Prawncrackers

I would say 3hrs at 150C is not conducive to getting that proper Siu Yook crackling. Needs to be moderate to high heat for a shorter time.

Have had a lot of friends around so a couple of pan-Asian meals to finish this week off (to really test out the new facilities). A couple of nights ago was some Green Curry, Crab Salad, Chicken Yakitori & Satay, Steamed Lemon Sole, Pak Choy and all the usual dips and things. and tonight Chicken Rice, Tea-smoked Duck with Shredded Daikon, Lamb Rendang, Prawn & Veg in Oyster Sauce, Fish Fragrant Aubergines, Pickles and of course all the usual dips and things: (Conclusion: the new kitchen works!)

Finally have some time to cook in my new house so here are some simple dishes that have helped to ease myself into back into the kitchen... hopefully lots more good stuff to come! First is Welsh Black / Hereford cross Sirloin, matured for six weeks (i know you steak freaks like details), simply griddled with Pink Fir Apple wedges and Brocolli: And some Linguine with Clams, incidentally i used some "Santo Domingo" Pimenton De La Vera for this dish. This particular brand has a bittersweet taste, only mildly smokey which is perfect for seafood:

Yes Jay we hear so little of those whose opinions we might value on that show, namely yours and Toby Young's. Yet hear so much from those undeserving loud-mouth slebs. Please address the balance, what is your expert verdict on the Tudor feast, did it live up to Fat Duck standards?

Thanks Kim. Tonight really was the last meal cooked in this kitchen. Something quick and easy - only two pans! Duck leg confit, warm potato & green bean salad, lots of salsa verde: I'm going to miss my super compact kitchen. Everything was only one step away from everything else. Step to right was the fridge, step to the left was the sink. In the middle was the cooker. Having such little room means i've developed a really organised cooking method. It'll be strange not to have to clean & tidy after every stage. Though to have enough room to make fresh pasta in my bigger kitchen is definitely something to look forward to.

Cheers Adey you Northern tosser!

I should be packing because we're moving house in a couple of days (yay bigger kitchen) but procrastinating is my forte! I've been running down the freezer, here are some dinners from the past couple of weeks. Venison liver with marsala sauce, champ mash & venison heart salad. The liver was so-so, not as nice as calves, but the the heart was tasty. Pizza pie, with Tallegio & Goats Cheese, Olives, Anchovy & Rocket. Herb Crusted Rack of Lamb, Red Wine Sauce, Purple Broccoli & Jerusalem Artichokes (hiding!):

General recipe for Passion Statement: 100g gushing 100g toadying 1 or 2 knobs Splash of insincerity Few drops of tears Churn all the ingredients till sick, season to (bad) taste before dishing it up on our screens. The only enjoyment I get from this TV show is shouting at the telly in disbelief and laughter at the eeejits in the earlier rounds (a bit like the X-Factor-Idol prelims). As each series of this show gets aired, its premise as a cooking competition becomes more and more tenuous. To the point now it’s not about finding the best amateur cooks producing the best dishes but simply “to find someone who can make it… blah blah”. WTFudge? Ok clearly it’s not serious cooking contest because you have: one judge with an obvious eating disorder and an east-end urchin child’s palette: and lack of a clear and transparent marking system. But to have strayed this far into this heavily edited reality TV guff is just so exasperating. I actually caught the very final proper cooking test and fair play to Mat the winner he wiped the floor with the other two. His three dishes seemed to have been conceived and executed very well. If only the whole show was about cooking great dishes, analysing in detail the contestants’ culinary skills. What is the reason for that ingredient? How did you make that sauce? Etc. Instead we get mass catering on a warship for our boys fighting Somali pirates, probably. I just don’t see the connection with winning this show and the idea you can open your own successful restaurant off the back of it. Unless you have marketable telegenic qualities (the lady who won – Tommi was it?) then you’re still left paying your dues for years to come (the last two fellows). Good Luck Mat.

Heart salad is a capital idea. I knew i should have taken these out a day earlier, i've got a few ideas bubbling now but they're all a little time consuming.

How about two or three whole saddles of lamb? Should be enough to feed 14. It's a great cut for presentation, perfectly uniform and wonderfully tender. It'll be a real centrepiece. Really easy to stuff too, just choose a stuffing to go with the rest of the meal.

