Century Egg And Pork Congee

My parents moved to Tuen Mun for a while when I was small. It is a town near the sea in the North West of Hong Kong. I have quite a few childhood memories from there, as it was the place where I first went to school, learnt how to ride a bike and owned my first pair of roller skates. Like many other Asian parents, my mum would arrange extensive activities for me to attend after school - singing, ballet, swimming, pretty much everything I am not good at now. Sorry mum!

There was a congee breakfast place that my dad used to take me to almost every day before school.  I would always share a bowl of century egg and pork congee, and a plate of deep fried dough with him. The owner’s wife recognised us as regulars so she would always give us a bit more century egg in our portion. Sometimes we would also have a small plate of soy sauce fried noodles with beansprouts instead of the fried dough, but only if I was very good. 

This is a cheat congee recipe as I used frozen cooked rice to speed up the cooking. The proper way (according to me) of cooking congee, is to marinate washed rice grains with sesame oil and salt the night before, and then boil in water or stock for at least 1.5 hours until the desired consistency is achieved. I like mine thick and heavy.

I used pork shoulder in this recipe because I like to have a bit of fat in my meat. Traditionally we use lean pork (瘦肉), like loin, which is poached until tender and then shredded to mix into the congee.

Century egg and pork congee

Serves 2

2 Century eggs

250g Pork shoulder

300g Cooked rice (frozen)

1.2l Water

Thumb sized piece of ginger, cut into short and thin strips 

1 Stalk spring onion, roughly chopped

For the pork marinade:

1 tbsp Soy sauce (this will make the congee looks a bit brown, you can use 1tsp salt instead)

1 tsp Sesame oil

1 tsp Cornflour

0.5 tsp Sugar

Pinch of white pepper

Cut the pork into small slices and then mix with the marinade, set aside for at least 30 minutes.

Put the rice and water into a medium saucepan, bring to the boil. Keep boiling at a medium high heat for around 10 minutes. Do not leave the pan unattended as it may overflow. Add the pork and a couple of ginger pieces to the pan, and then turn the heat down to medium low. Put the lid on but leave a small gap between the lid and the pan by using a wooden spoon or chopstick. Simmer for 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, remove shell of the century egg, and then cut it into small pieces. Add half of the century egg pieces to the congee. Simmer for further 15 to 30 minutes, depending on what consistency you are after. The longer you leave it, the thicker the congee will become.

Use a ladle to serve the congee in a large bowl, and then put the rest of the egg and the spring onion on top to finish.

Tofu With Century Egg

凉拌菜 - literally means cold-mix dish, and they are very popular in the summer. They are normally appetisers consisting of blanched vegetables or cooked meat, which are mixed together with nuts and herbs, to be served at room temperature. Both jellyfish with sesame oil and "bang bang chicken" are types of 凉拌菜.

Soft tofu is perfect for making these cold starters. It can taste great by just adding ingredients as simple as chopped preserved vegetables, spring onion, a couple of tablespoons of soy sauce and sesame oil. I am using century egg as the main topping in this recipe, and adding extra crunch with some celery. Soft tofu generally does not require cooking, but I would always blanch it whole in hot water for a few minutes before using it. You can also steam it.

Tofu with century egg

Serves 2

1 Century egg

300g Silky soft tofu

1 stalk of celery, cut into short and thin strips

A couple of Celery leaves

1 stalk of Spring onion, roughly chopped

1 tsp Toasted sesame seeds

2 tbsp Soy sauce

1 tbsp Sesame oil

2 tbsp Vegetable oil

Remove shell of the century egg, and then cut it into 8 segments. Place tofu on a serving plate. Carefully arrange 6 segments of the egg on top of the tofu. Chop the rest of the egg into small pieces.

Place the celery on top, followed by the chopped century eggs and sesame seeds. Add soy sauce and sesame oil, and then sprinkle the spring onion and celery leaves to decorate. Heat vegetable oil over a high heat, and then add a splash to finish.

Spicy version: Add 1 tsp ground toasted Sichuan peppercorns and 1 chopped red chilli on top of the century egg. Add 1 tsp of chilli oil together with the soy sauce and sesame oil for extra heat.

