The Food Canon

If you have been following this blog for a while, you will notice that I am very open to newer techniques of cooking and the better use of our kitchen appliances.

Staying in this busy and bustling city of Singapore, I am always seeking to "do more with less." The only way to get much cooking done - and with good results - is to be open to learning new ways of cooking.

That's right, I am learning all the time. I have some very useful cookbooks in my library. When I am cooking or conversing with other home cooks or career chefs, my ears are perked up all the time. If I have to sound stupid to learn something new, I will. I am not out to tell others how much I know. I simply want to learn so that I can cook better and more efficiently. From making Tim Sum to preparing suckling pig the Spanish way, I am just keen to learn. Whether it is attending a cooking class by a famous chef or listening to a domestic helper on how to keep her Fried Nian Gao crispy, I am a student all the time.

Who can resist a piece of great steak? Especially when it is:

• of excellent quality, well-marbled tender and juicy USDA Prime ribeye cut (not even choice or select)
• nicely crusted on the exterior and wondefully flavored from Mallard reactions to browning
• warmed and juicy pink on the inside

This blog is suppose to inspire home cooks. Recently, I was reflecting on this and realized that there may well be home cooks who may be discouraged by how well others are cooking or by complicated recipes.

So, is cooking a natural talent or something which can be learnt? As with everything else, it will always be a bit of both. Unless you are really hopeless at this, every cook can improve, may it be their techniques or recipes.

I want to give some attention to this rather understated ingredient which is not widely used outside of Malay and Nonya cuisine.

Not to be confused with starfruit, which also shares the same Malay name, this is a small sour fruit which adds a wonderful sour note to dishes with a crunchy juicy texture. It cooks very fast and this needs to be taken into consideration as you add it to your curries.  

I like to add it to my mum's Sambal Prawns recipe, something we did at our recent Alpha Course evening. While Assam (tamarind) or Lime juice can be used to introduce a fruity sourness to the dish, belimbing is unique in the way it "encapsulates" the taste as an eating experience. In other words, instead of experiencing the tinge of sourness throughout the dish, biting a  piece of belimbing gives a soury surprise, adding some variety to the experience of eating a good plate of Sambal prawns.  

Deep fried chicken coated with a sweet spicy sauce is something I have always liked to eat since my varsity student days. While I can't remember great food served in the Science Canteen then, my favourite stall by far would be the Malay/Muslim one. I know the deep fried chicken they used was from the previous day and they merely coated it with a sambal or sweet sauce. Not that I cared for the flavours were great.

I am glad for the opportunity to cook it at a recent Alpha Course evening. Some have asked for the recipe and so, here goes. I will list out the recipe and then, further notes to help you understand what is going on behind this wonderful Indonesian way of cooking meat.

My girls love Japanese rice and meals.

This is one reason why I have made some effort to learn to cook it at home. I have posted a recipe for Chirashi rice. I like these one-bowl meals as they are convenient to make.

In this post, I will list out some details on how to make "Gyudon" or Japanese Rice Beef Bowl, using Short-rib Beef. What motivated me to cook this is the $60 bowl of rice with some beef which I had at a Japanese restaurant recently. I absolutely loved it but I found it too pricey. After making this, I really don't think I will pay for it again.

Japonica rice is widely available in our local markets and you should be able to spot it easily as the grain is shorter compared to Thai long grain rice. They come in various qualities. If you are new to cooking it, I will advise you just pick up any for a start. As you begin to cook it more often, you can try some better varieties. Go here to learn how to cook this rice and what type to buy.