Hi folks, been clearing out the freezer again, this time i've dug out some sliced liver and heart of fallow deer. Another impulse buy! Does anyone have any recipe ideas for these. I'll be cooking it tomorrow after work so something quick would be great. I did toy with the idea of braising the heart stuffed with its own chopped liver but it's not a really a Monday dish. I've been mulling over maybe a creamy marsala sauce over seared liver. But the heart i don't know, should i slice that thin too? Or maybe chunk it, skewer it and spice it with fennel & cumin Beijing style. Will it get tough? Any other suggestions welcome, here's a pic of the raw ingredients to inspire all you carnivores:

Percyn's eggs certainly are a constant source of inspiration for breakfast. Here are my Eggs Benedict, made with pancetta and lumpy hollandaise - because i like to leave the shallots in: Before shot Money shot

Seems like this place is a bit of a wasteland for us gulleters then! How about Pho? Looks like they have a couple of other outlets around London. Does any have experience of these? I'm partial to a good bowl of Pho, though the last one i had in Hong Kong gave me food poisoning. It maybe time to exorcise that demon.

Here's one for Tepee, Nasi Lemak, Sambal Ikan Bilis, Rendang, Egg & Pickles:

So i've conceded and i am taking my wife shopping at Westfield in Shepards Bush next Sat. Looking at their website they seem to have quite a few "eateries", any recommendations? I would rather not do Italian (i can put ingredients together just fine at home thank you) but other than that we eat anything. Or should i not bother, parking rates look reasonable, i could ditch the car and book a table Yauatcha...

Tepee, the fish I have are exactly like the ones in my last photo but dried not pickled. Are you sure I can make ikan bilis with them, I thought they are much bigger (relatively) anchovy-like. Because I would love to put together some nasi lemak, yum yum. What do I need? - coconut rice (nasi lemak) of course, check - ikan bilis, fried fish with peanuts, check - I have leftover lamb rendang in the freezer, check - Boiled eggs, check - Some kind of salad or crunchy pickle? - Anything else?

My whole fish last week was a gilt-head bream (aka durade). Not sure what Tepee's was, looks bass-like and very tasty They're packed in jar in a sweet, salty, black bean type liquor. I've got a pack of these little fishes simply dried. I've tried steaming them with and without egg. Anyone got any other idea for these?

Yup those two, not much shopping around Brindley place though and bit of a schlep from the Bull Ring. Though there is the Brummie "Walk of Stars" around there that would keep you amused for all of five seconds....*Ozzy Osborne* *Jasper Carrott* er... *Noddy Holder*. Then of course you haven't been to Brum until you've strolled along a canal. How about the Ikon gallery café in Brindley Place, nice Spanishy tapas style grub. Was Chez Jules that bad? That's a shame, it used to be really nice, basic but honest. How about San Carlo on Temple St. Chain Italian but pretty decent if I recall

Dejah, yes it is Siu Ap (燒 鴨), i posted a recipe on the Roast Duck thread last year. Don't forget to show us the results when you get the chance to cook your duck and pork belly. Jo-mel, yes those are salt & pepper prawns and a plate of Gai-Lan too. I've been trying to perfect that prawn dish lately, to get the shells as thin and crispy as possible so they stay edible as they cool. This time round I don't think I left the bicarb on for long enough and the shells were getting a little tough about half way through the meal. The two little dishes were little preserved fish and squid that I bought in Hong Kong a few months ago. Though I think they are a Taiwanese product. Here's pic, the little fish are much nicer than the squid which was a bit chewy tough:

How about Chez Jules just off New St. I've not been for a few years but i remember it being a very reasonably priced good French Bistro. Or you could try popping into Chinatown if you find yourself down at the Debenham's end of the Bull Ring. Or there are a few decent Italian places if the lady prefers?

Personally, i think i may have actually shot too soon with Eric's Sea Urchin & Caviar pasta....

Chinese have been doing this for years. When we steamed whole fish, the sign of it being perfectly cooked is when the flesh is cooked but the bone is still pink. Have look at this post i made on the Chinese Eats At Home thread last week for perfect pictorial demonstration!

Ok here is my contribution tonight. Maris Piper potatoes cut and soaked for about an hour, dried on kitchen towels then cooked gently in duck fat for 20 minutes then finished on high heat for another 10. They were just right, stayed dry and crispy throughout the meal. The duck fat was flavoured with the lemon, garlic, thyme, bay & pepper used for the confit duck leg. So the chips had extra dimensions of flavour, yum yum:

Yay, Tepee is back!! Love the CNY spread, looks wonderful. Here is some more of my duck to welcome you home

Whenever i think of balance in a meal i always associate with what my mother taught me. That is, in the context of a Chinese meal, to have a balance between meat, fish & veg. I think this is so ingrained in me that whenever i cook a Chinese meal this is always the primary balance. All other aspects are secondary to that, such as texture, taste etc. Thinking about it's actually a nutritional thing that my mother insisted on.