Steamed Eggs With Century Egg

Steamed egg (蒸水蛋) is one of my favourite comfort foods. It only takes little time to prepare, yet is so satisfying. To me, the perfect wobbly steamed egg has an egg to water ratio of 1:1.5. The easiest way to measure this is to use the egg shells so you do not have to use scales. I use warm water in the recipe, as this is the way I was originally taught, and the result is always better (more smooth) than using water at room temperature. Boil a kettle full of water and then leave it to cool. Put your finger in the water, if it is warm but not painful then it is good to use.

Steamed eggs with century egg

Serves 2

4 Medium eggs

1 Century egg

12 Half egg shells of warm water

Pinch of salt

1 tsp Sesame oil

1 stalk Spring onion, roughly chopped

2 tbsp Soy sauce

2 tbsp Vegetable oil

Remove shell of the century egg, and then cut it into 8 segments. Arrange the slices evenly in a steam proof dish (at least 3cm deep).

Beat the eggs in a bowl until the white and yolks are fully combined. Add warm water and mix well. Add sesame oil and a pinch of salt, give it a stir. Pass the egg mixture through a fine sieve to get rid of any bubbles, and then pour it onto the century egg slices. Cover with cling film.

Place the dish on a rack over a wok of boiling water. Put the lid on and then turn the heat down to medium-low. Steam for 15 minutes. If the centre is still runny, steam for further 3 to 4 minutes.

Add soy sauce to the steamed egg and then sprinkle some spring onion on top. Heat vegetable oil over a high heat, and then add a splash of the hot oil to finish.

Variations: add salted egg (金銀蛋) , or replace century egg with soaked dried scallops (瑤柱), or just simply plain steamed egg. Best served with rice.

Century Egg 皮蛋

I have been asked so many times over the years by my non-Chinese friends, ‘Why do Chinese people eat century eggs?’. Looking at one, the shell looks just like a normal duck egg, but after removing the shell, a black jellified oval ball emerges. If I had never seen one before, I would be horrified too. I was introduced to it when I was little, probably around three, and I was not quite intelligent enough to know that a black egg is actually quite ‘unusual’. My dad used to take me to a local congee breakfast place almost every day before school. There was no better breakfast in the whole world than a bowl of pork and century egg congee(皮蛋瘦肉粥), and a plate of deep fried dough(油炸鬼).

While the gelatinous egg ‘white’ of a century egg does not taste of much, its creamy yolk carries quite a distinct metallic flavour. The classic way of serving it is cut in half, topped with pickled ginger slices as a cold appetiser. I am going to share some of my favourite century egg recipes with you in the next few posts. You are going to try them, yes?

Purple Sweet Potato Mochi

One of my favourite Asian desserts is mochi - glutinous rice cakes with a sweet filling. In particular, there is a Japanese company called Mochi Cream, who sells a wide variety (15+) of flavoured mochi. My favourite ones are peach/blueberry yoghurt, green tea and cherry blossom. A few years ago they went global and opened a branch in Causeway Bay, Hong Kong. But unfortunately on my last trip to Hong Kong I found that it had closed, so I do not think I can have mochi cream again any time soon…

So I have decided to make my own, using the purple sweet potato puree recipe from my last post. Making the mochi dough is very straight forward, but shaping is not. You have to seal the opening while the dough is still warm, so the sides stick together without leaving a line. The ones I made tasted good but they were certainly not as pretty and neat as those by Mochi Cream. More practise is needed!

Purple sweet potato mochi

Makes 10

220g Glutinous Rice Flour

15g Glutinous Rice Flour (for dusting)

110g Caster Sugar

200ml Full Fat Milk

150g Purple Sweet Potato Puree

1 tsp Icing sugar

1 tsp Vegetable Oil

Combine 220g glutinous rice flour and the sugar, and then gradually add the milk. Mix until the batter is smooth. Oil a plate with vegetable oil, and then evenly spread the batter on it. Steam the mixture on a medium heat for 20 minutes. 

Meanwhile, divide the potato puree into 10 portions. Cook 15g glutinous flour in a microwave on full power for 50 seconds. When the dough is nearly done, dust your hands and work surface with the cooked flour.

