Zaibatsu, Greenwich

During the Easter Bank Holiday weekend, Z and I ventured to Greenwich in search for good Japanese food. I've read about a local restaurant on Trip Advisor, which received rave reviews and was ranked 12 in the whole of London! (yes indeed!). Given that it was not Michelin starred, I was a bit surprised at this. (I'm not a snob, but 12 out of the thousands of restaurant in London is really high!). Intrigued, we finally got the chance to visit it ourselves recently.

We took the DLR to Cutty Sark, and from there we took the 188 bus to the restaurant. It was about 5 minutes or so from Cutty Sark to the restaurant, so it wasn't too far of a distance. We did not have a booking, and when we arrived, it was packed! It was indeed our fault, what more, the restaurant was tiny. It looked like it could only fit max 25 people or so.

So we waited for a table for about 15 minutes- the waiter took my phone number and name down, and gave us a ring when they had a table available.

Our table turned out to be a small one next to the kitchen (but separated with a partition). Our table was against a shelf full with bottled mineral water and soft drinks, and was at the back of the restaurant. In short, it felt like we were dining in a store room.

This wasn't an issue at all to us, for a start, it actually gave us a bit of privacy from the rest of the customers in the restaurant! (the tables were packed very close to each other). I didn't mind it one bit, but it's probably worth flagging this as I suspect not everyone would be comfortable sitting there.

We ordered 4 items: a chicken noodle soup (yes, I know it's not exactly Japanese but I was craving for it. Plus the restaurant markets itself as a Japanese fusion restaurant), a tuna 'Sunkiss Selection', a 'Dragon roll' and a 'Black Cod' tempura.

Chicken noodle soup, with vegetables and shiitake mushrooms

The noodles (£5.90) came first. I opted for udon noodles. The grilled chicken breast was sliced into strips and was delicious - so was the broth. Portions were reasonable (in fact, rather cheap), and there were lots of vegetables as well,which were cooked al dente. Very lovely indeed, and really hit the spot.

The tuna Sunkiss Selection (£7.90) was next. Unfortunately, at first sight it was a bit disappointing. The portion was tiny! There were about 8 very thin slices of tuna, seared, and it came already dressed in a tangy soya sauce-based dressing. There was also a garnish of very finely sliced purple carrot (I think) which looked lovely and tasted very refreshing. No pictures; both of us dived in straightaway! It was delicious, but I felt the portion was too small. 

The awesome dragon roll

The Dragon roll ( £9.50, a prawn tempura roll, topped with avocado and salmon fish roe) was the highlight of the meal! What I loved about it is the fact that the tempura stayed crunchy and light when it was served. I've had it before when the tempura was all soggy, but this was just delicious. The avocado was creamy and went so well against the crispy prawns and rice. Well seasoned rice too. Absolutely spot on for me!

Black cod tempura

 We initially only ordered the 3 dishes above but as the seared tuna was too small, we ordered a portion of black cod tempura (£6.30). We have had black cod before, pan fried and we have absolutely enjoyed that (if done well, it just melts in the mouth). This came with some tartare sauce. Unfortunately this dish was a bit of a disappointment to us. The batter was rather heavy and too thick; it didn't have the lightness a tempura batter should have. Flavour wise, it was also rather bland. The portion was generous though.

All in all, we thought it was rather hit and miss. The Dragon roll was worth coming back for, and the noodles were delicious. Service was good, and the waiter was lovely. The prices were in general very reasonable as well.

Zaibatsu
96 Trafalgar Road, Greenwich
SE10 9UW

Disclaimer: This entry is not a sponsored post, and is entirely based on my personal tastebuds. I have not received any monetary or non-monetary payment to write this post.

Review: Starbucks bottled frappucino

I was at Tesco's today, grocery shopping. I usually have an eye for bargains, so when I saw that the drinks were at an offer of '2 for £2', I bought two, one for myself and one for Z. We got a vanilla frappucino and a 'mocha chocolate' flavour frappucino. As we don't often have packaged drinks at home, this is indeed a treat for us.

Packaging wise, I'd say they are attractive. The drinks come in  250ml glass bottles, so they are a bit heavy but it helps in the aesthetic appeal.  

The vanillla frapuccino was delicious- creamy and sweet. I'd say the coffee flavour was not strong and the vanilla fragrance was very subtle. 

The 'mocha chocolate flavour' had stronger coffee flavour and was less thick in consistency compared to the vanilla one. It was also less sweet. I don't understand why they called it 'mocha chocolate flavour' though, as mocha already means there's chocolate in the drink.

I'd say both were delicious- the vanilla frapuccino taste more like a dessert than a drink, and I would need to order a similar drink at a Starbucks outlet before I can judge further.


Disclaimer: This entry is not a sponsored post, and is entirely based on my personal tastebuds. I have not received any monetary or non-monetary payment to write this post.

Review: Maxwell's, Covent Garden

I went to Maxwell's during my Christmas/New Year break. I was craving for some good American food and did some googling. Maxwell's came up and upon a quick look at the menu,- they had what I love so much - Pulled Pork Sandwich. There's just something I absolutely adore about juicy hot shredded pork sandwiched in a soft pillowy bun, with some cold coleslaw. Yums!

