How this chef has been spending his days on lockdown
“Prison” at home has been fun. Although there are no new food discoveries, I made it my mission to treat my kids to a restaurant level meal every dinner. I enjoy surprising them with unexpected meals. My mind is forever picking up ideas, whether from Facebook, Youtube, or the Asian Food Channel. I don’t copy the recipes, I just pick up the idea and create out of that. And my gratitude comes in the reaction of my kids. Not only do you see the joy in their faces, the gratefulness is more than enough to bring me pure joy and happiness. Happiness is contagious, especially if you’re the giver and the recipients are the ones closest to your heart. Nothing beats that.
One evening, I cooked authentic sweet and sour chicken. I had no pork but I didn’t allow that to stop me from making this dish. I had discovered how to make authentic Hong Kong standard sweet and sour pork. One would think one was dining at a Chinese restaurant along Nathan Road. I did lengthy research of trial and error until I came up with a final product that I was satisfied with. With that I made ground pork with French beans as my veggie. In the course of all this experimentation, I discovered also how to make authentic tasting salted fish fried rice with chicken. I adjust my ingredients, using local daing. Same result! A delicious and authentic Hong Kong fried rice.
The other night, I made something my kids had never come across, a salad I learned to whip up when I was living in Paris. Beside our restaurant at Rue Laplace in the 5th district was a French restaurant called Trois et Demi. Owner Jean Claude became our friend and occasionally, especially when we had guests over, tired of our food, we would dine there. One dish I remember was the salade Trois et Demi. It was greens topped with grated Emmental cheese, warm cubed bacon, and a delicious dressing. With that salad, I made a whole bone in pork chop roast with gravy, rice and adlai on the side. The kids loved it.
For a dinnner, I made a salade Nicoise. Lettuce, canned drained tuna, boiled potato cubes, olives, capers, sliced hard boiled eggs, blanched string beans, sliced tomatoes, and vinaigrette salad dressing. I mixed in chopped garlic, Dijon mustard, vinegar, salt and pepper, and extra virgin olive oil. Tossed all together and watched the smiles. To go with it, I cooked a chicken and ham pasta Alfredo. Here’s a recipe.
Chicken/Ham Alfredo
1/3 cup olive oil
2 cups of chicken thigh filet, cut them in cubes.
1 cup chopped ham
¼ cup butter
1 cup sliced onions
½ cup white wine
2 cups shitake or button mushrooms, sliced
3 to 4 cups cream
salt and pepper
Fettucine noodles, boiled according to package directions
¼ cup chopped parsley
Sauté chicken filet in olive oil until browned but not necessarily cooked. Add the ham and sauté further. Set aside the meat. Add butter to the same pan and sauté the onions. Add the white wine and cook for about two minutes. Do not stir. When wilted, add the mushrooms and sauté until mushrooms shrink. Add back the chicken and ham. Add the cream and mix well. Season with salt and pepper. Taste!
Then add the cooked pasta and parsley. Toss well. Enjoy! I got almost stale bread from my sister Nina who refused to give it to me, heated it, and transformed that into a hard but delicious garlic butter bread, perfect for my pasta. Winner!
When you have a good, delicious, and simple food to cook and to eat, prison can be fun!
I’ll tell you about my tapas night next time and where I get superb and affordable Italian wine.
So that’s what I’ve been doing in prison and I love it! Try cooking for your family and experience the joy it brings. When you have a good, delicious, and simple food to cook and to eat, prison can be fun! Try it.
Happy eating while in quarantine!