Please note that the url of this blog has changed to:
http://www.artisanedibles.blogspot.com
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Monday, July 27, 2009
Siew Yoke (Roast Pork with crackling)
My mother adores The Boy. She also loves to feed him. To give you an example: Once, he casually mentioned that he loves roast pork with crackling. Immediately, the wheels started turning, and she started researching and experimenting with her old recipes for siew yoke* (if you were wondering where I get it from...). My poor father was (happily) the guinea pig of at least three versions of roast pork before it was good enough to be presented to The Boy. Being a true believer that the fastest way to a man's heart is through his stomach (contrary to popular belief), she kindly shared her perfected recipe with me.
* Siew yoke = Chinese roast pork with cracking, often served with rice and other roast meats
Anyway, fast forward to last week. The Nutritionist Nazi informed us that we should not consume, on a normal day, any food that contained more than 20% of fat from calories, and sent us away with a list of information. Perusing the list in the car, I should tell you that almost no beef or pork or lamb of any sort made the cut (excuse the pun). The forced conclusion was that we would have to live with a diet of chicken breast and fish during the week.
But this also meant that there was now cause to celebrate our weekend "cheat" meal. Hence, this post - a tribute to my mother's culinary endeavours and a reward for a week of "good" eating.
Roast pork with crackling is wonderful. You can have it for an Asian meal - it goes well with Braised Cabbage. You can have it for Thanksgiving or Christmas in place of ham, served with apple sauce - children always love the crackling. It is one of those versatile roasts that can be both prosaic and celebratory.
There is much debate what is the best way to achieve crackling. Some like Ellis Handy tout vinegar as their secret ingredient. Others like Gary Rhodes would exhort crackling the rind separately. In our family, we believe simply that the simplest way to achieve the best and tastiest crackling is salt and patience: giving the rind hours and hours to dry out. Hence, this dish should be prepared the day before. We also like to keep the seasoning simple: just pepper and five spice powder. The perfect roast pork should be crispy and crunchy on the top, pink and tender on the inside.
Note: You can get a slab of pork belly with the rind still on at most Asian grocery stores. In Houston, I recommend H-Mart (I-10/Blalock), as always.
RECIPE: SIEW YOKE (ROAST PORK WITH CRACKLING)
Cooking time: 1 hour 15 mins
1 roasting dish with rack
A - Meat
1 slab pork belly with rind
B - Seasoning
2 tsp salt
1 tsp five spice powder
1 tsp pepper
C - Vegetable oil
*****
A - Wipe the meat dry with kitchen paper. Score the rind of the pork belly with a sharp knife.
B - Dry fry the seasoning ingredients for a few minutes. The portions are for 2 lb / 1 kg of meat. Depending on how much meat you have, you may adjust the portions, always keeping the proportion of 2:1:1.
When cooled, rub the seasoning all over the rind of the meat. If there is excess seasoning, leave it - do not rub over rest of meat as, in my experience, this makes the final product too salty.
Leave uncovered in the fridge overnight.
C1 - Heat oven to 290F / 200 C. Put pork with rind facing up on a roasting dish with rack, and roast for 10 minutes.
C2 - Turn temperature down to 320 F / 160 C and roast for a further 1 hour.
C3 - Crackling: Increase temperature to 480 F / 250 C. Using a long spoon, spread some oil on the skin. Don't worry about quantity because the excess oil will just drip and collect below the rack in the roasting dish. Roast for a further 15-20 mins to crackle the skin.
Remove and cool. Alert: Make sure you have all your kitchen windows opened, the kitchen vent turned up to the max and the fire alarm turned off - because a lot of smoke will be coming out of the oven when you open it!
* Siew yoke = Chinese roast pork with cracking, often served with rice and other roast meats
Anyway, fast forward to last week. The Nutritionist Nazi informed us that we should not consume, on a normal day, any food that contained more than 20% of fat from calories, and sent us away with a list of information. Perusing the list in the car, I should tell you that almost no beef or pork or lamb of any sort made the cut (excuse the pun). The forced conclusion was that we would have to live with a diet of chicken breast and fish during the week.
But this also meant that there was now cause to celebrate our weekend "cheat" meal. Hence, this post - a tribute to my mother's culinary endeavours and a reward for a week of "good" eating.
Roast pork with crackling is wonderful. You can have it for an Asian meal - it goes well with Braised Cabbage. You can have it for Thanksgiving or Christmas in place of ham, served with apple sauce - children always love the crackling. It is one of those versatile roasts that can be both prosaic and celebratory.
There is much debate what is the best way to achieve crackling. Some like Ellis Handy tout vinegar as their secret ingredient. Others like Gary Rhodes would exhort crackling the rind separately. In our family, we believe simply that the simplest way to achieve the best and tastiest crackling is salt and patience: giving the rind hours and hours to dry out. Hence, this dish should be prepared the day before. We also like to keep the seasoning simple: just pepper and five spice powder. The perfect roast pork should be crispy and crunchy on the top, pink and tender on the inside.
Note: You can get a slab of pork belly with the rind still on at most Asian grocery stores. In Houston, I recommend H-Mart (I-10/Blalock), as always.
RECIPE: SIEW YOKE (ROAST PORK WITH CRACKLING)
Cooking time: 1 hour 15 mins
1 roasting dish with rack
A - Meat
1 slab pork belly with rind
B - Seasoning
2 tsp salt
1 tsp five spice powder
1 tsp pepper
C - Vegetable oil
*****
A - Wipe the meat dry with kitchen paper. Score the rind of the pork belly with a sharp knife.
B - Dry fry the seasoning ingredients for a few minutes. The portions are for 2 lb / 1 kg of meat. Depending on how much meat you have, you may adjust the portions, always keeping the proportion of 2:1:1.
When cooled, rub the seasoning all over the rind of the meat. If there is excess seasoning, leave it - do not rub over rest of meat as, in my experience, this makes the final product too salty.
Leave uncovered in the fridge overnight.
C1 - Heat oven to 290F / 200 C. Put pork with rind facing up on a roasting dish with rack, and roast for 10 minutes.
C2 - Turn temperature down to 320 F / 160 C and roast for a further 1 hour.
C3 - Crackling: Increase temperature to 480 F / 250 C. Using a long spoon, spread some oil on the skin. Don't worry about quantity because the excess oil will just drip and collect below the rack in the roasting dish. Roast for a further 15-20 mins to crackle the skin.
Remove and cool. Alert: Make sure you have all your kitchen windows opened, the kitchen vent turned up to the max and the fire alarm turned off - because a lot of smoke will be coming out of the oven when you open it!
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Fresh Purple
A friend of mine in London has set up her own online jewelry store, named after her favourite colour. Being impeccably dressed herself always, I'm eager to go check it out myself now. See you at Fresh Purple!
Monday, July 20, 2009
Flowers from the Cotswold, England
Roses and carnations brought all the way from a cottage in the Cotswold, England, by visiting friends and their three beautiful children. Charming!
We cooked over the weekend - first, the Asian experience on Saturday, then a little bit of the South on Sunday. Roast pork with crackling, braised cabbage, kung pao prawns, as well as beans and tasty cornbread - topped up by a belated homemade chocolate cheesecake birthday cake! There was feasting and laughter, fellowship and prayer. What a wonderful thing friends are!
Wind the bobbin up, wind the bobbin up,
Pull, pull, clap clap clap.
Wind it back again, wind it back again,
Pull, pull, clap clap clap.
Point to the ceiling, point to the floor,
Point to the window, point to the door.
Clap your hands together, one two three,
Put your hands upon your knee.
~ An English children's song ~
Pull, pull, clap clap clap.
Wind it back again, wind it back again,
Pull, pull, clap clap clap.
Point to the ceiling, point to the floor,
Point to the window, point to the door.
Clap your hands together, one two three,
Put your hands upon your knee.
~ An English children's song ~
Saturday, July 11, 2009
Navy Bean Soup
Following up on the theme of easy home cooking, I'm starting a series called 'One Pot Fits All' (OPFA) - check out the Table of Contents on the right hand column.
Today's contribution to the OPFA (otherwise known as "op-fah") family is known simply as "Beans". Like when The Boy would ask his momma what was for dinner, she would quite often say "Beans".
That is code for Navy Bean Soup - a good 'ol Southern dish.
Incidentally, you would never believe what Southern boys talk about when they're gathered around the dinner table. That's right, food - like their momma used to make it. Fried okra, fried chicken, fried catfish, cornbread... the list goes on. Southern boys are uniquely good-looking too, quite beside the point.
So yesterday, The Boy and I are trailing the aisles at our local Whole Foods, and suddenly I lose him. I retrace my steps, only to find him standing, almost stupified, in front of a big silver pot poised on a nice table with some paper tubs and lids. What's wrong? I ask. He points to the big silver pot. I look inside.
Yes, you got it right. It was Beans.
