The Bulk Bin Conundrum: Navigating the World of Grains

The bulk bin can be overwhelming, just like Ikea. You step into the store, eager to find exactly what you're looking for, only to end up with gray and sweetened milk chocolate almonds that weren't even on your list. To avoid this fate, it's best to focus on your grains. With so many types available, it can be daunting, but having multiple options can make a big difference. By cooking them in advance and freezing them, you can whip up a stir fry any night of the week without waiting for them to cook.

Spelt Berries, Far, Emmer Wheat, and All Wheat Berries

When it comes to grains, there are several types to choose from. Spelt berries, far, emmer wheat, and all wheat berries are just a few examples. Brown rice is simply white rice that hasn't had the outside polished off, giving it a bit more fiber. Knowing what you're working with can make a huge difference in your cooking.

Cooking Grains Like Pasta

The best way to cook grains is to cook them like pasta. By using a big pot of water and adding generous amounts of salt, you'll season your grains from the beginning and ensure they're tender and flavorful. The key is to cook them until they're done, and the only way to know for sure is to try one in your mouth. If it's still hard or crunchy, keep cooking until it reaches the perfect texture.

Sheet Trays and Pint Containers

If you're planning on doing a few batches of cooked grains on the weekend, sheet trays can be a lifesaver. By spreading them out on a tray, they'll cool down faster and can be easily mixed together with the next batch. If you want to keep them for longer, pack them into pint containers in the fridge or freezer. This will allow you to enjoy your cooked grains for up to 3-4 days, or even freeze them for later use.

Vegetable Oil and Flavorings

When it comes to stir-fries, vegetable oil is essential. You can use any whole chili pepper you like, and adding some peanuts for crunch can add texture and flavor. A few sprigs of fresh herbs like mint, quantro, basil, or red chili will also enhance the dish.

Shrimp and Grains: A Match Made in Heaven

One of the key elements to a great stir-fry is cooking your shrimp until it's just barely cooked through. This way, when you add the grains, they'll retain their texture and not become mushy. Eyeball it, but aim for about 2-3 cups of grains per serving. The idea is to heat the grains up enough to make them tender, but still retain some crunch.

High Heat and Browning

The key to a great stir-fry is using high heat. This will encourage browning and add depth of flavor to your dish. Be careful not to overcook the shrimp or the grains, as this can lead to dryness and lackluster flavors. Stir your ingredients once or twice to ensure they're coated in oil and starting to brown.

Sesame Oil and Rice Vinegar

Adding just a little sesame oil will coat all the grains with flavor, creating a delicious sauce that complements the dish. A splash of rice vinegar adds a tangy element that balances out the sweetness of the sesame oil. This combination is sure to elevate your stir-fry to new heights.

Frying Eggs and Grains

Who says grains have to be like hippie food? With a little creativity, you can make them as delicious as eggs. Try adding some chili flakes instead of pepper for an added kick. The result? Beautiful grains paired with perfectly cooked shrimp, all tossed together in a flavorful stir-fry that's sure to become a favorite.

