taste2taste

February 26, 2016

Chilli Chicken Stir Fry

London’s Chinatown to buy my ingredients

It’s been a week of awards with the Brits music awards in London on Wednesday and the upcoming glam & glitz of the Oscars in Los Angeles this weekend. My friend Josh was working hard behind the scenes at the Brits as the vocal coach of Little Mix and my favourite moment was the moving tribute to David Bowie. I was inspired by my recent creative challenge by friend & co blogger Meredith from Food at Heart and decided to create a stir fry with some of my favourite Japanese, Korean & Chinese flavours and ingredients.

Japanese & Korean Flavour Crusaders

I had fun buying the ingredients in Chinatown but you should be able to buy them in most large supermarkets. It’s easy to make and you can adapt using your favourite veggies, noodles & flavours.

Ingredients & Chicken Marinating

Ingredients (Serves 2)

2 chicken breasts or 4 chicken thighs
1 teaspoon of Gochujang Korean chilli paste ( or red chilli paste of your choice)
2 teaspoons of Spicy Korean BBQ Marinade ( I used “We Rub You” Korean-American sauce)
1 teaspoon of dark soy sauce ( I used Kikkoman less salt)
1 teaspoon of Mirin (Japanese rice wine)
1 tablespoon of groundnut or rapeseed oil
1 garlic clove thinly sliced into strips
1 cm (0.4 inch) fresh ginger peeled & thinly sliced into strips
1/2 mild red chilli thinly sliced
3 large florets of broccoli, washed & sliced
3 baby sweetcorn, washed & chopped into 2 cm ( 0.8 inch) pieces
6 pak choi leaves, washed & chopped into large pieces
2 spring onions, washed & chopped into rings
8 sugar snap peas, washed & halved
1 packet of ready to stir fry Japanese Udon Noodles ( or noodles of your choice)
Chopped & Ready for the Wok

Method

Cut your chicken into large pieces and marinate in Gochujang, BBQ Marinade and fresh red chilli slices for at least 30 minutes or for 2-4 hours (if time) in the fridge
Heat your wok or large frying pan until very hot and add the 1/2 tablespoon of stir fry oil
Stir-fry the chicken pieces for about 5- 6 minutes over a high heat stirring all the time until cooked through
Remove chicken & sauce created from the wok & set aside in a bowl
Add rest of stir fry oil to the wok and add the garlic and ginger
Add the veggies in the following order broccoli florets, pak choi stalks, baby corn, sugar snap peas , white part of spring onions, mirin, soy sauce and stir fry for 3-4 minutes
Add the chicken back together with the Udon noodles and stir fry for 2 minutes
Add the green tops of pak choi and green part of spring onions and stir fry for 1 minute

My (not yet award winning) Chilli Chicken Stir Fry – created with my favourite Asian flavours.

February 24, 2016

comment 0

Going Tex Mex for the Labor Day Weekend!

Happy #NationalChilliDay check out Simon’s brilliant Chilli Con Carne recipe and add more chilli for extra #hothothot Smokin’!

taste2taste

It’s Labor Day Weekend here in the US, families gather for the official end of the US Summer but you wouldn’t know Summer was at an end given the current weather here in NY, where, during the day, the mercury continues to soar to the upper 80s and 90s (28c – 33c)!

When its hot, I like to heat it up with my food, get out the Jalapeno Peppers and cook up one of my family favorites. This simple delicious version of Chili Con Carne with side orders of my own home made Tomato Salsa and Guacamole, is great for a crowd or just a few. The combination of flavors from South of the Border are wonderful

In this first of three posts, I’ll share my recipe for the Chili itself and deal with the sides and offer my secret recipe for something a little Cuban to wash it all down with!

