Canola oil is high in beneficial monounsaturated fatty acids, and with its light taste and high smoke point, it is ideal for stir-frying in a healthy way.

Soy sauce has been used for over 2000 years in Chinese cooking. Dark soy sauces are usually thicker and employ a single fermentation process, aging over a longer period than the lighter varieties. The flavor will come through, however, with any reduced-sodium soy sauce.

Also central to this Asian classic are the snow peas. They provide a fresh, crunchy consistency, along with vitamins A and C, iron and potassium. At their prime eating stage these flat thin pods should have a barely visible bulge that reveals the tiny seeds they contain. When buying them look for crisp pods with a vibrant green color.

Other thinly sliced vegetables like red bell peppers or zucchini may be added or substituted for the carrots. No matter what you decide, this tasty and nourishing dish is easy to prepare and can brighten any day.

Read more about this article and get the recipe.

There were about 100 product designers in the new Wall Street Mall site, in central Dunedin. As cooking products were designed, they would be tested by the designers themselves. “They get to make sure they know how to use their products.”

Yesterday, teams of designers formed themselves into teams to cook Chinese food in recognition that Chinese company Haier was a significant shareholder in the company, she said. Having the designers learn more about the different cooking styles on the appliances they designed, made them think more about their products.

Product market manager Stephen Bruce said there was a large team of men designing cooking appliances and, for many, the test kitchen was the only exposure they had to using the products. Some of the designers had proved to be budding chefs who were “passionate about their cooking”. Some had started working on a food blog, cooking meals, taking photos and posting them on the blog, he said.

By Dene Mackenzie. Read more on this article.

A Senior Market Analyst at Mintel said, “The current economic climate seems to be impacting on Brits seeking to recreate the restaurant experience at home. The initial establishment of popular favorites Chinese and Indian cuisine have led to a broadening of the market and increased popularity of different types of ethnic food.”

According to the new Mintel report on the ethnic food market, about eighty percent of people surveyed said that Chinese is their favorite, while Indian was a close second with 71% of the vote.
As a combined total, Indian and Chinese now account for a massive seventy percent of the ethnic food market. The popularity of Mexican food is increasing rapidly and the Mexican market has seen twenty percent growth over the last two years.

The sales of Indian cuisine in terms of purchasing power surpassed Chinese food by 189 million in the last year alone. This suggests that Britains are favor Indian cuisine to cook at home in the kitchen. This is significant because the recession is encouraging people to eat at home instead of restaurants, and about sixty percent of Brits agree that if eating at home, it is cheaper to cook than to get carryout.

With stir-fry Chinese food sales up thirty-seven percent, Chinese food home-cooking is already seeing growth, over the last two years and cooking sauces up thirteen percent, Indian ready meals have seen a slump but retail accompaniments are up about eleven percent. Mexican food has seen a massive boost over the same period, with an increase in value in all retail sectors. Stir-fry tend to be seen as healthy meal solutions that are also convenient while kitchen utensils, such as pastes and spices, give consumers the freedom to tailor their meals to their taste, which they cannot do with ready meals.

by Mintel

1. After use, rinse the wok with plain warm water. Dip it into some mild dishwashing soap to clean embedded food particles.
2. If any more food is sticking to the surface, use a soft sponge to gently brush the food particles away.
3. Towel dry the wok. Or, even better, place the wok over a burner set on high heat. One of the purposes here is to burn the grease from the last cooking sessions into the surface.
4. After the wok is smoking and the surface does not look shiny and oily, store the wok in a warm, dry place.

Both seasoning and storing your wok are important in keeping your wok in excellent shape. If you happen to get a little rust on it, don’t worry about it too much. Try to lightly brush it away, but, otherwise, just re-season the wok and continue using it. Other than that, use your wok often to develop a tasty seasoning on it to enhance your flavors.

It’s important that you do NOT follow these instructions for a wok with a non-stick coating. Following these instructions will damage the non-stick coating.

Seasoning a Wok

1. Rinse the wok in hot water and some heavy duty soap (e.g. kitchen cleaner or comet).
2. Place the wok on the stove over a high heat.
3. Heat the wok until the bottom of the wok becomes a dark bluish color (about twenty minutes). Rotate the wok on its side and burn similarly until entire wok is dark bluish.
4. Cool down wok until room temperature.
5. Fold a paper towel, and soak it with cooking oil (such as peanut or corn oil).
6. Spread the oil all over the inside of the wok. Make sure to completely cover the interior of the wok with oil. The wok will now be ready to use.

