Archive for January, 2009
Our love affair with Pho continues…
After making the “Pho Gras”, there was enough Oxtail left for making Croquettes.
Pho Oxtail is great for Croquettes. In a reversal of the Pho Gras recipe, we had to leave as much fat as possible on the meat, this would ensure that when the Croquettes were deep fried they would retain a moist interior.
We served them up on a clarified Pho Jelly.
The jelly, which is almost clear is “set” on to plates with a Rocket leaf.
This is a light jelly that has an intense flavour. It was clarified using egg whites that were gently whipped in to the cold stock before being brought to a simmer for a few hours. As the egg whites heat up, they become solid and rise to the top to form a “raft”.
The simmering stock pushes its way up through the raft, which collects all of the “debris”. After a while we are left with a clearer looking stock that still retains all of its flavour.
The cooked Pho Croquette is placed on top of the Jelly.
We open the Croquette before serving so that the customer can see all the lovely and succulent meat inside.
Our recipe for the croquettes is pretty simple. It all depends on the amount of meat that you have.
I am not ashamed to say that I love Foie Gras de Canard. The texture of this duck liver is wonderful. Whether it is flash grilled and seared or served cold as in a terrine, torchon or pâté. Yummy! :) .
I also love Pho.
So it seemed natural to me to put the two together. Like introducing a close friend to another close friend.
“Hello Foie Gras, meet my buddy Harng Gwar”. ;) . (Harng Gwar is what Laotians call Oxtail).
Pho Gras.
Before I set about making this duet of sorts I had to think carefully about how I would wanted the textures to turn out. I knew I wanted it to be served cold, which is okay for the Foie Gras, but I had to be careful with the Oxtail.
I had to make sure that the Oxtail Pho was cooked sufficiently until the meat was very tender and was falling off the bone. I also had to ensure that the stock was seasoned well as the Oxtail would be served cold, serving dishes cold can mute the seasonings.
Hence I had to make a “double cooked” Pho.
During these cold times, a lovely steaming dish of Pho is always welcome.
Pho is a very easy yet complicated and personal dish, especially in a restaurant (unless you go to a place that specialises in Pho).
The easy part is making the Stock (broth), the complicated part is seasoning it, (in Pho restaurants this is normally done by the individual customer when it gets to the table). It seems that everyone has a preferred way to season their bowls.
At our restaurant we like to serve it as an Amuse Bouche. Shredded Oxtail is placed in small bowls, which are then topped with blanched rice noodles.
The Stock is then added, which has already been seasoned, not spicy or sour though, we have to realise that some clients may not like it overly seasoned.
We don´t want to serve too much, after all, its is meant to be a small appetiser to get the taste buds flowing before the actual dinner.
Before it is sent out, more shredded Oxtail is added. The whole dish can be eaten in about three mouthfuls. Lovely. ;) .
We have served “Mini Pho” on various occasions and customers have really taken a shine to it, so we must be doing something right… :) .
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One dish that has always been on the menu is our Satay´s. We have always used pork for our marinated skewers, but you can find them at many Asian restaurants, sometimes with Beef, Chicken and even Seafood.
The basic recipe remains the same, the meat is marinated then grilled and served with either a relish or a peanut based sauce, or both.
Our Satay´s have gone through three presentation changes, but the recipe has always remained the same.
Pork Satay 2005-6.
Our first presentation was simple. The Satay´s were grilled then served on top of the Peanut Sauce. However, we realised that customers would end up having “messy fingers” after eating the Satay, or worse still they would have a “yellow streak” at the both corners of their mouths as they tried to take the final morsel from the skewer.
Therefore we decided to change the presentation and our second version involved removing the skewers to make it easier and tidier to eat.
Pork Satay 2007-8.
On the menu the dish was firstly known as New Style Satay. In order to serve it without the skewers, it was decided to mince the meat before cooking it on metal skewers which would then be removed before the dish was served. (Hoping to make it easier to eat…).
It was served with some pickled Carrot “Noodles” and Shallots, and the Peanut Sauce was passed through a blender, making it more “creamy”.
However, there seemed to be some confusion amongst customers who were used to having the dish served on wooden skewers with a chunky sauce. On one review it said that “the satay was minced and too small“.
This got us thinking that we had to change the name of the dish. Seeing as it resembled a Vietnamese “Nem Nuong” we decided to call it just “Nem”.
I pity the person who has never tasted a fresh (yes, alive) Sea Urchin.
Sea Urchins look like cute balls with spikes. They are available here for only a short time. When the authorities allow, normally during a few days in January or February, I like to don my fishing trousers and head off to the rocks in the sea at the coastal town of Chipiona.
Armed with a fork, a thick pair of waterproof gloves and a very large bucket, all I have to do is lift a large slab of rock and gently prize away my catch with the fork. For the past few years the Sea Urchins have been too small to harvest, but this year I have made up for lost time. :) .
Such is my love for Sea Urchins, they were included in my “Last Meal“.
Inside our prickly friend lies a treasure trove of goodies.
To get to our reward, we only need a pair of scissors and a teaspoon.
Basically we have to cut it in half, trying to avoid pricking ourselves.
A lot of people mistakingly think that he five coral coloured segments are the Roe, however they are not, they are the organs that produce to Roe. Or Gonads.