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Every year the Lagos Yacht Club (LYC) hosts an event called Sailing Around the World. It draws almost a thousand people (mainly expats) from around Lagos to our small sailing club. The main theme of the event is to sample different types of cuisine from about 15 different nations. Then, when everyone is full and/or had too much to drink, there is a live band with an outdoor dance floor.
Obviously, I came for the food :).
Where the tents and tables were set up is the usual parking area for our sail boats. This area can get flooded at times during high tide, and there were a few occasions when the water came onto the seating area :p. Fun to watch people scramble.
One of the things I like about the LYC is the view at night. Across is the main port of Lagos. Lights from the ships and port, the water, and a light breeze make for a pretty peaceful, relaxing and romantic view.
Although, it does get annoying during the day when these large container ships get in our way during a race! Just saying..
Some of the food from the event. The haggis and mashed potato were pretty delicious. I liked the dessert balls from the Israeli tent. And the hot dog from the Danish tent was well done.
A dance floor next to the water with a live band! Not bad Lagos... not bad at all
Yes, I've been slacking on the food blog lately - nearly 4 months since my last post! But I'm going to make an effort to do something in the kitchen at least once a week. OK, maybe every two weeks :p. And now that my mother is also here in Lagos, it's like a weekly cooking session where I can steal.. er, I mean learn her recipes and techniques.
On my most recent visit to Ontario Sake Company, I picked up some Kasu - sake lees that are left over from sake production. It is great for cooking, marinating, and can even be used as a facial product!
Kasu has a distint flavour and aroma. It is a bit sour, sweet and bitter; also contains a small percentage of alcohol. Opening its container releases a unique sake aroma. And using sake kasu in cooking provides a nice white and slightly creamy component to a dish.
I decided to use kasu to make a soup. And I wanted to make something... less greasy, for a change. I wanted to put daikon and konyaku in the soup (making it like an oden), but they're kind of hard to find. Or, I was just lazy to go to J-Town, which is probably the case. Anyway, I had a good amount of burdock and lotus root, so I used these. I added radish, which after simmering for several hours gives off a texture very similar to daikon; they are both radishes after all.
Letting everything simmer on low heat for a few hours lets all the ingredients come together. The carrots and radishes become SUPER soft. The burdock has a nice mild crunch. The lotus root retains its crunchiness, but is quite soft to the bite. The whole broth is flavourful with all the nutrients from the roots, and is a tad sweet from the kasu. Overall, it's a nice dish when you're feeling like something warm, light and earthy.
Ingredients:
10 g dashi
3 tbsp Kasu
1 tbsp white miso
1 tbsp brown sugar
2 cups water
10 x 2 inch burdock root
4 thick slices of lotus root
5 carrots
6 radishes (or use daikon radish)
6 mini potatoes
1 lemon grass stock
Recipe:
1. Prep the soup stock. Mix dashi with water and stir. Add sugar. Heat mix on medium heat.
2. Add Kasu - rice from sake fermentation. There may be rice pieces, and not look 'nice' or smooth. So you can puree the kasu first in a food processor. Add white miso. Mix and combine well.
3. Prep the root vegetables. Burdock usually comes as a long stick. Divide into smaller pieces. Then peel the skin. Do the same for the lotus root and carrots. I like to leave the radish and potato as is. Slice the lemon grass into large pieces.
4. Place everything into the soup mix. Heat to a boil. Then reduce heat to low simmer. Cover and simmer for 3 hours.
5. Every hour or so, check the water level. If it's too low, add a bit of water.
All credit for this dish goes to my buddy in Calgary. After reading my post on gyoza rice sliders, he suggested butter frying the patty with some wasabi, then compressing the rice buns and pan frying to crisp them up a bit. Great suggestion, Kevin! (ha, I outted you)
It was great timing, I was about to make oden for dinner and was thinking about what to do with some leftover minced pork and shrimp mix - from making renkon hasami age. The pork and shrimp patty turned out to be perfect for this dish. The pork charred nicely, and the shrimp provided a new flavour and texture. I topped the burger with kewpie mayo, toasted sesame seeds and sansyo. Then wrapped everything in parchment, which helps greatly with holding the burger (the rice falls apart quite easily).
Glad rice burgers are not so difficult to make. I'm a huge fan of MOS burger, but they don't exist in Toronto (or Canada for that matter). So, I have to make them myself! ;). Next up, think I'll make rice burgers with thinly sliced beef and cheese :p....
Another deep-fried dish. Should be the last one for a while :). But I just had to make this one.
Available at some Izakayas, renkon hasami age is deep fried lotus root. In this case, it's deep fried lotus root with minced pork and shrimp filling. Included in this mini sandwich is shiso - a Japanese herb part of the mint family, which provides a nice minty herbal flavour to the overall profile.
If you're not able to find shiso (like me), you can find the Korean type (Korean Perilla, or sesame plant) at H-Mart. The flavour is not as minty, but a pretty close substitute.
Ingredients:
- 20 slices of lotus root
- 20 leafs shiso
- 1/2 cup minced pork
- 1/2 cup minced uncooked peeled shrimp
- 1 tbsp sake
- 1 tbsp ginger
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 egg
- 1 cup potato starch
- cooking oil for deep frying
Recipe:
1. Peel and thinly slice the lotus root. Place into a bowl of cold water with lemon juice (to preserve it's colour).
2. In a mixing bowl, mix the pork, shrimp, ginger, sake and soy sauce. Let marinate for 15 - 20 mins.
3. Take two pieces of lotus root, put a piece of shiso on both sides. Scoop a small amount of the pork/shrimp mix place between the lotus roots (shiso sides in), creating a sandwich.
