Zhen's Chinese Buffet

And again this friday, Zhen trumped all of our cooking skills with her great variety of chinese dishes. We had (from the top left, clockwise) pork belly, ribs, cumin lamb, spicy noodles and beans and it was YUMMY!

Here is how Zhen works the magic:

Ribs

Cook the ribs with five-spice powder soup for 30 mins, with ginger and salt

Key point: with pressure cooker

Double-cooked pork slices

Materials: Pork, Leek, ginger, salt, aniseed, hot pepper, Pricklyash Peel

1)  cook soup with ginger, salt, aniseed, hot pepper, Pricklyash until boiled

2)  put the port (the whole one) into the boiled soup for 5 mints

3)  take out of only the pork until its cooled

4)  cut the pork as very thin slices

5)  put oil in the hot pan and cook for 3 mins

6)  adding some black bean source in oil and cook for another 3 mins

7)  adding the sliced pork in the pan fry for 5 mins

8)  adding cutted leek in the pan and mix with the pork, adding a bit salt and cook for 5mins

9)  ready to serve

Chinese noodle

Materials: Chinese noodle, cucumber

1.    noodle source including soy sauce, Chinese vinegar, aniseed Powder, pepper oil, sesame oil, sugar, garlic, ginger, leek, peanuts powder

2.    cook the noodle with boiled water for 5 mints, take out the noodle and watering with cold water to prevent the hot noodl to stick together

3.    adding some olive oil to mix with noodle

4.    ready to serve: mix this noodle, sliced cucumber as well as the source

Cumin lamb

Materials:Lamb, cumin, potato， ginger

1)       Cut the lamb, ginger and potato into small pieces

2)       Fried the lamb with ginger, cumin and salt for 5 mins

3)       Adding the potato together and fry for another 8 mins

4)       Ready to serve

 



Sweet and sour chicken by Karolina

Today we had Karolina's flatmate's special sweet and sour chicken and it was very delicious! According to Karolina it is also not very complicated to make. That's what we like to hear!!!

And here is the very easy recipe:
For the sauce you need:
3 tbsp vinegar
3 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp tomato puree/ketchup
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp cournflour
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp seasame oil
this does 2-3 peoples worth of chicken and vegetables.
I mixed it with cooked chicken, carrots, green peas, onions, sweetcorn and rice.

Aubergine Ragout with Couscous by Jochen

A little while ago, Jochen delighted us with a very tasty lunch... it was so tasty, we completely forgot to post it. So here is the picture:

And the recipe will follow, as always.

Nick's not yet famous Cannelloni

"The Cannelloni is a cylindrical type of pasta generally baked with a filling and covered by a sauce."This is the Wikipedia definition. And although Nick's cannelloni had a somewhat cylindrical shape, they were not just baked with any filling and any sauce: the had delicious ricotta and spinach filling and were served in a rich tomato and mozzarella sauce.... and a thick and creamy chocolate cake for dessert, what more could you ask for?

CANNELONI

FOR THE TOMATO SAUCE

• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 8 garlic cloves , crushed
• 3 tbsp caster sugar
• 2 tbsp red wine vinegar
• 4 x 400g cans chopped chopped tomatoes
• small bunch basil leaves

FOR THE TOPPING

• 2 x 250g tubs mascarpone
• 3 tbsp milk
• 85g Parmesan (or vegetarian alternative), grated
• 2 x 125g balls mozzarella , sliced

FOR THE FILLING

• 1kg spinach
• 100g Parmesan (or vegetarian alternative), grated
• 3 x 250g tubs ricotta
• large pinch grated nutmeg
• 400g dried cannelloni

1. First make the tomato sauce. Heat the oil in a large pan and fry the garlic for 1 min. Add the sugar, vinegar, tomatoes and some seasoning and simmer for 20 mins, stirring occasionally, until thick. Add the basil and divide the sauce between 2 or more shallow ovenproof dishes (see Tips for freezing, below). Set aside. Make a sauce by beating the mascarpone with the milk until smooth, season, then set aside.
2. Put the spinach in a large colander and pour over a kettle of boiling water to wilt it (you may need to do this in batches). When cool enough to handle squeeze out the excess water. Roughly chop the spinach and mix in a large bowl with 100g Parmesan and ricotta. Season well with salt, pepper and the nutmeg.
3. Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Using a piping bag or plastic food bag with the corner snipped off, squeeze the filling into the cannelloni tubes. Lay the tubes, side by side, on top of the tomato sauce and spoon over the mascarpone sauce. Top with Parmesan and mozzarella. You can now freeze the cannelloni, uncooked, or you can cook it first and then freeze. Bake for 30-35 mins until golden and bubbling. Remove from oven and let stand for 5 mins before serving.

