#11 Flatbreads with Lemon Thyme and Ricotta

For the longest time, I've been hearing about the health benefits of "cottage" and "ricotta" cheese as great sources of protein, easy to go snacks, and possible accelerator for weight loss.

However, for the life of me I have NEVER seen cottage cheese, this legendary super-cheese ANYWHERE in Taiwan. (And as for ricotta, it's insanely expensive and one can only find it at those fancy supermarkets at 101. As with most things that I cannot find, I began my quest of making it myself...To my great discovery...IT'S EASY!
Cottage Cheese 

Ingredients.
2 cups of Milk ..........................38NT
1 lemon (juice) ..........................9NT
Salt to taste
TOTAL: 47NT

Heat milk up to 50-60 degrees, turn off the heat before the milk boils!
Stir in the lemon juice and just let the pot sit for 30+minutes.

Place your cheese cloth over a large bowl. Pour the contents in your pot over your cheese cloth and squeeze squeeze squeeze! Soon you will be left with liquid whey and a ball of crumbly delicious cottage cheese!

Doesn't it look like a snowball? Mmmmmmmmmmmmm beautiful.

Ricotta Cheese

Ingredients.
Leftover whey

Boil and strain.

As a Taiwanese, how could we NOT love Scallion Pancakes?!
Chewy, flaky, and savory. One of my all-time favorite guilty pleasure. Served both in classy Chinese restaurant or simply in one of those food stalls right on the street - a classic night markets treat.

However, scallion pancakes are dubbed one of the most high-calorie snacks in Taiwan. Not only does the pastry itself contain a high amount of lard (to retain it's chewy flaky texture), more oil is used while frying, enhancing it's flavor and making it smell absolutely delightful, but quite detrimental to our health.

So when I came across Ramsay's leek flatbreads... I couldn't wait to try it. This recipe seems to be the IDEAL compromise. A much MUCH healthier version of our traditional snack.


#11 Quick Flatbreads with Lemon Thyme and Ricotta

Ingredients.
Green onions ..........................................20NT
All purpose multi-grain flour ....................10NT
Butter, olive oil ........................................5NT
Ricotta cheese ........................................24NT
1/2 Lemon  .............................................10NT
Warm Water
Thyme
TOTAL: 69NT

#8 Fish Fillet with Sweet Chili Sauce

For the last three days, I took a trip down to southern Taiwan, hence the lack of cooking. It's been real fun hiking and just overall enjoying nature. While I was there, I took the opportunity to buy some kitchen utensils made out of some of the best woodwork in Taiwan, including a pair of well-carved chopsticks and a wooden spoon especially for spooning rice.

As I'm cooking through Gordon's recipes... it dawned on me that we live in VASTLY different parts of the world, hence not only do we not speak the same language but we encounter VERY different ingredients from spices to cuts of meat and sea food. Many ingredients that are readily accessible to Ramsay are unheard of in my little island. Therefore, I'm constantly tweaking his recipes, trying to find suitable alternatives. However, with my lack of knowledge in the culinary world, I am in deep trouble. Looks like I will be doing a LOT of research and experimenting.

But like Gordon says "Cooking is about being adventurous. Be a little more daring"
Since I will be having two friends over for dinner today, I decided to test out Gordon's Red Mullet recipe with two common fish fillets (dory & tilapia) easily accessible in most supermarkets in Taiwan. Three taste-buds to judge which fish goes better with the chili sauce!

#8 Fish Fillet with Sweet Chili Sauce

Ingredients.

1 Dory fish fillet ...................................69NT

1 Tilapia fillet ........................................45NT

1 Chilli ..................................................5NT

2 Garlic cloves ......................................2NT

Salt, sugar, 2 tbs fish sauce.....................5NT

1 tbs Rice wine vinegar, 3 tbs olive oil ....5NT

Spring onions .........................................5NT

Coriander ...........................................11NT

Lime ....................................................5NT

Peanuts ..............................................15NT

Coriander

2 eggs & fish sauce .............................10NT

TOTAL: 172 NT (for three)

I had to "create" my own pestle mortar to crush my spices and peanuts! Quite successful I would say, although it would be fun to have a real one!