4. In a small mixing bowl, gently mix one egg. In another mixing bowl, place the potato starch. Take one lotus root sandwich and coat with the egg. Then transfer to the potato starch and coat well. Repeat for others.
5. Deep fry for 6 - 7 mins. Remove and place on cooling rack or paper towels. Let sit for a few minutes, then serve!
Goes great with a cold beer!
One of my favourite Thai dishes, Tom Kha Gai is a delicious earthy soup made with chicken, coconut milk and galangal. I used to enjoyed this soup more than well-known curry dishes, like green curry chicken. It's a bit sweeter (I have a sweet tooth), and galangal has a very unique flavour and aroma.
Ingredients:
- 1 galangal root (chopped to about 8 pieces)
- 1 cup chicken stock
- 1 stock fresh lemon grass (sliced diagonally into smaller pieces)
- 1 tbsp coconut sugar or syrup
- 1.5 cups coconut milk
- 1 tbsp fish sauce
- 1 chili pepper (whole)
- 2 chicken thighs (cut to small pieces)
- 12 inches of burdock (peeled, cut down to 2-3 inches, and julienned)
- lotus root (peeled, cut 1cm thick pieces and halfed)
- 8 pieces shrimp
- 2 limes (cut into halves)
- 1 stock green onion
Recipe:
1. Add chicken stock (or water), with galangal, lemon grass, and coconut sugar. Bring to boil on medium heat. Let boil for 4 - 5 mins.
2. Add coconut milk and chili. Stir. Add burdock and lotus root. Add chicken and fish sauce. Boil for another 4 mins.
3. Lower heat, cover, and let simmer for 1 hour to bring all flavours together and cook through the burdock and lotus root.
4. Add the shrimp, and continue to cook for 2 mins.
5. Squeeze the lime halves into the soup. Stir and mix well. Remove from heat.
6. Transfer to large bowl. Garnish with green onion.
Oven-baked. Broiled. Barbecued. Smoked. There are many ways to produce great tasting ribs. This method uses the stove-top, slow cooked and simmered on low heat for several hours.
Following my attempt on making buta kakuni, I felt the need to apply the same technique to ribs. And the result was a VERY tender and moist half-rack of pork ribs. So soft that I could eat them with chopsticks. Literally, fall-off-the-bone.
Ingredients:
- half-rack of ribs (5 to 6 ribs, as a slab or divided)
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- 2 tbsp coconut syrup (instead of sugar or maple syrup)
- 1 tbsp mirin
- 2 tbsp sake
- 1 tbsp ginger
- 2 cups water
(optional)
- 1 chili pepper (if you want a bit of a kick)
Recipe:
1. In a medium sized saucepan (with lid), add sake, mirin, ginger, soy sauce and coconut syrup (or other sugar/syrup). Mix well. Add ribs, then top with water.
2. Heat to a boil on medium heat, for about 5 mins.
3. Reduce heat to a light simmer. Cover and let simmer for 3 hours.
4. Remove ribs from saucepan. Increase heat and begin to reduce the stock to create the sauce. The sugars will begin to caramelize and the sauce will thicken. Keep stirring until desired thickness. Then top ribs with the sauce.
Enjoy with a bowl of rice!
I have a mission. And it requires me to cook, bake, and assemble as many of my favourite food items as possible before I depart for Nigeria. Why? I probably just wont have time to cook [enter sad face]. High on my list is Karaage. Crispy, tender, flavourful. It's beautifully simple.
As with many simple dishes, proper ingredients are a must. There is no substitute for ginger. There is no substitute for soy sauce. You have it, or you don't have karaage.
The dish pairs nicely with spicy mayo, fresh rice, and a really cold beer.
Ingredients:
- 2 boneless chicken thighs (diced to small pieces)
- 1 tbsp ginger
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tbsp sake
- 1 cup potato starch (you can use corn starch, but potato starch is MUCH better - has higher cooking temperature)
- cooking oil for deep frying
Recipe:
1. In a mixing bowl, combine chicken pieces with ginger, soy sauce, and sake. Let marinate for at least 30 mins. If overnight, reduce soy sauce to reduce saltiness.
2. Coat well with potato starch.
3. Deep fry for about 5 - 6 mins. Remove and let stand on cooling rack (or paper towels) for 1 - 2 mins.
Serve with a few slices of lemon, and you're set!
Another one of those I have leftovers, what should I do ideas. These sliders were made using the same gyoza filling as the teba gyoza, so simply follow that recipe for the gyoza filling. Of course, these don't have any casings per se, but are instead sandwiched between two stove top made sushi rice buns.
The size of golf-balls and packed with flavour, these miniature rice gyoza burgers are perfect as finger foods, appetizers, or for small adults. Although, you may not want to include the seaweed wrapper, as it tends to absorb the moisture from the rice, making it look uncrisp.
Creating this plate is very easy, and I'm sure you'll have your own take on it. But this is what I did.
