A simple Jappy salad

I like Asian-inspired salads. Vietnamese. Thai. Japanese. I like them for their light and refreshing take on something not quite Asian. A particular favourite at the moment is a Jappy one. I use a bottled sesame-soy dressing which I got from the supermarket. I don't usually use bottled dressings, especially creamy ones like 'honey mustard' or 'caesar' or worse, 'thousand island'. I usually prefer to put together a dressing from scratch. This way I can control the salt and oil and taste better. This Jappy dressing is quite another matter. Its just great as it is - from the bottle and I won't attempt to recreate my own.

The above salad was thrown together with whatever I had on hand (as always, I was pantry-searching). I found some honey-roasted macadamias which I roughly chopped up. I quartered 2 tomatoes. I also threw in some boiled, shelled and cooled edamame (soy beans). I dressed the mesclun salad with the dressing. Sprinkled on some black sesame seeds and shredded seaweed. Done. Great with the Jamieson's Run Chardonnay we had that day. Hmm.. I can't remember what I had for main course that day. The salad stole the show.

miso + cod + peas + carrots

roasted miso cod on smashed peas and
roasted carrots

This is one of those pantry-searching dishes again. So I did some fridge and pantry searching and found the following. Miso (those single serve with seaweed), frozen peas, carrots, white onions and my dying rosemary plant (which surprising is holding up). I had a piece of cod in my deep freeze last week. I always believe that cod must be grilled and done as simply as possible. No butter, no heavy sauces. The taste of cod on its own is very rich and velvety and heavy-handedness will only add to an overdose of cloyiness. However, the pairing of miso and cod is one that is hard to comprehend. Miso is extremely salty and has this distinct and almost pungenty taste and aroma. Rich + rich = heavenly? Nah I didn't think so. But, this pairing is one made in gastronomic heaven. It works, despite the odds going against them. As this was a pantry-searching dish, I made do with the carrots and peas which I had in storage. I would have preferred to serve this on its on with a pile of shelled edamame (boiled soy beans) and nothing else. Of course, a good crisp white will finish it off very nicely.

I marinated the cod fillets with the packet of miso, soy sauce and mirin. It sat there for about 20 minutes while I went about preparing the sides. I took out a baking tray, sliced up the onions and carrots and threw them in. I sprinkled some cracked sea salt, black pepper and snipped a stalk of rosemary. I also splashed on chicken stock into the pan to ensure that the vegs do not dry up. I roasted the vegs at 200°C till soft and onions slightly browned. I placed the cod fillets on and roasted for another 15 minutes. I increased the temperature to 240°C to crisp up the skin (which is extremely tasty) Do not overcook the fish too much as it will continue to cook in its residue heat. I boiled the peas in some salted water. I overdo them slightly to make smashing easier. I drain most of the boiling water and leave some in the pot to smash together. Taste and season. I added a splash of olive oil as well. I would have added butter if not for the perennial diet that I am on. Well, I was pretty amazed with the result. This is one hell of a pantry-searching dish. Well, never underestimate the power of a well-stocked pantry and freezer (and a dying potted herb)

banana walnut cinnamon muffins

The peak of the busy period is over. although I must add the stress came with being such a procrastinator. Work wise, its going to slow down a whole lot, but personal life, I still got plenty to do this June, especially for the next 3 weeks. Despite being busy, I did find some time to try out some baking in the midst of it all the procrastinating. I tried out these muffins which I think, like all muffs, are most often than not, rather fool-proof. Well, almost. My muffins turned out quite dense. D like them that way - moist and banana-ey. They were pretty good the day they were baked. By the 3rd day, they were too dense, even for D's taste. Well, if you like dense muffins. here's a simple one I got from Donna Hay's Modern classics book 2. I used the alternative recipe for banana cinnamon muffins. I added 1/2 cup of chopped toasted walnuts as well. I also sprinkled brown sugar on the top before baking. For those of you who hardly bake, muffins are a good way to start. No thorough beating or mixing and not much rising needed. (I'm rising-phobic - had a bad experience with a sponge becoming a flan once)So if they turned out dense like mine, just inform everyone its meant to be that way (which is exactly what I did) Great with a glass of fresh milk.

