FEAST to the world

Sichuan (Szechuan) Dry Fried Four Season Beans 干煸四季豆

2013-06-17T20:02:00.001+01:00

Another famous Szechuan(Sichuan) classic dish. Like the Gong Bao chicken and Fish Fragrant aubergine before it, this frequently appears on my twitter timeline and is a dish beloved by all it would seemed. With all these delicious looking images cropping up on my screen, it's only a matter of time before I finally succumbed to my inner cravings. And so, I decided to cook this tasty classic for a quick supper recently.

Dry-frying is a popular technique of cooking in Szechuan cuisine. The beans are first stir-fried in a dry work slowly until cooked which gives them their signature 'wrinkle' look and a smoky aroma before cooking in a savoury sauce. These days, it is more commonly deep fried in oil to achieve the same effect while saving time.

I have eaten many versions of this dish. Some with minced pork and some without; there's the inclusion of dry chillies in some; and then there are those with Tianjing yacai (a famous Sichuan preserved vegetable) etc. Here is a version that I grew up with. My mum uses dried shrimps and Fuling zhacai (preserved mustard), my absolute favourite of all the varieties of Szechuan preserved vegetables. I love this dish so much I can eat copious amount without ever being tired of it. And just so you know, despite being intended to serve two to four people in the following recipe, I ate it all by myself. That just show you how good this is.

Ingredients (Serve 2-4 )

450g green beans
2 tbsp dried shrimps (hae bee)
25g Szechuan preserved vegetable (this is sold either whole or shredded. Both are good for this)
sunflower or vegetable oil , for deep frying
2 garlic clove, finely chopped
1 tbsp finely chopped ginger
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp chilli bean paste (Toban Jiang)
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp roasted sesame oil
2 spring onion, cut into thin rings
sea salt, to taste

Soak the shrimps in hot water for 15 minutes. Drain and finely chopped. Reserve the soaking liquid.

Rinse the preserved vegetables with plenty of running water. Drain and finely chopped.

Fill the wok with enough oil and heat to 180ºC. Test by dropping a small piece of stale bread, it should sizzle and browns in 30 seconds. Fry the green beans in batches, taking care not to overcrowd the wok, for 4-5 minutes, until they wrinkle. Remove and drain on kitchen paper. Repeat with the rest of the green beans.

Pour away all but 2 tablespoons of oil and return the wok back to the heat. Turn up the heat to high and when smoking, add the garlic, ginger and stir-fry for 30 seconds, until fragrant. Add the shrimps and chopped preserved vegetable and cook for 1 minute before adding the soy sauce, chilli bean paste, sugar and 3 tablespoon of the reserved soaking liquid.

Return the beans to the wok and stir-fry for 2-3 minutes, until most of the liquid have been absorbed and the beans are thoroughly coated with the sauce.

Add the sesame oil,spring onion and season with salt to taste. Give everything in the work a final toss to combine before removing from the heat. Serve with some steamed rice.

Yum Bun Kitchen Takeover

2013-06-13T23:23:00.000+01:00

Following on from my recent corporate catering event where I fed the Singaporean High Commissioner (still in awe and shock), the next highlight was the collaboration with street food royalty - Yum Bum.

Taking over their kitchen on Old Street for one night only and serving two additional Singaporean flavours alongside with their classic pork belly buns. The I-can't-believe-it's-veg bun featured the traditional Popiah filling, stripped of all its carnivorous ingredients but still keeping all the yumminess. And then there was my contribution of the beefy Nyonya ox cheeks Rendang bun, made according my dearest Nan's recipe.

Over 6 kg of ox cheeks were ordered for this event. After 16 hours of toiling over hot stove, during which these hunky pieces of meat bubbled away gently in rich rempah (spice paste) and coconut milk in true Peranakan style. The result was tender and soft luscious meaty strands. These were then sandwiched between Yum bun's pillowy dough on the night, topped with crunchy cucumber, crisp radishes, nutty peanuts and finally adorned with fresh coriander to complete the sexy beast.

This is what 6kg of Ox Cheek Rendang look like!

All these goes into the Ox Cheek Rendang bun ....

This being the first of my 'street food' service, nothing quite prepared me for the intense session. Manning the Rendang and the Veggie fillings station for the entire 5 hours service was a lot harder than I had anticipated. But after filling a total of 150 set (that's almost 500 buns!!!), it was more a sense of satisfaction as oppose to exhaustion. The vibe on the night was great and many happy diners were fed.

Thanks to all those who attended this special pop up event and truly appreciated all the lovely feedbacks and tweets/instagram that were received on the night. It has been a truly magical evening.

Me hard at work manning the filling station ....

Filling the buns ....

A special thanks to Lisa of Yum bum for the wonderful and fun collaboration and all those who have helped to make the night a great success!

Wen of Edible Experiences, our MamaSan on the night, who oversaw the drinks while making sure the order came through and generally keeping the whole night in Ship-shaped and Bristol fashion (yes, she is a superwoman)
Shuhan, Bun Toppings extraordinaire, her multi-tasking fast-action hands would put any octopus to shame.
Javier, our Bun controller hero and all rounder helper
and last but not least, Ming-Tang Evans and Erik for the kind permission to use their photos on this post.

The sexy buns : I-Can't-Believe-It's-Veg, Ox Cheeks Rendang, Yum Bun's Classic Pork Belly

And finally......... The Dream Team

If you are amongst the diners who came and tasted the buns, feel free to drop me a comment and let me know what you think.

Until next time.....Bun out!

Fish Fragrant Brinjal/Aubergine 魚香茄子

2013-06-10T22:20:00.000+01:00

So this is supposed to be spring eh ? Gloomy sky and cold miserable morning. Brrrrrr..... Yup! Sounds about right. Typical British weather. Just when I thought I have finally see the back of those long wintry nights, along came the disappointing summer just to 'cheer' me up and make me yearn for warm summer days (if there's ever going to be one). After a brief false sense of disillusion that hot weather is finally upon us, grey sky once again rules the world. Time then, for a spot of comfort meal in the form of fish fragrant aubergine, or in this case, brinjal - the slimmer cousin.

One of the most well known Szechuan dishes. Quite possible as famous as the ubiquitous Kung Pao Chicken and without a doubt a firm favourite of mine. I'm a huge fan of brinjal/aubergine and dishes like Sambal Brinjal and Grilled Miso Aubergine (Nasu Miso Dengaku) frequently grace my dining table.

Despite the name, there's no fish in the dish. Instead, the name derived from the flavourings traditionally associated with fish dishes.

The aubergines are first fried untill tender before simmering in the sweet piquant sauce till it is silky smooth and absorbed all the wonderful and luscious flavours. Frying aubergine might send shivers and sound alarm bells to your diet plan but it is not really that scary. There are a few pointers which can help to reduce their oil intake thereby producing a far healthier dish.

Slender brinjals from Chinese supermarket are my choice of preference for this than its bulky western cousin. They have less water content which prevent them from absorbing too much oil when frying. If using the round aubergine (eggplant), make sure these are first salted for at least 20-30 minutes after slicing. Then squeeze out any excess water, rinse and pat dry thoroughly before proceeding.

Another trick is making sure the oil is very hot when frying and keep the temperature as constant as possible. Fry in batches rather than throwing them all in at once. This will reduce the oil temperature drastically, causes the brinjal/aubergine to absorb more oil than it needs to.

Follow these rules and you will never look back. No more greasy Fish fragrant brinjal or aubergine.

Ingredients (Serves 2 - 4)

5-6 slender oriental brinjal or 2 large aubergine (roughly 500g)
sunflower or vegetable oil for frying
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 tbsp finely chopped fresh ginger
1 tbsp chilli bean paste (Toban Jiang)
11/2 tbsp Shaoxing rice wine
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp sugar
pinch of sea salt, to taste
1 tsp cornflour, mixed with 2 tbsp cold water
2 tsp Chinese Chinkiang black vinegar
2 spring onion, cut into thin rings
1 tsp roasted sesame oil
1 red chilli, deseeded and finely chopped, for garnish

Cut the brinjal in half lengthwise and then quarters before cutting into 3-4cm lengths. If using aubergine, cut in half lengthwise, then cut into 2cm thickness long strip before cutting into 3-4cm lengths.

Fill the wok with enough oil and heat to 180ºC. Test by dropping a small piece of stale bread, it should sizzle and browns in 30 seconds. Fry the brinjal in batches, taking care not to overcrowd the wok, for 3-4 minutes, until golden brown and tender. Remove and drain on kitchen paper. Repeat with the rest of the brinjal.

Pour away all but 2 tablespoons of oil and return the wok back to the heat. Turn up the heat to high and when smoking, add the garlic, ginger and stir-fry for 30 seconds, until fragrant. Add the chilli bean paste, rice wine, soy sauce and cook for another 30 seconds before returning the fried brinjal back into the wok. Turn down the heat and cook for 2-3 minutes, tossing lightly to coat thoroughly with the sauce. Take care not to break up the brinjal. Season with sugar and salt to taste. Pour in the cornflour mixture and stir gently to thicken the sauce.

Remove from heat and add the vinegar and spring onion and toss to heat through in the residue heat. Stir in the sesame oil and scatter over the chopped red chillies. Serve immediately with steamed rice.

This is also equally delicious served cold as an appetiser.

Chwee Kueh (Steamed Rice Flour Cakes with Preserved Turnip Topping)

2013-06-08T11:59:00.002+01:00

Loosely translated as water cake, which really doesn't do this Singaporean dish any justice. Whenever I try to explain this dish, the mere mention of the name induces frowns and inquisitive looks. As the name seems bland and insipid but the dish itself is far from that.

Chwee Kueh remains a firm favourite amongst many Singaporean and is a typical breakfast dish that can be found in every hawker centre. There are two different types of Chwee Kueh available in Singapore. The Hokkien version uses more liquid in the rice batter resulting in a soft and delicate texture; the Teochew concoction which is the recipe feature below, on the other hand, are firmer and bouncier but both have that chewy, custard-like texture which makes them very appealing.

The real magic, however, lies in the sweet and salty topping made using preserved radish (chai poh). Hawkers from different stalls put their own little touches into the making this to set themselves apart from competitors. Chillies and toasted sesame seeds are just a few of the little twists. Some will add more dark soy sauce for a richer topping and other will add more sugar to yield a sweeter taste. All these depends on personal taste and you can add as much or as little of each as you like.

There are special moulds for making these which will need a trip to Singapore to procure but there a few great alternatives. I use mini tart tin cases here which I've bought from one of my many Paris trips. These measures about 7cm in diameter and 1.5cm deep which are perfect. In the past, I have resorted to using Chinese porcelain teacups and even a large cake tin too. If you are using any of this, you will need to adjust the steaming time accordingly and check by inserting a knife or skewer/toothpick into the cake. It should come out cleaned when cooked. If using a large cake tin, just make sure you cut them into manageable bite size cubes before serving.

The traditional cutlery of choice when serving these are toothpicks. To be honest with you, most Singaporean, like me, are always baffled by this as they are not the easiest thing to eat with using mini toothpicks but hey, it's tradition and that's how I served it at my recent catering event. Nobody complained and all the plates came back empty, accompanied with cries for more. Another sure affirmation of Chwee Kueh's popularity in our Singaporean hearts.

