Bananas Foster on French Toast

(serves 6)
Bananas Foster is a version of Cherries Jubilee using Bananas instead. It’s actually a very easy dessert to make, requiring little in the way of expertise or special ingredients, and it doesn’t take too much time either. In this recipe I’ve added French Toast to the line up; the two are a great together if you don’t like your desserts too sweet.  

Ingredients

1. Bananas (500g)
2. Bread (Half a Loaf)
3. Eggs (2)
4. Butter (100g)
5. Dark Rum (1/4 cup)
6. Sugar (3T)
7. Golden Syrup
8. Vanilla Ice Cream
9. Powdered Cinnamon

Preparation

1. Beat 2 eggs in a shallow dish.
2. Cut two 1.5 inch thick slices of bread from a whole loaf and further cut each slice into three equal portions. Soak the bread, on both sides, in the dish until all the egg is gone. This will take several minutes.
3. Melt 1T of butter in a pan. Pan fry the soaked bread on very low heat, flipping occasionally until the egg is fully cooked. Leave the resulting French Toast on a wire rack to cool.
4. Place 100g of butter, 3T white sugar and 1/2 t of salt in the same pan. Dissolve the sugar in the butter under low heat.
5. In the meanwhile quickly slice your bananas. Cut diagonally across the banana to get oval shaped slices. The slices should be 1/2 inch thick.
6. When the sugar has fully dissolved, add the banana slices and turn up the heat.
7. Stir fry gingerly. When the butter and bananas begin to darken, drizzle on 1T of golden syrup followed by a sprinkle of 1t of powdered cinnamon. Finally pour in 1/4 cup of dark rum.
8. Continue to stir fry. Stop and turn off the fire when the sauce thickens sufficiently.
9.  Arrange the French Toast on one big plate or many small plates. Pour the banana caramel mixture over the French Toast and top off with small scoops of vanilla ice cream.

 Notes

• There are many varieties of banana, and the one that you choose is important as it will determine the texture of the dessert you end up making. In my opinion small is better than big.The standard Cavendish (i.e. the big ones on the left in the photo below) get mushy more easily when cooked. I find smaller varieties like the Emperor Banana tend to retain their structural integrity better under heat. You’ll have a better chance of finding them at a fruit store as opposed to a supermarket. In all cases, the bananas should be at the threshold of getting ripe and definitely not over ripe with black spots. 500g is 3 large or 8 small bananas.
• To add some flair you can serve your Bananas Foster as a flambé. The best way to do this is to preheat the rum in a metal ladle directly over the fire at the stove. Tip the ladle such that the rum is about to spill onto the fire to ignite it. Pour the burning rum over the rest of the dish at the dining table. While this is entertaining, it does impair your ability to control the viscosity of the resulting sauce, so be aware of this.  
• Banana liqueur is one of the traditional ingredients of Bananas Foster but I find it is superfluous, and besides you’ll end up with a bottle lying the house for years with little other use. It’s infinitely more important to add the pinch of salt which is left out in many recipes. If you do decide to add it, just add 2T to the rum.
• Most recipes specify brown sugar. I don’t because it burns more easily and I find caramelizing white sugar actually works better in exchanging flavour between the bananas and the sauce. I believe that’s why I haven’t a need for banana liqueur. 
• To my knowledge, Bananas Fosters was first created in New Orleans, which makes sense since there are plenty of banana plantations in the Caribbean.

 

Caviar Egg Salad Amuse-Bouche

(serves 8)
The combination of the intense savoury flavour and crunchy explosion of caviar just can’t be beat, but caviar can be a tad salty. In this recipe, this saltiness is perfectly balanced by the mild taste of egg salad to make the perfect amuse-bouche. There are just 5 simple ingredients, making this little package of tastiness incredibly easy to make. You can easily scale it up to serve several dozen guests if you need a dazzling canapé for a party.        

