Another Day of Loafing About

As I continued to browse through ‘How To Make Bread’ by Emmanuel Hadjiandreou (which had since become my bible of bread making lol), I stumbled across a recipe for some deliciously looking Armenian flatbreads and decided to give it a try today. 😋 Now, I will be honest in telling you that I had absolutely no idea what this bread was, nor had I heard of it until now. Upon a brief Google search, it seemed to be that this bread is also called Ormiańskie podpłomyk. (Feel free to correct me lol! I would love to learn more about it haha!)

The flatbreads themselves were very thin and crispy, and felt quite like filo pastry. According to the book and what I managed to find online, it appeared that these flatbreads were usually (and I guessed traditionally) topped with only red onions and seeds, but I decided to go a bit more creative about it and give it more colours!😝 (Think Armenia might not be happy with me now lol…) The crispness of the bread paired extremely well with the crunchiness of the toppings. I personally couldn’t stop eating it! 🤤 I think these are perfect as party treats or as light, healthy snacks. 👍 Also, this bread does not need any yeast and is suitable for vegetarians and vegans, so let’s all give it a try!

This recipe is adapted from the Armenian flatbreads recipe found in ‘How To Make Bread’ by Emmanuel Hadjiandreou.

Tango’s Armenian Flatbreads

Quantity: About 24 flatbreads, 4 trays

Ingredients:

For the dough:

160g / 1¼ cups strong white/bread flour

5g / 1 tsp salt

50g / 3 tbsp olive oil

75g / ⅓ cup water

Garlic-infused olive oil, for brushing

For the toppings:

Red onion, sliced thinly

Spring onion, chopped finely

Sesame seeds

Dried basil

Method:

Mix the flour and salt together in a mixing bowl.
In a separate bowl, mix the olive oil and water together, then add it to the flour mixture. Mix until it comes together.
Cover the dough and let it stand for 5 minutes.
After the 5 minutes, knead the dough by pulling a portion of it up from the side and press it into the middle. Repeat another 8 times and the dough should start to resist. Cover the dough again and let it stand for another 5 minutes.
Repeat step 4 twice.
Knead the dough for one last time. It should be smooth and elastic. Then, cover the dough and let rise for 30 minutes.
Divide the dough into 4 equal portions. Place one portion of the dough onto a baking tray lined with baking parchment.
Using your hand or a rolling pin, flatten the dough and stretch it out from each corner until you get a very thin. rough rectangle. Repeat with the remaining portions of the dough.
Let it rest for 15 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4.
Once the dough has rested, brush the garlic-infused olive oil all over the flatbreads.
Cut each flatbread into 6 using a sharp knife.
Sprinkle the toppings evenly over the flatbreads.
Bake the flatbreads for 5-10 minutes, or golden-brown and crispy. When ready, cool on a wire rack.

Who Doesn’t Like A Good Ol’ Brioche?

For someone who is not hugely big on bread, I love brioche! ❤️❤️ Its fluffy and soft texture makes it my favourite bread to eat, and I am sure that it is also one of many people’s favourites. Whether as a classic burger bun or as a glorious ice cream sandwich, there would certainly be something that tickles your fancy.

Brioche is an enriched dough with eggs and butter, so it does take more time than normal white bread as it takes longer to rise as a result. But trust me when I say that it is definitely worth the effort! 😋 This recipe that I used is very straightforward and remember just a bit of patience is key! 😉

(Psssst I actually think I might have been too patient this time and over-proofed mine… 😅)

This recipe is inspired by the brioche recipe found in ‘How to Make Bread‘ by Emmanuel Hadjiandreou.

