I have been cooking with preserved lemon for years, using it left, right and centre, but I am still far from reaching my limit.
When it comes to salt, what was really staggering to me is that the industry itself is totally hooked on salt. It is this miracle ingredient that solves all of their problems. There is the flavor burst to the salt itself, but it also serves as a preservative, so foods can stay on the shelves for months.
At some point during every cooking class I teach, I do my signature move: dramatically add handful upon handful of salt to a large pot of boiling water, then taste it and add even more.
I find that most home cooks don't get vinegars. They're misunderstood, mostly due to the factory-made red wine vinegar that everyone commonly cooks with... that, and the giant gallon of white distilled vinegar that we all use, mostly to clean and disinfect things!
I can't tell you enough about cinnamon. Cinnamon is an awesome spice to use and it goes great with something like apples in the morning or in a mixture of fruit or in your oatmeal or even in your cereal.
Salt is like good-humor, and nearly every thing is better for a pinch of it.
Salt is one of the flavors that makes food taste good - salt, sugar and fat. So it's a natural thing for all chefs and cooks to add salt, because it enhances the flavor of the food. If you go out to eat, I guarantee you're going to be eating a lot of salted foods that you are going to have no idea.
The star of oil and vinegar and the oil and vinegar of the stars.
There are two proper ways to use garlic: pounding and blooming. Neither involves a press, which is little more than a torture device for a beloved ingredient, smushing it up into watery squiggles of inconsistent size that will never cook evenly or vanish into a vinaigrette. If you have one, throw it away!
Chipotles to me are a one-of-a-kind pepper because they're smoked jalapenos, so they're fiery and they're smoky. It's good to use chipotles in salsas or soups or condiments - that works really well. To me, they always really pick up anything you put them in.
My biggest nightmare is that something doesn't have enough salt.
Simple syrup doesn't taste like anything.
Salt is an unusual food product because it is almost universal - all human beings need salt, and most choose to eat more than is necessary.
Sesame oil is probably my favorite condiment, period.
Salt is a preservative. It really holds flavor. For example, if you chop up some fresh herbs, or even just garlic, the salt will extract the moisture and preserve the flavor.
I use Stevia instead of sweetener. I add it to coffee or tea instead of sugar - you can even cook with it. The vanilla flavor is to die for!
A lot of people are kind of snobby about garlic powder and onion powder. I happen to love them.
Every time I feel like something is missing from a dish, I think, 'Oh, I know, I'll add a pinch of dry ginger.' If it's not salt and it's not vinegar, it's probably missing dry ginger.
Soy sauce is really a multi-purpose seasoning.
I make some of my best recipes with a simple homemade stock. Keep shrimp shells stored in a plastic bag in the freezer. When you have almost a gallon-bag full, you can make a stock in 30 minutes that you can use in soups and sauces. You can then freeze the stock in ice-cube trays.
