Posts tagged Sides

Roasted.

Recipe June 21, 2013 2 Comments

Sometimes I look at winter dishes – slow roasts, stews, braises etc – and wonder: is this people’s way of keeping a heat source going as long as possible so the house is warm too? I know that I relish a slow roast during winter because my oven ends up heating the entire apartment, eliminating my need for an extra heater.

This slow roasted lamb shoulder is a pretty easy and versatile recipe, and the roasted vegetables that accompany it are some of my favourite roast vegetable recipes ever, and I would eat them all on their own, without the meat. It’s a surprisingly rich meal, great when it’s freezing outside, and nothing says Sunday family lunch like a roast.

Slow roasted lamb shoulder
1 lamb shoulder ( this feeds about 6 people, by my estimation)
Lemon
Spice of choice (fennel, cumin, rosemary…I used fennel in this case)
Garlic

Lightly rub the lamb with oil and squeeze some lemon juice over. Add your spice of choice, and the moisture will help it stick. Marinate in the fridge overnight.

Preheat your oven to 160C. Put the shoulder in a roasting pan with unpeeled cloves of garlic, and rub with salt and pepper. Cover with foil and roast for 3 hrs. Then uncover and roast at 180C for another 20min.

Roasted Cauliflower

This recipe I adapted from Darya Rose, and it’s actually really darn good. My favourite way to eating cauliflower to date.

1 head of cauliflower
Olive oil
Salt
1/2 tsp curry powder
1/2 tsp sweet paprika
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

Simply break up the cauliflower into florets, place in a pan with the rest of the ingredients – I added some lamb fat from trimming the lamb to add some extra flavour – and cover. Place in the oven, preferably 180C, but if you’re putting it in with the lamb, just leave it in for a little longer, it’ll get there. Once the cauliflower gets slightly translucent (about 20min), take the foil off, and let it brown and crisp up slightly.

Roasted Pumpkin

Pumpkin
Garlic
Olive oil

Cut the pumpkin into 1 cm dice. Toss with olive oil, salt and pepper. Add some crushed garlic cloves to the pan and roast till tender and slightly browned.

Roasted Brussel Sprouts

You can find my easy recipe for roasted brussel sprouts here.

And that’s it, really. I had four pans going in the oven at once, and then just made a quick gravy to serve with some butter, flour, worchestershire, beef stock, and cream. Or just use your favourite gravy recipe.

It may seem a little involved, but I think that it’s fantastic for a family lunch because it just takes a tiny bit of preparation, and then you’re simply enjoying the company of your family and friends while the oven does all the work for you. A hearty roast over the weekend, what more could I ask for?

What I ate: Squid ink pasta and crabmeat aglio e olio

what i ate June 10, 2013 5 Comments

Sometimes, you just want a light lunch. Sometimes it’s nice to pretend that it’s still spring and immerse yourself in punchy fresh flavours that make you forget that you had to drag yourself out of the warm cocoon that is your bed to face the day.

As much as I love long stews and slow cooking during the cold dreary days of winter, sometimes I feel like it doesn’t even feel like winter yet. Not that I’m complaining, but sometimes I feel a little weirded out when I see the sun out, and can walk to the shops in my t-shirt and shorts. But the upside is that the sun just calls for light meals and a cold glass of crisp white wine.

And that’s where this recipe came in. I had some squid ink pasta that had to get used, and my pantry is always stocked with chilli and garlic. In this case, I used tinned alaskan crab meat, but crab meat is available in tubs at the supermarket, or feel free to use bacon or pancetta if you’d like. I know it’s not an Aglio e olio in the strictest sense, but it’s time to clear out my cupboards and it’s extremely tasty and so simple.

Here’s what I used:

Squid ink pasta
Garlic (1 clove per entree size portion, and I love my garlic.)
Bird’s eye chilli (1 chilli per clove of garlic, but feel free to use more)
Extra virgin olive oil (a nice fruity one)
Fish stock
1 tin alaskan crab meat
Coriander
Yuzu juice

I par boiled the pasta first in salted boiling water, then finished it in a little bit of fish stock.

TENTACLES OF THE SEA!!!!