Brioche Loaf

Quantity: 1 loaf

Ingredients:

10g / 1 tbsp fried/active yeast

60g / ¼ cup whole milk, slightly warmed

250g / 2 cups strong white/bread flour

30g / 2½ tbsp caster sugar

4g / ¾ tsp salt

2 medium eggs

100g / 6½ tbsp unsalted butter, softened

Method:

1. In a mixing bowl, add the yeast to the warm milk and stir until it is fully dissolved.

2. Mix the flour, sugar and salt in a separate bowl.

3. Beat the eggs together and add it to the yeast solution. Mix and then add the yeast solution to the flour mixture.

4. Using your hands, mix the mixtures together until they come together to form a wet, sticky dough.

5. Cover and let the dough rest for 10 minutes.

6. After the 10 minutes, knead the dough by pulling a portion of it up from the side and pressing it into the middle. Repeat another eight times, and the dough should start to resist. (This kneading process should not take longer than around 10 seconds.) Cover the dough and let it rise for another 10 minutes.

7. Repeat step 6 one more time.

8. Cut the butter up into small species and push it into the dough.

9. Knead the dough to start incorporating the butter. Cover and let it rise for another 10 minutes.

10. Knead the dough again for the last time, ensuring all the butter is fully incorporated.

11. Cover and let it rise for 1 hour, or until the dough is doubled in size.

12. While waiting, prepare the loaf tin by greasing it with butter.

13. Knock the air out of the dough and transfer it onto a floured work surface.

14. Divide the dough into three equal portions and roll them between your hands to form perfectly round, smooth balls.

15. Place the dough balls across the prepared loaf tin. Cover and let it rise to double in size, which will take around 30-45 minutes.

16. While waiting for the dough to finish proofing, preheat the oven to 200C/400F/Gas 6.

17. Beat an egg with a pinch of salt. Once the dough has finished rising, brush the egg wash all over it. Snip the top of each bump with scissors.

18. Place a cupful of water at the bottom of the oven to create steam. Bake the dough for about 20 minutes, or until golden brown and the loaf makes a hollow sound when tap at the bottom. Cool on a wire rack when ready.

An Education

After once coming across a poster in the London Underground, I learnt of a exhibition called ‘FOOD: Bigger than the Plate’ that is currently taking place in the V&A Museum. After reading a bit more about it online, I was very interested by its premise so I decided to visit it a few days ago.

The exhibition was split into four sections discussing the composting, farming, trading and eating of food, and really questioned the sustainability of the current food culture. Being completely honest, while I had always been passionate about food, I never quite thought deeply about the many environmental and ethical aspects surrounding it, but this had really invoked my feelings towards it. I was also impressed by some of the artworks on display there, so here are some more snapshots from the exhibition:

The agricultural growing calendar in Hong Kong. The exhibition discussed the difficulties of growing crops in Hong Kong due to its lack of open spaces, something I knew too well having lived there. Still a nostalgic feeling though…

Project Florence: an interface that makes conversation between plants and humans possible (?) I couldn’t get any coherent answers from it though no matter what I asked… 😅

Free samples to try! Though I don’t think I am a huge fan of the floral flavours though…

Obviously I needed to take a picture of this lol! 😂

The power of Instagram in food marketing nowadays (as we all knew too well haha!)

Cheeses cultured from human bacteria taken from ears, toes and armpits of these celebrities that include Heston and Ruby from Bake Off… Not sure how I feel about this lol…. 😅

Moving on to the last section of the exhibition, I was very intrigued by this interactive stall from the LOCI Food Lab. Basically, a small taster menu will be created according to your selection of answers to the big question of ‘A great food system should be…’ I chose ‘cutting-edge’, ‘zero waste’ and ‘delicious’. What would you have picked?

The small sample actually tasted not bad. I personally quite enjoyed the cucumber crisp, though I am not entirely sure what the rest of the stuff was.😂 (I couldn’t taste the powdered anchovy at all until I looked at the receipt!) It turned out that ‘delicious’, ‘nutritious’ and ‘zero waste’ were the popular answers (in that order) chosen by the 26,254 visitors that had visited so far. (I guess I am not a healthy person after all lol…) ‘Profitable’ was the least popular answer. Do you agree with this result?🤔

Dim Sum and Desserts

It had been so nice this week to catch up with many of my closest friends.😊 But, before I leave London for a couple of weeks, I met up with my best friend for one delicious food date. We (or rather I lol) decided to visit Yauatcha in Soho, a Chinese restaurant that specialises in contemporary dim sum as well as high-end patisserie.😋 Got to say I felt right at home here! 😉

Lobster Dumplings with Tobiko (Flying Fish Roe)

Prawn and Tofu Skin Cheung Fun (Steamed Rice Rolls)

I really enjoyed the Cheung Fan and the black truffle dumplings (though my friend who didn’t like the flavours of black truffle preferred the lobster dumplings and the Cheung Fan.😂) Not only were the dishes really delicious, but they also filled me with many memories from my childhood growing up in Hong Kong. The Cheung Fan (steamed rice rolls) in particular was a common street food I used to eat regularly back then after school.

