Monday Noodle

The Recipe

Serves: 2 people
Preparation: 20 minutes
Cooking Time: 10 minutes

It is based very loosely on one of my favourite dishes in Singapore - Bak Chor Mee which I always have with Mee Pok (a flat egg noodle).

I am by no means an expert in Chinese or Singaporean dishes, however, I have lived in this country for 6 years and have my favourite hawker foods. I admit I do not eat them often because I always feel like my meal should always have some fresh and crunchy element to it…. so a trip to the hawker is an indulgence for me that I will do probably once every two weeks.

With moving to my new place, I have accumulated some extra kitchen space for my private dining events and am enjoying working from home and experimenting at home.

Why Monday noodle? I had a craving on Monday, it is now Friday and the response from the picture of this dish was overwhelming. It is based very loosely on one of my favourite dishes in Singapore - Bak Chor Mee which I always have with Mee Pok (a flat egg noodle). I was at home and had the ingredients to kind of make a Bak Chor Mee. I had tempeh so I substituted that for the minced pork. I toyed with the idea of adding ikan bilas for a bit of extra crunch but decided to make the dish completely vegetarian.

INGREDIENTS

120g tempeh
1/2 large carrot, sliced thinly
300g leafy chinese greens - your choice!
150g fresh shiitake mushrooms
300g mee pok noodles or whatever takes your fancy
dark soy sauce
soy sauce
fish sauce
oyster sauce
white pepper
vegetarian stock cubes
Chilli sauce of your choice!!!!
Braised Mushrooms

METHOD

Simmer 1 cup water, 2tsp dark soy sauce and 1/2 tsp fish sauce in a small saucepan. Throw in the shiitake until they are cooked and have taken on a nice brown colour. (20 minutes)

Mix 2 tsp oyster sauce, soy sauce, fish sauce, 1/2 a vegetable stock cube (MSG is welcomed), 1 tsp white pepper and 4 tbsp of the mushroom broth with about 500 ml water. Bring to a boil, cook noodles until al dente. Blanche Chinese greens and carrot.

Chop the tempeh in small cubes, season with a bit of sea salt and shallow fry in coconut oil until nice and crispy. Add a small dash of dark soy to give it a nice blackened colour.

Place noodles, vegetables and tempeh in a bowl. Pour over a little bit of stock, take a photo and enjoy.

*disclaimer… I know how strongly Singaporeans feel about their hawker food. This is no replication or traditional recipe for Bak Chor Mee. It’s simply a tasty noodle dish inspired by my favourite hawker fare. Hope that’s ok.

Miso Risotto with Peas & Shiitake Mushrooms

The Recipe

Serves: people
Preparation: 20 minutes
Cooking Time: 30 minutes

This dish conjures up a unity of flavours and ingredients from two different parts of the world, however its flavour profile is familiar to both cultures. Japanese miso meets Italian rice. My apologies in advance if I have offended either of these countries – this dish just seems to make sense.

This dish conjures up a unity of flavours and ingredients from two different parts of the world, however its flavour profile is familiar to both cultures. Japanese miso meets Italian rice. My apologies in advance if I have offended either of these countries – this dish just seems to make sense.

It was spurred on by my flat mate, an enthusiastic cook who loves to try new dishes. “Jen, I have just bought a shitload of miso paste – can you write a few recipes on how to use miso that isn’t exactly Japanese???” Krissy. This one is for you.

So, the two important ingredients from two different cultures are miso and Italian rice. Miso encapsulates the very essence of Japanese cooking with an undeniable umami taste.

Umami: “it is usually so faint and overshadowed by other stronger tastes that it is often difficult to recognize it unless attention is specifically directed towards it” Dr. Kikunae Ikeda

Dr Ikeda discovered the amino acid glutamate through many experiments on Konbu, isolating certain compounds by means of evaporation. Umami is found naturally in food such as mushrooms, Parmesan cheese, fermented and cured food products – just to name a few. It is a taste that has existed for many years and although its’ discovery was in the early 1900’s, it took a little over a century to be officially recognized as the fifth taste, adding to sweet, sour, spicy and bitter.

Now rice – in particular rice for making risotto, you will find more about it here.

This recipe can be made in advanced and cooked until the grains are al dente. When it is time to serve guests, add a little water and mix through to heat up the risotto.

The garnish is not essential but dresses up the dish and makes it look that little bit more special.

INGREDIENTS

350g/2cups Arborio or Canaroli Rice
20g butter
A good glug of extra virgin olive oil
140g/1 x Medium onion
10g/1-2 cloves garlic
900mls boiling water
80g/4tblsp miso paste
200g/1.5 cups green peas (fresh or frozen)
150g fresh shitake mushrooms
50g grated parmesan cheese
white and black pepper

Garnish
1 sheet of nori
2-3 radishes
Parmesan cheese
Extra virgin olive oil

METHOD

Finely chop onion and garlic – set aside
Roughly chop the mushrooms as well and set aside
Mix the miso paste and boiling water in a litre jug until the miso has dissolved
In a medium heavy base saucepan, fry onions in oil and butter on a medium heat, when the onions are soft, add in the garlic and then the UNWASHED rice. Mix until all the grains are nicely coated with the buttery oil mixture and the lovely smell of garlic wafts around your nostrils.
Add in the chopped shitake mushrooms.

