Roast Chicken with Sumac and Lemon

My good friend, Luis Calvo Alonso brought me a packet of the exotic sumac spice from Istanbul. I decided to adapt a recipe from Yotam Ottolenghi. I do not have za'atar, which is a blend of spices usually consisting of thyme, sumac, oregano and toasted sesame seed.  I made my own blend with ajwain (a thyme flavored seed), sumac and white sesame seeds instead. The chicken is quartered and seasoned overnight, before it is roasted together with the marinate in a casserole at 200 deg C.  Before serving, it is garnished with roasted pine nuts, parsley and a drizzle of olive oil.

Ingredients
1 large free-range chicken, divied into quarters
2 red onions, thinly sliced
2 garlic cloves, crushed
4 tablespoons olive oil, plus extra for drizzling
1 1/2 teaspoons ground allspice
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon sumac
1 lemon, thinly sliced
200ml chicken stock
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 tablespoons za’atar
20g butter
50g pine nuts
4 tablespoons chopped flat leaf parsley

Chilled Black Garlic Noodles with Lumpfish Caviar

An invitation to a degustation lunch at Gordon's Grill, Goodwood Park Hotel, gave me the opportunity to taste the much hyped Cold Japanese Noodles with caviar.  I decided to creat my own version with home made black garlic noodles. The noodles takes less than a minute in boiling water to reach the right texture. For the sauce, I used ponzu, tare sauce, mirin, olive oil and truffle oil. The noodle is mixed in the sauce and chilled. For garnish, finely chopped chives, seaweed and half a teaspoon of red Lumpfish caviar. The slighty salty flavour of caviar with a nice crunchy pop combines well with the aroma of truffles to give this chilled black garlic noodle a surprising delicious taste.

You can buy black garlic here.

Mussel Escabeche

This is a rustic Spanish tapas dish that can be prepared in advance. It is served chilled and perfect with a glass of beer or wine and crusty bread. I used the pacific black mussels for its meatiness. In a medium pot, add 60 ml of white wine, bay leaves and mussels. Cover and cook over medium heat.  As soon as mussels open, remove them. When cool, remove mussels from shells.  Strain and reserve the cooking liquid.

To make escabeche, heat olive oil, shallot, garlic, pinch of salt and saute until shallot is soft. Add vinegar, peppercorns, paprika, and remaining wine and simmer for about 5 minutes. When the escabeche is cool, stir in the mussels. Pour into a shallow dish, cover and refrigerate overnight.

NB: For a more spicy escabeche, add 1 dried chilli when making the escabeche.

Serves 4 Tapas Rations
750 g mussels
100 ml white wine
40 ml white wine vinegar
2 bay leaves
20 ml extra virgin olive oil
1 medium shallot, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
1/4 tsp smoked paprika
5 black peppercorns
Pinch of salt
Optional: 1 dried red chilli

I created a  mussel escabeche bruschetta with baked bell peppers (marinated in herbs infused olive oil) and black garlic over a slice of home made foccacia.

Chiprones con Cebolla Caramelizada

The sweetness from the caramelized onion make this baby squid tapa very delicious. I added crispy smoked bacon to give the texture an added contrast. When making the caramelized onion in olive oil, make sure you continue to stir it to prevent it from burning. Add bay leaf, a dried chilli to give the onion extra flavor. When the caramelized onion is ready, stuffed them into the baby squid and pan fried till done. You may add piquillo pepper if you like. Wine is added to deglaze and make the sauce.

Baby Shrimp Kakiage with Parmesan

Kakiage is a Japanese term for mixed tempura. Parmesan cheese adds another dimension of flavor to this crispy kakiage. Besides the fresh baby shrimps, I added diced black garlic, red chilli and yellow onion. I adapted the recipe from Nobu Matsuhisa, but decided to use a mixture of rice flour and plain flour instead of the usual tempura flour. For extra crisp, I used ice cold beer for the batter.

Duck Leg Confit with Mixed Fruit Garnish

This is one of my favourite dishes as it is so flavorfully delicious. The meat literally falls off the bones, the skin is thin and crispy and you do not get the fattiness one would associate with duck skin.

