laocook

The absence of updates can be attributed to “not much happening in the kitchens“…

Over the past month (and up until the end of February) we have been catering to groups of international journalist that are at the hotel to attend a launch of a new car by a large motor company. Everyday different journalist arrive for the presentation, to test drive the cars, take photos and make films. Every night dinner is served in the restaurant, every night the food is the same. Its an easy month or so for the cooks!

However culinary mundane it appears, I take great pride that some Laotian dishes are being served day in and day out. The international reporters get to feast upon Larb Gai, Nham Dok, a very spicy Pad Kemou, and a whole host of other Asian treats.

January also saw the time when the Spanish give out their festive presents. On the morning of the 6th, wide eyed children wake to see what The Three Kings have left them. The Three Kings are more famous than Santa, who may leave them a small gesture on the 25th of December, but its the 6th of January that is the most important day for the children….. and adults!

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This year I gave away some homemade sauces. Buying presents is cool, but time consuming, making them yourself not only saves time, its also a pleasure.

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Small jars of homemade Chili Oil made with Spanish Ham. Slightly sweet, salty and spicy, a great accompaniment to any dish. The recipe can be found here.

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Chili Dulce (Sweet Chili Sauce), for all my Spanish friends who cant seem to get enough of it at their local Chinese restaurant. They eat this stuff with “everything”!

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Here is a recipe for something that has absolutely nothing to do with the restaurant. This dish is not served at the hotel, it would cost far too much to produce, plus its huge. Prepare to commit gluttony in the extreme!

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There is no real name for this dish, though it tends to get called the “Vienne Burger” by the other cooks, though I like to refer to it as The Effing Burger!

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But is it really a (Gourmet) Burger, or a Steak Haché on steroids? You decide…

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I do know a few things though, if it was for sale it would need to carry a Health Warning. Vegetarians and Weight Watchers should look away now… Those who would like to sometimes spoil themselves and indulge….read on….

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Its really easy to make and would probably feed two people, but where is the fun in that?

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Ingredients:

• 260g Beef Tenderloin
• 180g Fresh Foie Gras
• 80g Onion
• 25g Blue Cheese
• Slice of White Bread

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Only five simple ingredients to produce a mammoth supercharged unadulterated burger… yey! Burger porn…..

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The beef should be fresh as possible because it will be served rare to medium-rare. It should be cut by hand in to small chunks, but not minced, you want to to retain some texture.

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The Foie Gras should be cold so that it is easily cut, again in to small chunks. I have also been known to add beef fat  to the recipe, if you choose to do that, you will not need so much Foie Gras.

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Onion finely chopped, roughly the same size as the beef chunks.

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Blue Cheese, Stilton is the best, but if you cant get hold of it, any strong blue/green veined cheese will work equally well. Try to get as much of the “moldy part” as possible. Why cheese? Well the flavour it imparts on the burger reminds me of the wonderful Dry Aged Beef steaks that I had in NY and FL.

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Chopped white bread is used as the binding agent.

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Everything goes in to a clean bowl and gets gently kneaded together. No need to overwork the ingredients, you just want them to bind and not become mushy.

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Shape in to a patty. Its important that it should be at least 4cm´s in height. Wrap it up in cling film and place in to the fridge for 30 minutes to firm up, but not for longer otherwise the inside will become too cold.

To cook the burger carefully place it in to a greased hot pan. It will smoke quite a lot so make sure you have sufficient ventilation. When the bottom part is charred and crispy, carefully turn the burger over, being careful not to splash yourself with the fat that the goose liver will have released.

Do not. I repeat. Do not overcook it. If overcooked the Foie Gras will just melt and you´ll be left with a rather fatty soggy mince meat patty.

Once it has cooked, place on to a warm plate (its important to have warm plates) and season with Sea Salt Flakes. Serve. Enjoy. Yield to the pleasure. Get someone else to do the dishes. Be selfish.

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Cutting through the outer crispy charred shell, you´ll be greeted with a smooth luxurious combination of succulent meat and fat.

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The oozing Foie Gras just melts in your mouth….

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Happy New Year! to everyone!.

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It seems like December 2010 just flew past! During the past month I had been busy with the annual Christmas and New Year program at the hotel. The culinary program started on the 24th and finished on the evening of the 1st January 2011. Everyday in one of the five restaurants at the resort, some culinary theme was being offered for the hotel guests.

