Cantonese stir-fry crab

We are blessed in Manchester with numerous and very good Chinese restaurants. I go out a lot to these restaurants, and was intending to go with a friend last Friday, but she suggested we'd cook something together at home instead. I embraced the idea as I love cooking with other people and the food always end up being something that would not come out of a restaurant's kitchen somehow.
So we met up in Chinatown - 2 min from my home, so my usual food hunts place - not knowing what we were going to do yet. As we entered, the first thing we saw was the seafood, and in particular the lobsters and the crabs. We looked at each other and it was decided, crab it would be. My friend who is originally from Hong Kong and she immediately suggested a dish from back home. We only picked up a few other ingredients as my kitchen already contains all the usual Chinese basics suspects.

The crabs were of course alive so I had a little photo shoot with them before they'd die for the greater good of our stomachs. I must say I've always loved crabs, they are fascinating crustaceans.

To cook this dish (for 2 pers.)
- 2 medium crabs
- Fresh noodles for 2
- 2 clove garlic, chopped
- 1 thumb fresh ginger, chopped
- 1 red chili, chopped
- 6 preserved black bean, chopped
- 1 head broccoli divided in florets
- dark soy sauce
- light soy sauce
 -oyster sauce
- vegetable oil (I used rapeseed oil, healthier)
- 1 bunch spring onions, chopped in diagonals
- a handful of cornflour
- 2 tsp sugar

Crabs:

Prepare a big pan with boiling water, drop the crabs in it (the faster the least they suffer...) and put the lid on.
Take the crabs out when they are red/pink/orange(depends on the crabs used), it only takes a few minutes. Take the crabs out and set aside.

When they are cold, dismember them and break the claws, remove the non edible part of the body.

Chop together chili, garlic,ginger and black beans. reserve some for the broccoli (to be cooked and served separately

Heat oil in a wok, throw in the mix, stir-fry for a minute, throw in the spring onions,and cook some more, then add the crab, mix a bit, add a dash of soy sauce and oyster sauce then add the lid on the wok.

In a small bowl, mix cornflour and 1tsp sugar, add some cold water, stir well and add to the crabs, stir till thickened.

The dish is now ready.

Broccoli:
Blanch the broccoli.
Heat oil in a wok, throw in the mix, stir-fry for a minute,add florets, soy and oyster sauce, stir well, cook for a few more minutes.
In a small bowl, mix cornflour and 1tsp sugar, add some cold water, stir well and add in the wok, stir till thickened.and the dish is now ready

Noodles
Cook the fresh noodles in boiling water, drain in cold water and then pour boiling water (to keep them hot) on top in the colander. Dish o the plates. Add a filet of oyster sauce, a drizzle of light soy sauce, and finish with a filet of hot oil.

Serve the three items.

This dish is really easy to make and has this gorgeous taste of Hong-Kong Street food.
The crab brings a flavoursome sweetness, and the whole dish does not take much time at all.
The noodles cooked that way take a whole dimension, and don't even think a second of skipping the oil, that would be murder!

Source: My friend, this is a common Cantonese dish cooked in HongKong at home.
Photography: myself.

Tomates farcies (Stuffed tomatoes)

This is one of my favorite french dishes, full of flavours and one of these dishes that are even better reheated. Not difficult and great for eating at work the next day, it can be a main on its own, or served with rice or couscous. A doodle to make, you can leave the dish to simmer whilst you are busy doing something else.

Ingredients for 4:
For the meat stuffing:
- 500g minced pork
- 500g minced beef
- 1 onion or shallot chopped
- 2 clove garlic peeled and chopped
- thyme
- laurel
- salt, pepper
And
- 16 tomatoes approx(if you have more, add them to the dish anyway)
- olive oil

Method:

Mix all the meat stuffing ingredients together using your hands. Divide it in equal size balls (smaller than the tomatoes).

Heat the olive oil in a pan and sear the meatballs - don't cook them, just brown the outside. Then reserve them.

For a better presentation, cut a reversed pointy hat in the tomatoes - so that they can contain a meatball each. However ince I could not find reasonnable sized tomatoes, I cut the tomatoes in two and cooked the tomatoes alongside with the meat.

