Cream of mushroom soup (with crispy bacon)

Fungus is a fascinating ingredients. Depending on the variety, the texture is often vary. I would love to know more about fungus, or at least feel competent enough to forage these beauty in the woods. The only fungus foraging I have done is for Chicken Of the Wood. 

It is distinctively bright yellow and it was a well known local site. As the name suggests, this fungus has a texture of chicken meat and would make a fantastic substitute, only if it were commercially available. Simply pan fry it with a little oil, salt and pepper and that's all it was needed.

So that's a little insight into my love for fungus, back to this cream of mushroom soup recipe I originally wanted to share here. It is incredibly simple to make, and its great to take into the office for lunch or as a light supper. I sprinkled my with some crispy streaky bacon but they can be replaced with croutons if desired.  

Serves 4

900g chestnut mushroom, halves

1 tsp of thyme 

2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped

170ml single cream

1 potato, peeled and diced

1 litre of vegetable or free range chicken stock

1 tbsp of porcini paste

10g of dried porcini 

8 rashes of streaky bacon, diced

1. Preheat the oven to 150°C. On a baking tray, lined it with a sheet of baking paper, place the mushrooms on top and sprinkle the thyme and a drizzle some olive oil all over. 

2. Cook in the oven for 20 minutes. The mushrooms will shrink and release water. 

3. Take the mushroom out and sprinkle the finely chopped garlic. Cook in the oven for a further 10 minutes.

4. Meanwhile, cook the diced potato in the stock, dried porcini and porcini paste until very soft. 

5. In a frying pan, cook the bacon pieces until crispy.

6. Tip the mushrooms and the juices in with the potato and stock, bring it to boil.

7. Take the mixture off the heat and blend with a handheld blender. 

8. Mix in the single cream and sprinkle the bacon before serving.

Szechuan 'Mala' Chicken (麻辣雞)

I love spicy food. The spiciness often helps to lift a dish up with a nice kick. Szechuan is renowned for its spicy food with an unique twist - spicy & numbing. A typical Szechuanese dish must consist chilli and a form of Szechuan pepper, this could be peppercorns, pepper oil, pepper powder etc Chilli gives the spiciness and Szechuan pepper gives the numbing/ tinkling sensation to the tongue and lips. If you have never experienced the tinkling sensation in the mouth whilst eating I would highly recommend trying this 'mala' chicken dish.

'Mala' literally means 'numbness and spiciness' and it usually used to described a cooking paste, which can be bought in most Asian supermarket. I made my own paste in this recipe and it is actually very straightforward. It can be kept in the fridge for a few weeks and it is fabulous for noodle dishes. In this recipe I will also share a tip in how to make sure the chicken stays succulent. 

Mala Paste 

This paste is of moderate heat. Please adjust the portion of spices in accordance to personal taste.

20 g fragmented black beans

30g chili bean paste

30g garlic

1 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp ground sand ginger powder 

1 tsp ground chilli powder

1 stp ground cinnamon

2 tbsp of Szechuan peppercorns 

1 tbsp sugar

1 tsp of salt

100ml water

A dollop of mayonnaise 

1. Lightly toast the Szechuan peppercorns on a frying pan then crushed using a pestle and mortal.

2.  In a bowl, mix in all the ground spices including Szechuan pepper powder and add the water. Mix well. 

3. In a mini food chopper, put in the garlic, fragmented black bean and chilli bean paste and blitz until smooth.

4. In a frying pan, squirt a dollop of mayonnaise and add a splash of oil. Heat until the mayonnaise dissolved. 

5. Now add the garlic & black bean paste into the frying pan and cook for 8 minutes on a low heat. You will need to keep folding the paste so it doesn't stick or become overcook. 

6. Pour in the spice powder water and fold in the 2 mixtures, follow by the sugar.

7. Cook the paste for a further 5 minutes and take it off the heat. 

Szechuan 'Mala' Chicken

Serves 4

1kg skinless free range chicken legs and thighs 

6 slices of fresh ginger

1 chilli, halves

2 garlic

5 stalks of spring onions 

3 shallots, halves

1 tbsp of Shaoxing wine

3 tbsp of mala paste

1. In a shallow frying pan, heat some oil and add in the shallots, half of the spring onions, chilli, garlic and ginger. Cook for a few minutes so the aroma releases into the air.

