What is Emulsion?

What is an Emulsion.

    An emulsion is the even distribution of one liquid in another liquid with which it does not readily mix. When ingredients are used that do not mix, termed immiscible, such as oil and water, it is often necessary to force them to form a stable mixture, termed homogeneously.

Ajillo, Bagna Cauda and Sangria.

What is Bagna Cauda?

    Bagna càuda is a warm dip common in Piedmont, Italy, however with various neighborhood varieties. The dish, which is served and eats in a way like a fondue, is made with garlic, anchovies, olive oil, butter, and in a few sections of the locale cream.

What is Ajillo?

    Ajillo is a prevalent Spanish dish discovered mainly in the south and midpoint of Spain. The essential ingredients comprise of garlic and olive oil, and one primary ingredient, for example, shrimp or squid, there are numerous varieties. It's regularly served in Spain's tapas bars as an hors d'oeuvre. In any case, this dish is popular to the point that it's every so often offered as an entrée.

The Spanish alcoholic beverage.

    Since these are a Spain dishes up there, it is not too much if we enjoy it with a Sangria. Sangria is an alcoholic refreshment of Spanish origin. A punch, the sangria generally comprises of red wine and cut fruit, regularly with different ingredients, for example, citrus juice or cognac.
    This recipe is using the Japanese liqueur, the plum liqueur 
(UmeShu) which will provide you a better fruity taste.

Ingredients for Spanish lunch set.

Preparing time : 15 minutes.
Cook time : 20 minutes.
Ready in : 40 minutes.

Firefly squid Ajillo

40gm	Firefly squid
1 clove	Sliced garlic
1 nos	Dried Red Chile
100 ml	Olive oil
1 pinch	Salt
2 tablespoon	Sherry

Prawn Ajillo

4 tails	Shrimp (Black Tiger)
40 gm	Cremini mushroom
1 clove	Sliced garlic
1 nos	Dried Red Chile
100 ml	Olive oil
1 pinch	Salt
2 tablespoon	Sherry

Bagna Cauda
50 gm	Halved garlic
1/2 cup	Milk
1 tablespoon	Anchovy Paste / Anchovy
3 tablespoon	Olive oil
4 tablespoon	Cream
as need	Leek/ Scallion
as need	Purple cabbage
as need	Carrot
as need	Paprika / Bell pepper
as need	Celery

Umeshu Sangria
梅酒のサングリア
1/2 nos	Cube apple
1 nos	Cube lemon
1 nos	Cube kiwi
1 stick	Cinnamon
2 cups	Umeshu / Umeshu non alcohol (Plum liqueur)
1/2  loaf	sliced bread / Sliced baguette

Method:

Mise en place 1 : Cut all the vegetables into stick size which you could easily dip the anchovy paste and eat. Tear the purple cabbage into bite size.

Mise en place 2 : Deveined and remove the shell of the shrimp, wash with cornstarch water, and rinse thoroughly to wash away the impurities and starch, then dry with kitchen towel, set aside.

Wash the shrimp with cornstarch water.

Wash away the starch and impurities.

Dry with a kitchen towel.

Mise en place 3 : Remove the eyes and mouth of the firefly squid, do the same if you use common squid. Wash with salt water and strain away the water, then dry with the kitchen towel, set aside.

Remove the eyes and mouth of the firefly squid.

Wash with salt water.

Dry with kitchen towel

Mise en place 4 : You can skip this step if you love the garlic smell, the garlic smell may stronger than the anchovy if you skip this step. Blanch the halved garlic to remove harsh taste then strain away the water. Simmer the blanched garlic with milk to remove the garlic smell for 15 minutes, then strain away the milk.

Blanch the garlic with water, and strain off the water.

Simmer the blanched garlic with milk for about 5 minutes.

Strain off the milk.

Mise en place 5 : Remove the stem of the Cremini mushroom and slice into half.

Mise en place 6 : Place some crushed ice in a bowl then ready in the fridge.

Mise en place 7 : Infuse the mixed fruits with Umeshu ( Plum liqueur), serve cold or warm as you like.

1) Making the Bagna Cauda : Blend the blanched garlic, anchovy paste, olive oil, and cream in a food processor until they bind together.

2) Arrange the vegetable stick on the crushed ice neatly as you like, you can just chill the vegetables stick if you are not going to use any crushed ice.

3) Making the Ajillo : Fill the Cazuela plate with olive oil, garlic, and chili (both prawn and squid section)

4) Heat the Cazuela plate on a stove until it is slightly bubbling.

