Integrated with this recipe writing exercise, was a practical session where we would spend some time “Cooking and eating together. Drawing on food stories, favorite ingredients or dishes and the diverse food experience and cultures of the student group, we will together prepare, cook and eat lunch.”

Whilst I am known for my Ma Po Dou Fu and had brought along a few essential ingredients to cook this here in Italy, I had yet to find the shops selling Tofu or Soya Bean Curd in Bra.

So, what was I to cook to represent one of the dishes that I truly liked?

Looking at my “special” stock of ingredients and what was available in the market here, I quickly decided to present what is sometimes called “Chinese Spaghetti Bolognese“, the Northern Chinese dish called Zha Jiang Mian (炸酱面) or literally translated into English as “Fried Sauce Noodles”.

This is one of my favorite noodle dishes and whilst it is readily available in my hometown of Singapore, it somehow does not taste as good as the ones that I can find in the Chinese cities of Shanghai or Beijing. Here is my version:

Zha Jiang Mian / 炸酱面 / Fried Sauce Noodles / "Chinese Spaghetti Bolognese"

Recipe for Zha Jiang Mian (炸酱面) – “Fried Sauce Noodles”

Portions: Serves 4 as a single dish meal or 8 as a starter in a multi-part meal.
Preparation time: approx. 15 minutes
Cooking time: approx. 15 minutes

Ingredients:

500 grams             Shanghai Noodles, Udon, or, Spaghetti
2 tbsp.                   Fine Salt
1 number               Japanese, Lebanese or Telegraphe Cucumbers

Sauce

60 ml                      Peanut Oil
1 number                Large Yellow Onion
3 cloves                  Garlic
250 grams               Minced Pork (Chicken or Beef can be alternatives)
3 tbsp.                     Black Bean Sauce (豆豉)
6 tbsp.                     Sweet Wheat Sauce (甜面酱)
1 tbsp.                     “Lao Gan Ma” Brand Spicy Paste (香辣酱)
60 ml                       Shaoxing Huatiao Glutinous Rice Wine (紹興花雕酒)
375 ml                     Chicken Stock (Beef Stock can be used as alternative)
To taste                   White Sugar

Method of Preparation

1. Finely chop or dice garlic and onions.
2. Julienne or shred the cucumbers. Keep these chilled in the fridge.
3. Boil the noodles in salted water and keep aside after adding a splash of oil after draining.
4. Heat Wok or Saute Pan over medium to high heat.
5. Add Peanut oil.
6. Add the chopped garlic and onion when the oil starts to smoke.
7. Stir-fry until the onions are translucent, and start to give off its fragrance.
8. Add the minced meat, and continue to stir-fry until the meat is cooked.
9. Add the Black Bean Sauce, mix well with the meat and continue to stir-fry until the Black Beans are fragrant.
10. Add the Sweet Wheat Sauce and stir well into the minced meat sauce mixture.
11. Add the Spicy Paste and continue to stir the sauce.
12. Add the wine to the sauce and mix well.
13. When the wine has more or less disappeared, add the stock and simmer till the sauce is reduced to about 2/3 of its original volume, or until the sauce coats the back of a spoon.
14. Separate noodles into individual portions.
15. Pour about 1 small ladleful of sauce over the individual portions of noodles.
16. Top with chilled julienned or shredded cucumbers.
17. Serve immediately.

Options:      

• Instead of just pouring the sauce on top of the noodles just before serving, the sauce and noodles can be tossed together in a pan and plated with the shredded cucumber topping. (As pictured above)
• May be served with Black Vinegar or Sichuan Chilli Sauce as additional condiments.
• Vegetarians can substitute meat and stock with a mixture of Tofu, dried Shitake Mushrooms and Vegetable Stock.

In todays modern urban environments, this traditional knowledge of the use of the various herbs, vegetables, and other botanicals found in the “wild” has mostly been lost, and, what little is known about the foods found is limited to what is available in our now rather homogenised and industrialised food systems.

It was in the spirit of these definitions, and, of our introductory Ethnobiology class on traditional knowledge that we were to go into the nearby fields of Pollenzo to forage for our dinner as the next activity of this subject.

Professor Pieroni explaining the merits of Dock...

Andrea Pieroni, Ethnobiology Professor and our Course Director led the class out to the fields of Pollenzo and within minutes, we were introduced to our first wild herbs and vegetables that could be found by the pathways, in the fields and in the undergrowth of a grove of poplar trees.

A handful of herbs

Professor Pieroni is obviously very passionate about his work, and, every so often would exclaim in delight when he came across one herb or another and would describe their names, both in vernacular and by its scientific name.  He would also go into some detail on the traditional uses by the different peoples in either Mediterranean Europe or the Balkans who would use them.

Professor Pieroni in the field, explaining a herb to the class.

In all, we managed to pick about 30 different wild vegetables and herbs on this little excursion, and, all to soon the afternoon was over, and the class made its way to the Societa Gastronomica, the first Gastronomic Society of the Spanish model to be set up in Italy.

A mixture of different herbs laid out to be used

Wild Lettuce waiting to be added into the Risotto.

At the premises of the Societa Gastronomica, many hands got busy sorting, washing, preparing and cooking the foraged herbs and vegetables, whilst others set up the dining room, poured wines and prepared platters of salumi (cured meats) and formaggi (cheeses) as pre-dinner snacks.