Using the same pan, with the meat juice, cook the tomatoes, and first cook the tomatoes upside down to cook the flesh inside.

When the inside is confit looking, turn them all around and drop a meatball in each of them, place the lid of the pan 1/4 open and let it simmer for 1/2h, until the tomatoes are soft and the meat is simmering in the juice of the tomato.

That's it, the dish is ready!

Source: my mother's recipe, and my photos.

Lancashire black peas

I just wanted to share with you a local/regional discovery. In spite of having lived in Lancashire for 12 years+, I failed to realise one of the old traditional food of Lancashire is bl;ack peas. They were featured at Accrington food fair and I did not miss the sampling. They taste very much like mushy peas, slightly different, and they are to be sprinkled with salt and pepper. My opinion? I really liked them, and the pot they were in was way too small!

Thai Chicken Galangal soup

This is one of my favorite thai soups.

I learnt to do it a long time ago, when I was taking Thai cooking classes. The recipe stayed with me and I cook it regularly. It's very delicate and quite easy to make, and very healthy.
I live close to Chinatown, so I am pretty spoilt, but I reckon many of you will find it difficult to find fresh galangal, and all the other ingredients I always have at home. I'd say you could replace it by either fresh ginger or pwdered galagal, however, it wopn't quite be the same. Thai food is best eaten with fresh ingredients. Other than that, the other ingredients should be easy enough to find in normal supermarkets, in Britain anyway.

You will need for 4 people (or two greedy ones):
- 200g chicken Fillet, sliced into mouth size pieces
- 5 slices of fresh galangal
- 2 cups of Coconut milk (a tin of Chaokoh coconut milk will be perfect)
- 1 cup chicken stock or water
- 2 sticks of fresh lemongrass sliced diagonally
- 3-4 Kaffir lime leaves, fresh if possible, dry is ok
- 2 tblsp thai fish sauce
- 1 to 2 tablspn Lime juice
- 5 bird eye chilis, (2 if you are a bit sensitive), sliced diagonally
- 2 sprigs of fresh coriander
- 200g fresh mushrooms, prepared and cut in half

Heat the coconut in a pan, dilute with either chicken stock or water , and once hot, throw in the galangal, mushroom, lemongrass, kafir lime and then the chicken.
Season with the lime juice and fish sauce, the chilis
Simmer for one minute only and then add the coriander to garnish.
Serve right away and enjoy.

This soup is great to warm you up in winter, and obviously can be apreciated in hot weather as well. It
feels very light and satisfying.

It is a typical soup you can find in Thailand, in restaurants or as street food. The photo at the top was taken at my favorite streetfood stall in Koh Samui: John's stall as I mentioned in an earlier post.

The soup can also be made with prawns or seabass instead of chicken.
Also, the same soup can be made without the coconut milk (only chicken soup), but it would then be a Tom Yam soup, very delicious as well.

The best coconut milk available in our shop is the chokaoh brand, as it is made of young coconut scrapped.

I have inserted below a few photos I took during a stay in Thailand, where I visited a coconut harvest at a plantation, near Chiang Mai:

Making coconut milk


Bunny Rabbit coconut grater

Source: My Thai cook teacher Chorchaba, photos: myself.

North African Tabouleh

Very common in France, but much more difficult to find in the UK, a tabouleh is a (cold) fresh and summery salad with a base of couscous. Very easy to make, it has very fresh minty notes and can be easily taken to a party or a picnic.
In the middle east, boulghour is used instead of couscous grain.


You will need for 4:
- 300g couscous
- The same volume of boiling water as that of couscous grain.
- 4 tomatoes cut in dice
- 1 diced white onion
- 1 bunch of parsley chopped finely
- 1 bunch of mint chopped finely
- the juice of a lemon
- 10cl oil
- salt, pepper.

Mix the couscous grain with the oil, salt, then add the boiling water, and set aside for 1/2h.
Then add the other ingredients, then leave in the fridge for a while.

Serve cool.