Starting with the rice. Rinse and clean 1 cup of high quality Japanese rice, then put into a small sauce pan. Add 1 1/4 cup of water. Bring to a boil and let simmer until the water has reduced to the level of the rice. Lower heat to low-medium and cover. DO NOT REMOVE THE COVER. Best if the cover is see-through. Let simmer until rice has cooked through. Usually the bubbles will lower to the rice level. Then remove from heat, remove the lid, but cover with a paper towel and let sit. To make the sushi rice, add a bit of salt and vinegar and mix well. All that said, you could just use a rice cooker ;). But I like seeing everything done and made to my liking. And the rice cooked faster than using a rice cooker!
Onto the sauce. I made a spicy mayo condiment. I REALLY want to make my own sriracha, but it takes at least a week to make. So, using store bought sriracha, I mixed about a tablespoon with kewpie mayo and korean ketchup. Had a good consistency and a nice kick.
Putting everything together. Pretty straightforward really, sandwich the meat patties with the rice. Add a bit of the spicy mayo to the patty. And cover the rice with seaweed wrapper on both ends (helps with holding the slider).
That's it! Super easy and tasty!
There is something brilliant about teba gyoza. It's crazy. It's mad. Like it was the last dish conceived by the mind of a genius chef before denouncing his return to the kitchen because no one would take him seriously.
In its dead simplicity, multiple flavours emerge layer by layer. Texture moving frequently between crisp and crunchy to soft and moist. It's the marriage of two great izakaya main stays - gyoza and chicken wings.
I first encountered teba gyoza at Izakaya Ju last summer. Immediately, it became my favourite dish at the restaurant, and remains the undisputed champion of wings in the city - for me at least. Sure, it's only three pieces. But I'll take three pieces of genius over a pound of frozen uncreativity anyday.
Partly a result of excessive amounts of Food Network television, and partly a need to challenge and push myself, I've been encouraging the idea of making multistep slightly difficult dishes. There is also an enormous amount of satisfaction re-creating your own favourite dishes. So, I took it upon myself to make teba gyoza!
Ingredients:
- 6 chicken wings (thighs removed, but tips remain)
- 1 cup potato starch
- 1/2 cup ground pork
- 1/4 cup chopped cabbage (blanched and cooled)
- 2 tbsp chopped green onion
- 1 tbsp ginger
- 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- 1 tbsp mirin
- 1 tbsp sake
- 1 tsp soy sauce
- 1/2 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tbsp mirin
Recipe:
1. In a mixing bowl, combine all ingredients except the chicken wings and potato starch to make the gyoza filling. Let marinate for at least 30 mins.
2. This is where the fun begins, removing the bones from the chicken wings.. without mutilating the skin to unrepairable damage. I don't have pictures, because my hands were covered in chicken grease.
So.. good luck imagining these words :). Take a small pairing knife, create a small insertion at the end of the wing. Slowly and carefully, jab viciously at the chicken wing!! no, don't do that. I apologize. Slowly use the pairing knife to separate the tendon and meat from the two bones in the wing. Try to work around the bones, so that you can carefully undress the bones. While unwrapping the bones, use the pairing knife to cut the bones loose of the grips of meat, cartiledge and tendon. Once the bones are exposed, twist the bones in rotating fashion. It won't feel nice at all. But this is where you need to unleash that inner caveman. Just resist the urge to tear everything apart and devour the chicken wing as is. Please.
3. Clean up. Take a shower. You'll be a mess.
4. Stuff the wings! Take a small portion of the gyoza filling and fill each chicken wing. Careful not to over fill. Close with a toothpick. I didn't use a toothpick and still came out okay.
5. Coat the stuffed wings with potato starch.
6. Double deep fry. In a large pot, heat vegetable oil on medium heat. To tell if the oil is hot enough, insert a bamboo chopstick. When small bubbles release at a rapid rate, the oil is ready. Put 2 or 3 wings in at a time. Remove after 5 - 6 minutes, or until golden in colour (or until you feel the wings are cooked). Place onto paper towels or cooling rack.
7. Re-fry the wings to make the skin nice and crispy. I put them back in for another 4-5 mins. Remove and place on paper towel.
8. To make the sauce (my version), bring a medium saucepan to medium heat. Add 1/2 tbsp of soy sauce and 1 tbsp of mirin. Let it caramelize and thicken a bit, then add a few wings and coat.
9. Plate, then enjoy delicious filled crispiness!
Not sure what it is, but in some medieval-like tendency I find it difficult to turn down a challenge, especially around food - my domain. Chalk it up to pride? Unsure. Perhaps it's the nice-guy thing. Whatever it is, I agreed to undertake the monumental task of making 120 pink white chocolate macarons for someone's wedding, where they would be displayed to each guest at their table.
If there exists a moment where you feel enjoyment, frustration, helplessness, and satisfaction all within one day, it would be making macarons. These little fickle sh*ts can be super annoying. EVERYTHING matters to these guys - humidity, number of folds, fineness of the almond, whipping time, moisture of the filling, if you're good looking, if you pay your taxes, if you love your parents, everything.
Prior to beginning the challenge, I had not baked macarons successfully since 2009. I attempted a test batch a week earlier to see if I still had the skill. It worked out okay, but not great - I maintained that the downfall was due to the filling, in order to retain my confidence.
This was a two day task. Well, I had alotted two days, but working efficiently I was able to cut the time in half. Within the first day, 120 macarons were completed. The second day was used to make another 60 white macarons, as backup, and as a colour contrast to the 120 pink versions.
