Lunch and Love at Auntie Fu's Inn

Auntie Fu's Inn

There were many highlights on my China adventure but none so rustic and memorable as my lunch at Auntie Fu’s. Auntie Fu’s is located about 2 hours South of Shanghai and a little into the countryside amid the farms full of chickens and green tea. Fu’s had become famous for rustic organic produce and of course a great lunch. A trip to Fu’s had become a middle class mecca, hippy Westerners driving down to pick their organic chicken and neighbours stopping by for the best corn in town.

My journey so far had opened my eyes to the real side of delicious Chinese food, rice, usually steamed or fried, usually a whole fish simply steamed with soy or a fresh school of prawns, many vegetables sometimes pickled, sometimes fresh with a little vinegar and meats flavoured with star anise and sticky with sugar.

Today at Fu’s things were a little different, it was a hot 35 degree day and we were led up a rickety staircase into a tiny room barely able to fit the signature round table. Our first delectable treat was a bowl full of freshly made date and logan tea, it was delicate and cool and beautifully fresh, we all happily downed it with a smile.

Next were the signature ‘starters’ some small crab with endame beans, a school of fried prawns and a pile of unidentified steamed greens with garlic. Next came the meats, sticky belly pork with seaweed (delicious), one of Fu’s golden skinned chickens hacked into delicious pieces, a big pile of fried rice and the most delicious steamed yams ive ever tasted. To conclude a big bowl of ham hock and sweetcorn soup was presented with thick juicy corn delicious doused with some rice.

Dessert was my favourite xi gua, sticky rice cakes and some sugar cane that we all peeled ourselves.

Rustic dessert

As I sat there in the unfamiliar surroundings listening to the fast conversation that I couldn’t understand with it’s now familiar tones I thought how oddly normal this meal was, a simple deconstructed good old fashioned Sunday roast with the ladies. Odd how something so foreign to me a month ago had become so normal.

The conversation turned to love, as all the women shared their stories I felt warm in the fact that no matter where we are in the world or where we are in our lives, some things never change. In this case, get a group of women together over lunch and talk will inevitably turn to boys. As stories got thrown around, some sad, some hopeful, some fresh wounds and some old ones, collective words of wisdom were gathered from around the table. ‘Love yourself first’, ‘keep your options open’, ‘wait until it’s worth compromising’ and never lose yourself.

And finally, my favourite gem of wisdom from a lady with the best sugar cane bite of the lot of us, translated of course.

If you like him, never call. Never stop flirting no matter how old you get and surround yourself with men who fancy the pants off you.

So here’s to never giving up on love, Sunday lunch, Auntie Fu’s pumpkin and loving yourself first. All the way from China.

A Weekend in a Welsh Kitchen

The long weekend was looming and I decided to take a trip back home to catch up with family and friends. I arrived back ravenous and in need for some serious lunch, thinking that my mum would present me with her usual speciality of a mug of sugary tea, marmite on toast and a chunk of smoked applewood cheese (not that I'm knocking that lovely treat). Instead I arrived home to my mum busy grating beetroot and chopping flat leaf parsley and informing me that we're going to have the ultimate steak sandwich. What a treat.

The Welcome Home Ultimate Steak Sandwich (a la my mum/ a la Jamie Oliver's 30 minute meals)

Ingredients

1 large good quality steak (rib eye or rump) quite thick
Some jarred red peppers in oil
Lots of flat leaf parsley finely chopped
3 big dollops of horse radish
A long baguette or rustic bread (we used a half baguette toasted)
A drizzle of olive oil
A splash of balsamic
Lots of salt and pepper
Some sprigs of thyme
A large handful of rocket or other peppery leaves

First you need to get your baguette or rustic bread, slice it down the middle and drizzle with olive oil instead of butter. We toasted ours so that the olive oil sank deliciously into the bread. Next get your three big dollops of horseradish cream and smear all over one side of the bread. Top with a handful of rocket and get on with your dressing.

To make the dressing upon which to set the steak simply get a few jarred peppers in oil and finely chop with the parsley adding a splash of balsamic and a nice twist of salt and pepper.

Now it's time to prepare the steak. Get your slab of beautiful meat and generously season on both sides with salt, pepper, a drizzle of good olive oil and some sprigs of thyme. Warm up your scalding hot dry pan and flash fry the steak for around 3 minutes per side before taking out to rest upon your dressing. Leave it for 5 minutes or so for all the juices to escape before rubbing the steak into the dressing and juices to coat well.

Now lift your steak up, set aside the dressing underneath into a pile and carve the steak on an angle avoiding any tough chewy bits. You should have a nice medium cut with only a flash of pink.

Assemble the delicious pieces of steak (trying not to eat it all like I did) on to the sandwich topping with your reserved dressing. Cut into three nice generous pieces.

We had ours with a simple green salad, some grated beetroot topped with parsley and feta and some large field mushrooms quickly cooked in the oven topped with a chunk of cheddar. Bloody delicious.

My Mum's Moussaka and Garlic Potatoes (Vegetarian)

Garlic potato aftermath

As a child I used to hate this dish, I thought the gooey soft aubergines looked like weird insects and the whole dish was beyond my palate. Now as a fully fledged member of the adult community I can see the absolute genius  of a simple white sauce with egg yolks that somehow tastes as delicious as if I had grated half a block of Davidstow but mysteriously contains no cheese whatsoever. The vege sauce is quick to assemble and this amount will feed 4 with some leftovers for scooping cold out of the bowl the next morning for breakfast (I'm destined to turn into Nigella).