A Salad of Quinoa, Wild Herb and Blossoms

A Warm Potato Salad with Ricotta Cheese and Wild Herbs

A little while later, a beautiful array of dishes, both cold and hot arrived at the tables and everyone dug in with gusto.

Roasted Root Vegetables, Wild Hop Shoots and Shaved Grana Padano Cheese.

Herbed Panna Cotta, a beautifully sweet ending to the dinner.

Everyone agreed that dinner was delicious and many were surprised at the very different and complex flavours that were present in the dishes. Some have even made plans to do their own foraging on their walks home from Pollenzo.

Have you ever foraged for your own meals?

Yes, this blog, which has been literally “dead” for two years, is in the process of being “resurrected”.

I am currently on my sabbatical year, and am taking a Master’s in Food Culture and Communications – Human Ecology and Sustainability at the University of Gastronomic Sciences in Pollenzo, Piedmont, Italy.

Photo courtesy of: University of Gastronomic Sciences

Interestingly, the restaurant scene in Lhasa is predominantly Chinese, with the flavours of neighbouring Sichuan featuring everywhere, and catering to the very large Chinese community that populates Lhasa. These, and a sprinkling of Muslim Hui eateries providing an alternative to Tibetan food.

The so-called “elevated beyond a subsistence diet” Tibetan Cuisine as mentioned in The Lonely Planet, is featured by a number of mainly Nepali run restaurants, offering dishes that may seem to be Tibetan by virtue of their names, which sometimes include geographical indications.  But, once the food arrives at the table, one can sometimes recognise that some of the dishes had influences that could have only come from outside Tibet.

At the Snowlands Restaurant where I had my first lunch, I ordered a Tsamthuk Soup, an order of Yak Momos, and a Sweet Milk Tea.

Tsamthuk Soup, Yak broth thickened with tsampa.

The Tsamthuk Soup was a rich, almost creamy soup, almost like a velouté, but with a grittier texture.  This was made with a yak broth, chunks of yak, shredded radish, spinach leaves, and thickened with tsampa.

Boiled Yak Momos with a Tomato Chutney Dip

The Yak Momos were boiled, and arrived neatly arranged on an oval plate, looking very much like Chinese Guo Tie.  These had a rather dominant yak flavour, but the spicy tomato chutney like dip served with them helped to mask a bit of the yakkiness…

The Sweet Milk Tea, also called cha ngamo locally, is very similar to the sweet milk teas served here in Singapore.  Unfortunately, it wasn’t particularly strong, and was in fact quite weak, with the mug arriving with the tea bag still in it…

The next meal was at the New Upper Mandala Restaurant, an open-air type rooftop restaurant overlooking the Johkhang Temple.

Here, I had an Amdo Soup and Fried Lhasa Lamb Ribs with Potatoes.

Lhasa Lamb Ribs with Potatoes and Amdo Soup

The Amdo Soup was a deeply coloured, lightly spicy (chilli powder) and sour (vinegar) yak soup garnished with chopped Spring Onions (scallions).  It was robust and warming, with a consistency that reminded me of a Hungarian Goulash.  It also had a strong resemblance to neighbouring Sichuan’s Hot & Sour Soup, but without all the associated bits of ingredients one would find in a typical Sichuan Hot & Sour Soup…

The Fried Lhasa Lamb Ribs with Potatoes were almost an echo of the soup, with the flavour of chilli powder dominating.  Fortunately, they were not very hot (by my standards)… The roughly chopped lamb ribs were marinated in chilli powder, chopped spring onions (again) and mustard oil, and were deep-fried.  These were served with roughly cut potato chips that had previously been par-cooked, then deep-fried in fat (possibly the same fat as the lamb, and at the same time too…) till crisp and hard.  The dish had a rather bold lamb flavour, and fortunately, I had a nice cold Lhasa Beer to wash it down…

Tibetan Set

The next meal was in the garden of The Garden Restaurant.  I had the “Tibetan Set” which comprised of a few dishes served on a platter, somewhat like an Indian Thali Set Meal.  On the metal platter, was served some Osun, what was probably lettuce stem, Tibetan Sausage, stuffed with heavily spiced lamb intestines, and which had a deep, smokey flavour.  Shogo Katsa, sliced potatoes with chilli powder and mustard oil with a mild flavour and just a touch of heat.  Son Labu, a delicately pink coloured and mildly flavoured shredded pickled radish dish with dried chillies.  Kham Salad, a light and refreshing dish of black fungus (woodsear) and vermicelli salad dressed in rapeseed and mustard oil.

All these mostly vegetable dishes, were accompanied with a mantou like steamed bun called Logo Momo, a Tomato Dipping Sauce with the consistency of a pureed soup, and spiced with a hint of chillies, and a serving of Yak Yoghurt for dessert.

Chang Soup and Shabaleb Bread stuffed with Yak Meat

Dinner that day was at a restaurant called Lhasa Kitchen, where I tried Chang Soup, a soupy concoction of Barley Beer/Wine, small cubes of Indian Cottage Cheese (Paneer), and spiced with a sprinkling of ground black pepper.  The soup smelt mildly alcoholic, and was somewhat thick and robust, with an alcoholic, residual sugar sweetness, and a lightly yeasty, bread-like flavour.

For mains, I had Shabaleb Bread stuffed with Yak Meat, an unleavened bread, which was basically two round pieces of unleavened bread, one on top of the other, with a stuffing of shredded yak meat seasoned with spring onions (scallions), and with the sides folded at the edges like a curry puff, and (possibly) shallow fried.  This was served in quarter cuts and stacked, and were quite mild in flavour.

