Tuesday, 15 June 2010
Blogging Dummie Me!
Kitten fever!
I am joining many of you to become a full time Mum, of a very special kitten: FIFI.
I haven not meet her yet but I know she is going be the best kitten! She will be very brave with a gentle soul. Playful and and friendly. This is her:
I haven not meet her yet but I know she is going be the best kitten! She will be very brave with a gentle soul. Playful and and friendly. This is her:
Thursday, 10 June 2010
MOMOFUKU and FIFi is a BOY!
MOMOFUKU is the name of the restaurant owned by the Chinese looking guy I read about on the Times NY. Very interestingly; he place the very Taiwanese dish on his restaurant menu- and of course it is the most popular one! I have doubts that he is of Taiwanese parents but nevermind; since I have not even started reading his book- MOMOFUKU!
I had asked Rabbit to get me this book- he was going to the US and this book is not available until October or so on the UK Amazon. Very sweetly while he was organising his wedding rehearsal, he got this book for me from the US Amazon. I wanted to pay him but he said in this cute US accent that: I suppose it is in the company's interest that
you get this book....
Anyways, he didn't get the chance to go to MOMOFUKU like I asked. But I sure will cook those recipes from the book for him- at work anyways.
So you've read- my lovely kitten baby girl - FIFI is a boy!
I wouldn't speak staright after the vet told me so.
Things happen for a reason. I did get this name for a reason just perhaps sub- consciously. A boy is a boy! I am going to look after him no matter what.
I've cooked Gaucho style food for lunch today. Guys love my salads.
Sauteed mix mushrooms with sun blushed tomato and shredded basil
Artichoke hearts with red pepper, celery and coriander
Roasted sweet potato with chorizo
Chilli marinated sirloin
Pan fried scallops with mango, chilli, mixed herbs dressing
Aubergine, red pepper and basil soup
It was all good!
I had asked Rabbit to get me this book- he was going to the US and this book is not available until October or so on the UK Amazon. Very sweetly while he was organising his wedding rehearsal, he got this book for me from the US Amazon. I wanted to pay him but he said in this cute US accent that: I suppose it is in the company's interest that
you get this book....
Anyways, he didn't get the chance to go to MOMOFUKU like I asked. But I sure will cook those recipes from the book for him- at work anyways.
So you've read- my lovely kitten baby girl - FIFI is a boy!
I wouldn't speak staright after the vet told me so.
Things happen for a reason. I did get this name for a reason just perhaps sub- consciously. A boy is a boy! I am going to look after him no matter what.
I've cooked Gaucho style food for lunch today. Guys love my salads.
Sauteed mix mushrooms with sun blushed tomato and shredded basil
Artichoke hearts with red pepper, celery and coriander
Roasted sweet potato with chorizo
Chilli marinated sirloin
Pan fried scallops with mango, chilli, mixed herbs dressing
Aubergine, red pepper and basil soup
It was all good!
Tuesday, 25 May 2010
Gaucho steaks & Salmon fish cakes
I’ve had a busy week before the last weekend. Apart from the usual routine at work, I’ve had many thoughts on my mind. Friday’s menu was a Middle Eastern one; a type cuisine that’s clean and healthy. It’s one of my personal favourites. Lots fresh Salad and grilled meats. It was also perfect for my clients’ requirements. And they seemed to love what I offered for lunch.
Rabbit came though the kitchen asked about a non flaming BBQ marinate. I advised him to go for the non oil base, preferably dry spices marinade. If you cannot adjust your BBQ grill and the oil in your marinade often causes the black charring on your steaks, this is how you should do it.
I met up with Filli on Friday night at Punch bowl in Mayfair. She was as lovely as ever and I was totally honoured with her frank conversation with me. I am secretly happy about my new Kitten is an honest Aries. With longish black locks, she will be the cat version of me and Filli’s kind of girlies.
