Chinese New Year Dumplings

Goats, Westport, New Zealand

On February 19th, we welcomed in the year of the goat*. This marked the beginning of Chinese New Year, one of my favourite occasions to celebrate. As a person of Chinese descent, I've grown up with various traditions surrounding the 16-day holiday (including washing my hair on Chinese New Year's Eve to go into the new year cleansed of the year previous, and prepared to receive the festival season's luck and fortunes); and, of course it has always involved food.
*Or sheep, or ram - the Chinese character yáng 羊 covers all three hooved animals, requiring an additional preceding character to clarify, e.g. shān yáng 山羊 translates to goat specifically (shān 山 means mountain).

As with everything surrounding the Chinese New Year celebrations, there are symbolic foods you are encouraged to eat to invite good luck and prosperity in the coming year. The auspicious symbolism is derived from both the pronunciation or appearance of food being translatable to words or objects which inspire luck, wealth, or personal success and growth.

The foods vary across the different regions of China as well as different countries altogether. For example, in Singapore and Malaysia (where my family are from), a favourite dish to ring in the new year is the Yusheng (鱼生) or 'Prosperity Toss' salad platter. It consists typically of slices of raw fish (salmon in my experience), various (yet specific) shredded vegetables, crunchy crackers, peanuts, sesame seeds, and a slightly sweet/sour plum sauce, rice vinegar, lime and sesame oil dressing. It arrives at the table as a platter of ingredients, and the tradition is to stand with your table to toss the salad together, while reciting auspicious phrases or wishes. When I took my non-Chinese friends to do this last week, we simply said a prolonged Yum Sing ('cheers') during the toss, as I remembered doing growing up when we enjoyed the dish in a large setting of up to 20 tables doing it simultaneously. It's been a few years since my last Yusheng salad, so I relished reenacting the tradition and sharing it with friends who had never experienced it before.

The Yusheng platter at Yang Ming Yuan, Princes Street, Cork - seasonings, e.g. pepper, are inside the red envelopes

After moving out of home and missing out on my father's annual organised CNY celebrations and banquets, my go-to Chinese New Year celebration (and everyday comfort) food has been dumplings (jiaozi, 饺子). Last year, I made my first dumpling wrappers from scratch and was stoked with how easy it was (2 parts flour + up to 1 part just-boiled water + time). So last week, I decided to go all out and buy the special high-gluten flour from the Chinese supermarket which is supposedly ideal for dumpling wrappers.

Lemongrass Beef Noodle Salad

Savoured for it's fresh, fragrant and subtly citrus flavour, lemongrass is a penetrating - yet non-overpowering - component of many South East Asian dishes. If you enjoy Vietnamese or Thai food, you'll recognise the flavour straight away.

This noodle salad is loosely inspired by one of my favourite Vietnamese dishes: bun bo xao - stir-fried lemongrass beef served over room-temperature vermicelli rice noodles. Slices of steak beef (e.g. sirloin, skirt, scotch) are normally used, however I had some leftover beef mince in the fridge so adapted the idea to suit.

The salad aspect is also flexible - slices of cucumber, bean sprouts, shredded crispy lettuce, peanuts, crispy fried shallots, and fresh herbs, such as cilantro, basil, mint, small perilla (shiso) leaves are typical; but I used what I had, including thin slices of green pepper and mixed seeds, providing alternative elements of freshness and texture.

What is mandatory, however, are the cooled rice noodles, the Vietnamese dipping sauce/salad dressing, and the lemongrass, garlic and fish sauce beef marinade. 

Lemongrass Beef Noodle Salad

Chicken, Better Than I've Ever Known Before

What meat-eater doesn't love chicken? While top chefs might balk at the idea of the Colonel's meat-of-choice having any true culinary value - unlike beef, lamb or even duck, with their complex age-able flavours - the capacity of chicken as a vehicle for flavour is worthy enough for celebration. These were my thoughts after cooking the, aptly named, 'Bademiya's* Justly Famous Bombay Chile-and-Cilantro Chicken'.
*A quick Google search for 'Bademiya' brought me here and while the NYT recipe doesn't use milk/cream ('malai') in the marinade, 'Chicken Malai Tangdi' on the menu is my best guess at this dish's inspiration. Safe to say that Bademiya is also now on my 'Places to visit in India' list.

