Beef with Red Wine & Rosemary Ragù

I am sorry I have been remiss in my blogging this year - moved to a new country and started a new job. Since I came into possession of a smartphone with a half-decent camera last year, I have also neglected to use the proper camera to photograph my food - and it shows. Now that things have settled down a bit, I resolve to do better - starting today, after the outcome of this recipe left me feeling chuffed enough to get out the good camera and write about it this very night.

I had been missing the Beef with Red Wine and Rosemary on Rigatoni from Zucchini Bros, which sadly, I have not written about. I scoured the web for likely recipes but could not quite find one that would have produced a copy of the Zucchini Bros dish. Nevertheless, there were a few that looked promisingly meaty and rich, so they made the shortlist. I consulted M, as I do with all things Italian, and he picked this one. I had my doubts when it was cooking, because I, as usual, hadn't quite followed the recipe to the T. Luckily, it was forgiving.

Now to me, a ragù is a sauce with meat so tender, it falls into shreds when pressed. According to Wikipedia, however, a sauce with minced meat could also qualify, and though a ragù is in some ways similar to the French ragout, they are not the same thing. Someone out there will know the detailed culinary differences as, alas, I cannot enlighten you here today.

Despite my numerous failures, this ragù turned out beautifully rich, velvety and packed with flavour. The first hurdle was finding that I did not have enough wine, even though I was quite sure that I left half a bottle in the fridge specifically for this dish (but underestimated my brother's unquenchable thirst). Then I thought I must have used a bit too much tomato paste because I could taste its harsh metallic acidity in the sauce for the better part of the cooking process - so I threw in some sugar. After that I realised I had to switch to the smaller burner because the sauce was reducing far too quickly. It had only been cooking for an hour and because of that mistake, there wasn't enough liquid for it to continue simmering for another hour. To rectify that, and because I am slightly obsessive (the thought of a partial box of stock in the fridge was irritating me), I poured the rest of the 1 litre box of stock into the pot. And finally, for the garnish, I had thoughtlessly purchased Chinese parsley (i.e. coriander/cilantro) instead of European parsley (although this had next to no impact on the dish). All in all, I don't think these things really changed how it was supposed to turn out (had I adhered to the recipe) - I only did what I did to fix my mistakes, not improve the recipe. The one thing I intentionally changed was to substitute the canned peeled tomatoes, which I can't abide, with tomato puree. So I'll share the recipe as it is for now and adjust accordingly, if needed, the next time I make this - and there will be next time.


Beef and Red Wine Ragù

Ingredients
500g chuck steak, cut into 3cm pieces
200g pancetta, diced (I used streaky bacon)
1 onion
2 carrots
2 celery sticks
5 cloves garlic
4 sprigs rosemary
¼ cup tomato paste
250ml red wine
400g can peeled tomatoes (I used tomato puree)
300ml beef stock
1 pkt dried pappardelle (I used penne)
Shaved parmesan
½ bunch parsley, chopped

Method
1. Heat olive oil in a large, heavy-based saucepan and fry beef pieces in two separate batches until beef is well-browned. Remove from pan. Add pancetta and a little more olive oil and fry on medium heat until golden.

2. Meanwhile, cut vegetables into 2cm dice. Add vegetables and garlic to pancetta and cook for about 5 minutes. Add the rosemary, tomato paste and red wine and simmer for 2 minutes.

3. Return beef to pan with tinned tomato, stock, salt and pepper, and bring to the boil. Turn down heat, cover with a tight-fitting lid and simmer on the lowest heat for 2 hours. Stir every half hour.

4. When beef is soft, use a fork to tear into shreds. Cook pasta until al dente, drain and toss with olive oil. Serve in large bowls with ragu spooned on top. Garnish with parmesan and parsley.

Pork Satay @Sun May Hiong Satay House, Malacca

Whenever I happen to be in Malacca, I make it a point to have the pork satay at Sun May Hiong Satay House. It's something I grew up having only in Malacca, during our visits to the grandparents and so the city and this pork satay are inextricably linked in my mind. For non-Malaysians, satay is a traditionally Malay dish, most Malays are Muslim and abstain from pork, so pork satay is rarely found outside Malacca. Therefore, even though this satay house (calling it a restaurant feels like a bit of a stretch) moved to different locations around the city throughout the years, we faithfully tracked them down to sate our appetites for this delicious local treat. Without a doubt, it is my favourite type of satay and sauce. 

I was told throughout my childhood that the satay sauce at Sun May's is made with 'belimbing', giving it a bright, sourish, tanginess that sets it apart from the traditional sweet peanut satay sauces. Unfortunately, I cannot tell you whether this refers to starfruit (which is 'belimbing' in Malay) or its cousin the Averrhoa bilimbi. Whenever I referred to it as starfruit, as a child, I was corrected by my parents who insisted that the 'belimbing' in the sauce was not the plain ol' starfruit I was used to. My search on Google yielded the Averrhoa bilimbi as the closest possible alternative but I have never seen the sauce being made, so I have never been able to verify this.  

