Choy Sum

That is today’s question.

Lately I have been craving for some steamed or boiled Choy Sum just like they make it in the Chinese restaurant. While they may charge $10 Dollars for this simple dish I was not in the mind to folk over the 1000% markup for this dish (Hope that quick calculation was right… hehe)

Regardless It was easy enough to get the Choy Sum, Woolworths occasionally stock this very common Asian vegetable. while you can easily get this any decent asian grocer that have been come common sight at local shopping centers and streets.

Regardless where you buy it from you want a deep green coloured bunch. Be careful of very old stock, check the steams and see that still moist and not overly large. the larger the stems are they older they have been harvested. You do not want overly young stems either as they lack in flavour and texture.

Regardless preparing them is easy enough, just make sure you either have a steamer or a colander fits your boiling pot. Both ways to cook them achieve roughly the same results its the actual produce that will delight your taste buds. Fresh deep green vegetables are what your after.

If your boiling then just salt the water as you would pasta and boil the stems and leaves separately. This is to let them cook at there own pace, you do not want to over cook the leaves and have them come out of the water or steamer feeling like mush. Steams take roughly 4-5 minutes in boiling water and should feel slightly tender. Leaves should only take 2 minutes maximum and still fairly crisp.

Once they are done, just drain and serve. There are a few ways to serve Choy Sum; firstly just as is and soaked with soy sauce; secondly you can toss them though Oyster sauce and then lightly pour some soy sauce over them; and finally stir fry them quickly over a high heat with 3-4 table spoons of oyster sauce, garlic and ginger.

How ever you serve them, it is well trouble and at most it will only take you 15 minutes to prepare and cook this very simple staple of vegetables.

Enjoy!

Fish sauce!

I hate the fact that I cannot make the same fish sauce my mother makes. Its either too weak or strong, never perfect.

Vietnamese Fish Sauce (VSF) is largely a mix of Water, Concentrated Fish Sauce, Sugar and Lemon/Lime Juice. This is roughly similar to the fish sauce made by the Laotian and Thai people.

Now the formula is different across cultures, tastes and purpose. One of my favourite dishes is Spring rolls with Vermicelli, Lettuce, Carrots, Mint and Fish Sauce.

In this dish, what makes the dish is the spring rolls and the fish sauce. The dish will always fail if any one of these components is lacking. And tonite I have to say my fish sauce let me down.

It was disappointing, the spring rolls were excellent; crunchy, soft on the inside and especially tasty since mum made them and I just cooked them as per required.

Regardless the fish sauce was horrible as it was way to weak and rather then have the sweet yet fishy flavour compliment that rest of the dish; it left me feeling annoyed and unsatisfied.

End Rant

Sometimes you just have to tell the worlds or woes!

Knives!!!

You can tell a lot about a cook by looking at their tools and today I am going to talk about knives.

While I am young and have not been cooking for a long time, I do know a few things about knives. First and foremost they are dangerous. Having been a victim of poorly made knives, blunt knives and my own inability to recognise how dangerous they are has given me a lot of battle scars. I have cut many a tip off my fingers and have also cut into a few nails. Please don’t take your knives for granted.

Currently I am using Victorinox Professional Forged knives and I am enjoying using these daily. Its a pleasure to chop, dice, slice and decorate with these knives and I am so pleased with them I have not been into a knife shop in a few months now.

Victorinox are known for their well made pocket knives but I am afraid I am not a fan as I am a Leathermans fanboy. Yet when I walked into Rosie’s of Pyrmont located just at the entrance of the Sydney Fish Market I had my mind set on a set Henckels; these are the brands that professionals have professed love for over the years and I was interested in finding a set that would suit me and give them a try. I am often skeptical of taking anyone’s word as gospel till I try something myself.

When I asked to see the Henckels 4 Star set, I was so unimpressed, the weight was wrong for me, the balance was off and I could see myself getting tired of using them quickly. In fact I commented that they felt handle heavy a trait that I have always hated. I would rather a balanced blade or blade heavy knife so I decided that these were definitely not the set for me. I was a little disappointed to say the least as I loved the way the knives looked in my hands.

Rosie said I should try some Shuns, but I had said I had a set a while ago and I was unimpressed at their price tag and soft metals. She did say that the top of the line range was a lot harder but then again alot more expensive. Close to 400 AUD for the top of the range Shun Pro 2 Series it was way out of my price range for a set. But she did ask me to try the Victorinox before I left; and so i did.

