Taiwanese Meat & Mushroom Sauce with Rice

I’ve made a Taiwanese meat sauce before and in that recipe I mention that it can be made with chunks of pork, as that was, or with minced pork, as of course this is.

This is basically then a Chinese spaghetti bolognese, Taiwanese style and can be served over noodles, or as I have done here, rice.

I think that Taiwanese stewed pork is 滷肉, read as 'lu rou' in Mandarin and when boiled eggs are simmered in the sauce in this manner they are called 滷蛋 or 'lu dan'. How they come together as a name for the whole I’m not sure (and I have probably got it wrong anyway).


Taiwanese Meat & Mushroom Sauce
serves 1

100g minced pork
10g dried shitake mushroom, soaked and roughly chopped (keep the soaking water)
1 tsp dried shrimps (soaked and roughly chopped)
1 clove garlic, chopped
2 spring onions, chopped (reserve some green parts for garnish)
½ tsp five spice powder
2 tbsp sweet soy (I used kecap manis)
1 tsp light soy
½ tbsp Chinese black vinegar
1 small dried red chilli
1 tbsp Shaoxing wine
1 tsp sunflower oil
1 hard boiled egg, peeled
crispy fried shallot, to serve

Top up the reserved mushroom soaking water to 150ml and set aside.

Heat a wok and when hot add the oil and then the garlic and onion, stir fry for a couple of minutes till softened and lightly golden.

Add the dried shrimps and stir till fragrant and then add the pork mince, breaking it up into small pieces with the back of a wooden spoon. Keep stirring until the meat is almost cooked through and the wok is dry.

Add the wine and stir for a minute or so before adding the mushrooms and 5-spice. Keep stirring for another couple of minutes.

Add the soy sauces, vinegar and dried chilli.

Turn the heat up and add the diluted mushroom soaking water, bring to the boil and then turn down to a simmer and cook gently for at least 10-20 minutes (the longer the better as the pork will get more tender with increased cooking time). Stir occasionally and top up the water if necessary if it is getting too dry.

Add the egg.

Nestle the egg into the sauce for at least another 20-30 minutes, turning occasionally.

Serve the sauce over rice or noodles with the boiled egg halved and some spring onion greens and crispy shallots scattered over.

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Spicy Tomato Baked Eggs

I’m trying to rein in my carnivorous tendencies at the moment and eat less red meat - obviously that wasn’t the case at the weekend where I was almost caveman like in my red meat choices (raw and rare being the order of the day on Saturday).

So with that in mind yesterday afternoon I dreamt up a vaguely Moroccan spicy tomato concoction into which to throw some eggs and bake.

I pulled a lot of other spices and so forth from the shelves and racks including Spanish sweet paprika, Korean red pepper flakes, ras el hanout and more before deciding on the ingredients below. Originally I was going to use fresh tomatoes (hence those in the photo) but then I remembered a tin of Cherry Tomatoes hidden away in the back of the cupboard which I thought would be perfect in this.

It was really rather good. 


Serves 1


1 tbsp olive oil
1 banana shallot, finely chopped (I wanted to use a red onion but I’d run out)
1 large garlic clove, finely chopped
1 red chilli, finely chopped (you can discard seeds if you like)
1 Guindilla pepper (the long pickled light green Spanish chilli peppers in jars like this - optional)
60g mushrooms
Tin cherry tomatoes
Freshly ground salt and pepper
½ tsp demerara sugar
1/4 tsp cumin powder
Worcester sauce
Red wine vinegar
2 tsp Belarazu rose harissa (but any harissa is fine)
2 tsp smoked chilli jelly (optional)
Large handful coriander, chopped
2 eggs
Optional: Freshly grated Parmesan, to serve (only about 1 tbsp)

Heat the oil over a medium heat and cook the onion & chillis until the onions are softened and translucent - about 10 minutes.  Turn down the heat if they start to brown.

Add the garlic and cook for a couple more minutes.