Anyways, Maxwell's also does a weekly promotion on Mondays, called 'Monday Madness', where some of the dishes are discounted up to 50%! A bargain I have to say, especially for a restaurant in Covent Garden. The cocktails sound delicious too. So we decided to try it out on the following Monday.

We booked a table for half 7. When we arrived, the restaurant was packed and there was a queue. Even with the booking, we had to wait for our table (not impressed) for about 15 minutes or so. I could tell that they were understaffed, however the lady and gentleman at the front desk were very polite and apologetic.

Once seated, we didn't waste our time. I was looking forward to the pulled pork sandwich and Z was going to have steak. Alas, they didn't have the pulled pork sandwich on that day!! Upset is an understatement to how I felt at that moment. I went for my second choice, a chicken and bacon sandwich. Yes, sounds boring, but it had fried onions in it! ( LOVES!)

My chicken and bacon sandwich. Look at those fried onions!

The portions were massive! I did think they would cut down on the portions, as it was 'Monday Madness' but nope- I was well happy :) The grilled chicken was juicy and goes very well with the bacon and fried onions. I did notice that one side of the chicken was overdone however. The sandwich/burger came with a side of fries and coleslaw. Both were pretty good- the fries were crispy and fluffy in the inside.

Z said his steak was good- he had no complains :) It came with half a grilled tomato, a mushroom and fries. I thought it looked a bit dry, but Z enjoyed it.

Z's sirloin steak

I don't have pictures of our cocktails, they were ok but I noticed they were not very alcoholic. Guess I can't complain with them being only about £5 each. I wouldn't say that they were something to write home about.

Overall, our meal at Maxwell's was good, both in taste and value. The meal came to about £30. I might go back to try the pulled pork and perhaps the ribs to give a better judgment. The restaurant comes across as a good place to bring some friends around, it had good atmosphere but it wasn't too loud that you can't have a good conversation. Definitely worth trying if you're in the area, especially if you're there on a Monday!

Maxwell's8 James St, London WC2E 8BH (nearest tube station: Covent Garden)

Disclaimer: This entry is not a sponsored post, and is entirely based on my personal tastebuds. I have not received any monetary or non-monetary payment to write this post.

Vanilla Panna Cotta with Raspberry Coulis

It's Valentine's Day! Well at least it was, about a week ago! :) I asked Z what he would like to have for dessert as a treat and he said Panna Cotta! 

Ah Panna Cotta, the lovely, silky bouncy Italian dessert. I have to admit, before trying this myself, I did think that Panna Cotta was a difficult dessert to make. I have never used gelatine before and to be honest, I didn't know how to work with it. But alas, I'm so glad I tried this as it was SO easy! and delicious too! :) This is a must try for anyone who's a lover of Panna Cotta :)

Ingredients

(Makes two standard size ramekins, adapted from the BBC website)

1 1/2 gelatine leaves (I used Dr Oetker's)

125 ml whole milk

125 ml double cream

2 tablespoons of sugar (to taste)

1 teaspoon of vanilla bean paste

For the coulis

125 gms of raspberries 

2 tablespoons of sugar

2 tablespoons of fresh lemon juice

3-4 tablespoons of water

Method

1. Soak the gelatine leaves in a bowl of cold water till soft.
2. Combine the milk, cream, sugar and vanilla paste into a saucepan.
3. Bring it to a simmer and simmer gently for 1-2 minutes, stirring to ensure that the sugar is melted and the vanilla paste is mixed through well. 
4. Squeeze the water out of the gelatine leaves, and put them into the saucepan. Stir through the milk/cream mixture and simmer for another 1 minute.
5. Remove from heat and pour into the ramekins.
6. Leave cool for about 5-10 minutes, and put them in the fridge to set for at least 2 hours. For a special Valentine's treat, I used heart shaped ramekins :) You can cover with clingflim to prevent a 'skin' from forming but I skipped this step.
7. To make the coulis- put all of the ingredients(reserve some raspberries to garnish) into a small saucepans and  bring to a boil. Leave on heat for a few minutes until the raspberries soften and break down (this shouldn't take more than 2 minutes once the mixture boils). Add more or less sugar to taste- I prefer my coulis to be tangy to contrast against the sweet panna cotta.
8. Leave to cool.
9. To serve, pour the coulis onto the panna cotta, and garnish with the reserved raspberries. I left my panna cotta in the ramekin (less dishes to wash up!) but if you prefer, you can warm the ramekin slightly (just soak with hot water from the tap for a couple of minutes) and turn the panna cotta over onto a plate.
10. Sieve the coulis to achieve a smoother consistency.
11. Enjoy!

I have yet to try it but I believe this recipe is very giving in terms of flavours of the panna cotta. I might try chocolate panna cotta next time!

Quick dinner- Minced lamb pasta sauce

Hello All!