This page in my copy of The Essential New York Times Cook Book has been bookmarked since day one and I was stoked to finally try it out. It's list of ingredients is fairly basic, and if you have ever cooked any simple Indian recipes before, you'll most likely have what you need for the chicken in your pantry already.

And while not essential (a quality hot sauce would be a fine accompaniment), the Cilantro Sauce included in the recipe takes this dish above-and-beyond already finger-lickin' delicious - yet in an unexpected direction, given the slight bitterness and textural aspect of the walnuts.

Bademiya's Justly Famous Bombay Chile and Cilantro Chicken

Zucchini, Chilli and Smoked Buffalo Mozzarella Pizza

The inspiration for this came partly from Polpo: A Venetian Cookbook of Sorts, by Russell Norman, which I've gushed about before, and partly from the smoked buffalo mozzarella I came across in the specialty Italian deli in town. For me, good pizzette (small pizzas), or pizza in general, is characterised by a thoughtful selection of a few fresh, quality ingredients and a good thin - slightly chewy, slightly crisp around the edges - base.

In this case, the smoked buffalo mozzarella was my starting point. From there, I selected a zucchini, red chilli and freshly grated parmesan to complement. In Polpo, Norman has a recipe which includes all of the above, but with mint and, instead of lovely, soft, fresh mozzarella, he recommends the cheap, hard, standard supermarket kind. This is a great option for when cheese is intended as a backdrop, but for this, I wanted the smoke of the mozzarella to sing. I omitted the mint also, as I had none on hand, but used chopped fresh parsley for freshness and as a garnish to finish.

For the pizza base, I turned to my quick flatbread recipe (not dissimilar to a standard pizza dough recipe), which has become a staple in my kitchen for it's ease, convenience and never-disappointing results. Once you've made it a few times, you'll know what I mean.

Zucchini, chilli and smoked buffalo mozzarella pizza

To accompany the pizza, I made spiced kumara (sweet potato) fries with a lemon-spiked yoghurt dip. And apart from making the base from scratch (use pre-made pizza bases or flatbreads if you wish), this took little effort to put together. 

I Heart Noodles: Korean Buckwheat Noodle Salad

I've talked before about my preference for savoury breakfasts so with that said, I'd like to add: I am a noodle girl. All the way. It might be an Asian thing, but I could eat noodles for breakfast, lunch and dinner and it would be a dream come true (including European-style noodles too, e.g. spaghetti, späetzle... you name it!).

And lately, I've been indulging in that dream. Fragrant Vietnamese noodle salads, fiery fried Chinese noodles, nourishing and aromatic chicken noodle soups... and, happily, I've just discovered bucatini, a hollow spaghetti, which has also been giving me a lot of joy.

Of that theme, my favourite breakfast at the moment is a Korean-style Buckwheat Noodle (Ngaenmyeon) Salad. Ngaenmyeon is made from the flour and starches of various ingredients including buckwheat, wheat, and sweet potato, and is therefore chewier and more elastic than, say, its Japanese counterpart, soba.

I'm aware that Korean food isn't the most popular of Asia's cuisines, and I think I understand why: a lot of its core flavours are created from fermentation (e.g. kimchi) and this can be overpowering when unaccustomed. However, the health benefits of fermented foods are indisputable and definitely worth looking into if you are trying to eat healthier and especially if you have any digestion problems.

In any case, this dish is definitely Korean lite. And while kimchi would be a worthwhile addition, I'm keeping it simple. And never mind the breakfast thing, this would equally make a great lunch or light dinner.

Korean-style Buckwheat Noodle (Ngaenmyeon) Salad

Curious about Pigeon

The English Market may well be my favourite place in Cork city. An excellent, high-quality range of produce, freshly baked breads, sweet and savoury treats, artisan chocolates, cured meats, wonderful cheeses, a famous fishmonger, and a fine array of butchers touting various cuts of various animals. One in particular specialises in less common meats, like rabbit, buffalo, kangaroo, venison and... you guessed it: pigeon.