Ingredients

1. Caviar (1 bottle, 80g)
2. Eggs (4)
3. Shallots (1)
4. Brioche (8 mini slices)
5. Mayonnaise

Preparation

1. Hard boil 4 eggs (i.e. 12 minutes or more). Allow the eggs to cool in cold water and then de-shell them. You can boil the eggs anytime before and keep them in the fridge.
2. Put the each egg through a wire egg slicer three times. On the first pass, slice the egg as per normal but hold on to the ends of the eggs to keep the egg together.
3. On the second pass slice the eggs lengthwise. It will be harder to keep the eggs together so do the slicing carefully.
4. For the third pass you also slice the egg lengthwise but after rotating them 90 degrees. Hold the slicer over a large bowl to catch the falling bits as the egg will basically fall apart after you are done. The idea is to end up with little cubes of egg white. The yolk will disintegrate but that’s fine.
5. Finely (and I mean finely) dice one shallot. You can use a quarter of an onion if you don’t have shallots.
6. Add 2 heaped T of mayonnaise, the diced shallot, 0.5t sugar and a generous sprinkle of pepper to the diced egg and mix until the yolk has melted into the mayonnaise.
7. Add half the caviar to the egg salad and mix some more. Place the bowl into the fridge for about an hour.
8. Divide the caviar egg mixture onto the brioche. The brioche can be lightly toasted, or left untoasted if fresh.
9. Decorate each amuse-bouche with the remaining caviar and serve while cold.

Notes

• Caviar is not as expensive a delicacy as you might think, all you need to do is use a caviar made from a fish other than sturgeon. The cheaper varieties taste perfectly fine and in any case you might not want to use top grade caviar as a flavouring ingredient. The bottle I used (pictured right) was made from herring roe and has a retail price of under ten dollars, as will many other varieties.   
• Besides brioche you can use any number of other things as the base. Be it a pastry or bread, just make sure it is not of the salty type. The Blini (essentially a mini pancake, second photo) or a Yorkshire Pudding are some alternatives.
• The amount of caviar you reserve for decoration will determine the colour of your amuse bouche. If you mix the whole bottle of caviar in you will get a darker look as per the Blini photo.
• For some colour you can add some chopped chives. The stark green specks will make the amuse-bouche look even more attractive. I really should have done that for the photo.
• In case you were wondering, no that is not a giant ball of caviar in the top photo. It’s an optical illusion. It looks like a large slice of bread on a regular plate but its actually a slice of a mini brioche loaf on a small plate.
•  

 

Eggs Scrambled with Truffle and Morels

(serves 3-4)
Scrambled Eggs are quite mild in flavour but have a nice runny texture when cooked properly. They go well with Truffles as they don’t compete with the intense aroma of Truffles. They also go great with Morel Mushrooms which complement the eggs with a delicate yet distinct flavour. Put all three together and you have the perfect food to satisfy the most refined palate. Scrambled Eggs is one of the fastest and easiest appetizers to make once you have mastered the technique, and if you are planning a long formal dinner, this dish will afford you the time to focus on your other courses.  

Ingredients

1. Eggs (4 Large)
2. Truffle and Mushroom Salsa (5t)
3. Milk (200 ml)
4. Dried Morel (15g)
5. Butter
6. Coriander Seed Powder

Preparation

1. Soak the Morel Mushroom in the milk for at least one hour. You can also soak it overnight in the fridge. 15g of dried morels is about 1 cup in volume.
2. Beat 4 large eggs in a bowl.
3. Strain the morel-flavoured milk into the eggs. Lightly squeeze the morels caught in the strainer to release more liquid.
4. Add a pinch of salt to egg-milk mixture and beat until you have a consistent colour.
5. Melt 2T of butter in a pan. Pan fry the morels for 1 minute. Turn off the heat.
6. Pick out the morels and keep them for later use. Sprinkle 0.5t of coriander seed powder into the butter left in the pan.
7. Add the egg mixture to the pan and begin cooking with very low heat. Keep stirring to constantly remove any cooked films of egg from the bottom of the pan.
8. When you see the egg doesn’t flow to fill up any spaces made empty by your stirring, turn off the fire immediately. Add a light sprinkle of white pepper and 2t of truffle salsa and continue to stir until the pan cools a bit more.
9. Plate the scrambled eggs, arranging the morel mushrooms on top. You can use either a soup dish or a martini glass. Top off with 1 addition t of truffle salsa for each serving.

 Notes

• You can also use Truffle Paste instead of Truffle Salsa if you like. For more information on Bottled Truffle Produce check out my Truffle Products page .
• You need to stir with an implement that has a flat edge, such as a flat wooden spatula. Don’t use anything rounded as you won’t be able to scrape the cooked egg off the pan bottom.
• You cannot add pepper or coriander seed powder to the raw egg mixture directly as it will tend to clump together immediately. Salt is ok as it melts.
• The place where the amateur typically fails in this dish is over cooking their scrambled eggs. They have to be cooked until they have the consistency of semi-melted ice cream and no further. If the egg clumps together into clean pieces, its over done. If you have a problem keeping the heat down, you can intermittently turn the heat off to control the cooking process better.  

