Cooking: 20-min One-Pot Chinese Steamed Chicken & Rice with Shiitake & Ginger

This has got to be one of my favourite all-time meals and it's extremely easy to make. It's perfect for that cold winter night or a lazy night. It takes about 10 minutes prep time and 20 minutes cooking time. Take that Jamie Oliver!!! 

20-min One-Pot Chinese Steamed Chicken & Rice with Shiitake Mushroom & Ginger

(serves 3, 2 if you're very hungry)

1 package of Skinless Chicken Thigh Fillets (about 475g)

1 package of fresh Shiitake Mushroom (about 125g)

1" x 1/2" ginger thinly julienned

1/4 tsp White Pepper

1 tsp Sugar

1 tbsp Light Soy

1/2 tsp Salt (can add more after to taste)

1/4 tsp Chicken Stock Powder (extra chicken flavour)

1 tsp Toasted Sesame Oil

300 ml Jasmine Rice (with dry deciliter measuring cup)

Directions:

1. Cut chicken into 1/2" to 1" pieces put in a large bowl.
2. Remove stem from mushroom, julienne, put into chicken bowl.
3. Add seasoning (julienned ginger, white pepper, sugar, light soy, sesame oil, salt, chicken stock powder) into the chicken bowl and mix well. Set aside. 
4. In a large non-stick saucepan, add rice & 500-550 ml (same measuring cup) of water into the pan. Cover, boil on medium-high heat until water becomes bubbly (boiling).
5. Turn heat to low, add chicken mixture covering every inch of pan. Put lid on and let it simmer for about 15-20 mins. 
6. Check in with chicken rice at about 10min mark to see if it's cook through. 
7. Turn off heat. Stir. Serve. Done.

Chef's notes:

• I recommend using skinless chicken thigh fillets for this dish because breast is much tougher when steamed. 
• If no fresh Shiitake Mushroom is available, you can use dried, but rehydrate with hot water.
• If you want to add some vegetable to the meal, please do, bok choi or Chinese cabbage will be great addition. You would like to add this 5 minutes to the pot before serving.

Cooking: Langoustines 3-Ways: Céviche, Caviar on Crostini & Aromatic Poached

Langoustines from Fin & Flounder £11.58

I don't normally cook seafood at home, the packaged fish at the supermarket has always been so off-putting. Since the opening of Fin & Flounder around the corner, it's been much accessible to learn and purchase fresh seafood. I remember having dinner at Bocca di Lupo last summer and ordered Cruditá di mare (raw sea bream, red prawn, scallop with rosemary oil – sm £9.50 lg £19.00) they ran out of prawns and replaced with langoustines. The sweetness of the langoustines, rosemary oil lifting earthiness of scallops, it was a heaven! This dish was so fantastic that a second round order was absolutely inevitable! That was my first experience with langoustines at its best – fresh and raw.

This is like mini lobster, could be intimidating to buy but worth it!

Adam gave me a langoustine with roes, and three males. I couldn't make up my mind on how to cook them, since they are fresh, I decided to have them three ways: céviche, the roe I'll put them on toast and light poached in an aromatic bath.

Aromatic Poached Langoustine with Olive Oil & Lemon

Langoustines in aromatic bath

Aromatic Poached Langoustines
Serves 1

3 Langoustines (usually 3-6 per person)
10 Black Peppercorns
2 Bay Leaves
1 Small bunch of parsley
Good Slug of White Wine
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Flaked Sea Salt

1. Pull the leaves off the parsley and save them for later. 
2. In a large pan, fill in water to about 1/4 of the pan, add peppercorn, bay leaves, parsley stalks and a good slug of White Wine, bring to boil.
3. Once the bath is boiled, add salt and in goes the langoustines. Use a laddle to keep pouring hot liquid over the langoustines. Keep doing so about 4 minutes. 
4. Get the langoustines out of the pan. Put the cooked langoustines onto plates then drizzle them with olive oil and scatter with parsley and sea salt, squeezing over lemon juice

Chef's notes: This is inspired by one of Nigel Slater's 50 favourites summer recipe off the Guardian, his recipe calls for a deep pan of water, but I was afraid to over cook them, by keep pouring hot liquid over them is a way to have them evenly cooked without over boiling them. I also added a good slug of white wine to add more depth.