The combination of a coat of this delicious, tangy sauce on the properly charred, tasty, salty pieces of skewered pork is bliss, even in the blistering tropical heat that usually accompanies our trips to Malacca. The best part about this type of dining is that you don't have to order your food. As soon as you sit down, you are automatically given little pots of the satay sauce, ketupat (cubed, packed rice), cucumber and onion slices (that are all best enjoyed slathered in the sauce) and then various types of satay (pork, chicken, intestines, etc. - you can specify your preferences if you want), hot off the barbecue, are delivered to your table. We used to be able to devour 40 sticks each, but can now only manage 20 on a good day - ah, the appetites of teenagers. The only thing that isn't ideal (especially if you are hungry) is the occasional long wait between satay servings - but I suppose that is the price of getting them fresh off the coals, so you'd best allay your hunger and impatience with those cucumbers and ketupats.

Sun May Hiong Satay House

50/50A Jalan Kota Laksamana 1/1

Taman Kota Laksamana

75200 Melaka 

Malaysia

+606 281 7281

Food Wishes' Smothered Pork Chops & Romano Bean Salad

This smothered pork chops recipe from FoodWishes was immediately added to my "Must Make" list when it was published in 2010 - the year I was busy reviewing restaurants, testing recipes (through S) and writing for the food column in Critic. I don't know why, but it took us almost exactly two years (recipe published 27 Feb 2010, chops made 18 Feb 2012) to get around to cooking this! Tsk tsk.

We paired it with another of Chef John's recipes - the cold romano bean salad. The smothered chops were deliciously rich, with the blended flavours of mildy sweet caramelised onions, savoury seasoned meat and stock and tangy buttermilk. I remember being surprised at the sauce's sourish note, but that was because S did the cooking and I had forgotten the details of the recipe (i.e. the buttermilk). Against advice, we did not leave the beans to marinate overnight, so the flavours were quite subtle. Still its acidity, minty freshness and mild bite of garlic made it a very good accompaniment to the saucy, rich chops. Because it is so easy to throw together, I have made this delicious salad many times since, with green beans, lashings of grated garlic, salt, a good douse of olive oil and some white wine vinegar, intensifying the flavour to my liking. I love this salad freshly made, with the blanched beans still warm. Irresistibly good.

You may have noticed that I can rarely be bothered to make anything that is going to take longer than an hour to be ready (which is partly why these beans have never made it to the fridge for an overnighter). I am also very slowly (because I don't cook very often) training myself to moderate my use of ingredients - I'm too impatient to wait for the flavours to develop and have a tendency to throw in too much.... (especially seasoning). My writing betrays this tendency when I use phrases like, "lashings of..." or "there's no such thing as too much...". Onwards and upwards as they say! Happy holidays. 

Fluid

The process of restoring all the photos on this blog is, as expected, tedious. Nevertheless, I will endeavour to restore them all before the end of the year. 

In the meantime, if you're in the mood for sandwiches, go to Fluid. There, in the humble opinion of a sandwich disbeliever, you will find the best of them. Pictured above is the Bacon & Brie - lovely chewy bread filled with beautifully fresh lettuce, delicious, savoury grilled bacon and mild, creamy brie, rounded off with a sweet, fruity spread/chutney. The mouth-watering, intoxicating aroma of bacon and bread that permeates the plastic wrap alone almost makes it worth it, but rest assured, it tastes just as fantastic as it smells. I really want to try all the other sandwiches, rolls, etc there, but I succumb to my weakness for the Bacon and Brie every time. The Chicken in Lemon Aioli is also good, but does not pack the same punch.

Fluid

138 Union Street East

Dunedin 9016

Nice & Natural NUTricious

My new favourite snack - Nice & Natural NUTricious: for Energy. The fruity sweetness of the dried cranberries and the lovely mellow dark chocolate flavour complement the raw nuts incredibly well. Delicious.

S's Aunt Lil's Moist Chocolate (Cup)Cake

Once upon a time S baked a fantastic chocolate cake that became my absolute, hands-down, crazy-eyes, bonkers-for-it, favourite home made chocolate cake. This delicious, moist, soft cake covered with the silkiest, most luscious chocolatey frosting entered the gastronomy annals about the same time as Damien Pignolet's Serious Orange Cake, and has followed suit in it's evolution into a cupcake. The orange cake is equally amazing in both forms, but I think the chocolate is exceedingly more enjoyable, dressed as a cupcake. The cupcake version has better moistness throughout and, of course, my bias just might be related to the higher frosting to cake ratio. It is very unprofessional of me to share this recipe only now, when I have been enjoying this cake regularly (at S's charity) over the last six years. My bad.

