| How to Cook Oca Posted: 18 Oct 2021 05:00 PM PDT At first glance, you might think oca are little potatoes, but they are a separate type of tuber. However, if you manage to find some, you can cook them like potatoes, even though they are a lot smaller. To bring out the nutty flavor of oca, roast them with a little oil. For a hearty side dish, boil them and mash them or make a big stir fry with other root vegetables. [Edit]Ingredients [Edit]Roasted - of oca
- of fat like duck fat or butter
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Optional seasonings like fresh herbs, honey, mustard, or chili flakes
Makes 2 servings - of oca
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Fresh cilantro for garnish
Makes 4 servings [Edit]Stir-Fried - of sunflower oil
- of oca, thinly sliced
- piece of fresh ginger, peeled and finely sliced
- 2 birds-eye chilies, seeds removed and finely sliced
- 1 teaspoon (3 g) of sesame seeds
- Drizzle of sesame oil
- 1 tablespoon (2 g) of freshly chopped cilantro
Makes 2 servings [Edit]Roasted - Preheat the oven to and rinse of oca. Hold the oca under cold running water and gently rub them to get rid of dirt or debris.[1]
- It's really important to do this since you won't be peeling the oca. Oca skin is really thin so it won't become tough or affect the flavor as the oca roasts.
- Cut larger oca so they're the same size as smaller ones. Oca can grow between , so look at yours and cut the biggest oca so they're the same size as the smallest ones. This way they'll all roast evenly.[2]
- If you have nothing but small oca, you might not need to cut any!
- Put the oca into a baking dish and toss them with of melted fat. Choose a dish or sheet that's big enough to arrange the oca so they're in a single layer and aren't crowded. This way they won't steam as they roast. Then, drizzle of melted fat or butter over the oca and toss them until they're coated.[3]
- Look for a rimmed baking sheet so the oca don't slide off as you put the sheet in the oven.
- Mix the oca with salt, pepper, and your favorite spices or herbs. To let the flavor of the oca really shine, keep things simple and sprinkle just salt and pepper over them. Feeling more adventurous? It's easy to customize the flavor of your roasted oca. Try seasoning them with:[4]
- A drizzle of honey and balsamic vinegar
- A pinch of chili flakes
- Pesto or freshly chopped herbs like parsley and thyme
- Roast the oca for 30 to 40 minutes or until they're tender in the center. Pop your dish or sheet into the oven and bake the oca until they're browned on the outside. To test if they're done, carefully poke a knife into the center of one to see if it comes out easily.[5]
- Got tiny oca? Start checking your oca after 15 minutes since small oca cook a lot faster than bigger ones.
- If you want to refrigerate your leftover oca, toss them into an airtight container and chill them for up to 3 days.
- Rinse of oca and peel them. Use cold running water and rub the oca with your fingers to loosen dirt and debris. If you're using long oca, you can peel them with a vegetable peeler. Got tiny oca? You might want to skip the peeling step since the oca could be too tricky to handle.[6]
- The oca peels will become tender as you boil them, but your mashed oca will have more of a rustic, chunky texture than if you peeled them.
- Cut the oca into pieces that are the same size. If you've got short oca that are only about long, you don't need to cut them. Look for longer oca and cut them down so they're the same length as your smallest one. This helps them cook at the same rate.[7]
- Put the oca into a saucepan and pour enough cold water to cover them. Get out a medium-sized saucepan and put your rinsed oca into it. Then, add enough cold water to the pot to completely cover the oca by about .[8]
- Want to flavor the oca while they're boiling? Add a few hefty pinches of salt to the water so the veggies absorb it while they cook.
- Simmer the oca for 12 to 15 minutes over medium heat. Turn your burner to high so the water comes to a boil faster. Once you see large bubbles, reduce the heat to medium and let the oca simmer gently until they're completely tender.[9]
- Keep the lid off of the pot while the oca are simmering so you can adjust the temperature if the water starts to boil vigorously.
- Not sure if the oca are done? Just stick a knife or skewer into the center of one to see if it comes out easily. If not, simmer them for a few more minutes and check again!
- Set a colander in the sink and drain the oca. If you don't have a colander, that's fine—place a fine-mesh strainer in your sink. Then, wear oven mitts to pick up the saucepan and slowly pour the oca into the colander or strainer.[10]
- Put the oca into a large bowl and mash them with a potato masher. Transfer the drained oca to a serving bowl and use a vegetable masher or hand mixer to purée the oca until it's smooth.[11]
- Want even silkier mashed oca? Put the drained oca into a potato ricer. Hold it over your bowl and press down on the handle for force the oca through the tiny holes in the ricer.
