Tang zhong (also known as a 'water roux') is a method used in breadmaking to create soft and fluffy bread which was originated by the Japanese. However, it was popularised throughout south-east Asia in the 1990s by a Chinese woman called Yvonne Chen who wrote a book called The 65° Bread Doctor. Using this method also allows bread to stay fresh for longer without needing to use artificial preservatives.
Roux is flour and fat cooked together and used to thicken sauces. The fat is butter in French cuisine, but may be lard or vegetable oil in other cuisines. The roux is used in three of the mother sauces of classical French cooking: béchamel sauce, velouté sauce, and espagnole sauce. Clarified butter, vegetable oils, bacon drippings or lard are commonly used fats. It is used as a thickener for gravy, other sauces, soups and stews. It is typically made from equal parts of flour and fat by weight.
Snow cream (can be one of two distinct desserts).
- A cream-based dessert with one or more flavoring agents added.
- A dessert in which snow is mixed with a sweetened dairy-based liquid to make an ice cream substitute. This is also known as snow ice cream.
Flambé, is a cooking procedure in which alcohol is added to a hot pan to create a burst of flames. The word means flamed in French (as, in French, flambé is the past participle of the verb flamber).
Flambéing is often associated with tableside presentation of certain liqueur-drenched dishes, such as Bananas Foster or Cherries Jubilee, when the alcohol is ignited and results in a flare of blue-tinged flame. However, flambéing is also a step in making coq au vin, and other dishes and sauces, using spirits, before they are brought to the table. By rapidly burning off the volatile alcohol, flambéing can infuse a dish with additional aroma and flavor, and moderates the harshness of raw, high-proof spirits. The partial combustion of the flammable alcohol results in flames which quickly consume the liquid, however, some residual flavors usually remain.
A cinnamon roll (also cinnamon bun, cinnamon swirl, cinnamon Danish and cinnamon snail) is a sweet roll served commonly in Northern Europe and North America. In North America its common use is for breakfast or dessert. Its main ingredients are flour, cinnamon, sugar, and butter, which provide a robust and sweet flavor. In some places it is eaten as a breakfast food and is often served with cream cheese or icing.
Pizza is a flatbread generally topped with tomato sauce and cheese and baked in an oven. It is commonly topped with a selection of meats, vegetables and condiments. The term was first recorded in the 10th century, in a Latin manuscript from Gaeta in Central Italy. The modern pizza was invented in Naples, Italy, and the dish and its variants have since become popular in many areas of the world.
Hoisin sauce is a thick, pungent sauce commonly used in Chinese cuisine as a glaze for meat, an addition to stir fries, or as dipping sauce. It is darkly colored in appearance and sweet and salty in taste. Although regional variants exist, hoisin sauce usually includes soy beans, red chillies and garlic. Vinegar, Chinese five spice and sugar are also commonly added. The word hoisin is from the Chinese word for seafood, but the sauce does not contain any seafood ingredients.
Sriracha is a type of hot sauce or chili sauce made from a paste of chili peppers, distilled vinegar, garlic, sugar, and salt. It is named after the coastal city of Si Racha, in Chonburi Province of eastern Thailand, where it may have been first produced for dishes served at local seafood restaurants.
Mole is the generic name for a number of sauces originally used in Mexican cuisine, as well as for dishes based on these sauces. Outside Mexico, it often refers specifically to mole poblano. In contemporary Mexico, the term is used for a number of sauces, some quite dissimilar, including black, red, yellow, Colorado (another name for red), green, almendrado, de olla, huaxmole and pipián.
A muffin is an individual-sized, baked quick bread product. Muffins in the United States are similar to cupcakes in size and cooking methods. Muffins are available in both savory varieties, such as cornmeal and cheese muffins, or sweet varieties such as blueberry, chocolate chip or banana flavours. Muffins are often eaten as a breakfast food. Coffee may be served to accompany muffins. Fresh baked muffins are sold by bakeries, donut shops and some fast food restaurants and coffeehouses. Factory baked muffins are sold at grocery stores and convenience stores and they are also served in some coffee shops and cafeterias.