This was a quick and easy dinner I knocked up for myself this evening. I defrosted some minced lamb the night before and used it to make a 'quick bolognese-style' sauce. I find that using lamb makes up for cooking the sauce for a shorter period of time- traditional bolognese often involves cooking for a long period of time to intensify the flavour. I personally love the flavour of lamb and plus as I don't take beef, lamb is a delicious alternative!

When I cooked this, I did think of a friend of mine, A who is half Italian. I remember his expression of horror when I told him once that I often use lamb in my pasta sauces. He even said he would have to consult his mom ( who's Italian) on whether that's acceptable!

Quick pasta sauce + spaghetti

Ingredients

Makes 2 portions

300 grammes of lamb mince

3 cloves of garlic, chopped

1 tablespoon of capers

1 tin of plum tomatoes

1 generous tablespoon of tomato puree

1 teaspoon of mixed herbs

Salt and sugar (yes you read it right!) to taste.

1 tablespoon of vegetable/ olive oil

Method

1. Heat the oil in a deep saucepan on medium heat. In the meantime, cook your pasta according to the instructions on the packet.
2. Fry the garlic until slightly brown. Add the capers and stir through.
3. Add the mince and fry till cooked through.
4. Add the tinned tomatoes and tomato puree. Simmer for about 10 minutes until the sauce thickens slightly.
5. Season to taste. By this time, your pasta should be done and voila, dinner is ready!

Char Siu Sou - Cheat's version

Hi All!

I promised Z to make char siu bao but when I googled recipes to make the bun itself, it looked a bit too time consuming for me (I will be baking a cake as well this weekend, so was rushed for time- more on that later). So, I made char siu sou instead. And to save time even more, I used shop bought puff pastry (yes yes, I know, disappointing!). This saved a lot of time, and left me with less worries as to how the pastry will turn out! I got the idea from here- I thought it was very clever!

BUT.. I did make the char siu! (Hooray!) I marinated it for two nights, but I suspect one night will be sufficient. I used the tenderloin for this recipes, so it's less fatty. Some people would prefer char siu with a bit a bit of fat (I do as well!) but for some reason, I feel that a leaner cut of meat will work better in this recipe. 

the lovely insides! :)

Char Siu Sou
Makes 5 large char siu sous

Marinade for char siu
200-300 grammes of pork tenderloin- I cut it to several large chunks
3 tablespoons of hoi sin sauce
1 teaspoon of grated fresh ginger
1 teaspoon of salt
1 tablespoon of sugar
1 teaspoon of sesame oil
1 teaspoon of red food colouring (optional)

Additional ingredients for the filling
1 teaspoon of dark soya sauce
1 onion, finely chopped
1 teaspoon of sugar/ honey- to taste
1 tablespoon of vegetable oil (or any oil that does not have a strong odour)
1 tablespoon of corn flour diluted in 2-3 tablespoons of cold water (important to use cold water, otherwise you'll have congealed mess!)

500 grammes of puff pastry (I used JusRoll's puff pastry)
1 beaten egg

Method

1. Marinade the pork for a few hours, or if possible overnight.
2. Roast the pork in a pre-heated oven at 150 C  (fan) for about 30-40 minutes. Reserve any juices/leftover marinade. I checked my meat halfway through to see if it was cooked- it should bounce ever so slightly upon being pressed.
3. Leave the meat to rest for 10 minutes.
4. Heat the oil in a wok and fry the chopped onion on medium heat till soft and lightly caramelised. This will take probably about 3-5 minutes.
5. Chop the rested pork into small cubes and add it to the work.
6. Add the rest of the ingredients and stir well. Add any leftover marinade and heat through. 
7. Season to taste and add water accordingly - the filling should be slightly sweet and slightly wet.
8. Roll the puff pastry to about 5mm thick. Don't roll it too thin, otherwise it will not puff up.
9. I cut the pastry to about 5 relatively large rectangles using a sharp knife. This will take about 1 1/2 tablespoons of filling.
10. Put the filling on one side of the rectangle and brush the edge of that side with the beaten egg. Fold the pastry over and seal the parcel. 
11. Poke some holes on the parcel with a fork- this allows any steam to be released to avoid additional moisture.
12. Brush the parcels with the egg wash.
13. Bake in a preheated oven at 150 C (fan) for 30-45 minutes until golden brown and pastry is cooked through. I made the mistake of turning my pastry halfway through the process- don't! This results in a flattened top of the parcel. Using the lower rack is advisable, to make sure that the bottom of the parcel is cooked at the same rate as the top half of the parcels.

It's been a looonnng time!

Wow! without realising, it's been more than a year since I last posted! So what has been happening since then? Well, I got a new job, I moved to another location, and I have been baking as well! I also *hopefully, with lots of fingers crossed* have sat my last written exam for now. So lots of exciting things, and it's been a bit of a rollercoster ride.

So to end a long hiatus, let's have a review rather than something I cooked recently ( which has been mostly stirfries, which I personally enjoy but not sure if it can fit into 'exciting eats'. It's also been more than a year since I had a meal at this place, so I think it sort of fits the post!