 

High Tea Sandwich Rolls

(serves 6)
The sandwich roll is simple yet elegant way of making canapés. There are several advantages to the sandwich roll.  Sandwich rolls are easier to make than fancy tower canapés. They don’t dirty your hands eating them. However you hold them you don’t have to worry about bits falling off. They are bite-sized. Less bread is exposed to air, reducing the amount of bread that dries as your sandwiches sit there waiting to be eaten. And you know what? Sandwich rolls just look nice.         

Ingredients

1. Eggs (3)
2. Smoked Salmon (100g)
3. Anchovy in Oil (Small Tin)
4. White Bread (12 Slices)
5. Red Onion (1)
6. Cucumber (1)
7. Cream Cheese (200g)
8. Guacamole (150g)
9. Dill Weed.
10. Nori Sheet (1, optional)
11. Maple Syrup
12. Cumin
13. Mayonnaise

 

The Basics

1. Use white sandwich bread or yellow bread. Brown bread is harder and less malleable, not meant for rolling.
2. As you can’t roll bread with crust, its best to use bread that is perfectly square or rectangular.
3. Use bread that is fresh, that you just bought from the supermarket, not bread you have kept in the fridge for a week. Dry bread will be too brittle to bend without cracking.
4. After you have cut the crusts off, flatten each piece of bread individually. This is the secret to the rolled sandwich, squashing it with a rolling pin. You can also press down sequentially using the cheek of the blade of a large knife to achieve the same effect.
5. Whatever you choose to put inside your sandwich must include a creamy spread like mayonnaise, Heinz sandwich spread, tahini, cream cheese, peanut butter, jam etc. as the binding agent. This will hold the roll in place.
6. The simplest version consists of just a simple spread which you cover the entire piece of bread with – like the Curried Egg Salad Rolls below.
7. For variety you can add slender sticks of cucumber or cheese for texture – like the Anchovy Infused Cream Cheese Rolls below.
8. You cannot use whole sheets of meat or cheese and this will completely nullify the effect of the binding spread, unless you rolled them up and have them as the core. This method is shown in the Smoked Salmon Avocado Rolls at the bottom.
9. The 3 varieties explained here are savoury, but you can make sweet sandwich rolls too. Dried apricot or fresh bananas can be used as the core for example.

Curried Egg Salad Rolls 

1. Boil 3 eggs for 15 minutes. Begin with cold water so the eggs don’t crack and begin counting the time only after the water starts boiling. Peel after the eggs have cooled.
2. Dice half a red onion and fry on low heat with a little oil till the onion is limp.
3. Cut each egg in half and spoon the yolk into a bowl. Mash the yolk with 3T of mayonnaise.
4. Add 0.5t cumin, 0.5t pepper and 2 pinches of salt.
5. Dice the egg white and mix it into the bowl with the onion bits.
6. Cut the crust off and then flatten 4 slices of bread.
7. Spread the egg salad onto the bread as shown. You’ll need to leave one end empty as the whites make the egg salad a bit lumpy.
8. Spread some plain mayonnaise onto the empty part to seal the roll.
9. Roll the bread tightly (from the right in this picture).
10. Slice each roll into 3. Use a gentle sawing motion and don’t press down on the knife.
11. Rest the rolls on a plate with the edge at the bottom for a while before standing them up.

Anchovy Infused Cream Cheese Rolls

1. Allow 200g of cream cheese to warm to room temperature. You can also use a short burst in the microwave oven.
2. Dice the remaining 1/2 red onion into fine bits. The bits should be smaller than for the egg salad rolls, since you’ll be eating them raw. Reserve half of this for the smoked salmon rolls.
3. Peel and cut a cucumber into thin strips as long as your bread. Try to avoid the seedy core as it is less crunchy. Slice more strips than you need as you’ll be using some for the smoked salmon rolls as well.
4. Mash 2t of anchovy in the oil they came in.
5. Mix the anchovy emulsion, 2t maple syrup and half of the onion bits into the soft cream cheese.
6. Cut the crust off and then flatten 4 slices of bread.
7. Spread the anchovy cheese mixture onto the bread. Add a few cucumber strips as shown. Be sure to leave one end empty.
8. Roll the bread tightly (from the left in this picture). Slice each roll, following the instructions as per above.

