laocook

A white foam box arrives with holes punctured through the lid.

.

.

The box is heavy, and I can feel movement inside… that signifies…. freshness… Hmmm…

.

.

Live eels. Nice.

.

I´ve always enjoyed eels, they have a firm and tasty flesh. Pots of Jellied Eels are always enjoyed for lunch when I visit my family in the UK. Buying them cooked or smoked is easy, the challenge is to prepare them fresh, and I do enjoy a challenge!

.

.

No photos of the filleting process as it took three of us to do it! One to hold down the head, another to hold the tail and me in the middle passing a short blade through its back from its head to its tail, without cutting through the stomach.

Videos are abound on the web showing deft Japanese cooks doing what took three of us to achieve, and finishing their job within a matter of seconds!

You see, the eels don’t know when to die . Well, that’s not correctly true, they are dead but their bodies keep on moving, or in my case, thrashing around, curling around my arm and generally being a nuisance. That’s why it took three of us! Job done anyway.

.

.

The heads and bones are used for a stock, the innards are used for staff dinner! The Lao never waste food, especially if it tastes this nice!

.

.

Cooked eel, fatty, salty and sweet.

Eel and Foie Gras have a culinary partnership. Spanish chef Martin Berasategui can be credited with one of the most copied dishes involving this unlikely pairing. His original  “Milhoja de Foie, Anguila Ahumada y Manzana Verde Caramelizada” goes by many names and variations. Essentially its a “mille-feuille” of layered foie gras, smoked eel, more foie gras and green apple slices, caramelized by adding some sugar and a few seconds under a blow torch. I have eaten it at more than four different restaurants, some cooks add thin pineapple slices between the foie gras and eel, some substitute the eel for smoked mackerel, some add mango and one cook added goats cheese, the latter tasting very good indeed, a great combination.

Now its my turn.

Staying away from the “Milhojas” presentation, mine is rolled up in sushi rice with a slice of cucumber to give it a slight crunch.

.

.

An army of Foie Gras & Eel Makis are prepared for the Amuse Bouche.

.

.

A dab of sweet sauce made from mirin, soy sauce, ginger, sugar and the eel stock is added at the final moment to give the rolls a sweet kick. Its the same sauce that the eels are brushed with whilst being cooked. Its also served with nuggets of goats cheese because I like the contrast in flavours having tried it before.

.

The cook responsible for rolling the makis is Leon.

.

.

Laotian born Leon is here from across the Atlantic as an intern. As a sushi cook from Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Leon has been in contact with me for a few years and was interested in an internship since 2009. Now he is here, he has quickly made friends and (hopefully) enjoying his time in the kitchens.

Leon is not the only new face in my team.

.

.

Former intern Reka is from Hungary. Last year she completed an internship through her college and fell in love with the kitchen. She impressed us all and was offered a full time job after she completed her studies.

It wasnt only live eels that arrived last week. One of my favourite ingredients of all time landed on my stainless steel table.

.

.

Two tins of 650g Caviar. Hmmm.

Ecologic Spanish Caviar from Granada.

.

.

Before any dish is prepared using the caviar, it has to go through a taste test (wink, wink).

.

.

It took a few “tests” to convince me (wink, wink, wink)!!

The two tins of caviar where ordered for a special tasting menu featuring various dishes from my kitchen and from my sous chefs kitchen. An expensive meal, but well worth it.

Dishes served included:

• “Royal Oyster”, sour cream and shallots served under a semi-jellied oyster, topped with caviar.
• “Pomme Moscovite“, originally a Russian dish made from pototes and caviar.
• “Regal egg”, creamy sous vide scrambled egg topped with caviar served in the egg shell.
• “Smoked Sturgeon”, smoked fillet of sturgeon with lime dressing and caviar.
• “Sturgeon Confit”, slow cooked sturgeon in olive oil with caviar and herb vinaigrette.

.

Though I enjoyed making and tasting these sublime dishes, my favourite is Caviar served as is.

.

.

I´d think you´d agree.

.

.

.

Three Cheeses walked in to a crowded bar. The bar went silent.

“Why has everyone gone quiet?”, asked the new barman.

The manager called him over and whispered in his ear, “Everyone knows the Cheeses, don’t mess with them, they´re NUTS!“….

Okay, okay, its a bad joke, but I couldn’t think of another way to start this post, and when I came up with the punchline, I had a few laughs myself…

Cheese. Made from nuts. Nut Cheese. They´re NUTS! (lol again).

