Seafood Lasagne (Lasagne aux Fruits de Mer)

Seafood Lasagne

The last time I made a Seafood Lasagne we were still living in Paris. In fact we were in temporary dwellings having returned earlier than planned from Spain (2 weeks before I gave birth to Baby Girl) and not being able to recover our own flat from the tenants.

It was for Hub's birthday. I've thrown him a surprise birthday party, inviting his family and best friend SB. He came back from a business trip to find all these folks waiting for him at home. Cool, wasn't it?

One of the dishes I've prepared was this seafood lasagne. It's easy to make and can feed a decent number of people. My version has 2 different layers of seafood with 2 different sauces, and a garlicky cheesy béchamel.

I made this again nearly 10 years later for the lunch I threw the neighbours (8 of them) a few weeks ago. I guess I stopped making it firstly because the Babies do not eat fish and secondly as we've lived 4 years in Italy making it unnecessary to cook one's own lasagne.

It was well received by my guests and Hub had the leftovers to his delight - and asked why I've stopped making it all these years. I should make it more often, it's true.

The Teenager is away in Singapore for 3 weeks and the Babies are now on holiday. I've decided not to cook too much nowadays as we all need to lose some weight, though I've a few friends coming over for lunch tomorrow. I guess the diet will have to wait another few days.

Seafood Lasagne :

rectangular pasta dough (9-12 sheets depending on how many layers you'll be making)

boiling water

1 large zucchini (sliced lengthwise)

100g grated parmesan cheese

200g grated emmenthal, cheddar, gruyere or mozzarella cheese

6-8 fresh sage leaves

The Prawn and Scallop Layer :

2 dozen large prawns (peeled and gutted)

a dozen scallops

olive oil

2 cloves garlic (sliced)

red chilli (sliced)

1 tsp fennel seeds

a sprinkling of thyme leaves

a few cherry tomatoes (halved)

salt and pepper to taste

The Cod Fish and Salmon Layer :

1 large filet of cod fish

1 large filet of salmon

salt and pepper to taste

red bell pepper sauce*

The Béchamel :

olive oil

3 cloves garlic (minced)

1 l milk

3 tbsp white wine

a pinch of nutmeg

2 bay leaves

1 tsp crushed black pepper

80g butter

65g plain flour

150g grated parmesan cheese

salt to taste

*Red Bell Pepper Sauce :

1 large red bell pepper

olive oil

1 clove garlic

salt and pepper to taste

2 tsp white vinegar

1 tbsp crème fraiche

Blanche the lasagne pasta sheets in boiling water, remove and set aside.

Grill the salmon and cod fish in a bit of olive oil. Season and cut into large cubes. Set aside.

Fry the garlic and chilli in some olive oil till fragrant. Add in fennel seeds, followed by the raw scallops. I usually salt the raw prawns for 10 minutes and then rinse them in order to have prawns that will not release too much water when they are being cooked. Add the prawns and sprinkle some thyme leaves over them. Toss in the tomatoes and season to taste. Set aside.

Prepare the red bell pepper sauce by cooking the largely sliced pepper in olive oil with the garlic in a small pot, covered and on low heat. When it is soft and fragrant, remove from the heat, add the cream and vinegar, season and mix into a rough sauce with a hand mixer. Set aside.

Prepare the béchamel. Gently boil the milk with the bay leaves, nutmeg and pepper. Remove the bay leaves and set aside.

Fry the garlic in olive oil till fragrant, melt the butter in it and stir in the flour. Pour in the milk bit by bit taking care to stir all the time. The flour needs to be cooked or the sauce will taste horrible. Bring the sauce to the boil gently, stir in the wine, remove from the fire and stir in the parmesan cheese. Salt to taste.

Olive oil your lasagne dish and heat your oven to 220°C/425°F.

Place a layer of pasta sheets in the dish and spread the prawns and scallops over them. Pour some béchamel on them, sprinkle over some parmesan cheese and cover with a layer of sliced zucchini. Top with more béchamel and cover with another layer of pasta sheets.

The next layer will contain the grilled cod fish and salmon, covered with the red bell pepper sauce.