Leave the dough to cool for a couple of minutes so you can handle it with your hands. Use a circular cookie cutter (I use 68mm diameter) to cut the dough, and then gently pull the side of the skin outwards so it is thicker in the middle.

Place a portion of the puree in the middle of the skin, fold it in half without squashing the puree. Repeat on the other side. Seal the opening by grabbing the four corners together, then twist and cut off the end. The closing should face downwards. Dust the mochi with icing sugar to finish.

Purple Sweet Potatoes And Green Tea Swiss Roll

When I was small, my family used to take me and my brother for barbeques in a country park in 'Tai Mo Shan' (literally 'Big Hat Mountain'), Hong Kong. Barbeque is a very different affair over there. There are stone barbeques and benches in the park, where people sit around, skewer the food on special metal forks, and grill them over a bed of charcoal. I would always start with two Frankfurter sausages (with a coat of honey) and end with a roast sweet potato. Since purple sweet potatoes are more rare and expensive than the normal ones, my parents would buy a mixture of both and then wrap them in tin foil. And if I was lucky, I would get a purple one.

There are not many Chinese sweet potato desserts. The most common one we eat in Hong Kong is called 番薯糖水 (sweet potato sweet soup) – boiled chunks of sweet potato in ginger syrup. However, cakes made from sweet potato are very popular in Japan, and that is where the influence for this recipe came from. A few weeks ago I got hold of some purple sweet potatoes. I baked them in the oven until soft, and then added... erm... condensed milk. I know it is not very conventional, but it tasted damn good. So trust me on this one.

I used the puree as a filling for a green tea Swiss roll, which I made for last month's Band of Bakers ‘Vegetable’ themed event. The green tea is quite subtle in this recipe, just enough in the background to complement the earthy taste of the sweet potato.

Sweet potato puree

Makes around 300g

3 Purple Sweet Potatoes (around 420g)

4 tbsp Condensed Milk

2 tsp Full Fat Milk

Preheat a fan oven to 200C. Bake the whole purple sweet potatoes (skin on) for at least 50 minutes. Use a fork to poke the potatoes to check that they are soft enough.

One by one, cut the potatoes in half, and then use a teaspoon to scoop out the flesh into a bowl. Use the back of a fork to mash the potatoes. Add the condensed milk and full fat milk. Mix well.

Use cling film to shape the puree into a long tube, twist to tighten both ends and then keep cool in the fridge.

Green tea Swiss roll with purple sweet potato puree

Serves 8

Sponge:

6 Medium Eggs (separated)

100g Caster Sugar

50g Self-Raising Flour

10g Matcha Powder

10g Ground Almond

40ml Full Fat milk

1 tsp Icing Sugar (for dusting)

Filling:

250ml Double Cream

30g Icing Sugar

160g Purple Sweet Potato Puree

Sugar Syrup:

20g Caster Sugar

60ml Water

Preheat oven to 200C. Line a 25cm x 38cm tin with greaseproof paper. Make the sugar syrup by dissolving the sugar in the water, and bring to boil until reduced by half. Leave it aside to cool.

Beat the yolks with 50g caster sugar until pale and creamy. Add half of the flour, mix well. Repeat for the remaining half. Add the ground almond, then slowly sift in the green tea powder, add the milk to loosen the mixture in between.

Using an electric whisk, beat the egg whites at a medium speed until you see lots of small air bubbles. Switch to high speed, and then add the 50g caster sugar, spoon by spoon, into the egg whites. Stop mixing when stiff peaks form. Do not overwork it.

Mix a quarter of the egg white into the cake batter. Fold in the remaining egg whites, a quarter at a time, until fully incorporated. Pour the mixture into the prepared tin, and gently spread out with a spatula. Bake in the preheated oven for 12 to 15 minutes.

Remove the sponge from oven. Cool it in the tin for a few minutes, and then cool (with the greaseproof paper still in place) completely on a wire rack. Place a piece of greaseproof paper (a bit bigger than the size of the tin) on a work surface, turn the sponge upside down.

Carefully remove the paper on the top. This 'smooth' side is the outer layer of the Swiss roll. Turn the sponge over (i.e. 'rough' side up). Brush the sugar syrup onto the sponge, including the edges.