Add the cumin and mushrooms and cook for a few minutes more.

Tip in the tomatoes, harissa, chilli jelly, a good splash of red wine vinegar and a couple of large splashes of worcester sauce, season well with salt & pepper and the sugar. Squash the cherry tomatoes down a bit with the back of a wooden spoon and simmer for 20 minutes before stirring in half the coriander (if the tomato mixture appears to be getting too dry splash in a little water).

While it is simmering, preheat the oven to 180C/gas 4.

Once the sauce is done, pour into an ovenproof dish (I use a small frying pan that I am able to remove the handle from) and make 2 shallows into which you crack an egg each.

Place in the oven and bake for 10-15 minutes or until the whites are set and the yolks cooked to how you like them.

Sprinkle is a little grated parmesan, if using and scatter with the remaining coriander.  Serve with warm wholemeal pittas or crusty bread.

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Quiche Lorraine

When I cooked this it was late spring. Now I’ve mentioned before that I have no problem myself with cooking and eating things “out of season”, by which I mean stews in summer and salads in winter sort of thing. But I appreciate that there may be some people that think my recipe posting rotation a little, well, odd. I’m very much trying to get back on track at the moment but sometimes life intervenes and, in all honesty, it will probably only get worse. We will have a new arrival in February and I’ll be concentrating more on cleaning up poo than anything else. I should imagine.

But anyway, I love a good quiche. Who doesn’t? Real men do, as we all know. I really should have made my own pastry for this, and one day I will but for now shop-bought pastry is perfectly OK. I did have a little leakage where I had rolled the pastry a little too thin and managed to split it when trimming off the pastry overhang but the taste wasn’t affected at all. This is really, really delicious and the photos (who knew it was so hard to get a good snap of quiche?!) really don’t do it justice.

Quiche Lorraine
serves 4

ready made shortcrust pastry, chilled
4 eggs: 2 whole + 2 yolk only, beaten
250ml double cream
200ml ½ fat crème fraîche
210g pancetta, cubed
1 tsp olive oil
100g gruyère, finely grated

Roll out the pastry to the thickness of a 20p piece and line a nine inch quiche or loose bottomed tart tin. Leave the pastry overhang and chill for 20 minutes.

Preheat oven to 190C.

Fry the pancetta in the oil in a non-stick pan until cooked and crispy and set aside on some kitchen paper to drain.

Beat together the eggs & yolks, cream and crème fraîche and season.

Take the pastry tin out of the fridge and line with baking paper. Fill with baking beans (if you don’t have any dried chickpeas or beans will work just as well) and “bake blind” for 15 minutes. 

Remove the beans and baking paper and brush lightly with a little beaten egg (or spray with commercial egg glaze) before returning to the oven for 5 minutes. The egg glaze will help form a moisture-proof seal.

Remove from the oven and reduce the oven temperature to 160C.

Carefully trim off the excess pastry from around the edge with a sharp knife.

Layer handfuls of pancetta and cheese into the pastry case, keeping back a small handful of cheese.

Pour over the egg mix. Scatter the remaining cheese over the top.

Bake for 40 minutes or until golden and the middle is just set. Remove from oven and let cool for 10 minutes before removing from pan to come down to room temperature.

If you have used a loose bottom tin, you can remove it from the tin by placing it in on an upturned jar, which will allow you to ease the sides away. Then, using a palette knife or a fish slice, slide it underneath and ease the tart carefully on to a plate or board, ready to serve.

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Thai Pork Stirfry with Basil & Chillies

This is a Thai recipe that is supposed to be made with pork mince - however I had already bought some pork loin to make tried and trusted Pork with Beans & Green Peppercorns when I decided to ring the changes and remembered that I’d made notes from various recipes for a spicy pork with basil.

