laocook

I love “Carabineros”, also known as Scarlet Prawns. These giant prawns cost more than Lobsters in restaurants!

In their uncooked state, they are scarlet in colour, (unlike other raw prawns that become orange in colour when cooked), this colour is intensified when cooked. Apart from the incredible flavour, they are prized for their heads.

In Spain, these prawns are served “a la Plancha” (from the iron grill), and a hole is made in the side of the head so that the lovely juices can be eaten with a teaspoon.

I decided to serve ours split though the middle and flash grilled (under a Salamander, cut side up) for 50 seconds with a splash of Shallot Oil.

This way the prawns are not overcooked and still retain their inherent sweetness.

Cooking them very briefly gives them a translucent texture, not raw, yet not cooked.

Second only to the Sea Urchins, Scarlet Prawns are my favourite gift from the sea.

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Rice Paper rolls are a delight to eat. Manly associated with Vietnam, these “fresh” spring rolls can be found all over SE Asia. Hard and wafer thin, they need to be soaked in warm water before you can use them. I normally use vegetables, and sometimes a thin omelette in the stuffing, and the rolls are served with a tangy sweet chilli dip, that is always accompanied with crushed peanuts.

We like to serve these rolls for group bookings, they are light and a welcome start to the meal.

Coriander, ready for use as a garnish.

To make them easier for our diners to eat, we serve the rolls on top of the sauce, as opposed to having the sauce in a dipping bowl (with large groups, you don’t have time to explain to everyone “how to eat” the dish).

We used Green Tea Soba noodles in the filling because Soba Noodles are best eaten cold, and it seemed a natural partnership. ;)

Using Jerez Vinegar (Sherry Vinegar) and Fish Sauce to cut the sweet sauce really gave it a boost. Refreshing, Crunchy (raw carrots and cucumber), Chewy (Rice paper and Soba Noodles), Tangy and Sweet (the sauce), what else can you ask for in a dish? (okay, we added copious amounts of chillies and garlic in the Staff dinner versions).

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To finish the group dinner, we prepared Pastry Chef Akiyama´s Iced Vacherin (meringue crusted cream with red fruits).

The Red Fruit Sauce is made up of Wild Strawberries, Raspberries, Blackcurrents, Redcurrents and Cherries. A Reduction of Orange Juice added a sweet citrus kick to accompany the iced dessert.

When you are feeling down or tired, there are a few dishes that can perk you up, and make you feel warm and better.

“Khao Pe Ek” when translated means “Wet Rice”, and refers to a rice based soup. The starch content of the rice makes the soup naturally thicker than a regular broth, (Potatoes have the same effect in Country Soup).

When in Laos you can enjoy a traditional “Khao Pe Ek”, served with chopped Coriander, Roasted Chill Flakes and a whole array of other condiments. The dish is very wholesome and nourishing.

Then you have “Khao Pe Ek Sén“, when translated means “Wet Rice Noodles”. Akin to Japanese Udon Noodles, these are noodles made from a mixture of Rice Flour and Tapioc Starch, and can be found in the Morning Market, poached in a Chicken or Pork Stock.

These Noodles have a chewy yet giving texture and are served in a broth that has been thickened by the flour from the noodles (flour is used to keep them from sticking before being cooked).

Being miles from any street or market vendor in the Morning Market, we decided to make our own.

No, it is not a White Snake! ;)

After an amount of pulling, Sous Chef Khamsene rolls out the noodles to a thickness of about 5cm.

These will now be cut in to noodle/pasta like threads.

Now they only need a few minutes poaching in our stock, then they are ready to be served.

For our Amuse Bouche we used a lightly seasoned double cooked Chicken Stock, and shredded the chicken meat and added a tiny amount of Garlic Oil.

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Khamsene is now getting ready for his holidays, a very welcome and deserved two months back home with his family.

