Bovine.

There has been a lack of updates on this space and it's more than three months since the last post. I've been incredibly busy but thankful that everything is winding down and there's time to write a short post!

I have been looking around trying to get the perfect sear on steaks, and with the Anova Sous Vide circulator that has arrived, it hasn't been easier to create perfect steaks time after time, regardless on the thickness. To start the year, here's a couple of new things that I will start my year with, along with a bunch of friends! Below are two ideas that are worth exploring the next time you crave for a good steak.

1. Boneless Short Ribs, Sous Vide (Secondary cut)

After reading the post on The Food Canon regarding sous vide short ribs, I can't help but give it a shot myself. I popped by my favourite butcher that offers a great selection at wholesale prices in Tiong Bahru and bought myself some 3.4kg of well-marbled pack of 4 boneless short ribs. I then removed them of the excess fats, tendons and sinewy bits using a sharp paring knife and season lightly with salt only (think of it as dry brining) for about 45 minutes.

While waiting for the meat to get properly salted, I filled up the container for the sous vide with water and get the circulator running at 55ºC. The recommended range is between 54-58ºC. What I was looking for is a perfect medium-rare to medium doneness. After the salting is done, put the slabs of meat into a vacuum bag, along with half a clove of garlic. Seal the bag, and put it into a second vacuum bag and seal it up. I do not want any leakages with the very long hours in the water bath!

Put the bags into the water bath when the water is up to temperature, and make sure that they are completely submerged. Let them sleep away for 40 to 48 hours! Ensure that the area around the sous vide set up is well ventilated to prevent any overheating, and cover with foil to minimise evaporation.

After the long agonising wait for the meat to get cooked, remove from water bath and you can either (1) put into an ice bath and chill till you're ready to serve, or (2) remove the meat from bag, slice into strips, sear or grill. The last step of grilling or searing is to achieve the Maillard reaction which will give that irresistible crust.

2. Striploin, Ribeye, Tenderloin (Prime cut)
These prime cuts are incredibly tender, even though they may not be as flavourful as the short ribs. And, they can cost a lot more as well. My go to method that has worked on a cheap pantry induction cooker and a gas stove, is as follows. First off, get a good thick piece of meat from a reputable butcher. Again, I always go to the butcher in Tiong Bahru to get the shopping settled. Look for a piece of meat between 1 to 1.5 inch thick, which will yield somewhere between upwards of 250 to 400g. Yes, that is a lot of beef, and it's meant for sharing.

Liberally sprinkle salt over both sides of the steak and allow it to sit for at least 40min. This step is called dry brining. It will allow the meat to be properly seasoned. Just before it goes into the pan, add some ground black pepper to it, freshly ground is preferred. Make sure the pan is smoking hot (even without any oil), then add a lug of canola or olive oil, and immediately put the beef in. For a 1.5-inch steak, let the meat sear on high heat for about 80s, then turn it down to medium to cook for another 130. Turn up the heat back to high for about another 30s, then flip it over to the other side and repeat the 80 and 130s. If it is a strip loin, turn it to high heat again, and render the fats.

Set the steak aside, loosely cover with aluminium foil and let it rest for at least the same amount of cooking time. When resting is done, pick up a sharp knife and slice the meat at an angle about 1/3 inch thick per slice or to your liking. It should be a beautiful pink medium-rare to medium, with a nice peppery crust to it.

But the thing is, serving steak on its own is good, just be simple with salt and freshly ground pepper. Some people prefer a sauce or jus to go along with the sliced meat. Try something new. Jamie Oliver calls it dressing the board and its a gem. The idea is to make the carving board your serving board as well, and to serve the steak with a fresh herb dressing using only lemon juice, extra virgin olive oil, chopped garlic, mint, parsley and chilli. Toss the meat in the dressing and make sure every piece is coated with this lovely goodness and its own juice.

I will update the photo in due course, and hope that these two ideas for steak will go a long way! Here's to a good 2015, everyone!

Revisiting Wraps

The first time I made wraps (lots of them) was for the green house picnic. And after a very long time since my last post, I am finally back to revisit some ideas I have for those toasty wheat-based skins! I'm looking forward to Wednesday, where I will try out the steak and chunky guacamole wraps. I've been pretty crazy over good medium-rare steaks of late and getting a real good sear on them even though I stay on campus and I'm limited by a rather poorly equipped pantry.

