Cooking The Books

Stuffed Bitter Melon Soup

I've only recently posted about bitter melon but that recipe only got through half of it and at just over £6 for the vegetable I wasn't letting the other bit go to waste (even if the pointy end had gone a bit soft by the time I got around to it).

My first encounter with bitter melon was in stuffed form, the Chinese recipe where the gourd is sliced, the seeds are scraped out and the void is filled will minced pork and prawn before the meat and veg disks are cooked in black bean sauce.  It's a lovely dish but Lizzie over on Hollow Legs has already blogged that so I thought I'd do something different, which looking at Lizzie's stuffing ingredients isn't actually that different.  The starch thickened Chinese sauce is replaced with a punchy stock though which makes for a very moreish soup, the stock taking on flavours from both the vegetable and the stuffing, not to mention the big glug of fish sauce at the end. 

If you're looking for provenance then I have eaten this in the middle of Vietnam and something very similar is served in Thailand too.

Stuffed Bitter Melon Soup

Serves 3

350gr bitter melon (half a decent sized one)

250gr minced pork

1 ts oyster sauce

1/2 ts salt

1 clove garlic, finely chopped

1/2 ts sugar

1/4ts white pepper

3-4 dried wood ear mushrooms, soaked

1.25 litres chicken stock, weak as it will reduce

1 TB fish sauce

Greens from two spring onions

Method

Chop the bitter melon into three then scoop out the seeds, scraping the pith out with them.  Give them a good coating in salt (not in ingredient's list) and leave in a colander or sieve over the sink for 15 minutes.  This will help leech out some of the bitterness.  Wash well and dry off.

Shred the reconstituted wood ear mushrooms then mix into the pork along with the oyster sauce, garlic, salt, sugar and white pepper.  Stir well to combine, if you stir in one direction then the meat should come together and firm up.

Stuff each section of bitter melon with the pork and then place into the chicken stock, bring to the boil then simmering gently for 30-40 minutes till the bitter melon is tender and the pork cooked through.  Top up the stock if it looks like it is reducing too much.

Place the stuffed bitter melon in three bowls then add the fish sauce to the stock before topping up each bowl.  Before serving scatter the spring onion greens over the stuffed bitter melon soup.

Potato, Gorgonzola and Thyme Pizza

Through the centuries Gorgonzola was known as 'green stracchino' but on 30 October 1955 the name Gorgonzola was given.  I am not going anywhere with this but I read it last week and found it interesting so thought as like minded fellows you may too.

Getting back on track it's been a while since I put a pizza recipe up.  This one is a little different too as it's lacking in tomato, has no stringy mozzarella and is a carb fest, including potato along with the bread.  Potato pizzas aren't anything new, being traditional in parts of Italy and they also appeared in a Nigel Slater book many moons ago, which is where I heard about them. I'm never one to rush though and it has taken me those many moons to get around to making it.

The result is truly delicious.  The potatoes just make it past the underdone stage so keep a little bite and the full whack oven provides some browning on the edges.  The gorgonzola works perfectly too, the strong salty flavour lifting the bland bread and spud to new levels.  I didn't know what to expect from this but it's a definite keeper.

Potato, Gorgonzola and Thyme Pizza

1 quantity of pizza dough (see below)

6-8 small new potatoes, I used anya

75gr-100gr of gorgozola

A few sprigs of fresh thyme

Method

Slice the spuds really finely, somewhere between 1mm-2mm. 

Stretch out your dough then cover with the potato, looking to have it all covered with some overlapping.

Dice the gorgonzola into 1cm cubes and scatter evenly across the potato.

Strip the thyme leaves from the stalks and scatter these too.  Give the pizza a good grinding of black pepper.

Cook on a preheated pizza stone in an oven as hot as you can get it for 5-7 minutes.

Pizza Dough, 1 pizza about 12"

150gr strong white flour

100gr water

1/2ts dried yeast

1/2ts salt

Glug of olive oil

Method

Mix the dry ingredients together then pour in the liquids and combine into a dough.

Knead for as long as you can be bothered, or until smooth.  Cover and rest for as long as you can, a couple of hours is ideal for texture and flavour.

Chinese Steamed Flower Buns with Spring Onion (Hua Juan Bao)

Whilst you don't get much baked bread in China steamed buns are everywhere.  The southern Chinese may live off rice but up north wheat is their staple and that can just as much come from these buns as it could noodles.  They're a home cooked side dish or a bought on the street breakfast or snack.

Early in the morning in Chinese towns two foot wide steamers sit stacked ten tall and for Mandarin challenged travellers like ourselves it was always potluck as to what our pointing would bring.  Sometimes the first bite would reveal juicy pork, fragrant with ginger or garlic, and other less lucky mornings our efforts would bring nothing but bread dough, a plain white roll lacking even the variation the crust would provide back home. 

Whilst a meat filling was the holy grail I was also more than happy with these twisted delights.  With these flower buns (hua juan bao) not only do the spring onions provide a lovely sweet flavour but the oiling and shaping leaves a tangle of layers that you can peel apart and savour.