Ingredients (makes about 18-20 pieces)

200g rice flour
20g tapioca starch
pinch of salt
250ml tepid water
300ml boiling water
oil, for greasing the moulds

For the toppings:
6 tbsp lard (use sunflower oil for the healthy option if you wish)
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
200g preserved salted radish (chai poh), finely chopped
2-3 tsp dried chilli flakes (optional and depending on how hot you like it)
1 tbsp toasted sesame seeds (optional)
60ml water
1/2 tsp dark soy sauce
1/2 tsp sugar

Method

To prepare the toppings, heat up the lard or oil in a pan over medium-low heat. Add the garlic and stir-fry for 1-2 minutes, until fragrant. Add the preserved radish, chilli flakes and sesame seeds and sir-fry for 1 minute. Add the water, dark soy sauce and sugar and cook gently over low heat for 30-40 minutes, stirring regularly to stop it from burning, until the radish is soft and fragrant. Set aside to be re-heated later just before serving.

To prepare the chwee kueh, sift the rice flour and tapioca starch into a large bowl. Add the salt and whisk in the tepid water. Then gradually add the boiling water, whisking constantly to form a smooth batter. Set aside to rest for at least 30 minutes.

During this time, lightly greased the individual chwee kueh mould and bring the steamer to the boil.

Strain the batter into a pan and heat over low heat, stirring constantly with a whisk. (Note: Do not step away from the stove at this point)

Once the batter starts to thicken, remove from heat immediately and continue to whisk for a few seconds. The batter will turn into a thick custard consistency in the residing heat. Spoon the batter into the pre-greased mould until just below the brim. (Note: the chwee kueh will expand and rise slightly once cooked)

Place the mould in the steamer. Lay a clean cloth over the steamer before putting the the lid on to absorb condensation. Steam over medium heat for 12-15 minutes, until the chwee keuh is cooked through and set. Test by inserting a knife or toothpick into the chwee kueh, it should come out clean.

Remove from the steamer and leave to stand for 1 minute before running a small knife around the inside of the mould and turn out the chwee kueh onto a serving plate, spoon over the hot radish topping and serve immediately.

Feeding the Singapore High Commissioner

2013-06-06T11:37:00.000+01:00

There comes a time when you've done something so significant and proud that it takes a while before you grasp the importance of it. And also because the reality hasn't quite sunk in until weeks later when you think back and suddenly feel a sense of pride and joy like you've never done before. And this is how I feel now.

My humble story begin with the decision to start this blog, documenting food I've cooked as well as enjoyed. Gradually, this took me into the world of cooking for the public rather than just within the confinement of my own kitchen. My aim was to promote Singaporean and more importantly, Peranakan cuisine. The former is my country and the latter is my heritage. Both are just as important to me. These are the food I grew up with and every dishes played an important roles in establishing my love for food. For years, I have been disappointed by the lack of true representation of our wonderful cuisine. So thanks to Goz of plusixfive, I have found a platform which allows me to do things that I enjoys the most - cooking, and share it with people who are either curious about our cuisine or with fellow Singaporean who share the same frustrations and longing for our homestyle cooking.

Chilli Sardine Puffs :

Ayam Satay with Sambal Kacang (Chicken Satay with satay sauce) :

I have learnt that cooking for a large number is not easy, not especially if you have to juggle a stressful day job while catering to this passion and yearning to feed. However, looking back at all the smiling faces and contented looks on the diners I have had the honour to feed over the past year makes it all worth while.

My proudest moment came a few weeks back when I had the honour of feeding the Singapore High Commissioner in a corporate catering event. This was a big deal as for the first time ever, I had to feed a room full of Singaporean who will be judging the food as most will have no doubt been back home recently and so memories of these dishes will be fresh. Also, it's the freaking High Commisioner ok???!! Wah lau, Siao ah?? (My inner Singaporean slipped out a bit there)

Chwee Kueh (Steamed rice cakes with preserved turnip toppings) :

Assam Fish Curry (Tangy Tamarind Fish Curry) :

Sayur Lodeh (Nyonya Vegetable Stew with Coconut Mlik) :

And so with the brief of no red meat and pork, the menu was set as follow:

STARTERS

Chilli sardine puffs - Chilli tomato sardines wrapped in puff pastry

Chicken satay skewers - Satay with peanut sauce

Chwee kueh - Steamed rice cakes with preserved turnip toppings

MAINS

Assam fish curry - Tamarind fish curry

Ayam pongteh - Nyonya braised chicken in soybean sauce

Sayur lodeh - Nyonya vegetable stew with coconut milk

PUDDINGS

Apam bolek - Gula Melaka pancakes with banana toffee sauce

Agar agar - Traditional coconut pannacotta/jellies

-------------------------

Was I nervous on the day? Oh yes I was indeed and who wouldn't be? So it came as a relief when I got great feedbacks from the man himself and that, to me, is way better than any validation I could have ever hoped for. My nan would be proud!

[ For any events and corporate gigs, please get in touch here ]

Ayam Pongteh (Classic Nyonya Chicken Braised in Soy Bean Sauce ) :

Apom Balek (Gula Melaka pancakes with banana toffee sauce) :

Special thanks to my lovely front-of-house, Christine and Stephanie :

White Asparagus with Brown Shrimps Butter

2013-05-27T12:10:00.002+01:00

I love spring for its many wonderful produce. One such gem is the white asparagus.

These ivory white shoots are grown underground, away from the sunlight which is why unlike its green counterpart, do not develop chlorophyll and attribute to its white appearance. They are harder to cultivate as they have to be constantly recovered with soil to shield them from the sunlight and this labour intensive farming is reflected on its heftier price.

As much as I adore the traditional asparagus, this white cousin of their has a much milder flavour which I do love.

These shoots are not that common here in Britain and they are normally imported from other European countries like Germany or France. Usually only available from a handful of farmers market or online and only for a short period of time (from April to June). But of course that is all set to change with a recent announcement that the first batch of British grown species will be sold to some of the giant supermarkets making it more widely accessible. But if you ask me, I would still prefer to tread my way to a farmers market to get hold these homegrown white beauties.

Try to seek out the thicker spears as unlike the green varieties, the chunkier they are, the more tender they are likely be. But as it start losing it flavour as soon as it is picked, its best eaten on the day to make the most of its sublime flavour.

Due to its delicate flavour, steaming is my favourite method of cooking them. As I've mentioned before in my last asparagus post, I do not believe in wasting the goodness by boiling them in water. They are fantastic with a dollop of homemade aioli, hollandaise or top with a perfect poached egg, sliced open and watch the golden yolk oozes down the nooks and crannies, coating each spears with glorious yellow blanket.

My ultimate favourite however, is to serve it with a luxurious brown shrimps and browned butter sauce. This nutty sauce inject such wonderful buttery sweetness that it just make this dish definable only by the word - Awesomeness. A dish truly worthy of this rising star.

Ingredients (Serves 2 or 4 if you are in the sharing mood)

1 bunch white asparagus (about 10-12 spears)
50g unsalted butter, cut into cubes (this helps them to melt evenly and quickly, so less likely to burn)
100g brown shrimps
juice of half a lemon
a small handful of fresh parsley, chopped
sea salt and black pepper, to taste

Method

To prep the white asparagus, snap off the woody end, lay the asparagus flat on a chopping board and peel the tough bitter skin with a vegetable peeler. Repeat until all the asparagus are trimmed.

Prepare a steamer and steam the asparagus for 8-10 minutes, depending on the thickness, until tender and cooked. Remove and place onto a warm plate and keep warm while you make the sauce.

Heat a frying pan over medium heat and add the cubes of butter. Once the butter has melted and starts turning light brown (this takes literally seconds so do not move away from the stove, you don't want it to burn!), add the brown shrimps and cook for 1 minute until heated through. Squeeze over the lemon juice and throw in the parsley. Season with salt and black pepper.

Spoon this over the white asparagus and serve immediately with a glass of chilled white wine and some crusty bread to mop up the sauce.

Chicken Macaroni Soup

2013-05-25T17:43:00.000+01:00

Pasta is perhaps not something you would associate Singaporean cuisine with. And I'm not talking about egg noodles here but as in bonafide Italian pasta, one made with durum wheat. So it will come as a surprise when I tell you that this is actually a very classic Singapore comfort dish. One that I have had many times while growing up. Like the Jewish have their chicken soup for when feeling under the weather, we Singaporean have this, a comforting chicken macaroni soup with all the healing properties for the soul.

The components are simple. You start off with the basic chicken stock, best made from scratch and never of those dreaded stock cubes. This stock after all, forms the cornerstone of this divine soup upon where all other flavours and texture are build on. So only the best will do. Macaroni is the classic pasta shape for this. Back in Singapore, our macaroni is of a half doughnut shape, quite unlike the typical short tubes version you get here in Britain. Although taste-wise it made no difference whatsoever, but visually, I will forever mourned the demise of our familiar curved doughnuts-shaped macaroni.

My mum's classic toppings are some shredded chicken, fried shallots and Chinese cruller a.k.a. You Char Kway. Simple but delicious and have the perfect textures and flavours balanced. You can of course go free-style and add some blanched Chinese greens like Pak choy or Choy sum, chopped spring onions, coriander sprigs, bean sprouts, sliced chillies, slivers of ginger etc. The combination is endless so go wild and try a few different combo to find your favourite. But for me, Mum's way is the best!

Ingredients (Serves 4)

1 free-range chicken, about 1 kg
300g dried macaroni
1 tbsp whole black peppercorns
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp sesame oil
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

For the toppings:
1 Chinese cruller (you char kway), lightly toasted in the oven and cut into rings (you can get this fresh or frozen in Chinatown)
Crispy fried shallots (see my steamed yam cake for recipe)
a small handful of fresh coriander, leaves picked

Alternative toppings suggestions:
Croutons (made using sliced stale bread. Cut into cubes, drizzled with sunflower oil and toasted in oven)
Spring onion, cut into rings
Beansprouts, lightly blanched
Pak choy or other Chinese greens, lightly blanched
Red chillies, deseeded and thinly sliced
Ginger, skinned and thinly sliced

Method

Place the chicken into a large pan and fill with enough water to cover the chicken. Add the black peppercorns and bring to the boil. Cover partially with a lid and simmer on low heat for 30 minutes, skimming the surface occasionally to remove any impurities that floats to the top.

After this time, lift out the cooked chicken set aside to cool slightly. Once cool enough to handle, remove the skin and tear the chicken into shreds and set aside. Place the carcass back to the stock and simmer for another 30 minutes. Season with the soy sauce, sesame oil, salt and pepper to taste.

While the stock is gently simmering, you can use this time to prep the toppings.

For the macaroni, brings a large pan of salted water to the boil and cook the macaroni according to the instructions on the package, until al dente. Drain and run it under cold tap water to stop any further cooking.

To serve, place a portion of cooked macaroni in a bowl, top with shredded chicken and ladle over some pipping hot soup. Garnish with you char kway, fried shallots and coriander leaves or any toppings of your choice.

Enjoy!

Foraging (A Wild Garlic Chase)

2013-05-23T18:02:00.000+01:00

As a promise that I've made to myself at the very beginning of the wild garlic season, this year I will finally try my hands on some foraging. Since I have more or less publicly announced my intention to do it this blog , I can no longer back out on this ambitious plan. I must bravely go where I have never been before - Into The Wild.

*Picture a brave and proud looking face*

Now I am by no means a seasoned forager and have absolutely no clues as to where to begin. With no clear directions and no one willing to share their secret stash, I resorted to the next best thing - lots of serious google research. Through means of elimination, I have pin pointed a location which is not too far from me and have great potential. Mainly due to it being described as 'lots of woodland' where wild garlic (also known as ramsons) are reputed to be found.