Almost all French recipes for duck leg confits are seasoned with thyme. I could not get fresh thyme in the days I was to make the dish. So I used Ajwain seeds instead. Ajwain, a thyme flavored seed of the Carom family, is common in Indian and Middle Easter cuisine. I also added crushed bay leaves, chopped parsley, black pepper and of course, sea salt. The legs are marinated in the mixture for 24 hours. I cooked the duck legs in its own fat at 85 deg C for 4 hours, with skin side up, adding a bulb of garlic and and one or two cloves.

For the mixed fruit garnish, I use fresh apples and dried prunes, golden raisins, wolfberries, white wine, and crushed almonds. I simmer the dried fruits in fresh orange juice and a little chicken stock before adding diced apple cubes, without over cooking it to retain some crunchiness. The roasted and crushed almonds are added last.

Australian Wagyu Ribeye with Mustard Flavored Watercress Salad

For this dish, I want a twist between a sweet-tart flavor of a Japanese steak sauce and a tangy mustard dressing for the watercress salad.

The wagyu steak is simply seasoned with salt and pepper, then sous vided at 59 deg C for 45 min. I added a dash of smoked paprika before grilling it on a hot cast iron skillet for a minute each side. I reckoned a minute is a bit too long for a tender wagyu steak about 20mm thick. While the meat tasted great, it could have been better if I have reduced the grilling to just 30 seconds each side.

For the watercress dressing, I use a homemade Dijon mustard, cider vinegar, honey and extra virgin olive oil. The mustard was made a couple of weeks ahead from black and yellow mustard seeds, mustard powder, yellow onion, garlic, dry white wine, worcestershire sauce, salt, vinegar, sugar and a dash of ground mace, all spice, tumeric, white pepper and cinnamon.

To serve, I added shiitake mushrooms sauteed with a little sea salt and garlic.

Humphead Wrasse with Fennel Salad

I bought a kilogram of frozen Humphead Wrasse at the airport in Sabah, Borneo. I was intrigued to find out how it tastes like. The fish was seasoned with salt, pepper and tumeric, dusted with flour and then pan fried in a nonstick skillet. As it turned out, the meat was firm, between that of monkfish and grouper.

Firm white fish and fennel is a classic combination. Here, I made the baby fennel salad with a mandoline grater, seasoned it with orange juice, white wine vinegar and olive oil. I added a few crunchy baby tomatoes. For the sauce, I used lemon juice, mirin, chilli, garlic, and soy sauce to give it a tangy hot and sour flavour.

Suquet de Mero con Almejas

This is a Catalan fish stew that I picked up from Jose Andres. His recipe uses Scorpion fish which is not available here. I replace it with golden grouper which has a tasty, firm, white fresh. The stock is prepared from fresh fishes, shells of prawns, celery, carrot, onions and garlic. I added a few slices of ginger to remove the fishiness.

For the stew, diced, parboiled russet potato is sauteed in olive oil before adding tomato pulp, a pinch of saffron, sugar and pimenton (Spanish smoke paprika). Strained stock is then added to the pot, just enough to cover the slice of fish and cook for about five minutes. The clams are then added.

Mash a garlic clove with salt, parsley and a piece of potato from the stew and add to the pot. Serve.

Sardine Bruschetta

It is rare to find fresh sardines in the tropics. When I saw them in the market, I wasted no time in taking away 2.5 kilos of the delicate fish. For the sardines, I use a Japanese marinate made from mirin, sake, soy sauce, sugar and rice vinegar. The fish is lightly powdered with plain flour, then pan fried in medium heat in a non stick pan. Layer and layer of the marinate is applied until the skin appear to have a shiny glaze.


It is easy to debone sardine. Once the head and guts are removed, use a paring knife to free up on half of the meat from the bone. When the bone is exposed, you can lift it up with your fingers and pulling slowing towards the tail end.

Mooncake with Black Garlic and Chestnut

It is the mid-autumn festival and I decided to have a go at making snow skin mooncake. Almost all mooncakes available commercially has a high sugar content, usually made with lotus paste, and fairly unhealthy when paired with salted egg yolk. I decided to create my own blend, pure chestnut puree with black garlic paste, some olive oil and butter, without adding any crystalline sugar. Fermented black garlic has none of the garlic sharpness, a natural sweetness with a hint of balsamic. I rely on this for the overall taste. I would say, this mooncake has the highest antioxidant and polyphenol level in the market. As it turns out, bonishimo!

