Baozi Inn

On the hottest day of the year (?), we decided to visit Baozi Inn, in Chinatown. It specialises in Sichuan and Beijing streetfood, named after the Chinese word for 'bun'. As soon as I read this review, I knew I had to go.

So off we toddled, fresh from the seaside. The restaurant don't take bookings, so we took our chances on a busy Saturday night. We got a table with a 5 minute wait. The restaurant itself is pretty basic; tables and chairs are wooden and close together, all adding to the atmosphere. Staff are young Chinese folk, perfectly pleasant.

The menu was short. One page consisted of dumplings and the baozi. Dragon wontons were offered, we went for the ones in chilli oil and garlic sauce (top picture). Gorgeous; these weren't ready made, yellow skins that they used, but rather silky and light white wheat pastry.

A Three Sliver Salad, made of carrot, kelp and vermicelli noodles was addictive and moreish, tossed in sesame oil with just the right amount of crunch. They were advertised as being in chilli oil, but it wasn't prevalent and was quite refreshing.

We also ordered Fragrant Hot & Spicy Pork Noodles (or something like that...) which came with a warning glance from the waitress. "This is very spicy, is that ok?" Perhaps we were perspiring heavily, but we eagerly nodded it in. I also ordered the Chengdu Dan Dan Noodles (above left), on the back of the Time Out review. This was disappointingly small compared with the other noodles, but it worked well. The ground pork sauce was spicy and made the lips tingle pleasantly. The noodles were perfect and toothsome. I dribble a little bit thinking about it now.

I finished off with a ground pork Baozi. I felt it wrong to come here and not try it's eponymous bun. It was probably the least favourite of the meal. Although the pork was tasty, it was a touch boring. It would make for a very plausible lunch though, especially at £1.20 a pop.

The restaurant was mainly populated by young Chinese, all conversing in Mandarin, making for a great (and authentic-feeling) atmosphere. Food is very quick, like a super tasty fast food.

It was also incredibly good value - these dishes, service, two beers and an iced lemon tea came to £30. We came out having sweated a bucket - sorry, ladies glow, don't they? - but immensely satisfied. I have found my new favourite Chinatown gaff.

Whitstable Oyster Festival

I may have mentioned it before, but I love oysters. When I heard about Whitstable Oyster Festival, I thought it must be perfect. Happily enough, it fell on the weekend after payday, so off we went to Whitstable.

A 2 hour train ride later, we arrived. The weather was balmy, although over-cast which was probably a good thing, to fend off the sun burn. We started off at Wheelers Oyster Bar on the high street, and sunk a half dozen oysters for a paltry £2.50. Large, juicy tiger prawns with garlic mayonnaise completed our breakfast, and with this we headed off to find some refreshment.

I love being by the sea, and Whitstable is a charming town. A busy and bustling town centre with plenty of cafes, restaurants and the ubiquitous Boots. The sea front was much calmer with some little beach huts, holiday homes and a pub or two.

We moved on to find the main part of the Oyster Festival. So far we had only seen the Fisherie selling half lobsters and oysters, and we were wondering whether this was it. A short stroll down to the Harbour revealed much more. Lots of stalls selling cheeses, olives, cakes and biscuits, even curry and of course, oysters.

The queues for the oysters were long. I mean, LONG. There were two stalls selling freshly shucked oysters and these were by far the most popular. We obediently joined. About half an hour and a half of super strength cider later, we slurred our way to the front. Nothing like a bit of binge-drinking on a Saturday afternoon.

A jug of Pimms later, the proper hunger set in and we set off to find some real sustenance. We found ourselves back at Wheelers, this time with a couple of dressed crabs to hand. The sun decided to make a proper appearance and the rest of the afternoon was spent watching all the crazies (the water was freezing - the toe I dipped in nearly fell off) swimming in the sea.