2. Add in the chicken and cook until they're lightly golden on both sides. 

3. Pour in the Shaoxing wine and follow by the mala paste made earlier (can be shop bought if preferred). 

4. Smother the chicken with the paste. Bring it all to boil, put the lid on, reduce the heat and let it simmer for 8 minutes.

5. Turn the heat off, leave the lid on and let the remaining heat to steam the chicken for a further 8 minutes.

6. Now, cook the chicken with high heat for 2 minutes before serving. 

Fantastic with rice and some veg. The mala paste should allow another serving, so perhaps try it with some minced pork next and serve it with noodles as a quick, mid week supper.

Simply Nigella's Asian-flavoured Beef Short Ribs (with a twist)

I love watching most cookery programmes and there are a few chefs I idolised, with Nigella Lawson being one of them. I have been religiously following her latest series on BBC and there are lots of excellent new recipes I am interested in trying out.

So, with so many recipes to choose from, where do I start? I had a family gathering last week and what a great excuse to try out the Asian beef short ribs. So effortless and can be pre-cooked the night before! 

Waitrose sells some delicious Aberdeen Angus beef short ribs at £6.99 per kg which I was tempted in purchasing; in the end I opted for what the local butcher has to offer instead. They were some well-hung beef from Twyford and just the look of them I know they will come out gorgeously delicious. This is a rack of ribs rather than short rib pieces. I've been reassured by the butcher that it cooks better this way. If you haven't got a big enough roasting tray/ pot then it cut up pieces will do just fine.

As the title of this post suggest, the recipe originates from the Simply Nigella series and I would not pretend otherwise. However, I did make some small adjustment to it. The key ingredient to the recipe is hoisin sauce. It is so easy to get all kinds of what used to be exotic ingredients in general supermarket nowadays it really does make life easier. The one I have gone for is the trusted Lee Kum Kee Hoisin Sauce. 'Hoisin' actually means 'seafood'. However, turn the jar around to the ingredients list you will see there is no sign of any sea creatures but mostly made up of fermented bean paste! I do love languages. 

Here is the finished masterpiece and my God it was divine! 

Serves 6 - 8

2.6kg beef ribs

1 jar of Lee Kum Kee Hoisin sauce

500ml water 

1 tbsp of light soy

1 tsp of dark soy

1 tsp of sesame oil

125ml of Shaoxing wine (or dry sherry as an alternative)

1 pinch of ground white pepper

1 tbsp of Chinese five spice

4 gloves of garlic, crushed

10 whole dried chillies, chopped

Some freshly ground Sichuan peppercorn 

1 bunch of fresh coriander, chopped

2 fresh red chilli, chopped (or use 1 tbsp of crushed dried chilli flakes) 

1. Preheat the oven to 150C/ gas mark 2. 

2. Place the ribs in a large, deep roasting tin.

3. Mix together all the above mentioned ingredients (apart from coriander & fresh red chilli) and pour over the ribs.  

4. Cover the roasting tin with foil, ensure the edges are securely sealed and place in the oven for 4 hours.

5. Once cooked, take the roasting tin out and leave on the side to cool. 

6. Transfer into a large tupperware or any type of container then leave in the fridge overnight. This is so the flavour can enhance and the fat solidify to the top.

7.  Before reheating the meat, remove the harden fat at the top and transfer the content into a ceramic ovenproof dish and cove with foil (I used the largest Le Creuset stoneware dish here).

8. Preheat the oven to 200C/ mark 6 and cook for 1 hour.

9. Scatter the chopped coriander & chilli on top before serving.

For the dinner, I served the meat with steamed rice and spinach. Much to my surprise here were leftover for lunch the next day. The sauce was so intensely rich I cannot resist to make a noodle soup dish out of this. The next morning I reheated the meat in the oven and boil some udon in just boiling water. When the meat and udon are ready, I dish up the udon with piece of meat sitting on top. I then anoint the dish with 2 tablespoon of the meat juice follow by the udon water. Boy oh boy it surely made a tasty noodle soup broth, and a lighter way of serving this beautiful dish too.

