Sous Vide Recipes: Dill & Garlic "Cantonese Style" Haddock

One of my favourite ways to eat fish is steamed - a classic Chinese technique that I believe brings out the best flavour and texture of fish whilst keeping it juicy. I am also very partial to Cantonese Style Steamed Sea Bass which is usually understood as a whole steamed sea bass bathed in a soy sauce and Shaoxing Rice Wine sauce, topped with ginger and spring onion then doused with sizzling oil.

For me, fish cooked sous vide brings the same advantages as steaming: and my next Sous Vide Supreme recipe had to be a variation on a theme. Going sustainable with haddock and playing with dill and garlic.

Sous Vide Recipes: Sambal Salmon with Lime & Thai Basil

After a long hard slog of a year to move into the food industry full time, it's time for a blog post. It's been emotional and exciting but so far so good and there's no looking back. Experimenting with cool foodie gadgets comes with the territory and this week I've been testing out the Sous Vide Supreme, darling of the slow cooking and poaching world.

My mind got thinking to Chinese and South East Asian cooking techniques that sous vide could easily replicate and enhance. Poached, steamed and slow braised dishes would all be wonderful and plunging a bag into a machine that claimed to cook food to perfection whilst I twiddle my thumbs was extremely welcome.

I decided on an easy classic with a twist for my maiden sous vide adventure: juicy salmon smothered in a spicy Malaysian sambal lined with lime slices and plenty of Thai Basil.

Fish Head Rice Noodle Soup 鱼头米饭

Lately I've been hit by desperate cravings for homely noodle soups. I'd like to think my desperation would make me unfussy, that hunger trumps putting myself through inconvenience. Wouldn't it just be fine to make up some soup through stock cubes, toss in noodles and fillings? Nope, that's not how us noodle lovers roll. I of course had to make everything from scratch and traipse around London for the "right" ingredients. But then I wouldn't have discovered some very interesting details about one of my childhood favourites, Fish Head Rice Noodle Soup.

Prince of Wales

Oh hello there! Hello again to the most beautiful Scotch Egg I've ever seen. Hello to the Scotch Egg that changed my whole outlook on Scotch Eggs, the gastropub, what is British food and how the Prince of Wales gastropub on Upper Richmond Road should be a landmark for this small triumph alone. Have I made it absolutely clear that I'm obsessed with this Scotch Egg?

Before this experience, I held Scotch Eggs in the same regard as other English bits which are really popular but that I really detest. DETEST. Like trifle and rice pudding. Stodge that clots the arteries and gives me images of war time food. Previously, I wondered whether the eggs inside Scotch Eggs were actually real and not some weird hardened white and yellow gunk.

Enough about what I thought, I've now seen (and tasted) the light. Ordered by my fine friend who is a regular at this Putney establishment, when it arrived on black slate I knew I was in good hands. It had been freshly made, the outside was hardly the infamous thick floury crust but golden, crunchy and of single crumb thickness. The pork case was soft and spongy mince, mixed with herbs and reminiscent of Chinese dumpling filling. And finally its pierce de resistance: a perfectly soft boiled egg in the middle, sending me to self-saucing heaven. How did they make it soft boiled?!

From Nauseating Hatred to Raving Obsession, I've made a 180 degree turn on this humble snack. Call the restaurant, book a table and pre-order that egg. I predict a shortage soon.

The Prince of Wales' pub menu has the regulars: Beef Burgers, Steak, Roasts etc.. We also ate the fish and chips which was excellent (it's all in the details, their home made tartar sauce was generously caper-ed). There is also a restaurant menu which looks more bistro, average main courses are £13. Putney anyone?

Chinese New Year Reunion Dinner / Kuala Lumpur

Gong Hei Fatt Choy! It's that time of the year when the Chinese wear red, play Mah Jong like there's no tomorrow and get reminded by aunties that this is the last year you're getting ang pows*. Chinese New Year Eve is when families return to their home towns, to gorge on a multiple course meal of auspicious dishes.