Bobi Set

The next meal was at Tibet Steak House, where lunch was something called a Bobi Set.  In concept, this was very similar to something available in many Chinese provinces called the Bao Bing, and also similar to something which we call Popiah in Singapore.  The idea of the Bobi, is that you have soft, thin rounds of unleavened wheat bread, and you put in an assortment of ingredients, roll the bread, and eat it as a roll.  To compare this with something Western, think of the Tex-Mex Fajitas, but without the usual hot-plate…

The stuffing in the case of this Bobi were, shredded green and red chilli peppers sautéed like a vegetable.  These were sweet, and only mildly spicy.  There was also Osun, or lettuce stems, which were shredded, and sautéed with sliced onions, chilli powder and ground black pepper.  Chinese Celery Stems sautéed with shallots and ginger, enhanced with a whisper of light soya sauce, and the delicately pink Pickled Radish shreds, with dried chillies, and with shreds of yak meat.

This was served with a bowl of hearty Yak broth, with cubes of flavourful yak meat, radish, spring onions (scallions), and whole dried chillies.

Fried Cheese Momos with a Cold Curried Dip

Eventually, I made my way to the famous Dunya Restaurant and popped in for dinner.  Operated by Western expatriates, this was the only restaurant I visited with a proper bar.  Dinner was an order of Fried Cheese Momos, which the Dunya was famous for.  These were crescent shaped, and were filled with cheese and deep-fried.  Served with a cold curried dipping sauce, which was a little fiery despite its rather pale colour.  Interestingly, the consistency of the cheese was rather like that of melted Swiss Raclette, whilst the flavour was somewhat like Dutch Gouda.

This was washed down with a mug of Hot Ginger Tea, which helped to cut the somewhat stodgy greasiness of the deep-fried Cheese Momos, and, reduced the nausea of being at such a high altitude.

When I later met the owner of the establishment at his bar, I discovered over a couple of drinks, that the cheese used in his Cheese Momos, was specially made and aged for him in Nepal, before delivery to Tibet.

The fame of Dunya’s Cheese Momos, was due to their acceptable eating qualities to western travellers, and, not to their notoriety, as I had originally thought, as these were not made with Yaks Cheese…

Yak and Potato Stew with Pa

Lhasa Namaste Restaurant was where the next lunch took place, and it is here that I had a Yak and Potato Stew with Pa.  The Yak and Potato Stew, also called shamjay, is a traditional Tibetan stew.  It was somewhat like a thick curry, and was quite mild, tasting somewhat like an Indian Dhal, but with meat.  This was served with Pa, which is tsampa mixed with yak butter tea, and hand-rolled until a solid mass is formed.  Pa, is very dense, and heavy, with a mild flavour, somewhat like rye bread or Indian chapattis, and is very filling.

My final dinner in Tibet brought me back to the Dunya, which was the only restaurant that seemed to have space that day, the others being quite full, and not willing to take in a single diner.

Meat (yak) Thukpa

This time, I had a Meat (yak) Thukpa, which was basically egg noodles in a yak broth.  The soft, flat egg noodles were served in a moderately robust but quite intensely tasty broth, with red peppers, haricots verts, cucumbers, spring onions, carrots, lettuce stems and boiled yak meat, all shredded, or cut shred cuts, except for the haricots, which were in a horse ear cut.  The influence here, was definitely Chinese…

In my time spent in Lhasa exploring not only the sights, but also the restaurant scene, it became quite clear that Tibetan cuisine as featured in the restaurants in Lhasa, was something created to cater to foreign travellers.  The restaurants that catered to these international travellers, tended to offer not only what they called Tibetan cuisine, but cuisines like Indian, Nepali, Chinese, and Western dishes, all in the same menu as well.

These restaurants will soon face an interesting challenge from the new International Chain Hotels that are due to open in Lhasa.  Who knows what creations the likes of the St Regis, and Banyan Tree Resorts will bring, when these open in 2010 and beyond?

So, frankly speaking, did I happen to enjoy the food at all?  Well, my experience with this interpretation of Tibetan cuisine in Lhasa, was generally positive.  The dishes were mostly tasty, and, for one who has eaten widely and has tried many cuisines, I found that the flavours were not too alien.

The drinks, however, were a different story…

Nowadays, much of what is written about Tibet tends to be about it’s political situation, it’s economy, and how the Tibetans’ culture and ways of life are being eroded by the modern aspects of 21^st Century life which is now prevalent in it’s capital city, Lhasa, and are fast spreading to other outlying areas.

There isn’t a lot written (in English) about Tibetan cuisine, and I have a few hypotheses on why this may be so.

Firstly, travellers will usually be the ones who write about their experiences wherever they end up visiting.  In the case of Tibet, most travellers tend to be overwhelmed by everything else that they encounter (all the sights, sounds, and experiences), that they tend to miss out on writing about what they ate.

Most of the time, all they would remember to write about, was the bowls of Hot Yak Butter Tea offered to them… Everything else that they would have eaten would have seemed somewhat underwhelming, compared to the overall experience of being in Tibet.

Secondly, for the foreign tourist travelling with a tour group (the only way for a foreign tourist to even enter Tibet these days), meals would have been arranged by the Tour Organiser, and Tibetan dishes would probably be featured in a meal or two for the entire duration of the trip.