CHOCOLATE CAKE

• 200g good quality dark chocolate , about 60% cocoa solids
• 200g butter , cut in pieces
• 1 tbsp instant coffee granules
• 85g self-raising flour
• 85g plain flour
• 1⁄4 tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 200g light muscovado sugar
• 200g golden caster sugar
• 25g cocoa powder
• 3 medium eggs
• 75ml buttermilk (5 tbsp)
• grated chocolate or curls, to decorate

For the Ganache

• 200g good-quality dark chocolate , as above
• 284ml carton double cream (pouring type)
• 2 tbsp golden caster sugar

1. Butter a 20cm round cake tin (7.5cm deep) and line the base. Preheat the oven to fan 140C/conventional 160C/ gas 3. Break the chocolate in pieces into a medium, heavy-based pan. Tip in the butter, then mix the coffee granules into 125ml/4fl oz cold water and pour into the pan. Warm through over a low heat just until everything is melted - don't overheat. Or melt in the microwave on Medium for about 5 minutes, stirring half way through.
2. While the chocolate is melting, mix the two flours, bicarbonate of soda, sugars and cocoa in a big bowl, mixing with your hands to get rid of any lumps. Beat the eggs in a bowl and stir in the buttermilk.
3. Now pour the melted chocolate mixture and the egg mixture into the flour mixture, stirring just until everything is well blended and you have a smooth, quite runny consistency. Pour this into the tin and bake for 1 hour 25- 1 hour 30 minutes - if you push a skewer in the centre it should come out clean and the top should feel firm (don't worry if it cracks a bit). Leave to cool in the tin (don't worry if it dips slightly), then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
4. When the cake is cold, cut it horizontally into three. Make the ganache: chop the chocolate into small pieces and tip into a bowl. Pour the cream into a pan, add the sugar, and heat until it is about to boil. Take off the heat and pour it over the chocolate. Stir until the chocolate has melted and the mixture is smooth.
5. Sandwich the layers together with just a little of the ganache. Pour the rest over the cake letting it fall down the sides and smoothing to cover with a palette knife. Decorate with grated chocolate or a pile of chocolate curls. The cake keeps moist and gooey for 3-4 days.

Xiying's chinese lunch

Yesterday, Xiying made chinese food for our lunch, which was very yummy!

Here's the recipe: This time I chose to do one cold dish using carrots and onions as main ingredients and another kind of braised meat concerning what Yujie cooked last time is extremely popular. As an experiment, I also baked some Chinese bread with an electronic pan. Hope the results don't look so terrible.

Personally I preferred sour and spicy. So in the cold dish, a lot of Chinese vinegar (Chencu) and chilly oil, plus a little bit soy sauce were mixed into this flavor, typical my style. It would be perfect if some grated spring onions are added. But again, the key is the vinegar and chilly.

???(Hongshaorou, braised meat) is one of my favorite because it's very delicious but still easy to cook. Fresh pork belly is cut into dices, so it is with those potatoes. When the oil is heated, put the pork dices together with ginger and garlic into the wok. After a few stirrings, when the meat changes colour, add light soy sauce and a whole bag of Five Spice Powder. Then add half wok of water to leave the meat braised. Potatoes are optional. I chose it because I know many people love its flavor. One hour later, add potato dices into the wok and leave until they are cooked. When serving, no
matter when you open the lid, the aromatic smell will give you a fantastic appetite. Even the sauce is superb for rice.



Variation of Quiches by Jolanda

Last friday, I made 2 different kinds of quiches: smoked salmon/leek and goats cheese/spinach. The small size ones are fun for partys and lab lunches, but for practicality, I put up recipes for big quiches. They are equally good though!

 

Smoked salmon and Leek Quiche (1 big quiche)
You need: 150g smoked salmon, 2 leek (about 700g), 3 eggs, 200ml cream, salt, pepper and ready made puff pastry (or you can make puff pastry yourself, I will also add a recipe for that).
Preheat the oven at 180°C. Wash the leek, cut it into small pieces, blanche for a few minutes in boiling water and strain. Cut the salmon into small pieces. Mix eggs and cream in a bowl, stir in leek and salmon, add some salt and pepper and ready is your quiche mix. Butter a quiche tray and line with the puff pastry, pour in the quiche mix and bake for about 30 minutes, or until the top starts browning.

Goats cheese and Spinach Quiche (1 big quiche)
You need: 1 packet of goats cheese, 1 big pack of fresh spinach (or other vegetables, also works well with tomatoes, peppers or courgette), 3 eggs, 200 ml cream, herbes de provence, parmesan cheese and puff pastry. Preheat the oven at 180°C. Wash the spinach and cut it into small pieces. Mix eggs and cream in a bowl, stir in spinach (or other vegetables), grated parmesan cheese, add some salt and pepper and ready is your quiche mix. Butter a quiche tray and line with the puff pastry, crumble the goats cheese onto the puff pastry and then pour the quiche mix on top. If you want to add tomatoes, just put them on top at the end to prevent crushing. Bake for about 30 minutes, or until the top starts browning.

Puff pastry:
This is a recipe from Gordon Ramsay that I find works quite well:
250g strong plain flour, 1 tsp fine sea salt, 250g butter , at room temperature, but not soft, about 150ml cold water (I find that you need less than that).

1. Sift the flour and salt into a large bowl. Roughly break the butter in small chunks, add them to the bowl and rub them in loosely. You need to see bits of butter.
2. Make a well in the bowl and pour in about two-thirds of the cold water, mixing until you have a firm rough dough adding extra water if needed. Cover with cling film and leave to rest for 20 mins in the fridge.
3. Turn out onto a lightly floured board, knead gently and form into a smooth rectangle. Roll the dough in one direction only, until 3 times the width, about 20 x 50cm. Keep edges straight and even. Don't overwork the butter streaks; you should have a marbled effect.
4. Fold the top third down to the centre, then the bottom third up and over that. Give the dough a quarter turn (to the left or right) and roll out again to three times the length. Fold as before, cover with cling film and chill for at least 20 mins before rolling to use.

Enjoy your quiches with salad or roasted vegetables!