I was going through the Diary this morning when I noticed an entry from 2003, when I planning my second visit to China from Australia.

A few months earlier I'd been chased across the countryside from west to east and up the coast to the north, by a vindictive employer from Sichuan, who expressed outrage and indignation because I was too sick to continue working from my hospital bed. My contract, terminated with prejudice, and my visa bumped back to five days, and only enough money to catch a train to HK get a new visa and then try to find a job that'd pay enough for me to get back home to Australia. All done, not all good. A new job offer and it was prep time to go back to China for another round.

So, I'm considering a big move and cooking is an important part of my life so I start looking at what is the minimum kitchen equipment for a reasonably operable kitchen. also, what are the typical ingredients I use in my cooking that makes me feel comfortable? So, that diary entry became a list of utensils, containers and foodstuffs.

Now, I'm in the process of rationalising my kitchen for the big moove to Germany, from Hanoi with my family. We have a new home to fit into and the kitchen is smaller than I've become accustomed to, and I'm making lists again, which makes this old diary entry interesting to reflect on how things have/might have changed.

 Here's the list:

Kitchen Utensils 

Pans: 

omlette or poaching pan

small frying pan

large frying pan

medium griddle pan

spatter cover 

Pots:

milk or sauce pot

medium pot

steamer basket for medium pot

stock pot 

pressure pot

matching lids for pots 

simmer ring 

Baking 

roasting pan

buscuit tray

scone or lammington tray

pizza tray 

pie/flan pans

cake tins

muffin tins

cooling racks

cake stand

Utensils

wooden spoons (sml, med, lrg, slot, spatula) 

balloon whisks (sauce, batter, egg)

s/s utensils (ladel, sppon, slotted sppon, masher, slide, spatula)

knives ( paring, cutting, chopping, carving, fork)

Prep:

plate and pan scrapers

strainer, collander

sifter

rolling pin

cutting board

pastry board

glazing brushes

can opener, vegetable peeler, nut cracker

tongs, bottle tongs, pasta tongs, salad tongs

Machines:

Electric Blender Stick, Kitchen Stand Mixer or Food Processor (Little Oscar)

Mandoline, Mouli-Julienne or V-Slicer (hand operated vegetable slicer/processor)

Electric Grinder (coffee, beans, pulses)

Electric Blender/Vitamizer

Mixing Bowls

Rice Cooker, Crock Pot

Measures:

measuring sppons

measuring cups

dry volume "Cook's Measure"

scales

graduated jugs (1/2 L, 1L, 2L)

rumtopf or pickling crock 

(Optoinal)

Dehydrator

Vacola Kit

Sous Vide Tank  

Containers

Pantry Jars (0.5kg - 2kg) - dry cerials, rolled oats, other serials (semolina, polenta, flours, rice) 

Refrigerator Storage (100g - 1000g) - cooked foods, opened tins, stewed fruits, jelly

Freezer Storage (containers or vac pack bags) frozen veg, frozen meats, ice cream, frozen meals

Kitchen Bench Storage - buscuit barrel, lolly jar, cakes/scones, dried fruits/scroggin, bread bin, herb/spice containers, oils, vinegars, sauces 

Ingredients

Dry Cerials: (store in air tight, vermin proof jars)

split peas -green & yellow, lentils - brown & red, pearl barley, rolled oats, rice, dried bean soup mix, dehydrated vegies - pleas, corn, carrots, mixed vegies, potato flakes

Vegetables: (grow in the garden, cool dark storage)

celery, carrot, turnip, swede, parsnip, onion, potatoes, tomatos, silverbeet, rhubarb, cabbage, lettuce, corn, zuccinni, mushroms

Meat: (buy bulk, process into serving portions and scrap)

Mutton/Lamb - neck, shank, tail, mince, lamb's fry, hind 1/4 steaks

Beef/Veal - mince, dice, ox tail, tongue, kidney

Dairy: (buy fresh for 2-3 days use and store in fridge) 

Milk, cheese, youghurt, butter, ghee, powdered milk

Fish/Poultry: (tinned and fresh)

tuna, salmon, sardines, oysters, chicken - whole & pieces, eggs, rabbit, cod & other fishes 

Condiments:

sea salt, iodised salt, whole pepper, sauces, pickles, chutneys, mustards, herbs & spices, curry pastes, dried fruits, spreads, jams, pates

So how has my new list changed since 2003? 

To my strainers I'd add a Chinoise. To my pots I'd add a Wok. To my pots, a second Sauce Pot and a second med sized Pot. To general utensils I'd add aThermometer, Kitchen Timer, Funnels, and a Juicer. To my knives I'd add a Cleaver, a Stone and a Steel.

