The Sugar Bar

This past week’s been great – I’m very food-involved and there’s much talk about cupcakes which couldn’t make me any happier. There’s even been a cupcakery feature in the latest British VOGUE. Surely there are too many signs?

And then the bestie was in London all week on an audit job so she popped in on Friday night for my homecooked meal before we went out to catch up and unwind over a couple of drinks (we managed to fit in some awesome boogying as well).

After graduating from uni, our crew of friends were like a a bunch of seeds that went dispersing in the air. Some went back to the their hometowns, some went further out to look for jobs, some wandered south-wards (like moi) to continue with their studies, or not. Some stayed put and welcomed the next stage in life with somewhat hesitant and nervously open arms. It may seem like we’ve split ways and gone forward, hopefully a positive step towards our goals in life. The latter I reckon is true but the former, I hope will never happen. Partings can be sad and goodbyes are such bittersweet moments. But again, they are also a chance to say ‘hello’ again. So it’s good. Think positive.

We’re doing the best we can to stay in touch and sometimes, being such a laidback/chilled out bunch can mean there are long periods of time when the only contact we’ve had is the odd text or 2 minute phonecall. But even those moments are great. And whatever chance we get to see each other, we make sure that we have a great time in such a way that we might be said to re-define the phrase ‘quality time’. In the past few weeks, it’s been superb as most of us have done our best, booked our train tickets early, etc. to get down to wherever for a birthday bash, a dinner, a wicked nightout, a quick weekend meet-up. It’ll definitely get harder as everyone’s getting busier with work and it’s very tricky to try and sort something out between everyone’s schedules. Because of that, I’m over the moon when someone comes to visit even for a short while. These moments become all the more precious since they’re so hard to come by.

Since bestie and moi had gone for that ridiculously divine meal at Murano the last time she was down in London (and flippin’ gave myself indigestion because of it, not that I’m complaining – I’d do it all over again even if you added something more injurious to my body to the mix!), it was time for a homecooked meal, with a slight touch of sophistication I say. I’m fortunate to know girls who have hearty appetites and enjoy sitting in front of the telly with a plate of good food, scoff it down unabashedly whilst sipping daintily on a glass of whine. A bit of an oxymoron appearing in that sentence but that’s sorta like what we are. Chilled out, reaal chilled out the two of us, sophisticated (I hope!) with brains to boot, do I dare say with a touch of class and yet always eager to eat food like it should be eaten in real time. Here I am proud to announce two real women in real time! The others I’m sure you’ve either heard of on this blog or I shall, in good time, schedule in their grand entrance.

Yes, real women eat real burgers. Unless pardon me, you’ve special dietary requirements, no offense anyone!

I love sandwiches. I love good bread – especially when baked fresh so it’s crusty warm outside and almost melting buttery soft on the inside. Some good extra virgin olive oil that almost tastes grassy as a dip and some butter on the side, it’s a heavenly combination. And because good bread’s such a luxury, I like homemade burgers in anything but the cheap burger buns you can get in the shops. It jazzes things up a little, makes it look and taste better and surely makes the whole eating experience a lot more exciting?

I chose a seeded bun for this as I’m like a bird, or a squirrel, whichever. I eat loads of seeds and nuts a day. I’m addicted to them things. They make me happy. And looking at the generous sprinkling of seeds on the bun tops, I was well chuffed. I was hoping to get sourdough bread, which is what the Handmade Burger Co. we often visit serves their burgers in and I do love the texture of good sourdough. Unfortunately, my (eeks) last minute trip to the shop came back with nothing and I had to settle with the leftover stuff in the bakery section.

These burgers have a special ingredient. What’s that? Chutney! What kind of chutney? A totally spanking Mr. Vikki’s Tomato & Nigella Chutney I got from the BBC Good Food Show. It flavoured, along with the added spices and fresh coriander, the lamb very nicely and I was a little shocked how good it tasted with just a couple of simple things like that. The lamb burger also retained all it’s moistness so when I squished my bun together with the burger fillings, it oozed out all that juice and caramelized liquer which the bottom bun bread was very eager to absorb. Yum yum. Will definitely make this again and again.

For 2 servings
Spicy Lamb Burgers
Ingredients

250g lamb mince
1 small red onion, finely chopped
2 small cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 tbs tomato & chutney chutney
1 tsp ground coriander
pinch of smoked paprika
fresh coriander, chopped
slices of mature cheddar, for filling
2-3 large leaves of lettuce, for filling

Put all the ingredients, except the cheese and lettuce, together in a large bowl. Mix well and then split the mince mixture into two. Form into balls, gently pat down and form the round sides in a burger pattie.