Saturday I spent strolling ups and downs on King’s Road searching for kitten’s accessories. I was also looking for the special local “London” honey but shame it was not anywhere to be seen. However, I did enjoy much of the markets at both Pimlico Road and King’s Road. Many diverse cuisines available just around the corner of the gallery of our kitchen goddess Nigella’s husband. I went to visit Haribo in east end in the late afternoon. My beautiful friend was in the mood for champagne and this was what we had after a brief visit to the local American Burger bar. Love; was never an easy topic. I seemed to spend much time recently listening to the stories of it.
The fun part of it was that I actually prepared to visit her with the ingredients for the chicken soup. Now that I think about it; I probably had better just went along with a bottle of bubbly.
The past weekend was an unusual one: hot to a degree that while I was adventuring to Chelsea neighbourhood- I felt that I was being BBQed on the tree-less street. At this desperate moment I went for Gaucho: The much talked about place at work for their delicious Argentinean beef steaks.
And after I’ve tried their menu: yes, the steaks are great! Tasty and full of the right flavours for a simple piece of beef. The charges on the sauce and side dishes were reasonable- if you think the £20 plus is justifiable- for just the steak and you need to pay extra for the “extras”. The peppercorn sauce I’ve had was bland and the sautéed mixed mushrooms on the side was over sweated in their wet mixtures. As I was unable to finish the whole lots that I’ve ordered; I’ve decided that I will just order the steak next time without the extras. That is after trying all of the restaurants in the area, which I think it will be autumn when I go back to Gaucho. But I have to say: it is a nice place for a casual date location. It’s simple and classy in black. I especially love the part that the receptionist had to ask for your name when you sit down in the table. Perhaps I had reminded her of some far eastern actress with my oriental look. I don’t know, we will see when I go again next time.
Here is the recipe for the salmon fish cake I’ve made this morning:
1 kg salmon trimmings (seriously! A fishmonger is very useful. Ask for the trimmings, they had to trim it off the salmon fillets anyways. You will get them in a very good price.)
4 thai bird’s eye red chilli
The root of 1 bunch coriander
1 thumb size ginger
4 cloves of garlic
1 tsp salt
A few grind of pepper or ½ tsp
A sprinkle of soy sauce
A sprinkle of fish sauce
How to make the fish cake:
1. Take a knife to finely mince the salmon trimmings and ginger, garlic, coriander root and red chilli.
Or
2. Magimix the whole lots
Then
1. Wash your hands thoroughly
Or
2. Put on your disposable cloves
Take a golf ball size mixture in your hands and mould it into a small fish ball.
After you make all the fish balls, cook them with 1 tbsp oil in a hot pan. Cook them for 30 seconds each sides. If you like your fish cake properly cooked through, put all of them in a baking tray. Bake for 7 minutes at 180 degrees. Serve with sweet chilli sauce.
Rabbit came though the kitchen asked about a non flaming BBQ marinate. I advised him to go for the non oil base, preferably dry spices marinade. If you cannot adjust your BBQ grill and the oil in your marinade often causes the black charring on your steaks, this is how you should do it.
I met up with Filli on Friday night at Punch bowl in Mayfair. She was as lovely as ever and I was totally honoured with her frank conversation with me. I am secretly happy about my new Kitten is an honest Aries. With longish black locks, she will be the cat version of me and Filli’s kind of girlies.
Saturday I spent strolling ups and downs on King’s Road searching for kitten’s accessories. I was also looking for the special local “London” honey but shame it was not anywhere to be seen. However, I did enjoy much of the markets at both Pimlico Road and King’s Road. Many diverse cuisines available just around the corner of the gallery of our kitchen goddess Nigella’s husband. I went to visit Haribo in east end in the late afternoon. My beautiful friend was in the mood for champagne and this was what we had after a brief visit to the local American Burger bar. Love; was never an easy topic. I seemed to spend much time recently listening to the stories of it.
The fun part of it was that I actually prepared to visit her with the ingredients for the chicken soup. Now that I think about it; I probably had better just went along with a bottle of bubbly.
The past weekend was an unusual one: hot to a degree that while I was adventuring to Chelsea neighbourhood- I felt that I was being BBQed on the tree-less street. At this desperate moment I went for Gaucho: The much talked about place at work for their delicious Argentinean beef steaks.
