| How to Use Curry Powder Posted: 14 Jul 2020 05:00 PM PDT Curry powder is a flavorful spice made of turmeric, ginger, coriander, and several others. To use curry powder in your cooking, pick out dishes that cook slowly and add other spices in with the curry powder to get the best flavor. You can even make your own curry powder to customize it to your taste buds. Curry powder is often used to make soups, sauces, and seasonings, giving you endless options for your next curry meal. [Edit]Getting the Best Flavor from Curry Powder - Choose curry powders without turmeric as the main ingredient for the best flavor. Check the ingredients list to see if turmeric is listed first. If turmeric is listed as the first ingredient, this means that it's very turmeric-heavy. Turmeric tends to have a bland taste, and it's usually used in such a large amount for its color. If you want curry powder that's going to be super flavorful, look for brands that don't have turmeric listed as the first ingredient.[1]
- If your curry powder does have turmeric listed first, you can still use it, just don't depend on it for your main source of flavor.
- McCormick makes a good regular curry powder that can be found in most grocery stores.
- Opt for a specialty curry powder like Spiceology's Thai Peanut Sweet and Spicy Curry Blend, or Mountain Rose Herbs' Curry Powder Blend that's organic.
- Use curry powder for slower cooking dishes if possible. Curry powder has the best flavor when it's allowed to set for a while with other ingredients while cooking for at least 20 minutes. This includes dishes that simmer for a while on the stove or that are cooked using a crockpot. If you're trying to whip up a meal quickly, maybe save the curry powder for later.[2]
- An exception to this would be if you're using curry powder as a dry rub.
- Try using curry powder in dishes like butter chicken with curry powder used as part of a marinade, or pasta where the curry powder is infused into the boiling water.
- If you made a dish that contains curry powder and have leftovers, let them sit in the fridge and the food will be even more flavorful.
- Mix curry powder into a liquid for the best results. This helps the curry powder absorb into the dish fully, providing the richest flavor. Use recipes including liquids like coconut milk, yogurt, stock, or even water, measuring out the curry powder and sprinkling it into the liquid.[3]
- This is great for marinades, soups, and sauces especially.
- Avoid relying on curry powder to be the main flavor. If you use curry powder as your main spice, or especially your only spice, you might be a little disappointed by the flavor of your dish. Curry powder works best when it's mixed with other flavorful spices and foods so that it's not the main flavor.[4]
- Use curry powder with onions and garlic for a great flavor.
- Other spices often used with curry powder include ginger, coriander, cumin, and crushed red pepper flakes.
- Make your own curry powder to customize it to your taste buds. Store-bought curry powders often all differ slightly due to the large amount of ingredients in them. To create a curry powder with the right amount of each spice best for you, make your own by measuring out the different ingredients and mixing them together using a whisk or similar kitchen tool.[5]
- Most of the spices found in curry powder, such as turmeric, coriander, sesame seeds, cumin, nutmeg, and several others, are easy to find at your local grocery store.
[Edit]Choosing Curry Entrees - Cook chicken curry for a classic curry powder dish. This is one of the most popular meals using curry powder. Cook ingredients like onions, garlic, tomatoes, and the curry powder in a large saucepan before adding the chicken. By adding a little water, your chicken curry will become juicier as it soaks up the spices.[6]
- Some chicken curry recipes leave out curry powder, opting instead for many of the ingredients that make up curry powder. Check the recipe to make sure it includes curry powder, or look online for special recipes by typing "chicken curry recipe with curry powder" into an online search engine.
- Make curried rice for a great side dish. Curried rice has a yummy flavor and takes few ingredients, turning bland white rice into a delicious side. Add uncooked rice and curry powder to a saucepan with ingredients in it like onions and garlic, cooking them until the rice becomes fluffy.[7]
- Curried rice goes well with seafood or other meat.
- Feel free to alter any recipe you're following to add more or less curry powder depending on your preferences, if desired.
- Create curry grilled shrimp for a yummy seafood dish. Toss fresh shrimp in a bowl full of curry powder and other spices like cayenne and coriander, adding olive oil so the spices stick to the shrimp. You can bake, fry, or grill the shrimp until they're white and ready to be eaten.[8]
- Serve the curry grilled shrimp with white rice or a light salad.