The final layer should be pasta, béchamel, parmesan cheese, sage leaves and a layer of cheese good for melting like emmenthal or mozzarella.

Ready for the oven

Bake for between 30 and 45 minutes - watch that the cheese doesn't burn.

Shanghai Hairy Crabs 大閘蟹

Steamed Hairy Crabs on a bed of spinach

I regret that I still do not know how to kill crabs humanely after more than 3 decades devouring them in all the sauces. The last few crabs I've cooked myself were frozen flower crabs and a few of the earlier big stone crabs I'd boiled them alive. Cruel, I know.

We are now in the midst of Shanghai's Hairy Crab 大閘蟹 season. Our driver offered me a pair of live crabs (one male and one female) knowing how much I'm fond of the crustacean. The good thing is that the Chinese mitten crab (known as hairy crab because of the fur on its legs) is often no larger than one's palm and therefore quite manageable. Even though I have seen various cooks kill crab (using different methods and believing in different humane theories), I have mastered no quick method to put them out of their misery, and could only hope to give them less pain by first numbing them in the freezer for 15 minutes and then steaming them in a pot with rapidly boiling water for 20 minutes.

Restaurants in Shanghai would serve hairy crab meat and roe in dozens of ways between september and december though the classic way to eat it normally consists of dipping the steamed crabmeat in some vinegar, minced ginger and soy sauce. As the flesh is supposed to be cooling (yin), the Chinese would often eat it accompanied by some yellow wine (yang) to balance things up.

In the markets they would sell crabs of various grades and prices though I have no idea how to tell them apart and those that are particularly expensive and prized came from Yangcheng lake 阳澄湖 near Suzhou. Every year there would be syndicates pirating the crabs, passing off cheap crabs for Yangcheng lake ones involving laser inscriptions, fake hair etc. Counterfeiting is an art in China and they will do anything in their quest to make profit.

The smaller crab was female, I think

I simply washed my crabs and put them in the freezer for 15 minutes. In the meantime, I heated a pot of water and lined a metal plate with fresh ginger, spinach, Chinese mushrooms, garlic and a red chilli. Placed the crabs in the plate when the water in the pot is boiling and poured a sauce made out of Chinese cooking wine, light soy sauce and sesame oil over them. Op into the steamer to be steamed covered for 20 minutes.

Fresh out of the steamer

Ate one crab hot with a vinegar and soy sauce dip and the other I kept in the fridge for a few hours after it has cooled a little and ate it cold. The hairy crabs were small but the flesh firm and full of flavour. I must admit that I am now tempted to buy a few crabs myself and cook them again before the season's over. Humane crab killing be damned.

Clams and Mussles with Chanterelles and Sancerre

Clams and Mussles with Chanterelles and Sancerre

The kids are on holiday this week and we'll be away in London to visit Legoland, the Science Museum and do a spot of shopping! Weatherman has predicted rain, but what the heck, we'll beat the weather and try to have fun - I hope.

Have therefore been busy trying to get the luggage packed and a few odds and ends tied up before we leave. We were in Milan yesterday to collect the kids' passports and met up with the B's for an Indian/Nepalese dinner in the evening.

Didn't feel like cooking much, so prepared really simple dishes in the last few days. One of them was this Clams and Mussles with Chanterelles and Sancerre.

The usual olive oil, garlic, white wine, salt and pepper. Only it's still mushroom season so we also had some fresh chanterelles that had been sauteed with the garlic and a few drops of Hub's very good Sancerre. Not forgetting a few slices of crusty fresh baguette to soak up the sauce.

Steamed Egg Custard With Shark's Fin

Steamed Egg Custard with Shark's Fin

It is no longer politically correct to eat shark's fin. Nor foie gras and tuna. And even if you should go vegetarian, you have to keep an eye on the OGMs. Then do try not to buy produce that has travelled alot, keep an eye on the pesticides being used, and should you eat chickens that have been reared in cages?

It is no secret that political correctness was something that I haven't had as a module when I was at political school. And I've spent many many years in a few of them in both Paris and Singapore. Therefore while I do not ever eat tuna, I love my foie gras and shark's fin soup.

