Salmon Wrapped in Banana Leaves

Meal for one does not have to be boring. This banana leaf wrapped salmon is better than a bowl of cold cereal. Don't get me wrong, a bowl of cereal for dinner has its place and God knows I have had it innumerable times for dinner!

Banana wrapped fish here is similar to the en Papillotte style where fish, herbs and julienned vegetables are encased in parchment paper and baked in a hot oven. The steam created by natural juices of the vegetables, fish and the delicious little pat of butter cooks the fish. And the result is tender, moist and wonderfully flaky salmon.

The recipe is easy peasy. Take 1 small fillet of salmon ( enough for one serving), wash it and pat it dry. Place skin side down on the banana leaves ( which are available in most grocery stores here in New York. Wash the banana leaves and blanch it for 1 minute. This makes the leaves pliable). Sprinkle fish with salt and dried chili flakes ( as much as you like!). Scatter thinly sliced lemongrass ( 1/2 stalk) and top with a pat of lime butter ( 1 tablespoon of unsalted butter mixed with the zest of one lime). Wrap the salmon into a neat little package and place it seam side down on a baking sheet.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place the baking sheet in the middle of the oven and bake for 8 minutes. Serve immediately. Simple, quick and elegant enough for company - you could make individual packages. That is a winner in my books!

Chilli Chicken

My little nephew ( not so little anymore..) loves to order this dish at his favourite Chinese restaurant called Country Kitchen in Petaling Jaya ( or better known as PJ State) whenever we go there. I have to keep better notes of these places when I go home the next time ( last year's visit was a whirlwind, I had way too much going on). Country Kitchen is a well known restaurant in PJ and it is packed every night! The food there is absolutely fantastic!

This is my rendition of the perennial favourite. It looks fabulous, tastes wonderful and you can make it in less that 20 minutes! I served it with fluffy, steamed rice. A great side dish that will go well with this chicken dish is baby bok choy with shiitake mushrooms.


Chilli Chicken
Don't be deterred by the amount of dried chilies in this recipe. The chillies add a wonderful flavour and just a hint of heat. The ginger adds another dimension to this dish and really compliments the dried chillies. And ....you are not supposed to eat the chillies, but kids sometimes do it as a dare!

3 chicken breasts - medium sized
14 dried chilies - cut into thirds
1 heaping Tb minced ginger
1 shallot - minced
1/2 tsp sugar
salt to taste
1 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp corn starch
2 Tb vegetable/ peanut oil
1/2 Tb light soy sauce
1/4 cup water

Wash and cut chicken breast into bite size. Season chicken with soy sauce, corn starch , salt, sugar and sesame oil. Break off or cut dried chili into thirds or halves and set aside ( the variety that I use are the ones typically used in Malaysia, it is skinny and long and I have a whole lot of them in my pantry!).

Heat oil in a heavy bottomed saute pan or a wok on medium high heat. Quickly fry the dried chili until it turn reddish brown ( 2 minutes) and remove it with a slotted spoon and set aside. Add seasoned and diced chicken to the wok or pan and stir fry it for 3 minutes. Add ginger and water and cook for another 7 minutes or until the chicken pieces are cooked. Stir occasionally. Adjust seasonings and add fried chilies to the chicken. Stir well and serve with steamed rice.


Country Kitchen
49-51, Jln 52/18 Petaling Jaya
46200, Selangor
Malaysia

Bourbon Pecan Tart

I made this tart for an engagement party that we had for a dear friend. The recipe is from January 08 Gourmet magazine. It has been awhile since I made anything from my magazine subscriptions. I can't seem to keep up with my ever growing collection of foodie magazines.

The original recipe calls for mini tarts. I made it in a 9 inch tart pan instead. I was a little sceptical about the crust when I read the recipe. But I trust Gourmet, I mean this is Sara Moulton's kitchen right? The crust turned out quite nicely. It was buttery and crumbly as you can see here. The tart may look skinny but it is rich. I debated whether to whip cream to go with it but decided against it as it would be too rich and heavy. I did not want the guests to go into sugar and cream induced coma after dinner!! But seriously, this is good - you should try it!




Bourbon Pecan Tart - adapted from Gourmet magazine
You could make the mini version of this if you wish - it would be rather cute I think. But I was short on time and decided to make it in a 9 inch tart instead.

Crust
2 sticks unsalted butter diced
2 cups flour
1/4 cup sugar
a pinch of salt

Filling
2 large eggs
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup unsalted butter - melted
1/4 cup dark corn syrup
1/4 cup light corn syrup
1 1/2 tb bourbon
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
pinch of salt
1 3/4 cup pecan halves

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
To make the crust - mix crust ingredients in a food processor for 5 minutes. Dough will look crumbly. Pat down in a tart pan and chill for one hour.

