Mountain Air and Chinese Marbled Tea Eggs

9 Comments

Mr B and I have just returned from one of those magical long weekends when you literally have to pinch yourself that what you are experiencing and seeing is actually real. We were attending a friend’s wedding in South Tyrol in Northern Italy, but due to logistics we decided to fly into Munich, a city we hold dear and one that we visited last December. Driving through Germany, Austria and into northern Italy may sound like a bit of an epic journey but the truth of the matter is that it only takes 3.5 hours and we thought a scenic drive through the  Brenner pass would be rather pleasant.

Our destination was the stunning eco spa hotel, Vigilius mountain resort, which was lovingly designed by architect Matteo Thun. The hotel blends into the natural environment seemlessly due to the use of materials from renewable resources. All the water used in hotel – from the pool, shower, baths and drinking comes from the Vigiljoch spring water.  To reach the hotel you need to take a cable car for about 15 minutes and upon arrival you really do feel a world away from the stresses and interruptions of day to day living. There is no Wifi or TV in the hotel, which allows you to really switch off and enjoy the natural environment that you find yourself in.

The wedding itself allowed us to explore the mountain side, not least because we had to take a single chairlift a further 15 minutes higher up the mountain and then a 15 minute walk to the church. It was one of those experiences that we will remember and cherish forever, not least because of the surreal nature of taking a chairlift dressed in wedding attire.

The smell of the pine forests and the wood burning in the chimneys conjured up happy memories of times in the mountains when the snow was thick and heavy. It was refreshing though seeing the mountains covered with grass and wild flowers and the cows with bells around their necks.

During the church service itself, the cow bells could be heard just outside the church entrance, to the extent we would not have been surprised had they ambled in to take a look at what was going on.

On Sunday, after all the wedding festivities were drawing to a close, Mr B and I returned to the top of the mountain and had a good amble around the wooded paths that are carved into the mountain. We came across characterful chocolate box houses similar to the ones that we all draw as children. I loved the green shutters and the window boxes filled with bright red flowers matching perfectly with the red gingham curtains.

We returned, one last time, to the church where we had spent some precious moments the previous day.

It was hard to drag ourselves away from such a picturesque spot, with beautiful blue skies and wonderful green mountains.

Returning to London I was convinced that the good weather must surely have arrived to our shores – I was clearly delusional after all that mountain sun and fresh air – as the rain persists and people’s moods continue to fray.

As activities with Big A and Little Z are housebound with the continuous downfall, we decided to make some Chinese marbled tea eggs. In China, the eggs are a common snack that are adored by school children and adults alike. The marbled effect, that is created through gently cracking of the hard boiled eggs, is attractive and unique, in that no two eggs will look the same. The girls love to see the different effects that are created each time we finally break open the shells.

I have loved hard boiled eggs for as long as I can remember, to the extent that no picnic is complete without them. As well as being aesthetically pleasing, Chinese marbled tea eggs also taste really delicious with the subtle flavours of tea, soy and aniseed gently resonating from the egg. So why not try making these next time you plan on having a picnic when the sun shines or, for that matter, when it rains and you decide to have it inside instead.

Chinese Marbled Tea Eggs

Sourced from Balance and Harmony Asian Food by Neil Perry – p193

6 free range or organic eggs

3 tbs Jasmine tea leaves (or black tea leaves)

2 cinnamon bark sticks

3 star anise

half tsp sea salt

100 ml dark soy sauce

1. Place the eggs in a pan of cold water so that they are completely covered and gently bring the water to the boil. Simmer gently for 6 minutes.

2. Gently transfer the eggs to a bowl full of ice and then cover with cold water. Place the pan of boiled water to one side as you will use this later.

3. Once they are cooled tap the eggs gently so that the shell cracks but does not break off. You want to have the effect of lots of small cracks.

4. Place the eggs in the pan of boiled water and add the tea, cinnamon bark, star anise, salt and soy sauce.

5. Simmer for a further hour and then remove from the heat and leave to cool completely. The longer you leave them the more flavour is drawn into the eggs and the more marbled the eggs become. Those above were left in the fridge overnight.

6. To serve remove the eggs from the stock and carefully remove the shell to reveal the unique marbled effect.

Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Quail Scotch Eggs – with a twist!

2 Comments

For those who like a bit of tradition and flag flying this coming weekend is going to be super HUGE in the UK as it’s the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee, which marks her 60th anniversary on the throne, impressive by anyone’s standards.

