Homemade Takeaway Ideas with Maldon Salt
Do you feel like you are constantly spending money on takeaways recently? Why don’t you save your pennies and swap your usual for a cheaper, healthier and tastier alternative with our ‘fakeaway’ recipes!
This article will explore the benefits of home-cooking your favourite takeaway dish and how to replicate the perfect, restaurant quality from the comfort of your own kitchen. We even take you around the globe with a series of delicious ‘fakeaway’ recipes we have created; from landing in Southeast Asia with the notorious Pad Thai, travelling to China with delectable Bao Buns, and ending up in the United States with their lip-smackingly good Loaded Fries.
But first, we want find out which type of salt chefs are using when they are cooking our favourite takeaway dishes, and how our beloved Maldon Salt flakes come into play with this and the benefits that follow.
What Salt Do Chefs Use?
Salt is one of the most important components when it comes to cooking as it acts as a natural balance for sweetness and helps to counteract the harsher, bitter flavours within a dish. It also can help intensify the aromas you are wanting to elevate. Not only is it important in cooking, it important for the human body to function, as the human body can’t live without sodium – in which salt contains! This nutrient will allow muscles to contract and relax effectively and conduct nerve impulses. However, please note that you should only in-take small amounts of salt per day, with adults consuming no more than 6g of salt (1tsp) and children (1-3) eating no more than 2g salt.
Because salt is significant in the cooking process, chefs need to ensure that they are using the best quality to serve to their customers…and this is where Maldon Salt comes in!
Maldon Salt Benefits
Many chefs and culinary professionals use Maldon Salt within their cooking due to the pyramid-shaped flakes adding a fresh salinity and perfect finish in texture to their dishes. With a small pinch, you are transported to flavours that have been heightened through the sprinkling of the flakes, with a subtle added crunch as you bite into the food.
Maldon Salt is hand-harvested from the coastal waters through time-honoured techniques and devoted care. It is through this that Maldon is rich in naturally occurring sodium and minerals. As a result, you only need a pinch to accentuate the flavours within your dish, refining your sodium intake. You can find out more about how Maldon Salt is made and where it comes from in our guide – it makes an excellent read!
Due to the family-kept secret in the timing and temperature of the sea salt, Maldon Salt receives a unique flavour profile of being less bitter than other salts within the market, with a fresh, clean intensity. When used as a finishing salt, the structure of the pyramid-flakes allows the flavour to spread across the pallet before gently melting, leaving a glorious end-taste.
When To Use Maldon Salt?
Maldon Salt is completely versatile when it comes to using it on your foods. If it’s being used within the cooking/baking process, simply add a small pinch to allow the sweet flavours of the recipe to become elevated, whilst reducing the bitterness. You can find our recipes which contain Maldon Salt in our Recipes, Tips and Blogs Page…I wouldn’t recommend reading them on an empty stomach!
You can also create extravagant salt crusts with Maldon Salt! Our delicious Salt Baked Sea Bass shows readers how the sea salt flakes are used to create a layer to insulate the food and reduce moisture from escaping…resulting in succulent, juicy dish.
The most prevalent way chefs use Maldon Salt is as a finishing salt. Because of it’s unique structure, when sprinkled over a dish you are not only receiving the fresh, clean taste of the sea salt, but you also experience that added level of crunch, giving a glorious texture to your dishes. An example of this is seen in our delicious warm winter salad, where salt is used to not only heighten the sweetness of the beetroot and apples, but to give a delectable texture as you bite into the dish.
Making Restaurant Quality Food at Home
Whether it be a box or tub of Maldon Salt that you possess, you are now one step closer into creating delicious, restaurant quality food from the comfort of your home!
When you are getting creative in the kitchen, you want to note to yourself that sometimes the simplest of recipes can be the best option. Quality of ingredients will be your best friend in this incidence, where you can rejuvenate a classic dish of roast potatoes to magnificent hasselback potatoes! You just need to test how flavours work and balance together, where with a sprinkle of Maldon Salt, you are already creating that natural equilibrium within the dish.
