Dish of the WEEK

Once again my dish of the week is something I actually ate!
Yes I know it looks quite unappealing, and to be fair I didn't order it, wee problem in the translation I think. I thought I had ordered shrimp tortilla. Clearly it was not shrimp tortilla that arrived, I'm sure you will agree.

We were enjoying a birthday lunch in a great little Tapas Bar, with 12 "new friends" in Pudong. We all were ordering a couple of tapas each, and we ordered by number, as you would do in any Chinese Takeout in UK, but still a mistake was made.

During a discussion on what it was, various suggestions were thrown around, but two of us agreed the thick black gunge was probably squid ink, therefore main ingredient would be squid. Okay I could handle that.

Carefully I cut into it, there was a stuffing of some sort, and when I bit into it I was very surprised, it was delicious.
There would be no problem eating this.

 As you know Tapas is all about sharing, well there was only one person willing to share this with me. I was happy about that. We soon finished it off. A second look at the menu showed we had been eating squid head stuffed with pork and shrimp, finished with a squid ink sauce.

So it only proves that sometimes it's worth taking the risk, you never know what delicacies may come your way.

CHINESE at HOME

MY CHINESE DINNER TABLE

It may seem from my postings that I never cook anymore, and that I eat out every night. Whilst I have to admit to eating out a lot more than I did at home, I still like to cook too, maybe just not so often.

It can be cheap to eat out, and I have the wonderful situation of  eating out with my husband on work related dinners. A real treat, and also a great way of meeting the people he works with everyday. Win, win!

However a few weeks ago I decided to invite some friends over for supper, and promised I would cook a Chinese meal.  Almost immediately regretting my promise, as one of my guests was to be Chinese. Would I mess up and have her laugh at my efforts? I would just have to be very careful with what I chose to serve. After much deliberation I went for Gok Wan's twice cooked pork, I knew this was achievable, fried rice, no problem, ribs in a sticky sauce, had done this before, okra in batter with a dipping sauce, a first and no recipe, how wrong could I go with this? prawns in a sweet and sour sauce, an old favourite, and last but not least my piece de resistance would be crispy duck, another first, but a quick google brought me a Jamie Oliver recipe, and another google brought me the recipe for the pancakes. I was sorted, I hoped.

FRIED RICE DISH

I spent the afternoon marinading, chopping, mixing sauces and generally getting everything ready to go. With Chinese cooking most of it has to be done at the last minute so the preparation is very important. The pork had to be boiled in a delicious aromatic broth for a couple of hours, and the duck, after being rubbed with salt and crushed ginger, had to be roasted for two hours. So at this stage I was as ready as I could be, just the table to put together. I seemed to have it under control. I sat down to relax for a while when suddenly I realised I had forgotten to make the pancakes for the duck! It was just over an hour until guests arrived............

I rushed to the kitchen, I knew flour and boiling water were the only ingredients. I knew it would be a bit before I could handle the hot pastry after making, 30 mins the recipe said. I didn't really have 30 mins, so I went early. Still a bit hot to be handling but there was no alternative if I wanted to serve the duck as I had hoped. Rolled out the pancakes, then saw I had to brush with sesame oil and place one on top of the other, seal together then dry fry.  All went well until I tried to peel the two apart, as was the instructions. They were really hot. Really, really hot. Ok so I ripped few edges, and they weren't perfectly round, given more time I think I could sort out these things, but they tasted fine. Panic over. Guests arrived, food was put on the table and we all tucked in. Duck was a big hit, as was the pork the ribs and rice. I felt prawns were a little sweet, but they were all eaten. The fried okra was okay but having to be fried at the very last minute made it a bit of an added problem. 

FRIED OKRA

So all in all a success. I am not the laughing stock of the Chinese community, I can hold my head high. I had fun doing it, learned a few lessons, and I will do it again. One of the nice things about having Chinese people for dinner is that no dessert is expected, therefore all my efforts went into the main dishes. But as I love making desserts I will have a special dessert event for my expat friends, I know they will enjoy it. 

Happy in the kitchen as always, and stretching my skills also makes me happy, and of course happy sharing my experiences with you. Maybe I should cook more than I have been lately.

SHANGHAI'S FISH MARKET

Saturday night saw us headed out to Shanghai's fish market. We had been planning to go for some time but something had always got in the way. However, on Saturday nothing was going to stop us, even the possibility of heavy rain, which thankfully failed to appear. So my husband and two friends headed out to experience what was on offer.


