A Little Creativity Goes a Long Way

Having spent most of the times in lockdown watching TV lazily at home (mostly food programs lol! 😂), I have been missing being able to go outside to visit different foodie places and sample great food. 😞 One of my favourite cuisines is Japanese cuisine, and I have been trying to create a little bit of the magic at home. 😋 Though that mostly equates to making big pots of miso soups, today I have tried to create a savoury Japanese fusion bake! 😉❤️

These savoury eclairs are based on some savoury choux bites I have done a while ago (See link here👉 https://tangosbaking.home.blog/2019/07/31/fusion-confusion-🤔/), and they are infused with sushi nori (roasted seaweed) and filled with tuna mayo. I gulped down the whole thing in minutes! They were so delicious! 😋😋 But maybe I am biased? 😛

Nori Eclairs with Tuna Mayo

Quantity: 4 Eclairs

Ingredients:

For the choux pastry:

25g unsalted butter

75ml water

33g strong white flour

1 egg, beaten

½ large sheet of sushi nori

For the filling:

1 small, canned tuna

2 tbsp mayonnaise, to taste

A pinch of salt, to taste

A pinch of black pepper, to taste

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 of the egg. The batter must 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. Cut up the nori finely. 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 into 4 straight lines of equal lengths, leaving enough room between them for them to rise.

7. Bake the eclairs for about 30 minutes, or until they are golden and fully cooked inside. (Reduce the oven temperature if they start to brown too quickly.) As soon as they are taken out to cool, use a sharp knife to slice them across in halves. Cool the eclairs on a wire rack. (You may return them to the oven for a few more minutes to dry them out more if you need to.)

8. While the eclairs are baking, prepare the filling by mixing the canned tuna with mayonnaise, and seasoned with salt and black pepper to your taste.

9. Once the ecalairs are cooled, fill them with the tuna mayo before serving.

Would you like to give it a try? 😉

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! 😉