In the beginning, you will need to season the wok very frequently, after every use is best. When the food begins to stick to the surface of the wok, it may be time to re-season your wok. Eventually, a thin layer of oil will begin to permanently set into the wok. After this happens, you will not really have to worry too much about seasoning it again. From time to time the seasonings on the surface of the wok will be depleted, and it will be necessary to re-season the wok.

Both seasoning and storing your wok are important in keeping your wok in excellent shape. If you happen to get a little rust on it, don’t worry about it too much. Try to lightly brush it away, but, otherwise, just re-season the wok and continue using it. Other than that, use your wok often to develop a tasty seasoning on it to enhance your flavors.

1. Before you begin, heat the wok up to remove the ferrite taste. Then, use a wet towel to wipe away the accumulated dust and grease off.
2. Then, heat the wok again. Usually, you will put about 1 – 1 1/2 tablespoons of cooking oil into it. Add the marinated meat to your wok and stir for about 45 seconds or until the outer gets cooked and darkens.
3. Add vegetables that take a long time to cook (for example, if peapods and bok choy are going to be cooked, add the bok choy and THEN pea pods).
4. Here is where any seasoning is usually added. If you have any seasoning, add it in while lightly stirring the meat. If you don’t have any, add in any ingredients that you have left. Continue to stir until your meal is cooked.

6 Basic Tastes
The most basic aspect of Chinese cooking lies in its seemingly simple list of “basic flavors.” These flavors range the spectrum of six easily identifiable tastes; specifically, there is a sweet, sour, bitter, hot, salty, and fragrant taste.

The sweet taste is basically what it sounds like – any ingredient that is added to a dish in order to sweeten it is considered to have a sweet taste. The most common sweetingredients would include white sugar or any other sugars (brown slab sugar, rock sugar, malt sugar), sweet soy sauce, molasses, hoisin sauce, and honey.

On the opposite of sweetwould be the sour taste. Common souringredients would include rice vinegar, black vinegar, red vinegar, juice of lime and lemon.

The bitter taste is accomplished by adding ingredients that will make a dish have a more acrid or sharp taste. The bitter taste is created through the use of all the zest of most fruits (such as lime, lemon, orange, tangerine), and any bittersweet solution.

The hot taste is the taste that leaves your mouth burning after eating. In Chinese cooking, the hot taste can range from milder versions that simply make foods spicier and much hotter versions that can, literally, make you cry. The most common hot ingredients are white pepper powder, black pepper powder, chili peppers (such as finger hot peppers, serrano, jalapeño, and habanera), chili oil, hot bean sauce, curry powder, and chili sauce.

The salty taste is created through the use of sodium chloride (table salt), soy sauce (either light or dark), and all salted vegetables (like turnips, cabbages, Szechwan pickles, etc.)

Lastly, the fragrant taste is a, somewhat, controversial flavor, as it isn’t really a flavor that distinctly changes the way a dish tastes. To most westerners, this would imply that the fragrant taste is not important. Chinese cooking, however, is concerned with much more than simply taste; to the Chinese, the smell, aroma, and even the look produced by a dish is just as important as the meal itself. Thus, fragrant taste is one of the most important tastes, and is created through the use of any ingredient that arouses the nasal senses. These fragrant ingredients are Szechwan peppercorn, simple wine, sesame oil, garlic, ginger root, star anise, tangerine peel, fennel seeds, spicy ginger root, parsley, basil, fermented bean, and any other ingredient that produces a distinct aroma.

Cooking Methods
The Chinese cooking method can be similarly broken into smaller, easily remembered parts. These methods will usually stress the use of very little oil, a high flame technique, and a fast cooking method to create healthy, tasty food with a high amount of retained vitamins (in fact, Chinese food is considered to be some of the healthiest food on the planet because of this). The Chinese cooking method is broken into eight parts: stir fry, steam, simmering, deep fry, shallow frying, dry cooking, red cooking, and par cooking.

Stir fry cooking is the most common cooking method used in Chinese cooking. Using a wok and little bit of oil, ingredients are cooked on a high flame setting while being continuously stirred. Stir fry cooking is usually done without a cover.