Each time I go home, mum buys me a can or 2 of shark's fin soup. Usually the ones that use not just the fins but also the animal's cartiledge in their preparation. For breakfast this morning, I've decided to make myself Steamed Egg Custard with Shark's Fin. I usually do not eat breakfast in Europe because I prefer a savoury breakfast, but after burning a few calories yesterday in the gym (*wink*), I felt that I had to replenish my blood or risk fainting alone at home.

Steamed Egg Custard with Shark's Fin :

4 eggs

1 tbsp dry sherry

1 tsp sesame oil

420ml (can) shark's fin soup

60ml still mineral water

2 chinese mushrooms

old dark chinese vinegar

Beat the eggs in a bowl with the sherry and sesame oil. Sieve through twice.

Add the filtered egg mixture to the shark's fin soup together with the mineral water.

Soak a few Chinese mushrooms in hot water to soften them. Add them to the custard. You can also add dried scallops and/or fresh coriander leaves to the custard if you so wish.

Bring some water to boil in a wok. Divide the custard into 2 portions and steam each portion in a porcelain or metal dish on medium-low heat for 7-15 minutes depending on your heat. Cover the wok during the steaming but leave a small gap for the steam to escape. The egg custard should be firm but smooth and silky.

Drizzle old Chinese vinegar over the egg custard and serve it hot.

Salmon with Curry Sauce

Salmon with Curry Sauce

I had curry leftover. Pan-fried a salmon steak and quickly cooked some cabbage (I love cabbage). Put everything together and you get Salmon with Curry Sauce.

Miso Clams

Miso Clams

I was on my way to bed last night when I stopped suddenly in my tracks. I heard water. The horrifying sound of water going drip drip drip...I looked up at the ceiling above me and saw that it was wet.

It had rained in the morning and I know that the roof leaks at times. But I was on the 1st floor and the roof covers the 2nd.

It can only be...the boiler. Again.

I ran up with my heart in my mouth and wished I needn't be right for once. The bathroom upstairs was flooded and the water had flowed over to the storeroom next door.

Beneath the boiler I had kept bath towels, beach towels, kitchen towels, toilet paper, table cloths...and they were all wet, no, thoroughly soaked. In the store room we have lots of clothes, shoes, bags, luggage, toys, gifts, electric goods...Sigh.

I spent 2 hours cleaning up in the middle of the night and the job is not finished yet. But one still has to eat, so I took a break and made myself some Miso Clams for lunch.

Miso Clams :

500g Venus Clams (soaked in salty water and drained)

2 Tsp Peanut Oil

Leek (sliced into squares the size of a clam)

1 Tsp Red Miso paste

2 Tbsp Hot Water

1/2 Tsp Chicken stock granules

1 Tbsp Sake

1 Tsp Rice Vinegar

1 Tsp Light Soy sauce

1 Dried Bird's eye Chilli (crushed)

Pepper to taste

Heat up the peanut oil and fry the leeks till fragrant.

Add the clams and stir-fry to mix them well in the fragrant oil.

When they start to open up, pour in the rest of the ingredients (that you would have mixed together in a bowl beforehand).

Simmer till the clams have all opened up, but do not overcook them.

They could be eaten as they are or over a bowl of fresh udon or Japanese rice.

Gambas, Zucchini and Tomato Tian

Gambas, Zucchini and Tomato Tian

I am chewing my nails now wondering if I'd gotten myself a speeding ticket from my shopping trip to Tuscany yesterday. It was the last day of the kids' Summer camp and I've decided to use my last day of freedom to shop till I drop.

Times like these I would wish that we had Autobahns (motoways) like in Germany where one could drive as fast as one's car would allow. I rarely drive to Firenze from Modena as I dislike the (1) windy roads (you have to be very alert and really concentrate on your driving), (2) the numerous speed cameras and (3) the lousy speed limits (e.g. very often 80 - 100 - 110 km/h). On the way back, as the motorway went downhill, I often found myself much above the speed limits without doing anything particular. Speeding tickets here usually could buy you a bag from Prada and since I've never found the courage to buy one, I would hate to give that money to Berlusconi instead.