It was only on closer inspection that I remembered that it needed mince, not pork bits! Oh well - to be honest I decided that I’d still give it a go, with a bit of a spin. But then, as it happens, I found David Thompson’s recipe - again, with mince, BUT, and this is quite important, he states: “I find a rather coarse mince yields the best result – ideally done by hand”. So essentially, that is what I did.

Really this should be made with fresh Thai basil if you can get it. Even in London, with Chinatown really not far away at all, I find this a bit of a mission. That said, on my most recent trip I did for once see loads of it: everywhere I turned it seemed. But typically I had nothing in mind - and we would soon be away for a while so it seemed a bit of a waste to get it on the off-chance and have it stagnate in the fridge.

I do have a little jar of Thai basil so what I’ve decided to do here is use a little of that with some fresh Italian basil as well but do alter the recipe to fit with what you have. Using just Italian basil isn't ideal but it will do. Similarly I didn’t have any bird’s eye chillies (I really wasn’t very well prepared was I?) so instead used a long yet fairly thin red one, about 4-5 in long.

I think that when made properly with mince and holy basil this dish is called Pad Krapow Moo, using Thai basil will make it Pad Horapa Moo. In any case we’re basically talking street food here.

I saw a pic online of someone serving this with a fried egg on top which is apparently authentic so did that too. And in case you are interested (and again, I think) - fried egg = kai dao.

Serve over jasmine rice and squeeze a lime wedge over the whole with perhaps a drizzle of sriacha if you’re so inclined.. I’ve not had other versions of this but this, I have to say, was absolutely amazing. Although next time I would probably add a little more chilli.


Thai Pork Stirfry with Basil & Chillies
serves 2

3-4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 long medium hot chilli (or 4 bird's eye chillies), finely sliced
3-4 tbsp groundnut or rapeseed oil
2 eggs
200-225g finely chopped pork loin
100 g green beans cut into ½ cm pieces
2 tbsp fish sauce
1 tsp dark soy sauce
1-2 tsp oyster sauce (to taste)
large pinch sugar
pinch of white pepper
4 tbsp water
1 tsp preserved Thai basil (in a jar)
a large handful of fresh basil leaves, torn
lime, to serve
sriracha, to serve (optional)

Heat a wok over a high heat until about to smoke, then turn down the heat and add 2 tablespoons of oil.

Crack in the eggs (separately) and fry gently, shuffling the egg to prevent it from sticking, until it has cooked to your preference. Carefully lift out and place on a warm plate while you cook the next egg. Keep the eggs, warm, to one side.

Add another tablespoon or two of oil to the wok and hot, fry the garlic and chillies for a moment, but don't let them colour.

Add the pork and continue to stir-fry for a minute until it is just cooked. Add the beans and stir fry for another minute or so.

Season to taste with the fish sauce, soy, oyster sauce, pepper and sugar but be careful not to make it too salty. Add the water and simmer for a moment.

Stir in both basils and as soon as the Italian basil has wilted remove the wok from the heat.

Divide between two plates, serving with mounds of steamed jasmine rice, perch a fried egg on top of each with the lime wedges and sriracha on the table to add to taste.

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Burmese Golden Egg Curry

I first decided to make this on seeing a picture of Bill Granger’s recipe on the Independent website. I bloody love egg curry anyway and thought the picture showed a particularly lovely way of presenting eggs. They’re first boiled, then peeled and fried in turmeric-tinged oil until golden and blistered before being cut in half and added to a lightly spicy tomato-based sauce which is soaked up slightly by the textured exterior of the eggs rather than just sliding off as it would with plain boiled eggs.

I’m rarely one to just go with an online recipe as seen: I like to see who else has cooked it and take bits from all, wrapped up in my own spin. The weird thing with this is that there are many, many “Burmese Golden Egg Curry” recipes out there (including one from the ‘ever popular with the Ozzies’ (she’s Canadian, unlike Bill who actually is Australian) Naomi Duiguid) but I haven’t seen any article on Burmese food & its popular dishes, list it. Strange non? Still, all the same, I presume it is actually authentically Burmese.

