Remove and discard the dark green roots and tips of 3 spring onions, then cut the stems into thin rings. Heat 2 tablespoons of Peanut either vegetable oil In a saucepan, add the chives and cook for 4 to 5 minutes until soft. While the chives are cooking, peel and crush 2 small cloves of … Read more
Kung pao chicken, or gong bao, has an interesting, if highly contested, political backstory. In at least one account, it is named after a 19th-century governor-general of Sichuan province, who suffered from dentition so bad that he could eat only small, boneless pieces of meat. The dish was forcibly renamed during the Cultural Revolution, when … Read more
What else can I use oats for other than porridge and crumble?Clare, Stroud, GloucestershireOatmeal has a lot going for it: it’s nutritious, filling, and a good value. Yes, they are protagonists in porridges and, for some, also in crumbles, but they also present many other possibilities, both sweet and savoury. It all comes down to … Read more
In Australian cities, Ethiopian and Sudanese restaurants have introduced diners to injera, that wonderful fermented flatbread; while home cooks’ growing familiarity with Moroccan and Egyptian cuisine means that ras el hanout has its place in our globalized pantries. These eating habits reflect waves of migration over the decades: historically, Australians of African descent come mostly … Read more
It is the definitive story of the ugly duckling, a fruit that won the lottery. Five years ago, the jackfruit was simply a spectacularly ugly, smelly, uncultivated, unharvested pest plant native to India. Some people did eat it, but only if they had nothing better to eat. Kerala alone removed 35 crores (an Indian measure … Read more
Sometimes, in search of a better life, I turn to Instagram ads, because the world is always better there. It has the shine you get from a coffee table that has just been polished after spraying Mr Sheen. When you look at Instagram, you expect to see your own face reflected in you, only prettier. … Read more
Spring comes quite late to the kitchen. While gardens, greenhouses and allotments abound with seedlings and opening buds, anyone who likes to cook according to the season has no choice but to make do during March with what are essentially winter fruits and vegetables. Still, there are some great cauliflowers for baking with paprika-flecked cheese … Read more
Shawarma, an Arabic word believed to come from the Turkish çervirmek, meaning to rotate or roast, is the Levantine cousin of the Greek gyros and the Turkish döner: skewers of sliced or minced meat, turned in front of a vertical grill, and cooked slowly. in its own delicious fat until it is sliced onto your … Read more
I once caught a roach on a box grater. Exposed when I moved a bottle of vinegar, it ran across the work surface, brushing against a pile of shredded carrots as it went. It was a dimly lit corner in a dark kitchen, and I was horrified, which made my well-aimed strike all the more … Read more
With hot cross buns already getting stale on the shelves, and mince pies surely months from now, plum pudding and pancakes are the only two foods I can think of that unite the nation alone. one day a year. While pickier folks claim to find Christmas pudding too “heavy,” I have yet to meet anyone, … Read more