I am a tad hesitant about posting this recipe, because I am not 100% satisfied with the results. But I do want to honour the request from people (as far away as Australia! lol). In any case, when I've worked out the kinks in this recipe, or found a better method, I'll update this post or write a new and improved one :).
Ingredients (macaron shells):
- 1 cup finely ground almond
- 1 1/4 cup icing sugar
- 1/4 cup + 2 tbsp aged egg whites (at room temperature)
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- pinch of salt
Note: I realise that weight is far more precise. When I work out the weight of these, or of a subsequent recipe, or when I even get a kitchen scale, I'll update.
Recipe (macaron shells):
1. Leave the egg whites out overnight, preferably 24 hours.
2. In a mixing bowl, combine the ground almond and icing sugar, and mix well.
3. In another mixing bowl, place the egg whites, throw in a pinch of salt, and whip with an electric hand mixer on medium speed until foamy.
4. Once egg whites are foamy, increase the speed of the hand mixer to high, and gradually add the granulated sugar. Whip to stiff peaks and is shiny. DO NOT OVER WHIP. Should look like shaving cream, apparently. But who uses shaving cream anymore??
5. Carefully add the almond icing sugar mix to the egg whites. Fold gently a few times. This is where all the technique and experience comes in. You DO NOT want to over stir. But, you want to incorporate everything. Some say that the batter should fall off the spatula and create a "ribbon" on the way down. I just slice through the batter with my spatula and see how fast it comes together.
6. Fill the batter into a piping bag, with a large tip. This part can be frustrating, if you don't prepare. I clip the bottom (right above the nozzle) with a small chip bag closer-pincher-thingy. Then I put the bag into a tall glass or pitcher and fold over the opening of the piping bag. I secure it in place with a rubber band. Then fill. Once filled, I take another chip bag closer-pincher-thingy and close the top - so it doesn't ooze out the top when I'm piping. Yes, I'm super meticulous and clean when I cook or bake.
7. Onto a baking sheet, pipe macaron batter to 1 inch circles.
8. Let sit for 1 hour.
9. Heat oven to 325 degree Celcius.
10. Bake macarons for 10 - 11 mins. Keep the oven door ajar with a wooden spoon. Keep an eye on the macarons. Sometimes they cook really quickly, sometimes they do not.
11. Remove from oven and let cool. Remove macaron shells from parchment. THIS is the most annoying and frustrating part. At least in the last few times I've made them, they've been sticking to the parchment. In this case, I heat the oven to a higher temperature and place a wet towel onto a baking sheet. Then I place the parchment with macarons on top of the steaming towel for 4 - 5 seconds. Remove to the counter, and gently twist them off. No guarantees, but works about 80% of the time. Yep, tons of wastage! >_<
securing the piping bag piped and ready to form skin! rise little ones! now cool down macaron army!
Because I was unsure of the conditions at the event, I wanted to do a filling that would last a bit longer not being refrigerated. So I ended up doing a white chocolate ganache.
Ingredients (filling):
- 4 oz 100% pure white chocolate
- 1/2 cup whipping cream (35%)
- 1 tbsp butter (slightly melted or at room temperature)
Recipe (filling):
1. Break white chocolate into small chunks. If you have time, shave the white chocolate to make melting and incorporating easier.
2. Heat the cream on low-medium heat. Bring it to just before a boil.
3. Remove from heat, and pour over the white chocolate. Carefully stir until all the chocolate is melted. Add the butter. Incorporate well.
4. Let cool. Then chill to thicken, for about 2 - 3 hours.
5. Whip on medium speed until fluffy, but not too much!
Putting everything together. Take two similar size macarons, spoon a good amount of filling, and sandwich in a rotating manner. Store in a airtight container for 24 hours before serving. You can consume them sooner, of course, but giving them 24 - 48 hours let's the flavours and moisture blend together.
Enjoy! Again, this is still a recipe in progress! :) But I'd like to know how it turns out for you
Ah, finally a viable contender to the honey mascarpone Monte Cristo breakfast dish I made a few weeks ago. It's not a sandwich, but I'm open to non-sandwich type breakfast dishes if they're super delicious. This pancake is not your usual overly sweet flat pancake. It's fluffy, it's moist, it's golden.
Coming up with unique dishes is literally a random and last minute event. The plan was to make ricotta pancakes. But walking into the local Asian grocer, no cheese was available. I don't know why I expected there to be cheese, it's an Asian supermarket. But since they were bought out by a larger Western grocer, I thought they would have some cheese. Well, ricotta is quite specific. In any case, I learned afterwards that it's quite easy to make homemade ricotta! So, that's next on my list of things to make :)
Anyway, I saw coconut milk at the grocery and decided to make coconut milk pancakes instead. As for topping, I had no idea until I got home and started frying the batter. Super last minute!
Opening the fridge, I saw a few tablespoons left of the black sesame paste I made the day before for the matcha black sesame dumplings. If you read my posts in order, you'll find that some inspiration (and ingredients) were also used in the previous recipe :) - improvisation. Using the black sesame paste, I created a nice thick sauce; a great creamy and nutty companion to the fluffy pancakes. Random and last minute, it turned out to be a great discovery.
