Prawncrackers

Today Choi Sum with Crab, looked messy but tasted wonderful: and Razorfish in black bean sauce, a favourite in our house that never disappoints:

i freeze until i have enough to render with, though i do dice it up before freezing (do not deny yourself the crackling!). you can render the fat from frozen in a sauecpan with some boiling water to start it off.

Look, if i don't eat the fish heads then who will? Heads up... Best bit is the jelly around the eyes, though not as good as the liver (the brown stuff left of the head in the pic with some roe). This one is a wild sea bass, delicious, but as fish livers go i think the best i've tasted are turbot livers. Seriously i think i crave the fish heads and other bits more than the flesh sometimes. I have to fight my mum for it whilst the rest of my family get stuck into the meat!!

Thanks for the warning Henry dV, i didn't know that. I buy from a farmer's maket stall that usually sells their own farmed ducks. On a handful of occassions in the past few years the chap was selling wild geese and duck that he'd shot on his farm. If i see any this year i'll be more wary.

DING DING DING DING I keep coming back to these four dishes in a row - mouthwatering!! Thanks for posting all of them

Hi I usually buy wild geese and ducks in the winter months and found there’s not much fat on them to render. I have tried to (of course) but the rendered fat from such wildfowl had a slightly wiffy aroma. Put it this way, I wouldn’t fry my chips in them! The ones I get are usually hung and although I personally don’t like too ‘high’ a flavour more often than not it’s first detectable in the fat and skin. If you’re shooting the wildfowl yourself though you will be able to ensure it’s freshness, so it may not be a problem for you. As Dave put it so succinctly, there is a difference between duck and goose fat – one is from duck the other from goose!!! But seriously, I don’t think there is any practical difference between the two. Some may say that goose fat has a richer taste but I couldn’t live on the difference. The smaller you cut the skin, the quicker it will render. I like to cut it into fingertip sized pieces so I can enjoy the crispy crackling straight after rendering – takes about 20-25 mins on a moderate heat regardless of how much you render. Just one point, you will need to pluck the birds if you want to render the skins. Can you imagine the funky smell of you didn’t?

How about a Dim Sum favourite of mine; Snails in Satay Sauce? I always order these as i know no one else will eat them!! (Either these or Satay Tripe, mmmm) There are however, less than scrupulous establishments who will substitute the snails with whelks... I've never made them but i guess they're just marinated (long) and steamed (short) in satay sauce. I'm never going to try these at home because my wife can't stand the thought of them. So Brenda, i know you want to.... i would love to sample some home-cooked ones by proxy

From Hugh's MEAT book, try his pork "Squidlets": (to paraphrase) Slice the chops at an angle into small escalopes then slice long frills into each piece to create a squid tentacle effect. Marinate in garlic and olive oil for a few minutes before dredging in seasoned corn flour and deep frying for a minute til crispy. Eat hot, Hugh recommends lemon/homemade mayo/tartare to accompany. I like these with hot sauce The MEAT book is fantastic. I very rarely buy cookbooks, as i feel the majority just contain throw-away recipes that i could pick up on the internet anway. Most also provide no food for thought. The MEAT book is different as it's such an encyclopedic work written with Hugh's inimitable passion and affability.

Mooli is another name for daikon radish. The Cantonese for mooli/radish cake is 'lor bak go'. Even though Chinese restaurants here call it turnip cake in English too, there are actually no turnips in it. It's a funny one that; did the pioneer dim sum restaurateurs in the UK and the US think that turnips sounded more palatable than radishes? Anyway, to answer your question, yes it is turnip cake! My mum's recipe, one of her best and one i need to learn.

Sounds and looks okay to me Peter, I've also been known to add holy basil to supposedly Sichuanese stir-fries. Coriander too, gives a fresh herbal note that is sometimes lacking in Sichuan dishes if you don't have perilla. Surely it can't have turned out too badly? I have a packet of that papane stuff too, it works wonders with tough old octopus and cuttlefish. It's quite effective but i've found that it's also easy to use too much and it can quite literally turn cuttlefish as soft a butter!! Surprised that you needed to use it with pork tenderloin though. What's wrong with chewing ya meat?