Saffron Poached Pear with Mint Custard

Saffron and pear might seem a strange combination, but it works! A pinch of saffron in the poaching liquid is all that is needed to give it a golden yellow colour. After simmering in the sugared liquid for 20 to 25 minutes, leave the pear to cool in the liquid for half a day. The longer it is left in the liquid, the more intense is the colour.

For the custard sauce, I add a few pods of crushed cardamon and finely chopped fresh mint leaves to give a twist to the flavour. Before serving, dust the pear with caster sugar, and caramelise it with a chef's blowtorch.

Cuttlefish Mouth with Grilled Chilli and Wasabi Sauce

I bought a 2.7kg cuttlefish and it has a mouth the size of a ping pong ball. The only place in the world that people eat squid mouth is in Vietnam. In keeping with my attitude of not wasting food, I decided to vacuum poach it at 65 deg C for 45 min. To my surprise, it has a crunchy texture, akin to that of eating raw geoduck clam. I served it with wasabi soy sauce and skinless baked red chilli.

Ice Filtered Consomme of Pork with Shrimp

This crystal clear consomme has a really intense flavour as a result of ice filtration. It is an amazing technique discovered by German scientist Gerd Kloeck. I learn about the process from Blumenthal's In Search of Perfection cookbook. Several steps are crucial to success. There must be enough gelatin in the stock to make it gel, and it should be frozen only after it has gelled. The stock is then thawed very slowly in the refrigerator over a filter paper or cheesecloth. The thawing may takes up to 36 hours. If it thaws too quickly at warmer temperature, the fat will melt back into oil droplets and fall into the consomme, making it cloudy.

The consomme is served hot, with buna shimeji mushrooms, wolfberries and a poached jumbo shrimp.

Rack of Pork Loin with Coffee and Peach Sauce

I adapted this recipe from the Fat Duck Cookbook. I attempted the pork loin with the rib bone attached, which was not described in the book. The meat was tender and the bone came out clean. But I wished it could be a lot juicier. I used the same SV parameters for pork belly, at 60 deg C for 36 hours. I should have done it for a maximum of 4 hours. Nonetheless, I did managed to get the skin crackling.

For the accompaniment, I have poached nectarines (peach wasn't available) in thick sauce made with peach and apple juice, black coffee, sherry vinegar, mirin and soy sauce. The bitterness of black coffee counters the sweetness of the juices and mirin.

Gambas al Ajillo Negro

Gambas al Ajillo is a classic Spanish cuisine often served as a tapas. It is commonly prepared with prawns sauteed in olive oil, bay leaves, dried chilli and cloves of delectable garlic. Here, I create a variation using black garlic. The soft, mellow molasses-like richness of the black garlic contrasts with the succulent savoury prawns, giving this popular dish a new twist.

For a comparison of both flavours at the same time, I have this black and white garlic version.

Alitas de Pollo sin Hueso

I saw a boneless chicken wing tapas recipe from "A Day at elBulli" and decided to try it. The chicken wing is seasoned with salt, pepper and ginger and slow cooked in a vacuum bag for 18 hrs at 70 deg C. The book recommended 24 hrs at 60 deg C, which I find impossible to have the bones removed without tearing the wing. One end of the bone is trimmed and then carefully removed. The wing is then pan fried in medium heat till it is well browned.

Here, I make a chicken wing bruschetta. The wing is placed over a bed of grilled bell pepper and foccacia. I add a slice of black garlic to give it a 'sweet meets savory' taste.

Black Mussels with Salsa and Chilli

The inspiration for this recipe comes from one of Nobu Matsuhisa's many mussel dishes. The mussels are steamed in small batches so that each one can be quickly removed as soon as the shells open. This retains the juices, and leaves the flesh nice and plump.

For the salsa, I use finely chopped onion, ponzu sauce, rice vinegar, olive oil, garlic ginger paste and parsley. This salsa pairs really well with the barely cooked mussels. The red chilli slices give the mussels a spicy zing. The cold arrowroot noodles absorb the flavorful mussel liquor that spills on plate, and add texture to each mouthful.

