Friday, April 27. 2012
I've finally given up trying to be dairy- and gluten-free. It was easier when I could still eat dairy, but ever since I found out that I was lactose intolerant, my diet has been tougher to manage. It's also a bit difficult in France, at least here in the South, where gluten-free products are not as available and affordable. I know that I can and should make my own, but certain gluten-free grains have not arrived either, nor has time and energy been on my side. One can only take brown/white rice, grain or flour, for so long before the taste and texture gets old. I have always loved bread, and I really missed it. And being dairy-free in a dairy-loving country is difficult enough. With no medical evidence of gluten intolerance (just subjective observations), I decided to leak a bit back into the diet. I can't tell if it has or will cause any negative side effects, but so far, it's been okay. The one best thing since re-introducing wheat is the French baguette. So tender, chewy, and slightly salty. If only I could slather some butter on it, then I would be in heaven!! But alas...at least I could enjoy a baguette again. Aside from the baguette has been sandwiches. I've always missed the variety and complexities of sandwiches in the US. The closest here is probably Subway (blashphemy?!), but one can only tolerate Subway for so long (the flavours are still not the same). In the end, I got around to making my own, and the one sandwich that repeatedly called was a fried egg sandwich. I've always loved how the runny yolk soaks into the butter-toasted bread, with the cheese providing the added creaminess and the ham the necessary saltiness. I remember a scene from a movie where the chef was making a fried egg sandwich, and I could not help but salivate at the moment he cut the sandwich in half and the yolk spilled all over the sandwich. If only I could recreate that. My biggest obstacle was the lack of a non-stick pan. Tried as I have, I've never successfully fried a beautiful egg in a stainless steel pan, and more often than not, the yolk gets broken in the process of scraping the egg off the pan. Then there are the missing butter and cheese. Still, I plainly toasted some bread, fried an egg (finishing cooking the top part in the grill/broiler to avoid flipping), and obtained the desired result of yolk-soaking-bread. I also tried adding mayonnaise, but I think the best combination thus far is an egg with minced tomatoes and mashed avocado. Having said that, I just ran into a recipe for a BLT fried egg sandwich (from Adam Sandler's movie "Spanglish"), and it looked just mouth-wateringly delicious. But regardless of the combination, it's that yolk on bread that counts. Give it a go if it's something that you love and haven't had in a while. If you've never had it, then it's a must try. You certainly won't regret it. =)
Tuesday, April 17. 2012
A few months ago, we finally had the chance to return to one of our favourite restaurants in town---a father and son wood-fire grill place. I decided to pick from the seafood/fish selection, and red mullet caught my eye. I remembered the name from some of the cooking shows that I watched in the past, but I'd never tried it before and was curious why cooks seemed to love it. Twenty minutes later, I understood why. The fish yielded under the fish knife like a spoon to a freshly baked custard pudding, and the flesh dissolved almost creamily in the mouth (rather than the stringy fibrousness of many cooked fish). I couldn't resist giving my husband a piece to try, and he was immediately mesmerised, proclaiming that that was the dish he would order the next time we returned. Such a response always tempts me to replicate a dish back home, but I had doubts on this one, as I did not have a wood-fire grill to produce the necessary smoky flavour. A few weeks later, I ran across fresh red mullets (pre-packaged) in the supermarket. They were not cheap, and I felt that they were too expensive for experimentation. So came the thought of the freezer isle. Freezing fish can sometimes change its texture, but that could be temporarily sacrificed while I tried to deduce the process. It would certainly be a compounding factor in the experiment, but it was worth a try. The filets were rather small, measuring ~4-5 inches in length. I knew that they would cook quickly, but I had no idea how quickly. First attempt on a sauté pan was a complete failure as I did not have a non-stick pan nor was I willing to use large amounts of oil. What resulted were fragmented overcooked filets: failure! I next turned to grilling/broiling in the oven. I decreased the time, but the fish were still over-cooked. It was another failed attempt before I nailed it at 6 minutes. Feeling them to be slightly undercooked, I gave it an extra minute the following attempt, and it was spot on. My husband ate every filet in complete silence, except for the interjection, "The restaurant has lost business." I didn't understand, for which he responded, "There's no need to go back to the restaurant now!" I was quite excited as I managed to achieve the restaurant's effect (on texture alone) with frozen fish at home as well as satisfy the palate of someone (my husband) who grew up eating mainly fresh fish and seafood!
