#hosting dinner

Saying bye bye to winter was the theme of the March Supper Club. Spring officially started on 20th March 2017. The year that passed has not been the easiest, so I wanted to start in Spring-a-fresh. This Supper Club was my way of being thankful for surviving the winter and celebrate all the riches of all the food the season had to offer. This post is about the research behind the menu.

It’s been a while since my last menu and I’ve had ideas bouncing around in my head. I started to recipe research traditional Chinese dishes, there’s so much I want to test out and I feel I’ve only just started. In my research I became attracted to historical Chinese dishes. I came across a dish called beggar’s chicken. This dish is considered Chinese Haute Cuisine and I like a challenge, the chicken is marinated, stuffed, wrapped in lotus leaves and baked in a clay. The result was a slow baked chicken that is so moist and full of complex flavour. I added a herb salsa verde to add freshness and contrast. The story about this dish is from legend, truth or folklore in the Qing Dynasty. A starving beggar stole a chicken from a local farm and buried it in the ground at the side of the road to hide it. To cook it, he lit a fire above it. The Emperor was passing through and was enticed by the aroma. He stopped to dine with the beggar and was so impressed with the dish, he added it to the imperial court menu. The beggar’s life was changed forever, he made a living by selling beggar’s chicken to the local villagers. I do like a nice story.

I had the idea for the duck starter since our family road trip last summer 2016. Bitterbollen is a popular Dutch street snack and the balls are traditionally made of beef stew, thickened with a roux. They are light, crispy and the filling melts in the mouth. To me it’s like a savoury liquid salt caramel. I developed my version by curing duck legs in Chinese oolong tea and salt, then braising them in Chinese spices and homemade stock. It works so well with the pickled salad. The textures and flavours are bold, balanced and contrasting. The four courses were served in the order below.

Tea cured duck Bittterbollen served with heritage carrot pickle salad, oriental micro herbs and crushed toasted sesame seeds.

Scallop, king prawn and shitake mushroom steamed savoury custard, garnished with tobiko, flying fish roe and century duck egg.

See my last post for the recipe. If you are brought up with this dish, you will love this version. It eats like the softest tofu and takes of Chinese prawn, preserved pork and shitake mushroom broth.

Beggars Chicken, served with glutinous rice stuffing, ginger pak choi and Chinese salsa verde.

This was the chicken after three and a half hours baking in the oven, in lotus leaves and sealed in a salt dough crust instead of clay.

Dessert of Miso Valrhona chocolate brownie, miso caramel brownie, honeycomb, caramel sauce, freeze fried raspberries and fresh raspberries.

Miso is made of fermented soya beans and is very much a winter staple. I used a white miso, which adds saltiness and a background savoury note. It’s an interesting ingredient to use in desserts.

To end the meal, I served homemade blood orange and yuzu marshmallows and served them with Jasmine green tea. It’s coming to the end of blood orange season. They have a different flavour to other oranges. They have almost a raspberry floral scent at times and gives a lovely pinkish colour to the marshmallows.

Duck bitterbollen with pickled vegetable salad

This is Beggars chicken served with a Chinese salsa verde.

I’m testing and finessing the recipes for the March supperclub. It’s all a labour of love and all about the food. It’s a very creative process which makes me feel like a scientist in my kitchen.

The duck bitterbollen is my take on a Dutch street snack and inspired by my European road trip last summer. The classic is filled with a braised beef with a saucy centre, they are delicious with a crispy coating, contrasting a melting centre. My bitterbollen have been filled with tea and salt cured duck, which has been braised until the duck melts. It will be served with a Chinese pickled salad. I am so pleased with this dish and I’m looking forward to serve this as the first dish of the night.