Jam Tarts – The Caveman Version

Free-form jam tarts are terribly unglamourous. Made without moulds, the shape is unwieldy and the uneven rim snakes here and there. I call them caveman tarts 'cause they look quite primitive. Or at least, they look primitive when I make them with my inexpert hands. But I hope they have a certain rustic charm, especially with bits of caramelized jam that say 'homemade!'

I wouldn't serve free-form jam tarts to friends but I make them for my folks all the time. Hot from the oven, the buttery pastry coupled with slightly chewy strawberry jam is one of our favourite quickie desserts/snacks. It's delicious and simple to make, which is what home cooking is to me.

I don't bother to change out of my grubby gear when family members drop by, and they're just as casual. We're not stylish people, so our food isn't stylish either. A few caveman jam tarts are enough to make us grunt with pleasure. 'Onga oonga! Ungh ungh!'

Check these out:

Motor – Purrr . . . .	Baby Mel	Remembering Lulu	Mac – Deep in Thought

Chocolate Tarts – The Incredible French Way

If you've been making shortcrust pastry with cold butter, you need to read this post.

Or if you've been struggling with pastry that keeps melting and tearing as you roll it, you also need to read this post.

Would you like to make the dough and line a tart mould in 10 minutes, without having to rest or chill the dough? Find out how here.

Would you like homemade pastry that's so tender it crumbles and melts in your mouth? Rich and buttery without being oily? Yes? Then this post is for you.

The key to the mother of all shortcrust pastries is: an almost waterless dough. That doesn't just mean not adding water to the flour, because most pastry dough ingredients other than sugar and flour contain a substantial amount of water. Butter, for instance, is about 15% water. To remove the H2O, the butter is boiled so that the moisture evaporates. Gluten can't form without water and once there's no gluten, the pastry is melt-in-the-mouth tender even without egg yolks. And it can't shrink without gluten, so there's no need to rest it.

If you're now shrinking back in horror at the thought of melted, boiled butter, I totally understand your feeling. It's unlike other pastry recipes which always call for cold butter. And you might be thinking, 'How the hell am I gonna roll it out?' Well, you don't. You put the dough in the tart mould, and pat it into a thin layer. If you're pretty nifty, it takes maybe two minutes to line a small mould. If you take longer though, that's ok too since the butter is already melted. I tell ya, whoever came up with this method was an absolute genius! If, like me, you hate rolling out dough that keeps tearing, this no-roll recipe is a god sent!

Are you skeptical? You should be! Even if the dough is easy to work with, how good could it be? Doesn't good pastry need egg yolks and big flakes of cold butter? Well, try the recipe and see for yourself. The proof of the pudding is in the eating! I ate an entire pastry shell neat the first time I tried the recipe! Once in a blue moon, something that sounds too good to be true is true.

Now, please excuse me whilst I go stuff my face with more chocolate tarts.

Check these out:

Banana Bread	Apple Brown Betty	Caramel Popcorn	Carrot Cake

English Scones – England's Gone?

See Mac eyeing the scone? Scones are one of her favourites, together with toast, cream crackers, pastry, cakes . . . anything that's made with flour and baked. Of course, she doesn't eat a whole piece. Licking the crumbs after I finish eating is enough to make her happy. Yup, Mac's a funny cat. She sits and patiently watches me tuck in. Sometimes, I can't bear to let her wait till I'm done, so I sneak her a few crumbs whilst I eat. Food always tastes better when it's shared!

I don't know if scones are World Cup food but that's what I've made for tonight's England vs Slovenia match. What's World Cup food anyway? Fried chicken? Come to think of it, scones aren't quite supper food either. But it's potluck supper at a friend's place, and I'm supposed to bring some English food. English scones . . . England's gone . . . . Makes sense? I'm putting a curse on the English team with scones! Anyways, I hope no one minds having scones for a midnight feast.

Team England's World Cup dream is hanging by a thread, and it's do or die for them tonight. With all their fans lambasting them over the last few days, surely they will lose?