Another close up look at the dish

Langoustine Céviche with Caviar Crostini

Langoustine Céviche
Serves 1

1 Langoustine
Drizzle of Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 lemon wedge
1 tsp chopped parsley

1. Turn the langoustine over on its back, and use a very sharp knife, cut through the middle of the abdomen.
2. Use a pairing knife to loosen the meat from the shell. 
3. Drizzle olive oil, squeeze lemon and sprinkle parsley on top.

Chef's notes: I was a bit nervous in preparing the céviche, the cutting part was the worst because the langoustine was still alive. So if you're squeamish, this dish might not be for you. In hind sight, I should have made an infused rosemary oil instead.

Langoustine with Roe – I'm about to become a serial langoustine baby murderer!!

Langoustine Caviar Crostini

Langoustine Caviar Crostini
Serves 1

1 langoustine with roe
1 Italian stick or French baguette
1 tsp of Mayonnaise
Butter or Olive Oil

1. Preheat oven to 200ºC/400ºF
2. Extract the roe from langoustine with a spoon, put them into a small dish, set aside.
3. Slice bread and either butter or drizzle with olive oil on both side, put on baking tray and into the oven until golden brown and toasted. 
4. After crostini has been toasted, spread a thin layer of mayonnaise and garnish with langoustine roe on top. Serve whilst crostini is still warm.

This dinner was slightly expensive but sometimes one needs a treat and indulge with lovely food. Simply prepared fresh langoustines tastes its best this way.

What do you think? Have you cooked something you haven't tried before? How did the dish turned out?

Cooking: Les moules et les frites avec l'aïoli

I haven't posted for a while, so hello and thanks for reading!

Here's another reason to love my neighbourhood – I love my new-ish (opened in 2010) local fishmongers Fin & Flounder (71 Broadway Market, London E8 4PH Tel: 0783 8018395). Their seafood are sustainably caught, reasonably priced and the guys are very knowledgeable despite they're all young. What I like about them is that they bring back the nostalgia of a local fishmonger – a bit of chit chat, they are passionate about what they do and their enthusiasm to get to know their customers even if it's by means of Twitter.



Last week, I dreamt of a big bowl of Moules Frites. On Saturday, I went down to Broadway Market to purchase some mussels from Fin & Flounder. I had no time to make my own sourdough bread that day (it needs some premeditation – I need to plan and prepare at least a day before making one, it really deserves its own post) so I went to E5 Bakehouse for it, it was hot off the oven too! One stop shop, I can get everything in my hood! London Fields was absolutely heaving, the Lobsters were out but sadly left all their rubbish behind when I return from my run in the evening. Shame on them!



This recipe takes on a bit of Nigella/Delia approach. It's okay to cheat a little, sometimes. These oven frites are a much easier and healthy alternative to deep frying or double frying chips. I don't have the patience on this occassion and it's too much work deep frying frankly. Oh, the aïoli is also lazy made too.

Recipe Serves 1



For Frites:
2 medium sized yellow fleshed or russet potatoes
1-2 tablespoon olive oil
4 sprigs fresh thyme, or 1 1/2 teaspoons dried
Sea salt and freshly ground pepper

1. Preheat oven to 425ºF/200ºC. Leave the skin on, cut potatoes lengthwise into thick slices, then into 1/2-inch-by-1/2-inch-thick strips. Place them in a bowl of cold water until ready to use. Drain and dry proper on kitchen towels.
   
2. Toss potatoes with oil and spread out on a baking sheet / roasting pan. Scatter thyme sprigs over potatoes. Bake for 25 to 35 minutes, turning occasionally, until potatoes are brown and crisp on all sides. Meanwhile prepare mussels (see below instruction 1 for Moules Marinière)
   
3. Remove from oven, discard thyme stems (the leaves will have fallen off), sprinkle with sea salt and pepper.

Note: Only cook the mussels when the potatoes are nearly ready, the mussels takes no time to cook! If you're twirling thumbs looking for things to do, then it's a good time to prepare the aïoli.




For Lazy Aïoli:
1 small clove of garlic
1 teaspoon of prepared Coleman's tartar sauce
3 teaspoon of store-bought mayonnaise

1. Press the clove of garlic through a garlic press into a dipping bowl.
   
2. Combine tartar sauce and mayonnaise with the garlic and mix well. Let sit and allows flavour to mingle before serving.

