I'll never be the best cook on staff at Bon Appétit. I cover restaurants and food culture—code for the fact that I eat out constantly. I post up at restaurants for as many as six nights a week. When my body rebels, my restaurant count drops to around four per week.\nI never learned how to cook as a kid. Growing up, dinnertime involved thumbing through delivery menus and picking up the phone. We had a couple of family staples—meatballs, mac and cheese, steak—but no family heirloom recipes, intensive all-day cooking holidays, or cookbooks marked up with tried-and-true adjustments.\nIt wasn't until a few years ago, after a Chopped marathon, that I decided I should teach myself how to cook. The structure of the show is formulaic, and after watching enough episodes, I began to notice chefs leaning on the same few staples to build their dishes. They riff on beurre blancs and French toast. They make compotes by reducing in a saucepan, blend ingredients to form sauces, and pulverize crumbly foods to make \"croutons.\" What changes are the flavors.\nEvery week for a summer, I tackled a new technique or ingredient and consciously tried to build a foundation. I've never been one for recipes (though, now that I work here, I'll admit I've tried a few), and I'm still learning. But now I'm the person who picks up a random ingredient at a farmers' market (garlic scapes! elderberries!) and builds a meal around it. Once I learned the following, it all came together:\n\n1) Methods\nOnce I learned to roast, sauté, and stir-fry, I realized I could make low-key hot food with very minimal effort. Roasting really is as simple as putting vegetables or a protein in a pan, dousing in oil and salt, and popping it in the oven at 350°F, give or take 50°F. Stir-frying requires oil in a scorchingly hot pan plus ingredients in constant motion. Those simple building blocks helped me build confidence that I could treat several different ingredients with these methods and work from there. My go-to fall roast this year was butternut squash plus grapes, which I folded into a farro and arugula salad for lunch and added to yogurt with honey for breakfast the following morning.\n\n2) Ingredients\nThe fun of cooking (and learning to cook) is that it's choose-your-own adventure. I dedicated each week to a different ingredient I never handled before—one week shrimp, one week chicken thighs, another week rice noodles, another Chinese five spice, then turmeric—to see if I could figure out how to use it. I wanted a mixture of proteins, vegetables, and spices—anything that would give me more experience and prevent falling into a rut. I started by Googling whether there were ways to align the ingredients I picked up with the methods I had down. But, when searching turmeric turned up a zillion stew recipes, I needed an easy stew under my belt.\n\n3) Spice Combos\nOnce I had the methods and the ingredients down, I started playing around with different flavor combinations that mimicked what I had been tasting at restaurants. It was a watershed moment when I finally realized that the flavors I loved had common base flavor bundles. Garlic, ginger, and scallion is the holy trinity of Cantonese cooking. My favorite Italian red sauce joint employs the magic of tomato, basil, and garlic. Many Indian recipes are built from ginger, garlic, cumin, cayenne, turmeric, and curry powder. And Japanese? Dashi broth or a mix of sake, mirin, and soy sauce always works. The week I figured out that shakshuka translated to a Middle Eastern-spiced tomato sauce, I also realized that leaving out the cumin and adding basil could actually make it Italian-inspired. Or adding black beans, cotija, and cilantro at the end (and serving with tortillas) made that same stew feel Mexican-style.\n\n4) Lemons (Make That All Acids)\nA hit of lemon juice works wonders—always fresh, none of that bottled stuff—to cut through anything that seems excessively creamy or fatty (e.g., something battered and fried). Leveling up meant swapping out lemon juice for any type of citrus, or maybe even a vinegar or brine—tips I picked up from reading enough restaurant riffs on the same beet tartare or hamachi crudo. Chefs say it over and over again, but it's true: Tasting as I went was a life-saver, and let me know whether a dish needed a hit of lemon in the middle or end of the cooking process.\n\n5) Parmesan Cheese (Or, Any Cheese)\nIt's almost criminal to dislike cheese. And there are few things that a generous grate of Parmesan or a few hefty slices of feta wouldn't remedy—including a simple salad (still cooking!) or roasted vegetable. Once I realized that a heaping bowl of crunchy vegetables might need some fat, or a red sauce-slathered pasta could use extra salt and depth, I made sure my fridge was always stocked with cheese.