And after I’ve tried their menu: yes, the steaks are great! Tasty and full of the right flavours for a simple piece of beef. The charges on the sauce and side dishes were reasonable- if you think the £20 plus is justifiable- for just the steak and you need to pay extra for the “extras”. The peppercorn sauce I’ve had was bland and the sautéed mixed mushrooms on the side was over sweated in their wet mixtures. As I was unable to finish the whole lots that I’ve ordered; I’ve decided that I will just order the steak next time without the extras. That is after trying all of the restaurants in the area, which I think it will be autumn when I go back to Gaucho. But I have to say: it is a nice place for a casual date location. It’s simple and classy in black. I especially love the part that the receptionist had to ask for your name when you sit down in the table. Perhaps I had reminded her of some far eastern actress with my oriental look. I don’t know, we will see when I go again next time.
Here is the recipe for the salmon fish cake I’ve made this morning:
1 kg salmon trimmings (seriously! A fishmonger is very useful. Ask for the trimmings, they had to trim it off the salmon fillets anyways. You will get them in a very good price.)
4 thai bird’s eye red chilli
The root of 1 bunch coriander
1 thumb size ginger
4 cloves of garlic
1 tsp salt
A few grind of pepper or ½ tsp
A sprinkle of soy sauce
A sprinkle of fish sauce
How to make the fish cake:
1. Take a knife to finely mince the salmon trimmings and ginger, garlic, coriander root and red chilli.
Or
2. Magimix the whole lots
Then
1. Wash your hands thoroughly
Or
2. Put on your disposable cloves
Take a golf ball size mixture in your hands and mould it into a small fish ball.
After you make all the fish balls, cook them with 1 tbsp oil in a hot pan. Cook them for 30 seconds each sides. If you like your fish cake properly cooked through, put all of them in a baking tray. Bake for 7 minutes at 180 degrees. Serve with sweet chilli sauce.
Saturday, 15 May 2010
Vegetarian Kofte (Falafel)!
I was terribly sick in the beginning of the week. I guess that election result didn’t help at all. I’ve stayed up the previous week waiting for it and of course it didn’t happen, not until the next day late morning while I was at work already. It’s nice to know that I wasn’t the only one to go to bed at the after midnight hours worried about the future for Britain.
Had my class on Wednesday evening with Sandra’s help. The class wasn’t fully booked and I was disturbed for months. Exotic Taiwanese cookery class: Britain= not ready! We will stick to the good old dim sum for now.
The street food menu is crazily easy to prepare. I even had time to spare for my good friend Hideko when she surprise-visited me. Well, it was a bit bizarre to prepare the class before someone you know. Not that I am shy or anything like that. It’s just that I’ve always separate my teaching ego from my usual BOBO self and of course the Chef Beverly ego. It feels a bit mixed up when people know me from somewhere else suddenly appears. Anyway I found out that 2 out of 5 students for the night actually were my old students. So I was happily blabbing away as usual in the class.
One thing though if you are going to prepare the whole menu, I found it is very good to add the dry shrimp and dry Chinese mushroom soaking liquid (from the oily rice recipe) to the chicken stock (for the cuttlefish potage). I am not the one to guess how the street market people make the broth so delicious (MSG?) but this was a good tip for the students.
I’ve cooked as usual for the guys at work this week and the guys LOVE my vegetarian Kofte. When I got out of my kitchen everything was gone! A little secret though; this recipe is great for the cooks hate waste. The usual herb roots and vegetable stems are perfect for it. Normally the recipes only ask you to use the leaves and florets. So what are you going to do with the rest? Compose? What a waste! Keep them in a bag in the fridge or freezer and when you have enough of them. You make this yummy veggie balls. Here I will share the recipe with you:
For the hungry vegetarians everywhere!
