Yang Guifei's Lychee Jelly

Yang Guifei, one of the Four Beauties of China and Emperor Xuanzong's favourite concubine was said to love lychees so much that during the lychee season, the Emperor would order his men to ride their horses from Guangzhou where lychees are grown to Xian to transport the fruit to his beloved.

It is 1,674 km between Guangzhou and Xian, or 19 hour by car. I assume it would take much longer by horse on dirt tracks. Lychees discolour in the day it is plucked off the tree, loses its fragrance on the second day and spoils on the third. It wouldn't be smart to serve the Emperor's favourite concubine spoiled lychees, would it?

Riders and horses purportedly gave so much of themselves in the important task that they often die of exhaustion at the end of the their leg of the trip.

Today with the joys of preservatives and modern chemicals, I get my peeled and deseeded lychees in syrup from Southern China in a can. While one of these days I would like to try lychees freshly plucked off a tree, I will have to be satisfied with lychees in a can for now.

I made these lychee jelly after work yesterday as a surprise for Gaz. And what a nice surprise it was for a hot 42 deg day. I should ask Gaz if he feels the lurrve showing through these jellies and if he feels favoured, like Yang Guifei?

Arts and Crafts

I dreaded art classes at school.. It seemed like everyone else in the class could draw or make things with their hands while I was the only odd one out.

There was a classmate who was very good at drawing. Each year, her drawings would be entered into and win competitions. My desk mate was very good at crafts. Once she weaved some ketupat (casings to cook compressed rice) and had the Art teacher ask her questions about the techniques she'd used in making them.

In our final exams one year, some of my friends pitied my lack of talent and helped me in my Art assignment. I would never forget your kindness, Harriet!

So when I got the arts and crafts bug one day, even I was surprised at what I made...

Not a bad effort huh? A little bag with a ribbon, and a card for the birthday girl. Pretty in pink!

Schnitz, Knox Shopping Centre

I know diamonds.. but diamond-cut chips? Gaz and I dined at our nearest Schnitz yesterday night, the first time since they opened some 6 months ago. According to their website, Schnitz is famous of their handmade, pan fried schnitzel and diamond-cut chips with special seasoning.

We ordered a schnitzel with chips and coleslaw, and an OMG burger which had bacon, egg, beetroot, schnitzel and lettuce.

I was really looking forward to a crispy, tender schnitzel, and Schnitz did not disappoint. The schnitzel was thin, crisp, and tender. The unique hexagon cut of the chips produced 6 tips which was fried to crispy perfection, the mouth feel was great. How can I revert to normal cube cut chips after this! However, Tom's seasoning turned out to be chicken salt, mixed with lots of sugar. I soon got sick of the MSG laden taste of the chips after a couple of bites.

I am glad we had tried Schnitz out, and sampled their diamond-cut chips, but next time I think I might ask for a serve of chips without seasoning!

Christmas 2012

Christmas has come and gone again! Christmas is undoubtedly one of the most exciting times in the year, not because of the presents but because it is a time where the whole family (usually) comes over to our place for a home cooked dinner by moi. I get to try new recipes on voluntary guinea pigs!

These are the recipes I tried this year:

Whole snapper baked in salt dough. The salt dough becomes easier to handle after being refrigerated. Encased in the dough is a whole snapper, stuffed with lemon slices, dill and thyme. I made the mistake of scaling the fish therefore the salt in the dough (1:1 ratio) seeped into the flesh making it incredibly salty.

However, the best thing about this way of cooking (besides the presentation) is that it keeps the fish warm for more than an hour post cooking. This enabled me to cook other dishes in the oven and still have warm food on the table all at the same time.

Seared scallops on bed of seaweed salad topped with mayo & wasabi peanut crumble.

Prawns with capsicum in XO sauce.

Roast chicken. The cavity is seasoned with five spice, preserved kumquat, chinese wine. The resulting gravy was delicious! The skin was bathed twice with a honey and vinegar solution to achieve a crispy skin which Gaz mistakenly ruined by pouring its juices over the skin after it finished roasting!!

And now... the piece de resistance...! Heston Blumenthal's popping chocolate gateau! I used a 21cm cake pan so the mousse was a little thin. I improvised with the leftover ingredients and created a second layer of mousse on top. The three layers of biscuit base, dark choc and milk choc mousse can be seen in the pic below.

I was a little worried that the pop rocks would be out of fizz when the cake is finally served because it popped during the mixing, and pouring of the mousse onto the base. I could hear it popping away and quickly stuffed it into the freezer and crossed my fingers. However, it still popped, and wonderfully too! I loved it for the little twist it served to my guests!

Rustic Food

Recently, while flipping through one of the many food magazines that grace the newstand every week, I noticed that most of the pictures of food have been arranged by the food stylists to reflect a rustic feel. This look is characterised by discoloured enamel serving dishes, dull looking metal utensils upon worn napkins or old, dirty chopping blocks. All these are laid on railway sleepers lookalike, which are covered with one or two ingredients from the food photographed.

I wonder if this is a cost cutting intiative... Getting props from neighbourhood hard rubbish collection days should be cheaper than buying new props for the photo shoot.

When I look at these pictures, I am not thinking, 'Hmmm.. What a pretty looking Balmain Bug Risotto with Pumpkin Seeds, I must make that for dinner tonight!'. Instead, I am thinking, 'What a nasty looking rusty spoon! And for goodness sakes, someone wipe those pumpkin seeds from the table, how untidy!'

Chipped dishes and oxidised utensils are not the most hygienic, I am sure one would agree. I much prefer delicious food served in clean and unbroken vessels!