Now, to be honest, we both found the Whole Foods version quite awful. But it did get The Boy going. He couldn't sleep last night, and the first thing he did when dawn broke (and it was a decent time) was to call his momma back home to get the recipe for Beans.
So off we were to a butcher (I found one in Houston at last!) to get some smoked ham hocks, and then to the grocery store for some navy beans and cornbread ingredients. And for the whole afternoon, our apartment was filled with the lovely smells of Beans slow-cooking atop the stove.
It was delicious too, with cornbread and freshly churned butter (Central Market is selling the churned butter that used to be hawked at Borough Market!). We ate in silence (always a good sign). It was just what I needed after a long run - a healthy, hearty, navy bean soup.
RECIPE: NAVY BEAN SOUP
Equipment - One big pot
A -
2 lbs Navy beans
1 lb Smoked ham hock
1/2 Large onion (or 1 Small onion), diced
B -
2 Carrots, diced
1 Jalapeno, diced
1/2 Large onion (or 1 Small onion), diced
A - Put the beans, ham hock and onion in a large pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer on low heat for at least 4 hours, if not the whole afternoon. The soup should be reduced to a thick consistency by the time you're ready to eat.
B - 40 minutes before serving, add the diced carrots, onion and jalapeno. The Boy does this right after he pops the cornbread into the oven.
Serve warm with cornbread.
Today's contribution to the OPFA (otherwise known as "op-fah") family is known simply as "Beans". Like when The Boy would ask his momma what was for dinner, she would quite often say "Beans".
That is code for Navy Bean Soup - a good 'ol Southern dish.
Incidentally, you would never believe what Southern boys talk about when they're gathered around the dinner table. That's right, food - like their momma used to make it. Fried okra, fried chicken, fried catfish, cornbread... the list goes on. Southern boys are uniquely good-looking too, quite beside the point.
So yesterday, The Boy and I are trailing the aisles at our local Whole Foods, and suddenly I lose him. I retrace my steps, only to find him standing, almost stupified, in front of a big silver pot poised on a nice table with some paper tubs and lids. What's wrong? I ask. He points to the big silver pot. I look inside.
Yes, you got it right. It was Beans.
Now, to be honest, we both found the Whole Foods version quite awful. But it did get The Boy going. He couldn't sleep last night, and the first thing he did when dawn broke (and it was a decent time) was to call his momma back home to get the recipe for Beans.
So off we were to a butcher (I found one in Houston at last!) to get some smoked ham hocks, and then to the grocery store for some navy beans and cornbread ingredients. And for the whole afternoon, our apartment was filled with the lovely smells of Beans slow-cooking atop the stove.
It was delicious too, with cornbread and freshly churned butter (Central Market is selling the churned butter that used to be hawked at Borough Market!). We ate in silence (always a good sign). It was just what I needed after a long run - a healthy, hearty, navy bean soup.
RECIPE: NAVY BEAN SOUP
Equipment - One big pot
A -
2 lbs Navy beans
1 lb Smoked ham hock
1/2 Large onion (or 1 Small onion), diced
B -
2 Carrots, diced
1 Jalapeno, diced
1/2 Large onion (or 1 Small onion), diced
A - Put the beans, ham hock and onion in a large pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer on low heat for at least 4 hours, if not the whole afternoon. The soup should be reduced to a thick consistency by the time you're ready to eat.
B - 40 minutes before serving, add the diced carrots, onion and jalapeno. The Boy does this right after he pops the cornbread into the oven.
Serve warm with cornbread.
Beans, beans, the magical fruit,
The more you eat, the more you toot!
The more you toot, the better you feel,
So let's have beans for every meal!
The more you eat, the more you toot!
The more you toot, the better you feel,
So let's have beans for every meal!
Thursday, July 9, 2009
Braised Cabbage
This is a winner. And it's easy. I make it at least once a week. Molly Stevens, whose book 'All About Braising' I have exhorted time and again, calls it the World's Best Braised Cabbage. It really is. It's healthy. It's delicious. It's easy. And it goes with all types of food, whether you are serving Chinese or a Pot Roast. We had it for dinner last night with Kung Pao prawns! We're eating it with Pulled Pork tonight. Try it to believe it!
RECIPE: MOLLY STEVEN'S BRAISED CABBAGE
Cooking time: 2 hrs 15 mins
Serves: 8
Equipment -
1 saute pan
Aluminium foil
A -
1 cabbage (approx. 2 lbs, so that it fits into the saute pan)
B -
2 carrots, chopped into small rounds
1 onion, sliced
3 dried red chilis OR Chili flakes
C -
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 cup water
D -
Splash of red vinegar
*****
Heat oven at 325 F / 163 C.
A - Chop the cabbage into 8 parts and arrange around the saute pan in a single layer. It's very important that it's in a single layer.
B - Scatter the onions, carrots and chili flakes around. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
C - Add olive oil and water into the pan, and cover tightly with aluminium foil. Braise in oven for 1 hour. Molly Stevens advises to turn the cabbage halfway, but that's messy so I usually leave it.
After an hour, turn heat up to 400 F / 205 C and remove aluminium foil. Braise for another 15 mins.
D - Before serving, splash a little red vinegar around - this brings out the sweetness of the cabbage.
Serve warm.
RECIPE: MOLLY STEVEN'S BRAISED CABBAGE
Cooking time: 2 hrs 15 mins
Serves: 8
Equipment -
1 saute pan
Aluminium foil
A -
1 cabbage (approx. 2 lbs, so that it fits into the saute pan)
B -
2 carrots, chopped into small rounds
1 onion, sliced
3 dried red chilis OR Chili flakes
C -
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 cup water
D -
Splash of red vinegar
*****
Heat oven at 325 F / 163 C.
A - Chop the cabbage into 8 parts and arrange around the saute pan in a single layer. It's very important that it's in a single layer.
B - Scatter the onions, carrots and chili flakes around. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
C - Add olive oil and water into the pan, and cover tightly with aluminium foil. Braise in oven for 1 hour. Molly Stevens advises to turn the cabbage halfway, but that's messy so I usually leave it.
After an hour, turn heat up to 400 F / 205 C and remove aluminium foil. Braise for another 15 mins.
D - Before serving, splash a little red vinegar around - this brings out the sweetness of the cabbage.
Serve warm.
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
4th of July food: Potato Salad
We apparently have a great view of the downtown fireworks from the roof of our apartment complex. So this 4th of July, we had some newlywed friends over for a grill out - my first 4th of July!
Aaron was so excited about making his momma's famous potato salad that he dragged me grocery shopping at 10pm on Friday night. Momma Akins' potato salad lives up to its name indeed. It's pickly and eggy and potatoish. I personally dislike mayonnaise in large quantities, and always leave it out in my subways and then sparingly in salads and coleslaw - which is why I love this potato salad, which is relatively mayo-free. The only time I will eat mayonnaise in large quantities is with my fries (chips to my friends across the pond), which The Boy finds disgusting.
We had so much fun on Saturday evening. I love grilling out!
RECIPE: MOMMA AKINS' POTATO SALAD
A -
1 bag potatoes, approx. 1 per person
B -
4-5 eggs
C - Dressing
Mayonnaise
Hot dog relish
Dill pickles, chopped roughly
Scallions, chopped
Celery seeds
Black pepper
Onion powder
A. Peel potatoes and cut into cubes. Place in a large pot and cover with water. Add salt and bring to a boil. Lower heat and parboil potatoes, covered, until they are soft (but not mushy - test with a fork). Drain and place back on heat to boil off any remaining water.
B. While the potatoes are cooking, hard boil the eggs by placing them in a pot of cold water, add some salt, and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and cook, covered, for 15 minutes. Drain and peel eggs under cold running water. Dry with a paper towel and chop roughly.
C. In a large bowl, fork through the potatoes and mix in the cooked and chopped eggs. Assemble the rest of the salad dressing to taste: a few tbsps of mayo, several squirts of mustard, approx half the bottle of hotdog relish, the pickles, scallions and other condiments.
Serve chilled.
Aaron was so excited about making his momma's famous potato salad that he dragged me grocery shopping at 10pm on Friday night. Momma Akins' potato salad lives up to its name indeed. It's pickly and eggy and potatoish. I personally dislike mayonnaise in large quantities, and always leave it out in my subways and then sparingly in salads and coleslaw - which is why I love this potato salad, which is relatively mayo-free. The only time I will eat mayonnaise in large quantities is with my fries (chips to my friends across the pond), which The Boy finds disgusting.
We had so much fun on Saturday evening. I love grilling out!
RECIPE: MOMMA AKINS' POTATO SALAD
A -
1 bag potatoes, approx. 1 per person
B -
4-5 eggs
C - Dressing
Mayonnaise
Hot dog relish
Dill pickles, chopped roughly
Scallions, chopped
Celery seeds
Black pepper
Onion powder
A. Peel potatoes and cut into cubes. Place in a large pot and cover with water. Add salt and bring to a boil. Lower heat and parboil potatoes, covered, until they are soft (but not mushy - test with a fork). Drain and place back on heat to boil off any remaining water.