End Results:
The dory fish has a very creamy texture while the tilapia is much more firm. I believe the sweet chili sauce goes well with both! Very complex flavor and texture.

Next time you can't find an ingredient, try a substitute!
So remember cooking is flexible, versatile, filled with imagination. Be Adventurous!

#5. Pan-seared Scallops with Crunchy Apple Salad

#5 Pan-seared Scallops + Crunchy Apple Salad

This is almost a no-brainer! Anyone can easily recreate this dish, however, the combination of all these fresh ingredients, really goes together. I love how the apples brings so much crunch and flavor to the salad that you barely need any dressing at all. A very healthy simple well-rounded dish that can be served beautifully to impress.

Ingredients.

9 scallops ......................................90NT

1 apple .........................................10NT

1/2 romaine ..................................23NT

lemon juice, salt, pepper, olive oil ....5NT

TOTAL: 128 (for three) 

This has quickly became one of my favorite dishes, so easy, but incredibly tasty. It took me quite a few tries to get the scallops done they way I wanted. My biggest mistake at the beginning was not allowing it to defrost COMPLETELY. This, I realize is very important, giving your protein enough time to defrost naturally at room temperature. This is the only way to guarantee the best flavor and texture.

I am guilty of whipping out this salad several times as a side dish when I have company.

#4 Sticky lemon chicken

I confess, I don't always stick to the recipes in his ultimate cookery course but also various other ones that I happen to stumble upon, everything he looks just looks so damn delicious and I can't wait to get my hands dirty to try them out.

#4 Sticky lemon chicken

Ingredients.
Drumsticks .....................75NT
Olive oil, soy sauce ..........1NT
1/2 lemon .......................2NT
honey, thyme, parsley ....6NT
Red wine vinegar, salt, pepper
Romaine lettuce ..............12NT
Watermelon ....................20NT
Eggplant .........................4NT
TOTAL: 120 (for two)

Ramsay's original recipe calls for chicken legs, which I realized would be even harder to cook thoroughly, so I decided that a fun replacement would be drumsticks and I think the recipe turned out just fabulous. So far I have NOT been disappointed by any of Ramsay's recipes.

However I was presented with two hurdles.

One, fresh herbs are almost impossible to find in Taiwan, herbs aren't wildly use in traditional Taiwanese cuisine, if a Taiwanese dish calls for herbs, it's usually dry. Luckily, many local gardeners do sell herbs...in little pots. I'm by far the worst person when it comes to plants, I just forget about them, clearly not the one with the green thumb of the family. But now my theory is: I will take care of you if I can eat you!

Took the liberty of a nice warm weekend to gather some fresh herb plants from a huge plant market. They sure come in handy not only flavoring my dishes but also adds a wonderful garnish to my plating.

Two. Taiwan does not have yellow lemons, we only have lime. Once introduced to the yellow lemon, I fell in love! The yellow ones give off this unique sweetness that the greens ones do not. My local wellcome used to import them but lately they're nowhere in sight! I'm crossing my fingers and hoping that they're just out of season and will be brought back again real soon.

Well, I guess the best I can do is just sub lemon with lime every time a Ramsay recipe calls for them until I can get my hands on some.

In terms of the final dish, which I paired with grilled eggplants and a watermelon salad. The chicken is delicious, fragrant, and not too sweet. However, I realized I still not very good at telling when the chicken is just well-done. I'm always afraid to dry it out and instead I end up under-cooking it...This is quite embarrassing if you're planning on serving this dish to someone else. Although strictly speaking, you can just pop it right back into the pan and cook it for several more minutes. Perfection will come with experience? I sure hope so.

#3 Chili beef lettuce wraps

Lately I've been enjoying cooking so much that I think I've become obsessed. I would spend hours and hours just thinking about my ingredients, visualizing my next meal before I even enter the kitchen to prep. I enter into my own culinary world and found it quite enjoyable to cook alone. Today, however, my roommate decided to join me on my next culinary adventure as we tackle yet another Ramsay recipe.

#3 Chili lettuce wraps

This beautiful show off centerpiece is surprisingly easy to make and ever so tasty, without knowing it you will keep reaching for more.

