A taste of home

You would think that it would be pretty easy to get hold of duck meat here in Geneva but on the contrary, it wasn’t.  According to friends, it would cost a lot more than normal poultry and they told us that we should head to France to get it.  The reason why I had wanted to get hold of duck meat was to make my favourite pot of Duck soup with salted vegetables.  That’s the soup that Mom would make and it always evokes memories of home for me.

So lo behold my happiness when I found out that duck was in season and best part on offer in Coop (a local supermarket chain in Switzerland).  Yes, I’ve been reduced to ‘auntie-dom’ living here and the little joys such as meat going on offer actually makes me happy.  Tsk tsk!

I had a packet of salted vegetable that had been sitting in my refrigerator for the past 5 months so I was pretty glad to be able to finally cook up a big pot of my favourite soup.  Mom emailed the recipe over but because I lacked some of the ingredients, I had to improvise and again make do what we have here.  Well, it didn’t turn out that bad.  Taste-wise was pretty close to what we could get back at home.  It warmed me up tremendously and memories of home flashed as we had the soup for dinner.  And you know what?  Leftovers taste even better the next day! 😉

Duck soup with Salted Vegetable

Ingredients:

• Duck meat – 1/4 to 1/2 a duck  (Best to remove skin so that the soup will not be that oily)
• Pork Ribs (200-300g)
• Salted vegetables (1 packet, approximately 300g) ( To soak for about few hours so that it won’t be so salty, thereafter cut into thin strips)
• Ginger – 10 slices
• 1 Tomato – Halved
• Garlic – 2 bulbs
• *Asam Skin – About 2 to 3 pieces
• *Sour plum – About 2 to 3 pieces
• [*Note: Ingredients that I didn’t have on hand.]

Method:

1. Cut the duck into small pieces and set aside.
2. Parboil pork ribs and then boil separately ribs as soup stock in a separate pot.
3. In a deep pot, pour some oil and stir-fry the ginger.  Add in duck slices and fry till fragrant.
4. Pour in pork ribs soup stock, then add in salted vegetables, assam skins, sour plums, garlic and tomatoes.  Bring soup to boil.
5. Thereafter, lower heat and let the soup continue to simmer for about 2 hours.  Add more water if needed.

Cheater’s recipe: Oyako Donburi (親子丼)

I love Japanese food and am always in search of simple enough Japanese recipes to replicate in the kitchen.  While thinking of what I should be cooking up for tonight’s dinner, I suddenly had a craving for something Japanese.  I knew I had to feed the Man with rice and since we are watching out our throats (so no fried stuff), I decided to make Oyako Donburi (親子丼) for it was rather simple – just chicken, onions, egg served with sauce over rice.

Most of the recipes that I found online called for Dashi stock but I didn’t have any.  So, I improvised a little using the cold noodle soba dipping sauce as a replacement and it turned out tasting just as good.  The Man’s standards are pretty high and if he says it’s good, then it really is – I’m not blowing my own trumpet.  Hehe.

So, enjoy a taste of Japan with this modern and cheater’s recipe to home-made Oyako Donburi that you can easily whip up for a quick dinner.

Simple Oyako-Don (親子丼) Recipe

Ingredients:

• Cooked Japanese rice (or plain white rice if you ain’t fussy) for 1
• 1 boneless chicken thigh (150g), cut into bite-sized pieces
• 1/2 small white onion, sliced thinly
• 1 egg, beaten lightly
• 1/2 cup Zarusoba cold noodles dipping sauce (you can easily purchase this at most Japanese supermarkets)
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 teaspoon of Mirin
• Coriander for garnish (optional)

Method:

1. In a small shallow pan, mix Zarusoba cold noodles dipping sauce, water and mirin and bring to boil.
2. Add in chicken and onions, cook until almost done.
3. Pour in the lightly beaten egg over the chicken pieces.
4. Cover the pan and allow the egg to slowly simmer till it is almost cooked.
5. Scoop rice into a plate or bowl.
6. Gently slide the chicken and egg on top of rice.
7. Add coriander for garnish and serve immediately.

 

 

All mixed up

I’m feeling a tad bit moody.. don’t ask me why, just having one of those ‘Just because I feel like I’m moody’ days. I don’t wake up feeling like that but as the day passes and if I don’t keep myself busy with activities, I slip and fall into these moods. What’s the point of this post then? Nothing, just needed to rant, let it out of the system and then hopefully feel a lot better.

Anyway, there are loads to look forward in the next coming weeks – a trip with the parents and the little sister, my little sis’s graduation trip in Coventry, then back to Singers for 1.5 months! I can’t wait! Trying to firm up a temp contract with the ex-company. You may think I’m nuts wanting to go back to work during my break. But honestly, I can’t wait to go back to work, see the ex-colleagues, fall back into the work routine and feel that my mind is mentally stimulated.

Thought I round this post up with a recipe that never fails to evoke memories of home whenever the Man has it. It’s been a while since I’ve cooked this so I had to call up the mom-in-law and asked for the exact instructions on how to replicate the dish.

Fried Rice Vermicelli (Bee Hoon) with Stewed Pork

Ingredients:

• 200g rice vermicelli
• 1 carrot, cut to thin stripes
• 1 small stalk of Chinese lettuce, sliced
• 3 large shitake mushrooms, sliced thinly
• 1 tbsp chopped garlic
• 1 can of Narcissus brand stewed pork
• 1/2 cup of water
• 1 tsp of vegetable seasoning

Optional for garnishing:

• Red chilli, de-seeded & sliced
• Fried shallots

Method:

1. Soak the rice vermicelli in water for at least half an hour, until the noodles are fully reconstituted. Drain and set aside.
2. Heat the pan/wok with 1 tbsp of oil and saute garlic till lightly browned.
3. Add the sliced carrots and stir-fry till soften (approximately 2-3 minutes).
4. Add the sliced mushrooms and cabbage and continue to stir-fry till soften (about another 2-3 minutes). Add the stewed pork, 1/2 cup of water, vegetable seasoning and stir fry thoroughly. Lower heat and cover the pan/wok to bring to a gentle boil.
5. Then add the rice vermicelli. Cook till the noodles have soaked up all the water, and is of a dry consistency (about 5-7 minutes). I used tongs as it was easier to handle the noodles this way.
6. Serve noodles warm and garnish with cut chilli and fried shallots if desired.

I think the Man was very happy as he polished off the rice noodles off the plate. Memories of home-cooked food always makes us happy and I think we are looking forward to going back home soon.