Five-spice powder

                                                       
The formulas are based on the Chinese philosophy of balancing the yin and yang in food, that the heat of a dish should be counter-balanced by an equally cooling ingredient. The original recipe includes China Tung Hing cinnamon, Cassia buds powder. star anise, anise seeds, ginger root and cloves.

Another recipe for the five -spice powder

10 Roasted teaspoons of Szechuan peppercorns               
30 star anise
5 teaspoon ground cloves
5 tablespoon ground cinnamon,
5 tablespoon ground fennel seeds.

Grind the seasonings until very fine and Store in an airtight container. Use sparingly, as it is extremely pungent.

Tempura batter

History and about
Tempura is originated from Portugal, the Portuguese missionaries introduced this cooking method to the Japanese during the 16th century. Tempura Mix is just pain flour, 1 egg & icy cold water to make a batter for dipping seafood or vegetables tempura (Japanese deep fried food).

Cooked bits of tempura are either eaten with dipping sauce, salted without sauce, or used to assemble other dishes. Tempura is commonly served with grated daikon and eaten hot immediately after frying. In Japan, it is often found in bowls of soba or udon soup often in the form of a shrimp, shiso leaf, or fritter. The most common sauce is tentsuyu sauce (roughly three parts dashi one part mirin and one part shoyu). Alternatively, tempura may be sprinkled with sea salt before eating. Mixtures of powdered green tea and salt or yusu and salt are also used.
Kakiage is a type of tempura made with mixed vegetable strips, such as onion, carrot, and burdock, and sometimes including shrimp, which are deep fried as small round fritters.
Tempura is also used in combination with other foods. When served over soba (buckwheat noodles), it is called tempura soba or tensoba. Tempura is also served as a donburi dish where tempura shrimp and vegetables are served over steamed rice in a bowl (tendon) and on top of udon soup (tempura udon).

Batter
A light batter is made of cold water (sometimes sparkling water is used to keep the batter light) and  all-purpose flour). Eggs, baking soda or baking power,oil, and/or spices may also be added. Tempura batter is traditionally mixed in small batches using chopsticks for only a few seconds, leaving lumps in the mixture that, along with the cold batter temperature, result in the unique fluffy and crisp tempura structure when cooked. The batter is often kept cold by adding ice, or by placing the bowl inside a larger bowl with ice in it.

Tempura batter recipe 

Ingredients

• assorted ingredients to tempura (shrimp, onion, carrot, broccoli, banana, etc.)
• 1 cup ice cold water
• 1 large egg
• 3/4 cup flour
• 1/8 tsp baking soda

preparation 

1. In a medium bowl, mix the water and the egg.
2. In a separate bowl, mix the flour and baking soda.
3. Stir the flour mix into the egg mix.
4. Stick the batter in the fridge while you prepare the other ingredients that going to fry with batter

Try this batter recipe as well

• 1 and 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup cornflour
• 1/2tsp baking powder
• Cold water
• Pinch of Salt & pepper
• 3 to 4 drops of yellow food colouring

     Beat all in a bowl with water until it become smooth batter, the batter should coat your finger when you dip finger to batter.

Mini wellington pictures

                                          Salmon mini wellington, before cut.

                                          After cut.

                                       

                                          Mini beef wellington

Microwaves possess three basic characteristics:

1. Just as sunlight shines through a window, microwaves pass right through some materials. Materials such as glass, paper, and plastic are transparent to and generally unaffected by microwaves.
2. Microwaves are reflected by metal surfaces, much as a ball would bounce off a wall. The metal walls of the cooking space actually form a cavity resonator. In other words, the enclosure is designed to resonate the microwaves as they are radiated from the magnetron tube. The principle of resonance may be illustrated using sound waves. When a piano key is struck, it produces sound vibrations or sound waves. Sometimes a note is played on a piano, and an object across the room, perhaps a wineglass, can be heard vibrating and producing the same sound. This is the result of resonance. The resonating characteristics of the wineglass are the same as those of the piano string. Therefore, the wineglass is in tune, or in resonance, with the sound wave produced by the piano string. In the same way, the cooking cavity of a microwave oven is designed to be in "tune" with the resonant characteristics of the microwaves.
   • Metal racks are physically proportioned so as not to disrupt the energy pattern.
3. Microwaves penetrate and are absorbed by some substances, primarily food products. As the energy penetrates the food, its power is gradually absorbed, or lost, to each successive layer of molecules. The rate of energy loss and depth of penetration vary with the depth, density, chemical properties and temperature of the food. However, on the average, the power is cut in half about every three-quarters of an inch of penetration. Therefore, since the intensity of the electromagnetic field is less at the center of the food than at the surface, the molecules closer to the center of the food do not feel the full effect of the energy.