Add some oil to a hot frying pan and cook each side about 4 minutes on medium heat. Serve in a bap, burger bun, ciabatta roll, seeded bun, etc. Top with fillings, onion marmalade and eat!

Onion Marmalade with a Kick
Ingredients

1 red onion, sliced into half moons
1 yellow onion, sliced into half moons
2 tbs virgin olive oil
1 1/2 tbs white wine
1 tsp fresh thyme leaves
1 small yellow chili, finely chopped
sea salt & ground black pepper, for seasoning
1 tbs balsamic vinegar
1 tsp honey

Add oil to a hot pan. Sauté the onions until they are soft and slightly translucent. Add white wine, thyme, chopped chili, salt and pepper. Lower heat and let it cook gently and caramelize for about 45 minutes. You may want to let it caramelize to a stage where it’s a lot wetter and gooey but I like to have the onion pieces still fairly whole and visible.

When cooked to your preference, stir in the balsamic vinegar and honey to taste. Serve on top of your burger.

I am looking back into the past but I’m not writing about my life’s greatest hits – the food edition. Well, not really. But a plate of chow mein the way my mum used to make it back in the day with tomato ketchup was certainly a fab lunch treat to come home to after school. You see, in primary school, I had 3 out of 6 years of morning session classes; meaning, I got up well early at 6 in the morning to get to school for 7.20, looked forward to my packed lunch somewhere around 10 and then got saved by the bell at 12.50. Our lunchbreak for me, however, was never enough. Not that my packed lunch wasn’t sufficient. Rather, I was a growing kid who needed plenty of food to grow in both mind and body. So by the time I had gotten home and kicked off my dirty school shoes, I was starving.

I remember I’d sit in front of the TV with a glass of juice waiting for lunch and something like Ninja Turtles or Transformers would be playing on the cartoon channel which made life so much better. Chow mein was one of my favourite lunches. Really tasty, good-looking and quick to make. There was nothing I could fault it for. Another thing was, it was perfect for mum’s refrigerator-cleaning days when all the old stuff had to be cooked or chucked out. Sometimes, leftover meats got thrown into the wok as well and wooohooo. I never complained. We all know leftovers taste great the day after anyway! It’s a fact of life.

We used to visit this family restaurant, Baystreet 21, almost religiously every Sunday. It served a range of local and western dishes. It was always busy. The ambience was nice, the seats were comfy and us little kids loved to bounce around on it so it’d make squishy or farty noises. Year after year, as their clientele grew in size, the restaurant got busier and bigger. The kitchen got noisier and the staff got less friendly. But the food was good, the prices affordable and my dad got along awfully well with the restaurant manager. You could say this was our local ‘diner’. It was a place where families could take their naughty children for a good meal out, have a three course meal at affordable rates in a comfy, homey restaurant. And it was always really fun to watch the parents on the other table struggle with their bratty, spoon-banging children (we were always the most well-behaved ones). One of their memorable dishes, other than the fish & chips, was the chow mein. The first time I ordered it, I was quite blown away by the mammoth portion of noodles which were topped with heck loads of shredded lettuce and a sunny side up. But that plate of chow mein swept me off my feet because of that egg. It was like the whole thing was smiling up at me. Cracking the yolk and having it ooze all over the noodles was a little bit of heaven too.

I’ve had chow mein takeaways since then and my own stir-fry noodles on lazy cooking days. Odd as it sounds, however, the chow mein + sunny side up combo has somehow eluded me. I found myself wanting that little bit of heaven. A simple heaven within easy reach.

I admit this chow mein recipe looks nothing fancy but that’s the beauty of it. It’s nothing fancy. Use whatever you’ve got and it still ends up a pretty voluptuous dish. It’s not as soy sauce-ish, oyster sauce-ish as what you’d normally get at an eatery or takeaway but I love this ketchup-version nonetheless. Chow mein is all about the ethic of using what you’ve got anyway and turning the odd bits into a tasty treat.

This recipe serves 3-4. I don’t use a lot of soy sauce or salt in cooking so you might want to have additional salt (to taste).

Chow Mein with Sunny Side Up
Ingredients

3 packets of Chinese egg/yakisoba/ramen noodles
1/2 cup minced chicken, marinated with 1 tsp soy sauce
1 large carrot, peeled and shredded
4-5 leaves of hang bok cabbage, shredded
1 large stalk spring onion, chopped
1 medium onion, sliced
1 tbs ginger, thinly sliced
2 tbs hsao shing wine
2 tbs soy sauce
1 tbs tomato ketchup
1 tbs sesame oil
few shakes of shichimi tōgarashi, for garnish (optional)
few shakes of white pepper
vegetable oil, for cooking

For the sunny side up:
1 medium-sized egg
1 tbs butter

You can use whatever noodles you have at hand. Chinese egg noodles are real nice but I prefer using yakisoba noodles because you can get them in handy packets and I prefer slightly thinner noodles than egg ones.