Steaming is the 2nd most popular cooking process. Basically, steam, usually boiled off of water, is used to heat and “cook” the food. The steam method uses a large pot with water boiling on the bottom. A bowl or plate is then held over the boiling water by a stand, and a cover is used to encapsulate the steam.

Simmering is a relatively simple process that involves the use of any liquid substance that can be brought to a boil. The liquid (which can be water, a broth, or wine) is brought to a rapid boil using a high flame. Then, the flame is lowered just enough so that the liquid continues to lightly bubble.

Deep fry is the process of using a large amount of cooking oil to cook an ingredient. The cooking oil is brought to a temperature of 325-350 degrees and the ingredient is dipped into the oil and allowed to cook.

Shallow frying is the use of ½ to 1 cup of oil brought to a frying temperature. The ingredient to be cooked will then be placed into the pan. It is usually required to turn the ingredient over on each side in order to ensure a proper and even cook.

The dry cooking method means to not use any oil in cooking. In Chinese cooking, dry cooking is usually done in a wok in order to bring out a marinated flavor.

The red cooking uses only liquid and solid spices such as soy sauce, wine with star anise, and funnel seeds in order to give food a zesty, exotic flavor.

Par cooking or par-cook stands for partially cooking. It, basically, uses any of the above processes to partially cook food. After being partially cooked, the food will usually be returned a wok for the final cooking process.

The tastes, cooking methods, and equipment are only starting points in the discovery of Chinese cooking. In the end, the only way to gain a true understanding of Chinese cooking is simply to experiment with different ingredients and practice. In addition, a fun, relaxed attitude to learning a new subject, as well as the patience to make mistakes, would be huge benefits in the mastery of Chinese cooking. Hopefully, Wok Fusion is only the beginning point in your love of learning about Chinese cuisine.

The wok is, without a doubt, the most important piece of equipment needed in order to make a Chinese meal. A wok looks like a large metal bowl, usually with a glass or aluminum cover, that can be put on a stove and heated. It will usually have two handles at the side that are either iron, carbon steel, or wooden. Its cylindrical shape is based on the principle of distributing heat evenly and saving oil (as the oil will seep into the bottom of the wok). Woks are mostly used for stir frying, but can also be used for other types of cooking including deep frying, steaming, and even for soup making. Woks were usually made from cast iron, but, with emerging technology, are now being made from carbon steel.

An important consideration when buying a wok is the size: larger ones can cook more food at a time but take longer to heat, while smaller ones cook less food but heat up very easily. Woks will usually come with accessories such as rings (which are stands for dishes that are placed inside of the wok for steaming).

Another important point to consider when selecting a wok is whether to buy one that has a round bottom or flat bottom. Woks were originally made with round bottoms in order to sink into Chinese clay stoves. As current stoves (with flat tops) became more prevalent, the round bottom woks proved to be slightly difficult to work with – for example, the round bottom woks did not maintain sufficient heat due to curvature of the round bottom hitting or breaking the tips of the flames of the stove. Thus, a flat bottomed wok was created for use on electric or other flat stoves. In most cases, however, both work relatively well, and most round bottomed woks come with a detachable base for use on electric stoves. Some cooks argue about the relative benefits of one or the other, but, in most cases, it seems to be just a matter of opinion.

A strainer is a common kitchen appliance that most people already have. Strainers are usually made from a brass or stainless steel wire mesh. They can be used for separating solid food from its liquid, or for deep frying food. When used for deep frying food, strainers will have a large wooden or bamboo handle attached to its side.

Cooking chopsticks are used for moving contents around a wok without getting burned or scratching the surface of the wok. A pair of 14-16 inch long bamboo chopsticks is ideal for deep frying or stirring.

Cleavers can be thought of as the Chinese equivalent of a butcher knife – they are used to cut, slice, chop, and mince a variety of different ingredients into smaller pieces. Usually made of carbon steel, they are lighter, less expensive, and maintain sharp edges better than most American blades. The butt end (opposite side of the blade or handle) can also be used for crushing ingredients into powder form. Cleavers come in three weights: light-weight, ideal for light chopping, medium-weight, the most popular and ideal size for Chinese cooking due to its high versatility, and heavy-weight, used to cut bones and other tough ingredients.

Spatula is a common kitchen appliance that is used to mix, stir, and scoop up food. They are made of carbon or stainless steel wire mesh when used for straining solids from liquids. It has a flat and slightly angle surface at the end of this tool.

