A biography for Sohla El-Wayllyhasn’t been written yet.
“Toum is a staple of Lebanese cuisine, and more than just another condiment. This garlic sauce is great for stirring into soups and pasta, marinating chicken, and tossing with roasted vegetables; it adds an energetic punch of garlic to anything without requiring the hassle of peeling and mincing.”
“Once cooked, unripe green plantains have the dense, starchy texture of taro. They are traditionally braised, fried, or mashed. A green plantain can go anywhere a potato can, making it a great choice to shake up your starch game.”
“I did not develop a recipe for my mothers biryani. I tried, and I failed, and so I made my own.”
“Chickens that are sold whole tend to be smaller in size, ranging between two and a half and five pounds, while chicken sold as parts generally comes from larger birds.”
“My husband is a chef, and he often brings home a lot of useless kitchen tools.”
“A ricer looks a lot like a giant garlic press and works in pretty much the same way. It comes equipped with a perforated hopper, where you place your cooked food before applying pressure with a lever, which forces the food through the small holes. The tiny holes are about the size of a grain of rice, hence the tools name.”
“The 'Test Kitchen' is really fun as long as you play your role, and I didnt like the role I was put in. It became increasingly frustrating to become a sidekick to people with significantly less experience than me.”
“The intense aroma and warmth fresh ginger adds to dishes is irreplaceable. The heat found in ginger is attributed to a chemical it contains called gingerol, which is closely related to the capsaicin found in hot peppers and the piperine in black pepper, but is much milder than the two.”
“Great basmati is golden in color, smells floral and nutty, and can withstand the long cook time of this process. As an extra bonus, aged basmati is much more merciful, steaming up just fine even if you over- or undercook it a touch during the parboiling stage.”
“A dough might start out lumpy and wet, but as you knead, it will grow smooth, supple, and springy - thats how you know youve fully developed your gluten network and can stop kneading.”
“Lightweight and slim, immersion blenders can appear to have all the grit of a Bichon Frise, but the reality is that they're no less than the business end of a blender, minus nearly all of the protection. If mishandled, they can be one of the most dangerous cooking tools.”
“With a small wire rack set inside your sizzle platter, youve got the perfect setup for dry brining one or two portions of meat. The small footprint of a sizzle platter fits easily in any fridge, while the matching mini rack keeps the meat from hanging out in its own juices.”
“Definitive statements get people riled up, which is why I usually moonwalk away from them, but here goes nothing: You cant eat a South Asian meal without raita. Raita is the savory yogurt condiment thats served alongside everything - from Pakistani lamb biryani to Bengali shami kebabs and South Indian okra stir-fry.”
“Four-year-old me was a little tyrant, stomping around and demanding to be entertained. Mr. Rogers and Elmo were never enough; I wanted magic markers that changed colors and to run through the house with all my digits dipped in finger paint.”
“If youre serious about cooking, baking, or life in general, then you need a scale.”
“A great scale should be accurate first and foremost, but also easy to clean, intuitively designed, simple to read, and convenient to store. These are the qualities that will have you reaching for a scale every time you portion meat for burgers or whip up a batch of fresh pasta.”
“My brand is to make things harder for myself. I carry too many things at once, I volunteer to make a 12-layer cake no one asked for, and I do all my mixing with a tiny spatula.”
“Flan is really all about the caramel. Sure, when made right, the custard will be creamy and rich without being dense or heavy, with a little jiggle that melts in your mouth.”