Yorkshire Pudding 2.0

If you’ve been following this blog you probably have some idea why there’s a 2.0 in the title. Or should it be 1.1?

My first attempt at making Yorkshire pudding wasn’t a great success. But judging from my son polishing off that first batch like there’s no tomorrow, it wasn’t a complete failure either. I have since tried various other recipes and have finally found one I am happy with.

Give honour to where honour is due. The recipe below was inspired by the English episode of SBS’s Food Safari. I’ve tweaked it slightly for a “lighter” version. Instead of using duck/goose fat or drippings I substituted sunflower oil. I also found the 10g of salt on the original recipe a bit much. You decide how much salt to put in. You can even add sugar if you’re so inclined for a sweet kind of pud. Instead of gravy, pour cream or ice cream for a decadent dessert. It’s not so out there come to think of it as the ingredients for this are not that dissimilar to pancakes.

It’s the cooking technique that makes all the difference. The oven must be really hot. The fat in the muffin tins must also be smoking hot. The batter needs that constant high temperature hit until it’s done. Otherwise you would not get that characteristic crater in the middle of this pudding.

Yorkshire Pudding ala Beancounter 2.0
4 eggs
200g plain flour
450ml full cream milk
A bit of salt
Sunflower oil

1. Place your muffin tins in an 180C oven to warm through.

2. Mix together the flour and the salt and make a well in the centre.

3. In a separate bowl beat the eggs and milk together. Pour about a third of the liquid into the centre of the flour well and whisk until all absorbed. Add another third of the liquid and so on. Set aside your batter.

4. Turn the heat up to 220C. Take the muffin tins out and pour about 1 cm of oil in each tin and place back in the oven until the oil is smoking hot.

5. Remove the muffin tray once more and pour the batter into each tin until three quarters full. Return to the oven and cook for 15 -20 minutes until crisp and golden brown. Serve hot with your roast beef.

Food Porn - A Lazy Sunday Post

The photos to follow are what I have been Tweetting (@beancounterau) in the past couple of weeks. I used to just “state” what home meals I have been having. But of late I have included graphic representations of the said meals as well.

The demands of my day job gave me little time to write so I’m posting just photographs instead. Enjoy the food porn!

Roast Belly of Pork

Breaded Pork Chops

White Chocolate Mini Cake

Sinigang at Pritong Tuyong Biya

Roast Rib of Beef

Brussel Sprouts with Pancetta

Oxtail Kare-Kare

Shabu-shabu at home

Sizzling Porterhouse

Sizzling Porterhouse

Red Velvet Cupcakes topped with White Chocolate Ganache

Bistek Tagalog

Pasta Carbonara ala Beancounter

Cappuccino Cheesecake with Dark Chocolate Chips

Gai Lan with Oysters Sauce

Ginisang Sardinas

Pan de Sal (with hotdog) for kids' school lunches

Pan de Sal

Menudo

Sotanghon Guisado

Home made burgers and thick cut chips

Wonton Soup and a side of Fried Chicken Wings

Roast Chicken ala Beancounter

Winter has been unfairly associated with everything grim. But to be honest, despite the drop in temperature, there are lots I like about winter. Foremost of which is the food. Chief of which are roasts.

It’s a season we have to have, might as well find pleasure in it.

Although I enjoy roasts regardless of the time of year there’s no better occasion for it than during the cold months. It’s comforting. It’s satisfying. It’s delectable. And the other great thing about it, it’s easy.

Winter is the season to bulk up, pig out and do as little as possible (that’s what I plan to do anyway). My recipe for roast chicken ticks all that. It’s filling. It’s rich. And almost effortless.

By the way, the parsley I used here were from my very own garden. Feel free to substitute your preferred herb. Rosemary perhaps?

Roast Chicken ala Beancounter

1 whole chicken (less than 2kg)

125g softened butter

1 bunch parsley (half of which chopped finely, half left whole)

3-4 cloves garlic crushed (with a knife & a bit of salt)

3-4 garlic cloves whole

1 lemon cut into 4 wedges

Salt

Pepper

Roasting vegetables your prefer (season with salt & pepper and some olive oil)

1. Preheat the oven to 220°C.
2. Prepare your herbed butter by combining the butter, parsley and crushed garlic. Make sure it’s mixed well.
3. Season the chicken (inside and out) with the salt and pepper.
4. Fill the chicken cavity with the lemon, garlic cloves and some parsley.
5. Loosen the breast side skin careful not to tear. Fill it with the herbed butter. Massage the chicken with olive oil all over.
6. Put the chicken (breast side up) and the vegetables in a large baking dish. Place in the oven.
7. After half an hour turn the chicken over onto its other side. After a further half hour turn the chicken over breast side up and roast for another half an hour or until done. Serve hot!

