Tag: food

Recipes

Tofu and crab simmer pot (xie huang dou fu) – a simple Chinese recipe

Crab is a popular dish to include when celebrating Chinese New Year, and since it’s only 2 weeks away, we’d like to share this simple tofu and crab simmer pot recipe – it has minimal frying so is a good one to try if you don’t like the smoke from stir frying at home.

This recipe is one of the used traditionally to emulate the rarer and more expensive crab meat (another being imitated crab/sai pang xie), and can be made with duck egg yolk instead of crab meat. However, since crab is easier to buy nowadays, it’s rarely made with just eggs. Continue reading “Tofu and crab simmer pot (xie huang dou fu) – a simple Chinese recipe”

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Appointments, Recipes

Mince Pies and Hazelnut Ale – Eric Lanlard Launches Meantime’s Cake Boy Hazelnut Ale

Nothing sets off the festive spirit and signals the approach of Christmas quite like mince pies, and that’s what we learned to make with Master Pâtissier Eric Lanlard at Cake Boy in order to celebrate the launch of Meantime‘s latest limited edition beer in The Pilot Series: Cake Boy Hazelnut Ale.

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We found Eric Lanlard’s boutique patisserie by the river near Wandsworth Town on an evening in December, which, in London, means that it had been pitch black for several hours already. A step into the patisserie brought us into a different world, where the sofas were as colourful as the macarons. We sipped a glass of Meantime’s Cake Boy Hazelnut Ale as we stared at the mini Christmas trees and chocolate baubles on the counter. Fairy lights twinkled in the background – yes, it’s Christmas.

The nutty and smooth dark ale was created with Christmas in mind. But more than that, it is the spirit of experimentation that led Meantime’s Brewmaster Ciaran Giblin to incorporate hazelnut, an ingredient from baking and festive desserts, into an ale. The desire to create something exciting, different and unexpected sits at the heart of Meantime’s Pilot Series: 26 limited edition beers of which Cake Boy Hazelnut Ale is the latest addition.

It is, again, the spirit of experimentation that led Eric to incorporate the ale into these special mince pies. We soon donned aprons with the pink Cake Boy logo to find out how to make them. We gleamed a few top tips from the Master Pâtissier throughout the evening.

5 tips from Eric Lanlard – how to bake (and eat) the perfect mince pie Continue reading “Mince Pies and Hazelnut Ale – Eric Lanlard Launches Meantime’s Cake Boy Hazelnut Ale”

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Baby Recipes, Recipes

Sugarless apple, cinnamon and veggie muffins – perfect for babies

To kick start our new category of recipes (due to one of us having a baby who’s now eating solids), we thought we’d share this apple, cinnamon, carrot and courgette muffin. It uses a flour and banana base – the banana’s there to add some extra sweetness. All our baby recipes will be sugar and salt free, and as our baby has cow’s milk allergy, we’re using margarine (Pure, to be specific, as recommended by the GP). This recipe is inspired by the courgette muffin recipe from BBC Good Food.

Also, with our baby recipes, as all mamas are probably running low on time, we’ve gone for the method with the least amount of prep work. In this case, we’re doing as much as possible in the blender. You’ll still get a nice and fluffy texture following these steps!

These make a nice batch of 12 muffins. The prep takes around 5-10 minutes, and it cooks in 25 minutes.

Continue reading “Sugarless apple, cinnamon and veggie muffins – perfect for babies”

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Recipes

Hot and sour soup (suan la tang) – a simple warming Chinese recipe

Hot and sour soup is a perfect winter warmer now that we’re through to the last month in the year and the temperature’s dropping (further). It’s a soup that’s always on the menu in Chinese restaurants, and there are lots of fusion recipes around as well, such as the hot and sour chicken noodle soup. Traditionally, you’ll have hot and sour soup after a meal, and it’s supposed to help you feel better after a night of drinking – also extra handy during the festive season!

The soup is originally from Sichuan, and you’ll find that the ones in restaurants are quite thick due to the cornflour. The versions you make at home generally don’t contain cornflour, so the consistency is much more watery. Here we’ve put cornflour as an optional ingredient, as it really doesn’t affect the taste of the soup.

