Pickle garlic (臘蒜)

There is this northern Chinese tradition of making pickled garlic after winter solstice (冬至), to be consumed during Lunar New Year period. At that time, being in the beginning of Spring season (春分), it is good for the body to consume spicy food, like garlic, onion, spring onion, leek, chive etc. Since raw garlic is so harsh to be eaten raw, pickling first makes garlic more palatable. The sulfurous ingredient in garlic will be reduced but we are able to eat more to compensate.

Simply peel garlic, place is a glass jar with lid, add balsamic vinegar and soy sauce, I added Sichuan pepper for extra fragrance. Keep in a cool dark place for 3-4 weeks.

Creme brulee with mince meat

The use of minced meat (mixture of raisins and peels) at the bottom of creamy creme brulee add just that touch of festivity to the dessert.

For 4 standard ramekins:

1. Boil 250ml cream with 30gm sugar (less than normal because of the use of minced meat).

2. Whisk 4 yolks with 30gm sugar, mix in slightly cooled cream (around 60˚C).

3. Fill the bottom of ramekin with a thin layer of minced meat, add a teaspoon of Grand Marnier. Carefully pour the cream egg mixture on top.

4. Place ramekins in water bath half filled with just boiled water. Bake at 140˚C until only the very middle of ramekin wobbles when shaken, around 40 minutes.

5. When cooled down, sprinkle evenly icing sugar on the surface, use blow torch to brown the surface.

Smoked roast duck in cranberry sauce

Main course for Christmas dinner is smoked roast duck, much more tasty than turkey. To achieve the deep reddish colour and crispy skin after roasting, it is important to start preparation at least 24 hours before.

1. Hold the duck by the neck, pour boiling water on the outside surface a couple of times, sort of quickly blanch the skin. Season the inside with salt and pepper.

2. Brush a mixture of equal quantity of honey and vinegar on the skin, then rest on wire rack on top of a dish, let the skin dry out in the fridge for at least 24 hours.

3. Cold smoke for 30 minutes.

4. Roast at 180˚C for around 50 minutes, then rest for 40 minutes before serving.

5. For the sauce, sweat onion, carrot and leek, sear neck bones wings, and giblets, cover with water and simmer for a few hours. Season with dark bean paste for extra richness and thickness, add a cup of cranberry for sourness.

Carrot orange soup with pine nuts

The starter of Christmas dinner is this colourful carrot soup, mixed with orange juice for added fragrance and lightness.

 

1. Sweat onion, ginger and cumin seed, add carrot, turmeric powder and cook at medium heat to bring out flavor. Cover with water and cook until soft.

2. Puree mixture and add in juice of 2 oranges (for 6, v person portion), season with salt and white pepper.

3. Finely mince some herbs like parsley/basil/coriander, mix with olive oil and a sprinkle of chili.

4. Just before serving the soup, add pine nut and a drizzle of herb oil on top of each bowl.

Amuse bouche

I like the French system of having small portions of food for an apero before formerly sat down for dinner. It is great fun to watch the change in expression when friends noticed the surprise twist in flavors. These are what I have created for this year's Christmas gathering.

1. Black garlic wrapped in short crust pastry, what a surprise to bit into a black filling tasted so unusual.

2. They may looks like fish balls, but are actually peeled cherry tomato, dipped in a coconut paste seasoned with curry powder, chili and salt. Everybody agreed that the flavor is rich and complex. Pre-chilled tomato set the coconut paste instantly like making chocolate truffle.

3. Duck liver pate served on a bed of mashed sweet potato.

Hazelnut praline chocolate

Great to have some healthy snack ready for the festive season, in case friends drop in for a chat, and super easy to prepare.

Melt chocolate in warm water bath, mix in 20% hazelnut, pour into a tray lined with baking paper, arrange roasted hazelnuts in suitable distance apart. When set, remove from tray and cut into cubes.

Chewy cinnamon stars

Substituted 1/3 of almond flour in traditional Christmas cinnamon stars recipe with glutinous rice flour, this gives a unique slightly chewy texture to the cookies.

260gm egg whites

100gm coconut sugar

10gm cinnamon powder

200gm almond powder

150gm glutinous rice flour

pinch of salt

1 teaspoon baking powder

1. Whisk egg whites and sugar until firm, fold in remaining ingredients to form dough.  
2. The dough is a bit sticky, so roll in between 2 sheets of baking papers for easy handling, cut into cookies, dip cutter in almond flour to reduce stickiness.
3. Bake at 170˚C for around 25 minutes.