Strawberry Zhu: Vanilla and Almond Sponge with Yuzu, Strawberry and Toasted Rice

Mango Lime Mallow: Mango Mousse and Coconut Sponge with Lime Marshmallow and Candied Ginger

Matcha Lychee Pot: Yogurt Panna Cotta with Lychee, Matcha and Watermelon

The desserts though were something that I was the most excited about coming into this place and they certainly did not disappoint. I had the Strawberry Zhu and the Matcha Lychee Pot. I was very impressed by the classic strawberry and cream combination in the former. The flavours worked very well and I particularly enjoyed the surprise of the strawberry-shaped chocolates which were also filled with a strawberry sauce.😋 (I didn’t realise they were not real strawberries until I bit into them.😂) The Matcha Lychee Pot was very light and refreshing, and almost remained me of a granola and yogurt pot but much more refined. The jelly component especially was very delightful to eat.

The only downside here was that this place was a bit expensive. Still, it didn’t stop us going for a frozen yogurt afterwards.😂

Hope you all have a fantastic weekend ahead of you! 😉

Late-Night Sausages

About a month or so ago, I visited an American-style restaurant called the Fat Bear here in London. (You can read about my visit here 👉 https://tangosbaking.home.blog/2019/06/15/journey-across-the-waters/) I tried their delicious biscuits and gravy, and ever since then, I had always wanted to try to replicate this classic American dish.

Yesterday, I was feeling peckish in the middle of the night. I suddenly had this idea of making some biscuits and gravy to fill this hunger. So, I quickly leapt down to the supermarket (the closet one to me had closed already so I had to walk slightly further), and came back to attempt to make this dish for the first time ever. I followed a recipe by the Hairy Bikers (Link: https://goodfood.uktv.co.uk/recipe/biscuits-and-sausage-gravy/), though I just went all freestyle with the sausage gravy using some good-quality caramelised onion sausages, double cream (that was left from when I made my Oreo cake a few days) and some mixed spices. I also didn’t have any buttermilk, so I made my own using lemon juice and milk by following tips on this article 👉 https://www.tasteofhome.com/article/how-to-make-buttermilk/.

I wasn’t entirely sure how the biscuit dough should be like, but I felt it was wetter than it should be, so I did end up adding a bit more flour. I felt the biscuits did come out slightly denser than I would like it, but the sausage gravy was absolutely delicious! 😋 (Though it eventually did feel quite heavy as I kept on eating it after… 😅)

Have you made biscuits and gravy before? Do you have any tips you would like to share? Let me know in the comments below. 😉

Fusion Confusion? 🤔

I am always very intrigued by fusion cuisines. Being an Asian that grew up in Britain, I often found myself being inspired by the cooking on both sides. Even when I was baking, I often found an urge of being drawn to using Asian ingredients.

A couple of weeks ago, I made some deliciously classic chocolate profiteroles for a BBQ. (The link to that is here 👉 https://tangosbaking.home.blog/2019/07/06/barbecue-and-strawberries-🍓/) But do you know that choux pastry is also often used for savoury recipes, especially in canapés? A while ago, I created these bite-size treats of Japanese nori choux buns with tuna tartare and avocado. I can tell you that savoury is just as good as sweet! So why don’t you give it a try too? 😉

Japanese Nori Choux Buns with Tuna Tartare and Avocado

Quantity: 15-20 choux buns

Ingredients:

For the choux pastry:

50g unsalted butter

150ml water

65g strong white flour

2 large eggs, beaten

1 large sheet of sushi nori

For the filling:

200g fresh sashimi tuna, diced

2 tbsp Japanese mayonnaise

1 large avocado, slightly mashed

1 lemon, juice only

Chives, diced finely

A pinch of salt

Method:

1. Place the butter in the water in a saucepan. Heat until the butter has completely melted and the water is boiling.

2. Keep the saucepan over heat and tip in the flour in one go. Beat vigorously until a smooth dough is formed. Remove it from heat.

