Normally, people use ice in drinks or for beauty purposes. However, cold ice has many useful functions in cooking that many people may not know.
There are many useful tips with ice, such as dropping a cold ice cube into a pot of soup to save the day.
What is the effect of dropping a cold ice cube into a pot of soup?
If you accidentally add too much oil when cooking, or if your soup, broth, noodle soup, pho… is too greasy, you can use ice to handle it.
You just need to wait for the soup to cool down, then drop a few small cold ice cubes into the pot and stir well to allow the fat to be drawn into the ice. The fat will quickly stick to the ice, so you can scoop out the ice with a spoon, which will help you remove excess fat quickly and make your soup much clearer.
With a hot pot of soup, you can apply the following method with ice cubes to remove the grease:
– Reduce the heat so that the soup boils gently. Use a soup spoon to scoop a spoonful of cold ice, the more ice, the better.
– Use the ice-filled spoon to gently skim the surface of the soup. The oil, being lighter than water, will rise to the top. The cold ice will quickly freeze the fat into a thin film, sticking to the spoon, making it easy to remove from the pot.
– After the fat has stuck to the spoon, pour out the remaining soup, throw away the ice, and wash the spoon. If the soup still has residual grease, you can use another spoon to repeat the steps. The end result will be a bowl of clear soup, with a clean and refreshing taste, without feeling overwhelmed by grease.
The uses of cold ice in cooking
Not only does it help make soup less oily, cold ice also has many other uses in cooking, such as:
Using ice water to reheat rice
When reheating cold rice, stir the rice and add a few ice cubes. Cover the rice cooker, turn on the normal cooking mode until the rice jumps to the warm mode.
The ice water will quickly melt and evenly penetrate the rice grains, making them soft and moist without becoming dry and hard. The steam from the melting ice water will also help make the rice fluffy but not too mushy, and minimize sticking at the bottom of the pot.
Making salads fresher
If you often make salads, you may find that the salad after mixing often becomes wilted and no longer as fresh. So change the way you mix a bit to make the dish more attractive, before mixing, add an ice cube, and then drizzle with dressing.
With this simple method, your salad will definitely stay fresh, crunchy, and sweeter for a longer time.
Making bitter melon more crispy
If you are a fan of bitter melon served with shrimp paste, you will definitely know that ice cubes cannot be left out. The layer of ice cubes underneath the bitter melon will make it more crispy, reduce the bitterness, and when eaten with shrimp paste, it becomes even more flavorful and attractive.
Getting rid of the smell of onions
If onions are not properly prepared, they can easily become pungent and sometimes affect the taste of other ingredients in the dish. Therefore, after chopping the onions, soak them in ice water for about 30 minutes, then scoop them out and let them drain. This will significantly reduce the smell of onions and make them more enjoyable.
Cleaning bottles and jars
For small-mouthed bottles that are difficult to clean with a brush, add a few ice cubes along with a little salt and lemon juice to the bottle. Shake well until the inside is clean, then rinse again with boiling water (or hot water). Lemon juice is very effective in eliminating unpleasant odors.
Tips for Preparing and Storing Rice During Hot Weather
It’s no secret that in warmer months the proper storage of food, especially cold rice, can be a nightmare. However, with a few simple tips, we can help you cook the perfect batch of rice and keep it from going rancid. Read on to learn all the essential steps and how to preserve the rice!
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