the meng special

i've never been a fan of recipes. or long ingredient lists. or things that need to be defrosted then allowed to breathe.

what does that even mean?

why should this lump of dough need to breathe?!

and am i morally questionable for wanting to put it in the oven?!?!?!?!

basically, anything that takes you longer to cook than it takes to eat is a big thumbs down in my book - but my little escapade with breathing lumps of dough will be told some other time - involves a 2 inch thick pizza that turned out more obese american than italian as originally planned
i say book - but it's really more like a double-sided page of A4. i won't deny it - i'm a bit of a chef - i diligently studied culinary technique under the tutelage of my mother who was schooled in such kitchen matters by her foremothers and have been carefully honing my skills for the past three years.

mostly true.

i guess by "diligently studied" i mean occasionally noticed her cutting up bits of vegetables (fruits? apart from wikipedia who really knows anyway?) whilst i attempted to sneak a cheeky bite.
and maybe by "honing my skills" i meant drunken late-night attempts to make maggi goreng (still trying)

let's cut to the chase. this dish was named "the meng special" - as hard as it is for many of you to believe, it was not named by me - but i am very proud to say that there is a select group of caucasian men for whom this is the only asian dish they are able to cook (and enjoy): "if white man from liverpool can do it; anyone can!" is my general mantra (said in scouse)

now that i've made sure my pre-amble is longer than the recipe:

this will serve 3 people or 1 meng.

slice 1 onion and 500g of turkey breast (recent incarnations have used boneless chicken thighs but i believe it is somewhat related to lack of exercise)

pour a little olive oil down, turn the heat up and start frying! after 30 seconds or so of sizzle pour down a tablespoon of sesame oil and generous amounts of soya sauce (preferably kikkoman) and then put the kettle on.

keep stirring the meat on a medium-high heat till it's cooked through. by this time the water should have been boiled - pour it into a pot and submerge three Blue Dragon wholewheat noodle nests. they take 2 minutes to cook. after two minutes - sieve them, throw them in and go crazy with the white pepper.
lower the heat a little and add more soya sauce if it doesn't smell awesome enough. asians tend to have a pretty built-in "soya sauce gauge" so if you are racially aligned to the dish you shouldn't have a problem. if you aren't - you won't notice anyway but just add more to be on the safe side. open up a pack of spinach (about 150g and ready-washed OF COURSE) and throw it in. STIR MORE.

when the leaves look like you just want to wring them out and hang them up to dry - we're done! :) sprinkle a bit more white pepper - mix and VOILA we have food.

i think the best time was clocked in at 12 minutes 13 seconds so if you manage to beat that and don't get hospitalised with salmonella (sneaky-sneaky cheating ain't allowed) then let me know!

lots of love xoxo

next up: how to choose the right songs for cooking. aka how to make an itunes egg-timer. aka how to make that awesome bit in bohemian rhapsody coincide with when you open the oven

Caramel Croissant Pudding

This is a recipe by the Goddess herself (video).
I've fed this to the housemates twice now and they have assured me it's good enough to grace this blog.

Serves 2-3

You need:

2 croissants
100g caster sugar
2 tbsp water
125ml double cream
125ml full fat milk (yes teh FULLFAT)
2 tbsp bourbon/whisky (first time, I did it without the alcohol and I don't think it made that much difference, sadly enough)
2 eggs, beaten


And then....
1. Preheat the oven 180C
2. Tear the croissants into pieces and put in a dish (Nigella used a gratin dish. I used a Corningware dish about 15cmx15cm)
3. Put the caster sugar and water in a saucepan and swirl to help dissolve the sugar. Then turn on the hob to high heat
4. Caramelize the sugar - let it bubble til it's deep amber (DON'T STIR!). It should take about 3-5min.
5. Turn the heat down to low and add the cream, milk and bourbon, whisking all the while. It seems to work well enough for Nigella but I ended up with a huge lump of toffee. Don't panic. Keep whisking over low heat and it should dissolve eventually.
6. Take it off the heat and whisk in the beaten eggs.
7. Pour the caramel custard over the croissants and let it sit for about 10min to soak up the goodness.
8. Put in the oven for 20min and it's done!

Tastes awesome with more double cream/ice cream.

Fiery Pork Curry (I didn't name this ok!)

As the name suggests, it's really spicy! So you might need to reduce the amount of chillies that go into it. Unless, you're one of those types that can eat a whole cili padi and not cry.

Anyway, I got this recipe from D's mum who has spent some time trying it out and tweaking it to perfection (except for heat level). The method is pretty straightforward although there is quite a bit of waiting around (30mins here, another 30 mins there...).

The ingredients might seem a bit tricky to acquire at first BUT I managed to find them ALL at Waitrose (sigh... my fave place!) so no worries there! Furthermore, most of the ingredients needed are of the store cupboard kind so you could always make this pork curry again whenever you feel like it! :)

Okay, enough bla-bla! Here's the recipe.