[Edit]Spicing up Traditional Dishes - Add curry powder to soups for a boost of flavor. Curry squash soup has a smooth creamy texture while curry chicken soup is more of a broth. Curry powder is an ingredient in many different types of soups, so find a kind of soup including curry powder that you think you'd like and follow the recipe.[9]
- Curried Lentil Soup is a popular choice, and curry powder is used to add flavor to pumpkin soup as well.
- Tomato coconut curry soup is a good option, as is a Thai curry soup.
- Use curry powder as a dry rub for pork or other meat. If you're getting ready to grill or bake some meat, especially pork or chicken, use curry powder to give it flavor. Pat the raw meat with the spice, covering it evenly. Cook the meat thoroughly before enjoying the taste.[10]
- You can also turn the curry powder dry rub into a marinade by adding things like oil and lime juice.
- Season vegetables with curry powder for a delicious taste. Either sauté your vegetables in a curry sauce, or sprinkle oil and curry powder onto the vegetables before baking or frying them. The curry powder adds a nice kick to the vegetables, giving them great flavor.[11]
- Season foods like green beans, peppers, or potatoes.
- Add other spices like salt and pepper for an even better taste.
- Mix together a curry sauce to put on meat or tofu. There are tons of different sauces that use curry as one of their main sources of flavor, giving them a slightly spicy taste. Pick a sauce like coconut curry sauce or tomato curry sauce, adding it to meat or tofu.[12]
- Make a curry mayo to add to a burger.
- Create a curry powder soy sauce to add flavor to tofu.
- You can also add curry sauces to meats like chicken and pork.
- Avoid adding too much curry powder to your dishes. It's best to add too little than too much, or the flavor might become overpowering.
[Edit]References [Edit]Quick Summary |
| How to Play Mahjong Posted: 14 Jul 2020 09:00 AM PDT Mahjong is a strategy game that originated in China. It's similar to rummy, but it's played with tiles instead of cards. Generally, you play with 4 people, though you can play with 3 as well. The goal is to form 4 melds and a pair, creating mahjong. You'll find there are many variations of mahjong, so these rules aren't definitive. You should always defer to the rules of the people you're playing with. [Edit]Learning the Tiles - Find a set of mahjong tiles. A set consists of 144 tiles. You can find these sets online at a variety of price points, so don't worry, you won't need to shell out a lot of money if you don't want to! You should also be able to find them at gaming stores.[1]
- Keep in mind that different versions of the game have a different number of tiles. Some only have 136, for instance.
- Some sets are very expensive because they are hand carved!
- Learn the suit tiles first. The game uses 3 suits for the main part of gameplay, which are dot/circles, Chinese characters, and bamboo. These function much like suits in a deck of cards. Each suit has 4 identical sets of 9 tiles. There are 108 of these tiles in total.[2]
- The suits tiles will have numbers, 1-9, and like playing cards, each tile will have a corresponding amount of the respective symbol, except for the character suit, which has the Chinese character for the number. The number 1 tile for bamboo is a bird, typically an owl or a peacock.
- Use honor tiles like suit tiles. Honor tiles are special tiles. Honor tiles show red and green dragons or the 4 winds. You can use these almost like suit tiles in that you can match them to make "melds," 3-of-a-kind or 4-of-a-kind.[3]
- You'll have 16 wind tiles, 4 each of east, south, west, and north, which you play in that order: remember "eat soy with noodles." They typically have the first letter of the word in the upper left-hand corner.