- Red mullet filet (if frozen, make sure completely defrosted*)
- Salt
Sauce
- 2 tsp Oyster Sauce
- 1 tsp brown sugar
- 2-3 tsp water
- Preheat oven to grill/broil (~275°C).
- Line the bottom of an oven-proof container with aluminium foil and lightly oil the surface. Pat the filets dry with paper towels before placing them on the surface skin-side up. Season with salt.
- Place container as close to heat source as possible (either top or second-to-top rack depending on size of container). Grill/broil for 7 minutes. Immediately remove from oven. (The fish will continue to cook in the container, so make sure to remove them as soon as possible.)
- Sauce: Mix the oyster sauce, sugar, and water. Pour over fish and noodles, if serving.
*Note: If the fish is not completely defrosted by the time of cooking, you can place them in a bowl of warm water for 10-30 minutes depending on the level of frozenness. There is not much worry about food safety at this point as the fish will be cooked immediately.
Tuesday, April 10. 2012
Yet another one of my mother's dishes came to mind recently. I was looking for a change in my salad/vegetable options and thought of my mom's potato salad. It has always been one of her well-received dishes at pot-lucks, and it seemed quite appropriate for the weather---light yet filling (from the potatoes). We typically serve it in a hot dog bun and garnish it with freshly minced cucumber, ham, and pineapple; but it can be eaten as is and served for breakfast, lunch, snack, or even appetizer. The ham is very crucial in achieving the correct salty flavour as salt just doesn't seem sufficiently flavoured. Cucumbers bring the necessary lightness. And pineapples are ideal for the extra sweet punch, but they can be omitted if difficult to obtain. All ingredients are ideally finely diced for the flavours to meld together correctly.
My Mom's Potato Salad All ingredient amounts can be adjusted depending on desired ending flavour/texture.
- 3 3-inch long potatoes*
- 2 medium carrots
- 2 eggs
- 4-inch segment of cucumber
- 3 slices of honey ham (or any sweet-flavoured ham)
- 1 tbsp crushed pineapples*
- 3-4 tbsp mayonnaise*
- 2 tsp brown sugar (honey can be used instead, but the flavour will be noticeably different)
- Salt
- Peel potatoes and carrots. Cutting carrots in half can help equilibrate the cooking time. Wash the shells of raw eggs.
- Place all in a pot filled with enough water to cover the ingredients and bring to a simmer. Slightly cover and maintain simmer for 15 minutes---remove eggs and leave to cool by side. Continue simmering for another 15 minutes or until potatoes and carrots yield easily to a knife or fork. Rinse quickly with cold water.
- Finely mince the potatoes, carrots, and eggs. Place in a bowl. Finely mince the ham and cucumber as well. Add pineapples.
- Add mayonnaise and brown sugar. Mix. Season to taste. (If necessary, as the actual vegetable sizes can vary, the mayonnaise, sugar, and salt can be adjusted to taste.) Refrigerate for several hours, if not overnight, for flavours to amalgamate.
- Serve: Top the salad with extra minced ham, cucumber, and pineapple. Can be served with any type of bread or as is.
*Potatoes: a more starchy variety might be preferable. They will be more likely to fall apart, which enhances the flavour/texture of the salad. Waxy potatoes will remain too prominent in the salad. My mom typically peels all of them, but I tried peeling all except one and the recipe remained equally delicious. *Pineapples: a small sweet tomato can be used as well. I didn't have any pineapples on hand on time and decided on a whim to put in a small grapevine tomato. It ended up giving a light sweet acidity that matched well with the salad. *Mayonnaise: a light mayonnaise can also be used. I grew up having Hellman's, and after trying the recipe with the regular mayonnaise available in France, it just didn't taste the same. Having said this, the recipe tastes just as good with a lighter mayonnaise.
