Dinosaur Nugget and Lego Fruit Salad Bento

 http://www.wayfair.co.uk/Inspiration/Back-to-School-Bento-Box-Lunchtime-Ideas-E9567

By freezing the nugget dough, you can craft chicken nugget as you like such as the shape of dinosaur!!

Ingredients of chicken nugget

• 1 piece of  chicken breast (170-200g)
• 1/4 of medium sized round onion
• 1 egg yolk
• 2 tablespoons of plain flour
• a pinch of garlic powder
• nutmeg, paprika powder
• a pinch of salt

(I also added some hard tofu this time, but not necessary)

Directions

1. Blend all the ingredients until to get smooth.

2. Place the dough over a large sized cling film and cover it with another large sized cling film. Spread it with a rolling pin into 1cm thick. Place it in a flat container and freeze it.

3. Once the dough is frozen, take it out from the freezer and remove the upper layer of cling film. Heat up a frying pan over medium temperature and pour 3 table spoons of vegetable oil. Dust plain flour thoroughly over the dough in both sides and cut into shapes with cookie cutters. By pushing up each piece from the bottom layer of cling film with fingers, you can easily remove it from the cutter. 

4. Place the nugget pieces as carefully and quickly as possible over the frying pan as the dough gets loose very fast. Fry them in both sides until they get crispy and golden brown. 

 5. Take the nugget pieces out and place them over a kitchen towel to remove the extra oil.

Alternatively, you can fry the nugget pieces in oven by using spray oil. Heat up oven over 200C and bake it for 6-8 minutes. This methodology enables the better shaped nugget but slightly dry texture compare to the one fried in a pan.

7. Enjoy decorating the nuggets! 

 Lego Fruit Salad

Cut fruits into cubes as well as thinly slice. Cut the thin layer into dots with a straw.

Kids can join the fun!

And enjoy 

"Mmmmmmmmmmm........."

BBC Once "Nigel Slater: Eating Together": Episode 2, Soup

On Monday 8th June at 19:30, I'll appear on this TV programme introducing Japanese Miso Soup.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b05yxjjm

Photography is sourced from Tigress Productions

Hope you enjoy it!!

Yauatcha: an auspicious Dim Sum 

Since their open in 2004, I've been dinning here regularly. I even come by myself.

http://www.yauatcha.com/

My loyalty to Yauatcha is simply consolidated by their promising taste, great service and the stylish and vibrant ambiance. Unlike others, any dish of Yauatcha never smells MSG. 

As the result, they've been taking a star of Michelin for a decade.

Usually I order from Dim Sum such as, Shanghigh Xiaolongbao, Chinese Chive Dumpling, Three Style Mushrooms Chow Fun, Vegetable Congee and Soft Shell Crab with Chilli and Nuts. When I'm alone, I get  Xiaolongbao and Congee then instantly gain a happy and uplifted mind. 

They offer ranges of cocktail. They are very nice but expensive. 

Instead, beer or selection of tea works brilliantly with their tasty menu.

Wouldn't recommend the beautiful sweets that glamorously showcased in front of the entrance. 

Cost: 20-35 pounds for lunch

Duck with Oriental Orange Sauce

I prepared duck for the first time in my life when I invited Mr. Husband (at that time, he was a friend) for my 25th birthday. 

At that time, we were students and I made it at a tiny kitchen in our college. 

He enjoyed it enormously. 

Since then, my duck dish has been evolved to this.

The harmony of orange and soy sauce flavour  is fantastic.

Ingredients for two people+

• A piece of duck breast
• Half piece of lemon
• Two oranges
• A Tablespoon of Soy Sauce
• Salt and Black Pepper
• Pack Choi to side

Directions

1. Rub the lemon over the entire surface of duck and season the duck with salt and pepper. Leave it for 30 minutes.

2. Heat up a frying pan at high temperature. Fry the skin side of duck with the lemon piece until the skin becomes brown then turn over to the other side. Remove the grease frequently. Lower the temperature and cover the pan with a lid to cook for 4-5 minutes or less. Avoid overcooking. 

3. Immediately after taking the duck from the pan, wrap it with a sheet of foil. Rest it for 10 minutes. 

4. Squeeze a whole orange. Peel the skin of other piece of orange and cut into 8 pieces. Shred the orange skin into thin.

5. Remove the remained oil in the pan and pour the orange juice and soy sauce. Bring it into boil and add the orange peel. Set aside the orange sauce.

