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28 May 2022 THE WEEKFood & Drink
LEISURE
What the experts say
Is British vodka the next big thing?
It is generally agreed that the gin craze is
“beginning to flatten out”, says Jack Rear
in The Daily Telegraph. The question
now is, what will take its place? Various
alternatives, from mescal to whiskey, have
been mooted, but the smart money is on
vodka. Admittedly, when you think of
vodka, “flavour isn’t what springs to
mind”; and when popular brands started
adding synthetic flavourings a while ago,
consumers weren’t impressed. Added to
that, many retailers and bars have stopped
selling vodka from Russia, the country
most “synonymous” with the drink. But
there is a school of thought that the war
in Ukraine will help trigger vodka’s
resurgence, by weaning us off Russian
brands, and helping us to discover the
many superb vodkas produced by other
countries – including Britain. British
vodkas tend to have a “creamy” texture
and flavour – a result of usually being
made from potato starch instead of grain.
They are already “some of the best” in
the world, and will only get better as
distillers refine their techniques.
How to ditch the cling film
We all know that to minimise our plastic
footprint we should try to avoid using
cling film, zip-lock bags and Tupperware
in our kitchens, says Anna Berrill in The
Guardian. But what should we use to
replace them? According to chef Ollie
Hunter, who runs The Wheatsheaf, a
sustainable pub in Wiltshire, the solution
to this conundrum lies in bowls and plates.
Halved lemons, onions and similar food
items can be stored, face down, on a plate
in a fridge. If you have a mixture that
needs to be put in a container, use a bowl,
and then cover it with a plate. Tea towels
are also a useful replacement for cling film:
you can use a dry one to cover proving
dough, and a damp one for “wrapping
things like pastry”. Or you could invest
in some bowl covers – “those things that
look like shower caps”. On eco grounds,
Hunter suggests linen rather than cotton,
because linen is “less water-intensive andeasier to grow”. If you feel you can’t do
without dedicated food containers, look
for ones made from bamboo, wood or
metal. But before investing, think about
what you already have lying around,
says Jake Leach, head chef of London
gastropub The Harwood Arms. There
are always “takeaway boxes, butter tubs,
bottles... most things can be reused”.Wild about Waldorf
Waldorf salad has rather fallen out of
favour lately, said Olivia Potts in The
Spectator. This simple combination of raw
celery, apple, grapes and walnuts, tossed in
a mayonnaise-based dressing, has largely
disappeared from “dinner tables and
restaurant menus alike”. It’s a dish that
is associated with the culinary crimes of
the 1970s, even though it dates to well
before then: it was invented in 1896 at
the Waldorf Astoria hotel in New York
by the hotel’s maître d’, Oscar Tschirky –
a man credited with also having invented
thousand island dressing and eggs
benedict. It’s a pity that we’ve started to
“wrinkle our noses” at his salad, because
it’s a “classic for a reason” – a “clever
balance of sweet and savoury, crisp and
yielding”. The salad is excellent on its
own, and can also “happily accompany a
surprisingly large array of dishes”. Serve it
as part of a barbecue, or with whole baked
fish, or just “alongside really great bread,
and maybe some strong cheddar”.Tupperware: yesterday’s storage solution?- In a small bowl, combine the oyster sauce,
soy sauce, fish sauce and sugar. This will be
your seasoning sauce. Set aside. Then, in a pestle
and mortar, pound the chillies, garlic and salt to
a coarse paste. This will be your stir-fry paste.
Set aside. - Heat the oil in a large wok over the highest
possible heat until smoking hot. One at a time,
crack the eggs into the hot oil and fry for 45
seconds until crispy on the bottom and edges.
Spoon the hot oil over the eggs to cook the yolk,
turning it opaque but keeping it runny. Set aside to
drain on a plate lined with paper towels and keep
warm while you cook the stir-fry. - Pour off and discard all but 2 tablespoons of the oil, then heat
over a medium heat. Add the stir-fry paste and stir vigorously for
about 30 seconds, or until the paste becomes
fragrant. Increase the heat to high, then add the
beef and stir-fry for 3 minutes, or until the beef is
almost cooked through. Add the green beans and
seasoning sauce. Continue to move the ingredients
around in the wok for a further 1 minute so that
the vegetables are tender but retain a bite, and the
beef is cooked through.- Add the beef stock or water (if you’re using)
and bring to the boil over a high heat. Check the
seasoning; it should taste spicy and salty, with a
slight background sweetness. If it tastes too
intense, add a splash more stock or water. Add
the basil leaves and toss everything together so
that the basil wilts. This is a holy basil stir-fry,
after all, so be sure not to scrimp on the basil leaves. Serve
immediately with the crispy fried eggs and rice.
Recipe of the week: pad grapao neua (stir-fried beef with holy basil)
Serves 2
2 tbsp oyster sauce 1 tbsp light soy sauce 1 tbsp fish sauce 1 tsp caster sugar 6 bird’s eye chillies 2 tbsp chopped garlic 1 tsp salt
6 tbsp vegetable oil 2 large eggs 220g minced beef 3 tbsp fine green beans, cut into 3cm pieces 3 tbsp beef stock or water
40g holy or Thai basil, leaves pickedThis is the ultimate Thai comfort food, says John Chantarasak. It’s one of those “anything goes” kind of dishes, which is one of
the reasons I love it, and though this recipe uses beef, it is often made with chicken, pork or seafood. Holy basil isn’t the easiest
herb to source, but sweet Thai basil is popping up more and more on supermarket shelves.Taken from Kin Thai: Modern Thai Recipes to Cook at Home by John Chantarasak published by Hardie Grant at £22 (photography
by Maureen M. Evans). To buy from The Week Bookshop for £17.99, call 020-3176 3835 or visit theweekbookshop.co.uk.