- Season the mashed oca with salt, pepper, and cilantro. Oca doesn't need much to make it delicious, but a sprinkle of salt and pepper will enhance its natural flavor. For a bright garnish, drop a few sprigs of fresh cilantro on top just before you serve the mashed oca.[12]
- To get creamy, rich mashed oca, stir in a drizzle of cream or olive oil. You could also add a pat of butter to the dish before you serve it.
- Feel free to experiment! For a fresh, herbal flavor, add a sprig of freshly chopped herbs like parsley, thyme, or chives.
- Refrigerate your leftover mashed oca in an airtight container for up to 5 days.
[Edit]Stir-Fried - Heat of sunflower oil in a wok over medium-high heat. You'll probably be surprised at how quickly your stir fry comes together! Set a wok on the stove and pour in of sunflower oil. Then, turn the burner to medium-high and heat the oil until it shimmers.[13]
- Don't have sunflower oil? You can use the same amount of sesame oil instead.
- Add of sliced oca and cook them for 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Slicing the oca thinly helps it cook quickly so keep an eye on your wok. Stir the oca every few minutes as the oca cooks.[14]
- Stir in ginger, chilies, and sesame, and cook the mixture for 2 minutes. Add a thinly sliced piece of fresh ginger to your wok along with 2 sliced birds-eye chilies and 1 teaspoon (3 g) of sesame seeds. Stir the oca occasionally and cook it until you can really smell the garlic.[15]
- This doesn't take long and garlic burns easily so turn off the burner as soon as it's fragrant.
- Feel free to swap out the birds-eye chilies with any other red pepper. You can also add sliced green onions for even more flavor.
- Turn off the burner and season your stir-fry with sesame oil and fresh cilantro. To complete your oca stir-fry, drizzle a little sesame oil on top and scatter 1 tablespoon (2 g) of freshly chopped cilantro just before you serve the stir-fry.[16]
- Customize your stir-fry and add protein like diced chicken or ham. You can also add your favorite vegetables, like bok choy leaves or sliced sweet peppers.
- Put leftovers into an airtight container and refrigerate the stir-fry for up to 5 days.
- Skip peeling ocas and save a few minutes. Their flesh is really thin so the skin becomes tender as it cooks.[17]
- Having trouble finding ocas? They might be called something different in your area. Ocas are called yams in New Zealand and South America, but they're not the same as North American yams, which are sweet potatoes.[18]
[Edit]Things You'll Need [Edit]Roasted - Large bowl
- Knife and cutting board
- Roasting dish
- Oven mitts
- Medium-sized saucepan
- Knife and cutting board
- Colander or fine-mesh strainer
- Potato masher or ricer
- Serving bowl
[Edit]Stir-Fried - Knife and cutting board
- Wok
- Spoon
- Serving dish
[Edit]References |
| How to Get Fit at Home Posted: 18 Oct 2021 09:00 AM PDT Although a gym membership can be nice, you don't have to have one to get into great shape! In fact, you don't even need equipment to get fit. All you need is a little bit of time and space to yourself along with a basic workout plan. If you're struggling to fit in workout time, don't worry—you can sneak physical activity into your daily routine. [Edit]Creating an At-Home Fitness Routine - Spend 5 to 10 minutes warming up before every workout. Do a progressive aerobic activity that uses the same muscles you want to work out. For instance, slowly jog if you'll be going for a longer run. Not sure what to do? Try jumping jacks, leg or arm circles, or even dancing. Just get your blood pumping. Then, spend a few minutes stretching so you reduce the risk of injury during your workout.[1]
- Stretches can be as simple as you like. Try bending over and touching your toes, rotating your torso with your hands on your hips, or doing walking lunges.
- Aim for 30 minutes of cardio or aerobic activity 5 to 7 days a week. Aerobic activity is what gets your blood pumping and increases your heart rate which is why it improves cardiovascular fitness.[2] 10 to 30 minutes a session is a good start for beginners, but you could bump it up to a total of 300 minutes a week to really get fit.
- It's totally fine to break up your workout time into smaller sessions. For instance, if you can't do 30 minutes of cardio in a single session, aim for 3 10-minute sessions.
- Do strength training 2 times a week to build muscle. Strength training, also called resistance training, makes you stronger and builds endurance. Try to do exercises that work a lot of muscles and add weights to increase your resistance. This helps you do a harder workout every time you exercises. To start, do basic strength training exercises like squats or push-ups.[3]
- Spend 5 to 10 minutes cooling down after each workout. You might be tempted to just stop your workout when you've finished your last set or activity, but take a few minutes to do low-intensity exercises that lower your heart rate. You might drop your run into a walk or slow down your cycling, for instance.[4]
- The cooldown prevents your muscles from cramping and can prevent dizziness while you get your breathing and heart rate back down.