It's a restaurant I discovered when I was still at my old job, thanks to a friend of mine who was eating there almost every evening for a few months! It's a no fuss restaurant, more like a cafe. I find the food delicious, non pretentious and just some good old filling grub. It's a place where you go for the food rather than the atmosphere. The service is basic, friendly but not over the top.

On this occasion, I had it as a takeaway instead. I was busy packing my stuff (yes, it was among my last meals in Birmingham, where I was based until September last year). I had a 'mixed meat rice' dish- roasted chicken and duck with steamed rice. It was SO GOOD (in fact, I wish I have a plateful now). You can sort of see some steamed chinese cabbage underneath the pile of meat. It was comforting and really satisfying- gave me the energy to continue packing my things afterwards. The meat was tender, well cooked, and the duck was oh so juicy!

I often call the place 'dodgy lane' restaurant, not because it's actually in a dodgy area (far from it, it's smacked in the middle of Chinatown), but because it's along one of the smaller lanes in Chinatown, places where people don't venture to unless they know what they're looking for. Despite being back to Brum a few times since I left, I have not had the chance to go back to this beloved cafe. Only because I'm usually there to meet a big group of friends, and the cafe doesn't really have the capacity to take large groups.

Prices are reasonable (I think the dish above was about £7), and portions are generous. I would definitely recommend this place for a good, wholesome Chinese meal!

Peach Garden
34 Ladywell Walk, Birmingham
B5 4RX

Disclaimer: This entry is not a sponsored post, and is entirely based on my personal tastebuds. I have not received any monetary or non-monetary payment to write this post. 

Spicy aubergine with tomatoes

I got the inspiration for this dish from the BBC Good food website. It's again a simple dish to prepare, as I'm pretty busy at work lately, I always go for dishes with minimal effort, but maximum flavour.

This dish is not 'chilli hot'. I used a pinch of crushed chilli flakes to give a bit of heat, but it wasn't too much to overpower the flavours of the other spices.

Spicy aubergine, with bread

I used plum tomatoes in this dish which I much prefer than normal cherry tomatoes. They are a lot sweeter and more flavourful. The aubergine was juicy in this dish, and I used the bread to mop up the sauces. I had some leftovers the next day for lunch; it tasted even better!

Simmering in the pot

Ingredients
(serves 2 as a side dish)

1 aubergine, sliced into about 1/2 cm slices and lengthwise
150 grammes of plum tomatoes, sliced into halves
3 cloves of garlic, sliced thinly
a handful of parsley
1 tablespoon of vegetable oil
1 teaspoon of cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon of ground cumin (and an extra pinch)
1 teaspoon of turmeric ( and an extra pinch)
1 teaspoon of whole coriander
1 teaspoon of mustard seeds
1 teaspoon of chili flakes
salt to taste

Method

• Brush the aubergine with oil, and season with salt, a pinch of cumin and a pinch of turmeric. Grill for about 20 minutes until tender. Set aside.
• Heat the oil in a small saucepan to medium high, and add the mustard and coriander seeds. Let the seeds heat slowly in the pan to infuse the oil with its flavours.
• Add the garlic pieces and when it starts to brown, add the tomatoes. 
• Add the grilled aubergine and the remainder of the spices and the chilli flakes.
• Stir well and cook for 2-3 minutes, until the tomatoes soften. If it gets to dry, add about 2-3 tablespoons of water.
• Add the parsley, season and serve.

Creamy tagliatelle with mushrooms

This was the first time I used fresh pasta! I'd say in terms of flavour, I did not taste much of a difference. It does cook much quicker though, only about 2 minutes in boiling water. I haven't had tagliatelle for some time now although it ranks pretty high on the list of my favourite pasta. 

Creamy tagliatelle

I had this for dinner some time ago, I was craving for a creamy dish, and wanted something simple and quick after work. This did the trick.

Cooking the mushrooms and asparagus. Note the pasta on the left ready to go :)

 

With the chopped parsley

Ingredients

(Serves 2 as a main)

200 grammes of fresh tagliatelle
75 grammes of button mushrooms, sliced
75 grammes of asparagus, sliced at an angle
1 brown onion, chopped
a splash of single cream
3 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
1 tablespoon of vegetable oil
salt and pepper to taste
a handful of parsley, roughly chopped

Method

• Heat the oil in a deep saucepan. Add the onions and sweat until soft.
• Add the garlic and the mushrooms. Cook for about 2-3 minutes until almost done. 
• Add the asparagus and cook for another 2 minutes or until tender. At the same time, cook the tagliatelle in a pot of boiling water according to the instructions on the packet.
• Remove the saucepan from the heat and let it cool slightly. Drain the pasta, and add it to the saucepan with the asparagus and mushrooms.
• Add the cream, and season to taste. Stir in the chopped parsley and serve. I added only a little cream as I didn't want the sauce to be too heavy. If you prefer a thicker sauce, add more cream.

