In a small Japanese restaurant that I really like, the Sake Lover (83 rue de Turbigo in Paris) that I adore, the food is traditional and you will only find excellent dishes there. I was inspired by their beans which I never fail to devour when they are on the menu. Everything is ready in 20 minutes. The sauce is made of sesame of course, tahini (sesame paste) and toasted sesame oil. But also a little soy sauce and mirin, a very mild sake for cooking that you can easily find in Japanese, exotic or Asian grocery stores, but also on the internet.
For 4 people :
- 900g to 1 kilo of fresh green beans
For the sauce:
- 50g toasted sesame seeds
- 30g tahini
- 40g mirin
- 15g soy sauce
- 25g of water
- 1 to 2 heaping tablespoons toasted sesame oil
- salt
Stalk your green beans, pulling out any threads.
Wash them then place in a steamer basket (stainless steel will do just fine!).
Cook for 15 minutes covered (there I opened to show you!) Steam. As soon as they are cooked, run them under cold water until they are cool.
While cooking, you can make the sauce. Crush the toasted sesame seeds. I have a Japanese bowl here, but in a small blender or classic mortar it will work too.
Put the crushed seeds with tahini, mirin, soy sauce and water.
Mix well, pour the toasted sesame oil.
Salt to your taste.
Add the cooled, well-drained beans.
Mix carefully.
You can taste them immediately, or taste them very cold, but also lukewarm if you heat them up for a few seconds in the microwave for example!
Green beans with sesame sauce
Recently, an event around pork meat was organized in my workshop with the finalist of Top Chef, Alexia Duchêne, Julien from French Naked Chef and myself. Everyone was able to draw a few people via a game on our networks (everyone had to have a Covid test or be vaccinated to cook and eat together). Thank you to Let’s Talk About Pork for this lunch where we made a filet mignon, chanterelles, fresh cherries and creamy alfalfa sauce, Alexia’s top recipe!
Alexia, Julien and I each had our own team! With the same ingredients and the same recipe, the result was always different!
The recipe was really successful and we all loved the flavors.
The presentations are different, but in the end, everything was devoured. I wasn’t sure how the cherry and chanterelle mixture would turn out, but it was a delight.
The instagram pages of:
Alexia Duchêne HERE
Julien from French Naked Chef HERE
Letstalkabouteupork THERE
This time on my cooking blog, I propose a pistachio and lemon cake. Its texture is both rich and melting, soft and dense. I put a little lemon zest in the dough and bitter almond flavor. This gives a special flavor that highlights the pistachio. To finish, a fine icing covered with roasted pistachio powder that will keep this cake soft!
Pour un moule à cake de 24cm :
- 230g of soft butter
- 300g of sugar
- 4 eggs
- 250g roasted pistachios (225g for the cake and 25g for the icing)
- 75g almond powder
- 70g of flour
- 1 teaspoon of bitter almond flavor
- the zest of an untreated lemon
Icing:
- 25g of lemon juice
- 140g of powdered sugar
Les instructions :
Start by toasting 250 pistachios at 170°C for 15 minutes.
Let them cool and then mix them into powder.
Put the melted butter and sugar in a bowl. The sugar may seem like a lot, but the texture of the cake will be perfect and not at all too sweet. On the contrary, it is perfect as it is. By using less, you will change the final result.
Mix and add the eggs.
Mix then pour 225g of pistachio powder and almond powder.
Mix and add the flour.
Mix well and then pour in the freshly grated lemon zest.
Pour into a cake pan lined with parchment paper.
Bake for 1 hour and 40 minutes at 155°C on a convection oven.
Prepare the glaze by mixing the lemon juice and powdered sugar. Pour over cake.
Of course, put the whole thing on a griddle on top of a baking sheet.
Sprinkle with remaining roasted pistachio powder.
Return to 60°C for 1 hour to dry the glaze.
The cake will keep its incomparable softness!
Pistachio Lemon Cake
Here is the second step by step recipe from my facebook live on Monday, July 5, 2021 for Taiwan Tourism! I also put the video in replay. This crispy Taiwanese popcorn chicken with Thai basil is just sensational! The texture is incredible and the flavors unexpected. To be made again and again as an appetizer or as a main course, served with a little sautéed rice for example. Thanks to the tapioca starch, this chicken will stay crispy until the next day…
Recette du POP CORN CHICKEN TAÏWANAIS EXTRA CROUSTILLANT :
For 4 people :
For seasoning:
- 1 tablespoon of sichuan pepper
- 1 tablespoon of white pepper
- 1 tablespoon of salt
Then:
- 400g boneless thigh meat (take 8 nice thighs)
- 1 tablespoon of Chinese cooking wine
- 1 tablespoon of soy sauce
- 1/2 teaspoon of 5 flavors
- 2-3 garlic cloves
- 1cm freshly grated ginger
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon of powdered sugar
- 2 egg whites
For frying:
- 400g of tapioca starch
- 1 liter of oil
- 1 bunch of Thai basil
Instructions:
First, put the Szechuan pepper and white pepper in a small pan over moderate heat and lightly toast.
