Cooking secrets you'd like revealed

[DarylDixonsHair]

How to make crispy vegetable fritters that you can grab one corner and pick up and eat. Mine are always a soggy, floppy mess that need to be eaten with a spoon.

Crispy veg fritters - agreed with PP that gram flour is much better and make sure the oil is hot when you fry. There's a lush Miguel Barclay courgette and sweet corn recipe that doesn't use any liquid and we eat a lot in our house!

Easiest stew in the world: fry some onions in oil, meanwhile flour some beef 500g (shin is best, skirt is next best but bog standard stewing steak works fine too). Brown off meat. Add a can of Campbell’s condensed celery soup, half a can of water, season and stir. Stick in a cool oven (160 degrees) for 2 hours. Easy peasy

@Sogoodfeelssobad if you google Jamie Oliver's butter chicken. Theres a version he does with an Indian woman . Its a little bit of hassle and I sub the chickpea flour for ground almonds but it is unbelievably good. We had butter chicken from a take away place the other day and my husband said mine was nicer and he's always brutally honest!

Also for whoever's mentioned the stew... Donal skehan does a lovely beef and Guinness stew. Serve it with buttery mash and its absolutely gorgeous.

Blueberry muffins like in Costa. Mine always come out soggy.

@sittingonacornflake
How to make sweet potato fries crispy when baked in the oven

Ooh I actually know this! Zap in the microwave on a plate for a couple of mins then tip them onto a kitchen roll to dry then (whilst heating an oven tray &oil in the oven) toss them in tapioca flour and tap/rub off the excess so there is just a fine dusting on them then throw them into the hot baking tray & shake to get as many sides covered in oil as possible & then back into the hot oven, turning a couple of times.

Agree re Thai curry paste. It comes down to having the right ingredients - if you can get fresh lemongrass, kaffir lime leaves, galangal, it's worth doing a big batch.

My mother would clutch her pearls if she heard talk of water in Yorkshires. Blasphemy!

I’d like to know the secret of making a cake that doesn’t burn around the edges but actually cooks in the middle. I suppose it’s the oven as I could make a cracking cake in the oven in our last rented house. Burnt edges are a regular occurrence in this house now

@Quitthat buy some non stick oven liners, they are wonderful and nothing sticks to them.

How to make sweet n sour sauce from a Chinese

I have a feeling I wouldn’t like the answer given the colour of the sauce tbh....

Sounds like your oven is too hot!

@ShirleyPhallus it was in Good food mag this month.

Re Yorkshires...an extra egg and smoking go fat. You gotta be quick and brave. Don't put the tin on the oven door when your pour.

I tend to get my meat from Morrison's or waitrose. Sirloin is my preferred cut. I do like a rib eye in a restaurant.

I probably take it out the fridge 5-10 mins before cooking, I take it that's not long enough?

For steak - sous vide is your friend. Perfect medium rare all the way through then griddle both sides to char edges and fat.

Half an hour minimum. Heat the pan until it's as hot as you dare, as Delia says, and sear both sides. Turn heat down slightly if the steak needs more cooking to be cooked to your liking. Marinating steak in oil, red wine vinegar, herbs and garlic or at least rubbing it with garlic improves the flavour. A bit of butter added to the pan when it's nearly cooked helps too.

Strawberry Pancakes .I have a Slow Cooker ,but if you have a casserole that is similar .I normally put in about 1/2pint to 3/4pint water .That is plenty . Check now and then add more if needed (I dont think it will be)Towards the end (about 3/4 hour) check water, and take lid off cook .Also Lea and Perrins Worcester Sauce ,a couple of Oxo cubes and a good pinch of salt /pepper as well .This to around about 1 pound to 2 pounds of meat .Also Delia Smith has some great recipes free online and her Beef in Beer is gorgeous!

Sticky rice - you can also use jasmine rice (as well as the specific sticky kind sold in the supermarkets).

Boil rice as usual until cooked. Drain it thoroughly and return it to the saucepan and then cover the saucepan with a piece of kitchen roll, then put the pan lid on the top and push down so that it is really firmly sealed. The kitchen roll absorbs the steam and stops a build-up of condensation on the pan lid from dripping back down onto the rice. Leave it to stand for 15 minutes and then take the lid off - voila; sticky rice.

@Janaih

I probably take it out the fridge 5-10 mins before cooking, I take it that's not long enough?

No, not long enough. I usually take it out at least an hour before because you want the chill to be totally gone before cooking.

Yorkshire Puddings.

I can only make these in a pyrex measuring jug, but this never fails me.

Plain flour up to the 6 fl oz mark
Good pinch of salt
Beat in 1 egg
Beat in 1 more egg
Slowly add in water, and beat the mixture up, you need to keep adding water and beating, adding and beating until you've got 1/2 pint of mixture, then add a bit more water until your mixture is about to same consistency of double cream.

Put your mixture in the fridge for at least 1/2 an hour, longer if possible.

Then, put your pudding tray in the oven (190°) and heat your oil for about 30 mins - I use trex, or if I'm feeling posh then I use goose fat. Oil needs to be HOT!!

Pour the mix in the tin, shut the door and Do. Not. Open. The. Oven. Door. For. 30. Minutes.

You will be rewarded with HUGE puffy crispy puds.

You're welcome

@Strawberrypancakes Chinese black bean sauce add a tablespoon or so to your stew, don’t ask me why but it works!

For egg fried rice....I bought some sesame and wok oil from Lidl a few months back and it makes such a difference in the taste of I’m making a stir fry

There's a great book by Kenny McGovern called "The Takeaway Secret"
Highly recommended.

As for chippy chips? Undercook them, leave for ages in a warm environment until really soggy.

Love to cook but how to roast really tender and flavoursome beef completely eludes Mine always tastes dry and/or tough and chewy : (

Strawberry pancakes - a bottle/can Guinness is my secret stew magic ingredient