Malaysian Food: Bugis Street Birmingham

I had dinner at Bugis Street a few weeks ago. The restaurant is part of Copthorne Hotel, however, non guests of the hotel are also welcome. Although it advertises itself as Singaporean food, the chef is actually Malaysian and so are a few of the members of the staff. Quite a lot of the food served here is also distinctly Malaysian. However as I have not been to Singapore myself, it is possible that similar dishes are available in Singapore. I've been here a few times before and I wish I found out about it earlier! I've only had good experience here so far, so it seems fit that I should blog about it.

I ordered a Fried Hokkien Mee. This is actually a Southern Malaysian dish, if you order a Hokkien Mee when you're in the Northern States where I'm from, you'll get noodles in a prawn-flavoured broth instead.

This was really good! Fried Hokkien mee is essentially yellow egg noodles stir fried with an assortment of fresh ingredients in a sauce made of dark soya sauce. Bugis Street's version had some seafood (prawns and squid) and some thin slices of pork. The 'wok hei' was strong, lending a very good smoky flavour to the dish. It also had some small crunchy pieces of fried pork lard- warning, this is very unhealthy, but really delicious in this dish.

Fried Hokkien Mee

My dining companion Z ordered the Seafood Laksa. Again, if you order Laksa in different states in Malaysia, you will find that each state has their own version of laksa. Laksa is typically noodles (sometimes yellow egg noodles, rice vermicelli or rice noodles) in a broth. Where I'm from, the Laksa is rice noodles served in a piquant fish based stock and sliced bird eyes chillies.

Bugis Street's version is more like Kari Laksa (translated to Laksa in curry); yellow egg noodles served in a bowl of curry topped with seafood and a hard boiled egg cut into half. This dish again didn't disappoint. The curry was absolutely drinkable, it wasn't too spicy, it was creamy and had a slight tang to it.

Seafood Laksa

Overall dinner was absolutely delicious! The portions were good-sized, and the price of both the dishes were in the region of 7-8 pounds. Good value, and I have to say, pretty authentic. I would say go for the dishes under the 'Singaporean/Malaysian Specialities' section, as these tend to be pretty authentic. 

Bugis Street

The Copthorne Hotel 

Paradise Circus, Birmingham B3 3HJ, England

Disclaimer: This entry was not a sponsored post, and is entirely based on my personal tastebuds. I have not received any monetary or non-monetary payment to write this post. 

Spinach, ricotta and chorizo filo pie

Remember an earlier post, when I said I was excited to have my dinner? I was waiting for this to cook in the oven! :) I love the combination of spinach and ricotta, I feel like it's a match made in food heaven :) The addition of chorizo made this into a non vegetarian dish, but feel free to omit it, and add a teaspoon of paprika instead (to bring smokiness) to the dish.

Fresh out of the oven! Crunchy bits at the top :)

Pastry obviously makes most things better :) But I tasted the filling before covering it with the filo and it was yummy! I could have eaten the filling just like that :)

I believe this is sort of a mediterranean inspired dish, and I've seen a few similar around. I've seen recipes which add pine nuts and raisins. I might try that in the future.

The pie was enough to last me quite a few meals. I even had it for breakfast the 3rd day. Make sure you keep it in the fridge though, especially during the summer.

Look at those flaky layers! This was the first slice, of quite a few :)

So here's the recipe for this! Hope you'll enjoy it as much as I did :)

Spinach, ricotta and chorizo filo pie
(Serve 4-5 as a main)

Ingredients

300 grammes of frozen spinach
1 large red onion, sliced
100 grammes of chorizo, roughly chopped
250 grammes of ricotta
200 grammes of filo pastry, at room temperature
1 teaspoon of cumin
1/2 teaspoon of nutmeg
1 teaspoon of cayenne pepper
juice of 1 lemon
salt and pepper to taste
1 tablespoon of vegetable/olive oil
10 grammes of butter

Method

1. Heat the oven to 185C (fan assisted)
2. First we prepare the filling. Heat the oil in a pan, and add the red onion. Cook for 3-4 minutes, or until softened.
3. Add the chopped chorizo, and cook on medium heat. The oil from the chorizo will slowly release as the chorizo cooks, and this will add flavour to the spinach.
4. Add the spinach and cook for another 1-2 minutes.
5. Add the cumin, nutmeg, cayenne pepper, lemon juice and salt and pepper to taste. Stir well. 
6. Remove for heat and let it cool down for about 5-10 minutes. Afterwards add the ricotta. You might want to taste again at this stage to check on the seasoning.
7. Melt the butter. Brush the pie tin with some melted butter. 
8. Put 2 layers of the filo pastry on the pie tin. My pie tin's diameter is about 25 cm.
9. Spoon the filling into the pie tin. Cover with the remaining filo sheets.I made some the sheets scrunched up a bit for a bit of artistic edge
10. Brush the top with the remaining melted butter
11. Bake in the per heated oven for 30-45 minutes, until golden brown.