Now you can add some of the miso stock, 100 mls at a time, mixing the rice constantly until all the grains have absorbed the liquid.

Before the last 200mls of miso stock need to be added, throw in the peas. They won’t take long to cook and we want them looking vibrant and green in our dish!

When all the liquid has been absorbed (you will need to use your instincts here and may need to add more liquid, depending on how well cooked the rice is or not.)

Mix through the grated parmesan cheese, add black and white pepper to taste and a little salt if your palate calls for it.

Plate up the risotto warm and garnish with finely sliced red radishes, nori, grated parmesan cheese and a dash of extra virgin olive oil.

Gnocchi alla Romana with Mushroom Ragù? Ragout?

The Recipe

Serves: 4 people
Preparation: 60 minutes
Cooking Time: 30 minutes

As history would recall, say around late 18th Century when Napoleon and his posse charged into Northern Italy…….. ragù was inspired somewhat by ragout.

How absurd does it seem to mix a traditional Italian dish with a traditional French dish?
If I was to call my mushroom ragout a ragu, technically that would be incorrect…..  however, cuisines and traditional dishes are becoming so intertwined sometimes we don’t know what comes from where and who did what first. 

As history would recall, say around late 18th Century when Napoleon and his posse charged into Northern Italy…….. ragù was inspired somewhat by ragout.

The Italians were eating their pasta with more of a meat broth but ragout, a fish, vegetable or meat stew provided the inspiration and backbone for that meat broth which became a traditional, wonderful and rich sauce for pasta. And the most famous ragù of all – ragù alla bolognose which is NOT served with spaghetti and does not comprise of minced beef! 

Despite the French invading in the 1790’s, there is evidence that Alberto Avisi, a chef for the Cardinal of Imola, was playing around with this mixed meat (veal, pork, beef) slow cooked stew tickled with cinnamon notes as early as 1785. So, my question to you is what came first in Italy? The ragout or the ragù? I’ll leave that one to you. (And it rhymes!)

NOW, bring on the gnocchi – the type that was traditionally made in the time of the Roman Empire. When potatoes didn’t exist until the Colombian Exchange of the 16th Century where a shipment of maize, potatoes, tomatoes and communicable diseases arrived in Europe. Before this transference of staple foods from the Americas, the Romans were making gnocchi from flour and water and that eventually evolved into the glorious addition of eggs, cheese and butter. 

Gnocchi alla Romana is made from semolina – a product that is not exactly flour but a course product that is derived from the milling process of durum wheat (the wheat that is used to make pasta). Mix that semolina with whole milk, eggs, Parmesan cheese and you have a dish as comforting as mac and cheese.
I digress….. I just love food history but here is the recipe, my version of mixed mushroom ragout/ragu with Roman style gnocchi. 
Enjoy with a nice glass of French or Italian red!

Gnocchi alla Romana
250g semolina (unbleached)
950mls full cream milk
1-2 bay leaves
120g grated parmesan cheese
3 egg yolks
100g salted butter
Sea salt to taste

Mixed Mushroom  Ragout                    A good slurp of olive oil
A good chunk of butter (30g)
2 cloves garlic, finely diced
180g (medium) yellow onion, sliced
150g oyster mushrooms
100g shitake mushrooms
200g portobello mushrooms
10g dried porcini (soaked in 300mls hot water)
50g/ 2 heaped tablespoons tomato paste
300mls/ 1½ cups good red wine
Small handful of chopped flat leaf parsley
7 stalks of thyme

1. Put the milk and bay leaves in a medium sized saucepan and bring to the boil
2. Turn off the heat, remove the bay leaves and slowly add in the semolina while whisking constantly
3. When all the semolina is incorporated, use a spatula to scrape down the sides of the pan
4. Add in 50g of the grated parmesan cheese and 30g butter. Mix well and then finally add in the egg yolks one at a time until all ingredients are combined
5. Add a little salt taste
6. Transfer the gnocchi mixture into a non-stick tin or alternatively brush the tin with olive oil. (I used a 22cm x 30cm x 5cm baking pan)                                                                                 

7. Flatten out the mixture until even and smooth, cover with cling film and refrigerate for about an hour until firm
8. When the mixture is set, turn out and cut shapes with a cookie cutter or knife. ( I used a 5cm round cookie cutter)
9. Place in a baking pan or medium casserole dish, slightly overlapping the gnocchi pieces. 
10. Brush each piece with the left-over butter and sprinkle generously with parmesan cheese
11. Place in the oven on bake/grill setting for about 10-15 minutes or until the cheese is nice and golden.
Serve the gnocchi while hot!!!

1. On a medium heat
2. Add in chopped onions and cook until translucent
3. Add in the garlic until fragrant
4. Throw in all the mushrooms and mix through. The porcini mushrooms can do with about 5 minutes of soaking in hot water before adding to the pot
5. Add wine, a few sprigs of thyme and tomato paste
6. Simmer the mixture and reduce until most of the liquid has evaporated, leaving a thick stew
7. Take out the thyme sprigs
8. Throw in a few thyme leaves and chopped parsley
9. Serve immediately with the gnocchi