Smoked Salmon Avocado Rolls

1. Cut the smoked salmon into long strips and marinate with a little bit of oil, some black pepper and dill weed.
2. Mix the remaining diced raw onion with 150g of guacamole or avocado dip. Avocado is soft even when cold so there is no need to let it warm up.
3. Cut the crust off and then flatten 4 slices of bread.
4. Spread the guacamole evenly onto your bread.
5. Arrange pieces of smoked salmon with a few cucumber strips on one end as shown.
6. Roll the bread tightly using the salmon as the core.
7. Slice each roll, following the instructions as per before.

 

 

The Professional Look 

1. Even the best made sandwich rolls following all the rules of sandwich rolling might unroll a bit at the loose end.
2. One way to prevent this is to apply a few bands of Nori (Japanese dried processed seaweed) before you cut your rolls as shown below. All you need to stick the ends of the Nori strips to each other is a dab of water. You can see the final result of banding in the photo right at the top.
3. You can also cover the entire roll with Nori to create sandwich sushi, as shown on the right.
4. All the your rolls will look alike if you cut them the same way. Slicing the rolls diagonally will give some variation to your sandwich rolls. This will help your guests distinguish between the different varieties that you made.
5. Yellow bread is another option for differentiation.
6. You can also give some colour to your sandwiches by dusting (the outside surface, and do this before you apply the spread) them with some fine coloured spices. Paprika for example will result in a light orangey coat.

 

 

Soya Sauce Braised Chicken

(serves 4)
Braising in soya sauce is one of the most basic Chinese cooking styles. My recipe is slightly modernized but its essentially the same Chicken In Soya Sauce that my mother used to cook for me when I was young. My ‘trick’ is to cook the chicken for only a short amount of time but have it soak in the braising liquid for a long time. The result is chicken that is really tender but still tasty. Its a great for to cook chicken if you don’t have an oven.    

Ingredients

1. Chicken Leg with Thigh (4)
2. Dark Soya Sauce (1/4 cup)
3. Chinese Wine (1/4 cup)
4. Onion (1)
5. Maple Syrup
6. Five Spice Powder
7. Nutmeg
8. Black Pepper

Optional Ingredients in photo

1. Potatoes
2. Bok Choi
3. Egg
4. Konnyaku Vermicelli (aka Shirataki)

Preparation 

1. Defrost the chicken completely and pad dry with kitchen towels. Trim off any visible chunks of fat on the the thigh with a pair of scissors. The skin tends to shrink so leave any excess skin on.
2. Marinate the chicken in 4T of maple syrup.
3. Prepare your optional ingredients (see notes below) at this stage. If they require more than 7 minutes of cooking time, par-boil them for a while, otherwise, just cut them to the right size.
4. Next, cut an onion into thick rings. Choose a pot which the chicken will fit snugly in a single layer. Stir fry the onions in the pot with 3T of vegetable oil over a very low flame.
5. After the onion becomes soft and starts to caramelize, this will take some time, mix 1/4 cup dark soya sauce, 1/4 cup Chinese wine with 1 cup water and add this to the pot.
6. Turn up the heat and bring to a strong boil. Add 1 heaped T of sugar, 1T five spice powder, 1T nutmeg and 1T black pepper.
7. Arrange the chicken legs nicely into the boiling pot upside down and pour in all the left over maple syrup marinade. Top up with the optional ingredients to bring up the level of the liquid. Ensure the chicken is fully submerged. The vegetables don’t need to be completely covered as the liquid will be splashing about as it boils.
8. Boil the chicken for exactly seven minutes. Leave the pot uncovered so the liquid can thicken and place the cover on only for the last 30 seconds. After turning the fire off, leave the pot covered for several hours, preferably overnight. This is the part where the flavour soaks into the chicken.
9. You don’t want the meat to be overcooked, so remove the chicken first when reheating. When the braising liquid comes to a boil, turn the heat off before putting the chicken legs back in the pot. Give the chicken 5 min to warm up before serving.

