Updates and A taste of TV

Belly Hippie New Ears !

Its been quite a long while since the last post.  We have been busy setting up our home kitchen in a new location- having moved from London to Oxford.  Its an inherited kitchen from the previous occupier in a galley style.  Its functioning OK but there are bits and bobs we would love to change slowly but surely.  And in the meantime, we've started making bread and thats when it feels like home :)

Moving also means finding new suppliers/grocers/supermarkets in our new local area.  These have a big influence on the kind of fare we make!  As we are still in the midst of exploring, I shall leave this to a different post!

Meanwhile, we've had some wonderful news leading to a growing bump and shopping for new bottoms as my waistline expands.  I am happy to announce that my belly is now bigger than his paunch!  And if all goes well, out pops a momokin this the summer!

So much for catch up!

The real motivation behind this sudden great urge to post is actually from having just watched the new TV culinary series called "The TASTE".  A UK based programme where contestants are chosen and mentored based on their submission of a spoonful of food to 3 judges, namely Nigella Lawson, Anthony Bourdain and Ludo Lefebvre.  The first 2 names probably need no introduction, while Ludo is a french chef and tv personality based in LA.  I've just watched the first episode and am slightly intrigued, as it proclaims its "all about the palette" giving scant attention to presentation and techniques.  However in this first episode, what featured heavily was the Judge's personalities and theatrics of competition and very little about the actual food itself, aside from closeup shots of overladen spoons out to impress.  It is more a meal squeezed onto a spoon than an amuse bousch.  One of the emerging themes in the programme seems to be 'the Home cook vs the Professional Cook'.  Are we really all equal when it comes to the palette?  Thinking about it also got me wondering about my affair with tv cooking shows of late, as I became a rather religious follower of UK Master Chef in the past 2 years.  


Some random ruminations about this new hobby of mine! Why do I watch cooking programmes/competitions?

• I love eating, cooking and browsing cook books! TV is a natural extension of the repertoire no?
• Get inspired and learn about new ingredients, methods, combinations from watching others !
• Enjoy the format of the programme, which while keeping the competition keen, the UK version of MASTER CHEF does not distract from the food itself, and does not play up the dramatics of competition as much as the US version.
• Availability and affordability of ingredients/ spices from all over the world in our globalised times, have really helped expand the range of home cooking!  And with these tv programmes, it inspires everyday meals !
• It gives normal folk like me a glimpse of the professional kitchen, and the pains and pleasure of creating dishes!  
• I also note the obsession we have with food which has entered popular culture in a BIG way, and yet at the same time, there are people going hungry and worrying about the next meal with scant regard as to how it would taste.  No, I'm not referring to Africa, but here in the UK.

till the next post…. 

Making Dumplings - bao JIAOZI 包饺子

This entry is especially for my Fellow mad hatterians ;)

We recently had a dumpling making party at home.  One of our friends had a strict gluten free diet so we had plenty of fun making an alternative G-free dumpling wrapper.  We prepared most of the filling in advance and invited our friends to arrive in time for wrapping- this is surely the best part!

Dumplings come in a number of forms in chinese, japanese and korean cuisine. They can be boiled, steamed, pan fried ( gyoza - or pot stickers , the Japanese versions) or deep friend (wanton) . There are variations of fillings and the skin of the dumplings. The version we made here are a common northern Chinese type, typically meat-based wrapped in a wheat flour skin.

Ingredients for Pork Dumplings: 

1. premade dumpling skins ( available in chiller section of Asian supermarket)

2. Minced pork 

3. Ginger

4. Water chestnuts ( fresh or canned ones from Asian supermarket)

5. Spring onions

6. Pak Choi , you could use napa or savoy cabbage as well. 

7. Dried shitake mushrooms ( available in Asian supermarkets) 

Seasoning: 

White pepper

Soy sauce ( use Tamari for gluten free dish) 

Sesame oil

Traditional Dip: 
Black Zhejiang Vinegar with strips of fresh ginger

Alternatively we like to use a chilli dip, you can experiment and find your own!

