Chilli fish balls and dirty noodle heaven: wok to table in my new Tefal range

Gruelling work at the gym and feeble attempts to do a press up call for reward. Probably, no, definitely not the most logical choice in terms of health but it's hard gym sessions like I've had this week which warrant a little comfort food. (Come the colder weather I'll be inserting this as the latest excuse.)

I'm currently preparing for a supper club next week - which always means a little trip to Queensway or Chinatown (in this case both) to get the best ingredients. And as much as I want to resist, the first fridge always seems to have an array of fishballs. It comes before the vegetable section, so I can only assume it's a staple that I must buy...even when it's not on the menu for next week. Another justification I think is if there is an emoji available, then it must be eaten on a regular meal. I recently read of one fanatic who ate for a week only emoji food icons...dedication. 

My recent trip to Hong Kong definitely did not reach the dumpling and fishball quota, much to my dismay. The street hawkers have the best ones, with the lure of the spicy curry sauce smells that they're slathered in. Dirty and wicked in the best way. 

If you've never had these little bouncy balls of wonder, you really need to change that situation immediately and order some. Be it fried, chopped up, boiled or barbecued - you just have to get them into the belly as soon as possible. 

 

This post is the inauguration of my new Tefal ingenio range I've been kindly given from Tefal. A perfect little kitchen set, this stacks a wok, sauté pan, two saucepans and two frying pans neatly in the space of a cluttered cupboard. How? Detachable handles, which make it easy to pop into the dishwasher, from hob to oven and even then to the table. Having recently fallen amateur cooking idiot recently by heating a ceramic oven dish on the hob (and consequently leading to the dish smashing across the kitchen alongside scraps of Moroccan lamb making an escape for the door), I'm definitely a big fan of hob to oven cookware, which is definitely tricky to come by when you have an electric (and temperamental) hob. 

Perfect for stir frying, the pan heated up in no time, a common gripe with electric hobs and asian cooking which needs a hot pan quick. 

Had I not eaten the wok full of noodles in five seconds flat, the range also has Tupperware lids for the pans- so another handy quick win for leftovers. 

A nifty way to keep your cupboards uncluttered, I would highly recommend this set if you need some new cookware thrills.

Oats-so crispy chilli "KFC" tofu nuggets

Salt and Sichaun pepper tofu bites with a crunchy, chilli-oat crust.

I recently learnt that the Japanese, and pretty much most of Asia, are enamoured with KFC. It's one of the few fast food places in Hong Kong where you can dangerously order delivery (as if popping down to your nearest one would be an absolute waste of calories - save those puppies for the deep fried grease and wonder of that special fried chicken). It's even been engrained into Japanese tradition on Christmas day to queue up for some finger lickin' goodness. For my family, what I find even more bizarre, is Mama Lo's sense of urgency to get some KFC when she comes to London...I quickly refused to treat her to a bargain bucket and pointed her to the direction of Wishbone in Brixton for an assortment of sublime wings and fries.
For the past week, all I had been craving were those zinger tower devil burgers and popcorn chicken. Those damn feel good and 'witty' (even as I write that I know it's not true) ads seemed to have seeped into my brain to give in. And I would not give in.
What it did give me was a bit of inspiration for my own chicken nuggets. I could have given you Panko breadcrumbs and succulent and juicy chicken thighs, but my mind was somehow on another planet. I love salt and pepper squid, but given it was Sunday, I couldn't break into my fishmongers. And out of the larder shone a little box of tofu - and DING! It was time to convert those tofu haters with this recipe. A take on salt and pepper, with a crunchy and spicy coating with a silky smooth, but firm interior. It's a simple recipe, easy to snack on with some sriracha or sweet chilli (and almost so easy you can pop these in your mouth as quick as a packet of crisps).

Anti-tofu goers can't say no to these bad boys.

The coating was a bit of a mouthful to put into the post title. It's made from toasted oats, chilli and Sichuan peppercorns with a sea salt sprinkling. In nugget, popcorn bites. Mouthful. But I did fall in love with this - the toasted oats gives more texture contrast to the tofu, and the Sichuan peppercorns releases a punchy lemon aroma which ties the salt finish together in quite triumphantly.