Whip the fresh cream with icing sugar until soft peaks form, and then evenly spread it onto the sponge. With the shorter side facing you, line the puree around 6 to 8 cm from the bottom of the sponge. Roll the sponge over the puree and carry on until it is done.

Use the greaseproof paper to wrap around the roll, twist to tighten both ends and then put in the fridge for at least 30 minutes. Cut both ends off when ready, dust with icing sugar and serve.

Kung Hei Fat Choi 恭喜發財

Happy Chinese New Year everyone! I wish you all a prosperous year恭喜發財, good health身體健康, and that all your wishes come true萬事如意!

How are you going to celebrate this 15 day long festival? With food! Before my grandfather passed away and before I moved to the UK, we used to go to his house for almost every meal during the Chinese New Year period. We would only eat vegetarian food on the first day of the New Year, probably because my grandfather believed in Buddhism. I remember he used to make a mountain of ‘Law Hon Jaai’ spring rolls, filled with Chinese mushroom, black fungus, carrot and bamboo shoots - full of crunchy delights that made grumpy little me forget they were meat-free.

I have not been back to Hong Kong for Chinese New Year since I came to live in the UK, and it has been more than 10 years now (I am not old, I just came to live here when I was REALLY young). As the years go by, I tend to make more effort to keep the traditions alive. I guess I am worried that one day I will not care about it anymore, and lose touch with the Chinese side of me. That would be very scary. So this year I followed the tradition to clean the house on the 28th of December (Chinese calendar), and bought some new stuff including pyjamas, socks and bedding to prepare for the New Year. I feel particularly proud of my candy box, obviously koala biscuits are the way forward.

My husband's side of the family was over for lunch on the first day of Chinese New Year. Apart from the must-eat dishes like Law Pak Go, Nin Go and Tong Yuen, I also made a few dishes that carry special greeting messages:

Law Pak Go (Chinese radish/turnip cake) – radish sounds like good fortune in Chinese.

Pork and chive dumplings – the dumplings look like old Chinese currency, symbolising prosperity.

Steamed whole grey mullet – fish sounds like leftovers in Chinese. It is good to have some leftovers every year, as it means we are not lacking anything.

Prawns with salted egg yolks – salted egg yolk give the dish a golden look, a good look understandably.

Clams in chilli sauce – fresh and lively clams give good motivation for the New Year.

Roast meat platter, braised whole chicken with spring onion and ginger sauce, and broccoli with beancurd and Chinese mushrooms – they appear in ALL Chinese festive meals by default.

Fried purple sweet potato mochi cake – no meaning, just something I wanted to make.

Nin Go (coconut and glutinous rice cake) – literally means gaining height every year.

Tong Yuen (black sesame glutinous rice balls) – the shape and the name give the meaning ‘reunion’.

Happy eating in the year of snake! Tssss…

FeedTheTang In Twenty Twelve

A slightly late round up of 2012. My personal highlight of 2012 was definitely the launch of my supper club - FedByTang. I had lots of questions when I started seven months ago. I was worried that the location would be a problem, what if no one wanted to come? More importantly, what if no one liked my food? Hmm... Did I say I am a worrier? Well there was only one way to find out, so I just went for it. It was a pretty nerve racking moment when I read the first review, so it was such a relief to find that it was positive! I have also met many lovely people via my supper club, and it has given me the opportunity to do things I never would have done otherwise. I am not going to bore you with details, but I will mention a couple below.

Back in February, I took a one day course making petit fours at Le Cordon Bleu in Paris. It was quite an intensive course as we had to make macaroons, chocolate mousse, pistachio and almond financiers, chocolate and raspberry cakes, and creme brulee all in one day (from 8:30am to around 4pm). The chef was very knowledgeable and we were encouraged to do everything ourselves. I was quite pleased with my raspberry macaroons, although I have only successfully made them once since...

Le Cordon Bleu Paris
One day petite fours course 160 euros (2012)

We took an extra couple of days to stay behind. One of the most memorable meals I had this year was at a tiny bistro called Le Timbre. I rarely go for the same kind of meat twice but I could not resist the sound of crispy pig’s feet with red cabbage and black pig with winter vegetables. The meal costed around 25 euros each for three courses, which was very reasonable for Paris. Booking is a must.