The eagle-eyed among you will notice that while this recipe, and its ingredients are for two, the pics clearly only show ingredients for one: well, that’s because it started off as a recipe for two but remembering that the bf isn’t that keen on boiled eggs (weirdo) I cooked it just for myself while he was away on a camping trip with his boy.

Incidentally, while researching this recipe I came across this article warning people about “fake eggs” flooding Myanmar, which is just about one of the weirdest things I’ve ever read.


Burmese “Golden” Egg Curry
serves 2

2 duck eggs
3 tbsp rapeseed oil
1 large banana shallot, finely chopped
½ tsp turmeric
2 tsp red kashmiri chilli powder
2 garlic cloves, minced
5-10 small dried shrimp (depending on size, enough to make ½ tsp), ground
4 tomatoes, finely chopped
1 tbsp fish sauce
1 poblano chilli, sliced into strips lengthways (I used strips from a can as I had some to use up)
small handful coriander crispy fried shallots (see recipe here or buy ready made)

Add the eggs carefully, one by one (as quickly as possible though) to a pan of rapidly boiling water and cook for 8 minutes.

Drain the eggs then let sit under cold running water for a few minutes. When they are cool enough to handle peel them.

Heat the oil in a wide heavy-bottom sauté pan a medium-high heat. Stir in the turmeric and when it has dissolved into the oil and is fragrant carefully add the peeled eggs and fry for 3 to 4 minutes, turning until golden and blistering on all sides.

Remove from the pan with a slotted spoon and set aside.

Pour off all but 1 or so tablespoons of the oil and over a medium heat, add the shallots - fry until soft and caramelised, about 8 minutes, before adding the garlic. Cook for a little longer and then add the chilli powder and cooking for a few minutes more.

Add the tomatoes and 50ml of water and simmer for 10 minutes or so, stirring occasionally until the tomatoes have broken down.

Stir in the fish sauce, chilli strips and dried ground shrimp then taste and adjust carefully for seasoning if required.

Turn the heat up, give everything a good stir then cut the eggs in half and place them cut side down in the sauce. Cook for a further 3 or 4 minutes.

Serve with plain rice and scatter with coriander & the crispy shallots.

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Spicy Tomato Baked Eggs

I’m trying to rein in my carnivorous tendencies at the moment and eat less red meat - obviously that wasn’t the case at the weekend where I was almost caveman-like in my red meat choices (raw or rare being the order of the day on Saturday).

So with that in mind yesterday afternoon I dreamt up a vaguely Moroccan spicy tomato concoction into which to throw some eggs and bake.

I pulled all manner of spices and so forth from the shelves and racks including Spanish sweet paprika, Korean red pepper flakes, ras el hanout and more before settling on those below.  Originally I was going to use fresh tomatoes (hence those in the photo) but then I remembered a tin of cherry tomatoes hidden away in the back of the cupboard which I thought would be perfect in this.

It was really rather good.

Moroccan-esque Baked Eggs
Serves 1
1 tbsp olive oil
1 banana shallot, finely chopped (I wanted to use a red onion but I’d run out)
1 large garlic clove, finely chopped
1 red chilli, finely chopped (you can discard seeds if you like)
1 Guindilla pepper (the long pickled light green Spanish chilli peppers in jars like this - optional)
60g mushrooms, chopped
Tin cherry tomatoes
Freshly ground salt and pepper
½ tsp demerara sugar
¼ tsp cumin powder
Worcester sauce
Red wine vinegar
2 tsp Belazu rose harissa (but any harissa is fine)
2 tsp Belazu smoked chilli jelly (optional)
Large handful coriander, chopped
2 eggs
Optional: Freshly grated Parmesan, to serve (only about 1 tbsp)

Heat the oil over a medium heat and cook the onion & chillis until the onions are softened and translucent - about 10 minutes.  Turn down the heat if they start to brown.

Add the garlic and cook for a couple more minutes.

