Tanitha
17-01-2007, 10:38 PM
Given that kcma is our own resident chef and garrulous at that, I decided to share his recipe here too. Hopefully this thread will grow as people post other interesting recipes, things they've done that just seems to work well and so on.
I'd be dead keen on trying recipes from all over the world. So bring em on!
In restaurants, we don't really cook "dishes". we make components. for example, our Kampachi dish has a Summer Truffle Vinegrette, Kampachi, Tomato Relish, quartered baby heirlom tomatos, and micro fin herbs, topped with hair thin julienne truffles. every component takes no longer than 10-15 min to make, simple, tasty and you can make a batch that last a while. sometimes recipes looks LONG and terribly difficult. they're not, they never are. cooking isn't hard. and i'll try my best to break every recipe down to bare comopnents that looks user friendly and not imtimidating :)
Butter Poached Lobster with Wild Mushroom Risotto, and Lobster Espuma:
This is the BEST way to prepare lobster... no other technique/method come close to it. Butter break and seperates into fat and milk solid at around 160 degree F. so to poach lobster in butter means gently cooking lobster (not overcooking it). end result is tender melt in your mouth lobster with all the richness and flavor of butter!
Poaching Liquid:
vegetable stock if you're lazy :)
or 4 gallons of water, 4 onions, 1 bunch of celery, 2 carrots, 2 Leek, 4 bayleaf, a bunch of thyme, 20 black peppercorn, 4 heads of garlic, 1 bunch of parsley.
combine all the ingredients and simmer for an hour. strain, and that's your vegetable stock for poaching lobsters.
Poaching Butter:
don't make this until everything else is ready. butter is very unstable and break easily when heated.
400g of white wine vinegar
1 bunch of thyme
1 bayleaf
4 cloves of garlic
2 shallots
simmer these ingredients together until liquid is reduced to about 150g
then add 150g of heavy (manufacturing if you can get your hands on it) cream, bring to a simmer (it might break but that's ok). straing it into a sauce pan (big enough to poach lobster body meat). while liquid is still hot, whisk in 2 lbs of butter. this will foram a smooth liquid butter mixture (called beurre blanc/beurre monte). keep this liquid in the warm part of kitchen if you dont use it immediately or on extremely low heat (and removed from heat from time to time to stop it from breaking).
Risotto/ Risotto Base:
This is the risotto base, i make alot of base at a time, portion it out. and use it slowly, they last quite a while (and this is how we cut down prep time in kitchen and how i cook at home).
there's no recipe for it... this is something you cook by feel :)
Arborio rice (there are many varieties, but Arborio is the most common and quite good).
Shallots
white wine
butter
Stock
minced the shallots as finely as you can't (don't chop, mince/cut them :D). in a sauce pan, heat butter until they're not but not browned, add shallot to it and sweat it in medium temp. hot enough to cook it but not hot enough to brown it. once the shallots are tender add rice and coat all rice with butter (so... if you're making lots of rice, start with lots of butter!). now that rice is all covered in butter, add the wine, just enough to completely cover the rice, stirrrrr. the wine will eventually be reduced down and rice will be dry. add stock. if you add more, you dont' have to keep on eye on it all day. but if you add too much... it's hard to pull that liquid out. the first time you make rissoto. start with a lil bit of liquid at a time until you know how much liquid you can get away with.
everytime you add more liquid, stir. the stirring makes the rice creamy and yummy!
if you're making a base (to be finished in the future). you stop the cooking when it's about half done. still white and hard in the center. they store very well (make sure all the liquid is cooked out).
to finish it, just add more liquid until it's "al dente" cooked but still got a bite to it, thick of risotto more like a pasta than a rice dish. once you're there, finish with cream and butter to loosen up the texture, and add grated parmasean to tighten up the texture. its' a very rich dish, flavored by butter, cream, and parm (just like a pasta dish! :D)
Sautee Wild Shrooms:
get 2-3 different shrooms, my favorites are gold chantrelle (workhorse shroom in fine dining), black trumpet, and hedgehog. these are great wild shrooms that aren't TOO expensive.