Ladle is a useful metal tool that mirrors that spatula having a round cup shape at the bottom end of it. The main purpose of a ladle is to transfer large amounts of food easily from the wok to a dinner plate quickly.

Butcher Steel and a sharpening stone are both used in order to sharpen cleavers and knives. A butcher steel looks like a long, thin dagger and is used by running the edge of a knife or cleaver that needs sharpening along the edge of the butcher steel. Usually made of steel, a butcher steel will not remove metal from a knife.

A sharpening stone is similar to a butcher steel in that it is used to sharpen cleavers and knives. A sharpening stone has two sides – a course and a fine surface – and works by stripping part of the metal of a knife away in order to make a better “V” shape, or simply to straighten the edge of knives.

1. Heat up a pan, on high heat. Make sure that you can easily pick up and stir the pan.
2. After the pan is very hot, place the seeds in the pan.
3. Constantly stir the seeds while heating. Be sure to get both seeds of each seed to darken lightly. This should only take about 30 – 45 seconds.
4. Immediately remove the seeds after cooking.
5. You will sometimes have to let your seeds cool before using them. Your seeds are now ready!

Fresh Ingredients
Fresh ingredients are produce that need to be refrigerated or used right away so that they don’t spoil. Fresh ingredients are usually complements to some other kind of fresh meat. The most common fresh ingredients most people know about are simple vegetables (lettuce, cabbage, zucchini, etc.).

One of the most used fresh ingredient is bok choy. Bok choy is considered to be the Chinese variant of cabbage; in fact, its leaves look similar to a cabbages’ except bok choy has a crisp white stalk attached. Usually, both stalk and leaves are eaten either raw or cooked in some kind of stew.

Oriental eggplant is a common fresh ingredient that is nearly identical to its American counterpart. Considered a vegetable because of its lack of seeds, it is usually longer and more slender than the American kind.

Water chestnuts and bamboo shoots are both ingredients that are distinctly Chinese. Water chestnuts look similar to regular walnuts, except with a white shell. The inside flesh is similarly white and tastes great toasted or raw. Bamboo shoots are the shoots of a bamboo plant. They are sold in cans, and packed with water.

Other fresh ingredients include leek, lemon grass, squash, etc.

Dried ingredients
On the opposite of the fresh ingredients are dried ingredients. These ingredients are those that are sold completely dried. Usually, they will need to be soaked in water before using them. Most of them last a surprisingly long time in a stored, air-tight container.

Cloud ears (also called black fungus, tree ears, or jelly mushrooms) are very similar to tofu in that they have no flavor of its own. They will, instead, tend to soak up the flavor of whatever they’re cooked with. Cloud ears are often added to stir fried meals.

Lily buds are the unopened flowers of day lilies. They are yellow-gold in color, with a very earthy taste. Lily buds have been used in China as both a food and medicine for over two centuries. You will need to soak them in water for thirty minutes before using them in a meal.

Fresh Asian mushrooms of any variety are also frequently used in Chinese cooking. Black and oyster mushrooms are the most common type of mushrooms sold in grocery stores and are mild in flavor. Mushrooms are often used in stir fry cooking to add flavoring for a meal. Usually, you will NOT have to soak mushrooms in water.

Plastic Cutting Boards
One of the benefits of plastic cutting boards is their nonporous surface. In other words, you do not have to worry about the juice from your meats and vegetables creeping into your cutting board and staying there.

They are thought to be the most sanitary, especially since they are dishwasher safe. When you are done chopping away, you need only to set your board in your dishwasher, and you are set – it will come out clean and as good as new.

And while you may not consider any plastic cutting board to be “beautiful” – there are some stylish ones out there. You can find plastic cutting boards in a multitude of colors, so you can match it to your kitchen décor. Besides, plastic cutting boards are generally the least expensive – you can therefore get more for less money. It is a good idea to have multiple cutting boards in your kitchen. Come people even prefer using only certain boards for meat, and others for vegetables.

Another great thing about plastic cutting boards is that there are some thin, mat boards. These boards are flexible and are therefore great for transferring food. Also, because they are so thin and lightweight, they are great for taking on camping trips and picnics. Of course, sharp knives can and probably will eventually cut through a thin plastic cutting board.

