My dearest readers,

Over the past 5 years, I have been writing on this blog and I’m thankful for your readership. This blog has been kept alive, sharing recipes and my travel stories. From the day I started this blog to the day I got my cookbook – Lemongrass & Ginger published, I have to say that it has been an amazing journey.

One week from now, it is going to be another new chapter in my life. Yes, I am tying the knot withArnaud! Far away, we are going to be travelling today to one of the beautiful islands in Malaysia, to celebrate this special day with our love ones. It’s going to be a very small and intimate event!

I can’t wait to put on my ivory dress and step my foot on the sandy beach and be married to the one that I love; the person that I have known for a long time and still love eating my ‘humble special fried rice’ (the secret recipe when I don’t measure and just put anything I have in the fridge!!) that I made for him a long time ago. He once told me it was the best fried rice he had ever had when he first knew me! hehe

So, I will be away from today until the 20th May. I will tweet and update my Facebook from time to time during my holiday! I will catch up with you all soon!

- Leemei-

I am really looking forward to a warmer weather as we have been having horrible rainy spring for almost 3 weeks now. It rains almost everyday, if not grey and cloudy. The sun might shine for a few hours if we were lucky.

As far as I could remember, March started out well but a few days into the first week of April, the temperature plummeted and it has been such since. Thus, I am hoping that the summer will be warm and sunny, though I don’t put a lot of hope as the summer in the UK is too temperamental!

When the day is sunny, it makes me feel like making something to welcome summer days that are bright, dry and warm. Thus, the idea of grilled prawns. I love eating prawns. It’s one of my favourite seafood. Buying fresh prawns can be expensive in London, especially those big ones. So, other option is buy frozen ones. I like to buy either with shell on or just shell on the tail. Depending on what kind of dishes I want to make. Those with shells on are great if you want to use them as the main ingredient for a dish. Otherwise, with tail on or without would be the most convenient.

I seldom buy cooked prawns unless I want to serve them with salad leaves or as starters that are served at room temperature. As double cook the prawns will make them too chewy. Another good way to use cooked prawns are to add them in a soup or soup noodle, especially when they just need to be heated up.

As a way to bring a taste of summer at home, I grilled the prawns and serve them with mango salsa. The dish doesn’t only look summery, but after eating the prawns with mango salsa, it brought me straight into summer mood.

Grilled Prawns with Asian-Style Mango Salsa

Yield: 2-3 persons

Ingredients:

10 prawns, rinsed, trimmed and deveined
1/2 tsp olive oil
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp tomato powder (optional)
salt & pepper

Asian-Style Mango salsa:
1 tbsp lime juice
1 1/2 tsp caster sugar
1 tsp fish sauce
1 ripe mango, peeled and cut into small dice
1/2 red pepper, cut into small dice
a small handful of chopped mint leaves and some extra whole leaves for garnishing
a small handful of chopped coriander leaves and some extra whole leaves for garnishing

Directions:

1. Put the prawns in a bowl, add the olive oil, garlic powder, tomato powder, salt and pepper. Mix well and leave to marinate for 20-25 minutes.

2. Heat a griddle pan until searingly hot. Meanwhile, to make the dressing, add the lime juice, caster sugar and fish sauce in a bowl. Stir until the sugar dissolves. Add the mango and red pepper, mix to coat. Add the mint and coriander leaves, mix well. Chill for 7-8 minutes.

3. Place the prawns onto the hot griddle pan and cook for 3-4 minutes on each side, until opaque and pink in colour. Serve these immediately with the dressing and the reserved mint and coriander leaves.

There is one particular pub that I love to go for its good fish & chips. The Mayflower Pub in Rotherhithe Village is classically warm and cosy with French doors opening out onto a deck over the Thames. Just a few weeks ago, we went there as we both were craving for fish and chips. It was the still as good as before but the portion somehow had become smaller. Even though, that didn’t really bother me as I was pretty full after having one portion by myself. We shared a yummy pudding – Sticky Toffee Pudding, also called Sticky Date Pudding.

Stickly Toffee Pudding is a British classic dessert. It is a steamed dessert that is made of dates, served with glossy toffee sauce and sometimes accompanied with vanilla ice-cream or custard. The cake is really moist and the natural sweetness of dates makes it a very irresistible dessert.

The recipe I have tried is the one from BBC Good Food. Instead of steaming, this recipe opts for baking. The result of baking has made the cake really moist, light and fluffy, which I think the texture is brilliant. Next time, I will try to steam, to see how different the texture is. Though the recipe calls for golden caster sugar, I have used normal one.