I will prepare the guacamole first. Get some ripe avocados, tomatoes, honey, chilli flakes, fresh garlic, onion, crispy bacon, kewpie mayonnaise (?!) and a good dash of lime juice. Mash the avocados up, and add diced tomatoes and chopped onions to it. Give it a good lug of olive oil, add the honey and lime juice. Salt and pepper to taste. Mix it well for the perfect chunky guacamole. Set the guacamole aside in the fridge.

I plan to use some good striploin (1.5" thick, 400g raw) for the steak. Bring it up to room temperature and season with salt and pepper. Sear it in a very hot pan on high heat for a good crust with all the bovine flavours, and allow it to cook to a medium. It will take roughly 3.5 minutes per side, and rest for 10 minutes. Trim off the fats and tendons, then slice it through the middle first (it's a big piece of meat!), and along the grain at an angle. It should be nice and pink in the middle.

To assemble the wrap, grab some shredded iceberg lettuce, a few slices of the steak, and a good dollop of the guacamole. Roll it up and it's good to go! Flavours in this should be pretty exciting. Really looking forward to it!

Chicken Stock.

The chicken stock is possibly the most used stock base in the world. It provides a good additional flavour to almost anything non-vegetarian, be it a risotto, stew, or noodle soup. Most of us conveniently buy them at supermarkets in the forms of 1l tetra-paks, cans and cubes. Those are, indeed, convenient. However, as with many other store bought stuff, they lack freshness. Something is missing in the taste department. You see, fresh chicken stock is pack full of flavours and it kinda puts the store-bought stuff to shame, being in a different league on its own.

So take some time off and prepare a good chicken stock that you can keep for a few days (: Here's my recipe for a simple and punchy chicken stock! (there are plenty of other variations, just put what you like)

Ingredients
4 Chicken frames (this is the breast and back bone frame of the chicken)
1 large onion, quartered
3 cloves of garlic, skin-on, smashed
2 large carrots, peeled and cut into large chunks (you might want to add celery too)
1.3l of water
Cooking oil
A pinch of salt

Steps
1. Pre-heat the oven to 190ºC. Heat up a roasting pan over the stove, add a good lug of oil and brown the chicken frames
2. Add the garlic and onion to the pan and put the whole pan into the oven 30min
3. Bring the water to boil in a stock pot, or one that is deep enough. Add the chicken frame, garlic and onion and all the roasting juices into the pot once done roasting, along with the carrots
4. Allow the liquid to boil, remove the scum and let it simmer for 30 to 45min
5. Add some salt to taste
6. Strain the stock to get rid of the little bits and pieces of bones
7. The stock is ready for use

Hope this is helpful!

Hainanese poached chicken: My take on a Singaporean classic

It's not my first time cooking chicken rice from scratch, but I've never quite got the flavour that I wanted. I always found the chicken lacking some punch in the taste department, even though the texture and the flavour of the rice turned out well. So, here I go again, taking advantage of my summer break to try out new methods and break new grounds for this Singaporean classic and one of my favourite foods here on this tiny island. I'm taking the well-tested sous-vide cooking method in my humble version of the Hainanese chicken rice style poached chicken.

For those who have not heard of the sous-vide method, it is simply cooking something in a temperature-controlled liquid. The temperature is often lower than a full-on pan on fire. The result is a flavourful, juicy and evenly cooked dish, often a protein. While waiting for my ANOVA circulator to arrive in a couple more months, I use a rather primitive method of sous-vide with a cooking thermometer which works pretty well for now. Let's get back to the chicken.

The following recipe should be able to serve two along with other dishes, or just one very hungry soul.

Ingredients:
One whole boneless chicken breast
One large chunk of young ginger
2 stalks of lemongrass
6 cloves of garlic
Vegetable oil
One stalk of spring onion, finely chopped
Salt
Soy sauce
Sesame oil
A good quality zipper bag (ensure that it is of good quality cos it has to withstand heat of about 70deg C)