Ingredients:

For the Paste:

20 dried chillies

1 tbsp coriander seeds

½ tbsp black pepper

½ tbsp cumin

125 ml (1/2 cup) water

For the curry:

500 g pork with some fat (lean belly), diced

2 peeled onions, cut into chunks

3 green chillies, sliced

2.5 cm knob ginger, peeled & sliced

5 cloves garlic, peeled & sliced

1 stick cinnamon

5 pods cardamom

5 cloves

1 tsp salt

1 tbsp vinegar (I left this out since I don't have it. Still tastes good!)

3 bay leaves

250 ml (1 cup) water

2 stalks curry leaves (Waitrose, not an Asian supermarket, was the ONLY place that sold them. Even then, it was the freeze dried version which can still be used.)

Method:

1. First, prepare the paste. In a dry wok, roast dried red chillies until smoky but not burnt. Remove. Roast coriander seeds, pepper and cumin briefly until seeds are hot. While still hot, grind spices with roasted chillies and water until very fine. Grind preferably with mortar & pestle. I used a blender so it wasn't as finely ground.
2. Use pork that has some fat content so that the final dish will not be too hard and dry. Cut it up into small bite-sized pieces. Mix pork with ground paste, onions, chillies, ginger, garlic, cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, salt, vinegar, oil & bay leaves. Set aside for 30 minutes.
3. Add water and mix well. Cook over medium heat until water begins to boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
4. Test meat using a fork. The fork should pierce through the pork easily. Once pork is tender, adjust seasoning to taste. Plunge curry leaves in and set aside for another 30 minutes before serving with rice. (I didn't bother setting it aside for 30 mins after plunging the curry leaves in; probably 5-10mins.)

Meanwhile, for those of you who might find the paste a bit too labour-intensive to make, D's mum has even provided a 'lazy' substitute!

Substitute for paste:

Marinate the pork with:

2 tbsp meat curry powder

1-2 tsp chilli powder, to taste.

(Taste as you marinate. Just don't swallow the stuff!)

And there it is, fiery pork curry! Try it out and let me know :)

x Dedicated to YMW who has asked for it to be put up x

Pasta From Scratch

My mum showed me how to make this last December. It's pretty simple, but the trick lies in kneading the dough enough - the more peple helping to do it, the less headache so it's fun to do with friends. If in doubt, try boiling a few strands first to see if you like the texture. It should definitely not disintegrate!

Serves 5 ppl
Preparation time: Very long
Boiling time: ideally 3-5 mins but obviously until edible

Ingredients:

4 eggs
4 cups 00" flour

*The number is the way flour is classified in Italy, referring to how finely it is ground and how much bran and germ have been removed. I think it's durum wheat flour, and it's supposed to also be good for making ravioli, gnocchi, even pizza dough. It's definitely available in big Tescos and Whole Foods.*

Method:

1. Put the flour in a heap on a clean work surface.

2. Make a hole in the middle of the heap, and break the eggs into the hole.

3. Knead the egg into the flour in circular, outward movements until completely incorporated.

4. Knead the dough, using a strong hand, for quite a long time. I can't say exactly... Sorry :S

5. Roll the dough out flat and cut into thin long strips. Do in batches if it's easier. It makes life easier if you do the strands in a uniform size, so they get cooked at the same time. Hang the strips individually on the edge of the counter or over a basket - whatever's the easiest. The idea is just that the strands don't stick to each other, and hanging it sort of stretches it in a nice way. One method for cutting it is to roll the flat dough eggroll-style, cut it, and then roll it out. My dad disagrees with this though!

6. Drop into well-salted boiling water (not simmering). Do not overcrowd, laziness = fail. The boiling time will vary slightly according to how thinly you have cut the strands.

7. Ta-da! You are done. Toss it on the fire (in a pan lah, not like ON the fire) with your sauce. In the picture above, we used lots of garlic, good olive oil, and giant prawns. The juice from the prawns get absorbed by noodles really well, so if you use seafood, go RAW! Tomato sauces are good too, but I don't really recommend anything too rich and creamy, because it is super filling already as it is. My dad also claims it can be used for bǎn miàn so you can try!

Beef Shepherd's Pie

I got this recipe off Sophie Dahl's cooking programme on BBC iplayer and made a few changes to it (due to necessity more than anything!). Nevertheless, it tasted amazing! So good that I made it a week later (I usually don't repeat recipes til at least 3 weeks or so)!

Anyway, here's the video of the whole episode if you wanna watch her make it (and a few other things) step-by-step. She only makes the shepherd's pie towards the end though. She also does a vege option for the recipe by replacing the beef with puy lentils. However, since most of us are avid meat eaters, I'll only be posting the beef one.

