Tag Archive for 'food culture'

Potatoes potatoes potatoes

Published on July 5, 2010 in food culture. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , .

So, it’s been a while since we did anything food related here, but I have been experimenting with potatoes recently, trying to find simple ways of making them just a little bit better.

It seems, that for texture and consistency, salt is the trick. When boiling them, add as much salt as you dare, but be careful not to pierce the skin of the potatoes after you have done this, as it will cause them to get very salty and uneatable in the end. It works best with smaller types, like Duchesse and Cherie, but larger, newpotatoes and similiar will also work well, you just need to be patient and give them enough time to boil properly.

The salt trick works when oven baking them as well. Place potatoes with skin on a baking tray, drizzle over as much salt as you dare, as much as 2kg is fine, and again, be careful not to pierce the skin. Bake in oven on roughly 200 degrees celsius until they start collapsing inside the skin, that means they are finished and that the texture is just perfect.

Serve with melted butter and chives with a pinch of fine sea salt, Washington or Maldon are my favourites, and just a twist of fresh pepper. Alternately, mix with balsamic vinegear and olive oil for a fresh take on the potato salad!

Use as a side for almost anything  that needs potatoes, or just as a dish on it’s own!

Real chicken with mango and red wine sauce.

Published on February 18, 2010 in food culture. 0 Comments Tags: , , .

It has been absolutely ages since I wrote anything of importance here – actually, I never really write anything of importance here, but you get the point. Yesterday however, I created a dish worthy of some words on this meagre blog.

I give you: real chicken with mango and a redwine sauce.

And by real chicken, I mean real chicken. Not some genetically altered superboosted broiler posing as a chicken. But a homegrown (not really) well fed, free-to-walk-around-in-the-open-chicken. You see, this is where all the difference is. If you get a chicken that actually tastes and feels like chicken, it will be that much better. I get chickens from Stange gård, which is sold in grocery stores here in Norway, and it is of the “Liveche” type, which is known to be the best chicken for cooking.

You need: (for two people) 

  • One chicken breast of high quality (approx 500 grams)
  • 1 red onion
  • 6 potatoes
  • 1/2 mango
  • Fresh or dried chili
  • 1/2 lime
  • 1 garlic
  • Olive oil, balsamic vinegear, salt and pepper
  • Some fresh thyme

Slice and dice potatoes french fries style with salt, pepper, garlic and olive oil and put in heated oven (220) for about 35 - 40 minutes. Add fresh thyme and stir after ten minutes. ’

Make a nice mixture marinade of olive oil, garlic, balsamic vinegear, lime peel, salt and pepper and put in an oven dish. Fry the chicken breast quickly on both sides to give a crust then put it in the oven dish with the marinade mixture and place in middle of oven for about 10 – 15 minutes. – Trick here is to have the chicken and the potatoes finish at the same time. The chicken is better if left to rest for 5 – 10 minutes after comming out of the oven.

Approx 5 minutes before serving, slice 1/2 a mango into medium slices, season with chili and lime, (I like to add extra lime to the oil in the frying pan as well) and then fry this on very high heat for about 1,5 mins on either side. And leave to cool down for a minute before serving.

I like to top this off with a nice red wine sauce, which is easily made by frying a red onion in butter, then adding a decent amount of red wine and finish it off with a pre-made mixture of flour and water (in a shaker to avoid lumps) then simply bring to boil and simmer for a few minutes and season with salt and pepper if nescesary.

Shanghai adventures, part IV: Show, friends and the end of this journey.

Published on October 12, 2009 in food culture and travel. 0 Comments Tags: , , , .

The end of this adventure is here. Tomorrow, I set point my nose to Europe and home. The last days have been spent mostly in the theatre, working on our performance. We did two shows, one on Saturday and one on Sunday. Both went very well, and with a 90% audience attendance of maximum cpacity, I think we are all happy with the result. I would also like to commend Arkadi Zaidi for his piece, that complemented ours very well, and made for a nice and diverse evening.

Today, my new Israeli friends and myself went walking in the old town. A beautiful, but not so well tendered, example of old and ancient Chinese architecture. – Almost the cliche we think of when we think about Chinese houses. Some of the places are quite commercialized, with lots of markets for tourists and shops that sells classic Chinese souvenirs I guess. We went of the beaten track and wandered into the slum area of Shanghai, a completely different feel, much more lively in a way, food and animals everywhere. Shops that sells fake brands all over, and lots of people trying to lure westerners like us into their shop. We found a back alley with a small restaurant, and we managed somehow to order some food, and it was really good. It was a simple soup with homemade noodles (we saw the lady in the back making them) and coriander. Tasty and plentiful. Just the way it should be.

