What Products We Often Overcook and How It Can Be Fixed

Perhaps each of us have over boiled the pasta or rice or overdid the meat at least once in our lifetime. Sometimes you get distracted for only a couple of minutes and the dinner is spoiled. Fortunately, things are often not as bad as it seems and the situation can be fixed.

5-Minute Crafts is telling you what products we often overcook and how to fix it.

Vegetables

It’s quite easy to overcook vegetables and they turn into mush. For example, you plan to cook a vegetable garnish but something goes wrong and the contents of the saucepan turn into something mushy. Don’t rush to get upset, perhaps not everything is lost.

• Add some broth and cream to the veggies, mix them, and turn the failed garnish into perfect soup.
• Mash the overdone veggies, mix them with potato puree and a small amount of starch, roll into balls and fry them.
• If your veggies are not very overcooked but got a bit a little too soft, try saving them. For that, dunk these products into a bowl with clean ice-cold water. It can help fix the situation.

Potatoes

Many people think that cooking potatoes is simple. However, things can go not according to plan with them too. Different types of potatoes behave differently.

• More starchy types like Russet and Baking potatoes become dry and crumbly when overcooked. To save them, you can make a puree.
• If you overcooked potatoes low in starch, also called waxy, they should be sprinkled with oil and fried.
• Yukon Gold, White, and Red potatoes are quite resistant to long exposure to high temperatures. But still, if you overcook them, it’s better to mash them.

Rice

Don’t rush to dispose of rice if you overcook it, things might be not that bad.

• When rice is slightly overcooked and its texture is not greatly damaged, it can be saved. For that, drain all the water from the pot and arrange the garnish with a thin layer on the baking tray. Then reheat it in the oven at 350 degrees for 5 minutes.
• If rice is slightly overcooked and it’s not very starchy, try draining the extra water and rinse the rice. Then reheat it on the stove again to make the rest of the moisture evaporate.
• If there is extra water in your rice and it’s hard to pour it, try using bread. Put a piece of stale bread on top of the rice, cover the pot with a lid, reduce the heat and wait for several minutes. The bread should absorb the moisture.
• If it’s impossible to save the overcooked rice, cook a pudding from it.

Pasta

Pasta and noodles is a quick-to-cook dish loved by many. However, it can be easily overcooked too. If you planned to cook al-dente pasta but something went wrong, follow these tricks.

• Drain the noodles/pasta in a strainer, and rinse them with cold water. Place some ice cubes on top as it will cool down the pasta/noodles faster and stop the process of overcooking.
• Overcooked pasta or noodles can be fried on a low heat with a bit of butter or olive oil. It will make them crispy. A bit of garlic or parmesan cheese will hide the “fried” taste.
• Too soggy pasta can be mixed with a rich sauce. It will allow you to disguise the “slimy” taste of overcooked noodles. In order to give the dish “firmness,” add crispy veggies such as zucchini or capsicum to it.

Chicken

Chicken is considered to be a potential source of salmonella. In order to protect themselves, many people cook it for a very long time due to which it becomes dry and starts to stick to your teeth when chewed. To fix it you can use gravy or a sauce.

• Try shredding the chicken and adding barbecue sauce to make a sandwich.
• Slice the chicken thinly and brush it with the mixture of butter and chicken broth.
• Overcooked chicken can be chopped and added to a salad.

Beef

Beef is a very popular type of meat that is used for making many dishes. If you accidentally overcook the meat, try using the following pieces of advice.

• You can cook impromptu fajitas by slicing the meat against the grain. Serve the dish with sauce.
• Butter can also help save such a steak. Dip the meat into it or melt a piece of butter right on the steak.
• If you have over-fried a large piece, try boiling it. Put the meat into a pot, pour with broth, and cook until ready.
• You can also chop the overcooked meat and stew it with a sauce.
• Also, you can make puree out of overcooked meat. Add some butter, pork fat or tallow to it, and season with necessary spices. This puree can be used for cooking cutlets and empanadas or use it as a filling for ravioli and tortellini.

Pork

When cooking pork, many people are afraid to undercook it and eventually end up overcooking it.

• To save this meat, chop it into cubes, season with a sauce, and deep-fry it.
• You can also shred overcooked pork, add garlic, onions, and spices as per your taste and make cutlets.

Fish and seafood

Sea fish and seafood can become a perfect dinner. But once you get a bit distracted, the dish can be spoiled.

• If you accidentally overdo the fish such as salmon, don’t rush to dispose of it. To correct the situation, brush the fish with butter and pour a creamy sauce over it.
• Overcooked shrimps and scallops can be revived by simmering them in a mixture of butter and lemon juice.
• Things are a bit different with seafood, especially mollusks. They become very tough when overcooked.