Category: Recipes
Kingfish Ceviche Salad
Photo by Jun Pang
I think that most people think cooking is too hard. Well here is a recipe to prove that theory wrong.
Most people think that cooking needs heat. Well, that’s not necessarily true either.
Ceviche is a dish made popular in the Americas, specifically in the South America. Traditionally, it uses the juices of citrus fruits to “cook” the proteins. Much like the science experiments you once performed in your high school science classes, when you poured acid on raw egg white and it turned opaque white and hardened. In this case, the the citric acid from the citrus fruits is slightly acidic enough to cure or cook the proteins of the fish.
Leek, Bacon & Potato Bake
Photo by Jun Pang
What else goes better together than leeks, bacon and potatoes?
There are so many versions of these flavours but none more recognizable than in the famous soup, potato and leek as we know it or cock-a-leekie of Scotland or the French version, vichyssoise. These soups, no matter what version you pick, have two ingredients that are a match made in heaven, leeks and potatoes. Separately, these two ingredients are unassuming, almost boring but combine it together with lashings of butter and cream and you have something totally wonderful, something “mind-blowingly” simple but absolutely tasty and top it off with my favourite ingredient of all time, bacon – and boy you have a flavour sensation that will remain with you for the rest of your life.
Seared Prawns with Noodle Salad, Asian Herbs, Vietnamese Dressing
Photo by Jun Pang
Time is a major constraint when it comes to cooking. I know my self that it is hard some times with such a busy life style. I cook as often as I can but usually it is a massive cook up of wet dishes which I freeze and eat later, this enables me to eat home cooked meals at a minimal cost and time. Apart from that, I cook really easy stuff like this noodle salad.
The beauty of this dish is that you can use prawns as the recipe suggests or you can choose to use marinated and grilled chicken thigh or breast if you have more time or additionally put more vegetables in like soy beans, snow peas etc and even marinated tofu, the choice is endless. It is easy, the only real cooking element is the blanching of the noodles and the the searing of the prawns.
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Orange & Cardamom Custard Tart
Photo by Jun Pang
Custards are probably the first things you learn to make in trade school when it comes to sweets.
Trick here is temperature control and the best way around this is usually a double boiler. A double boiler is a bowl above simmering water. This allows for gentle, even heat on what ever you are cooking. When you are making custards especially for the first time, you must use a double boiler, it is user friendly for the novice pastry cook.
I won’t lie, you might want to try this recipe a few times. The custard has to be “totally” cooked correctly and with the correct consistency otherwise it won’t set then you can’t brulee it. It is such a fine line between the right amount of doneness and being over cooked and coming up with scrambled eggs.
Keep stirring the custard and make sure you “never” leave it, other wise it will over cook, trust me, even the best chefs muck this one up but stick with it, try it over and over again because getting the ingredients together is easy, the hardest bit is the correct doneness and it will only be through practice that you will recognize what that is. After that, you will be doing it with your eyes shut!
So get cracking, if first you fail, try again!!
Baked Orange and Cardamom Custard Tart
Makes about 12
720ml Cream
1tblspn Grand Marnier
5cm Piece of Ginger finely sliced
5 Cardamom Pod crushed
1 Cinnamon Stick
14 Small Egg Yolks
80gr Caster Sugar
1 Orange Zest
½ the Short Crust Pastry Recipe previous article
Method
- Place the cream, Grand Marnier, ginger, cardamom and cinnamon sticks in a saucepan and bring to boil
- Once boiled, place it in jug and refrigerate
- Next day, reheat the cream in the sauce pan to boil, once boiled, add the orange zest and set aside for about 5 minutes
- After 5 minutes, strain the cream mixture
- Put the egg yolks in a large mix bowl and whisk together then add the sugar and whisk until combined thoroughly
- Pour the cream mix into the egg mix and whisk through
- Put a pot of water on to simmer large enough to hold ¾ of the bowl on top of the pot
- Place the bowl on top of the pot and using a temperature resistant rubber spatula, mix the egg and cream mixture
- Cook on this double boiler for about 12-15 minutes or until the mixture is thick, with no lumps. Use the spatula to scrape the sides of the bowl. Do not at any time allow the bowl to touch the water, it will over cook the egg
10. Remove from the heat once you have the correct thickness and whisk for a couple of minutes to cool (over ice water if necessary)
11. Refrigerate over night
12. Place the custard into a piping bag
13. Pipe into the tart shells
14. Sprinkle evenly with caster sugar then brule with a torch gun until golden
Tarts!
Photo by Jun Pang
Alright then – DESSERTS!!
Do I really need to say anymore?
Pho – Vietnamese Beef Noodle Soup
I started working as a chef in a hotel that is right next door to the Adelaide Central Markets and China Town.
As a young chef learning their trade, I could not have asked for anything more. Imagine seeing your states best produce on the walk to work. Can’t get any more inspiring and educational than that really. You see the freshest ingredients and also learn about the seasonality of many fresh produce. You get to talk to vendors and build that ever so important relationship between producers and cooks.
Rice Pudding
Photo by Jun Pang
Growing up, my grandma, Lola Luz, made rice pudding on very special mornings. They were a little different though!
Wholly Duck!!
Photo by Jun Pang
I never used to like duck. I was never around it all that much growing up. Filipinos don’t normally cook with duck so I didn’t really discover it until I was cooking in a commercial kitchen. I assume that most people are the same. Most people I know haven’t really eaten a lot of duck in their lives unless of course it was in a restaurant.