B. While the potatoes are cooking, hard boil the eggs by placing them in a pot of cold water, add some salt, and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and cook, covered, for 15 minutes. Drain and peel eggs under cold running water. Dry with a paper towel and chop roughly.
C. In a large bowl, fork through the potatoes and mix in the cooked and chopped eggs. Assemble the rest of the salad dressing to taste: a few tbsps of mayo, several squirts of mustard, approx half the bottle of hotdog relish, the pickles, scallions and other condiments.
Serve chilled.
The Best Banana Cake in the World
Everyone has eaten banana cake before. Banana cake is like the cake that you will bake (and eat) at some point in your life - if any baking happened at all, that is. It is the cake to bake if you are in a hurry. It is the cake to bake if you are not a confident baker. It is the cake to bake just to remember home, remember your mum, remember how to bake.
It is a very helpful way of using up those over-ripe bananas too. Our house designer was coming over for a meeting tonight, and I had bananas that were so black and squishy that my housekeeper worriedly pointed them out to me this morning with a tut tut. So, banana cake it was.
The perfect banana cake for me is fluffy and moist, with small scattered squishes of banana in between, and a toasty nutty caramelized shell. No nuts required.
This recipe is by Carrie Ho from A Treasured Collection (2001). A few years ago, the ladies of Covenant Community Methodist Church in Singapore gathered together to collate their time-treasured recipes. It's a dying tradition, but church gatherings used to be fed with food lovingly prepared by its members. Nowadays we cater (still lovingly) fried chicken, hotdogs and cookies. Call me old-fashioned, but I kinda miss those days and am fighting it tooth and nail!
RECIPE: THE BEST BANANA CAKE IN THE WORLD
Cooking time: 1 hour 15 mins
Serves: 8
Equipment -
1x 20 cm square baking pan (I used a pie pan last night. A decorative alternative is to use a bundt pan.)
Wax paper
A -
180 g / 6 oz Butter
180 g / 6 oz Sugar
B -
2 tbsp Sour cream
1 tsp Vanilla essence
C -
3 Large eggs (60g each)
D -
210 g / 7.5 oz Self-raising flour, sifted
4 Large ripe bananas or 8 Small ripe bananas, mashed with a fork
*****
Pre-heat oven to 170 C / 340 F. Grease and line baking pan. Dust with flour.
A - Cream butter and sugar together till light and fluffy. I use the flat paddle for this.
B - Add sour cream and vanilla essence to A.
C - Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. I switch to the egg beater for this.
D - Fold in sifted flour and bananas gradually into the mixture. I do this manually with a flat spatula. Pour mixture into baking pan and bake for 1 hour. Then cover cake with foil and bake for another 10 mins. Remove from oven and let cake stand for 5 mins before taking it out. Cool on wire rack for at least another 10 mins before serving.
You can serve it with dusted icing sugar or a simple sour cream frosting.
It is a very helpful way of using up those over-ripe bananas too. Our house designer was coming over for a meeting tonight, and I had bananas that were so black and squishy that my housekeeper worriedly pointed them out to me this morning with a tut tut. So, banana cake it was.
The perfect banana cake for me is fluffy and moist, with small scattered squishes of banana in between, and a toasty nutty caramelized shell. No nuts required.
This recipe is by Carrie Ho from A Treasured Collection (2001). A few years ago, the ladies of Covenant Community Methodist Church in Singapore gathered together to collate their time-treasured recipes. It's a dying tradition, but church gatherings used to be fed with food lovingly prepared by its members. Nowadays we cater (still lovingly) fried chicken, hotdogs and cookies. Call me old-fashioned, but I kinda miss those days and am fighting it tooth and nail!
RECIPE: THE BEST BANANA CAKE IN THE WORLD
Cooking time: 1 hour 15 mins
Serves: 8
Equipment -
1x 20 cm square baking pan (I used a pie pan last night. A decorative alternative is to use a bundt pan.)
Wax paper
A -
180 g / 6 oz Butter
180 g / 6 oz Sugar
B -
2 tbsp Sour cream
1 tsp Vanilla essence
C -
3 Large eggs (60g each)
D -
210 g / 7.5 oz Self-raising flour, sifted
4 Large ripe bananas or 8 Small ripe bananas, mashed with a fork
*****
Pre-heat oven to 170 C / 340 F. Grease and line baking pan. Dust with flour.
A - Cream butter and sugar together till light and fluffy. I use the flat paddle for this.
B - Add sour cream and vanilla essence to A.
C - Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. I switch to the egg beater for this.
D - Fold in sifted flour and bananas gradually into the mixture. I do this manually with a flat spatula. Pour mixture into baking pan and bake for 1 hour. Then cover cake with foil and bake for another 10 mins. Remove from oven and let cake stand for 5 mins before taking it out. Cool on wire rack for at least another 10 mins before serving.
You can serve it with dusted icing sugar or a simple sour cream frosting.
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Sai Yong Choi Shui (Sweet Watercress Drink)
There really is no end to the kind of Chinese "torture" that I am willing to inflict on my American friends in the name of nutrition. My friend, Leslie, in particular, has gamely drunk every herbal soup I have presented her and once sat, fists clenched, through a meal with Japanese fried fish shishamo (smelt) on the table in full glory with their heads, eyes, roe and tails intact (she did scream when someone touched her).
One type of soup, however, has never failed to please - a sweet beverage with cooling properties on a hot summer's day. It also seems universally cultural: the Mexicans have ponche, Singaporeans have sugarcane, the Japanese have a watercress drink too (what issit called?). One of the many drinks the Chinese have is watercress.
One type of soup, however, has never failed to please - a sweet beverage with cooling properties on a hot summer's day. It also seems universally cultural: the Mexicans have ponche, Singaporeans have sugarcane, the Japanese have a watercress drink too (what issit called?). One of the many drinks the Chinese have is watercress.
Each major ingredient in this delicious concoction presents a nutritional benefit or symbolic meaning:
Watercress - The Chinese call watercress 'The Vegetable from the Western Oceans', because watercress is not native to China and the name reflects the fact that it was first introduced by Portugese sailors via Macau more than a century ago (1988, Ng Siong Mui). It is believed to have refreshing and soothing properties for the lungs, and is drunk in hot weather.
Almonds - There are two kinds of almonds in Chinese cooking: the bigger sweet almonds, and the smaller bitter almonds. The latter is used here. Here, both are really kernals from different species of the apricot. The smaller bitter almonds have stronger herbal properties and good for alleviating dry coughs (1988, Ng Siong Mui). I add it here because it gives a fun crunchiness to the drink.
Red dates and Honey dates and Dried Longan flesh - There is no added sugar to this drink at all. It is flavoured entirely with a combination of these sweet fruits. Longans are my particular favourite, and they are the fruit of 'sweetness and roundness', which in the Chinese mind means 'everything will be perfect' (1988, Ng Siong Mui). I love honey dates too - sweet yumminess!
Buddha's fruit - Buddha's fruit is a brownish-green, round and light fruit with a sharp, sweet taste. The name is derived from the fact that the fruit grows in clusters of 18 - exactly the number of Buddha's close disciples - and is grown only in China's Kwangsi province (1988, Ng Siong Mui).
Dried tangerine peel - Dried tangerine peel is one of the three treasures of the Cantonese. My mother remembers her grandmother hiding it in an air-tight biscuit tin under her bed because it was so precious. I added a small slice of this to counteract the 'yin' in the drink.
Boil all ingredients for 15 mins on high and then lower heat to simmer for 2 hours. Serve chilled.
Thursday, June 4, 2009
Kung Pao Chicken / Prawns / Scallops
Now that you have assembled your basic Chinese kitchen, it's time to put it to good use! Like the Steamed Sea Bass, this recipe will use the ingredients found in a Basic Chinese Kitchen (see previous post).
We served the scallops version of this dish to our friends from church last Friday - guys, we totally forgot to mention (because we actually forgot) that it was our 6 month anniversary that day!
Since then, however, I've been experimenting a little. Chicken turns out fine with no incidents usually, but I have been unhappy with the texture of the prawns/scallops when we've gone the seafood way. So I did a little research. What I was aiming for was a firm texture (so no wet ingredients in the marinade), while protecting the seafood's natural moisture (so not too much salt) and sweetness.
And I decided to try toasting the nuts beforehand, to add a little smokiness.
Kung pao is also a classic in Asian American cuisine - but here, sans the 'Pei Wei' effect (read: cloyingly sweet, unredemptively starchy, and ever-abundant sauce).
It is also easy - I promise you will get this done in less than 30 mins. I love stir-frys for that reason: they are quick and relatively straightforward, although its taken me a little longer to do it well. My passion is to share the little secrets I've learned and discovered along the way with you, so as to demystify Asian cooking once and for all.
