Bún Thịt Nướng: a little taste of summer

As the weather improved 10 degrees this week, I wanted to bring a little taste of summer into my life. I decided to make Bún Thịt Nướng, a grilled meat, herby noodle salad that has that delicious fresh and zingy quality common to a lot of Vietnamese dishes. I made this recipe up based on my memory of it and my lack of a barbecue and it was every bit as good as any I have ever had. It is also relatively easy and would make a delicious picnic or packed lunch provided you keep the garnish separate (and dry).  

Prep and cooking time: 1 hour
Serves: 2

Nước mắm pha (mixed fish sauce)

1 crushed clove of garlic

15g ginger  

Very finely grated zest of ½ a lime

30ml lime juice

30g sugar

30ml fish sauce

Salad

1 small cucumber / ½ a big cucumber

1 medium sized carrot

100g bean sprouts, washed and drained

1/4 iceberg lettuce

150g vermicelli noodles

30g pack of mint

1 spring onion
1 leftover cooked duck breast / meat of your choice

Chilli paste or sauce (optional)

Garnish

1 shallot, sliced into very thin rings

small handful of peanuts

Oil for frying (sunflower / vegetable)

Kitchen roll

First soak the noodles in warm water for 20 minutes.

Meanwhile,if you don't have any leftover meat, here is how to do the duck breast: take it the duck out of the fridge and salt the skin side. Place the fillet skin side down in a cold frying pan, then begin to heat in on the hob with a medium flame. 

After a couple of minutes, pour off the fat that has come off the duck. Then, take a heat proof heavy object (I use a heavy cast iron pan) to compress the duck breasts, being careful not to burn yourself with any spitting oil. 

Keep pouring off the fat when it accumulates - this ensures the skin is beautifully bronzed and crispy. Continue doing this for 7 minutes, checking as you go along that the skin isn't browning too fast or burning. Once the skin is perfect, flip the breast over and cook for one more minute. 

Place on a plate to rest until needed.

Then, prepare the garnish: slice the shallot very finely and pat dry with kitchen roll. Heat up some oil a small pan so that it is 1cm deep. Get it hot but not smoking. Tip the shallot in and watch it carefully until it goes golden. 

Quickly drain through a sieve and tip out on to kitchen roll to dry out. Sprinkle a small pinch of salt over it and leave aside until needed, along with the peanuts.

Now onto the salad. To get those long shreds of carrot, peel it and then tap the knife vertically all along the vegetable so that it is indented all the way along. Finally, peel off the shreds, as you can see in the photos below.

  

Repeat until at the centre of the vegetable, which you can discard when it becomes impossible to cut any more. 

For the cucumber, peel, slice down the middle and de-seed then slice into strands. Slice the spring onion into thin rounds. Place the onion, carrot and cucumber in your serving bowl with the bean sprouts.

Now onto the iceberg lettuce: cut around a quarter of it off and then slice along the semi-circle so you get thin shreds. Then de-leaf and wash the mint (having discarded the stems), roughly chop and add both to the bowl.

Once the noodles are soaked you can boil them until firm but no longer really chewy – I did mine for around 4 minutes.

Meanwhile you can tackle the sauce. Zest your lime, crush your garlic and grate the ginger finely. Place in a bowl or jam jar. This recipe is one part lime juice, 1 part sugar and 1 part fish sauce so the measurement are easy to remember – add 30ml / g of each to the bowl or jar and stir / shake till all combined and the sugar has dissolved.

Once the noodles are done, drain and pour cold water over them. I like to then snip them three times with scissors so that they are slightly more manageable to mix in, serve and eat. Leave the noodles to drain for a few minutes.

Now, slice the duck breast / meat of your choice up into slices and fry it up with some chilli sauce if you like for 2 minutes or so(I have some thai chilli paste that I use). Otherwise just fry it with oil so its warm.

Add to the bowl with the salad ingredients along with the noodles and mix up with the sauce. Serve and sprinkle with the garnish.

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Prix Fixe and Lab in Soho

Apple and Vanilla margarita from Lab, Soho

Looking for somewhere to make a last minute group booking in Soho? Prix Fixe is sister restaurant to Pierre Victoire, whose cheap pre and post theatre menu Elle and I regularly enjoyed in Oxford. They serve up hearty French food with generous gentlemen-pleasing portions of chips so perfect for all parties.

Lab cocktail bar is also waiting right around the corner to serve you up an after dinner treat. 

If you are able to get to Prix Fixe by 7 they do a great set menu where you can get a starter and a main for £13.90 (and even less at lunchtime). We were too late for this but enjoyed one option on the set menu: 

Chargrilled Bavette steak with red wine and shallots bordelaise sauce and French fries (£4.00 supplement)

As well as: 

Fillet of Seabass with roasted medallion potatoes, braised octopus, sundried tomatoes and fennel gremolata £13.90 (my favourite)

Traditional duck confit with dauphinoise potatoes, wilted spinach, cherry jus and orange puree  £13.50 (also delicious)

Baked zucchini and dill pancakes with roast butternut squash, spinach, stilton and pinenuts, lentil and salsify sauce (very homely and great if you missed out on pancake day!)
















