Kitchen Politics

We're at the end of our third week in culinary school and the politics have now started to creep into the classroom and kitchen. Somebody is not happy with somebody over something somebody else commented. A formal complaint has also been filed against 'Gordon' and the school will have to deal with it. The protaganist is going round the class to find out who's on his side vs Gordon.

I was roughly aware of what had been going on the past week and had a vague sense of some politics brewing but did not bother to fully understand the entire situation. My mind is filled with how long a julienne is and how to pronounce brunoise and being able to name the different parts of a chef's knife. I am also mentally rehearsing some of the dishes we have been taught but I haven't had a chance to practise because of exams this week. Oh, also, I'm deciding between being an annoying top student or a silent achiever.

So Mr Protaganist comes up to me to suss me out on whose side I'm on. He does not know I have neither the interest, inclination, talent nor time for politics, gossip or complaints of any form, shape or size. I don't give any approving nod so as not to urge him on, neither do I disagree so he does not need to persuade. At the end of his pitch, I smiled as sweetly as I possibly can at this age, whispered a quick prayer for him and went my way, remembering why I left the corporate life behind.

Stir-fry cooks come from all woks of life

In buying recipe books for me, some of my friends associate me with Western cuisine. I suppose I project that image because I tend to use the oven more than the open-fire stove. I have 2 kitchens at home, a "dry" kitchen where the convection oven, the steam oven and an electric mixer reside. The "wet" kitchen is my mom's world - heavy duty Chinese stir fries using a pressure cooker that has blessed us through many many Chinese New Years.

To balance my culinary exposures, I decided I would try this dish that I learned this week at-Sunrice from the chef from China - stir-fried fish in black pepper sauce. The first picture is before I pour the sauce all over and garnish with spring onions. She did not give us a recipe. We had to learn everything by visual and memory. Impressions and sharp observations count.  

I cut my filleted catfish that I had bought from Ben's Food in chunks as you can see in the picture. Marinate with salt, white pepper, ginger juice (I blend mine), plain flour and corn flour (portion according to taste and texture). Heat up a Chinese wok, use canola or corn oil in high heat. When you see small bubbles, gently place the fish in the oil. So in fact, this is more deep fry than stir fry. Leave it alone for a minute. If you try to move it, the fish will tear. I had to do this part with my mom by my side since I am virgin to deep frying. Have never liked deep fried food and always fearful of hot splattering oil. Gently prod the fish and when it's ready, it will move without tearing. Fry till golden brown, just a minute or so on each side. Set aside.

Now, prepare the sauce. Using a sauce pan, mix freshly ground black pepper (as much as you can take its spiceyness), light soya sauce (for taste), dark soy sauce (for colour), hua tiao jiu (Chinese rice wine for gourmet cooking), sesame oil (the chef didn't use this but I used lots of it as my children love it. That's why the sauce in the first picture looks oily), salt (I left this out as I think it's salty enough) and oyster sauce which I also left out as I think there's MSG in them. I also threw in the minced ginger that I had earlier blended (I love ginger and I don't like to waste).

Add some dried chilli to the sauce. Mix some corn flour to get the consistency you want. Then throw in a whole bunch of spring onions cut to about 5cm (julienne). Drizzle hot sauce over the fish, sprinkle some chopped spring onions as top garnish and serve. $20 at Crystal Jade Chinese restaurant, anyone?

Verdict: Children said, "Good!", but the husband is out in Penang enjoying some street food. My own verdict: it's not a dish that makes my day but I'm glad to conquer the fear of hot oil, and I like the bonding with my mom through cooking. 

An older student has incredible advantages

I tried to suck up to the chefs today and asked, Chef, it's Wednesday today. Why is there no Word of the Week? Thought I could for the first time in my student life try to impress my teacher. God is a God of second chances. We do get our second chances in life, people! I've never been a high performer in school, always almost failing or almost passing. I know very very few Chinese songs in my life but there is one in particular where I remember the lyrics because they speak so much to me as a student. It says,

总是要等到睡觉前,才知道功课只做了一点点。
总是要等到考试以后,才知道该念的书都没有念。

Roughly and crudely translated - Always knowing how little homework you have done only at bedtime and always knowing all the topics to study only when exams are over!

But now at middle age, my psyche as an overaged student is very different. I am frighteningly focused, my hormones are more than stable, my experience and confidence give me a good headstart, I've met my fair share of big, bad wolves dressed in sheep's clothings, I know what I want in life, and I can handle any red-tape and manage egos as big as the industrial combi ovens.

Chef was pleased and looked impressed with my question. Yes, we meant to but thought we'd keep it for tomorrow because of exams this week. But since you asked, I'll tell you first. The word is "Curdle". We'll share this with the class tomorrow.

Did I just score some brownie points? Shall I become the annoying teacher's pet who goes to the teachers after school to offer help rather than ask for help, or make the school website my home page, and study all night so I won't let my chefs down?

Repulsive thoughts, tsk tsk.

Exam revision for a culinary student looks like this...

4 different cuts here - medium dice, brunoise, julienne, batonnet

This is CMI-Julienne. CMI as you know is teenage lingo for cannot-make-it!
A julienne is supposedly 3mm x 3mm x 5cm

CMI medium dice 12mm cube

Brunoise, pronounced "broon-wahz" (In French, pronounce the s if it is
followed by an e, as I've been told), is a 3mm cube.

And the reason why we need to do this? Well, for one, it's not called culinary arts for nothing. Food cook more evenly when it's cut to same measurement and fashion and affects taste for the discerning tongue. It is also supposedly more visually appealing thus further whetting the diner's appetite.

Smoke your own Salmon at home

I would love to be able to assemble this canape someday. My Jewish friend Eli has been telling me how he makes his own smoked salmon at home. It's very easy, so they all say. There are 2 ways to smoke salmon, cold smoke or hot smoke. Eli does it cold. Just wrap it in Atlantic sea salt and sugar and any herbs you like, cure it in the chiller for 2 days and you're done. It sounded too simple and with something like salmon, I wanted to be more careful. So I searched the internet and found this.

I don't understand all her ingredients but I also don't have to use them all. I can do it Eli's way plus a bit more of some ingredients I like. Seems easy enough. Read the comments following the video - she also suggests how it can be served when ready.

lli gave me a pack of Atlantic sea salt from Israel today. He lugs home a few kilogrammes of this and extra virgin olive oil whenever he goes back to Israel. I feel so favoured and honoured that he would share his precious ingredients with me. I also read that Jewish immigrants from Russia and Poland brought the technique of salmon smoking to London in the 19th Century.

This is how the salt looks, a little off-white. I saw pink smoked sea salt in at-Sunrice and this reminds me of it.

My friend Roy told me about Snorre at Fishery Port Road near Ben's Food where you can get Norwegian salmon for double the freshness and half the price of those in the supermarkets. At the same time, my friends Alvin and Lina were there last week and they have been posting all the mouth-watering sashimi and boasting of how good a deal they got. They're even inviting us over this Saturday! So as soon as I get to Snorre, I'm going to do a cold-smoke and this will be my first baby step to making a beautiful canape.

Anybody else game to try making this delicacy at home?

Afternote: Check out my first home-cured salmon here.