Add the cumin and mushrooms and cook for a few minutes more.

Tip in the tomatoes, harissa, chilli jelly, a good splash of red wine vinegar and a couple of large splashes of worcester sauce, season well with salt & pepper and the sugar. Squash the cherry tomatoes down a bit with the back of a wooden spoon and simmer for 20 minutes before stirring in half the coriander (if the tomato mixture appears to be getting too dry splash in a little water).

While it is simmering, preheat the oven to 180C/gas 4.

Once the sauce is done, pour into an ovenproof dish (I use a small frying pan that I am able to remove the handle from) and make 2 shallows into which you crack an egg each.

Place in the oven and bake for 10-15 minutes or until the whites are set and the yolks cooked to how you like them.

Sprinkle over a little grated parmesan, if using, and scatter with the remaining coriander.  Serve with warm wholemeal pittas or crusty bread.

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Mexican Sunday! A little belated...

I’ve been very bad at updates for a good week or so.. not sure why really - time has just got away from me I guess.  So I think I’ll have to do quite a few posts in a short amount of time to try and catch up.

So cast your mind back to Saturday night dinner at the Opera Tavern, just over a week ago...  after perhaps a little bit too much wine, sherry and Pedro Ximenez, Sunday seemed to call for a restorative, “beat the hangover” brunch of simple yet delicious Huevos Rancheros.  I basically took this (with a couple of small changes) from the highly recommended “Mexican Food Made Simple” by Thomasina Miers.  

This really did hit the spot - fairly large amounts of lard aside, it actually makes me feel quity healthy and worthy.  It was a beautiful day though so that may have helped.

Lunch was fairly uncalled for after that but the Mexican theme continued in the evening with dinner of jalapeno, cumin & lime marinated skirt steak, cooked quickly on the griddle at a very high heat, served with fresh guacomole, refried beans, chilli mushrooms, salsa & baked tortilla chips.  

Just what is needed on a Sunday night to chase those back to work tomorrow blues away...

Huevos Rancheros Brunch
serves 2

3 tbsp lard
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 red chilli, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 tin chopped plum tomatoes
sea salt and black pepper
½ tsp demerara sugar
a couple of splashes of Worcestershire sauce
½ tsp chipotle paste
2 tbsp chopped tarragon (with a little extra for garnish)
2 corn tortillas
2 eggs
30g grated Lancashire cheese

Get the sauce started first by heating 1 tablespoon of lard  in a frying pan and add the onion and chilli. Cook over a low heat for 10 minutues until the onions are soft and translucent.  Add the garlic and cook for a few minutes more before adding the tomatoes.  Break the tomatoes up a little more with the back of a wooden spoon.

Season well with salt and pepper, sugar, worcestershire sauce and chipotle paste.  Let it all cook gently over a low heat 30 minutes, stirring occasionally and adding a little water if the sauce is getting too dry.  After 20 minutes preheat the oven to low (around 100 degrees c).

When the sauce is pretty much ready, melt ½ to 1 tablespoon of lard in another frying pan and when hot add the tortillas one by one cooking for a minute or so each side (turn gently) so they are softened and coated with lard. Wrap in foil then pop into the warm over, together with 2 plates.  

Add the tarragon to the pan with the sauce and give it a stir.  

Melt the rest of the lard - in the same pan the tortillas were just in - over a high heat and when it is sizzling, fry the eggs, spooning the hot lard over them occasionally.  Season with salt and pepper.

Put a tortilla on each warmed plate and top that with the tomato sauce. Finally put an egg on top and scatter with the grated cheese and a little more tarragon.

The next time I do this I will definitely go for the greedy option and have 2 eggs to myself!

So onto the evening meal of mexican steak and accompaniments.  I should point out that the steak went into the marinade and the beans were put in water to soak on Saturday night, and early Sunday afternoon I cooked the beans.  Once the preparation is all done though it’s all very easy to put together.