Recently, I became especially intrigued by the petite deep maroon, almost blood-red, coloured breasts of pigeon sitting neatly between buffalo burgers and a whole rabbit. We purchased two breasts for sampling and on the walk home I began to imagine the dish.

To accompany, I cooked a mushroom, leek and red wine pearl barley risotto, seasoned with garlic and rosemary, with the duck stock I'd made the previous day - a perfect accompaniment, I thought, to the rich, gamey flavours I was anticipating the pigeon to have. 

For the pigeon: I patted both breasts dry with kitchen paper and seasoned both sides generously with freshly ground sea salt and pepper. Meanwhile, over medium-high heat, I gently heated a good swirl of grapeseed oil with the fresh leaves of two thyme sprigs. As the thyme became fragrant and began to sizzle, I placed the pigeon breasts firmly down in the pan, capturing some of the thyme hostage beneath.

After about 2 minutes, with the pigeon seared and nicely beginning to colour on one side, I flipped both breasts over, moving them around the pan to capture more thyme. After another 2 minutes, I flipped over again to finish, about 30 seconds more. Pigeon is best cooked rare to medium-rare, and as they are very small pieces of meat, it doesn't take long. Removed from the heat, I allowed them to rest for 5 minutes and served it with the pearl barley risotto (pouring the resting juices over).

Seared Pigeon Breast with Mushroom and Leek Pearl Barley Risotto

5-Spice Beef and Carrot Dumplings

I've been craving dumplings. A few days ago I tried making pierogi, the Polish version, which I filled with a potato, bacon, kale and onion mix pepped up by some toasted cumin and fennel seeds. I wasn't entirely happy with how the dough came out (I'll try this recipe next time) but the overall result was still pretty delicious.

Today, I made Chinese-style dumplings. As I'm currently out of range from an Asian grocer, I thought I'd try my hand at making the wrappers from scratch. I found this recipe and was stoked with how easy it was to make. For my first attempt, they turned out okay but I'll need to work on rolling them out. They say to never blame your tools but on this occasion, I regret using my ridged vintage chappati rolling pin. It's important to roll these out right and the ridges didn't allow me to roll the edges out thinly so that when pressed together, the dumpling wrapper isn't too thick.

I'm still pleased with how they came out though, especially the filling, but I'll be giving the homemade dumplings wrappers another attempt soon.

--

5-spice Beef and Carrot Dumplings makes 36 with above dumpling wrapper recipe

If you're not fussed about making the dumpling wrappers from scratch, visit your local Asian supermarket and find the pre-made jiao zi dumpling wrappers in the freezer. You may be faced with two types/shapes: circular or square. I prefer the circular ones as the square wrappers are actually for wontons and are made with egg (instead of just flour and water). They would work fine, but the square shape creates 'excess' pastry ideal for deep-fried wontons, for the extra crispiness, or in soup, for aesthetics and the egg noodle-like texture.

Fresh/defrosted pre-made dumpling wrappers

Filling
300 g quality beef mince
1 medium sized carrot, grated
1 tsp five spice powder
1 Tbsp ginger, finely chopped or grated
1 clove garlic, finely chopped or minced
2 Tbsp soy sauce
1/2 tsp salt
1 dried Thai bird's eye chilli, crushed/chopped including seeds (or 1/2 tsp dried chilli flakes)
1 green onion/scallion, sliced finely from tip to root
1 tsp sesame oil (optional)
1 Tbsp sesame seeds (optional)

Pulled pork, take one

Yesterday I finally embarked on making pulled pork. Its tremendous popularity in the last five or so years has made it a frequent menu item everywhere, and it's fast becoming a feature of many establishments including the food trucks that stake their whole business on it. While this is definitely not a bad thing, it does make me want to conquer this ubiquitous object of our desires.

Really, pulled pork came from roasting a whole hog in a barbecue pit for hours and hours, tender- and lovingly basted and kept turning - including through the night - to ensure even, slow cooking. American barbecue culture can probably claim the phenomenon, but this method of creating juicy-fall-off-the-bone pork is also seen in the Central & South Americas, and Asia, for example in the Philippines with their famed lechon (perhaps an American legacy in the country) which I enjoyed late last year.

