The Sugar Bar

Sloth is one of the seven deadly sins and should be unthinkable within the walls of a kitchen.

I must apologize firstly, for not posting at all; second, for not posting anything exciting; lastly, for being so damn boring and lazy! Life seems to be getting a little in the way, what with all the applications I have to prepare for, three massive essays and the random bursts of inspiration that hit me, which means having to go off somewhere with my laptop (nope, not to watch porn) to let it rip (I mean writing, chucking, rewriting) for hours. I can’t say that the future posts will be brilliant but I promise to post, in all honesty, quick lunch or sugar fixes that I prepare when I find time from my essays. It is partly true that I munch on junk now and again when I’m writing, or sometimes, forget to eat at all in the ‘heat of the moment’. But when I am ready and able to whip up something worthy of putting on a plate, I promise to photograph it and blog it! I’ve been awfully sad to have been apart from The Sugar Bar for such a long while now. It’s unforgivable.

Instead of resorting to lazy food, I hope to come up with clever quick dishes that are tasty, good to look at and not requiring ridiculous amounts of effort and time. Also, I’m feeling Christmas. The tree is arriving in a few days. And I’m thinking, Christmas cookies anyone?

So. Before I bugger off back to this monster of a thesis, let me just say that this recipe is pretty straightforward. Salt the mackerel for a few hours before grilling. Come back to it later and chuck it under the grill whilst you prepare the vegetables. It’s so quick, I can honestly say it’s a good student meal and healthy too! And if you’re in a bad way needing a salt-fix, this is great. Just remember, you gotta leave it to salt for a while or you ain’t gonna get any taste on the mackerel.

Wondering about servings? Split the mackerel down the bone and then half both portions. 1 mackerel fish should then serve up about 4 small portions, unless you’re hungry for more. The following recipe is good for 1.

Salt-Grilled Mackerel with Fried Shallots & Mentaiko on Long-stemmed Broccoli, Rocket & Baby Red Chards
Ingredients

1/4 of a mackerel fish
1 tbs crushed sea salt
freshly ground black pepper
1 shallot, sliced
1 tbs mentaiko of choice
2 tsp salted butter
handful of long-stemmed broccoli
handful of favourite salad leaves
black & white sesame seeds, for garnishing

Wash the mackerel and pat dry with a paper towel. Rub salt all over the fish and leave for about an hour.
Preheat grill to about 185d Celsius.
Season fish with pepper. Place mackerel on a grill tray under the grill for about 5 minutes or until just beginning to crisp up and brown.
In a frying pan with hot oil, fry the shallots till golden brown. Cook the broccoli in boiling water until al dente and then toss in butter. Layer out on a plate the salad leaves and broccoli. Then place fish on top and serve with mentaiko of choice. Finally, garnish with fried shallots and sesame seeds.

Don’t be daunted by the length of its name, it’s actually an extremely easy dish. Almost no cooking required!

My clothes are out in the garden, neatly hung up on the washing line. The sun comes and goes in intervals. The DHL guy has picked up my parcel and the customs form was no trouble at all. What does this mean? Free time to prepare a cracking lunch and catch the last bits of Market Kitchen and Kylie Kwong’s My China on UKTV Food. Pure heaven.

Great to unwind. Who says you can’t unwind in the day?

Just yesterday, Mrs Alex asked about my novel and how it’s getting on. I’ve got a lot of support from the pals with regards to my literary project but it seems it’s still in its pants stage. Sorry guys. I’m working at it Manuscripts will definitely be sent out to you lot when it’s done but for now it’s quite difficult to explain what it’s all about, the style, the plot because it’s an unfinished work. Don’t you get that? Finding yourself at a loss for words when you’re trying to formulate a ‘form’ for something ‘unformed’?

I almost have a rule for not talking about incomplete works, but that comes off at times as seeming rather arrogant, distant or rude. Bad habit I think. I remember how I found myself nearly dumb when I tried to describe a work-in-progress fashion plate or abstract composition of a painting for specific art projects of mine. Nonetheless, I do love it when I can’t describe it or control it myself. It feels as though what I give birth to (not physically) has a life of its own and I’m a mere medium for something cool. It makes it as organic as real birth like how I’ve got a life of my own separate from my birth parents.

My o my, do I sound self-centred or what? A second look at what I just wrote defines me as a little crazy, confused, mentally unsound?

Well that’s a bit of my life as it is now.

