Spring clean super soba noodles with tofu

So, this post is in dedication to Emily, my flatmate. Don't worry, it's not an "in loving memory", she is alive and well, but she does move out Lolo's HQ in a few weeks. After two years of madness, an alarming number of Green & Blacks chocolate bars and 90% onesie wearing around the house I will miss my partner in crime. She has been a great support of Lolo's kitchen - from being a guinea pig, sous chef and cheerleader. 

Maybe this post should be a dedication to her new diet she has to follow. After some extensive tests, poor Embo has to endure a new regime for 12 weeks. That means no wine, (I repeat, NO WINE, the insanity) no citrus, dairy, berries, sweets, fried food...the list goes on. It goes on for about seven pages! But, there are some things she can eat more of which is very exciting. Tofu, sesame, oily fish, nuts, soya, avocado and red meat being but a few. Hoorah! All mixed together, no thanks. But, I was inspired to make sure my Embo had a tasty dinner she could easily cook up. 

Sesame, so I'm told, is a great source of calcium - and tahini paste is something to behold. A wonderful base for marinating, dressings, sweet fillings, spreads... And so readily available in stores now. 

You can make this recipe with any sort of noodles, swap tofu for chicken/beef/pork- whatever you please. I like soba noodles for this, as it's a great cold - pack it away for lunch al desko! 

Fresh, healthy, Spring clean for your tummy

Mi-so happy chicken: steamy dreamy one pot chicken wonder

There are many little wins in a  fatty's foodie's day. Today was one of those days where a string of little, insignificant decisions happened to culminate to a very happy day. Pondering over an inconceivable amount of smoothie/juice concoctions and winning with a good choice at Crussh, passing by Whole Foods and being able to find a reasonably sized (and priced) bag of Chia seeds I had been searching for and sitting down for a sunny Sunday brunch without having to wait for a table. The good luck happy vibes had aligned in all it's sunny glory and was topped off with this recipe. I probably could have taken a few more photos to get the styling just right, but my boyfriend and I couldn't stop sneaking bites throughout the shoot. These are the first shots of the year outside in the sunshine, with new little bowls I found at a steal on sale. Hope you like them! So this recipe is now known as my happy mood one pot chicken. 

Traditional Chinese cooking has stayed traditional in every sense of the word. Techniques, produce and values...however the only thing that has moved with the times is the humble rice cooker, the only piece of technology that has ever been integrated and accepted into the Chinese kitchen. And even then, they all seem to look like they're from the 80's. Off white, three buttons, faded Disney stickers... an heirloom to say the least. But boy does it deliver every time. The chicken is placed on the rice halfway through cooking the rice for perfect, gentle fresh and tasty steamed chicken. I can barely call this cooking. 

For those who don't have a rice cooker, shame on you, but it is still possible with a pan. Alternative instructions provided below. Enjoy my fatties foodies!

Star anise plum glazed pork chop

It's been a super weekend with some wonderful warm rays of sunshine. An incredibly British habit to constantly start conversation off with weather, but it can't be helped when we have such little time with the sun. And what followed this British habit was quite the British weekend. Long walks in the park, trips to Maltby street market and foodie treasures and a few setbacks of disappointment. A little house trip to the zoo was thwarted when we arrived just at closing time. Not to worry, we'd booked into a nice supper at Bumpkin, which does beautiful seasonal British food. I was double thwarted when I had set my eyes on the specials - pork chop with kale, only to be told as we were ordering that all the specials had finished. 'Maybe try the pork belly?' said the waiter I then bore a strong disliking to for the rest of the night for not telling me earlier what was available. A delusional and internal rant was circulating around in my head....What sort of crazy substitute is pork belly to pork chop? When you're really happy you've made a decision for pork chops I tell you it's a difficult thing to change your mind. I think I was irrationally upset because I know Bumpkin do such great food, I could imagine exactly how perfect it would have been prepared - quality produce, simply seasoned and immaculately cooked for that memorable and moreish first bite. I settled (hardly settled as it was very tasty) for their 'Cow Pie' but my childish side was still yearning for something I couldn't have. I must have looked up longingly at the specials board at least 10 times. To console myself I set my eyes on their legendary apple pie with hazelnut crumble, which I always like to treat myself to. 

THRICE THWARTED. 

The waiter failed to remember that the apple dessert was off the menu as well. I decided to put him on my hitlist and grumble about my crumble all the way home.