Lechon being sold on the street, El Nido, Palawan, Philippines

Obviously cooking an entire pig is a luxury of time and money that not all of us can afford. So, in the day when the pork shoulder, or "Boston butt" in America, was an economical piece of meat to buy, as it was a fatty, tough-skinned, hard-working piece of meat, folks made lemonade out of lemons. They understood that slow-and-low cooking could make this piece of meat tender, flavourful, pull-apart and juicy.

I don't know about you, but I am often allured by the '8 to 14-hour slow-roasted pulled pork' on the menus, yet recently, I've become skeptical. The last few times I've encountered it, the pork has been dry, a little stringy, not all that flavourful. I find vendors often relying on their accompaniments, e.g. sauce or slaw, to try and salvage the lack of moisture that one comes to expect from pulled pork. (One exception, however, was the pulled pork burger I tasted a month ago at Duke's Brew & Cue in Hackney, London. Amaze.)

However, last night, I felt empathy. Whether it was that my pork shoulder was boneless (most recipes recommend bone-in for maximum flavour, which I'd attest to usually, but my shoulder was on sale and at a good price); and/or, that I just didn't leave it in the oven for long enough (6 hours at 140degC/285degF) to let the muscular tissue to break down and dissolve. The result, in any case, was dry pork with a thick layer of fat still existent under the skin. Next time, I will undoubtedly go for bone-in shoulder and at least 8 hours cooking time, or however long it takes to allow the meat to become spoonable. (I admit, I was late putting it in, impatient... and hungry!)

After 6 hours and resting before trying to achieve crispy skin (which I burned half of due to being impatient, again) 

In terms of flavour however, the pork was delicious. A little dry, yes, but tasty. I simply seasoned it in ample salt and pepper before roasting (however I'm curious that in Felicity Cloake's experimentation, she barely mentions pepper and favours sugar for basic seasoning - another aspect to test). I also set it atop quartered onions, garlic cloves and sliced carrots, to keep it elevated and allowing fat to drain off (cooking the carrots and onions to a gluttonous level). I regretted not rubbing in a little smoked paprika ten minutes after it went in the oven, in the after-thought of wanting to impart a slight smokiness, but as J. Kenji Lopez-Alt encourages, I was happy enough to allow my pork to sing for itself, leaving the extra flavours for the accompaniments.

My Love for Mexico, Part 1

While I continue finishing a post on my recent travels through South East Asia, I wanted to mark my return to the pursuit of deliciousness with some food I prepared earlier. (Thanks to everyone who have been visiting during my hiatus, whether old or new readers, and even if you arrived here by accident, it still fills me with joy when I see my visitor counter going up!)

Slow-braised oxtail stew with carrots, peas and Goose Fat-roasted Sweet Potatoes
(photo courtesy of my brother's Instagram)

While life continues to sort itself out, I've been cooking. And because I'm in the northern hemisphere now, the produce just keeps getting better and better as we approach summer. Of course, at the sight of a full oxtail in the local butcher, I couldn't resist slow-braising it in some red wine and freshly made chicken stock (from the roast a night before) with a bay leaf, some garlic, onions and carrots... but last night, I reaffirmed my love for Mexico.

The inspiration came from seeing corn tortillas in one of the ethnic supermarkets, all the way from Guanajuato, Mexico and complete with the 'Hecho en Mexico' logo. The rest followed: some spare tomatoes in the kitchen, green onions, green peppers and iceberg lettuce on special, a bright leafy bunch of cilantro (coriander) from the Asian grocer, complete with it's roots, ripe avocados, limes, red onion, garlic, a can of tomatoes, a can of refried black beans (found next to the tortillas), and some essential herbs/spices (ground cumin, oregano, ground chilli, smoked paprika). A visit to Dublin's best butchery got me some chicken breasts to give my tacos extra excitement.

Breakfast in Mexico City, 2009

Having travelled* to Mexico for two months previously, I feel I have a really good understanding of Mexican flavours.  (*By now, everyone knows my 'travelling' means eating, right?) Whenever the stars align for some homemade comida mexicana at home, I am brought straight back to memories of eating tacos fresh from one-man food carts, standing around or sitting on plastic chairs with locals on the side of the street.

