Monday, January 31, 2011

Carbonara


Once again S tried a recipe by Chef John of Food Wishes, who has yet to fail us, which turned out beautifully and was immediately flagged as one of our favourite, 'sure-to-impress' aces. Beautifully luscious, without being too rich, absolutely delicious and satisfying - this is one of those dishes that will leave you with a goofy grin of postprandial bliss/stupor. And, it's doesn't contain any cream - "for real"! You MUST try Chef John's Carbonara recipe.

Saturday, January 15, 2011

Caesar Salad


Once upon a time, I had a craving for a Caesar Salad. If I had been in KL, I would have gone to the one place that (until then) I thought had the best Caesar Salad. But I wasn't in KL and it isn't as easily available at restaurants here. So, I did the only thing I could do - found what looked like a good recipe on the net and convinced S to make it. And that is the story of how 'we' made and discovered the best Caesar Salad that we have ever tasted.

The dressing is deliciously tangy and mildly acidic and most importantly (now that I am older, wiser and more discerning) does not impart the kitschy sweetness that is present in most supermarket and restaurant Caesar dressings. Thrown together, the crunchy, savoury garlic croutons, nutty mellow Parmesan, crisp, fresh cos/romaine lettuce and the comforting taste and texture of hard boiled eggs tossed in the lovely dressing forms a dish with wonderfully complex flavours and varying textures. Normally we top it off with sinful pieces of salty, crispy streaky bacon, but this time we opted for the slightly more elegant and subtle, but just as gratifying, grilled garlic prawns. Absolutely, mouth-wateringly delicious.

The recipe is easier than it looks. Don't be afraid to try it. Below is a simplified version of the recipe:


Caesar Salad 
(simplified and slightly modified from here)

Ingredients

Croutons:
2 large garlic cloves (feel free to use more - we do!)
Pinch of salt
3 tablespoons virgin olive oil
2 cups French baguette slices cut up into 1/2 inch cubes (we normally just use the whole baguette and adjust the other ingredients to taste)

Salad:
1 large egg
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 medium garlic clove, crushed
1 pinch salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1 1/2 teaspoons anchovy paste or 4 flat anchovies
1 teaspoon capers
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1/3 cup virgin olive oil
2 medium heads of Romaine/cos lettuce (just get a couple of bags of the ready to eat, pre-washed kind)
1/3 cup shaved Parmesan cheese

Additional Toppings:
Hard boiled eggs (halved)
Crispy streaky bacon (bake in oven until crispy), or
Grilled garlic prawns (use same method (steps 1-3) as prawns in Chili, Garlic Prawn Vermicelli recipe)

Method

Croutons:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Crush the garlic cloves with the side of a chef's knife or with a garlic press.
3. Slice up the baguette and cut them into 1/2 inch cubes.
4. Combine garlic, oil, salt, and bread cubes in a bowl.
5. Mix until cubes are coated evenly.
6. Spread the coated cubes onto a baking sheet and bake until the croutons are golden (about 10 minutes)

Salad:
1. Crush the garlic.
2. If you are using flat anchovies out of a can, mince one or two to make 1 1/2 teaspoons worth.
3. Shave the Parmesan cheese. It's always better to grate it yourself if you have the opportunity. 
4. Bring a pot of boiling water to boil, add egg and cook for just 45 seconds....NO MORE. This is coddling the egg. Remove from heat and let it cool off.
5. Meanwhile, mix the Worcestershire sauce, lemon juice, garlic, salt & pepper, anchovy, mustard and capers in a bowl.
6. Crack egg and add to these ingredients. Whisk until smooth.
7. Now for the tricky part. Slowly add the oil in a steady stream while constantly whisking again until smooth. Reason: if you add the oil too quickly, the dressing will be separate and not emulsify.
8. In a big bowl, add half the dressing to the Romaine/cos lettuce and toss.
9. Add remaining dressing, hard boiled eggs and croutons and toss again.
10. Top with shaved Parmesan and crispy streaky bacon or garlic prawns and serve.

Tuesday, January 4, 2011

Choong Kee Kampar Claypot Rice

Claypot Chicken Rice with Chinese Sausage and Salted Fish
Claypot Chicken Rice has always been one of my favourite, often-craved dishes. The problem was, I could never reliably get it from any one place. Luckily, during the last trip home, my friend A told me about Choong Kee Kampar Claypot Rice. He has been a patron of the immensely popular original restaurant in Kampar (duh), Perak, his hometown, for many years and he assured me that their Claypot Chicken Rice is indeed, very good. He, however, could not attest to quality of the food at the new branch that they had established in Petaling Jaya - never having been there before. I wasn't about to drive to Kampar, so I had to trust that they brought their recipe for success to the PJ restaurant too (pun cringe intended).


I was very happy with this discovery. I don't know if it is as good as the outlet in Kampar but the Claypot Chicken Rice that I had at their PJ outlet was one of the, if not the, best that I've ever tasted. Most noticeably, the rice was absolutely perfectly cooked and came apart as loose whole grains, rather than the hard, burnt, clumpy rice that you usually get with this dish. The chicken pieces were moist, tender and beautifully flavoured, together with the rice. The interspersing mild sweetness of the tender slices of chinese sausage (lap cheong) and the sharp saltiness of the melted salted fish that topped the dish were the critical supporting components that added depth and variety to the flavours and textures of this scrumptious, hearty, intensely satisfying one-pot meal.

Stir Fried Lettuce (Yau Mak)

The Menu
Besides their speciality, they also offer special steamed soups which we did not try because I'm not really a soup fan, and a small variety of fresh stir-fried vegetables. We had the lettuce (yau mak) and the bean sprouts, which were both very tasty. They open at 12 noon and apparently the line forms very quickly. They close sometime in the afternoon and re-open again in the evening. They are also closed in the middle of the week, for one day (can't remember which), so please ring the number at the top of the menu in the photo (right) to check. You wouldn't want the agony of craving Claypot Chicken Rice and making your way there only to find that they're closed. It isn't exactly around the corner from where I live but the food is good enough that I would drive (or be driven ;)) across town and risk getting stuck in KL traffic to have it. It is definitely going to be one of my regular 'must have's during my annual visit home. Special thanks must go to A for the recommendation, which allowed me to finally succeed in my quest to properly satiate my claypot chicken rice craving - an endeavour with which, for many years, I have had no luck.

Bean Sprouts (Mung Beans)

Choong Kee Kampar Claypot Rice
No 80 Jalan SS22/25
Damansara Jaya
47400 Petaling Jaya
Selangor
Malaysia

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