Notes

• You can swap in or add all kinds of other flavours to the soya sauce at step 6 depending on your preference, for example ginger slices, cinnamon, cloves.
• There are many optional ingredients you can add to the pot with your chicken, just remember they must be of a type that does not adsorb too much flavour. For the photo I used potatoes, bok choy and shirataki, a yam based vermicelli which is already mostly water. Other possible options are chestnuts, yam and any kind of leafy vegetables.
• If you don’t have Chinese wine, try sherry. My favourite for this recipe is actually sake. Do not skip the alcohol as it is needed to mellow out the soya sauce. It will evaporate anyway.
• If you are using chicken breast meat, consider brining it first.
• There will be lots of chicken-flavoured braising liquid left over. It is very useful. You can use it to braise additional vegetables that cannot be left in the braising liquid overnight, like eggplant, carrots, mushrooms. You can also use them to marinate boiled eggs (as in picture), as a BBQ marinade, to fry noodles etc. If you strain the liquid before storing it in an air-tight container in the fridge, it can easily last a fortnight (it should congeal into a gel).  

 

Crab and Cheese Faux Soufflé

(serves 6)
This is not a real soufflé as it uses what I call the french toast method, but it is permissible for a savoury dish and it certainly tastes as good as any traditional soufflé made from beaten egg-white. Within each ramekin, there’ll be that heavenly combination of crab meat and 3 different cheeses, melded into a fluffy body of bread and egg; sort of like crab gratin meets bread and butter pudding, only lighter.    

Ingredients

1. Canned Crab Meat (300g)
2. Capsicum (1)
3. Onion (1/2)
4. Diced Bread (4 cups)
5. Cream (1 cup)
6. Milk (1 cup)
7. Eggs (3)
8. Parmigiano Reggiano (40g)
9. Cheddar (80g)
10. Brie (120g)
11. Dillweed 
12. Cognac

Preparation

1. Drain the crab meat and then soak it in a blend of 1/2 cup water and 2T brandy. Make sure you loosen the packed meat so the brandy can permeate faster.
2. In the meanwhile, julienne half an onion and one capsicum (without the seeds). Dice slices of soft crustless bread until you end up with four cups of loosely packed cubes of bread.
3. Grate the parmigiano and cheddar. You can mix them together. Dice the Brie but keep it in the fridge to maintain its hardness.
4. Using a large pan, stir-fry the onion pieces on low heat with a knob of butter till they become limp. Turn up the heat, add a second knob of butter together with the capsicum bits. Stir-fry for one further minute.
5. Drain the crab meat (the second time) and add this to the pan. Continue stir-frying for 3 minutes, and then turn off the heat.
6. Add a blend of 1/4 cup warm water and 1T brandy, then mix well. Add the diced bread to the frying pan and mix until they sponge up all the liquid. Sprinkle on the grated cheese, 1T of dillweed and 1t of pepper.
7. Distribute half the pan’s contents evenly into 6 ramekins. There is no need to brush the inside of the ramekins with butter, this soufflé does not stick. Add the brie piece by piece to ensure even distrubution; they have a tendency to clump together. Top up with the remaining contents of the pan.
8. Mix half a cup of cream, 0.5t of sugar and three eggs in a large bowl.
9. In a pot, heat to almost boiling another half cup of the cream and 2/3 cups of milk. Slowly pour this hot half & half into the bowl with the eggs, stirring all the time to make sure the egg doesn’t get cooked. Pour the hot egg mixture into the ramekins and leave to settle for at least half an hour.
10. Preheat the oven to 180^oC (350^oF) and bake your soufflés for about 20 minutes. You can see them rise, so its not too dificult to know when they are done.

Notes

• I mostly use canned crab meat, as its most convenient. Raw frozen (but thawed) crab meat will also work. If you happen to be using boiled fresh crab meat you can skip the soaking in step 1.
• I typically add a can of crab roe paste in step 5 to amp up the crab flavour. This is canned by a Korean company called YDK. I didn’t mention this in the main recipe as some people may not be able to find it.
• I would use either red or orange capsicum (bell pepper). The yellow and green ones do go as well with the soufflé visually and they have a stronger taste. 
• If this recipe turned out nicely for you, you may want to check out this similar dish, my earlier liver pate souffle recipe.

 

What is Kaya?

 

         1. Hainanese Kaya        2. Nonya Kaya(Home)      3. Nonya Kaya(Store)        4. Hybrid Kaya

Kaya is a custard made with coconut milk that is popular in Singapore and Malaysia. Like regular jam, it is most often used as a bread spread (its technically not a jam since it is not made from fruit) at breakfast and afternoon tea. Because of its sweet taste, Kaya is also used as an ingredient is various local desserts in Southeast Asia from Thailand to Indonesian. If you are from outside the region, think of it as something like creme brulee in a bottle.

