Pot-au-feu – French beef stew – recipe

Pot-au-feu is a typical country-style comfort food.  It is made with not expensive cuts of beef and lots of vegetables (mainly roots). It is commonly prepared in winter. However, I have had the pleasure of eating this classic dish last week as the weather was quite cold in France (yes, only 6⁰C in the morning!)

 

Asparagus - Artichokes. Recipes

Asparagus and artichokes are in season now in France. These are 2 vegetables that I am missing here in Hong Kong (along with endives). Not that I can’t find some here but I don't enjoy eating them here as much as in France. They look “sad” and taste different.

 

Why do some foods taste better in one country than in another? It might be due to the weather and the soil they have grown in but also the way they are prepared. Or is it simply a mix of emotions and souvenirs linked to these spring vegetables?

 

Asparagus freshly cut from the garden

Tofu puffs, Beans and Black Fungus Stir-fry – Vegetarian Dish

One of my favourite stalls at the wet markets in Hong Kong is the one selling soybean sprouts and other soy bean products such as bean curd, vegetarianchicken, gluten etc. Bean curd puffs or dauh-bôk 豆卜in Cantonese are those small yellow cubes.  Cantonese people love bean curd and you can find various forms of bean curds incorporated in their local dishes.

 

Top right angle:deep fried tofu (bean curd)

 

Yam Bean with Pork

Yam bean is also called Jicama (Mexican name) or sâ-got 沙葛 in Cantonese. It can be found all year round at the wet markets around Hong Kong.

Peel the skin of the tubers, slice and cook them like potatoes.  The texture is crisp and the taste lightly sweet.  Martha Dalheen explained in her book that the raw root can be dipped in guacamole or served with lime wedges and chili pepper-salt dip.

I usually cook the rhizomes with pork.