So brimming with confidence in myself, an upbeat heart and a rather large and optimistic empty bag, I set off for my first ever foraging endeavour. Half an hour tube ride later, and a short stroll down the familiar sight of a typical high street, I arrived at this wilderness jungle (slight exaggeration it might be but as we are still within zone 4 territories, this piece of woodland is practically remote rainforest)

After an initial failure at catching some delicious looking grouse lurking amidst these green woodlands, mainly due to a tribe of hostile looking goats. One even decided to charge in my direction. Ferocious little thing! I had no choice but to abandon this plan and retreat towards into the deep forest and resume on my wild garlic hunt.

For the first hour or so, there were no wild garlic to be seen and hardly any blue bells, which are normally found near wild garlic. And hard as I might, trying to sniff the air for their distinctive faint garlicky aroma resulted nothing more than the smell of damp earth. But as luck would have it, just as I was about to throw in my gloves and trod off, I spotted some familiar looking leaves amongst the vast patches of stinging nettles and some unidentifiable weeds. And it didn't take long before I gathered a large handful of these beautiful wild garlic.

Unfortunately, all I've managed to find was some patchy wild garlic crop, so my ginormous bag still remained half empty. But as my first ever foraging experience, I was rather gleeful with this handful of rewards and the best part of this is, I've even managed to procure some with their roots intact which I've decided to plant in my garden.

Now, this crowning glory is comfortably residing in my humble little garden and blossoming. Yes, this elusive wild garlic plant is now tamed and coaxed to remain domesticated. Hopefully it will produce more of its kind in time to come and spread freely and wildly to forever cater to my affection for this delicious greens. I can't wait for next spring.

Grow my pretties! Grow!

Some of my recipe for wild garlic :
Chinese Wild Garlic Pancakes with Gochujang Dipping Sauce (New-Style Cong You Bing 蔥油餅)
Clams, Chorizo, Wild Garlic and Cannellini Beans with Soda Bread
Linguine with Wild Garlic, Lemon, Olive Oil and Pecorino
Deep Fried Courgette Flowers Stuffed With Wild Garlic

The Sum Of All Good Things - Roti King, Charing Cross Road and Sedap, Old Street

2013-05-18T13:50:00.000+01:00

Seeing that I have not been on the ball (so to speak) with updating my blog lately due to one too many commitments, I thought just to let you folks know that I am still alive and kicking, I'll just quickly recommend a couple of places that I have been dining in lately which have impressed the fussy Singaporean eater in me.

Many who have been following me closely on the blog/twitter/facebook would have known of my constant look out for good authentic Singaporean and Malaysian restaurant. Many were sheer disappointments not worth of writing or mentioning but lately, I have found a couple of hidden gems that I truly felt that I ought to share.

First up is this quiet little establishment called Roti King, situated within the Malaysian Kopi Tiam on Charing Cross Road. I cannot vouch for the rest of the faire on the menu of this rather ordinary looking restaurant. I still can't resist the obligatory order of roti canai a.k.a. roti prata every time I visit. These were made fresh to order by the in-house Roti King himself. And I have to say this is the best of its kind that I have tasted since I left Singapore.

For £5.50, you get a portion of two circular dough of heaven. They were light and flaky, just as it should be and not overly greasy. The accompanying chicken curry was rich and had a decent amount of spiciness to it (can be hotter but that's only because I've been brought up on copious amount of chillies). The chicken was on the generous side. On an average, there were two to three large pieces of chicken on the bone and not some measly boneless, insipid meat. I have also tried their mutton curry which were just as good. So if you are after some seriously good roti canai/prata, this is the place to be.

Accept no imitation!

For those who are seeking a good plate of Char Kway Teow (Fried Rice Noodles), Sedap on Old Street is the place to go. This Malaysian Nyonya (female Peranakan) restaurant has been on my radar for quite some time and as a Baba (male Peranakan) myself, how can I miss this. Of the couple of times I've visited, their Penang Char Kway Teow have been consistently good, albeit a bit on the stingy side. Saying that, the size of the prawns more than make up for the £8.50 price tag. However, a bit more of the rice noodle wouldn't go amiss as my dining companion on one visit had to double up the portions just to feel adequately satisfied.

Their Char Kway Teow were by far the best I have tasted this side of the pond. Different to a Singaporean version, Penang CKT is lighter in shade and not as dark soy sauce heavy. But what made this dish stood out is the smokey undertone from the wok hei or the 'breathe of wok'. To achieve that, the dish will have to be stir-fried at a scorchingly high flame thus yielding that unmistakable charred flavour. And by gosh, this plate of CKT was packed full of that umami-ness, even though the lack of the ubiquitous blood cockles do sadden me. I am destined never to savour those bloody (literally) treats again unless I take a trip back to Singapore.

Another worthy mention was the Blachan fried chicken (£7.50), these crispy chicken bites were marinated in the pungent shrimp paste before deep fried to their crispy concoction. The traditional Nyonya kuih selection too, at £2 for three small pieces, were decent offerings and had the authentic texture and taste that harks back to my childhood. Sambal Brinjal (£6) was however, a disappointment for me. The sambal were a tad weak and bland and could have been done with more cooking time to really concentrate on the flavours. Once again these suffered the 'stingy' portion syndrome. The teh tarik (frothy tea) was OK but nothing to shout about.

All in all, this is still a very worthy joint to visit if only for the Char Kway Teow. Just make sure that you double up on the portion. I know I most definitely will and I know I will be back again and again for their CKT.

A Refreshing Asparagus, Cucumber, Mint and Coriander Salad

2013-05-06T11:37:00.000+01:00

The arrival of the first batch of asparagus excites me. I have been patiently waiting for them since last summer. And I'm not talking about those inferior imported varieties that you get down the local supermarket. These are the true glorious English asparagus, sweet and full of flavours, and the only asparagus you should ever really be bother with.

In the weeks leading up to the harvest of these spears of life, I have been tweeting my disappointment of not being able to spot them in numerous farmers market. This unfortunate delays caused by the sudden arctic weather of recent weeks has made me yearned for this even more. I've even tweeted to the British asparagus to query about the due date. Yes, that's how crazily in love I am with this Brit Spears. Hit me baby one more time!

The first few batches of these shoots are the best and I like to treat them with minimum fuss and let the flavours speaks for itself. Due to the Chinese heritage in me, I'm a firm believer of steaming your veg and never to boil them, especially for delicate greens like this. Boiling them in water is sacrilegious as it will mean losing some of their sweetness to the water and unless you are planning to use them as stock, I would strongly advise to use the steaming method instead. This will not only cook the asparagus gently but also retain all of it's flavours.

This is a very simple salad and it makes the best of spring flavours. It is clean tasting, refreshing and uncomplicated. The preparation takes no time at all and sometime, this is the best kind of food. When the sun is out and all you want to do is to sit out in the garden rather than slaving over a hot stove. I have deliberately left out any salt and pepper as the dressing is salty enough and I didn't want the harshness of the pepper to interfere with the overall freshness of the salad but you can use it by all means.

This makes a great side dish so feel free to serve it alongside some beautifully fresh pan-fried fish or at a BBQ. I like to eat it as it is to truly savour the full-flavoured new season asparagus.

Ingredients (Serves 2)

1 bunch of asparagus (about 10-12 spears), snap off the tough woody ends and cut into thirds on the diagonal
1 whole cucumber
1 large red chilli, deseeded and thinly sliced
a small handful of fresh mint, leaves picked
a large handful of fresh coriander, leaves picked

For the dressing:
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp fish sauce
1 tbsp caster sugar
juice of 1 lime
1 medium red onion, thinly sliced
1 small red chilled. deseeded and finely chopped

Method

Place all the ingredients for the dressing in a small bowl. Mix to combine and set aside.

Prepare a steamer and steam the asparagus for 3-4 minutes, until tender and cooked. Tip the asparagus into a bowl of ice water or alternatively, rinse under running cold water to stop any further cooking.

Shave the cucumber into thin long strips using a vegetable peeler. Avoid the mushy core and discard this. You don't really want a wet salad!

In a large bowl, place the asparagus, cucumber, chilli, mint, coriander and half of the dressing. Toss well to combine before plating them onto separate dish. Drizzle with more dressing and serve.

Tayyabs, Whitechapel

2013-04-18T15:33:00.000+01:00

The first rule about Tayyabs is : You do not go wearing your best outfits. You will come out smelling like you just had a one week no holds barred rendezvous with the sexiest grilled meat in the world.

The second rule about Tayyabs is : You do not go alone. You will be tempted to over ordered and therefore you need the extra mouth to eat it all.

Third rule about Tayyabs : You better be prepare to join the queue and wait (even with reservations). It is ridiculously busy and from what I've heard, it will always be busy and at 10pm on that Sunday night, it was still packed.

Fourth rule: Bring your own booze, no alcohol license. Beers and wine are welcome.

Fifth rule : Go easy on the layering. This place is hot, in more ways than one.

Sixth rule: Lamb chops. Enough said.

Seventh rule: Use your fingers, lick if you have to. You will want to.

And the eight and final rule: You've got to eat here.

Once you've memorised the rules above, then you may let go all your inhibition and proceed to one of the oldest and quite remarkable fine East End institution - Tayyabs

It is not easy to find as it is located in a back street in Whitechapel but to seek out this cheap eat reaturant is most definitely worth it. This restaurant has existed for years and has been churning out well conceived and authentic Punjabi offerings and all at an reasonable price, part of the reason why it is immensely popular.

The Paneer Tikka were enriched with spices and flavour and if not for my own aversion to their texture, would have happily lap up the lot.

Huge parcel of meat-filled samosas went down a treat. Spicy, meaty and moist, packed full of Lamby goodness and I wished we had ordered the vegetables ones as well. Next time!

The Tayyabs mixed grill hot plate consisted a selction of theior in house grilled meat. Chicken Tikka, these were smothered with lots of smokey paprika and garlickiness but were unfortunately a tad dry. The Seekh kebab were both moist and richly spiced with a nice welcoming punchy kick in the background. Their signature grilled lamb chops were a sizzling triumph and worthy of their accolades. The meat tasted like they have been marinated within an inch of their lives and each bite full was filled with spicy aroma, both tender and juicy. The only way to tackle them was to gnawed every bits of flavoursome meat straight off the bone using your hands as the only respectable cutlery of choice. Lick your fingers clean if you wish, I did, just so I don't waste any of the delectable meat juice to some unnecessary serviette. We also had a couple of Naan bread to accompany the meal and these came piping hot and were buttery and fluffy.

The chef's daily special Chicken Biryani were sold out and we tried the Haleem instead. These were unanimously not too well received. The slow cooked lamb and lentil stew has the consistency of a thickened glue and not that palatable at all. Our only token vegetable dish to counter these meat feast was the Karahi Bhindi. And this was sublime. Perfectly cooked okra with still a bite coated in a rich chilli and cumin sauce, absolutely delicious.

The only real disappointment for me was the pudding. But that was down to personal taste. The Rasmalai were these light, crumbly doughy ball, floating in a clotted cream, cardomon and pistachios. I enjoyed the sauce, just not too keen on the floating cotton-ball like floating dough.

For under £20 each, these were fantastic value and in terms of flavours were right up there with some of the more refine and Michelin-starred chasing offerings but without the delicacy and intricate presentation and of course, premium prices. The restaurant is at times more like a noisy, buzzing market place, but don't let that put you off. Come here with a group friends or bring along your family and you will certainly be treated to some delicious food at an affordable price. Next visit for me, it will be their dry meat dishes and of course, more of those tender Lamb Chops.

Trishna, London

2013-04-14T23:21:00.000+01:00

Indian cuisine has a bad reputation in Britain, a direct result of its own success. The popularity of bad Indian takeaways means that the perception of Indian food to most is only limited to a korma, vindaloo or the ever popular tikka marsala. However, it is a joy to discover that there is much more to this than the mediocre greasy and dried pieces of curry drenched meat. And to banish all this misguided perception is Trishna.