One of our new additions to the menu is “Ping Gai”, which we serve with our Laotian Style Tomato Chutney, and Sticky Rice (how much more LAO can you get!) :)

Our diners marvel at the novelty of Sticky Rice, which they use to enthusiastically mop up the Tomato Chutney, much like Europeans use bread to “clean” the dish (we don´t serve bread at ASIA).

Using Chicken Thigh, we have a good ratio of fat to meat, which has been marinated in our special mix. The meat remains tender after enduring a fierce heat, and the Tomato Chutney gives it an added smokey aroma.

I guess that having “Ping Gai” on my fixed menu means a turn in direction of my “train of thought”. It is an old dish, much loved by the young and old Lao. For me it evokes memories of food served at family gatherings, especially for those living abroad, who seem to cook “street foods” at these events, and perhaps “miss home”.

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The Laocook Team has always missed those who have passed through our doors, whether the person in question is a Cook or a member of the Service Team.

We have always been a “family”, and like most families, there are members that “fly away from the nest”.

So, it was great to see Megumi again. After leaving us in April 2006, she and her husband and now Head Chef Kenji have traveled the world and are now preparing for a life in Bangkok.

Megumi paid a special visit to the Laocook Team before she sets off for the far east again.

Once again, the entire Laocook Team wish her and Kenji the best.

Though Oysters are preferred during the latter quarter of the year, Spain has many types of Oysters that are available all year round.

These Oysters can have a stronger after-taste than their French counterparts. They come in all shapes and sizes (though the biggest I have seen during my travels are from Thailand, the size of my hand, though they have a much softer taste).

I was recently asked to come up with a Starter dish for a new cook book (well, the hotel produced 3 dishes, one Starter, by moi, one Main Course and Dessert by my fellow Chefs Miguel and Akiyama).

I chose Oysters because I am very fond of them, and will eat them whenever I get the chance. :)

Usually I just drip some Olive Oil, a pinch of Black Pepper and just a small amount of Lemon Juice on to them (I find the Shallot Vinaigrette normally served with Oysters a little too acid for my taste (a sign of the restaurant using cheap vinegar)).

My way of eating Oysters may seem weird at first, but when you try it, you´ll love it. :)

So here is the contradiction! :shock: Why have I added many different stronger flavours to my “Trilogy of Oyst3rs” (it´s not a “typo” Trilogy of “Osyt3rs” geddit). Well, the answer is because as said earlier, Spanish Oysters sometimes have a stronger taste, which some people love, but in my opinion need a little help (the Oysters, not the people).

A different characteristic for each mouthful, that is my aim. Being careful not to overpower their natural taste, but at the same time, “enhance” the taste that Mother Nature has given us. To paraphrase the great(est) Chef Marco Pierre White;

“Mother Nature is the True Artist, we are just the technicians”.

Part I. Salmon & Sturgeon.

A little Pure Extra Virgin Olive Oil, White Pepper and Lemon Juice is mixed before being “brushed” on to the Oyster.

Salmon Roe and Beluga Caviar is delicately placed on top. As with entire the threesome, this morsel must be devoured in one go, that way all the flavours will “marry” on the palate.

Part II. Onion & Tangerine.

After the lucid taste of the fish eggs, now we have a more “Tangy” taste.

Tangerine Juice is reduced and perked up with some Lime Juice. Finely chopped Onion lends it a welcome pungent aroma. Caster Sugar plays an important role here, finely balancing the strong onion-taste without ridding it of the sour-sweet affection of the Tangerine and Lime.

Part III.”Nam Pla” Oysters.

I took the Laocook recipe of “New Style Goong Che Nam Pla” , and incorperated it with this final mouthful. Coriander Oil gives it it´s “Extra-Body”. This is the last and strongest of the trio, and perhaps my favorite (which means that I could eat it all day and night…. )

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Meanwhile, the rest of the Team are in the main kitchen getting ready for Service.

Junior is getting his Stock ready.

Off cuts of Beef, Garlic and Herbs will be roasted at 190º then boiled for hours, then strained, then reduced and will form a part of our Sauce Bases. It takes quite a while, but patience is repaid by a fully flavoured Sauce Base.

