One of my most frequently used cookery books is Fuchsia Dunlop's excellent Sichuan Cookery. At the moment though, I don't feel there is much point in reproducing her recipes here. Unless you live near a good Chinese supermarket, you won't be able to find many of the ingredients. Even if you do, there are two key ingredients, Sichuan peppercorns and Facing Heaven chillis, which are almost unobtainable in this country. To be fair, it is fairly easy to get hold of the former, but they are almost tasteless, and they bear as much resemblance to the real thing as tinned spagetti hoops do to handmade pasta. Facing Heaven chillis can seldom even be found in ersatz form. In theory The Spice Shop (see my links section) both items, but in practice they rarely have the chillis and more often than not sell the easily obtainable inferior peppercorns. Luckily for me my brother lives in China and brings me lethally strong peppercorns, and I have had some success growing the Facing Heaven chillis myself.
Anyway, back to that duck: Sichuanese Roast Duck to be precise. This calls for some advance planning, not normally a feature of my cooking. Having bought the duck a day in advance, you stuff it and leave it to marinate overnight. The next day you pour some boiling water over it, dry it off, brush it with a glaze mixture and "hang it up in a cool place to wind-dry (I hang mine outside a north-facing window)... ...Leave the duck to dry for at least 6 hours until the skin feels papery". Our house doesn't have a north-facing window, but it does have some east-facing guttering. I hung my duck from this with a meathook, worrying about what the neighbours might think. The day was overcast and without wind, but at least it was dry. However, six hours later the duck was no more dry than when I had hung it up, although it had attracted a few flies. I then decided that wind was the missing component and brought the duck in to the conservatory. Here there is an electric fan heater. I hung the duck from a mop resting on two chairs and placed the fan heater nearby. When I returned an hour later to check on progress, I found a pool of fat under the duck. The fan heater was too hot and was gently cooking the duck. At this stage I gave up and proceeded with the rest of the recipe, ie put it in the oven. Happily it turned out quite well, so maybe all that wind-drying is unnecessary.
Sunday, October 30, 2005
Monday, October 24, 2005
Chicken with Preserved Lemons
An easy and delicious Aga recipe.
2 chicken breast portions with bone and wing
2 pints good chicken stock
1 Spanish onion, sliced
2 cloves garlic, sliced
Generous pinch of Saffron
1 Glass white wine
1 preserved lemon (I'll post a recipe for these some other time, or you can buy them from good delis). Slice the lemon and removed the insides.
A few pieces of dried orange peel, soaked in hot water and thinly sliced
A handful of green olives, seeds removed.
Heat some olive oil in an ovenproof casserole. Add the chicken and brown on all sides. Remove and set aside. Put in the onions and cooked until softened. Add the garlic and cook for another minute. Deglaze with the wine, then add the stock, saffron, orange and the chicken. Put in the hot oven of an Aga for 1/2 an hour (or a normal oven pre-heated to 200C). Remove from the oven and add the lemon and olives. Cook in the oven for a further half hour then serve on couscous.
This is very popular with both of the children,
2 chicken breast portions with bone and wing
2 pints good chicken stock
1 Spanish onion, sliced
2 cloves garlic, sliced
Generous pinch of Saffron
1 Glass white wine
1 preserved lemon (I'll post a recipe for these some other time, or you can buy them from good delis). Slice the lemon and removed the insides.
A few pieces of dried orange peel, soaked in hot water and thinly sliced
A handful of green olives, seeds removed.
Heat some olive oil in an ovenproof casserole. Add the chicken and brown on all sides. Remove and set aside. Put in the onions and cooked until softened. Add the garlic and cook for another minute. Deglaze with the wine, then add the stock, saffron, orange and the chicken. Put in the hot oven of an Aga for 1/2 an hour (or a normal oven pre-heated to 200C). Remove from the oven and add the lemon and olives. Cook in the oven for a further half hour then serve on couscous.