Medjool dates are recommended in the recipe. Medjool dates have been called the “king of dates” and the “crown jewel of dates.” The fruit is dried before eaten. What makes Medjool dates special is that they are exceptionally large, contain a large amount of “fruit meat,” and are extremely sweet. Each center of the date has an elongated pit, which is easy to remove.

The silky smooth toffee sauce is drizzled all over the moist cake, top with vanilla ice-cream is probably one of the best British desserts that I truly love! Forget about the calories!

Sticky Toffee Pudding

Yield: 8 persons

Ingredients:

200g dried dates (Medjool) , stoned and chopped
250ml black tea (not too strong)
½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
85g unsalted butter , softened
175g self-raising flour
1 tsp mixed spice
175g golden caster sugar
2 eggs , beaten

Toffee Sauce:
100g light muscovado sugar
100g unsalted butter
142ml carton double cream

Directions:

1. Heat the oven to 180C/fan 160C/gas 4. Put the dates and tea in a saucepan and bring to the boil. Cook for 3-4 minutes to soften the dates. Stir in the bicarbonate of soda. Set aside.

2. Beat the butter and caster sugar together with electric beaters until pale and creamy, then beat in the egg, flour and mixed spice. Fold in the date mixture and pour into a buttered ovenproof dish or brownie tin. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until the top is just firm to touch.

3. Meanwhile, make the sauce by putting the sugar, butter and cream in a pan over a low heat and simmer until the sugar has dissolved. Cook until the sauce is a lovely toffee colour. Cut the pudding into squares and serve with the warm sauce and a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

It took me quite a while to put my latest portfolio together to relaunch my photography website – Leemei Tan Photography. I am very pleased with the result and I think it looks great, modern and sleek! I love the slider! I am very glad that it is now all done and dusted and I can share this with you all!

I have segregated my photography portfolio into category of food, travel and my recent works.

If you or anyone you know is interested in food photography service, please drop me a line as I am giving a discount of 20% until 1st June 2012!

I have also set up a new Facebook page for my photography website, please click here to like Leemei Tan Photography page and get up-to-date news! Thank you!

Today, in line with the official launch of my cookbook – Lemongrass & Ginger in the UK and AUS, I thought I would share a recipe from the book.

I heard so much about Cha Ca La Vong in Hanoi. It is a restaurant that serves only one dish – Cha Ca, which is grilled fish. However, It did make me very curious on how the family-run restaurant had managed to make its name big and earned a place on the map for serving only one dish.

I promised myself that I wasn’t going to leave Hanoi until I tried it, so I did!  I learnt and tasted this dish during my short visit to Hanoi a few years ago. I really love it! It was fun, simple and delicious. It came in a pan over a charcoal burner, where the oil was still bubbling away in the pan. Served alongside are different kind of herbs, rice vermicelli, nuoc cham dipping sauce, sliced chillies and roasted peanuts.

Now, it’s not a dish that you have travel miles away to savour, you could prepare and cook it from scratch in your comfy kitchen!

p/s: Two signed copies of Lemongrass & Ginger to giveaway! If you haven’t entered, please click here! Closing date is 16/04/2012.

cha ca la vong (Hanoi Turmeric Fish)

Yield: 4 persons

Prep Time: 25 minutes plus 30 minutes marinating time

Cook Time: 15-20 minutes

Ingredients:

3cm/1 1⁄4in piece of fresh turmeric, peeled and roughly chopped, or 2 tsp ground turmeric
1cm/1⁄2in piece of galangal, peeled and roughly chopped 1cm/1⁄2in piece of root ginger, peeled and roughly chopped
2 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
2 tbsp fish sauce
2 tsp sugar
a generous pinch of ground
pepper
550g/1lb 4oz skinned monkfish, cod or pollack fillets, cut into bite-sized pieces
185g/6 1⁄2oz dried rice vermicelli
3 tbsp sunflower oil 40g/1 1⁄2oz dill, trimmed 10 spring onions, cut into
6cm/2 1⁄2in lengths and sliced 15g/1⁄2oz chives, cut into
5cm/2in lengths (optional)

To serve:
50g/1 3⁄4oz/1⁄3 cup skinless raw peanuts
1 small handful of Thai basil leaves
1 small handful of coriander leaves
2 red chillies, deseeded and sliced (optional)
1 recipe quantity Nuoc Cham Dipping Sauce

Nuoc Cham Dipping Sauce:
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
1 tsp chopped red bird’s eye chilli
2 tbsp caster sugar
5 tbsp lime juice
2 tbsp fish sauce

Directions:

1. Put the fresh turmeric, if using, galangal, ginger and garlic in a mortar or a food processor and pound with a pestle or blend into a smooth paste. Transfer to a large bowl, add the ground turmeric, if using, and combine with the fish sauce, sugar and ground pepper. Tip the fish into the bowl and toss until each piece of fish is well coated in the paste. Cover with cling film and leave to marinate at room temperature for about 30 minutes.