I'm rooting for Slovenia, because it's the underdog. The entire team is paid what one English player gets. Wouldn't it be great to show that when you pay peanuts, you don't always get monkeys? I hope Slovenia sends high and mighty England packing! Go, Slovenia! Go!

Rainbow vertical two:

Chocolate Chip Cookies	Gingerbread Men	Cream Scones	Staverton Ewe Marmalade and Jams

Fuzzy Gourd Stir-Fry – For My Cousin's Wedding

My cousin is getting married but no, she's not really serving fuzzy gourd at her wedding dinner. If she were, all hell would break loose!

Fuzzy gourd stir fried with glass noodles is aka 大姨媽嫁女, which means my eldest maternal aunt's daughter is getting married. So cute, eh? I love the dish because of its unusual name, which makes the otherwise ordinary dish rather unordinary.

Most Chinese regard a wedding dinner without expensive shark's fin as a great loss of face. Fake shark's fin, hence, is better than no shark's fin at all. The aunt in question, presumably too poor to afford the real McCoy, is serving shark's fin lookalike, glass noodles. Oh, the shame of it!

Because '大姨媽' means eldest maternal aunt, we can tell who came up with the name for the dish. It must have been the children (or child) of the poverty stricken woman's younger sister. I guess the aunt wasn't very popular, judging from the way she was snubbed.

I love the way the Chinese differentiate between different types of aunt. The mother's sister is '姨媽'; the wife of the mother's brother is '舅媽'; the father's sister is '姑媽; the wife of the father's elder brother is '伯母'; and the wife of the father's younger brother is '嬸母'.

Seriously though, I don't think anyone actually served 大姨媽嫁女 at a wedding. It's probably just a fun name inspired by the connection between glass noodles, shark's fin and weddings. But isn't it interesting to think about the story and culture behind the name? Food is fun!

Check these out:

Sesame Chicken	Tamarind Pork (Babi Assam)	Pork with Sweet Sauce	Sichuan Spicy Beef

Happy Father's Day!

Mr Lion was having a nap when junior woke him up (story here). See how tired and sleep deprived he is? It sure is tough being a father. No wonder he's rather grouchy.

I guess a father is just a father to his child. Doesn't matter whether he's king of the jungle or a lowly subject.

Cheer up, Mr Lion! It's Father's Day!

Happy Father's Day to all fathers!

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Tamagoyaki – The Slow, Easy Way

Making a good Tamagoyaki is not easy. It's tough and leathery if it's overcooked, and the layers tear if it's undercooked. The eggs have to be done just right whilst making the tightly wrapped layers. It's no mean feat, which is why a Japanese chef is judged by the quality of his Tamagoyaki.

Here's a pro who makes it look really easy:

Notice the chef taking the pan off the heat when he folds the omelette? That's crucial for keeping the eggs soft and moist. And the cooked layers, pushed to one side, dance in and out of the fire whilst new layers are made, again to prevent overcooking. Of course, the folds have to be made in the blink of an eye. Otherwise, no amount of dancing could keep the eggs from turning leathery.

A Japanese chef makes a four-layer Tamagoyaki in two minutes, but it's two minutes which take many years – and eggs – to perfect. I prefer to have homemade Tamagoyaki without any hard work (or a rectangular pan). So I've devised a method that's slower and hence, easier. It's rather clumsy compared to the pros, but it works well for home cooks who aren't very nimble, like me. The results are eminently respectable, judging from how fast they disappear – usually faster than I can make them!

