Ristorante Diana, Bologna

Grilled vegetables and Baked Salmon @Diana

Hub had to have his stitches removed in Bologna today, leading us to try out another restaurant while we were there. The kids wanted Burger King, but we brought them to Diana, an Italian restaurant mentioned in the Michelin Guide.

It's a small restaurant in the main artery of the old city. The patrons were finely dressed, the service was better than usual and they even have a cloak service. They serve the usual Modenese/Bolognese fare though of good quality. Prices are high, of course, my heart stopped when I got the bill : 240 euros for 2 adults and 3 kids. For that amount, we could have eaten better in Singapore.

Tortellini and Risotto

The Babies both had their usual plate of Tortellini in Brodo while Hub had Fresh Pasta with Black Truffles. I had Risotto with Squids and Asparagus while the Teenager had a Grilled Entrecote.

Like I've mentioned, the quality of the food was higher than usual, but I didn't feel that it tasted any much better than most other similar restaurants I've been to. We enjoyed the food very much, but I somehow feel that for that price, I would like to be a little more surprised. The problem with this region is that food is almost always the same no matter where you go. It is very good, but it doesn't change. There may be passion, but there is no creativity.

For mains Hub had Calf Kidneys in Parsley, Garlic and Madère Sauce, the Babies shared a Beef Filet in Balsamic Vinegar and I had Grilled Scampi. Hub's dish was excellent (according to him since I don't eat kidneys), the beef fillet was tender with alot of sauce, but my scampi were too small. The ones I made for Christmas tasted way better. Somehow for 22 euros I thought they could offer me bigger ones.

Filetto in Aceto Balsamico

At some point, we saw the waiter pushing out a trolley for the next table. It had a suckling pig and a few rolls of various meats on it. I suppose it was meant to look really appetising, except that it actually put me off. If a piglet had to die, it would be more worth it to be roasted the Cantonese way. It had this sticky looking exterior and the rolls of meat were bathing in some brown sauce. I love gravy, but that didn't look like it.

For dessert, they all had this crema ice cream with chocolate sauce while I had crème caramel. Aldina's crème caramel tasted better and cost half as much. And that crema was yellow, but didn't contain real vanilla (probably not meant to, that's very French).

Hub was very pleased with his meal, but I was sulking through it. I would have been just as happy eating in a simple trattoria. After more than 2 years here, I have arrived at the conclusion that it's usually not worth paying so much for a meal. The difference between both types of restaurants just doesn't usually account for the great difference in the prices.

Ristorante Diana

via Indipendenzia, 24

Bologna.

Tel : 051 231302

Tofu with Funghi Porcini on Spinach Pasta

Tofu with Funghi Porcini on Spinach Pasta

Bought a tin of porcini mushrooms for the first time the other day. I usually buy them fresh or dried. After tasting this I realise that most pizzerias and restaurants serve us tinned porcini mushrooms in our pizzas, risotto and pasta. It's not bad, not as fragrant as some of the good dried ones, but the texture is chewy and soft and the mushrooms are certainly easier to use than the dried ones.

I cooked them in their own oil with fried tofu and served the lot on fresh spinach pasta.

Birkenstock and Heidi Klum

Red Birkenstocks styled by Heidi Klum

Hub dislikes Birkenstocks. The French in him finds them ugly. He also finds Crocs ugly. And I, of course, have a mountain of Crocs shoes and sandals at home. This is to say that I also own a pair of Birkenstocks purchased a few years ago in Stuttgart.

They have leather straps and are very comfortable. I love them. But they are falling apart so much I've worn them last summer. I have therefore decided to buy myself a new pair or 2 for this summer.

Do you know that Heidi Klum designs for Birkenstock too? I came across her collection recently and bought 2 pairs. Was pretty pleased with myself until I thought of Hub. Those sandals come in psychedelic colours. I would have found them too auntie for my taste not too long ago, but now I actually thought they were interesting. I have become an auntie. What would the man in my life say when he sees them? Especially if he knew that I've paid a small fortune for them...

Baked Chocolate & Banana Puffs

Baked Chocolate and Banana Puffs

The whole school will be performing this evening at the Palafitta in Montale. I was there this morning to check out the place and the Middle Years students were there busy as bees trying to decorate the hall, get the stage ready etc. They have been given the job to organise this edition of the Winter Spettacolo. And they were the ones who have decided that there would be something to eat after the performance.