them them down to same attractive bite sizes. but cook them seperately because all mushrooms cook at different timing. very simple, use nice black pan, cast iron pan, or a good heavy pan (important, mushroom releases ALOT of liquids, and you dont want steamed shrooms). heat them up very very hot (hottest setting @ home kitchen for 2-5min, this is the trick, hot pans. i dont know anyone who's ever actually cook food in hot pans before). cover the bottom of pan with GOOD cold pressed extra virgin olive oil. it should start smoking, add your mushrooms, sprinkle minced garlic. season with good sea salt/kosher salt and pepper. let it cook until it's all the way cooked but not mush. this mushroom is now par-cooked and can stay like this for a while.
for finishing, use a HOT pan, olive oil. sautee the mushroom until they're hot with a bit mroe garlic and adjust seasoning. finish with chopped parsley and breadcrumb.
Lobster Cookery (1-1.5lb lobsters):
bring the poaching liquid to boil. break the claws and knuckles apart from the body. break the head and save it if you want to make tasty lobster sauce/bisque. throw away if you dont want to. cook the knuckles and claws for 5 min, and the body for just 3-3.5 min. this will par-cook the lobster which will then be finished in butter. if you dont want the body to curl up. put a skewer into the body before you heat it up. if you're not going to finish the lobster right away, shock it in ice bath as soon as it comes out of poaching liquid.
to finish the lobster, get the poaching butter ready (everything else should be done at this point, finish lobster last and serve it HOT). leave the lobster in the hot butter for 5-8 min until it's heated all the way through and not raw. DONE :D
Lobster Espuma:
after you pull the lobster out, you can use the remaining butter liquid to make a foam. it looks great and serve as a sauce and keep the meat moist. it's like making foam for espresso, tilt it and use an emulsion blender to buzz it up. scoop out the foam and serve it over lobster.
Lobster Sauce:
This one is GREAT! but sauce making is tricky :p eat up oil, sautee the lobster head you've discarded until they're red, deglaze (and FLAMBE!) with brandy. add mirepoix and herb. and tomatos and stock and cook for an hour. chill it and remove the fat, strain it a few times and then reduce the liquid until you have a THICK and RICH sauce!
ok i know this looks LONG and complicated. it's not, make 1 component a day and a few days later put it all together (do lobster the last day). let me know how it works out!!
There you go ladies and gentlemen. A recipe from our very own kcma.
I'd be dead keen on trying recipes from all over the world. So bring em on!
In restaurants, we don't really cook "dishes". we make components. for example, our Kampachi dish has a Summer Truffle Vinegrette, Kampachi, Tomato Relish, quartered baby heirlom tomatos, and micro fin herbs, topped with hair thin julienne truffles. every component takes no longer than 10-15 min to make, simple, tasty and you can make a batch that last a while. sometimes recipes looks LONG and terribly difficult. they're not, they never are. cooking isn't hard. and i'll try my best to break every recipe down to bare comopnents that looks user friendly and not imtimidating :)
Butter Poached Lobster with Wild Mushroom Risotto, and Lobster Espuma:
This is the BEST way to prepare lobster... no other technique/method come close to it. Butter break and seperates into fat and milk solid at around 160 degree F. so to poach lobster in butter means gently cooking lobster (not overcooking it). end result is tender melt in your mouth lobster with all the richness and flavor of butter!
Poaching Liquid:
vegetable stock if you're lazy :)
or 4 gallons of water, 4 onions, 1 bunch of celery, 2 carrots, 2 Leek, 4 bayleaf, a bunch of thyme, 20 black peppercorn, 4 heads of garlic, 1 bunch of parsley.
combine all the ingredients and simmer for an hour. strain, and that's your vegetable stock for poaching lobsters.
Poaching Butter:
don't make this until everything else is ready. butter is very unstable and break easily when heated.
400g of white wine vinegar
1 bunch of thyme
1 bayleaf
4 cloves of garlic
2 shallots
simmer these ingredients together until liquid is reduced to about 150g
then add 150g of heavy (manufacturing if you can get your hands on it) cream, bring to a simmer (it might break but that's ok). straing it into a sauce pan (big enough to poach lobster body meat). while liquid is still hot, whisk in 2 lbs of butter. this will foram a smooth liquid butter mixture (called beurre blanc/beurre monte). keep this liquid in the warm part of kitchen if you dont use it immediately or on extremely low heat (and removed from heat from time to time to stop it from breaking).