Did a little shopping and bought my first SUMMER STRAW STETSON. O yes indeed. Sun, watch out. Diva’s gonna take you on. Got some other knicky-knacky bits too, another man-sized white shirt to add to my collection of white shirts, Abercrombies, Lacoste and Ralph Lauren (I know I know, call me a poser but I do love the shirts these guys make). Just something about shirts that are so perfect for every day wear with a skirt, shorts, jeans or going smart.

I didn’t bother doing much with either recipe because I thought the ingredients on their own were good and fresh enough to have it as it is. Fuss free, simple and delicious. Also, all that feasting has resulted in bloatedness and sluggishness. Time for some proper food to sort me out.

This recipe is good for 1.

Lightly Smoked Salmon with Dill & Allspice Couscous Crust
Ingredients

1 lightly smoked salmon steak
1/4 cup couscous
pinch of garlic flakes
1/4 tsp hot chili powder
1/4 tsp allspice
1/2 tsp dill
salt for seasoning
olive oil
boiling water

Preheat oven to 180d Celsius.
Grease a baking tray. Coat smoked steak in olive oil.
Mix spices, garlic flakes and dill into the dry couscous in a bowl. Pour hot water into the bowl until it just covers the couscous, about half a cm above the surface. Cover and let it steam and cook for a few minutes.
Remove cover, using a fork, fluff up the couscous.
Season the salmon steak. Then, layer the couscous over the top and press to form a neat crust on top.

Leave to bake in the oven for 15-20min.

Tomato, Mozzarella & Kiwi Salad
Ingredients

1 large tomato, sliced
1 green kiwi, skinned and sliced
1/2 a mozzarella, sliced
sprinkling of dried/fresh basil leaves
1 tbs extra virgin olive oil
a few drops of balsamic vinegar

Prepare a little dressing by mixing the oil and balsamic vinegar together. Layer out the tomato, kiwi and mozzarella any way you like it. Sprinkle basil over it, followed by the dressing.

Egg Fried Rice, Chow Fun, Chahan; all pretty much the same thing. But not one of the three can in any way categorize the best fried rice dish that my mum makes. It’s too good to really put a name to it and I’m glad enough to simply know its taste. Mum’s tip is to use leftover cooked rice from the night before. This sounds as though it can’t be as fresh but the best thing about leftover cooked rice is that it has more of a bite to it then freshly cooked or steamed rice which has the danger of becoming way too moist and tender for frying.

If you don’t usually have a lot of rice lying around, it’s perfectly fine to prepare the rice right before frying. Just make sure to let it steam out some of its moisture. It’s about a month before I’ll be back home for mum’s cooking, so for now it’s me, myself and I cooking for me, myself and I. And yes, my version of fried rice which I must admit isn’t amazing but good enough for a meal in minutes.

Back in primary school, the stall dishing out fried rice was the most popular. Egg fried rice cooked with garden peas, carrots and dried salted fish — every one’s favourite pick-me-up after a boring maths class or strenous physical education class. The salted fish was key for great flavour and the egg fried to perfection — some bits mashed up into the rice and some left as large bits you could sink your teeth into. The egg was flavoured before cooking with the rice but sometimes came off as a little too greasy and salty.

My version is slightly healthier than my primary school fare. Probably not as good. But the cool thing about chahan is you can pretty much vary the ingredients most of the time and tweak it here and there to suit your tastebuds. As long as you know the basics, you’re sorted. This recipe is so simple and quick. For a more Chinese twist, you can use hwa tiao jiu instead of sake.

This recipe is good for 1.

Chahan with Shiitake Mushrooms, Greens & Chives
Ingredients

1/4 cup white rice
1/2 cup water
1 egg, beaten
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
1 1/2 tbs chives, chopped
1 tbs sake
1 tsp soy sauce
1/2 tsp toasted sesame seed oil
1/3 cup shiitake mushrooms, sliced
handful of pea shoots/salad leaves
salt & pepper, for seasoning
olive oil, for cooking

Cook the rice in 1/2 cup of water in a saucepan.
As it cooks, heat some oil in a hot frying pan. Add the garlic and fry till golden brown. Add the mushrooms and sesame oil to flavour. Lower heat.

Mix the egg into the cooked rice (this should be warm and not hot as you don’t want the egg to cook just yet). Add to the frying pan. Turn up heat and let the rice mixture start to sputter and cook, making sure to toss them about in the frying pan. Add the salad leaves of choice and half of the chopped chives.

When the egg has more or less started firming up as it fries, add the sake and soy sauce; then season to taste. Fry until the rice has lost most of its liquid. Serve on a plate and garnish with the last of the chives.