Measuring

You might have noticed that I'm a little imprecise with my measurements so far.  Part of that is just the way I cook.  Some of my experience has been about "is the smell right?", "is the color right?", "does the oil make the right sound?".  I figure out if I need a little of this or that by looking, smelling and tasting.

Also, being a science geek I know what 20 grams of something looks like because I've had to weigh out so many chemicals in my life.  So I won't measure when something says add a table spoon as I pretty much know what it looks like and how long it might take to pour out that much.  But one thing I will use is this tool pictured here.  It holds about a 1/4 of a cup and is perfect for measuring out oil for the wok, amounts of soy or other liquids.  You can also use it to measure solids, but you have to have the right containers to use it that way.  Learn to love this crazy long handled ladle thing.  One of the best tools in the kitchen.