THE MANIC KITCHEN

February I went away
‘Midst a cascade of snowflakes
April I came home
Spring was already drifting in
And the sight of you
Lingering at the train door
Kept melting away
Into a blaze of sudden summer rain… 

- Written by the author of The Manic Kitchen (read: this blog). 

I’m getting overly contemplative. Spring and autumn have a knack of imparting sentiments unusually felt, for the beauty of these two seasons tell a story. 
 

”Let them say we’re crazy, I don’t care about that
Put your hand in my hand baby
Don’t ever look back
Let the world around us just fall apart
Baby we can make it if we’re heart to heart

And we can build this dream together
Standing strong forever
Nothing’s gonna stop us now
And if this world runs out of lovers
We’ll still have each other
Nothing’s gonna stop us, nothing’s gonna stop us now”

- Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us Now by Starship

Christmas time is in the air again!

What does Christmas entails for Italians? Well, a lot of it has to do with, yes, you guessed it, food and drinks. Tis the season for panettone, pandoro, pandolce, ricciarelli, torrone, chocolates, champagne, sumptuous nine-course lunches, and all the fabulous fattylicious goodies that means you’ll undoubtedly get a shock at the end of December when you tip the weighing scales and realized you’ve gained 3 kg unwittingly.

For me Christmas is a mix of scents and flavors - getting dressed in my long overcoat to repel the first wave of frigid Northern wind, feeling a sense of happiness at the illuminated streets in the dark, discussing which brand made the best panettone this year round, and the fresh whiff of dolci baked in the oven spreading throughout the house and enveloping us in its sweet warmth.

Pandolce is so easy to make, and it tastes so great. Try this recipe for Christmas and you’ll definitely wow all your friends and family ;)

PANDOLCINI

Ingredients

140g all-purpose flour (‘00’ type)
20g cake flour
3g wheat bran
2 tsp potato starch
1 tsp baking powder
Sprinkle of salt

1 egg
100g white sugar
1 tsp milk powder
Vanilla
3 drops of orange essence
35g melted butter

3 tsp raisins
2 tsp candied fruits (cedro canditi)
1 tsp pinenuts
1/2 cup boiling water
2 drops of orange essence

Method

1. Mix the different flours together in a large mixing bowl. Set aside.

2. Whisk the egg, sugar, milk powder, vanilla and orange essence until smooth and creamy. Drizzle in the melted butter and combine well.

3. Meanwhile boil some water in a microwave and throw in the raisins, candied fruits and pinenuts. This helps them become softer.

4. Add the flour with the egg mixture and use a spoon to blend everything evenly. If it’s too dry add a little bit of the orange water used for softening the fruits and eventually some drops of milk.

5. Bake on a piece of baking sheet in a preheated oven at 180C for 12 minutes, then flip it to the other side and bake for another 10 minutes. When it’s done, let it cool down in the oven by leaving the oven door slightly ajar. Store in a container and eat within a few days.

”Will you recognize me, when I’m stealing from the poor
You’re not gonna like me, I’m nothing like before
Will you recognize me, when I lose another friend?
Will you learn to leave me, or give me one more try again?

Oh heaven, oh heaven, I wake with good intentions,
But the day it always lasts too long
Then I’m gone!
Oh heaven, oh heaven, I wake with good intentions,
But the day it always lasts too long”

- Heaven by Emeli Sandé

This is one case of the song describing the article. Pasta al forno is simply HEAVEN, and I eat it with good intentions but my appetite always tells me to finish it all, and before you know it, it’s all gone.

”She’s moody and grey, she’s mean and she’s restless (so restless)
All over you as they say rumours or rivals yell at the strike force
Hi guys, by the way, are you aware you’re being illegal
It’s making your savior behaviour look evil
Excuse my timing but say, how’d you fit in with this flim, flam and judy?”

- Election Day by Arcadia

Ingredients

180g mung dal (yellow lentils)
1 yellow onion, finely chopped
1/2 tsp black mustard seeds (rai)
1/2 tsp cumin seeds (jeera)
2 tbsps puree from canned tomatoes
1/2 tsp turmeric powder (haldi)
1 tsp garam masala
1/2 tsp tandoori masala
1/4 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp salt
3 dashes of Indian black pepper
3 dashes of dried bay leaves
1 tbsp vegetable oil

Method

1. Heat up a saucepan with water and pour the lentils inside. When the water boils, foam should appear at the surface. Scoop out this foam as it surfaces, and continue boiling the lentils for around 20 to 30 minutes or until they become soft but not mushy.

2. Drain the lentils in a colander and set aside.

3. Heat oil in a pan and add the mustard and cumin seeds. Then mix in with the chopped onions and fry them until the onion turns slightly brown.

4. Add the garam masala, tandoori masala, turmeric, tomato puree, pepper, chili powder, dried bay leaves and salt. Combine well with the onions, then pour in the drained and cooked lentils.

5. Add a little water and let it come to boil for a few minutes on a medium flame. When it boils, lower the flame and simmer. If the lentils dry out, add a little more water and continue doing so until they absorb the flavours of the spices.