Tapas lunch

Prepared small portions of a few dishes for a friend who is having her last chemo treatment. Something easy to serve, high protein, no sugar, no raw ingredients, that can also help to pass time.

 

1. An amuse-bouche of black garlic, everybody love that unusual caramelised sweet sour taste.

2. Seaweed roll of prawn - lightly seared prawn with salt & pepper, smear the surface with coconut paste and wrap in roasted seaweed.

3. Nutty cauliflower - steamed cauliflower florets topped with hazelnut butter sauce seasoned with soy and pepper.

4. Lamb stir-fry - quick stir-fry of lamb with cumin, bell pepper and fennel, season with salt & pepper.

5. Vegetable skewers of mix vegetable, parsnip, purple carrot, Brussels sprouts and seared halumi cheese.

6. Dessert lemon cheese cake -whip together lemon juice, cream cheese, whipping cream and a pinch of salt, served on sliced steamed white and orange sweet potato, for the natural sweetness, decorate with pomegranates.

Cauliflower cheese with pine nut

Pine nut add a crunch and to this traditional dish. Instead of steaming or boiling cauliflower florets to pre-cook them for the cheese bake, I now dry bake them at 160˚C for around 20-25 minutes.

This is my latest most favorite way to cook non-leafy vegetables. At this temperature, vegetable will not burn or char, but their flavor is concentrated. It is also much easier to cook a large portion of vegetable in the oven than in a steamer.

1. Cook cauliflower florets in the oven.

2. Roast pine nut in a pan directly on low heat, stirring all the time until golden.

3. Cook 20gm butter and 20gm flour at low heat, mixing and let it bubbles for a while to cook out floury taste. Add 750ml milk, mix well and bring to boil until thicken, season well with salt, white pepper and nutmeg.

4. Grate 300gm of hard cheese like Gruyere/Cheddar, melt half into the sauce.

5. In a baking dish, place a layer of cauliflower, sprinkle some pine nut on top, pour white sauce to cover all. Repeat until finish.

 6. Spread remaining cheese on the surface, grill for around 10 minutes until golden.

Pigeons flying south

 

These few days, there have been a number of groups of pigeons swirling around, finding their path south.

 

Unlike cranes that make a shouting noise while flying, easy to notice, pigeons do not make any noise, but they comes in larger quantity, a more eye catching show. 

 

Young ginger with beef & figs

The young gingers that I had dug up, with light colour skin, have mild flavour and crunchy texture, commonly used in a stir-fry dish with beef and pineapple. Since I do not have pineapple, I use earlier made fig compote instead.

 

1. Cut beef into strips, season with salt, soy sauce, black pepper and a little corn starch. Cut young ginger into thin slices, parsley leaves into small pieces.

2. With some oil, cook ginger for 10 seconds, then add beef, spreading the strips evenly on the pan, turn and sear the other side.

3. Add in fig compote, mix well and lastly parsley.

Ginger, turmeric and lemon grass

Time to sort out the green house, winter here is too cold for ginger, turmeric and lemon grass to survive well. Better to dig them out and replant next spring.

 

 

A good harvest of lemon grass, the third generation from the plant I purchased 2 years ago.

Ginger is not that good, there are some harvest, old and young, but not a lot.

 

Turmeric is amazing, with big leaves a bit like a baby banana plant! Unlike ginger where the rhizomes stay near the surface and grow horizontally, turmeric rhizomes go deep vertically down. 

 

It is a huge harvest, but unfortunately they are only pale yellow. The hot season here is not long enough for them to develop a lot of curcuma, the reason for the intense orange yellow colour.

Marmalade

It is the season to make marmalade, using bitter Seville oranges. This is my second favorite jam after blackcurrant jam.

Peel: 1.4kg

Juice: 0.6kg

brown sugar 2kg

water around 3kg

 

1. Cut the peel, with white rind, off the oranges, start with top and bottom, than around, keep the middle juicy bit aside.

2. Cut the peel into 2mm thick pieces, using a sieve, juice the middles into cut peel.

3. Soak the pith and seeds collected in the sieve with a liter of water overnight.

4. Mix sugar into peel mixture and leave to soften overnight.

5. When the pectin has come from the pith and seed mixture, sieve the gluey liquid out, rinse a few time with water to get the maximum pectin out.

 

6. Add the pectin liquid into the peel sugar mixture, bring to boil then simmer for 2 hours, until soften and thick.