I've added little notes here, to show how the different layers of flavours build on each other. It should be noted that I use filtered water only because I've lived in different countries and it's the only way I can ensure (as far as possible) that the progeny of the water I get from my tap, wherever I am, does not affect my cooking. But if you are happy with the water from your tap, then by all means use it.
As always, the biggest secret to Chinese (or any) cooking is: CONTROL YOUR FIRE.
Photo from ex-blog
RECIPE: KUNG PAO CHICKEN/PRAWNS/SCALLOPS
(Cooking time: 30 mins)
A - Meat
Chicken breast, cut into small cubes
OR
Prawns, shelled and deveined (by slicing the top curve of the prawn longitudinally and taking out the thin black "worm" hidden inside)
OR
Scallops
B - Marinade
For chicken:
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp thin soya sauce
2 tsp Shaoshing wine or Vermouth
1 tsp cornflour
For prawns:
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp cornflour
1 tbsp oil
For scallops:
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp sugar
1 tsp cornflour
1 tsp oil
C - Sauce
1 tbsp dark soya sauce (saltish)
2 tsp rice wine vinegar (sour)
2 tsp sugar (sweet)
1.5 tbsp cornflour
6 tbsp filtered water
D - Aromatics
Vegetable oil (eyeball amount depending on amount of meat)
2 cloves of garlic, sliced diagonally
4 slices of ginger (6 slices if using seafood)
Handful of dried chilis
2 tbsp Shaoshing wine or Vermouth
E - Garnishing
3 scallions, cut into small rounds
Handful of cashews or skinless peanuts, toasted with a spray of oil (smoky)
*****
A - Dry the prawns/scallops (if using) with a paper towel. This will ensure that the outer layer sears better.
B - Mix the meat with its respective marinade. Leave to marinate in the fridge for 15 mins. Take out and let it get to room temperature before cooking.
C - Prepare the sauce while the meat is marinating. You can save time by toasting the nuts and doing all your chopping at this point too.
D - Heat 2-3 tbsps of oil in wok over high heat until smoke rises. Swirl it around. Lower the heat to medium and fry the garlic, ginger and dried chilis to "release" their aroma. Once you smell their fragrance, but before the garlic and ginger burn (CONTROL YOUR FIRE), add the marinated meat - searing the meat, then stir-frying it, tossing and turning. When the meat is half-cooked, splash the wine around the sides of the wok (to heat it before it hits the other ingredients), tossing and turning continuously.
E - When the meat is cooked, add scallions and sauce from C. Toss for a few seconds. Turn off fire and toss in nuts.
Serve immediately with white rice and some vegetables - an instant Chinese meal!
We served the scallops version of this dish to our friends from church last Friday - guys, we totally forgot to mention (because we actually forgot) that it was our 6 month anniversary that day!
Since then, however, I've been experimenting a little. Chicken turns out fine with no incidents usually, but I have been unhappy with the texture of the prawns/scallops when we've gone the seafood way. So I did a little research. What I was aiming for was a firm texture (so no wet ingredients in the marinade), while protecting the seafood's natural moisture (so not too much salt) and sweetness.
And I decided to try toasting the nuts beforehand, to add a little smokiness.
Kung pao is also a classic in Asian American cuisine - but here, sans the 'Pei Wei' effect (read: cloyingly sweet, unredemptively starchy, and ever-abundant sauce).
It is also easy - I promise you will get this done in less than 30 mins. I love stir-frys for that reason: they are quick and relatively straightforward, although its taken me a little longer to do it well. My passion is to share the little secrets I've learned and discovered along the way with you, so as to demystify Asian cooking once and for all.
I've added little notes here, to show how the different layers of flavours build on each other. It should be noted that I use filtered water only because I've lived in different countries and it's the only way I can ensure (as far as possible) that the progeny of the water I get from my tap, wherever I am, does not affect my cooking. But if you are happy with the water from your tap, then by all means use it.
As always, the biggest secret to Chinese (or any) cooking is: CONTROL YOUR FIRE.
Photo from ex-blog(Cooking time: 30 mins)
A - Meat
Chicken breast, cut into small cubes
OR
Prawns, shelled and deveined (by slicing the top curve of the prawn longitudinally and taking out the thin black "worm" hidden inside)
OR
Scallops
B - Marinade
For chicken:
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp thin soya sauce
2 tsp Shaoshing wine or Vermouth
1 tsp cornflour
For prawns:
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp cornflour
1 tbsp oil
For scallops:
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp sugar
1 tsp cornflour
1 tsp oil
C - Sauce
1 tbsp dark soya sauce (saltish)
2 tsp rice wine vinegar (sour)
2 tsp sugar (sweet)
1.5 tbsp cornflour
6 tbsp filtered water
D - Aromatics
Vegetable oil (eyeball amount depending on amount of meat)
2 cloves of garlic, sliced diagonally
4 slices of ginger (6 slices if using seafood)
Handful of dried chilis
2 tbsp Shaoshing wine or Vermouth
E - Garnishing
3 scallions, cut into small rounds
Handful of cashews or skinless peanuts, toasted with a spray of oil (smoky)
*****
A - Dry the prawns/scallops (if using) with a paper towel. This will ensure that the outer layer sears better.
B - Mix the meat with its respective marinade. Leave to marinate in the fridge for 15 mins. Take out and let it get to room temperature before cooking.
C - Prepare the sauce while the meat is marinating. You can save time by toasting the nuts and doing all your chopping at this point too.
D - Heat 2-3 tbsps of oil in wok over high heat until smoke rises. Swirl it around. Lower the heat to medium and fry the garlic, ginger and dried chilis to "release" their aroma. Once you smell their fragrance, but before the garlic and ginger burn (CONTROL YOUR FIRE), add the marinated meat - searing the meat, then stir-frying it, tossing and turning. When the meat is half-cooked, splash the wine around the sides of the wok (to heat it before it hits the other ingredients), tossing and turning continuously.
E - When the meat is cooked, add scallions and sauce from C. Toss for a few seconds. Turn off fire and toss in nuts.
Serve immediately with white rice and some vegetables - an instant Chinese meal!
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Trout, Asparagus and New Potato Salad
Lunch today. I love it when somebody rhapsodizes about things simple. Like a new potato. Or the sound of a dishwasher. It's mindful. It's comforting. It's chastising.
This recipe is from Rowley Leigh's food column in the FT. I substituted asparagus for about-to-wilt rocket leaves and chopped Romain lettuce that I had in my fridge, which is fine, except you'll probably need more dressing to cover the expansion of foliage. I used fresh trout.
"A simple enough assembly: the most important point is not to let any of the ingredients see the inside of a fridge once they are cooked. Fillets of smoked trout could well be substituted for fresh. Enough for a light lunch for four or a starter for six.
Ingredients
750g Cornish early, Jersey new or other new potatoes, as fresh as is conceivably possible
2 trout weighing 300g-350g each
1 lemon
1 bunch green asparagus (454g)
2 egg yolks
2 tsp white wine vinegar
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1 tbs sunflower oil
1 tbs cream or crème fraîche
10 tarragon leaves
Method
● Place the new potatoes in a bowl of cold water and agitate fiercely with a coarse scrubbing pad to remove the skins. If that fails to remove them, scrape them off them with a small knife or abrasive cloth. Place the potatoes in a saucepan, cover with cold water and a teaspoon of salt and bring to a simmer. Cook until tender – 20 to 25 minutes – and then drain and allow to cool. If using potatoes with tough skins, it is best to cook them with the skins on and then remove them while they cool.
● If using fresh trout, sprinkle some sea salt on a sheet of foil and season the cavities of the fish with sea salt, milled pepper and a few slices of lemon. Wrap each trout in the foil and bake in a hot oven, 200ºC, for 15 minutes. Remove and leave to cool in the foil packages.
● Peel and trim the stalks of the asparagus and place the spears in a very large pot of boiling, salted water for two minutes. Remove and allow to cool, having spread them out on a tray in a cool place.
● Make a dressing by whisking together the egg yolks, mustard, vinegar and seasonings before adding the oil, cream and chopped tarragon. Add a little lemon juice to sharpen if required. Remove the foil and skin from the fish and lift the fillets off the bone. Break the flesh up into large flakes and place in a large bowl. Slice the potatoes thickly and add them to the bowl. Cut the asparagus into short finger lengths and add them in turn. Pour the dressing over, very gently mix together and spoon on to plates."
~Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2009~
This recipe is from Rowley Leigh's food column in the FT. I substituted asparagus for about-to-wilt rocket leaves and chopped Romain lettuce that I had in my fridge, which is fine, except you'll probably need more dressing to cover the expansion of foliage. I used fresh trout.
"A simple enough assembly: the most important point is not to let any of the ingredients see the inside of a fridge once they are cooked. Fillets of smoked trout could well be substituted for fresh. Enough for a light lunch for four or a starter for six.