For Moules Marinière:
1/2 lb fresh & live mussels, scrubbed and debearded
(General rule is 1/2 to 1 lb mussels per person but get a few more in case you need to discard some)
1 medium finely minced shallot
4 sprigs of thyme
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
Small knob of butter
1 small glass of white wine of choice
Pinch of coarse sea salt

1. Preparing mussels: DO NOT soak them in water, this will kill them because they live in sea water! Give each mussel a little tab to see if it closes, if it doesn't, it's dead. Discard. If its shell is cracked, discard. Use a scrub pad or brush to give the mussels a good scrub. Remove any barnacles if necessarily. To debeard, pull the beard towards the crack joint of the shells, sometimes they can be a bit tough, go on, give it a bit of elbow grease, will ya?
   
2. Put mussels, butter, wine, shallots, salt, and thyme in a medium pot. Cover, and cook over high heat, shaking pot occasionally, until mussels open, about 4 minutes. Discard any unopened shells. Sprinkle with parsley; gently toss. Serve with toasted butter bread.

For more photos and to see my other gastronomic treats, please see my Flickr album.

Cooking: Szechuan Spicy Chilli Garlic Poached Pork

Recently, Candy discovered this amazing authentic Chinese restaurant near Spitalfield Market. It's called "My Old Place" (88 Middlesex Street London E1 7EZ), a sister restaurant of infamous Gourmet San of Bethnal Green Road. One must order a couple skewers of the cumin lamb kebab and a few cumin chicken wings for starters. As for main course, I highly recommend this dished called "水煮肉", I forgot what it was called in English, will re-post when I go there again. This dish is a traditional Szechuan dish, it's usually beef, pork or fish poached by stock, then poured over Chinese miso (spicy bean paste) and veggies, also topped off with fried garlic, chilli and spices.

We've been so addicted to this restaurant, I've re-discovered my love for Chinese food and how much I miss it. It has inspired me to make my own version at home and I would love to share this recipe with you. I've used pork here but you can substitute with beef, fried tofu, firm tofu or boneless firm white fish.



Serves 1

1 Shoulder Pork Chop, slice thinly against the grain
4 Leaves of Chinese Cabbage, slice into 1" pieces
3 tbsp of Spicy/Chilli Bean Paste (available in Chinese supermarkets)
1 Small Red Chilli, sliced (if you like it spicy, leave the seeds in)
1 tsp of Chilli pepper flakes (or dried crushed chilli)
2 Cloves of Garlic, chopped (not minced)
5 Slices of Ginger
1 Spring/Green Onion, sliced thinly
1 Small bowl of stock (I made from chicken stock cube and boiling water)
5 Whole White Peppercorn (or Black)

1. Marinate the pork slices with a dash of dark soy and a sprinkle of sugar.

2. Heat 1 tbsp of Spicy Bean Paste in a medium saucepan over medium heat, cook for a minute until fragrant, add the bowl of stock. Boil it then turn down the heat to a bubbling simmer. Add peppercorn.

3. Cook the Chinese cabbage until soften. On the side, prepare a bowl and fill it with the remaining spicy bean paste. When the cabbage is cooked then fish it out and lay on top of the bean paste in the bowl.

4. Add spring onion or "salad onion" as the Brit calls them here to the stock. Use the stock then to poach the meat until fully cooked. Your stock should be a little thicker now, pour everything into the bowl

5. Heat a couple tbsp of olive oil over medium heat, add sliced ginger, cook for a bit, then add chopped garlic, chilli and the chilli flakes. Don't go too close now it'll burn your eyes! Fry everything until fragrant and garlic looks crisp, not burnt.

6. Pour this spicy mixture with the hot oil over the bowl of poached meat. Mix everything in the bowl before you eat. Served with a big bowl steamed jasmine rice.

Note: If you're a bit of a wimp when it comes to spiciness, then don't use the red chilli at all and cut down on the chilli flakes by 1/2. Of course, different brand of spicy bean paste has different level of heat, so I suggest to taste it to test the heat before you're using it by the spoonfuls.

