Prawn cracker

First attempt to  make this childhood favorite snack, using real prawn. It is crispy but on the hard side, not light enough, but happy with result. 

shrimp with shell on the body 180gm 

water 80gm

ginger, salt, chili

 

tapioca flour  160gm

1. Blend shrimp with water, ginger and seasoning to a fine puree.

2. Mix with just enough tapioca flour to form a dough.

3. Shape into small pieces and steam until cooked through, 30 -50 minutes depending on diameter.

4. Dry overnight, cut into thin slices. Dry under the sun or in fruit drier, 45˚C for 4 hours. 

5. Fry in 190˚C oil.

110。2024年6月29日 真蝦片

小時候過節、有人探訪，母親才會開油鑊炸蝦片，看那薄薄半透明蝦片，在油鑊內以極速伸展發大捲曲，那酥脆質感，百吃不厭。

 

 

出來工作後，美麗女同事和男朋友打網球時，意外受傷入院幾天。她說未來奶奶帶來自做蝦片探訪，是她用蝦肉做的蝦片，美味得難以形容。

我才醒悟，原來那透明薄片是可以在家中做，且用蝦肉造成，於我是匪以所思！

那時，雖然恨食真蝦蝦片，但找不到食譜如何自製蝦片，也就放下。

最近想起，上網查找，食譜多解釋清楚，且不難做，蝦、木薯粉、調味料和水而已。只是工夫多，要搓、蒸、切片、風乾，和大量清洗工作！

乾後急不及待油炸，唔……脆而不夠酥鬆，這個不最重要，仍然可以。但，怎麼沒有幻想中的濃厚蝦味？ 只有清淡味道，那些蝦似乎浪費了。

其實為何前人會用蝦做小食？看食譜有人用櫻花蝦取味，真是好主意，且方便好多。馬來西亞朋友曾送給小包以當地果仁做的脆片，亦滋味，看來只要是蛋白質就可以做出效果。下次，可能用鹹蛋黃做脆片，估計會好味些。

 

 

 

 

Fresh basil

A famous Thai dish, I do it when the basil plants are big enough to harvest a handful of leaves. Home grown herbs from seeds, especially basil and coriander, have much more fragrance than shop bought ‘fresh’ herbs, and from plants grown from shop bought herb seedlings.

 

Rice wine

Every winter I make a batch of rice wine like sake, for cooking  (cooked rice and rice yeast) left to rest in cool dark place for over 6 months. 

 

Now that I finished the previous batch, it is time to take it out, using a micro filter to get the alcohol, and keep the lees for cooking, flavouring soup/sauce and seasoning meat/fish.

Picnic dinner

Went down to the lake chalet to enjoy the evening in a different environment.

Made beef Denver skewers, season with salt and pepper, blanched purple sprouted broccoli season with soy sauce and olive oil, and seared nectarine as dessert.

Hereford heifer, striploin and Denver steak

 

Delicious striploin from Toryhill House organic farm, from an Hereford heifer, dark red and full of flavour. Even the butcher said that it cuts like butter. 

 

 

 

 

Denver steak, a layer in the shoulder area below neck, is beautifully marbled, great on skewers for BBQ.

 

So tasty that we went back to buy the same cuts on the other side of the heifer, before they are sold out !

Biking and fishing at the west coast

Once said goodbye to friends, the sun comes out for the next two days. Immediately pack the camping car to get to the coast for some badly needed sunshine and blue sky.

It is two hours drive to get to the the coast near Kilbaha, with nice flat coastal paths to cycle, some monuments and fishing spot for mackerel. 

 Seared fresh mackerel for dinner, breakfast and lunch, no complain. A very lucky 3 days trip, satisfied many interests. 

2024年6月24日 未曾輝煌的土地

在愛爾蘭鄉郊各地，可以看到很多這樣的四層方角高塔堡壘，據統計全國有三千多座，大約十四、五世紀的建築物，各有不同情度的破爛，是當地部落土著首領的居所。

看愛爾蘭歷史，和其他歐洲各國不同的，是直至十七世紀被英國統治前，從未曾統一成國，亦從未有繁盛歲月，輝煌歷史。

一直只是個有很多部落，各自為政，不時互相攻擊的地方。在英軍入侵時，亦不聯手合作，而是向外求法國丶西班牙幫忙抗敵，英國佔領後，被管治、殺傷得頗悽慘。

要到1921年脫離英國，首次自立為國，Ireland 來自古名Eire 「富饒的土地」，是年紀很輕的國家。

住下後，感覺到愛爾蘭人和其他歐洲人民不同，沒有強烈的民族、愛國感覺，似盤散沙，只顧眼前利益，沒有顧及國家大局的愛心，政府亦如此，欠缺視野。

Ballina-Killaloe

 

Garrykennedy

Garrykennedy

香港友人到來探訪數天，雖然已到夏季，仍然密雲細雨且吹北風，朋友一直穿上冬日厚衣服。

 

 
昨日近黃昏，見有點藍天，即刻到附近小鎮走走，所有有河流在鎮中央的地方都特別秀麗，數百年歷史的石橋古樸典雅，風仍冷，但風光美好有個好回憶。

Two ingredients chocolate mouse

One of our favourite dessert, has to be made just before serving, as it will set if being left waiting. Made with 70% dark chocolate, and whipping cream only, skill and temperature control is most important.

First melt chocolate in water bath to around 40˚C, whisk 10% more by weight of whipping cream, whisk to thicken slightly, not yet soft peak. In fast movement, scrape all chocolate into cream, whisk quickly a few times to combine….. ready !

The most velvety light chocolate mouse.

Pizza dinner

Homemade pizza is always easy to please, using whatever I can gather in the veg garden to make the toppings, it is a nice creative challenge.

Pizza with scallion and sesame

Pizza with confit garlic puree, green pea, golden and red beetroot, chive flowers

Pizza with roasted eggplant puree, semi dried cherry tomatoes, anchovies and basil

Pizza with tomato sauce, cheese, chorizo and Kailan stalks cut into cubes and coriander

Crayfish feast

It is rare that the on line fishmonger has crayfish on offer, normally quite expensive for local market, hence most are exported directly. This time managed to get two during our friends’ visit, they are lucky.

The crayfish are cut up, legs removed, heads off and tails into two halves. Grilled on bbq until tail meat is cooked outside and still translucent yet warm inside, the best sweetness and tenderness.

The head takes a lot longer to cook, with a lot of meat inside and Tomally delicious. 

 

The legs are steamed for 10 minutes, meat taken out, mix with asparagus, strawberries, mustard yogurt sauce for lunch the next day.