The recipe for making kaya varies from household to household but typically involves cooking a mixture of 10 eggs, 500g of sugar and 500 ml of coconut milk over a double boiler, stirring frequently. Its pretty much the same as making a sabayon or custard, except you stand there cooking and stirring for a very, very long time.

There are two main types of Kaya. The more original variety is Hainanese Kaya (bottle No.1), Hainan being a large island of China. Many Hainanese ventured into Southeast Asia during the hey day of the British Empire. A lot of them worked as cooks (and tailors) in commonwealth cities and aboard British merchant ships where they encounted a thing called jam on toast. Over time, they invented their own ‘jam’, which became Kaya. That’s the reason you won’t find Kaya (or Hainanese Chicken Rice or Hainanese Pork Chop to name a few more examples) anywhere in Hainan today, they were invented by overseas Hainanese. The term Kaya was probably coined by the Malays, who refer to it as Seri Kaya. Hainanese Kaya is made with brown sugar which results in its distinct orangy colour. Some modern commercial formulations use honey instead.

There is another version of Kaya that is green; this is called Nonya Kaya (bottle No.2). How did this originate? Its another complicated story, also related to the Chinese migrants. When early Chinese migrants inter-married with the locals in Malaysia, they formed a sub-community called the Nonya. The Nonya add pandan leaves to a lot of their cuisine and when they learnt to make Kaya, they also added pandan to that. Their varierty of Kaya uses white sugar, but compensates for the loss of the caramelized taste by adding the juice from pandan leaves. This gives Nonya Kaya its unique flavour and fragrance. Commercially, food dye is added to Nonya Kaya (bottle No.3) to give it a darker green colour. Nowadays you can also get a hybrid Kaya (bottle No.4) that is made with both brown sugar and pandan leaves.

Besides spreading it on toast, how else can Kaya be used? Being very sweet, Kaya goes very well with salted butter and you can use it in place of syrup or icing sugar on pancakes, waffles and french toast. Kaya also works well as a filling in a Danish type pastry (for example you could replace the sesame paste of my Sesame Swirl Puffs with Kaya). Finally you can experiment with Kaya in those savoury dishes that require a touch of sweetness, such as in pan fried foie gras.

 

Homemade Dill Mayonnaise

(makes 2 cups)
There is a world of difference between homemade mayonnaise and store-bought mayonnaise, a difference anyone, even children can taste. Homemade mayonnaise is a bit more yellow because of the egg yolks so that’s how you can tell immediately its not off-the-shelf. But when you taste it, that’s when the quality comes through. Its richer, fluffier and creamier all at the same time. Its really easy to make with simple ingredients. Try it once and there’s no turning back.   

Ingredients

1. Eggs (3)
2. Vegetable Oil (1-1/4 cup)
3. Dijon Mustard (1t)
4. Dill Weed (2T)
5. Lemon (1/2)

Preparation 

1. Take 3 eggs out of the fridge two hours ahead to let them warm to room temperature.
2. Seperate the yolks into the mixing container. You won’t be using the whites. Add 1t of dijon mustard and the strained juice of half a lemon.
3. Beat the mixture till it is well mixed. I use a hand-held electric blender in a tall clear tumbler but you can do it by hand if you want to.
4. Measure 1 and 1/4 cup of vegetable oil into a pitcher. Continue blending and add the oil a little at a time. You must add the oil very very slowly at first. If the oil looks seperated from the mixture, you are adding it too fast. When half the oil has been incorporated into the mixture, you can pour the rest in a bit faster.
5. When the mayonnaise starts to stiffen, add 1t salt and 1t pepper. Beat/Blend at high speed to bring the mayonnaise up to the right consistency. Don’t over do it or the oil will seperate again.
6. Spoon the mayonnaise into your intended storage container. Mix in 2T of dill weed using a spoon. Cover with cling film that is pushed down to evacuate all the air and refrigerate.
7. Dill is good with seafood. If you don’t like dill weed, here are some other choices for flavouring your mayonnaise:
   1. GARLIC crushed (= Aioli, not Rouille)… good on bread with bouillabaisse 
   2. ANCHIOVIES in oil… perfect for schnitzels
   3. HONEY and more mustard… chicken nugget dip
   4. CUMIN… also nice with crab cakes, and boiled eggs
   5. PESTO… a bold flavour for meat sandwiches
   6. SHALLOTS minced and fried… great for poached fish
   7. or refer to my earlier Mayonnaise Glazed Sole recipe