Cooking: Life's Little Luxury

As most of you know, I love food. Nothing is better than a simple yet luxurious brunch on a late Sunday morning. Scrambled eggs with truffles served on buttered toast. Simple, honest yet luxurious. It's definitely life's little luxury.



Truffles I bought from the Central Market in Budapest.



Shave a few pieces of truffle into 2 beaten eggs and a dash of milk and then a dash of cream. This is not the time to be skimp on the cream here, live a little, be Nigella! Season a little here if you wish, or you can do so later. Melt butter in heated pan over medium heat, pour egg mixture into pan, swirl around with spatula. Don't over cook it as the heat in pan and egg will continue cooking when you plate it.



Served over some buttered toast and voilà!

Wait, has anyone seen my Sunday crosswords?

Cooking: Roast Turkey

Weather is crap outside, been laying inside all day catching up with friends from home. Wish I was still away from the city, I crave for a cosy dinner, made a turkey roast with home-grown thyme. I threw in some leeks, cherry tomatoes, onions and seedless grapes into the roast. The first night I'll serve with wild rice and herbs, second night I'll jazz it up with classic roasted garlic mashed potatoes.

Of course, warm custard for dessert.

Cooking: Roast & Bake Sunday

The Pre-Roast.


Smoked Paprika Cinnamon Roasted Chicken with Caramelised Fennel, Roasted Cherry Tomatoes & Red Grapes.



Served with Couscous (I love that word) and Spinach, Rocket Salad.

Sunday is for roast. This is not a traditional "Sunday Roast" but with the chilly weather this weekend, I crave for a warm roasted chicken. Billie Holiday is playing in the background. An hour of warm aroma of fresh herb (from my own garden, of course) and deliciousness infusing the entire kitchen whilst I watch impatiently like a child, peeking every five minutes through the oven door. I calm myself down with a hot cup of chai tea and catch up on my reading. I've added a sprinkle of cinnamon onto the chicken before it goes into the oven at 220ºC for an hour and a quarter, basting every fifteen minutes. Result is the most delicious, moist, succulent tender chicken that falls off the bone. Red grapes, tomatoes, shallots and fennel all have caramelised nicely and flavour have been condensed to an impeccable intensity of sweetness that nature and oven can ever offer.

I then make a simple couscous (I love that word, couscous. Couscous!) with little onion and sultans with a dash of cinnamon over a little hot chicken stock to go along with the dish. Just for health's sake, I throw in a little spinach and rocket salad. Okay, the dressing is store-bought (Brianna's Poppy Seed Dressing), but hey, I'm not full-time Nigella Lawson nor Martha Stewart, at least not yet.


Cardamom Cinnamon Apple Crumble served with Warm Custard.

As for dessert, a classic apple crumble is crying for to finish this Sunday meal. Although, I have forgotten to pick up ground ginger and nutmeg from the store, which I normally would use, I improvise with cardamom and a bit of fresh grated ginger, lots of cinnamon, sugar, and everything nice to marinate the apples. As for the crumble top, it's a mixture consists of crushed ginger snaps, old fashioned boring ole oats, brown sugar and melted butter. Zara offered to make custard to go with the crumble. Delicious. Anyone will definitely beg for more.

Cooking: Lavender and Lamb by Lam

Lamb with Rosemary, Oregano and Lavender Served with Wild Rice and Mint Yoghurt Sauce.

Even though lavender is popular amongst the French and (few) English baked goods; being a North American, we are mostly exposed to lavender as a fragrance rather than a herb that is used for cooking.

Tonight for dinner, I made pan seared (cast iron, that's the only pan we have in this house) lambchops with a rosemary, oregano and lavender rub (Jamie Oliver style, crushed it all up made a rub), served with wild rice (finally learned how to make rice without a rice cooker! Can't blame me, I'm Chinese!!) and garlic mint yoghurt sauce (garlic, cucumber, mint and lemon zest). It was delicious! I never thought lavender would work but I was inspired by one of the James Martin's recipes I have seen before on his show. It was a lavender and garlic, honey roasted lamb leg. I would definitely like to explore more ways to use with lavender!