That is how I have ended up organising the after-show buffet. In a way this is not a bad idea as there are new families who have arrived at the school in January and would surely welcome the opportunity to meet the rest of the school community.

Baked Curry Puffs

Baked Sardine Puffs

Anyway, this means that I have just spent my morning baking 21 Sardine Puffs and 83 small Curry Puffs. Not one to waste if I can help it, I used the leftover puff pastry dough to make a few Baked Chocolate & Banana Puffs with the poor lonely banana that has been sitting around in the kitchen for a while. And dark chocolate that I somehow always have somewhere in my larder.

Making use of leftover pastry dough

This thing goes down the throat really well. I thought I had just taken a bite and before I knew it, there was nothing left in my hand. Since it's best eaten hot, I do not think that it'd be wise to wait for the kids to come home from school. Besides, who left that poor banana all alone all this while?

Baked Zucchinis

Baked Zucchinis

I had a busy morning. First we had a Middle Years coffee morning at CH's house. It was lovely as usual, with home-made bread to go with the tea. Then I had to leave early and return to the school to accompany the Grade 2 kids to the Post Office. Baby Girl sent a 4-line letter to her grandparents in Singapore. When I was younger, I always made sure that I totally filled up my letter paper so as to make it worth my stamp. But she doesn't seem to have the same preoccupations. Anyway, they learnt about communication and also about time. We have to note down how much time it'll take for her letter to reach Singapore. Then my parents will have to send her a letter too.

Coming home, I didn't feel like eating any meat since we would be having a juicy steak for dinner this evening. I made myself some Baked Zucchinis for lunch.

Baked Zucchini (for one) :

1 big fat Zucchini (halved)

Olive Oil

1 Garlic clove (chopped)

3 plum or cherry Tomatoes

Parmesan cheese

Mozzarella cheese

Cheddar cheese

Emmenthal cheese

Salt and Pepper to taste

Dig out the flesh from each half of the zucchini, cube them and set aside.

Boil a pot of water and when it's hot, gently lower the zucchini halves into the water. Blanch for 5 minutes. Remove and place in a baking tray. At the same time, also add the tomatoes in to blanch them quickly so as to make it easy to remove their skins. Remove and cube them.

Fry the chopped garlic in some olive oil till fragrant. Add the cubed zucchini flesh. Followed by the tomatoes. Add salt, pepper, herbs (if desired) to taste. Off the fire, stir in some grated parmesan cheese (use less salt in this case). Scoop into the empty zucchini halves.

Use whatever cheeses you fancy. I added cubed cheddar and grated emmenthal. Normally I would also use mozzarella for the wonderful melted cheese effect, but I am going to make a new batch for dinner and didn't want to open a new packet just for lunch.

Bake in a hot oven for 15 minutes.

Caramel Fried Tofu

Caramel Fried Tofu

This is the kind of snack I nibble on when I'm alone at home : Caramel Fried Tofu.

Caramelised bits of garlic and crispy tofu. Sweet and savoury at the same time.

Only ingredients needed : tofu, oil, sesame oil, garlic and sugar. How much simpler could it get?

Sup Ekor (Malay-style Oxtail Soup)

Malay-style Oxtail Soup

Spent the very cold (sub-zero temperatures since yesterday) foggy morning with Elena. We have not seen each other for quite a while as I have been hibernating since the beginning of winter. We had lunch in Modena centro and had to walk through the old town to reach the restaurant. Along the way, we were nearly knocked down by an old Italian on his bicycle. The guy skimmed past us on purpose and called us "Ignoranti" to our faces. Had probably been looking for a few foreigners to insult, if that made his day, I'm happy for him. For wise men do not bother to reprove fools and I honestly would not know what to retort to such a weird remark. Read him my CV?

That morning, as it was, I had been disturbed while reading Gomorrah in the car, by an African man asking me for money. I was waiting for E as she had an appointment at the pharmacy. On another day, I would have locked the car and ignored him, for paying him heed would only encourage him to do the same to others. A girl can't even take refuge in her own car nowadays.