Easy no?
North African cuisine is completely integrated in French cuisine and kitchens, and you will find the dishes cooked in French homes as well as in restaurants everywhere. It is a very fragrant, fresh and full of flavours.

Enjoy the tabouleh whilst the good weather lasts!

Source: Photography, me , and recipe, the one I tend to make.

Sweet and sour cold summer soup & hot sweet grilled gammon on the side

You have never heard of this dish?
Me neither. I just invented it today, and it is definitely worth sharing. I had a very sudden burst of good inspiration. And once again, it is very quick to prepare and is very tasty, and the salad is very healthy.


Per person for the sweet gammon you will need:
- 1 slice of gammon
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup
- black pepper, coarsely ground.

Prepare the gammon first as it takes 18 minutes to cook.
Lay the slice of gammon on a flat over proof dish or plate, brush it with the maple syrup, sprinkle with the black pepper. Done.
Cook at 200 degrees (last 5 min with the grill on) in the oven for 18-20 min depending on your oven.

Per person for the cold soup you will need:
- 4 little tomatoes cut in quarters or 8/10 cherry tomatoes cut in half
- 1 mango, diced (use the juice too)
-1/4 lime juice
- fish sauce - same amount as the lime juice
- 1 small clove of garlic (optional)
- 1 slice of fresh ginger finely chopped
- a small handful of roasted peanuts
- 1 lemongrass stalk, sliced
- 1 kaffir lime leaf, fresh if possible
- 1/2 a chili pepper (less if you use the Birdeye type)

Mix all the ingredients. Done, how's that for easy!?

Serve the sweet gammon and the soup at the same time, and enjoy. It is very refreshing, very tasty in flavour, rich and satisfying. And there you are, you have your five a day...

The dish looks beautiful and colourful, so if you have guests to impressed and want to spare some efforts, that's the one.

On a funny note, I'd probably describe this dish as Thailando-Canadian!

I hope you'll enjoy it as much as I have!

Recipe and photo: me.

A light salad for the summer

When it's hot and sunny, I always crave for fresh ingredients, and a cooling and refreshing dish . Nothing better than a salad, like I've eaten all my youth, when I was living in France. Over there, people decline salad to infinite. today I would like to share a salad with you, my favorite in fact...:

For 2 people:
- 1 can sweetcorn
- 4 medium tomatoes
- Optional: rice, 100g
- 100g hard cheese (emmenthal, gruyere) diced
- 200g cooked (shallow fried or grilled) chicken breast in strips (OR diced surimi sticks OR a vegetarian alternative but you have been warned, chicken works best ...)
- optional: Cervelas (Swiss sausage) diced (Or cooked frankfurters sliced thickly but really not as good as cervelas)

For the vinaigrette sauce:
- 1 tblsp of honey vinegar or Xeres vinegar
- 2 tblsp of rapeseed oil or light tasting olive oil
- 1 tblsp of water
- 1 tblsp honey

Mix all the ingredients together,
Mix the vinaigrette
Pour the vinaigrette on top of the mix, and leave for 10-20 minutes to marinate, then serve.

This salad is rather sweet and sour, and is easy to take to work for lunch. It is balanced, tasty and light, colourful and takes minutes. what else could I say to convince you!?....

Bon Apetit!

Kung Po Chicken - quick chinese fix

Kung Po (also spellt Kung Pao)was one of the grades for officials in China. The inventor of this chicken dish was a "Kung Po" official in China who named the dish according to his grade.

This makes a great hot dish that doesn't demand too much time... Don't skip the dried chilis, they are really adding something... I like this dish very very very hot!