If I had to take stuff away, what would I rationalise?

Well, not an awful lot, really.

To simplify, a really good set of 3-4 knives + a heavy duty cleaver are essential - my preference is Chinese Cleaver, Chinese Chopper, Japanese Santori Knife or low angled chef's knife, and a small to medium side paring/cutting knife. Knives also inclide peelers, cheese wires, graters, mandolines etc. so keep that also in mind.

Next, three pots (milk, boil, stock) and two frying pans (egg, braise) OR a wok (or 2) and a pot (boil/stock). A good wok can do the job of several frying pans and pots in the kitchen. The limiting factor on it's size is your stovetop real estate, e.g. 2 hob vs 4 hob, etc. and whether you can fit your wok AND pot on the stove top.

There ar many other must haves and might be nice to haves that I still have to sort through - too much 'stuff' in my kitchen, but it is giving me somethng to think abuot. Basics, Time Savers, Baking, Preserving, Prep, Storage, Service, etc. 

More soon. 

That's all from The Bait Layer today,

Get that int' ya! 

Mood:  not sure

The first collection of recipes I ever made, was my Circus Cook's Diary. Initially it was an almost daily record of what meals I'd prepped in that metal shelled, hotbox of a kitchen. Eventually I began sticking cuttings and recipe handouts into it and it kinda grew into compendium of bits and bobs, to the point that every page has been scribbled on and there's a ton of paper stuffed in the back, bulging out of the covers.

Then one day, in the wilds of Inner Mongolia… well ok.. it's capital city, Hohhot, I was asked by a good friend and cafe/bar owner towrope a short cookbook for him to use. The brief was that he had minimal equipment, a small kitchen and needed to turn out food on-demand within 10-20 min (max.) Thus, my first purpose written, target specific, cookbook, two editions later, was born.  [White, China. China White’s Pub Grub Recipes – Meals fit for a small bar. 2^nd Edition. E-Book. AEST International. 2006]

After a long, long hiatus, and thinking I'd lost it forever, I finally found a couple of copies of it, and remembered why I'd stopped working on it. I'd given it to a cookbook publisher I knew at the time and asked her what she thought. 

She told me her main issue with the book was the lack of specific amounts for each ingredient, stating that it needed to be done in such a way that even the most least baled cook could follow the recipe and have a reasonable chance of getting it right.

This advice ran counter to the idea I had for this slender 12 page ramble through the kitchen. What I was aiming for was a Pears Cyclopedia style recipe simplicity, where the cook works by intuition and feel rather than by rote. I failed at that, and also failed at making the whole damned thing a thing of beautiful simplicity.

I wasn't prepared to budge from my entrenched view at the time. I know better now.

After many years in-between, wrestling with the idea of reproducibility, and repeatability, seeing it in organisations, franchises, and on day time TV cooking shows, I'm starting to understand that publisher's sage advice.

In recent times, I've decided to revisit this 'first book' of mine, to reconsider the recipes and to also look at adding images, making it open and available to a much wider audience that the original. Older and Wiser, I think I can expand and develop this initial foray into something quite interesting and unique.

Now, Masterchef Australia, Season 3 Episode 79 introduced the top 4 competitors to prepping recipes for a cookbook, and that turned out to be a bit of an eye opener and consolidator. I have a couple of friends in Hanoi who have written some cookbooks (or are in the process of doing so) and, not listening carefully, I didn't pick up on the recipe testing phase until watching this episode. 

The penny finally dropped. At last I finally understood what they were talking about. Worse yet, I had a complete understanding beforehand, but just didn't make the cross-industry connections for any of this to really gel with me.

So, don't make the same mistake I made. In the meantime here are a couple of links I found to be interesting and related to this topic.

• Create Your Own Cookbook
• IKEA's Homemade Is Best
• Make your cookbook online
• How to design a cookbook to publish

That's all from The Bait Layer today,

Get that int' ya! 

Mood:  accident prone

Tao Hua Bi Lao Gan Ma Refined Beef Tempeh Chili Oil  (精制牛肉末豆豉油辣椒) is a spicy Chinese Soybean and Chilli condiment from Guizhou, China. It is one of the most famous sauces of this type and has been shipped globally.

I always knew this sauce as "Sad Man Chili." Others have called it by other names, but it seems that the general consesnus is that it is called, "Old Grandma Chili." 