Living Below the Line - The Last Day

The last day of the Live Below the Line challenge is here and who knew it would go by so quickly. Yesterday, while travelling for work, went surprisingly without too much desire for unsolicited snacks despite sitting in an upmarket cafe while my work colleague ate a panini and passionfruit yo-yo across from me. I, in turn, had my dhal nacho mix and half bag of corn chips ready in tupperware, which I ate with excitement.

After almost having completed the challenge (I continue to eat lunch as I speak), it has made me realise that it is completely possible to eat well on a tight budget.  The key factors are obviously having access to a regular market, good bulk bin-style supermarkets (usually cheaper than buying pre-packaged) and probably a knack for cooking. Nutrition-wise, I think I've been doing reasonably well and quantities have been surprisingly more than decent (however, the very watered down pumpkin soup was the least palatable of my meals). Last night's dinner made so much food that I've got leftovers past the LBTL challenge and I'm not sure I'm going to be able to finish my lunch portion.

Day 5's dinner: Chickpea, pumpkin, spinach and potato 'salad'.  After soaking all of my dried chickpeas (246g, $0.74) overnight, boil for about 20-25 minutes in plenty of water until cooked.  Drain and reserve. Dice 1/2 onion ($0.10) and slice the white part of two green onions ($0.30), reserving green parts for later. Sauté in 1 tsp oil ($0.05) with 1 tsp each of cayenne pepper, oregano and cumin ($0.15) until soft.  Add roughly diced 1/2 potato ($0.08) and 1/5 peeled crown pumpkin ($0.40) with 1/2 c water to steam vegetables, covering with a lid, until tender.  Meanwhile, plunge spinach ($0.95) in water to remove all dirt and chop roughly. Add to pan and combine as spinach wilts.  Season with 1/2 tsp each of salt and pepper ($0.03) and garnish with sliced green onions, reserved from earlier.  (Total = $2.80)  

Chickpea, spinach, pumpkin and potato salad - heaps of it

Living Below the Line - Day 3 and 4

"Variety's the spice of life." 

~ William Cowper (British poet, 1731-1800)

I have never had as much appreciation for this saying as I have this week.  Cooking for one is incredibly inefficient and the result, cooking with fresh ingredients and on a budget, often means a lot of the same thing.  For the last three days, I have been eating a lot of pumpkin.  

Thankfully, in various forms (soup, risotto and fritters) but tonight was a welcome change.  I can't help but feel a need to finish eating what I've cooked before I make something else (fresh is best) so I've been in the routine of eating last night's dinner for today's lunch.  If I had the willpower, it would be a great idea to have a little of a few different things instead of having a lot of one to create the sense of a meal, as is the principle of many Asian cultures.

This morning's breakfast, morning tea (2 pieces) and afternoon tea: flatbread as per the last couple of days ($0.185), however I kneaded thinly sliced green onion into the dough once it had already been formed and cooked as per normal.  I've decided I prefer this to having the fresh green onion on top.

Lunch: last night's pumpkin, carrot, potato and onion fritters.  Even better as leftovers at room temperature when you can taste each component more vividly, I feel.

Day 4’s dinner: Tomato and dhal nachoes! I love nachoes and love how healthy you can make them by loading in heaps of vegetables and using plain, unflavoured corn chips.  All of my dhal lentils (312g, $0.93) parboiled in 500ml water with 1/2 tsp salt ($0.01), stirring frequently until water is absorbed and lentils are al dente. 1/2 onion ($0.10) diced, 1 green onion ($0.15), white part sliced and green reserved, sautéed in 1 tsp oil ($0.05) with 1 tsp each of cayenne pepper, cumin and dried oregano ($0.15).  Add cooked lentils, 1 can of whole peeled tomatoes ($0.88) and 1/2 potato ($0.09) grated straight into the pan and combine, heating through for a further couple of minutes to allow the tomatoes to break down and potato to cook through.  Season with 1/2 tsp each of salt and pepper ($0.03).

Tomato and dhal nachos

Living Below the Line - Day 2

I'm currently reading the book Nothing to Envy by Barbara Demick, which has been nothing short of a brilliant read.  However brilliant, it is often harrowing as Demick describes the realities of North Koreans in terms of their hunger and suffering.  Withholding food became a device for creating class barriers until the entire country was unable to produce hardly any food at all due to increasingly poor relations with their Communist counterparts in the 90's.

