Prawncrackers

Anytime! This is a really simple dish. It's basically Italian porchetta but with the skin left on. Make sure you have nice square of pork belly, not too thick but not too thin even layers of fat to meat. Score the skin then rub the flesh with a mixture of chopped rosemary, garlic, olive oil, salt and pepper. Put a line of anchovy along the length of the meat, now you're ready to roll . Roll it up and just tie it off to the number of portions you want. Be neat now as the string lines are where you're going to be slicing the meat. Rub the skin with a mixture of fine and coarse salt then roast for 3 hours at around 150C on a trivett. To be extra sure of crispy skin i usually finish under a medium grill, turning it to get an even burn. This recipe is foolproof, just make sure to roast low and slow. Most of the fat renders out keeping the flesh moist within its jacket of crispy skin.

Ann_T's antipasto up-thread looks incredible, in fact i've really enjoyed this whole page (hope i don't spill over to the next!). The food on this Dinner! page has been really hearty and satisfying, yum! Tonight, i made rolled belly of pork again! We both really love this dish and it deserved another outing already...

Mutton is having renaissance here. I love braising the shanks, it's such a wonderful flavour. I think people are too used the mild taste of lamb and have forgotten what sheep taste like. In the UK lamb is less than one year old sheep, a hogget is an animal between one and two years. Mutton is any animal over two years old.

Ok, so simple to me is something i don't have to think about to cook! Tonight, as i was eating alone, i really did do something simple - steamed egg. I don't usually cook this and tonight i made it with har mai and dried oysters. This was delicious, the oysters especially were really flavourful. For dried oysters they were still quite fresh and sticky, they had just been shipped over from HK...

Chufi, that Asparagus risotto looks wonderful. After a trip round Germany a few years ago my wife always raves to me about Spargel. She says it's really delicious but i'm sure she just loves to put on a comedy German accent and shout "Spargel!" at me... Never tried it myself. I've never seen in sold fresh here in the UK but i'm sure i've seen it in jars. Chufi, do you know how the Spargel in jars compare to the fresh? Tonight i made a Goats cheese, prosciutto and red onion tart (shop bought puff pastry i'm afraid!):

Don't despair!! Lemon thyme is great, i like to roast chickens with it.

This morning Eggs Benedict, mmmmm...

Thanks Bruce, the "usual" from my mum is usually pretty good! I'll pass her your compliment! Your Tilapia dish looks delectable, we can get it here in the UK but i've never got round to trying it. What is the flesh like? Today, i cooked another simple meal... Steamed pork ribs in black bean sauce, deep-fried prawn wontons & squid and some brocolli:

YES MA'AM!!! As the wife was out i did some Szechaun-style beef for myself yesterday. I did the macho thing and made it probably two degress too hot, the holy basil made it really nice though.. Today, it was Osso bucco with orecchietti again - my wife's favourite...

I think there is a point somewhere in this thread! There is a distinction between technical skill and great food. Everyone would agree that great food doesn't necessarily have to involve great skill by the cook. Great food comes from knowledge, experience and maybe a little talent. The first two come with time and we all have the third in varying quantities (relatively speaking of course). Indeed, I've chosen these three qualities but there are undoubtedly more. The skill of a cook merely facilitates these aspects. This is a truth that’s bears out when you think that the most skilful professional chefs can still produce a plate of food that you find unappetising. Brilliant technical skills are valuable but are not the be all and end all to producing good food. Having said all that... it is obvious that a certain level of skill is desirable and the desire to improve ones level is too. But there are just too many facets to cookery to measure it quantifiably. For example, I could prepare from scratch a Chinese banquet but I've never cooked myself an Indian curry that I've ever enjoyed (tried many times but can't get the balance of spices right!). I can fillet most fish and butcher most meats confidently but I'm hopeless at puff pastry (I'm alright at sweet paste though). So on your scale I'm between somewhere between a 4 and a 10

Rice for one is rather difficult to get right - even if you have rice cooker! My advice to you is to cook for two then you can save half for fried rice the next day. If you really have to cook one portion on the stove then use a small pan with a heat diffuser. Wash your one part rice well, boil on medium to high heat with two parts water until the level of water is reaching the top of the rice. Put the heat diffuser on your stove and clamp a lid on the pot, once the diffuser has come up to heat turn the temp to low and let the rice steam gently without fear of the bottom catching. This steaming part should take about ten minutes but the exact timing is wholly dependent on your set-up. When you think your rice is nearly done, fluff it up and let steam for a couple more minutes then serve.

I've only ever had Chinese pigeon a couple of times and both times were at especially good banquets. The ones i think you're talking about are cooked whole and taste very similar to Cantonese roast duck. They are little drier than duck because they are less fatty but are much crispier, i remember enjoying these very much. I believe they are marinated then cooked not by deep-frying but by ladling hot oil over them until they are well done not rare. Found a picture of one on flickr photo The head is particularly crispy...

