Cooking Utensils Around The World

One of the things I’ve learned from my international travels is that the term ‘ethnic cooking’ has no clear-cut definition.  Each culture, race, country or tribe will have its own style of cooking, and its own traditions associated with food preparation.  The differences are based on the ingredients used, the way the food is cooked and, in some cases, the kitchen utensils used for preparation and cooking.

Ethnic cooking styles typically evolve from the meat, vegetable and spices that are available in a specific geographic area.  Sometimes, it’s the lack of certain foods or fuel that influence a cooking style.  Often, the tools found in the kitchen have been specifically developed to make the most out of that local bounty while also adapting to whatever limitations exist in the area.

Perhaps the most obvious example of this is the Chinese wok.  About 2,000 years ago, woks were probably inventions of necessity.  In China, fuel was scarce, so food needed be cooked quickly.  The bottom of the wok is small so it can use minimal fuel and be heated quickly.  Its curved shape conducts the  heat upwards to a much larger cooking surface.  Although the first woks were pottery which excelled at keeping the heat in, the improved conductivity of carbon steel and cast iron are the preferred materials today.

In most of Asia, kitchens are tiny, so the versatility of the wok is a huge benefit.  It can easily be used for stir-fry, deep-fry, steaming and boiling, and a huge variety of kitchen tools have been created to make the most of all of these options.  For example, the round bamboo steamers are made specifically to fit into the curved shape of the wok, and multiple tiers expand the wok’s cooking area, sort of like a putting a high-rise building on a small piece of land.

In India and Pakistan, where meat and legumes are more prevalent than fresh vegetables, slow cooking techniques are emphasized.  The Handi is a deep, narrow-mouthed cooking utensil with a cover.  It is the opposite of a wok – the opening of the pot is usually smaller than it bottom.  Traditionally used over hot coals, the shape and the cover keep the steam and moisture from escaping making it ideal for dishes that need to be cooked for hours without drying out.

Cooking food at a high temperature in a clay pot can be traced back to when the Egyptians were building the pyramids and baking bread for the workers. Modern chefs still use this method, burying a clay pot in the ground and heating it with well-stocked wood fires.  The clay pot has been adapted by many cultures in the Middle East and Asia and some say this was the basic idea that created the Crock Pot.

The tandoor is probably the most well known method of clay pot cooking.  Basically, the tandoor works on the same principle as an oven, by providing a high heat that wraps around whatever is being cooked.  This makes it ideal for cooking meat or bread.  A chef in India might marinate their meat or fish in spices and yogurt based sauce, then cook it in a tandoor to produce Tandoori chicken or Tandoori fish.  In Iran, you may find marinated chicken coming out the the tandoor as a kebab.

Ingeniously, tandoors are also used for making flatbreads, such as na’an.  A flattened piece of bread dough is placed on the cooler, upper portion of the tandoor to cook. the hot clay browns one side while the interior heat browns the other side of the flatbread.  When the bread is fully cooked, it is peeled off by hand.  The tandoors are often used outside of the building, so you may see one of these as you walk the streets in India or in any major city that has restaurants that cook authentic Indian cuisine.

In Japan, it is probably accurate to say that the most common cooking utensil is the Japanese knife.  It’s not only because they cook less because of all that raw fish.  It’s also a result of the intricacies of Japanese cuisine and the traditional adherence to beautiful presentations of their dishes.  Technique and art are the essence of Japanese cooking.  Well-made Japanese knives are made for speed and precision and are often exquisitely made and designed with style and beauty.

Spain is famous for its paella, which of course requires a paella pan.  Also called a paellera, they are commonly made of stainless or carbon steel.  A paella pan is always broad and shallow, usually has side handles and does not have a top.  The shape of the pan is what creates the layer of toasted rice at the bottom of the pan called socorrat, essential to making authentic paella.  In an oven, the heat will wrap around the dish and the socorrat never develops, which is why the correct way to cook a paella is over an open fire or on a grill.

Using a mortar and pestle for grinding spices is common in ethnic cooking; however, in certain areas of Mexico the three-legged bowl has several jobs in the kitchen.  Obviously, they are used for making salsa and guacamole.  But they can also be used as a cooking vessel where they are heated to a high temperature, and filled with a mixture of onions, bell peppers, chicken, beef, shrimp and sometimes cheese.  The dish is called a molcajete and is like an edible volcano, staying warm and bubbling for half an hour after it is served – assuming you can contain yourself from eating this delicious dish as quickly as I do!

Find more of Jeanette’s great foodie knowledge at AnythingGoesGourmet.com

Photos courtesy of Augapfel/madpai /geishaboy500/AnythingGoesGourmet/Creative Commons