Steps:
1. Peel and slice the ginger into smaller pieces, and cut the lemongrass into even sections of about an inch long. Remove the skin of the garlic.
2. Roughly pound the ginger, lemongrass and garlic. You don't want to make them into a paste because you will have to remove them when serving. Lemongrass is very fibrous.
3. Heat up a shallow pan over high heat. Add a good lug of vegetable oil and fry the gingery herb mix till fragrant and lightly browned. Allow the mix to cool.
4. Separate the whole chicken breast into two by running a knife down the middle, lengthwise. Add a pinch of salt to each side and rub it evenly. Place the chicken breast into the zipper bag.
5. Add the mix and a bit more oil to the zipper bag with the chicken breast. Give it a good rub and make sure the breast is well covered in the flavourful oil.
6. Squeeze out all the air in the bag and stick in the fridge overnight. Remember food safety, put raw meat at the bottom compartment.
7. Remove the bag from the fridge about half and hour before cooking to bring the meat back to room temperature before cooking.
8. If you have a sous-vide circulator, set it at around 65deg C or 150deg F. If not, use a double water bath and ensure the temperature of the water in the cooking pot is at the above-mentioned temperature with the help of a cooking thermometer.
9. Place the whole bag into the water and let it sit for 40 to 45 minutes. While waiting, make yourself a good cup of coffee or read a book (:
10. When the time is up, remove the bag from the water and let it sit for another ten.
11. Take out the chicken breast from the bag and gently pick out the herbs that have stuck onto the meat
12. Pour all the juices in the bag with the herbs into a blender and blend it up into a paste. Add a pinch of salt to taste. Press the paste through a fine sieve/strainer to get rid of all the fibre and the larger chunks
13. For plating, slice up the chicken breast at a diagonal angle and generously thick, slightly less than an inch.
14. Since the chicken and the sauce are all light coloured, consider using a dark coloured plate. Take a good spoonful of the paste (the sauce) and set it on the bottom. Place the sliced chicken on top of the paste. Drizzle the sesame oil and soy sauce over the chicken, and finish off by sprinkling the spring onion over the chicken.
15. Serve.

The Duck Breast

Surprisingly, duck isn't such a common meat in Singapore, especially for home cooking. Apart from the usual braised or roasted duck you find at hawker centres, or the Peking duck at Chinese restaurants, the next place you'll find it will be at French restaurants (which can be extremely pricey). Singaporeans hardly ever prepare duck at home. I have to admit that duck is quite a fair bit more expensive than chicken, harder to source and even harder to perfect.

One of my favourite cuts of meat is the duck breast. If done well, it'll be tender like a good beef tenderloin cut. You'll need lots of control and practice to get it cooked well and remain pink in the middle when you slice it. I have been cooking duck breasts for quite a while but never thought of marinating them before cooking, at least till yesterday. Marinating the duck breast gives it a lot of flavour, and with the right combination, the marinade will subdue the strong gamey flavour you usually find in duck. Here's the recipe I tried for a very French flavour, it's a good balance and I absolutely loved it. A great dish to whip up to impress your date, if you have one. 

Marinade:

1. 4 cloves of garlic, chopped

2. 1/2 red onion, chopped

3. 1 tablespoon of chopped candied orange peel

4. 1 tablespoon of roasted black peppercorns, freshly ground

5. 5 tablespoons of ketchup

6. 1 tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce 

7. 1/2 tablespoon of sweet paprika

8. 1/2 tablespoon of honey

9. A pinch of salt to taste

10. A lug of olive oil

Other ingredients:

1. Duck breast

2. An orange

3. Some good vodka

4. Ground nutmeg and cinnamon

5. More honey 

6. Butter, unsalted

Steps: 

1. Mix the ingredients to create the marinade, and loosen with more olive oil as needed

2. Prepare the duck breast by removing the sinews. The duck breast should be between 200g to 250g

3. Rub the marinade all over and put in a ziplock bag. Keep in the fridge overnight. You can marinade a couple of days ahead for even better flavour. 

4. Remove the duck breast from the fridge about 20min before cooking. You need the meat to be at room temperature. Don't throw the marinade away. 

5. Use some kitchen towel to clean the skin of the duck breast of marinade. You won't want the marinade to burn and char on the pan. Score the skin in a criss-cross manner and be careful not to make the incisions too deep such that you're cutting into the meat

6. Pre-heat the oven to 210ºC. Heat up an oven-proof pan over medium-high heat

7. To the dry pan, lay the duck breast skin-side down. Allow the fat to render in the hot pan for about seven minutes. 

8. Flip the duck breast over and let it brown lightly for a minute on the meat side. 

9. Send the whole pan into the hot oven and let the duck breast continue cooking for another 6 minutes in the oven

10. While the breast is in the oven, mix the vodka, honey, nutmeg and cinnamon in a bowl. Add orange sections to the mix and let it sit. 

11. In another pan, heat up the remaining marinade and add a splash of vodka and orange juice. Take it off the heat, add a small knob of butter to make the sauce glossy. Mix well and strain. 