Pre made dumpling skins. Buy them close to the dates you make them!

Ingredients for Vegetable dumplings: 

1. Dumplings skins ( same as above) 

2. All of above ingredients minus minced pork. 

3. Tofu ( for this entry we used Okara,the soya bean mush left over from making soy milk) 

4. Dried Black fungus mushroom ( avail. at asian supermarkets) 

5. Egg 

The dumpling skin is the bit to look out for if you would like to have gluten free versions. Essentially fillings of the dumplings are the same but you can make your own gluten free dumpling skins as we have not came across g-free premade ones.  We got the recipe from this blog.  And were amazed and impressed by the gelling power of Xantham gum !!

Diced Pak Choi

Straining diced Pak Choi with a muslin cloth

Soaked and softened Black Fungus.

Soaked and Softened Dried Shitake, sliced. (Pre diced!)

Filling for Veg Dumpling ready to be seasoned and mixed.  Here I used carrot as well.  The tofu and egg is missing from the picture. 

Method: 

1. Preparing the filling is a large part of the making! It is good to remember that you need them very tiny to fit into the dumpling!

2. Soak dried mushrooms and black fungus in warm water till soft ( 30mins at least) Cut off stalk and slice mushroom about 2-3mm thick then dice the slices into rectangular bits. 

3. Skin and dice water chestnuts ( if canned, it would be skinned) into approx 0.5x0.5 cm cubes. 

4. Chop spring onions into a similar size as water chestnuts. 

5. Grate some ginger and also slice some into very fine strips. 

6. Wash, chop and dice pakchoi or greens into a similar size like water chestnuts. As veges contain lots of water, it ll be important to use a muslin cloth to wrap around it and squeeze out as much liquid as you can- to avoid a soggy bottom dumpling ! 

7. Add diced veg to minced pork and season with soy sauce, sesame oil and dash of white pepper. Mix thoroughly for an even filing ! 

8. For the veggie dumpling, add diced ingredients , mash tofu, egg and mix thoroughly ! Tofu and egg are acting as a coagulant here! 

You are now ready to wrap your dumpling, with help from a dab of water on the skin to help it stick!

This is one of many traditional ways to wrap it! You can see other videos on Youtube for guidance.

Otherwise experiment and find your own unique way! Keep in mind that you want them to be bite size, with as little air pockets within and seal it carefully so it wouldn't unravel during cooking! Stretching the skin GENTLY on all sides helps to increase the flexibility abit! You want to have a slightly damp cloth over the stack of dumpling skins as it would dry out very fast if left exposed.

Don't be discouraged if they turn out odd looking, you will get the hang of it by making more!  Just be sure to SEAL IT TIGHT so it wouldn't 'leak' during the cooking process.

How many different shapes can you spot?

Dumplings in All shapes and sizes! Unleash your creativity!

Cooking: 

Depending on how you like your dumplings, you can cook them differently. Steaming are great for light cooking and intricately wrapped aka delicately shaped dumplings! Otherwise, the usual northern chinese way is to boil them.

-BOILING- Bring a pot of water to boil, and tip dumplings in.  They are ready when they begin to float on the surface.  Depending on the size of your dumpling and amount of filling, this should take 3-6 minutes.

-PAN-FRYING- Choose a pan with a cover.  Oil pan lightly with a small amount of cooking oil.  You can tip in 1/2 teaspoon and swirl pan around.  When the oil starts smoking, put in your dumplings and continuously shake the pan to prevent it from sticking.  It will begin to brown slightly on the outside.  splash a few drops of water on the dumplings ( be very careful!) and cover pan immediately to flash steam the dumplings!  One can also add a dash of soya sauce or chilli sauce just before the water step.

Eat your boiled dumplings fresh from the pot, they tend to stick together if left to cool!

Something for everyone!
Left hand: G-free dumplings, boiled and panfried.
Right hand: Meat dumplings and Veg dumplings, boiled.