Ahh, it's Chrysanthynum is it? No wonder it tastes nothing like the more usual cabbagey/brocolli plants such as choi-sum/gailan. I never used to like it but now i really appreciate it's fragrant bitterness.

Back at my folk's place too today. My mum did the usual; poach chicken, steamed lemon sole, prawns in tomato sauce, some leftover crispy belly pork in plum sauce, but the star of the meal today was the simple stir-fried "Tong Ho Choy". She's been growing this stuff recently and it was so delicious because it had just ben plucked from the garden. I've never come across it in the Chinese markets here. Any idea what this is called in English?

I was wondering this too. Are they fall of the bone tender or are they still quite meaty? I like them when the bones are tender enough to chew and suck out the marrow.

Sounds a beet sweet!

That is exactly what my mother does now, she mixes thai fragrant rice (sometimes basmati) with ordinary american long-grain. You get the flavour of the fragrant rice but the hardness is tempered wth the long-grain - makes it softer to eat. It's also a frugal thing when she does it, the long-grain being much cheaper than the fragrant or basmati rice. It lasts twice as long!

I always tinker with my spring rolls, i don't think i've ever made two consecutive batches the same. My favourite variation so far is crab and prawn, especially in the Vietnamese style rice-paper skins. Oh, and they MUST be deep-fried imo!

I usually use the above method suggested by APPS411 but this sounds great. Have you ever had it served this way in China, or did you adapt this recipe on your own? ← All my Chinese relations cook skate this way, my mother included where i first learned it from (of course). I think it's just as nice this way as the French Black Butter method which is also delicious. Try it, see what you think. Skate is a funny fish, it goes off quite quickly. If i buy a fresh piece i always try to cook it straightaway. It seems to noticeably go off even in the fridge during the course of a day.

Thanks Dejah, i don't think you can go wrong steaming fish this way. If all the knowledge in the world was lost and the God of Food offered mankind only one way to cook fish, this would be the one way! Of course, you wouldn't need to cook sashimi but you wouldn't tell GoF that... What's a pickerel btw, is it a cross between a pike and a mackerel? I thought I knew my fish - is it called something else?

Steam it with black bean, soy, shaosing, garlic & spring onion. 10-15 mins depending on the thickness of your skate.

We've been hankering for comfort food, so tonight i steamed some bass and stir-fried some veggies with some mushrooms and a bit of liver sausage:

Stuffed Three (or Four!) Treasures is classic Cantonese home cooking. The stuffing mixture is made from minced pork and prawns (Cantonese surf n turf!). You can use the cheaper cuts of pork like the belly for this dish and mince away with whichever implement you have. The prawns don’t have to be big and expensive either, just shell and smash these with the side of your cleaver like you’re swatting flies – very satisfying. For simplicity I use a 50/50 mix but there are no hard and fast rules. Season the mixture lightly with soy, sesame oil and shaosing wine. Stuff your veggies, get as much in or the stuffing will fall out. Gently fry the treasures stuffing side down in a little oil until they are golden on that side (apprx 6-7 mins) then flip them over and fry the vegetable side. Don’t over cook the vegetables as they will go soft and the stuffing will fall out. Alternatively, the ‘healthier’ option, my mother went through a phase of steaming hers (15-20 mins) but they weren’t as nice as the fried ones!! Do them in batches and keep them warm on your serving plate whilst you do the sauce to smother them with…. Heat up a little oil and fry on medium heat the trinity of ginger, garlic and the white of spring onion. Add 2 tbl oyster sauce, splash soy, seasame oil, and shaosing to taste. Add a ladle or two of chicken stock (i always seem to poach a whole chicken too when I cook this dish, but water will do fine). Reduce and thicken a little with slaked cornflour then drizzle or strain over your treasures. You don’t want them to be swimming but nicely coated with the sauce. Garnish with the tops of the spring onions and coriander. Yum!!

I like to stuff mine with minced Pork and Prawn, the same works with mushrooms and aubergines aka the Cantonese dish "Stuffed Three Treasures": Can also do stuff Tofu this way but then that'll be four treasures....

I’m not sure about the health issues but on a gastronomic level it depends on the type of fish and how it's cooked. For example, perfectly crispy skin is delicious on pan-fried Salmon or Bass. Though it does have to be cooked just right. In Chinese cooking where we steam a lot of fish, Salmon and Bass skin is not particularly tasty. However, there are other types of fish skin that lends itself to the steaming method. I love the thick gelatinous skin on steamed Turbot, I prefer it to the flesh. When it is spanking fresh the slimy, slippery quality of it is a real treat especially the skin around the fringes of the fish. Often in western cookery, Turbot is filleted and skinned or if cooked whole then it’s just the flesh that is served to you. I always feel cheated when it’s served this way – I want the skin!!