12. Remove the breast from the oven, and let it rest for 5 min. Slice into 2cm thick slices. 

13. Plate up the sliced breast. Add some sauce to the base of the plate first, followed by the 2-3 slices of duck breast (depending on how thickly you've sliced it) and orange sections. 

14. Enjoy a well-cooked and flavourful restaurant-worthy duck dish. 

p.s. you can try a marinade with a fermented bean curd and hoisin sauce base for a Chinese twist. 

More than just the ingredients.

I have an incredible passion for whipping up meals after meals for myself and my friends and spending hours in the kitchen. I've spent enough time trying out new recipes, coming up with my own improvisations to find the flavour that I am chasing after for a particular dish. I don't stay at home for the bulk of the week and most of my breakfasts and dinners are prepared by the caterer in University Town. It's my third semester here, and I am still dissatisfied with what I have been fed, both the quality and the price. Or rather, for the price paid, the quality could have been heaps better.

It is hard to part with $800 for the meals for one semester, especially when I know I could do it better at the same cost, easily. But, what is wrong with the meals? Is it the quality of the ingredients? No. I would say that Compass has got some great stuff waiting to be prepared. They have reasonable quality control over the ingredients they use for the meals. Yet, I can easily give you ten reasons why I don't like what they are serving me. What is really lacking is the taste, which is controlled by the 'chef' preparing the meals. I understand that it is tough preparing meals for 1200 hungry university staff and students, but it is not as though we are not paying. With a bit more patience in the kitchen, a little more effort in tasting every single tray that gets pushed out to the servers, and I'm sure you'll be winning people over. It is pointless to think of themed dinners when the non-themed dinners and breakfasts have barely met the standard.

Take today's dinner for example. I'm not sure if I chose the wrong stall, but it's bad anyway. I had Spanish baked rice for dinner. The rice was baked with cheese on top, it came with a few pieces of squid, mussels, fish, and broccoli. The whole dish was drizzled with a tomato and a white (cheese?) sauce. In my mind, I expected paella or something that is really baked properly. I checked the white sauce and the taste was funky with an odd consistency and colour. The tomato sauce was decent, could have been a wee bit more robust. Rice was clumpy and the cheese was only at the top. The dish lacked punch. Not enough cheese (could have been mixed into the rice) and the flavours not quite right, even though the ingredients on their own were alright. Baked rice should smell good and the whole kitchen should be filled with a very fragrant smell of baked cheese, and each rice grain can be separated from the next, yet coated with the tomato paste and has tones of sweetness from the seafood. The whole dish should be baked in on huge tray and served as it is.

I am generally not a picky eater, apart from the occasional complaints about really odd-tasting food. But, this caterer has got me complaining more than I have ever did about food.

Buck up, or don't make the meal plan compulsory.

Back at Nylon Coffee Roasters

A while back, I did make a post about having found my perfect cup of coffee. I've since gotten somewhat used to coffee from Nylon Coffee Roasters, buying the beans online and getting them posted to my place, and brewing with the Kalita wave pour over kit that I bought from them a while back. Coffee making has become a routine morning activity–weigh, grind, pour, enjoy. The only connection I had with Nylon was the beans, which isn't exactly what I loved about the name before I got into the habit of ordering beans online. (Don't get me wrong, their coffee is still my favourite!) A lot about the whole cafe thing isn't totally about the caffeinated beverage, but the experience you get from being at the place.

What then, did I enjoy about Nylon? 

To start off, I gotta say that Dennis and Jia Min are really friendly folks who love coffee! They are passionate about what they are doing and will not hold back in telling you about what they love about coffee, and they won't mind listening to your coffee story too! Because they are the ones who sourced for the coffees at the very farms they are grown and harvested, they are able to tell you everything about the coffee that you have to know. I think it's possible to spend a few hours at the shop talking to them about coffee! It is rare in this day and age that the product itself actually passed through so few hands throughout the whole process before reaching us, the consumers. Each cup of coffee is patiently brewed with plenty of love, made with coffee roasted by the people who sourced for the beans and served it to you. 

A bag of beans, and a 5oz white for today.

I went back to Nylon today and not sure if they remembered me–the one who used to go there every other morning for a 5-ounce or double-seven. They have expanded about a month ago and the place is much more spacious than it used to be. A couple of new friendly faces behind the espresso machine and Dennis was there as well. Placed my order, had my coffee, and managed a good little chat with the new people. It was time well spent there this morning on my way to school for class.

As I was about to leave, Dennis asked, 'Are you going to school after this?' It made me realise again what I loved about this place. 