Additional photos courtesy of Reena! Who wisely clicked them before we sat down and wolfed through the dumplings :)

Story deli pizza

On an after dinner walk one evening, we noticed an interesting corner shop in our local area. The glass windows revealed larger tables with some chairs and many interesting white/ cream coloured arty objects hanging from the ceiling. The place was lit with large candles and really warmed up the romantic in you! We were very curious about this place- as we could not discern what the shop was about- what does it sell ?? Was it an artist studio? 

At a tiny corner, we spied what looked like an 8in pizza sat in brown paper atop a stool. There was a scrawl with an arrow indicating 'pizza' . Intrigued, we headed in that direction to find a nondescript unnamed restaurant hidden behind some curtained entrance. The place was lively and the ambience was just as romantic. We made a mental note to return to try the food. 

This turned out to be story deli. A pretty popular gourmet pizza eatery. They pride themselves on their use of organic ingredients and serve only pizza, drinks and 3 choices of dessert. 

Interestingly their 'pizza' is also one of a kind! It was different, delicious and so filling it also became lunch for one of us the next day! The base was like a flat bread- super crisp and thin made with no yeast at all. We ordered pizzas with a pesto base and the toppings ... Man that was like a whole salad on top of the pizza! Thrilling for the vegetarian but also kinda intimidating! Simply presented on a board. This pizza had grilled shrimp with spices, roasted peppers, mozzarella and ALOT OF ROCKET! It was pretty awesome except that the olive oil was too generous and one became full very quickly ! It was also challenging to eat this as you can imagine! The ingredients are heavier than the base and the pesto was dropping off each bite! 

The next one was a mushroom, mozzarella, onions, rocket and pepper combination! The mushrooms are hidden under the foliage ... 

A sense of how thin the pizza is! 

Rustic and romantic interior ;) It was a lovely meal out, with enough to pack as a salad lunch the next day!  Oh yes, it was a pinch on the pocket too , each pizza was priced at a whopping £17 !!! Quality ingredients and quality time spent together eating ;) also got us thinking reflectively about what makes a pizza ? Does this constitute as one?? 

A Clammy Macky Meal

Our rule of thumb for making meals on most days are LOCAL/SEASONAL and FRESH.... and perhaps on other days they are WHAT's AVAILABLE or what we FEEL like having... or perhaps an interaction between all 3 !  It makes more environmental, health and economical sense to eat what's seasonal and local.  Reduction of food-miles usually also = smaller carbon footprint.  

Fortunately, the UK is blessed with having an abundance of seafood.  At our local fishmonger's today, S2 had originally intended to get a semi-firm flesh fish for Chinese steamed fish dish.  However, she got detracted by the utterly fresh looking mackerel and razor clams there!  They reminded her of 2 dishes she had seen on TV cooking shows which she would like to try her hand at.  Hence it quickly got pencilled in as the star of dinner for tonight!

 

There are 2 types of razor clams.  A curved one and a straight one.  The ones shown here are the straight ones- called razor for its likeness to old-style shaving razor knifes.  These are the ones commonly found in the UK! Looking about online, one can actually go to certain beaches to clam-hunt!  The razor clams are hidden vertically in the sand, spotted only by a slight dimple in the sand, or a small squirt of water they emit.  These reminds me of geoducks in seafood restaurant tanks in Clarke Quay back home in Singapore.

I'm drawn to the razor's clam's unique shape and 'behaviour'.  Like crab, it's alive from point to point- fisherman-wholesaler-fishmonger-my fridge... and it ends in the 30 second steaming in the pan. ( give thanks before they hit the pan )  They wriggle a little with a slight shutter like- opening and closing of the shell.  As I rinsed them for grit, they made the cutest squidgy noises which momentarily deterred my intentions of cooking them. ( yes, this Pescatarian is ewil but grateful)

Flash steamed and added to a medley of sautéed vegetables, this was the eventual outcome of the R-clams.  Do you think we did it justice?  We adapted a recipe courtesy of Tom Kitchin, according to what ingredients we already had in the fridge.  M2 liked the dish but would have like more razor clams, while S2 agreed the ratio of vegetables were slightly heavy handed- thus obscuring the delicate seaside flavour of the clams.  The sauce was very tasty though!

we heart mackerel!