The travel agent that I had used for my trip to Tibet gave me a bemused look, after I had told her that I wanted ALL my meals to be Tibetan. “Are you sure…?”, she asked, looking very concerned.  “Most Singaporeans will want to eat anything else by the second day!”, she continued, trying to convince me that 6 days of Tibetan meals would make even the most seasoned travellers balk.

But, I insisted that I wasn’t the typical Singaporean tourist when it came to food, and that I had an academic interest in everything to do with food and drink…  After some negotiations, I settled for Tibetan meals to be organised for all lunches for the duration of the trip, leaving dinner to be settled on my own account and breakfast, with the compliments of the hotel I was to stay at. I could see her shaking her head quite sadly, and hear her sighing, as I left the Travel Agency Office.

A month later, when I arrived in Lhasa, I met my Tibetan Tour Guide, perhaps the third reason why Tibetan Cuisine remains such a mystery to foreign travellers.

The Tour Guide was Tibetan, but had spent most of his life outside Tibet, leaving as a child refugee, and living mainly in Nepal, with a few years spent studying in Europe…

He spoke fluent Tibetan, Nepali, Putonghua, English, and even Italian, but, when it came to food, he wasn’t too fluent at explaining what the Tibetan dishes on the menus of the various eateries where we ate, were all about.  The descriptions that he could provide, were rather vague and hazy at best…

I also noticed, that whenever he ordered his meal, it would be chosen from the Nepali section of the menu.  It seemed to me, that he was more comfortable with the cuisine of his adopted childhood home. When I once asked him whether he ever ordered Tibetan dishes, he replied quite sadly, “Tibetan food upsets my stomach…”

The fourth reason becomes apparent once you’re in Tibet.  The usual barrier of language pops up and trying to interpret what’s on the menu becomes extremely difficult…

Nowadays, most eateries catering to foreign tourist/travellers have menus in English, where “Western” or “Fusion” items like Yak Burger, Yak Steak, and Cheese Momos (dumplings) can be found, in addition to Indian, Nepali and Chinese dishes.

However, when it comes to the Tibetan section of the menu, most tourist will encounter strange and exotic sounding dishes, which the wait-staff won’t usually be able to describe, as most of them do not speak anything except Tibetan, sometimes Nepali, maybe some Putonghua, and perhaps, if you’re really lucky, a smattering of English.

The fifth reason, is as suggested by an expatriate hotel and restaurant owner in Lhasa, who was quite succinct, when he said; “Tibetans can’t cook”…  According to this expatriate of more than 10 years, most of the cooks in eateries catering to foreign travellers tended to be Nepalese, whilst those catering to the Chinese, were obviously, Chinese…

So, if Tibetans can’t cook, what then do Tibetans eat?

Traditionally, Tibetan cuisine was based on a few basic ingredients that were available to them in their rather harsh, high altitude environment.  The most important ingredients were, barley, yaks, salt, and tea.

A Yak Butcher stall, Barkhor District, Lhasa.

Yak herders would roam the vast Tibetan Plateau with their herds of yaks, and, as they roamed with their herds, they would gather salt from saltpans and pick various medicinal herbs along the way.  They would then trade the gathered salt and medicinal herbs, along with their yak products in exchange for Roasted Barley Flour, which would be grown by the farmers, and for tea, brought in by traders.

"Pa", Roasted Barley Flour or Tsampa, mixed with Yak Butter Tea, and rolled by hand into doughy breadlike balls. "Pa" has a flavour that is reminiscent of Indian Chappati or Rye Bread.

Roasted Barley Flour, or Tsampa, was, and still remains the main staple food of Tibetans.  As this is already cooked, it can be eaten as it is, usually by the spoonful, and washed down with Hot Yak Butter Tea.  Alternatively, the tsampa can be made into a ball of hard dough/bread called Pa, by mixing it, with what else but, Hot Yak Butter Tea.

A typical stall selling Yak Butter, Barkhor District, Lhasa.

Yaks were their main source of movable food, providing not only yak milk, yak yoghurt, yak butter, yak cheese, but also yak meat, which was normally air-dried, and eaten raw.

A typical stall selling Yak Cheese of various age and form, Barkhor District, Lhasa.

A typical Tibetan meal would consist of tsampa, washed down with lots of Hot Yak Butter Tea, some air-dried yak meat, and dessert would be yak yoghurt, perhaps with a bit of wild honey…

So, if the above is a typical Tibetan meal, what then did I eat during my trip to Tibet?

Find out on the next post, Tibet Special Part 2 – Eating in Lhasa.

Inspired by my stint in Shanghai, I often had friends over for dinner, after spending afternoons and evenings, or sometimes, even days, cooking up various culinary storms featuring the flavours of Shanghai and Sichuan, and these would invariably be washed down with wine pairings of all sorts…

I now live in a different part of town, but do return occasionally, to soak up the old-world charm of the estate with its Art Deco accented pre-war colonial public housing architecture, and of course, the wonderful food that can be found at Tiong Bahru Market.

Earlier this month, I had the opportunity to do something a little unusual. I had an “Alsatian Wine Brunch” at Tiong Bahru Market.

Now, what is so unusual about having wines with a meal at Tiong Bahru Market? Haven’t people already been doing this for a number of years?

The answer is a simple yes. People in Singapore have been matching their wines with their food at Hawker Centres since the idea was mooted by local wine personalities in the early 1990’s, but, they had invariably matched their wines with all-time favourites like Hainanese Chicken Rice, Dim Sum, BBQ Sambal Stingray, Chilli Crab and other serious dishes usually eaten during lunch or dinner.