I make a variation with this flavorful baked skinless red chilli that has been marinated in herb and olive oil for a week. Fresh whole red chilli has to be baked at 75 deg C for 8 hours before the delicate skin and seeds are carefully removed.

This is yet another variation, with melted mozzarella cheese, basil and tomato pesto.

Golden Snapper with Sweet Miso

The roasted aroma from a miso coated fish is mouth-watering. Here, the marinade is a paste made of sweet miso, mirin and wine (I used shaoxing wine instead of sake). The fish fillet is coated with the paste and left in the refrigerator for at least 24 hours. It is then wiped off and grilled without oil until the skin is crisp. For the sauce, I reserved a tablespoon of the miso paste and add rice vinegar to taste.

Sage and Mint Oil, Hisbiscus Salt, Salmon Sashimi

I am used to eating sashimi with wasabi and soy sauce pairing. I want to try something different. The method of making the sage oil comes from Thomas Keller's French Laundry cook book. I infused the sage oil with mint and it gives it a rich deep, green colour. The mint replaces the wasabi and gives it a different form of ahi. The oil is prepared at least 24 hours ahead to get the maximum flavour. The hisbicus is an edible flower. Hibiscus salt is often used in middle eastern cooking. Here I use the dried Hisbiscus Roselle (aka Hibiscus sabdariffa) and pound them in a mortar with Himalayan rock salt.

Spinach, Mango and Seafood Salad

Soaking peeled prawns in ice water and bicarbonate of soda makes it firmer and crunchy. Besides, it eliminates the fishy odour, especially important if you are making seafood salad.
I used fresh mussels as well. As soon as it opened in the boiling water, it is plunged into ice cold water. For the dressing, I use cider vinegar, sherry vinegar, honey, olive oil... nicely balanced and you get to taste the freshness of vegetable, fruit and seafood.

Cream of Black Mussel Soup

It is not common to find black mussels in my country. When I came across imported live ones from Australia, I was all to happy to get it. The presentation for this recipe came from one of Alain Ducasse's cookbook. Personally, I do not like too much cream in my soup. I use lima beans (aka butter beans) and soy beans to give it a milky texture, and reduce the usual amount of heavy cream by seventy five percent. The fish stock and juices from the mussles make this soup extra ordinarily flavorful.

Lima Beans and Watercress Soup

For this soup, I do away with cream altogether, making it a lot healthier. In its place, I use lima beans to give it the added density. Chicken or fish stock provides the soup base, and shreds of crispy hickory smoked bacon provide the garnishing. A few drops of truffle oil and a pinch of paprika complete the presentation.

Sous Vide Beef and Mango Salad

You do not need a beef tenderloin or a wagyu to have a juicy, tender and flavorful beef for salad.
I use the Australian 1824 chuck primal cut, sous-vided 75 minutes at 60 deg C. The beef was seasoned with salt, pepper and paprika, then seared on a hot skillet for 30 sec on each side. For the salad, I have mango, apples and spinach with a dressing of honey, red wine vinegar and extra virgin olive oil.

Sous Vide Braised Pork Belly

This pork belly has an awesome texture, very tender and tasty.

The pork was marinated for 10 hours in brine water, made of sea salt, brown sugar, and powders of star anise, cinnamon, cardamon, clove, black peppercorn, dried chilli, and coriander seeds. It is then sous-vided for 32 hours at 63 deg C, and pressed down overnight to improve the texture. The skin is removed, fat scored, and pan fried over medium heat till crispy.

The rich juices from the pork, reduced with shaoxing wine, makes excellent dipping sauce. It pairs very well with sauteed Granny Smith apples in brown sugar, cider vinegar and cinnamon.

Whole Sole with Green Curry

The inspiration for this dish came from a recipe where fried calamari is served with red curry. I decided to try fish with green curry sauce. Instead of cooking a fish curry, where the fish is cooked in the curry, I pan fried the whole fish and topped it with green curry sauce instead. The fish is firmer and has more texture. For the curry, I used a mix of Thai and Indian spices, which include fennel, coriander, cumin, black and green cardamon, star anise, cloves, galangal, lemon grass, garlic, green chilli, onion, fresh celery leaves, basil and of course, yoghurt.

