Friday 30 September 2011
Memories of Little Horse 馬仔
After my recent dim sum feast at Croydon's Tai Tung, I popped into the adjacent Wing Yip supermarket to do some food shopping. Whilst stocking up on bits and bobs, I clapped eyes on an old childhood favourite: ma zai 馬仔, which roughly translates as 'little horse'.
It's also known in Chinese as sha kei ma 沙琪瑪 or saat kei ma 薩其馬, and there are various English translations such as 'Soft Flour Cake'. Ma zai consists of little bits of 'batter' made of flour, egg and sugar binded together in squares with maltose syrup. The end result is a sweet chewy sticky eggy snack.
It's been a while since I last had ma zai, and I was overjoyed that this version was a good 'un. I was at once transported back to the 1980’s when my Mum would buy it as a treat for us pesky kids whenever she went shopping in Manchester's Chinatown.
Nowadays, ma zai comes in cellophane-wrapped individual portions, but when I was little, it would come as one giant cake from which you tore off a square. Inevitably, there would be much sibling bickering as to who snaffled the last one. Hand on heart, it was never me. Honest.
Sunday 25 September 2011
Adventures with Prickly Oil 花椒油
What is prickly oil? It's a mix of rapeseed oil (88%) and Sichuan pepper (12%). There aren't any actual Sichuan peppercorns in the oil, and I guess a chemical process beyond my understanding has somehow extracted the numbing heat of Sichuan pepper into oil form. It is potent stuff and I love it. So, what's the best way to use prickly oil? Well, there's a reason why I'm called Mr Noodles, which is why I used it in a knockout dressing for noodles!
Sichuan Chilli Soy Dressing
Soy sauce
Chiu Chow chilli oil (other kinds of chilli oils/sauces can also be used)
Sesame oil
Prickly oil
Spring onion
1) Mix soy sauce, sesame oil and the Chiu Chow chilli oil in a bowl.
2) Finely chop the spring onion and add to the bowl. Give it a stir.
3) Add prickly oil (little by little). Give it another stir.
I hate measurements when it comes to stuff like this. This is food we're talking about, not a chemistry practical. Just mix the ingredients to your own taste, but do take care when adding the prickly oil – a few drops go a long way.
Serving Suggestion
In the above photo, I tossed some Shanghai noodles (上海麵) and fishballs in the dressing before garnishing with some pak choi. As well as noodles, I reckon this versatile dressing would go brilliantly with dumplings.
Where can I buy prickly oil?
I bought this bottle of prickly oil at Wing Yip in Croydon but do let me know if you see it stocked elsewhere. And as Dean (see comments) points out, you can also get this oil at the Chinatown branch of SeeWoo, where it's called Sichuan Hanyuan Pepper Oil.
Wednesday 21 September 2011
200 Not Out
This is my blog's 200th post. It's taken a little over two years to reach this milestone, during which time it has featured:
96 places to eat in London
89 posts tagged with noodles
49 posts on my travels
38 Chinese restaurants in London
12 countries
8 recipes
You can tell a lot from numbers. From the above, you can probably guess that I live in London, like Chinese food (especially noodles) and travel a fair bit. Oh, and that I really ought to cook more!
I must confess I'm finding blogging harder than I used to. After all, it's taken longer to write the second century of posts than the first. But that's not to say I'm giving up on the blog, it's just that I'm slowing down. I hope you understand.
I'd also like to take this opportunity to say thanks to all my readers. In particular, those of you who have left comments - I'm not sure I would've made it to 200 posts without your support.
96 places to eat in London
89 posts tagged with noodles
49 posts on my travels
38 Chinese restaurants in London
12 countries
8 recipes
You can tell a lot from numbers. From the above, you can probably guess that I live in London, like Chinese food (especially noodles) and travel a fair bit. Oh, and that I really ought to cook more!
I must confess I'm finding blogging harder than I used to. After all, it's taken longer to write the second century of posts than the first. But that's not to say I'm giving up on the blog, it's just that I'm slowing down. I hope you understand.
I'd also like to take this opportunity to say thanks to all my readers. In particular, those of you who have left comments - I'm not sure I would've made it to 200 posts without your support.
Friday 16 September 2011
Noodle Shorts 5
About 140km north of Guangzhou lies Yingde (英德), which is famous for its 'red tea' (紅茶). Although called 'red tea' by the Chinese, this is what we know as black tea in English i.e. the stuff found in PG Tips et al.