6. Serve with roti, naan, biryani, pulao or whatever takes your fancy. Warning: spiced dal is potentially addictive.

”You know how the time flies
Only yesterday was the time of our lives
We were born and raised in a summer haze
Bound by the surprise of our glory days

I hate to turn up out of the blue, uninvited
But I couldn’t stay away, I couldn’t fight it
I had hoped you’d see my face and that you’d be reminded
That for me, it isn’t over.”

- Someone Like You by Adele

Been out of the blogging scene for a while. I’ve been addicted to this Korean drama called ”IRIS” and somehow it triggers an immediate need for Korean food, like kimchi and kimbap.

KOREAN FISH STEAK

Ingredients

400g firm white fish fillet

Sauce:
1 tsp gochujang (Korean chili paste)
1/4 tsp Korean chili powder
1 tsp brown sugar
1 tsp dark soy sauce
1 tsp oyster sauce
1 garlic, minced
1 spring onion, minced (green part only)
1 tsp white wine
1 tsp ginger, minced
1 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp lemon juice

Method

1. Heat a wok on medium heat and drizzle in the sauce. When it starts to boil, add in the fish fillets and allow them to absorb the flavors of the sauce. Flip to the other side after two minutes and continue cooking on a medium flame until the fish is ready. Serve with kimchi and white rice.

”Used to go to dinner almost every night
Dancin’ ‘til I thought I’d lose my breath
Now it seems your dancing feet are always on my couch
Good thing I cook or else we’d starve to death
Ain’t that a shame?

You ought to be thankful for the little things,
but little things are all you seem to give
You’re always putting off what we can do today
Soap opera says, you’ve got one life to live
Who’s right, who’s wrong?”

- What Have You Done For Me Lately by Janet Jackson

If someone asked me if I preferred tea or coffee, my answer would be clear and immediate. Definitely coffee. A good cup of dense, creamy espresso with just a dash of milk (making it macchiato) can lift me from the doldrums and make me soar straight through the orange clouds of sunset and land right in the middle of paradise.

One of the best things about Italy is its coffee, or rather, its diversity, quality, intensity and variety of coffee. I can’t stand America and its ubiquitous bucks churning Starbucks. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not bad coffee; they use a good blend of Italian dark roast. But does it have quite the same bittersweet chocolatey aftertaste or class of un caffè italiano?

No.

No, no, no.

I’ll start with the quantity. Too much. I don’t care what people say, coffee should be drank in few quantity and much intensity.

The price. I suspect a lot of American coffee chains sell huge cups of coffee to its customers so they can justify the hefty price (tag). A small tazzina di caffè in Italy costs just €0,90 usually. Starbucks in America charges for the same small tazzina US$1,60 (€1,17 at time of writing) excluding tax. With tax that could easily rise to US$2. For an espresso addict, that could be a few dollars more paid at the end of a day.

The effect. It’s been proven that caffeine boosts our mental and physical energy, increases reactivity, inspiring us to work harder and making our hearts pump faster. My usual Saturday cup of macchiato in vetro (in a glass cup, to preserve the heat of the coffee better) at a bar that sells Mondial coffee makes me laugh, smile, see all the silver linings in the sky, run 10 km, go swimming and then dancing at the disco all day, all night long. It would take a person two cups of American coffee to achieve the same boost of caffeine. Italian coffee is way more concentrated in its caffeine content. And if you’re apprehensive about this, there are variations among different brands. The famous Illy coffee, for instance, is rich and creamy but with just a light concentration of caffeine. No, you won’t start jumping in the air. But you ain’t gonna fall asleep either.

The most important point now - How can people live with just ONE type of coffee, with all the possible combinations and blends of coffee in the world? Indian roasts are more spicy and unusual, Brazilians are richer and darker, Jamaican a full-bodied arabica, and etc. I think each one of us have a different preference. Some might prefer a darker roast. Others might like it light and more robust than arabica. How can you get all these things with just a brand like Starbucks?

”If you’re alone and you need a friend
Someone to make you forget your problems
Just come along baby
Take my hand
I’ll be your lover tonight

Boom boom boom boom
I want you in my room
Let’s spend the night together
From now until forever
Boom boom boom boom
I wanna double boom
Let’s spend the night together
Together in my room”

- Boom Boom Boom Boom by The Vengaboys

I think steamed tofu is like a cloud. Beautiful, vague, and big, but essentially just an empty illusion. At least that’s how it feels like to my stomach. As if I’ve eaten nothing.

But oh, how silky soft and delicately tender it is when it rolls down the throat. It’s nice not to need to bite so determinedly and voraciously sometimes as I might do to a piece of meat. Just let it melt away…

September is a month of love and hate. It’s when people come back from long vacations and resolve to be a new person. I don’t know why, but somehow it happens to me too. It might be the after-summer effect.

We’re all well rested, revitalized and recharged on holiday, and we’re basically raring to go.

After almost 3 years, I’ve finally opened my first foreign bank account. Needless to say, something so simple was being dragged into a long and laborious process necessitating three different visits to the bank. But with the right perspective, it didn’t even seem so long.