Then put in a small blender with the salt and grind to a fine powder. Set aside.
Prepare the thighs. You must have 400g of flesh in total. Cut the meat into small pieces.
Here is the wine of kitchen.
Put all the ingredients for the marinade in a container with the chicken.
Spices etc.
Finely chop the garlic.
Don’t forget the onion powder, cornstarch and egg white.
Pour the tapioca starch into another container. Even if it says flour on it, it is really starch (in English it says starch).
Pour the chicken with its marinade, piece by piece, into the starch.
Cover immediately with cornstarch to coat well. Do the same for all the chicken. Leave it in the starch for 20 minutes.
Heat the oil to 180°C. Pour in the chicken piece by piece, slightly removing the excess starch.
When it browns slightly, set it aside to fry the rest.
During this first frying, thin out the Thai basil.
When all the chicken has fried once, pour all the pieces together into the wok (or pan) for a second bath, this time to get a nice amber color.
When it is, add the Thai basil leaves.
It will cook well and become crispy too.
When everything is ready, put it in a container and drain perfectly.
Sprinkle with a tablespoon of the Szechuan pepper, white pepper and salt mixture.
Mix one last time, it’s ready! Enjoy it when it’s hot, even if the chicken will stay crispy for more than 24 hours!
Extra crispy Taiwanese popcorn chicken
A delicious braised pork that comes to us from Taiwan. The recipe is really very simple to make, there will be just a few ingredients to get in Asian grocery stores. In addition to the step by step, like all the recipes on the blog, I’m also putting you the replay video of the facebook live of Monday July 5, 2021. In partnership with Taiwan Tourism, also to be found on their facebook page HERE !
For 6 to 8 people:
- 1kg of pork belly with skin or without (I was without)
- 10 cloves of garlic
- 4 tablespoons of fried shallots
- 4 tablespoons of brown vergeoise
- 2 teaspoons of 5 flavors
- 4 tablespoons of Chinese cooking wine (shaoxing)
- 1 liter of water
- 150ml of clear soy sauce
- 4 hard-boiled eggs
Cut the meat into small pieces.
Pour it into a casserole dish and heat over high heat.
When the meat is more cooked or slightly colored, add the finely chopped or pressed garlic.
Here are the fried shallots.
Add them to the pork.
Also pour in the “5 flavors” and the brown vergeoise.
Pour the Chinese cooking wine.
Water and soy sauce.
That’s all ! Bring to a boil and then lower the heat with the lid on. Let cook for 2 hours on low heat.
In the meantime, cook the eggs, starting in cold water, then 10 minutes from boiling.
When the meat has cooked for 2 hours, add the shelled hard-boiled eggs.
Cook for an additional 20 minutes.
Serve with plain rice and, if you like, a little kailan or pak choi blanched in water for 5 minutes.
Lu Rou Fan, Taiwanese braised pork
I’ll be waiting for you on Monday July 5th at 7pm on my Facebook page HERE, for two delicious Taiwanese recipes, in collaboration with theTaiwan Tourism Office. I’ll be making a Lu Rou Fan, which is a spicy braised pork dish served with rice, and a crispy popcorn chicken with Thai basil and Szechuan pepper. The recipes will then be posted in step-by-step on the blog with the video replay!
It is with great joy that I have just learned that I have won the prestigious Grand Prix Brillat-Savarin du livre gourmand, this Saturday, June 26, 2021, awarded by the jury for my book “Scandalously Decadent” published by Flammarion! Thanks to the president of the Nantua book fair, Michel Godet, and to Florence Aubenas, godmother of this 2021 edition! I am so happy! I share this award with Claire Curt, talented photographer and friend, Ryma my editor at Flammarion (and friend too!!) and Simone my press officer at Flammarion too. My book is still available at your favorite bookstore!
For a tasty and invigorating snack that will calm an acute peanut attack, I suggest these oatmeal, chocolate and peanut energy bars with a perfect texture. They will also be very good for breakfast, but you have to keep in mind that we are close to a cookie with a firmer texture, more “chewy”! This makes it a delicacy, but to be eaten in moderation and shared without complex.