But I have lately resolved to be more understanding towards people who have not been allocated an easier time in this life. How often have I looked at the horrors happening elsewhere with sadness but detachment, taking comfort in the knowledge that I am lucky to be born in Singapore and to live in relative peace and prosperity in Western Europe?

How many times nearer home have I looked at these poorer migrants doing jobs that I wouldn't like to do and be glad that I didn't have to do them? But if they wouldn't do them, where would we be? Life unfortunately is unfair. The rich get more freebies than the poor, successful people are congratulated when they already know they have succeeded, the mediocre or the losers are ignored or stamped upon - some more. Still, I really hate being sollicited in this manner, so I gave him a euro to buy myself some peace and hope that at least he could be happy that there was one fewer person ignoring him today.

Trucks towing away the now-empty mobile market stalls

We passed by the covered market and they were removing the mobile market stalls in the piazza just outside it. We stopped to ask a passerby what it was about and he told us that they had decided to liberate the piazza (after all these years), move the stalls elsewhere and keep the square free. Good idea. In any case, going into Modena can be quite depressing nowadays, for everywhere you turn, you see shops closing down. The Italian Mafia is richer than Croesus himself, but the rest of the country is living through an economic crisis.

Then we noticed that the piazza just outside the Duomo was covered with police cars, vans and bikes. I stopped a policeman to ask him why that was the case and he whispered that today was la festa della polizia.

This evening, after the oily Japanese lunch, I was glad to be eating a simple but delicious Sup Ekor (Malay-style Oxtail Soup) that I had started preparing this morning. If you think Vietnamese Pho is lovely, you should try Sup Ekor. Then you would understand why the Malays hadn't found the need to eat Pho. If I have to put it simply, Sup Ekor is like Pho, but with lemongrass and tomato paste en plus. And I love eating it with fresh baguette. Somehow they go so well together.

Sup Ekor :

1 kg Oxtail (chopped into large pieces)

Half a head of Garlic

6 Cloves stuck in 1 Onion

2 Lemongrass stalks (bashed and sliced)

1 thick slice of Ginger (sliced)

4-5 green Cardamoms

2-3 Star anises

1 Cinnamon bark

1 Tbsp ground Coriander

2 Tsp ground Cumin

1 Tbsp white Peppercorns

3 Potatoes (cubed largely)

4 Carrots (sliced into large chunks)

2 Celery stalks (sliced into 3s)

Half a Fennel bulb

4-5 Plum Tomatoes (halved)

1.5 litres of hot Water

3 tbsp concentrated Tomato paste

Salt to taste

Fresh Chillis

Fresh Coriander leaves

Fried Shallots

In a heavy-bottomed soup pot, fry the ginger, lemongrass, garlic, oxtail, whole and ground spices in a little oil till fragrant. Another way could also be to grind the garlic, onion, lemongrass and ginger into a paste first before frying it.

Add the potatoes, carrots, fennel and celery into the pot.

Pour in the hot water. Cover.

When the water has come to a boil, lower the heat and simmer for an hour.

Add the fresh tomatoes followed by the tomato paste. Then salt to taste. Cover and simmer for another hour or till the meat is melt-in-the-mouth.

Garnish with fresh coriander leaves, chillis and fried shallots and serve hot with baguette. Sedap!

Fish Dumplings in Fish Broth

Fish Dumplings in Fish Broth

I made the dumpling skin with fish. Probably could do without the extra work after having guests last evening and being woken up at 5 this morning by weird Babies who decided that they needed to brush their teeth then...But I wanted to eat my fish dumplings with fish wrappers.

The Cocos would have left Modena this morning. End of their working stint here and the beginning of their new life in the UK. My consolation is that they would be with people we know, from the Bahars to the Koturs and Gino. I am happy and excited for them, for they could be part of a historic pioneer team that could change the world of fast luxury cars and create a serious challenger to Ferrari. We wish them all the best and hope to see them again soon.

The dinner started out really well, they loved the Thai Fish Cakes and Shiu mai that we had with a bottle of Dom Pérignon at the beginning of the dinner. The Caramel Prawns was another hit with the men licking up the caramel on their plates, they were all suitably impressed when I presented my Thai Pineapple Fried Rice in a real pineapple, but I had a scare when DC saw the Chicken in Thai Green Curry and declared that he didn't like lemongrass.