5) Add the prawn / Squid into each plate, the mushroom will go with the shrimp.

6) Sprinkle both plates with a pinch of salt.

7) The shrimp and squid cooked quickly and it will harden if it is over cook, try to use rough heat to cook the seafood thoroughly.

8) Enjoy the Bagna cauda as a dipping sauce for the vegetable stick, the dip should serve warm.

9) Enjoy the squid and prawn Ajillo with the sliced baguette/ bread, the olive oil should work nicely with the bread.

10) Sipping the cold Plum Sangria, oh what a heaven.

Mapo Toufu 麻婆豆腐

About Mapo Tofu

Mapo Toufu

        Mapo tofu also known as Chen Mapo Tofu (陈麻婆豆腐), it is a well-known dish from the province of Szechuan in China, the dish itself is spicy and is able to numb your tongue, and is consist of bean curd, minced meat, chili and Szechuan pepper, sometimes, eggplant could also be the main ingredients of this dish. Mapo tofu was founded in the Qing Dynasty, created by the Chen lady boss in the restaurant of Wanfu Bridge in Cheng Du.

    The appearance of the Mapo Tofu is bright red in color, contrasted with red, green, and white, the bean curd should be nice in shape without collapse, as we know the bean curd is fragile and break easily. The taste is the harmony of numb, spice, hot, soft, chewy, and fragrant.

    Mapo tofu is one of the dishes which highlighted the taste of the hot and spicy in Szechuan cuisine.

Cook Time

Prep time: 10 min

Cook time: 10 min

Ready in: 20 min

Yields: 2 people 

Ingredients:

one block	Soft beancurd	cubed
120 grams	Minced pork
1 stick	leek	brunoise
1/3 stick	spring onion	brunoise
300 ml	chicken stock
2 tablespoon	diluted corn starch
2 tablespoon	vegetable oil
one pinch	Szechuan Pepper powder
1 teaspoon	(A)Grated garlic
1 tablespoon	(A)Doubanjiang
1/2 tablespoon	(A)Sweet Bean Sauce
1 teaspoon	(A)Chili Oil
1 teaspoon	(A)Chinese Douchi / Fermented Black Beans
1 teaspoon	(B)Soysauce
1 teaspoon	(B)Oyster Sauce
one pinch	(B)Ground black pepper

Method:

1) Mise en place: cube the beancurd with 2x2cm. Brunoise or thin slice the leek and spring onion.

2) Mise en place: Chopped the salted black bean. Dilute the cornstarch with the water with the same ratio.

3) Heat a pan and begin to fry the minced pork, until the minced pork released the fat.

4) Seize the fire, then add in all the group (A) ingredient into the sauteed pork.

5) Apply the heat and cook the mixture until fragrant, then add the chicken stock, bring to a boil then seize fire when it reaches the boiling point.

6) Simmer a pot of water and add a pinch of salt in it (The water is just enough to blanch the beancurd).

7)  Blanching the beancurd will harden the protein in the beancurd, hence, the beancurd will hardly collapse compare to the one which is without blanching.

8) Strain off the beancurd water, then adds the beancurd into the pan of spicy sauce.

9) bring the Mapo Tofu to simmering, add extra chicken stock if needed.

10) Season with group (B) ingredients.

11) Add the brunoise leek and spring onion, while heating up and thicken the Mapo Tofu with diluted corn starch.

12) Scoop the beancurd carefully into a plate then enjoy.

Cooking with picture Stir the minced pork in a hot wok/pan with vegetable oil. Add the group (A) ingredient when the meat is cooked. Then you will have a spicy look of the mixture, seize the fire and go to next step. Blanch the bean curd with the simmering salt water. Strain off the water in the bean curd. Add the bean curd into the spicy meat sauce, adjust the liquid. Adjust the taste with group (C) ingredient, taste it then add the leek and spring onion. Mix well everything but dont't break the beancurd.

Oyakodon 親子丼

Easy Oyakodon recipe

About Oyakodon

Oyakodon 親子丼 literally "Parent-child over rice", it is a type of Donburi or Japanese rice bowl dish in which chicken, egg, sliced scallion or onion or leek, and some other pungent herbs like Mitsuba, simmered together in a bonito broth and then served on top of a large bowl of rice.

Boulbous vegetables cream stew

Bulbous vegetable cream stew!!

    Chicken stew or white stew, it is a western food born in Japan... Well, I thought all of the yoshoku (western food) are from Western country, then thrive in Japan, however, they are not.