The celebrations will stretch far and wide and, for the most part, everyone seems to be really embracing the whole event. I, for one, am looking forward to watching the ‘Thames Diamond Jubilee Pageant’, which is going to be one of the largest flotilla of boats to ever sail down the Thames. I was fortunate to be in Amsterdam a number of years ago, during their famous ‘SAIL Amsterdam’, which only occurs every 5 years and consists of thousands of boats, including the  impressive tall ships, gathering together on the waterways that make up Amsterdam. If the Thames Pageant is going to be anything like Sail then we are going to be in for a real spectacular treat.

High streets and retailers have gone into cool Britannia overdrive with a plethora of merchandise celebrating the Diamond Jubilee. British designers such as Vivienne Westwood  have even created a whole collection – the ‘Capsule Collection’ – to honour, in her own rock hard/edgy way that we so love, the Diamond Jubilee. There are scents, patterened tights and even make-up lines who are all adding their own twist and mark on the occasion. The National Portrait gallery in London has even dedicated a whole exhibition to Her Majesty the Queen.

Union Jack bunting is literally up everywhere and similarly to when Will and Kate tied the knot, street parties will be happening up and down the land. It’s neighbourly, jolly and brings everyone together over a glass of Pimms and a scone with jam and clotted cream or whatever English fancy floats your boat.

There are certain foods which scream ‘I’m British’ such as the trifle, scones (as above), sticky toffee pudding – well perhaps not in this heat,  cocktail sausages, egg, salmon or cucumber sandwiches, Eton mess….but for me I thought the scotch egg was synonymous with Britishness. I have made up my own recipe for making them and instead of using hens’ eggs, I thought that using quail eggs would be a dainty alternative and more attractive finger food. I have made two varieties, which give them an individual twist – either black pudding scotch eggs or fresh red chilli scotch eggs.  I initally prepared 12 however in a very short space of time they were consumed, so another batch of 12 was made the following day.

What little dainties will you be cooking for your Diamond Jubilee party?

Queen’s Jubilee Quail Scotch Eggs

Makes 12 scotch eggs

12 quail eggs

325g sausagemeat

50g black pudding

1/2 red chilli, deseeded and finely chopped

50g panko breadcrumbs

2 hen eggs, beaten

sunflower oil

1. Separate the sausagemeat out evenly into two separate bowls. I used sausages and then split them open and discarded the outer skin, but you can also simply buy a packet of sausagemeat.

2. Place the black pudding into one of the bowls of separated sausagemeat and the finely chopped red chilli into the other. Use your hands to mix together the ingredients.

3. Place the panko breadcrumbs (I also used these Japanese breadcrumbs here) in a separate bowl and whisk the hen eggs into another bowl.

4. Gently place the quail eggs in boiling water for just under 3 minutes, then drain under cold water and peel the shells and set aside.

5. Using damp hands create a layer of  the sausagemeat/black pudding around 6 of the quail eggs so that they look like little meatballs. Damp hands will allow you to work more easily with the sausagemeat. With the remaining 6 eggs cover with the sausagemeat and red chilli. Then dip each scotch egg into the whisked hen eggs to coat completely and then into the breadcumbs.

6. Fill a third of a small deep pan with sunflower oil and gently heat up. When it is hot – drop a couple of panko breadcrumbs into the oil and if it sizzles the oil is ready.

7. One at a time, place the scotch eggs gently into the hot oil. I suggest cooking in batches of three at at time as you want to make sure that they are evenly cooked. Using a slotted spoon turn the scotch eggs over so that they are evenly cooked through and are golden brown. After 3 minutes transfer them to a preheated oven (160 degrees if using a fan oven), for a further 2-3 minutes.

8. Serve warm or  at room temperature.

Coriander Leaf Fritters – Dhone Pata Bora

10 Comments

I know that coriander leaves (cilantro for my lovely US/Canadian readers, dhone pata for my equally lovely Bengali readers) divides opinion, but I for one admire the herb for it’s wonderful, bold and punchy flavour. I find it really adds the perfect kick to a dish and brings it alive.

For this dish, or perhaps that’s a little bit grand to call it a dish as it ‘s more of a tasty snack, has coriander as the main ingredient. It takes centre stage and while they might not look that exciting, they taste really good and are prefect nibbles if you have friends popping over or if you are feeling the need for an original snack.

We’ve been having a roller coaster of weather conditions over here in the UK, with sun-rain-hail-thunder-lightening-rainbows all in one day, so outside play action for big A and little Z has been only temporary. Inside the house we get creative in all manner of ways, and cooking little delights is something we enjoy doing together. These bite sized fritters are easy to prepare and the girls love to help me put them together. We make an extra batch for them, without the chilli, but for a more mature, adult palate I add lots of chilli.

