My cookbook repertoire now includes Nigella Lawson, Jean Georges Vongerichten, and soon, Dorie Greenspan. I have books on how to make Yorkshire pudding ("all puffed up and glorious, sinful with whipped cream and golden syrup"), Vietnamese Pho, Paneer, Thai Green Curry, Beggar's chicken, Penang Nasi Kandar.
Cooking interests me, but the serving, the offering of a piece of my work to others is what gives me the real rush, I realize.
Food photography, to be honest, bores me. I just don't have the patience to adjust camera angles and lighting. Maybe it's because my photos never come out the way I want it....but the real rush comes from when people taste it. My heart breaks and I brood for days when my food isn't finished. Why why why Too much salt. Too little salt. Pan was too hot. Shouldn't have added water why why why why
I have a friend, who - bless her - seems to really enjoy to cook for - us. But when we sit down to her cooking, and start reminiscing about how we miss our long lost Char Koay Teow and Chee Cheong Fun and Briyani Rice from home, I start to feel sorry for her. Because you see, we're doing what I normally do when I sit down to bowl of Maggie Mee, or worse, when I'm on a diet, All-Bran or microwaved egg whites, my cookbook/magazine in front of me and the TV on the food channel - we're imagining we're eating those foods we miss/dream about while chewing on substandard stuff. This, to me, is rather saddening. One cannot, of course, put the blame on anyone. But let's face it, it is NOT the kind of feedback I want for all my banging and clanging in a blistering kitchen.
So that's why, despite my interest in Indian cookery and the promise of 5 ingredients, 50 dishes, I yet to cook an Indian dish. But I have made Lor Mai Kai (3 times), risked a shortcut Beggar's Chicken and tried about 10 different mushroom dishes, because I know AK will like them.
So says Nigella, it is about giving pleasure to others, and it does not necessarily need to make us suffer in the process.
Shortcut Beggar's Chicken (serves 2) , a One-Baking-Tray-Meal
Enough chicken pieces for 2 persons
2-3 small carrots or 1 1/2 large ones, peeled and sliced into 1.5 cm-ish thick coins
About 8 shitake mushrooms, soaked in hot water for 10 minutes and quartered, keep the soaking water
Goji berries, half a handful
1/2 a honey date, broken up into small pieces or 5 red dates
A few keichi (chinese herb)
About 1 cup chicken stock, or water will do in a pinch
1 tbsp light soy sauce
t tbsp ShaoXing wine
1 tsp sesame oil
White pepper
Extra soy sauce, wine, oil and pepper to taste'
1 baking tray, aluminium foil
Preheat the oven to 190 degC.
Marinate the chicken pieces in the seasonings overnight in a plastic bag.
In a baking tray, strew the chicken pieces, carrot coins, soaked mushrooms, keichi and dates/berries. It's good if your pan can fit all of them, but if not, layer them - herbs and dates/berries at the bottom, chicken pieces and fit the mushrooms and carrots in between the chicken pieces.
Pour over the chicken stock and mushroom water.
Cover the tray with foil, poke some holes in the foil with a fork to let out the steam and roast for about 1 hour.
(enough time to spend 30 minutes on the elliptical trainer and do some cooldown stretches)
In the last 15 minutes, remove the foil and let the chicken brown. Taste the gravy and season as necessary.
Serve with white rice and sliced red chillies in soy sauce.
The chicken will be tender and juicy, with nicely browned skin. Carrots will be baked up sweet, and the gravy will be all herbal frangrance and concentrated with a bitterish (from the herbs), sweet (from the dates and berries), good-for-you kind of flavour. And the mushrooms - one bite and all that flavoursome juiciness rushes out and fills your mouth. We ate this, devoured this, on a Monday evening. Many repeats to come.
Forgive the kitsch and the over-description. But this is what Nigella-ism is about - maximum pleasure for minimum effort. .
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