Sesame & Soy Dressing

Well look who is still around.

First of all, sorry for the unannounced hiatus (AGAIN). And sorry for me still being on it. Meaning: There still won’t be any new posts for at least two months. Before I will tell you the reason for that, I feel  like explaining a little why I haven’t been blogging for so long. I’ll keep it short, I promise.

It all comes down to one factor: time. The same thing that had me going on hiatus the first time.

I am a University student. I work part time. I’ve sometimes worked for days, even weeks, in other cities. If you cannot cut down on your duties, you have to on your hobbies. And that’s what blogging is to me: A dear, yet time consuming hobby. As other bloggers – foodbloggers in particular – know, you can’t just sit down, type a few paragraphs, press send and BOOYA. All done. It’s an active, creative, social and beautiful process. The writing, the cooking, the photography, the inspiration seeking.

So, with no time on hand, what did I do? A clean (temporary) cut. No emails checking, no reading of other blogs, no  contact with the blogosphere what-so-ever. In fact, this is the first time I have checked my OWN blog since MONTHS. I am a bit of a perfectionist and not being able to keep my blog running feels like a huge personal failure. So this complete negligence was necessary for me to make it less painful.

YADDA YADDA YADDA. More words that I wanted to write, already. So why back now and gone again for at least two months? Easy. The main reason I needed to work so hard and much: I am going on a two month trip to East and Southeast Asia! Korea, Japan, Vietnam and Thailand (in that order), to be precise. Most of the first month is going to be dedicated to Korea, as I will enroll in a “Summer School” at a University in Daejon.

I am THRILLED! If you want to know what is going on with me there, I have created a Twitter account where I will write about the whole experience: 

https://twitter.com/TobiasTwoCents

What will be on there? I don’t know yet. Probably something about sights, trips, culture and food.  Possibly just me moaning about the heat and mosquito bites.

Anyway. My trip starts on TOMORROW with a one week stay in Seoul and you cannot imagine how excited I am! Will I be alone? No. Two dear friends of mine - K and C – will accompany me. Two girls. Lucky me, right?

I will continue blogging. Eventually. Hopefully wiser, with a lax attitude and with the pace I can afford. :)

Now comes another surprise: A recipe! This one has been sitting on my desk for ages. The first pictures I took turned out horrible. And these new ones are months old by now already. But the dressing to this salad is so finger- and plate licking good, I am so happy to finally be able to share it with you! It obviously is inspired by Asian/Oriental cuisine, without any specific country of origin. It is from a phase where I was obsessed with roasted sesame.  This dressing. Is. Amazing. No seriously. Every time I went to the Asian grocery shop, I came back with the ingredients for this exact salad. I have always served it exactly the way shown here, but I am sure some shredded carrots and cabbage would be great additions, too. Or just simple iceberg lettuce. 

Sesame & Soy Dressing (Kai-Lan & Mungo Bean Sprout Salad)

• 1 Clove of garlic (maybe a half more if you like it extra garlicky)
• 2 tsps. roasted sesame seeds
• 6 tbsps.  Thai sweet soy sauce (the syrupy kind. The brand I use is Thai and is called “Healthy Boy”)
• 2 tsps. chili flakes (or to taste)
• 2 tbsps. rice vinegare
• 2 tbsps. light sesame oil
• Extra roasted sesame seeds for garnish

• 300g Kai-Lan
• 250g mungo bean sprouts

 

1. Wash and dry kai-lan and sprouts
2. Cut the stems of the kai-lan (and the less pretty leaves) into thin slices. Leave the leaves longer.
3. For the dressing
4. Combine all ingredients in a food processor and blend until smooth and creamy.

 
Salad presentation:

1. On a plate or in a bowl, arrange longer leaves in a half circle.
2. Combine stem slices and mungo bean sprouts, toss with dressing, leaving a bit aside.
3. Place salad mixure in the centre of bowl/plate.
4. Drizzle with remaining dressing
5. Sprinkle with remaining sesame seeds.

And off I go. See you soon and lots of love. :)

Bread Roll Blossom

Do you know that moment in the morning when you still lie in bed – not full asleep but not yet quite awake? The duvet has just the perfect temperature. Not too warm and not too cold and your thoughts go into wondrous directions bordering from sheer fantasy to deep discussions with yourself, salutary and bright – gone within a gasp. I like to think of that moment as the closest overlap between conscious and subconscious possible. Between what is really going on in my mind and what it wants me to believe is going on.

My feelings about that moment are rather bittersweet. Mostly because it usually happens just a wee moment before the alarm goes off and the rough and unforgiving tristesse of reality hits your face like you have never seen it coming. As you may have realised by now, I am a sleep person - not a morning person. In fact, I would love being a morning person, with the day still calm and young, everything and everybody just waking up. But I am simply not. I am a mess. I'm nauseous, my head hurts and I am so far away from mental clarity that nothing else but grunts and moans are able to leave my mouth. Please don't ask me questions right after I woke up. Please don't bother me too much for at least an hour, actually. I will hate you. I may hurt you. But probably not. I will hurt you in my mind, indeed, and debate about it with my subconscious the next morning at 7:59 am right before the alarm sets off.

Breakfast. Thank you for existing. This post's recipe is nice for a Sunday breakfast or brunch. Cut into halves and piled on with whatever is needed to fix your matutinal cravings. While it looks special, it is ridiculously easy to bake – there is most probably no other way to use yeast more fool-proof than here. I can also see them on a picnic (spring cannot come fast enough...) or for a party.

Bread Roll Blossom

Adapted from here (German).

Makes about 3 blossoms or 21 single bread rolls à 75g (2.6 oz). I halved the recipe and made one blossom and some single rolls.