Wooden Cutting Boards
Wooden cutting boards have been around for ages. Chefs have been putting their meats and vegetables up on wood chopping blocks and wooden countertops for many centuries, and there have not been too many contamination problems to speak of. Of course, in general, the major concern with wooden cutting boards is a question of sanitation. They are very porous – in other words, those meat and vegetable juices that were repelled by plastic cutting boards can, indeed, soak into a wooden one. Germs can get trapped in the cuts made by knives.

Properly cleaning your wood cutting board, though, will obviously help with the problem of sanitation. Most wooden cutting boards cannot, unfortunately be put through the dishwasher – check the care instructions before you place it through the dishwasher. If you have any doubts, it is best to handwash it if you want it to last a long time. Use hot water and soap to wash it. After you rinse it well, just set it out to dry. As mentioned before, most wooden cutting boards are rather porous, therefore, it might take a while for them to dry (they will soak up some of that water). Make sure that you allow yours to dry thoroughly before you put it away.

For an extra cleaning, use vinegar or a bleach and water solution. It is very possible and quite easy to keep your wooden cutting board bacteria and germ free. Be especially thorough when washing your board after cutting meat – you do not want to have e. coli or salmonella transferred to your board and remaining there. Of course, some people say that bacteria does not generally like wood and that wood has natural germ-killing substances. Nonetheless, it can never hurt to thoroughly clean your board. These properties of wood may be true for some woods, but perhaps not all. Bamboo, for instance, is known for its resistance to bacteria.

Many consider wood cutting boards to be more forgiving than others, and they work well with sharp knives – they will not dull your knives as quickly (this is why most knife storing blocks are made of wood).

Of course, another important aspect of wooden cutting boards is their charm. You can store your wood cutting board away in the cupboard, for sure, but you could also leave it out. You can display it, on the wall or on the countertop. A wood cutting board adds a sort of rustic charm that other cutting boards just cannot meet. There are some very beautiful hand-crafted wooden cutting boards out there.

Tempered Glass Cutting Boards
These boards can be very beautiful. You can find tempered glass boards that have wonderful designs and pictures. You can even find ones that match you décor perfectly. Of course, there are other benefits besides “looks” associated with glass cutting boards.

They are very resistant to heat (it can double as a ‘hot pad’). Also, they are very easy to clean – you can just stick them in the dishwasher. However, tempered glass cutting boards are not perfect. For one thing, the sound of a knife on one of these boards can make you cringe. More importantly, glass cutting boards can dull knives quicker.

All in all, just try out a few different types of cutting boards and see which ones work best with your cooking routine. As far as the sanitation of cutting boards go – any cutting board can be a breeding ground for bacteria and germs if not cleaned properly. Similarly, practically any cutting board can be very safe if you simply take the extra time to clean it. Choose your cutting board bases not solely on sanitation, but how easy it is to use, how easy it is to clean, and how well it matching both the décor of your kitchen and your cooking style.

Anne Clarke writes numerous articles for websites on gardening, parenting, fashion, cooking, and home decor. Her background includes teaching and gardening. For more of her articles on cooking supplies, please visit Vermont Cutting Boards.

Basic Seasonings
Seasoning is basically the process of adding flavors, or, otherwise, enhancing the natural flavor of food. You probably already know all the common American seasonings: salt, pepper, herbs, and spices. Interestingly enough, many of these are also used in Chinese cooking.

One of the most important things in Chinese cooking is to add the ingredients or use the seasoning in a particular order. Adding different seasonings at different times than when intended can result in a meal that does not taste exactly how you wanted. So, remember the basic rule: Be careful with your seasoning!

Also, it’s important to remember that, in many cases, seasoning can be added according to taste. For example, if you like your food really salty, it is sometimes good to add a little bit more salt according to how you like it. When making Chinese cooking, experimentation is not only encouraged, but expected! So, play around with the seasoning to find out exactly what you like best.

Seasoning can be divided into two basic classes: solid and liquid. The names describe the state of the particularly seasoning. If it can be held and grasped, it’s a solid seasoning. If it flows in your hand and is poured out of a bottle, it’s a liquid seasoning.

Solid Seasoning
Five of the most common Chinese herbal seasonings or spices are fennel seeds, star anise, cinnamon sticks, peppercorns, and cloves. These are staples in Chinese cooking that have been used throughout the centuries. In fact, the famous five-spice powder is created through a combination of these five seasonings. Five-spice powder is most famous because it is a representation of the basic five flavors in Chinese – sweet, sour, bitter, pungent, and salty. Many recipes for five-spice powder include an equal amount of each ingredient, but some have more of one than the other in order to specifically identify one taste.