Recette des BARRES ÉNERGIE AVOINE CHOCOLAT ET CACAHUÈTES :
Recipe for a mold of 33x22cm :
- 200g of brown or blond vergeoise
- 45g of sugar
- 45g of honey
- 120g of semi-salted butter
- 1/2 spoonful of liquid vanilla
- 1 egg
- 150g flour
- 150g of oatmeal
- 50g of rice krispies
- 1/2 spoonful of cinnamon powder
- 2g of baking powder
- 150g of dark chocolate in chunks
- 150g unsalted roasted peanuts
Instructions :
Mix together the sugars, honey, butter and vanilla.
When the mixture becomes homogeneous, add the egg.
Mix and then pour in the oats, flour and rice krispies. Don’t forget the yeast and cinnamon.
Mix and finish with the peanuts and chocolate.
A final mix.
Pour into the parchment paper-lined pan.
Spread evenly.
Then bake for 22 minutes at 170°C on revolving heat.
Let cool completely before cutting into slices.
Store in an airtight box!
Oatmeal chocolate and peanut energy bars
Beware these little pieces of cake are totally evil. This delicious cookie dough is baked with a cream cheese filling. It’s like having a refreshing layer of cheesecake amidst a deluge of dark and white chocolate chips. I’ll warn you right away that this is a real scandal, as it’s not really recommended right before summer and swimsuits. Perhaps I am a bit cruel!
Recette du CHEESECAKE COOKIE BAR :
For a square mold of 20cm of side:
- 215g melted semi-salted butter
- 1 teaspoon of liquid vanilla
- 275g of blond vergeoise
- 1 egg
- 275g of flour
- 125g of dark chocolate
- 125g of white chocolate
Cheesecake:
- 300g of Philadelphia type cream cheese
- 60g of caster sugar
- 1 vanilla pod
- 1 egg
Instructions :
Mettez dans un récipient le beurre demi-sel fondu, la vergeoise blonde et la vanille liquide.
Mix and add the egg.
A shot of the mixture and then add the flour.
Always a mixture then pour the chocolates (here white and dark).
For the cream cheese. Pour the cream cheese into a container with the sugar and vanilla. If you don’t have a vanilla bean, put in a teaspoon of liquid vanilla and some vanilla powder (optional).
Mix well and add the egg.
One whip and it’s over.
Pour half the batter into the parchment paper-lined pan.
Pour in all the cream.
Then pour in the remaining dough. I tried to spread it evenly over the surface.
Bake for 30 minutes in a preheated oven at 160°C.
Let cool to room temperature before chilling for at least 3-4 hours, overnight is best. I know it’s hard, but it’s to get the cream to seize. Cut into small pieces.
Then enjoy without delay!
Cheesecake cookie bar
Tender pieces of chicken in a crispy breading, then dipped in an incredible creamy and flavorful sauce. All this in less than 30 minutes. For once, I’m baking in the oven and this recipe is perfect for it! You can of course replace the pecans with another dried fruit.
Recette pour 4 personnes du POULET AU FOUR PANÉ AUX NOIX DE PÉCAN:
- 600g of chicken aiguillettes
- 100g of breadcrumbs
- 200g of pecans (or other dried fruit)
- 1 spoonful of garlic powder
- salt pepper
- 2 eggs
- flour
For the sauce:
- 1 egg
- 20g of vinegar
- 190g of oil
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 50g of heavy cream
- 1 spoonful of dehydrated parsley
- 1 spoonful of dehydrated chives
- 1 spoonful of dehydrated dill
- salt, pepper, chilli
Instructions :
Prepare the breading. Mix the pecans into a powder.
Pour the breadcrumbs into a large enough container.
Add the pecan powder, teaspoon of garlic powder, salt and pepper. I also added a little spice.
Put the two beaten eggs in a second container and the flour in a third.
Place one chicken strip in the beaten egg.
Then in the flour.
Again in the egg.
Then in the breadcrumbs.
Do the same for all the aiguillettes. Place in an ovenproof dish on a rack or on parchment paper.
Bake in the oven at 200°C on fan heat for 20 minutes. Meanwhile, prepare the sauce. Place the whole egg in a high-sided blender jar. Pour in the vinegar and oil. Add salt and pepper and a little chilli pepper if desired.
Blend from the bottom up and then very gently to emulsify the sauce as it thickens.
This is the garlic and onion powder. So it’s not garlic or onion in semolina!
Add to the sauce with the cream.
Pour in the dehydrated herbs as well. This is what I bought for the recipe! Take the brand you find, I am not sponsored by Ducros! 🙂
When the chicken is cooked, take it out of the oven.
Then enjoy without delay with the sauce!
