December 2010
3 posts
Ba Shan (Hunanese food)
You will probably know by now that I have a slightly major obsession with Chinese food, particularly Sichuan and Hunanese. Sichuan has been an obsession that has been easier to indulge in London, with lots of restaurants popping up over the past few years. However, good Hunanese food has been harder to find. Save for Local Friends in Golders Green and Golden Day in Chinatown.
However, I can now...
Dhokla
Out of any Indian regional cuisine, Gujarati, for me, does snacky food like no other. Chaat, pani puri - all amazing. Dhokla is another one I would add to that list. It’s quite hard to describe, save it’s a moreish, spongey snack, flavoured with ginger, chillies and yoghurt, and topped with a rather tasty coating of mustard seeds and curry leaves tempered in oil. Finish off with a...
Making bacon
Bacon with chinese flavourings, in fact. I have cured my own bacon before, and very nice it was too. The only issue being I didn’t use any saltpetre. At the time, I wasn’t bothered about the fact that its absence meant my bacon wasn’t an attractive pinky colour. However, the more I’ve read, the more I’ve realised that that handy kitchen explosive can also guard...