I first heard of Trishna while dining next door in Roganic. A couple of diners came in hoping for a table were sadly turned away but not before they were kindly directed to Trishna by the restaurant manager of Roganic who was singing praises of their food. This has not gone unnoticed and I swiftly added this onto my ever growing must-go list. And then, upon hearing that they were awarded a Michelin star last September, gave me that little added nudge to bump them up the list.

The menu consisted of the five and seven course tasting menu, rather reasonably priced at £40 and £55 with optional wine pairing and a la carte. Although the tasting menu looked tempting, my dining companion and I decided to go for the a la carte menu instead. No sooner after the orders were taken, we were presented with some complimentary poppadoms, neatly folded into quarters nested in a straw basket and two options of chutney. The sweet mango was lovely but the spicy tomato was fantastically balanced with tanginess, sweetness and fieriness of equal measures.

The Quail pepper fry was aromatic and had a strong whiff of warm spices. The abundance of pepper gave it a tantalising kick which perks up the tastebud and made me wanting more. This was seriously good. I would happily have a big plate of this with a giant glass of ice water on the side to calm the heat. Potato chat too had a great mixture of texture and a well balance of spices. Much more reserved compared to the quail but just as delicious. Well, from what meagre portion that I got to taste, as my dining companion enjoyed this so much that it was all gone before I had a chance to dive in for a second spoonful.

QUAIL PEPPER FRY [keralen spices, black pepper, curry leaf] £7

POTATO CHAT [chickpeas, tamarind, sweet yoghurt, shallots, chilli] £6.25

Both the Malwani Jhinga curry and the South Indian Coast lamb curry were mildly spiced but still had that well balanced flavours that distinguished this from your usual curry house. The Naan bread baskets came with three delicious flavours, great accompaniment to mop up the creamy curry sauce. The basmati rice too, were light and fluffy and cooked to perfection. The okra were beautifully cooked and still have that lovely crunch. The grated coconut added a sweet juicy texture to the dish.

MALWANI JHINGA CURRY [prawns, malwani spices, coconut] £15
SOUTH INDIAN COAST LAMB CURRY [curry leaf, coastal spices, coconut] £18.75

OKRA [coconut, fennel seed, fenugreek seed] £7
BREAD BASKET OF THE DAY £5

The chocolate mousse and the Peshawari samosa puddings rounded off the fantastic meal beautifully. The chocolate mousse were rich but light, barred the useless smudge on the plate, I have nothing to complain about. The latter, were simply outstanding. The tiny grated coconut filled samosas were still warm and crispy from the fryer. The cooling lychee ice cream provided a fragrant and interesting contrast. A jolly good pudding that was.

CHOCOLATE MOUSSE CAKE [pista-cashew chikki, peanut jaggery Ice cream] £7.75

PESHAWARI SAMOSA [coconut, mango, almond, lychee ice cream] £7.50

On a whole, the amiable and attentive service made the whole evening very enjoyable. The meal too exceeded my expectations. The food were well executed and all spices in each dishes were pronounced which showed the masterful restraint of the chef. This is a fine Indian establishment and is well worthy of its Michelin star. Will I return? A resounding yes!

Sunny Linguine with Slow Roasted Baby Tomatoes, Garlic and Pecorino

2013-04-13T23:37:00.000+01:00

Sunny days always makes me want to delve in to a bowlful of well ripen tomatoes. Their bright cheerful appearance and the burst of sweet juiciness within just makes me think of being away by some hot Mediterranean sea. And when they are slow roasted, their flavours intensified which makes them simply irresistible. And there's no better way to marry these flavoursome rubies than with their perfect partner, the fragrant basil leaves.

There is something really soothing about pasta with a simple tomato sauce. Although the famous Bolognese ragu are great example but for something lighter and summery, these roasted tomatoes are the way to go. I would normally use ripen vine-on cherry/baby tomatoes from a good farmer's market for this as they tend to possess great flavours but don't worry if you can't get hold of them. The beauty of slow roasting them is that it will turn even humdrum supermarket tomatoes and transform them culinary jewels. If you are using large tomatoes, just cut them into small wedges and they will be just as good.

If you are not in the mood for pasta, you can always pair them, once cooled, with your favourite choice of salad leaves. Use the delicious residue oil as a wonderful dressing. Squeeze over some lemon juice and top with Pecorino or Parmesan shavings,

As you delve into these, you can't help but have a smile on your face knowing that summer is finally within reach. Not long to go but for now, this summer on a plate will do, don't you think?

Ingredients (Serves 2)

500g baby/cherry tomatoes
3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
olive oil
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
175-200g linguine
a large handful of fresh basil
good quality extra-virgin olive oil
Pecorino or Parmesan cheese , to serve

Method

Preheat the oven to 120ºC.

Cut the tomatoes in half and lay them on a baking tray, cut side up. Dot slivers of garlic on top of the tomatoes and drizzle over literally with some olive oil to coat the tomato halves. Season with salt and black pepper and roast in the oven for anything between 2-3 hours, until the tomatoes lost most of it moisture and shrivelled in sizes.

Bring a big pan of salted water to the boil. Cook the linguine according to the instructions on the package until al dente so that it's still firm to the bite.

Turn off the heat. Drain the linguine in a colander and return to the pan. Stir in the tomatoes and tear in some basil leaves (same some for garnish) and extra-virgin olive oil. Toss to mix well and season with salt and pepper to taste.

Serves immediately with lots of freshly grated pecorino or Parmesan cheese.

Chinese Wild Garlic Pancakes with Gochujang Dipping Sauce (New-Style Cong You Bing 蔥油餅)

2013-04-11T06:18:00.000+01:00

Spring, a season everyone looks forward to every year. Months of cold miserable dark days and wintry snow gives way to some bring sunny rays and longer days. If we can just tear ourselves away from the potential April shower for a moment and just look on the bright side. Spring brings forth hopes and multitude of possibilities - walk in the park, strolling along River Thames and stunning blossoms. But for me, nothing excites me more than the promise of a couple of months of one of my greatest indulgences around this time of the year - wild garlic also know as ramsons, ramps etc.

Unlike their distant cousin whose characteristic potent odour that is so strong that consuming them before date night almost certainly makes you a one date wonder. If smells could kill, your breath will be the ultimate weapon. Wild garlic has a similar but milder aroma compared to the normal garlic. However, eating them before going on your date is still at your own peril.

I love wild garlic and I like to make full use of them as much as I can whenever they are around. They are excellent to zing up a normal aioli, turning them into fine accompaniment to some roasted English asparagus, another Spring's favourite. They are also really good as a simple pasta sauce (see my linguine with wild garlic and lemon) and when cooked, their pungent aroma mellowed slightly. And I've also made a simple stuffing for some deep-fried tempura flowering courgette s with great success.

As I'm not a seasoned forager and have absolutely no idea where to begin looking for this wildly available nature's treats in the woods, I therefore had to resort to buying them from the farmer's market. I've used up half of them to make my clams, chorizo and beans brothy dish the other day so I thought I will be frugal and used up the rest to make a Chinese classic spring onion pancakes. This northern China's speciality have been give a modern twist by replacing the spring onion with the garlicky greens and I have also made a piquant and sweet Gochujang dipping sauce to go with it. And I tell you what, they are superb and very moreish. Very good indeed.

My plan is to be able to sniff these out in the wilderness myself some day. Do drop me a line if you have any suggestion or tips on where is the best place to start here in London. Who knows, my next post featuring any wild garlic might just be a foraged acquisition. Fingers crossed.

Ingredients (makes 16)

250g plain flour, plus more for dusting
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp groundnut or sunflower oil
200ml boiling water
4 tbsp roasted sesame oil
50g wild garlic, finely chopped
groundnut or sunflower oil, for frying

For the Gochujang dipping sauce:
4 tbsp gochujang (korean chilli paste)
3 tbsp cider vinegar or rice vinegar
1 tsp sweet mirin
2 tsp sugar
1 tsp toasted sesame seeds

Method

To make the Gochujang dipping sauce, mix the gochujang, cider vinegar, mirin and sugar to combine and topped with the sesame seeds. Set aside.

Place the flour and salt in a large mixing bowl. Add the oil and water and mix well using a wooden spoon or spatula to a soft sticky dough. Turn out onto a lightly floured working surface and knead for 8-10 minutes, until smooth and elastic. Add more flour if it start to get to sticky. Cover with a clean kitchen towel and rest for 20 minutes.

Lightly dust the working surface with more flour and roll the dough into a long sausage shape and cut with a knife to divide into 16 pieces.

Place a piece of the dough cut side down and roll it out to a rough 10 cm circle with a rolling pin. Brush the surface liberally with sesame oil and scatter over the chopped wild garlic. Start rolling the dough to form a sausage, pinch both ends to sealed in the wild garlic and sesame oil. Lightly flatten the roll and then roll it up again from one end like a snail. Press lightly to sealed the end. Set aside while you repeat with the rest. Cover with a clean kitchen towel again and rest for another 20 minutes.

Place each roll flat on a lightly floured work surface and press down with the palm of you hand to flatten and roll to a 10 cm circle with a rolling pin. Transfer to a clean plate and repeat with the rest of the rolls. Stack each pancakes between sheets of baking paper to stop them from sticking.

Heat a large frying pan over medium heat and brush with some groundnut or sunflower oil. Add 2-3 pancakes at a time. Fry for 2-3 minutes before turning and cook for another 2-3 minutes, until golden brown and crisp. Remove and drain on some kitchen paper. Keep warm in a low oven while you repeat with the rest of the pancakes. These are best serve immediately straight from the pan with the Gochujang dipping sauce.

My Easy Chocolate Fondant with Spiced Orange Sauce

2013-04-08T18:59:00.000+01:00

Chocolate fondant is one of those pudding that seems to install fears into everyone's mind at the sheer thought of attempting to make it. It is not the easiest pudding to prepare. To achieve a moist outer cake layer with that signature gooey centre relies heavily on military precision timing. And if you are preparing other dishes at the same time, this can sometimes seemed impossible. But let me tell you a secret. It is actually not that hard. If you plan wisely and give yourself ample of time to prep the cake mix in advance, then all that requires is for you to pop these ramekins of chocolate heaven into the oven, timer on and just wait for the alarm to go off. In about no time at all, you be able to served up these beauties to your awaiting dining guests. Be prepare, as the initial gasps and commotion as you walk into the room will soon turn into a sea of silence, followed by the sound of Ooo-ing and Mmm-ing as they cut the fondant open with a spoon, unleashing river of melted chocolate flowing out of the moist, tender cake.

This is the same recipe that I have been using for years and is the absolute foolproof method. The double coating of butter on the ramekins might seems excessive but this really does help to ensure the fondant rises evenly. The dusting of cocoa powder too, ensure that the fondant doesn't stick to the sides. This is also perfect to prep days in advance and then freeze for times when you have a sudden urge for a pudding or when you know you deserve a little treat.

Here, I've served the fondant with my spiced orange sauce which as most will know, orange and chocolate are a perfect match. However, I have also added an unexpected twist to this - Ginger. The zingy ginger works beautifully with the rich fondant. So good, I had two of these in one go and they were delicious. Go on, treat yourself!

For the Spiced orange sauce:

Ingredients

250ml freshly squeezed orange juice
1 tbsp chopped fresh ginger
4 whole cloves
1 cinnamon stick
40g caster sugar

Method

Put all the ingredients in a saucepan and bring to the boil over medium heat. Reduce the heat to low and simmer until the sauce has reduced by half and turn syrupy, about 30-40 minutes. Strain through a fine sieve and set aside. This can be store in the refrigerator for 3-5 days.