This little excursion, would be a little different, as we were going to attempt to match a couple of Alsatian wines with some traditional breakfast dishes, something that was quite unheard of, as most people in Singapore tend not to touch alcohol before the sun sets…

Quite unintentionally, this little brunch also became a sampling of Singapore’s original Chinese immigrant cuisines, covering the Cantonese, Hokkien, and Teochew dialect groups, which make up the majority of Singapore’s Chinese population.

Taking part in this little excursion were, Etienne HUGEL, who runs the venerable house of HUGEL & FILS in Alsace, France, Jenny TAN, who writes the wine column for The Sunday Times, in addition to running THE FOOD CULT, a Food & Beverage Think Tank, and myself, the random academic, who would bring the wine glasses…

Etienne brought the wines, the 2007 Hugel Jubilee Riesling, an intense and racy wine with good ripeness, structure, minerality and palate weight.

This went beautifully with a Raw Fish Salad (which accompanied a serving of Congee, a thick Cantonese style rice porridge), which was made from thin slices of raw Wolf Herring, seasoned with a squeeze of Calamansi Lime, sliced red chillies, finely shredded Spring Onions (Scallions), shreds of ginger, and a lashing of sesame oil, with the freshness of the wine complimenting the citrus of the Calamansi Lime and delicate flavours of the raw fish.

Also well matched with the Jubilee Riesling, was the combination of Fried Fishcakes, especially when dipped in the tangy chilli dip. These included, You Tiao (deepfried dough sticks stuffed with fish forcemeat), Otah (spicy fish cakes), Fishcake and Fishballs. These, however, are technically not a traditional breakfast type food, but all day snacks…

The second wine, the heavenly 2001 Hugel Classic Tokay Pinot Gris Vendange Tardives, was sweet, ripe, slightly voluptuous, yet very elegant, and exquisitely balanced.

This was matched with Chwee Kueh (水粿), a Teochew breakfast snack, which can be described as bowl-shaped steamed rice flour cakes with a topping of finely chopped/diced salted preserved radishes that have been slow cooked in oil. This is usually served with a chilli sauce on the side, and in most cases, when the chilli sauce is combined with the radish topping, the sum becomes greater than the component parts… This paired beautifully with the Tokay Pinot Gris Vendange Tardives, with the sweetness of the wine foiling perfectly with the salty, spicy radish topping.

We also tried the dry version of Hokkien Hae Mee (福建虾面), a dish of yellow egg noodles normally served in a rich prawn and pork broth originating in Fujian Province and brought to Singapore via Penang, Malaysia. The dry version was served with a robust chilli sauce, and topped with boiled pork ribs, a pair of whole medium-sized prawns, a few sprigs of water spinach (Kang Kong), deep-fried shallots, and a few small cubes of deep-fried lard. The robust spicy flavours of the noodle dish were very well handled by the Pinot Gris, which tempered the fire with its sweetness and its vitality.

Finally, we tried the pairing of a few Nyonya Kueh (Straits Chinese or Peranakan Pastries) with the Pinot Gris Vendange Tardives, and happily, the wine managed to compliment Kueh Bingka Ubi Kayu (or just Kueh Bingka), a “cake” made from baked grated Tapioca (Cassava), but was over-powered by the Ondeh Ondeh, glutinous rice balls filled with Gula Melaka (Palm Sugar) and coated with grated coconut.

Etienne HUGEL who enjoyed the whole experience immensely, said: “I am posting this on my blog“, and he blogged about this experience of “Enjoying Singlish & Hawker Centre lifestyle”.  Jenny TAN followed close behind, writing in her regular column on The Sunday Times, about our experience at Tiong Bahru with “Alsace meets Asia“, and along the way, recommending the 2004 Hugel Jubilee Riesling as well.

And finally, the circle is now complete, with my perspectives of how the wines matched the food, as my little contribution to this very fun exercise…

To celebrate Singapore’s 44th National Day yesterday, a long time friend organised to have several foodie friends drop by to her humble abode to cook a “Red & White” themed dinner.

One of my contributions to the dinner party was a Red-Braised Pork dish which I had been meaning to try for a long time.

This recipe is adapted from Fuschia Dunlop’s treatise on Hunanese Cuisine, the aptly named “Revolutionary Chinese Cookbook“.

According to Dunlop, in Hunan, Red-Braised Pork is often touted as having medical virtues and is eaten as a health food, and, in the words of Chairman Mao‘s nephew Mao Anping: “Men eat it to build their brains, and ladies to make themselves more beautiful.”

The recipe is originally from Chairman Mao’s nephew, and was supposedly the one Chairman Mao loved and ate frequently, to the extent of having had his Hunanese chef cook it for him in Beijing.  I have added a few water chestnuts to give it a nice crunchy contrast.

Chairman Mao's Red-Braised Pork

Chairman Mao’s Red-Braised Pork Recipe
(Serves 6)

Ingredients:

750g Pork Belly (Skin On)
3 tbsp Peanut Oil
3 tbsp White Sugar
2 tbsp Shaoxing Wine
30g Fresh Ginger (Old, Sliced with skin on)
8 nos Water Chestnut (Peeled and halved crosswise)
2 nos Star Anise
2 sticks Cinnamon or Cassia
3 nos Dried Chillies
Light Soya Sauce, Salt and Sugar to taste
a few lengths of Spring Onion to garnish
2 nos Fresh Red Chillies to garnish

Method:

1. Plunge the pork belly into a wok of boiling water and simmer for 3-4 minutes until partially cooked.  Remove and, when cool enough to handle, cut into bite-sized chunks.