Now buying knives a very personal thing, the knives have to fit you hands and you must like the weight and even the look of the blade. But in considering a knife you also have to consider the construction, the hygiene and less so the materials.

Many people do not care if the blade is high carbon, high carbon stainless steel or surgical stainless steel. All people care about is the price of a knife and its ability to maintain an edge. I have seen many a kitchen outfitted with pour knives but the person using the knives have still been able to make some of the most marvelous foods I have tasted. Its not important who makes the knife or how much technology the knives have in them, or even how much they cost. Its how one uses a knife to its best advantage. Don’t get me wrong, all I am trying to impress to your readers is that if you love your knives, you will use them more, cook more and enjoy one of the most enjoyable experiences in life; eating!.

In saying that, staring down at these perfectly fit Victorinox Forged knives I knew I was going to walk out of there 500+ dollars lighter.

Where do I begin…

Its strange writing now, after such a long vacation from blogging. While i have been busy writing other things I have neglected this section of my life and now when I have decided to finally come back to this site and continue to contribute I find it difficult to select a place to start.

I have moved out and to say the very least it has been a few interesting months of budgeting food and cooking the more mundane food. As I have a mortgage now I cannot be frivolous with my spending. This has caused me to consider the things I buy for food and ensure that I have enough money for the bills while also eating well.

It also comes in handy that I can occasionally go visits the parents to get a feed but its not all the time convenient for them and myself. Regardless its been a sure fire experience to enhance my education on the finer points of budgeting. No longer can I buy loads of Prosciutto, one of my favorite things in the world.

While budgeting is not difficult it does take a strain on the creative licence. Yet I find myself moving to cook more Asian things as I have in the past avoided this as I valued my mums abilities more than mine. Yet while out of house its a lot easier on the pocket and time to cook a few small things and serve with rice.

An omelet with Onions, mushrooms and ham, with blanched green beans, carrots, baby corn dressed with soy sauce makes a great meal served with rice. Yet its easy and simple to do while not making much of an impact on your wallet.

From the desk of a budgeting cook….

Im Back!

After a very long hiatus I am back.

Its been a long 6 months, having to move out, find new work and working my arse off for the last 6 months but having no time for anything else really sucks. So I finally quit to the dismay of my girlfriend. Hope is not lost as I am in the process of finding new work.

Regardless my past few months has been a roller coaster of new foods and I have plenty to write about. From travel to Europe, Singapore and to traveling interstate and finding new things on the way.

I have not managed to make my trip around Australia this year due to work commitments but I am still planning my “Best Pie in Australia” trip for the future.

You will be hearing from me soon!

Cooking the Perfect Steak

Now cooking a slab of meat is not hard, what is hard about it is cooking it perfectly. To me cooking a steak is like cooking a piece meat can be the most difficult thing any cook/chef can do. It is about balance, perfecting the right amount of heat and right about of time on in the pan. Yes I said pan, I never cook my inch cut steaks on a grill or anything open as you loose all the goodness that comes from the steak.

While I am Asian, I do not marinade my steaks all that much. Salt and pepper are key ingredients to my steaks. I do occasionally experiment with marinades but to be perfectly honest, most great steaks only require a bit of salt and pepper.

Regardless below is what I recently did with a set of scotch fillets for a Sunday dinner with the family.

Scotch Filets w Potato Gratin and Mushroom sauce.

• 6 Inch cut scotch fillet steaks
• ½ Cup Vinegar (any will do, red wine, white, balsamic)
• Salt and pepper
• 250g Butter Unsalted
• For the sauce
• 100g Butter Unsalted
• 200g Mixed Mushrooms
• 1 Cup Celery finely diced
• 1 Cup Carrots finely diced
• 1 Cup Cooking cream
• 1 Cup stock

Potato Gratin

• 2kg finely sliced potatoes
• Cooking Cream
• Salt and pepper

Ok to start, you need to mill your salt and pepper. I get my salt in large grains and my pepper by the corn. I usually mill my pepper and salt together as the salt is abrasive. I turn everything into a fine dust with some good old elbow grease.

Regardless Put your steaks on a tray, poor the vinegar over the steaks and flip them to coat. Salt and pepper and let rest for 15-20 minutes, any longer and the vinegar will break down the steaks way to much. Drain Vinegar and leave steaks.