Serve warm.

For the Chocolate fondant :

Ingredients (makes 4)

25g melted butter, for bushing the ramekins

cocoa powder, for dusting

100g good quality dark chocolate, at least 70% cocoa, chopped into small pieces

100g butter, room temperature

100g caster sugar

2 medium free-range eggs plus 2 yolk

100g flour

Good quality vanilla ice cream or crème fraiche, to serve

Icing sugar, for dusting

Method

Prepare the moulds. Brush the melted butter all over the inside of the ramekins and place in the fridge for at least 20 minutes to chill. Brush more butter over the now chilled butter, then add a good spoonful of cocoa powder into the ramekins. Tip the ramekins so that the powder completely coats the butter and pour away any excess cocoa. This help to prevent the fondant from sticking to the side and thereby rise evenly.

Slowly melt the chocolate and the butter together in a bowl over a pan of simmering water, careful not to let the base of the bowl touches the water. Remove from the heat and stir until smooth. Leave to cool for about 10 minutes.

In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs and yolks together with the sugar until thick and pale. To test, the mixture should be thick enough for the whisk to leave a trail or it should coat the back of a spoon. Pour in the now cooled melted chocolate and butter a third at a time and gently fold in with a spatula. Sift in the flour and once again, gently fold the mixture until everything is well combined to form a loose cake batter.

Divide the fondant mixture evenly between the ramekins and chill . The fondant can now be chill for at least 20 minutes until needed, or even frozen for up to a month.

Pre-heat the oven to 200ºC. Place the fondant on a baking tray and bake for 8-10 minutes until the tops have formed a crust and they are starting to come away from the sides of the ramekins. If cook from frozen, add another 3-4 minutes to the cooking time. Remove from the oven and leave to sit for 1 minutes before turning out.

Serves immediately with a dust of icing sugar and some vanilla ice cream or crème fraiche, drizzled with warm spiced orange sauce.

Clams, Chorizo, Wild Garlic and Cannellini Beans with Soda Bread

2013-04-06T23:37:00.002+01:00

A cold is very hard to shake off. Since Easter, I've had the dreaded cold bug which seems to have stolen away my taste buds completely. Everything I put into my mouth just taste like.....well nothing. I have not been making any effort to cook for almost a week and with all these constant on/off flurries of snow, I really craves for a decent plate of summery food that exudes a feeling of sunshine.

Sometimes, that perfect dish need no more than five ingredients. It doesn't have to take forever to prepare and it doesn't requires you to slave over a hot stove, sweating away. All it takes is top quality ingredients. Once you have those at hand, everything else will follows.

Take this simple dish for example. The main ingredients are some beautiful fresh Parlourde clams I got from Borough market. A good quality cured spicy chorizo along with tin cannellini beans. There is absolutely nothing wrong with using tin beans, especially when you lead a busy working and social life and all you really after is to have minimum fuss for that easy quick supper. A good bottle of white wine is also crucial for this. A glug for the pan and a well deserved glug for the cook. Amen! Now the fifth element to this is something that I rate very highly, even when compared to that glass of wine at hand, if that's even possible. Glug! Glug!

The almighty wild garlic - a whiff of it announces the arrival of early spring and is something that I always look forward to every year. So it comes with no surprise that I would use this in every dish I can. So be warn, it will make frequent appearances over the next couple of months.

The finished dish, with sweet, salty clams bathed in a red smokey broth and hints of delicate garlic aroma is refreshing and is as summery as it comes. And the good news is.... even I can taste this! I'm on the mend. Hurrah!

Ingredients (Serves 2)

800g clams

1 tbsp olive oil

150g chorizo, cut into thin 5mm rounds

2 galic cloves, peeled and thinly sliced

125ml white wine

400g tin cannellini beans

50g wild garlic

sea salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

Method

Wash and soak the clams in plenty of cold water. Change the water a couple of times to get rid of any grit or sand.

Heat the olive oil in a deep pan over medium heat and gently fry the chorizo slices for 2 minutes. They will release some of their oil during cooking which will add flavours to the dish. Add the garlic and fry for 30 seconds. Drain the clams and add to the cooking chorizo, along with the wine. Place the lid on and cook the clams for 3-4 minutes. Add the beans and wild garlic and cook for another 1 minute until the beans are heated through and the wild garlic have slightly wilted. Season with salt and black pepper. Remove from heat and discard any unopened clams.

Ladle into individual serving bowls and serve immediately with lots of crusty bread to mop up all the juices. See my soda bread recipe below.

My Easy Soda Bread

To go with this dish, I have made a very easy soda bread which although took a while to bake in the oven, in reality, takes no time to prepare at all. The missing yeast meant that that it eliminated the much dreaded proving process, which, lets be honest, can takes a long time. All that is required was to mix all the ingredients together and pop straight into the oven. The bicarbonate of soda within will do all the magic and give you a lovely, well-risen bread that is perfect for any quick supper.

Ingredients

225g strong brown wholemeal flour

225g strong white bread flour, plus more for dusting

1 heaped tsp salt

1 heaped tbsp bicarbonate of soda

400ml buttermilk

Method

Preheat the oven to 220ºC.

Sift the flour, salt and bicarbonate of soda into a large mixing bowl. Make a well in the middle and add the buttermilk slowly while working the mixture to form a soft but not sticky dough. You might not need to use all of the buttermilk.

Turn out onto a lightly floured work surface and knead lightly, to shape it into a round dough. The bicarbonate soda start working the very minute it is mixed with the buttermilk so the kneading should not take more than 1 minute. Transfer onto a lightly floured baking tray and with a sharp knife, mark a deep cross before baking in the oven for 20 minutes. Turn the heat down to 200ºC and bake for another 25-30 minutes until the bread is done. To teat, turn the bread over and tap on the base, it should sound hollow. Transfer to a cooling rack and serve warm.

A Light Lunch ? - My Giant Harissa Lamb Pasty

2013-04-05T22:36:00.000+01:00

I know what you are thinking right now. Are those really tiny hands or it that a really big pasty? Yes, it is huge so okay, you can stop staring at that now. And moving swiftly on....

So the day after Easter, I decided to make pasty for lunch. Everyone loves a good pasty. Its like a portable pie with comforting filling encased in a shortcrust pastry, ready to be eaten anytime, anywhere, hot or cold. A traditional Cornish pasty contain beef, potatoes, swede and onion but I've decided to be frugal and make good use of my leftover lamb from my Easter Sunday roast instead.

To give it just that little bit of oomph and bring the meat back to life, I have gone slightly non-traditional with the seasoning. I added some Harissa paste - a North African spice paste made using chillies and a variety of spices and herbs - which will add a wonderful spicy edge to the cooked meat and transform these baked parcels into something special.

As you can see from the photo, I managed to do just that. These special giant pasties will definitely stand head and shoulder above any bog standard pasty around, literally. Being the muddlehead that I am, I had unwittingly mistaken a 30 cm pan lid for 20 cm and used that as my cutting template instead. After folding and crimping the pasties, I then realised the ginormity of these pasties. So what was initially intended as a light lunch turned out to be a full blown meal in a crust. Not that I was complaining. I do love pasty after all.

Ingredients

(make 2 giant or 3 medium pasties)

150g leftover lamb or any roast meat, cut into bite size

1 whole leek, white part only, cut into roughly same size as the meat
1 medium onion, roughly chopped

1 large potatoes, peeled and cut into 2 cm cubes

1 small swede, peeled and cut into 2 cm cubes

1 tbsp harissa paste (see recipe below or shop-bought. My favourite is Belazu's rose harissa)

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

1 medium free-range egg, lightly beaten with a drop of milk

For the pastry:

225g plain flour, plush more for dusting

small pinch of salt

150g chilled cold butter, cut into cubes

1 medium free-range egg

2-3 tbsp cold water

For the Harissa paste:

1 tsp cumin seeds, lightly toasted in a dry pan

1 tsp caraway seeds

2 garlic cloves, peeled

5 dried red chillies, soaked in warm water for 30 minutes, drained

a small handful of fresh mint, finely chopped, including the stems

a small handful of fresh coriander, finely chopped, including the stems

120ml olive oil

sea salt, to taste

Method

To make the Harissa paste, blitz all the ingredients in a food processor until you have a smooth paste. Season to taste and stored in an airtight container if not using immediately. They should keep for anything between 1-2 weeks in refrigerator.

To make the pastry, sift the flour and salt into a large cold mixing bowl and rub in the cold butter cubes until you get a crumb-like texture. Add the egg and bring the mixture together into a dough, slowly adding a tablespoon of water at a time . You might not need all the water. Wrap with cling film and chill in the refrigerator for 1 hour.

In a large bowl, mix the lamb, leek, onion, potatoes, swede and the Harissa. Season with salt and pepper.

Preheat the oven to 220ºC.

Roll out the pastry on a lightly floured surface to about 5mm thickness. For giant pasty, cut two 30cm circles or three 20cm for the regular ones. Divide the fillings between the pastry, leaving space around the edges. Brush the edges with the beaten egg and fold one end of the circle over to form a half moon shape. Press on the edges to seal and crimp as you would do with a cornish pasty. Brush the pasties with more beaten egg.
Note: Alternatively, press along the edges of the pasty with the back of a fork to form corrugated surface which will do the trick of sealing the pasty.

Transfer the pasties onto a baking tray pre-lined with greaseproof paper and bake for 20 minutes. Lower the oven to 180ºC and bake for another 30-40 minutes, until golden brown. Serve hot or cold.

Hedone, Chiswick

2013-04-04T13:35:00.000+01:00

Very rarely I stumbled on a restaurant that filled me with admiration before I have even patron the venue. From the moment I've heard of Hedone, I was intrigued to learn that Mikael Jonsson, the chef who runs it, was formerly a keen food blogger gallantly decided to take his passion that step further and open a restaurant. By sourcing the best produce and giving them the minimum fuss, he has managed to served up superb dishes that accolade rave reviews from bloggers and critics and was awarded a Michelin star in September 2012, no mean feat considering only after a year of service. So finally I decided pay this restaurant in Chiswick a visit earlier this year.

Opted for the Carte Blanche or Chef's recommendation with wine pairing, my fellow diners and I sat back and wait. A trio of canapé opened the show. Foie gras sandwiched between thin crispy rye crisp, raspberry jam disc on parmesan biscuits and smoked haddock on a thin cracker. Each were morsel-size perfection, and a great start to tantalise the taste buds with.

Poached oyster, so fresh that it felt like it's just been caught straight of the sea, shuck and presented before us. The light poaching rid the usual sliminess and resulted in a cleaner mouthfeel. With the sweet, crisp Granny Smith apple foam that blanketed the oyster as it glided into the mouth, quite possible the best way of eating an oyster I've ever encountered. Best dish of the day for me.

Poached Oyster, Granny Smith foam :

Truffle curd with truffle cream and shavings :

A dish of soft truffle curd/broth, topped with more truffle shaving quickly followed. The flavour was so intensely rich and flavoursome that it was cleaned up in no time with me desperately scraping the side of the empty dish with the tiny spoon hoping for more.

The appearance of British asparagus was a surprise, as in early March, it was way ahead of its season. According to Mikael, this was the first early batch, due to the short spell of mild weather earlier in the year. The mixture of raw and barely cooked spears were absolutely tasty and the addition of the truffle sauce made them even more so.