This is very popular with both of the children,
Friday, October 21, 2005
Thai Prawns with Basil
K has been away for the last few days in New York, leaving me with the children. I can't usually be bothered to cook just for myself, hence the silence. She returned yetserday and described this as "very, very nice":
Uncooked prawns, peeled and de-veined
1 large handful of basil, roughly chopped (preferably Thai holy basil)
2 stalks lemon grass, finely sliced
2 cloves of garlic, finely sliced
6 red chillies (or to taste), chopped
1 small white onion, sliced vertically
2 Tbsp fish sauce
1 Tbsp sugar
3 Tbsp chicken stock or water
2 Tbsp cooking oil
Heat the oil in a wok or frying pan. Add the onion. Cook for a minute or two, then add the garlic, lemon grass and chilles. Cook for a further minute, then add the remaining ingredients. Cook until the prawns have cooked through and server over rice.
Uncooked prawns, peeled and de-veined
1 large handful of basil, roughly chopped (preferably Thai holy basil)
2 stalks lemon grass, finely sliced
2 cloves of garlic, finely sliced
6 red chillies (or to taste), chopped
1 small white onion, sliced vertically
2 Tbsp fish sauce
1 Tbsp sugar
3 Tbsp chicken stock or water
2 Tbsp cooking oil
Heat the oil in a wok or frying pan. Add the onion. Cook for a minute or two, then add the garlic, lemon grass and chilles. Cook for a further minute, then add the remaining ingredients. Cook until the prawns have cooked through and server over rice.
Sunday, October 16, 2005
Langoustines with Garlic Butter
We've just come up to our house in Scotland for a week. The house has an Aga, which is nice for warming ones bottom on, but takes some getting used to as a cooker. I'm still at the early stages of the learning process. The house is on the edge of Loch Fyne, so you might have thought that a wide variety of excellent seafood would be available. Not so, alas. However one of the few exceptions is that we can usually get fresh langoustines. They're expensive, but we usually treat ourselves the first evening we're here. This is another "recipe" which it's scarecly worth writing down, but here it is anyway.
Spread the langoustines (1.5kg for 2 people) on a baking tray. Bake in a hot oven for 10 minutes. In the meantime, warm 200g butter over a low heat. Peel 6 cloves of garlic and crush into the butter. Allow to cook for a couple of minutes. Stack the langoustines on a bed of boiled rice, then pour the garlic butter over them. Serve with finger bowls and lots of paper towels as this is messy to eat.
Save the langoutine heads and shells. These can be used to make an excellent stock.
Spread the langoustines (1.5kg for 2 people) on a baking tray. Bake in a hot oven for 10 minutes. In the meantime, warm 200g butter over a low heat. Peel 6 cloves of garlic and crush into the butter. Allow to cook for a couple of minutes. Stack the langoustines on a bed of boiled rice, then pour the garlic butter over them. Serve with finger bowls and lots of paper towels as this is messy to eat.
Save the langoutine heads and shells. These can be used to make an excellent stock.
Tuesday, October 11, 2005
Spicy Tangerine Chicken
This one is loosely based on a recipe from "Chinese Food" by Kenneth Lo.
2 Boneless chicken breasts
Shaoxing wine
Cornflour
6 Dried Thai red chillies (or to taste)
1 Tbsp dried tangerine peel broken into small bits
Sugar
Black vinegar
Light soy sauce
Groundnut oil
Sesame Oil
1 bunch spring onions, trimmed and cut into 1cm chunks.
Chop the chicken breasts into small pieces not much larger than the spring onion bits. Marinade the chicken in 2 tbsps wine, 1 tbsp soy sauce and 1 tsp cornflour. Chop the chillies into 0.5cm lengths.
I expect you can buy dried tangerine peel in Chinese supermarkets, but it's easiest to make your own by leaving your tangerine peels on a windowsill untill they dry out.
Mix 2 tsps sugar, 2 tsps vinegar, 2 tsps soy sauce and 1 tsp sesame oil. Set this sauce aside.
Heat 3 tbsps groundnut oil over a high heat in a wok. Add the chillies. Stir until they are dark brown. Add the tangerine and stir for another 15 seconds. Add the chicken and spring onions. Cook until the chicken is cooked through (not very long). Add the sauce, stir and serve with rice.