Cold Brew v2.0

It's the time of the year again! About one year ago, I embarked on a journey to explore cold brewed coffee. It has been rewarding even though there was immense inconsistency to what I was brewing. I've tried adding new stuff to coffee, such as vanilla beans, orange peel, and cinnamon, to yield different flavours. All my cold brews were filtered and prepped using the french presses I have, depending on the volume I'm brewing.

Now that the heat in Singapore is back, my cold brews are back too! A year on, I've upgraded my cold brew gear and the results are pleasing. Even though I've less variety, the quality has improved by leaps and bounds. I've got a brand new cold brew pot a few days back and it's one of the favourite pieces of coffee equipment I have. It's made in Japan by Hario and it is very simple to use. The pitcher is made of Hario's high quality heat-resistant glass, and it houses a filter core with a micro-mesh filter. The plastic used for the entire brew pot is some pretty sturdy stuff.

Hario Cold Brew Pot, 600ml

Next up is a milk frother. It's a pretty cool little toy for frothing up milk just by shaking the small plastic capsule. Add some milk into it and shake the capsule for 30s and you'll get creamy froth right away. And yes, it is made by Hario too! It's very useful in creating cold milk coffees.

Hario Latte Shaker

The latest creation I've made is a cold cafe latte, made with cold brewed coffee and topped with cold milk froth. The beans I chose was from Nylon Coffee Roasters, Konga Natural (single origin espresso ), brewed in the cold brew pot in a 10:1 water to coffee ratio with a brew time of 24h. Milk is just normal full cream fresh milk. I think the cold brew has brought out the really exciting fruity flavours of the coffee and it is by far the best cold brew I have tasted. Yummy, fruity and flavourful. It's good without sugar and milk too! (:

Cold Cafe Latte (looks more like a cappuccino given the amount of froth, but it's okay!)

Indeed, the cold brew has been an excellent pal in the intense afternoon heat. And I'll see a lot more in the days to come. I've brewed 4x600ml worth of coffee over the last 6 days and I've got a 1l pot on its way here!

Starting the day right

Breakfast is probably the most important meal of the day. It should provide plenty of energy and be highly nutritious. Recently, Singapore has caught up with this European breakfast/brunch culture along with the artisanal cafés sprouting up in many locations (these cafés usually serve the so-called 'all-day breakfast' and are consumed by people looking to combine breakfast and lunch into a single meal). A meal (brunch) consisting of hearty platter and a hot beverage would easily cost around $15 a person. In all honesty, it's quite expensive and sometimes you don't get the quality expected for the amount of money paid. It becomes paying for the hype which I don't quite approve of.

Just yesterday morning, I decided to pop by one that recently opened pretty near my place. It's a Korean-origin store serving European bread and espresso-based coffee. The line has been pretty long since it's opening so I thought it should be fairly good.

>$8 

I paid in excess of $8 for a medium-sized butter croissant and a macchiato (my standard order for breakfasts at cafés). I was rather upset at quality of what was served. The croissant wasn't flaky and buttery enough, and the coffee was just alright. Tiong Bahru Bakery serves much better quality for the same price paid.

So I gave myself a challenge (somewhat grudgingly) to prepare a breakfast with a budget of $8.50 and I did this.

Easy brunch of five components and a 60/40 Konga-Bokasso pour over coffee

The platter I made consists of a hand-picked baby butterhead lettuce salad with sesame-soy dressing, butter croissant and bread roll (Swissbake), fresh honey pork sausage (Fairprice Finest) and scrambled eggs. The coffee is a mix of two single origins from Nylon Coffee Roasters, Konga and Bokasso, in a 60/40 ratio. Everything is quite easily put together and satisfyingly tasty with a good balance of nutrients. It is important to plan properly so that you can serve up everything warm. I lightly pan-fried the sausage first, while the croissant and bread roll are left in a warm oven. While the sausage is in the pan, turn the heat down and start picking the lettuce leaves and prepare the dressing. Once the sausage is done, get the eggs scrambled and dress the leaves. Plate them all up together.

As much as I enjoyed preparing this meal a lot and the cost was around what I paid yesterday, to be fair, I would charge someone between $12 to $15 for it (if I were to open a shop and sell it). I guess what people pay for is the convenience (if the store is in a convenient location) and being part of the hipster bunch and quality isn't the top priority after all. The people you dine with matter too. That said, I'd be glad and willing to prepare a good breakfast with things I like for people I love.