Asparagus and Truffle :

Another standout dish was the turbot, sea fresh and meaty and perfectly cooked. The accompanying frothy broth was gutsy and flavoursome. The ravioli too, were another delightful treat to graze my palate, intense and cheesy parmesan filling burst into my mouth as I bit into the thin sheets of pasta.

Devon Turbot :

Parmesan Ravioli with Truffle Shavings:

Juicy pink duck with the earthy offal sauce were very rich and packed full of flavours. Trio of pickled, roasted and puree beetroots paired with this dish like a dream. The tangy pickling root veg cut through the richness and the subtle sweetness from the roasted beetroot contributed welcome addition flavours.

Salt marsh lamb, again serve pink and almost baaing (which is my personal preference). The sauce were a bit on the thin side but the hidden flavours and the moistness of the meat itself more than made up for this. The quality of the meat itself was impeccable. As much as I loved the charred endives and smoked aubergine puree, the lamb was the undeniable the star of the show.

Duck, beetroot, offal sauce :

Salt marsh lamb, baby aubergine, endive, smoked aubergine puree :

On the recommendation of the chef himself, we went for an additional course. The Aged Black Angus beef, beautifully cook with ruby-red middle, melt in the mouth and taste just as it should, beefy. Along with accompaniment of sweet caramelised shallots and carrot and rich jus made me glad we went for this. Despite the marvellous duck and lamb, this was by far the best meat dish on the day and I could understand why Mikael was eager to showcase this.

55-60 Days Aged Black Angus Beef with Caramalised Shallots and Ramson sauce:

Lemon variations with Lemon Sorbet :

The lemon and marjoram jelly and meringue slice were truly delicious and the zingy lemon sorbet, so light and refreshing that it acted more like a mid-course palate cleanser than a pudding.

The puddings that followed were all superb. The Rhubarb floating island was perhaps the only dish that I wasn't keen on. Not that there were anything wrong with it, but on a whole it was the weakest pudding out of the lot. Chocolate ganache pot on the other hand was truly delicious. Light and rich in equal measures and top with a layer of sharp, fruity raspberry powder. This was so good.

Millefeuille with caramel ice cream :

Rhubarb and Floating Meringue :

Pineapple, Chantily cream and Sorbet :

Chocolate ganache with raspberry powder and vanilla ice cream :

Petits Fours :

The petits fours rounded off the series of excellent meal perfectly. Throughout the meal, the service was amiable. The knowledgeable sommelier introduced each pairing wine with such fine details and nothing disappointed. By no mean of exaggeration that I would boldly say that this was one of the best meal that I ever had. And what filled me with glee as I am writing this is that I will be going back soon. So should you.

Menu
Lunch : 3 courses £35 , Tasting menu £55 (optional wine pairing £59), Carte Blanche £85
Dinner : 3 courses £47, Tasting menu £65 (optional wine pairing £59), Carte Blanche £95

My Perfect Easter Roast - Leg of Lamb with Five Spice, Szechuan Peppercorn Yorkies, Chilli Spuds, Shaoxing Gravy

2013-04-02T06:33:00.000+01:00

And that's another long Easter weekend break done and dusted. I can't complaint much as despite the odd flurries of snow here and there, on a whole it was dry and sunny. The dreaded rain that dampened every Bank holiday was no where to be seen....Hurrah!

Men Vs Weather

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On Easter Sunday, I made this oriental-inspired roast. The leg of lamb, a must for Easter, was first rubbed with fragrant five-spice and studded with garlic slices before roasting on the bone for maximum flavours. This unusual roast combination was inspired by a pop up from the Experimental Tim Anderson (as he was introduced on this year's Masterchef), which I attended right about exactly a year ago. I loved the dish so much that I attempted my very own creation that following week. Without any actual recipe, I had to make things up as I went along. I was rather chuffed with the end results, so much so that this year, I have decided to re-create this dish again, with a few minor tweaks.

I have always been a fan of making modern Yorkies. As much as I love the traditional plain Yorkshire pudding, sometimes I do think introducing some unusual flavours into them makes them that much more enjoyable. I have, over the years, added herbs like my thyme and cayenne yorkies and spices such as cumin and poppy seeds. Bizarrely, it has never crosses my mind to use Szechuan peppercorns. And I must say that was a revelation. These aromatic yorkies are a joy to eat and soaks up the sweet Shoaxing rice wine and oyster sauce gravy beautifully. Learning from my last attempt, I used more peppercorns this time round and only crushed them slightly rather than ground them which I think gave a much better overall flavours.

As for the Chilli roast spuds, the cayenne pepper provided lovely hints of spicy kick and also coat them with a beautiful red glow. Like most of my roast potatoes, I like to use a mixture of goose or duck fat and sunflower oil as I find this combintation produces the best crispy spuds.

And that's my Easter Sunday Roast.......Perfect!

Ingredients (Serves 4)

1 leg of lamb, about 1.5kg
2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
2 tbsp five spice powder
2 tbsp olive oil
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

For the Chilli Roast potatoes:
600g large floury potatoes, such as Maris Piper, King Edwards etc, peeled and cut into large pieces
1 tsp cayenne pepper
50ml goose or duck fat
50ml sunflower oil

For the Szechuan Peppercorns Yorkshire Pudding: (Makes 6-8)
150g plain flour
300ml full fat milk
2 free range eggs plus 1 egg white
1 heaped tbsp Szechuan peppercorns, toasted in a dry pan and lightly crushed
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
sunflower oil

For the Shaoxing Gravy:
1 tbsp plain flour
2 tbsp Shaoxing wine
400ml light chicken stock or water
1 tbsp oyster sauce
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Method

The day before. Mix the five spice powder with olive oil and rub the lamb thoroughly with this mixture. Using a small sharp knife, makes incisions all over the thicker parts of lamb and insert slivers of sliced garlic into this cuts. Do not worry if they are not completely hidden. Wrap with cling film and keep in the refrigerator overnight.

When ready to cook, take the lamb out of the refrigerator and allows to return to room temperature. Preheat the oven to 220ºC. Place the lamb leg in a roasting tin and cook for 20 minutes. Turn the oven down to 180ºC and cook for another 30 minutes for medium rare. Add an additional 10 minutes for medium and if you want it well done, forget it and cook something else as I personally think lamb should always be serve pink.

While the lamb is roasting, make the Yorkshire pudding batter. Sift the flour into a large bowl. Add the eggs and egg white and slowly whisk in the milk. Add the crushed Szechuan peppercorns and season with salt and pepper. Whisk until smooth. This can now be set aside to rest for at least 30 minutes. Longer if you've got the time as this will produce a much lighter batter. Re-whisk the batter just before cooking until you get a smooth consistency.

Once done to your liking, remove the lamb from the oven and cover the lamb with some baking foil and rest in the roasting tin for 45 minutes to 1 hour.

Turn the oven back up to 200°C.

Meanwhile, bring a large pan of salted water to a gentle boil and simmer the potatoes for 5 minutes. Drain in a colander and shake to break down the edges of the potatoes slightly. This roughen surface is going to give you the most crispy and crunchy roast spuds ever. Leave this to cool for 2-3 minutes.

In a hob-safe roasting tin, heat up the goose or duck fat with sunflower oil over medium heat until smoking. Add the potatoes to the smoking oil and carefully with an oven gloves, shake gently to coat the potatoes thoroughly with the hot oil. Sprinkle the cayenne pepper and season with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper. Roast in the oven for 30 minutes. After this time. Turn the potatoes in the pan and move the roasting tin to the lowest shelf in the oven.

Turn the oven up to 220ºC. Fill the individual Yorkshire or muffin pudding tin with a tablespoon of oil. Place in the top shelf of the oven to heat for 5 minutes, until almost smoking. Pour the smooth batter carefully and evenly into the holes until almost full. Immediately place the tin back into the oven and bake for 25-30 minutes, until the puddings have puffed up and crispen and the potatoes are nicely golden brown and crispy.

While the Yorkshire pudding and the potatoes are in their last stage of roasting, Remove the resting lamb leg from the tin and place on a carving board. Pour away any excess fat but keep most of the remaining cooking residue in the tin. Place on the hob and heat over medium heat, add a tablespoon of flour and cook for 1 minute, stirring with a spatula to make sure that it gets nice and brown and soaks up all the fat and juices. Add the Shaoxing wine, then stir vigorously to deglaze the tin and loosen any residue. Add the chicken stock or water and oyster sauce. Turn up the heat and bring to a rapid boil. Simmer for 5-10 minutes to reduce the gravy by a third. Season to taste and satrain through a sieve into a gravy boat.

Carve the lamb into desired thick slices and serve with the Yorkshire puddings, crispy roasted potatoes and the aromatic gravy along with your choice of greens.

Nibbles For The Bunnies And Me - Easter Hot Cross Buns

2013-03-31T14:32:00.001+01:00

I know for most people, the sentiments of Easter lie more than just nibbling on the delicious hot cross buns. But for me, this was my first encounter with a true British baking delight when I first move to Britain from Singapore many years ago.

It was in a traditional Teashop down in Malvern that I came across these fruits-filled buns. I can still remember the excitement of spotting them in the glass cake cabinet. Along with the freshly baked scones, homemade jam and clotted cream, that was the best ever cream tea of my life. Or the fondest that I can remember.

Coincidently, this was also one of the first two traditional British cooking that I attempted. The other being the scones obviously, in that very week after my little road trip. The end results were not as good as those that I had in the Teashop but I was rather please with myself.

From then on, I have a little guilty fixation with these sweet little buns so what better way of celebrating this Easter than to bake some of these spongy buns. For my recipe, I have included some maple syrup, not the most traditional I know but I do find this give a lovely floral sweetness to the finished hot cross buns. And the best part in all these, cutting them into halves and spreading some butter and sweet damson jam. They do make some darn fine breakfast, don't you think?

Now before I sign off to start my prep for my Oriental spiced roast lamb supper, I shall wish you all a very Happy Easter!

Boink! Boink! Boink!

Ingredients (Makes 12)

250ml warm milk
1 tbsp fast action dried yeast or 25g crumbled fresh yeast
450g plain flour, plus extra for dusting
1 tsp fine sea salt
1 1/2 tsp ground mixed spice
50g caster sugar
100g currants or raisins
50g mixed peel, chopped
2 tbsp maple syrup or honey
50g unsalted butter, melted
1 egg, beaten

For the piping paste for the cross:
4 tbsp plain flour
1 tbsp caster sugar
2 tbsp water

For the sticky glaze:
4 tbsp caster sugar
3 tbsp water

Method

In a large bowl, whisk together the warm milk and the yeast until the yeast has dissolved. Cover with a cling film and leave in a warm place for at least 2-3 hours, until the surface is thick and frothy, a clear sign of the yeast is active.

In a separate large mixing bowl, sift in the flour, salt and mixed spice. Then add the raisins or currants, mixed peel and mix. Make a well in the centre and pour in the maple syrup, melted butter, frothy yeast mixture and beaten egg, stir and mix everything together to form a sticky dough.

On a lightly floured surface, knead the dough for 10-12 minutes, until smooth and elastic. Put into a clean bowl and cover with a damp tea towel. Leave in a warm place to rise for 45 minutes to 1 hour until double in size. The damp tea towel will help with the proving/rising process.

Knock back the risen dough. Imagine the face of your worst enemy if that helps and give it a few ferocious punches until it is back to its original size. Tip out onto a clean surface and knead for a few seconds before dividing the dough into 12 equal pieces. Form each pieces into a neat balls and arrange them onto a pre-lined and greased baking tray. Cover once again with a damp tea towel and leave to rise for another 45minutes to 1 hour, until doubled in volume.

In the meantime, pre-heat the oven to 220ºC.

