You have watched others do the cooking countless times when you were still a kid.  But, when you try to do the cooking yourself, you might find that even though, looking easy, you still need to practice the basics.  The problem with cooking basics is that not everybody thinks of teaching that to you.

Techniques to master to take you to the next cooking level

Master basic knife skills. Practice on an onion.  Onions are the basis of many a fine recipe.  Learning to chop an onion sufficiently will shorten your cooking preparation time.  Once you’ve mastered the onion, you can start practising other knife skills.

 

 

 

How to boil an egg to perfection. The duration of boiling the egg depends on how runny or firm you need the yolk to be.  For soft boiled, bring a pot of water to the boil; gently lower each egg into the water with a spoon.  Cook for three to five minutes.  For hard boiled eggs; start the cooking process in cold water.  Bring to the boil and cook for seven to ten minutes.  Plunge eggs in cold water as soon as the cooking time is done.

How to cook rice. Rice is an everyday staple for most people and it deserves to be prepared properly.  Rinse your rice with cold water for 3 times, this is to clear it of all starch.  Put your rice in a pot and cover it with about a fingertip of water.  Bring to the boil, turn down the heat and put the lid on the rice pot.  Cook it for 10 minutes.  Your rice would have absorbed all the water and should be fluffy and white.

 

How to brown meat. To keep meat succulent and juicy when cooking, you need to seal it first.  Browning is a simple technique of briefly pan-frying the meat until the outside is seared and sealed.  This gives a richer flavour and the meat will stay tender while cooking further.

This is only a few techniques that you can learn.  There are much more and all can be found on the internet through videos by famous chefs or even by reading tips in a recipe book.