Le Timbre

In April I took a food photography course ran by the well regarded food photographer Paul Winch-Furness. We shot around the Maltby Street Market and then had lunch at Bea’s Diner. Here are a couple of my favourite shots:

More photos here, Paul’s PhotoPopup course

We spent 4 days in Lisbon for a friend’s wedding at the end of April. I loved the trams, the hills and of course the Pasteis de Nata (Portugese custard tarts).

At the beginning of the summer I went to the Bea’s crawfish boil at Maltby Street Market. We swallowed 10 trays of crawfish, potatoes, sausages and sweet corn (+ lots of margaritas) that night. I hope they will do it again next summer as it was so much fun.

More photos here, Bea’s diner

Just before the Olympics kicked off, we went to Barcelona to celebrate our 2nd wedding anniversary. I remember sitting in the hotel room trying very hard to understand the inside jokes of the opening ceremony. Then suddenly the Queen jumped out of the helicopter, and nothing seemed to matter anymore.

In August I was invited to be one of the guest chefs at the Global Feast - a 20 night dinner party held at the Stratford Old Town Hall, featuring dishes from all over the world. For the Chinese night, I made soy sauce infused soft boiled eggs, crispy roast pork and a tofu and shallot canapes. Main was Sichuan peppercorn duck breast with stir fried Chinese broccoli and black fungus. It was not easy to cook for so many people but the hard work had paid off as I got a mention in Hot-Dinners!

My little brother left London for good early in September, to return to Hong Kong. We used to go to our favourite lunch spot, City Caphe, once a week. Sometimes we would eat in, sometimes we would just chat while waiting in the queue. Oh how I have missed those days.

But not long after he moved back I went back to Hong Kong myself for a three week holiday. We also went on a short family trip to Seoul during my visit. Seoul is not really an established food destination compared to other Asian cities such as Tokyo, Taipei or Hong Kong, but it’s an interesting city to visit nonetheless thanks to the abundance of K-pop, kimchi, soju and cosmetics shops.

One of the happiest moments came later in the year. I paired up with the Plusixfive supper club to hold a Singaporean/Hong Kong night at the School of Wok in Covent Garden. We had fun cooking, singing, and dancing in the kitchen. Our guests were well fed and we both felt that we had achieved something incredible that evening. One of my favourite reviews of the event is written by @Ailbhetweets. Loved the illustration of my steamed sea bass dish.

A few memorable meals I had in London this year, thanks to:
The Corner Room (remains my all time favourite)
Upstairs At Ten Bells
Dabbous
Sushi Tetsu
Kitchen Table At Bubbledogs
Ben Spalding At John Salt

Pretty good year huh? May there be more happy food adventures in 2013! Happy new year!

Cocktail Buns

So I went to Hong Kong and Seoul for three weeks in October, blog posts coming soon(ish) I promise. But before that I want to tell you how I coped with nasty homesickness and post-holiday depression - I made bread.

A few months ago I joined Band of Bakers - a south east London baking club. We meet up at one of the local restaurants or cafes for a monthly themed baking gathering. From green tea Swiss roll to strawberry and cream choux buns, it soon became an essential event that I look forward to attending every month. There was a special event in October where the theme was enriched breads i.e. breads that have butter, sugar and eggs. I have never been very good at making bread, me and yeast just do not get on very well… So in order to hide my weakness (not competitive at all), I baked cocktail buns – a Hong Kong classic that no one from the BoB would be familiar with, therefore not knowing how they are supposed to taste. Genius? Yes.

A cocktail bun 雞尾包 is a sweet bun with a coconut filling, topped with sesame seeds and two pastry lines made from butter, flour and sugar. Originally local bakers mixed up leftover ingredients to create the filling, hence the name ‘cocktail’. It is one of the must-eat Hong Kong bakery items alongside egg tarts 蛋撻 and pineapple buns 菠蘿包.

I adapted the recipe from Christine’s blog (an excellent site for various Chinese recipes). She uses a special bread starter called Yudane 湯種, a mixture of hot water and flour, which apparently gives extra sweetness and softness to the bread. I have not tried making the bread without it so I cannot tell you the difference, but the result was very close to the texture I was aiming for. I used my bread machine to knead and raise the dough before shaping.