Chinese Steamed Flower Buns with Spring Onion (Hua Juan Bao)

Makes 6

200gr typo 00 flour or Chinese bun flour

100gr water

15gr white sugar

3/4 ts yeast

1/2 ts salt

Flavourless oil (sunflower/peanut/?) for brushing dough

The greens from 2 or 3 spring onions, finely chopped

Method

As this dough is going to be steamed, so adding moisture, you need to start with a pretty dry and stiff dough, none of the high water content doughs I've come to know and love in my baking.

To make simply mix all the dry ingredients then add the water and mix into a stiff dough.  Cover and leave for a few minutes then embark on the kneading.  It's not a lot of fun when the dough is this stiff but 5 minutes should leave you something reasonably smooth.  Place in a bowl, cover with cling film and leave till doubled in size, somewhere around 45 minutes to an hour I imagine.

Now comes the fun part. You need to roll the dough out to something about 20cmx25cm. Once this is done brush with oil and sprinkle with the spring onion. Now roll into a Swiss roll shape (parallel to the short edge) and cut into 6. Take one and give it a squeeze in you hand, so it's longer and thinner, then fold in half, twisting as you go and bring the two spiral ends around so they are facing towards you.  Place on the work top and push a chopstick down into it, once along the fold you've just made and then at 90 degrees to it.  Cut some squares of greaseproof paper, about 5cmx5cm, and place a flower bun on each.  Stick in a steamer (I did 3 per steamer), cover and leave to rise for another 30-45 minutes.

If that's not clear then hopefully these pictures will help.

Once they have risen a bit (don't worry if they haven't doubled they will rise a lot during steaming) steam for 15 - 20 minutes.

For maximum enjoyment eat whilst still warm.

Bitter Melon with Tofu

Whilst travelling last year I kept a little notepad of all the dishes I'd eaten and wanted to try and recreate when I got home.  This has sat in the drawer unread for months but I got it out a couple of nights back and this dish caught my eye.  From it's place in the book I can't figure out whether it's from China or Vietnam, sitting slap bang in the middle of the two, but the black pepper suggests to me it was probably Vietnam.  Either way where it comes from isn't important, it's how it tastes that matters.

The bitter melon can be a bit of an acquired taste for the Western palate.  It's a gourd, rather than a melon, and so texturally quite like marrow but it carries a bitter flavour that some don't like.  When preparing a salting helps reduce the bitterness a bit though and in this recipe sugar in the sauce helps to balance it out.  I've learnt to love the bitter element of it and if you like radicchio or endive though then it should be right up your street. 

Bitter Melon with Tofu

Serves 2 as main meal, 3-4 if part of a spread

350gr bitter melon (1/2 a large one)

110gr fried tofu (this was half a pack), the puffs cut in half

1 red chilli, sliced

1 medium carrot, peeled and sliced 3mm thick on the diagonal

3 cloves of garlic, peeled and thickly sliced

200ml chicken stock (use vegetarian stock to make the dish veggie)

1 TB rice wine

1 ts light soy

1/2 ts black peppercorns, crushed

1/2 ts sugar

1 TB of cornflour in 2 TB of water

A few drops of sesame oil

Method

To prepare the bitter melon cut in half lengthways then scoop out the seeds and white pith.  Slice into cm or so crescents.  Sprinkle liberally with salt and leave for 15 minutes, this will reduce the bitterness.  Rinse the salt off.

Heat some peanut oil in a wok until nearly smoking then add the garlic and chili and fry briefly, like 15 seconds.

Add the carrot and bitter melon and fry for 2 minutes more.

Add the stock, rice wine, soy sauce, black pepper and sugar, bring to the boil then chuck in the tofu and mix to combine.

Cook for 30 seconds till the tofu is heated through then add the cornflour mixture, bringing back to the boil to thicken.

Splash on the sesame oil and serve.

Lorne Sausage

Keeping up the sausage theme is a very simple one from north of the border.  I'd been meaning to make this for a while and when a change of meal plans Saturday night left me with some defrosted pork mince Sunday's breakfast was sorted.  One of the best things about this sausage is the lack of skins mean anyone can knock it up in no time at all - no need for expensive stuffing equipment - and it works well with shop bought minced meat too.  This recipe is perfect if you have memories of eating it in Scotland, are missing it after leaving the country or if you just like the look of it - and what isn't there to like about minced meat with lots of black pepper? 

This is also called sliced or slicing sausage and once made you can squash into a loaf tin, par-freeze, and then slice ready for cooking.  It's not going to have much effect on the flavour though if you just squash handfuls of it into patties and cook those.  Serve it in soft rolls or, if you can get them, a more traditional floured bap or as part of a artery clogging fry up.  Brown sauce is a popular condiment and I reckon the red stuff goes well too.

Lorne Sausage

300gr minced pork

200gr minced beef

40gr fresh breadcrumbs (liquidise a slice or two of bread)

1ts salt

3/4 ts of black peppercorns

1/2 ts coriander seed

1/3 of a nutmeg, grated

2 TB cold water

Method

These are ready in no time at all.  Just crush all your spices together till fine and chuck in a bowl with everything else then work with your hands till thoroughly combined.

Either place in a square container, par-freeze and slice or shape into patties if you're not fussed about doing it perfectly.  Either way you can freeze between sheets of greaseproof paper for future use.

Grill or fry till cooked through.