This followed on from us sharing a couple of sharing platters which we wolfed down before I remembered to get my camera out - sorry! If you go for a platter, the mezze board is more exciting than the meat board which consists of some nice, thick cut salami, but nothing you couldn't replicate at home. 

After dinner we strolled round the corner to Lab - a slightly gimmicky cocktail bar ('bitches' marking the ladies' loo and a pun-ridden menu) that you will forgive as soon as you drink one of their accomplished cocktails.

I chose the Soho Lady - a long raspberry-y cocktail that isn't too sweet because of Aperol, gin and lemon balancing it (would definitely get again). 

'Passion victim' left, 'Soho lady' right

The birthday girl had the 'passion victim' - a delicious blend of passion fruit, lime and home-made honey water on a tequila base (voted our favourite). 

The Aplple and Vanilla Margarita was perhaps the most visually impressive and as tasty as it looks (see cover shot!).

The best thing about this place is not only that the drinks are really, very good, but that they are only around £7 or £8 which is competitive for Soho. Will definitely be returning here soon... 

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Mission Sichuan

Having worked all Sunday and missed out on Chinese New Year festivities, I was determined at least get a little bit of China into my weekend. That evening, I trekked through puddles and sleet only to be faced with multiple tube closures and bad TFL advice, argh! 

An hour and half later, I arrive at Sichuan Folk, numb and chattering with cold, and ready to swap my condition for sichuan peppercorn induced numbness and chili heat.

Sichaun Folk, tucked between Spitalfields market and Brick Lane, is just the thing. It offers a large range of authentic dishes, albeit a tad less spicy that we had in Chengdu. It was set up by the ex-head chef of Bar Shu in Soho and costs a fraction of the price.

We ordered:

Smashed Cucumber 
Cucumber and peanuts in a sour, spicy, sesame oil sauce that is surprisingly good.

Sichuan Spare ribs 
Deep fried, subtly aniseed-y and with a gentle numbness.

Hot and fragrant frog's legs 
Also deep fried, oops! I had meant to order the frogs legs with preserved ginger but in my hunger and cold fuelled rush, I forgot to make that clear. These were still delicious and the most peppercorny thing we had.

Pork slithers and garlic shoots 
This is not particularly Sichuanese and more like the stir frys you get all over China but very nice nonetheless and a good break between spicy dishes.

We had steamed rice on the side, and Tsing Tsao beer to drink - perfect to wash it all down. In fact, I really wouldn't recommend ordering wine, especially expensive wine, with this kind of food since as soon as you crunch on a whole peppercorn you won't be able to taste a thing!

I would also recommend the jellyfish which are like slightly slimy, firm noodles in texture, the black fungus, the lotus and Guang Bao Prawns. 

I also really liked the look of their hotpot - a Sichuan version of fondue where you cook various raw ingredients in hot oil or stock. The ones we had in Chengdu were a hellish sea of glinting red chillies and peppercorns that we would masochistically make our way through in the Summer heat.  Sichaun Folk's is more user friendly, made up of half stock and half chili / peppercorn oil. Definitely a reason to come back.

 My hotpot in Chengdu

Our whole meal came to around £23 each and was way too much for us (a group is perfect here so you can sample loads of dishes). We took our leftovers home and had them the next day for dinner and it was still delicious. 

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Banoffee Pancakes

Mmmm, I am still eating these as I write! The recipe is so simple and the pancake mix that Elle and I have been making since forever. It really is good at making thin, French style crepes (thanks mum).

Banoffee filing (enough for 1 big pancake or 2 small so multiply up!)

1 ripe banana
1 table spoon of sugar
1 tablespoon (or 2!) of fudge / caramel sauce, I use Rowse Fudge sauce since its good and cheap
1 teaspoon of butter

Fry the banana in the butter in a small non stick frying pan on a med-high heat.

After 30 secs, sprinkle over the sugar and then after another 30 pour over the fudge sauce and reduce till the bannanas are nicely browned and a bit mushy. 

Make the pancakes soon after and fill with the banana mix.

Pancake Mix

110g plain flour
2 eggs
200 ml milk
50ml water
50g butter, melted

Either whiz all the ingredients except for the butter together in a food processer and sieve if lumpy or do it by hand by mixing the flour and eggs into a paste and slowly adding the milk and water. 

Add two tablespoons of the butter, mix and it is ready to use. 

Some people think that if you leave it to stand for half an hour it improves but I have never had the patience.

