Taste of Balinese Foods

Explore most amazing food culture experiences, from the dumplings to Indian curries. Gorgeous ideas to take friends and family to have social cooking time, enjoy delicious foods and learn tips and trick.

Plus we do the dishes so no mess at home so join in the classes. We offer more classes in the week than ever so plenty for you to choose. The class include meals, cooking, entertainment and wine - there has never been a better time to cook. Otao Kitchen has the best kitchen studio, so get ready to cook?

#1 What style of kitchen knife do I need?

We thought if you can get one good kitchen knife and build your knife collection. We typically recommend a cook knife or "Santoku" or "Gyuto" knife as a first purchase if you're looking for an all rounder with a blade usually around 22-30cm long, it's not too big or small and so is usually the one knife type you'll use daily.

#2 Looks

How a knife looks should be the last thing you buy a knife for, but that being said, a good looking knife is a real treat. As I have picked only awesome knives before from a trustable plan and they are great performers over my years being a chef.

#3 How sharp is kitchen knife steel?

We've owned a cheap kitchen knife in our life, the one that stays sharp for about two meals. Don't judge all knives by these, real kitchen knives are in a completely different. Knife steel is important for knife to stay sharp because it holds an edge better. The better steels are made from hard steel that simply does not blunt as fast, you can go months before you need to sharp them again.

#4 Ease of care and protection

While knives are made up with the steel heating up and down to make it hard naturally to stay sharp. Your kitchen knife should be put in the dish washer - about 80 degrees. This will compromise the steel. It is simple to wipe your kitchen knifes clean, dry and store them after each use. 

When it comes to storing and protecting your knife, we suggest a magnetic knife rack. If you're travelling or want to store your knife in a draw - we'd recommend a knife guard to protect not only the blade but your fingers when you reach for it. 

#5 Kitchen knife weight

If you use a kitchen knife all day every day then you want a light knife to reduce fatigue. Light knives are a joy to use and so nimble. If you are not a professional though then knife weight really is not an issue, you simply won't be using them long enough to get fatigued in the first place.

#6 Blade length and size

This relates mostly to Chef's kitchen knives. How often do you get to try out a selection of the same knife in different sizes to make your mind up? If you're in doubt for your first knife or just a good all rounder, we recommend a middle ground of a 25-35cm which will cover 95% of kitchen jobs.

#7 Handles

There are two main styles to choose from. The traditional Western style is with the blade goes all the way through the handle and often riveted and pretty damn sturdy. The Japanese handle is light weight and as a result feels like it is barely there. This is a centuries old design and it makes the knife feel significantly lighter and more nimble in your hand.

and it is one of the core ingredients in a lot of Asian recipes. But have you ever struggled trying to peel a ginger root with all of its bumps and lumps?

Ginger can be expensive, so you don’t want to waste any of the flesh. Knives and peelers can’t get into the lumps and bumps of a ginger root without you cutting some of the flesh away. But fear not! There is a super easy way to peel ginger. In this video you’ll see how the best and easiest way to peel ginger is with a spoon!

So how easy was that! Now that you know the best and easiest way to peel ginger, we are confident you’ll be the ginger peeling champion of your household.

Want to learn more cooking tips and tricks?

Come along to one of our hands on cooking classes where Chef Ha provides expert advice and cooking techniques. With his guidance you’ll learn how to make a range of Asian dishes that you can recreate at home and you’ll get to enjoy all the spoils of your creation during the class.

Our cooking classes are a wonderful activity to enjoy with your friends and family, and we hope to see you soon!

Simple. Add lemon juice, bit of vinegar, honey, oil and bit of garlic or shallot in a jar. Put the lid on and shake it well. It taste much better than the jar you bought and cheaper too.

Visit https://www.otaokitchen.com.au/recipes/

Alternatively you can whisk them.

Cinnamon, cumin, coriander, cardamom, black beans, red chilli flakes, nutmeg, allspice, black pepper and ginger. These are just a few of the spices that are used. Storage for my heaps of spices has been a challenge in the kitchen as often they are in little bags, jars and this drifts on to the shelves and cupboards. I thought I could share with you some practical ways that keeps my spices fresh and neat. 

Remember to make sure your spices are fresh.

Remember to place the frequent used spices in the front and the less frequent used spices in the back.

How do you store your spices? Do you keep them in the cupboard, or in a drawer?