Tuesday, April 3. 2012
Taiwanese cuisine is quite eclectic with influences from all over China, especially from the Fujian province and Hakka people. Japanese is equally prominent as Taiwan was under Japanese colonial rule for 50 years. One line of traditional Taiwanese cuisine is marked by a dark flavourful sauce/broth which can be a bit overwhelming on the palate at times, but the punch in flavour makes accompanying rice and noodles perfect. Pork stew is one such dish and certainly a go-to dish for many home cooks (like most stews) as it is cooked in a single pot, can be stored for many days, and can be used in multiple ways. Recently, completely under severe attack by the myriad pollens in the area, I thought of my mom's pork stew. It is essentially pork, carrots, and, at times, hard-boiled eggs, but the rich salty, sweetness (especially the carrots) beckoned (probably because it'd match wonderfully with the light vegetable soup that I was having). It was never one of my all-time favourites, but I loved indulging in the rich sauce over the plain rice, and, of course, plucking out the salty, sweet, and extremely soft carrots. Please don't be mistaken though, salty and sweet do not mark the whole dish; the soy sauce and pork contribute significantly to the flavour of the stew. My mom's recipe begins with ginger, garlic, and green onion (the "mirepoix" of Chinese cooking), which provides a stronger edge in the resulting flavour. She also uses pork belly as the fat preserves the moisture of the meat as well as instills richness to the stew. I've developed a slight variation by eliminating the ginger, garlic, and green onion to provide a milder, more rounded flavour, as well as adding tomato to increase the natural sweetness. As pork belly is too fatty for my liking, I opted for the meaty part of pork ribs, which still contains some fat distributed within the meat as well as around, but much less. Some fat is crucial to the stew, but one can always trim off the majority before stewing, and then skimming the solidified fat after stewing and refrigerating. Regardless of the version, the pork stew goes wonderfully with rice, noodles, or anything plain.
Taiwanese Pork Stew (Mom's style)
- 1-2 slices ginger
- 1 stalk of green onion (lower half only, cut into 2-3 segments)
- 1-2 cloves garlic (whole or roughly sliced)
- 400g pork meat (diced into even chunks)
- 2 tbsp soya sauce (can be altered to taste*)
- 2 tsp brown sugar (can be altered to taste)
- Beer (or water)
- 2-3 stalks of carrots (de-skinned and evenly diced)
- Heat oil (medium high) and add the ginger, green onion, and garlic. Sauté until golden. Remove pot from heat and add the soya sauce and brown sugar. Roughly stir to mix the the soya sauce and sugar. Add the pork meat chunks and return pot to heat source.
- Leave meat untouched for 3-5 minutes to allow for browning. The pot can be gently covered to contain some of the oil splatters. Rotate the meat to continue browning. Repeat the process for 10-15 minutes. (Full browning is not required, but some caramelisation of the meat surface as well as the brown sugar is critical to the stew flavour. Just make sure not to burn either the meat or the sugar.)
- Add enough beer (or water) to barely cover the meat. Bring to a simmer and reduce heat (to maintain a slight slimmer).
- Add the diced carrots and cover pot with a slight gap. Simmer for at least 1-1.5 hrs.
- Refrigerate at least overnight to enhance flavour.
My variation
- 1 whole medium tomato (even sliced)
- 400g pork meat (diced into even chunks)
- 2 tbsp soya sauce (can be altered to taste*)
- 2 tsp brown sugar (can be altered to taste)
- Water
- 2-3 stalks of carrots (de-skinned and evenly diced)
- Heat oil (medium high) and add the pork meat chunks to brown. Add the soya sauce and sugar. Leave untouched for 3-5 minutes, or until one side is browned. The pot can be gently covered to contain some of the oil splatters.
- Rotate the meat to continue browning. Repeat the process for 10-15
minutes. (Full browning is not required, but some caramelisation of the
meat surface as well as the sugar is critical to the stew
flavour. Just make sure not to burn either the meat or the sugar.).
- Add enough water to barely cover the meat. Add the tomatoes and carrots. Bring to a simmer and reduce heat (to maintain a slight slimmer). Simmer for at least 1-1.5 hrs.
- Refrigerate at least overnight to enhance flavour.
*Note: 2 tbsp soya sauce will result in a stew that's on the salty side. It is meant to be eaten with something plain, rather than alone. The amount can be reduced, but only slightly. Too little (i.e. less than 1 tbsp) results in a less full-bodied stew flavour. -Variation: Eggs, pre-boiled and de-shelled, can be added to the stew as well. The egg whites absorb the stew flavour, which makes for a nice change to the usual hard-boiled eggs. They can be eaten as is, with rice or noodles, or even in sandwiches.