Check these out:

Chai Poh Omelette	Tea Eggs	Smoked Soft- Boiled Eggs	Stir Fried Tomatoes with Eggs

TAMAGOYAKI (Recipe for 4 persons) 4 eggs 4 tbsp milk 1 tsp liquid dashi concentrate 1 tsp light soya sauce 4 tsp sugar 2 tbsp vegetable oil, in a bowl Beat eggs till well mixed. Add all other ingredients except oil. Mix till even. To fry eggs, please refer to video above. Alternatively, here's my clumsy way: Heat 18-cm (7-inch) pan till moderately hot over medium heat. Brush bottom and sides with oil. Alternatively, swirl some oil around, then pour excess. Dip chopsticks into eggs, then pan. When oil sizzles gently, take pan off heat. Add 2 tbsp eggs. Swirl to form an even layer. It should be cooked in 2-3 seconds, with bottom turning lightly golden. Add another 1 tbsp eggs. Swirl again. Loosen edge of omelette from pan. Whilst top of eggs is still liquid, fold edge inward with chopsticks by about 5 cm (2 inches). Make another 2 folds, forming 4 layers. Transfer to a plate. Reheat pan. Make another omelette as before. Before folding it, place first omelette back in the pan, 5 cm (2 inches) from the edge. Fold as before. Transfer to a plate. Repeat till eggs are used up. There should be enough for 5 rounds. Wrap cooked eggs in a sushi mat. Shape into a rectangle. Cut crosswise into 8 pieces just before serving. Tamagoyaki may be served warm or at room temperature, but I think it's nicer cold.

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Baby Mel

This photo of Mel was taken three years ago, a week after I adopted her. She looked like she was feeling a bit sorry for herself. Missing her mother perhaps?

Mel had been sitting in a children's playground, usually in the late afternoon. One day, I brought her some food to say hello. She wasn't afraid of me at all, allowing me to approach without running away. As she ate half-heartedly the canned food I gave her, I patted her gently. To my horror, I found her bones jutting out sharply into my hand. She was literally all skin and bones, with nothing inbetween.

I said to myself, 'Oh god, no!' The silent exclamation wasn't due to my sympathy for the starving kitten. It was a protest, utterly useless, against the inevitable. I already had two cats in the house – Mac and Lulu – but I couldn't possibly leave a kitten to starve to death, could I? 'Anyway, what's the difference between two and three cats?' I asked the little kitty as I picked her up. She looked into my eyes and told me, 'Nothing at all!' So I brought her home, where there's food, shelter and love aplenty.

Despite how skinny she was, Mel ate sparingly during the first few weeks. She was probably so close to starving to death, she had no energy to wolf down her food. She just sat around looking listless and tired. But she did eat, thank god, and her appetite and strength improved gradually.

Three years later, Mel is all grown up and fattened up. Here she is, cool and confident:

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Check these out:

Chicken Feet in Fermented Black Bean Sauce	Teochew Braised Duck	Black Silkie Chicken Soup	Saba Shioyaki (Salt Grilled Mackerel)

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Drunken Prawns – A Good Drunk

American novelist Willa Sibert Cather said, 'Drunkenness is merely an exaggeration. A foolish man drunk becomes maudlin; a bloody man, vicious; a coarse man, vulgar.' I couldn't agree more. Bad people become worse when they're drunk, not better. Only good people make good drunks.

I don't consider someone a friend till I really know the person. And I feel I don't really know the person till I've seen him drunk. That's when his true nature emerges, and he says all sorts of things that he wouldn't say when he's sober.

Children and drunks always speak the truth. Can't remember who said that but it's spot on. When someone is drunk, it's the perfect time to ask him 'Do you love me?' or 'Do you think I'm fat?' But sometimes it's better not to know, know what I mean?

As for prawns, drunkenness is definitely an exaggeration. Sober prawns are delicious, and drunken prawns are intoxicatingly so. They're definitely good drunks in my book.

Cheers to drunkenness!