It was a great day otherwise. Spent a fortune at Polo Ralph Lauren (how I've missed that shop!) and got a few things from Maui and Sons, Calvin Klein, Jean's Paul Gautier, Byblos..It's just as well that I would stop shopping (I hope) till the next Sale because I have almost busted my credit card's limit as well as my Bancomat's. Actually, it's not difficult when you're shopping each time for 5. Children do cost one alot of money :-).

I will have to start clearing out my old wardrobe seeing that I do not own a walk-in like Carrie in Sex and the City. And life goes on, it's washing, cooking etc during the weekend what do you imagine?

Hub wanted us to eat light for lunch so I made us a Gambas, Zucchini and Tomato Tian. It's a simple dish that looks quite pretty when you're serving it and as long as you do not go crazy on the olive oil (like I do), it doesn't contain alot of calories. And it's full of flavours from the Provence.

Gambas, Zucchini and Tomato Tian :

400g Gambas

3-4 small Zucchinis

3 ripe oblong Tomatoes

1 large Red Onion

1 Carrot

Dressing :

2-3 Garlic cloves (minced)

4 Tbsp Olive Oil

1 Tbsp Balsamic vinegar (or red wine vinegar)

Salt and Pepper to taste

Juice of 1 Lemon

2-3 dried Bird's eye chillies (optional)

Fresh Basil, Thyme and Rosemary

Prepare the dressing (minus the basil leaves) at least 30 minutes in advance so that the flavours could marry. Set aside.

Prepare a tian or any dish that could go into an oven. Pre-heat the oven to 190°C.

Slice the vegetables into thin rounds and place them vertically in the ovenproof dish, alternating onions with tomatoes, basil leaves, zucchinis, carrots and gambas.

Pour the dressing over the vegetables and gambas.

Bake in the oven for 35-45 minutes. Or till the vegetables are as cooked as you want them to be (which could take up to 3 hours but on lower heat). Mine were not too cooked as I planned to re-heat them for dinner.

Freshly baked

Gently use tongs to remove stacks of the vegetables and gambas onto serving plates and ladle the dressing from the ovenproof dish onto the vegetables. Works well as a side dish (minus the gambas eventually) or as a meal in itself.

Gambas in Thai Green Curry

Gambas in Thai Green Curry

I usually have quite a bit of success with my Thai Green Curry. I have learnt how to make the paste in a cookery class once, but have stopped doing so as I lack freezer space. Plus the made-in-Thailand spice pastes that we can find here are good enough. I just make sure that I improve the curry with a few whole spices and herbs and it usually works well.

Thai Green Curry :

1 Onion (sliced)

1 large slice fresh Ginger (julienned)

1 stalk Lemongrass (sliced into 3 and bashed)

1 slice Galangal (sliced)

2 Garlic cloves (minced)

1 Tsp Mustard Seeds

2 Tsp Fennel Seeds (when cooking with seafood)

2 Thai Chillis (chopped)

2 Kaffir Lime leaves (shredded)

2 Tbsp Green curry paste

Chicken stock

1 Tbsp Fish sauce

400ml Coconut milk

2 Tbsp Palm sugar

10-12 Basil leaves

Zucchini (julienned)

Carrots (julienned)

Thai aubergines (quartered)

Fresh Coriander leaves

Heat up some peanut oil in a pot and fry the onions, ginger, lemongrass, galangal and garlic till fragrant.

Add the mustard seeds, fennel seeds, chilli and lime leaves.

Add the curry paste. Fry till the oil in it melts and starts to ooze out.

Pour in some hot chicken stock. Stir to mix well.

Stir in the fish sauce and coconut milk. Cover, lower the heat and let the curry simmer for 15 minutes.

Add the vegetables and simmer for another 15-20 minutes.

Stir in the palm sugar and basil leaves and cook for 5 minutes.

Serve hot, garnished with fresh coriander leaves.

Sambal Crab on Kangkong and Sambal Lobster Fried Rice

Sambal Crab on Chinese Water Spinach

I was looking at a beautiful cake in a baking blog and clicked on a link that sent me to the web page of a pretty Malaysian girl who was the subject of the entry. On her page I clicked on another link - and found myself looking at loads of beautiful (and some not so beautiful according to me) Asian girls, a number of them in their birthday suits and some more modified than others (since birth).