Ingredients
750g Cornish early, Jersey new or other new potatoes, as fresh as is conceivably possible
2 trout weighing 300g-350g each
1 lemon
1 bunch green asparagus (454g)
2 egg yolks
2 tsp white wine vinegar
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1 tbs sunflower oil
1 tbs cream or crème fraîche
10 tarragon leaves
Method
● Place the new potatoes in a bowl of cold water and agitate fiercely with a coarse scrubbing pad to remove the skins. If that fails to remove them, scrape them off them with a small knife or abrasive cloth. Place the potatoes in a saucepan, cover with cold water and a teaspoon of salt and bring to a simmer. Cook until tender – 20 to 25 minutes – and then drain and allow to cool. If using potatoes with tough skins, it is best to cook them with the skins on and then remove them while they cool.
● If using fresh trout, sprinkle some sea salt on a sheet of foil and season the cavities of the fish with sea salt, milled pepper and a few slices of lemon. Wrap each trout in the foil and bake in a hot oven, 200ºC, for 15 minutes. Remove and leave to cool in the foil packages.
● Peel and trim the stalks of the asparagus and place the spears in a very large pot of boiling, salted water for two minutes. Remove and allow to cool, having spread them out on a tray in a cool place.
● Make a dressing by whisking together the egg yolks, mustard, vinegar and seasonings before adding the oil, cream and chopped tarragon. Add a little lemon juice to sharpen if required. Remove the foil and skin from the fish and lift the fillets off the bone. Break the flesh up into large flakes and place in a large bowl. Slice the potatoes thickly and add them to the bowl. Cut the asparagus into short finger lengths and add them in turn. Pour the dressing over, very gently mix together and spoon on to plates."
~Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2009~
Sunday, May 24, 2009
Drove along the 290 Highway,
on our way to Austin for Memorial Day -
A romantic weekend mini-break.
On the way there is Whataburger,
McDonalds, Sonic, Love's,
The occasional Subway.
There's also Kickapoo Road -
it shares a name I grew up with, back home.
Round Top, Benham, Chappell Hill.
These names I knew only by name,
Through the window of a car,
Across the highway's access road.
On the way there is Whataburger,
McDonalds, Sonic, Love's,
The occasional Subway.
I wonder whether there is an end to this interminable B-roll,
Is this all there is to my new "home"?
Then we stop and I get out of the car,
It's a Love's, with Taco Bell and Church's beside.
I stare at the soaring criss-crossing highways,
The sense that this is a big big country, great.
In confronting the fear I erase it.
I know there is a future waiting out there for me.
Still scared though.
on our way to Austin for Memorial Day -
A romantic weekend mini-break.
On the way there is Whataburger,
McDonalds, Sonic, Love's,
The occasional Subway.
There's also Kickapoo Road -
it shares a name I grew up with, back home.
Round Top, Benham, Chappell Hill.
These names I knew only by name,
Through the window of a car,
Across the highway's access road.
On the way there is Whataburger,
McDonalds, Sonic, Love's,
The occasional Subway.
I wonder whether there is an end to this interminable B-roll,
Is this all there is to my new "home"?
Then we stop and I get out of the car,
It's a Love's, with Taco Bell and Church's beside.
I stare at the soaring criss-crossing highways,
The sense that this is a big big country, great.
In confronting the fear I erase it.
I know there is a future waiting out there for me.
Still scared though.
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Sweet and sour pork
Cut and paste from ex-blog again - sorry. But we just had it for dinner last night, so I thought it would be an appropriate post. An Asian classic.
This is my mum's recipe, with tweaks from Barbara Tropp and Yan-Kit So - who brought Asian cooking to America and UK respectively the way Julia Child did French cooking and Marcella Hazan did Italian cooking (I received her cookbook in the post today!). I promise you that, unlike the starchy sugar-fest goop you get at most Asian restaurants in the USA, this dish tastes fresh, healthy and clean.
RECIPE: SWEET AND SOUR PORK
(serves 5)
(cooking time: 20-30 mins)
A - Meat
400g/1 lb lean pork shoulder, sliced into little chunks
2 tbsp corn starch
1 egg
Rice flour
Potato starch
B - Sauce
8 tbsp water
1/4 tsp salt
2 tsp soya sauce
4 tbsp sugar
3 tbsp rice or white wine vinegar
1/2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
2 tbsp ketchup
1 tbsp chilli sauce
1 tsp sesame oil
C - VEGETABLES
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1" ginger, cut into fine threads
1 big onion, peeled and chopped into small pieces
1 cucumber, seeded and chopped into small pieces
2 tomatoes, chopped into small pieces
1 red chilli, sliced
3 stalks scallions, sliced into 3cm strips
A. Marinate the sliced pork with 1/2 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp sugar. Coat with 2 tblsp of cornflour. Add 2 tbsp of water and stir in one direction until all the water is absorbed. Beat in one egg. Knead thoroughly and rest for 15 mins or longer.
(B - Meanwhile, prepare the sauce by mixing all the ingredients for the sauce)
After the meat has been marinated well, coat each slice with a combination of rice flour and potato flour in the ratio of 1:1. Heat about 1 inch of oil in a wok until smoking slightly (180 degrees celcius). Deep fry one batch until cooked and crisp, about 4 mins. Remove and drain. Repeat until all the meat has been cooked (about 3-4 batches). Add and heat more oil as needed.
C. Heat 2 tbsp of clean oil. Fry the ginger and garlic until fragrant, about 3 mins. Add in onion, cucumber, tomatoes, chilli, and scallions. Stir fry for about 2 mins. Then add sauce and bring to a boil. Adjust the taste. Thicken with cornstarch solution if needed.
Add in the fried pork and mix well. Or serve pork with sauce in a separate bowl. Garnish with cilantro and serve with rice.
This is my mum's recipe, with tweaks from Barbara Tropp and Yan-Kit So - who brought Asian cooking to America and UK respectively the way Julia Child did French cooking and Marcella Hazan did Italian cooking (I received her cookbook in the post today!). I promise you that, unlike the starchy sugar-fest goop you get at most Asian restaurants in the USA, this dish tastes fresh, healthy and clean.
RECIPE: SWEET AND SOUR PORK
(serves 5)
(cooking time: 20-30 mins)
A - Meat
400g/1 lb lean pork shoulder, sliced into little chunks
2 tbsp corn starch
1 egg
Rice flour
Potato starch
B - Sauce
8 tbsp water
1/4 tsp salt
2 tsp soya sauce
4 tbsp sugar
3 tbsp rice or white wine vinegar
1/2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
2 tbsp ketchup
1 tbsp chilli sauce
1 tsp sesame oil
C - VEGETABLES
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1" ginger, cut into fine threads
1 big onion, peeled and chopped into small pieces
1 cucumber, seeded and chopped into small pieces
2 tomatoes, chopped into small pieces
1 red chilli, sliced
3 stalks scallions, sliced into 3cm strips
A. Marinate the sliced pork with 1/2 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp sugar. Coat with 2 tblsp of cornflour. Add 2 tbsp of water and stir in one direction until all the water is absorbed. Beat in one egg. Knead thoroughly and rest for 15 mins or longer.
(B - Meanwhile, prepare the sauce by mixing all the ingredients for the sauce)
After the meat has been marinated well, coat each slice with a combination of rice flour and potato flour in the ratio of 1:1. Heat about 1 inch of oil in a wok until smoking slightly (180 degrees celcius). Deep fry one batch until cooked and crisp, about 4 mins. Remove and drain. Repeat until all the meat has been cooked (about 3-4 batches). Add and heat more oil as needed.
C. Heat 2 tbsp of clean oil. Fry the ginger and garlic until fragrant, about 3 mins. Add in onion, cucumber, tomatoes, chilli, and scallions. Stir fry for about 2 mins. Then add sauce and bring to a boil. Adjust the taste. Thicken with cornstarch solution if needed.
Add in the fried pork and mix well. Or serve pork with sauce in a separate bowl. Garnish with cilantro and serve with rice.
Saturday, May 9, 2009
Homestyle Pot Roast
My momma (The Boy's mum) has a great recipe for pot roast. I remember sitting at her dinner table one cold Christmas night and tucking into this hearty braise and watching in horror as The Boy creamed his plate with barbecue sauce. =)
This braise has plenty of flavour enough - thanks to the sweetness of the vegs and the tanginess of the Worcestershire sauce. And it's so very easy - 'put in a pot and forget about it' easy - like most braises. The uniqueness of this braise, however, is that it is cooked on the stove for a very very long time on very very low heat, much like a slow-cooker, but with very very little braising liquid. The meat basically braises in its own juices. You wouldn't even know it's cooking just by looking at it, but it is.
It's simple, basic, and hearty. Thanks for the recipe, momma Akins!
RECIPE: HOMESTYLE POT ROAST
(serves as much as you can fit in your Dutch oven!)