Aside from the Chinese seasonings are a variety of common known solid seasonings. Salt, for example, is used on nearly everything and can be found relatively easily.

Pepper, as well, is very common and can be bought for a cheap price. You should keep in mind that there is a huge difference between different kinds of peppers. If a recipe calls for black pepper, it’s usually a good idea to use black pepper and not white pepper, unless you know what you are doing.

A bunch of different solid seasonings can be bought in the store in crushed or diced form. These are usually sold in small jars or containers. There are an insane number of companies that make their own crushed seasoning, so just remember they’re out there. A quick example of an American-made seasoning you probably know would be Mrs. Dash. These seasonings work similarly to the other solid seasonings in that they serve to enhance the original flavor of meals.

Liquid Seasonings
Mostly everyone has heard of the most common type of Chinese liquid seasoning – soy sauce. Similar to the pre-made seasoning from above, soy sauces are produced by a variety of different companies. These companies try to differentiate between each other by slightly changing the formula, like Coke and Pepsi, but they all taste relatively the same. Like many things in Chinese cooking, it all depends on your personal tastes to say which soy sauce is the best.

Soy sauce is made from fermented soybeans, wheat, salt, and water. There are two kinds: light and dark. Light soy sauce is fairly think in texture and lighter in flavor. The darker kind will often have caramel added to it, and is much sweeter and thicker.

The second most common type of liquid seasoning would be sesame oil. Sesame oil is oil made from sesame seeds. It is made from roasted seeds and has an amber color, with a rich full flavor.

Other types of liquid seasoning include rice cooking wine, chili paste with garlic, and chili oil.

Seasonings are used to accentuate food – to create an overabundance of flavor and insight the senses. Remember to experiment a lot with your own mixture of seasonings to figure the flavors that are right for you.

It is important to consider two things before you start cutting. These are buying the right Chinese cleaver, and holding it with a proper grip. These two things can have a significant impact on the effectiveness of your cutting skills, so it’s recommended that you read more about these in the follow two sections.

Buying the Right Cleaver
In choosing the right Chinese cleaver, it’s important to decide what you are going to cut. Will it be a thick meat or some meat with bones? If so, it’s important that you use only use a heavy weight cleaver – a light or medium weight cleaver simply will not cut through thick objects without significant damage to the knife. On the other hand, if you only need a cleaver to do some light cutting – slicing, dicing, or peeling – a light weight cleaver is ideal due to its light weight size. Of course, the medium weight cleaver is the most popular cleaver; combining the ability for light cutting with the power of the heavy cleavers, the medium weight cleaver offers the best of both worlds. Thus, for people learning how to cook, the medium weight cleaver is the best choice for them to buy.

Whatever cleaver you choose, it’s important to get a cleaver that is made from high-carbon stainless steel. There is absolutely no alternative to a quality cleaver made from high-carbon stainless steel. These cleavers provide a comfortable feel, nice weight distribution, and are easy to clean and sharpen.

Other, inexpensive, cleavers are made from traditional carbon steel or, simply low quality stainless steel. These cleavers, however, have huge drawbacks: carbon steel cleavers are easy to sharpen but will rust and discolor acidic foods. As you can imagine, there is nothing worse than seeing rust and discoloration on your meals – simply put, it’s disgusting. On the other hand, stainless steels cleavers are opposed to rust, but are extremely hard to sharpen. Again, it’s very difficult to make your meals properly with a dulled blade. High-carbon stainless steel cleavers eliminate BOTH of these problems and are clean, rust proof, and easy to sharpen. Everyone who regularly cooks will tell you the same thing; high-carbon stainless steel cleavers are the perfect cleavers. So remember – there is NO substitute for a good Chinese cleaver!

How to Grip a Cleaver
Now that you’ve got your Chinese cleaver, it’s important to learn how to hold it. This is a key idea as an improper grip can lead to accidents (both painful and not) and can also cause your hand to begin hurting due to stress. Thus, the idea is to use the cleaver in a way that feels comfortable, but also gives you as much power as possible. As such, there is only grip that chefs around the world suggest as the “proper” grip.