Hub told him to give it a try and to take only the chicken and vegetables if he so wished. He started out this way, then continued to help himself to a few more servings throughout the meal, and ended up asking for my "emergency" plain steamed rice so that he could have more of the curry! Incidentally, this was the first time I decided to serve my pineapple rice in a pineapple like in the restaurants and it was really difficult removing the flesh from the fruit. Anybody knows of an easy and painless way to do the job?

We had 2 bottles of Italian wine during the meal and they were both quite interesting : San Cresci (Chianti Classico) and Cardoviola (Marche Rosso). I do not know where Hub recuperated them, he never buys Italian wine, but somehow they managed to find their way into his wine cellar. Dessert was Panna Cotta with Mango Sauce. We had a wonderful evening together and I am once again sad to see them leave. (*sniff*)

Back to the Fish Dumplings in Fish Broth, I made the wrappers like for any Chinese dumplings, only I added 200g of white fish to the flour, salt and water (to be halved as the fish is already wet) and mixed everything into a paste in a food processor. Then worked it into a dough on a heavily-floured board.

The filling I mixed another 200g of white fish with ginger, garlic, chives, coriander leaves, prawns, crabmeat and a little pork and seasoned it with some sherry, soy sauce and sesame oil.

Fish broth cube

Then I cooked the dumplings in salted boiling water and served them in a clear Fish broth part yesterday's prawn head and chicken stock and part fish broth cube from the supermarket.

Fish Dumplings in Green Curry

Since I had some green curry left over, I also served some of the fish dumplings in it.

Rose-flavoured Glutinous Rice Balls in Bandung

Glutinous Rice Balls

We went to watch James Cameron's Avatar yesterday at the cinema (in Italian! - couldn't understand the finer dialogue, if any). Didn't feel like doing anything as it was cold and grey (winter does this to me), but Hub wouldn't hear of it (quite the dictator). He probably needed me to bring the kids to the toilet during the movie. Though I didn't make that easy for him by sitting somewhere else in the hall. In Singapore, my mom always made us sit the furthest back possible and on the aisle (easy to come out etc). Hub likes to sit in front, smack in the middle. I hate having to crane my neck to catch everything on the screen, so I told him I would sit further back - alone.

Anyway, it was quite a grand movie, I liked the zen and ecological bits in the forest - but couldn't stomach the bombings and killings. Age does that to you. It's a bit like Matrix and Terminator put together. Very titanesque. The Italians in the screening hall clapped at the end of the movie. Like the Italians on the plane to London did. Have not seen this in a long time, people have gotten blasé about smooth plane landings and very entertaining commercial movies - but not the Italians apparently.

It has been 2 weeks since we're back and I still have 2 luggages standing. I just can't seem to gather the force to do anything about them. I don't even bother to wear different clothes nowadays. I have 2-3 stuff out of the wardrobe and I just alternate among them, washing one, drying it on the heater and then putting it on again the next day. Those mums at the school must be wondering if I don't ever wash what I'm wearing. Next house we move to, I told the Hub we must target a big walk-in wardrobe. Can always hope...

Needing some colour, I decided to make a few Rose-flavoured Glutinous Rice Balls in Bandung. It is a little late to be rolling glutinous rice balls I agree, since the Winter Solstice is well past. I used to help mom roll them for prayers and as far as I can remember, she doesn't make the sugar-filled ones, sweetening instead the soup (with white sugar or gula melaka) in which the glutinous rice balls are served in.

I have decided to serve my rose-flavoured glutinous rice balls in Bandung drink - a popular rose-flavoured sweet milk drink in Singapore and Malaysia.

Rose-flavoured glutinous rice balls in Bandung

Rose-flavoured Glutinous Rice Balls in Bandung :

The glutinous rice balls :

100g Glutinous rice flour

1-3 Tbsp Sugar

2 Tsp Rose syrup

A few drops of red food colouring

100ml Water

To be cooked in :

A few slices of Ginger

80g Sugar

500ml Water

3 Pandan leaves (knotted)

A pinch of Salt

The Bandung drink :

Rose syrup

Sweetened condensed milk

Cold fresh milk

A few mint leaves (optional)

Combine the glutinous rice flour, sugar, rose syrup, red food colouring and water and mix till you get a dough. Knead for a few minutes. Roll bits of the dough into small balls.