Friday 9 September 2011
Dim Sum Dispatches: Croydon's Finest & A Return To Mayfair
Grilled squid cake 墨魚餅 (front) & Paper wrapped prawn 紙包蝦 (back) |
Yam paste w/dried meat 芋角 (left) & Cha siu pork puff 叉燒酥 (right) |
Fish balls & turnip 魚蛋豬皮蘿蔔 |
King prawn cheung fun 鮮蝦腸粉 |
Service was efficient and the damage came to £42 for nine dim sum dishes, a bowl of wonton noodles, tea and service – a mere £14/head. When ordering, don't be intimidated by the Chinese language-only dim sum ticksheet, as the numbers on it match up to a bilingual menu. The décor isn't going to win any design awards but I don't think the clientele really care.
However, words can't really convey the way I feel about Tai Tung. The thing is as I get older, I find myself getting increasingly nostalgic and sentimental (cue wistful Oasis B-side) and there was something about this restaurant's old school charm that touched my heart. And it wasn't just me; all around the dining room was the sight of friends and families, old and young, all having a great time. Or as the Chinese might say: 高興熱鬧, which is what dim sum is all about. So if you can get to Croydon easily then do pop into Tai Tung.
Tai Tung Chinese Restaurant, Wing Yip Centre, 544 Purley Way, Croydon, CR0 4RF
(Tel: 020-8688-3668) Nearest rail: Waddon
Earlier in this post I alluded to Tai Tung's dim sum selection as being old fashioned. That was an observation, not a criticism. However, being the foodie trainspotter that I am, I do like to check out the latest trends in dim sum.
Baked cha siu bao 叉燒餐包仔 |
Baked custard buns 奶黃菠蘿包 |
For a review covering my first couple of visits to Princess Garden, please click here.
Sunday 4 September 2011
Paté Paté (or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Twitter)
In my humble opinion, food is at its best when it's at its simplest. And that's why I'm a big fan of places like Paté Paté in Copenhagen. So how did I find out about this place? Through the medium of Twitter, where @meemalee answered my SOS for restaurant tips in the Danish capital.
It was just as well that I had Paté Paté as back-up, given that my original plan to visit Noma fell through. I mean, who would've thought that you'd need to reserve a table on a school night? For God's sake, you'd think Noma has pretensions to be the best restaurant in the world! (note to slow people, I am taking the piss).
There's not much to say about simple dishes like two terrines w/pickles and roast veal w/borlotti beans & salsa verde. Suffice to say they were of high quality and perfectly executed. The terrines were at room temperature, which I much prefer to the 'straight from the fridge' chill that afflicts many inferior versions. The veal was perfectly done, with a nice crust on the outside whilst still tender within. If I'm being honest, the beans got a bit samey after a while but I adored the salsa verde, as it added a tart quality to this dish. Portions were very generous so there was (sadly) no room for dessert.
I also liked the fact that I could eat at the bar (I was on solo business dining detail) and drink decent wine by the glass. The ambience was excellent, and the boho-chic vibe just erred on the right side of not being hipster-toss. It isn't cheap but then again few things are in Copenhagen, a city that makes London seem good value. In short, highly recommended.
Thanks again, @meemalee - I've finally come round to loving Twitter! Oh, and one more thing, apologies to Stanley Kubrick.
Paté Paté, Slagterboderne 1, 1716 Copenhagen, Denmark
(Tel +45-3969-5557)
It was just as well that I had Paté Paté as back-up, given that my original plan to visit Noma fell through. I mean, who would've thought that you'd need to reserve a table on a school night? For God's sake, you'd think Noma has pretensions to be the best restaurant in the world! (note to slow people, I am taking the piss).
There's not much to say about simple dishes like two terrines w/pickles and roast veal w/borlotti beans & salsa verde. Suffice to say they were of high quality and perfectly executed. The terrines were at room temperature, which I much prefer to the 'straight from the fridge' chill that afflicts many inferior versions. The veal was perfectly done, with a nice crust on the outside whilst still tender within. If I'm being honest, the beans got a bit samey after a while but I adored the salsa verde, as it added a tart quality to this dish. Portions were very generous so there was (sadly) no room for dessert.
I also liked the fact that I could eat at the bar (I was on solo business dining detail) and drink decent wine by the glass. The ambience was excellent, and the boho-chic vibe just erred on the right side of not being hipster-toss. It isn't cheap but then again few things are in Copenhagen, a city that makes London seem good value. In short, highly recommended.
Thanks again, @meemalee - I've finally come round to loving Twitter! Oh, and one more thing, apologies to Stanley Kubrick.
Paté Paté, Slagterboderne 1, 1716 Copenhagen, Denmark
(Tel +45-3969-5557)
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