INGREDIENTS for two

- 2 large chicken breasts cut in strips (vegetarians/vegans use Quorn)
- (1/2cup) water chestnuts (optional)
- 1 handful unsalted roasted peanuts (Monkey nuts 20 min oven 200degC then peeled) - or you can use cashew nuts
- 5 dried Chinese chilis cut in half (they are the ones looking like mini red bell peppers). Remove the seeds if you think it's too hot for you.
- a handful of runner beans or green beans cut in strips

For the sauce:
- 4 tablespoons white wine
- 4 tablespoons soy sauce
- 4 tablespoons sesame oil
- 3 tablespoons cornstarch (dissolved in 2 tablespoons water)
- a tblpn hot chili paste (chili oil)
- 2 tblpn rice vinegar
- 4 tsp golden syrup
- 4 green onions, chopped
- 1 garlic clove chopped
- 2 tablespoon minced ginger (optional)

DIRECTIONS

Make the Sauce: In a small bowl combine wine, soy sauce, sesame oil, cornstarch/water mixture, chili paste, vinegar and golden syrup. Mix together and add green onion, garlic.

In a small wok, heat sauce slowly until aromatic. (you can use the sauce as a marinade for the chicken and then cook it if you prefer)

Saute the chicken in a large skillet until the meat is opaque and white and the juices run clear

Add dried chilis (water chestnuts and) peanuts and runner beans, cook a few minutes more.

Add the sauce,

Let simmer together until sauce thickens.

Source: my experience of the dish in restaurants + various sources

Chinese quick fix

Sometimes, I am hungry but I don't want to spend much time in the kitchen for it at all. This is one of these recipes you knock in a few minutes. I used a Szichuan sauce in a jar, but another day, I might just try to make it myself for personnal satisfaction.

I ended up with a satisfying dish, and fun to prepare.

Ingredients:
- about 6 cubes of fried tofu, each cut in 4 (you can use chicken goujons if you prefer)
- 1 plaque of easycook noodles
- a handful of dried shitake mushroom, soaked
- 1 spring onion, sliced (keep a few slices for decoration)
- 1 red chili, sliced
- 1 clove of garlic finely chopped
- 1/2 a thumb of garlic, finely cut
- 3 spoonfuls of sichuan sauce
- 1 dash soya sauce
- a few drops of sesame oil
- a pinch of fresh coriander, chopped
Cook the noodles (2 min in boiling water), rince with cold water, drain and reserve.

In a pan, heat the rest of the ingredients together less the tofu, mixing well and making sure that the mix is heated throughoutAdd the tofu, make sure the mix coats the cubes, and that the cubes are hot throughout.
Add in the noodles, and cook till hot and well coated.
Et voila, dish and eat!

Source: me

IMAM BAYILDI ('The Imam fainted')

Today I have a guest blogger, Marjolaine. She has a vast range of cooking skills, and in particular great knowledge of Asian and french cuisines. But today the recipe she is sharing is of Turkish origin and is called IMAM BAYILDI.. This is her take on cooking this dish in less time.

I'll let her speak now!...:

This dish translate litteraly from Turkish as 'the Imam fainted'. the name originates from the following fable:

A certain Ottoman Imam, very respected for his teachings, was leading a school all young people dreamed of being part of one day. the mother of one of these youths did not know how to thank the Imam who accepted her son as a student. This austere man was very difficult foodwise, he was a vegetarian and did not care much about his food. Modestly, she bought aubergines and cooked them her own way. She brought the dish to the Iman, and it is told that the Iman who accepted to taste them, fainted, sod elighted he was by the dish.

the mother was well rewarded for her gratitude.

For 2 people:

- A medieum sized aubergine

- 1/4 coffee cup olive oil

- 1 big tomato, peeled, dices and pips removed

- 1 big onion, roughly chopped or sliced

- 2 cloves of garlic (germ removed) and chopped

- 1 pinch of cinnamon, or four-spice

- a small handful of finely chopped parsley

- 1 laurel leaf

- salt,pepper

Cut the aubergine in half in its length, and remove the flesh with a spoon. Brush the insides with olive oil, place them a little under the grill so that they are half cooked.

Cut the discarded aubegine flesh in dice

Heat in in a pan 2 tablespoon of olive oil, and fry the onion till transparent, then add the aubergine dice and the tomato and cook for a few minutes on low heat, stirring from time to time.

Add the garlic, parsley, laurel and spices. Mix well and leave to cook about 10 more minutes, on low-ish heat, covered.

Discard the laurel leaf and fill the half aubergines with the mix. Place in an oven dish, pour a little glass of water and 2tblspn of olive oil at the bottom of the dish.