- Gentle cool-down stretches can also improve your range of motion.
- Schedule your workouts. It's totally normal to have great intentions of getting fit, but you might find that the day passes you by or you forget! Prioritize your fitness and make time in your daily routine for a workout so you really stick with it.[5]
- Making a schedule can help you plan which exercises to do each day. For example, you might do cardio on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, while on Tuesdays and Thursdays you do strength training.
- Set achievable goals that you can break into smaller tasks. It's one thing to say you want to get fit, but that means something different for everyone. Figure out what you plan to achieve and make that your goal. It should be specific, realistic, and meaningful. Then, break down each goal into small, actionable steps so it feels like you're making progress regularly.[6]
- For example, your goal might be to lift 50 pounds, lose 5 pounds, or run in a 5k.
- If you want to swim 10 laps and you can currently do 4, make it a smaller goal to swim an extra 2 laps within 1 week. Then, add an extra 2 laps by the following week, etc.[7]
- If your goal is to lose 10 pounds, smaller steps might include working out 5 days a week, swimming 2 days a week, and avoiding fast food.
- Write down or track your physical activity. Journaling or logging your fitness journey can help you hold yourself accountable and motivate you once your logged exercises start adding up. You can write down your progress in a notebook or type it into an app.[8]
- Highlight your successes! Make a special note if you felt more energized or you lost a few pounds, for instance.
[Edit]Trying Specific Exercise Options - Try a mix of impact and no-impact cardio. Get your heart pumping to enjoy an effective cardio or aerobic workout. Impact just means that there's some force involved in the exercise. Kickboxing, walking, and running are good examples. For non-impact cardio, try swimming or cycling. These are a little easier on your joints. Here are a few more aerobic exercises to include in your workouts:[9]
- Walking quickly or up and down the stairs
- Jogging
- Jumping rope
- Jumping jacks
- Dancing to high-energy music
- Do planks, sit-ups, and other bodyweight exercises. Want to build muscle mass without buying equipment? While planks and sit-ups work your core and abdominal muscles, exercises like squats can improve your lower-body strength. If you want to strengthen your upper-body muscles, try push-ups, crunches, or curls.[10]
- Although you can do a lot of strength training without equipment, holding dumbbells while doing exercises like squats or lunges can increase resistance and help you get more out of your workout.
- Invest in cardio equipment you can use at home. Sure, some cardio equipment takes up space, but you'll get a lot of use out of it! Get a stationary bike, rowing machine, or treadmill if you're committed to cardio at home. If you're short on space but want a good workout, pick up a jump rope and mini-trampoline.[11]
- You might see mini-trampolines called rebounders and they're great if you don't have much room in your home for cardio equipment.
- Invest in free weights or kettlebells to increase resistance. You can easily pick up some free weights like dumbbells or kettlebells at thrift stores or online. Get some in a variety of weights so you can challenge yourself as you work out. Resistance bands are another great tool to get more out of your workout.
- Don't want to buy equipment? Check your home for things you can lift. You might pick up heavy cans while strength training or use a sturdy scarf instead of an elastic resistance band.
[Edit]Sneaking in Physical Exercise - Work out as you clean to squeeze in some fitness time. Life can get busy and it might feel hard to fit in a dedicated workout, but you can still be active every day! Think about all the physical things you do around your home and try to do a few of them at a brisk pace on the days that you can't necessarily work out. You might:[12]
- Rake leaves or mow the lawn with a push mower
- Mop the floor
- Scrub the tub
- Vacuum
- Take a brisk walk and hit the stairs. Try to walk around your neighborhood 2 or 3 days a week for as long as you can. Even just a 10-minute walk can really add up! Take the stairs whenever you see them, or if you live in an apartment building, climb up and down the stairs when you start or finish your walk. This is a fantastic strength-building aerobic exercise.[13]
- To help you get up and around, figure out when you have the most energy during your day. Try to plan your walk during this window of time so you're more likely to follow through with it.
- Squeeze bursts of physical activity into short breaks. Think about all the times that you're waiting throughout the day—on the phone stuck on hold, during a commercial break, or listening to commercials on the radio. Tell yourself to get active during these breaks. You'll be surprised at how much you can accomplish![14]
- For instance, do jumping jacks or sit-ups while you wait during commercials or hold a small dumbbell and pump your arms while you talk on the phone.