I recommend taking the trip down there during the Oyster Festival. There were various activities to do and watch, like the Oyster Eating Competition, and some kiddy workshops. They had BBC filming a food show, it looked like a segment of Saturday Kitchen but we were just happy to potter around and slurp down seafood.

No Tofu Tuesday - Pork in Black Bean Sauce

This week I realised how debilitating it is to be without a Chinese supermarket. When thinking of Tofu Tuesday I wanted to try Peng's Homestyle Beancurd, which is slices of tofu deep fried and then stir-fried with pork. When I found out I would be working out of the office in South London on Tuesday, I didn't think much of it. I went straight from there home in a cab. I figured Sainsburys must have some tetrapak tofu, of the Mori-Nu brand. But as I sprinted around Sainsburys with my cab waiting outside, this was not to be. I grabbed a shelf stacker and asked him where the tofu was; he looked Japanese and knew exactly what I was talking about, and we set off together.

I often hear of people slating supermarket workers. Often if you ask them for an obscure ingredient you are met with confusion (such as arrowroot; I was led to the spices aisle). I once asked for capers, and when asked what they were, I found actually I couldn't describe them either. I have since found that they are the pickled bud of the caper plant. Anyway, I won't have a bad word said against this particular employee - he scoured the 'World Foods' aisle, I the 'Free From' section. I couldn't think of where else it might be. At last, I admitted defeat. Dejectedly, I made my way to the checkout with my lonely broccoli. He appeared again; "if you're looking for really good Asian supplies, there's a really great shop in Catford Bridge". We compared notes over the till. Now that's what I call service.

So, the pork loin was put to a different recipe, a really quick stir-fry. One of Ken Hom's, in fact, of which you can find here. I added shredded leeks.

More Meat

My, what a meaty weekend I had. We had a beautiful leg of lamb on Sunday, stuffed to the brim with anchovies, rosemary and garlic.

Living with just one other often means it isn't really viable to have a roast dinner; you might as well get yourself a steak, or a lamb or pork chop instead.

I've completely abandoned the idea of a Sunday roast pub lunch - I haven't had a single decent one in recent memory. Often you get thin, grey meat, so over-cooked you can't even differentiate what meat it is. Sad yellowing vegetables that have had a time and a half under hot lamps to keep them warm swim around the plate in a limp, salty Bisto-like sea of death. On one occasion, perfectly square wafer-thin slices of stuffing resembling a minature piece of MDF even had the audacity to wink at me from my over-priced plate in a trendy N1 pub (yes, you, Keston Lodge. Tsk!).

So, what about roasts? For me, leg of lamb must be pink for tender, juicy meat. The highest heat for 20 mins to caramelise the outside of the roast, and then 15 minutes per 450gr and a good long rest, perhaps 40 minutes. Served with boulangere potatoes, simply steamed broccoli and carrots and a dribble of gravy made from the juices. Heaven.

Barbeque

Ah, the Great British Barbeque. As soon as a barbeque was on the cards, we nervously check the weather every day. British weather cannot be trusted. Last summer was a complete wash-out, the whole of last week was rainy and miserable, some might say positively autumnal. Conversations went a little like this:

"BBC Weather says cloudy and light showers".

"But Accuweather says sunny, and Accuweather must be accurate, it's all in the name."

"Maybe we could barbeque in the rain; we have done before".

I burst out of bed (when I say burst, I mean staggered) on Saturday morning and nervously pulled the curtains back. Hurrah! The sun was out.

My parents are champion marinaters. We had a million ribs, all swimming in the 'special marinade', so called because my dad can never remember exactly what goes in it.

What can be better than ribs? Especially these ones; they were slightly tangy, slightly sweet and well caramelised. Meaty too; quite often all you get is a bit of fat and bone, but these were something to sink your teeth into.

Other meaty morsels destined for the barbeque were squid, chicken legs, steaks and sausages.

You can see the tentacles of the squid sizzling away in the top picture. The squid was extremely tender, cooked to perfection and often the tentacles are the best bit, cooked so they have a bit of crunch.