But the question still stands, why choose homemade instead of takeaway?
The simple answer is, it’s healthier! Studies have found that restaurant meals generally contain high amounts of sodium, fats, and calories in comparison to home-cooked meals. Cooking from home means you are often choosing fresher ingredients and becoming more self-aware of the amount of oil/butter used when you are cooking/baking your foods. Additionally, you are also portion sizing your meals when cooking from home, where in contrast a takeaway restaurant does this for you. As a result, in some circumstances you could be receiving a higher intake of calories than you daily recommend if not accurately checked by the restaurant. Therefore, choosing homemade cooking instead of take-outs will allow you to maintain a healthier lifestyle.
Another reason to choose homemade is that it is cost-effective. You are saving money when you are making ingredients for a dish fresh from your home, in which can come to a significantly lower cost for what you would end up purchasing at a takeaway restaurant – where prices are higher to maintain profit margins. The Guardian shared an excellent piece on how cheap you can create components of a dish here, resulting in saving you money and ending up with great tasting foods!
Finally, choosing to cook at home instead of ordering takeaways allows you to connect with food. You’ll tend to gain inspiration and creativity when cooking from home, which is a fantastic way of not only broadening your skill-sets, but provides a level of escapism for yourself. A study from the Frontiers in Psychology revealed that participants who took upon cooking during COVID-19 actually found happiness and relaxation in cooking, causing them to experience more self-reliance within themselves.
All this food talk has got us hungry for more! Why don’t we explore a few our favourite ‘fakeaway’ recipes in which can be easily cooked from home, and still maintain that delicious, restaurant quality we crave.
Our Favourite Fakeaway Recipes
Below we have listed three of our favourite ‘fakeaway’ dishes that can be easily made at home. With a sprinkle of Maldon Salt on each of these dishes, you’ll not only impress your dinner guest’s with your cookery skills, but the flavour that will be elevated from the pyramid-shaped flakes!
Prawn Pad Thai
This dish is one of the most popular take-out dishes you can order, due to the deliciously good flavour profiles of sour, sweet, salty and umami. Originating from Thailand, the dish can be easily replicated in your home through the use of a wok pan. Our recipe goes into full detail on how to create the classical tasting pad-thai sauce, which pairs beautifully well with the king prawns and folded rice noodles.
Pulled Pork Bao Buns
You’re probably thinking this recipe is hard to make and should just opt for the takeout option instead – but you’re wrong! Bao buns are actually quite easy to make once you follow our recipe in how to make the soft, fluffy bao bun dough. Once you’ve followed this, you can create our delicious pulled pork bao buns, packed with juicy shredded pork shoulder and crunchy veg of radishes, carrot and cucumber.
Loaded Fries with Chorizo and Pickled Jalapeños
Ah yes, the ultimate comfort food…loaded fries! You can easily make these at home through cooking hop bought OR your own homemade chips. Within our recipe, we top the fries with chorizo, spring onion and pickled jalapeños to give that gentle level of heat. For the added level of creaminess, we also use cheese and sour cream, with a final pinch of Maldon Salt to finish this ravishing dish!
Food For Thought…
From this article, we’ve explored the benefits of homemade food in comparison to your go-to takeaway, listing the significant health, money-saving and joy home cooking can bring to you. We also illuminated to readers what salt chefs use in a restaurant setting, in which Maldon Salt is formidable for due to versatility of the pyramid-shaped flakes.
Make sure you have your Maldon Salt ready for ‘fakeaway’ dishes! If you are running out, please feel free to browse on our Where to Buy Page to find your nearest store in which stocks our beloved Maldon Salt flakes.
Lastly, we LOVE seeing your creations – please tag us on Instagram using the #maldonsalt so we can share your culinary masterpieces on our socials.