And here's another picture, as I enjoyed this so much :)

Fried prawns with an Asian chilli dip

I had a craving for deep fried food the other day. I had a late lunch, so I only got hungry at about 8, 9pm. So I wasn't really in the mood to go out and buy some fried chicken at the local kebab shop. So I fried some prawns instead :)

Deep fried prawns

I had some seasoned flour from home that I used for this dish. However, you can produce the same results by using cold water, self raising flour and salt and pepper to taste. Cold water (some use sparkling water) produces a crunchy batter. If you use sparkling water, the batter is even lighter. The recipe below is based on what I actually did.

To make the dip, I didn't really have a specific recipe, I just put in the sauce as I went along :) That really is the way I often cook.

The prawns with the dip

Fried prawns with an Asian chilli dip
(Serves 1-2 as a min)

Ingredients

250 grammes of raw prawns
Seasoned flour ( I added some chilli flakes for an extra kick)
1 egg white

For the dip
2 tablespoons of nam pla (fish sauce)
1 red chilli, finely chopped
1 tablespoon of red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon of honey
2 tablespoons of soya sauce to taste

Method

• Dip the prawns in the egg white, and then coat with the seasoned flour. Deep fry in hot oil until cooked. Set aside
• Reuse 1 tablespoon from the oil that was used to cook the prawns. Heat the oil in a pan, and add the chopped chilli.
• Mix the other ingredients in a bowl until well combined, and pour into the pan. 
• Heat the sauce for 2-3 minutes, till slightly reduced.
• Serve with the prawns

Always try your sauce, and season accordingly. Bear in mind that the fish sauce can be quite salty, so you would want to go easy on the soya sauce. 

I didn't use coriander as I didn't have any, but serving the dip with some finely chopped coriander would bring the dip to the next level. The next time I cook this, I'd definitely add the coriander :)

When I was eating this, I had a big grin on my face. The crunch of the prawns really hit the spot. Yummss :D I was a happy girl indeed!

Easy creamy pasta with tzatziki

I had this for dinner earlier this week. It's really a quick and easy dish, perfect for mid week dinner after a busy day at work.

I actually got the inspiration for this dish from the BBC Good Food website. I've used tzatziki as a pasta sauce before, yes it's a cheat as I use shop bought tzatziki, but doesn't mean it's any less delicious :) Tzarziki is a Greek yogurt sauce, with finely chopped cucumbers. It gives this dish a lovely tang and slight crunch from the cucumbers.

Rigatoni with tzatziki

Easy creamy pasta with tzatziki
(Serves 1 as a medium-large main)

Ingredients

75 grammes of rigatoni
1 tub of tzatziki (about 200 grammes)
1 large handful of frozen peas, cooked in boiling water for 1-2 minutes
About 50 grammes of cooking chorizo, sliced into 1/2 cm pieces
1 tablespoon of oil (I used vegetable oil, but olive oil would work fine too)

Method

1. Cook the rigatoni according to the instructions on the packet. Mine took about 10 minutes to cook.
2. While the pasta is cooking, we make the sauce. Heat the oil in a pan, and add the chorizo. Cook on medium heat. The chorizo will cook slowly, while releasing its oils. The oils gave a smoky flavour to this dish.
3. Then add the peas. Leave the heat on for about 1-2 minutes. 
4. Turn off the heat and add the cooked rigatoni. Reserve some of the cooking water.
5. Pour the tzatziki into the pan, and add a little of the pasta cooking water if the sauce looks too thick for your liking.
6. Serve!

Okra with caramelized red onions

I'm waiting for my dinner to cook in the oven right now, it's something that I've been looking forward to make, and I'm excited to eat it! :) But for now, let's have a post about a very simple dish that I made over the weekend.

My mom cooked this dish pretty often and I absolutely love her version. I jazzed my version up a bit, to introduce a little sweetness to the dish. Caramelized red onions are delicious, I love the soft, sweet onions in close to every dish!

Okra with caramelized red onion

Okra with red onions
(Serves 2 as a side dish)

Ingredients

175 grammes of okra (I get them in a pouch from Tesco)
1 large red onion, sliced thinly
1 medium sized green chilli, finely chopped
2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
2 tablespoons of light soy sauce
1-2 tablespoons of vegetable oil

Method

1. Trim the edges and the top of the okra. Boil it whole for about 4-5 minutes, or until tender to touch. Set aside
2. Heat the oil in a pan. Add the onions and chilli, and cook on medium heat for about 3-4 minutes. 
3. Once the onion slices turn slightly brown, add the garlic. We don't want to add it too early else it'll burn.
4. Once the onions are cooked, add the soya sauce and season to taste.
5. Serve on top of the boiled okra, and have it with steamed white rice.

Busy!

Note to self: Always draft lots of posts so that when you have exams, the blog will continue to be updated!

Yes, I have been very poor at updating myrumblingtummy. Not that I haven't been eating, more like the things that I have been eating aren't really exciting. I wouldn't expect anyone to want to see pictures of bowls of instant noodles (jazzed up with an egg) very often.