2. Heat the oil and sugar in a wok over a gentle fire until the sugar melts, then raise the heat and stir until the melted sugar turns a rich caramel brown.  Add the pork, the water chestnuts and splash in the Shaoxing wine.

3. Add just enough water to cover the pork, along with the ginger, star anise, dried chillies and cinnamon sticks.  Bring to the boil, then turn down the heat and simmer for 45-60 minutes.

4. Towards the end of the cooking time, turn up the heat to reduce the sauce (if necessary), and season with light soya sauce, salt and a little sugar to taste.  Add the spring onions and fresh red chillies just before serving.

5. Finally, pour everything into a deep bowl, and decorate with the spring onions and fresh red chillies.

ENJOY…!!!

Such is the stereotype, that Champagne is relegated to the role of the tipple that is used for toasting at these celebratory occasions, and is rarely taken seriously as a wine, to be matched with meals and savoured for it’s finesse and complexity…

Interestingly, the most commonplace occasions other than celebrations where Champagne is imbibed, seem to be at the Night Clubs, where they are used to slake the parched throats of the not so young, but, trendy party goers, gyrating endlessly on the dance floors.

Alternatively, Champagne is often poured at Cocktail Parties, where it is sipped, along with tasty morsels of finger food, canapés, and focused conversations.

Then, there are also the Hotel Sunday Brunches where many individuals are seen to be literally chugging away at the Champagne, like there wasn’t going to be a tomorrow…

The Champagnes that regularly appear at these “volume” outlets, tend to be from the larger producers, with the “Grand Marques” taking the largest cut in the pie that is the marketplace, due to their obviously larger available volumes, higher profiles due to much advertising, and their ability to muscle their way into the marketplace due to the strengths of their brands.

Due to the dominance of the “Grand Marques” in the marketplace and the marketing that enhances their desirability, these are the brands that people are most familiar with, and will ask for by name, something that is quite rare where regular wines are concerned.

Lower down in the pecking order of the Champagne market, there are specialist producers that produce Champagne on a much smaller scale, and sometimes, give the “Grand Marques” a run for their money, where quality is concerned.

These Champagnes very often only appear in smaller restaurants and specialist retailers, as they do not look for the same type of exposure, or sales volume as the Champagnes of the “Grand Marques”.

One such example is from the house of Champagne Marie Demets, a small producer from Guye-Sur-Seine, in the Southern part of the Champagne region, and, which used to supply grapes to Champagne Bollinger.

According to the available literature, Champagne Marie Demets was formed in 1987 when Marie Brement married Alain Demets.

Marie’s family have cultivated the land for many generations and Alain, who used to rent vines from the Brement family, took over the domaine on Marie’s father’s retirement.

This small grower produces all its Champagne from their own twelve hectares planted with mostly Pinot Noir.

I happened to encounter their Non Vintage Brut Tradition Champagne at a tasting, and I was so charmed by it, that I made an unprecedented purchase of a dozen bottles…

Champagne Marie Demets Brut Tradition NV

Made from 95% Pinot Noir, and 5% Chardonnay, from 100% Grand Cru vineyard sites, the Champagne Marie Demets Brut Tradition NV showed a vibrant medium gold colour, with a fine, persistent mousse.

On the nose, this Champagne displayed a distinctly creamy, and biscuity bouquet, with some hints of honey.

On the palate, it was dry, with pinot fruit that was rich, full flavoured, and fresh, with some yeast and biscuit notes, and, a light hint of nuttiness lingering in the finish.

This Champagne was beautifully balanced, with considerable elegance and finesse.  Furthermore, it was also absolutely delicious, and, eminently drinkable.

I have enjoyed this Champagne as an aperitif, and with simple pleasures like Cantonese Roast Pork (Siew Yoke), Deepfried Battered Whitebait, Deepfried Frogs Legs with Ginger Chips, Squid Tentacles with Salted Egg coating, and even Steamed White Pomfret Teochew-style.

From the case of 12 bottles, I now have just 3 bottles left, and I look forward to the day when the local importer here in Singapore (Lollapalooza Asia) brings in the highly acclaimed Marie Demets Brut Rosé NV.

I have this theory that this trend was probably started by people trying to emulate the suave, British Secret Service Agent from the extremely successful Hollywood franchise of the James Bond – 007 movies, where being seen to order a “Vodka Martini, shaken, not stirred”, would make the consumers feel associated with the glamourous winner that Mr Bond was portrayed to be?

Or could it be something else?

Over the last three months, I happened to end up in a few different bars and somehow, ended up ordering Vodka Martinis at all the bars I visited.

And, as I used to manage a Martini Bar in my past life, I do tend to take an inordinate amount of interest in how the Martinis are mixed whenever I order one in any other bar.

Martinis at M Bar - Morton's of Chicago, Singapore.

Here are some notes about the different Vodka Martini experiences from each bar:

Il Lido Bar – Sentosa

I sat at the bar and ordered a Grey Goose Vodka Martini.  It was made shaken and using a mixture of Martini Extra Dry and Martini Bianco vermouths, and strained into a chilled Martini glass.  It arrived with the requested Lemon Twist, and was served without olives.

I found Il Lido’s Grey Goose Vodka Martini too “sweet” for my taste.

Privé Bar – Keppel Bay Island

As Privé Bar does not have bar seating, I sat at a table close by, so that I could observe the bartenders’ methodology.