I find that finishing the last 2 minutes or so in fish stock gives it just a little bit more flavour, but you can just finish boiling the pasta in salted boiling water. Just remember that because you’re cooking it a bit further with the garlic and chilli, haven the pasta slightly underdone, so that by the time the garlic is cooked, your pasta is perfectly al dente.

While the pasta is boiling, I smashed the garlic and chilli through a mortar and pestle with some cracked black pepper and salt.

I moved the pasta from the pot into my sauté pan with a splash of fish stock, and simmered it till the stock is completely absorbed. Half a cup was all I had to use for 2 entree sized portions, but add a splash more if it isn’t enough. Then simply add the garlic paste and olive oil to the pasta, gently sauté it till the garlic loses the acrid burn, then stir through the crab meat, yuzu juice and a smidgen more oil. Scatter with some coriander to finish,

Curiously addictive and easy, this makes for a light lunch, or a simple weeknight dinner. Don’t like crab? Well it works with all sorts of meats, herbs (use parsley if you don’t like coriander), and because it’s so basic, it’s open to your wildest imaginations.

What I ate: Miso glazed eggplant

what i ate June 3, 2013 3 Comments

Eggplants seem to be everywhere lately, and I love how a simple glaze can transform the humble eggplant into Nasu Dengaku. The miso glaze is dead easy.
Just combine:

1 tbsp mirin
2 tbsp shiro miso (white miso)
2 tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp sesame oil
1-2 tbsp water, to thin it out

I grilled my eggplants in the oven, set to 200C, but you can also do it on the stove. I first sliced my eggplant into thick pieces and lightly salted them. When beads of moisture appeared, I patted dry with a paper towel, then sprayed them with oil and popped them under the grill. When they’re a light brown, I just brushed them with the glaze and put them back under to finish off.

So simple, and tasty. I have it on rice as a light lunch, but you can definitely also have it as part of a larger meal.

What’s your favourite eggplant recipe?

Heston’s Mac and Cheese

Recipe June 1, 2013 2 Comments

Heston Blumenthal is one of my idols. His approach to learning is one of a man dying of thirst. Constantly evolving, constantly improving…and he seems to have an ever expanding capacity for processing and storing information.

Which is why I love trying out his home recipes – he always incorporates techniques that I can use on other dishes, and ideas that I can apply to my other experiments in the kitchen.

Since Heston’s Mac and Cheese incorporates English cheeses, I’ve used a mixture of cheeses that are more available in Australia. It still makes a fabulous mac and cheese, but would definitely differ slightly from the original version.

Heston’s Mac and Cheese

200g Macaroni
15ml truffle oil
300ml dry white wine
300ml chicken stock
80g grated hard cheese ( I used a mix of vintage and gruyere)
10g corn flour
80g cream cheese
15g goat’s cheese, diced
Extra gruyere (and mozzarella, cause I had some), for gratinating.

If you’ve got some, infuse the chicken stock with some parmesan rind, and keep it warm.

Mix the grated cheese with cornflour, this will give the sauce a thick, silky texture.

Cook the macaroni in 200ml salted water till all the water is absorbed, and mix in the truffle oil. Alternatively, you can boil the macaroni in salted water till just under al dente, drain and mix in the truffle oil then.

Reduce the white wine to 30ml (a tablespoon and a half), add warm chicken stock to the pan, and whisk in the grated cheese till smooth.

Mix in the cream cheese and warm pasta. Season.

Place half into a suitable baking dish, and sprinkle with goats cheese and then the rest of the pasta and cheese sauce. Finish with some grated gruyere (and mozzarella). Place under a hot grill (I heated mine to about 180C) until melted and brown.

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Creamy, comforting yet luxurious and decadent, this is an adult’s version of mac and cheese, that is fantastic for dinner on a cold winter night. For the flavour and texture, it was well worth the effort, and I would love to try the full original recipe with all the English cheeses.

What’s your favourite recipe for Mac and cheese?

Ippudo, Singapore

Review Singapore Travel March 25, 2013 1 Comment

After seeing the long queues outside Ippudo in Westfield’s Sydney, I thought I’d give a Singapore outlet a try whilst I was there. Riding on a good experience from Ippudo Tao, we decided to go to Ippudo Mandarin.