Chicken Wings with Potatoes (薯仔雞翼)

There is an old saying: 'The closer to the bone, the sweeter the meat'. I've been converted to that belief ever since I was a child, and it stems from my mother. She taught me how to eat a boney fish without chocking; tackle spareribs so all the meat comes off the bone and enjoy chicken wings. I love chicken wings and I consumed a lot of them when I was a child. Since I became more aware of animal welfare I now only consumed high welfare chicken wings, and Waitrose Duchy Organic Free Range Chicken Wings are like godsend. They are so meaty and flavoursome, I only wish other supermarkets would follow suit.

This is a very simple dish, and the key is to let the chicken wings marinade for long enough. 

Serves 2

Waitrose Duchy Free Range Chicken Wings 800g
2 potatoes, peeled and diced
1 tsp of palm sugar
1 thumb of ginger, thinly sliced
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 tbsp of light soy
1 tsp of dark soy
Pinch of sugar
Pinch of ground white pepper
1 tsp of sesame oil
1 tbsp Shaoxing wine
1 tsp of oyster sauce
1 tsp of corn flour

1. Marinate the chicken wings with both soy sauce, sugar, white pepper and sesame oil for a few hours or overnight.

2. Prepare the potatoes.

3. Heat up some oil and fry the ginger and garlic until browned.

4. Brown the chicken wings on both sides and add a splash of Shaoxing wine.

5. Add the diced potatoes. Dissolve the corn flour with some cold water and a splash of light soy, pour in with the chicken and diced potatoes. Add in the palm sugar.

6. Cover the meat and potatoes with just enough water and bring it to boil. Reduce the heat and let it simmer for 20 minutes or until the potatoes are cooked through.

7. Serve with steamed rice and vegetables of your choice.

Wild Mallard Breast Fillets with Spanish Croquettes

The clock has gone back over the weekend and autumn has officially creeped in. There is definitely a chill in the air, and it is already dark when we step foot out of the office. Autumn is my favourite season. The countryside turns golden and the crips, chill air is rather refreshing to the lungs. 

Despite all that, there is a lot of positives for autumn and winter. It is time to blow the cobweb off one's cast iron casserole dish, and look out for a variety of game available soon.

Duck is the most common game and is widely available all year round. It is my prefer game bird as it has a less intense flavour than the others. I came across these wild mallard breast fillets from Waitrose and they look divine.

I decided to keep my dinner simple and cooked the millard fillets the simplest way.

Serves 2

1 packet of wild mallard breast fillets (or normal duck breasts if they are not available).

1 red pepper, sliced

300g baby spinach, steamed

150g Sol & Mar Caprichos ibericos (from Lidl)

1. Cook the caprichos ibericos as per instructions on the packet.

2. Melt a knob of butter i a frying pan and sealed the mallard breast fillets until brown. 

3. Preheat the grill to 180 degree and place the fillets skin side up for approximately 10 minutes depending on how you like them. I prefer mine medium rare.

4. In the same frying pan, stir fry the sliced pepper until cooked through.

5. Steam the spinach on a steamer until they are wilted.

Serve! 

Homemade Rosehip Syrup & Rosehip Facial Oil

Have you ever notice these vibrantly red, fruit of the wild rose bushes? They are plentiful in the English countryside and it is a super wild food for immune systems as well as for youthful skin! Rosehip is a great source of vitamin C, 20 times the amount of vitamin C in oranges. To keep the nation health, during the austerity of the WWII, the British government encouraged the public to gather rosehips. They were then collected and processed into rosehip syrup by the Ministry of Food and were sold to the public at a discounted price in Welfare Clinics.

Rosehip syrup has an unique and delicate flavour. It can be enjoyed as a cordial, spooned over pudding or ice cream.

Today our high street is full of various vitamin supplements and those who uses rosehip syrup as vitamin C supplement is rare. However, another form of rosehip product has become immensely popular in recent years - rosehip oil. Apparently it is the best kept secret of many celebrities to keep their skin youthful and hydrated. There is a huge selection of branded rosehip oil available on the high street. I am sure they are as pure as they claimed to be but surely nothing is better for the skin than products made by your own fair hands?

This autumn I've been busy harvesting rosehips in the country to make my own rosehip syrup to fight off the cold/ flu, and the best rosehip oil to keep my skin looking youthful. They are a bit of a bugger to gather as we all know, rose bush is very thorny so considered you are warned!