Chile Con Carne Ingredients ready for…

View original post 215 more words

February 20, 2016

comments 4

Marvellous Michelin Food in Madrid

I have just returned from a fantastic holiday in Madrid and felt compelled to write about an amazing meal. To re -phrase a well known tagline ” Probably the best meal in the World” at least from my gastronomic experiences. We visited El Club Allard, a two Michelin Star restaurant on The Plaza de Espana near the Egyptian Debod Temple in Madrid. The Head Chef, Maria Marte originally came to Spain from the Dominican Republic and started as a dishwasher. She worked hard culminating in becoming Head Chef achieving a second Michelin Star four years ago .We entered through the large wrought iron door of a grand Modernist building and were greeted by a doorman who escorted us up the beautiful marble staircase to the entrance. The restaurant setting is impressive- tall ceilings, large windows, antique mirrors & only 11 tables- the perfect setting and its ambience adds to the anticipation of what is to follow. There is a choice of 3 tasting menus: Rendevous, Seduction or Revolution (10, 12 or 14 courses) with each course revealed as it is served. We opted for the Revolution menu and our personal waiter who had spent two years in London explained each course brilliantly.

Dip It! Your edible place card

The creative and innovative food has Hispanic, South American, Japanese and Spanish influences. They do a vegetarian tasting menu and will accommodate any dietary restrictions. You are invited to start the experience by eating your place card, served with a warm caramelised onion dip that is absolutely delicious and a fun way to start.

1: Smokey fish with child, coconut snow & milk

1: Smokey, warm & cool taste sensations

Each course is presented in a very innovative way – from the plates, the appearance, amazing aromas, incredible ingredients and taste combinations. Course No. 1: Smoked eel, with a smokey,slightly hot South American rocoto chilli, white coconut snow & coconut milk. Brilliant combinations of flavours & textures.

2: Pipette your sauce on your “Sea Popcorn”

Course No. 2 you pipetted the sauce on to flavoured quinoa and sea urchin, which had a savoury taste and nutty yet soft texture.

3: Down in one?

Course No. 3 was a warm shot of white foamy asparagus and butterfish accompanied by a savoury delicious seaweed toast topped with salmon roe. Course No.4 was an innovative savoury cupcake made of yuca topped with an egg & truffle ‘buttercream’ and a roasted pumpkin slither that you added on top and ate in one mouthful – fantastic!

4: Looks sweet tastes savoury!

5: Sugar coated crayfish with sea garlic

Course No. 5 a little succulent crayfish with a subtle sea garlic sauce -sublime! Course No.6 was usuzukuri -thinly sliced sashimi of white fish topped with avocado cream & pico de gallo (image at the top of the post). Course No. 7 had the most unusual plate, a black volcano like holder with an indent at the top holding a cabbage cream with cockles and topped with a lemon foam.

7: A crater of creative tastes

Course No. 8 was an individual mini BBQ with marinated succulent duck with a mini charred baby corn which was actually hand made using masa flour, the flour used in tortilla chips.

8: Beautiful BBQ’d Duck with Corn

9: Sea Bass with a Savoury Foam

Course No.9 was sea bass with a Tsuyu No Moto, a Japanese seasoned soy sauce concentrate. Almost two hours in we got to the meat – course No. 10 which was the most tender, succulent Wagyu beef ‘Picanha’ , a cut popular in Brazil from the rump. Wagyu beef is massaged & fed beer & sake and with lots of fat marbling, makes it incredibly tender that melts in the mouth.

10: melt in the mouth beef

We then had a palate cleanser ( course No. 11) of thin crispy wafer of hibiscus flower topped with a Pisco sour sorbet, a Peruvian cocktail, that refreshed us ready for desserts.

Hisbiscus Flower & Pisco Sour on a pistachio crumb

11:Crisp, crunchy, cool & refreshing

The first dessert was a green coloured white chocolate miniature pear which you ate whole. You crunched through the crisp shell to a melting centre of pineapple.

Green white chocolate shaped pear filled with green pineapple and a nutmeg pain perdu topped with pineapple

12: Pear or Pineapple?

This was followed by the final dessert of intense dark chocolate clusters with chocolate soil, white chocolate cream and a black olive crisp wafer, the salty taste enhanced and complemented the rich dark chocolate. There was also small mint sponges that married all the flavours together.