I was quite happy today, as I didn’t wander Shanghai alone – I spent the day with my new Israeli friends (the choreographer, dancer and manager of the Israeli company that shared our stage) and we really had a good time together. Making friends is not always easy in strange countries, but we found some common ground and interests, and I am sure we shall at least stay in touch. The blessings of modern technology is sometimes invaluable.

Tomorrow I get up early for the flight to Paris Charles de Gaulle airport, before I transfer to my plane back home to Oslo. It has been a wonderful trip, with sights and experiences worth every hour and penny spent on it. However, it is always nice to come home again. Hopefully, Shanghai is a city I will come back to at some point, and see how the development of this megapolis is changing the life here, and where it will go in the next years.

See you wherever you are.

Hans out.

Shanghai adventures, part III: China must have the best electricians in the world.

Published on October 9, 2009 in travel. 1 Comment Tags: , , , , , .

First day of practical work. The culture-collision is a fact. Not that it went horribly wrong or that it is not working or that the result will be crap. It’s just that after working together with some middle aged Chinese men for a day that pretend to be lighting technicians (I have to give them some credit, they know how to hang, gel and cable conventional fixtures.), it’s just that if they know anything more than that they are not showing.  There is also a slight difference in aesthetic sense when it comes to practical stuff, timekeeping and schedules as well as proper job management and planning. Nothing that crashes the production, but it is tiresome to try and do a lot of things that you ordinarily wouldn’t have to do.

Second, my NO SUBSTITUTIONS PLEASE plan when it comes to lighting equipment seems to have crashed and burned phenomenally. The intention was to make the lighting plan so specific and make it clear that only the specified fixtures would do. Then we went to the venue yesterday, and the fixtures in the grid looked like the right ones. Today, it turns out that even though it looks exactly like it, and it even has mechanical engineering to match it, it was not an ETC S4. (Sorry all you non lighting folks..) They copied it so precisely, it even says ETC on the sticker. However, it does not match the light output and optical accuracy of the real S4. This in turn creates some problems when you get to focusing and gobos. And those of you who know me and my tape measure, it makes focusing annoying. Almost outright frightening.

In the end, we got through it all, sadly, with a less than top result. Which is the essence of today I think; I am not completely happy with how the performance is shaping up. It’s not really bad, but it’s not great either. I guess we will see how tomorrow turns out, we have another 3 hrs. of additional tech, plotting and tweaking, so maybe we can pull it together then. I shall let you know in due time.

On the food side, I have now had my first encounter which is probably the best picture on overall food quality; a public university canteen. Mass produced everything (I needed help to order) in a variety of shapes and sizes. It tastes OK, but it is not great either. Same level as any institution based kitchen anyplace in the world can come up with I guess. Tried deep fried fish – it was whole, with intestines and everything, and just deep fried. Tasted OK. Tasted fish.

Didn’t really get to do anything else today, as work was from 9 til 9. Show tomorrow evening. Wish me luck!

Curious fact of the day: China must have the best electricians in the world. They have to, no one else could possibly make any sense of any electrical setup I have seen so far. Cables everywhere in every direction. No standard whatsoever on plugs; in my hotel room alone there is European 2 pin, American 3 pin flat, Australian 2 pin round, Swiss 3 pin and British 2 pin. And most places it’s 220V, but check, some places still have 110V! In the theater, there is 20amp stage pin for some lights, 16amp shucko for some, and on the back of the dimmers? British 16amp 3pin round!

H out.

Shanghai adventures, part II: If Rolling Stones ever tours China, it must be on a moped.

Published on October 8, 2009 in in real life, travel and work. 0 Comments Tags: , , , .

Day two in Shanghai is over. I am about to sleep. This city however, is not. It doesn’t sleep, ever. When the shops and the supermarkets close at 10 or so, the pubs, clubs and cafes take over. The night time life in this city is probably one of the best in China, and for us “westerners”, it will seem right at home too. In no other place is the western  ideal of lifestyle and culture more evident than in the industry that is primarily targeted at those who want it the most: youth and kids. All the most popular nightclubs and “partyplaces” in Shanghai are all done in western style – music, interior design, dress codes and menus. This is perhaps the essence of this extremely odd clash of cultures. China is one of the last successful communist states in the world, and yet, everything they do is about money and securing money for their kid(s). And it isn’t discouraged by the government either, as this industry provides thousands of thousands of people with jobs and a steady income. One that lightens the burden of the socialist republics welfare system, and one that generates billions in tax income each year.