- Do a stretch while you're completing a chore. Think about all the times you're doing something around your home where you're just standing in place. Maybe you're standing in front of the mirror brushing your teeth, standing in front of the stove while cooking, or standing while you fold clothes. Come up with stretches you can do while you work on those tasks so you're getting your chores done, but exercising at the same time.
- For instance, do a few squats while you brush your teeth or do calf raises while you're cooking.
- Use an app to remind you to move. Have you ever gotten to the end of your day only to realize that you weren't very active? To prevent this, install an app that sends you reminders throughout the day to do physical activities. You can usually set up how often you'd like notifications. Some of these apps give exercise options, too which can make it more fun.[15]
- For example, simple apps might go off every few hours to remind you to get up and walk for a few minutes while others might alert you and tell you to do basic stretches. You might program yours to go off every 2 hours, so you can get up and do 5 minutes of cardio stretches, for instance.
- Make your errands more active. If you've got a day full of running errands, it's probably tempting to drive and grab the closest parking spots. Instead, think of ways you can treat errands like a workout—bike or walk if possible or take the bus and walk to different businesses. If you're driving, park further away from the store so you get more walking in.[16]
- Skip the elevator or escalator and take the stairs instead.
- Start a garden to get physical activity while you grow healthy food. Gardening might not be the first thing you think of when you consider getting fit, but there's a lot of effort involved! You can dig, lift, rake, plant, weed, and harvest which strengthen your bones and muscles.[17]
- Don't have room for a garden at your home? Find out if your city has a community garden you can work in.
[Edit]Following a Healthy Diet - Aim for 5 servings of fruits and vegetables every day. Fresh produce contains lots of vitamins and minerals so try to eat variety. If you find it hard to add fruits and vegetables, try gradually including them in your meals. For instance, eat 1 serving at breakfast, 2 servings at lunch, and 3 at dinner to get all of your recommended produce. Not sure what a serving is? Here are a few examples to get you started:[18]
- 1 small apple
- 1 cup (190 g) of berries
- 1/2 cup (82 g) of dried fruit
- 2 cups (200 g) of leafy greens
- 1 cup (90 g) of raw or cooked vegetables like broccoli or carrots
- Eat foods rich in whole grains. Half of the carbohydrates you eat should be whole grain so you get dietary fiber, iron, and B vitamins.[19] Make simple swaps like eating whole-grain bread instead of white bread, brown rice instead of white rice, and oatmeal instead of breakfast cereal. These foods will keep you fuller for longer and can help keep your cholesterol low.
- You can usually find whole-grain versions of pancakes, tortillas, pasta, bread, and bagels.
- Choose nutritious, lean sources of protein. You've got tons of healthy options! Reach for eggs, fish, beans, and meats like skinless chicken, pork roast, or lean ground beef. Don't forget that low-fat dairy like milk, cheese, and yogurt are also good sources of protein and calcium.[20]
- Try to go for unprocessed sources of protein. Processed foods like deli meat, sausage, and bacon are high in sodium and saturated fat.
- Nuts, legumes, and beans are all fantastic sources of protein for vegan and vegetarian diets.
- Cut back on the amount of sugary food you eat every day. Too much refined sugar can damage your heart, increase your risk for diabetes, and contribute to obesity. The American Heart Association recommends that women limit their sugar intake to less than 6 teaspoons (25 g) a day and men limit their intake to less than 9 teaspoons (38 g) a day.[21]
- Keep in mind that refined sugars are often snuck into processed foods like crackers, bread, and condiments. Read food labels to see the added sugar content so you can track how much sugar you're consuming in a day.
- Limit your intake of saturated fat. Diets that are high in saturated fat can cause high cholesterol and heart disease. This means cutting back on cookies, pastries, fried food, and fast food. Try to make healthy swaps, like eating baked potatoes instead of french fries or a handful of nuts instead of potato chips.[22]
- Avoiding these foods can also help you cut out excess sugar in your diet.
- It's easy to obsess over how many calories you're eating, but it's more important to focus on eating fresh, healthy food.[23]
[Edit]Warnings - If you have a medical condition, it's always a good idea to talk with your doctor before starting a new exercise program.
[Edit]Related wikiHows [Edit]References [Edit]Quick Summary |
| How to Clean a Fish Posted: 18 Oct 2021 01:00 AM PDT Cleaning a fish is quite simple and can make eating a fish you caught yourself all the more satisfying. For this article we've put together answers to some of the most frequently asked questions about cleaning a fresh fish. Follow these tips and you'll be cooking up a delicious meal in no time! [Edit]Should you gut a fish right away? - Ideally, yes. Clean and gut fish as soon as possible after catching them. If you don't want to gut a fish right after catching it because you want to keep fishing, the best thing to do is keep it alive by putting it into a bucket of water until you're ready to clean and gut it. Alternatively, you can bleed the fish and store it on ice in a cooler for 24-48 hours before gutting it.[1]
- If you don't keep a fish alive in water or put it on ice, it can spoil in 2 hours or less, depending on how warm it is outside.