\n\n6) Soy Sauce\nI don't even think I can count the number of otherwise flavorless stir-fries, fried rices, and breakfast bowls where soy sauce, rather than plain ol' salt, saved the day. It's DEFCON 1 when I run out. Put it on a few strategically combined fridge staples for breakfast or dump it on a mixture of mushrooms, tofu, bacon, and greens.\n\n7) Lifelines\nIt's okay to have people (and places) you turn to when you have no idea what's going on. Is buttermilk supposed to be 2 percent? Or should I keep looking? If I'm going to sear a Denver steak in my cast-iron, how long should I cook before I flip? A quick phone call to a savvy friend (Big ups to Christina) or family member (my brother, who is an excellent cook) can put your mind at ease. So can making friends with your butcher and fishmonger. Oh, and Google.\nThe kitchen basics any recent grad needs.\nHow you really slice an apple","isBasedOn":"https://www.bonappetit.com/test-kitchen/cooking-tips/article/how-to-learn-to-cook","articleSection":"recipes","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Elyssa Goldberg","sameAs":"https://www.bonappetit.com/contributor/elyssa-goldberg"}],"dateModified":"2016-05-16T05:00:08.000-04:00","datePublished":"2016-05-16T05:00:08.000-04:00","headline":"How to Teach Yourself How to Cook - Bon Appétit","image":["https://assets.bonappetit.com/photos/57d6c3031844fc374614305b/master/w_5483,h_3558,c_limit/GREENS-1-of-1.jpg"],"keywords":["techniques","web"],"thumbnailUrl":"","url":"https://www.bonappetit.com/test-kitchen/cooking-tips/article/how-to-learn-to-cook","isPartOf":{"@type":"CreativeWork","name":"Bon Appétit"},"isAccessibleForFree":true,"alternativeHeadline":"Get these starter tips down, and you're already on your way to becoming a better cook.","description":"Get these starter tips down, and you're already on your way to becoming a better cook.","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://www.bonappetit.com/test-kitchen/cooking-tips/article/how-to-learn-to-cook"},"publisher":{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"Organization","name":"Bon Appétit","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://www.bonappetit.com/verso/static/bon-appetit/assets/logo-seo.png","width":"479px","height":"100px"},"url":"https://www.bonappetit.com"}}
Skip to main content
Find anything you save across the site in your account
Get these starter tips down, and you're already on your way to becoming a better cook.
By Elyssa Goldberg
Alex Lau
</head>I'll never be the best cook on staff at Bon Appétit. I cover restaurants and food culture—code for the fact that I eat out constantly. I post up at restaurants for as many as six nights a week. When my body rebels, my restaurant count drops to around four per week.
I never learned how to cook as a kid. Growing up, dinnertime involved thumbing through delivery menus and picking up the phone. We had a couple of family staples—meatballs, mac and cheese, steak—but no family heirloom recipes, intensive all-day cooking holidays, or cookbooks marked up with tried-and-true adjustments.
It wasn't until a few years ago, after a Chopped marathon, that I decided I should teach myself how to cook. The structure of the show is formulaic, and after watching enough episodes, I began to notice chefs leaning on the same few staples to build their dishes. They riff on beurre blancs and French toast. They make compotes by reducing in a saucepan, blend ingredients to form sauces, and pulverize crumbly foods to make "croutons." What changes are the flavors.
Every week for a summer, I tackled a new technique or ingredient and consciously tried to build a foundation. I've never been one for recipes (though, now that I work here, I'll admit I've tried a few), and I'm still learning. But now I'm the person who picks up a random ingredient at a farmers' market (garlic scapes! elderberries!) and builds a meal around it. Once I learned the following, it all came together:
1) Methods
Soy-Braised Short Ribs with Shiitakes. Photo: Molly Stevens
Once I learned to roast, sauté, and stir-fry, I realized I could make low-key hot food with very minimal effort. Roasting really is as simple as putting vegetables or a protein in a pan, dousing in oil and salt, and popping it in the oven at 350°F, give or take 50°F. Stir-frying requires oil in a scorchingly hot pan plus ingredients in constant motion. Those simple building blocks helped me build confidence that I could treat several different ingredients with these methods and work from there. My go-to fall roast this year was butternut squash plus grapes, which I folded into a farro and arugula salad for lunch and added to yogurt with honey for breakfast the following morning.
