Christmas Greetings

What food means to me

Food - cooking it, eating it - is an experience for me. It's so much more than a utilitarian necessity; indeed, if I'm really hungry - I mean almost hypoglycemically hungry - I'll eat out or order in. Buddha (or some other wise guy) said the journey is as important as the destination: that about sums up my attitude towards food.

Growing up, my strongest memories are with my grandmother, spent in the kitchen, behind, around, beside, always underfoot. Her life revolves around ensuring there's food on the table; she and my grandpa may not have had much money, but her family never lacked for food. For my grandmother, food is synonymous with love.

My grandmother is almost 90 as I write this in 2006. Nothing has changed. I live halfway across the world from her, but I visit every year. And my trips are always filled with mutual anticipation: what I would like to eat when I'm there, and what she'll cook for me. Nothing much has changed since I was a girl growing up in Singapore under the watchful eye of her doting grandmother, except that now, as I watch her cook, I ask even more questions, and in the last couple of years, I've started to commit her answers and my notes on paper.

Tiramisu - Simple, Delicious

I discovered Giada de Laurentiis, granddaughter of Dino, like most everyone else: on the Food Network.

This recipe for tiramisu is worth making time and again not only for its amazing, out of this world taste, but for how simple it is. I've seen lots of other tiramisu recipes that complicate this simple Italian classic. Giada proves with this recipe that simple is best.

Giada de Laurentiis' Tiramisu. Here's the recipe in case it ever gets removed from The Food Network site.

Ingredients:

• *6 egg yolks (I substitute these with meringue powder, easily available from Williams-Sonoma)


• 3 tablespoons sugar


• 1 pound mascarpone cheese


• 1 1/2 cups strong espresso, cooled (I brew mine, but you could just as easily buy it from your favourite coffee shop and bring it home to use straight away)


• 2 teaspoons dark rum


• 24 packaged ladyfingers (make sure they're Italian savoiarde ladyfingers)


• 1/2 cup bittersweet chocolate shavings, for garnish

Method:

• In a large bowl, using an electric mixer with whisk attachment, beat egg yolks and sugar until thick and pale, about 5 minutes.


• Add mascarpone cheese and beat until smooth. Add 1 tablespoon of espresso and mix until thoroughly combined.


• In a small shallow dish, add remaining espresso and rum. Dip each ladyfinger into espresso for only 5 seconds.


• Letting the ladyfingers soak too long will cause them to fall apart.


• Place the soaked ladyfinger on the bottom of a 13 by 9 inch baking dish, breaking them in half if necessary in order to fit the bottom.


• Spread evenly 1/2 of the mascarpone mixture over the ladyfingers.


• Arrange another layer of soaked ladyfingers and top with remaining mascarpone mixture.


• Cover tiramisu with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, up to 8 hours.


• Before serving, sprinkle with chocolate shavings.

I know it's hard, but try not to eat all this by yourself, as much as you'll want to.

*RAW EGG WARNING: Food Network Kitchens suggest caution in consuming raw and lightly-cooked eggs due to the slight risk of Salmonella or other food-borne illness. To reduce this risk, we recommend you use only fresh, properly-refrigerated, clean, grade A or AA eggs with intact shells, and avoid contact between the yolks or whites and the shell.

Dark Mushroom Soy Sauce

What is it?

Most people know soy sauce, but it's that runny, salty brew that seems to have infiltrated every meal.

Dark mushroom soy sauce, on the other hand, is still mostly an undiscovered pleasure.

It's less salty than regular soy sauce. In fact, it has a treacly, syrupy consistency and taste. If you end up with too much on your food, it will actually have a very slightly bitter taste. Great mouth feel. A very little goes a long way, although even if you overdo it, you won't end up curing your tongue, unlike with regular light soy sauce.

They usually come in 1 litre glass bottles. Very inexpensive, so go ahead, try it. You may never go back to light soy sauce again.

Dark mushroom soy is good on rice, or on over-easy fried eggs served on rice.

Perfect Jasmine Rice

Trust me on this one. Bullet proof, perfectly cooked Jasmine rice.

Be sure to buy real Jasmine, long grain rice. None of that fake-out stuff from the national brands. Most supermarkets these days have excellent so-called ethnic aisles.

Are you ready for this?

For every cup of rice, add the same amount of water, plus 1/2 cup (for evaporation).

The secret to cooking perfect rice is low, low heat.

Put the pot (non-stick, regular pot, doesn't matter), over a low burner or fire. If you're on an electric stove, no more than a 3. For gas, very low flame. Cook with the lid on.

Try not to peek; if you must, listen for the water bubbling. When the bubbling sound stops, you can peek. If it looks dry, turn off the electric burner and leave the pot lidded and let it rest.

This resting period is KEY. It dries out the rice while steaming it at the same time. The result is rice that doesn't stick to the pot, even if you're not using a non-stick pot. (I almost never use non-stick cookware...Teflon is not among my favourite ingredients.)

This is so good, I've been known to eat it on its own or with a drizzle of syrupy, dark mushroom soy sauce.

Chinese Steamed Chicken

This recipe is so simple, it's ridiculous. I make this whenever I've binged on too much rich food. The Chinese prize dark chicken meat for its flavour; I substitute chicken breast as a matter of personal preference. It really doesn't matter because you're steaming the chicken, so any concerns about the meat drying out are moot.

You'll need:

• Chicken meat, 2 breasts or 8 thighs, bone in or out
• Fresh ginger, minced, 1 cubic inch knob
• Fresh garlic, minced, 1 clove
• Sesame oil, 1/2 tsp
• Lite soy sauce, 1 tbsp
• Black bean & garlic sauce, mashed, 1 tsp

Put all the above ingredients in a container that will fit into your steamer. Really, that's it. Just mix the whole lot in a container. Steam for about 15 - 20 minutes unti chicken is cooked through. If your chicken is packed in tightly together, it may take longer.

Now, for a bit of freshness, I make this topping to spoon over the chicken:

• Fresh ginger, minced, 1 cubic inch knob
• Spring onions, finely chopped, 1-2 sprigs depending on your taste
• Canola oil, enough to cover

Mix the whole lot together. Again, just that simple.

Eat this with a plate or bowl of steaming jasmine scented long grain rice and feel all better.