MAY 2017: Fish and Chips (ala McDonald's)

photoed by D. Liongson

Every customer of McDonalds most likely have a favorite "usual" to order.  My usual is Filet-O-Fish meal with OJ (That's orange juice and not OJ Simpson. Hee-hee-hee... :-)

This fish-wich is quite popular in Lenten Season. Maybe it is an all year round popular thing because it hasn't left the menu yet.

What is in this sandwich? You have a bun (warm soft and firm to the bite) with cheese (golden and lightly salty), tartare sauce (creamy and tangy), and fish patty (steamy, square, succulent, crisp, and boneless). As Huey Lewis and the News would sing, it's hip to be square. ;-)

Then there are the chips. The McDonald's menu would call them "fries". Some would like to eat them with ketchup, others would like them with mayonnaise. It seems like the popular choice is ketchup. (I eat the fries either with ketchup or as is, how about you?) If you want mayo but the resto doesn't offer it, perhaps it would help to eat a chip after every bite of the fish-wich to have a smidgeon of tartare with each chip.

Chips are best eaten hot. Eating them cold can be such a wet blanket.  Sorry, they can't be fixed by stove, oven, or microwave. But if you're a fan of cold chips, then that's not a problem.

If traditional fish and chips is a piece of fish with fried potato sticks served with tartare sauce, McDonald's serves the fish+cheese+tartare in a bun and fries with optional ketchup. 

As like every sandwich, purpose of the bread is to keep your hands off the sticky elements inside it. It is a concept created by the 4th Earl of Sandwich. No kidding. :-)

Is Filet-O-Fish your McDonald's thing or your Lenten Season thing? It is my McDonald's-before-and-after-the-breakfast-menu-thing.

--D.L.

APRIL 2017: Saag Paneer

photoed by A. Rajan

Saag Paneer (Cheesy-licious goodness galore!)

This is a treat that one of my Canadian friend enjoys. So on her visit to Edmonton, I decided to treat her with this.

Items required:

• some water
• A bunch or two of fresh spinach
• some oil
• 1/2 teaspoon of cumin seeds
• 1/2 inch ginger, julienned
• one clove of garlic
• A small shallot (or onion)
• 1 green chilli, optional
• salt to taste
• garam masala
• 1 teaspoon of coriander powder 
• 1 tablespoon of fresh cream
• 100-200 grams of Paneer, cubed
• a little kasoori methi (dried fenugreek leaves)
• some paneer, grated (for garnish)
• a little butter (for garnish)
• julienned ginger (for garnish)
• whipping cream, optional

First boil some water 

and throw in washed spinach leaves into it. 

Remove the leaves from the water in two minutes 

and let them cool. 

Once cool blend it, just 2 three pulses is good 

(so that it doesn't become a smoothie consistency).

In a pan, take some oil. 

Once the oil is hot, add cumin seeds, 

and once they start crackling, add chopped ginger and garlic. 

Sauté a little and add chopped onion into this, 

sauté till translucent and golden at the edges. 

You can throw in chopped green chilli (or skip it).

Add spinach purée into the pan 

and add salt, garam masala and coriander powder into the mix. 

Once it starts boiling, add cubed paneer 

and lightly sauté the mixture. 

Add a little Kasoori methi for flavour about two pinches. 

You can add whipping cream for added creamy taste. 

Garnish with grated paneer, a little butter, and julienned ginger.

Eat with Naan or Rice.

--A.R.

(Plus sugar and spice

And everything nice.) 

--heehee from D.L.

MARCH 2017: Dobos Cake

I walked in The Old Danube. It is a European cake/gelato shop of a pastry chef (who spent 18 years at the famous Gerbeaud Patisserie in Budapest, Hungary). And I feasted my eyes through the cake slices.  I told myself if I will eat a piece of cake, it better be Hungarian. (Before I had eaten this Hungarian cake, would you believe the last Hungarian-style food I ate was a milkfish sausage?)

photoed by D. Liongson

So I picked the traditional Hungarian cake -- Dobos Cake. I learned that this cake was named after its Hungarian creator József C. Dobos.

photoed by D. Liongson

The version I ate was with alternating 5 layers of sponge cake and 5 layers chocolate cream, topped with additional squirt of chocolate cream and a layer of caramelized toffee.  (I was about to ask for a knife to cut the toffee. Then I figured out a fork prick can shatter it to bits.)

photoed by D. Liongson

When you have nothing to rush after eating this sweet cake, I recommend you take your sweet time. Indulge in exploring the flavors in every bite. It helps to put a bite-size piece (cake + toffee) and let the tongue explore the flavors before digesting it with gusto. Let the sponge layer twirl in your mouth with chocolate cream while chewing the crisp sugary toffee.  It is a bundle of happiness in a slice.  There is joy in one piece than eating bucketloads of slices in one sitting-- since being contented with one slice is healthier than pigging out on multiple slices at a time.

That was my little drama over a yummy cake slice. Was eating the Dobos cake slice-- easy or hard thing to eat? 

Just like accomplishing simple schemes, it's a piece of cake!

--D.L.

FEBRUARY 2017: Vegetable Manchurian Hakka Style

photoed by A. Rajan

My Chinese taste buds are so developed now experiencing different regional Chinese food. But I have always been a fan of Indian Style Hakka Chinese food.

One of my very favorite is hot and tangy Vegetable Manchurian. Deep fried golden goodness resembling meat balls in delicious Chinese style sauce.

Recipe is pretty simple; provided that you have all the ingredients or some of them and you are not lazy to grate the vegetables. (It is served with either rice or noodles. Take your pick.)