Skirt is great cut of meat: after marinading, flash frying and cutting against the grain it is super tasty and tender - this really takes me back to a fantastic holiday on the Yucatan peninsula, sadly far too many years ago.

Serve with Margaritas on the rocks!

The tortilla chips were made by leaving a couple of corn tortillas out for a few hours to go slightly stale, then I brushed them with oil and cut into wedge shapes before spreading out on a baking sheet and popping into a hot oven for 10 minutes. Once out of the oven I ground some sea salt over. As you can see they're slightly overdone but were still by far the nicest I've had outside of Mexico!

Jalapeno, lime, coriander & cumin marinated skirt steak
serves 2
2 tsp cumin seeds
1 jalapeno, stemmed, seeded and roughly chopped
1 small clove garlic, chopped
¼ tsp smoked sea salt (or normal maldon sea salt)
¼ tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 lime, juiced
large handful coriander, chopped
40ml extra-virgin olive oil (about 2½ tbsp)
200g skirt steak

Lightly toast the cumin seeds in a dry frying pan over a moderate heat until aromatic, about 5 minutes.  

Transfer the seeds to a spice grinder (or food processor, or of course you could use a pestle and mortar).  Add the jalapenos, garlic, salt, pepper, and lime juice.  Pulse then add about half of the olive oil.  Pulse again then add remaining olive oil.  Pulse more until it's all blended into a lovely green puree.

Put the steaks into a freezer or sandwich bag, add the marinade, toss around to coat then seal and refrigerate for 24 hours (I did it for 48 in the end - I had very fresh steak from the fantastic McKanna Meats on Theobalds Road).

Remove the steaks from the fridge about 30 mins before cooking so they can come to room temperature.  Heat a griddle pan until very hot.  Wipe a piece of kitchen towel that has been soaked in olive oil quickly over the griddle.  Sear the steak on both side (about 3-4 minutes for the first side then 2-3 for the other).

Transfer to a plate and let rest for 5-10 minutes before cutting against the grain into thin(ish) slices.

Serve with the guacemole, refried beans and chilli mushrooms.

Chilli Mushrooms
Knob of butter
1tbsp olive oil
200g assorted mushrooms (I used chestnut, shitake & oyster)  - sliced
2 shallots, finely sliced
1 clove of garlic finely chopped
¼ tsp dried chili flakes
1 heaped tsp chipotle paste
25ml water
small handful of chopped tarragon & coriander

Heat the oil in a frying pan and sweat the shallots & chili over a low heat until translucent.  Add the garlic and cook for a few minutes more.

Add the butter to the pan, melt, then add the mushrooms, chipotle paste and water.  Cook for about 10 minutes over a low heat.  Stir the herbs in then serve.

Guacamole
1 fresh green chilli (you can add more or less depending on your personal taste), finely chopped
¼ red onion, finely chopped
Small handful of fresh coriander leaves, chopped
1 ripe Hass avocado  
Juice of 1 lime
½ tsp sea salt
black pepper

Put a quarter of the chopped onion, half the chili and a teaspoon of the coriander into a pestle and mortar, along with half of the salt and grind to a paste.

Peel and de-stone the avocado. Cut into cubes, add to the mortar and mash with a fork to a chunky paste, making sure to incorporate the chilli paste and also half of the lime juice.

Carefully fold in the rest of the onions, chilli and coriander.  Season with plenty of black pepper, add more of the remaining lime juice and salt to taste.

Salsa
5 small ripe tomatoes, seeds & pulp discarded then diced
2 spring onions, finely sliced
Juice ½ lime
1 jalapeno, finely chopped
½ tbsp extra virgin olive oil
½ tsp soft brown sugar
Sea salt & freshly ground black pepper

Combine all the ingredients in a small bowl, taste for seasoning and alter to taste.  Leave, to allow the flavours to meld and develop, for a good half an hour.

Enjoy :)

PS - any leftovers are fantastic the next day as a sandwich in a split and grilled pane rustica roll

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