We ordered the Shiromaru Tamago and the Akamaru Tamago (left, and right respectively). The broth was actually decent, and the noodles springy. But the bit that I was really waiting for was the ni tamago. As mentioned before, whenever I go to eat Ramen, I always order a ni tamago if they have it. The egg should be a lovely dark brown colour on the outside, and a fluid or oozy egg yolk on the inside. Most of my attempts to find a great egg in sydney have failed, with most places serving up way too over-cooked egg yolks, but I still have hope!!!

Unfortunately though, my egg dreams were shattered this time.

All of the eggs that came with our noodles were failed eggs. Entirely too overcooked, and lacking in flavour. While the main dish was decent, it wasn’t amazingly mind-blowing enough for me to overlook the bad egg.

Oh, and the sides?

While decent in flavour and texture, the sides were let down by the service. We were mostly ignored by the service staff, and even after ordering, they completely forgot one salad and a side that we ordered to go with the meal.

All in all, a relatively disappointing experience. And, since Singapore has no lack of great places to eat at, it won’t be my first choice for a comforting dinner any time soon.

We ate at:

Ippudo SG
333 Orchard Road
Singapore 238897
+65 6235 2797

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La Premiere, Hoyts Moore Park

Review May 13, 2012 4 Comments

It’s been a great time of eating lately, and it is topped off by – much like the gorgeous chocolate sundae pictured above, but more about that later – a cordial invite by the nice people at Hoyts to try their La Premiere menu!

La Premiere was described to me as their ‘business class’ offering – a more relaxed feel than ‘first class’, but more sophisticated and swanky than just a movie. Good food at the movies provide a multitude of possibilities: Let’s say you’re on a first date and you’re nervous. Well, no awkward pre-movie dinner conversation! Just order the food at the movies, and then you have something to talk about afterwards to break the ice! Or let’s say you want to meet up with a couple of girlfriends after work to catch some food and a movie. Sometimes dinner can run long, causing you to be late for the movie. Well, this solves that problem too.

The problem used to be, though, that the food at the cinema was crap. I’m sorry, I know that there’s a place for cheesy nachos and popcorn, but it does not make for a great food experience if you want a ‘nice night out’. When I think ‘nice night out’ I tend to think about decent food that’s relatively light, that I can pick at with my friends. Nothing too heavy, but a nice variety.

And the heaviness was something that Hoyts wanted to address. Before this change, the menu was dominated by deep-fried food that wasn’t particularly inspiring. So they partnered with Lotus & Ming and 2 newly-hired chefs to come up with something better for movie-goers to enjoy.

I like to identify myself as a rabid fan of movies – at one point I was going once a week, scary I know – so I’m very lucky to have been invited by the lovely people at Hoyts to try out this new menu!

Let’s get down and yummy shall we? 😉

First up was the Peking Duck Pancakes ($17 for 4).

As someone who’s grown up with these pancakes, I always get really wary of the ones offered in Australia. Sometimes it’s overtly sweet, sometimes there’s a bad balance of fresh veg (cucumber and spring onion) to duck, and sometimes there’s so much sauce that it just gets soggy and hard to eat.

But these were genuinely a joy. You could definitely tell that the focus was on food that you could handle easily in the cinema. The duck was shredded, meaning that you didn’t need to be chewing through skin – come on, we’ve all had those moments where we’re trying to bite through duck and we’ve just pulled whole pieces out, leaving the rest of the roll empty. These spring rolls are definitely the type that you can pick up and eat in the dark safely, without worrying about having filling all over your clothes. The plum dipping sauce was also a nice addition, as it meant that the rolls weren’t overly soggy with sauce and you had the option if you wanted more.

In following with the roll theme, the Farm Fresh Vegetable Spring Rolls ($12 for 3) were up next. Filled with a variety of ingredients like shiitake mushrooms, bamboo shoots and water chestnuts, these spring rolls were tasty and comforting. It was served with a soy infusion sauce – I have no idea what the term means, but to me it tasted more like a dressing with a touch of tanginess than the salty hit of just soy sauce. Simple and comforting, these rolls are easy to share with friends on a girls’ night out.