Hi i've added my recipe for the tart to the Recipe Gullet - Goats Cheese & Onion Tart. My wife's recipe is exactly the same as mine except she likes to make cute little tartlets instead the one large tart that i do. Very simple recipe, Enjoy!

Goats Cheese and Red Onion Tart Serves 4 as Appetizeror 2 as Main Dish. As i've had a couple of requests for this recipe over in the eG Cooking forum so i thought it best to add this as my first contribution to the RecipeGullet. I'm not very good at writing recipes as i very rarely follow them myself. It does mean that i tend to ramble but i think it's important to get the essence of a dish rather than learning recipes by rote. This is another one of those recipes that has just evolved over the years and these are my favourite toppings for it. You can of course choose your own from the best available. For a veggie recipe just leave out the bacon or ham. Let me know if it works for you, thanks! 1. Caramelise a whole red onion, finely sliced. Season with s&p. Optional - add a clove of minced garlic and cook out. When the onions are nice and brown and sweet and sticky, leave to cool (very important) before spreading it onto your prepared pastry.... 2. Prepare the tart base using puff pastry, roll out a square to your desired size to about 3-4mm thickness on some baking parchment. I use shop-bought but i do try to buy the best quality i can - the cheap stuff is horrible as it's full of additives and hydrogenated fats. Perversely, the best stuff has the fewest ingredients, just flour, salt and butter! I roll out a 25x25cm square and it's good for 4 starter size portions. Or you can roll and cut out 4 individual tartlets (my wife does this as she likes the extra ratio of puff pastry to filling)). 3. Gently score a border 1.5-2cm deep all around your squared pastry. Alternatively, for a thicker, puffier border you can make the border using a separate strip of pastry - this is what i do but it is tricky if you're not used to handling puff pastry. Leave the pastry in the fridge after handling if it gets too soft. 4. Spread your cooled onions neatly within the border of your pastry and lay some prosciutto (or cooked bacon) and then some goats cheese (the soft round mold ripened stuff is better than the young crumbly for baking - but of course you can choose your own topping but be careful not to overload it!). Sprinkle some fresh thyme and season. Egg wash the border and give the topping a lick of extra-virgin olive oil, ready to bake. 5. Preheat a baking tray or a baking stone in your oven to high temp (~200C) - this will help cook the base through. Transfer your tart, baking parchment and all onto your baking medium and cook for about 20 minutes. 6. Slice and eat with a freshly prepared salad of your choice Keywords: Easy, Tart, Appetizer, Cheese, British ( RG2015 )

'Ere ya go Ktepi, i had this breakfast a couple of weeks ago. Wild boar bacon and sausage, Bury black pudding, Eggs, Beans, fried Girolles and fried bread. The Full English so no spice i'm afraid.... BTW i don't usually eat this amount for breakfast.... i definitely didn't have another meal for the rest of that day, honest.

Having no idea waht the term "Crawfish Fat" meant i looked it up. Ohhh, it 's all the head goo, i see!! Whilst looking i found this Louisiana Seafood Website stating that "Crawfish fat becomes rancid within 2-6 months when frozen", they seem to know what they're talking about.

The condiment is just an adaptation of the standard Chinese Scallion/Ginger oil for poached chicken. It's the equivalent to say Salsa Verde where you need the oil not for preservation but to really carry the strong punchy flavours (fat=flavour*). But unlike Salsa Verde the ingredients aren't completely raw. A quickie recipe if you like to try: finely mince ingredients and put in a small heat proof dish, season well with salt and mix thoroughly. Get a pan really hot and add veggie or corn oil until it starts to smoke then sizzle enough onto the ingredients to just cover them. Add soy to taste and mix well again. I suspect it will last a couple of days but it’s at its best made fresh (like salsa verde). Besides it’s so simple to make. I’ve not specified the ingredients but the classic one is just scallion & ginger. Make sure to use really fresh ginger and grate it finely catching all the juice. Keep the sunny pictures coming, they must be working because the weather's picked up a little today!! *1st law of food-dynamics

Nice spread Jensen and thanks for the sunny photos. We've had one of the wettest and coldest summers here in the UK. Yes, even by our standards it has been miserable! So your pics are most welcome. Very simple dinner tonight; fried Mooli cake (the Chinese contingency will appreciate this one ) and poached chicken legs with ginger/scallion/chilli/coriander oil dip.

