Food and travel are two of my favourite things, so when Miranda Emmerson, author of Fragrant Heart, asked me to take a look at her latest book (a memoir about...you guessed it...food and travel!), I was very happy to do so. I received my copy just a few days before going on holiday to Portugal, so I read the book lying under the Portuguese sun. A perfect combination!
Fragrant Heart tells of Miranda and partner Chris's travels through China, Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand and Malaysia during a 'gap year' which they decide to take before settling down to start a family (they've since had two children). Miranda, a regular contributor to BBC Radio 4, interweaves her exotic travelogue with tales of her family background, her relationship with Chris and her worries of renting her house out, back home in Wales.
The book takes the reader on an adventurous journey through S.E Asia, painting a picture not only of the sights of interest, but also of the culture, history, art, politics and cuisine of each region. Some parts of the book are touching, some fascinating and some are laugh-out-loud funny.
Miranda, a long time vegetarian, struggles to find 'safe' food in countries which regard meat and fish an essential part of any meal...
"Are you a vegetarian? Want some advice? Don't go to China. No. Wait. Scrub that. Do go to China. Just don't try to be a vegetarian once you're there."
Detailed descriptions of the foods they discover on their travels are so vivid that you can almost smell the food cooking and taste the flavours as you read...
"Bolou fan is a sweet and sticky and imparts a feeling of childish decadence to any meal. A whole pineapple is served to the table stuffed with berry-black, steamed short rice. Lifting the spiky lid you uncover a pirate's chest of delight. Candied peel curls in little crystalline caterpillars on top of glistening, sugary delight."
Although not a cookbook, each chapter ends with one or two recipes from the region with both a meat-based and a vegetarian version of each recipe. I tried out the rather confusingly named fish-fragrant aubergine, which contains no fish at all! Fish-fragrant apparently describes the combination of seasonings which would traditionally be served with fish, but work equally well with vegetarian and vegan dishes:
Yuxiang Qiezi or Fish-Fragrant Aubergine (Vegan)
Sichuan cuisine is full of different preparations, ways of cooking things and sauces to cook them in. Fish-fragrant is a description given to this particular sharp and sour sauce classically served over aubergine. There are no fish products used in it. It is very spicy, so cautious first-time cooks might want to halve or even quarter the amount of chilli bean sauce they put in. Served over boiled rice with a handful of chopped spring onions and maybe some nuts on top, I think it makes the perfect winter lunch.
Serves 2
Preparation and cooking time: 30 minutes
- 5 Sichuan peppercorns
- 2 small aubergines
- 2 tbsp groundnut oil
- 3 garlic cloves, chopped
- 2-cm piece of ginger, finely chopped
Sauce:
- 1 tbsp Shaoxing rice wine
- 2 tbsp Chinkiang black rice vinegar (available from most Asian grocers)
- 2 tsp sugar
- 1 tbsp light soy sauce
- 1 tbsp dark soy sauce
- 2 tbsp chilli bean paste (this can be found in Asian grocery stores and some supermarkets, under the Lee Kum Kee brand)
- 3 tbsp vegetable stock
- 1 tsp cornflour
Garnish:
Toast Sichuan peppercorns in a dry frying pan for a minute and then crush. Set aside.
Make the sauce by mixing the rice wine, vinegar, sugar, soy sauces, chilli bean paste, stock and cornflour together in a small bowl.
Cut aubergine into bite-sized cubes.
Heat the groundnut oil in a wok over a medium to high heat. Add the aubergine and stir-fry for 3 minutes or until the outsides have browned. Add the garlic, ginger and reserved ground peppercorns and stir-fry for another 30 seconds. Pour the sauce over the aubergine mixture and cook on a medium heat for 4 minutes, until the sauce has started to thicken.
Remove from heat and serve with spring onions sprinkled over.
I couldn't find rice wine, so left this out. The resulting dish was amazing, if a little on the spicy side, as I used the full 2 tbsp of chilli bean sauce; I made 2 versions: one as above and one with Quorn and mushrooms, which were equally tasty. Miranda recommend using different combinations of vegetables depending on which you prefer.
Fragrant Heart: A Tale of Life, Love and Food in Asia by Miranda Emmerson is published by Summersdale and is available from Amazon and all major bookstores.
I have a paperback copy of the book to give away. Just enter the Rafflecopter below by Midnight on 22nd May:
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| Image © Onykahonie |
If you've been following my tasty tofu quest you'll know that I had a complete tofu disaster followed by a moderate success with Thai Tofu Cakes, but I still hadn't managed to cook the kind of tofu that I like to eat in restaurants.
I concluded that I needed to try a different brand of tofu, so despite the lack of Chinese supermarkets in my area, I managed to track down some rather unappetisingly named Clear Spot (yes, really!) Organic Tofu in a local health food store.
On opening the packet, I was slightly scared...the tofu looked and felt softer than Cauldron's. I drained the tofu and and blotted it well on kitchen roll to remove as much moisture as possible, and then cut it into pieces. From my in depth tofutastic research, I had deduced that I first needed to marinate it and then fry it, so I made up a marinade of dark soya sauce, grated fresh ginger and crushed garlic. I also made up a basic batter with plain flour, egg and water.
After an hour bathing in the marinade (the tofu, not me!) I dipped the bean curd chunks into the batter and fried them for a few minutes in hot vegetable oil. They sizzled gently and turned a beautiful golden brown. I scooped them out and drained them well, before tentatively biting into a piece. The kids were slightly wary, but after some gentle persuasion and the promise of another mention on my blog, they tried it. Mr O showed no such trepidation and ate a whole piece in one mouthful.
And the result...whoo-hoo...everyone liked it!!! TASTY TOFU - crisp and tanned on the outside, pale and soft in the middle, and packed full of flavour! My tasty tofu quest is over (for now).
The recipe
Take a small block of firm tofu, drained, patted dry and cut into chunks. Marinade for 1 hour in:
- 2-3 tbsp dark soya sauce
- 1 small clove of garlic, crushed
- 1 tsp grated fresh ginger
Then dip into a batter made with:
- Heaped ½ cup plain flour
- 1 egg, beaten
- ½ cup cold water
Fry in hot vegetable oil until golden brown, then drain on paper towel.
Serve with rice/noodles, stir-fried vegetables and a sweet chilli dipping sauce.
Alternative: Veganise the batter by omitting the egg.
Image © Onykahonie
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I've made up an extra New Year's Resolution: To learn how to cook tasty tofu!
Now, I reckon I'm a pretty good cook. I can turn my hand to Indian, Greek, Italian and even English food...but Chinese and Thai dishes are not my forte! I first experimented with tofu, many years ago in my student days, long before the invention of Quorn and the many other meat subs now on the market. My efforts were somewhat bland and uninspiring though, which put me off.
I've recently been tempted back to the bean curd since eating a couple of fab spicy and crispy tofu dishes at Chinese and Thai restaurants. I want to have a go at recreating those textures and flavours at home, so this week I'm going to try for a Thai tofu dish. I'm not a big fan of convenience foods and cook-in sauces, but I've bought a jar of Asda's vegetarian Thai green curry paste (look out for fishy ingredients in other brands) for my first attempt.
Find out how the quest ended here.
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