Off the Bone

I suppose it was just a matter of time before these started making the food blog circuit, and it will be an even briefer span before we begin getting inundated with ever less interesting and more derivative ones, but for now, I suppose doing one is OK.

What is your first memory of baking/cooking on your own?

I think I was about 12, and I’d make breakfast. Chicken ramen, boiled, drained, then coated with the flavour powder (rather than putting it in soup). And ketchup. And then nuked with a couple of slices of Kraft cheddar. And I’d proudly carry it up to my mum for breakfast on Mother’s Day, along with a couple of eggs sunny side up to make it special.

Who had the most influence on your cooking?

I started to learn from my mum, but she and I have some philosophical differences about technique and butter now, thanks to my experiences in restaurant kitchens. My first chef was Chef Bright, and so he, and his sous, Ken, show up in nearly everything I do. I can trace specific techniques to specific people – Chef Damien taught me to mince garlic like you would an onion, and to cook pasta, and Chef David taught me to chop…

When in doubt, I turn to Harold McGee and the Joy of Cooking.

Do you have an old photo as ‘evidence’ of an early exposure to the culinary world and would you like to share it?

Ask my mum. Do you, ma?

Mageiricophobia - do you suffer from any cooking phobia, a dish that makes your palms sweat?

There’s a name for that? I get stage fright cooking for people a lot. Does that count? Also, I cannot, cannot make an ice cream quenelle with a tablespoon, in spite of working dessert at more banquets than I can remember.

What would be your most valued or used kitchen gadgets and/or what was the biggest let down?

My kitchenaid. Really it’s mine and Stakhanovite’s, but it lives with me. Baking as much as I do wouldn’t be possible without it.

I love my Calphalons, especially my 12” everyday pan and the 2 quart chef’s pan. I was surprised by the latter – it was of a size that I didn’t think would be good for anything, but it turns out I do everything with it, from frying rice to braising pork and baking cake.

I have two knives, a big one and a little one, and I use tongs for everything.

As far as failures go, I’m too poor to afford them. My mum has had horrible, horrible luck with peelers, though.

Name some funny or weird food combinations/dishes you really like - and probably no one else!

I have secret fantasies about feeding people vanilla and mushroom sundaes. Vanilla ice cream and shiitake mushroom sauce go really, really well together. I promise.

What are the three eatables or dishes you simply don’t want to live without?

Toscanini’s Ice Cream. Sushi. Lard. That was surprisingly easy. I almost said duck fat instead of lard, but at the end of the day, I’m Chinese.

Your favorite ice-cream…

Toscanini’s Burnt Caramel.

You will probably never eat…

Uhm. I remember a description by James Herriot of being served a slab of boiled fatback with pickles for breakfast, somewhere in the many many many miles of godforsaken countryside in England… I don’t realistically expect to be served much else that I can’t handle.

Your own signature dish…

Not mine, but my granma’s. We braise duck. The dish is simply called “braised duck” in our dialect, but it’s a preparation specific to Chao Zhou. Ask me when I fulfill that fantasy and have my own place.

A common ingredient you just can’t bring yourself to stomach…

Mon hasn’t been able to convince me to try balut, but I’d hardly call that commonplace. Nor have I been to a place where it’s actually available.

Which one culture’s food would you most like to sample on its home turf?

Everyone’s.

The people I am tagging are:

Knowing my readers, I’m wondering if this will spread to LJ now.