You will need:
A magimix or a sharp knife and a great love for chopping
A pan
A pair of tong
Ingredients:
1 green courgette
1 yellow courgette
1 fennel
Quarter of cabbage
The stem of 1 cauliflower (you can use the florets for something else)
The stem of 1 broccoli (same for cauliflower)
The green part of a leek
1 handful of spring greens or spinach
1stick of carrot, peeled
The middle bit of celery (which you cannot use to make beautiful crudités)
1 handful fresh coriander
1 handful parsley
1 tin of chickpea
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp paprika
½ tbsp salt
1 tsp ground white pepper
1 egg
4 pieces of random old toast (or 2 large handful breadcrumbs)
30g flour
Oil for shallow frying
Method:
1. Use your magimix to grate the courgettes or grate them by hands.
2. With your magimix, pulse chop the rest of the vegetables two at a time. You want to have all of them kind of “rice” size in the end. Don’t worry if there are some big bits that just won’t go. You will either pick them out or chop them by hands. And if you don’t have a magimix; grate what you can and chop what you cannot grate. Keep those in a large mixing bowl.
3. Now pulse chop your herbs. Add those into the waiting mixing bowl. Remember don’t over whiz them in the machine into this meaningless green mud.
4. Finally work these chickpeas with the magimix. If you’d prefer, you can whiz these into paste. Personally I like something to bite on in my food so I left my chickpeas rustic. Add these into the mixing bowl with the rest.
5. Blend your old toast to fine breadcrumbs if you don’t have them already.
6. Crack your 1 egg into the mixing bowl. Add the spices, flour, salt and pepper.
7. Wash your hands first or you can use the disposable gloves. Now mix all the ingredients in the mixing bowl with your hands. Really work them through! This is the fun bit! Stress release I call it.
8. In your pan, heat up about 1 cup of oil. While the oil is heating up; make the kofte: take a large tbsp size and roll them into small balls. Keep them on a clean plate.
9. When the oil is hot enough. (not smoking! This would be too hot!) Gently place the balls into the pan. Use the tongs to turn the balls to make sure they are browned evenly.
10. When they are golden browned all over. Take the balls out of the pan and drain the excess oil off on the paper towels.
11. They are good to eat!
12. If you are entertaining, it would be nice to have some sort of dips to go with those little Kofte. I am thinking chopped mint with thick Greek yoghurt or paprika chilli mayo dip.
Well, that’s it! Very simple. I forgot to mention: the guys at work called these balls Falafels. Kind of similar ideas really, I think. I didn’t even object to it.
Had my class on Wednesday evening with Sandra’s help. The class wasn’t fully booked and I was disturbed for months. Exotic Taiwanese cookery class: Britain= not ready! We will stick to the good old dim sum for now.
The street food menu is crazily easy to prepare. I even had time to spare for my good friend Hideko when she surprise-visited me. Well, it was a bit bizarre to prepare the class before someone you know. Not that I am shy or anything like that. It’s just that I’ve always separate my teaching ego from my usual BOBO self and of course the Chef Beverly ego. It feels a bit mixed up when people know me from somewhere else suddenly appears. Anyway I found out that 2 out of 5 students for the night actually were my old students. So I was happily blabbing away as usual in the class.
One thing though if you are going to prepare the whole menu, I found it is very good to add the dry shrimp and dry Chinese mushroom soaking liquid (from the oily rice recipe) to the chicken stock (for the cuttlefish potage). I am not the one to guess how the street market people make the broth so delicious (MSG?) but this was a good tip for the students.
I’ve cooked as usual for the guys at work this week and the guys LOVE my vegetarian Kofte. When I got out of my kitchen everything was gone! A little secret though; this recipe is great for the cooks hate waste. The usual herb roots and vegetable stems are perfect for it. Normally the recipes only ask you to use the leaves and florets. So what are you going to do with the rest? Compose? What a waste! Keep them in a bag in the fridge or freezer and when you have enough of them. You make this yummy veggie balls. Here I will share the recipe with you:
Vegetarian Kofte
For the hungry vegetarians everywhere!