Cook in the oven for 3/4h at 175 degreeC. Serve warm sprinkled with finely chopped parsley, or cold as a starter.

Since the preparation takes quite a bit of time, it is best preparing larger quantities of it.

My twist on this dish, for a faster preparation:

I add cooked chopped lamb meat (not minced) (or a mix of minced beef and chopped lamb meat) and a red hot pepper.

Here is the method:

- I cut the aubergines in half (empty them and reserve the flesh), and shallow fry them with a bit of water and olive oil, first skin side for 5 minutes then flesh sidefor 5 minutes, covered (it tends to 'spit' a lot). then i reserve them.

- In the frying pan, I fry the onion, garlic,tomato, diced chili pepper , sppice,salt,pepper and parsley, leave to cook covered on low heat for a few minutes. When the sauce is reduced, I add the cooked meat and the aubergine dice

- In an oven dish, I place the aubergine stuffed with the mix and cover them with slices of gruyere and ook in the oven for 3/4h at 150-175 degreeC

I much prefer the aubergines fried rather than grilled, as they are more moist and creamy.

Source: Marjolaine, including the photos

My own note: slice (but not through, rather like a fan) the aubergines on the skin side before frying them

Easter lamb

Easter lamb, originally uploaded by Christ tell.
The tradition in christian based cultures is too cook lamb, so here's one I cooked a while ago... Pan fried, with some broccoli branches...

I'll always have a fond memories of Easter. The tradition in my family was, like in many in France, to hide chocolate eggs and bunnies in the lawn, bushes of the courtyard/garden, then wake up the kids, and tell them that the bells flew over the garden and dropped all these goodies. The kids then run in the garden, very excited, and scurry around to get all the goodies! My mum was always cooking lamb on the Sunday, as a tradition, or habit maybe... You gathered, no religion involved whatsoever, and Easter for me is synonymous with chocolate eggs, bells with wings chicks and bunnies, 4 days free from school/work, and yes lamb, because that time of year is when the lambs were best to eat!

And the beauty of internet, I learnt this year about passover and the cooking constraints associated, I really enjoyed the blogs about creative cooking around it! :)
So, all in all I'll go to bed less stupid tonight!

What's YOUR experience of Easter?

Enjoy the long break!, and HAPPY EASTER, HAPPY PASSOVER and HAPPY anything else I don't yet know about!

Mexican mood

Ok, I won't pretend I know mexican food, because I don't. But that day I somehow fancied eating mexican food and that's where the inspiration is.

Something simple, balanced, with meat and vegge, and my take on mexican: the kidney beans and the melted cheese. My other priorities were time, effort and taste - and what I had in my kitchen on course. Accessorily, it's easy to adapt for vegans/vegetarians.

So here's what came up from my foodie brain:
Ingredients:
- 1 big aubergine, sliced
- 500g minced beef
- 1 can kidney beans
- a few cubes of cheese
- jalapeno chilis cut in slices
- salt pepper
- Optional: 1 can of diced tomato, salt, pepper

Dispose the aubergine as a layer at the bottom of an oven dish

Mix the meat with the chillis, salt and pepper, and dispose as a layer on top of the aubergines

(If you choose to use tomatoes, pour it over the meat, or if you are vegetarian/vegan, forget the meat and us the tomatoes)
And on top of the meat, pour the drained beans and top up with the cheese(or alternative for vegans) cubes.

Place in the oven for 20 minutes at 20 degreesC,

And there you have it, your tasty dish!, and it looks good!

Serving suggestion: on a tortilla, with sour cream, and if you fancy some guacamole...and sprinkle with some tobasco! For coeliacs, just have it as is!

Verdict? I'll definitely do it again, I created iot on the spur of the moment and it's always a good thing. It was tasty, I could bring it to work the next day, and reheated, it was still as good (I prepared it with couscous the next day - I know, not very mexican!).
The aubergine was my favorite part, it was creamy and had absorbed the juice of the meat you'll notice: no fat added...

So yes the dish fit the bill, and i hope you'll enjoy it too!

Source: my very own grey matter