Whatever you call it, sometimes, in some countries, supply is quite sporadic. If you happen to be an absolute lover of the stuff, like my wife, what to do if it's not available?

Being the unreasonable man that I am, and curious cook, I've searched high and low for recipes to make this sauce but, each recipe seems to have it's failings. Finally I found a listing for straight lobster Sauce that gave some really intersting insights into proportions and additives which are mostly unlisted on the 'bottles ingredients list.'

Here's the results of my search. I suggest that you play around with the proportions until you get what feels right for you. For want of any other recipe to come to light, I believe this is pretty much, "The Secret Recipe" for Lan Gan Ma "Beef and Soybean" Chili Sauce. 

Recipe -Tao Hua Bi Lao Gan Ma Refined Beef Tempeh Chili Oil

配方 - 精制牛肉末豆豉油辣椒  

Method

•  Fry off the beef ince in some oil until browned through and break up into fine pieces
• Add the rest of the oil and heat
• Add in the chillies and heat until fragrant
• Add the fermented soybeans
• Adjust the seasoning with sugar and salt until you have a fine balance of flavours
• Lastly, add a little Lobster sauce (or oyster or fish sauce)
• If the flavour is still not quite, just right, try adding the flavour enhancers, Ajitime and Ethyl Maltol (Entirely Optional, but these help to regulate and reduce the level of msg and salt used in the recipe.)
• To store this sauce, can/bottle it in the usual way

Don't be too alarmed by the quantities given here, what's important is the percentage of each component. Select a total quantity you wish to make, apply the percentages and then go for it.

Tips:

This sauce is made also with chicken, with pork, with duck, etc. the simplest way I've found to change the recipe is to adjust the proportion of 'meat' to soybeans and keep everything else much the same. Some sauces do not include Red Flower Pepper, some may use additional flavor enhancers such as stock powder to bolster the flavour. The important thing here is to be sparing in their use, as often these are added to the meat when it's being fried rather than as end process adjustments.

So, there you have it, my version of Lao Gan Ma Brand "Beef Soybean" Chili Sauce. 

Mood:  a-ok

Previously I dabbled with the Philli Cheesteak. Taking this as inspiration, I discovered that you can have a beef cheesesteak or a chicken cheesesteak, and I thought, "Why not Duck?"

This is Hanoi and duck is quite popular. Thinking, cogitating, discussing the idea and flavours with local chefs, I came up with what I call, The Hanoi Special. 

So here it is:

The Hanoi Special

A Duck Breast-based Hanoi take on a classic Cheesesteak Sandwich 

Ingredients

40g shaved Confit Duck Breast Sous Vide

40g bbq'd Brown Onion, sliced half rings

10g Moc Chau Tomme Cheese

1 x fresh Ciabatta Roll

1/2 fine sliced Garlic Clove

1/2 fine sliced, de-seeded Bird's Eye Chili

1 x pinch of Vietnamese Mint

1 x pinch of Sweet Basil

Juice of 1/4 Vietnaese Lime

Fresh Herb or Salad Greens  

Method

1. BBQ the onions on a griddle place

2. As they start to become translucent, add duck breast and garlic to griddle plate to heat through

3. Add Chili and Basil to duck breast and toss together

4. Add onions and mint to duck breast and toss lightly

5. Drizzle the Lime juice around the Duck mix and add slices of cheese on top and allow to melt

6.  Slice roll in half and warm the inside on the groddle plate or over the grill

7. Lay the filling lengthwise into the warmed roll and dress with fresh, torn micro herbs or salad greens - this helps to keep the sandwich seasonal.

And there you have my, "Hanoi Special!" A Duck Breast Cheesesteak take on the Philli Cheesesteak Sandwich.

In recent times, Tracy's Sports Pub and Grill expanded their menu, offering what they call a, "Paulie's Philly Cheesesteak."  Basically, a beef and onion roll drizzled in melted cheese with some green peppers as a flourish.

What's interesting about this is that some of the regular clientelle are "Cheesesteak" afficionados, so getting their take on the new menu entry proved quite interesting, especially the disparity between their feedback to me and their feedback to the bar. Interesting indeed!

So much so, it prompted me to research this topic, and I shit you not, The Philly Cheesesteak has as much of a checkered and argued over history as does the humble, savoury, "Footy Pie." 

From this research I found out the following essentials:

In essence, a Philly Cheesesteak is:

• finely shaved ribeye beef
• fried on a griddle & cut up into bitesized peices, served
• with sauteed brown/yellow/white onions, and
• melted cheddar, provalone cheese or cheese whiz, on
• a batton of light, Italian style bread.