- You can also use a fish stringer or a fishing net cage to keep fish alive in the water while you continue fishing.
- If you happen to be ice fishing, you can bleed the fish you catch and just store them right on top of the ice until you're ready to gut them!
[Edit]Why do you have to gut a fish? - Because the entrails can cause the fish to spoil if you leave them too long. Even after a fish is dead, there is enzyme activity inside its guts that cause tissues to break down, which can lead to off-putting flavors and aromas or make you sick. In other words, removing the guts as soon as possible keeps the fish fresher and preserves the quality and taste of the flesh.[2]
- Keeping an intact fish cool slows down the enzyme activity inside it, giving you a longer window of time to gut it before it goes bad.
[Edit]How do you gut fish before cooking? - Start by cutting a shallow incision from the anus up towards the head. The small hole on the belly of the fish, back near the tail, is the anus. Using a sharp fillet knife, make a shallow cut from here along the belly of the fish, stopping at the base of the gills.[3]
- Don't jam the knife all the way inside the fish or you can cut the intestines open. You want a shallow cut so that you can pull them out intact, preventing messy (and unappetizing) spillage.[4]
- The process for gutting a fish is the same for any size or type of fish.
- If you want to gut fish in the wild, bring a sharp fillet knife with you and a bucket to work over and dump the guts into. If you're gutting fish at home, work on a clean work surface, such as a cutting board.
- Use your fingers or a dull spoon to scoop out the fish's innards. Get in there and get everything out. These gummy, long guts should come out without much of a fight. Make sure to check inside to get out anything you missed, like a large, dark kidney that some fish have in the back or some strands of innards along the walls.[5]
- Don't leave anything inside the fish. Pull out everything from inside until you only see flesh.
- It's up to you whether or not to cut off the head. If you want to cook the fish whole, leave the head on. If you want to fillet the fish, chop it off right below the gills.
- If you want to remove the dorsal fin, simply grip the fin tightly near the tail and pull quickly in the direction of the head to rip it out cleanly.
- Finish by rinsing out the inside of the fish with a stream of water. Spread open the cavity and hold it under a stream of cool, running water. Rinse it out thoroughly to remove any remaining residue from the guts.[6]
- Rinsing the inside of the fish very well gets rid of strong, oily flavors that the entrails can leave behind.
- Be really careful when handling the fish because some fish have particularly sharp fins and/or teeth that could cut your hands.
- If you're cleaning a fish out in the wild, you can rinse it out in a clean creek or river.
- Wash your hands thoroughly with soap and water after you're done cleaning and handling the fish.
[Edit]What do you do with fish guts after cleaning? - Dispose of them like regular household waste. If you're gutting a fish out in the wild and not at home, pack the guts out with you in a tightly closed plastic bag or a sealable container of some type. Toss the guts into your trash can at home.[7]
- In small quantities, it's sometimes okay to toss fish guts back into deep or running water so other fish can feed on them. However, this is illegal in some areas, so make sure to look up local regulations on your local fish and wildlife service's website.[8]
- To prevent your trash from smelling like rotten fish, seal the fish guts in a zip-top plastic bag and put them in your freezer until it's trash day.
[Edit]What is the easiest way to remove fish scales? - Scrape the scales off with the back of a knife. Hold the fish firmly by the tail with your non-dominant hand. Starting at the tail, scrape the back of the knife along the whole length of the fish until you reach the head. Repeat this until all the scales flake off, then do it again on the other side of the fish. Wash the fish thoroughly when you're done removing the scales.[9]
- You can also scrape scales off with a spoon or another dull utensil that won't cut into the fish.
- It can help to scale under running water, or simply underwater in the sink, to prevent a mess.
- Don't worry if you miss a few scales—they aren't tasty, but they won't hurt anyone.
- Skin thick-skinned fish instead of removing the scales. If you're cleaning something like a bullhead, a catfish, or another thick-skinned bottom feeder, Skin it. To do so, cut a notch right where the top of the fish's head meets its body. Then, gripping the fish from the head, peel the skin back to the tail. Rinse the flesh thoroughly when you're done.[10]
- These types of fish, in particular, have a thick, unappealing skin that most people remove before cooking.
- You can use a pair of catfish pliers to peel the skin off more easily.
[Edit]Related wikiHows [Edit]References
[Edit]Quick Summary |
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