Ingredients

One chopped white onion, lots of garlic chopped, a bag of quorn mince, oregano (fresh and/or dried we used both), lots of quartered fresh tomatos, a couple of tins of tomatoes

A couple of aubergines, sliced and salted

Flour, butter, milk and two egg yolks

A bag of small baby potatoes, whole cloves of garlic (skin on), one lemon quartered, a little oil, salt and pepper

First make your 'meat' sauce by frying one chopped onion, lots of chopped garlic and then a bag (or as much as you like) of quorn. When the quorn has some colour and the onions have softened add the oregano and chopped and tinned tomatoes with generous seasoning and leave to simmer.

Meanwhile get on with your potatoes, fill a saucepan with cold water, add your potatoes and skin on garlic cloves and boil until softened.

Now it's time to fry your aubergines, do so in batches turning often so that they don't catch. They will absorb a lot of oil, my mum uses sunflower but you can use olive oil. Some people salt the aubergines first and others don't. We do..because we love salt. When you have finished frying your delicious aubergines set them aside.

Now, get a deep oven safe dish and pour in your faux meat sauce and layer your aubergines on the top and start on your white sauce. First, make a simple roux by melting butter (or margerine to keep the fat down) and adding flour to thicken into a paste. Slowly add the milk and stir or whisk into a creamy sauce, if it is a little thick loosen with some more milk. You can add a touch of nutmeg or some cheese if you like but we don't. Now it's time to add the egg yolks while the sauce is off the heat. Stir in carefully and make sure you don't curdle or scramble. 

Pour the sauce over your assembled mousakka and bake in the oven until the top is golden.

While this is baking remove your potatoes, ensuring they are soft and heat up a little oil in a pan. Squeeze out the garlic cloves making a nice garlicky oil and squash the potatoes a bit quickly adding them to the hot oil. You can add some herbs here if you like and salt and importantly lots of delicious lemon juice. Fry until crispy and delicious and serve with salad and a scoop of delicious moussaka. 

Vegetarian perfection....

Get Well Soon Jerk Chicken

Following my epic 4 and a half journey home ready for various get togethers I was struck down with a bit of a cold, feeling like I had Bambi legs I reluctantly cancelled all my plans and decided to spend the day drinking steaming cups of tea in my pyjamas. The perk of my day was our decision to make a nice spicy chicken dish for lunch.

This recipe is a bit vague and can be adapted, you can add different amounts of savoury or sweet depending on your taste. The addition of pineapple juice cranks the sweetness up ten notches so if you aren't into that sort of thing then omit.

I'm not really into chilli heat but do crank it up for this, I loved the spicy note in the back of my palate mixed with the sweetness. Mmmm.

We served it as some bizarre French bistro fusion with some crusty baguette and a few buttered new potatoes. Rice and peas would be a nice accompaniment if you fancy being a little bit more Caribbean. Whatever you like really, now if you'll excuse me I'm going to get back to feeling sorry for myself.

Ingredients

3 chicken legs skin on (or you can use breasts, whatever you fancy the most)

(For the sauce) A teaspoon of all spice, as much rum as you can handle, a drizzle of honey, pinch of fresh or dried thyme, two scotch bonnet chillies (if you can handle it), nutmeg, garlic 5 spring onions chopped

A teeny bit of fresh pineapple juice

Season your chicken legs and pan fry until golden (watch your hands those things go a bit nuts!)

Whizz together all the other ingredients using a blender and pour over the chicken

Place in the oven for around 25 minutes until gooey and saucy.

Delicious

Pre-gig Hawaiian Chicken

After enough sleep to revive Margaret Thatcher and hardly leaving the house I was starting to feel a little better. My parents had purchased me a ticket to go and see 1960s band The Zombies for the evening before heading back to Nottingham the next morning. We decided on a nice light early dinner, scouring the cupboards my mum decided to make something that I hadn't had for about 15 years, her own recipe Hawaiian Chicken.

Ingredients

3 chicken breasts or a whole chicken or shredded up cooked chicken
Half of a fresh pineapple ideally or tinned if you can't be bothered to chop
Some diced cooked ham
A tin of sweetcorn

Pineapple juice (not too much)

An array of diced peppers, I used little sweet ones and big ones
Some fresh chillies as hot as you like
A diced white onion

Season and pan fry your chicken until crispy and delicious. Remove to a large baking dish and add your onions and peppers until soft and releasing a nice liquid. Add in your pineapple and pour over the chicken reserving the sauce in the pan. Now it's time to add to your sauce, pour in the pineapple juice adding a little touch of cornflour if you like to thicken. Taste and season, we added a little more salt at this stage. Pour over the sauce and bake for about 15 minutes. When it's done stir in some sweetcorn with a little butter and chopped ham into fluffy white rice and serve.

So after a weekend of abysmal weather, about 5 pounds heavier and not doing very much apart from cooking I had a wonderful time. I learnt that Nuts in May is one of the funniest TV shows of all time ('I want to see the zoo she said I want to see the zoo'), 'Do you want to come and see my etchings?' is a sexual come on and Psychedelic 60s music is back.

Also, as you can see I got my wish...1am post-gig cheese on toast with my mum. I love you Wales, goodbye for now.

Home sweet home