One of the first things I’ve learned in Italy is that patience is of utmost importance. Patience, and when that has reached its limit, the ability to complain in an angrily educated manner. Without the slightest pressure, people are content to just let things be (lasciar stare) and the consequence is that things don’t get done.

The truth is rarely pure and never simple, this should be the slogan of the country.

STEAMED TOFU WITH FISH PASTE

Ingredients

2 blocks of silken tofu
1 tsp rice flour

Fish Paste:
5 shrimps, shelled and deveined
3 crabmeat sticks
1/2 egg white
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp corn starch
3 dashes white pepper
1 tsp light soy sauce
1 scallion, green part only, cut into small pieces

Method

1. This might just be one of the easiest recipes you’ve ever done, and one of the fastest too. Start with choosing how you want to steam the tofu. I use the steam tray of my rice cooker, and I pour a measuring cup’s worth of water to the bottom, put on the tray, cover with a lid, and let it cook until almost all the water evaporates. 5 to 7 minutes is all it takes.

2. Blend all the ingredients for the fish paste in a blender until they become a thick paste. It should be solid and sticky enough.

3. Sprinkle a little rice flour on the top of the fresh steamed tofu, then neatly arrange the fish paste above it. Lay it very, very gently on the steaming tray. You don’t wanna break it before it even gets cooked!

4. When the fish paste is cooked, take the tofu out of the steaming tray and onto a serving plate with even greater TLC than you’ve ever been known to show. Your tofu will thank you.

“Keep rollin’ rollin’ rollin’ rollin’ (x4)

We got the game set
So don’t complain yet
24/7 never begging for a raincheck
Old school soldiers
Blasting out the hot shit
That rock shit
Let ‘em bounce in the mosh pit
(Throw yo hands up)”

- Rollin’ by Limp Bizkit

This is probably the most fattening, delicious, mouthwatering and stomach-exploding chicken dish ever. Malaysian dishes just have this uncanny ability to mix different flavors and end up all nice and tidy. My advice is, if you plan on cooking this, don’t skimp on the chicken. Cook a portion more than you normally would, because this is going to finish in no time.

it’s a good thing that it’s still high summer, and two days ago I went on a strenuous 10km run and I’ve been doing sports and walks every single day because if I’m going to eat this just once, I sure need all that calorie burn.

Last Thursday I rediscovered the adrenaline rush of roller coasters and plunging towers at Cavallino Matto, this amusement park in Livorno. It made me feel like a kid again, although that’s actually not true cos I never went on a roller coaster when I was a kid. A mix of lack of opportunity and fear of heights. I was a wimp, yeah.

I swear, my arms trembled and all my blood left my body when I was plummeted down from 50 metres. Those bastards, they propelled us up to the apex and left us suspended there in the air to take in the awe-inspiring Tuscan panorama, and just when we were doing that, unexpectedly we were thrown all the way down in one instant. Then they drifted us up and down another two or three times before releasing us. White hairs guaranteed.

Would I go on the ride again? Certainly!

MALAYSIAN SWEET & SPICY FRIED CHICKEN
Partially adapted from Rasa Malaysia

Ingredients

For the chicken:
450g chicken breast, cut into medium-sized chunks
1 tsp tumeric powder
2 tsp curry powder
3/4 tsp salt
1 tbsp water
1 egg + 2 tbsp water
Flour
Sunflower oil

For the gravy:
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp ginger, minced
1/2 tbsp oil
3/4 tsp curry powder
1 tbsp Sriracha chili sauce
1/4 canned tomato sauce
1 tsp honey
Lime or lemon juice
1 red onion, roughly sliced into rings
Water

Method

1. Mix the turmeric powder, curry powder and salt and add a teaspoon of water. Stir to combine well into a slurry with a spoon.  

2. Marinade the chicken pieces with this spice paste until well-coated. Cover with a lid and leave it in the fridge for at least an hour.

3. In a deep pan, heat up a big quantity of cooking oil for frying. Keep the flame at medium-low.

4. While the oil is heating up, remove the chicken from the fridge and dip each piece in the egg mixture, then coat with the flour. Lower the chicken pieces carefully and slowly into the hot oil (don’t throw it from a high point otherwise the oil will spill out).

5. The chicken are done when they float up to the surface, and turn brownish in colour. Scoop them out and put on a plate lined with oil-absorbing kitchen paper. Set aside.

6. Time for the sweet and spicy gravy now. Heat a little oil (you can use the oil from frying the chicken) in a pan and when it gets hot, add the garlic and ginger.

7. I loooveeee that aroma. Now pour in the canned tomatoes (1/3 of the can), the Sriracha chili sauce and the curry powder. Stir the mixture well, then add the yummy honey and continue stirring to amalgamate the flavours.

8. Put in the fried chicken pieces and coat them with the gravy. Add in the sliced red onion rings and stir fry.

9. Squeeze in some lime or lemon juice and add a little water if the gravy is too dry.

10. Eccolo! Pronto. Serve with hot white rice.