Zen China – London

Posted on October 10, 2011 by admin

It’s been some time since we featured a restaurant review on Zenburger and even longer since we visited London.  Too long really – London offers some of the world’s great eating experiences and employs some of the worlds top chefs across a variety of food types and what we call ‘Zen’ food is no exception.

One of Zen China’s big draws is it’s location; situated on London’s famous South Bank it is seconds away from the London Eye to the East and the London Sea Life Aquarium to the left.  This provides it with a view over the River Thames and the Houses of Parliament and Big ben across the water.

It’s actually situated inside the County Hall building on the Riverside and you’ll need to follow the instructions on their website to fid your way up the stairs to the first floor restaurant.  Once there you can begin to peruse the extensive menu; Zen China has it’s specialities which are Beijing hand-made dumplings, Beijing authentic roasted duck and Fresh Lobsters but also on offer is a great variety of Chinese and Asian cuisine.

Fish at Zen China

Fish at Zen China

To start with the soup menu includes six or seven varieties of which we enjoyed the Hot and Sour with Duck and Shrimp.  The Zen China seafood platter was our choice of starter but there at least ten individual dishes to choose from.  For the main courses there is an impressive array of dishes featuring duck, various types of seafood, beef, lamb, chicken and, for the vegetarians, tofu.

The decor is perhaps slightly more traditional than some of our previous restaurant reviews but visitors won’t be disappointed by the interior.  Check out the picture below for an interior view:

Zen China Interior

Zen China Interior

For the location the prices are very reasonable; the most expensive dish comes in at less then £20 and during the week cheaper deals are available.  If you’re planning a visit to London or work in the area, give Zen China a try.

 

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Miso soup with udon noodles and stir-fried greens

Posted on September 29, 2011 by admin

As well as featuring miso, this healthy noodle soup has a number of traditional Japanese ingredients, most of which you will be able to find in an Asian supermarket.

The ingredients shown are based on one person but are easy to double up if you’re cooking for the whole family.

Serves 1.  Takes less than thirty minutes to prepare and 30 minutes to 1 hour cooking time.

Ingredients

For the miso soup

  • 5cm piece of kombu seaweed
  • 1½ teaspoon of dashi powder
  • 2½cm piece of fresh ginger, peeled and grated
  • 1 tablespoon of white miso paste
  • pinch of caster sugar
  • 2 tablespoons of sweetened sake or rice wine
  • 75 grams of tofu, cubed into 1cm pieces

For the stir-fried greens

  • 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil
  • 1 garlic clove, finely sliced
  • 4 shittake mushrooms, sliced
  • 2 heads of bok choi, sliced in quarters
  • 75 grams of kale, shredded
  • 1 small courgette, sliced
  • 50 grams of sugar snap peas
  • 2 tablespoons of Japanese soy sauce
  • 40 grams of enoki mushrooms, broken into pieces
  • 4 spring onions, finely sliced
  • 1 teaspoon of shichimi pepper
  • 1 teaspoon of seasame seeds
  • 1 x 150 gram packet of udon noodles

Preparation Method

1.  For the miso soup, place a saucepan of water over a medium heat and add the kombu seaweed.  Add the dashi powder, stir and leave to simmer for a few minutes.

2. Add the grated ginger, white miso paste, sugar and sweet sake. Taste and adjust the amount of sugar or sake if necessary. Keep warm.

3. For the stir-fried greens, heat a wok with a little vegetable oil until shimmering.  Add the sliced garlic and fry gently for 10 seconds. Tip in the sliced mushrooms, bok choi, kale, courgette and sugar snap peas.

4. Keep stirring the contents of the wok and cook for two minutes or so, then add the soy sauce, enoki mushrooms and most of the spring onions.  Fry the vegetables until slightly softened, then add all the schicimi pepper and sesame seeds.

5. Bring a large saucepan, filled with water, to the boil.  Drop the udon noodles into the boiling water and cook for a few minutes, or until heated through, and then drain.

6. To finish the soup, add the tofu cubes to the soup mixture at this stage.

7. To serve, lay the udon noodles in the bottom of a bowl, place the stir-fried greens on top and then ladle over the miso soup. Garnish with the reserved spring onion and a pinch of  shichimi pepper and sesame seeds.

 

 

 

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All you need to know about ‘Miso’

Posted on September 29, 2011 by admin

Miso is a fermented paste made from soya beans and rice, barley, wheat or rye, and is used in Japanese and South East Asian cookery.  It imparts a deeply savoury, rich intensity to any dish that’s cooked with it, and it is also high in protein and rich in vitamins.

Miso is still very widely used in Japan, both in traditional and modern cooking, and has been gaining world-wide interest. There is a very wide variety of miso available which can be daunting for the novice buyer, but many supermarkets and most specialist shops will stock a basic selection. Here are the most common types:

Light-yellow miso or “Shinshu” miso

This is the most common type of miso and is relatively mild in flavour. It’s very versatile and can be used in all types of dishes.

Red miso or “Aka” miso

This variety actually ranges in colour from red to dark brown and has a strong, salty flavour. As with the light-yellow miso, it is very versatile and suited to all types of dishes, such as soups, dressings, dips and in cooked dishes.

Sweet white miso or “Shiro” miso

This is a sweeter variety and lighter in taste, colour and texture. It’s fermented for a much shorter time (two to eight weeks) compared to other miso types, which are typically fermented for three years or more.  It is more suited for use in salad dressings, spreads and marinades.  Light-yellow or red miso should not be substituted in recipes that call for sweet white miso.

