You wouldn’t go out of the house unless you were fully-dressed (would you?). We take pride in ourselves. We bathe, dress and accessorize. Well, food is no different. It looks and tastes much better if you accessorize it with some unexpected finishes that add brightness, crunch or heat. (Or all 3 as in this example.)
One of my first blog posts was called Finishing Touches: Taking it to the Next Level. When you accessorize your food, you take it to the next (taste) level.
A perfect example is this blistered string bean and ground pork dish I made recently.
It was delicious!
I blistered in the stringbeans in oil on high heat with salt, red pepper flakes and garlic.
The ground pork was seasoned with 5-spice powder then sauteed with dried shrimp, garlic and a few dashes of soy sauce.
What took it to the next level:
• I finished the dish with chopped scallions, a few slivers of bell pepper, a couple of julienned carrot ribbons, fresh cilantro and chow mein noodles.
…and one step beyond.
• I prepared a vinaigrette by pulsing rice wine vinegar, pickled sushi ginger, and a little hot pepper sesame oil to drizzle over the top.
I’d love to hear about your finishing touches. If you don’t have any, I encourage you to adopt mine. (And I’ll say ‘you’re welcome’ in advance)
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Your dish sounds delicious and perfectly decorated but when you are cooking for a hungry crowd and want to feed them hot food, it’s not easy to add those finishing touches. I hardly have time to take a quick picture some times.
I understand that, Ivy. But finishing touches don’t have to take time. They can be prepped as the food is cooking and just sprinkled, drizzled or topped just before serving (or photo taking).
That looks beautiful and delicious, Joan!
green onions- chopped, slivered, whole – they can finish off a dish in a flash!
They say you eat with your eyes first.
It looks like a delicious dish – I love all the textures and flavors.
I understand where Ivy is coming from. Time is of the essence when feeding kids. If I am going to add a finishing touch, I prepare, like you said JOan, when dinner is cooking. Or, I try to just make the elements the food attractive (cut them carefully, plate them on a nice plate.) I do think any little you can do to make dinner look nice helps in making it a winner for the family.
Joan your dishes always look finished and so classy! Great splash of color with the carrot ribbons.
I totally agree with you, the eyes are the first one to reach the dish…yours looks just very nice presented…yummie!
Hi Joan,
While I may sauce, you do a much better job of finishing, which is, sadly, not one of my strong suits.
It’s impossible to imagine what cooking, eating, and thinking about food was like before blogging. While mine is still under 1 year old, I’m happy to say that, in addition to the squirrely habits that I’ve acquired, I’m still really excited to tell my readers about something new and wonderful that I’ve discovered, realized, or cooked.
I have to run, but I will have a few comments for your culinary world tour posts, as I’ve JUST STOPPED traveling around the world, and have many food experiences to share.
Best,
Jessie
easy easy finishing touch when roasting poultry – while letting the poultry sit after it’s out of the oven, chop up shallot, add drippings, throw in 1/4 cup balsamic and let it reduce for a bit. By the time the reduction is perfect, you’ve cut up your meat – just drizzle reduction and voila.
Great tip. Thank you, Giz.
I like the concept of “finishing touches” on recipes! Sometimes just a little dash of something can make a plate look more polished! I’ll be thinking of this when I entertain at home!
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