Moist Chocolate Cake Recipe

Ingredients:
275 g butter
300 g sugar
250 g flour + 1 1/2 tsp baking soda (sifted)
75 g cocoa powder
1 1/3  cups water + 25 g coffee powder
4 eggs + 2 yolks

Method:
1) Cream butter and sugar till soft and fluffy
2) Add eggs one at a time
3) Pour in coffee mixture, alternating with the sifted flour + cocoa powder
4) Bake at 170 degrees Celsius for 1 hour

Chocolate Frosting Ingredients:
3 tbsp cocoa powder
3 tbsp cornflour
1 cup water
1 cup sugar
2 oz butter pinch of salt

Method:
1) Bring to boil above until smooth and thickens.
2) Pour over cooled cake.

Yung Kee

We had spent the day walking around Harbour City Mall, surrounding Tsim Sha Tsui area and Mong Kok. I wanted a bag and a jacket but found nothing suitable. I must be the only person who went to Hong Kong and couldn't find anything to buy. After a long day of fruitless "shopping", we repaired to the hotel for some respite. We had a reservation at Yung Kee that night - a place I picked after referring to the Miele Guide - and I was looking forward to it. Before dinner, we managed to squeeze in an amusing cab ride up to Victoria Peak, some photo ops with "my" restaurant and of the view, a quick cab ride down the mountain and a wander around Lan Kwai Fong, which landed us at Hong Kong Brew House where I had the best mojito, ever.

Best Mojito Ever! - Hong Kong Brew House

Take this from someone who rarely drinks, but enjoys her cocktails. It was dangerously potent, refreshing and altogether delightfully delicious. I especially liked sucking up and chewing on the partially dissolved sugar crystals from the bottom of the glass - don't know if that's how it's supposed to be, but I liked it. It was the only drink I had (and I am admittedly a lightweight drinker), but it was sufficiently intoxicating for me that I had to concentrate very hard on walking properly when it was time to go, and was compelled to commend the bartender on the drink. I hope he understood what I was saying because I had to repeat myself (my self-consciousness was heightened by the presence of an observing patron sitting at the bar), but I swear I wasn't slurring and the music was very loud! In my defence, my brother and Pa were just as "happy" (it just took them more than one drink) and this is evidenced in the photos I took of some very jovial looking people shortly after our being seated at Yung Kee.

Roast Goose

Bro had been to Yung Kee before and highly recommended the perserved (century) eggs with ginger, so we started with that. I have never been a fan of century eggs, but I have to agree with Bro that these were in a class of their own. Softer and far more refined in flavour than the average century egg, I actually enjoyed the piece that I had, with a bit of pickled ginger. Of course, we also had their famous roast goose, which was outstanding. The flavours were rich and complex, the meat most tender and succulent and the skin, beautifully thin and crisp.

Deep Fried Prawns

We also ordered seafood, which, we later discovered, is something people who are more familiar with Yung Kee and Hong Kong, advise against. The fried prawns and steamed fish were undoubtedly excellent, but there are many other places in Hong Kong where you can get comparable seafood at a fraction of the price. From this menu, it looks like the prawns we had was one of their award winning dishes. And even though the fish was exquisitely delicate both in texture and flavour and we thoroughly enjoyed every last scrap of it, paying about NZ$700.00 for a meal for three isn't something we would do very often, especially when there are cheaper alternatives that are almost as, if not equally good.

Steamed Fish

We didn't particularly enjoy the braised vegetable (can't remember the type) dish that was recommended to us, which was perfectly cooked, but far too subtle in flavour, nor the complimentary "fried flour" dessert, which was dense, boring and too sweet. Those two dishes, however, did not really affect my enjoyment or perception of the meal as a whole. Perhaps it was the impeccable service we received from the incredibly attentive assistant captain, Joyce.

Braised Vegetables with Scallops

After discussing my trip and the meal with friends, I am determined to return to Yung Kee for a taste of their barbecue pork, as well as more of that divine roast goose. And now that I know better, next time I will be armed with the knowledge of specific dishes recommended by my more experienced friends, and perhaps if I'm lucky, one of them! It will be good.

Sticky, Sweet Fried Flour Dessert Thing

Yung Kee
32-40 Wellington Street
Central
Hong Kong

Guava & Asamboi

Eating a good green guava with asamboi (salted plums) is, for me, one of life's greatest pleasures. Yes, I am talking about a simple fruit. The taste of a deliciously sweet, fragrant guava that is at just the right firmness/tenderness is already so good that I'm often torn between eating it as it is and embellishing the flavour with salted plums. I often succumb to the latter because I have always had a great weakness for the intense sourness, sweetness and saltiness of salted plums and, for me, having one without the other is like having burgers without fries. Why resist a marriage made in gastronomic heaven? I OD on these whenever I'm in KL.

Latest Discovery: Pete's Natural

I discovered this lovely, refreshing, quirky and very tasty drink on Tuesday, while having another fabulous meal at No. 7 Balmac. There I had the currant crush, and today I bought a bottle of the lemonade. Both were great. I can't quite put my finger on it but there was a distinct flavour in both that set them apart from other sparkling juices (hence the 'quirky'). Slurp. Might just have to wander over to the supermarket for another bottle of Pete's Natural.