K's comment was that it was too delicate for her tastes and that it lacked sauce. It's meant to be a dry dish, so the latter comment is unfair. As for delicate, hardly.
2 Boneless chicken breasts
Shaoxing wine
Cornflour
6 Dried Thai red chillies (or to taste)
1 Tbsp dried tangerine peel broken into small bits
Sugar
Black vinegar
Light soy sauce
Groundnut oil
Sesame Oil
1 bunch spring onions, trimmed and cut into 1cm chunks.
Chop the chicken breasts into small pieces not much larger than the spring onion bits. Marinade the chicken in 2 tbsps wine, 1 tbsp soy sauce and 1 tsp cornflour. Chop the chillies into 0.5cm lengths.
I expect you can buy dried tangerine peel in Chinese supermarkets, but it's easiest to make your own by leaving your tangerine peels on a windowsill untill they dry out.
Mix 2 tsps sugar, 2 tsps vinegar, 2 tsps soy sauce and 1 tsp sesame oil. Set this sauce aside.
Heat 3 tbsps groundnut oil over a high heat in a wok. Add the chillies. Stir until they are dark brown. Add the tangerine and stir for another 15 seconds. Add the chicken and spring onions. Cook until the chicken is cooked through (not very long). Add the sauce, stir and serve with rice.
K's comment was that it was too delicate for her tastes and that it lacked sauce. It's meant to be a dry dish, so the latter comment is unfair. As for delicate, hardly.
Monday, October 03, 2005
Seared Tuna with Pommes Dauphinoise
And not a chilli in sight. I saw Rick Stein make this (the potatoes) on TV a few days ago. It's not the healthiest way of eating potatoes, and I remember disliking the dish as a child, but I've changed my mind on that.
Peel the potatoes and slice quite thin. Grease a casserole dish with butter then crush some garlic and smear onto the base of the dish. Add a single layer of potatoes then sprinkle with salt and pepper. Repeat this until all the potato slices are used up. Mix 100ml of double cream with 100ml milk and pour over the potatoes. The liquid should not cover the potatoes, but should come close to doing so. If necessary add more milk. Bake at 170C for an hour or so, then sear your tuna on a hot griddle.
K away in Japan until the end of the week, and I'm too lazy to cook anything interesting for myself, so I'll post nothing more until Saturday.
Peel the potatoes and slice quite thin. Grease a casserole dish with butter then crush some garlic and smear onto the base of the dish. Add a single layer of potatoes then sprinkle with salt and pepper. Repeat this until all the potato slices are used up. Mix 100ml of double cream with 100ml milk and pour over the potatoes. The liquid should not cover the potatoes, but should come close to doing so. If necessary add more milk. Bake at 170C for an hour or so, then sear your tuna on a hot griddle.
K away in Japan until the end of the week, and I'm too lazy to cook anything interesting for myself, so I'll post nothing more until Saturday.
Saturday, October 01, 2005
Thai Mussels
Another very simple dish:
Juice of 3 lemons
Fish Sauce or light soy sauce
3 Tbsp sugar
1 Onion peeled and sliced vertically
6 Red chillies, chopped
Handfull of basil, shredded
One stalk lemongrass, finely sliced
2Kg mussels
Mix together the lemon juice, an equal quantity of fish sauce and the sugar. Bring to boil in a small saucepan and remove from the heat. Put the mussels in casserole dish or large saucepan. Sprinkle the rest of the ingredients on top. Pour the lemon juice mixture over the mussels, then cover and boil until the mussels open.
Juice of 3 lemons
Fish Sauce or light soy sauce
3 Tbsp sugar
1 Onion peeled and sliced vertically
6 Red chillies, chopped
Handfull of basil, shredded
One stalk lemongrass, finely sliced
2Kg mussels
Mix together the lemon juice, an equal quantity of fish sauce and the sugar. Bring to boil in a small saucepan and remove from the heat. Put the mussels in casserole dish or large saucepan. Sprinkle the rest of the ingredients on top. Pour the lemon juice mixture over the mussels, then cover and boil until the mussels open.
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