“Hatcho” miso

This is probably the highest regarded and therefore the most expensive miso as it is only made from soya beans and a special type of koji.

“Mugi” miso

This is made from barley and soya beans. and is good in soups and stews.

Brown rice miso or “Genmai” miso

As the name suggests it is made from brown rice and soya beans, and has a rich, earthy, and slightly nutty flavour.

Miso is a part of many Japanese-style meals. It most commonly appears as the main ingredient of miso soup, which is eaten daily by much of the Japanese population and is considered a fundamental unit of Japanese cuisine.

Miso is also used in many other types of soup and souplike dishes, and in our next post we will share with you a delicious recipe for Miso soup with Udon noodles.

 

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Tom kha gai

Posted on September 25, 2011 by admin

For those of you who haven’t been to Thailand, the name “Tom kha gai” probably won’t mean anything to you but it is a spicy Asian-style soup made with coconut milk, galangal or ginger, lemon grass and chicken.  The key to a good “Tom kha gai” is to get a taste balance between the spices so they don’t overwhelm the soup.

There are other versions of this soup made with seafood (tom kha thale), mushrooms (tom kha het), pork (tom kha mu) and tofu (tom kha taohu) but today we are going to share with you a recipe for the chicken version which is ideal for chilly Autumn nights and is a great way of using up leftover chicken or turkey.

It is also so easy to prepare and is on the table in less than thirty minutes.

Serves 2.  Takes less than fifteen minutes to prepare and ten minutes cooking time.

Ingredients

  • 50 grams of flat rice noodles
  • 1 x 400ml tin of half-fat coconut milk
  • 300ml of chicken stock
  • a small chunk of root ginger, shredded
  • 1 stalk of lemongrass (woody outer leaves discarded), chopped
  • 1 red chilli, shredded
  • 200 grams of cooked turkey or chicken breast, shredded or sliced
  • 50 grams of mange tout, shredded
  • juice of 1 lime
  • 1 teaspoon of brown sugar
  • 1 tablespoon of fish sauce
  • handful of coriander leaves

Preparation Method

1. First, cook the noodles following the instructions on the packet. Drain and rinse with cold water and set aside.

2. Next, bring the coconut milk and stock to a simmer in a pan, add the ginger, lemongrass and half the chilli and simmer for 3 minutes.

3. Add the cooked chicken or turkey and mange tout and simmer for a further 2 minutes. Mix in the lime, sugar and fish sauce.

4. Divide the drained noodles between 2 bowls, ladle over the soup, then finish with the rest of the chilli and the coriander.

 

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Thai style-soup with prawn and pork mince dumplings

Posted on September 21, 2011 by admin

With the autumn months now upon us, we thought we would share with you some warming soup recipes, starting first with this fusion dish of Thai-style soup with prawn and pork mince-filled dumplings which is filling enough to be able to serve as a main course.

Serves 2.  Takes less than thirty minutes to prepare and ten to thirty minutes cooking time.

Ingredients

For the dumplings

  • 25 grams of pork mince
  • 8 medium shell-on raw prawns, peeled, de-veined, shells reserved, meat finely chopped
  • 1 egg, separated and the white lightly beaten
  • 1 tablespoon of seasame oil
  • salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • 8 wonton pastry wrappers

For the Thai soup

  • reserved prawn shells (see above)
  • 2 stalks of lemongrass, bruised
  • 10 lime leaves, roughly torn
  • 1 centimetre piece of galangal, sliced
  • juice of 3 limes
  • Thai fish sauce, to taste
  • 1 head of bok choi, chopped
  • 100 grams of oyster mushrooms, sliced
  • 3 to 4 chillies, to taste

To garnish

  • 3-4 spring onions, finely sliced
  • bunch of enoki mushrooms
  • small handful of snow pea shoots
  • drizzle of Asian chilli oil

Preparation Method

1. For the dumplings, mix together the pork, chopped prawn meat, egg white and sesame oil with a pinch of salt and freshly ground black pepper. Transfer to the fridge to chill and firm up.

2. For the soup, bring a pint of water to the boil.  Meanwhile, tip the prawn shells into a large saucepan and fry over a high heat for 2-3 minutes until they turn pink. Pour the boiling water over the prawn shells and add the lemongrass, lime leaves and galangal and bring back to the boil for 1-2 minutes.

3. Strain the contents of the pan into a clean pan and season, to taste, with fish sauce and lime juice. Keep warm.

4. Bring a saucepan of water to the boil and blanch the bok choi for 30 seconds, or until softened. Drain.

5. To assemble the dumplings, lay a wonton wrapper on a board then take a spoonful of the filling and place it in the middle of the wrapper. Brush the egg yolk around the edge of the wrapper, place another wonton wrapper on top and gently press to seal the edges. Repeat with the remaining wonton wrappers and filling.

6. Cook the dumplings in a pan of boiling water for 2-3 minutes, or until they float to the surface, then drain and transfer into the soup. Add the oyster mushrooms and simmer for 30 seconds.

7. To serve, spoon the oyster mushrooms into the middle of soup plates. Place the blanched bok choi next to the mushrooms. Ladle the soup into the bowls and place the wontons on top of the mushrooms. Garnish with spring onions, enoki mushrooms, snow pea shoots and a drizzle of chilli oil and serve immediately.

 

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