Wayne's Lamb Stew

This was a dish that E and I had almost weekly when we were in varsity and I've wanted to share the recipe for years. We used to frequent a little hole-in-a-wall Chinese 'restaurant' (using the word very loosely) called Wayne's Food Bar. The food wasn't particularly great, but it was one of the first places that we tried when we arrived in town and we just kept going back because it was familiar and cheap - we were students then after all, and weren't quite as free to explore and indulge our gastronomic tendencies as we are now. When I think back, I find it quite amusing that I don't recall being quite as fussy or critical about food then, as I am now. It's a definitely a full blown, chronic affliction now - and they say people mellow with age. 

Anyway, I always had the teriyaki beef at Wayne's, until one day, E ordered the lamb stew. What a revelation. I'd never had anything like that before. It had great warmth and was earthy, rich, complex, hearty and comforting - the perfect antidote to a winter's evening here. E and I had many a lamb stew at Wayne's until one sad day in our second year here, when we discovered that Wayne's had closed for good. We didn't know they were closing. We should have been better customers. The next few weeks (maybe months) were spent lamenting the fact that we missed having one last, good stew, for the road. 

A few years later, after E had moved away, I received a very excited email from E proclaiming that she had discovered the secret ingredient to recreate Wayne's Lamb Stew. Okay, so maybe it wasn't a secret to others, but neither of us (up till then) had been able to identify the source of the stew's base flavour - probably because it wasn't something that either of our mothers or grandmothers used in their cooking. The lamb was marinated in preserved bean curd! E, being the magical cooking fairy that she is, managed to figure out the rest of the ingredients and successfully recreated the lamb stew that we had been missing. Of course, I immediately got the recipe from E and went straight to my other cooking fairy godmother with it. S wasted no time whipping it up, and it was good. 

S has since tweaked E's original recipe, to achieve the right flavour with the sauces and ingredients that we have here. And it's probably not exactly the same as the stew we had at Wayne's all those years ago.  But it's still delicious and an excellent dish to cook in the winter, which is partly why I am only writing about it now. The aroma that fills the kitchen as it is cooking is as mouth-watering as the dish itself. Don't be put off by the ingredients. Just try it.

Wayne's Lamb Stew Recipe (recreated by E, modified by S)

Ingredients:

About 1kg of lamb, cubed 

Marinade:

2 big cubes (1big cube = about 1 tbsp) preserved bean curd 

1 tbsp cornflour 

2 tbsp minced ginger 

3 tbsp thick dark soy sauce 

salt & pepper 

Herbs & Spices:

1/2 tsp cumin seed 

1/4 tsp coriander seed 

1 star anise 

1 cinnamon quill 

5-7 cloves 

3-4 large dried chillies, de-seeded & halved, soaked in warm water 

2 tsp minced ginger 

7 cloves garlic, smashed and roughly chopped 

Another 2 big cubes preserved bean curd 

Sauce:

1/2 cup of soy sauce (use 1/4 cup first and add more if required) 

1/2 cup water 

1-2 tbsp sugar (add more if too salty or spicy) 

1 (full) tsp of chilli black bean (Lee Kum Kee) 

1/2 cup chinese wine (add just before turning heat down to simmer)

Additions: 

1-2 tsp dried chilli flakes 

1 bunch of glass noodles (a.k.a. Suun or Tang Hoon) 

Chinese cabbage 

Instructions: 

1. Marinate the lamb with the Marinade. I usually leave it over night in the fridge and take it out 1/2 hour before cooking it. 
2. Heat up some oil in a med high pan and fry the Herbs & Spices, except ginger and garlic, till fragrant. Usually around 3-5 mins. 
3. Put in smashed garlic and remaining ginger. Saute till fragrant. 
4. Add the marinated meat, and stir fry till the meat changes color. Add the additional preserved bean curd and fry till the meat looks semi-cooked. 
5. Add the Sauce ingredients, except wine, and turn up heat to bring to boil. Add chili flakes if not spicy enough. 
6. Boil for 10-15 mins, and then turn heat down to med low and let it simmer, adding the wine once stew has stopped boiling (this ensures that the wine does not evaporate too much). 
7. Just before serving, add in chinese cabbage (if you want to, or serve separately) and cook it till the stems are soft.

8. Serve with steamed rice.

M's Italian Feast

M is Italian-American and makes great Italian food. After talking about it for the longest time (during cook-offs and mystery box challenges with S, parties, etc), in December last year, we finally organised ourselves and were treated to a spectacular Italian feast by M. M cooked some of the most exquisite, simple, beautifully executed food that I've ever had. Even though seven dishes for four people may not necessarily constitute a feast to some, the bellies of those of us present that night will beg to differ. M outdid himself and delivered a most unforgettable dinner. Above all, he introduced us to what (I imagine)  classic Italian dining is like. Thank you!

Grilled peppers & zucchinis: Deliciously sweet, soft peppers and smokey, charred, tender zucchini strips drizzled with olive oil. I think the olive oil imparts a subtle nutty flavour which adds warmth to the dish and complements the sweet and mellow flavours of the peppers and zucchinis. Simple, yet exquisite.