Reading about the lengths of which people went to feed themselves (including hunting frogs to extinction, eating ground corn husks, tree bark and prostitution in exchange for noodles) is eye-opening and probably a suitable accompaniment to doing the Live Below the Line challenge for a mere 5 days.  I can hardly complain about being hungry when there are people around the world who seriously struggle to live - not just eat - off $2.25 a day, or less.

I reminded myself of this as I felt hunger pangs all morning despite having had my flatbreads for breakfast and morning tea ($0.185).  Lunch, as per last night's dinner (pumpkin and spinach risotto), lasted for 3 hours as I continued to work eating only spoonfuls at a time. A little often definitely helps to keep hunger at bay and eating less for dinner (e.g. before going to sleep) helps to have a larger serve for lunch. Fair to say, there was heaps of it!

Desktop lunch - leftover pumpkin and spinach 'risotto'

Dinner tonight was pumpkin, carrot, potato and onion fritters.  This is a recipe inspired by my go-to zucchini fritters which utilises the water leeched out of the zucchini itself from salt being sprinkled through it. Here, my selection of vegetables are naturally much dryer (except the potato) so I added water to help bind the ingredients.

1/5 crown pumpkin ($0.40), peeled, 1 carrot ($0.12), also peeled, and 1 potato ($0.20), skin on, coarsely grated with 1/2 onion ($0.10) diced and 1 sliced green onion ($0.15) in a large mixing bowl. Combine with 1 tsp salt ($0.02), 1 tsp curry powder ($0.05), 1 tsp cumin ($0.05), 45g chickpea flour (1/2 cup, $0.15) and 1/2 c water.  Mix thoroughly, tossing all ingredients together ensuring there are no lumps of chickpea flour left behind.  Heating a large skillet or pan with 1 tsp oil ($0.05), cook spoonfuls of the mix until lightly golden on both sides.  Eat! (Total = $1.29)

Pumpkin, carrot, potato and onion fritters

These would be perfect served with a fresh herb yoghurt sauce or even just some sweet chilli; as a vege burger or by themselves with some salad.  The recipe made heaps (at least 25 at the size seen above, though I lost count as I just started eating them right out of the pan) and is something I'd definitely make again. I'd love to add some seeds and some crushed toasted coriander seeds as well as a small pinch of smoked paprika to give further depth to the flavour... but these did nicely for today.  And will do again for lunch on Day 3.

I'm very excited about tomorrow's dinner though... Dhal and tomato nachoes!

To support me (and Oxfam) on the Live Below the Line challenge, please donate by clicking here.

Living Below the Line - Day One and a half

It has begun. $11.25 to create all of my meals for the next 5 days (including today).

I spent most of the weekend food planning, writing everything down, evaluating the cost and quantity against a meal plan for the week.  I went to the market on Sunday and a few different shops throughout the week ensuring I could get the most bang from my buck and I think I have managed to allow myself a mid-week luxury.

Newtown market (photo taken a few months ago)

Moshims, 2-6 Wilson Street, Newtown - amazing for seasonings, spices, dhal, flours, rice, beans, etc, all sold by weight

My ingredients:

1 can of tomatoes ($0.88)

1 crown pumpkin ($2)

1 bunch of spinach ($1.25)

2 onions ($0.40)

2 carrots

2 potatoes ($0.65 for both)

1 bunch of green onions ($1)
1 sprig of rosemary (free, growing behind the local supermarket)

312g of Masoor dhal lentils ($0.93)

246g of chickpeas ($0.74)

350g of brown rice ($0.81)

500g flour ($0.65)

1 tsp yeast ($0.10)

45g chickpea flour ($0.15)

1 bag corn chips ($0.98) (the luxury - hurray for Pak n Save specials!)

Leaving $0.71 for oil and seasonings ($0.05 per 1 tsp oil, $0.01 per 1/2 tsp salt, $0.02 per 1/4 tsp pepper and for my herbs and spices I'm counting $0.05 per 1 tsp as I buy only at Indian/Asian shops where they sell by weight, as opposed to buying packets from the supermarket.)