I ordered a Grey Goose Vodka Martini, and was very pleased to see the bartender use the rarely seen (in Singapore) methodology of shaking the Martini Extra Dry vermouth with ice first, pouring the residue into the sink, and then transferring the ice to a mixing glass, and elegantly stirring the mixture with the Grey Goose Vodka.  The finished drink was strained, with flair, into a well-chilled Martini glass.

The drink arrived well chilled and with addition of 2 olives on a pick, and the requested lemon twist.

Privé Bar’s Grey Goose Martini was one of the cleanest/driest Vodka Martinis I’ve tasted in a very long while, and watching the bartender work with such flair and technical prowess, was such a pleasure.

BLU Bar – Shangri-la Hotel Singapore

I sat at the bar, and ordered my (by now) usual Grey Goose Martini with a twist.

I observed that it was mixed in the correct way (stirring), but the bartender was very liberal with the Noilly Prat vermouth, and the stirring was anything but elegant.

When the drink arrived, it did not have the requested lemon twist, but was served only with olives.

I returned the drink, asking for the twist, and to cut a very long story short, it arrived quite a bit later, re-made, and this time, with the twist, but no olives.

The martini tasted OK, but it had a little too much Noilly Prat for my taste.

M Bar – Morton’s of Chicago

I was at M Bar at the end of last week, originally to catch up with some people for a bit of networking.  But in the end, I did not meet the intended people, but ended up with a different group, and had to have a dose of strong drinks due to a very frustrating week at work.

As usual, I ordered Vodka Martinis (this time they weren’t Grey Goose) with a twist, and these arrived shortly after, with a slight, and temporary, cloudiness caused by very fine air bubbles, and bits of “ice-shrapnel”, all of which are vital clues to indicate that the martinis were shaken (The bar was full, and I wasn’t seated at the bar, so had to use visual clues to determine how the martinis were mixed).

The Vodka Martinis at M Bar were extraordinarily clean tasting (due to the fact that they don’t use any vermouth at all), with quite a round mouth-feel from what is probably a grain-based Vodka.

The first two Vodka Martinis were a little too angular and somewhat lean/austere, so when I ordered the third Vodka Martini, I asked for olives in addition to the lemon twist.

I liked the third one best, as it had a little more dimension due to the olive brine, which tends to leach out of the olives into the drink, giving it just that little bit more flavour to make the drink more interesting.

As you can see, the Vodka Martini experience from each bar was different, confirming the widely held belief that there are as many variations of the Vodka Martini, as there are bars.

And in my opinion, there is no such thing as a bad Vodka Martini, only a Vodka Martini that I don’t like.  Unless, of course, the Vermouth used, has been sitting around too long in the bottle, and is no longer fresh.

Anyway, I’d like to finish off this post with a tiny little bit of trivia:

I was browsing through some news websites, and came across an article that led me to conclude that the Vodka Martini will continue to be quite popular, due to a Presidential “endorsement”…

According to a Senior White House Correspondent for a prominent American News Broadcaster, Vodka Martinis may feature regularly at White House Cocktail Parties, as the new President of the United States, Mr Barack Obama, “has been known to enjoy a Vodka Martini time and again”…

Now, would anyone care to guess which vodka President Obama prefers in his Vodka Martini?

I recently chose to spend about a week in Shanghai over Christmas, to chill out, catch up with friends working there, and to basically pig out on Shanghainese food that I’m so very fond of.

I’ve been a fan of Shanghainese Cuisine since my previous work stint in Shanghai, so I made an effort to try a couple of new places that have opened since I left Shanghai, and to re-visit a few of my favourite haunts.

The first notable place I lunched at was Cheng Cheng’s Art Salon & Restaurant on No. 30 Donghu Road near Huaihai Road.

Cheng Cheng's Bar

Cheng Cheng’s is an interesting sort of place, a hybrid between an Art Salon, and a Restaurant.  The place is decorated with an eclectic mix of retro furniture, crystal chandeliers, classy porcelain china and somewhat kitsch artwork, giving the whole place a somewhat quirky yet artistic ambience.  Interestingly, almost everything, including the furniture, was available for sale…

Cheng Cheng's Dining Room

The main highlights, however, were the exquisitely prepared dishes, which so blew me away, that I agreed to have lunch there again a few days later, with a different group of friends.

We managed to sample quite a number of dishes, and those that stood out on the first lunch included Cold Tofu with Century Eggs, Green Bean Paste with Salted Egg Yolks, Duck Soup, Luffa Gourd with Tomatoes and Fried Gluten and most memorably, Chilled Garlic Eggplant.

Though all the dishes were incredible, the eggplant stood out as being absolutely fabulous. Since I especially like eggplant, I found myself digging into the chilled, slightly sweet, slightly spicy (garlicky), and totally delicious dish.

Unfortunately, I was too engrossed with catching up with my friends, and with the food, that I forgot to take any pictures of the food.

Lion's Head Meatball with the dish of Luffa Gourd, Tomatoes and Fried Gluten in background

The second time I had lunch at Cheng Cheng’s a few days later, we had a somewhat different set of dishes, including; a Lion’s Head Meatball, stir-fried Kale with Smoked Duck Breast, a Yellow Croaker Fish with Sweet Vinegar Sauce, a Clear Chicken Soup, and, the Luffa Gourd with Tomatoes and Fried Gluten again.

