Monday Noodle

The Recipe

Serves: 2 people
Preparation: 20 minutes
Cooking Time: 10 minutes

It is based very loosely on one of my favourite dishes in Singapore - Bak Chor Mee which I always have with Mee Pok (a flat egg noodle).

I am by no means an expert in Chinese or Singaporean dishes, however, I have lived in this country for 6 years and have my favourite hawker foods. I admit I do not eat them often because I always feel like my meal should always have some fresh and crunchy element to it…. so a trip to the hawker is an indulgence for me that I will do probably once every two weeks.

With moving to my new place, I have accumulated some extra kitchen space for my private dining events and am enjoying working from home and experimenting at home.

Why Monday noodle? I had a craving on Monday, it is now Friday and the response from the picture of this dish was overwhelming. It is based very loosely on one of my favourite dishes in Singapore - Bak Chor Mee which I always have with Mee Pok (a flat egg noodle). I was at home and had the ingredients to kind of make a Bak Chor Mee. I had tempeh so I substituted that for the minced pork. I toyed with the idea of adding ikan bilas for a bit of extra crunch but decided to make the dish completely vegetarian.

INGREDIENTS

120g tempeh
1/2 large carrot, sliced thinly
300g leafy chinese greens - your choice!
150g fresh shiitake mushrooms
300g mee pok noodles or whatever takes your fancy
dark soy sauce
soy sauce
fish sauce
oyster sauce
white pepper
vegetarian stock cubes
Chilli sauce of your choice!!!!
Braised Mushrooms

METHOD

Simmer 1 cup water, 2tsp dark soy sauce and 1/2 tsp fish sauce in a small saucepan. Throw in the shiitake until they are cooked and have taken on a nice brown colour. (20 minutes)

Mix 2 tsp oyster sauce, soy sauce, fish sauce, 1/2 a vegetable stock cube (MSG is welcomed), 1 tsp white pepper and 4 tbsp of the mushroom broth with about 500 ml water. Bring to a boil, cook noodles until al dente. Blanche Chinese greens and carrot.

Chop the tempeh in small cubes, season with a bit of sea salt and shallow fry in coconut oil until nice and crispy. Add a small dash of dark soy to give it a nice blackened colour.

Place noodles, vegetables and tempeh in a bowl. Pour over a little bit of stock, take a photo and enjoy.

*disclaimer… I know how strongly Singaporeans feel about their hawker food. This is no replication or traditional recipe for Bak Chor Mee. It’s simply a tasty noodle dish inspired by my favourite hawker fare. Hope that’s ok.

Gnocchi alla Romana with Mushroom Ragù? Ragout?

The Recipe

Serves: 4 people
Preparation: 60 minutes
Cooking Time: 30 minutes

As history would recall, say around late 18th Century when Napoleon and his posse charged into Northern Italy…….. ragù was inspired somewhat by ragout.

How absurd does it seem to mix a traditional Italian dish with a traditional French dish?
If I was to call my mushroom ragout a ragu, technically that would be incorrect…..  however, cuisines and traditional dishes are becoming so intertwined sometimes we don’t know what comes from where and who did what first. 

As history would recall, say around late 18th Century when Napoleon and his posse charged into Northern Italy…….. ragù was inspired somewhat by ragout.

The Italians were eating their pasta with more of a meat broth but ragout, a fish, vegetable or meat stew provided the inspiration and backbone for that meat broth which became a traditional, wonderful and rich sauce for pasta. And the most famous ragù of all – ragù alla bolognose which is NOT served with spaghetti and does not comprise of minced beef! 

Despite the French invading in the 1790’s, there is evidence that Alberto Avisi, a chef for the Cardinal of Imola, was playing around with this mixed meat (veal, pork, beef) slow cooked stew tickled with cinnamon notes as early as 1785. So, my question to you is what came first in Italy? The ragout or the ragù? I’ll leave that one to you. (And it rhymes!)

NOW, bring on the gnocchi – the type that was traditionally made in the time of the Roman Empire. When potatoes didn’t exist until the Colombian Exchange of the 16th Century where a shipment of maize, potatoes, tomatoes and communicable diseases arrived in Europe. Before this transference of staple foods from the Americas, the Romans were making gnocchi from flour and water and that eventually evolved into the glorious addition of eggs, cheese and butter. 

Gnocchi alla Romana is made from semolina – a product that is not exactly flour but a course product that is derived from the milling process of durum wheat (the wheat that is used to make pasta). Mix that semolina with whole milk, eggs, Parmesan cheese and you have a dish as comforting as mac and cheese.
I digress….. I just love food history but here is the recipe, my version of mixed mushroom ragout/ragu with Roman style gnocchi. 
Enjoy with a nice glass of French or Italian red!

Gnocchi alla Romana
250g semolina (unbleached)
950mls full cream milk
1-2 bay leaves
120g grated parmesan cheese
3 egg yolks
100g salted butter
Sea salt to taste

Mixed Mushroom  Ragout                    A good slurp of olive oil
A good chunk of butter (30g)
2 cloves garlic, finely diced
180g (medium) yellow onion, sliced
150g oyster mushrooms
100g shitake mushrooms
200g portobello mushrooms
10g dried porcini (soaked in 300mls hot water)
50g/ 2 heaped tablespoons tomato paste
300mls/ 1½ cups good red wine
Small handful of chopped flat leaf parsley
7 stalks of thyme

1. Put the milk and bay leaves in a medium sized saucepan and bring to the boil
2. Turn off the heat, remove the bay leaves and slowly add in the semolina while whisking constantly
3. When all the semolina is incorporated, use a spatula to scrape down the sides of the pan
4. Add in 50g of the grated parmesan cheese and 30g butter. Mix well and then finally add in the egg yolks one at a time until all ingredients are combined
5. Add a little salt taste
6. Transfer the gnocchi mixture into a non-stick tin or alternatively brush the tin with olive oil. (I used a 22cm x 30cm x 5cm baking pan)                                                                                 

7. Flatten out the mixture until even and smooth, cover with cling film and refrigerate for about an hour until firm
8. When the mixture is set, turn out and cut shapes with a cookie cutter or knife. ( I used a 5cm round cookie cutter)
9. Place in a baking pan or medium casserole dish, slightly overlapping the gnocchi pieces. 
10. Brush each piece with the left-over butter and sprinkle generously with parmesan cheese
11. Place in the oven on bake/grill setting for about 10-15 minutes or until the cheese is nice and golden.
Serve the gnocchi while hot!!!

1. On a medium heat
2. Add in chopped onions and cook until translucent
3. Add in the garlic until fragrant
4. Throw in all the mushrooms and mix through. The porcini mushrooms can do with about 5 minutes of soaking in hot water before adding to the pot
5. Add wine, a few sprigs of thyme and tomato paste
6. Simmer the mixture and reduce until most of the liquid has evaporated, leaving a thick stew
7. Take out the thyme sprigs
8. Throw in a few thyme leaves and chopped parsley
9. Serve immediately with the gnocchi