Ok, seriously though, they are made from Cashew Nuts.

On a recent trip to London I was introduced to a vegan restaurant by my brother. I was pessimistic at first as I am known for my love of big juicy bloody stakes as well as my unsavoury comments to my waiting staff when asked to cook something vegetarian out of the blue.

Ignorantly I had always thought that vegetarian restaurants only served salads, pastas and grilled vegetables. Even more ignorantly I thought that a vegan restaurant would only serve chickpeas and spinach.

I was so, so wrong. Not only was I pleasantly surprised and pleased with the gourmet meal, it was a real culinary eye opener. I have no intention about becoming a vegetarian or vegan, but good food should be shared.

Of the many starting dishes on offer was the Cheese Tasting Plate.

“Nothing vegan about this dish”, I started to think to myself, a bit confused. It was only when I was told that the selection of cheeses were in fact Cashew Cheeses, made from cashew nuts. (Cashew Nuts, no longer to be only used in Chicken Stir Fries or as salted bar snacks).

They looked like regular cheeses, had the same texture and same tangy creamy taste of cheese made from dairy products. They were so good that I knew that I would be making something similar on my return to Spain. “Good food should be shared”.

.

Cashew Truffle Cheese.

.

The basic recipe for these types of cheeses involves soaking raw cashew nuts in water overnight before straining them and blitzing them with lemon or lime juice and whatever other ingredients you wish to add. Once well binded they can be shaped in cling film and left to firm up in the fridge for a day or two. The taste gets better the longer you leave it, but they can also be eaten straight away.

My first batch was very basic and I only added salt and truffle oil. If I had some real truffles, I would have added them too, plus a few shavings on top.

.

Cashew, Coriander and Tahini Cheese.

.

This one tasted more “herby”. Loads of coriander, garlic and a blob of tahini gave this cheese more body. So good in fact that the testing dish was finished by the tasting staff (without knowing that it was made from cashew nuts!).

.

Cashew Parsley Cheese.

.

In order to get a more creamy texture I added more water to my blender, and also left it running a little longer than the other cheeses. This resulted in a very spreadable creamy cheese, great on toasted bread drizzled with olive oil and crushed nuts.

All in all I am happy about the results and will definitely be making more versions.

I also plan on rolling the cheeses in chopped herbs, adding liquid smoke and drying them out. Should be interesting!

.

Basic Cashew Nut Cheese Recipe.

• 300g Raw Cashew Nuts, soaked in water overnight
• 1 or 2 Cloves of Garlic
• 50ml Water (you may need less or more depending one how creamy you want it)
• 50/60ml Fresh Lemon or Lime Juice (you may need more or less depending on how tangy you want it)
• Pinch of Sea Salt
• Pinch of White pepper
• Other ingredients or herbs of your own choice (fresh herbs such as mint, coriander, dill etc.. should be added towards the end of the recipe , powdered spices can be added at the beginning)
• MSG (only joking, we don’t use added MSG in our kitchens)

.

Method.

1. Drain cashew nuts and rinse.
2. Place in to a good blender with the garlic and blitz until crumbly.
3. Add lemon or lime juice, continue to blitz, stopping the machine now and again to scrape down the sides.
4. Whilst the machine is running add water to reach your desired consistency, a drier cheese will be easier to roll and will set firmer.
5. Season with salt and pepper.
6. Add other ingredients that you have chosen and continue to blitz.
7. Taste and adjust seasonings. Remember that the flavours will develop and merge whilst being stored.
8. For creamy cheese, store in an airtight container, if rolling the cheese, place the mixture on to a damp cheesecloth and hang in the fridge for a few hours or overnight to help firming. Once firm enough to handle place the mixture on to some cling film and roll in to a sausage shape then tie both ends together. Return to the fridge.
9. Eat. Drink. Savour.

.

I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

We must be NUTS!

.

.

.

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!

.

.

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.

.

.

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.

.

.

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”!

.

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!

.

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!

.

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

.

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….

.

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

.

Ingredients:

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

.

.

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

.

.

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.

.

.

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.

.

.

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

.

.

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.

.

.

Chopped white bread is used as the binding agent.

.

.

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.

.

.

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.

.

.

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

.

.

The oozing Foie Gras just melts in your mouth….

.

.

.

.

.

.

Happy New Year! to everyone!.

.

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.

.

.

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.

.

.

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

.

.

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.

.

.

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.

.

.

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

.

.

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!

.

.

.