To make the piping paste for the cross, mix the flour and caster sugar with the water to a smooth paste. If you have a piping bag, fill it with this paste or if not, use a clean squeegee sauce bottle. If not, a teaspoon will do the job.

Once the buns have risen, mark a cross a with the back of a small knife and pipe the paste in the indentation in each bun. Place in the oven and bake for 20-25 minutes, until they are golden brown and sound hollow when tapped on the base.

While the buns are cooling, prepare the sticky glaze. Heat up the sugar and water in a small pan over low heat until the sugar are completely melted and you have a thick syrup. Brush these liberally over the buns and transfer to a cooling rack to cool.

Face/Off ! - Singapore Nyonya Fish Head Curry

2013-03-29T11:16:00.001Z

Singapore fish head curry, what can I say about this dish?

It's big, mean and scary, that's what!

But do not judge a fish by its head, behind the daunting and ferocious looking monster lies some of the most succulent flesh by any self-confessed gastronomy junkie. Soft tender cheeks and glossy white eyeballs. Yup! You've heard me right....Eyeballs! The Jaws of all culinary dishes. With their gelatinous and melt-in-the-mouth properties, these were my Nan's favourite. She would wait for the meat to be devoured from all nooks and cranny of the fish, then like a well oiled machine, she'll picked up the naked carcass and suck the eyeballs right out of its socket. If you think this sound absolutely disgusting, you are missing a trick here.

There are many different variations to this popular Singapore dish and this is a Nyonya recipe which contains a richer rempah and the used of dried sour fruit slices or asam gelugar. This give the dish that distinctive tanginess. However, if you are unable to get hold of this, simply replace it with some lime juice toward the end of the cooking time. Although fish head is what truly make this dish so unique to Singapore. But if you are a bit squeamish, there is no reason why you can't substitute it with the less intimidating fish fillets or steaks. I would though try to keep the skin on or on the bone and use firmer white fish such as hake or even monkfish so you don't end up with curry fish pulp instead and reduce the cooking time accordingly. Whatever you decided to do, just make sure that you serve this glorious dish with loads of steamed rice as you'll be surprise how quickly that dwindle once the diners discover the true joy of pouring these decadent gravy over the rice, they'll be wolfed down in no time at all.

I recently made this for my supperclub to 20 discerning diners, who cleared the plate, eyeballs and all. A veracious bunch! The best part was seeing them attacking the eyeballs which I wasn't expected to see (Pun intended)

Ingredients (Serves 4-6)

1 meaty fish head, such as red snapper or grouper, about 1 kg in weight
salt, for cleaning fish head
200g okra/ladies fingers, cut into half if they are slightly big, otherwise keep whole
2 large tomatoes, quartered
4 tbsp sunflower or vegetable oil
1 tsp mustard seed
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp fenugreek seeds
3 sprigs curry leaves, leaves picked and the stem discard
3 tbsp tamarind puree or paste
1l water
500ml coconut milk
2 slices dried asam gelugur/sour fruit , optional (available in all good Chinese supermarket)
1 tbsp sugar, or more to taste
sea salt, to taste

For the rempah/spice paste:
12 shallots or 1 medium onion, finely chopped
5 garlic cloves, skinned and finely chopped
80g fish curry powder (shopbought or see recipe below)
2 tbsp chilli powder (less if you don't like it too spicy)
1 tbsp dried shrimp paste/belacan, toasted on a dried pan or in the oven
2 stalk lemongrass, chopped
2cm piece of galangal, peel and chopped
2cm piece of fresh ginger, peeled and chopped

For the fish curry powder: (yield about 80g)
4 tbsp coriander seeds
1 tbsp cumin seeds
2 tbsp fennel seeds
1 tbsp fenugreek seeds
2 tbsp red chilli powder (depending on how spicy you like the mix to be)
2 tsp white peppercorn
1 tsp ground turmeric

Method

Prepare the fish head. Wash thoroughly with running water to rid of any blood. Place the head in a large bowl and rub salt all over the head. Fill with enough water to cover and leave to stand for 10 minutes. Drain and rinse well to remove the salt. Set aside.

Grind all the spices for the fish curry powder in a spice/coffee grinder or pound in a mortar and pestle.

Pound all the ingredients for the rempah/spice paste in a mortar and pestle to a paste or alternatively, blitz in a food processor.

Heat the oil in a wok or a pan large enough to accomodate the fish head over medium-low heat. Add the mustard, cumin and fenugreek seeds and fry for 30 seconds before adding the curry leaves. Fry for another 30 seconds. Add the spice paste and gently fry over low heat for 15-20 minutes, until fragrant and thickened and the paste develop a richer and darker colour.

Add the tamarind puree, followed by water, coconut milk and the assam gelugur/sour fruit slices. Turn up the heat and bring to the boil, then lower the heat and simmer gently for 30 minutes.

Add the okras/ladies fingers and aubergines. Increase the heat to medium and gently bring to the boil, Carefully lower the fish head into the wok or pan and simmer, covered for 15 minutes. Add a little more water, if necessary so that the fish head is almost submerged.

Finally, add the tomatoes, cover and simmer for another 5-10 minutes, until the fish is completely cooked through and the vegetables are tender.

Season with salt and sugar, to taste, Serve piping hot with lots of steamed rice to soak up all those spicy gravy.

Yipin China, Islington

2013-03-17T18:15:00.000Z

Before I have even enter Yipin China, I have heard good things and rave reviews about this place. Quietly tucked away from the main thorough fare of Upper street in Islington, where most restaurants tend to gather is this Hunanese dining venue. The last time I had food from this region here in London was at Ba Shan which I thoroughly enjoyed. That restore my faith in the possibility of finding good Chinese restaurant after all. So I had high hopes.

The restaurant, like most Chinese dining places, is slightly utilitarian and lack of any distinguishing character. Not that that was a bad thing as it is not something that you expect unless you are going to a poncy, Michelin-starred chasing restaurant.

The fully illustrated menu, complete with pictures of the finished dish were a brilliant way to dispell any confusion about what the named dishes were. You just simply point and order which is what I did with my absolute favourite dish - Chairman Mao's red braised pork. Boy, did they look good in the photo! The rest of my dining companions swiftly did the same and then the waiting game began, which was not that long really. A smooth parade of dishes appeared before our eyes and in a matter of minutes, an arrays of colourful dishes landed on the lazy susan awaiting for our assault.

The dish I was most excited about unfortunately was also the dish that I was most disappointed with. The red braised pork were not melt-in-the-mouth as they should be but instead was tough and chewy, miles away from the meltingly tender version at Ba Shan.

Chairman Mao's Red Braised Pork (£10.80)

Both the mouth-watering chicken and the spiced fungus were nice and refreshing. Although I found the chicken to be a tad tasteless and in comparison, I had a better version of this from Seventeen which had a better texture, taste and kick to it.

Mouth-watering Sichuan Chicken (£8.90)

Spiced Fungus (£4.90)

The sea bass was perfectly cooked, velvety and tender but unfortunately, suffered the same lack of taste as the chicken dish, which was a shame as otherwise would be perfect. As for the Lamb skewers, they were just too tough and chewy.

Sliced Sea Bass in a Soup of Pickled Mustard (£12.90)

Lamb on Skewers (£7.80)

Saving grace finally showed up in the form of the Man-and-Wife offal slices. It was punchy, had a good spicy, sweet and numbing balance which was divine and definitely perks me up a bit after navigated all the lack lustre offerings so far.

Man-and-Wife Offal Slices (£7.90)

Thankfully, the good dishes did not end there, both of their signature dry-wok dishes were indeed superb. Served on a hot sizzling mini wok on burner, each contained beautifully flavoured content, filled with smoky, numbing heat that were so typical of Hunan cuisine and were fine specimens. The chicken, in particular were the better out of the two. So good that I could not help but continued picking on all the garnishes even when the chicken pieces were devoured. The mini wok were practically wiped clean by the time the waiter got his hands on it.

Dry-wok Beancurd (£9.90)

Dry-Wok Chicken (£13.80)

The stir-fried pork with green peppers was good but the dry fried green beans were once again a let down for me. It was rather oily and overcooked. That signature 'squeaky' noise that I was after was sadly, not to be heard.

Farmhouse Stir-Fried Pork with Green Peppers (£7.50)

Dry Fried Green Beans (£7.50)

On a whole, there were a few top notch dishes that managed to savage this meal from being a complete disappointment. But seeing that there appears to be some great reviews about this place around, perhaps I'm judging it a bit too harshly. I guess this is the reason why it's been very tricky for me to find a good Chinese restaurant that will cater to my palate. These are familiar flavours that I grew up with and of course I would expect more from these venue. But I suppose for around £15 per person, 4 out of 10 dishes ain't bad. Perhaps I just need to choose my dishes more wisely on my next visit.

Teochew Dry Mixed/Tossed Noodles With Minced Pork (Bak Chor Mee 潮州肉脞面)

2013-03-16T23:20:00.000Z

If there is a definitive breakfast of champions for any Singaporean, this would be it. Like the big fry up for the British or the croissant and black coffee for the French, Bak Chor Mee (Dry mixed noodles with mince pork) is a staple in many Singaporean's diet, often appearing on the breakfast table. If fact, we love it so much we now consume this throughout the day. It is such a popular dish that if you ever were to travel to Singapore, you will almost certainly find yourself tripping over a Bak Chor Mee stall at every turn. Yes, that many!

The composition is nothing extravagant; lightly blanched springy noodles dressed in a salty, spicy and tangy sauce, flavoured with all the garnishes that served with it. When balanced in perfect harmony, all these flavours elevate the humble dish to great heights.

Every Singaporean has their favourite balance of the dish. Some prefers salty over sour and vice versa so it is almost impossible to please everyone with the same basic sauce. What truly make this dish is the essential braised mushroom and its gravy. This add a touch of umami to the otherwise humdrum noodles. The crispy pork lard too, adds a distinguished aroma.

I adore Bak Chor Mee and it is something that never fails to remind me a bit of home. For my version, I have created a classic combination with the minced pork, liver, lean pork, braised mushrooms and the crispy pork lard which many would omit these days due to healthy reasons but where is the fun in that? So sod all the low-fat diet and give me crispy pork lard any day. Just to stay true to the original version, I have even included the mandatory lettuce leave which I must admit is the only ingredient that I can never quite understand why it is there. Not entirely sure what function it add to the finish dish and most people, including myself tends to leave this limp and insipid tasting green behind anyway. So feel free to substitute them with some blanched Chinese greens such as choy sum or pak choi if you wish. And if you are feeling a tad generous, add some cooked prawns or even fried wantons to bling up this humble dish. But for me, I love it as it is, warts and all, even with the floppy lettuce.