2 Heat a frying pan over a medium-high heat, then add the peanuts and dry-roast until fragrant and starting to brown. Remove from the heat, roughly chop and leave to one side.

3 Bring a saucepan of water to the boil and cook the rice vermicelli for 2–3 minutes until softened. Drain, refresh under running cold water, pat dry with kitchen paper and divide into four individual serving bowls.

4 Heat the oil in a frying pan over a medium-high heat. Add the marinated fish and fry, stirring occasionally, for 6–7 minutes until crisp, golden brown and cooked through. Add the dill, spring onions and chives, if using. Toss and cook for a few more seconds until wilted. Remove from the heat and transfer to a serving dish.

5. To make Nuoc Cham dipping sauce, put all the ingredients in a bowl, add 2 tablespoons water and stir until the sugar is dissolved. Transfer the bowls of noodles, accompaniments and turmeric fish to the table for everyone to assemble their own dish.

Last month, we made our first ever visit to Moscow, one of the cities that I have always wanted to see. We travelled with a friend of us and it was for 5 days and 4 nights. Luckily enough, Arnaud has a friend who lives in Moscow, who has kindly offered to show us places. Without him, our trip wouldn’t have been filled with so much fun –  seen places that we wouldn’t have seen and eaten delicious food at different restaurants! Steve (if you are reading this), thanks so much for being such a great guide!

I have to admit that I don’t know much about Moscow, not to mention the kind of food I should be expecting. I only knew that it’s famous for its caviar,  pancake and vodka. Other than that, I am a novice.

To my surprise, cuisines from its neighbouring countries are abundant in Moscow and they are really popular. I would have never imagined that I would be trying cuisines from Uzbekistan, Georgia and Ukraine. We were really lucky as Steve is very much into his food. I could tell that he loves food, eating or cooking. Another foodie, so to say! He did ask Arnaud what we planned to do, I think Arnaud had mentioned the foodie part in me! When we travel to places, learning a country’s culture through its food is always a highlight!

We first tried Uzbek cuisine. The name of the restaurant is Ходжа Насреддин в Хиве. Unfortunately, I don’t know the name in English, but Steve managed to send me a link (in Russian) of the restaurant. The menu is pretty huge, with a long list of dishes to choose from. It has English translation, but some have bizarre names, sometimes, you just have to guess and use your imagination. If not sure, just pass. If curious, just order.

Luckily enough, Steve ordered many small and delicious dishes. The freshly made bread was absolutely delicious – fluffy inside and a slight crispy crust outside, fragrant by some sesame seeds. I also love the vegetables dish that consisted of grilled aubergine and sauerkraut. Even before the dishes arrived, we had vodka, yes neat!

I have 2 favourites. One of them is kebab! It’s probably the best kebab that I have ever had in my life! I am not a big fan of kebab but this time in Moscow, at an Uzbek restaurant, it changed my view on kebab, totally! Look at those slightly charred surface of the meat skewers, they looked just like ordinary kebab but the taste and texture were amazing! I particularly love the chicken one, it has crispy outer layer and the flesh was so moist and not dry one bit! The taste was not overpowered by the marinate or spices. Just right! Plov, is Uzbek-style Pilaf rice. The rice is fragrant by spices and very well cooked. The meat was lamb, very succulent!! I wish I had more!

We love the Red Square. I particularly love St. Basil’s Cathedral, the iconic building that I recognise. Being able to see it in real is just wonderful! Kazan Cathedral has really nice architecture too!

During our stay there, though it was really cold (the kind of cold that I have never experienced before, between -5°C and -15°C!), it was dry and sunny. So, we were really lucky! One day, we went All Russian Exibition Centre.

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We went into one of the exhibition centres without much intention but it was where we discovered the most interesting thing throughout the trip! Quite a lot of stalls were set up and they sold mainly food related stuff. Some were for clothings and souvenirs. A few stall owners were selling honey. They have so many varieties, with different textures, tastes and colours! We went honey tasting frenzy and bought some of course! I particularly love the one with lavender taste!

Ukrainian food was another cuisine that we tried while we were in Moscow. We went to Tarasbulba. I love Borscht, a soup that is made with beetroot. Other ingredients like tomatoes and onions are used, I believe. I think it’s a perfect soup for all seasons. One of the dishes that didn’t appeal to me was pork fat. Yes, slices of pork fat. It just didn’t taste nice. I don’t mind pork crackling though. The meat dumplings ‘pelmeni’ served with sour cream were absolutely delicious!