3. Add the beaten eggs a bit at a time, stirring vigorously after each addition, until you have a smooth, soft batter. Take care as you may not need all the eggs. The batter should not be too stiff or too runny. You can check if you have the right consistency by lifting a bit of the batter up with a spoon, and it should just hang off it, holding a V-shape.

4. Chop up the nori finely. (Make sure you save some for decorations.) Add the nori to the choux batter and mix until well-combined.

5. Preheat the oven to 200C/400F/gas 6.

6. Line a baking tray with baking parchment. Sprinkle droplets of water over it. Pipe the choux batter onto it in small circles, leaving enough room between them for the choux to rise. Cut the remaining nori to thin stripes, and place them in a cross pattern on top of the choux.

7. Bake the choux for about 25-30 minutes, or until they are golden and fully cooked inside. As soon as they are taken out to cool, use a sharp knife to slice them across in halves. Cool the choux on a wire rack.

8. While the choux are baking, prepare the filling. Add the chives and half the lemon juice to the mashed avocado. Season with salt and mix. For the tuna tartare, add the remaining lemon juice and mayonnaise to the raw tuna. Mix and season with salt.

9. Once the choux is cooled, fill the choux buns with the tuna tartare and avocado before serving.

Made in Chelsea

Isn’t it always nice to be able to catch up friends after a long day? Yesterday, I was very excited to visit Sumosan Twiga in Knightsbridge by the Chelsea area with two of my close friends and enjoyed some fusion Italian and Japanese fine dining. (And pretending we are people from the Made in Chelsea cast talking about ‘ dramatic person lives. 😂😂)

Deep-fried Calamari with Chilli-Mayo Sauce

Billionaire Maki Rolls (top) and Rock Shrimps Maki Rolls (bottom)

For starters, we enjoyed some delicious sushi and calamari. The calamari was crispy, and I was having fun biting them with the green chilli they came with. (Yeah, I like a bit of kick haha.) The Billionaire sushi rolls I ordered was composed of raw Wagyu beef, asparagus, mushroom, and topped with fresh truffles. That’s one very luxurious plate for anyone to savour! 😋

Lobster Paccheri (topped with some Parmesan cheese of course!)

As for the mains, I had decided to enjoy their lobster Paccheri. I got to say the portion was much bigger than I imagined, and I really liked the idea that they served the pasta in a hot pan before plating it in front of you by the table. The pasta was well cooked to al dente, and the lobster was sweet and perfectly cooked– absolutely delicious!

There is a smart dress code in this restaurant, so you can make sure you are dressed up and all ready to hit the night! 😉

Ordinary Oreos

I would not be surprised if you tell me that Oreo played an important role in your childhood. I used to wake up to adverts of Oreos in the morning, and like a typical child begged my mum to get some for me. 😂 There is more to this beloved treat than dunking it in the milk though as it is quite a widely used ingredient in baking and desserts.

This week, I received a request to bake an Oreo cake for one of my local charities. I also got to use the silver food colouring spray I bought from L’atelier des Chefs in Paris a few days ago, and created this metallic Oreo cake.😉 This cake was composed of Oreo-incorporated vanilla sponges covered with an Oreo buttercream and a chocolate ganache. Hope you enjoy! 😊

Metallic Oreo Cake

Quantity: 1 cake

Ingredients:

For the sponge:

4 eggs, separated into whites and yolks

64g caster sugar

48g flavourless oil

56g warm water

1 tsp vanilla extract

80g self-raising flour

20g corn starch

154g (1 packet) Oreos , crushed coarsely

For the buttercream:

295g unsalted butter, softened

520g icing sugar

52g double cream

1 tsp salt

154g (1 packet) Oreos, crushed finely

For the chocolate ganache:

125g dark chocolate

70g double cream

For decorations:

Oreos, whole

Silver food colouring spray

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 180C/356F/gas 4.