- The dragons are usually represented by Chinese characters, but they'll also have a "C," "F," or "P/B" on them instead of the numbers 1-9 like the suit tiles. You get 4 sets of the same 3 tiles.[4]
- Decide whether you will use the bonus tiles. Bonus tiles show seasons and flowers. Typically, you include these tiles in Chinese and Korean versions of Mahjong, but not always in American or Japanese versions. You can't use these to make melds, but they can give you extra points in your hand at the end.[5]
- The pictures on these tiles vary by set. A set might have plum, orchid, chrysanthemum, and bamboo flowers, 1 of each. Then, it will have 1 tile for each season. You might also have 4 blank tiles, which can be used as jokers.[6]
[Edit]Starting a Round - Roll a set of dice to see who will be the East Wind. The East Wind is the dealer for that game. Whoever rolls the highest on 2 dice is designated as the East Wind. The West Wind is across from the East Wind, while the North Wind is to the East's left and the South is to the East's Right.[7]
- The person to the right of the East Wind, the South Wind, goes first.[8]
- Place the tiles face-down to shuffle them and deal. Set all the tiles in the middle of the table and turn them upside-down. Mix them around with your hands to shuffle the tiles. The East Wind can decide when the tiles are shuffled enough.[9]
- Have the East Wind deal 13 tiles to each person. The East Wind deals 1 tile to each player at a time. When each player has 13, stop dealing. You'll have tiles leftover. Just leave them in the middle in a group, as you'll draw from them throughout the game. Line up the tiles facing you to form your hand.[10]
- In traditional mahjong, you make a wall of tiles in front of each player before dealing, 36 tiles each in stacks of 2. Then you push all the walls together to form a square. The East Wind throws 2 dice, then counts from the right to that point in the wall and pushes 2 stacks of tiles forward to put in their hand. Players take turns pulling out stacks, 2 stacks at a time until they reach 12 each. Then, the East takes 2 tiles and the other 3 players take a single tile.[11]
- Pass tiles using the "Charleston" rule in American mahjong. This rule is a variant, and it's typically only used in the American version. It's divided into 3 parts. You must do the Charleston the first time. All you do is take 3 tiles from your hand that you want to discard and pass them to the right, called the first pass. Then you do the same with the person across from you (second pass) and then for the person to your left (third pass). If everyone agrees, you can do the whole process a second time, but if 1 person says "no," you don't.[12]
- On the third pass, you can use a "blind" pass, meaning you can move 1-3 tiles that are passed to you on to the next person without looking at them. Make sure you still pass 3, making up the extra from your hand.
- You can also do a courtesy pass at the end, where the players across from each agree to exchange 1-3 tiles. This is optional, and both players must agree on the pass, stating how many tiles they want to exchange. Whichever number is lower is the one used.
[Edit]Playing a Round - Let the South Wind draw and discard a tile to start the round. The South Wind can pick up a tile and look it. If they want to keep it, they must discard a tile from their hand. Otherwise, they can discard the one they picked up. When picking up a tile from the wall, you continue from the point where you stopped when the tiles were dealt and keep moving in the same direction; if you have a pile, just take any tile from the pile.[13]
- To decide whether to keep a tile, check to see if it matches any tiles in your hand. You're trying to form melds, which includes 3-of-a-kind, 4-of-a-kind, and straights.
- If you used the wall method of dealing tiles, then the East has 14 tiles. In that case, the East Wind can discard a tile to start the game, which anyone can claim. [14]
- Allow the South Wind to discard the tile and say the name. Every time you pick up a tile, either one a person has discarded or one from the draw pile, you must discard a tile from your hand. Place the tile on the table, and then say the name of the tile so that others can claim it.[15]
- Discarded tiles just go into the middle of the table. You can line them up if you wish.
- Claim a tile as it's discarded if it fits one of your melds. If the tile completes a pong, meaning you already have the other 2 tiles in your hand, you can say "pong" and claim the discarded tile. Similarly, you can claim the tile if it completes a kong or chow in your hand, and you say it aloud when you claim it. Then, you must show the meld and put it on the table to prove it.[16] This type of claiming goes in the order of players with one exception: if the tile would allow a player to win mahjong, they get the tile.[17]
- Some variations only allow you to claim the third tile of a chow from the person directly before you.
- If you've played a 3-tile pong on the table, you can't claim the fourth tile, though you can play it if you draw it from the wall/draw pile.
- You can play a whole game without showing any melds from your hand, which is called "concealed melds," but you can't claim any discarded tiles. Not showing melds gives you extra points. Melds laid on the table are called "exposed melds."
- Pick up a tile from the draw pile to play if you don't want a discarded tile. If no one claims the discarded tile, then the next player to the right of the person discarding picks up a tile from the draw pile/wall. Once you rack a tile, no one can claim the previously discarded tile.[18]
- If you've picked up a tile and looked at but haven't racked it yet, someone can still claim the discarded tile. In that case, you need to put the tile you picked up back where it came from.
- Continue in the order of players to the right. Once someone claims a discarded tile, play goes to the right of that player, even if they weren't the next player in line to go. Whenever a discarded tile is claimed, the turn skips to that person, and then play continues from them.[19]
- If you are mainly drawing tiles, then play just goes from person to person.
- Replace a joker with a tile from your hand on your turn. If someone lays down a meld with a joker and you have the tile that replaces the joker, you can put down the tile. Then, you can claim the joker to use in your hand.[20]
- You do this on your turn after you've picked up and racked a tile.