2) Ingredients
Salt-and-Pepper Shrimp. Photo: Eva Kolenko
The fun of cooking (and learning to cook) is that it's choose-your-own adventure. I dedicated each week to a different ingredient I never handled before—one week shrimp, one week chicken thighs, another week rice noodles, another Chinese five spice, then turmeric—to see if I could figure out how to use it. I wanted a mixture of proteins, vegetables, and spices—anything that would give me more experience and prevent falling into a rut. I started by Googling whether there were ways to align the ingredients I picked up with the methods I had down. But, when searching turmeric turned up a zillion stew recipes, I needed an easy stew under my belt.
3) Spice Combos
Weeknight Red Curry. Photo: Alex Lau
Once I had the methods and the ingredients down, I started playing around with different flavor combinations that mimicked what I had been tasting at restaurants. It was a watershed moment when I finally realized that the flavors I loved had common base flavor bundles. Garlic, ginger, and scallion is the holy trinity of Cantonese cooking. My favorite Italian red sauce joint employs the magic of tomato, basil, and garlic. Many Indian recipes are built from ginger, garlic, cumin, cayenne, turmeric, and curry powder. And Japanese? Dashi broth or a mix of sake, mirin, and soy sauce always works. The week I figured out that shakshuka translated to a Middle Eastern-spiced tomato sauce, I also realized that leaving out the cumin and adding basil could actually make it Italian-inspired. Or adding black beans, cotija, and cilantro at the end (and serving with tortillas) made that same stew feel Mexican-style.
4) Lemons (Make That All Acids)
Grilled Asparagus and Spring Onions with Lemon. Photo: Peden & Munk
A hit of lemon juice works wonders—always fresh, none of that bottled stuff—to cut through anything that seems excessively creamy or fatty (e.g., something battered and fried). Leveling up meant swapping out lemon juice for any type of citrus, or maybe even a vinegar or brine—tips I picked up from reading enough restaurant riffs on the same beet tartare or hamachi crudo. Chefs say it over and over again, but it's true: Tasting as I went was a life-saver, and let me know whether a dish needed a hit of lemon in the middle or end of the cooking process.
5) Parmesan Cheese (Or, Any Cheese)
Fusilli alla Vodka. Photo: Peden + Munk
It's almost criminal to dislike cheese. And there are few things that a generous grate of Parmesan or a few hefty slices of feta wouldn't remedy—including a simple salad (still cooking!) or roasted vegetable. Once I realized that a heaping bowl of crunchy vegetables might need some fat, or a red sauce-slathered pasta could use extra salt and depth, I made sure my fridge was always stocked with cheese.
6) Soy Sauce
Soboro Beef. Photo: Peden + Munk
I don't even think I can count the number of otherwise flavorless stir-fries, fried rices, and breakfast bowls where soy sauce, rather than plain ol' salt, saved the day. It's DEFCON 1 when I run out. Put it on a few strategically combined fridge staples for breakfast or dump it on a mixture of mushrooms, tofu, bacon, and greens.
7) Lifelines
Spicy Tamarind Skirt Steak. Photo: Peden + Munk
It's okay to have people (and places) you turn to when you have no idea what's going on. Is buttermilk supposed to be 2 percent? Or should I keep looking? If I'm going to sear a Denver steak in my cast-iron, how long should I cook before I flip? A quick phone call to a savvy friend (Big ups to Christina) or family member (my brother, who is an excellent cook) can put your mind at ease. So can making friends with your butcher and fishmonger. Oh, and Google.
The kitchen basics any recent grad needs.
How you really slice an apple
