October 2021 Favourites list

Hello and welcome to my October favourites list.

This week I’m sharing photos of some of my kitchen creations from the month. A recent trip to the Chinese grocery shop allowed me to stock up on soy sauce (dark, light and Japanese), chilli oil, fish sauce, sesame oil, sesame seeds, Shaoxing rice wine, and wonton skins. I also bought some frozen dim sum, which I like to keep for lazy days when I don’t fancy cooking. Naturally, these purchase have influenced this month’s cooking adventures. 

Vietnamese inspired baked sea bass

 

I hope you will like my choices of food writing, which includes some food science, recipes (including a sneak peek into Nigel Slater’s new cookbook), and my cultural pickings. I have also included some of my mini blog posts, in case you missed them. So, I’d like to invite you to take a little time out of whatever has been keeping you busy and unwind a little with this month’s Favourites list!

Food writing:

What’s in season in October: https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/features/whats-in-season-october

Jonathan Nunn's dissection on the ridiculous British correlation between food and class is well worth reading. Since when did multicultural staples become "middle class"? https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/oct/02/food-choices-proxy-class-britain

The Sixth taste - Kikunae Ikeda, Ajinomoto, umami and Kokumi: https://lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v43/n17/daniel-soar/the-sixth-taste

Men farting more isn’t a sign of bad health, it’s a sign of good bacteria at work: https://www.newscientist.com/article/2289171-men-fart-more-when-eating-a-plant-based-diet-due-to-good-gut-bacteria

Claudia Roden on her new cookbook and how travel still inspires her: https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/food-and-drink/claudia-roden-new-book-cooking-travel-b1913010.html

The science behind grilling the perfect steak: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/science-behind-grilling-perfect-steak-180978054  

Wonton soup - see below

Delicious magazine chooses its fave Taco restaurants: https://www.deliciousmagazine.co.uk/best-taco-restaurants/

Izakayas are Japan’s version of a pub. Usually in Japan, restaurants specialise in a particular type of food/cooking (sushi, tempura, robata grilling). Izakayas try to do a little bit of everything, like the Japanese restaurants in the UK. Chef Tim Anderson’s new cookbook Your Home Izakaya: Fun and Simple Recipes Inspired by the Drinking-and-Dining Dens of Japan by Tim Anderson seeks to bring Izakaya cooking to British home cooks, as reviewed at Kavey Eats: https://www.kaveyeats.com/your-home-izakaya-by-tim-anderson-japanese-cookbook

Recipes:

For the freshers and students among you, some student recipes: https://www.bbc.co.uk/food/occasions/student_food

Usually, TikTok is a site for food abominations like those “kitchen island” cook outs. Thankfully, there is some genuinely useful cooking content being posted there, like this viral 60 clove of garlic soup: https://www.thekitchn.com/tiktok-60-garlic-clove-soup-23247722

Nigel Slater’s new book A Cook’s Book is coming out soon, here are some preview recipes to get you in the mood: https://www.stylist.co.uk/food-drink/nigel-slater-a-cooks-book-recipes/575093

Tuscan bistecca alla Fiorentina, Italy’s most delicious steak meal: https://www.saveur.com/italys-most-delicious-steak-on-weeknight-at-home/

Recipe ideas for cutting down on food waste – Tom Hunt’s bowl food from fridge leftovers: https://www.theguardian.com/food/2021/jan/09/how-to-make-bowl-food-from-fridge-leftovers-tom-hunt-waste-not

A twist on Laab Gai (Thai chicken in lettuce)

 

My cooking adventures – from my mini blog:

Jhal Moori – a no-cook Indian snack full of crunch and spice: https://snigskitchen.tumblr.com/post/663939104283721728/jhal-moori-moori-puffed-rice-sev-peanuts

A spin on a “luxe” fish pie: https://snigskitchen.tumblr.com/post/664053857554432000/fish-pie-with-cod-loin-scallops-and-king-prawns

Wonton soup with homemade prawn and pork wontons: https://snigskitchen.tumblr.com/post/664957270871916544/wonton-soup-prawn-and-pork-wontons-in-chicken

Crispy fried homemade wontons: https://snigskitchen.tumblr.com/post/665859759015100416/crispy-fried-wontons-stuffed-with-chopped-prawns

My other writing:

My 10 knowledge subject learning tips for students on the Bar Course, regardless of their provider (BVS, BTC and BPC). https://snigsclassroom.blogspot.com/2021/09/10-bar-course-knowledge-subject-tips.html

Crispy fried wontons - see above

 

Film:

Strangers On A Train

The Kitchen

Joker

TV:

British As F*lk

Music:

Solar Power – Lorde

Please – Pet Shop Boys

Electronic – Electronic

Call the Comet – Johnny Marr

Please note: as with every monthly Favourites List, all of these items have been selected by me simply because I love them. I do not receive any money, benefits in kind or other incentive for posting these links or recommendations.