- Work on forming melds. Melds are sets of tiles you play together. You can play 3 of the same tile ("pongs") or 4 of the same tile ("kongs"). These tiles can be suits, honor tiles, or bonus tiles. You can also play 3 numbers in a row, called a chow.[21]
- These are similar to 3-of-a-kind, 4-of-a-kind, and a run or a straight in rummy.
- In some versions, you can only have 1 chow in your hand. Chows do not give you points at the end, but they contribute to forming mahjong.
- When you lay out melds, place the long ends next to each other and group them in front of you.
- The only time you "play" a meld is when you claim a discarded tile, as you have to show your meld then. Otherwise, you wait until you call mahjong to reveal your melds, much like gin rummy.
- Make a mahjong with 4 melds and a pair. The mahjong hand uses all the tiles in your hand, which is 13, plus 1 you won't discard. You'll need 4 melds, which can be a combination of pongs, kongs, and chows, plus 1 pair. Any bonus tiles will also give you points.[22]
- For instance, you might have 2 melds that are 3-of-a-kind and 1 that's a run of 3, plus a pair.
[Edit]Winning and Scoring - Say "I'm calling" when you're 1 tile away from mahjong. That lets the other players know they only have a limited time to beat you. Other players can call on their turn, too, after you've made the call.[23]
- Show your hand and say "mahjong" when you complete the set. You need to have all of your melds and your pair in place before you say mahjong. If you don't actually have mahjong, then you are disqualified for the rest of the game.[24]
- Play continues without that player if the hand is disqualified.
- Score just the winning hand. While there are many variations for how you can calculate scores, the easiest way is to just count the winning hand. Mahjong is played over many rounds, so points will add up over those rounds.[25]
- If you don't want to score only the winning hand, then you score each person's hand essentially the same, but the mahjong hand gets an extra 20 points.[26]
- Apply points based on the tiles in the winning hand. Chows don't score any points. A pong gets 2 points if it's exposed or 4 if it's concealed, while a pong of 1s and 9s, dragons, or winds is worth 4 if exposed and 8 if concealed. Kongs are worth 8 (exposed) and 16 (concealed) or 16 and 32 if they use 1s and 9s, dragons, or winds.[27]
- Each flower or season gets 4 points, while a pair dragons or your own wind gets 2 points.
- Play 4 rounds of 4 hands each. Typically, a game of mahjong consists of 4 rounds. Within each round, you play 4 "hands." With each hand, you play until someone gets mahjong. During this time, you rotate who deals and even the seating positions.[28]
- Notice what other players discard so you know what to keep. If a player keeps discarding a certain suit, for instance, you know they don't want that in their hand. Therefore, it's safe to discard that suit, as you won't be giving them the tile they need. You can also try discarding the same tile when possible.[29]
- If you want to play Mahjong for money, you must agree on a monetary equivalent for each point. Everyone pays the winner at the end, based on the number of points they win.
[Edit]Related wikiHows [Edit]References [Edit]Quick Summary |
| How to Broil Chicken Breasts Posted: 14 Jul 2020 01:00 AM PDT Chicken is a nutritious and versatile food that pairs well with just about any side you can think of. Chicken breasts can be prepared in a number of ways to achieve a variety of different flavors, textures, and presentations. One of the easiest and most straightforward ways to prepare chicken breasts is to broil them. This produces a crispy, tender, and flavorful meal for you and your family or friends to enjoy. [Edit]Ingredients - 4 chicken breasts
- 5 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 3 tsp salt
- 2 tsp ground pepper
[Edit]Defrosting and Seasoning the Chicken - Defrost the chicken breasts in the fridge for at least 5 hours. The best way to defrost any type of frozen meat is to place it in the refrigerator and let it thaw out over several hours. If you don't have time to leave the chicken in the fridge this long, you can defrost it in cold water for 2-3 hours or use a microwave if you're in a pinch.
- Using the refrigerator is safer than other options because it prevents the chicken from being exposed to bacteria that can grow in warmer temperatures. It also helps the chicken maintain its flavor.[1]
- If you've bought your chicken breast fresh (unfrozen), you can skip the defrosting step altogether.
- Mix 5 tbsp of olive oil, 3 tsp of salt, and 2 tsp of pepper in a bowl. Stir these ingredients thoroughly together with a spoon or brush.[2] You may also choose to add additional herbs and spices, such as garlic, thyme, or fennel, to your mixture for extra taste and texture.