(cooking time: at least 4 hours)
1 Dutch oven with a heavy lid
A - Meat
Brisket or Chuck (approx 1/2 pound per person)
1 onion, chopped finely
B - Braising liquid
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce per pound of meat
1/2 tbsp Light soy per pound of meat
1/2 tbsp Dark soy per pound of meat
1 tbsp Water per pound of meat
C - Vegetables
1 Onion, cut into small cubes
3 Carrots, cut into small rounds
2 Potatoes, diced into small cubes (I substitute one sweet potato to enhance the sweetness)
Celery, diced (adds depth to the flavour)
A - Heat 2-3 tbsp of canola oil into your Dutch oven till very hot. Brown the meat on both sides. Take out and set aside (I usually place them on the overturned cover of my Dutch oven).
B - Add 1 tbsp oil in Dutch oven and fry the chopped onions till soft. Add braising liquids and, when it is bubbling, use a wooden spoon to scrape off the bits at the bottom of the Dutch oven. Return the meat into the Dutch oven and arrange it in a single layer, making sure that there is a layer of onions below and on top of the meat. Cover with parchment paper (punching the middle down till it's almost touching the meat) and a heavy lid. Braise on very very low heat for at least 4 hours.
* Now, don't worry that the liquids are going to dry out after such a long time. If you use a very very low heat, it won't. The idea is to use the meat's own juices to cook the meat. In fact, don't be surprised if, in step C, you see a puddle of water collected on the surface of the parchment paper when you remove the lid! Scoop that water out and throw it away please.
C - 50 minutes before serving time, remove the parchment paper and taste. Add more Worcestershire sauce or soy as needed. Add the vegetables in and return the lid on. When ready to serve, take the meat out and cut into big chunks. Mix it all up and... viola!
Serve with mash potatoes or rice. We also had vegetarian dumplings for appetizers and cupcakes from Crave for dessert last night - yums! Thank you for the cupcakes, L!
This braise has plenty of flavour enough - thanks to the sweetness of the vegs and the tanginess of the Worcestershire sauce. And it's so very easy - 'put in a pot and forget about it' easy - like most braises. The uniqueness of this braise, however, is that it is cooked on the stove for a very very long time on very very low heat, much like a slow-cooker, but with very very little braising liquid. The meat basically braises in its own juices. You wouldn't even know it's cooking just by looking at it, but it is.
It's simple, basic, and hearty. Thanks for the recipe, momma Akins!
RECIPE: HOMESTYLE POT ROAST
(serves as much as you can fit in your Dutch oven!)
(cooking time: at least 4 hours)
1 Dutch oven with a heavy lid
A - Meat
Brisket or Chuck (approx 1/2 pound per person)
1 onion, chopped finely
B - Braising liquid
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce per pound of meat
1/2 tbsp Light soy per pound of meat
1/2 tbsp Dark soy per pound of meat
1 tbsp Water per pound of meat
C - Vegetables
1 Onion, cut into small cubes
3 Carrots, cut into small rounds
2 Potatoes, diced into small cubes (I substitute one sweet potato to enhance the sweetness)
Celery, diced (adds depth to the flavour)
A - Heat 2-3 tbsp of canola oil into your Dutch oven till very hot. Brown the meat on both sides. Take out and set aside (I usually place them on the overturned cover of my Dutch oven).
B - Add 1 tbsp oil in Dutch oven and fry the chopped onions till soft. Add braising liquids and, when it is bubbling, use a wooden spoon to scrape off the bits at the bottom of the Dutch oven. Return the meat into the Dutch oven and arrange it in a single layer, making sure that there is a layer of onions below and on top of the meat. Cover with parchment paper (punching the middle down till it's almost touching the meat) and a heavy lid. Braise on very very low heat for at least 4 hours.
* Now, don't worry that the liquids are going to dry out after such a long time. If you use a very very low heat, it won't. The idea is to use the meat's own juices to cook the meat. In fact, don't be surprised if, in step C, you see a puddle of water collected on the surface of the parchment paper when you remove the lid! Scoop that water out and throw it away please.
C - 50 minutes before serving time, remove the parchment paper and taste. Add more Worcestershire sauce or soy as needed. Add the vegetables in and return the lid on. When ready to serve, take the meat out and cut into big chunks. Mix it all up and... viola!
Serve with mash potatoes or rice. We also had vegetarian dumplings for appetizers and cupcakes from Crave for dessert last night - yums! Thank you for the cupcakes, L!
Friday, May 8, 2009
Chilean sea bass with miso
This is adapted from Nobu Matsuhisa's recipe for black cod with miso. I remember my friend, Raj, calling me up one night and going to Nobu for dinner on a whim. Mind you, we were two students then living in a dorm - not really the kinda setting for a fancy night out - but we did it anyway. I still remember the black cod with miso that I had. And the good times with a good friend. Those were the days when we were young.
It turns out that this dish is a hit with my American friends too - a robust fish paired with a sweet marinade. Another attempt to eat more fish and less red meat.
RECIPE: Chilean sea bass with miso
(cooking time: 20 mins)
(serves 5)
1 Ziploc bag
1 baking dish
1 grill
A - Marinade
1/4 cup Sake (or Vermouth if you don't want to buy one entire bottle of sake)
1/4 cup Mirin
4 tbsp White miso paste (not red, not brown - white. I found it at Whole Foods (Miso Master), in the refrigerated section. Also available at Asian grocery stores.)
3 tbsp Sugar
B - Fish
1 1/2 pounds Chilean sea bass (centre-cut or fillet with the skin still on)
C - Garnishing
Toasted sesame seeds
Scallions, finely chopped
A - Mix the marinade in a Ziploc bag, making sure to quish the miso paste until it has "dissolved" in the liquids. Insert fish in Ziploc bag and marinate overnight in the fridge.
B - Pre-heat oven to 400 F. Pre-heat grill on high. Grill fish on both sides until brown. Place in baking dish, with the excess miso paste on top, and bake in oven for 15 mins. Transfer fish to highest rack and turn broiler on. Grill until surface of fish crisps slightly (or if using a fillet - make sure the skin side is up and crisping) and the miso is bubbling.
C - Transfer fish onto a serving plate. Careful - the fish will be flaking at this point, so make sure you have two very wide spatulas to lift it out of the baking tray and onto a plate! We had a minor disaster last night, with some fish landing on the kitchen table... 10 sec rule saves the day!
Serve with toasted sesame seeds and scallions sprinkled on top.
It turns out that this dish is a hit with my American friends too - a robust fish paired with a sweet marinade. Another attempt to eat more fish and less red meat.
RECIPE: Chilean sea bass with miso
(cooking time: 20 mins)
(serves 5)
1 Ziploc bag
1 baking dish
1 grill
A - Marinade
1/4 cup Sake (or Vermouth if you don't want to buy one entire bottle of sake)
1/4 cup Mirin
4 tbsp White miso paste (not red, not brown - white. I found it at Whole Foods (Miso Master), in the refrigerated section. Also available at Asian grocery stores.)
3 tbsp Sugar
B - Fish
1 1/2 pounds Chilean sea bass (centre-cut or fillet with the skin still on)
C - Garnishing
Toasted sesame seeds
Scallions, finely chopped
A - Mix the marinade in a Ziploc bag, making sure to quish the miso paste until it has "dissolved" in the liquids. Insert fish in Ziploc bag and marinate overnight in the fridge.
B - Pre-heat oven to 400 F. Pre-heat grill on high. Grill fish on both sides until brown. Place in baking dish, with the excess miso paste on top, and bake in oven for 15 mins. Transfer fish to highest rack and turn broiler on. Grill until surface of fish crisps slightly (or if using a fillet - make sure the skin side is up and crisping) and the miso is bubbling.
C - Transfer fish onto a serving plate. Careful - the fish will be flaking at this point, so make sure you have two very wide spatulas to lift it out of the baking tray and onto a plate! We had a minor disaster last night, with some fish landing on the kitchen table... 10 sec rule saves the day!
Serve with toasted sesame seeds and scallions sprinkled on top.
Thursday, May 7, 2009
Stir-frying with a wok: Fried Rice and How to cook rice
Or "flied lice", as one of my American friends likes to joke. Yes, really funny. We speak English in Singapore and, just by the way, have a higher GDP per capita than... oops, is this my identity crisis rearing or what?
My Guatamalan housekeeper requested this recipe, fried rice being the ubiquitous poster child for Asian cuisine in United States. My brother has some fancy pants recipe for fried rice - and it is very good so I hope he will want to post it here some day when he gets a moment off his super duper job. But our goal here is Simplicity and Speed - as it usually is for me when I make fried rice. It's a quick fix. I also suggested an alternative with curry paste, which you can buy in a jar, if you are *really* in a hurry. I do that sometimes.
This is a great way to use up leftovers.
So, instead of paying $9 at Pei Wei, here is your very own flied lice...
