Don't Shy Away from "Chai"

Made this one hot and steamy this evening!

We had damp weather throughout the long weekend here in Montreal, and today Monday, didn't feel any warmer. We started wearing our socks again. Women wearing socks at this time of year is not a sign of summer being just around the corner. But for hot tea lovers, like myself, a warm and steamy Chai Latte hits the spot and breezes away my Monday blues.

A Chai tea is a lightly spiced tea that truly warms you up and tastes really good. The combined taste of warm and sweet spices like cinnamon, ginger, cardamom and black pepper infused in a nice ginger tea or english tea, makes me want to snuggle under a warm duvet. Can't believe I'm using these words in mid-May! Then again, who doesn't enjoy those warm moments, whether it be summer or winter.
As much as I like to stay away from big coffehouse chains, like Starbucks, I must say that their Chai Latte is quite tasty. In fact, when I don't have time to make my own Chai, I buy one at Starbucks whenever I can. And it's really the only thing I'll get there, because I think everything is so expensive at Starbucks.
But look at the picture on the left of Starbuck's Chai Latte, and the one I prepared above. Looks the same, but the homemade version tastes better. Here's a great Chai Latte recipe that you can prepare in the comfort of your own home, in your own time. Fairly easy too.

Preparation time: 10 minutes

Recipe "au pif":
1 tea bag ginger tea or English Breakfast tea (if you can find Darjeeling tea, even better)
1 small cinnamon stick
5 caradomon pods, gently crush and shells discarded
5 cloves
3 black peppercorns

1 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
1 1/2 cups skimmed milk (or whole milk - optional) - the more milk you add, the thicker the chai.
1 tbsp raw cane sugar (or granulated sugar) - or more to taste

Bring 1 1/2 cups of water to a boil in a small saucepan.

Remove from heat and add in the tea bag,cinnamon, caradomom, cloves, nutmeg and peppercorns.

Let infuse for 5 minutes.

Pour through fine strainer set over bowl, rinse suacepan and place the teabag back into saucepan.

Add the milk and sugar and stir until sugar is dissolved.

Serve hot.

Tilapia Spiced with Fish Masala and Basil

Last Friday, I had a most enjoyable and tasty dinner at my friend SAB's place. If one tasted her food, one would be surprised to know that although she loves eating good food as much as I do, she isn't as passionate about cooking as one would believe. On the menu, she had a perfectly baked and seasoned Tilapia served with a sidedish of spicy baked potatoes. Oh, and to start, she prepared two different types of salads, which were both so appetizing. I'm a huge meat eater and less of a salad fan, but these two were highly pleasing to my taste buds. One was drizzled with a fantastic Ceasar salad dressing made of anchovy paste, and the other had perfectly ripe avocados with a dash of lemon.
The show stealer was the fish which was simply seasoned with a spice I wasn't familiar with, called Fish Masala. It's slightly hot and not too powerful, which is perfect for fish. Fish is delicate in texture and taste that I think it shouldn't be seasoned and cooked in overpowering spices that just take away the taste of the fish. This spice can be purchased in any local indian/arab grocery store.

What I love about eating at SAB's is that I enjoy eating just about anything she makes, and I know that it's always simple to make. Just like many of us, she has an extremely busy schedule and only has time to make quick and easy meals. Funny thing is, she doesn't realize what a great cook she is!

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Preparation time: 5 minutes, Cooking time: 20-25 minutes

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Recipe "au pif":

4 fillets of Tilapia (or any other white fish like seabream, sea bass, cod..etc.)

1 tsp Fish Masala spice

1/4 tsp coarse sea salt (or any other flavoured salt of your choice)

1/2 tsp ground black pepper

3 tbsp olive oil

2 tsp finely minced garlic.

Finely chopped basil leaves to garnish

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Preheat oven to 350F.

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Lay fish fillets in a large baking dish. Season with Fish Masala, salt and black pepper. Sprinkle garlic on top of fillets.

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Drizzle with olive oil.

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Cover baking dish with aluminium foil and bake for about 20-25 minutes or until fish is cooked. To check if fish is cooked, use a fork and prick the flesh to make sure flesh is white and not translucid/grey.

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Remove from oven and garnish with basil.

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Serves 4 people.

Beef Tonkinese Soup (Pho Bo) Made Easy

Despite the old rumours that beef Tonkinese soup (Pho Bo) is time-consuming and complicated to make, it's actually very easy. In fact, the longest part and the best part in making Pho Bo is the broth. Being vietnamese, I have to admit that I've become incredibly picky when it comes to eating the tasty and deliciously aromatic soup. I have my share of favourite spots to savour Pho Bo one of which is Pho Zen (near my place) on which I had written a short article last November. That post received numerous hits that I got myself to finally post the recipe of the most popular soup eaten and served around the world.

The recipe normally calls for hours of simmering the soup, but I'm going to cheat a little by giving you a short-cut to the highly-seeked recipe, which will still result in an authentic tasting Pho Bo. The short-cut....

... the Pho Bo broth cube...

This cube will cut the simmering time in half. It's a time saver for those who don't want to spend time cutting different types of beef parts and bones, like me!

This little fellow can be found in any asian grocery stores.

The rest is easy, sliced sirloin or flank steak on the left, and cooked and sliced round beef/brisket.




Clockwise starting from top left, to make the broth:

Star Anise pods, fish sauce, yellow onion and ginger. And again, the Pho Bo flavoured cube.


Dried string-like rice noodles

Coriander and scallions to garnish

Preparation time: 30 minutes, cooking time: 1 h 30 minutes

The broth can be prepared during the weekend to be served during the upcoming busy week. It can also be frozen for later cravings.

Recipe "au pif":

1 lb round beef or beef brisket

1 lb flank steak or raw beef sirloin, thinly sliced

1 large yellow onion, peeled

1 cube Tonkinese soup broth (Pho bo flavoured cube)

3 star anise pods

1 whole fresh ginger root (about 2 1/2 inch), rinsed and mashed in mortar

3L (12 cups) water

1 tbsp fish sauce (nuoc mam)

1/2 lb string-like rice noodles (bun)

small pinch of ground white pepper

Garnish and accompaniments:

1 cup bean sprouts

2 sprigs of scallions, sliced

2 finger-length red chilies, deseeded and sliced

2 limes, cut into wedges

sprigs of mint leaves

sprigs of coriander leaves

bottled chili sauce or chili paste

Clean round beef/brisket with 2 tsp salt

In a large pot, bring the water, round beef/brisket to a boil, skimming off any foam that floats to the surface. Add the ginger, onion, star anise and the "pho bo" cube. Reduce heat to medium and simmer for about 1 hour until the beef is tender. Remove from heat.

Remove the beef from the stock. Slice the beef brisket into thin slices and set aside. Strain the stock and return the clear soup to the pot. Season with the fish sauce and ground white pepper, and keep the soup hot over very low heat for about another half hour.

Bring a separate pot of water to a boil. Add the rice noodles and boil until soft, about 5 minutes or longer as needed. Remove and rinse with cold water, then drain.

Transfer the rice noodles to large soupe bowls and top with bean sprouts, onion, beef brisket slices and the raw sirloin/flank steak slices. Pour the hot soup into each bowl. The flank steak will partially cook (best when medium rare - a bit red/pink) in the hot stock. Garnis with scallions, coriander and mint.

Serve hot with chili sauce, sliced chilis and a zest of lime juice.

Serves 4 to 6 people.