Rosehip Syrup

Make approximately 1L

1kg rosehips

250g white granulated sugar

1. Clean the rosehip under cold tap water.

2. Bring 1.5L water to the boil in a preserving pan.

3. Mince the rosehips in a food chopper and transfer into the boiling water.

4. Bring to boil and allow to stand for 15 minutes before pouring the mixture through a muslin cloth, and allow it to drip until most of the liquid has come through. Reserve the pulp.

5. In the cleaned preserving pan, bring 750ml fresh cold water to the boil. Stir in the reserved pulp and repeat step 4 but discard the pulp in the end.

6. Combine the 2 solutions to the cleaned preserving pan and boil to reduce the liquid at around 1 litre.

7. Add the sugar and boil for a further 5 minute so it dissolve well.

8. Bottle the liquid into hot sterilised bottles and seal.

Rosehip Facial Oil

Make approximately 200ml

400g rosehips
250ml organic jojoba oil*
5ml pure vitamin E oil**
5ml Frankincense essential oil**
7 x amber pipette bottle
1 Milton tablet
1L water

* I have chosen to use jojoba oil as the base oil here as I feel it would suit my skin type the best. Jojoba has excellent moisturising properties and can be easily absorbed without leaving the skin feeling greasy. Depending on your skin type, you may choose to use other odourless carrier oil, such as wheatgerm oil, apricot oil, almond oil etc

** To create a truly tailor-made serum, I've added a few drops of vitamin E & Frankincense essential oil into concoction. Vitamin E is a powerful source of antioxidant which helps to regenerate and nourish the skin; Frankincense helps to relieve anxiety and to prevent ageing of the skin. There are plenty of other essential oil widely available so choose the ones that suit your needs best. Always go for the best quality you can afford.

1. Clean the rosehips under cold tap water.

2. Ensure the hairy heads and stems are cut off.

3. Slightly crushed them in a mortar and pestle so the goodness can easily released into the oil.

4. Preheat to oven to its lowest heat available.

5. Put the rosehips into an oven proof jar (I used a Kilner jar here) and pour in the carrier oil of your choice.

6. Cover the jar and place in the middle of the oven for a few hours.

7. Take the jar out and let it cool down.

8. Once the oil has cooled down, pour the oil through a muslin cloth and allow it to drip until most of the oil has come through.

9. Meanwhile, dissolve a Milton tablet in a saucepan of water in accordance to the instructions on the packet.

10. Soak the amber pipette bottles in the Milton solution for a period of time (always check instructions on the packet).

11. To dry the bottles, place them on a baking tray lined with baking paper and leave in a low heat oven until they are completely dried of Milton solution.

12. Add in the vitamin E & Frankincense oil into the jojoba & rosehip solution.

13. Mix the oil gently. Whatever you do please DO NOT shake the oil as it could change the properties of the oil and cause it to go off much quicker.

14. Decant the oil into the amber pipette bottles and seal.

They should last for about a year. Keep them out of direct sunlight.

To avoid contamination, when applying the oil please take care so the dropper doesn't touch the skin.

Sweet Potato Wedges

I have a love-hate relationship with sweet potato. My mother loves sweet potatoes and always praises its health benefit. When I was a child she would force sweet potatoes upon me whenever we have BBQ or in the cold weather, and I was (and still am) not somebody who likes being told what to do/ eat. My natural instinct was to go against it and it lasted well into adulthood. 

In recent months I was invited to a couple's house for dinner and sweet potato wedges was on the menu. And of course refusing what your host is offering would should a lack of decorum so it was a no no. There I was, consumed some sweet potatoes wedges in years and much to my delight, I rather enjoyed them. I genuinely thought they were much tastier than normal potato wedge. Perhaps my taste buds have matured with age, or without the motherly nagging has suddenly made this root vegetable more palatable. 

1. Preheat the oven to 200°C.

2. Cut the sweet potato in to wedges-shape.

3. Season with freshly milled black peppercorn and sea salt.

4. Splash some rapeseed oil all over and massage the wedges well so they are evenly coated with oil and seasoning.

5. Place them into the oven for approximately 25 - 35 minutes or until they are brown and soft.