tutorStudy Options
Vocabulary Quiz
minced • brown • caramelized
simmer • drizzles • acidic
  1. They sell the most amazing almonds here.
  2. This actually isn't hamburger. It's chicken.
  3. This coffee is really . Do you have some cream I can put in it?
  4. When the bottle is shut like this, the milk just out, it doesn't pour.
  5. Why don't you the meat while I cut the vegetables?
  6. You can put the meat and potatoes in the pot in the morning, and they can just all day.
Comprehension Quiz
Answer the following questions about the interview.
Audio Links

Download this MP3
(right click and save)

Buy this MP3 +1300
more MP3 and PDF

story image

481 How to Make Spaghetti
Akane shares her spaghetti recipe.

  • Transcript
  • Audio Notes

minced meat

You'll need fifty grams of minced meat and one egg.

When something is 'minced,' it is chopped into very small pieces. Notice the following:

  1. You can make this pasta with minced meat or cheese.
  2. Too much minced meat is unhealthy for you.


Brown the minced meat until it gets nice and brown.

Here 'brown' is used as a verb, meaning to cook the meat until it turns brown, showing that it is cooked. Notice the following:

  1. You need to brown the hamburger before you do anything else.
  2. It will take a few minutes for the steak pieces to brown.


It's important to fry your onions in low heat so that you can let it caramelize.

When something that you cook 'caramelizes' it means that you cover it with melted sugar. In this case, it means more to cook them until they become clear. Notice the following:

  1. The caramelized onions on the top of this bread really give it a lot of flavor.
  2. The best part of this salad is the caramelized walnuts that go on the top.


Let it simmer for a bit until it gets nice and warm. 

When something 'simmers,' it cooks at a lower temperature than boiling, but there are still a few bubbles.  You usually simmer sauces on low heat. Notice the following:

  1. How long do you have to simmer the sauce?
  2. This soup has been simmering most of the day.

drizzles out

I like to pierce the egg with a fork so that all the yolk drizzles out and becomes part of the sauce.

When a liquid 'drizzles out' of something it comes out slowly, rather than all at the same time. Notice the following:

  1. The oil just drizzles out of this bottle.
  2. You have to use something that lets the frosting just drizzle out.


The egg is quite alkaline, so its taste counteracts with the acidic tomato.

An 'alkaline' material contains alkali, which are used in chemistry to neutralize acids. Something 'acidic' has acids, so it has a sharp and strong flavor. Notice the following:

  1. Some people don't like grapefruit because it is so acidic.
  2. If I have coffee and orange juice in the morning I get an upset stomach because they are both very acidic.