However, with the pork chop craving still set, I decided to create something to satisfy my cravings. Plums are a great fruit to work with, pretty much enough varieties to mean they're always in season, and sweet and tangy enough to add to a sauce for savoury. It's almost a twist on sweet and sour pork, but the star anise and oyster sauce give a more darker and sophisticated flavour. It's surprisingly quick to make, so perfect for a mid week dish.

Supper club - come on down!

Last night Lolo's kitchen met and fed another group of wonderful people for supper club. Here's the menu  for you to peruse. If you're wanting a different experience in London with some of your friends please contact me and we can arrange a date. The food is Asian influenced cuisine, similar to the blog recipes you see here.
The way it works for now is that you organise your mateys to come over, treat my house like a private dining room and enjoy. It's BYOB, so you can bring as much or as little alcohol as you want, choose any tunes which tickle your fancy and eat, dance and drink the night away. For approx £20 per head it includes a cocktail, three courses, nibbles and tea/coffee.
I can accommodate up to 8 people - if you've got special dietary requests, a special occassion, food you want from my blog, themes etc. we can chat together for a more personalised service, just shoot over a little email.

Mochi monsters: Cookies and cream mochi snowballs

Let's defy social conventions...well, nothing too radical - it's just ice cream in March for heaven's sake. It's cold and miserable out there, but there are glimmers and afternoons of sunshine and Spring which can only put a smile on our faces. That, for me, is more than enough of a sign to capitalise on a supermarket ice cream deal.

Hong Kong has the most wonderful flavours when it comes to frozen yoghurts and ice creams - and while they don't have the prestige of a creamy and luxurious Italian gelato, they do take inspiration from neighbouring countries to host a variety of creative concoctions. Mochi being one of them.

I can't claim this as a Hong Kong recipe. Mochi ice cream hails from Japan, but it holds a dear and distant memory of hot and sticky summers in Hong Kong. Back in a dinky old apartment building in North Point where my grandparents lived, I specifically remember being stuck in an uneasy lift with my grandma after a trip to the market. We were there for a good hour, but I specifically remember being consoled by two little snowball dumplings of mochi ice cream. A little toothpick in the packet to pick it up with, the time seemed to fly by as I tried to make the ice cream last as long as possible.

Mochi is a sticky, translucent dough made from glutinous rice flour - almost like an Asian version of Turkish Delight in texture. On its own its not much to behold, however paired with some ice cream...it's bliss. I found that London are starting to embrace it, with Snog frozen yoghurt branches offering little mochi cubes as a topping for their delicious Snog yoghurts. Simple to make ahead and keep in your fridge as a mini dessert or sweet treat after work or dinner it's definitely worth trying out. Tips here are to make sure you have a lot of cornflour on hand, as the mixture is extremely sticky (but manageable with corn flour) and try to have cold hands and work quickly. (see my instagram page @loloslittlekitchen to look at a video of the speed you need and how to wrap the mochi)

Apple of my porkie eye! Sweet apple and soy pork ribs

Apple and soy pork ribs

From one extreme to another. Last week a vegetarian's delight was a carnivore's nightmare. So this week I hop to the other end of the scale and make some of those veggie-lovers a bit agitated. Well, a lot. Ribs ribs ribs, London is full of great spots to eat, Pitt Cue in my opinion leading the charge with their mega-saurus 'Flintstones' style ribs - enough to scare away any animal lover away. Sweet, American style ribs aren't the only thing on my mind. Asians love ribs - it's a common dim sum treat, in small bite size wonders, as well as the original cut for sweet and sour (or at least Grandma Lo's style). Pork rib, beef rib, short ribs my my. I actually had some ribs from my visit to the butcher in attempt to make a brulee pork belly confit from one of my favourite blogs 'Lady and Pups' which I highly recommend. A true Asian at heart, I couldn't let the ribs go to waste so looked in my cupboard and fridge to see what I could rustle up for a blog post.

My boyfriend got a slow cooker for Christmas from his parents, which deep down he knows is more of an extra present for me given I take over everything in the kitchen. Craving for Pitt Cue without the queue, we've made some awesome pulled pork burgers - but now its time for these ribs. Apple sweet with chilli sauce draped over melt in your mouth ribs is perfect with simple jasmine rice. I love the simplicity of the slow cooker- chuck it in, switch it on and leave it for a few hours. Coming home to the smell of this is insanely welcoming - and the thought of the meat falling off the bone with a simple nudge of a spoon is slightly...erotic? (Worrying?) 

It has the make ahead ease factor if you're planning a dinner party after work, pop this on the cooker before you leave work and you're good to go. 

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.