Foccacia: Beautifully crispy, salty exterior with a chewy centre. This was the best foccacia that M's made (by his own admission). We piled the grilled peppers and zucchinis on these and the result was a perfect combination of flavours and textures. Bliss!

Salad with ham, halloumi, olives, feta and peperoni (I think): I can't remember how M made the dressing, except that it was relatively straightforward. Classic flavours.

Grilled bread (placed at the bottom of the soup bowl): Beautifully charred, smokey and chewy. Brillant addition of the bottom of the soup bowl as it retained it's flavour and structure despite being completely soaked with the fish soup below. Bellissima.

Fish soup: A surprisingly delightful, well flavoured, clear seafood soup. M loves telling his guests that he's serving "Fish Soup" because it sounds completely unappealing, and then observing their surprise and relief when they taste it and it's actually really good.

Gnocchi: M's (and his assistant S's) freshly made gnocchi.

In goes the pesto...

Gnocchi & pesto: M's gnocchi was light and airy and I'm sure, exactly as good gnocchi should be, and S's absolutely loved it. I loved the tasty, herby pesto but I have to admit that gnocchi just isn't for me. I have never been partial to the thicker, spongy or more solid variety of carbs like penne or tong yuen. I prefer more texture.

Grilled chicken: This was a revelation. All M did was grill pieces of flattened, tenderised chicken breast with olive oil, rosemary, salt and when they were cooked, sprinkled chopped parsley and squeezed lemon juice over them. Apparently you have to be careful not to overcook the chicken, but other than that, it is probably the simplest recipe for cooking chicken that I've come across, and it produced one of the most delectable pieces of chicken that I've ever had. At this point I truly understood all those references I've heard about the simplicity and beauty of Italian cooking and food.

Risotto: Texturally, the risotto was great. M intended to use the "low salt" stock to cook the risotto but inadvertently got the normal kind, so it was a tad too salty. Otherwise it was pretty good and had an interesting flavour - I've never had risotto flavoured with saffron before. 

Tiramisu (whole): M's "free-form" tiramisu. 

Tiramisu (served): I used to think the recipe S and I had for tiramisu was pretty good, but M's wins hands down. Ours is like the kid-friendly version compared to his. Rich, decadent, alcoholic, infused with the bittersweetness of coffee and topped with the acidity and sweetness of strawberries tossed with icing sugar. After all that food, we were pushing it but still had to make some room for this divine dessert. No regrets.

Shahi Tandoor

Chicken Tikka

'Twas a dark, cold, rainy evening. We were wet, hungry and just wanted to get indoors, get dinner and get home. It was one of those "Fine, we're sick of all the usual restaurants, so lets just try this new place" moments. I have to admit, I was skeptical when we stepped into Shahi Tandoor that first time, but I am glad that that's where we ended up because that first dinner was, and every meal since has been, pleasant and enjoyable.

The first surprise was that we were offered hot towels while we perused the menu. Next, I noticed that their mains were priced about $5 - $10 less than their counterparts at other Dunedin Indian restaurants. At this point, the cynic in me (who rules most of the time) was primed to expect the food to be mediocre because it (the cynic) cannot believe that you can effortlessly hit the trifecta, out of the blue like this, on George Street, in little ol' Dunedin. But hit it it did - the food was excellent, the prices were very, very reasonable and the waitstaff were friendly and helpful. The one thing that was distinctly different was the juiciness of the proteins in the curries. Now, this isn't usually a sticking point when it comes to curries since the amount of sauce more than compensates for any apparently overcooked meat or fish. The pieces of fish and meat in these curries, however, were immediately noticeably far tenderer, tastier and juicier than the protein contents of any other Indian curry that I've had in town. Clearly, I didn't know what I had been missing.

I've since recommended Shahi Tandoor to anyone who asked and returned with friends (only so I can take pictures of their food and taste more dishes in one sitting!) and they too have raved about the food. 

Vegetable Shahi Kebab

Mix Vegetarian Platter for Two: Liked the crispy, but still tender and moist, onion bhaji (with discernable chunks of onion). Don't remember much of the samosa, vegetable seekh kebab or potato pakoda, but the mint sauce was bland and watery.

Chicken Tikka: Beautifully charred, juicy chicken covered in a lovely, tasty, mild spice paste. Delicious and one of the best chicken tikkas I've had anywhere.

Vegetable Shahi Kebab: I think the others liked it, but it wasn't memorable for me.

Goan Fish Curry

Garlic Prawn: Great, complex, garlic flavoured curry. Incredibly tasty. Only gripe would be that if you are going to leave the tails on the prawns, they have to be larger prawns (at least two inches long). 

Goan Fish Curry: Excellent curry with lovely depth and beautifully cooked, tender juicy pieces of fish. 

Kadhai Paneer: Absolutely delicious. As good as the best kadhai curry that I've had. This was someone else's dish and as I am not always in the mood for cheese, I didn't try any paneer.