2. To prepare the sponge, start by whisking the egg whites in a large bowl using an electric whisk with half of the caster sugar until soft peaks are formed. Be careful not to overwhip the egg whites.

3. In a large bowl, mix the yolks with the oil, water, vanilla extract and the remaining sugar together until smooth. Sieve in the flours until mix until well-combined.

4. Fold half of the whisked egg whites into the yolk mixture. Then, pour the mixture into the remaining egg whites and fold until they are evenly combined.

5. Fold in the coarsely crushed Oreos into the sponge batter until well-combined.

6. Pour the cake mixture into a greased cake tin. Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean.

7. Cool the cake briefly in the tin before demoulding to cool on a wire rack.

8. To make the buttercream, use an electric whisk to beat the softened butter until smooth. Add in the icing sugar, double cream and salt, and whisk until well-combined. Save a small portion of the plain buttercream for decorations before folding in the finely crushed Oreos.

9. Assemble the cake by carefully slicing the sponges into two even layers. Cover and sandwich the sponge with the buttercream. Chill the cake in the fridge for the buttercream to firm up slightly.

10. To make the chocolate ganache, heat the double cream in a saucepan. Break down the chocolates and place them in a bowl. Add the hot cream onto the chocolates and whisk until smooth.

11. Pour the chocolate ganache over the cake. Let it set before spraying the silver food colouring on top.

12. On some parchment, spray the silver food colouring onto the whole Oreos. Pipe the plain buttercream on top of the cake, and place the coloured Oreos over it.

My Parisian Adventure: The Unseen Bits

After a day of being back home, I started again looking through the photos on my phone from my trip in Paris. I then realised there were many snapshots of brief, funny and cultural moments that made my time there the more special and exciting. So, here are 10 unseen bits from my Parisian adventure. 😉

1. We were never short on water

While I was worried about dehydration, many people used the hot weather to business advantages by setting up nearby long queues around attractions and sell ice cold bottled waters on the spot. (Quite honestly though, I probably won’t have made it through those 4.5 hours by the Catacombs without them. 😂 Though I thought they did bump up the price to €2 there…🤔)

2. Ice cream is your new best friend

On the subject of the hot weather, ice creams had become my staple diet… 😂

3. Toilet is the new luxury

One thing I couldn’t get over in Paris was that almost every single toilets in malls and stations need to be paid for, with prices ranging from half an euro to over one euro per entry! 😠 This particular one in Carrousel du Louvre took it to another level, costing €1.50 per entry to their ‘luxurious‘ toilets…

And they also sold coloured and patterned toilet rolls for ridiculous prices! 😂

4. Apparently being 25 is not that old at all

Being in the UK, I was used to paying for adult tickets for most things post 16. However, in Paris, it seemed that being 25 was still very much considered ‘young’ in a number of places. In Sainte-Chapelle, not only was I allowed to bypass the long queue, I also did not need to pay for any tickets. Though the words ‘European Community‘ unnerved me due to the current situation with Brexit… (I was told by a member of staff to ‘enjoy it while [I] could.’ 😬) I did get lucky though because I was only a few months away from turning 26. 😂

Though, at the Eiffel Tower, I was annoyed that I just missed out the half price ‘youth’ ticket by a year… 😓

5. CinEiffel in the Ferrié Pavilion

While I collapsed in sweats and nerves after I reached the first floor of the Eiffel Tower, I got to catch this amazing clip in the Ferrié Pavilion section there which was projected onto a three-wall screen. (P.S. I didn’t stay for the whole thing… 😂)

6. ‘Pardon, monsieur.’

On the line of Eiffel Tower, I was taking this picture when a little boy accidentally kicked a football at me… ⚽️ 😵

And when he came up to apologise, that was how I learnt ‘pardon’ meant ‘sorry’ in French. 😅 (Which I later used repeatedly throughout my trip! 😂)

7. The Metro is a whole new world underground

Vending machines on the platform? And mostly air conditioned? London underground could really take a page out of the Metro’s book!