The market is open 24/7 and the only piece of advice I was given was not to wear open sandals. Soon I realised why this was good advice, as everywhere people were washing pavements, slooshing away fish guts and whatever else was lying around. You had to be careful not to be on the receiving end of a hose, or bucket of water.  Not as gross as it sounds, honestly.

What happens is you purchase the fish you want, and take it to one of the many restaurants around the area where it will be cooked for you. You can of course take it home, but we chose to sit and enjoy a few drinks as the chefs prepared our catch.

The place was really busy and lively. There were what seemed like hundreds of open shopfronts filled with tanks of all kinds of fish and shellfish imaginable, and some unimaginable!. There were lobsters from Boston and Australia, crabs, clams, shrimp, flat fish round fish, salmon and fish and shellfish in all colours. Everyone was calling us in to see their produce. We had to haggle hard and soon we had bagged a lobster.

This was soon followed by crab, clams, ugly shrimp, which I think was a small langoustine. We also bagged a whole sole and headed to a restaurant to have it cooked. As it had been difficult to choose where to buy the fish, it was also difficult to decide what restaurant to choose, They varied from basic cafes to nice looking restaurants, we went to one which looked busy, bright and friendly.

As we waited for our food to arrive we laughed about one very strange seafood which was on sale everywhere, I have seen it on TV but could not think of what it was called but it certainly didn't entice us to buy and eat. I think you will see why from the picture, and if anyone does know the name of it please let me know.

The food soon arrived, lobster steamed in garlic and chives, it was delicious, the crab in a spicy sauce, simple cooked shrimp with just the addition of salt and pepper, little brown shrimp served with green beans, all really good. The flat fish steamed with soy sauce just fell off the bone. The clams a little disappointing, not a lot of meat in them, but what was there was delicious.

Spicy Clams

Steamed Lobster

Crab in Spicy Sauce

Flat Fish in Soy sauce

So as you can see everything looks good. But as much as the food was excellent the experience was a major part of the night.

We were probably the only non Asians around, and that brought us a lot of attention. Not, may I add negative attention, merely a curiosity. Everyone was friendly, eager to try out their English, and patient enough to listen and try and understand our limited Chinese. They happily posed for photos, and didn't object to me taking a lot of random photos. There was a great atmosphere, it was noisy, bustling,  and I really enjoyed being there.

I enjoy getting out of the city centre and out and about to places where the ex pats seldom go, although I am planning a girl's day out to the market in the near future. I know a few of my friends would also enjoy the experience we had. It is a safe and friendly environment, and maybe as Westerners we pay a little more than the locals, I don't really object as long as I feel I get value for money. These people are working very hard, and very long hours to put the fish on to the tables of restaurants not only in Shanghai but all over China, and I am sure to other parts of the world, so a few extra RMB's doesn't really hurt. 

 

So ever since Saturday night I have had my head buried in all my fish cook books, and hope to soon cook a seafood feast here at home. Of course I will have a few friends along to hopefully enjoy the evening with us.

DISH of the WEEK

This week's dish is a bit different from usual, as this week it is actually something I have eaten.

Did I like it? Wasn't the worst thing I've eaten.

Will I eat it again? Think maybe I'll give it another go at some point.

Was it what I had expected? No.

What was the subject of this blog? SPICY BULLFROG!

What I didn't know was it is not just the legs they eat here, they eat all of the frog, and unfortunately I pulled out a piece of the body which was pretty grisly. As it was really spicy the taste was mainly a peppery one..
Next time I'll try and hook a leg.

FOUR MONTHS in SHANGHAI

Cannot believe it is already four months since we arrived in Shanghai. A wonderful four months, a lot of highs a couple of lows but on the whole an amazing experience, and it's just the beginning.

What has four months here taught me?

Well I know I love Chinese cuisine. I love the spiciness of Shangainese cooking, loaded with dried peppers and lots of garlic, it certainly lets you know you've eaten a spicy meal. I also like Szechuan food. It is a bit different, as the spicy szechaun peppers have the ability to leave your lips and mouth numb, sounds scary but not really, it is quite delicious.

Then there is the Vietnamese, Korean and Thai but to name but a few cuisines we can be tucking into here in Shanghai. I am having a lot of fun getting to know them, to appreciate the differences in flavours, and find the dishes I prefer and want to eat again and again. I could be here a while.

