laocook

No doubt you have all seen the (almost iconic) bottles of Sriracha Chilli Sauce in Asian stores and eateries (especially the Phö Houses).

Sriracha Chilli Sauce originates from the Thai coastal town which it is named after (Si Racha), and is now a generic name for the red hot sauce that is much loved in SE Asia and closer to home.

In good old Laocook fashion, we decided to make our own. :)

The main ingredients are Chilli, Garlic, Vinegar (we used Jerez Reserva), Salt and Sugar. We also used a variety of Chillies for our version, the hot Thai Chillies grown in my garden (stored in the freezer), Scotch Bonnet (imported from London), and Spanish Chillies (for the colour).

Like the original, we have used no artificial flavourings or conservatives.

We only made a small batch, which has now finished (seems that all the staff, not only the A-Team enjoy some Chilli Sauce with their lunch…).

;)

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Seeing as our Sushi Bar is at the entrance to the dining room, most of our diners like to start their meal off with a selection of Sushi. We like to offer freshly made up Sushi Platters, that way all the table can sample the various delicacies that we have to offer, and also gives Kuchi a chance to improvise.

Kuchi Sushi. :)

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The other night we got a chance to finish early and decided to head off to a local restaurant (the Spanish eat very late here). When I called the restaurant, the owner and dear friend said he would save us a couple of cuts of Sirloin.

I didn’t think that two cuts would be enough for three of us, that was until they presented the cuts to us for inspection.

No, we are not going to eat the tobacco, its there to show you a size comparison, and yes, the cigarettes belong to me…! :(

There was enough meat for six of us!.

Seeing as there were only three of us (and Suri eats a lot!), we just managed to get through all of the meat, washed down with two and a half bottles of wine….

The meat was cooked at the table on a hot stone, and served very, very rare. :)

An unlikely pair, but well suited together. :)

Marinated Sardines are easy to make and have a wonderful taste. After cleaning them, you don’t have to hang around and search for all the little fish bones as marinading them will make them soft and unnoticeable.

Crispy Chicken skin is a treat. Whenever we roast chicken or make a Ping Gai, the skin is my favourite part. Sometimes I am shocked when people put the skin to one side and don’t eat it, but my friends know me and always offer me their share. :)

When I was younger and used to visit KFC with my school mates, they always had to pay “Chicken Skin Tax!!” ;)

Those were the days….

In our small dish is a velvety soft Pumpkin Puree, Raisins steeped in Yakitori Sauce, Crispy Chicken Skin and half a fillet of Marinated Sardine. It is a lovely combination, best enjoyed with a crisp Chardonnay.

:)

Our Tamarind & Salt Cocktail has four flavours, which are melded together. A thickish Tamarind Pulp is at the bottom of the glass, a few sprinklings of Sea Salt, then a refreshing juice followed by a sweet Pineapple Air.

Tamarind & Salt Cocktail.

The use of the straw allows the diner to sample the above flavours, in reverse order. Firstly, the sour Pulp is sucked up, followed by the saltiness of the Sea Salt, which will sweeten the initial sourness of the Pulp, then comes the refreshing juice, lastly followed by the Pineapple Air. It is meant to be sucked up in one go, and play kind tricks on the palate. :)

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No doubt the best part of an egg is the Yolk. When I eat fried eggs, I always like to leave the Yolk until last!. I love the richness of a runny Yolk.

The thick Red Pepper soup is a Spanish idea. Roasted Red Peppers are skinned and deseeded, before being blitzed with old bread and flavoured with “Reserva” Sherry Vinegar, Garlic, Salt and Extra Virgin Olive Oil.

The Yolk has been separated from the egg white and poached in the oven which has been set at 60º.

Yolk with Red Pepper.

Crushed Pine Kernels with Salt, Chives and Truffle Oil finish this small dish.

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This next dish is a pure indulgence in creaminess.

Ripe Avocado has been blitzed with Lime Juice and Milk to create a thick and heavy cream. The Croutons are made with normal sandwich bread that has been brushed with Shallot Oil and baked in the oven.

The mixture is then spooned on to a small bowl and crowned with Crème Fraîche and Caviar.

Avocado with Caviar.

As it is a very heavy dish, it has to be served in small portions, and anyway, it has to be small because the Caviar is expensive! ;)

It has been a busy week in the kitchens, and we have been hard at work getting some new dishes ready for our Summer “Aharn” Menu.

Shark with Egg.

Wafer thin slices of Shark, Tamarind Sauce and Quail Egg.

The hardest part of this dish is separating the Quail Yolk from the Egg White. Because everything on this dish is raw, we have to use really fresh eggs, which means that the Egg White is more thicker and encases the Yolk, thus making it tricky to separate, (thats why fresh eggs should be used in poaching, the older the egg, the more watery the White will be) especially when working with such small eggs.

Basically, we have to wash the White and Yolk under slow running water, until it separates, without damaging the precious Yolk.

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Tuna with Cheese.

Tastes better than it sounds. ;)

We use Goats Cheese, which has a smooth texture and is not too overpowering. The Chives and sprig of Dill give this small dish a herby aroma. In our first version we used grated Ginger, but we found the ginger flavour too overwhelming.