I went to see the venue and to inspect the equipment today. The venue itself is old, and looks like something that would make perfect sense in a Clark Gable film. It is well equipped, again, somewhat old, but old lighting equipment has the brilliant (pun intended) advantage of not necessarily being better than new lighting equipment. Tomorrow is the big get-in and rigging day, so we shall see what my technical director and his crew of non-English speaking people will manage to come up with. I am actually surprised, but so far, all the equipment are original “western” brands and none of the famed Chinese copies. More on this tomorrow I guess.

The exploration into Shanghai went further today as I took the subway and crossed the river to the brand new part of Pudong. Now, there are skyscrapers and tall buildings all over Shanghai, with multinational corporations and living quarters next to each other all over. Pudong however, is another world. All business. All modern. And almost all western. This part has sprung up over the past 10 years, and features shiny glass and concrete structures in the 400m mark, extensive parks and leisure areas, state of the art transportation and infrastructure, and lots of people everywhere. I ventured up into the 350m high Oriental Pearl Radio and TV tower to get a better view and take some photographs over the city. It’s not until you see Shanghai from above that you really appreciate the size and expanse of this city. Now, 17 million is a lot of people, so obviously you imagine it’s gonna be big – but wow! It is enormous, it stretches further out than the eye can see… this is mainly because the air is so bad with pollution that you really can’t see very far… but still.

And last but not least, Chinese food continues to impress. Alan (the choreographer and dancer I am working with) picked the local restaurant today. The menu was scribbled on with pen to make it readable for non mandarin speakers, and it didn’t really make sense. But the staff was happy to help and suggested some things based on our preferences. In the end, we had the best sweet ‘n sour chicken, chow mein beef and tofu with seafood anyone of us has ever had. I will say it again: you have not had Chinese food until you have been to China.

Today’s observation: you know these pictures of people with way too much stuff on small bikes or mopeds that pops up on the internet or in your mailbox every now and then? They must all be true. I think that if a major touring band ever comes to China, they will simply drive all the equipment around the country on lots of scooters and mopeds. It is really crazy.

H out.

Shanghai adventures, part I: they have sparrows in China too.

Published on October 8, 2009 in in real life, travel and work. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , .

What a wonderous and amazing place this is. Here, I am the stranger – the foreigner. I couldn’t blend in here even if I wanted to, it’s a feeling I’ve never had before and yet it feels good. I feel like an explorer, discovering something truly amazing for the first time.

Shanghai is a wonder of the ages, the mix and mash of old Chinese culture and the new, western style business life is evident everywhere. From huge corporate complexes and skyscrapers to housing areas with tens of thousands of flats and condos. The first thing however, that you really notice as you are going from the airport to the city, is how badly they drive. I think I was glad I survived three times in the 1 hour it took to reach the hotel… really no respect for other drivers; or the law. Second thing you notice is the size. With 17 million people and a higher population density than New York city makes for an enormous entity of a city, a complete mess of modern glass and steel next to ancient bricks and stone. Speaking of mess; the third thing you really notice is the architecture of the modern buildings. It feels like every architect it China saw Bladerunner or Star Wars and thought “I want to build that” – and did. It looks brilliantly futuristic no matter which way you turn your head. And more are popping up all the time. Shanghai is growing by roughly 40.000 inhabitants each month at the moment, so you can imagine the construction works needed to keep up. And with the enormous area for the 2010 World Expo under construction as well – it comes as no surprise that 5% of all cranes in the world are currently in Shanghai. (roughly 50% in Dubai / UAE and the rest is spread all around the world)

But, the weary and tired traveler has to eat. So he did. I went in to the first local shop I found and ordered something that looked good with Jasmin Tea. On first attempt, I got the best tea I have ever had! This country really knows it’s tea! And for the food? Believe me when I say that if you haven’t been to China then you never had chinese. The bland stuff we call chinese food at home is so far from the reality that you might as well have something else. The food here is fantastic, so much flavour, so many spices, tastes and smell I have never crossed before – a true feast for eyes and nose.

This shall be all for now. I will try and write some more every day as my adventure unfolds. Keep watching in.

Strange and foreign as it is, when I had breakfast this morning I saw a little sparrow hopping around looking for a crumble or two it could eat. :)

Potato soup

Published on September 24, 2009 in food culture. 0 Comments Tags: , , .

Here’s a nice recipe for a delicious potato soup which you can make variations on into the indefinite, and; it also is good on it’s own or as a starter or a light “not-quite-time-for-dinner-yet” snack.

This is for two people roughly. (My estimates are always dubious. At best.)

