Creative Cooking for the Global Kitchen

Buddah’s hand, a strange fruit!!!

Buddha’s Hand, a strange fruit!

Living in Asia more specifically in China, when wondering around local markets, as it is always a fun thing to do, one might be surprised about the strange looking produce they might encounter. One of them is the Buddha’s Hand fruit, which is believe it or not from the citrus family, yet not as sour. Unlike any other citrus fruit, it does not contains any juice but rather only the rind of it. Just by the look of it you will understand why they call it that way. It is abundance in some Asian country like India, Japan and China. Its original main purpose is for scent, as it is used to freshen up closets and rooms. It is very seldom used in the culinary world. As it is juiceless, it need to be either used for zest, or simply seeded and used raw or slightly cooked to be topped for salad or other creative culinary wonders. As it does taste like a lemon, you can definitely use it to enhance a variety of drink like martini’s and margaritas.

Be not afraid to wonder your local hideout, you will be very impressed to discover such unusual food. Ask, your local vendor hoe they prepare them, and who knows, you might enjoy discovering new recipes on your own.

 Culinary yours

David Marteau

Global Chef

My latest cookbook on Amazon.com:

http://www.amazon.com/Creative-Cooking-Global-Kitchen-International/dp/0986812501

Web site: www.davidmarteau.com

Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/ChefDavidM

Twitter : https://twitter.com/DavidMarteau

Roasted beef Tenderloin, Kimchi Vegetables, Ponzu sauce

Roasted Beef Tenderloin, Kimchi Vegetables, Yam Fries and Ponzu Sauce

This complex, yet easy to do recipe, I created during an amazing event we did at the hotel with mainly high profile customers. The whole idea was to make a food fusion between South America and South east Asia.

To do so, I marinated the beef into some pineapple juice with a bit of a kick from some chili flakes, then added the flair of the ponzu sauce from Japanese influence, yam, from China, and of course the Kimchi from South Korea.

Beef Marinade:

2 cups (500 mL) pineapple juice

1 teaspoon (5 mL) garlic powder

1 teaspoon (5 mL) onion powder

Chili flakes, to taste

1 small beef tenderloin (2 pounds or about 1 kg) trimmed and ready to roast

2 tablespoons (30 mL) cooking oil

Kimchi Vegetables:

2 cups (500 mL) Chinese cabbage, coarsely chopped

1 tablespoon (15 mL) salt

4 garlic cloves, minced

¼ cup (50 mL) fresh ginger, peeled and cut into small julienne

½ cup (125 mL) coriander

½ cup (125 mL) white onion, finely chopped

¼ cup (50 mL) peeled and julienned apple

½ cup (125 mL) julienned carrot

½ cup (125 mL) julienned green zucchini

½ cup (125 mL) julienned yellow zucchini

½ cup (125 mL) julienned Cucumber

1 teaspoon (5 mL) dried chili flakes

Ponzu Sauce:

½ cup (125 mL)  light soya sauce

¼ cup (125 mL) fresh orange juice       

1 tablespoons (15 mL) fresh lemon juice

1 tablespoon (15 mL) water

2 tablespoons (25 mL) Mirin sauce

1 teaspoon (5 mL) fresh red chili, seeded and finely chopped

Yam Fries:

4 cups (1 L) cooking oil

2 whole eggs

½ cup (125 mL) all purpose flour

¼ cup (50 mL) water

1 lime, zested then juice squeezed        

1 teaspoon (5 mL) dried chili flakes

1 pound (500 g) yam, peeled and cut into large fries

To make the marinade, in a medium-size mixing bowl, combine all the ingredients except the cooking oil.

In a shallow rectangular container, place the beef and add the marinade, then cover with surround wrap and keep refrigerated for at least 4 hours.

To make the kimchi vegetables, place the cabbage first into a small colander and sprinkle with half of the salt, then let rest for 20 minutes. Mix the remaining of the salt into the cabbage and let it rest again for about 20 minutes.

