Feniger’s Kitchen KnowHow
TO KEEP YOUR KNIVES super sharp, use a sharpening stone.
There are water-based and oil-based stones; choose the one you
like, apply the appropriate liquid (water or oil), and then glide
your knife across it at a 20-degree angle, from the tip to the base
on both sides. Continue doing this, pressing down, until your
knife is incredibly sharp. (You’ll know by resting your finger on
the blade and tugging slightly. Your skin should stick as you
tug.) After sharpening, it’s important to hone your knife too
(see Moulton’s Kitchen KnowHow).
DON’T HAVE the time to mince lots and lots of ginger? Grate it
on a Microplane. Not only is it faster, but it results in more of a
ginger paste, which infuses more evenly into whatever you’re
cooking.
TO CARAMELIZE ONIONS, get the pan and the oil very hot
before you add a chopped onion. You don’t want the water to
be released by the onion; get it brown and then lower the heat.
(This is the opposite technique of the slow caramelization you
want with a French onion soup, like this one.)