This is a really easy recipe, and will cook you a nice pot of the soup. I can have half a pot to myself, but generally, it should serve 4 people.

Continue reading “Hot and sour soup (suan la tang) – a simple warming Chinese recipe”

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Recipes

Sweet and sour pineapple and turkey stir-fry – a recipe for leftovers

Thanksgiving means turkey galore! And whether you’ve got some raw turkey left in the pack or if it’s already cooked, this Chinese recipe with pineapple, traditionally made with chicken, can give you a completely different meal from the roast the day before. We’ve cooked this with raw turkey, but if you have some already cooked turkey, especially where you’ve rubbed it with salt and pepper/stuffed it with herbs, then simply skip the first step. Continue reading “Sweet and sour pineapple and turkey stir-fry – a recipe for leftovers”

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Foodie Travel

Beijing: a foodie’s heaven and a tale of two restaurants

When making a culinary trip to Beijing, hutongs are a must – there are many foodie finds among the traditional courtyards. However, if there are more of you or if you are travelling with young children (or even just want a roomier sit-down environment), give Ju Qi (局气) or Jing Wei Zhai (京味斋) a go. Ju Qi, named after a Beijingese word for having poise … Continue reading Beijing: a foodie’s heaven and a tale of two restaurants

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Appointments

The Christmas Menu at Spaghetti House

Every year the Christmas period starts a bit earlier. Fact. Isn’t it everyone’s favourite rant through the autumn months? Yet, when I received an invitation to sample the Christmas menu at Spaghetti House, I could feel nothing less than excitement. Only the mild weather at the end of September was stopping me from wearing a Christmas jumper!

Continue reading “The Christmas Menu at Spaghetti House”

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Recipes

Mapo tofu (mapo doufu) recipe – spicy tofu with minced pork

Mapo tofu is one of the most well-known dishes from the Sichuan cuisine, and as with most Chinese recipes, there are many variations to the recipe. It is also extremely easy to make, and the main ingredient is soft tofu (medium can also be used if necessary, but is not ideal, but stay away from silken and firm – here’s a guide to tofu types!)

This version uses more minced pork than usual, and doesn’t have as much sauce as some of the other versions. If you decide to use less pork, then you can reduce it to 100g without affecting the flavours. You can also add a tbsp of chicken stock powder to it instead.

Continue reading “Mapo tofu (mapo doufu) recipe – spicy tofu with minced pork”

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Product Review, Recipes

Chinese mixed vegetables (Su Shi Jin) with Clearspring Umami Paste

Chinese cooking can often be at odds with a vegetarian diet (of course, there are exceptions), and that’s partly because in Asia, umami, aka the fifth taste, is just as important as your sweet and your sour. This is what made MSG such a core ingredient. This is also the taste that Clearspring‘s organic Japanese umami paste offers to provide in a form that’s much healthier and still suitable for vegans. As a fan of Clearspring’s miso, I was keen to try out their umami paste when Clearspring offered samples.

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The paste comes in two flavours, ginger and chilli, and in a tube form that’s easy to squeeze and easy to store. This recipe uses the ginger version, as it’s a traditionally non-spicy dish.

Continue reading “Chinese mixed vegetables (Su Shi Jin) with Clearspring Umami Paste”

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Appointments

A night at Gatti’s City Point – champagne and fine dining at the heart of London

A new Italian restaurant has opened in the heart of the City. Except Gatti’s is really a veteran that has been serving traditional Italian food to its loyal London clienteles in Broadgate Circle for over 15 years. The new Gatti’s is in essence a rebirth of the restaurant, retaining the old team, at a new location – still walkable from Liverpool Street. The juxtaposition does not end here. Gatti’s City Point is a mere 2 minute walk from Moorgate Station, yet it manages to remain a little tucked away from the throngs of the city.

The evening was bright yet chilly as I arrived at Gatti’s City Point for a special tasting event. Continue reading “A night at Gatti’s City Point – champagne and fine dining at the heart of London”

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