We did have vegetably bits, such as barbequed courgettes, a lettuce, tomato and avocado salad and some potatoes with red onion and a little mayonnaise, but really - it's a barbeque! It's all about the building of the fire, the frustrations of the coals not catching, the joy of it finally being at the right temperature, and then, of course, the meat.

...And there wasn't a drop of rain.

Tart

When I was a wee nipper, I once ate so much pie I was quite sick in my sleep. It was a rather traumatising experience; I tried to wake my mum up but she just grunted and rolled away from me. Luckily, my sister was easier to rouse. She wasn't best impressed when she returned from her nasty chore to her bed to find me asleep in it.

Ever since then, I've had an aversion to pastry, shortcrust in particular. I've been trying to get over this, starting with the pasties in Cornwall and so far it seems to be working. Puff pastry is easier for me to deal with, although it's something I don't use a lot due to it's high fat content. I threw caution to the wind and made a mushroom tart.

Mushroom Tart

Serves 2

5 large closed cap mushrooms, sliced

1 tbsp dried porcini mushrooms, rehydrated

2 cloves of garlic, minced

2 tbsp finely chopped flat leaf parsley

3 tbsp creme fraiche

Enough puff pastry to make 2 6"x 4" tarts - I used 1/2 a block of unrolled pastry

Preheat your oven to 200 degrees celcius. Fry the garlic until softened, then add all the mushrooms. Fry until softened, making sure there isn't too much liquid. Add the creme fraiche and the parsley and take off the heat. Season to taste. Roll out the pastry and make an indentation about 2 cm from the edge, all the way round. Leave to rest for 5 mins, then spread the mushroom mixture on the base. Wash with egg and bake for 15 - 20 minutes.

I served this with griddled red onions, courgettes and aubergines dressed with a little extra virgin olive oil and lime juice, and some broccoli on the side.

The pastry was lovely and light and complemented the earthy mushrooms well. The parsley really helped to cut through the creaminess of the sauce. Shortcrust pastry (maybe even home-made) will be next...

General Tso's Chicken

Deep frying strikes again. I felt quite naughty deep frying chicken with skin on, but this dish was definitely worth it. Josh, a fellow blogger recommended it to me.

Apparently this is often served in American Chinese take-aways and I've certainly never seen it in my travels. It's quite a different dish there, usually very sweet and the chicken is sometimes battered. The origins of this dish and why it's General Tso's, a Qing Dynasty statesman and general, is unknown. This was a Fuschia Dunlop recipe; she's quickly becoming my favourite.

General Tso's Chicken

Serves 2

To marinade the meat:

3 or 4 chicken thighs with the skin on, deboned and chopped into pieces

1 egg yolk

2 tbsp cornflour

2 tsp light soy sauce

1/2 tsp dark soy sauce

Mix this in a bowl and leave to sit whilst you prepare the other ingredients.

For the sauce:

1 tbsp tomato puree

4 tbsp water

1 tbsp rice vinegar

1/2 tsp dark soy sauce

1 1/2 tsp light soy sauce

1/2 tsp cornflour.

The rest:

6 - 10 dried chillis, snipped into 3cm pieces, discarding the seeds

2 tsp finely chopped ginger

2 tsp finely chopped garlic

1 spring onion, sliced for garnish

2 tsp sesame oil

Oil for deep frying

It looks like a long list of ingredients, but you just need to mix the sauce materials up for the last minute cooking.

Deep fry the chicken in 2 batches until the chicken is golden and crispy. Set to one side. Empty out the oil, reserving 2 tbsp. Fry the chillis briefly and then add the ginger and garlic. Fry until it's all fragrant, and then add all the sauce in, and then the chicken. When it is thickened, turn off the heat and serve, with the sesame oil and spring onion to garnish.

This was a great dish - slightly crispy chicken, a glossy coating of slightly sour, spicy and deeply savoury sauce. Recommended.