I have now fully mastered crossing the roads. Seeing motor cycles coming towards me on the crossing, when it is showing the green man, no longer strikes fear into me. The constant hooting of car horns is only letting you know they are there, giving me time to get out of the way. It is still an adventure here everyday, especially when crossing busy roads, but I think I'm doing ok, nothing hit me so far at least!

I now know that learning Chinese is possible. Before we came I really doubted my ability to learn this weird and strange sounding language. However slowly, ever so slowly, I am making in roads. I do have to spend quite a bit of time studying, but I am reaping the rewards. Every time I shop I am delighted when I am understood. I don't always know what they say back to me, but I can make out prices when spoken, which was a great step forward. So day to day simple stuff I am doing ok with. I can order food and drink, what I want anyway. I can ask to try on clothes, ask for colours, sizes and prices, so again important stuff. Time, dates, days are also within my capabilities, which helps when I want Jack to pick me up. So I will carry on and hopefully one day I will feel I have cracked it. No one said this would be easy, but probably not as difficult as I had suspected.

I love shopping in my local markets, and as during the heat of a Shanghai summer fruit and veg don't last too long, so regular trips are essential. I love these trips, I have enjoyed getting to know the stallholders, they not only help me with my choices, but also with my Chinese. It is always a fun trip. Ok so I still feel a bit uneasy when I see the live produce, but I guess that is just so different from our sanitised supermarkets at home, it will take a bit of getting used to. I did actually buy live crayfish a couple of weeks ago. No different from lobster. They were delicious.

So as I head into the next few months it is with anticipation and excitement. I know there is a lot more to be discovered, and a lot more hurdles to overcome. I will carry on learning new skills, forging new friendships and try to enjoy every minute, and make the best of every opportunity that comes my way.

HAPPY BUDDAH

My love affair with China continues, and hopefully it will continue to do so. With the friendliness if the Chinese people, the diversity of the city and the wonderful hot summer days I will be doing my best to soak it all up.

Dish of the WEEK

Looked more bird like than fish to me. Although on closer inspection it was definitely fish.

The translations are just so literal and you certainly get what it says on the box!

Sorry, but when something looks so like the live product it kind of loses it's appeal. This may have tasted delicious but something stopped me from ordering it, perhaps it was those eyes staring up at me.

I have a lot of dinners out in the next week, so hopefully I will be able to add to my library of things which make me smile, gag, or make me wish I was in another restaurant! .

Wish me luck.

COOKING CHINESE

Having had my daughter and her husband here for a few weeks proved to be a lot of fun. It was great showing them around Shanghai, and it seems they loved it just as much as I do. It would be hard not to love this city.

We wandered around historic sites, went to the top of high buildings and discovered markets and little lanes full of interesting people and businesses. It was a wonderful two weeks.

Of course food was a big part of the holiday. Can you imagine my daughter of 35 years, had never, in her life, eaten Chinese food! Never, amazing isn't it? She just didn't think she liked it.

So here we are in a city alive with food culture and she was willing to give it a go. We started slowly with a restaurant called DIN TAI FUNG, which is a dumpling restaurant. Their speciality is little steamed dumplings, here they call them, xiaolongbao, filled with pork, prawn or vegetables. One thing you have to be careful of is biting into them as soon as they arrive at the table as they are really hot, and will burn your mouth, I speak from experience!  You can watch the chefs prepare them as there is an open kitchen. It's fun to watch. Amazingly my daughter loved them, and we would have a second visit before she left.

I had asked my daughter to bring me a copy of Gok Wan's new Chinese Cook book and had been excited about trying out some of his new recipes. All seemed pretty easy and straightforward.

So on the Sunday evening my daughter and I set about making our own Chinese feast at home. We picked dishes to cook, which included twice cooked pork, chicken in soy sauce, some ribs, from Bill Granger's Asian Book, some fried rice, and we decided to buy some dumplings and not, at this stage try to push ourselves too far.. Delighted to say it all turned out very well, it was really delicious. I enjoyed cooking with my daughter and this has given her an interest in carrying on cooking Chinese at home. She has already purchased the book and various ingredients and equipment and she has only been back in UK for a week! I'm sure she will be treating her friends to some nice meals in the near future. Not bad for a girl who had never eaten this food before. 

So with my daughter and son-in-law now back in Scotland, I will be trying out many more of the delicious recipes from the latest edition to my cook book library. If you have ever fancied trying Chinese cooking at home but always thought it was complicated, then this book is a must. Easy, fast and most of all very tasty. I can highly recommend Gok's cook book. Give it a try will save you a fortune on takeaway.