So yes, I am still alive and well, and I shall update the blog asap! :) This weekend looks promising :)

Thank you for your patience and I will be back soon :)

Much love

mammam

Thai Food: @Siam

On Sunday, I met up with a dear friend of mine, Y for a long awaited dinner. It's been SO long since we last met up, with our busy schedules, it was hard to find time that would fit both of us. She suggested @Siam, located in Soho, London.

Before dinner, I googled it, and visited their website; wow, it looked posh! It didn't look like something I was used to; I also tend to avoid posh looking restaurants when I'm looking for Oriental/South East Asian food. My experience so far has indicated that if you're looking for good quality food of oriental/south east asian food, fine dining isn't the way to go.

However with @Siam, I was wrong. When I stepped into the restaurant, the place looked more like a cosy family restaurant, rather than a fancy posh place. There were a few patrons there already at 6, but the place was mostly empty. We were seated at a small corner of the restaurant. Y was seated in front of a silver sparkling statue of Buddha. I was facing it! So I was being watched when I was tucking in :)

Prawn spring rolls

We both ordered a starter and a main each. Y got a voucher off the Time Out website, that gave us a 50% discount off our meal. Always a plus for me :) For starters, Y ordered prawn spring rolls. The prawns were wrapped in rice paper, and deep fried till golden. I thought this was really good! It was served in a crispy edible shell (which reminded me of papadom), and sweet chilli sauce. The shell was rather bland, and a bit greasy. However I don't think it was meant to be eaten, more like a decorative piece on the plate. I'm certain that the sweet chilli sauce was shop bought, however, I love sweet chilli sauce, so no complaints there from me.

Thai fishcakes-sorry for the slightly blurry pic!

I ordered Thai fishcakes for my starter. When it came (also with sweet chilli sauce by the side), I was a little surprised that it looked a lot like slices of fishballs you can get from a chinese supermarket. I'm not sure it was made in the restaurant, but it was yummy indeed. They had a hint of lemongrass too.

Y's pad thai

For main, Y order a chicken pad thai, while I ordered tofu green curry. I'm a huge fan of tofu :) Y's pad thai was DELICIOUS! It had a slight sweetness to it. Yums. It also came with pieces of tofu and crushed peanuts by the side. Y was a tad disappointed there weren't slices omelette at the top. I don't eat Thai food very often, so I wasn't aware whether that is a common (possibly essential?) addition.

Tofu green curry

My tofu curry was rich and very good. It had some pieces of bell pepper, green beans and chunks of baby aubergine. Quite substantial. I had my curry with steamed jasmine rice. The curry was very drinkable; it wasn't too spicy, and I thought that the balance of flavours were very good. The curry came warm; I was expecting it to come a little hotter. The curry didn't come with the rice, so I had to order it separately.

Overall, it was an enjoyable dinner! Service was efficient, and the dishes came relatively quick. Portions were good sized, not massive, but more than enough to fill you up. The starters were about 6 pounds each before discount, the mains, about 10 pounds. The entire came to about 20 pounds, after the discount, and I thought it was very worth it :) The food was great, and the company-even better! :)

@ Siam
48 Frith Street London W1D 4SF
T. 020 7494 4511


Disclaimer: This entry was not a sponsored post, and is entirely based on my personal tastebuds.  I have not received any monetary or non-monetary payment to write this post. 

Asian style steamed cod

I had this for dinner a couple of weeks ago. I don't often have cod, and if I do, it's usually battered and served with chips. I've been telling myself to eat more fish, but because cod tends to be a bit tasteless on its own, I'd go for salmon instead.

Steaming dishes are a healthy way to cook, and it's also pretty convenient, as the steamer does all the job for you! I bought a steamer a few months ago, as I suddenly got into the healthy eating mode. Unfortunately, I didn't use it as often as I like since then, as fried food often appeals to me! (Tempura anyone?)

This was a quick dish to make; it didn't take more than 20 minutes, and most of the time was used to steam the fish, during which you don't really have to do much anyway!

Asian style steamed cod
(Serves 2 as a main)

Ingredients

280-300 grammes of fresh boneless cod fillets, lightly seasoned with salt and pepper
1 inch of fresh ginger, half sliced into matchsticks, and half sliced at an angle, thinly
2-3 cloves of garlic
2 stalks of spring onion, finely sliced lengthwise
2 tablespoons of light soya sauce
1 1/2 tablespoon of vegetable oil
Handful of coriander, roughly chopped
1 teaspoon of sugar

Method

• Rinse the fillets and pat them dry. Place them on a heat resistant plate, and place the ginger slices (sliced at an angle) on top of the fish and a small handful of the spring onion.
• Steam on high heat for about 15 minutes. If your fillets are thick, it may take another 2-3 minutes to cook, check as you go along.
• In the meantime, heat the oil in a wok. Add the matchstick ginger pieces and garlic, and fry for about 1 minute.
• Add the light soya sauce and sugar. Continue cooking on low heat until the sugar dissolves.
• Once the fish is cook, dish it up from the steamer and place it on a serving plate. Pour the hot soya sauce mixture on the fish, and garnish with the remaining spring onion and the coriander.