Boil a pot of water and cook the balls in it. When they float to the surface, scoop them out and cool in a bowl of cold water. Set aside.

                                                                           The coloured dough

Boil the water with the sugar, ginger, salt and pandan leaves.

When you are ready to serve the glutinous balls, place a few in a serving bowl and pour some of the ginger syrup over them.

If serving in Bandung, prepare the drink by combining the rose syrup, condensed milk and fresh milk. How thick or sweet you like it is personal so work out the proportions as you see fit. I used about 1:1:2. Stir well to mix the drink, it should turn a lovely milky pink.

Fish out a few cooked glutinous rice balls and add them to a bowl of Bandung drink.

                                    Pandan-flavoured Glutinous Rice Balls filled with Peanut Butter

I made another batch of dough and coloured it green, adding a few drops of Pandan essence. These balls I filled them with crushed toasted peanuts mixed with smooth creamy peanut butter. And served them in just the ginger pandan syrup. It was fun - something to relax me before I started cooking for my guests this evening.

Panna Cotta with Mango Sauce

Panna Cotta with Mango Sauce

DC and MB will be coming over for dinner this evening and I am at a loss as to what to make that would be good yet fast enough for a weekday evening. Besides most supermarkets and shops are closed on Monday mornings here in Modena and I have the cleaning lady working too which means that the kitchen will be out of bounds till after 2pm. Then I remembered that I could at least make the dessert the night before. And something that could go with the rest of my Asian dinner and yet is not too exotic that could scare DC (once he almost choked on my Bubur Hitam), could be a Panna Cotta with Mango Salsa.

Panna cotta is an Italian dessert that originated, if I'm not wrong, from the Piémont. It literally means "cooked cream". They normally serve it with a Berry Sauce, but my decision to go mango was to add the exotic Asian touch to an otherwise Italian dessert. East meets West.

Panna Cotta with Mango Sauce :

The panna cotta :

600ml liquid cream

100ml milk

60g sugar

5g gelatine powder

50g crème fraîche

1 vanilla pod or 1 tsp vanilla extract

The Mango sauce :

1 can of mangoes in syrup

1/2 juice of a lemon

3 Tbsp syrup from the canned mangoes or water

1 Tbsp sugar

To make the mango sauce, purée the mango slices and then put the pulp in a saucepan together with the sugar, syrup/water and lemon juice and simmer till the sugar has been dissolved. Set aside to cool and then keep in the fridge till it's time to serve it.

Soak the gelatine powder in the cold milk. If you are vegetarian, you can replace with agar-agar, but I've yet to work out the proportions.

Bring the liquid cream, vanilla seeds and sugar to a boil on medium-low heat. The minute the liquid starts to tremble, stir in the crème fraîche.

When it starts to boil, turn off the heat. Add the gelatine powder-infused milk to the hot cream and stir well. The panna cotta is ready to be poured into moulds.

You can pour the cooked cream in small or big moulds, but it has to be cooled before being refrigerated. And it has to be kept in the fridge for at least 6 hours before being served.

Just before serving, unmould the cream onto a plate and pour some mango sauce over it. You can also decorate with a few fresh fruit like raspberries or mango slices.

Easy peasy, right?

Sayur Lodeh (Vegetables in Coconut Curry)

Sayur Lodeh

Our friend came back from the States with a T-shirt (it says "Chicago") for each child while their mother as usual had nothing. But she will be patient, the longer she waits, the more long-suffering she will appear. And we went shopping again as a family today, this time the breadwinner needed a few new suits and shirts. And shopping with the Hub meant no shopping for me, as he's incapable of shopping on his own, I had to hang around him all the time, from helping him figure out which shops to go to, decide which suits to try on, find the right sizes, hold on to the hangers or his coat/sweater, mumble the "right" comments...Once his shopping done, it would be time to leave because Monsieur couldn't take it anymore.

The rest of the family had a pizza at Spizzico while I waited patiently to return home to finish up this morning's Sayur Lodeh. This is a Malay/Indonesian Vegetable Curry that I grew up on. I especially love eating cabbage, jicama and French beans in the spicy coconut broth.

I thought of making this today as the Rendang Roast Chicken was dry as was the Nasi Kuning. Besides, I had a beautiful head of cabbage waiting for me in the fridge and this weekend's vegetable to use up was French bean. Tomorrow we would have Thai Fish Cakes for dinner and that would use up some of the French beans. I know, I know...