Cocktail buns

Makes 10 buns

Yudane:

50g Super Strong White Bread Flour

250ml Water

Dough:

350g Super Strong White Bread Flour

55g Caster sugar

5g Salt

56g Egg (beaten)

125ml Full Fat Milk

120g Yudane

5g Instant Yeast

30g Butter (room temperature)

A few drops of vanilla extract

Filling:

60g Butter

60g Caster Sugar

60g Egg (beaten)

80g Sweetened Coconut (shredded)

Sugar syrup:

1 tsp Caster Sugar

2 tsp Water

Toppings:

20g Egg (beaten)

5g Caster Sugar

15g Butter (room temperature)

10g Plain flour

To make the Yudane, mix the flour and water in a saucepan until fully incorporated. Put the pan over a medium heat, keep stirring to prevent any lumps. Remove from heat as soon as the liquid starts to thicken.

Place the Yudane in a bowl and then cover it with cling film. Set aside until it reaches room temperature.

To make the dough, place all the ingredients (except the butter) in a bread machine in this order: milk, egg, Yudane, vanilla extract, salt, sugar, flour and yeast. Set and start the ‘dough’ function of the bread machine, and then add the butter when a rough dough is formed. Let the machine continue the kneading until the dough is smooth and elastic.

Use the ‘raise’ function of the bread machine for proofing (see your bread maker’s instructions for the exact timing). Or you can place the dough in a greased glass bowl, cover it with a damp towel and then proof until it doubled in size.

To make the filling, beat the butter and sugar in a bowl. Add the egg followed by the coconut. Place the mixture in a square/rectangular container, and then put it in the fridge until the first proofing is done.

Transfer the dough onto a floured surface. ’Punch’ the dough to release air, and then divide it into 10 small portions, around 75g each. Cover them with cling film and then rest for 15 minutes. Meanwhile, take the hardened filling mixture out of the fridge, and then cut it into 10 strips.

Use a rolling pin to roll the dough (away from you) to a long flat shape, place 1 strip of filling on the top of the dough, and then roll inwards into a tube shape.

Place the filled dough, seal side down, on a greased baking tray (I use a Swiss roll tray). Cover it with cling film and a wet towel on top for second proofing. It normally takes around an hour for the dough to double in size.

Preheat a fan oven to 180C. Make the pastry lines by beating the plain flour, sugar and butter together. Spoon the pastry mix into a small piping bag.

Make the sugar syrup by heating water and sugar in a saucepan. Boil for 2 minutes until the sugar dissolves completely. Set aside to cool.

Brush the dough with egg. Pipe two lines onto the dough using the pastry mix prepared earlier, and then sprinkle some sesame seeds on top.

Bake the bread in the oven for 30 minutes until golden. Brush the sugar syrup onto the buns, then return to the oven for further 2 to 3 minutes. Rest on a rack to cool down.

Best served while still warm! Enjoy!

FedByTang

FeedTheTang was born eleven months ago. I shamelessly joined the food blogger world and never looked back. I know I have not been doing a very good job of keeping my blog up to date during the last couple of months, but I was not just sitting around doing nothing! Actually I have been busy planning and testing recipes for my next adventure *drum roll* – FedByTang, my very own Chinese supperclub \o/

If you do not know what a supperclub is, read this.

I remember booking my very first visit to a supperclub at City Caphe via the Edible Experiences website - which I came across by following Wen, the co-founder of Edible Experiences on Twitter. The night was casual and fun. I got to meet other food lovers, and sample dishes that were specially created for the event. Since then I have become a regular on the Edible Experiences website, searching for the latest popup and supperclub events in and around London.

The idea of setting up my own supperclub came after I attended London Foodie’s Japanese home cooking night. He served up traditional Japanese dishes, many of which simply cannot be found in an ordinary Japanese restaurant. That got me thinking, most people are only really familiar with the staples of Chinese food, such as roast meat and dim sum. Possibly more adventurous diners may have tried Sichuan, or other regional cuisine. But what about the type of food that I grew up eating in Hong Kong, such as dai-pai-dong’s (open air restaurant) stir fried dishes or the wonderful seafood that we eat when we are celebrating?

