Mapo Tofu

Tofu was (and still is) a staple in our house as I was growing up, even before it joined the ranks of the hip and happening vegan superstar diets currently in vogue. It was my grandmother's main ingredient in a lot of the food that she so lovingly prepared, it is food that my mom regulary eats, and it has been my favorite food eversince I can remember. Now that I have started my own family, it is food that I enjoy preparing, in so many ways, as my grandmother and mother have taught me. I don't have any preference on how it's prepared. I can eat it deepfried covered with sesame seeds and breadcrumbs, steamed with vegetables with oyster sauce, or in the form of fried stinky tofu (rotted tofu hence the name) with lots of chilli. One of the ways I remember it being served in our house is mapo tofu. With steamed rice, this is the chinese comfort food. On days when there are too many ingredients but too little to make any one dish out of each of them, they are all cooked together with tofu and chilli to make this amazing meal. If you haven't had it yet, don't let the fact that leftovers are used for this dish dissuade you. I can't describe the taste in one word, as the taste comes from the blend of different flavors from the ingredients, the sweetness from the tofu, and finally the spice from the chilli. It is something that cheered me up as I got home from school, my bag packed with tons of homework, now it is something that welcomes my husband as he comes home from a tiring day at work. A meal to warm you up during the cold winter night, paired with steamed rice, it is comfort food at its best.

Ratatouille, my way

The first things I ever learned to make in culinary school was ratatouille. My first impression was...is this it? Gradually, as I had to make it countless of times at work, it became second nature to me that I didn't even think while I was preparing it. I began to ask my sous chef for different things to prepare as I was getting so bored of cutting up the vegetables all the time. Surely I was ready to move on to bigger and greater dishes? Well, I had to spend at least a couple of more months doing that same old dish. His theory was, if you can make a dish without having to think about what you're doing, then you've perfected the dish. Having being told this did not stop me from hating the monotonous nature of my job, but he was so right. I can make ratatouille without even thinking about it, and that leads to greater things in my ratatouille world. I have memorized the dish so much that I can make it my own way, adding my own ingredients without having to worry if it will come out alright. Now when I start prepping my vegetables I feel this wave of calm over me. So much love for one simple dish.

Healthy Living

I've been trying to make healthier meals for my husband lately. Often, he comes home from work in the wee hours, and not surprisingly for someone working in the kitchen, is usually tired and HUNGRY. Yes, people may assume that chefs are well fed for obvious reasons, but contrary to this we are not. For the past months I've been making regular food, and everyone knows eating regular food in the wee hours of the morning contributes to massive love handles. We are in handlebar city currently and are going on the healthy living track.

I am fond of salads, although the picture that I am posting does not reflect it (I still need to learn how to take amazing pictures). I am not pertaining to raw vegetables tossed together and eaten as is...like a rabbit. The salad for me is a work of art. The process of picking the leaves, making sure each and everyone of them are perfect, refreshing them in ice water, and drying them so that they come alive, crisp with every bite. I am passionate about salad dressings, from the oil, seasoning, down to the aromatic herbs crushed to release their flavors and oils, not overpowering, but merely lending a sutle taste to the leaves. Everything else must come from fresh ingredients, completing the perfect salad. I got this from working in the cold larder, being fortunate enough to have a chef de partie that inspected every salad leaf bordering on obsession. Here's to healthy eating.

Roast Pork with Paprika and Couscous

I like preparing this meal...it's easy with minimal mise en place. Plus the pork always comes out perfect.

First, the roast pork. Season liberally with salt, pepper and paprika. Sear and cook in the oven.
Next, dice up some vegetables for the couscous. For this I used courgettes, carrots, green and red capsicums, tomatoes. Take 3 sausages and use the filling only, and some diced bacon. Fry the sausage filling and bacon in some olive oil, add the capsicums, and then the carrots and courgettes. When the vegetables are cooked, take off from the heat and add the diced tomatoes and raisins. Fold in the couscous. Finally, for the salad, quickly saute oyster mushrooms seasoned with salt and pepper in olive oil. When the mushrooms are almost done squeeze in some lime juice. Add the mushrooms to the salad leaves and toss together. The salad leaves will wilt from the heat of the mushrooms. Season with sea salt.

Eat up!