Sayur Lodeh :

1 Onion

2-3 Garlic cloves

1 piece Ginger

1 Lemongrass stalk

1 piece Galangal

1 Tsp ground Turmeric

1 Tsp ground Coriander

1 Tsp ground Cumin

2 Tsp curry paste (e.g. Thai green curry; or grind shallots, garlic, ginger, chilli and belachan into a paste)

1 fresh Chilli

2 Kaffir lime leaves

1 Bay leaf

French beans

Potatoes

Red Bell Pepper

Carrots

Cabbage

Jicama

Zucchini

Plum or Cherry Tomatoes

1 piece Firm Tofu

Hard-boiled Eggs

400ml Coconut milk

200ml hot water

1 1/2 Tsp Salt

1 Tbsp Palm sugar or white sugar

Fresh Coriander leaves

Roast grated Coconut

To prepare this dish, get all the ingredients ready first. Chop and dice the onion, garlic and ginger, slice the lemongrass and galangal, shred the kaffir lime leaves. Chop the vegetables so that the longest-cooking among them will need maximum 20 minutes to cook. Boil the eggs and peel them.

In a wok, fry the onion, ginger, garlic, lemongrass and galangal till fragrant. Add the dry spices followed by the curry paste.

Start with the vegetables that would require a longer cooking time e.g. French beans and potatoes. Sautée them in the spice paste.

Followed by the bell peppers and carrots.

At this point, add the chilli, lime and bay leaves. Then stir in the hot water. And the coconut milk.

Cover and simmer for 15 minutes. Add the cabbage and jicama and simmer for another 10 minutes. Finally add in the zucchini, eggs, tofu and tomatoes. Stir in the salt, pepper and sugar.

Roast grated coconut

I always eat my Sayur Lodeh with roast grated coconut. Here we do not have it fresh, but I have some dessicated grated coconut in the pantry. Just heat up a frying pan on the fire and roast the grated coconut in it till it turns brown (keep an eye on it, stirring from time to time with a pair of chopsticks, as it can be very fast). Garnish the vegetable curry with fresh coriander leaves and the roast grated coconut.

It doesn't have to be vegetarian, of course. A few nice big peeled prawns would make the dish more complete.

Nasi Kuning (Turmeric Coconut Rice)

Nasi Kuning

I have started reading Roberto Saviano's Gomorra and it is really beautifully written - about some of the most horrible things that have been and are going on in our world. I've been walking around feeling uneasy for a few days now. And each time I enter a boutique or a restaurant since, each time I see a Chinese or those Africans selling fake branded bags, I would think of what Saviano wrote about the Italian Mafia in the south of Italy and how widespread their influence is in this country and beyond. And I am only at Chapter 3.

I've been telling myself that thank God I haven't started becoming too friendly with anybody outside our expat circle here in Modena. Yes, it comes to that, you have to be careful about who you make friends with in these parts. And I am starting to look at the manufactured goods in high-end boutiques, outlets and market stalls with a suspicious eye, wondering how they obtained their goods, whether they paid taxes, whether they exploited labour, whether they were made by the mafia. Sometimes ignorance is bliss.

Anyway, to bring me away from Italy for a while, I went back to my Singaporean roots and prepared a Nasi Kuning this morning to accompany the Rendang Roast Chicken and Sayur Lodeh that we had for lunch. The sun came out after a really foggy start and the bright yellow colour (not at all reflected in the photos unfortunately) of the spiced coconut rice brought some sunshine into the kitchen too. I have resisted making this rice too often as it's rich with coconut milk and it's not good for the heart.

Nasi Kuning :

2 cups Jasmine rice (washed and drained)

1-2 Lemongrass stalks (bashed and cut into 2)

1 piece Galangal (sliced)

1 Tsp ground Turmeric

1/2 Tsp ground Coriander

1/2 Tsp ground Cumin

1-2 Tsp Salt

1 cup Coconut cream

1 1/3 cup hot water/stock

2 Pandan leaves (knotted)

2 Tsp Vegetable Oil

Fry the lemongrass and galangal in the oil till fragrant. Add the dry spices followed by the salt.

Add the rice and coat the grains with the spices.