Gearing up for the next GFC...NOT!

Another GFC is apparently threatening. This time around food replaces financial. Global food supplies are on a knife’s edge according to some reports. So, before food security becomes a full blown issue I better start learning how to grow my own.

Honestly though, my intentions have less to do with the looming crisis but more about making the most of my idle garden plots.

In the past couple of weeks I’ve invested time tidying up my garden. I’m less interested in ornamental that’s why I went full blown edibles when deciding what to plant. I figured I can do more with a chilli plant than say geraniums. By the way, did you know that geranium is both a flower and a colour? I digress...

Here’s a snapshot of what I currently have:

Guava - I got a big surprise a couple of years ago to discover a guava tree happily growing in our backyard. Just goes to show that apart from the kitchen I venture very little to other parts of the property. We’ve harvested a decent amount of fruit from this solitary tree. None of them feature on any of my recipes as the rest of my tribe are not so fond of “cooked” guava.

Coriander – an essential to Asian cooking. Not so much in the Philippines but definitely in most parts of Asia. Great for curries.

Chillies – this is the long and thin variety Filipinos use to spice up a sinigang (Filipino hot & sour soup). Also works well as a “hot” addition to condiments.

Pechay (Bok Choy) – a very versatile Asian green perfect for soups and stir fries.

Mustasa (Mustard greens, leaf mustard, Gai Choy) – has got a distinct horseradish/mustard flavour. In the Philippines it is mainly added to soups. In other parts of Asia though, specifically Vietnam, it used as a salad wrap.

Eggplant – no fruit yet obviously. It’s the Lebanese variety. Best served grilled together with barbecued meats and seafood.

Flat leaf parsley – I prefer this to the curly variety. The flavour is more robust. I mainly use this with meatballs and roasts.

Mint – great for salads. Adds freshness to a dish.

Calamansi (Philippine Limes) – last but not the least my favourite citrus variety in the whole world. If you have been following this blog you’ll know I have been quite unsuccessful in growing this. I think my luck has changed as I am now able to mature the fruits. But at the current rate of 1-2 fruit/s per month I still need a lot of help.

I've also got basil and lemon grass and did manage to grow a pineapple. I'll be adding more in the next few weeks time and space permitting.

Salt & Pepper Mud Crab ala Beancounter

Over the weekend my dad got hold of these massive mud crabs. Guess who he called first to share the experience? No surprises there. Ahh, the benefits of a foodie’s son… My being a “foodie” I owe a lot to him. He doesn’t refer to himself as such but he definitely is one. We don’t see eye to eye on a lot of things but when it comes to food we almost always agree.

By the way, there’s no exaggeration in the word “massive.” These crabs (claws closed and folded) were longer in length than a Pringles (potato chips) canister. I took several photos comparing the two to give you some perspective but I wasn’t happy with them so I decided not to post any. You just have to trust me.

I would normally head the Singapore style Chilli Crab direction but somehow it did not feel right on that occasion. I wanted to make the most of such excellent produce. Heavy sauce I thought would mask all that fresh crab goodness. So instead, I went the Salt & Pepper route.

I’ve only done this recipe using prawns. Crab is not that much of a deviation I figured.

Because of the size of these mud crabs I only used one in this recipe. It was enough to keep two people happy.

Salt & Pepper Mud Crab ala Beancounter

1 large mud crab cleaned and quartered.

Seasoned flour (cornflour or plain flour seasoned with salt and pepper)

Lots of oil for deep frying

1 onion chopped

2-3 cloves garlic chopped

1 chilli chopped

1 tablespoon salt

½ tablespoon sugar

Freshly cracked black pepper to taste

Spring onions chopped

1. In a hot pan dry roast the salt, sugar and pepper. This should probably take less than 5 minutes. Take off the heat and set aside.
2. Heat up lots of oil for deep frying.
3. Dust the crab pieces in seasoned flour. Deep fry these till cooked. The timing depends on how big the pieces are. Set aside.
4. In a large wok, heat up a bit of oil. Sauté the onion, garlic and chillies for a couple of minutes.
5. Throw in the crab piece and toss for a couple more minutes.
6. Sprinkle your pre-prepared salt/sugar/pepper mixture and toss a bit more. Add the spring onions just before serving.