Sous Chef, Khamsene gets our Beef ready for our Beef with Orange Vinegar.

Tender cuts of Beef Lomo (Sirloin) will be frozen for 45 minutes before being cut in to thin strips, then drenched in Corn Flour before being used in our Beef with Orange Vinegar.

Khamhoung is semi-braising our Pollitos (Baby Chicken) in a mixture of Soy Sauce, Sugar and Roasted Spices.

These will later be deboned, then deep-fried and used for a special “Volcano Chicken”, which will be served on a hot plate and flambéed (in the restaurant) with a mixture of Mirin, Jerez Brandy and Anise.

Kill it, Cook it, Eat it, is a programme by BBC Three.

Basically, the series is about the production of meats, the slaughter, cooking and eating of it. However, what sets it apart is that it is filmed around an Abattoir. Yes, thats right!. They built a TV studio around an Abattior, installed a kitchen, and an audience, who see the food moving on four legs, being killed, then prepared for eating. Lovely jubbly!

Having been witness to many “Larb Luert Phet”, yep, “Fresh Duck Blood Larb” :) I was intrigued by this programme.

Somebody had kindly sent me the episode featuring Suckling Pigs (a misnomer if I ever heard one, they should be called Sucking Pigs, c´mon BBC, get it together!).

I found the episode interesting, and will no doubt look for other episodes which, I am told feature Milk Fed Lamb, Kid Goat and Veal to name a few. (what a menu!) ;)

The show shows us how the pigs are looked after, scenes of the little ones playing around in the hay, to the reality of the Abattior. Each step is controlled by the appropriate authorities, to make sure that the animals are well cared for, unstressed and relaxed before they are dispatched to “Piggy Heaven”.

The audience is made up of various people, invitees, to stimulate conversation. To keep the audince at home glued to the TV, they also showed clips of girls crying at the sight of the pigs being “slit”. Should make them think twice about what they buy in the Supermarkets I guess.

Some of the scenes are graphic, in a sense that if you don´t want to see things being killed, look away (and no use renting Rambo I, II, III on DVD either, okay, if you are too young to know who Rambo was (is), just think of AVP).

The dinner in question is stunned before being killed.

Prongs to the side of the head, stun the animal . Then it is moved on to the Piggy Reaper himself.

I gather that this is the part that “people may find gruesome”. You see, the stunned animal is now dispatched, through the neck, and as the blood spills out, the animal keeps on twitching, almost like struggling.

The piglet is then placed in to hot water, so that the bristles will be easier to remove. Timing has to be right,they dont want to”cook” the animal in the hot water.

The innards are now removed. The knife work here is amazing to watch. Most of the innards are discarded (after being checked by the authorities to make sure that the animal was disease free (the whole process is watched by the relevant authorities, who could stop it at anytime they feel that something is not right).

Some of the samples are given to the in-house Butcher, who describes the various cuts etc… Very professional.

One of the samples was given to the in-house Chef. Whole Roast Piglet. Yummy! :)

After interviewing some members of the audience (whom had mixed feelings), the programme switched to a report from Segovia, the home of Spanish Cooked Sucking Pork.

“Cochinillo de Segovia” (Segovian Baby Pig) is renowned across Spain. The pork is much younger, hence more white (only having fed on its mothers milk). True Segovian Pork has a Quality Mark, and only a few restaurants have a licence sell “Authentic Sergovian Pork”. Even the recipe is controlled, only salt and water, before going in to a specially made oven and cooked for 3 to 4 hours.

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On the whole, it was an interesting programme. Perhaps being a cook, I wasn’t put off by the slaughter, in fact it made me hungry. ;) (Though I don’t normally eat freshly killed animals (apart from fish))

However, I can see what the programme is trying to achieve. Every aspect of the process was handled professionally (I hope it wasn’t only because of the cameras present), and the views of the audience opened debate.

I am now looking forward to the other programmes. Bravo BBC! :)