Lamb Vindaloo & Khadai Paneer

Lamb Vindaloo: I never liked vindaloo before, but this was exceptionally good and has changed my mind. Like the other aforementioned curries, this too had the complexity and depth that its counterparts have lacked.

Chicken Saagwala & Palak Paneer: Both were delicious, thick, beautifully flavoured spinach curries. The chicken was so perfectly cooked that there were still little streams of clear juice dribbling through the chicken as you bit or cut into them.

Chicken Patiala: A spinach based chicken curry wrapped in an omelette and covered in another tomato based (I think) curry. Very unusual but scrumptious nonetheless. It was such a large dish that I could barely finish it, even with help. This is probably unrelated but 'Patiala' sounds a little like 'Pattaya' which is the name of another Asian dish where fried rice is served wrapped in an omelette. 

Garlic Naan: Deliciously loaded with chopped garlic for that great, nutty, irresistible garlicky goodness. Perfect naan texture, weight and feel. This may sound silly but I love the texture and feeling of tearing a good piece of naan with my hands. Curiously, the surface and weight of a naan's reminds me of the feel of leather, but of course naan is soft, tender and good to eat and leather is not.

Chicken Saagwala

Shahi Tandoor
351 George Street
Dunedin 9016

No. 7 Balmac

No. 7 Balmac's rustic, casual-chic charm reminds me of Riverstone Kitchen. After patronising most of the fine dining establishments in Dunedin over the last nine years, I've decided that I much prefer this relatively relaxed ambience over the sometimes overly stuffy and haughty character conveyed at certain other posh restaurants - particularly since the food at some of these more relaxed places is comparable to the the food at the 'posh' places. I use the terms 'fine dining' and 'posh' very loosely when referring to restaurants here - in Dunedin they simply mean restaurants where the mains cost about $35 or more and are not pure bars or cafes. While places like No. 7 Balmac are nice, upmarket restaurants, you wouldn't exactly call them 'posh'. The food at No. 7 Balmac, however, ranks second in Dunedin on my list, and I have a far more enjoyable time there - after all that's all that matters.

NB: Before we begin, I must apologise for the quality of the dessert photos - we usually lose the light by the time desserts arrive and 'cosy' restaurant lighting isn't conducive to food 'photography', particularly when you know next to nothing about photography.

In October, we celebrated P's birthday there with his friends. Everyone order the same main, except S. It was a really good night. The food was great and after dinner we introduced Cranium to the guys and everyone had riotous time. P-the-Creative-Cat-fiend, especially, loved it.

Bruschetta: Very, very good, but not quite as amazing as the first time I had it (perhaps earlier in 2011). Then, it was made with buffalo mozzarella, tomato and basil and the combination of beautiful, fresh, natural flavours was exceptional. This time, instead of basil, I think it was rocket? - sorry, I can't remember and can't say for certain from the photo.

Hereford Prime dry-aged scotch fillet: This was the main that everyone but S had. A very nice, tasty, rustic meal. Especially loved the hand cut chips and the deliciously bright chimichurri sauce. 

Coq au vin: S's main. She loved it. I had a bite but I don't remember much about it except that it was subtly flavoured. 

Flourless warm Belgium chocolate pudding, vanilla bean ice-cream & hazelnut praline: It had an incredibly light, soft, texture but was still lovely, sumptuous and chocolatey. Mmmmm. Divine. I loved this so much that I ordered it again when we revisited in November. 

Steamed currant pudding?: I am not 100% certain of what this was called but S enjoyed it.

Warm real chocolate brownie with ice-cream: Most of the guys had this. A large chunk of warm, chewy, chocolately brownie, topped with ice cream. One of the guys ordered the chocolate pudding, had a bite of the brownie and wanted the brownie instead. I preferred the pudding but I think the guys were partial to more weight, chew and bite to their chocolate thing.

Fast forward to November - no particular occasion other than to have a good meal with friends.

Nicoise salad: Forgettable.

Twice baked three cheese souffle: Like the airiest, cheesey omelette imaginable. So delightfully good that M was compelled to create a version of it the next day.

Roast Cardrona merino lamb: S's main, which she didn't like. Apparently the lamb was gristly and the accompaniments did not complement. 

Twice cooked BBQ belly pork: M's main that night. He thoroughly enjoyed it and the bite that S tried was enough to persuade her to order it when she returned some weeks later - she loved it too.

Fish of the day: The fish was cooked well - juicy, tender flesh with nice salty, fried skin. But the salted fish in the mash was overkill and that spoilt an otherwise enjoyable dish.

Poached pear, macaron, lemon curd ice-cream & pistachio: The poached pear and ice-cream were good but I did not enjoy the macaron with the flavoured cream cheese filling at all. 

No. 7 Balmac
No. 7 Balmacewen Road
Maori Hill
Dunedin

Auntie G's (and S's) Rendang

I am not sure how it happened, but this fussy foodie has serendipitously flatted with not one but two friends who not only cook compulsively, but take a perverse delight in feeding the people around them into a stupor. And then there's M who is now a 'cook-off' junkie. Over the years, I have discovered that these peculiar creatures cannot be blamed for this apparently hereditary affliction. E caught it from her grandmother and S's parents have passed it on to all their children! 