Soak the noodles in cold water for a minute or two and use your fingers to ruffle through it to separate the strands, think of yourself washing someone’s long hair in a wash basin full of water. Drain away the water then set aside.

In a hot wok over medium heat, heat up some cooking oil and the sesame oil. Add the ginger and onions and sauté. Add the minced chicken and stir fry. Now add the carrots, hang bok cabbage, hsao shing, white pepper and stir fry. Cover the wok with lid, turn the heat to low-medium and let cook for a bit.

In a small bowl, mix together the 2 tbs soy with 1 tbs ketchup. Remove wok lid and add the noodles, chopped spring onions and mixed seasoning. Stir to coat well, making sure the noodles are completely cooked through. When done, serve hot with sunny side up on top. Garnish with shichimi tōgarashi if you like.

For the eggs:
In an egg pan or frying pan over medium heat, add some butter. When the butter is hot enough, crack the egg onto the pan and lower heat.

The egg will start cooking rather quick so be careful. Cover the pan with a lid for 2-3 minutes whilst the egg cooks over low heat. Check on it to make sure the edges don’t get too brown and crisp. If it does remove from heat and shake the pan to loosen the egg from the pan. To get the top nicely cooked, baste the top of the egg with the melted butter in the pan.

When done, all the whites should have cooked through and firmed up. The top of the yolk should be a matte colour, without its uncooked glistening sheen, and warm to touch.

Serve on top of your chow mein.

I have a disease and it’s not curable. And when it worsens, my financial health goes plummeting as well. This sticky situation one may be familiar with and call it the Shoppers’ Syndrome. I believe the release of the film ‘Confessions of a Shopaholic’ is an overt sign from the heavens to me. In other words, flippin’ sort my life out. Cut up all credit cards, debit cards, throw away VIP shoppers accounts, leave your Kate Spade wallet at home, ban yourself from getting on the train into town, ignore magazine adverts (this is going to be hard since my language paper focuses on beauty adverts) and so forth. Generally, practice self-restraint!

What a bummer.

Just when I was having fun, I now have to be very careful with my awful spending habits. And therefore, cooking becomes a little more exciting too. The task of the month? 1) Using ingredients to the max, i.e. cooking dishes that can last me forever. Right, I do exaggerate. But last me long enough so that I can delay the next trip to the supermarket. 2) Cooking dishes that I can keep for the next day. Given, I am a lazy arse. But this time that isn’t my excuse. Staying in the library working on my paper for 7 hours straight can really take it out of me. Living away from my parents, specifically from my mum, makes me miss home-cooking very much. Makes me miss coming back to mum’s dinner and eating with the rest of the family. A little tired, a little dizzy, cooking dinner for 1 is something I’m starting to feel a little restless and annoyed about. So it’s an easy way out when I can take out a pre-prepared meal (by myself, not by Tesco’s or Sainsbury’s or M&S), whack it in the microwave or oven and then tuck in.

Pre-prepared meals, especially if storebought, are usually rather boring. And in my dictionary of cooking/food, dishes can be as quirky, weird, special, and most importantly as fun as possible. This curry was created in a rather haphazard way, the process sort of like a try and error. A little special, not very aesthetically appealing. Very different from the usual Chicken Korma, Lamb Jalfrezi, etc. However, this was tasty as! And with the spices, it kept me nice and warm in front of the telly for Comic Relief, warming me-self well and good.

From now on, when I’m feeling a little dead inside, a little in need of comfort food, my advise? Eat curry!

What sort of curry? Get creative. Be special.

This makes about 2 large servings.

Tuna, Apple & Raisin Curry
Ingredients

1 can tuna, in springwater
about 3/4 cup water
1/2 can chopped tomatoes, with juices
1/2 a red onion, chopped
2 tbs balti curry paste
1/4 cup raisins
1/2 a Pink Lady apple, chopped
1 tsp smoked paprika
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp hot chili powder
pinch of ground cinnamon

Heat some oil in a deep pan or wok. Add the onions and sauté. Now add the apples and sauté. Add the paprika and cumin and fry. Add the tuna followed by the balti curry paste and cook for about a minute. Add the chopped tomatoes, water and ground cinnamon, turning the heat down and let simmer for about 15 minutes. Taste curry a little in between the cooking process and should it need more spices, add a little by little to taste.

Serve with naan bread or rice. If kept til the next day, I suggest frying this with rice for an amazing curry fried rice!