Wash and carefully drain the cabbage and set aside for about 5 minutes.           

In a blender, combine the garlic, the ginger, the coriander and the onion, add a little water in it, then run at low speed.

In a medium-size bowl, combine the cabbage with the remaining of the ingredient and pour the garlic mixture evenly over it. Keep refrigerated for about 4 hours.

To make the ponzu sauce, in a small container, combine all the ingredient and mix well, set aside in a small cooking pan when ready to serve.

To make the yam fries, place the cooking oil in a shallow, narrow cooking pot over low heat, and bring to a simmer, do not let the oil boil.

In the mean time, in a small mixing bowl, combine the eggs with the flour, the water, the zest and lime juice, then the chili and mix well. Dip the yam carefully into the mixture and fry for about 1 minute or until the fries are done. Carefully remove them from the oil and place them on a dry paper towel. Set aside and keep them in a warm place.

Remove the kimchi vegetables from the fridge.

Turn on the oven at 180°C (350°F).    

Remove the beef from the marinade and discard it. In a medium-size non-stick sauté pan over medium-high heat, add the cooking oil and gently place the beef tenderloin, sear on all side for about 1 minute each. Place the beef in an oven proof dish and cook for about  20 minutes for a rare to medium rare piece. And let rest for about 5 minutes.

Warm up the sauce under low heat until it starts to simmer.

To serve the beef, cut it into 4 equal piece and pat dry on a paper towel. Place the ponzu evenly on each plate, and add the beef. Top each pieces of beef with the kimchi vegetables. Place the yam fries in a small container and serve immediately.

Yield: 4 servings

Culinary yours

David Marteau

Global Chef

My latest cookbook on Amazon.com:

http://www.amazon.com/Creative-Cooking-Global-Kitchen-International/dp/0986812501

Web site: www.davidmarteau.com

Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/ChefDavidM

Twitter : https://twitter.com/DavidMarteau

Seafood risotto with coriander pesto

Seafood Risotto with Coriander Pesto Coriander pesto 1 cup (500mL) coriander, washed and dried ½ cup (250mL) cashew nuts 1/3 cup (160 mL) grated parmesan cheese 6 peeled garlic cloves ½ cup (250mL) peanut oil Salt and pepper, to taste Risotto 2 cups (1L) fish stock 2 tablespoons (30 mL) extra virgin olive oil 1 cup (250 mL) onion, peeled and finely chopped 3 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped 1 bay leaf 1½ cup (750mL) Arborio risotto rice ½ cup (500ml) dry white wine ½ cup (250 mL) peeled shrimps ½ cup (250 mL) mussels, cooked and shelled 4 large scallops, sliced 2 tablespoons (30 mL) freshly grated Parmesan To make the coriander pesto, place all the ingredients into a food processor and blend at low speed until you obtain a smooth paste. Carefully remove the pesto and keep in a cool and dried place until ready to use. To make the seafood risotto. In a medium-size saucepan, over low, heat the fish stock and bring to a boil. In a heavy saucepan over medium-high, add the extra virgin olive oil, the onions, the garlic and the bay leaf. Cook on a low heat for about 10 minutes until the onions become soft and translucent Add the rice to the pan and with a wooden spoon, mix the rice into the onions. Add the dry white wine and stir constantly until it evaporate to about half. Add ladle full of Fish stock and stir. Make sure the rice has fully absorbed the stock before you add another ladle. Continue adding stock until the rice is tender and cooked through, it should be cooked al dente, then set aside. Add the butter into the rice with the prawns, the mussels and the sliced scallops. You want to have the risotto with the seafood just done. Gently add the coriander pesto and blend carefully. Finish with some grated Parmesan and season with salt and pepper. Divide the risotto into 4 shallow plate, and serve immediately.

