Traditional Oriental medicine believes balancing flavors in your food promotes physical and mental well-being. Certainly a main dish that includes sweet, spicy, sour and salty flavors is more enjoyable than one that concentrates only one or two flavors. Bring more pleasure to your meals by following these steps.
Instructions
1. Assess how salty the ingredients of your dish are without adding any salt. Buy unsalted foods when you can so you can balance flavors more easily.
2. Consider using other salty ingredients besides table salt to add more flavor to your dish. Soy sauce isn't just for Asian cuisine. Garlic salt or bouillon adds something extra to your plain white and brown rice. A little Parmesan or cheddar cheese goes a long way in a salad.
3. Stock your pantry with different types of vinegar. Pickled vegetables can add a sour zing to your salads. Lemons and limes have vitamin C in addition to their pleasant sour taste.
4. Balance the sourness in your dish with something sweet. Experiment with different sweeteners. Honey is better than sugar in salad dressings. Use brown sugar in a teriyaki sauce. Even the acidity of tomatoes in Italian dishes is enhanced by adding sugar.
5. Be careful when adding spicy ingredients to your dish. Know what your guests can tolerate. Consider adding a slight amount to perk up the dish and leaving powdered spices in plain site for those who like to set their tongue on fire.
6. Use freshly ground rather than pre-ground black pepper. You'll notice the difference right away when you swirl the pepper mill and catch a whiff of quality pepper.
7. Add dry spicy ingredients at the beginning of the cooking to balance the flavors better. Consider substituting your basic black pepper with curry, chili powder, hot paprika and mustard.
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