You shall need:
300g potatoes. Corny texture is preferable for this soup.
1 onion - medium size, or even 2 shallots if you want to
the white stuff from a leek (so just the bottom part there)
1 chinese garlic
approx. 1L of chicken stock
2dL cottage cheese
butter
olive oil
salt and pepper

For garnish and / or / if you want to add extra flavour and flaire:
Some of the green stuff from a leek (could even be the same leek!)
Chorizo sausage or bacon
Truffle oil (black truffles)

1. Stir finely cut onion and garlic with some butter in a pan until soft. It should not go brown.
2. Add peeled and diced potatoes and the white leek. Stir well.
3. Add chicken stock. Bring to boil and boil until potatoes are soft.
4. Add a few drops olive oil, some salt and pepper and boil for just one more minute
5. Add cottage cheese and mash the whole mix in the blender until nice and smooth.
6. Taste and add salt and pepper if desired.

Serve with lightly fried green leek and fried chorizo sausage or crispy bacon on top. Add a leave or two of fres basil if you are in the mood.

Enjoy.

August has come.

Published on August 22, 2009 in Uncategorized. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , .

Actually, August has almost come and gone. It kinda just went by really. I did manage to see my grandmother and all the family on Valderøya, visit Georg in Switzerland and do the Øya festivla though, not a bad month all in all I guess. It seems like since we moved in on the 1st of July, I haven’t really been home… was home for a week when I did Øya, but S wasn’t here, and I was working most of the day anyway. And this week I was in Bergen with Coldplay… and then in two weeks I’m off to Edinburgh again with x-factor.

Not really complaining, I enjoy the work and seeing places… It’s just that once in a while I think I would like to have a regular 8 – 4 job, coming home and making dinner, and then doing the same thing every day for a week or so… then I read the news and realize I don’t really want to… But it’s an interesting thought though, as I have never had anything that resembles an ordinary job. I’ve always done this, and I guess it’s what I’ll always be doing – in one form or the other.

I don’t really know where I’m going at… just tired of living out of a bag and not being home I guess. Looking forward to the next two weeks!

Made a brilliant entrecote with balsamic and honey potatoes today, will put up the instructions later.

H.

Potatoes for a slow summerday…

Published on June 1, 2009 in food culture. 0 Comments Tags: , , .

This is a great little treat if you just want something that’s easy to make and tastes really good! The trick here is finding really good balsamic vinegar, one that is 100% natural with nothing artificial in it. I use Oliviers & Co. and haven’t found anything as good yet…

You will need:

Potatoes

3 shallots per person

2 sausages per person, I prefer smoked and skinless

4 cherry tomatoes per person

decent olive oil

decent balsamic vinegear

fresh thyme – lots!

Do the following:

Fry potatoes and shallots on medium heat in olive oil and a few drops of balsamic until almost tender. Then add thyme and more balsamic and olive oil, some salt and pepper and simmer for a few minutes more. Add diced sausage and tomatoes and even more balsamic and simmer for about ten minutes. Taste with salt and pepper. Add some more thyme. Stir well and serve.

Eat alone or as a part of a bigger meal. Goes well with both red and white wine, a cold beer or preferably, a fres fruit juice for the warm summer day!

Easter ham!

Published on April 12, 2009 in food culture. 0 Comments Tags: , , .

So, it’s Easter. And it’s time for Easter ham. And this year, I made a rather nice one…this one with oven baked mashed potatoes and red wine gravy.  Here’s the how to:

For 5 people you will need:

approx. 1kg smoked ham (in one piece)
6 carrots
1/2 leek
Potatoes for 5 people
1 red onion
6dl red wine
6dl stock (vegetable or meat)
Creme
Unsalted butter
Olive oil
Provence spices

Small portion of Jarlsberg cheese
cornflour

The ham:

  1. Put diced carrots and leek into a pan, pour in approx. three tablespoons of olive oil, some spices, fresh herbs, salt and pepper.
  2. Rub the ham in Provence spices, salt and pepper.
  3. Put the ham on top of the carrots and leeks and cover with hot water (not hot from tap) halfway up.
  4. Bring to boil and simmer for approx 1 hour and 15 minutes per kg. of meat.

Potatoes:

  1. Peel, slice and dice potatoes.
  2. Boil until soft and mushy. Drain. Add three tablespoons of butter and mash.
  3. Add 1 tablespoon of creme, salt and pepper and stir well.
  4. Put fist sized chunks of mash on a baking tray, top with jarlsberg cheese and bake in the oven for 20 minutes.

Red wine gravy:

  1. Melt some butter in a frying pan. Lightly fry finechopped red onion until soft.
  2. Add red wine and simmer until reduced by 60% and it starts to thicken. (approx. 40 minutes) NO LID!
  3. Add stock and simmer for another 15 – 20 minutes.
  4. Mix some water and cornflour in a shaker and shake until even. Add to sauce and bring to boil. Stir well all the time. Add 250grams of butter and taste well, add salt and pepper if necessary.

That’s all. Enjoy with re d wine and good friends!