This is S's mum's recipe for the classic Malaysian/Indonesian dish - rendang. I have never tried cooking it myself - I leave all that hard work to S. Even with a recipe, it is not an easy dish to perfect, but when done right is absolutely 'roll-your-eyes-to-the-back-of-your-head' divine. Beautifully tender pieces of beef/lamb/chicken sitting in lovely, thick, rich, spicy, aromatic, sweetish, gravy/paste. There are several different versions with distinctly different flavour profiles (some are sweeter, some are more curry like), but the basic characteristics of a good rendang are as described. That rendang pictured above that S made with this recipe was stunning and close to perfection. Maybe one day when S isn't just a stone's throw away to cook for me, I'll have to attempt it, but for now I am quite content just depending on her charity. Perhaps you should try it and report your efforts - it actually requires a bit of practice to get right.

Ingredients
125g ginger
300g onions (large or shallots or a mixture)
150g garlic
100g "buah keras”(candlenuts), soaked for about 20 minutes
100g “serai“(lemon grass, root only)
50 g fresh “kunyit” (turmeric); or 2-3 tsp turmeric powder
6-8 tbsp chilli paste - instructions below
250g “kerisek” (fried desiccated coconut) - instructions below
3 tsp tamarind puree
55g palm sugar or white sugar
2 whole and 2 shredded kaffir lime leaves
1 piece “kunyit” (turmeric) leaf, shredded (substitute with fresh bay leaf)
Gravy beef/chicken/lamb chops (see estimate in the recipe below, you don't have to use all the paste)


Method

Chilli paste:
Top and deseed 1 bag (around 700gm) of big dried red chilli.
Boil in a pot of water for 5 minutes.
Drain and blend into a smooth paste (some water can be added if it gets too thick).
Fry in hot oil (on med to med-high heat) for 20-30 minutes.
When the oil separates and form a border around the side of the pan the paste is done.
Store in refrigerator, in an airtight jar, with a layer of oil on top.

Kerisek:
Dry fry 250g of desiccated coconut (use fresh if possible) on med-low heat.
This will take around 25 minutes.
Fry the coconut till it turns a lovely dark caramel colour.
Be sure to constantly stir the coconut so that it does not burn.
Let it cool, then using a spice blender or pestle and mortar, blend the coconut to a smooth paste.
You will notice that the natural oil will make the paste thick.
DO NOT add any liquid.

Rendang:
Grind to a smooth paste ingredients 1 to 6.
Fry this paste and chilli paste until oil comes up/separates (use a deep pan as it splashes) for about half hour or so, on med heat.
I ended using about ¾ to 1 cup of vegetable oil.
Add ½ a cup first, and add more (if needed) mid way through.
You basically want enough oil to fry this paste.
Add tamarind juice/puree, salt, and palm sugar (taste to ensure balance is perfect). Not too sweet please! Add leaves and kerisek, and cook for further 10 mins.
At this point you have a cooked paste that can be kept in the freezer for use in the future.
This recipe makes the amount of paste for about 5 - 6kg of meat (possibly more).
To make the rendang, add meat to a pan (with very little oil) and fry for 5 minutes.
Add enough of the rendang paste to coat the meat.
Add some water (a few tablespoons) just to loosen the paste.
Cover and slow cook until meat is tender. If using beef, this can take up to 2 hours. However, if you are using a pressure cooker, that should take less time.
When the meat is tender, add some coconut cream, sugar and salt (to taste).
If the sauce is too runny, slow cook on low heat, uncovered, for 20-30 more minutes.
Serve with rice, bread, naan or roti.

New Flavour Restaurant's Dumplings and Fried Squid

10:47am, Sat 15 Dec 2012, Edit: I returned to Auckland and found it, thanks to A! She drove me up and down Dominion Road until I spotted it. And many before me have written about it so it must be an Auckland institution. Alas, we found it on my last day there, they were closed and we'd already eaten, but at least now I know where to go next time:

New Flavour Restaurant
541 Dominion Road
Mt Eden
Auckland
Open Wed-Mon, 5pm - 3am

---------

OK this is a bit of a cop out because I am on holiday, but that's what holidays are for. Sorry photos are not very good. It was late.

We had these dumplings and this excellent fried squid in August 2011 in Auckland. Unfortunately, none of us can remember the name of the restaurant or the address, except that it's on Dominion Road (I've even tried Google Maps' 'Street View', etc). The front of the shop is glass and has red chinese characters and the word 'dumplings' all over it. We had actually (literally) just eaten at another restaurant in the vicinity (upstairs, several shops away) that A took us to for the Chinese-style skewered, barbecued meat, but for whatever reason, this place just looked like it would serve really authentic dumplings, and so, was irresistible (if any of you know this dumpling place that I am referring to, please let me know). A, who picked us up from the airport and drove us straight to the food, was kind enough to indulge us, even though it was quite late and not one of us could even pretend to still be hungry.