6. In the same pan, lightly saute the pac choi pieces. Add table spoons of water and cover with a lid to cook.

7. Slice the duck and place it in a dish with pac choi then pour the orange sauce over them to serve.

Total cost: 12 pounds for a duck breast, 2 pounds for the rest of ingredients

Total time to prepare: 45 minutes-1 hour

Foie Gras with Shio-Koji Muscat (pickled muscat in fermented rice, koji) with Wasabi, Caramelised Fennel, Purred Celeriac

It is the marriage of Foie Gras and muscat!
I gained this idea from the one of the best foie gras restaurants in London, Club Gascon. We've been visiting there for nearly a decade and never missed their iconic dish (we believe): Foie Gras with Grape.

Shio Koji is a fermented rice preparation. In recent Japan, it became very popular for its delicate and healthy method of seasoning.

http://kojiya.jp/shiokoji/index.html

Pickle muscat in Shio-Koji

I removed seeds and skin of muscat pieces and pickled them with shio koji for a week.
In order to enhance the flavour, I add a tea spoon of wasabi. 

Got a pack of foie gras (around 1kg) from Ginger Pig. It was 28.49 pounds.

Celeriac puree

1. Peel the skin of a celeriac and cut into pieces. Soak in cold water for a while to remove out excess tannin.

2. Boil celeriac into tender then drain  water. 

3. Blend cooked celeriac with a table spoon of butter and a pinch of salt till becomes smooth (for 30-40 seconds).

Caramelised fennel

1. Slice fennel into 5mm.

2. Apply oil thinly and sprinkle sugar over each surface. Place them over the baking sheet.

3. Grill fennel in oven over 250c for 5-7 minutes till the sugar gets caramelised.

Cook Foie Gras

1. Slice Foie Gras in to 3 cm. Heat up a frying pan over high temperature and fry Foie Gras pieces until each surface is toasted.

3. Wipe the excess amount of oil with paper towels and set Foie Gras aside. Put a tablespoon of soy sauce and a tea spoon of balsamic vinegar into the pan to mix.

5. Place caramelised fennel, puréed celeriac in a large dish. Put Foie Gras and pour the sauce in the pan.  Put shiokoji muscat pieces with wasabi on the top of Foie Gras to serve.

It was a lovely Christmas brunch!

Total cost for two: 18 pounds (15 for Foie Gras, 3 for the rest of ingredients)

Total time to prepare: 40 minutes

Bolognese Rice Gratin 

When I run out of idea and energy, and when I got a ready made bolognese sauce in our fridge and some rice, I make this dish.

Just mix rice and bolognese sauce and top with white (Béchamel)

 sauce to heat in the oven.

Direction of Béchamel sauce for small amount

1) Melt 1.5 tablespoons of butter in a pan over small temperature.

2) Add 3/4 tablespoon of flour and mix well with spatula till the batter gets smooth then turn off the heat.

3) Add 200cc of fresh milk bit by bit. Each time when adding milk, mix well with the batter to avoid lumpy texture.

4) Once mix all portion of milk, warm up the batter over small heat until becoming to nice, slightly runny sauce. 

Instead for using rice, thinly sliced potato is also nice. Before adding the bolognese sauce, microwave the potato slices for 3-4 minutes to cook.

Total time to prepare: 10 minutes

Total cost: less than 0.5 pound

Toddler Bento Archive: 2nd Week of November

• Rice with Soy Sauce Seasoned Dried Bonito Flake and Nori
• Japanese Style Fried Chicken
• Carrot and Spinach Korean Seasoning (Sesame oil, salt and tiny hint of Garlic) 
• Tomato and Halloumi Cheese
• Apple

• Rice with Dried Shiso Leave
• Shrimp, Spring Onion and Avocado Saute with Oyster Sauce and Mayonnaise
• Tomato and Halloumi Cheese
• Cucumber
• Apple

• Fried Rice with Spring Onion, BAcon, Carrot, Shiitake Mushroom and Egg
• Teriyaki Salmon
• Spinach Saute with Butter
• Tomato and Cucumber

• Bolognese Rice Gratin
• Tomato 
• Cucumber

• Rice with Dried Shiso Leave
• Hamburg Steak with Japanese Style Mushroom Sauce
• Potato, Carrot and Cucumber Salad with Mayonnaise and Dill
• Tofu with Soy Sauce