This week I’m still on a bit of a high after my gastro trip to Shanghai during which I had the honour of eating what felt like a never ending series (I mean come on, 15 courses!) of Michelin star cuisine at Bo Shanghai.
I also attended a gastronomy fair, and having sampled some of the finest edible delights this part of China has to offer, I came back with oodles of inspiration.
And again, thanks to you 
The infamous Alvin Lueng’s French-Asian fusion at Bo Shanghai was artistic innovation at it’s best when it came to using food as the medium- even the smallest of garnishes and accompaniments were such an intense addition that I considered them a main component.
One of his many mesmerising dishes that stuck with me was the horseradish and yoghurt brulee. Just tapping that delicate, transparent crisp of a sugar topping with the back of an intricate silver spoon resulted in a mini explosion of a creamy, initially firm-skinned, emulsion of viscous white liquid beneath it- the taste, just as ambitious as the aesthetic.
A sweet, yet subtly salty yoghurt, complimented by the crunch of tampered sugar infused with a spicy kick from the horseradish, what a journey in just a mouthful. If I could resemble even the kick in my sugar topping from chilli pepper in my brulee, it would be a memorable life event!
Hunan, the province in which I currently reside, is the home of the most sought after cuisine in the whole of China and damn do they love their food HOT!
Whichever Chinese city I’ve frequented, whether meeting with friends or with work colleagues, if the queue size doesn’t disrupt the lunch schedule, Hunan-style food is always on top of everyone’s list.
Sweet potato noodles, pork and peppers, slow cooked pig’s foot, beef rice noodles, egg soup, tapioca milk tea…and every dish permeated with a healthy portion of the hottest chilli peppers, bar the milk tea (but you can get a fiery ginger version!). So I can proudly say, that this city I presently call home has contributed to my recipe ideas for pepper week, very fitting indeed.
Now on to the topic of matcha…a type of green tea that is grown specifically in shaded areas for a limited time period, creating a boost in amino acid numbers.
It’s lengthy harvesting and processing stages result in the increased cost of matcha compared to most other teas. Back in England, I was matcha-obsessed. Anything that featured this special green tea, I’d been there, done that, got the t-shirt (well to a certain extent and without sounding like a douche!).
But actually, since moving to China, it’s become such a craze, Chinese chefs totally milk it so I’ve repelled away from this newfound craze. Not that I hate it, but I no longer share that deep love for it that the rest of China exhibits.
Despite this, I experimented at a new café with a friend and asked her to surprise me when she got the round of hot beverages in. Much to my disappointment, she came back with a matcha-juice concoction diffused with hints of lime, ginger and honey- need I say much more, other than matcha has found it’s way back in my kitchen and is featuring in pepper week!
So my recipes for pepper week are:
Red pepper crème brulee with pepper glass; Matcha, green pepper and edamame gazpacho; Chilli infused tapioca; Hunan style pepper and quail’s egg noodles; Candied chilli peppers.
In a food processor, blitz 100g roasted red pepper, 70g cream cheese and 70g plain yoghurt . Refrigerate until ready to serve.
For the glass, dissolve 175g sugar in 60ml water over a saucepan. Once dissolved, stir in the seeds and juice from 10 finger chillies (deseed and then stick the pepper flesh in a juicer) and leave to bubble. Once the edges start to become golden, immediately pour onto a baking tray coated with a sheet of greaseproof paper and leave to harden, which should take 1 hour.
Prior to removing off the heat, dip a red finger chill into the sugar syrup and leave to cool and harden.
My food processor is this week’s hot new purchase and it is definitely my new best friend, so again, here we go with the blitzing!...Bled together, the juice of 1 lime, 50g raw green bell pepper, 100g edamame beans , 1 tsp matcha powder made up with 400ml water, 1 garlic clove, 1 tsp fresh ginger, 1 tsp honey and a pinch of salt. The soup can be strained through a sieve to obtain an eve smoother, but less creamy gazpacho depending on personal preference.
Bearing in mind that only 4-5 tapioca pearls are required for the plating, I didn’t weight out tapioca, but in fact counted each pearl! So place x quantity of tapioca pearls in a saucepan filled with boiling water and sliced chilli peppers. Boil until the tapioca has become jelly-like, soft and translucent. Keep aside in cool water to prevent the pearls from sticking to each other.
Boil sweet potato vermicelli (30g per person for this dish) and then leave to sit in cold water once cooked to prevent sticking and over-cooking.
Pan fry 2 garlic cloves, 1 tsp crushed ginger, shredded green and red peppers (the hotter the better!) and soy sauce to taste. Add the cooked noodles and top with soft-boiled quail’s eggs (which I boiled in black tea) to serve.