Pour in the water or stock, give it a stir and then stir in the coconut cream (or thick coconut milk). Place the knotted screwpine leaves on top and cover the pot.

Cooked Nasi Kuning

Cook over high-medium heat for 5-8 minutes or till the liquid is almost all absorbed. Lower the heat to the smallest flame and let it simmer for another 5 minutes. Then turn off the heat (without removing the cover) and leave it to cook in its own steam till the rice is ready to be served. Just before serving, remove the leaves etc (everything would have floated to the top normally) and fluff the rice with a fork.

Rendang Roast Chicken

Rendang Roast Chicken

I was digging in my fridge and found a bit of Killiney Rendang paste leftover, not quite enough to make another rendang curry and in any case, didn't feel like having one now. Hub came back from the USA and Germany (he actually had a meeting in Stuttgart just after the USA trip) late last night and would be sleeping in the next morning. So I woke up not too late today, thought about what I could do with it and came up with a whole meal started by the need to use this bit of spice paste.

Nothing special, I made Rendang Roast Chicken and accompanied it with a Sayur Lodeh (wanted a good way to eat cabbage and French beans) and Nasi Kuning (love its shiny yellow coconutness). All in a morning's work.

with Nasi Kuning

Rendang Roast Chicken :

1 large free-range Chicken

Rendang spice paste (dissolved in a little bit of hot water)

Salt

2 Lemongrass stalks

1 Star anise

half a whole head of Garlic

1 piece Galangal

1 piece Ginger

1 Kaffir lime leaf

Rub salt all over the chicken including in its cavity. Stuff it with the lemongrass, garlic, galangal, ginger and lime leaf.

before stuffing etc

Dissolve the rendang paste in a bit of hot water so that you can spread it on the chicken easily.

Leave to marinate for at least 30 minutes.

Put the chicken in the cold oven bottom side up (i.e. breast-side down). Start the oven at 220-250°C. I know we are used to cooking in a hot oven, but I have learnt this from a French cook who told me that you make crispier skin this way.

Bake for 30 minutes (the top should be nicely browned now) and then remove the chicken from the oven. Turn it over so that the breast-side is now on the top. Spread more rendang paste over it and return it to the oven. Bake for 10 minutes. Lower the temperature to 180°C and bake for another 10 minutes.

Switch off the oven. Remove the chicken from the oven, spread more rendang paste on it and return it to the cooling oven to relax for at least 15 minutes before serving it.

Tsukune (Grilled Chicken Meatballs in Sweet Yakitori Sauce)

Tsukune Don

The children love Japanese Yakitori or grilled meat skewers. This morning, I drove the Teenager to Modena centro for the Middle Years' visit to a Science Museum (they are studying about the human body now) and took the opportunity to shop at the covered market. The chicken stall had freshly minced chicken and that made me think of Tsukune or Grilled Chicken Meatballs in Sweet Yakitori Sauce - so that's the kids' dinner settled for this evening.

with the sauce

Tsukune :

500g minced Chicken

150g Onion, Leek or Spring Onions (chopped)

2 Tsp Sugar

1 Tbsp Shoyu or light soy sauce

1/2 Tsp Sesame Oil

3 Tbsp Sake

5 Tsp Cornstarch or plain flour

Salt and Pepper

1 Egg (beaten)

The Sweet Yakitori Sauce :

100ml Mirin

3 Tbsp Sake

100ml Shoyu

50g Sugar

Marinate the minced chicken with the chopped onions, sugar, sake, shoyu, sesame oil, egg and cornstarch.

Prepare the yakitori sauce by combining the mirin, sake, shoyu and sugar in a saucepan and heating it till the sugar is dissolved and the sauce has thickened.

raw meatballs

Shape the minced meat into balls.

after 10 minutes in the oven

During summer, I would bake the meatballs for 10 minutes in a hot oven, skewer them and then proceed to brush the meatballs with the sweet yakitori sauce as I grill them on a BBQ.

During winter, I bake them for a few minutes in the oven, cover them with the sweet yakitori sauce (that I didn't thicken too much in the saucepan) and return them to the oven for another 10 minutes, turning them over halfway through. Then I skewer them before serving them on steamed Japanese rice drenched in thickened sweet yakitori sauce and covered with chilli flakes and toasted sesame seeds.