Chicken breast with Sage Butter and

This is a lovely dish, quick and simple. The chicken breast is stuffed with sage and mustard butter, then wrapped in hickory smoked bacon, and seared slowly in a cast iron skillet. Sage goes really well with chicken. Deglaze the juices and herb butter that oozes out, and add it to the chicken when serving.

You may take this recipe a level up by replacing the bacon with Italian proscuitto or Spanish jamon iberico.

For the vegetable accompaniment, I spiced it up with ajwain seeds, tumeric and rock salt to give it a distinctive flavour, but not over powering.

Chuleta de Cordero con Salsa de Menta

This easy dish of grilled lamb cutlets is topped with mint sauce. The mint sauce is prepared in a mortar and pestal with a generous amount of chopped mint leaves, a teaspoon of sugar, extra virgin olive oil and wine vinegar to taste. I spice up the zucchini with dill pesto.

Zarzuela de Mariscos

This is a Spanish seafood stew and is very much like the French bouillabaisse. I prepare the soup base with a generous amount of sofrito, stock fishes, celery, carrot, bay leaves, garlic, saffron and white cooking wine. The Spanish tends to use at least two kinds of fishes, a firm fish such rape (monk fish), and a delicate fish such as merluza (eel). The more variety of seafood added to the stew, the better the taste. I use red snapper, squid, mussels, prawn and sleeper lobster. You get an explosion of flavour from these ingredients. Muy delicioso!

Arroz Negro

The secret to a good Arroz Negro is the stock, plenty of fresh squid ink, and not over cooking the squid and mussels. I cannot get the Spanish Calasparra or Bomba rice here, so I use the Australia short grain rice instead. It absorbs the stock well and the rice is very flavourful.

Sepia y Gambas

This is my own creation. The jumbo shrimps are cooked in the same manner as Gambas al Ajillo with lots of garlic in olive oil, bay leaves, a couple of dried chillies and a dash of sea salt and paprika. The cuttle fish is poached and served with salsa verde and lemon.

Rajasthani Lal Maas

I tasted this red lamb curry at the Ambrei, one the of best restaurants in Udaipur, India. It was so good that I set out to cook my own. While it is not quite as good as the Ambrei, I am not disappointed. At least it comes close to the same dish I had at another restaurant at the Lake Pichola Hotel.

Lenguado con Mayonesa de Wasabi y Mango

My good friend, Andy, invited me to a restaurant where they served shrimp with wasabi sauce. That gave me the inspiration for this dish. I made my own wasabi mayonnaise so that I can control its flavour and heat. Unlike Dover sole, the local variety is more delicate, so I pan fried it over a low heat. The sweet diced mango and its luscious puree temper the pungent taste of wasabi. The grilled red pepper adds texture and bite and blends well with the fish which is seasoned with Himalayan rock salt.

Swordfish with Salsa Verde and Spiced Potatoes

I like the firm texture and full flavour of the seared swordfish. Do not overcook as the fish has to be moist to taste at it best. It blends well with the salsa verde and lemon. For the vegetable, I use cumin, coriander, tumeric, green chilli and nigella seeds to give it an exotic twist.

Hyderabadi Chicken Biryani

This dish is the result after many failures. It is well worth the effort. I am now very pleased as it is one of the most aromatic biryani I have tasted. I use the Kohinoor basmati rice, which is my favourite. It has excellent texture and is very silky.

Initially, I tried the kachchi approach, where the marinated chicken is covered with half cooked basmati rice and cook on very low and slow heat (dum) until completely done. Even with a thick base steel casserole, it did not help as the meat was burnt at the bottom. The Pakki approach is easier to control as you cook the chicken completely, then layer the half-cooked rice and finish it on slow heat. I decided to try the middle way, where the half-cooked meat is layered with half-cooked rice, and it has worked very well with a cast iron casserole.

I have added or substituted some of the spices from the original Hyderabadi recipe, with those more commonly found in South East Asia. Who says only Indians can cook a good biryani?

Burrida alla Cabrarese

Stingray with saffron, sultanas and tomatoes

I picked up this recipe from one of Rick Stein's books. It originates from Sardinia. Most stingray dishes are spicy hot in South East Asia. This dish has an unsual flavour from the tomatoes, sultanas and capers, and I find it quite special.