laocook

Whew! I finally got a few minutes to sit down and update the site.

I expected the summer to be busy, but what I didn’t expect was how busy it would be! Proves we must be doing something right if the restaurant is fully booked every night.

Apart from serving dinners we have also been engaged in other activities. One such recent activity was an internal Cooking Competition between the hotel cooks. The idea behind this event was to bring everyone from the various kitchens closer, to build spirit and comradeship. Even though its a competition, everyone helped one another with ideas and preparation. The six judges were chosen from the various Heads of Department throughout the hotel resort.

The competition was based on two randomly chosen ingredients, which needed to be represented as  dual protagonists within a single dish.

The ingredients for this event were Chicken Breast and Garden Peas.

I was impressed and delighted that two members of the A-Team took both FIRST and SECOND place!

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Kittirat´s entry took the top spot.

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Homemade Pea Pasta, Countryside Chicken Breast, Ceps, Peas and Parmesan.

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Khamhoung took the Silver medal.

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New “Khao Mun Gai” with Fresh Pea Puree.

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Khamhoung cooked his corn-fed chicken crown “sous vide” before removing the breast meat. The rice is cooked with the chicken fat and stock. The stock was reduced to a Consommé and served separately.

Congratulations to all the cooks who entered!

Talking about corn-fed chicken, I have been using it on my Tapas menu, in the guise of Larb Gai.

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It is one of the tapas that is frequently ordered and has remained on the small menu for quite some time.

Another tapas is currently being tried and tested and should feature when the new menu comes out at the beginning of October.

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Laocook Gyoza.

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Gyozas are also unceremoniously called Pot Stickers. These dumplings are of Chinese origin and are enjoyed throughout Asia, especially in Japan. My ones contain king prawns, spring onion, ginger and seasonings.

They are pan fried until crispy before having some chicken stock added to the pan which is then covered to allow the dumplings to steam, hence providing a soft chewy top texture and crunchy bottom.

Seeing as we live out in the countryside, I don’t have access to any Asian stores where I can pick up a few packets of pre-made Gyoza wrappers, instead I have to make them by hand, which though easy, is quite time consuming in a busy kitchen.

I´ll need some time to make up a massive batch of wrappers before these appear on the menu. Because I have chosen to make these fresh on the day, only 30 dumplings will be filled, that’s 15 tapas per day.

The show goes on every evening, and cold soups served as Amuse Bouche are a great way to start a meal.

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Chilled Clear Tomato and Basil Soup always surprises our guests. They are now served in shot glasses.

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Its not all hard work and no play…. we still find time to party.

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My latest intern Niki gets ready to enjoy an after dinner shot at a recent BBQ.

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The mandatory group photo before we head off to another bar late at night…. Cheers!

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