Notes

• The egg yolks are left uncooked, that’s the secret to the natural taste and texture. Fresh eggs would be best but if not, make sure you bought the eggs less than a week ago. If the yolk sac has begun to thicken or turn orange, your egg has expired. 
• Since you are not pasturizing any of your ingredients like the food companies, this will not keep as long as bottled mayo. That’s the one downside of homemade mayonnaise. Make sure all utensils and equipment touching the mayonnaise, and your hands, are spanking clean.
• This is one of those times you should not use olive oil because it has a strong taste. I usually use canola oil for this, but if you have concerns over erucic acid, use alternatives like sunflower seed or soyabean oil.
• If you are using an electrical blending appliance, make sure it is the type that does not need the cover to be on when its operating or you will have to open and close it 100x.

 

Bread and Butter Pudding

(serves 10)
One of my absolute favourites, buttered bread soaked and then baked in custard. In a contest between Bread and Butter Pudding and French Toast, we see one of the rare instances where British cuisine triumphs. A great dessert made from simple ingredients, that can be made before hand, that can be made in large quantities with little effort, that can be eaten hot or cold; What more could anyone ask for?      

Ingredients

1. Milk (800ml)
2. Eggs (6)
3. Butter (80g)
4. Bread (1 loaf)
5. Raisins (1/2 cup)
6. Sugar (1/2 cup)
7. Nutmeg
8. Cinnamon
9. Rum

Pre-preparation 

1. A day before, slice your loaf into 3/4 inch slices. You can’t use pre-sliced bread as the slices are too thin.
2. Next we do the ‘test fit’. Pick a shallow pyrex dish than can hold at least 10 cups. Arrange the slices once in the bakeware so you know exactly how many slices you’ll be needing. Overlap the slices like a stack of fallen dominoes and use a left right arrangement, as shown in the photo below.
3. Leave the bread in the fridge to dry out the bread, with or without the dish.
4. Soak 1/2 cup of raisins in 3T of rum.

Preparation

1. Its now one day later; spread butter on one side of each slice of bread. Use salted butter as a bit savoury taste is essential. Sprinkle nutmeg and cinnamon on the buttered side of the bread. Be generous with the butter, nutmeg and cinnamon as they are what gives flavour to the pudding.
2. Arrange the buttered bread in the pyrex, the same way as before. Scatter 3/4 of the raisins between the slices of bread.
3. Lightly beat 4 eggs and 2 egg yolks with half a cup of sugar in a mixing bowl. Stir in 800ml of milk and any of the rum not soaked up by the raisins. Put the whole mixture through a fine strainer to remove strands of albumin.
4. Pour the strained mixture into the pyrex. The bread will float even when its wet (ever feed swans in a pond?) but their arrangement will make sure only a small amount of each piece sticks out. If you ignored me and arranged them like a brick wall, some pieces will be completely free floating now. If you ignored me and used a deep baking dish, all the bread will gather at the top now.
5. Let the bread soak for half an hour. You will need to gently push the bread (with your palm) down once in a while so they become totally submerged. Even though they float, the idea is to make sure the portions above the custard are soaked as well. If you ignored me and used thin pre-sliced bread, the bread will begin to fall apart now.
6. Preheat your oven to 150^oC (300^oF).
7. After the soaking is done, sprinkle the remaining raisins and 1T of sugar on the surface. Place uncovered into the oven and bake for about 40 minutes.
8. The bread will eventually be seen to puff up and this is a sign the pudding is close to being done. Wait a while more and the bread should begin to brown nicely, that is when the pudding can come out. Allow the pudding to stand for a few hours before serving.

Notes

• Glazing the pudding is a nice extra touch and a chance to add an extra layer of flavour. When the bread puffs, this is the signal for you to brush on a layer of golden syrup, mapel syrup, marmalade etc. Place back into the oven after brushing on the glazing of course.
• The best bread to use is supposedly brioche, i.e. a bread with a high egg and milk content. If you are unsure, this just means any bread that is yellow. Any bread that is tough or is made from whole grain will not work.
• If you wish to serve the pudding warm, you still need to allow it to cool before you reheat it. I would normally serve warm B&B pudding with a vanilla custard sauce (made easily from custard powder). 
• Some people swear that panettone, left over from christmas, is the best bread to use but i have never tried this. It helps of course that panettone conveniently has soaked raisins embedded in it to start with.