Cooking: Lemongrass Chicken

Lemongrass Chicken
(Serves 1-2)

1-2 lbs	Chicken Pieces (skin on, boneless optional)
2 stalk	Lemongrass (finely chopped and bruised)
2	Green Onion, thinly sliced
1 tsp	Salt
1 clove	Garlic, finely minced
1 pinch	Chili Flakes
1/4 tsp	White Pepper
1 small	Onion, julienned
1/4 cup	Chicken Stock
2 tbsp	Granulated Sugar
2 tbsp	Fish Sauce
	Roasted Chopped Peanuts (Optional)
	Chopped Cilantro (optional)

1. In a ziplock bag, mix lemongrass, green onions and garlic.

2. Marinate chicken pieces with salt and white pepper with a touch of toasted sesame oil

3. Add chicken to ziplock bag, and mix it about and let it marinate overnight or at least for 30 minutes. This is also the time if you want to split the portions and put some into the freezer.

4. Heat wok/pan in med-high heat, add oil. When oil is hot, add chili flakes and let it fry for 30 seconds. Add chicken pieces and brown both sides.

5. Add chicken stock and let it cook for a few minutes until some liquid has been evaporated, stir in onion and cook until chicken is cooked.

6. Sprinkle sugar and fish sauce. Cook for another 30 seconds to a minute. Dish up, garnish with chopped roasted peanuts and cilantro. Serve on a bed of steamed jasmine rice.

Cooking: A Very British Dinner

I made a very British dinner tonight: Bangers (Pork & Apple) and Garlic Mash with sautéed Savoy Cabbage and Mushroom Onion Gravy.

Cooking: Quicky Green Curry Dinner

Green Curry Tofu with Udon & Veggies
(Serves 2-3)

1/2 to 1 tbsp	Green Curry Paste
1 can	Coconut Milk
3 tbsp	Fish Sauce
2 tbsp	Sugar
2/3 cup	Water
2 packages	Udon Noodles
1 package	Fried Bean Curd
1-2 cup(s)	Master Choice Frozen Oriental Mix Veggies

1. In a medium saucepan with med-high heat, brings coconut milk to boil, add green curry paste, fish sauce, sugar and water. Turn down heat and simmer for 5 mins.

2. Add tofu, cook until tofu is softer, about 15 mins.

3. Add udon, break a part a bit, 2 mins. Add frozen veggies, covered and cooked until heated throughout. 5 mins. Cover and let stand for 2 mins to thicken sauce a bit. Garnish with Thai basil if desired! Voila!

Cooking: Caramel Apple

Makes 1
   1  granny smith apple
   1  wooden stick (icepop stick or use twig for a creative twist)
1/8  cup chopped toasted nuts
       (optional - butter pecan, walnuts hazelnuts, almonds)
1/8  cup turbinado sugar
1/2  cup granulated sugar
1/8  cup dark corn syrup
1/2  cup heavy cream
   1  tbsp unsalted butter

The How to:
1. Insert wooden stick into the top of apple. Place turbinado sugar,
nuts in 2 small separate bowls.
2. Place granulated sugar, corn syrup, cream and butter in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Continue cooking until temperature registers 245° F on a candy thermoneter, about 10 mins.
3. Fill a large bowl with ice water. Remove saucepan from heat and briefly plunge into ice water to stop the cooking process. Do not over cool or camarel might harden.
4. Dip apple into caramel, coat the top and sides using a spoon,
and roll the bottom in turbinado sugar, then the nuts.
5. Transfer to a serving platter. Keep cool in the fridge until serving.



The Presentation:
1. Let Caramel Apple sit at room temperature for 15 mins before serving.
2. Slice apple into small thin wedges.
3. Place a few wedges in a small serving dish, with a scoop of Greg's Honey Vanilla ice cream (Greg's Ice Cream: 750 Spadina Ave. Toronto. 416.962.4734). Sprinkle chopped nuts on top.

The Twist:
• You can also keep it plain or just dip into nuts. A more fancy idea is also to dip into melted chocolate after caramelizing apple. If you want to go all out, then after the chocolate dipping, dip into nuts.
• Add small broken twig of cinnamon on top of the caramel apple. Or sprinkle a pinch of ground cinnamon, nutmeg or cardomen into caramel before dipping.
• Use a twig instead of a icepop stick.
• You can use the same method to caramel pears.
• Recommand to use dark corn syrup, the molasses helps to create a deeper amber colour to the caramel.