The loot from the market

Supermarket goods

The pop-up Ramen Shop (ラメン店)

Today The Ramen Shop popped up, to my delight, at Hashigo Zake. Unfortunately, I couldn't grab a drink from the great menu at Hashigo due to the rest of my afternoon requiring me to actually do some work but...

$12 for a bowl of their own handmade noodles, pork and chicken broth, the most melt-y pork belly, bean sprouts, spring onion, nori (dried seaweed), pickled cucumber, cured egg yolk and some zingy pickled shiitake mushrooms - it gave the Wellington on a Plate burgers a run for their money for appealing lunchtime options.

Delish!  Thanks Tsubasa and Asher for a great lunch!  Until the next time you pop-up...

Update: Since April 2014, The Ramen Shop has opened at a permanent site on 191 Riddiford Street, Newtown, Wellington for lunch and dinner everyday. They have an expanded menu and serve drinks (alcoholic and non-) to accompany your ramen experience. On occasion, they still operate their pop-ups, including collaborations, in Wellington and occasionally Auckland too. Follow them on Facebook and Twitter!

Whole baked kahawai

Fresh off the south coast of Wellington, my boyfriend picked up a nice little 45cm kahawai with the help of the Yogi Berry (the boat/dinghy) and it's captain.  Last night, without scaling (we were a bit lazy) we butterflied it as if to smoke it but baked it whole with a simple stuffing.

Before and after

Whole baked kahawai (serves 3 hungry people with sides)

Whole fresh kahawai, head removed, gutted and butterflied with back bone removed
2 inches white part of leek, as thinly sliced as possible
2 spring onion, thinly sliced (white and green parts)
2 Tbsp freshly chopped parsley
Juice of 1 lemon (however, I didn't have a lemon so we used lime instead)
1 tsp Maldon sea salt (I actually used Salish Alder Smoked salt, see following post)
1/2 c homemade breadcrumbs (I like using my own as it has more texture but any breadcrumbs would be fine)
Decent glug of grapeseed or olive oil

Preheat oven to 180deg on fan bake and place kahawai on prepared oven tray.  Mix all other ingredients together, incorporating oil as much as possible so when cooking the stuffing doesn't catch.  Spread evenly over the fish pressing firmly to help everything stay together.  Drizzle lightly with a bit of extra oil and bake for around 35-40 minutes (depending on size of fish), with foil placed over for the first half of cooking time.  Test for doneness at the thickest part of the fish at 30 minutes to gauge how much longer it might need as you'll want it just cooked.

Serve with pan-fried potatoes (parboiled, cooled and then fried in hot pan with a little oil) and salad for a great dinner.

Searching for Dumplings

I call a lot of things my 'favourite food' but there is something so perfect about a neatly formed parcel of meat (with sometimes a little vege) embedded with flavour, wrapped in dough and able to be captured in one concise mouthful.  Unlike the Italian ravioli, the Chinese dumpling is versatile in the different ways it can be cooked.  Boiled, steamed or pan-fried, it gives a myriad of sensual possibilities: from the flavour combinations, different seal-and-crimping methods (creating thinner and thicker parts within the join) to the texture which comes from the cooking technique.  (The Japanese gyoza is based on the pan-fried dumpling which, also known as 'pot-stickers', gain a chewy crust at their base while their tops are steamed - soft, with bite).

Google image search for "jiao zi"

Making and/or eating dumplings (or jiao zi, 餃子) is a long-loved tradition of mine for celebrating Chinese New Year.  Especially after moving out of home, I feel like I have to make a batch to share with friends every year, as if it was out of superstition.  Usually I stick to traditional Chinese flavours like minced pork with mushroom, garlic, chives, spring onion, soy sauce, sesame oil and some oyster sauce; or sometimes I'll add coriander, chilli, finely grated carrot and/or change the meat to minced lamb for a more Nepalese/Western Chinese flavour profile.  On the odd occasion, I've experimented with outright Western flavours like chicken, cranberry and brie (not bad), with the thought that you can pretty much package any great combination of flavours into a dumpling skin.

