Hi, it’s me again, Mr Noodles from Eat Noodles Love Noodles. I’m doing a spot of blogsitting for my old mate, The Grubworm, whilst he and his missus trot the globe.
I’m more than a bit jealous, as I’d love to take some time off to go on an extended trip to soak in the food and culture of faraway lands. Wouldn’t we all? So why don’t we? Let’s do it, let’s take an imaginary tour of Asia, starting in… Continue reading
I’m a hot-pot novice, but anything that gets a big group of friends and soon-to-be friends round a table slurping and munching and spilling and chatting has got to be a good thing right? So when an invite came from Going With My Gut to join a hot potty crew for dinner, I was never going to refuse.
And it was everything that I hoped it would be. Tasty, interesting, fun and full of lots of new things. The restaurant, Little Lamb, was cozy and – thanks goodness – air conditioned. Eating spicy hot and aromatic hotpot is, well, HOT work. Continue reading
Never one to leave well enough alone, I’ve once again been tweaking and twisting, adding and amending. Often this is through store cupboard necessity, sometimes just sheer perversity. Whatever the reason, the results are always interesting.
Sometimes they simply don’t work (one memorable attempt to modify carbonara ended up with scrambled egg pasta), but sometimes they come out better than I expect. Substituting pheasant for chicken led me into a whole world of Indian game cooking, and maybe this’ll do the same for Sichuan food. Continue reading
A quick announcement from The Grubworm. We’re here in Beijing, and what an interesting (if polluted) city it is so far. At least, the small hutong area we’re staying in tonight is.
Sadly we can’t get Twitter or Facebook (or even Posterous) in China at the moment which somewhat stymies my updating plans for keeping you all in the loop. However… all is not lost! You will still see me here (wifi and computer allowing) and also on Tumblr at: thegrubworm.tumblr.com.
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You know that feeling where you just can’t really be bothered? Don’t want to spend ages cooking, don’t want to go out, want something tasty to pick you up after a long and hard day? This is a dish for those desultory days. Those days full of meh.
It’s quick and pretty straight forward to make. It’s both soothing and peppy. It packs a flavourful punch and is also pretty damn healthy. What more do you need? You might even, after eating this, feel all refreshed and ready to cook up a storm. If you hadn’t already eaten that is… Continue reading
You just know a dish has got something going for it when it had to undergo name changes and “political rehabilitation” in Communist China. Named for a 19th century Qing dynasty governor of Sichuan, it’s one of the spicy provinces best known culinary creations.
Packed full of signature Sichuan staples like dried chillies and the eponymous lip-tingling, head-spinning peppercorns, it’s a fast, fragrant and exciting dish to make. And surprisingly not too tongue numbingly hot, considering the chillies are in the double digits. Continue reading
Sometimes simple is best. And the Chinese, along with the Vietnamese, Japanese and the Italians seem to have a real penchent for making simple dishes sing. A few ingredients, cooked fast, and served straight away. Ideal food for a light post-work dinner.
While eating at Sichuan specialist Chili Cool I’m always blown away by their dry fried beans with pork mince. Similarly, while travelling around Vietnam, simple bowls of stir fried greens were an eye-opener and have left me yearning for them more than any other dish (except maybe those crispy spring rolls). Continue reading
Before today I had no real idea what Hunanese food was, or how it differed from Sichuan. Sure, I have the Fuschia Dunlop’s cookbook. But following recipes for a cuisine I’ve never tried is not the way to experience it. After Ba Shan though, my response to Hunanese has gone from “Huh?” to “Hell yeah!”.
From the first mouthful of preserved duck eggs and salted (I think) chillies, all creamy, subtle and darkly translucent “whites” covered with vivid fire-engine red chilli I knew this would be interesting. And the fascination just grew, right through to the despairing lift of my chopsticks as i tried to cram in one, last piece of tofu. Continue reading
If you’ve been to Koya, you’ll know exactly where the inspiration for this dish came from. The end result is nothing like the delicate, tasty and – above all – neat version you’ll find at this delightful Japanese udon specialist. But the key ingredients are there.
I can’t believe I haven’t come across this particular combination more often. Apples, after all, are a natural partner to pork, their tart fluffy flesh an ideal match for fatty rich flesh. And their acidity matches salty umami-rich soy blow for blow too. This a gentle assault on the senses, a slow motion hammer-thwack of a dish. Continue reading
The goose, the subject of a later blog, has been well and truly cooked. And eaten. And rendered down into stock and tubs of creamy fat. That all sounds a bit slaughterhousey but the end results were very good.
However, even with five hungry (and slightly tipsy) bellies to feed, serving goose usually means there are a lot of left overs. And even a goose lover such as I can get bored with yet more cold roast goose. A middle class dilemma if ever I heard one. Continue reading