Meanwhile, finely slice your potatoes. In a baking tray/cake tin big enough to fit all your potatoes, line with melted butter. Start my layering your potatoes in a circular motion around the tin and ending in the middle, making a nice spiral formation. Once you finish your first layer, brush with butter then salt and pepper. Do this till the in is full so you have a potato cake. Poor in your cream to cover the potatoes, cover with baking paper and place in preheated oven 130º for 60 minutes. You will need to remove the baking sheet 40 minutes in.

Melt 50gms of butter in a pan and bring to a high heat. Place steak into pan, usually you can do 2-3 steaks at a time depending on how many you need to cook and how big the pan your using is. Regardless place steak in the pan and sear, on both sides, turn heat down to medium. Add another 50gs of butter and slowly pan fry your steak. Turn the pan on the side and base your steak with butter. Keep doing this till you cook your steak to preferred degree.

Tip: Use your thumb to determine if a steak if rare or well done. Push down on the tip of your thumb with your finger, which should feel like well done. Compare by pushing down on your steak, if it feels the same then it’s well done. Below the tips if your thumb, the middle section, that should feel like medium. The base of your thumb where it joins the palm is rare.

Regardless keep basting your steak with the butter, if you run out just add more nobs of butter.

Let steak rest for 5 minutes before serving.

For the sauce, take the pan you have cooked your steak with, and on a high heat, fry the celery and carrots with some crushed ginger and garlic. Add stock and bring to boil, add cream and simmer. Let rest, strain the liquid. In the same pan, pan fry your mushrooms with 50gs of butter, salt and pepper. Add liquid and bring to simmer then turn off heat.

To plate, just plate the steak and cut a slice of the Potato Gratin and finish with sauce.

 

Cooking with eggs

The most amazing thing about eggs is that they are so versatile. There are so many things you can do with them and add them too. Yet you can have them on there own since there are so many ways to cook them.There are a so many combinations of recipes and ingredients you can but recently I’ve have been researching the best methods of making scrambled eats. Gordon Ramsay has a method you can view on Youtube to make great scrambled eggs but I was not pleased with the result when I tried to make it myself. It tasted a little bland and a little bit to watery, the eggs where not solid and fell apart while tasting very buttery and creamy. In fact the recipe made the eggs not taste like eggs at all.

My mum had a great recipe to make scrambled eggs but the eggs come out very solid and because it’s the Asian way to make scrambled eggs the colour isn’t right, it’s a brown instead of a yellow when you’re done.

Again Jamie Oliver also has a great way to make scrambled eggs, yet once again it taste to much like Gordon’s buttery, watery and in fact looses that egg taste.

So in the end I had to find a method for myself to enjoy scrambled eggs that didn’t take to much time, that looked great and that tasted like eggs while being wonderfully coloured, a little bit more solid and less buttery like the pros do it.

So I incorporated all the cooking methods I could find on scrambled eggs and set about making my own recipe for MYSELF to enjoy. You can enjoy it to, but remember these are my eggs not yours and you might have to find your own ways to enjoy eggs.

Anthony’s scrambled eggs

• 3 Large Organic eggs
• Chives
• 1 tb Fish sauce
• Cracked salt and pepper
• Butter (40gs every large egg)
• 50ml Cream

Firstly most chefs I have seen usually just crack the egg into the pan and start from there. For me I like to crack my eggs in the bowl, mix together and break the yokes only slightly. Add the fish sauce and mix again slightly, a pinch of salt and pepper and mix again. Then add your cream and mix again.

Then in a very low heat pan, poor in your mix, you should hear a slight searing once the mixture hits the pan but the egg mix should not bubble straight away. Now with a spatular you need to move your eggs around and actually scramble the eggs. On a very low heat this should take about 2-3 minutes for the eggs to combine and becoming a little soggy yet. If you can’t control your heat properly, then you will need to remove the pan from the heat every few minutes as a high heat will burn the eggs and make the eggs cook very unevenly. The eggs should take on a cloudy appearance but you should keep cooking till you sweat the liquid out to the consistency you like. Some people like the eggs soggy while I like the eggs solid. Regardless salt and pepper again, then left settle off heat. Mean while chop up your chives and add and mix again with spatular but without heat.

Then you can serve on anything you like. I like toasting some bread and then grating some cinnamon and drizzling with honey to serve with my eggs. YUM!

Enjoy find your perfect eggs

Left over pork?

This is one of my favourite recipes when it comes too left over pork. It’s great for a quick lunch snack and really is easy to prepare. Also the cooking time is reduced because you are using frozen peas. The best think about this recipe is the amount of work into it, practically nothing.