With your writing hand, hold the cleaver by its handle. Then, move the hand all the way up the cleaver’s handle. Move your thumb onto one side of the cleaver’s blade near the thickest part of the cleaver. Move your index finger to the side opposite of your thumb. With your other three fingers, grip the top part of the cleaver’s handle. Thus, only three fingers of your hand should be holding the handle, with the other two fingers on the actual cleaver blade body itself. While it may seem a little uncomfortable at first, it’s important that you practice using this grip as it allows the highest amount of control, but doesn’t end up tiring your arm.

There is nothing quite like a good, juicy steak cooked on a grill. But, many people don’t know grilling secrets such as the best cuts to use, what size they should be, how long to cook the steaks, and marinades to use.
Choosing the correct cut of meat is very important when grilling. Some of the best steaks for grilling are the premium cuts such as:

Filet Mignon – The filet mignon is a stylish cut taken from the heart of the beef tenderloin that has outstanding taste as well as texture.

Top Sirloin – The top sirloin is a juicy cut taken from the center of the sirloin – the tenderest part – and a great cut for grilling.

T-Bone – The t-bone is a succulent cut that is a favorite of steak fans. It is both a strip sirloin (with the bone) and a tender filet mignon.

New York Strip (sometimes known as Kansas City Strip) – The New York strip is such an excellent cut for grilling, many grilling experts refer to it as the “ultimate” steak for cooking out.

Porterhouse – The Porterhouse is a very large steak that is actually a combination of two steaks: the New York strip on one side and a tender filet on the other.

Rib Eye – Another classic cut, the rib eye has marbling throughout the meat – making it one of the juiciest cuts as well as very tender.
Thickness of the steak is very important. Each cut should be between 1 inch and 1 ½ inches thick. The strip steaks and top sirloin should be a little less expensive than the filet mignon, t-bone, porterhouse, and rib eye.

Many people like to marinate their steaks before cooking. You can purchase marinades in the grocery store (A1 brand offers several different types) or make your own. If you are not opposed to using alcohol, beer makes an excellent marinade. You can combine 1 12-ounce can of beer, ½ cup of chili sauce, ¼ up of salad oil, 2 teaspoons of soy sauce, 2 gloves of crushed garlic, and 1 teaspoon of Dijon mustard. Let that simmer for 30 minutes over a medium heat. Marinate your meat in the mixture overnight in the refrigerator to tenderize and allow the meat to absorb the flavor. You can also brush your meat with the marinade as you cook. Another great homemade marinade includes 1 ½ cup of steak sauce, 1 tablespoon of soy sauce, 1/3 cup of Italian salad dressing, 1/3 cup of honey, and ½ teaspoon of garlic powder.

Many people prefer to use a rub on their steaks rather than marinate them. A rub is a combination of spice and herbs that is rubbed on the meat about an hour before grilling. It adds a great flavor to the meat, but is quicker than marinade as it does not require the overnight soaking. An excellent recipe for a rub that will give your steaks a smoky flavor is 1 tablespoon of chili powder, onion powder, garlic powder, cumin, cracked black pepper, white pepper, and kosher salt plus 2 teaspoons of oregano, 1 teaspoon of coriander, and ½ teaspoon of cayenne pepper. If you use a rub, be sure to rub the mixture into the cut of meat, not just daub it across the top.

There are other options for cooking steaks other than marinades and rubs. Many times, filet mignons are served wrapped in bacon (held on by a skewer) or you can cut your steak and combine it on a skewer with vegetables like peppers, squash, and onion to make a shish kabob.

Coat your grill with non-stick kitchen spray before you begin to keep your steaks from sticking to the grill. Preheat your grill before placing your steaks on. Resist the temptation to put your steaks on before the grill is properly preheated. The proper temperature for grilling steaks should be around 550 degrees Fahrenheit. Trim any excess fat from the side of the cut to prevent flare-ups and curling when grilling.

You should only turn your steaks once on the grill to prevent drying them out. How long you will cook your steak depends on how well you want it cooked. You can use a grilling fork with a digital thermometer to see how well done your steak is. If you want your steak rare, the temperature should be no more than 150 degrees when done. If you want medium, the temperature should be no more than 160 degrees when done. Finally, if you want well done, you should have a temperature of at least 170 degrees.

After grilling your steak, allow it to set for five minutes before serving to let the juices settle. Serve with a baked potato, salad or other side dish and enjoy!

About The Author: Mike Sullivan is a grill master and meat lover. Read his most recent report on How To Marinate Steaks to put the most flavor into your next steak meal. http://www.buy-steaks-online.net.