The exquisite "Red Cooked" Lamb

The dish that really stood out this time, was an outstanding “Red Cooked” (Braised) Lamb, which didn’t have the typically lamb flavour, but was instead, quite tender and tasty, with an intense sauce made with red dates, bean curd skin, and what must have been a very high quality dark soya sauce.   We couldn’t resist chomping up every bit of meat, bean curd skin and all the red dates, eventually even finishing up the exquisite sauce, leaving the dish quite clean by the time we were done with lunch.

Another restaurant which I really liked, is LYNN Modern Shanghai Cuisine (琳怡中餐厅) located at No. 99 Xi Kang Road, near Nanjing Road West (this road sits in between Plaza 66 and the Portman Ritz-Carlton Hotel).

Décor wise, this place is sleekly chic, with Art Deco elements melded together with lots of glass, black leather covered seats and white-clothed tables.

Soya Braised Wheat Gluten, Fish Slices in Vinegar & Wine Sauce, Cold Marinated Pork Terrine, and Potpourri of 18 Vegetables

We had a selection of cold dishes including; a very fine Soya Braised Wheat Gluten with Bamboo Shoots (different from the one at Cheng Cheng’s which had Edamame Beans), a refreshing Potpourri of 18 Vegetables, and a very tasty Marinated Cold Pork Terrine.

Hot dishes included; LYNN’s Special Fried Rice, which was nicely peppery and quite fluffy, a very tasty LYNN’s Special Roast Duck, and the most memorable, Fish Slices in Wine and Vinegar Sauce, which were tender, succulent slices of white fish coated with egg whites and quickly blanched to perfection, served with lightly crunchy black woods-ear fungus and an exquisitely balanced sauce that was sweet, savoury, lightly vinegared and aromatic with both Baijiu and Yellow wine, all at the same time…

Other than Shanghainese Restaurants, I also managed to visit one of my old favourites when it comes to Hunan Cuisine.  Di Shui Dong (滴水洞饭店) located at No. 56 Mao Ming Road, near Changle Road, is a restaurant that I never fail to visit at least once whenever I’m in Shanghai.

This is where I have my fix of searingly hot and aromatic Hunan dishes, which can be so comforting on cold winter evenings.

"Red Cooked" Pork Belly, Chairman Mao's favourite dish.

One of my favourite dishes here at Di Shui Dong includes Hunan’s famous “Red Cooked” (Braised) Pork, which is also reputed to be Charman Mao’s favourite dish.

Whilst “Red Cooking” is a common cooking method used throughout China, each province has it’s own variation of ingredients that would give their “Red Cooked” dishes it’s distinctive provincial flavour.

As an example, the Shanghai “Red Cooked” Lamb at Cheng Cheng’s would use a high quality Shanghainese soya sauce, rock sugar, Shaoxing Wine, ginger and red dates to give it it’s distinctive rich and sweet flavours, whilst the Hunan “Red Cooked” Pork, would use a combination of soya sauce, chilli bean paste, garlic, chilli peppers, star anise and rice wine amongst other ingredients to give it a totally different character.

Cumin Pork Spare Ribs

My absolute favourite dish, however, is not quite searing with heat, but, the aromatic Pork Spare Ribs with Cumin, a satisfyingly meaty dish with rich spicy flavours of cumin, enhanced with garlic and spring onions, and just that little touch of chilli fire to make it just right.  I recommend using your hands rather than chopsticks, for a finger licking good experience!

I also love the more basic foods that can be found in Shanghai.  Here are a couple of favourites that I managed to get around to this trip:

Lai Lai Yong He Dou Jiang (来来永和豆浆) at the corner of Sichuan Road and Fuzhou Road (just a block behind the Bund buildings) used to be one of my favourite places for breakfast and cheap local lunches when I used to work in Shanghai.  Now, whenever I’m back in Shanghai, I try to make it there for a breakfast of a couple Youtiao (油條) and Dou Jiang (豆浆).

Super-sized Yutiao (油條) and a bowl of Dou Jiang (豆浆)

The super-sized (more than a foot in length) Youtiao is served freshly fried, and golden, rather than the usual brown, and comes with a sauce dish of a slightly sweet and salty fermented soya bean paste sauce, whilst the Dou Jiang (served in a bowl with a Chinese spoon) is warm, sweet, and quite a bit richer than most commercially available ones.  Not quite the traditional Christmas breakfast, but absolutely heavenly, nonetheless.

Wujiang Road Food Street is another one of my favourite eating places in Shanghai.  As it is conveniently located off Nanjing Road West, and was about 10 minutes walk from where I used to live in Shanghai, I ended up on this food street very often.

My absolute favourite food on this street can be found at Xiao Yang Shen Jian Dian (小杨生煎), which has two shops on the same street (No. 54 and No. 60) to cater to the long queues that tend to build up outside, no matter what the weather.

Xiao Yang Shen Jian (小杨生煎)

The Shen Jian Bao (生煎) from these stores are freshly assembled and cooked in batches that are sold out as soon as they are cooked, and, can best be described as oozing with tasty goodness.

After you have taken a bite of the somewhat firm sesame and scallion topped skin that encases the meat and “soup” filling, you will understand what I mean.  These are best eaten whilst still hot, to enjoy the juicy goodness of the filling.

Sadly, there have been reports in the expatriate press, that Wujiang Road will soon (early 2009) be redeveloped into an upscale shopping street and luxury apartments.

Will I ever get to taste my favourite Xiao Yang Shen Jian (小杨生煎) ever again?

Let’s see what happens when I next return to Shanghai…