On Christmas Eve a wonderful dinner was available and on the evening of the 31st, a Black Tie Gala Dinner ushered in the New Year. On the first day of 2011 we offered an extended Gourmet Brunch featuring a Carvery, Sushi Bar, Lobster Paella and a huge Seafood Buffet with Lobster, King Crabs, Spider Crabs, Langoustines etc etc… (Great fun was had preparing the buffet and “Quality Control Tasting” the Crustaceans, in fact, I “tested” an obscene amount of Lobster!!)

Now its time for a little rest before it gets busy again next week……

I also had some time to serve up some Duck and Foie Gras Gyozas, which I enjoy making from scratch. The meat used is from the breast, cooked Sous Vide before being chopped up and mixed with some Ceps. This mixture is then wrapped around a cube of Foie Gras then encased in the wrappers.

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The reason I cooked the breast before hand is because I don’t want to overcook the Foie Gras, which would just melt away. The Gyozas are cooked in a two step procedure, lightly pan fried to obtain a crispy base, then briefly steamed and covered in the same pan, which finishes off the cooking. It doesn’t take long to cook and the Foie Gras is warmed enough to melt in the mouth, not in the wrapper.

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The Gyozas are garnished with some Carrot and Beetroot Pickles, which I think goes well with the richness of the Duck and Liver.

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They are served on top of a Ginger, Soy and Sesame Sauce.

We use a large amount of Foie Gras at the hotel, and most times also serve it as an Amuse Bouche.

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Most times it is used in my terrines, though sometimes I enjoy serving it by itself. Caramelising the top gives the liver a nice crunchy surface and sweetness.

For a few days my Dtom Khem Ravioli made a welcome return to the menu.

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This time the sauce has been more reduced than when it was previously served. This makes it thicker and it sticks to the pasta.

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A small amount of shredded pork is also mixed in with the sauce, making the dish more “meaty”.

The reason why it only returned to the menu for a few days was because it sold out pretty quick! This means that it will surely feature on my new menu!

On behalf of the whole Laocook team, we wish everyone the best for 2011!

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Its been a while since my last update, since then I have enjoyed some holiday time that was spent fishing (or feeding the fish, depends on which way you look at it!), and visiting friends and family in London.

Whilst I have been “chillin´”, there have been some works in the restaurant dining room and kitchen.

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The restaurant is being extended so that we can fit in around 25-30 more diners. The space being converted was our unused terrace.

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The walls have been knocked down and the entire terrace will be covered. These works took place during the day time so that the restaurant could still open during the evening.

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This is the same view as the previous photo. The large windows give us an uninterrupted view of the landscape.

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Now that most of the construction has been completed, the room will be turned over to our interior designers. I will post more photos when the project is completed.

Its not only the restaurant that has had works done, the kitchen got some treatment too.

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The kitchen was closed for a day whilst we had our open window installed/ built.

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We also rearranged the kitchen work tables and fridges and changed the position of the “pass”.

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This opening allows the food to be passed directly in to the dining room, making it much easier for our Service team. It also gives our diners the chance to see their food being prepared.

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The window and rearrangement of the kitchen was completed in one day. Cutting through the wall left the entire dining room (and kitchen) covered in dust, which had to be cleaned up before the evening service!.

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With such a view in to the kitchen, its means no more swearing or throwing a tantrum!

Now that everyone has gotten used to the new-look kitchen, its back to work as usual. Cooking.

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Unwrapping the Autumn Terrine which is made from Foie Gras, Corn Fed Chicken, Iberian Pork Loin, and Sun Dried Tomatoes all held together by Pho Jelly.

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The Lao Pizza. Our Tomato Chutney (“Jeow Mhak Len”) is covered with Lao Sausage meat, chopped Spring Onion tails, a sprinkle of Parmesan and a small drizzle of Sour Cream. The cooks eat three or four of these every night!

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Curry Crisps are ready to be served as a pre-dinner snack.

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These are a great way to start a meal, salty, spicy, sweet and crunchy. Hmmmmm.

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In February 2011, a friend of mine will be taking a cycling challenge to raise money for people with Cerebral Palsy.

Tim Driver will cycle through Laos to Cambodia, more than 700km in just over a week for UK based charity Scope.

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Tim says about the adventure, “The challenge will involve covering 702km (436 mile) in 8 days.  That’s a scary 54 miles a day.  In humid heat.  But it’ll be fun, it’ll be a challenge, and most importantly it’ll raise a good chunk of money for Scope’s work with disabled adults, children and their families.  I hope you’ll help me in reaching my fundraising target.“

“The money raised from my cycle challenge will allow Scope to continue running their vital services which are designed to support disabled people in every aspect of their lives from birth through to adulthood.”

If you would like to show your support for Tim and this important cause please click here.

Good luck to Tim on behalf of the whole Laocook Team!

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