Ingredients
Minced beef .................................................25NT
Minced pork ................................................12NT
2 chillis ..........................................................2NT
Piece of ginger ..............................................2NT
1-3 garlic cloves ............................................1NT
1-2 stocks of spring onions ...........................5NT
1/2 lime (zest + juice) ...................................4NT
sesame oil, fish sauce, brown sugar ..............2NT
soy sauce ....................................................1NT
coriander ......................................................7NT
1 romaine lettuce ..........................................10NT
TOTAL: 71NT (portion for two)

Under Ramsay's guidance, I became my roommate mentor simply by reciting instructions. She gets credit for all the dicing and ultimately putting this entire dish together. The plate of minced meat looks stunning with all the beautiful specks of red, green, yellow... and oh so flavorful. The freshness of the lettuce really counters the bold flavors of the stir-fry. This is something that you can't help but reach for another serving. However, I really do need to brainstorm other dishes to serve with this wonderful centerpiece, more experimenting later!

It's time to take away another lesson from M. Ramsay! "Enjoy it", always always remember to have a little bit of fun along the way. Cooking with a friend, definitely makes it more adventurous ;)

#2 Fragrant fried rice

With my first go, I was hooked! The pork chops that I cooked the day before was an instant hit I couldn't wait to try another  dish from my mentor.

#2 Fragrant fried rice

So for a quick lunch, I cooked up another recipe from Ramsay. However, I put my own twist on it since this was a fried rice recipe... To me fried rice means anything goes. I see no reason to change some of it's ingredients to fit what I've already have in the cupboards. So I threw in some shrimps (for protein), water spinach and mushrooms.

 Ingredients.
1 chillis ..........................................................1NT
Piece of ginger ..............................................2NT
1 stock of spring onions ................................3NT
1/2 lime (zest + juice) ...................................4NT
sesame oil, fish sauce ....................................2NT
shrimp ........................................................30NT
mushrooms ................................................10NT
leftover rice ................................................10NT
Water spinach .............................................6NT
TOTAL: 66NT

The limes and spring onions really gives the standard Chinese fried rice an unique twist. Very enjoyable and versatile dish! Great for when you have a bunch of leftovers that aren't quite enough for a full  blown dish on it's own. 

#1 Pork chops with sweet and sour peppers

Like Gordon, my skillet/frying pan is probably my most trusted cooking equipment. A medium size nonstick pan not only reduces the amount of oil in your dishes but is actually vastly versatile. I swear by this awesome pan, if I could only buy one pan, this is the pan for me.

As a matter of fact, it's the only pan I invested on when I first started cooking at my new location.

Today I step up for my first challenge.

#1 Pork chops with sweet and sour peppers

Ingredients.
1 Pork Chop ..........................32NT
1/2 Bell Pepper .......................12NT
1/4 Onion ...............................4NT
Red Wine ................................8NT
White Vinegar .........................1NT
Thyme ....................................3NT
Salt & Pepper ..........................1NT
Basil ........................................13NT
TOTAL: 74NT

I was quite skeptical of the red wine vinaigrette partly because I've never seem to enjoy it at restaurants and also I didn't have easy access to red wine vinegar. This was problematic because I was hoping to learn how to cook without having to spend a fortune. Thus I began looking for a substitute. It seems simple red wine + vinegar = red wine vinegar. Duh.

But as I began browsing the vinegar section... There were rows and rows of different choices: apple, white, rice, wheat, barley, balsamic...the list goes on. Finally I opt for rice vinegar, mainly because it's a common vinegar used for Chinese cuisine and fairly versatile. Then I went in search for a bottle of red wine.

For cooking, I don't think you need a really expensive wine, any will do, although I would probably opt for one that's isn't so sweet next time.

 What really surprised me about watching Gordon cook is I can visualize everything when it's my turn to stand in front of the stove. It's like he's sounding next to me giving out instructions as I go. This really makes me feel from confident and I'm not left going back and forth between my pan and recipe, ultimately making cooking a lot less stressful.

Peppers. Amazing, I have been cutting them wrong all my life, struggling with all the seeds and white fibers inside. Life lessons: never fuss about cutting a pepper nor an orange anymore.

Finally, the final product and thoughts: the first taste of the red wine vinaigrette... My goodness, just amazing.

At the end of the day, the most important lesson I learned from Ramsay is: "Cook with confidence!"