 

Runny Yolk Boiled Eggs

(serves 4)
Half a boiled egg is perfect as an amuse-bouche or hors d’oeuvre. Its easy to prepare and can be cooked ahead of time. To avoid the powdery taste of fully cooked yolk, many recipes simply scoop the yolk out and mix it with something creamy like mayonnaise but I prefer the more natural solution, which is to have the yolk still runny after the white has cooked. In Japan, where the practice of eating Ramen with molten yolk eggs was developed, this type of egg is called Ajitsuke Tamago or just plain Ajitama for short.

 

Ingredients

1. Eggs (4)
2. Soya Sauce
3. Chinese Cooking Wine
4. Vinegar
5. a Drawing Pin

Optional Ingredients

1. Garlic (3 cloves)
2. Smoked Salmon (25g)

Preparation
The first thing anyone learns about boiling eggs is to put cold water in the pot with the eggs to prevent them from cracking and leaking. This golden rule does not hold here as timing is absolutely crucial in having the yolk runny and white solid. Not to worry, there is a trick to that.

1. Store your eggs in the fridge first and then submerge them in some tap water for 5 minutes to bring the temperature of the shell up but allow the yolk to stay cold.  A fresh egg will sink completely in water. If part of an egg floats above the water surface that means an air pocket has built up inside and it is a few weeks old – you may want to cook that egg fully. Also an air pocket means part of the boiled egg will be flat and the yolk will end up off-centre.
2. Next heat a pot of water, adding a T of vinegar. Make sure you have sufficient water to cover the eggs.
3. Using a drawing pin, punch a small hole at the base (the wider end) of the each egg. This will serve to relieve stress on the shell and prevent cracking since you are putting the eggs directly into boiling water.
4. When the water is boiling strongly, lower the eggs into the boling water. If the water stops boiling momentarily after you put the eggs in, you are using too little water. Simmer from 6 minutes for medium sized eggs to 7 minutes for XL sized eggs. Use a wire mesh ladle so you can put the eggs in and take them out all at the same time.
5. As the eggs are simmering, prepare a bowl of iced water. Once the eggs are ‘done’ transfer them immediately to the iced water to prevent further cooking.
6. After the eggs have cooled sufficiently, and it is best to leave them in the fridge for a while, tap them over their entire surface to fully crack the shells. As the eggs are cold, the egg itself should have shrunk enough to detach itself from the shell membrane and this will help you to avoid damaging the eggs’ surface as you peel them.
7. Mix 4T soya sauce, 2T Chinese Cooking Wine and 1t of sugar in the smallest container you have that can house the eggs without stacking them.  Top off with water, stir and place the eggs in, making sure they are fully submerged. Cover with clear film and refrigerate for a few hours, or overnight if possible. After the eggs are stained, they will retain some taste from the marinade.
8. Near the time of dining, slice each egg into two, and place a few drops of the marinade onto the yolk to impart some taste to them.

Optional (i.e. if not eating with Ramen)

1. While you are letting the eggs warm to room temperature, peel and slice three cloves of garlic as finely as you can and pan fry them in a dash of oil till they are golden.
2. Cut a slice of smoked salmon into tiny squares.
3. Use them both as condiments for your egg as shown above.

Notes

• This type of egg, that is to say Ajitama, is served with many types of Ramen.
• If you happen to be making Chashu for Ramen you can use the stewing liquid as the marinade instead of making it from scratch. The soya component of the marinade can also be replaced with things like olive tapenade, tea leaves or mashed anchovy.
• If you want to use a zip-loc bag to marinate the eggs in, make sure the bag is kept in a bowl the entire time.  When you lift the bag without a bowl, its narrow base can squeeze the eggs and cause ruptures, especially if you are making many eggs at once.
• The iced water is essential. Instant cooling will help ensure that your eggs are cooked to the correct degree each time. Besides, slow cooling results in a grey coating on the yolk which we’d like to avoid.
• The purpose of the vinegar is to coagulate any egg white that escapes through the tiny holes you punched in the egg shells.
• The boiled egg is versatile. Other than the garlic/smoked salmon condiment combo suggested, you can try a wide variety of savoury alternatives like caviar, salmon roe, crispy fried bits of Iberico ham etc.