Serves 2-3

Prep time : 30 mins

Cooking time: less than 1 hour

Ingredients:
For the champ topping:
3 potatoes (her recipe calls for floury potatoes, such as King Edward or Maris Piper but you can use any type tbh), peeled, chopped
small handful frozen peas
knob of butter
2 spring onions, roughly chopped
25ml/1fl oz milk
75g/3oz cheddar, broken into chunks
pinch smoked paprika

For the beef mixture
1 tbsp olive oil
1 red/white onion, peeled, roughly chopped
1 garlic clove, peeled, crushed
2 small carrots, peeled, chopped into small pieces
1 celery stalk, trimmed, chopped into small pieces
400g/14oz canned plum tomatoes
1½ tsp Worcestershire sauce
½ tsp Tabasco
pinch smoked paprika
1 fresh bay leaf (I used those freeze dried ones instead)
85-90ml/3-3½fl oz red wine
100ml/3½fl oz chicken/vegetable stock
1 sprig fresh rosemary (Again, I sprinkled freezed dried ones from a bottle)
splash balsamic vinegar (Left this out since I didn't have it)
small handful fresh (or dried but use less) flatleaf parsley, roughly chopped
250g/9oz lean beef mince
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper


Method:
1. Preheat the oven to 200C/400F/Gas 6. For the champ topping, heat a pan of salted water, add the potatoes and bring gently to the boil, then simmer until the potatoes are nearly cooked through, about 15-20 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, for the beef mixture, heat half the olive oil in a large frying pan over a medium heat and gently fry the chopped onion, garlic, carrots and celery for 5-10 minutes, or until softened.
3. Add the remaining beef mixture ingredients except for the mince and season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat slightly and simmer for 4-5 minutes until the vegetables are tender. Keep warm.
4. Heat the remaining olive oil in a separate frying pan over a medium heat, add the mince in batches, if necessary, and fry until golden-brown. Stir the tomato sauce into the beef.
5. When the potatoes for the champ topping are almost done, add the frozen peas and cook for a few more minutes until the peas are tender.
6. Melt the butter in a small saucepan over a low heat, then gently fry the spring onions until softened. Add the milk and heat through.
7. Drain the potatoes and peas and mash roughly. Add the warm milk mixture to the potatoes and continue to mash until combined but still chunky.
8. Spoon the beef mixture into a medium pie dish and top with the champ. Scatter over the cheese and smoked paprika.
9. Place the dish onto a baking sheet and bake the pie for 25-30 minutes, or until the potato is golden-brown.

Like most stews, it still tastes amazing, if not better, if eaten the next day :)
Unfortunately, I didn't take a photo of it after I made it (twice!) :( Sorry, will make sure I do the next time! Watch video if you need enticing!

Introducing...

Okay, I couldn't take that the blog looked so sad and empty so I thought I'd do an intro post! :)

Basically, this blog was set up because we all have our share of good, tried-and-tested recipes and needed an efficient way of sharing them with each other. So I guess you could say we care about what's (everyone else) cooking! (hawhaw)

Anyway, the concept is simple: you stumble upon a recipe, try it out and if it's a success, blog about it here! That way, the rest of us can try it too :D

It can be anything from snacks to main courses to desserts! So hopefully we all come across exciting stuff, (put in the effort to) blog about it and keep this blog running for a long time to come! :)

Banoffee Pie

Got this off the back of the Carnation Condensed Milk tin. I prefer to use more biscuit than instructed to get a thicker base and so I can cover the sides properly. I also like to subsitute the cocoa powder for cinammon, but use less probably because it's quite a kick in the face otherwise. Make sure you caramelise the condensed milk properly, because the first time I did it I took it off the heat too quickly and it wouldn't firm up!

Serves 8-10
Preparation time: 20 minutes
Chilling time: 1½ hours

Use an 8" loose-bottomed cake tin

Ingredients:

Base
100g (3½oz) butter, melted
250g (9oz) digestive biscuits

Filling
100g (3½oz) butter
100g (3½oz) dark brown soft sugar
397g can Carnation Condensed Milk

Topping
4 small bananas
284ml carton double cream, lightly whipped
cocoa powder, for dusting

Method:

1. To make the base, seal biscuits in a zip-lock bag and beat with heavy object until you get fine crumbs, then tip into a bowl. Alternatively, use food processer. Stir in the melted butter. Press the mixture into the base and up the sides of the tin. Chill the base while you make the filling.

2. To make the filling, place the butter and sugar into a non-stick saucepan over a low heat, stirring until the butter melts and the sugar dissolves. Burnt sugar tastes yuck so don't do that. Add the condensed milk and bring gently to the boil, stirring continuously to make the caramel. As soon as it thickens and becomes a nice brown, remove from the heat. Spread the filling over the biscuit base, cool, and then leave to chill for about 1 hour, until firm.

3. To serve, slice the bananas; fold half of them into the softly whipped cream and spoon over the toffee base. Decorate with the remaining bananas and dust liberally with the cocoa.

*Picture on the way! Still in camera*