Friction Produces the Heat That Cooks the Food

To illustrate this third characteristic, notice the cooked turkey below. The waves of microwave energy are cycling above and below a horizontal baseline. The half cycle below the baseline possesses negative properties, and the half cycle above the line is correspondingly positive. Basically, the effect of this wave, as it alternates between positive and negative, would be like a magnet flipping back and forth.  All liquids and food products, such as this turkey, are made up of molecules. These molecules have positive and negative particles, so they tend to behave like microscopic magnets. As the positive half cycle of the microwave penetrates the food, the negative particles of the molecules are attracted and attempt to align themselves with this positive field of energy. Then, when the microwave energy alternates to the negative half cycle, the opposite occurs -- The negative particles are repelled and the positive particles are attracted, causing a flipping motion (actually, this reaction is the movement of the particles within each molecule, so, technically, they reverse polarity). This might be compared to a room full of people trying to run back and forth, from one side to the other. Obviously, there would be a lot of bumping, rubbing, agitation, and friction.
Now, consider that the actual frequency of the RF energy used in microwave ovens is 2450 million cycles per sec! Moreover, consider that within the course of one of those cycles, the molecules would actually change their direction (polarity) twice - once for the positive half-cycle and once for the negative half-cycle. This red-hot rate of vibration causes tremendous friction within the food, and - just as rubbing your hands together makes them warm - this friction produces heat. So the heat is produced directly in the food, but the food is not cooked, as is commonly believed, from the inside out. Actually, the cooking begins just beneath the outer surface and from there inward and outward, with the majority of the energy being expended in the outer layers. The rate and degree of heating depend on the depth and density of the food, as well as its ability to conduct heat. Because the microwave energy is changed to heat as soon as it is absorbed by the food, it cannot make the food radioactive  or contaminated. When the microwave energy is turned off and the food is removed from the oven, there is no residual radiation remaining in the food. In this regard, a microwave oven is much like and electric light that stops glowing when it is turned off.

Cooking Basmati rice ( just a one way )

1 cup rice
1 & 1/4 cup water ( with same cup that measure rice )
Salt
lemon juice 1/4tsp

To make sure you get lovely fluffy rice, wash it in several changes of cold water, then leave to soak for about 30 minutes in fresh cold water.
 In a medium saucepan bring water to the boil and add salt and lemon juice ( lemon juice will prevent sticking rice together after it cooked ) and drain the rice and put it to the boiling water. Turn the heat to low and leave to cook until water run dry and before turning off the heat cover rice with tight-fitting lid or with aluminum foil and and turn off the heat and  keep for 5min. After 5min fluffing up rice with a fork.

( if its 2 cups rice, two and half cups of water )

Lemon Butter sause

Lemon butter sauce is great with any fish, Can add different kind of herbs to it too. There are many ways of making lemon butter sauce, one below is just simple one that will go well with any seafood.

White wine 50ml
Fish stock 200ml
Heavy cream 300ml
Soft butter 100grms
lemon juice 2tbs
Salt and pepper to taste

Place wine and fish stock in a small saucepan; simmer over low to medium heat until reduced by half

Add cream and simmer gently until mixture reaches a sauce-like consistency.

Add butter, lemon juice and  stir until butter is melted and mixture is smooth.

Add salt and pepper for taste.

If the sauce is a little thin, simmer, stirring constantly, until it reaches the desired consistency

Steak house menu

A P P E T I Z E R S

Shrimp cocktail, cucumber, horseradish oil 
Kobe beef carpaccio, black truffle vinaigrette, parmesan, arugula leaves 
Oysters on the half shell, east and west coast, half dozen 
Sea scallops, roasted artichokes, sweet pea ver jus 
Jumbo lump crab cake, olive oil poached tomatoes, fennel, mustard vinaigrette 
Roasted whole boneless quail, wild mushrooms, fruit chutney 
Sharp white cheddar fondue, bacon bread, sourdough, Fuji apples


S O U P S A N D S A L A D S

Lobster bisque, rock shrimp
Sweet corn chowder, aromatic vegetables
Bibb lettuce, smoked bacon, radish, red onions, vine ripened tomatoes, blue cheese dressing
Baby field greens, oven roasted tomatoes, sherry vinaigrette
Caesar salad, anchovy vinaigrette, parmesan crisp

E N T R E E S

Scottish salmon, fava beans, morel mushrooms, citrus sauce
Chilean sea bass, cauliflower puree, tomato coulis, capers
Char-broiled Maine lobster, tarragon butter sauce
Free range chicken, braised carrots, natural jus
Rack of Lamb, stewed peppers and cherries

C H A R - B R O I L E D M E A T S

Filet mignon,  
Prime Rib chop,
Prime New York strip steak,
Pork chop, spinach, bacon, herb jus
Veal T-Bone,  wild mushroom sauce 



S I D E S

Whipped Yukon gold potatoes
Country Club crisp potatoes
French fried potatoes
Truffle cream spinach
Buttermilk onion rings
Woodland mushrooms
Creamed corn, bacon