- The olive oil adds flavor to the chicken and helps the seasonings adhere better to each breast.
- Rub the mixture into the chicken using your hands or a pastry brush. Coat each chicken breast as thoroughly as possible before cooking and take your time with each one.[3]
- Once you've coated each chicken breast, you can sprinkle additional salt, pepper, and other seasonings over the chicken for added flavor.
- Coat a large cooking sheet with a nonstick spray. Saturate the sheet evenly, using plenty of spray. If the chicken sticks to the sheet while it's broiling, you may lose some of the seasoning and flavor.
- Alternatively, you can spread a very thin layer of olive oil over the sheet.[4]
- Place the chicken breasts on the cooking sheet a few inches apart. Make sure the chicken breasts aren't touching each other. Each breast should be exposed to the heat of the broiler while it cooks.[5]
- Spacing the chicken breasts a few inches apart also makes turning them over during the cooking process easier.
[Edit]Cooking the Chicken in the Broiler - Place the oven rack about from the heat source. There should be some space between the chicken and the broiling element in your oven to prevent the outside of the chicken from burning.
- The thicker the chicken breasts, the farther they should be from the broiler.[6] So, if you have larger chicken breasts, you'll want to lower the rack a couple of inches to accommodate the extra thickness.
- Preheat the oven's broiler about 5 minutes before cooking. Most ovens only have 2 broiler settings: on and off.[7] If your broiler has multiple settings, use the lower setting.
- Put the cooking sheet with the seasoned chicken under the broiler. You may want to use oven mitts to avoid burning your hands. Keep in mind that you're cooking with direct heat and the oven will be very hot.[8]
- Place the pan in the center of the oven rack for the best results.
- Broil the chicken for about 10 minutes, leaving the oven door ajar. You don't want to have the door completely open, but leave a small gap to help vent steam out of the oven.[9]
- Too much steam can prevent the outside of the chicken from crisping (which is part of the point of broiling in the first place).
- Watch the chicken breasts carefully as they cook. You may choose to place aluminum foil around the edges of the chicken breasts if they begin to brown to prevent burning on the thinner parts of the chicken.[10]
- Broilers are extremely hot and chicken can easily burn if it's not monitored. The size of the chicken breasts and the temperature of your broiler can impact cooking time.
- Turn the chicken over with metal tongs when one side has browned. Generally, it will take about 10 minutes for the chicken to be ready to turn. The chicken breasts should be golden brown on top. Use long metal tongs to avoid burning your hands under the hot broiler.[11]
- It's best not to use a fork or other sharp object to turn the chicken breasts. Piercing the chicken can cause the juices to escape and make your chicken dry and less flavorful.
- Brush the chicken with additional olive oil and seasoning. This keeps the chicken moist, even while it's being broiled at extreme temperatures.[12]
- Adding additional oil and seasoning also helps replace any seasoning that may have come off when you transferred the chicken onto the cooking sheet and into the oven.
- Broil the chicken for 10 more minutes or until fully cooked. Continue broiling until the juices run clear and the chicken is no longer pink in the center. Cooking times vary depending on the thickness of the meat.[13]
- To be sure the chicken is fully cooked, you can use a meat thermometer to check the chicken's internal temperature. It should be around when it's done.
- Remove the chicken and let it sit for 5 minutes before serving. Use oven mitts to remove the cooking sheet from the oven. The chicken will be extremely hot, so make sure to let it cool before enjoying it.[14]
- If your chicken breasts are too thick or uneven for convenient broiling, use a kitchen mallet to pound your chicken to be thinner and more even.
- For a healthier dish, remove the skin from your broiled chicken breasts before serving.
[Edit]Warnings - Always wash your hands with hot water and soap after you've touched raw chicken. Bacteria on your hands can be transferred to other surfaces where they can make you or your family sick if ingested.
- Don't wash your chicken breasts prior to broiling. Cooking at an appropriate heat will kill any bacteria and washing increases the chances of splashing bacteria-laden water on your countertops, stovetop, or other cooking surface.
[Edit]Things You'll Need - Bowl
- Measuring spoons
- Pastry brush
- Nonstick spray
- Cooking sheet
- Broiler
- Metal tongs
- Oven mitts
- Aluminum foil (optional)
[Edit]Related wikiHows [Edit]References [Edit]Quick Summary |
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