The Yum Cha Combo ($17 for 6) caught me a little bit off guard. As a general rule, I don’t eat dumplings unless I am going to yum cha or at a reputable chinese restaurant. There was a mixture of shrimp dumplings and chicken ones, they were decent, but not quite my thing. Especially after the first two dishes which were pleasantly surprising, these fell just a bit short for me. The bite size pieces were still great to eat in the dark, but after growing up with home-made dumplings, my personal bias just got the best of me in this one.

If you’re a fan of the crunchy fried option, then you’ll like this one. The Salt and Pepper Seafood Medley ($22) consisted of crumbed prawn, calamari and whiting served on a bed of fries. The seafood was good and I love how the crumbing was not saturated and dripping with oil, but I think the unsung heroes of this dish were the chips. Paired with the garlic and chive aioli, those chips were amazingly moorish, leading us to keep picking at them throughout. The amazing part? Even after almost an hour of being on the table, the chips kept their crisp!!! There was a satisfying crunch even when many other chips would have been stale, and even when they were at room temperature, they still hit the spot texturally. LOVE THOSE CHIPS.

When I think of chips, I somehow think of burgers, so how appropriate was it that the next thing that we got to try was the La Premiere Burger Trio ($17)?

Three mini burgers were served with a palette cleansing cranberry and raspberry juice shot. The Wagyu Beef Slider (top photo, left) consisted of a patty made with grass fed beef, cheddar cheese and tomato relish. The Grilled Chicken slider (top photo, right) consisted of marinated grilled chicken, cheese and creamy creamy avocado. And finally, the Gourmet Turkey Slider (bottom photo, top) had turkey with melted cheese and a lovely dollop of cranberry sauce.

These mini burgers were the size of a Mini-Disc (anyone remember those) and were trés cute! The beef was my absolute favourite, with heaps of gorgeous umami flavours bursting forth with every bite. It was the heaviest of the three, but the small size prevented it from being too much and weighing you down. The chicken was my next favourite, with the creamy avocado adding a touch of luxury to an otherwise light and healthy-tasting burger. I felt that the turkey was festive, and a great idea, but the turkey piece itself just was a touch dry for me. Speaking with Chris – the man who is leading the charge in the full revamp of the menu – he mentioned that the turkey burger was the trickiest because of the nature of turkey meat being quite lean. Full disclosure, though, I’m really picky about such things. Sam, whom I went with, didn’t feel that it was dry at all, and loved it.

Something else that Sam and I both love is cheese – both the dairy and Disney sort – and the Cheese Board ($24) did not disappoint.

The cheeses on the board consisted of a creamy Adelaide hill Brie and Goats Cheese Curd (top left and right, respectively), Blue Cow Country Cheddar (middle, left) and and mild Hysen Blue Cheese (bottom, left), with quince paste and lavosh. A cheese board can be pretty simple, and sometimes leaves people to think that for the price they pay they can just buy the cheeses themselves and create the board. Chris had thought about this and told me that the conscious decision was made to use cheeses from suppliers that are not as commonly found so that there was something different, a point of difference from the rest. Something for people to come back for.

Well, this is something that I would definitely get again and again. I love how the Goat’s Cheese Curd wasn’t quite as strong on the aftertaste like many goat’s cheeses I’ve tried. The brie melted luxuriously in my mouth, and the blue cheese was not as sharp as some of the others, making it a great beginner’s blue for people who are hesitant in ordering and trying blues. I’m not a great cheddar eater, but Sam was, and this reiterated the sharing concept of the menu. There is something for everyone.

But with almost every eating experience, there is the pièce de résistance. Let me present to you the La Premiere Chocolate Fudge Brownie Sundae ($24).

As modeled by Sam, this ginormous sundae is close to the size of her face.A 1.8L glass bowl is filled with generous scoops of vanilla ice cream, chocolate sauce, fudgy chocolate brownie cubes, whipped cream, wafers and nuts. Holding this bowl made me want to replace (in my dream wedding) a wedding bouquet with a gargantuan ice cream sundae. Whether it’s a breakup, celebration or just because, this sundae is a definite sharing favourite! There is even a strawberry version which has an entire punnet of strawberries emptied into its creamy depths. LOVE IT.