RECIPE: FRIED RICE
(serves as many as you want)
(cooking time: 15 mins)
1 saucepan + 1 sieve OR electric rice cooker
1 wok
A - Rice
This dish is at its best with leftover rice, which dries out a little in the fridge, but if not:
1 cup per person Rice (short or long grain)
Water
B - Base
2 tbsp Vegetable oil
1 Onion, chopped finely
1 per person Eggs
C - Seasoning
Dark Soy or Kechap Manis (sweet thick dark soy)
A lot of white pepper
Chili sauce or chili oil (optional)
OR
Curry paste (in a jar)
D - Meat/Vegetables
* Really whatever you like - good to use up leftovers - but here are some suggestions:
Frozen peas, Broccoli, Carrots, Scallions or Cilantro - diced
Chicken OR Shrimp - pre-cooked
A - Wash rice by rinsing it in cold water and draining. Repeat until the water becomes less cloudy. I usually use the water from the first rinse to water my plants.
Cook rice. There are two methods:
(i) Put rice in a non-stick saucepan with water. 1 3/4 cups of water per cup of rice (long grain) or 1 1/2 cups of water per cup of rice (short grain). Put the lid on tightly and bring to a boil, then lower heat to medium. Cook for 12 minutes. Tip the rice into a sieve and let it drain and sit for at least 5 minutes. Fluff the rice with a fork.
(ii) May I suggest, yet again, a rice cooker? I'd be happy to recommend some good ones - forget the fuzzy logic contraptions, just get a good basic rice cooker.
B - In a wok, add 2 tbsp of oil. Fry the onions until soft and translucent. Add eggs. Now, this is the trickier timing part: When the egg is still a little uncooked on top, add the rice and separate the grains vigorously. This way, each rice grain is coated with egg.
C - Add a few swirls of dark soy or kechap manis to taste (about 1 swirl per cup of rice), and white pepper to taste. Stir and flip (the definition of "stir-fry") the rice until evenly coated with the seasoning. Optional: Add chili sauce or chili oil.
If using curry paste from a jar, fry the onions, then the curry paste, then add the eggs and rice.
D - Add the other ingredients and mix everything well.
Serve with chopped scallions or cilantro.
Update: In Chinese cooking, there are four elements to a perfect dish - colour, fragrance, beauty (presentation), taste. I mention it here because, upon reflection, one other reason I like fried rice is because it is pretty composition of colours: RED (carrots/red chilis) + GREEN (scallions, broccoli, frozen peas) + WHITE (rice)
My Guatamalan housekeeper requested this recipe, fried rice being the ubiquitous poster child for Asian cuisine in United States. My brother has some fancy pants recipe for fried rice - and it is very good so I hope he will want to post it here some day when he gets a moment off his super duper job. But our goal here is Simplicity and Speed - as it usually is for me when I make fried rice. It's a quick fix. I also suggested an alternative with curry paste, which you can buy in a jar, if you are *really* in a hurry. I do that sometimes.
This is a great way to use up leftovers.
So, instead of paying $9 at Pei Wei, here is your very own flied lice...
RECIPE: FRIED RICE
(serves as many as you want)
(cooking time: 15 mins)
1 saucepan + 1 sieve OR electric rice cooker
1 wok
A - Rice
This dish is at its best with leftover rice, which dries out a little in the fridge, but if not:
1 cup per person Rice (short or long grain)
Water
B - Base
2 tbsp Vegetable oil
1 Onion, chopped finely
1 per person Eggs
C - Seasoning
Dark Soy or Kechap Manis (sweet thick dark soy)
A lot of white pepper
Chili sauce or chili oil (optional)
OR
Curry paste (in a jar)
D - Meat/Vegetables
* Really whatever you like - good to use up leftovers - but here are some suggestions:
Frozen peas, Broccoli, Carrots, Scallions or Cilantro - diced
Chicken OR Shrimp - pre-cooked
A - Wash rice by rinsing it in cold water and draining. Repeat until the water becomes less cloudy. I usually use the water from the first rinse to water my plants.
Cook rice. There are two methods:
(i) Put rice in a non-stick saucepan with water. 1 3/4 cups of water per cup of rice (long grain) or 1 1/2 cups of water per cup of rice (short grain). Put the lid on tightly and bring to a boil, then lower heat to medium. Cook for 12 minutes. Tip the rice into a sieve and let it drain and sit for at least 5 minutes. Fluff the rice with a fork.
(ii) May I suggest, yet again, a rice cooker? I'd be happy to recommend some good ones - forget the fuzzy logic contraptions, just get a good basic rice cooker.
B - In a wok, add 2 tbsp of oil. Fry the onions until soft and translucent. Add eggs. Now, this is the trickier timing part: When the egg is still a little uncooked on top, add the rice and separate the grains vigorously. This way, each rice grain is coated with egg.
C - Add a few swirls of dark soy or kechap manis to taste (about 1 swirl per cup of rice), and white pepper to taste. Stir and flip (the definition of "stir-fry") the rice until evenly coated with the seasoning. Optional: Add chili sauce or chili oil.
If using curry paste from a jar, fry the onions, then the curry paste, then add the eggs and rice.
D - Add the other ingredients and mix everything well.
Serve with chopped scallions or cilantro.
Update: In Chinese cooking, there are four elements to a perfect dish - colour, fragrance, beauty (presentation), taste. I mention it here because, upon reflection, one other reason I like fried rice is because it is pretty composition of colours: RED (carrots/red chilis) + GREEN (scallions, broccoli, frozen peas) + WHITE (rice)
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
Steaming with a wok: Steamed Sea Bass
My first Asian post. Well, really I've cut and pasted from my ex-blog and added a couple more words, but this was what was on the dinner table one day this week - in our bid to eat more fish and less red meat.
In some Asian grocery stores in Houston, TX, you can find live fish (i.e. still swimming in a tank) - the best way of knowing whether the fish you've bought is fresh. The fish man sweeps your chosen fish out of the tank, cleans and guts it, and hands it to you in a bag. If you are queasy about looking your meal in the eye (quite literally), or are finicky about bones, he will be happy to fillet it. If you don't buy a live fish, the way to check that your fish is fresh is to look them in the eye (sorry) and check that it is bright and not dull and clouded over. Guess I'm reaping the benefits of compulsory home economics in school. No frozen fish for this dish, ok?
This a recipe for Steamed Sea Bass, courtesy of an older lady I once knew in London, and whose hospitability meant that I often graced her table for homecooked chinese food when I was homesick. I hope this blesses someone out there too.
In some Asian grocery stores in Houston, TX, you can find live fish (i.e. still swimming in a tank) - the best way of knowing whether the fish you've bought is fresh. The fish man sweeps your chosen fish out of the tank, cleans and guts it, and hands it to you in a bag. If you are queasy about looking your meal in the eye (quite literally), or are finicky about bones, he will be happy to fillet it. If you don't buy a live fish, the way to check that your fish is fresh is to look them in the eye (sorry) and check that it is bright and not dull and clouded over. Guess I'm reaping the benefits of compulsory home economics in school. No frozen fish for this dish, ok?
This a recipe for Steamed Sea Bass, courtesy of an older lady I once knew in London, and whose hospitability meant that I often graced her table for homecooked chinese food when I was homesick. I hope this blesses someone out there too.
RECIPE: Steamed Sea Bass
(Cooking time: 15 mins)
1 wok, with a steaming rack that fits into the wok OR an overturned bowl.
* Add water into the wok up till the level of the rack/bowl, cover tightly and bring to a boil. To steam, place the food on a plate, on the rack/bowl, cover and steam. I also have a nifty contraption to lift the steamed plate off the rack, but you can use oven gloves.
A - Garnishing
Ginger, sliced
Ginger, julienned
Scallions, cut into 1 inch stalks
Scallions, julienned
Fresh red chilli, julienned
2-3 tbsp Oil
B - Sauce
1 tbsp light soya sauce (Lee Kum Kee carries one specially for seafood)
1 tbsp dark soya sauce
1 tbsp Shaoxing cooking wine or Vermouth
1 tsp sugar
3 tbsp water
white pepper (optional)
A. Layer one layer of sliced/cut ginger and scallions on a plate. Place fish over. Steam for 8 minutes per pound, but no more than 12 minutes maximum.
Remove fish and place on a fresh plate. Layer julienned vegetables over fish.
Heat oil until smoking. Pour over.
B. Mix sauce and heat to boiling. Pour over.
Monday, May 4, 2009
The "Spider": New names for old things
This is called a "spider" in the USA. Ah, the days where I had to pick deep-fried wontons or sweet 'n' sour pork pieces out of the wok one by one with a pair of wooden chopsticks - these days are over! The "spider" (aka long-handled wok strainer) is more difficult to find in Houston, TX, than you think... This one is also dishwasher-safe - hoorah!
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
A basic Chinese kitchen
A few people have asked why is it I never post any Chinese recipes, when Chinese is what I cook predominantly. Well, the main reason is because a lot of Chinese cooking rests on a huge presumption - the presumption that you have all the standard ingredients that it takes to cook a standard chinese meal. And not being one who's ever gone out specifically to buy one or two (make that five or six) ingredients specially to cook Chinese, I'm not sure how it works for other people.