I think the ginger/scallion will work fine as you can have that cold as you would with chicken. BTW, is it only my family that also adds coriander stems to the mix? Not sure about the black bean sauce though unless you've got a way to heat it up at the restaurant. Cold black bean sauce on hot crab legs doesn't sound right to me. How about just soy mixed with a few hot little red chillis?

A very special dinner tonight - my wife cooked it!!!! Seriously though, my wife cooks about 3-4 times a year and tonight it was goats cheese, bacon and red onion tartlets. Deelish, i'm definitely getting her to cook more often:

the times i've refused to drink the nasty soup..... thanks for the memories

Fantastic meal Marlene, i'm sure your brother is beaming down on you. I had beef too today - Angus Rib-eye with Colston Bassett Stilton, fries, tomato and peas: Yesterday was steamed sea bass, fresh green beans from my mum's garden and mooli cake (in the very background):

The only time i cook lamb ribs is when they are still attached to the breast. I know exactly what you mean by the 'magical lamb fat candy'; the layer of fat and skin that runs along the breast and ribs crisps up like no other cut and has bags of flavour. Though it's probably due to the fattiness of it that makes it such an overlooked cut. That's not going to stop you and i though is it? Last time i cooked a breast of lamb i poached it gently in a court-bouillon for about an hour until tender and i could pull the ribs out cleanly easily. I took it out of the poaching liquor and let it cool overnight while pressed down. The next day i cut the breast down to portion sizes and fried it up till crisp. Very fatty but very delicious.

Hello and Welcome!!! My mother grows that stuff and puts it in soup too. I always thought it was a type of watercress. I'd be interested to know what this stuff is too....

_john, your technique sounds good to me! I don’t think there’s much improvement to be made really. Maybe just a little evolution over time until you are completely happy with it. I can only illustrate what I do and maybe you can take from it what sounds good to you: I get the wok hot as I can, then add a little veg oil then ginger and lastly garlic. Actually, you know, whilst I’m writing this down now I realise that I’m pretty particular about the ginger and garlic. For stir-fried veggies I never mince them. The ginger I use sliced and gently whacked once with the side of the cleaver and added first to the hot oil. I then add very finely diced garlic – there’s a Chinese term for this ‘micro-brunoise’ but I’m not sure what the translation is. The garlic will only take a few seconds to catch so before it does I throw in the veggies. It may be in my head but there’s a world of difference between crushed/minced and sliced/diced garlic. Personally I’ve never used MSG. I would however add a little soy, shaosing and oyster sauce as the sweet & salty combo compliments well with practically all fresh veg and gives that unmistakable Cantonese flavour. I add water if it looks like the veg needs to fry-steam a little and thicken with a little starch right at the end. OK, reading this back it looks like I have developed a specific technique over the years!! But hopefully, it’s evolving and improving too

Fat Guy, i agree with the above, a light seasoning of flour would help as would thinning the egg with a little water. You need to beat the egg till it is uniformly mixed, and thinning it makes this process easier. The thinner egg wash should coat your chicken more evenly and thereby helping to stick the crumb more evenly. If you have holes in your crust it implies that the crumbs are finding gaps in your egg wash. For a thicker crust dip your chicken in the egg wash again and give it another even coating of crumbs. Resting in the fridge helps to firm up the egg, flour & crumb coating. With Panko, it's quite easy to rub handfuls of it between your hands to make the crumb finer. Just try it, you'll see for yourself. Maybe that's another reason why your crumbs are not adhering. Coarser crumbs are more likely to drop off.

Panko breadcrumbs are the equivalent of frozen peas or canned tomatoes; essential kitchen staple and a simply brilliant product. I love the way you can change the texture of the crumb from coarse to super-fine just by hand-rubbing it. You can use the different crumbs in different ways: If I’m doing small robust items to deep-fry, like prawns or squid, then I’ve found by dunking in a simple tempura batter (just flour and water) then in some fine panko gives better crispier results than just tempura alone. Or, you can season coarse Panko with rosemary, thyme, parsley, lemon zest, parmesan cheese (or other hard cheese) and S&P for a ‘Milanese’ type crust for veal, pork, chicken even fish using the panne (is this how to spell this word?) method. Of course, you can always leave it unseasoned and have it as it was intended as Tonkatsu!