Yields: 4 servings

Culinary yours David Marteau Global Chef

My latest cookbook on Amazon.com: http://www.amazon.com/Creative-Cooking-Global-Kitchen-International/dp/0986812501

Web site: www.davidmarteau.com

Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/ChefDavidM

 Twitter : https://twitter.com/DavidMarteau

Chef David Marteau Gazette, Crayfish, a rare delicacy!!!

The idea to write about crayfish (or crawfish), came to me during the small national holidays we just had here in Shanghai. I was off for three days (lucky me!!!) and so I decided to wonder onto the fresh seafood market to get an idea on what was available around this time of year. I found some beautiful live lobsters in some not so cleaned tanks, then as I was looking at them, it strikes me. I wanted to have some crayfish, unfortunately for me, I will have to wait a little as the season is about to start. Then, I remembered how as a kid, I used to catch them by hand, freely in the small river where I grew up. They were in abundance, and to be honest with you, they were so plentiful that we did not even catch them to eat, but for the fun of it. Then, I realized how the species is on the verge of becoming instinct, due to the pollution in our waters (whether here in China or anywhere else), indeed, a crayfish need to have plentiful of fresh water to stay alive and grow to a certain size before being harvested. There are so little in our days, that most probably, when the harvest season is around the corner, they are already sold to the US, UK, France and some other lucky countries, that can afford them. As the demand versus the supplies is there, they easily go for as much as 14$US per kilo, so let me tell you that the end consumers, like you and me, we will have to dig deep into our pockets to get some. Nevertheless, believe it or not, as it is becoming rare, most people who hear about them being on the market, go directly to buy them without asking the price. Shall I say it became a delicacy? I would think so!!!

The main problem with the harvesting, is, like a lot of products today, they don’t care about the size of them, they only size them later to be sold at a different price. It is ALL about making as much money as they can now, but they never think about how much money they will NOT have tomorrow, due to the extinction of this beautiful and delicate species.

As for the crayfish itself, it has a subtle taste, unfortunately, for the species, they are small, so like lobsters and other crustacean, we only eat the body, about 60% of it, then the rest, if you have the time (and you should definitely take it!!!), is to make, either, broth, bisque or sauces.

This way you will enjoy them as much as you should.

Now, that said, here is a cool recipe and easy to do. This is in my opinion the best way to eat them, as they will keep their natural fragrances and stay firm.

4 pounds (2 kg) crayfish

1 cup (250 mL) chopped onions

1 cup (250 mL) diced celery

1 cup (250 mL) cubed carrots

1 whole head of garlic, cut in half

16 cups (4 L) cold water

 Bouquet garnis:

Few parsley stems, well washed

2 dried bay leaves

2 branches of fresh tarragon

1 tablespoon black peppercorns

1 star anis

Place all the ingredients into a large soup pot over medium-high heat, and bring to a boil for 2 minutes. lower the heat to low and simmer the crayfish for 15 minutes, skimming if necessary. Remove the pot from the stove and let cool off at room temperatures. Gently, remove the crayfish and serve with your favorite sauce.

Now, that the crayfish are done, you can easily use the broth to make use of other recipes.

Simply strain the broth through a china cap. Cool it completely and place it in the refridgerator until the next day. The next day, remove the excess fat on top of the broth and use it to sauté some vegetables or other Fish / seafood you might have. Use the broth within 1 day or simply place it in a few small air tight containers and freeze with the date on it and keep for about 6 month.

I hope you enjoyed my small article, and that the next time you see crayfish in your local market, buy some and try them for yourself.

Have fun eating and cooking them.

 Culinary yours

David Marteau

Global Chef

My latest cookbook on Amazon.com:

http://www.amazon.com/Creative-Cooking-Global-Kitchen-International/dp/0986812501

Web site: www.davidmarteau.com

Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/ChefDavidM

Twitter : https://twitter.com/DavidMarteau

Crisp Pork Knuckle, a German Delight!!!