So here are the main fresh ingredients you need to make the fritters:

Coriander Leaf Fritters – Dhone Pata Bora

serves 2-3 (double/triple for larger quantity)

large handful of fresh coriander leaves/cilantro leaves/dhone pata, chopped

1 shallot, finely chopped

1 inch ginger, grated or finely chopped

2 small green chilli, finely chopped

half tsp of salt

3 tbsp plain or gram flour

3 tbsp water

splash of oil (I use mustard oil)

1. Finely chop all the fresh ingredients and place in a bowl along with the flour (I simply used plain instead of gram this time), salt and water. Add the water a little at a time so that the fritters are not too moist. If they do become too moist simply add a little more flour to bind them together.

2. Mix well and roll into small balls in your hand and then gently press down so as to flatten them, so that they look like this:

3. Heat the oil in a pan and when it is hot gently place the fritters into the oil and fry on a medium to low heat for a few minutes. When the undersides have darkened turn them over and let the fritters cook throughly on the uncooked side. The cooking time should not take much more than 5 minutes.

4. Serve and eat immediately. They also word well with dal and rice if you want to make more of a meal out of them.

Baked Sweet Potato Paprika Chips with a Creme Fraiche, Chive and Lemon Dip

5 Comments

It’s been half term and after thinking that we had all managed to get through the winter months with no illnesses, Little Z and Big A both come down with a bug, which is then passed on to my fit and healthy mother. I’m just waiting to be knocked for six myself but am trying not to dwell on the possibility. So instead of being out and about  this week we have been hibernating inside and keeping cosy. With everyone on the mend and appetites returned I made a batch of these delicious morsels to cheer up my loved ones. They were gone in a blink of an eye, so I felt that I must share this simple recipe with you.

Baked sweet potatoes are a delicious addition to any dish, whether it be accompanying, fish, meat or other vegetables. They are also great as pre dinner nibbles if you have guests coming over or if you just simply fancy spoiling yourself or your family. With very little effort you can create these baked paprika chips with a creme fraiche dip and I assure you they are totally addictive.

I am a huge fan of  Santo Domingo Hot Spanish Smoked Paprika which you can buy here, as it has a real kick. As the girls adore them, I bake a batch without paprika or the less hot variety, so they can devour them as well. As an alternative way to serve them as nibbles, I make little paper cones and line each cone with baking parchment, so that the chips do not get stained with newspaper ink. The velvety creme fraiche is a great accompaniment and I like to add chives, as Big A is a big fan, a good splash of lemon juice and a sprinkling of rock salt. Simple and delicious.

Baked Paprika Chips 

Serves 4 -6

900g sweet potatoes, chopped into wedges

1 heaped tsp paprika

2 tbsp olive oil

1 tsp of rock salt

Creme Fraiche, Chive and Lemon Dip

200g creme fraiche,

1 tbsp of fresh chives, chopped finely

1/4 lemon, juice only

pinch of rock salt

1. Wash the sweet potatoes, but do not bother to peal them as the skins taste great when cooked. Chop them into chip/wedge size chunks and place in a large mixing bowl. Add the olive oil, rock salt and hot paprika and mix thoroughly with your hands so that all the pieces are completely covered.

2. In a preheated oven – 180 degree fan oven – place the sweet potatoes on baking/greaseproof paper on top of a baking tray and bake for 30-40 minutes or until they are soft.

3. When the sweet potatoes are baking prepare the dip by mixing all the ingredients together and taste and add more seasoning if necessary.

4. Serve immediately with the dip on the side.

Trang’s Vietnamese Spring Rolls with Nuoc Cham dipping sauce

2 Comments

Not so many moons ago I met a Vietnamese lady when I was on a brief stopover in Singapore. We were both taking advantage of the hotel pool and as we pretty much had the pool to ourselves we struck up conversation. The topic of food naturally came up and I think she could sense my longing to experience the culinary treats of her native homeland. She spoke about her favourite Vietnamese spring rolls and I tried hard to take down a mental note of all the ingredients she was spinning off.

Later that day when I returned to my room I found a couple of hand written notes detailing her Vietnamese spring rolls, or Cha Gio to be precise. I was really touched that she had gone to the effort of writing it down and slipping it under my door. Life is clearly full of wonderful surprises.

Upon returning to London I sent her an email thanking her for the recipe and promising that I would try it out very soon. She then replied with a further recipe for the dipping sauce, known as Nuoc Cham, which would compliment the spring rolls to perfection.

So that brings me to today. Making spring rolls, much like making tortellini, is definitely a communal affair so I rallied the troops…..well slight exaggeration, I rallied a newlywed friend of mine who was up for the challenge.