Ingredients:
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 1 tbsp baking powder
- pinch of salt
- 3/4 cup coconut milk
- 1 egg separated
- 2 tbsp melted butter
- 2 tbsp black sesame paste
- 1/4 cup heavy cream (35%)
Recipe:
1. In a mixing bowl, combine all the dry ingredients - flour, sugar, baking powder, salt.
2. In another mixing bowl, combine the wet ingredients - egg yolk, coconut milk, and melted butter.
3. In a third mixing bowl, whip the egg whites to stiff peaks.
4. Combine the wet ingredients with the dry ingredients. It's okay if there are lumps.
5. Fold in the whipped egg whites. Again, it's okay if there are lumps.
6. Ladel a good portion onto a frying pan with butter. When the sides begin to bubble, flip and cook for a minute or so. If you want to ensure that the inside is cooked well without burning or browning the outside too much, lower the heat and cover with a lid.
7. While you are cooking the pancakes, you can get the sauce ready. In a small sauce pan, heat the black sesame paste on medium heat. Add the heavy cream, and let reduce to your desired thickness. You can also add sugar if you'd like the sauce to be sweeter.
8. Pour the black sesame sauce over the pancakes and garnish with toasted coconut flakes!
Black sesame dumplings, especially the deep fried ones, are one of my all time favourite desserts. I've always wanted to make these creamy nutty balls of deliciousness, but was under the impression that you had to purchase black sesame paste. While cleaning out the pantry I discovered a full bag of black sesame seeds. So I thought, there has to be a way to create the paste myself. A few minutes of research, and I was on my way.
I wish I had discovered this earlier, because creating black sesame paste is incredibly simple. If the sesame is not toasted, just toss a tablespoon or two onto a pan, lightly toast for a couple of minutes. Remove, let cool, grind. Voila. Well, not completely finished, you'll have to cook the grind with some butter and sugar a bit. But otherwise a very simple and easy process.
To make the matcha version of this, simply add a tablespoon of matcha powder to the glutinous rice flour before adding water.
Ingredients:
- 1/2 cup glutinous rice flour
- 1/2 cup water
- 1 tbsp matcha
- 2 tbsp toasted black sesame seeds
- 2 tbsp unsalted butter
- 2 tbsp granulated sugar
Recipe:
1. If the black sesame is not toasted, place them into a small sauce pan and lightly toast on low-medium heat. They will start to pop, so you can cover with a lid. Toast until they become aromatic. Remove, and let cool.
2. Grind the toasted black sesame in a food processor, or mortar.
3. Place the grind into a small sauce pan and add the butter and sugar. Cook on medium-heat, until butter melts and sugar incorporates into the mix. Keep stirring. When everything has come together, remove from heat and let cool. Should have a paste-like consistency.
4. In a mixing bowl, mix the rice flour with matcha. Mix well. Then add water. Should form a dough. If it's too sticky, add more rice flour. If too dry, add more water.
5. Form small balls between your palms. Then flatten. Scoop a small amount of sesame paste into the middle of the ball, then close the edges and gently reform the ball.
6. To cook, boil some water, then just drop the balls in small batches. When they are cooked, they will float to the top.
To serve, put into a small bowl with hot sugar water! Or hot sugar ginger water :)
Quail eggs are so underrated. They're small. They pack a punch of flavour. They make excellent finger food.
After seeing a mouth-watering picture of a scottish egg as part of the Farmer's Breakfast dish at Table 17, I wanted to make a version of them using quail eggs and prociutto. I might still do that some day, but on this particular day, I didn't feel like deep frying (shocking, right?). So, since I had a container full of hard boiled quail eggs, I decided to make mini deviled eggs!
This was my first time making deviled eggs. So I didn't want to do anything TOO crazy. I used Kewpie mayo, which I still believe is the best kind of mayo; honey, for sweetness; white miso, for saltiness; and Dijon, for the mustard component. Then I topped off the eggs with a small piece of pancetta, and sprinkled them with sansyo and chili powder.
Ingredients:
- 1 pack of quail eggs
- Kewpie Mayo
- Dijon mustard
- paprika
- honey
- white miso
- pancetta
- sansyo
- chili powder
- vinegar
I can't remember what portions of what I used. So I'm not going to guess and throw you off. Just add to taste! Experiment! :)
Recipe:
1. Boil the quail eggs with a bit of vinegar. Because they need to be hard boiled, I just left them on the stove for a while, like 12-15mins. Probably overkill, but I'd rather them well done than liquidy.
2. Let cool. Then peel.
3. Slice the eggs in half, and remove the yolks into a bowl.
4. Add mayo, dijon, paprika, honey, and white miso to the bowl. Mix well.
5. Put mix into a piping bag. Note: make sure there aren't chunks of egg yolk, or the nozzle will clog. If you don't want to be fancy, just use a spoon to fill the eggs.
6. Pan fry some small pieces of pancetta. Place a piece or two on each egg. Garnish with sansyo and chili pepper.
Makes a nice little bunch of finger foods! I finished the whole lot by myself :D
I bought a nice thick slab of pork belly from H-Mart, where I get most of my meat and fish products. Originally, my plan was to do a nice crispy pork belly based on a recipe my good friend in Calgary provided me (he still needs to start blogging - Dude, do it! LOL).
I started marinating the pork belly in maple syrup, honey and sake. I'm not entirely sure why. But when it came to cooking day, I really felt like buta kakuni - pork belly with super tender meat and melt-in-your-mouth fat. Because I already had the sugar and sake components from the marinade, I tossed in a few extra ingredients - ginger, more sake, soy sauce, mirin, and water.