Pork Knuckle, a German Delight

To most dinner usually when we place a pork knuckle on the menu or for a promotion, it sounds uninviting. I remember when I was young and started in the trade of culinary, we used to get a lot of them, which we mainly used to make stews or some simple terrines or pâtés, which by the way it is also used in China for those purposes, except maybe in the Philippines, where I had the pleasure to go and explore a little. They have something really similar called “crispy pata” in this case, I believe it is completely fried. Note that the crisp pork knuckle with its huge amount of fat and tendon roaming around it is already not that healthy, but I think that the “crispy pata” as good as it is calls for a great heart attack. Not that the purpose of having the pork knuckle as crispy as I am doing it here or theirs is wrong, but I believe is part of the culture.

 Now being a chef in a hotel, I thought about doing it German style (or some others might say Austrian style), as for me apart from the name, it is the same. Also we called it crispy pork knuckle as I thought my guests will understand right away what we mean compare to the like of the German word “shweinhaxe” or in Austrian “stelze”.

Even though it might sound complicated to do, actually it not. It is, I will say rather time consuming, but once properly done, you will definitely crave for more. Living in Shanghai, it is actually becoming popular especially with the expatriate community, as lucky for us we do have a few Brauhaus, some German style tavern look alike (literally), where not only they serve this great dish amongst many other, but they also do brew their own beer on the premises. So, needless to say that a great pork knuckle in my book has to be serve with some great sauerkraut, some potato dumpling, some nice gravy and of course the home brewed beer. I do understand,  that when we do the crisp pork knuckle at home, we will not have this strong flavored tasty beer to come with it, but I think it should not stop us, and we can definitely buy some great German draft beer in our convenience stores easily.

Now that said, to do a great pork knuckle at home, you just need to boil it in a brine with some caraway seeds for about 2 hours at medium high temperature, they remove it and let it try out for a while, before placing it in the oven to crisp at 180°C for about 25 minutes. and it is done.

As previously mention, you can definitely use the popular side dishes with it, but personally, I prefer to have mine with a nice and rich mash potato, with gravy. Simple and straight forward.

Please let me know what you think or how you like to eat pork knuckles at home or in restaurants.

I would love to hear from you

 Culinary yours

David Marteau

Global Chef

My latest cookbook on Amazon.com:

http://www.amazon.com/Creative-Cooking-Global-Kitchen-International/dp/0986812501