I wish I could say, "What is it that they have that I don't?" which while isn't untrue, doesn't somehow yield the same results. What is truer of course is more like what they didn't have that I do - like cellulite, fat, saggy skin, mosquito bites and crooked teeth among other things. Anyway I wasn't too jealous, just hoping that if I had better karma maybe in my next life I wouldn't be a sow, but a Gong Li-lookalike. Otherwise, I am not too ugly for an ageing fat Asian woman for which I am grateful enough.

Under the category of "Asian Adult Actresses", I wouldn't be turned on by most of the girls. Which probably explained why they went into pornography. Having said that I don't think like the men and we may not have the same taste. There were also a few really beautiful women and there I really do not understand why they would need to go into this industry. They should just go directly into modelling or escort services.

And I saw a few transexuals and was totally bluffed. I'm a real female and I don't look half as feminine or pretty as most of them. This meant that instead of filing my French taxes I spent the afternoon reading up on...sex-change operations : history, psychology, procedures etc. Very scary and interesting at the same time. And confirmation that I did well to have given up on medicine when I was younger. I do not have the stomach for this. Already cleaning fish myself is a feat. A remarkable one.

Speaking of fish, I found photos of 2 dishes that I made for my solitary lunches just before my trip to Alghero : Sambal Crab on Chinese Water Spinach and Sambal Lobster Fried Rice.

Sambal Lobster Fried Rice

I found that red lobster particularly sexy, by the way. But the crab tasted better. Remember what Caesar said about letting him have men around him who are not thin. The horizontally-endowed crab is still my preferred seafood.

Open Salmon Raviolis

Open Salmon Ravioli with Shallot-Cream Sauce

I get bored easily as I may have mentioned before. I was going to cook salmon for lunch and the choice between teriyaki, just grilled, or soy bored the hell out of me. It's like making love to the same person in the same nightshirt, position and part of the bed for 20 years (not that I know since I'm still sooo young :-)).

I thought about it and decided to package the same thing(s) a little differently. If it looks different, it may taste and feel different. I decided to make Open Salmon Raviolis.

Basically I grilled the salmon to a crispy exterior and placed it on a piece of spinach lasagna pasta that I have cooked just minutes before. Fresh basil leaves, salt, pepper, crema balsamica, light soy sauce. Cover with another piece of cooked spinach lasagna pasta.

There is no need to fill the ravioli with such a big piece of grilled salmon, of course, half the amount would do just as well but I was feeling generous.

Covered the salmon ravioli with a shallot and cream sauce.

Shallot and Cream Sauce :

1 Shallot (finely sliced)

2 Garlic cloves (finely sliced)

1 Tbsp Olive Oil

2-3 Tbsp White wine

Salt and Pepper to taste

2 Tbsp Crème fraîche

Juice of half a Lime

Brown the shallot and garlic in the olive oil.

Add the white wine, salt and pepper.

When the alcohol has evaporated, stir in the cream.

Squeeze in the lime juice, stir and pour over the raviolis.

It's a hot and sunny day today. Hub and the Teenager are off to play 18 holes and the Babies will soon have their golf lesson. I am going to wash and dry the clothes and do a bit of gardening.

Steamed Crab Claw Hor Fun

Steamed Crab Claw Hor Fun

I made Vietnamese Pho yesterday and had some soup and flat rice noodles left over. That gave me the idea to put that hor fun in a steaming plate, top it with crab claws, ginger, garlic, the stock, some leafy greens, fresh chilli, and some sauce (e.g. light and dark soy, Chinese cooking wine, sugar, old vinegar, sesame oil, corn starch...) and steam everything for dinner.

I would have added fermented black beans if I hadn't used up my last batch. Anyway, it was a quick and nice Steamed Crab Claw Hor Fun for a weekday dinner. And will leave me some time to read this erotic bestseller written by an Italian teenager Melissa P. exposing her intense and shocking sexual experiences in "One Hundred Strokes of the Brush before Bed".

Fried Fresh Anchovies (Alici)

Fried Fresh Anchovies

When we were living in Andalusia, I used to buy fresh sardines and anchovies from the local wet market at least twice a week. There are many ways to cook them, but I especially love them lightly dusted with corn flour and fried in olive oil.