You will need:
A magimix or a sharp knife and a great love for chopping
A pan
A pair of tong
Ingredients:
1 green courgette
1 yellow courgette
1 fennel
Quarter of cabbage
The stem of 1 cauliflower (you can use the florets for something else)
The stem of 1 broccoli (same for cauliflower)
The green part of a leek
1 handful of spring greens or spinach
1stick of carrot, peeled
The middle bit of celery (which you cannot use to make beautiful crudités)
1 handful fresh coriander
1 handful parsley
1 tin of chickpea
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp paprika
½ tbsp salt
1 tsp ground white pepper
1 egg
4 pieces of random old toast (or 2 large handful breadcrumbs)
30g flour
Oil for shallow frying
Method:
1. Use your magimix to grate the courgettes or grate them by hands.
2. With your magimix, pulse chop the rest of the vegetables two at a time. You want to have all of them kind of “rice” size in the end. Don’t worry if there are some big bits that just won’t go. You will either pick them out or chop them by hands. And if you don’t have a magimix; grate what you can and chop what you cannot grate. Keep those in a large mixing bowl.
3. Now pulse chop your herbs. Add those into the waiting mixing bowl. Remember don’t over whiz them in the machine into this meaningless green mud.
4. Finally work these chickpeas with the magimix. If you’d prefer, you can whiz these into paste. Personally I like something to bite on in my food so I left my chickpeas rustic. Add these into the mixing bowl with the rest.
5. Blend your old toast to fine breadcrumbs if you don’t have them already.
6. Crack your 1 egg into the mixing bowl. Add the spices, flour, salt and pepper.
7. Wash your hands first or you can use the disposable gloves. Now mix all the ingredients in the mixing bowl with your hands. Really work them through! This is the fun bit! Stress release I call it.
8. In your pan, heat up about 1 cup of oil. While the oil is heating up; make the kofte: take a large tbsp size and roll them into small balls. Keep them on a clean plate.
9. When the oil is hot enough. (not smoking! This would be too hot!) Gently place the balls into the pan. Use the tongs to turn the balls to make sure they are browned evenly.
10. When they are golden browned all over. Take the balls out of the pan and drain the excess oil off on the paper towels.
11. They are good to eat!
12. If you are entertaining, it would be nice to have some sort of dips to go with those little Kofte. I am thinking chopped mint with thick Greek yoghurt or paprika chilli mayo dip.
Well, that’s it! Very simple. I forgot to mention: the guys at work called these balls Falafels. Kind of similar ideas really, I think. I didn’t even object to it.
Taiwanese night market cookery class Dish 6. Ai Yu
Ai yu jelly:
A Special jelly made from the seeds of a type of wild figs (looks like green mangos) they are only to be found in Taiwan. Refreshing and delicious! It floats in the syrup like pieces of yellow jade.
Serves 4
Ingredients:
10g Aiyu seed
2 cups of cold water
Juice of 4 lemons
Honey to sweeten
Method:
1. Place the aiyu seeds in the centre of a piece muslin cloth. Tighten with a string to make a small parcel.
2. Soak in the cold water; gently rub the seeds through the muslin bag until there is no more yellow gel coming out of the muslin bag. (this process is called “washing Aiyu”)
3. Discard the muslin bag and leave the jelly liquid in a cold place or in the fridge.
4. Mix lemon juice with some honey to sweeten.
5. When the jelly is set, take a spoon to portion the aiyu. Slid the pieces into the sweetened lemon juice with some crushed ice.
6. Enjoy!
Taiwanese night market cookery class Dish 5. Bubble Tea
Bubble tea
One of the most famous desserts originated from Taiwan. Who’d thought that some tapioca pearls (balls) work fantastically with the iced milky tea? An acquired taste but a must for the night market fans.
Serves 4
Ingredients:
½ cup of tapioca pearls (balls)
4 normal tea bags
150g condensed milk
Method:
1. Brew 2 litres of tea with boiled water and the 4 tea bags.
2. Mix the condensed milk into the tea. Leave to cool down.
3. In a large pan, cook the tapioca pearls with water until the pearls are floating on the surface of the water.
4. Strain the pearls and cool them down quickly in cold water.
5. Divide the pearls and tea into 4 large cups. Serve with over sized straw to enjoy the pearls.
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