The Art of Making a Stir-Fry

When it comes down to it, making a great stir-fry is all about preparation and timing. By prepping your ingredients in advance, you can cook up a delicious meal any night of the week. With the right combination of flavors and textures, grains can become a staple ingredient in your kitchen.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enthe bulk bin can be overwhelming just try to focus it's a little like Ikea you just want to go in know exactly what you're looking for or the next thing you know you could end up with gray and sweetened milk chocolate almonds which was not what you were here to get so I'm just going to focus on my grains can be a little overwhelming of all of the types but I do want multiple types because I'm just going to cook them and put them in the freezer and then I can make a stir fry pretty much any night of the week without waiting for them to cook here's what you need to know spelt berries far emmer wheat that's all wheat berries brown rice is just white rice that hasn't had the outside polished off so it has a little bit more fiber I think this is going to tide me over the pre-cooking of the grains is like the thing you do ahead of time so that on the week night when you come home and you're hungry you can make fast fast dinner best way to cook grains is actually to cook them like pasta big pot of water and I did salt it like pretty generously you need to season the grains from the beginning or they're going to be Bland and then the key is cook them until they're done the best way to know if they're done is just actually put them in your mouth and bite them with your teeth and like find out if they're tender or not have a sheet tray especially if you're going to do a few batches on the weekend they're going to cool down down a lot faster if you spread them out on a sheet tray with the next batch just dump them on the same sheet tray and mix them together if you want to let them cool down pack them into pint containers in the fridge I would keep them for 3 or 4 days freezer at least a month I'm going to start with some vegetable oil this is a chili St Bowl you could use any whole chili I'm also going to put in some peanuts this is just for crunch and a couple of star anus a really delicious licoricey flavor FL and we're over pretty high heat here the other key to the stir fry as far as being quick about it is that everything is prepped in advance all right shrimp this is going to go fast chopped ginger and garlic we're cooking these until the shrimp is just barely cooked through because they are going to go in again after the grains go in either from the freezer or the fridge wherever you have your cooked grains I'm going to eyeball it like anywhere between 2 and 3 cups so the idea here is not just to heat the grains up but to actually get a little bit of texture going on them also so you need a hot pan you need a little bit of fat I'm going to stir these once or twice just to make sure that they're coated in oil to actually encourage the Browning I'm going to season them with kosher salt so they taste good just push these down again it's all about making contact with that very hot cooking surface cast iron is great for this I don't want to stir these so that they get a nice crust going if it starts to sound dry that means it is and it means that I need a little more oil now you can really hear it's like got a much more active sassy kind of sauté sound going on I'm not going for color on just the underside so I'm going to scrape these up recirculating everybody and as soon as at least half of these guys have a nice little crisp Edge on them I'm going to add the shrimp and whatever liquid is in there back I just want to toss everything together maybe evaporate a little of the liquid that came off of the shrimp so now we have the ginger the garlic the shrimp that I'm going to season it with some rice vinegar soy sauce and just a little sesame oil just that little bit of sesame oil is coating all the grains feel like we have a little sauce happening in the bottom now so this is going to hang out real quick you guys know how to fry an egg I we do chili flake instead of pepper because of the chili eggs are done beautiful grains beautiful shrimp perfectly cooked yum this is a mix of mint salt quantro basil some more red chili all right grainiac get to it but who said grains had to be like hippie food you know what I meanthe bulk bin can be overwhelming just try to focus it's a little like Ikea you just want to go in know exactly what you're looking for or the next thing you know you could end up with gray and sweetened milk chocolate almonds which was not what you were here to get so I'm just going to focus on my grains can be a little overwhelming of all of the types but I do want multiple types because I'm just going to cook them and put them in the freezer and then I can make a stir fry pretty much any night of the week without waiting for them to cook here's what you need to know spelt berries far emmer wheat that's all wheat berries brown rice is just white rice that hasn't had the outside polished off so it has a little bit more fiber I think this is going to tide me over the pre-cooking of the grains is like the thing you do ahead of time so that on the week night when you come home and you're hungry you can make fast fast dinner best way to cook grains is actually to cook them like pasta big pot of water and I did salt it like pretty generously you need to season the grains from the beginning or they're going to be Bland and then the key is cook them until they're done the best way to know if they're done is just actually put them in your mouth and bite them with your teeth and like find out if they're tender or not have a sheet tray especially if you're going to do a few batches on the weekend they're going to cool down down a lot faster if you spread them out on a sheet tray with the next batch just dump them on the same sheet tray and mix them together if you want to let them cool down pack them into pint containers in the fridge I would keep them for 3 or 4 days freezer at least a month I'm going to start with some vegetable oil this is a chili St Bowl you could use any whole chili I'm also going to put in some peanuts this is just for crunch and a couple of star anus a really delicious licoricey flavor FL and we're over pretty high heat here the other key to the stir fry as far as being quick about it is that everything is prepped in advance all right shrimp this is going to go fast chopped ginger and garlic we're cooking these until the shrimp is just barely cooked through because they are going to go in again after the grains go in either from the freezer or the fridge wherever you have your cooked grains I'm going to eyeball it like anywhere between 2 and 3 cups so the idea here is not just to heat the grains up but to actually get a little bit of texture going on them also so you need a hot pan you need a little bit of fat I'm going to stir these once or twice just to make sure that they're coated in oil to actually encourage the Browning I'm going to season them with kosher salt so they taste good just push these down again it's all about making contact with that very hot cooking surface cast iron is great for this I don't want to stir these so that they get a nice crust going if it starts to sound dry that means it is and it means that I need a little more oil now you can really hear it's like got a much more active sassy kind of sauté sound going on I'm not going for color on just the underside so I'm going to scrape these up recirculating everybody and as soon as at least half of these guys have a nice little crisp Edge on them I'm going to add the shrimp and whatever liquid is in there back I just want to toss everything together maybe evaporate a little of the liquid that came off of the shrimp so now we have the ginger the garlic the shrimp that I'm going to season it with some rice vinegar soy sauce and just a little sesame oil just that little bit of sesame oil is coating all the grains feel like we have a little sauce happening in the bottom now so this is going to hang out real quick you guys know how to fry an egg I we do chili flake instead of pepper because of the chili eggs are done beautiful grains beautiful shrimp perfectly cooked yum this is a mix of mint salt quantro basil some more red chili all right grainiac get to it but who said grains had to be like hippie food you know what I mean\n"