The executive chef of dine by Peter Gordon at SkyCity answers your cuisine questions.
I had some delicious prawns in a light batter at a pub the other day - what's the trick to getting the batter to be like Japanese tempura and not heavy and solid?
- Joselyn
Buy tempura batter mix in your local Japanese store, or make a beer batter, not too thick, adding 1 tablespoon sugar - the sugar gives colour and flavour.
I am a very keen baker and cake maker. With the price of butter going up all the time, is there an alternative I could use, such as margarine or similar?
- Billie
Almost every baking recipe I've made has worked just as well with margarine as butter, so you should, hopefully, be able to do the same with your recipes, no worries.
I'm a pretty decent cook and can easily whip up something without recipes. However, of late I've been wanting to properly learn all the various techniques any chef should know. Would you be able to recommend some books? I've tried googling this and books of classical French training frequently pop up. Are there books that go beyond this and cover various culinary styles - books that are used at cooking schools, perhaps?
- Tabitha
I contributed to an excellent book called The Cook's Book by Dorling Kindersley. The New Zealand Chef, by Hospitality Press (2002), is also excellent and very relevant to New Zealanders.
* To ask Peter a question, click on the Email Peter link below.
