How to: Rice the Chinese Way

I didn't really know how to begin this post-- there's just so much to say about rice.  Unfortunately, unless you were brought up in an Asian household or have been in close contact with Asian culture growing up, you won't think too much of rice.  To most, there's just basmati, short grain and pudding rice.  There are some wholegrain rice like wild rice and black rice but then with the white rice there's just those.  Plain rice to you may be incomprehensible.  You may be used to eating it as an accompaniment to a curry or a stir-fry, something to soak up the rich juices.  It may be fried and tossed with herbs and spices, but you may not have had the opportunity to enjoy good plain rice.  Good quality rice, cooked perfectly, is so incredibly fragrant and flavorsome just on its own.

Brandy & Raisin Ganache Squares

I'm back home in China with my parents now, and they don't really bake at home, so it's just me that buys all the baking ingredients.  I had bought dark chocolate the last time I was here, which was exactly a year ago.  A ton of dark chocolate.  I didn't use it all, and the other day I wanted to make some truffles, opened them up, and sweet mother of Jesus they were filled with worms. Urgh just the mental image of those little things crawling around makes me gag. 

Terrifying.  I remember my grandparents had an orchard, and my grandmother would make freshly squeezed orange juice for us with their own oranges.  Own organic, pesticide-free oranges -- filled with worms.  We'd get these clear glasses of bright-colored juice with little white worms just swimming around.  "It's okay, they don't do any harm."  Yea but no, Grandma..

So I bought more chocolate to make these truffles.  With excellent brandy, courtesy of my parents' liquor cabinet.

Here's a trick.  In China, as everything I like is imported, I couldn't find excellent quality chocolate without my bank account having a heart attack.  So I had mediocre chocolate, added a ton of spice and brandy to it to cover its mediocreness and then the truffles tasted fantastic.

Yamyam (Berlin)

Korean food, in most parts of the world, is shamefully underrated.  It's spicy, it's fresh, and it's exciting.  There are stews, barbeques, sushis, pickles, noodles and rice.  Don't confuse it with Chinese or Japanese food as they have their own unique blend of condiments that form the basis of all these dishes.  It is no doubt one of my favorite cuisines in the world.

When I was in Berlin this summer for two months, I had a constant craving for Korean food.  I don't know if it's because I was having too much German bread and cheese and sausages, which I love by the way, but I just really felt like eating Korean food.  Berlin is amazing for many reasons: the nightlife, the art, the music, the young people, the life -- but for me, obviously, the food in a city really matters, and Berlin is amazing because of the restaurant scene.

So let's talk about this Korean restaurant.  I went to three in Berlin, the others were not as good and not as memorable, I don't even remember which ones they were.  This one definitely tops the list in terms of the food, the price and the atmosphere. 

The restaurant's situated in Mitte:  a humble setting with simple tables that are all squashed together, and most of the time it's just full of people and it's loud and it's fun. 

I've eaten there many times and I'm usually obnoxiously taking photos of everything I eat but surprisingly enough this is the only picture I have.  I suspect that the food was so good that I couldn't wait to take photos of them. 

Caxton Grill (London)

If you're in the UK and you're remotely interested in food then you probably watch Masterchef and you probably know of Adam Handling - the finalist on the last Masterchef Professionals.  Only 24 years old and he is the head chef at Caxton Grill.  Actually, he was a head chef at Esperante at the St Andrews Fairmont Hotel in 2011 when he was only 22.  That's when I first met him, hell, he could've been head chef there at age 19 for all I know.  Talk about a way to make you feel inadequate, right?  24 and his food is amazing.

I'm just going to boast about him a bit more before I get onto my dining experience -- the other great thing about him is that he's humble.  He's humble and down to earth and will chat to you if you're at his restaurant, if you like his food, and if you're a nobody with the dreams of becoming a chef like him.  He's nice, and I like food cooked by nice people.

Now I can go onto the dining experience.  The restaurant's lovely.  Everything was pleasant, service was good, the atmosphere was nice, nothing extraordinary but things were lovely.  

So you're first greeted with three types of breads served with two types of butters - "gingerbread" and "olive".  The gingerbread is interesting, though not my favorite.  The olive was amazing.  Both made in the restaurant.  The breads were also fantastic, there was rye, focaccia and brioche, but they were the only things not made in the restaurant.

 Adam Handling said that his favorite things from his menu are the starters, and boy was it difficult to choose. 

Chocolate Fennel Seed Shortbread

Fennel seeds are used as a mouth freshener in India.  Isn't it interesting how some cultures use mint and some use fennel seeds?  I was wondering what other herbs and spices were used as mouth fresheners worldwide, so I googled.  Unfortunately I couldn't really find what's used in different countries, but apparently many different spices can be used: cardamom pods, cinnamon, cloves... So next time post-garlic bread/pre-smooching session, you can just grab the closest spice and chew on it.   Basil also works apparently.  But it also depends on your partner - not everyone enjoys cinnamon, for instance.  They may prefer garlic breath in that case. 

Fennel and chocolate.  Chocolate works with anise flavors.  You know what I was thinking? Chocolate, fennel seeds and orange.  I don't know, maybe a chocolate mousse with a crunch fennel seed topping and an orange sorbet.  Maybe some orange crumbs, candied citrus zest.  Perhaps a fennel seed praline.  Chocolate fennel seed bark?  Chocolate fennel seed truffle coated in chocolate orange ganache?  Served with some fennel seed crackers? So many possibilities.