In all, I felt that the amount of effort and thought that went into the revamp – considering how people would eat the food in the dark and how they would feel after eating the food – deserves lots of praise. Considering that there are limited facilities in the kitchen, the team has done a fantastic job in presenting more than decent food with great variety. Sure, I’m not crazy about absolutely everything, but the whole point of the variety is that there is something for everyone to try.

At the moment the La Premiere menu is available in NSW at Moore Park and Chatswood, but they are expanding it in more locations soon.

Note: Tammi and guest of Insatiable Munchies were invited as guests of Hoyts Australia.

Unleashing the Quiche!

Recipe March 22, 2012 3 Comments

Quiche was first introduced to me in more or less the following words:

Leftover pie

And I can understand where it’s coming from – it’s a very economical way to use up leftover ingredients…provided you have spare pastry and spare dairy (read: cream) lying around. After making my favourite pastry recipe at the moment, I’ve been on a quiche bend, meaning that Sean and I have plenty of quick breakfasts that we can grab on the way to work! Happiness all around.

I guess the idea is that you can fill a quiche with pretty much anything you like – I always feel like if you like the combination, who’s to judge? (I do have a rant about that, but more about it later) There are also many different quiche mixes on the net, but I’ll just share what I use and just feel free to mix and match!

Quiche Mix
4 eggs
400g pure cream
50g milk
pinch of salt

Preheat 165C.

Line 12 muffin tins with pastry.

For this lot, I filled the quiche with leftover spinach, cream cheese, bacon, and then thoroughly mixed up the eggs, cream and salt and pour it over the filling till 1/2 mm from the top of the pastry.

Bake till the tops are brown.

Let cool on a cooling rack, and then upend the tray onto a cookie sheet.

I find that if you tip it out while it’s too warm, there is some warping in the shape of the mini-quiches. But it’s still cute! And your tummy won’t know what shape it’s in. 😉

Meanwhile, I’ve got some leftover pastry that I’m not sure what to do with. Any ideas?

Korean Style Tofu

Recipe February 27, 2012 2 Comments

I feel like I haven’t posted a recipe in AGES! Kinda shows you how much cooking that I’ve been proud of lately, lol.

Anyway, I had some tofu left over from a fried noodle attempt – I simply cannot fry noodles properly, I don’t know why – and I decided to have it over rice for lunch today!

Feeling thoroughly inspired by the Korean cooking class that I attended – thank you Korean Cultural Office! – I thought that I could probably do something similar with tofu that I can do with the chicken. So I present to you:

Korean Style Tofu on Rice
Preparation: 5-10 min
Cooking: 10 min

For the sauce:
2 cloves Garlic
2-3 tbsp Light Soy Sauce
2-3 tbsp Glucose
2 tbsp Rice Vinegar
1-2 tsp Kochukaru (Korean Chilli Flakes)
1-2 tsp sesame seed oil

Hard tofu
Rice
Thinly sliced spring onion

Cut up the tofu into bite sized pieces. I happen to have mine cut on the small side because it was originally for fried noodles, but feel free to have it in as large or as little a piece as you’d like. Then set it in a single layer on some paper towel to drain.

Next, lightly oil a pan and give the tofu a light fry, just till it’s golden brown.

To make the sauce:

Heat the sesame seed oil in a pan over medium heat. Lightly fry off the garlic. It’s to get rid of the rawness, but the garlic should not be browned! Add the rest of the ingredients, in no particular order, and reduce the sauce till slightly thickened. The sauce will thicken slightly upon standing, so the way I look at it is to cook the sauce down till you can “draw lines” on the pan with a wooden chopstick.

And you’re all ready! Just cook some rice and pile on the tofu, and drizzle with the sauce. Top with finely sliced spring onion and serve.

This is an extremely quick and easy recipe using pantry ingredients, assuming that you have a relatively Asian pantry. Great for a quick, light lunch and a fantastic vegetarian option. If you prefer slightly crispier tofu, skip the draining process and coat in sweet potato flour before frying.

Definitely one of my comfort foods. How about you? What are your favourite comfort foods?

