Instead of "cooked through"

[eiasu]

Hallo,
here another question about the cooking book i am taking care of:
many time in the book there is this expression "cooked through"
but sounds like a term adapted from German and not really a common english expression,
can you tell me another way to say it?
I put below one of the recipes containing this expression:

[FONT=Calligraph421 BT, cursive]Chinese noodles a la Shakti[/FONT]
[FONT=Calligraph421 BT, cursive]easy and spicy[/FONT]

• [FONT=Calligraph421 BT, cursive]½ kg Chinese noodles[/FONT]
• [FONT=Calligraph421 BT, cursive]3 red bell peppers, quartered and cut in thin slices[/FONT]
• [FONT=Calligraph421 BT, cursive]700 g tofu, 1 cm cubes[/FONT]
• [FONT=Calligraph421 BT, cursive]700 g oyster mushrooms, thin slices[/FONT]
• [FONT=Calligraph421 BT, cursive]3 tbsp ginger, chopped[/FONT]
• [FONT=Calligraph421 BT, cursive]3 tbsp garlic, chopped[/FONT]
• [FONT=Calligraph421 BT, cursive]200 g cashew nuts, roasted[/FONT]
• [FONT=Calligraph421 BT, cursive]3 chillies, finely chopped[/FONT]
• [FONT=Calligraph421 BT, cursive]1 small bundle parsley, chopped[/FONT]
• [FONT=Calligraph421 BT, cursive]2 spring onions, rings[/FONT]
• [FONT=Calligraph421 BT, cursive]ca. 200 ml soya sauce[/FONT]
• [FONT=Calligraph421 BT, cursive]ca. 150 ml sherry[/FONT]
• [FONT=Calligraph421 BT, cursive]3 tbsp curry[/FONT]
• [FONT=Calligraph421 BT, cursive]3 tbsp oregano[/FONT]
• [FONT=Calligraph421 BT, cursive]2 tbsp sweet paprika[/FONT]
• [FONT=Calligraph421 BT, cursive]ca. 60 ml sesame oil[/FONT]
• [FONT=Calligraph421 BT, cursive]oil[/FONT]

Spice the tofu with the sweet paprika, the oregano and the curry.
Fry the bell peppers in a pan until cooked through but still with
some “bite”.
Put the peppers in a big mixing pot.
Fry now shortly the garlic and the ginger in oil, then add the mushrooms, when the mushrooms are cooked through, add 75 ml sherry and put everything after a short while into the mixing pot.
Fry one layer of tofu in a pan with oil until it's nicely brown.
Pour about 50 ml of soya sauce over it and stir the tofu until the soya sauce has evaporated.
Repeat procedure with all the tofu.
Add the tofu into the mixing pot.
Add the cashew nuts, the parsley, the chilli and the spring onions in the mixing pot, mix everything well.


Cook the Chinese noodles in salted water, that you have brought to boiling before. Cook them until they are done, strain them and add the noodles in the pot.


Mix everything well with the sesame oil, the rest of the sherry and soya sauce.
That's it, enjoy!

 

[GB]

Actually, cooked through is a very common term in English recipes. The way you use it would be understandable to most any English speaker.

 

[apple*tart]

I agree that "cooked through" is understandable to english-speaking cooks, so that's good! For the sake of variety, though, and to answer your question, here are some other words and phrases you could use:

Thoroughly cooked
Fully cooked
Completely cooked

Often cookbooks will describe the color or texture the cook should look for to know that it's done:

Tender (veggies, pasta)
Tender-crisp (veggies that are cooked but still firm)
Al dente (tender but with a firm bite - pasta)
Translucent (onion)
No longer pink (ground beef, the inside of poultry)
Lightly/fully/deeply brown or golden brown
Softened (onion, etc)
Until thickened (sauces)
Until a fork slides in easily (veggies)

Mushrooms are often cooked until they release their moisture

Meats are often cooked to a particular temperature (X degrees) or level of doneness (rare/medium rare/medium/medium well/well done)

Cooking fats are often described as hot/shimmering/just smoking/smoking (oil), melted/bubbling/sizzling (butter)

Nuts and spices are often dry-toasted until fragrant

Likewise garlic, spices, and herbs are sometimes added to dishes and cooked briefly until fragrant

Pasta is often cooked according to package instructions

I'll try to think of some more!