Check out these prawn recipes:

Garlic Butter Prawns	Prawns with Salted Egg Yolks	Sichuan Kung Pao Prawns	Prawns with Red Fermented Beancurd

DRUNKEN PRAWNS (Recipe for 4 persons) 4 tomatoes (350 g) 16 fresh prawns (250 g) 2 Chinese salty dried prunes (酸梅/話梅, about 12 g) 1 tsp sugar ½ tsp salt (for seasoning prawn stock) 3 tbsp Shaoxing wine ½ tsp Chinese prune powder (酸梅粉) pinch of salt (for seasoning tomatoes) a few parsley leaves as garnish Shell, devein and wash prawns. Put shells, dried prunes and 1 cup water in a pot. Bring to a boil and simmer gently for 10 minutes, covered, till liquid is reduced to about ¾ cup. Whilst simmering, poach prawns in batches. Do not overcook. After prawns turn opaque, it takes only 5-10 seconds more, depending on size. Remember: do not overcook. When prawn stock is ready, discard shells and prunes. Add wine, sugar and salt. Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary. When cool, add prawns to the stock. Cover and marinade in fridge for about 4 hours. Remove prawns and chill till ready to serve. To prepare tomatoes, score bottoms with an 'x'. Blanch in boiling water till skin around 'x' starts to peel back, about 1 minute after coming back to a boil. Remove and cool in a big bowl of water. When cool enough to handle, peel, cut into quarters, and remove seeds. Cut each quarter into two pieces. Chill till ready to serve. To plate, add marinade to almost cover tomatoes. Taste and season with salt and prune powder. Top with prawns. Garnish with parsley. Enjoy.

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Oyakodon (親子丼) – Chicken or Egg First?

Oyakodon (親子丼) is a homely Japanese dish made by simmering chicken, onions and eggs in a dashi-based sauce. It's super quick and easy but the chicken, after a brief simmer without any marinade, is a bit too bland for my taste

Since I'm not happy with the traditional method, I've come up with my own: marinate the chicken for 30 minutes, then pan-fry it briefly. That's a good balance between effort and flavour that works nicely for me. Oyakodon is now part of my repertoire of one-dish meals.

In case you don't already know, 'oya' means parent (親), 'ko' means child (子) and 'don' means bowl (丼). Instead of chicken and eggs, Oyakodon can be made with, for instance, salmon and salmon roe. If it's chicken and duck eggs, however, the dish obviously doesn't involve a parent and child. It would then be called Tanindon or 他人丼, which means 'Strangers Bowl'. Cute, eh?

Chicken or egg first? Some scientists argue that it's egg first, because adult animals don't change their genes (story here). In other words, genetic changes that turn a non-chicken into a chicken must have happened whilst it was an embryo in an egg. Hence, it's egg first, folks!

Check these out:

Stir Fried Pork Liver	Tomatoes in Wasabi Sesame Sauce	Chinese Olive Fried Rice	Tea Eggs (茶叶蛋)

OYAKODON (親子丼) (Recipe for 1 person) 1 boneless chicken thigh (about 100 g), cut into small pieces about 2 x 2 cm 1½ tsp liquid dashi soup concentrate 2 tsp mirin 2 tsp Japanese or Chinese light soya sauce 1½ tsp sugar ½ tbsp vegetable oil ¼ large white onion, about 60 g peeled and thinly sliced 1 egg, beaten ½ tbsp roughly chopped Chinese parsley or spring onions as garnish 1 cup cooked rice, steaming hot Marinate chicken with dashi soup concentrate, mirin, soya sauce and sugar for 30 minutes. Heat oil in non-stick wok or pan till just smoking. Add onions and stir-fry over high heat till translucent. Add chicken, minus marinade. Fry, stirring occasionally, till chicken is slightly browned, 3 minutes or so. Add marinade and stir till absorbed. Add ¼ cup water. Reduce heat to low. Stir and deglaze wok/pan. Simmer gently for 2-3 minutes, covered. Whilst chicken is simmering, get bowl of rice ready. When sauce for chicken is reduced by one third, taste and adjust seasoning if necessary. Drizzle with egg. Do not stir. When half cooked, turn off heat. Slide everything on top of rice without disturbing egg. Sprinkle with Chinese parsley or spring onions. Cover bowl for a minute or so for egg to finish cooking in residual heat. Enjoy.

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