The mix was brought to a boil uncovered. Then heat was reduced to a light rolling simmer, covered, and stewed for approximately 12 hours. Usually, 4 to 6 hours will suffice. At which point you would cool and chill in the refrigerator until two hours before serving. So I just went ahead and stewed it on the stove top overnight, then placed the pot in the fridge in the morning. Two hours before dinner, I put the pot back on the stove and let it simmer for a good hour and a half.
The result was broken down partially disintegrated pork belly fat; savoury with an incredible smooth texture.
Ingredients:
- .5 kg pork belly (makes about 4 square portions)
- 1/4 cup maple syrup
- 3 tbsp sake
- 1 tbsp ginger
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tbsp mirin
- 2 cups water (more to add during the stewing process)
Recipe:
1. Throw all the ingredients into a medium sized saucepan (pot) with a lid.
2. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a light rolling simmer. Cover. Let stew for 4 to 6 hours, or up to 12 hours.
3. Chill in the refrigerator.
4. Reboil on stove top for 1 1/2 to 2 hours before serving.
5. Carefully remove from pot, the pork belly will be incredibly brittle.
In the second stewing part, I added a few hard boiled quail eggs. It's a nice addition and absorbs some of the broth.
A very easy recipe! And the results are immensely satisfying!
Get all that?
Let me break it down:
- Homemade banana walnut bread
- Filled with banana nutty hunny (honey walnut) mascarpone mix
- Dipped in french toast batter
- Coated with panko
To get started, you'll need a really thick slice of banana bread. I made this banana bread the day before, just so I can try this french toast. No, not really, I had some very ripe bananas I needed to use and decided banana bread was better than the trash can.
In a small mixing bowl, dice up half of a banana. Add about 2 to 3 tbsp of mascarpone. Also add about 2 tbsp of nutty hunny. I got this jar of nutty hunny from Omakase Box in their inaugural shipment. It's basically walnuts in a jar of honey. So you can substitute with just honey and walnuts.
With a pairing knife, create a small pocket in the banana bread. Spoon the banana nutty hunny mascarpone mix into the pocket. Be careful, because banana bread can be britle.
Dip the banana bread in a standard french toast batter (eggs, milk, sugar, salt). Then before frying (in butter), coat the bread with panko. It will give the french toast a little more crisp.
Done! It's quite a filling meal. I paired it with 2 standard breakfast sausages, 2 quail eggs, and some alfalfa.
It is as delicious as it sounds. Creamy and sweet. Almost unsure of a proper way of consuming this wonderfulness. Should I use a fork and knife? Or, should I caress such beauty with my hands and let the butter from the bread run down my elbows?
In another random bout of inspiration, I did away with my usual healthy bowl of oatmeal and cinnamon for breakfast. I took two thick whole wheat slices of Japanese bread, and sandwiched in between layers of gruyere cheese, sliced turkey, prosciutto, arugula, and my own honey mascarpone mix. Then I dipped the sandwich in a french toast batter - 1 egg, 1/4 cup milk, salt, sugar, and some chili :). Of course, I pan-fried the sandwich in butter. And I made sure to get all four sides of the sandwich.
It's still mighty difficult to compete with yesterday's sandwich. But because it was still morning, I'll refer to this as my breakfast sandwich. Now, I need to create a signature dinner dish ;)
It looks like an innocent piece of chicken. But this little thing was brined, pan seared, then foil packet baked in honey thyme. The result was a nice moist aromatic chicken breast that went really well with arugula and roasted baby tomatoes.
Brine
I did a simple straight forward brine using 2 cups of water and 2 tbsp of salt. I added about 1 tbsp of sugar. And then let the chicken sit in the mix for about an hour until I was ready for it.
Pan seared
I quickly pan seared the chicken breast on both sides. It's not necessary, but I thought it would give it a nice crisp outer layer.
Foil packet
In my university days, I used to do this packet often. It was easy to do, and doesn't require much cleaning up :).
Create a small envelope with two pieces of foil (double layer). Then put whatever ingredients you want to bake with the chicken.
For this recipe, I used:
7-8 sprigs of Thyme
1 tbsp of butter
1 tbsp of white wine
whole black pepper
1 1/2 tsp of honey
Place the chicken breast into the packet, seal the edges of the envelope. Then bake at 375 degrees F for 25 mins.
I garnished the dish with some pan roasted baby tomatoes (roasted with red wine, mirin and EVOO)
That is what I'll name this sandwich, LUNCH. When I speak of lunch, I will be refering to this sandwich. And anything else I eat within the same timeframe will be compared with this lunch, and will be called not-lunch.
What we have here is multiple layers of goodness topped with awesomesauce, literally.
Layer 1 - butter fried portobello mushroom
Layer 2 - beef brisket (left over from the chocolate brisket I made the other day; marinating in it's own sauce for a few days made it taste even better)
Layer 3 - pan fried mozzarella :D
Layer 4 - alfalfa sprouts
Then topped with a homemade sweet miso dressing (miso, sake, mirin, sesame oil and corn syrup).
Sandwiched between super fresh olive ciabatta.
Are you crying with happiness? I did.
Second installment in the beef brisket series. This time around I wanted to do something with white miso. Pretty simple and straight forward recipe. No marinating, just dump everything into a bowl, mix and pour over the brisket in a ceramic pot.