Filling - Whisk eggs, sugar, vanilla, salt, melted butter and bourbon. Pour into the chilled tart shell and arrange pecan halves on top of filling. Place tart on a baking sheet and bake for 30-35 minutes or until filling sets. Cool on a rack. Serves 6.
Tart can be made a day ahead and chilled in the fridge. Bring it to room temperature before serving.

Roasted Cauliflower & Charred Poblano Soup

Cauliflower is a great backdrop for the mildly spicy poblano chilis. Poblano chilis are large, almost heart shaped green peppers that ideal for stuffing, think chili rellenos. These chilis are usually roasted and peeled before use. Use gloves when peeling and deseeding the roasted peppers. I learnt this the hard way. I was wondering why my face and eyes were burning after I had peeled a few peppers and washed my hands thoroughly!! When these big guys are dried, they are called ancho or mulatto chilis.




The cauliflower is a superstar in its on right. Anti cancer compound called sulforaphane is released when the vegetable is cut or chewed. It also improves the liver's ability to detoxtify carcinogenic substances. The humble cauliflower is all this and more. They are wonderful roasted with a drizzle of olive oil, a pinch of salt and a dusting of sweet smoked paprika.The gentle roasting brings out the natural sugar in the vegetable and gently caramelizes at 350 degrees. Cauliflower florets cooked with red lentils or stir fried with carrots and prawns were my childhood favourites.

This soup recipe is from Bobby Flay's latest book The Mesa Grill Cookbook. I love this book!! All the recipes are beautifully and deliciously prepared. He creates a fantastic flavour profile with each and every dish in this book. This soup has a thick and creamy consistency and just a hint of heat. Just perfect for a blustery cool day in the Northeast.


Roasted Cauliflower & Charred Poblano Soup

1 head cauliflower cut into florets
2 tb olive oil
1/2 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp of freshly ground black pepper
3 cups vegetable broth
2 tb heavy cream
1 poblano chillis - roated and pureed


Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Toss cauliflower florets with olive oil and black pepper. Spread out on a baking sheet. Bake covered with foil for 30 minutes. Make a few slits on the foil before the tray goes into the oven.

Meanwhile char the poblano chili. I have a gas stove and do this stove top. If you have an electrical range, you could roast it on the oven. Once the chili is charred, place it in a paper bag and close the bag. Leave it to steam in the bag for 20 minutes. The steam would make it easier for the charred skin to slip off. Remove the seeds and stem and puree in a food processor with 1/4 cup of water. Set aside.

Place the baked cauliflower in a pot and bring to a boil with the 3 cups pf vegetable broth. Turn heat down and simmer for 15 minutes.

Puree cauliflower with either a hand held blender or pour the ingredients in a blender. Be careful when blending hot vegetables . What I usually do is put a towel over the blender and forego the cover. I place my hand over the towel before I start the blender again.

Pour soup back in the pot and add pureed poblano and cream. If the soup is too thick add a bit more stock to bring it to a desired consistency. Heat until warmed through. Do not boil. I served this soup with organic blue corn chips with softened goat cheese.

Amai and Earl Grey & Currant Cookies

It has been awhile since I posted restaurant reviews. It is not that we have been not been eating out or trying new places. It is just that ... the food has been a let down somewhat. What do you do..keep giving bad reviews and just don't post if the food or the service is way below par? Should I go back to give the restaurant a second chance? I am not sure.

Brunch at Craftbar was uninspiring which was too bad. I had read good reviews about it and really like Tom Callichio especially his sometime razor sharp comments on the Top Chef show. The restaurant was not crowded and our server slowly ambled over and handed us our menu. The demeanor was one of boredom and disinterest Ok, maybe the food will make up for it I thought. Not a chance. I had the baked eggs with shisito pepper, short ribs, fingerling potatoes and Ibarra chocolate. Sounds delish.


It was ok...no salt or a hint of chocolate. As you can see in the picture above, there is dusting of some kind...but I did not taste any chocolate. Brad's was not happy with his brunch and kept saying that we should have gone to Bobby Flay's Mesa Grill. The cosmo was good though :)

We walked around and did some shopping and I thirsted for some tea and Brad was in a foul mood. I knew for sure that chocolate will save the day and I have been wanting to go to Amai since it opened. I just hoped that it would be better than our Craftbar experience.

They have a wonderful selection of teas and the cookies are made with its own unique blend of spices and tea. Some of them are Earl Grey and currants, lemongrass and ginger, chai almond and the wildly popular green tea cookies. They are also have a myriad of variation of luscious brownies. The cookies and brownies are available on-line as well. The decadent chocolate brownie hit the spot for Brad :) I loved the Earl Grey cookies with currants so much that I came home and whipped up a batch.


It may not be exactly the same taste as the cookies at Amai but it was pretty close. I added 2 tablespoon of crushed Earl Grey tea leaves to my basic shortbread recipe. It was just perfect with a cup of tea!


Amai Tea & Bake House
171 3rd Ave
New York NY 10003
212-863-9630

Craftbar
900 Broadway
New York, NY
212-461-4300