For the recipe you will need (My version):

• 1 cup of cabbage, grated 
• 1 cup of carrots, grated
• 1-2 Tbsp of scallions, finely chopped
• salt and pepper to taste
• About 4 Tbsp of cornflour

1. Grate the vegetables, 

squeeze the juices from the vegetables in a cup and 

keep it aside. 

Stir in about half a spoon of cornflour in it and 

set it aside to use it later for the sauce.

2. After squeezing out the water, 

add salt, pepper, and corn flour to the veggies and 

knead the mixture. 

Make small balls and then 

photoed by A. Rajan

deep fry or shallow fry them.

photoed by A. Rajan

To make the sauce :

-------------------  

photoed by A. Rajan

• 1 Tbsp of ginger and garlic, each finely chopped
• spring onions, finely chopped 
• 1 Tbsp of tomato ketchup
• 1 tsp of chilli sauce (I used sriracha)
• 1 Tbsp of soy sauce
• a bit of green onions (the green part), finely chopped
• 1 Tbsp cilantro, chopped

1. In a heated wok on a medium flame, 

add oil.

2. And then add ginger, garlic and spring onion to it. Then 

saute continuously.

3. Add the ketchup and sriracha to this.

4. And then add the fried vegetable balls in the wok and 

keep sauteing as it gets coated with ginger-garlic goodness.

photoed by A. Rajan

5. Add a little water to this and the saved cornflour mixture to thicken the sauce.

  

6. Add the soy sauce and 

stir till the sauce is thick.

7. Garnish it with green onions and some cilantro, 

Serve with rice or 

stir in noodles.

Very yummy and easy. :-)

Enjoy!

--A.R.

JANUARY 2017: Laksa

photoed by D. Liongson

Ever tried Laksa?

If you have no clue what it is, click and have a good read at this link.

Since it is found in Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, and Thailand, quite surprising it was for me to find it in a Vietnamese resto.  Feast your eyes with its menu from "A Taste of Vietnam".

There were choices of Laksa. You may order it Large or Small, with a choice of Seafood, Beef, Chicken, or Combination. I picked Seafood since I am on a seafood diet-- when I Seafood, I eat. Hee hee...

I explored different flavors and textures in this noodle soup. The creamy effect of coconut milk, taste of curry with a hint of chilli, slippery noodles, firm to the bite seafood (mine had squid balls, crab stick, fish cake, and prawns), refreshing bits of herbs and vegetables.

Best eaten warm.  IMHO, it is a bummer to eat when cold-y oldy or hot-cha potcha. But then there will be those who love to eat this fresh from the chilly fridge or fresh from the scorching pot. If you wish to take home this soup, you might want to eat this on a have-it-your-way style.

This soup is perfect on a chilly day (or in a freezing room during a hot day). May you keep warm slurp by slurp.
--D.L.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

D'HAIKU

This Laksa is more 
than just a hot soup. It's a
hot and yummy soup!
--D.L.

DECEMBER 2016: Sheera

This is my go to (for desserts) if I run out of options for sweets.

photoed by A. Rajan

Ingredients

------------
1/2 cup clarified butter or ghee
1 cup cream of wheat / semolina
1 1/2 cup of milk
1 cup sugar
1/2 tsp of cardamom, powdered
Dried fruits/nuts, chopped (such as raisins, cashews, slivered almonds)

photoed by A. Rajan

How to make it

---------------

1. First, in a heavy bottomed pan, add ghee. And once it melts, throw in the cream of wheat. Roast it to remove its rawness. I go for dull gold color as I roast it.

2. In a separate saucepan, heat milk and sugar together until the sugar melts. Set aside.

3. Once the cream of wheat is roasted, add this milk-and-sugar mixture to it. (You can add mashed banana into the mixture too, if you like.)

4. Add the cardamom and fruits/nuts and stir it.

5. Cook till the ghee separates a little.

6. Serve hot, with a garnish of slivered almonds.

Love it! :-)

--A.R.

NOVEMBER 2016: Set Meal at Maruya

photoed by D. Liongson

Here is set meal ordered at Maruya Japanese Restaurant at Southport, QLD. 

What you see in this photo is a set meal of my choice: 

Soba + Sushi + Tempura

Most of us are acquainted with hot noodle soup.  This Soba I ordered had cold buckwheat noodles with cold soup.  Simply pick up some noodles with chopsticks, dip in the soup (and don't let go of the noodles), and eat the dipped noodles. Perfect to comfort me from a hot day. 

My sushi had vinegared rice with salmon sashimi pieces, (it slipped my mind what the white sashimi piece on one of the sushi is-- fish or squid?), and a tofu pouch stuffed with the same rice. You may enjoy eating these with dipping it in soy sauce, or add wasabi to your sauce, or eat them together with the pickles on the side. By the way, I figured out that "sushi" is a mass noun (which is uncountable) such that its plural form is still sushi.

The tempura bundle had two large prawns and one slice of sweet potato. The tempura set (of this set meal) of one day may be different on another day. Whatever combination they come up with, it is still all good! All of them are battered up and fried to perfection. Not battered up by goons (hee hee) but by dipping in semi-liquid mixture that makes magic when fried in cooking oil. Not only the prawns are a delight when dipped in its matching sauce and eaten, so does the sweet potato slice. Feel their crisp and their warmth and their yummm.

This set meal has a choice of Soba or Udon.  If my pick was Soba, what is Udon like?

According to the take-away menu, Udon is "thick wheat noodles with shallots, seaweed, crabstick in hot soup". This choice is great to keep warm on a cold day. 

photoed by D. Liongson

So do I. 
D'you know why?
Come and try! :-)

--D.L.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

D'HAIKU

Eat buckwheat soba
and some sushi on the side
with crisp tempura.
--D.L.