So here we go, FedByTang is going live on 7th July. My menu features fresh and tasty traditional Chinese home cooking, with a few unique creations thrown in along the way. Here is a sample menu:

********
Chinese soup and nibbles
********
Soy sauce fried prawns with chilli, ginger and spring onion
********
Triple cooked mui-choi pork belly
Mouth-watering chicken
Stir-fried vegetables
Pan fried sea bream with Chinese chives
********
Dessert and Chinese tea
********

Interested? Click here to find out more! I will post updates and information of any upcoming events on the FedByTang Facebook page.

If you are thinking of setting up a supperclub, I suggest you read ‘OK so you wanna set up a supperclub’ by the host of the well-established Singaporean supperclub PluSixFive. More importantly, get in touch with Edible Experiences. There are already more than 800 food and drink experiences listed on the site, including a wide range of activities like cooking classes and guided food walks.

As with my blog, I am not sure where this supperclub will lead me. I just know I am dead excited and cannot wait to feed you all :)

Takoyaki

Takoyaki (たこ焼き) is a kind of Japanese street food, originally from Osaka. Tako means octopus and yaki means grill or fry. They are hugely popular in Japan, especially at festivals. I simply adore the fresh-off-the-grill ones, and the tongue burning centre together with the mayo and bonito toppings make Takoyaki the most delicious ball-shaped food known to mankind.

These super-cute octopus balls have recently landed in London, I have recently had them at The Long Table and from Pom Pom Takoyaki. They are actually very easy to make, provided that you have the right pan. I bought one for my husband a few years ago as a Christmas present, although I am the one who uses it the most ;)

Besides octopus, traditionally pickled ginger, shredded seaweed and tenkasu (deep fried flour batter) are also used as the fillings of Takoyaki. The recipe below is adapted from a Japanese website. I used kimchi in half of the batch to vary the flavours, they were pretty amazing!

To make Takoyaki, first you need to pay a visit to a Asian supermarket for some essential ingredients. Mostly importantly, a Takoyaki pan:

You will also need Okonomi sauce. I called it Japanese brown sauce, which can also be used for Okonomiyaki (Japanese savoury pancake). Mine looks like this:

Katsuobushi (bonito flakes) is the onion skin look-alike stuff that ‘dances’ on top the of the mayonnaise:

I am using frozen small octopus that I bought from a Korean supermarket:

Takoyaki

Makes around 20

10 Tentacles from small octopus (the ‘fat’ end only)
5 stalks of Chives, chopped
1 tbsp Kimchi, chopped
3 tbsp Vegetable oil

Batter:
140g Plain flour
2 medium Eggs
500ml Fish stock

Other:
Katsuobushi, around 10g
Mayonnaise, as much as you like
Okonomi sauce, as much as you like

Fill a small saucepan with water then bring to boil. Simmer the tentacles for 2 to 3 minutes, and then put them in iced water to stop the cooking. After they have cooled down, pat dry with kitchen towel then cut in chunks, around 8mm each.

Beat the eggs in a bowl, add the fish stock and mix well. Add the flour to the mixture in batches, mix until fully incorporated.  The resulting batter should be thin.

Coat the Takoyaki pan with oil, and then heat it over a high heat. Pour the batter into the pan, followed by the octopus, chives and kimchi.

Turn the heat down to medium. When the batter begins to solidify, use a bamboo/metal stick to divide the batter into individual square portions. Tuck the corners into the middle of the octopus balls, there should be no batter left on the side when done.

Use the same stick to turn the ball upside down (or at least 90 degrees). You have to be patient to wait for the ‘moment’ where the ball become turnable, if you turn the ball too early, the outer crust will not form properly. It normally takes a good 3 minutes on my gas hob for the first turn. Run a stick along the edge of the ball, it should easily become unstuck when ready.

Repeat the turning process until a beautiful golden crust is formed on each octopus ball. The centre of the ball should be a little runny. Due to the circular ring on a domestic hob, the heat distribution is not even, so you may have to move the pan around to cover all of the balls.

To serve, place eight octopus calls on a plate, then add Okonomi sauce and mayonnaise on top. Sprinkle the chives and katsuobushi on top. Eat immediately!

おいしいたこ焼きを作りましょう!