• 42g fresh yeast (also called cake yeast. This would make 1.5 oz. Can be substituted with 0.6 oz/18 g/ 6 ¼ ts active dry yeast)
• 500ml (17 fl. oz) warm water
• ½ tbsps. sugar
• 1kg (35.3 oz) all-purpose flour
• 1 tbsps. salt
• 8 tbsps oil (I used sunflower seed oil)

• Topping of choice (I used poppy flower, sesame and sunflower seeds; optional)

1. In a large bowl, combine yeast, warm water and sugar.
2. Add flour, salt and oil. With your hands, knead until well combined.
3. Let dough rise for half an our, knead well again afterwards.
4. Preheat oven to 200°C (390°F).
5. Form dough into balls the size of your choice (mine were about 75g or 2.6 oz).
6. Dip rolls in topping of choice and then lay on baking sheet lined with parchment paper in shape of a blossom - one in the centre and six around – with the edges barely touching (you can lay them in any shape you want of course or add another row to make it bigger. You can also skip the dipping part and sprinkle topping onto rolls, just make sure it sticks a little).
7. Bake on centre rack for 25-30 minutes. 

Enjoy!

Sesame Rice Noodles with Honey-Soy Drizzle and Chicken

Where has time gone?

No worries, this is no whimsical post about the finiteness of life.

I mean, seriously? Where did the last weeks go? Christmas, New Years, BAM! Exam time.

It has just been a bit too busy to really catch up. Does anybody else get that feeling sometimes that it is all just an endless stream of overlapping tasks, appointments and work? One little unforeseen bump in the road and the little car that is trying to bring me from A to B is up sh*t creek without a paddle (pardon my French).

Alright whiny little boy, it is time to get yourself together again.

Anyways. When times get tough, the tough get going (and I throw around idioms like they are on sale). And when it comes to cooking, I tend to rely on semi self-made (there may be something in that direction coming up in near future), unmentionworthy or quick and simple. This one is in the last category.

While it certainly is inspired by asian/oriental cuisine, it is by all means no authentic dish but that does not mean that it isn't delicious. Because it is. And quick. In fact, if you leave out the chicken, it can all be prepared in about 30 minutes! I know, the instructions seem a little lengthy but that is only because of all the little steps and preparations that need to be done.

Roasted sesame seeds may become one of my favourite ingredients. Like almonds, they are kinda meh when raw but once you give these bad boys some toasty action they just boast of deep flavour that complements perfectly the salty-sweet drizzle.

Sesame Rice Noodles with Honey-Soy Drizzle and Chicken

• 5 tblsp. water
• 5 tblsp. black soy sauce (also called dark thick soy sauce)
• 1 tblsp. brown sugar
• 2 tblsp. honey
• 1/2 ts chili flakes (the amount of heat the chili flakes are providing heavily depends on the kind you are using.)

• 400g (about 14 oz.) rice vermicelli (Bún tươi)

• 2 big carrots
• 150g (5.3 oz.) mung bean sprouts, washed and drained
• A dash of lime or lemon juice

• 1 chicken fillet (or to taste, customise amount of marinade accordingly.)
• 3 tblsp. thin soy sauce (the ordinary kind)
• 1 tblsp. oyster sauce

• 3 tblsps. sesame seeds

• thinly cut scallion for garnish (Highly optional. Frankly, I just put some on top because it adds some colour.)

• More soy sauce and honey for cooking as well as a bit of oil (I use either light sesame or rapeseed oil)

Before the actual cooking:

1. In a large heat proof bowl, soak vermicelli in boiling water. The good thing about rice noodles is that most of them do not need to be boiled, making the whole process a lot quicker. From my experience, even the ones asking to be boiled do not have to as long as you soak them long enough. That is why this is the very first step. When your are not sure, try one before using in cooking process.
2. Slice chicken fillet as thin as possible. Set aside, letting it marinade in 3 tablespoons of soy sauce and  1 tablespoon of oyster sauce.
3. Cut carrots diagonally, slice them in about 5mm thin sticks. Add dash of lime juice, stir until all sticks are covered. Set Aside.

For the drizzle:

1. In a small pot, combine all ingredients for the drizzle and cook on medium heat until big bubbles develop, stirring occasionally. To check whether it is done. Drop a bit of the drizzle on a plate. If it thickens at becomes syrupy when it cools down, it is good to go.
2. In the meantime, put a small pot on high heat. Pour in sesame seeds, stirring them continuously. Once the seeds starten to brown, instantly remove from heat. Remain in pot but keep stirring until pot cooled down a little and the roasting process stopped. Set aside.

Main Part:

1. Heat up either a pan or a wok to medium heat. Put in carrot sticks, add another shot of black soy sauce. With a wooden spoon, stir continuously until all liquid has evaporated and carrots are heated through well (the carrots will be cooked but still on the crunchy side. If you want them to be softer in texture, add a bit of water in the process so they cook longer). Remove from pan and set aside.
2. Add chicken along with the marinade to pan/wok, stirring continuously. Make sure that it does not brown at all. The moment they are done (it will not take too long and is easy to see as it is sliced so thin), remove from heat and set aside.
3. Add a bit of oil to pan, strain noodles and pour them in.
4. Add about 2-3 dashes of black soy sauce to the vermicelli, as well as another tablespoon of honey (the amount of soy sauce depends on how salty you like it. Remember that the drizzle will give the majority of flavour. 2-3 dashes will not make it too salty but will add a nice and deep colour).
5. Add 2 of the 3 tablespoons of sesame seeds as well as the carrots. Turn of heat and carefully fold in mungo bean sprouts.
6. Put servings on plate or into a bowl, lay slices of chicken on top.
7. Drizzle with the sauce and garnish with remaining sesame seeds and a bit of scallion.

Enjoy!