The ingredients I used in this mix: white miso, sake, some white wine (because I didn't want to use all my sake, lol), brown sugar, vinegar, dry mustard, worchestershire sauce, onion powder, ground white pepper, and some chili pepper (to add a little bit of a kick).
Placed the brisket in the pot, poured the mix and topped it off with some water. Baked at 300 degrees F for 3 hours.
Then I took some of the stock and reduced it with some red wine and honey to make the sauce. Really delicious.
Posts
About a month ago, when I was back in T.O., my TV broke. Half the screen decided it would be more visually appealing to administer stroke inducing rainbow coloured flashing criss-crosses. It was annoying.
The TV was new. Well, purchased new within 3 years. After hours of troubleshooting with Sony, the most "logical" conclusion suggested was to buy a new TV. How convenient for Sony! -_-
Anyway, the good chaps revealed that if I presented a copy of the original proof of purchase, I could get a discount on a new unit. Immediately elated, I went on a destructive search for a 3 year old receipt. Day 1 passed. Day 2 passed. Day 3.. I got angry. Who remembers where they keep their receipts from 3 years back? It's especially difficult when all this happens during a move. Things get lost. Small pieces of paper are usually not a priority.
So, three years after purchase I came up with this:
Idea
An online warranty management system. Could be SAAS. The basic thesis: people lose and have difficulty tracking warranty information for major electronics and household items. Receipts can be scanned and held in a central database. User can send in receipts (a la Shoeboxed style). Information is categorized for easy management and notification of expiring warranties. Purchase information can also be linked to bank accounts (technically don't know if this is possible). Revenue can come in the form of SAAS, or as freemium from selling third-party extended warranty/insurance (the possibility of extending warranty after the initial manufacturers warranty would have to be looked into).
Furthermore, having a database of warranty information from multiple retailers provides a unique perspective on claim statistics. Could be useful for warranty/insurance premium amounts on certain products, as well as general product reliability to consumers.
Lesson
In all the time I've purchased electronics, not once was extended warranty required. The one time it gets me, it gets me with a large purchase. Doh! WHY??
In a matter of months I went from being a convincingly infrequent instant coffee drinker to a full fledged fanatic a few clicks away from purchasing a home coffee roaster. I'm in love with coffee. So much so that I feel like it's my life calling. Okay, maybe that's a little much, but I am seriously interested in coffee and wholeheartedly envision a happy existence operating a coffee roastery. I have some unique ideas, but I'll save that for a later day!
Whether possible or not, I found this idea interesting: using the heat source of a coffee roaster to rotate a coffee roasting chamber (barrel type, not fluidized bed).
Think rolling ball fountain, but instead of water as the source of pressure, heat is used.
Can also consider a wheel type form, as opposed to a ball. Sides of wheel could be glass to see content. Would probably look more cool than is practical..
Chocolate is wonderful. For me chocolate, tea and coffee form the trio of perfect beverages. Consumed straight with minimal or no additives, they're natural, comforting and healthy. There is a range of flavours with each varietal keeping you intrigued.
I can be a bit of health nut, following a pretty strict diet (meaning a well balanced diet and carb count with a spreadsheet), taking regular doses of vitamins, and being pretty militant when unhealthy desserts are offered to me after 8pm. Of course, all of this is disregarded when I'm on vacation :).
"Until one is committed, there is hesitancy, the chance to draw back-- Concerning all acts of initiative (and creation), there is one elementary truth that ignorance of which kills countless ideas and splendid plans: that the moment one definitely commits oneself, then Providence moves too. All sorts of things occur to help one that would never otherwise have occurred. A whole stream of events issues from the decision, raising in one's favor all manner of unforeseen incidents and meetings and material assistance, which no man could have dreamed would have come his way. Whatever you can do, or dream you can do, begin it. Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it. Begin it now."
Goethe
It's been a while since I've last posted on this blog. Unfortunately, the return is starting off with a rant.
I experienced the future of computing the other day. Working 'at home' on my iPad from a nice cafe. I thought I might have issues with syncing files, editing code, communicating, or even basic things like power supply. But I had no issues. Files synced seemlessly with my dropbox, and battery lasted for the entire day. It was an awesome experience. And when it came time to packup, I took more time packing away my camera and sunglasses.
I am finding that using an iPad is super convenient, and super accessible. I bring it almost everywhere I go. It's not so much a challenge because I carry my camera around as well :) - never know when I'll spot something delicious to eat. And now, having discovered I can do work on it, I forsee myself working away from my desk more often.
The only thing I have yet to get used to is typing on a virtual keyboard. It is impossible to recreate the tactile response you receive when you're typing on a phyical keyboard. But, if I was going for outright efficiency, I wouldn't be working at a cafe where there's food around.
It was great to work off the iPad. And it was even greater that there were apps available to allow such a seemless working environment. Kudos to Apple and all Mac developers.
Ever since The Deck came out with their invite-only one-ad advertising network for design/development/entrepreneurship blogs, websites and apps, a couple more sites with the same concept came out. However, they're all targeting the same community.
Been doing a lot of thinking recently about my future - where I'm going to be, what I'm going to do, what I'm going to eat ;). At this point it seems rather obvious that the best opportunities presented to me lie abroad. I don't usually have a problem going abroad, I've lived in different countries, on different continents, and travel quite a bit. But for one reason or another, this decision seems more 'life changing'.