Risotto/ Risotto Base:
This is the risotto base, i make alot of base at a time, portion it out. and use it slowly, they last quite a while (and this is how we cut down prep time in kitchen and how i cook at home).
there's no recipe for it... this is something you cook by feel :)
Arborio rice (there are many varieties, but Arborio is the most common and quite good).
Shallots
white wine
butter
Stock
minced the shallots as finely as you can't (don't chop, mince/cut them :D). in a sauce pan, heat butter until they're not but not browned, add shallot to it and sweat it in medium temp. hot enough to cook it but not hot enough to brown it. once the shallots are tender add rice and coat all rice with butter (so... if you're making lots of rice, start with lots of butter!). now that rice is all covered in butter, add the wine, just enough to completely cover the rice, stirrrrr. the wine will eventually be reduced down and rice will be dry. add stock. if you add more, you dont' have to keep on eye on it all day. but if you add too much... it's hard to pull that liquid out. the first time you make rissoto. start with a lil bit of liquid at a time until you know how much liquid you can get away with.
everytime you add more liquid, stir. the stirring makes the rice creamy and yummy!
if you're making a base (to be finished in the future). you stop the cooking when it's about half done. still white and hard in the center. they store very well (make sure all the liquid is cooked out).
to finish it, just add more liquid until it's "al dente" cooked but still got a bite to it, thick of risotto more like a pasta than a rice dish. once you're there, finish with cream and butter to loosen up the texture, and add grated parmasean to tighten up the texture. its' a very rich dish, flavored by butter, cream, and parm (just like a pasta dish! :D)
Sautee Wild Shrooms:
get 2-3 different shrooms, my favorites are gold chantrelle (workhorse shroom in fine dining), black trumpet, and hedgehog. these are great wild shrooms that aren't TOO expensive.
them them down to same attractive bite sizes. but cook them seperately because all mushrooms cook at different timing. very simple, use nice black pan, cast iron pan, or a good heavy pan (important, mushroom releases ALOT of liquids, and you dont want steamed shrooms). heat them up very very hot (hottest setting @ home kitchen for 2-5min, this is the trick, hot pans. i dont know anyone who's ever actually cook food in hot pans before). cover the bottom of pan with GOOD cold pressed extra virgin olive oil. it should start smoking, add your mushrooms, sprinkle minced garlic. season with good sea salt/kosher salt and pepper. let it cook until it's all the way cooked but not mush. this mushroom is now par-cooked and can stay like this for a while.
for finishing, use a HOT pan, olive oil. sautee the mushroom until they're hot with a bit mroe garlic and adjust seasoning. finish with chopped parsley and breadcrumb.
Lobster Cookery (1-1.5lb lobsters):
bring the poaching liquid to boil. break the claws and knuckles apart from the body. break the head and save it if you want to make tasty lobster sauce/bisque. throw away if you dont want to. cook the knuckles and claws for 5 min, and the body for just 3-3.5 min. this will par-cook the lobster which will then be finished in butter. if you dont want the body to curl up. put a skewer into the body before you heat it up. if you're not going to finish the lobster right away, shock it in ice bath as soon as it comes out of poaching liquid.
to finish the lobster, get the poaching butter ready (everything else should be done at this point, finish lobster last and serve it HOT). leave the lobster in the hot butter for 5-8 min until it's heated all the way through and not raw. DONE :D
Lobster Espuma:
after you pull the lobster out, you can use the remaining butter liquid to make a foam. it looks great and serve as a sauce and keep the meat moist. it's like making foam for espresso, tilt it and use an emulsion blender to buzz it up. scoop out the foam and serve it over lobster.
Lobster Sauce:
This one is GREAT! but sauce making is tricky :p eat up oil, sautee the lobster head you've discarded until they're red, deglaze (and FLAMBE!) with brandy. add mirepoix and herb. and tomatos and stock and cook for an hour. chill it and remove the fat, strain it a few times and then reduce the liquid until you have a THICK and RICH sauce!
ok i know this looks LONG and complicated. it's not, make 1 component a day and a few days later put it all together (do lobster the last day). let me know how it works out!!
There you go ladies and gentlemen. A recipe from our very own kcma.