Ingredients (Serves 4)

150g fatty mince pork
150g fatty pork chop, remove the fat to make the crispy pork lard cubes for garnish (see method in my Char Kway Teow post), thinly sliced across the grains
80g pork liver, washed and thinly sliced (omit if you can get hold of this)
400g mee pok (flat eggs noodles) or mee kia (thin egg noddles)
8-12 pork balls, optional (available in all good Chinese supermarket)
2 large red chillies, cut into rings
3 tbsp soy sauce
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

For the stock:
350g pork ribs (the presence of both meat and bone is crucial for flavours)
1 head garlic, cut into half horizontally
50g dried ikan bilis/anchovies (available in all good Chinese supermarket)
1.5 l water

For the crispy shallots:
6-8 shallots, skinned and thinly sliced
5 tbsp groundnut or sunflower oil

For the braised mushrooms:
5-6 dried shiitake mushrooms
1 tbsp light soy sauce
2 tsp dark soy sauce
1 tbsp oyster sauce
1 tsp soft brown sugar

For the sauce:
3 tbsp chilli sauce (any of your favourite shopbought or homemade)
3 tbsp Chinkiang black vinegar (this is lightly sweeter and more fragrant than the normal rice vinegar)
1 tbsp light soy sauce
1 tbsp fish sauce
2 tsp liquid pork lard (from making the crispy park lard)
1/2 tsp ground white pepper or freshly ground black pepper
1 tsp flavour oil from making crispy shallots, optional

For the garnishes:
Crispy pork lards
Crispy fried shallot (available from any good Chinese supermarket or make your own, see method below)
4 lettuce leaves or a small handful of blanched Chinese greens of your choice (choy sum, pak choi etc)
1 spring onion, cut into rings
Additional Chinkiang black vinegar

Method

For the stock, cut the pork spareribs apart into manageable size pieces. Bring a pan of water to the boil, add the ribs and blanch for 2-3 minutes before draining and rinsing with plenty of cold water to get rib of any visible blood. Combine the ribs, garlic and ikan bilis with the water over high heat in a large pot and bring to the boil. Lower the heat and simmer for 2 hours, skimming of any floating foam occasionally. Strain the stock through a fine sieve and set aside.

For the braised mushroom, soak the mushrooms in enough warm water to cover for 20 minutes until soften. Drain and reserved the soaking liquid. Cut off the thick stem and slice the cap thinly. Strain the soaking liquid into a pan and add 150ml of pork stock, sliced mushrooms, light and dark soy sauces, oyster sauce and sugar. Bring to a simmer over medium-low heat and cook gently, partially covered for 20 minutes, until the mushrooms are tender and the sauce has reduced by more than half. Transfer to a small bowl and set aside.

To make the crispy shallot, heat the oil over medium heat in a small pan. Add the shallots and fry for 5-7 minutes, until golden brown. Remove with slotted spoon and leave to drain on some kitchen paper. Reserve the oil, this can be add to the dish later for added flavour.

Mix all the ingredients for the sauce together and set aside.

Bring the pork stock back to the rolling boil. Add the minced pork, sliced pork and liver to stock and poach for 1-2 minutes, until just cooked through. Drain and set aside. Keep the stock on a simmer and add the pork balls, if using and season with salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Bring a pan of fresh water to the rolling boil. Loosen the noodle thoroughly before blanching them for 1-2 minutes and no more. This help to retain their bounciness. Drain thoroughly.
Top Tips: Always loosen the fresh mee pok/mee kia before blanching to ensure they cook quickly and to stop them from forming clumps.

To serve, divide the noodles, mushroom slices and a little of the mushroom gravy, pre-mixed sauce, cooked meats into separated dish and toss well to mixed. Top with the garnishes and serve immediately with the pork stock along with the pork balls on the side as soup.

Place some light soy sauce in a small sauce dish with some sliced red chillies on the side and offer additional vinegar for the diners to adjust the seasonings to their liking.

Hokkien Prawn Noodles Soup (福建虾面 Hae Mee)

2013-03-13T23:43:00.000Z

My freezer contain many treasures. It is full of delicious leftovers from all my culinary adventures. Food that I just can't simply bear to let them go to waste. They are perfect for times when I can't be bother to cook. A little bit of defrosting and reheating and Bob's your uncle. The freezer is also packed with piles of hasty ad hoc purchases from my many trips down to Chinatown. Fresh beancurd sheets, wanton skin, dumpling skin etc. But amongst all these exciting wonders, there is always a bag of prawn heads and shells that had been lovingly tucked away in one of the compartment, waiting patiently for me to be used up to make my favourite Hokkien Prawn Noodles / Hae Mee 虾面

I have a habit of making sure that I only ever buys fresh shell-on prawns for any cooking session, even if the recipe do not call for them. Then what I do is to remove the heads and shells, pack these into a zipper bag and pop them in my freezer. And when I accumulate enough of these, I will treat myself to this truly amazing Singapore hawker's classic.

This is not a difficult dish to make but it does takes a bit of time in order for the soup broth to develop a rich and umami laden flavours. The perfect hae mee broth should have a dark brown appearance with puddles of red-tinted oily sheen from the prawn shells. It should also have a gutsy porky depth and a rich prawny (if that's even a word) flavour. Once the broth is done, the rest is a matter of assembling and then you'll be able to enjoy your labour of love.

For an even more special treat, I would sometimes add half a soft-boiled egg for the toppings too but on this occasion, I forgot. Oh well, hopefully it won't be long before I'll have another bag of frozen prawn heads and shells for this again.

Ingredients (Serves 4)

For the broth:
250g pork spareribs
250g fatty pork chop, remove the fat to make the crispy lard cubes for garnish(see method in my Char Kway Teow post)
16 large raw tiger prawns
2 tbsp lard (use sunflower oil for a healthy option)
2 tbsp crushed rock sugar (from any good Chinese supermarket, alternatively use granulated sugar)
2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1 tsp whole black peppercorns
3 litres water
30g dried anchovies/ikan bilis (optional but will yield a tastier broth)
2 tsp light soy sauce
2 tsp dark soy sauce
sea salt, to taste
freshly ground black pepper

For the garnish:
Fried shallots (you can buy these ready made from any good supermarket)
1 spring onions, green parts only, cut into rings
Crispy fried lard cubes

To serve:
400g fresh egg noodles
200g kangkong (water spinach)
100g bean sprouts
2 large red chilled, cut into rings
2 tbsp light soy sauce

Method

Cut the pork spareribs apart into manageable size pieces. Bring a pan of water to the boil, add the ribs and blanch for 2-3 minutes before draining and rinsing with plenty of cold water to get rib of any visible blood. These will give you a clearer stock. Set aside.

Prepare the prawns. Remove and reserve the heads and shells. Cut a slit along the back and remove the thin black thread intestines, Wash thoroughly and pat dry. Set aside in the fridge.
(Note: If like me, you have plenty of frozen prawn heads and shells laying about in the freezer, you can use them instead and leave these prawns whole and skip this step. )

Heat the lard or oil in a wok over medium-high heat. Once smoking, add the prawn heads and shells to the wok and fry for 1 minute before adding the rock sugar, garlic and peppercorns and continue to fry for another 3-4 minutes, until the prawn heads and shells have turned a deep red colour and coated with glossy lightly caramelised sugar.

Pour in the water, add the blanched ribs, trimmed pork chop and anchovies and bring to the boil. Lower the heat and simmer uncovered for 2 hours. Skim off any floating foam occasionally.

Remove the pork chop from the simmering stock after 30 minutes, which should now be cooked and tender and set aside to cool. Once cooled, thinly sliced the pork and set aside.

After this time, remove the ribs from stock and discard as they will have no more flavour. Strain the stock through a fine sieve lined with a muslin cloth into a clean pan, pressing on the heads and shells to extract as muck stock as possible. Season with light and dark soy sauce, salt and pepper to taste. Bring the stock to the boil, add the shelled prawns and blanch for 2-3 minutes, until they turned pink and just cooked through. Lift out with a slotted spoon and set aside. Keep the stock on a simmer.

Bring a pan of water to the boil. Blanch the noodles until just heated through, then drain using a slotted spoon and divide into separate serving bowl.

Using the same pan of boiling water quickly blanch the kangkong and bean sprouts for a few seconds, until just cooked through. Divide the vegetable, cooked prawns and sliced pork and arrange neatly onto the noodle among the serving bowls. Pour enough hot stock over these to cover the noodles and top with the garnishes.

Place some light soy sauce in a small sauce dish with some sliced red chillies on the side.

Duck Confit And Other Stories - Parmentier de Confit de Canard or Duck Confit Shepherd's Pie

2013-03-10T15:49:00.001Z

Sometimes, the best moment in life is finding hidden delights lurking at the back of your fridge. Especially on days when you are unsure about what to cook for supper. And lucky for me, yesterday was such a day.

About 6 months ago, I made some duck confit and was planning to write a blog post about it. Somehow amidst all the trial and tribulations of daily lives and more exciting posts that I decided to write about, it got lost. So this jar of duck confit have been sitting quietly at the bottom of my fridge, neglected by me all these time. This is what happens when you have simply to much stuff in the fridge, you can't see the confit for the bottles.

But guess my excitement when I saw this majestic jar as I paved my way through the bottles of condiments and sauces. So in complying with the National Pie Week, a thought went through my head. I'm going to make a pie. But not just any pie. I'm going to make a French classic Parmentier de confit de canard. Similar to a Shepherd's pie but with a far richer duck confit filling.

Of course, this can be made using shop-bought duck confit which means that creating this dish will be a doddle. However, I have also included my recipe for making your own, this is so easy and I think nothing will ever beat a homemade version. The duck confit will keep for at least 6-12 months in a cool place or at the bottom of your fridge so it is worth making some and save it for a rainy day, like making this delicious classic French pie. Bon appétit!

For the duck confit:

Ingredients

4 duck legs

1 kg duck fat

2-3 sprigs of fresh thyme

2 bay leaves

1 head garlic. leave whole but cut into half horizontally

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method

The day before, rub the duck leg generously with sea salt and season with freshly ground black pepper. Place in a dish, cover with clingfilm and leave to chill overnight in the fridge.

The following day, remove the duck legs from the fridge, rinse with cold water and wipe dry.

In a pan large enough to fit the duck legs, melt the duck fat over low heat. Add the thyme, bay leaves and garlic and immerse the duck legs into the fat and simmer on a very low heat for 2-3 hours, until the flesh are tender flakes off the bones easily.

Meanwhile, sterilise a 1.5 litre jar by washing it thoroughly with warm soapy water, then place it upside down and allow it to drip dry in a low oven, roughly 140ºC, for 20-25 minutes.

Transfer the duck legs carefully into the sterilised jar and cover completely with duck fat. Sealed and allow to cool completely before storing.

For the Parmentier de Confit de Canard:

Ingredients (Serves 4)

For the mashed potatoes topping:
1 kg floury potato, such as Maris Piper or King Edward
200g unsalted butter (use less for a healthier options if you like), plus more for finishing
100ml creme fraiche
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the duck confit filling:
4 pieces of duck confit, remove the skin and pull the meat of the bones and shred roughly
2 tbsp duck fat from the jar of confit
2 shallots, finely chopped
1 large onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
a large handful of fresh parsley, finely chopped
125ml red wine

Method

Bring a pan of water to the boil and cook the potatoes skin on for 20-25 minutes, until cooked through. Drain and allow to cool slightly before removing the skin and mash together with the butter, creme fraiche and season with salt and pepper to taste. Set aside.

Preheat the oven to 180ºC.

Heat up the duck fat in a large frying pan over medium heat. Add the shallots and onions and cooked for 2-3 minutes , until soften. Add the garlic and cook for another minute before adding the shredded duck meat and fry for 3 minutes, until the edges have turn slightly crispy and golden. Toss in the parsley and pour in the wine to deglaze the pan. This helps to release all the crispy bits that stuck to the bottom of the pan and create a delicious sauce. Cook for a further 3-4 minute before transferring this to an ovenproof pie dish. Top with the mashed potatoes and run a fork across the top to create rough peaks. To finish, dot with small pieces of butter and bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes until the potato crisp and turn gold brown. Serves immediately.

And the following day. . . . . Duck Confit Hash

The leftover makes for a great light brunch the next day. Lightly mash up the leftover pie and fry in some butter on a hot pan until the edges are crisp. Scatter with some chopped parsley and top with a crispy-edge fried egg. Cut into the yolk and watch the golden yellow flow out. Enjoy...