Maybe I'm holding onto something. Maybe the unknown frightens me on some level. Maybe I've just gotten way too comfortable of where I am now. And the more I think about it, it seems more of the last point. I need a new environment. I need to uproot myself. Because only in times of instability will there ever be any change - good or bad. And the only way to find out what kind of opportunities are out there is to go out and explore.
I haven't found a time in my life when I've looked towards my parents for inspiration more than now. It might be because they were around my age when they left their homeland, with nothing but suitcases and a dream (you know the story). And then doing it several times over to find a good place. With each move, they took FAR more risk than I could ever imagine. It's not the same risk as starting a business. Relocating to an unknown city, in an unknown country (with real country risk), on an unknown continent. Doing this with family, and children. All I can say is major respect to my parents. Trying not to sound sappy, but their journey alone gives me courage to go for it. So, suck it up, and take advantage of the opportunities!
Anyone notice the abundance of gourmet sandwich and burger shops opening up? I know there are a ton that have opened (or plan to open) in Toronto. And it's getting a bit much. How much more can you do with a burger? You can only be so fresh, and have so many sauces, and toppings. I mean, I do like sandwiches, they're the best. But maybe a take on something different would help distinguish your 'next great concept' - aside: I think all the concepts on America's Next Greatest Restaurant are crap.
So I brought up burgers because it made me wonder why there aren't any gourmet hot dog places. Not the street BS you get with the same sausages from Shopsys (or other major brands). I mean housemade, ground and stuffed sausages. If you think about it, the options are limitless. You can stuff a ton of things into a sausage casing. Just think about the different kinds of sausages there are around the world. There are different types of Longaniza sausages for each province in the Philippines alone!
Serve the sausage on different kinds of breads, all house made too. And the condiments and toppings can vary incredibly - much like Japadog in Vancouver (one of the best concepts for street food I've ever come across).
Experiment and see what you come up with! I know I am, in my kitchen at least :)
This post is part of a series that detail random business, product and service ideas I've thought about. They're open and free. Steal, borrow, modify, comment, share as you like.
I've usually shown some sort of distaste for copycat websites and businesses. But in some weird twist of irony, an opportunity might present itself to do just that - creating a daily deals site (or put simply, a clone of Groupon in [redacted]). Or, I'm just a hypocrite.
This post is part of a series that detail random business, product and service ideas I've thought about. They're open and free. Steal, borrow, modify, comment, share as you like.
This post is part of a series that detail random business, product and service ideas I've thought about. They're open and free. Steal, borrow, modify, comment, share as you like.
Vitamin. Painkiller. Steroid. Which one is your startup?
I don't get it. But it seems to be part of our culture that service just sucks. It is nothing compared to service in Asia - particularly in places like Japan and the Philippines.
Updates
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Great day for some cross country skiing http://t.co/L6yKHEagXP
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Richard Feynman On The One Sentence To Be Passed On To The Next Generation | Brain Pickings http://t.co/T8rckxyX01 via @brainpicker
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Top sights in the world's 'worst cities' http://t.co/eQQiq70iGz <- don't believe it. there's NOTHING to see here..
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“Life really begins when you have discovered that you can do anything you want.” - How to Avoid Work The... http://t.co/b5yZMzAccG
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"Those who do not know the torment of the unknown cannot have the joy of discovery" - Claude Bernard http://t.co/LFU6dz4i3z
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a lot has happened in two years. and by this time next year, ill probably be in another country. guess change is good even if it's confusing3 months ago from web | Reply, Retweet, Favorite
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"Write with the door closed, rewrite with the door open" - Stephen King3 months ago from web | Reply, Retweet, Favorite
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What Happens When You Live Abroad | Thought Catalog http://t.co/OhYZDPUnfC via @thoughtcatalog
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Asia's 10 greatest street food cities | CNN Travel http://t.co/apMLQwL19H i should really be based in asia..
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"Limits, like fears, are often just an illusion." -Michael Jordan4 months ago from web | Reply, Retweet, Favorite
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@iampameetupaz i agree! haha4 months ago from web | Reply, Retweet, Favorite
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and for us singles.. some heavy drinking will be had today. people are going to annoy me..... lol4 months ago from web | Reply, Retweet, Favorite
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happy valentines! best thing you could do today is to recognize and appreciate your partner's efforts. goes a long way. have a good one!4 months ago from web | Reply, Retweet, Favorite
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or, you can break down and cry. and that's just pathetic :D4 months ago from web | Reply, Retweet, Favorite
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when things are tough or dont seem to make much sense, refocus your mind on the big picture and your attitude will change.4 months ago from web | Reply, Retweet, Favorite
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RT @seth: underneath every brilliant optimistic charismatic hustling entrepreneur, lies the seeds of loneliness and despair.4 months ago from web | Reply, Retweet, Favorite
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Angola president's daughter 'Africa's first female billionaire'- CNN http://t.co/T1kEZtQl clear where the $ is from yet no one will call it
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damn, leaving the city when it's just getting nice and cold. im not being sarcastic btw4 months ago from web | Reply, Retweet, Favorite
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"it's 10pm, do you know where your children are?" - Fox News commercial. Hahahahahahahah -_-
Profile
Education
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2005 - 2006Cranfield University - Cranfield School of Management
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2002 - 2005University of Toronto
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1998 - 2002Upper Canada College