We usually gather at one of my uncle's who has taken on the huge task of cooking up THE slap up meal to set the next lunar year off. My family are also fierce food lovers whose commentary would make Simon Cowell look like a pussycat. However, this year we break tradition and go to the Overseas Chinese Restaurant on Jalan Imbi. Let the restaurant take the heat! Here were the highlights...

Low Hei! Low Hei! (Toss Higher!) A raw fish salad with various vegetables, fruits with a sweet and sour dressing and little fried crackers is always the first course of the marathon meal. Each ingredient is neatly arranged on a large platter, waiting to be tossed with vigour. Whilst tossing, diners yell happy wishes for the coming year, and higher and more vigorous the salad is tossed, the greater the chance of these wishes materialising.

 

Braised Chinese Mushrooms, Black Hair Fungus, Sea Cucumber with Dried Oysters in soy sauce. None of those things sound remotely enticing, and what a brown pile of flavours and textures that really alien to most palates. Oysters impart a deep smokiness, earthy mushrooms, slight crunch from the Black Hair Fungus and the absorbent Sea Cucumber make it intriguingly weird. The Chinese love wild and hard-to-get ingredients to signify wealth and prosperity.

 

Now something less intimidating: a favourite celebration dish you'll find across many Chinese special occasions is the steamed fish. Usually a seabass, we enjoyed a plump, silky promfret with white flesh that just loves the classic groundnut oil and soy sauce combo.

 

My personal favourite, Butter Prawns! Prawns are fried whole in a wok, and a blend of evaporated milk and butter is whirled around slowly. This somehow creates hair-like and crispy strands to coat the prawns. Curry leaves are added for extra kick and I'd need handcuffs to stop me eating up that sinful crispy butter.

*Ang Pows or Red Packets are given from older to younger during this festive period, it's a bit like downward-only only Christmas presents. It's meant to be good luck for both giver and receiver, and one qualifies to give only when married. So if you're nearly 30 and still receiving, take the hint!

Giaconda Dining Rooms

Beef Carpaccio

Crisp Pig Trotters

Cod, Black & White Cabbage, Sauteed Potatoes with a Butter & Chive Sauce

Pear, Quince & Apple Crumble with Clove Ice Cream

Howdy! Hungry Female is resurrected. After a long silence, I can no longer hold my opinions in! 2010 has started with a real foodie explosion: I've already had the pleasure of so many havens (London's Supperclub, Akari, Istanbul's Asitane & Mikla), I'm just hoping I can keep up this pace.

So my new year post is dedicated to Giaconda which I've been dying to try for ages. The rumours are true: it's in a slightly dingy room in Soho, instantly I'm kinda put off by the blue, velour-ish carpeted floor. Who still has blue carpeted flooring?! It's still very elegantly arranged, there can't be more than 20 tables. There is an instantly bacon-y air, though not off-putting, transpires it's due to the offal-heavy menu.

Which leads to the food. After being indecisive about liver mousses, braised tripe, sauteed kidneys, I settled for the Beef Carpaccio. With parmesan and a still unknown white sauce, it's a classic carpaccio which disappears on the palate. The Boyfriend's starter is more interesting - Crisp Pig Trotters on Eggs has a beautiful crunchy crisp outside and a deep porky melty inside.

Looking back on the meal, I should have been more adventurous. Main courses were well-cooked, but I had massive food envy looking at the other dishes coming out from the kitchen. It's clear one needs to embrace the animal and try the tripes and kidneys. Instead we played safe with the Battered Gurnard & Chips (basically fancy fish & chips) and one of the specials, Cod with Black & White Cabbage. I can't fault either of these dishes, only my own choices. Both fishes was fresh, soft and quite moorish.

We did redeem ourselves with the dessert: A triple fruit crumble of Pear, Quince and Apple with a fab clove ice cream. Although rather clover-some, it was one of the best ice creams translated from a spice.

Next time I return to Giaconda, I will be more adventurous and try some innards. All-in-all it was a lively little place, very attentive service and for circa £35 a head (we shared a dessert and had a lovely Riesling too), it's definitely a notable venue.