You see, it's not like you buy an entire bottle of soy to cook one meal - one bottle will last you probably several several meals, and if you don't cook Chinese everyday, then the bottle of soy just sits there, like a dark white elephant, gazing eternally at your bottle of Worcester sauce (my own dark white elephant).
But it occured to me that the next best thing is for me to start by listing what I think are the basic essentials of a Chinese kitchen, so that if you ever want to cook Chinese, well, it's there. And these things keep forever anyway. So... hence this post.
P.S. If you want to cook Chinese soups, which I do a lot because I grew up drinking soup and believe it has tangible health properties, that's a whole different kettle of fish for another post, alright?
A BASIC CHINESE KITCHEN
Equipment:
- Wok, with steaming rack (I have a big Proforge anodised carbon wok and a small Professional wok, both by Meyer. You can stir-fry, deep-fry, braise, steam, stew etc with one wok.)
- Wok ladle
- A very good chef's knife (you only need one knife, I promise you)
- Tongs or a pair of long wooden chopsticks (not the short ones used for eating)
- Ramekins (optional - I use these for preparing my mise en place when cooking several dishes, which is the norm for a communal meal.
- May I suggest a rice cooker as well? Zojirushi!
Things I always have in the fridge:
- Garlic (you can buy big tubs of peeled cloves from any grocery store, even Kroger)
- Ginger
- Red chilis
- Scallions
- Coriander
- Chili sauce (The Boy likes Siracha. I call it the American Asian sauce)
- Fresh egg noodles
You see, it's not like you buy an entire bottle of soy to cook one meal - one bottle will last you probably several several meals, and if you don't cook Chinese everyday, then the bottle of soy just sits there, like a dark white elephant, gazing eternally at your bottle of Worcester sauce (my own dark white elephant).
But it occured to me that the next best thing is for me to start by listing what I think are the basic essentials of a Chinese kitchen, so that if you ever want to cook Chinese, well, it's there. And these things keep forever anyway. So... hence this post.
P.S. If you want to cook Chinese soups, which I do a lot because I grew up drinking soup and believe it has tangible health properties, that's a whole different kettle of fish for another post, alright?
A BASIC CHINESE KITCHEN
Equipment:
- Wok, with steaming rack (I have a big Proforge anodised carbon wok and a small Professional wok, both by Meyer. You can stir-fry, deep-fry, braise, steam, stew etc with one wok.)
- Wok ladle
- A very good chef's knife (you only need one knife, I promise you)
- Tongs or a pair of long wooden chopsticks (not the short ones used for eating)
- Ramekins (optional - I use these for preparing my mise en place when cooking several dishes, which is the norm for a communal meal.
- May I suggest a rice cooker as well? Zojirushi!
Things I always have in the fridge:
- Garlic (you can buy big tubs of peeled cloves from any grocery store, even Kroger)
- Ginger
- Red chilis
- Scallions
- Coriander
- Chili sauce (The Boy likes Siracha. I call it the American Asian sauce)
- Fresh egg noodles
In my pantry:
- Light soy
- Dark soy
- Light soy for seafood (optional - good for steamed fish)
- Dark soy mushroom flavoured (optional - useful for flavouring)
- Vegetable oil
- Sesame oil
- Chili oil
- Oyster sauce
- Rice wine vinegar
- Shaoxing wine (you can use vermouth, but... well, it's not Chinese)
- Worcester sauce (primarily for sweet and sour anything here, but obviously has other uses)
- Corn starch/flour
- Potato starch/flour
- Rice flour (we use brown rice flour)
- Sugar (ditto brown sugar)
- Dried mushrooms (Japanese mushrooms are the best)
- Dried chilis
- Rice
Ok, now we're ready to cook some Chinese...
Tiramisu
For all those of you who didn't know that Tiramisu is made almost entirely out of raw eggs, well, this post is for you...
There is Tiramisu. And then there is Tiramisu. You know? My dad loves Tiramisu in cake form. Haagen Daz makes Tiramisu ice-cream in the UK. Me? I like my Tiramisu extremely eggy and slightly foamy, in between layers of savoiardi biscuits touched with a hint of espresso and a lot of brandy.
I love eggs. I love everything related to eggs - custard, meringues, fried eggs over-easy (I did a personal Runaway Bride egg test once upon a time), eggs Benedict, did I mention custard?... I even have an entire cookbook devoted to eggs (2006, Marie Simmons, The Good Egg). Hence, I also love Tiramisu. Real tiramisu - not the sort that you find in some restaurants that tastes predominantly of cream. The eggy sort. And for those of you who only buy organic free-range eggs and live in central Houston: chee chee Central Market has the cheapest eggs (surprise surprise!). Eggland organic, however, is retailing 50c cheaper way out in Blalock, where you'll find me occasionally.
Anyways, back to my Italian trifle.
RECIPE: TIRAMISU
(serves 5)
(cooking time: 3 hours)
Individual glasses or one big trifle bowl
Two mixing bowls
Electric mixer (hand or standing)
A - Base
1 pack Savoiardi ladyfingers
1 1/2 cups Espresso, cooled (NOT coffee. Espresso. This is very important cos everything gets a little diluted as the dessert sets in the fridge)
1/3 cup Brandy (buy a small flight-size bottle and use the whole bottle)
B - Custard
500g Mascarpone (2 tubs should be enough, even if it doesn't make up exactly 500g)
5 Eggs, separated
1/2 cup Sugar
1/2 cup Whipping cream (1/4 pint should be good)
C - Topping
Cocoa powder
A - Mix espresso and brandy in a tallish container. Dip Savoiardi biscuits in for a second (not too long or else it'll get soggy) and arrange two layers in serving dish. If serving in individual glasses, I usually break each biscuit in two to fit within the circumference of the glass.
B - Beat egg yolks until light. Beat in sugar. Beat in mascarpone.
In a separate bowl, beat egg whites until you get stiff peaks. Fold into above mixture.
Rinse and dry bowl. Whip the cream until you get soft peaks. Fold into above mixture.
Layer complete mixture on top of soaked biscuits. Then add another layer of biscuits, and another layer of mixture. Leave in refrigerator for at least 3 hours to set.
C - Sprinkle cocoa powder on top before serving. I like serving tiramisu with fresh strawberries on the side. The hint of tartness goes beautifully with the egginess and creaminess of the dessert.
I love easy comfort food. Mm...
There is Tiramisu. And then there is Tiramisu. You know? My dad loves Tiramisu in cake form. Haagen Daz makes Tiramisu ice-cream in the UK. Me? I like my Tiramisu extremely eggy and slightly foamy, in between layers of savoiardi biscuits touched with a hint of espresso and a lot of brandy.
I love eggs. I love everything related to eggs - custard, meringues, fried eggs over-easy (I did a personal Runaway Bride egg test once upon a time), eggs Benedict, did I mention custard?... I even have an entire cookbook devoted to eggs (2006, Marie Simmons, The Good Egg). Hence, I also love Tiramisu. Real tiramisu - not the sort that you find in some restaurants that tastes predominantly of cream. The eggy sort. And for those of you who only buy organic free-range eggs and live in central Houston: chee chee Central Market has the cheapest eggs (surprise surprise!). Eggland organic, however, is retailing 50c cheaper way out in Blalock, where you'll find me occasionally.
Anyways, back to my Italian trifle.
RECIPE: TIRAMISU
(serves 5)
(cooking time: 3 hours)
Individual glasses or one big trifle bowl
Two mixing bowls
Electric mixer (hand or standing)
A - Base
1 pack Savoiardi ladyfingers
1 1/2 cups Espresso, cooled (NOT coffee. Espresso. This is very important cos everything gets a little diluted as the dessert sets in the fridge)
1/3 cup Brandy (buy a small flight-size bottle and use the whole bottle)
B - Custard
500g Mascarpone (2 tubs should be enough, even if it doesn't make up exactly 500g)
5 Eggs, separated
1/2 cup Sugar
1/2 cup Whipping cream (1/4 pint should be good)
C - Topping
Cocoa powder
A - Mix espresso and brandy in a tallish container. Dip Savoiardi biscuits in for a second (not too long or else it'll get soggy) and arrange two layers in serving dish. If serving in individual glasses, I usually break each biscuit in two to fit within the circumference of the glass.
B - Beat egg yolks until light. Beat in sugar. Beat in mascarpone.
In a separate bowl, beat egg whites until you get stiff peaks. Fold into above mixture.
Rinse and dry bowl. Whip the cream until you get soft peaks. Fold into above mixture.
Layer complete mixture on top of soaked biscuits. Then add another layer of biscuits, and another layer of mixture. Leave in refrigerator for at least 3 hours to set.
C - Sprinkle cocoa powder on top before serving. I like serving tiramisu with fresh strawberries on the side. The hint of tartness goes beautifully with the egginess and creaminess of the dessert.
I love easy comfort food. Mm...
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