Georgian food, has to be another favourite of mine. We went to Hinkalnaya Horosho Sidim. We ordered Khinkali – Georgian-style of dumpling, which the idea is pretty similar to “Shanghai Siao Long Bao”. However, Khinkali is pretty big. The filling is meat. Yummy! Adzhapsandal, I would say the Georgian-style of Ratatouille was really a great dish. It was served at room temperature, a very simple dish but full of flavour. Khachapuri, Georgian cheese bread, almost pizza-like, was lovely and delicious. I love the one with an egg in the middle, just super yummy!

Oh, Cafe Pushkin. A more upmarket place for meal. We went there for brunch and it was excellent! I had red caviar (those shiny little jewels!!) with Russian pancakes, just absolutely delicious. Arnaud had grilled salmon, perfectly cooked. Served with poached egg with hollandaise sauce and pancake. It was scrumptious!

Overall, the trip to Moscow was really exciting! Not only did I try all the different cuisines, I saw this interesting city with my own eyes. The metro stations are all really pretty, the interiors are amazingly beautiful! On the last day before we left, it snowed and it was grey. So, we were pretty lucky for most of the days when we were there as the weather was great with blue sky and dry. I hope to one day discover St. Petersburg!

Macaron (Macaroons) is a round meringue based confectionery that is made with egg whites, icing sugar, ground almond and food colouring. It is always filled with different flavours of buttercream, jam or ganache. The filling is sandwiched between two rounds of meringue.

There has been a big craze over this little sweet thing. When I was in Paris, I could easily see long queue formed in front of Ladurée. It just seems to be a not-to-be-missed when one is in Paris. I did sometimes crave for macarons and willingly joined the long queue.

Ladurée is a classic and popular choice when comes to macarons.

Its competitor, Pierre Hermé is another popular choice amongst the Parisians. Now, I have been thinking (for a long time!) to compare these 2 heavy-weight. The time came when Arnaud returned from Paris with 2 boxes of macarons – one from Ladurée and the other from Pierre Hermé. When I saw them, not only I was excited as I got to eat them, but I thought it was time to compare and write about them too!

Below is a summary of what I think of both:

1. Price

For the same size of assortment box, Pierre Hermé have about 2 macrons less than Ladurée. So, in terms of almost the same price paid at around € 23.00 - €25.00, Pierre Hermé appear to be slightly more expensive.

2. Packaging

Both appear to have great packaging. However, I find the material use for Pierre Hermé round case seems to be slightly firmer. It has smoother texture, thus nicer to hold.

3. Appearance

Pierre Hermé’s macarons stand out quite easily for its lovely shade and the little touches, such as cocoa powder, small pieces of nuts, silver powder, etc on top of the meringue disc. Ladurée has more conservative and classic colour choices that you would normally expect. Pierre Hermé seems to be more generous with its ganache, so you can easily see the layers clearly – meringue, ganache and meringue. As for Ladurée, the ganache layer seems to be on the stingy side, which could be the reason why it makes it overall less sweet – point 4.

4. Taste

Macarons from Ladurée is less sweet (for me) compared to Pierre Hermé’s. The meringue discs for both are equally great and light. However, I find  the meringue disc from Pierre Hermé is slightly thicker, but still light and not affecting its overall texture.

5. Creativity

Pierre Hermé is the winner in this area. Imaginative combinations of flavours, modern twist and real taste of fruit are carefully considered and well executed. I love the very unusual modern tastes and flavours - huile d’olive à la mandarine (olive oil with mandarin), crème brûlée, chocolate & foie gras, etc. As for Ladurée, it’s more of classic flavours, such as lemon, vanilla, raspberry, rose, chocolate, etc. Having said that, there are new seasonal flavours at Ladurée from time to time.

So, Pierre Hermé seems to be taking the lead in most categories. Which is my favourite?

Personally, I kind of prefer Ladurée, for one reason that it is less sweet. And I am fine with the classic flavours that never go wrong.However, I am completely impressed with Pierre Hermé’s creativity in macarons making.

It’s a tough choice. But, I think I fell for Pierre Hermé, for its generosity of ganache. If I could give one suggestion/request about Pierre Hermé’s macarons, in order to make me a convert, I would say cut down the sweetness slightly and that would make me really happy!

For those who have tried both Ladurée and Pierre Hermé, I would love to hear what you think.

