place, would be getting your required cooking utensils ready to go as well as prepping the ingredients. The most annoying thing is needing something in particular only to have to go digging through my kitchen drawers to find it while something starts burning on the stove. Having everything you need lined up and ready to use can save a dish from disaster.
Lan used the term "mise en place" with regards to her ingredients. I'm going to guess maybe a couple of people are not familiar with the term. It basically means everything in place. It's also extremely helpful in cooking. Having all your ingredients in proportion as well as cookware and such in place ready to go make things go far better rather than running around your kitchen or a spice rack looking for something as you are cooking.
I had to tell my husband in terms that he understands that mise en place is French for "get all your s--t together and in order before you start," lol.😂
"Divided" is an excellent point. Brings to mind the old sitcom joke about the bomb squad reading directions for disabling a ticking time bomb: "Cut the green wire..." "...but FIRST cut the blue wire." :)
What she is teaching here has broader applications and significance beyond following recipes. She is teaching reading comprehension, a fundamental skill that extends far beyond following a recipe. Reading comprehension is a crucial skill for understanding instructions for tasks, complex documents, and effectively processing information in any field or craft. The ability to break down instructions, identify key details, and apply them accurately is a valuable skill that is beneficial in a wide range of contexts, not limited to cooking.
A wonderful video! I more many of my recipes to Microsoft OneNote. Before cooking, I go through them, making notes, adding highlights, changing font size if needed, making notes, or even adding clarifications (like when things are divided) so it is clearer to me in the midst of cooking.
@@ArtU4All I hear you- definitely the stealth Microsoft product. I use it all the time at work for numerous things. It keeps things organized and searchable.
This is by far the best explanation of how to read a recipe ever created. Everyone who eats food should watch this video; it should be translated into all languages.
I knew all that, but it was still fun watching you explain it. To answer your ending question, I struggle most when planning to make something but I don't have everything I need, or discover something I thought I had has gone bad. I can make substitutions, some of which I know would be fine, but sometimes it's up in the air; I can just omit something I feel won't adversely affect the dish, or I can just postpone until I get to the store and pick it up.
Really love ATK and cast...Lan is awesome teacher and presenter on top of being amazing cook. I love ATK recipes...but more the insight and education you get on food science. Great tips Lan.
I've never had anyone break down how recipes are written and things to watch out for. Now that Lan has mentioned it , I have to be honest with myself - I'm sure I'm guilty of missing where those commas were placed! Lan, I will never read a recipe in the same way ever again! Thank you for making us all better cooks!
I've always read every single recipe from start to finish, usually several times over. And, I always read the reviews for helpful tips & tricks & ideas on what to add or subtract. I guess you could say that it makes for an interesting read! 💜
I really liked this video. I think it taught me more about how to write a recipe than how to follow one. Out of experience I do incorporate several of your technical advisements and so I give myself a small 'pat on the back'. However I have also learned that many "amateur" recipe writers don't follow this standard of writing a recipe, therefore I have to use my basic knowledge of ingredient amounts to compensate. The example you used was the use of commas, parentheses and keywords; I understand this concept but I don't think some of the recipe writers are as knowledgeable. Over the years I have learned who I can trust and to follow their recipe exactly and those whose recipes are just "inspiration". Another tip for the amateur recipe writers is to read the 'comments' section of that particular recipe. I find a lot of good tips on adjustments to the recipe. Edited for an additional comment: Recipe writers need to use a weight value when specifying certain 'subjectively measured' ingredients. I like using grams when measuring flour, powdered sugar, shredded cheese, etc.
One of my worst fails was missing the words “foil-lined” when dealing with a sheet pan and a messy recipe. Lots of elbow grease needed to clean up that sheet pan later…
We love you Lam at our home!! You make our weekends filled with experiments at the kitchen! My mom is currently writing our family recipes, Could you please also share how you write recipes? What are the best practices which you follow, etc.
Thank you for this video!!! Very educational!!! I love cooking and baking so that helps! Lan is a great teacher and how she explains and shows visually - excellent teacher and awesome job!!!! I look forward to more educational videos from Lan! :) Again, thank you so much!!!!
I find the quality of the recipes from ATK/CI/CC are spot on. Even their ‘basic’ dishes have become my standard way to prep things- beef and broccoli, whole side of salmon, meatloaf, cast iron chicken. I know if I read and follow the recipe as written, I will get great results. I always get a kick out of reading 1 star reviews saying “this was terrible..I subbed every ingredient and it didn’t work!?!?”
Oh God, I get shivers down my spine when a recipe starts with "as a little girl I remember spending summers with my grandma...." I literally could not care less and just want the details of the recipe. I wish they had more interesting blurbs
This is the best explanation of how a recipe is constructed that I ever heard. I am learning to cook on RU-vid and try to write out what the cooks are saying and doing but with only the ingredients list. Kudos for such a great video.
I have been using one of those subscriptions services for a while and their recipes are really well written. I realize now how much I learned about properly following recipes from just doing it a few times a week. Granted, some of the prep work is pre done, like some sauces coming pre measured. But I still need to chop and mix everything else. This video was very insightful, specially since I'm moving on to try to hunt for recipes in the wild wild internet.
I am reminded of those ubiquitous community cookbooks with recipes that are lacking information. No doubt the person who submitted the recipe knew all the bits and bobs but for the rest of us... As always, I am loving this series as there is so much information!
Bravo Lan ! You are so methodical like a real teacher in front of a class ! All the chemistry of the ingredients in the recipe are explained. Tks a lot Can I request you to introduce some recipes for induction oven, which of course cannot rival with our old wok and the Maillard flavour point .Following you from Mauritius
I love cooking with recipes & this had some great reminders when following recipes. One thing I’ve seen recently with online recipes is having the ingredients listed in the steps along with the ingredients list up top. It ensures you won’t miss an item even if you did your mise en place. I have found this very helpful.
I honestly love this particular series. I've learned so many good cooking techniques from these videos that I've been able to practically apply in everyday cooking.
THANK YOU so much. I used to be a disorganized cook, but going thru my mistakes I found refuge in what you speak of. Slowly I figured things out and have improved a lot. Your info just topped it off for me.
EXCELLENT, EXCELLENT, EXCELLENT, and so needed! Your presentations and "What's eating Dan" are the reasons why I subscribe and feel fortunate for finding this channel.
1:35 into the video, with the yellow and salmon segmented coloring. Brilliant, Lan, and would elevate recipe apps, online recipes, etc. not to mention a reduction in questions. Thanks for the entire video bringing professional focus to (like me) the home cook.
Thank you, Lan. A lot to take in, but the balance between writing a recipe and intuiting what you might want to add (which is what I do) can make a difference (or in my case, a reset). It's an art, cooking. Play, with benefits. Thank you again.
Wasn't sure, going in, how interesting/useful this would be; but I've learned to trust Lan & crew in this series and I wasn't disappointed! A lot of the recipes I've made or tweaked over the years include timings that are particular to my equipment. I should have learned that lesson when I purchased a new range/oven a few years ago and had to revise many of them. I may need to go back and replace/supplement as many of those timings as possible with sensory cues & temps if I hope to pass on a useful recipes someday!
Another set of “visual” cues to join your list would be the tactile ones. Examples: - Fry onions until limp - stir fry veggies until their color changes throughout, but are still crisp - boil potatoes until fork tender - bake cake until center still jiggles slowly when you bump the pan - bake cookies until edges are crisp