I braved the rain this morning to make a trip to the supermarket and found some cleaned fresh anchovies and so decided to make a batch of Fried Fresh Anchovies for dinner this evening. Added curry powder and black pepper to the corn flour and dusted the fish in it before frying them in olive oil meant for frying.

They transported me back a little into time, I have missed those tapas moments when we would grab a few fried fish dishes and a few glasses of tinto de verano or sangria and sit outside, watching the children play and old folks gossip around us.

Crab Claws on Mung Bean Noodles (Crab Claw Tang Hoon)

Crab Claw Tang Hoon

I dreamt that I was queuing up to buy nasi lemak at a stall the other night and after quite a wait, it was finally my turn. But the seller decided to go off to do something else, leaving me to wait. And wait. And wait.

I was feeling the frustration building up in me as I could see the packets of nasi lemak behind the counter and yet couldn't get my hands on them. Come on, just sell them to me, I (silently) urged the seller. But he was still busy doing something else.

I woke up in anger and realised that it was only a dream, though I guess it's real enough that I still do not have any nasi lemak to eat.

No, I'm not going to make any nasi lemak today, I'll keep it for when MIL comes, I suspect that she would enjoy trying out the dish. Once awake I had another craving and it was for a totally different Crab Claw Tang Hoon.

The good thing about the Chinese whether you like them or not is that they are everywhere. I had an Ethiopian penpal when I was a teenager and he told me once that the one Chinese restaurant in Addis Ababa did daily buffets - that in the midst of a severe famine in the country. I could never figure that one out.

Anyway, that was to say that I could find mung bean noodles (tang hoon) easily here in Modena thanks to the Chinese presence. Though I wish they had better taste in instant noodles and would stock other brands than the lousy Chinese or Filipino ones. But then there are many Filipinos here in Modena so that's understandable.

Crab Claws on Mung Bean Noodles :

5-6 Stone Crab Claws

Cornstarch for dusting

Fresh Ginger (julienned)

Garlic (sliced)

Fresh Chilli (julienned)

Spring Onions (sliced both lengthwise and chopped into rounds)

Fried Shallots for garnishing

100g Dried Mung bean noodles (soaked in warm water and drained)

A handful of Leafy Greens (e.g. Chinese water spinach)

1 Tbsp Sugar

2 Tbsp light Soy Sauce

1 Tbsp Oyster Sauce

2 Tbsp Chinese cooking wine

A few drops of Sesame Oil

Hot Water or Fish Stock

Dust the crab claws with some corn starch and fry them in hot oil. Remove, bash with a cleaver and set aside.

In a wok, brown the ginger, garlic and chilli in some peanut oil. When they are fragrant add the leafy greens.

Add the mung bean noodles when the vegetables start to wilt followed by the length-wise cut spring onions.

Pour in the sauce and return the crabs to the wok.

Stir-fry to mix well then pour in enough hot water or stock to cover the crab claws.

Simmer for a few minutes and then pour out into a serving dish.

Garnish with chopped spring onions and fried shallots.

I've found a music video of my favourite Spanish singer Rosario singing Agua y Sal. It's on my sidebar now. Wish my lost Rosario CD would turn up soon, stupid Hub removed it from the car and didn't put it back into its box and now it's like looking for a needle in the haystack with the hundreds of cds we have...

Grilled Scallops with Crema Balsamica

Grilled Scallops with Crema Balsamica

I'm tired after quite a long day and had to get dinner out quickly. Hub and the Teenager were at the Golf Club all afternoon sitting for their golf test and I have started reading a new book - James Salant's "Leaving Dirty Jersey : A Crystal Meth Memoir". Time flies when you are reading a book...

Made the Babies Spaghetti alla Carbonara, a Potato and Leek Soup for the Teenager and then quickly churned out a few half-shell Grilled Scallops with Crema Balsamica for Hub and myself. They were simple and delicious.

Hub ate his scallops and suddenly said that we should have dinner en amoureux this weekend at a good restaurant. :-)

Breaded Sole Fillets with Tonkatsu Sauce

Breaded Sole Fillets with Tonkatsu Sauce

I love working with Japanese Panko breadcrumbs. They make delicious breaded fish, meat or even vegetables. For lunch today I had Breaded Sole Fillets with Tonkatsu Sauce and they were so good I changed my mind about keeping some for Hub. I think we'll eat out this evening.