How to - blueberry muffins

Makes 12

Ingredients

2 cups plain (all-purpose) flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 cup caster (superfine) sugar
1 cup sour cream
2 eggs
1 teaspoon finely grated lemon rind
1/3 cup (2-1/2 fl oz) vegetable oil
1-1/4 cups fresh or frozen blueberries

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C (350 degrees F). Sift the flour and baking powder into a bowl. Add the sugar and stir to combine. Place the sour cream, eggs, lemon rind and oil in a bowl and whisk until smooth. Stir the sour cream mixture through the flour and sugar mixture until just combined. Sprinkle over the blueberries and stir once. Spoon the mixture into 12 x 1/2 cup (4 fl oz) capacity nonstick muffin tins until two-thirds full. Bake for 12 minutes or until cooked when tested with a skewer. For tender muffins that rise well, stir the mixture evenly and only until just combined. Do not overwork the mixture.

To make larger muffins, use 6 x 1 cup (8 fl oz) capacity muffin tins and bake them for 35 minutes. For raspberry and white chocolate muffins:
Omit the grated lemon rind. Replace the blueberries with 1-1/4 cups fresh or frozen raspberries and add 3/4 cup chopped white chocolate in step 3 above.

For banana and cinnamon muffins: Add 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon in step 1. Replace the blueberries with 1 cup chopped banana.

A looming deadline

Well, serve me right for procrastinating. The deadline looms near. Sigh, but it'll be over real soon... I'll be back in blogospere on Thursday. Well, however, busy I am, I did start a blogobook club with some colleagues. I definitely need to read other lit, other than those foodie mags and cookbooks. :)



 

grilled prawns - Thai-style

I had a gift of really fresh tiger prawns from D's mum last week. She comes by on some days when we are at work at drops off seafood in our freezer. At times, we won't even know there's a piece of cod or snapper in there till days after. So I found a bagful of prawns a few days ago. It has been sitting in my deep freeze for many days. So I thought I better do something with them while they are still fresh. It was mid-week and as always, I'm not ready do any heavy duty cooking. So using the oven was the only choice. I also haven't been to the market for a week or two, so its going be a dish of pantry searching. Considering that, I think this dish turned out rather Thai-authentic and yummy to boot. It reminded me very much of the humongous grilled freshwater prawns I always have when I make a trip to Chinatown, Bangkok.  

I cleaned them up and deshelled and deveined them in the the middle. It was probably the most difficult part of preparing this dish. (It also gave my hands a terrible itch that day) I threw them into a big bowl and in went several splashes of fish sauce, 1 tbsp of cooking sake, 1 tbsp of bottled Thai chilli sauce and 1 good glug of olive oil. I also pounded up an inch of a knob of old ginger, 2 cloves of garlic and the lonely stalk of lemongrass sitting at the back of my fridge. Next, I chopped up the coriander roots and pounded that up with the rest. I mixed in the marinade and let the prawns sit and soak for about half hour. The oven was preheated at 180°C and I grilled the prawns till they were pink and cooked through. They took only 12-15 minutes. Don't overcook them at any cost! Sprinkle fresh coriander over the top and serve them right in the tray. The juices are fantastic to mop up with some toasted baguette. They are excellent with a cold beer or sauvignon blanc. Great to eat as you watch midweek TV.

tofu with wolfberries and ginger

When I dabble in Chinese cooking, I usually cook what I like to eat. I like dishes which are strong tasting, or spicy or must have lots of gravy or sauce to spoon over my rice. I also don't like meaty dishes and most importantly, especially when I'm cooking at home, the cooking must be straight forward and easy to clean up. That means no heavy duty frying if possible. This dish fits most of my requirements of a good home cooked Chinese dish. It is cheap, good, extremely healthy and easy to do. There's hardly any cooking to be done.

As you can see from the picture, it has those red wolfberries. (also called gao kee) Extremely popular with the mothers and aunties who specialise in Cantonese double-boiled soups. I soaked a handful of them in ready made chicken stock (about half a cup) which I heat up in a pot. I like to use the Heinz brand as it is neutral enough for Asian or Western dishes. I julienne an inch of old ginger and chopped up some spring onions. Those slices of abalone looking things? Well, they are mock abalone. I got it from the local supermarket just to try. They taste like fishcake actually. Cheaper alternative. As for the tofu, I buy those suitable for steaming. I take it out from the box and slide it into a shallow dish (without the liquid that comes with it) and put it in a microwave for 30 seconds. Tofu done. Lastly, the sauce. Firstly, I sauté the ginger in some light canola oil till fragrant. Next, I add 2 tbs of soya sauce, 1 tbs of sugar, 1 tbs of chinese cooking wine or sake and 3 dashes of sesame oil. I added the chicken stock and wolfberries. Taste to see if its salty or sweet enough. Add more seasoning to taste. Once it comes to a boil, it's done.

Easiest and tastiest tofu dish ever. Hardly any clean up, and tasty as hell.