Another recipe S2 was keen to try was a mackerel tartare.  We looked up recipes online and once more adapted it from 2 recipes on BBC food online.  M2 was the captain of this boat, taking charge of filleting, de-boning and de-skinning and seasoning.  We wondered about the difference between a tartare and a cerviche as both dishes are essentially a sort of seasoned raw seafood salad..?   Apparently the crux is lemon juice.  Cerviche is cured in lemon juice while tartare isn't.  This was slightly perplexing as the recipe online for tartare had called for lemon juice, but we were too hungry to think of other alternatives to our reliable half lemon.  S2 loved the cucumber but felt it was probably too watery for the overall texture.  It is tricky getting the seasoning right, balancing acidity and saltiness and spiciness for the right ZING!  So more practice is needed! 

Accompanying the seafood bonanza was a simple mixed leaf salad (grown in Hackney! Yeah!) We are obsessed with our sunflower-cranberry-sesame combination.  And with all the citrus running through the seafood, opted for a pomegranate dressing to sweeten the sourness.  Topped with some slices of our homemade week-old sourdough bread (especially useful to mop up juices and sauces with).  Another fun and satisfying dinner ! :) 

こや(Koya)

A belated post about a wonderful meal we had at KOYA- a local japanese restaurant in Soho specialising in their homemade udon!  (reminded by our recent udon adventure) How exciting! This was a birthday treat for Noodlegirl.  We had a Zaru Udon (cold) and grilled fish with Udon in soup, garnished with a salad!

The texture, Q-factor (chewyness) and taste were remarkably fresh and light.  It was not stodgy at all, nor does it break off too easily.  We were lucky enough to get a table at the back corner of this cosy eatery which gave a view of the open kitchen.  It was great to see the chefs in action and observe how organised and calmly they all worked!  The udon had been made in batches beforehand and were kept dusted with a little flour in containers, and cooked to order.  Prices were reasonable given the quality the fuss-free and authentic flavours served up!  Thoroughly enjoyable :)

making udon at home.... first attempt.... and reminiscent of MHK

Last weekend, we gave a go at making udon.  The foremost attraction was noodle-girl's (S2) love of the white slightly chewy noodles, and the fun of the step-kneading !  Also, we had been inspired by reading La Fujimama's blog about making udon.  Please visit her site for recipe and procedure.

The ingredients and equipment needed are simple, but as the noodle required some proofing, some   planning leading up to dinner time is essential.  We had great fun step-kneading, by putting on our favourite tunes and took turns dance-stepping on the udon.  Cardio workout! In addition to that, the upper body also joins in during the later hand kneading stage!

The texture of the dough in this attempt was quite hard, so it was difficult to roll it out to a desirable thin-ness.  We wonder if its the ratio of the water to flour to salt, perhaps we will experiment with that in the next round.  As you can see, the noodles are hand-sliced and put into boiling water straight away!

Slightly too thick, but made for a very satisfying fresh udon in light bonito and miso vegetable soup dinner! Happiness is working and making dinner from scratch !

Udon making reminded us of Mee Hoon Kway (面粉糕)， a M'sian/S'porean handmade noodle.  The ingredients are exactly the same, but it needs less time and less kneading.  There isn't a specific shape, like noodles.  In my family, my cousin in Port Dickson- who currently makes the most powerful bowl of yummylicious Mee Hoon Kway- just tears off the big piece of dough, flattens it and throws it into a flavoursome pot of boiling broth (made from fried anchovies).  The result is a delightful bowl of abstract cloud-like bits, fluffy with a bite and a tad hard in the middle. (al dente?) mmm... topped with chilli padi and minced garlic in soya sauce. Heavenly!!

purple fish pie

Over the easter holiday, we bought an enamel pie dish.  It looks like a bath tub with a blue rim :) And we inaugurated the pie dish with a traditional english fish pie recipe from Mary Berry, using the same Albert Bartlet purple potatoes !  Our visiting friend Q made a wonderful mash and stamped it MO.  The pie fed 3 very happy people !