The school Sports Day has been cancelled and postponed as it has been raining all week. Tomorrow Hub has a golf tournament at Palazzo Arzaga Hotel Spa and Golf Resort (like last year) near Lake Garda and well, apparently it's going to rain too. And like last year, I'm going to bring the kids to Gardaland. Even if it rains. Wish me luck.

Breaded Sole Fillets with Tonkatsu Sauce :

The Fillets :

300g Sole Fillets

Salt and Pepper

Flour

1 Egg

Panko breadcrumbs

Tonkatsu Sauce :

Ginger (grated)

Garlic (minced)

Tomato sauce

Worchestershire sauce

Sake

Sugar

Mirin

First, prepare the tonkatsu sauce by oiling a small saucepan and adding the grated ginger and garlic.

Pour in the tomato sauce, worcestershire sauce, sake, sugar and mirin, mix well and simmer till you get a smooth sauce. You'll have to test the proportions as you go along, it depends on how much sauce you're going to make and how sweet and sour you like it.

I go for around 2 : 1 : 1 : 0.5 : 0.5 (tomato : worcestershire : sake : sugar : mirin).

Salt and pepper the sole fillets and gently flour them.

Beat an egg and dip the floured fish fillets in it.

Bread the fillets in a plate of panko breadcrumbs.

Heat some oil in a pan and when it's hot, fry the breaded fillets till they turn golden brown and crispy.

Serve hot with lemon slices, Tonkatsu or BBQ sauce on top of a small salad or white rice.

One can also bread prawns (Ebi Fry), pork, chicken, mashed potato and vegetable patties etc with the panko crumbs. Cut into smaller pieces and pricked with toothpicks, they also make nice fingerfood.

Steamed Silken Tofu Egg and Prawns

Steamed Silken Tofu Egg and Prawns (with crispy ginger and garlic)

I've spent my day preparing our Italian taxes so that a cabinet in Milan can help us file them. I really dread this boring part of the year, but Hub doesn't have the time to do it, so I have to devote myself to the subject. Luckily the cabinet we're using this year provides reasonably good explanations in French. Last year's was in English, was mediocre and quite useless. I hate filing taxes and not understanding how things work in the country in question. I'm sure we're not getting a cent back because of that.

I also file our French taxes (myself), but that I'm quite used to after so many years doing it and since we do not have much in France now, it's just a formality. I believe in paying taxes, wealth redistribution, funding public services etc, but as you'll hear me say it whenever the subject crops up, I just dislike being taxed on the same plate again and again. Why should you pay income tax, VAT and then when you decide not to spend it all, be taxed on your savings, investments, donations (to family members) etc?

I've heard of unemployed people with 4-6 kids "earning" as much as a person working full-time who couldn't afford to have more than one child and who still has to pay taxes on his income. What justice is there in this?

One thing that irritates me the most in the Italian tax system is that they do not allow you to claim tax relief for supporting your parents financially. But automatically deducts a percentage to give to the State or the Church(es). Why couldn't they separate religion and politics like the more enlightened countries? The State already sucks our blood dry (and mismanages most of it) and the Church/Synagogue etc should only have people who believe in them to contribute. Why should I pay for their wafers and candles and elaborate robes?

Didn't have the time to cook this afternoon and in any case I'll be doing alot of it starting tomorrow for Hub's Birthday party. Like most years, I throw him a party for his birthday, having run out of ideas of what to buy him for a present. I'll let other people worry about that.

Before being steamed

Made a quick Steamed Silken Tofu with Egg and Prawns. Beat half the block of silken tofu with the egg (added seasoning) and lined a steaming plate with it. Then sliced the other half of the tofu thinly and placed them on top of the egg mixture. Followed by the prawns and chilli.

Using a small frying pan, I then fried some minced garlic and julienned ginger till they turned crispy and added half of them to the dish when it was halfway though steaming. The other half I added when the dish was fully cooked. Topped with a bit of ketchup manis later as a finishing touch. One-pot dish for the busy.