The Food Canon

I don't post many veg recipes and glad to get this one up.

I love brinjal (eggplant or aubergine) and am always amazed by how so many cuisines have made good use of it,be it Indian, Italian, Malay or Chinese. It can be cooked in so many ways. The brinjal love affair started late for me as I did not like the bitter taste when I first ate it as a child. But since then, I have grown to like it.

One way of cooking it is my Mum's Hakka Yong Tou Foo and I have raved about how brinjal makes a perfect HYTF piece.  I am making HYTF again this week for a big group of diners and am looking forward to some great HYTF again.

I have written a few posts on making Char Siew the wok way.

It's helpful to note that there are many ways to cook your CS and if you experiment enough and know where you want to go, you can use the technique that works for you.

A good slice of Char Siew basically has these qualities:

1. Good Flavours: This comes from the marinade/brine, the meat itself (including fat content) caramelization & charring from the cooking process. 
2. Good bite: Properly cooked, the meat should have a good bite (Cantonese: "Song hou") and you are not looking for "pulled meat" or a "melt in your mouth" experience
3. Succulent: The meat should not be dry but moist and juicy 

Steaming is a way of cooking which the Chinese has popularised through their cuisine.

There are many advantages of steaming over stir-frying (wok) and deep frying, the other two popular techniques used in Asian cooking. For one there is no oily smoke to contend with which can be quite a bother for those living in small apartments. And if the air is dry (i.e those who live in colder climates), the vapors and smoke from your fried dishes will smoke the air. This may explain why vigorous wok-frying is less popular for those who live in Western cities.

If you have been following this blog for a while, you will notice that I am very open to newer techniques of cooking and the better use of our kitchen appliances.

Staying in this busy and bustling city of Singapore, I am always seeking to "do more with less." The only way to get much cooking done - and with good results - is to be open to learning new ways of cooking.

That's right, I am learning all the time. I have some very useful cookbooks in my library. When I am cooking or conversing with other home cooks or career chefs, my ears are perked up all the time. If I have to sound stupid to learn something new, I will. I am not out to tell others how much I know. I simply want to learn so that I can cook better and more efficiently. From making Tim Sum to preparing suckling pig the Spanish way, I am just keen to learn. Whether it is attending a cooking class by a famous chef or listening to a domestic helper on how to keep her Fried Nian Gao crispy, I am a student all the time.

Who can resist a piece of great steak? Especially when it is:

• of excellent quality, well-marbled tender and juicy USDA Prime ribeye cut (not even choice or select)
• nicely crusted on the exterior and wondefully flavored from Mallard reactions to browning
• warmed and juicy pink on the inside