Bedlam Bar+Food, Glebe

Review February 5, 2012 4 Comments

Just a quick post because I didn’t have my camera on me that day! iPhone to the rescue!

Working on Glebe Pt Road has it’s perks, and it seems that Bedlam Bar is one of them! The guys from work organized a gathering there, and their $10 menu caught my eye. Theoretically, it’s a great idea and one of the guys I work with said that the food’s been getting good. With a recommendation like that and the words Pork Belly on the menu, I couldn’t resist.

The result? They were moist and tasty, and the cracklin’ was rockin’! Considering that it’s pork belly, the portioning was not too bad. I love that it’s a great sample size – I can imagine a group ordering a variety and getting to try a little bit of everything. Not quite a full meal, but great as bar food.

If you really want to make it a meal, then you can always add this

The Rosemary Fries ($6) were simple, but did the job. Tasty, moreish, great for sharing.

Told you, great bar food.

More next time when I go back with my camera!

We ate at:

Bedlam Bar + Food
(02) 9660 6999
University Hall
2-12 Glebe Point Road
Glebe, NSW 2037

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From Spiders to Water Lilies

Recipe July 24, 2011 2 Comments

Ooh look what I got in the mail!! =)

I was very excited to get send a copy of From Spiders to Water Lilies, a collection of Cambodian recipes of food that’s featured in Romdeng, a restaurant that is a project of Friends International, and that is run by children who were picked up off the street.

First of all, let me say that I would have bought this beautifully printed book even if I wasn’t sent it because I believe in the cause. I believe that food is not just nourishment for the body, but also nourishment for the soul, and when children are placed in unfortunate circumstances, food can definitely be used as a tool to help them reach for whatever future they would like to reach for.

Secondly, I can’t believe just how yummy the food is!!!! I’ve never been to Cambodia, and I knew that because of the geographical proximity, there will be certain elements that are similar to many South East Asian food. But what I didn’t realise was that – even though in some recipes there are elements of sour, salty, sweet – the combination is just so new and absolutely delicious!

And so, I’m very happy to share with you…

Spicy Mushroom Dip:
Recipe taken from From Spiders to Water Lilies: Creative Cambodian Cooking with Friends, Pg 28.

1 tsp Fish Sauce
2 tbsp Sunflower Oil
4 Garlic cloves, chopped
2 tbsp *Chilli Paste
80g Dried Shiitake Mushrooms
1.5 tsp Palm Sugar
1 tbsp **Tamarind Paste
3 tbsp stock
Salt to taste
Thai basil leaves, thinly slices, for garnish

Wash the mushrooms under cold water then soak for 20 min in hot water. Discard stems then finely chop the remainder. Heat oil and stir fry garlic till fragrant. Add chilli paste, fish sauce, palm sugar, mushrooms and tamarind paste. Fry for 5 min and season with salt. Place in a bowl, top with basil leaves and serve with vegetables and bread.

*There is a recipe for chilli paste in the book, but if you don’t have the time (or are afraid that your clothes and house is going to smell like chilli for a while) then I think that sambal (the fried kind, not the fresh kind) is a good and convenient substitute.

**I used a mixture of bottled Tamarind paste and lime juice.

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I found the recipe relatively easy to do. I made my own chilli paste, but ran into a few issues – I forgot to deseed the chillies, and for some reason, my chillies simply refused to rehydrate to the level that I needed. As a result, the dip didn’t seem as fiery red as was shown in the picture in the book, but it was still delish!

I toasted some multi-grain wholemeal bread and Sean practically scoffed the whole lot. And that is coming from a person who does not like mushrooms. At all. I very happily had it for lunch the next day, and the guys at the office seemed to like it too.

In all, I adore the book. I love that it’s for a good cause – the proceeds of the book goes back into Friends-International projects – and it is beautifully photographed and printed. The recipes are nicely broken down, and most of them are relatively quick. Yes, there are quite a few ingredients that are foreign or hard to find, but the book has a great section both in the front and the back of the book that tell you about substitutions that you can use.

Definitely a book that makes me want to go to Cambodia and try the food first hand.

Tammi of Insatiable Munchies was given this book by the lovely people at Beyond the Square Communication.