Web site: www.davidmarteau.com

Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/ChefDavidM

Twitter : https://twitter.com/DavidMarteau

Chef David Marteau gazette: Epicurrean Escoffier Gala Dinner

As most of you who are following my culinary adventure, you must know by now, that i was inducted into the internationnal chefs association “Les Disciples D Auguste escoffier”, well as part of being a menber, and wanted to give back, i was lucky enough to have hosted this month epicurrean gala diner at the parkyard Hotel Shanghai, where 52 VIP guests attended. Let me tell you what a night it was. The organisation alone, took us 2 weeks to do it (very well), from the elaborate menu, which is of course the must, to the restaurant ambience decoration, as well as the training of the service side. As we do have an open kitchen inside our restaurant, i decided that we will prepare the entire menu in front of the guests (here comes the stress), noting that we don’t have anything to hide and very proud of what we do. As the first guests came to register, we started with some beautiful canapes, which to my delight were also a success. keep in mind that i created all of the dishes just for this special occassion. Basically, a night to be remenbered. For those of you who are note in the restaurant or hotel industry, here is a little recap of our master, Augusted Escoffier: Auguste Escoffier was born in Villeneuve - Loubet, a small provincial village near Nice, on October 28,1846. He died in Monte Carlo on February 12, 1935, at the age of 89. During his entire life he had a prestigious career, first as a chef, then as Director of the restaurants of eminent hotels, as a writer and simply as a “very noble man,” in the 18th century sense of the world. The Chef of Kings and King of Chefs. Auguste Escoffier’s cookery career began at 13 when he worked as a kitchen apprentice at his uncle’s restaurant in Nice. He learned not only how to cook but also all the other service, including buying for the restaurant and serving at table. In 1865, he left Nice and went to Paris, then he worked in various department of the kitchens in the famous Parisian Restaurant Le Petit Moulin Rouge. After the war, he returned and served as a chef de cuisine from 1873 to 1878. At this prestigious restaurant, he met and catered to many famous personalities of the time including Sarah Bernhardt, Juliette Adam, and Gustave Doré. In August of 1878, he married Delphine Daffis, the daughter of a prominent editor. Until 1884, Escoffier had established his reputation both as cook and as wrier in the culinary world, in the same year he joined the Grand Hotel in Monte-Carlo as chef de cuisine, at the invitation of César Ritz, the manager, and Mrs. Jungbluth, the owner. This is the beginning of a long standing and mutually fruitful collaboration between the two men that would lead to an era of luxury hotels. From 1890 to 1920, Escoffier took over the management of the kitchen in many luxurious & prestigious hotels like The Savoy Hotel and The Carlton Hotel in London and Ritz Hotel in Paris. for almost thirty years, he served the most famous people of the world and created his own dishes which became renowned till this time. After he left London in 1920, Escoffier returned to Monte Carlo and undertook a very active retirement. On March 22,1928, he was awarded the highest French honor of “Officier de la Légion d’Honneur” at the Palais d’Orsay in Paris, and became the first chef to ever have received this distinction. Auguste Escoffier never ceased writing culinary books until his death in Monte Carlo in 1935. Due to the gratitude and unforgettable memory of Auguste Escoffier, people including his best friends and colleagues in London and Paris, created Auguste Escoffier Foundation. The culinary art museum was established in his honor in 1959 in the house where Auguste Escoffier was born. Auguste Escoffier’s Great Contributions: Escoffier has a constant concern for the revolutionary changes in the cookery art and people’s food habits, and never ceased to make generous contributions to his gastronomic philosophy of refined simplicity in dining. He eliminated flour from sauce and invented new meat stocks and glazes. He instigated the organization of professional kitchen brigades & divided the staff into different sections of chefs; His talent was also recognized as a writer, his great articles and books have since become classics. Escoffier remains today the first and foremost theoretician of modern cookery. Now, that you know more about him, let me introduce the menu that i did for this memorable culinary experience: The canape menu: Salami with basil, mozzarella cheese wrapped with roasted red pepper Mini smoked salmon rose, cream and roe Goose liver mousse in chocolate cups, cocoa powder and orange marmalade Cherry tomato wrapped with basil and mozzarella wrapped with basil on skewer with olive oil Fried camembert cheese with blueberry sauce The Epicurean gala dinner menu:

Ravioli tiède aux champignons et fromage de chèvre, concassée de tomate et mousse a saveur d’huile d’olive

Lukewarm mushroom and goat cheese ravioli, diced tomato, olive oil scented foam

***

Savoureux consommé de poissons parfumé aux safran sur un carpaccio de Saint Jacques Reine, truffes et perles de légumes

Saffron consommé over king scallops carpaccio, truffles and vegetable pearls

***

Roti de filet mignon, macaroni “au gratin”, sauce au vin rouge Merlot, légumes du moment

Roasted beef tenderloin, macaroni “au gratin”, Merlot red wine sauce, légumes du moment

 ***

Petite charlotte au chocolate et menthe, crème glacée a la vanille parfumée aux poivres concassé sur son biscuit

Mini chocolate and mint Charlotte, black pepper vanilla ice cream on its cookie

Please let me know your comments and do share some of your Escoffier stories, if you had the chance to host one.

Culinary yours

David Marteau Global

Chef My latest cook book on Amazon.com: http://www.amazon.com/Creative-Cooking-Global-Kitchen-International/dp/0986812501

Web site: www.davidmarteau.com

 Facebook page:

https://www.facebook.com/ChefDavidM

Twitter : https://twitter.com/DavidMarteau