I'm sure you all know how to make pancakes but this is how I do it. Pour in 1 tablespoon of the butter for a big pancake into a non stick pan and swirl around so it is all covered. 

Pour in a relatively small amount of mix and quickly tip the pan to spread it around and add some more around the edges if necessary, tipping the pan around at the same time. 

I also use a silicone spatula to turn them over since it doesn't stick to the mix. 

The last tip I have it to let the pan cool a little between pancakes so you don't get burnt bits.

Enjoy Shrove Tuesday tomorrow!

Found in China Town

If you're stuck for something to do this weekend, then head to China Town for the Chinese new year festivities: There'll be an enormous firework display, a flying lion dance, a firecracker display and performances by Emmy the Great and Noah and The Whale in China Town - all for free. 

Traditional Chinese arts and crafts and food stands will also pack the streets. If you feel like braving the crowds, we would recommend getting there early to make sure you get a good view. Otherwise, rooftop bars are worth investigating to get a piece of the firework action from the comfort of, well, not being crushed by the crowd or frozen by the weather. 

China Town has a wealth of Chinese and South East Asian food shops, medicine and alternative therapy units and restaurants. Lately I have been visiting relatively regularly to stock up on all the Japanese ingredients they also sell (much cheaper than the Japan Centre). I always go to both New Loon Moon and Loon Fung to compare prices and brands before buying.

In general, our experience of seeking a hot meal out in China Town has been of wandering around with a feeling of being surrounded by potentially great food and experiences but as though it would be so easy to get it wrong. We both hate all you can eat MSG slathered non-de-script meat and vegetable buffets (who actually goes to those places??). In short, this area has pretty much remained lost in translation.

No longer. Our Chinese new year resolution for this year was to get found in china town, so we've done our research and found a great Cantonese place you can rely on too.

New World was introduced to us by a family friend who grew up in Hong Kong. It's a little shabby but authentic, with dim sum trolley girls circling the room, offering you their goods. He always sits on the ground floor as near to the kitchen door as possible so as to get the dim sum fresh out of their bamboo steamers.

We recommend any of the dim sum but the last time we were there, we had... 

Prawn and vegetable:

Spicy prawn and scallop:

Pork sui mai:

Wasabi prawn:

I wouldn't recommend the Shanghai dim sum which are fried and usually with pork. They are rather greasy which is what they are supposed to be, having had them in Shanghai, but an acquired taste.

The most unusual thing we had was a fried water chestnut gelatinous square with crunchy bits of water chestnut in it. It was really delicious (the Catonese know how to do puddings) and sort of maple syrupy tasting.

The whole meal for 4 came to just £10 each including drinks (non alcoholic)

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Hackney Unpackaged

This is a dinner review, but the dinner in question happens in a shop, turned restaurant, I want to tell you about the whole package (see what I did there?). 

Unpackaged, Hackney sits right next to Lardo - one of the 'it' restaurants du jour (review here). Unpackaged could be described as Lardo's unassuming little sister, or for your purposes the place to go to when the Lardo queue is too long. Personally, I'd recommend making the trip for this place alone. It really is very good for dinner but the shop is an absolute must if you're local. 

Shop first:

I'm not usually a fan of 'concept' stores. Mainly because the concept has a tendency to get in the way of the store - if I want to listen to deafening music, I'll go to a gig. If I want to lie down, I'll go to bed. I don't need to be able to do either of these things whilst buying groceries. 

Unpackaged is not this kind of concept store. Unpackaged simply shows us the future of sustainable grocery shopping. The idea: An organic refill shop where you bring your own packaging and fill it. You can even drop off containers and your shopping list on your way to work, then come back to collect it at the end of the day. Prices are based on weight, so there's no premiums on brands, bottled air or any of the usual Whole Foods (whole pay cheque) nonsense to contend with. 

The shop is filled with loose grains, seeds, nuts, fruits. It also has condiments, confectionary and a fresh offering including organic groceries and baked produce: their bread is absolutely gorgeous. 

The no-frills aesthetic makes everything look great, even laundry powder.

Much better than most supermarket stocked olive oil at far, far better prices!

Now to the dinner:

From around 7.30 or 8, they write up a fresh daily menu on big chalk boards at the back of the room, crack open a few well selected and excellently priced bottles of wine and start to serve. Tables are intimate and candle-lit, wine is served in tumblers, food is inventive and delicately flavoured. Oh and at between £6 and £12 per plate, you can't go wrong. Usually I'd expect teensy portions at a place like this, so I was pleasantly surprised to receive three full plates of food between the two of us, with a couple of extra nibbly bits for good measure. 

Miniature tortilla bites to start.

Beetroot curry with raita.

Meatballs in stewed tomato and Unpackaged signature bread.

Fishcakes with fresh coleslaw, a great homemade tartare and freshly pickled cucumber.

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