It was about 1 a.m. and the little shop was still full. I thought that they would only be serving dumplings but they actually had a full Chinese menu with a slew of rather interesting items that we probably would have ordered were it not our second meal of the hour. With some restraint, we ordered a plate of pork and shrimp dumplings, which was all we were supposed to have initially, but then succumbed to the enticing photo of the fried squid on the menu and ordered that too.

The squid turned out to be one of the best, most interesting fried squid dishes that I've had. It was served piping hot, with a light, crispy batter laced with the lovely, distinct, piquant flavour of cumin. Absolutely delicious. 

The dumplings were good too - juicy and very tasty, especially when dipped with in bit of vinegar. A little oily, but only on the surface and not offensively so.

Must. Return. For. Squid. 

Garlic and Spring Onion Chicken Rice

Strangely, I first tried this apparently common Asian dish in Dunedin. I say 'apparently common' because it seems to be on the menu of most of the Chinese/Cambodian restaurants in Dunedin, yet I'd never seen/heard of it in Malaysia or Singapore, where there is generally a wide variety of all cuisines. 

Anyway, we were new in town and A specifically recommended the 'Steamed Chicken Rice' from Sampan (362, George Street, Dunedin). For Malaysian/Singaporeans, 'Chicken Rice' is a particular local speciality, so I will refrain from calling this that. It quickly became a favourite that we (E, S and I) would crave every other week, for many years. I used to drown it with the clear chicken soup that it was served with and that was the ultimate comfort meal for me, regardless of the season or time of day. Of course its perceived comfort quotient increased in sickness and cold weather.

For various reasons (convenience, simplicity, cost/product ratio, etc), this year I came up with my own quick and dirty version. Given that it wasn't a very refined or complex dish to begin with, I think my (slightly different) version is at least just as good Sampan's.

Garlic and Spring Onion Chicken Rice

Ingredients:
Chicken thigh fillets (or whatever cut you prefer)
OXO chicken stock cubes
Ginger (fresh, peeled, about 5 inches)
Garlic
Spring Onions
Salt
Sugar
Rice
Oil

Method:
1. Boil chicken pieces with 2.5 inches of ginger and 1 crumbled cube of chicken stock.
2. While chicken is cooking, finely mince garlic and spring onions (as you can see from the photo, I did not mince the garlic finely enough this time). If you have a food processor, you can just mince them together.
3. Remove chicken as soon as it is cooked, but do not pour away the stock/soup that the chicken was cooked in.
3. Strain stock/soup with a fine cheesecloth (for best results) or let it rest until all residue settles at the bottom of the pot. Skim the oil off the surface if you like.
4. Add rice to rice cooker pot with 1 crumbled cube of chicken stock, the remainder 2.5 inches of ginger and enough soup/stock (make sure to use only the clear broth and try not to scoop up any residue) to cook the rice, then cook rice.
5. Mix minced garlic and spring onions together. The amounts are up to you. I think a ratio of 2:3 garlic to spring onions is about right. Add a few teaspoons of salt and sugar (about 2:1).
6. Heat oil (enough to cover garlic and spring onion mixture) until hot enough to create a sizzle when a small piece of garlic is added. I use a microwave but heating it on the stove would be much better.
7. Pour hot oil over minced garlic and spring onion mixture and mix thoroughly. It should be quite salty as the chicken, rice and soup will be bland. Add salt/sugar and taste again until it is to your liking. You may reheat this mixture if you like, but you don't want the spring onions to wilt too much or turn too dark.
8. Serve rice and chicken topped generously with the garlic and spring onion mixture and some of stock/soup. It is quite a dry dish without the soup, so I like to drench it, but you should only do that if you have properly strained the soup/stock with a cheesecloth, otherwise the fat and residue (from boiling the chicken) makes the rice greasy and pasty.

BBQ Prawns and Mango Salsa

S made this (with me hovering in the background) in May 2010 and I have been holding out on writing about this, even though it is a real favourite of mine and just about everyone else who has tasted it, because I wanted to get a better photo. The first time S made this, there were no good mangoes available here so we caved and bought canned mangoes, which were revolting (as you can see from the colour in the photo). 

Chef John's Mango Salsa recipe, however, was sound enough to withstand our adulteration. Even with the horrible canned mangoes, the salsa was pretty good and we could easily imagine how great it would be with fresh mangoes. S has made this salsa many times since and it is always, always beautifully refreshing, tangy and absolutely delicious. It's that great accompaniment that lends that all-important zing to barbecued, smokey, rich proteins. Unfortunately, despite numerous attempts, this is still the best photo for this dish.

Instead of the salmon in the orignal recipe, that first time, we shrimp fiends opted for Chef John's slightly naughtier 'Barbecued' Shrimp, which incidentally was also finger-lickin', lip-smackingly tasty. Sadly, if I remember correctly, we've only had the shrimp twice (because I'm lazy and rely entirely on S's charity when it comes to cooking).