Regardless roasted pork left overs is the best option as the pork has had time to rest.

Roast Pork and Pea Soup

• ½ Kg of Roasted Pork
• 1 Bag of frozen sweet peas
• 2L of any clear stock, Vegetable/chicken/pork
• 2 Cups water
• 2 Onions finely diced
• 2 Cloves Crushed Garlic
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Juice of One Lemon
• Herb Butter or Normal butter
• Bunch of Mint

Microwave your peas in a microwave safe bowl with a nob of butter. Just follow the instructions on the pack. Meanwhile heat your stock up to a medium heat while your peas are cooking.

When your peas are done just add the lemon juice, mix in your finely chopped onion, crushed garlic and toss like a salad. Olive oil if you want. Then add to your stock and bring to boil. Cook for about 30 mins or longer if you want but it’s really not necessary.

Shred your pork by hand, or if you’re lazy just chop them up roughly and pulse it in a blender.

Combine soup with mint in a blender or use a hand blender and blend to a smooth consistency. To serve just portion out your soup finish with nob of butter and stir in pork bits and serve. If you want it a little sweeter you can garnish with some honey or honey and mascopone.

Enjoy 

More Soup

It is ok to use canned crab meat, many people have an aversion to using crab meat that comes from a can. Regardless this is a variation from a chicken soup. Hopefully you have an already created stock from chicken bones. You should also use already cooked chicken meat either brought from your local takeaway or left overs from previous dinner.
Chicken Crab and Leek soup

• 2L Chicken stock
• 1L Water
• 3 finely chopped leeks
• 2 cups roasted chicken
• 2 cans crab meat
• 1 finely diced onions
• 1 cup finely diced celery
• 2 Teaspoons fish sauce
• 1 egg, beaten
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1 Cup Sweet sherry

Combine vegetables in a large pot and sauté for a few minutes, add sherry and stir. Allow for vegetables and sherry to combine, salt/pepper/fish sauce and then you can add the rest of liquid. Bring to boil and reduce heat to low and simmer for 2-3 hours. When ready to serve stir the beaten egg into the soup and garnish with coriander.

The quest for a new Italy experience

Ok seriously, how long will you wait for food? Already by nature I am impatient; throw in the fact that I now how much time is required to cook things and the fact that am critical of every new restaurant I venture into. The question remains “how long should you wait for food”. So Saturday I am in Haberfield in the mood for Italian and ready to go a massive plate for pasta or a massive pizza.Regardless we sit down at a great little Italian place that I have eaten at once a very long time ago. But since I can not longer eat at Il Galoso since it has closed I am on a quest to find my next favourite Italian place. While I love Bar Italia in Leichhardt I hate the lines and I hate waiting. Its excellent food cooked by Asians but its long lines dissuades me from attending regularly. I like my service, I like my tables reserved and I like the fact that I don’t have to go up and get my own water and drinks.

Another place I adore is Mario’s but price wise it’s a little out of its league, its very expensive but its fantastic food. But not fantastic enough to warrant the price tag. While it has many return customers and is doing very well it rarely gets my business as the prices for the produce is really over priced and I refuse to be cheated. Once in a while I do venture in that area and do pick up a very taste four cheese pizza but besides that I tend to shy away and resist.

So what makes a great Italian restaurant? What I loved about Il Galoso was that simple fact that it was a family restaurant. The service was decent and very friendly. The atmosphere was very relaxed and you never felt pressured to be quick or quite. The price was moderate with mains fewer than a 20 with a few sneaking up to the 30s. The food was consistent the seafood fresh most of the time and the deserts home made.

So regardless I was at Napoli in Bocca Restaurant in Haberfield and it took from the time of ordering to delivery of food 40 minutes. 40 minutes for 2 mains, a salad and an entrée that was to be delivered with the mains. And the most annoying thing is, the food was all seafood which takes no time cooking time. Spaghetti Vongole (clams), Spaghetti Marinara, Italian green salad and Mussels in a Napoli sauce.

Thou to give this store credit, Jo (date) and I both agreed that if we had arrived early or a little later we would have received the food much quicker as it would have been directly before or after some very large parties. Regardless of those 40 minutes of waiting it was horrendous for 3 seafood dishes that take next to nothing to make and should have been away 20 minutes into the service. The big thing for this restaurant was the food and the red checkered tablecloth.

Regardless we are still looking for a new Italian restaurant any suggestions?

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