A Simple Homemade Burger

From top to bottom:

Split bakery bun top
With inner hollowed out, toasted
A smear of Dijon mustard
Iceberg lettuce
Baked portobello mushroom
Grilled zucchini lengths
Slices of tomato
Plum and tamarillo chutney
(Lovely with rosemary, below)
Melted cheddar cheese on
A 100% homemade beef pattie
Medium-rare
(No egg or breadcrumbs necessary)
Seasoned with lots of salt and pepper,
Dijon mustard and chopped fresh rosemary,
Tomato sauce spread over a
Split bakery bun bottom
Inner removed, toasted
With a side of oven-baked kumara fries,
seasoned with salt and pepper.

Cooking on the Cuff

April has been a busy month.  Road trips, camping, canoeing, sightseeing, multiple deadlines at work and a friend's wedding have left little energy else for anything other than just enjoying those moments.  I've had less time than I'd like for writing but plenty for thinking.  Much time driving in the car, or sitting in a canoe, was spent in comfortable silence with my boyfriend as he thought about the things he saw from his seat, amongst other things, while I happily got lost in thought about food.  From devising what we were going to eat for our next meal to what I'd like to write about here.

The Whanganui River

Breakfast at Whangaparoa Bay, SH35 (The Pacific Coast Highway)

For example, I got to thinking: one of my favourite things about these weekends away was definitely cooking on the cuff. Without all the tools and ingredients available at home, and only the selected items that I'd deemed useful enough to bring along.  After previous camping trips, we had a list of things that we knew we would need: a good knife, pan, mandoline, tongs, can opener, oil, salt and black peppercorns (ground with two flat stones found somewhere in the South Island). Chickpea flour was also on the list this time.  Being off the grid for some of those weekends required forward-thinking when it came to what we would want to eat; and what we would want to eat would have to work with that set of tools and little refrigeration, if any.

After all that, the meals of greatest success were: 

• Zucchini fritters; then,
• Zucchini fritter, carrot and peanut butter sandwiches;
• Beetroot, chickpea and feta salad (with Steak);
• 2 Bean and Beef Nachos; and,
• Spaghetti Carbonara  

Dinner at Sponge Bay, Gisborne

So simple and relatively quick, I was proud to prepare these meals even if there was no-one to share it with other than ourselves.  Cooking away from home need not be limited to instant-anythings.  (However if it's instant noodles, with an egg stirred through towards the end of cooking, I could be okay with that.)

Inspired for Goat

I’ll admit quickly that I love watching My Kitchen Rules Australia.  The casting is brilliant with plenty of characters to love, hate and talk about the next day over morning tea.  For obsessives like me, it reinforces knowledge while also learning something new though it’s also just exciting to see how and what people cook when under pressure.  The question at the back of my mind: could I pull that off?

For MKR Season 4 followers, you’ll know who I’m talking about when referring to the ‘Spice Girls’ - a pair of girls from India and Bangladesh who were very vocal and very critical.  High expectations were therefore created for their ‘Instant Restaurant’ and these were by no means met.  

I was, however, inspired by their mistakes.  They proposed a goat biryani for the main course and the result was unflavoured rice compiled haphazardly with stewed goat, nuts and tomatoes.  While biryani vary from region to region and country to country, it often means a rich curry-like stew cooked separately to rice but served layered together to let flavours mingle shortly before serving.  When I saw the Spice Girls cooking their rice in the microwave, I immediately wished for a more pullao (or pilaf) style preparation.  All those beautiful spices creating a flavourful curry - why not cook the rice in it? 

Luckily, our local Pak n Save often stocks cuts of goat and I had recently stocked up on some key Indian spices (coriander seeds, cumin seeds, cardamom, cloves, mustard seeds, cinnamon, etc).  Due to my boyfriend recently finding out he is allergic to night shades (i.e. tomatoes, peppers, chillies, etc), I also had to think about how to create the curry without a typical tomato and chilli base.  One thought was to use chicken stock, but I went with the can of coconut milk I had in the cupboard for a rich creamy texture.

Goat needs slow cooking, so the strategy was to braise the meat low and long in the spices and coconut milk in my Staub cocotte (the best French cookware, in my opinion) with rice added towards the end. I’d let it continue to cook in the turned-off oven overnight, in the hopes of awaking to perfectly cooked goat and rice.