Very soon, my debut Asian cookbook – Lemongrass & Ginger: Vibrant Asian Recipes will be published! I must say that it has been a wonderful journey, from writing to the printing of the actual book. The day when I got the printed copies of the book in my hand, I got really emotional and excited. I almost couldn’t believe that I was actually holding the real book, a book that I have written, which I spent a lot of time drafting, writing, cooking and testing. I am very very glad with the end result of this beautiful cookbook!

The official launch date of my cookbook in the US is on the 4th April 2012. As for the UK and Australia, it is on the 12th April 2012. I have set up a dedicated page for my cookbook. On this page, you will get a sneak preview of my book and read a little bit what my book covers. Besides, I have also included some links where you could purchase it online.

In Asia, Lemongrass & Ginger: Vibrant Asian Recipes will be stocked at major bookstores. You can buy online on Kinokuniya.

Major bookstores in the US, Australia and UK will stock the book when it is published.

In Europe, so far, I have the below information where you can it.

• Austria – Babette’s Spice and Books for Cooks: Pernstich KG Schleifmuehlgasse 17/Muehlgasse 9, 1040 – Wien Austria.
• Germany – The British-Bookshop: Boersenstrasse 17, D-60313 Frankfurt / Germany (info@british-bookshop.de)
• Switzerland – Orell Fuessli The Bookshop: Bahnhofstrasse 70, 8001 Zurich.

Please bear with me as I will be getting a longer list of the bookshops that will stock my book in any other countries that I haven’t mentioned. So, watch this space! I will provide the information as soon as I receive.

Now, the good news is, I have 2 signed copies of Lemongrass & Ginger: Vibrant Asian Recipes to giveaway!  TO WIN, please read the following instructions:

• This giveaway is opened to all readers in the world! The winner will be randomly chosen using random.org.
• For a chance to win, just leave a comment.

Easter is around the corner and I am glad to announce giveaways sponsored by Hotel Chocolat! There are many Easter gifts and I love one that is called Serious Dark Fix Extra Thick Easter Egg! This is created especially for dark chocolate lovers with both shells cast in our award-winning 70% dark chocolate, one studded with crunchy cocoa nibs. And inside – an adventure into the profoundly deep flavours of dark chocolate in elegantly simple recipes with rum, chilli praline, raspberry liqueur and more.

Rum Truffle, lashing of premium golden run from Saint Lucia in a milk chocolate truffle is really hard to resist! Salted Soft Caramel, the oozingly soft caramel beautifully balanced with a pinch of Maldon sea salt. If like you like a a little hint of chill, dark chill pralines is for you – the mellow melt of praline then the gentle warmth of chill a few seconds later!

So, what’s in for you? There are 3 boxes of chocolates to be given away as follow:

This post was meant to be posted a long long time ago… it was more than a year we went to Salon de l’Agriculture in Paris. It can be called a food festival but a lot more than that! It a big exhibition of anything from livestock to food, wine and more.

You will find exhibition hall that is dedicated to prize-winning animals from different regions in France. Of course, a huge hall that accommodates all the farmers and vendors of wine, cheese, ..etc. It’s a annual event that takes place from the end of February to the beginning of March. If you are a serious foodie, this is an event that you shouldn’t miss!

Last year we went  to Salon de l’Agriculture for the first time and it was awesome! I didn’t make it this year but hopefully will be making another trip next year.

We first checked out the hall where they kept the livestock. Different breeds of sheeps, cows, chickens, … you name it they have it. It’s amazing to see all the different breeds of animals that I had never seen before. Each year, the best breeds are given medals for its meat, milk, wool, etc. Below photo shows 2 medals given to the sheeps – 3rd prize for the meat and 2nd prize for the wool.

As we stepped into another building, I could sense food! Food, oh glorious food was not too far away! In the food exhibition hall, it suddenly struck me how much in love French people are with their food – just as much as how we Malaysian people love food – talking about food, eat at least 5 times a day, never tired of cooking and eating – feeling so in love everyday when we eat, cook, talk (or even dream) about food! That’s probably why I feel so connected to France, a wider horizon of a food nation!

All the fabulous products that I saw at the food hall just blew my mind away! I wanted to taste all of them! Apart from food, I spoiled myself with some really good wine too. Being a completely novice in wine, I was glad to learn about Corsican wine – really a well kept secret!

One of the highlights of the event was to see how the baguettes are being made from scratch! Those guys have been making baguettes for years, the patience and love they have in them are the result of those good baguettes! I felt really lucky to eat one that was fresh from the oven – crispy on the outside and fluffy inside!

There were just too many things to see, apart from food, a dance performance by some lovely Tahitian girls!

A great trip, not only to indulge in food and wine, it is great to see Paris, a city that I love and never get bored of returning!