 

[eiasu]

I agree that "cooked through" is understandable to english-speaking cooks, so that's good! For the sake of variety, though, and to answer your question, here are some other words and phrases you could use:

Thoroughly cooked
Fully cooked
Completely cooked

Often cookbooks will describe the color or texture the cook should look for to know that it's done:

Tender (veggies, pasta)
Tender-crisp (veggies that are cooked but still firm)
Al dente (tender but with a firm bite - pasta)
Translucent (onion)
No longer pink (ground beef, the inside of poultry)
Lightly/fully/deeply brown or golden brown
Softened (onion, etc)
Until thickened (sauces)
Until a fork slides in easily (veggies)

Mushrooms are often cooked until they release their moisture

Meats are often cooked to a particular temperature (X degrees) or level of doneness (rare/medium rare/medium/medium well/well done)

Cooking fats are often described as hot/shimmering/just smoking/smoking (oil), melted/bubbling/sizzling (butter)

Nuts and spices are often dry-toasted until fragrant

Likewise garlic, spices, and herbs are sometimes added to dishes and cooked briefly until fragrant

Pasta is often cooked according to package instructions

I'll try to think of some more!

Wow apple, thank you very much,
such a variety i really did not know,
that is very useful, thank you!
and about pasta is it ok to use the italian term "al dente"
or about the vegetables to say:
Fry the bell peppers in a pan until cooked through but still with
some “bite”.
ciao
eiasu

 

[GB]

and about pasta is it ok to use the italian term "al dente"
or about the vegetables to say:
Fry the bell peppers in a pan until cooked through but still with
some “bite”.
ciao
eiasu

Yes you can say both of these. Both terms are widely used and understood. There may be some people who do not understand al dente, but most will understand.

 

[eiasu]

Yes you can say both of these. Both terms are widely used and understood. There may be some people who do not understand al dente, but most will understand.

Thank you,
that makes things easy,
ciao
eiasu

 

[jennyema]

Your Chinese recipe calls for 3 Tablespoons of oregano!

 

[bigdaddy3k]

Again, I offer to eat all of your test dishes.

In the interest of a well written cook book of course!

 

[eiasu]

Yes jennyema , it is a very spicy dish, as described in the sub-title of the dish,
bigdaddy, are you interested in eating only or also in cooking?

 

[jennyema]

Yes jennyema , it is a very spicy dish, as described in the sub-title of the dish,
bigdaddy, are you interested in eating only or also in cooking?

eiasu

Oregano isn't spicy. It's very pungent. It's used mostly in Mediterranean and Mexican cusine. I have never heard of it being used in Chinese food.

At any rate, that's a whole lot of oregano.

 

[apple*tart]

You're very welcome.
Good luck with the cookbook.

 

[eiasu]

eiasu

Oregano isn't spicy. It's very pungent. It's used mostly in Mediterranean and Mexican cusine. I have never heard of it being used in Chinese food.

At any rate, that's a whole lot of oregano.

Hallo Jenny,
i asked again to the creator of that dish and it is exactely that amount,
yes the result is quite an intense taste, but all togheter it is not pungent at all,
of course depends very much on the individual preferences.
The dishes of the Buddhahill cooking book are all re-invented,
all the indian, chinese, italian dishes are created anew,
so if it is the first time that you hear about oregano in a chinese dish,
and if you are interested and curious to try it yoou can experiment cooking that and share the result ok?
ciao
thank you
eiasu

 

[eiasu]

another substitution,
instead of:
cook until the spinach is soft with a little bite
how could i write?
I dont like very much this sentence
thank you
eiasu

 

[Wyogal]

cook until wilted
(was the oregano fresh or dried?)

 

[BreezyCooking]

I understood your recipe perfectly as originally written - it looks great & I'll definitely be trying it.

As far as oregano, the pungency/spiciness of it depends on many factors, as there are SO many different varieties. Some are so mild they almost taste like lawn grass; others have quite a bite. Unfortunately, back when herbs & herb gardening took off like a rocket, many unscrupulous growers just started growing usually tasteless "mutt" oreganos willy-nilly just to meet demand. If you're ever looking to grow your own, make sure you buy a named variety (whether from seed or plants) - not just something tagged "oregano". If that's all that's available, then pinch off a leaf to smell & taste before buying.

In addition, dried oregano will always be stronger than fresh, so take care when subbing one for the other.

 

[eiasu]

I understood your recipe perfectly as originally written - it looks great & I'll definitely be trying it.

As far as oregano, the pungency/spiciness of it depends on many factors, as there are SO many different varieties. Some are so mild they almost taste like lawn grass; others have quite a bite. Unfortunately, back when herbs & herb gardening took off like a rocket, many unscrupulous growers just started growing usually tasteless "mutt" oreganos willy-nilly just to meet demand. If you're ever looking to grow your own, make sure you buy a named variety (whether from seed or plants) - not just something tagged "oregano". If that's all that's available, then pinch off a leaf to smell & taste before buying.

In addition, dried oregano will always be stronger than fresh, so take care when subbing one for the other.

The way we use oregano here is like basil, mint or parsley; it´s very common, it has a particular taste not so strong, pungent.
That´s both with the dry oregano that we buy and the fresh one that we grow ourself.
ciao
eiasu
p.s. let me know the result of your cooking!