Prawns with chilli and garlic

I had this for lunch yesterday, a pretty light lunch I reckon! It didn't take long to prepare and cook at all, possibly not more than 20-30 minutes. Quick, easy and yummy, what more do you want? :)

Only thing I would stress is to use raw prawns in this recipes, it provides the all important flavour; the sweetness from raw seafood.

Prawns with chili and garlic
(Serves 1 as a main)

Ingredients
250 grammes of raw prawns
1/2 inch of fresh ginger, sliced into matchsticks
2-3 cloves of garlic
A handful of fresh coriander
1 1/2 tablespoons of plain flour
1 teaspoon of sugar
A pinch of chilli flakes
Zest and juice of half a lemon
Salt to taste
1 tablespoon of olive oil

Method

• Mix the flour and prawns together in a bowl, lightly seasoned with salt. Add about 1 teaspoon of water to combine.
• Heat the oil in a wok/frying pan.
• Add the garlic and ginger and fry until lightly browned.
• Add the prawns and fry for about 1 minute. Add the chilli flakes.
• When they're starting to turn pink, and crispy around the edges, add the lemon zest, lemon juice and sugar.
• Add the coriander, and continuing frying until the prawns are cooked.
• Serve immediately with some crusty bread, or as I've done, some lightly fried boiled new potatoes.

Spaghetti with meatballs, peas and lemon

I never used to eat much pasta when I was growing up, but these days, I even have cravings for it! I love tomato based sauces, cream based sauces, or even those without any sorta sauce! (like aglio olio recipes, with just butter and garlic). As I don't eat beef, I haven't had the true bolognese sauces, although I have used pork and minced chicken in the past.

This recipe was inspired by a recipe found on the BBC Good Food website. I did make some tweaks to adjust it to my taste, and ended up not referring to that recipe at all when cooking it.

Spaghetti with meatballs, peas and lemon

Ingredients
For the meatballs (makes 8-12)
250 grammes of minced turkey
2 slices of fresh baguette
1 medium sized carrot, grated
2 stalks of spring onion, roughly chopped
3-4 sprigs of parsley
1 egg
salt and pepper to taste
2 tablespoons of olive oil
Grated cheddar (about 50 grammes)

For the pasta
250 grammes of spaghetti
100 grammes of frozen peas
3-4 cloves of garlic, roughly chopped
zest and juice of 1 medium sized lemon
1 tablespoon of olive oil
1 1/2 tablespoons of creme fraiche
salt and pepper to taste
finely chopped parsley for garnish

Method

• First, we make the meatballs: Blitz the baguette along with the parsley and 1 tsp of olive oil. The fresh baguette helps makes the meatballs moist and juicy.
• Mix the breadcrumbs with the meat in a mixing bowl. Add the grated carrot, spring onions and egg. Stir until well combined, and add the cheddar. Lightly mix, and season with a little salt and plenty of black pepper.
• Shape the mixture into meatballs about the size of the centre of your palm, say about 2-3 cms in diameter. They don't have to be of a particular size though! Just bear in the mind the time needed to cook them will increase the bigger the balls are :)
• Pan fry the meatballs in a deep pan (or wok) until golden brown with the remaining oil. Drain and leave aside.
• Cook the pasta according to the packet's instructions, until al dente. Drain and reserve some of the starchy liquid.
• While the pasta is cooking we finish up the sauce. Using the oil used to cook the meatballs, add another tablespoon of oil into the wok. The oil used to cook the meatballs has SO much flavour, don't throw it away!
• When the oil is hot, add the garlic and frozen peas. 
• When the garlic starts to turn a bit brown, add the lemon juice and lemon zest. Stir well with a spatula and season with salt and pepper.
• Add the spaghetti to the sauce.  
• Turn down  the heat to low, and add the creme fraiche. Stir well until well combined. If the sauce is too thick, add the liquid from cooking the spaghetti. 
• Add the meatballs and gently stir them in, be careful not to over do it, else they'll fall apart. 
• Garnish with chopped parsley.
• Enjoy!

The meatballs were so juicy! Don't leave out the carrot, as it helps keep the meatballs juicy and gives a lovely sweetness. So yummy! The creme fraiche in the sauce gave the dish a richness, thus not much was needed. Although the dish was slightly rich, the tang from the lemon juicy livens up the flavours of the dish, and makes it even better! Don't leave that out either! :)

Pan frying the meatballs

Stirring in the creme fraiche, I may have gone overboard on the peas :)

Yummy dinner! I did go back for seconds :)

Cheat's garlic bread

It's as per the title says! This is a very quick breakfast, good for afternoon snacks, or whenever you're in a hurry.

Cheesy crust. Mmmm..

Cheat's garlic bread

Ingredients

3 slices of baguette
a handful of parsley (roughly chopped)
1 tablespoon of butter
1 teaspoon of garlic powder
some grated cheddar

Method

• Mix the butter, garlic powder, and parsley until well combined.
• Spread the slices with the butter mixture.
• Top with grated cheddar, and grill it for 2-3 minutes, until the cheese melts, the slices become golden brown.