But their exit barriers really reminded me of fire exits. (I was scared I was going to set some random alarm off when I first passed one… 😨)

8. Duck or goose?

When I was at Le Comptoir de La Gastronomie, I took a look around their shop section after my lunch. But I was a little confused by the huge variations in the prices of the different foie gras.

While most of the foie gras was in the region of around €20 to €40, this one I was holding only costed €8. When I asked for the reason, it turned out that this one was made from duck livers rather than those of geese, so it was less valuable. 😯

9. Graffiti in the Catacombs

Be respectful for the dead? (I don’t want to be haunted! 😰😱)

10. And when you’re a tourist, you just take a bunch of random pictures of stuff that you don’t even know…

Day 5: Sunny Boulevard

They always say, ‘they save the best ’til last’. And just like that, the hottest day of the year marked the last leg of my time here in Paris. ☀️☀️ Since my train was scheduled for the evening, I decided to not to head out early this morning, and instead enjoyed every last bits of air con in my hotel room until I needed to check out at midday. 😂❄️ (Though I did took a brief stroll around the neighbourhood at around 9am and got a sandwich for breakfast from a supermarket nearby.)

With the intense heat, I refused to stay outdoor for any longer than necessary. Therefore, after leaving my luggage at the hotel’s locker, I headed to some major department stores on the Boulevard Haussmann. I first stopped by Galeries Lafayette, where the building was well known for its stained glass dome. It even has a extended path called ‘glasswalk’ on the 3rd floor that allows visitors to walk out and look right underneath the dome. But I was a little too scared to try due to my fear of height… 😅 (At least the Eiffel Tower wasn’t transparent!)

View from the rooftop. You can see the Eiffel Tower from afar. 😉

Like many high-end department stores, the place are filled with expensive brands. Now, I got to say I don’t have a particular interest in shopping in general. (Let alone ones that are this expensive!) So, my main focus was on the food available here. The place has restaurants and cafes dotted around each floor of the building. (The place was massive, since, in addition to the main building, there were two other separate buildings that were also part of Galeries Lafayette.) I initially wanted to visit the rooftop restaurant until I discovered it was outdoor… 🔥🔥😓 Not a chance I was going to stay!

So instead, I went to an Asian restaurant called Panasia on the floor below which turned out to be quite decent. Though I was more interested in trying their ice creams afterwards. 😋 (A quick side story: the place was absolutely packed, so I was sat facing the sun by the window and sharing a table with a kind old lady. She was very gracious in letting me sit directly opposite to avoid the sun and be her brief lunch date lol. 😊)

Panna cotta (top) and coconut (bottom) ice creams

I then moved on to visit the Printemps, another top department store a few blocks down along the Boulevard Haussmann. Similarly, it also has a beautiful stained glass ceiling in its dining area. ❤️

Felt like the hot weather really made me craved for something cold, so I was instantly drawn to an ice cream mochi stand in the store. (For those of you who may not know, mochi is a Japanese treat made from glutinous rice and has a soft yet slightly chewy texture – a bit like marshmallows.) They were popular sweet treats in Hong Kong and my family used to fight over them. 😂

I decided to go for less conventional flavours, and chose the mojito (top) and Sakura (bottom). Sakura is Japanese for cherry blossoms, and this had a subtle floral flavour which was pleasant but not too overpowering to eat. 😊 I absolutely loved the mojito one since I am a big fan of lime and I could definitely taste the alcohol! 😂 (If you eat too many, would you end up drunk lol?)

However, with that, I wrapped up my final activity in Paris and headed back to collect my luggage from the hotel. Learning from my mistake on the first day, I made sure I arrived way earlier at the train station this time!😂 (I actually almost missed the train since I didn’t realise at first that the way we entered the platform was via a different route to others because we needed to pass through passport control and customs! 😓) These past few days almost felt it went too quick. 😕 But I definitely will be coming back to Paris another time! 😁

(P.S. our train was delayed in our journey because of technical issues down the track. I am still on the train now as I write this! 😂)