They were really good fun to make although there are definitely some tips to take on board, before embarking.

Check them out.

1. Don’t wet the rice paper too much. Literally place it in a bowl of warm water and submerge it and spin it once and then remove it. If you leave it in the water for too long, it becomes very difficult and limp to handle.

2. There is definitely a skill in folding the rolls. Keep them tightly folded and secure and after the first turn tuck in both ends before proceeding to roll the rice paper further.

3. Don’t be greedy and overfill. Less is more, definitely comes to mind when rolling these beauties.

4. The oil must be very hot BUT on a low heat, that’s the trick folks. Place a crumb in the oil and if it fizzles, then the oil is ready.

5. The pork meat will cook beautifully, don’t worry that it won’t. 3-4 minutes and the spring roll will be ready.

6. Steaming is also an option – it will take 20 minutes, but I thought that I would try the less healthy option of frying for my first attempt.

So here are the ingredients for the spring rolls.

Vietnamese Spring Rolls  (Cha Gio)

Makes around 20

300g minced pork

120g crab meat, (tinned is fine)

150g bean sprouts

150g of fine rice noodles

1 handful of exotic mushrooms (ideally wood ear mushrooms), sliced

1 western onion, chopped finely

2 eggs

1 tsp salt

22 cm rice paper (I used the Banh Trang variety)

optional ingredient:

1 carrot, thinly sliced

1. Finely chop the onion and then combine it with the mince, egg, noodles, crab, mushrooms, beansprouts, carrots (if using them) and salt.

2. If you are going to use carrot then slice thinly into 2cm long straws.

3. If you are using wood ear mushrooms (I could not find them so opted for exotic mushrooms) you will need to soak them for 30 minutes before slicing them into strips. Similarly you may also need to soak your noodles for 20 minutes in cold water before cutting them to 10cm in length. I used Amoy  ‘straight to wok’ rice noodles, which do not need any soaking.

4. Place the rice paper into a bowl of warm water for no longer than 5 seconds. Then lay it out onto a flat surface and add a spoonful of the pork/crab mixture. Tightly roll the rice paper over the filling and after the first roll (so that the mixture is covered), fold in both ends before proceeding to finish the rolling. Rest aside on a plate, making sure that the spring roll is not touching another spring roll. They will tear each other apart from sticking if you place them side by side. I found that they stuck well together (only one broke in the pan, but that was from over filling the rice paper). However, if you find they need some help at sticking the ends together mix a little flour with some water to form a paste and dab a little of this past at the end of the rice paper.

I found a fellow blogger who has produced good step by step photos of the rolling if you care to take a look .

Once you have rolled them all up they should look something like this.

5. Heat a deep pan with vegetable oil. You need to have enough oil so that the spring rolls can be submerged under the oil. Heat the oil to a high temperature and then turn down the heat so that it remains cooking at this low, but hot, heat. If you drop a crumb in the oil and it fizzes you know that the oil is hot enough.

6. Place a couple of spring rolls in the oil at a time so that you can carefully monitor them. Turn them in the oil a couple of times. They should be well cooked through in 3-4 minutes. If you are going to use a steamer they will need 20 minutes cooking time.

Please note they will not turn a golden colour like they do when you go out to a chinese restaurant. This is because they are using egg roll paper, which is different from rice paper. With rice paper they will go crispy BUT will remain with a white ish hue. Let them cool on kitchen roll, which will soak up the grease.

7. Serve with nuoc cham dipping sauce.

If you are vegetarian these will taste really good with tofu as well, so give them a try.

Nuoc Cham Dipping Sauce

1 tbs fish sauce

3tbs boiled water

half a tsp sugar

1 tbs of rice vinegar (or lemon/lime juice)

5 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed

half a carrot, sliced and chopped into small pieces OR shredded

optional extras:

 1 small red birds eye chilli

half a kohlrabi, sliced and cut into small pieces

1 tsp of soy sauce (this will deviate from the traditional recipe but I like the salty balance)

1. Place all the ingredients in a jar with a lid on and give it a good shake. I could not source kohlrabi so simply omitted it and to really throw caution to the wind I added a tsp of soy sauce, apologies to all those purists out there, I could not resist. I also liked having a little chilli to spice things up a bit – sorry I can’t help it. I promise though that when I do a blog on game in the next month or so, I won’t be adding chilli!

2. Add additional sugar, salt, lime to taste.

I hope you will love this gloriously sweet, salty, sour and spicy accompaniment for the spring rolls.

I’d really like to hear how you get on so do post a comment.

happy eating