Rio's Photo Library: Chef's Table

Pan-fried Lemon Sole and Shrimp Risotto

For the Risotto I used the shrimp which they call "Steur Garnalen" here in Holland. These are very inexpensive small shrimp, but what is critical is that you get shrimps with shells on. What you do is boil the shrimps in salted water lightly, and peel the meat out. Then use all the shells to extract stock from them. You get the really amazing flavor by this way.

Fresh Green Salad with Basil leaves topped with Calamari

I enjoy cooking salad, and when I do, the part of the fun is the making my own dressing. I don't do anything so complicated though. This time, I used English mustard, splash of white wine vinegar, a touch of walnut oil, and a good glug of extra virgin olive oil. Some sea salt and freshly ground pepper, and some lime juice, and to mild it all off, some honey. Recently I like to use honey in my dressing at the end to balance off the tanginess from vigegar and lemon or lime, and the punch from the mustard. Honey always seems to give some good solution in the end.

Preparing Calamari for the Salad

Roast Monkfish with Crushed Potato with Cresson

The sauce you get from roasted monkfish is just amazing.

Crushed Potato with Cresson

Risotto with Leek

Beef Sausage with Chopped Parsley and Sage with Mashed Potatoes with Savoy Cabbage

There is nothing special about the sausage. It was just that since it was St. Patrick's day, thought I would make some Irish sausage with mashed potato, inspired by a very charming Irish cook, Rachel Allen. Turned out that I only had minced beef instead of pork, so it now looks more like a burger. This meat aside, I discovered the great flavor of Savoy Cabbage, which somehow I never really liked before. If I think about it, I have no idea why I never really liked it, because this time I just sauteed with butter and seasoned with salt and pepper before mixing into the potato. It couldn't be more simple, and yet it was so nice!

Savoy Cabbage

Beef Stew Turkish Style

The only reason I call it Turkish Style is that I have used some hot spice from Turkey. I do not know how it is called, but my Turkish colleague gave me some which she said she could only get in Turkey (at least not in Holland). I might have over-powered this spice, as I also used lots of ginger, garlic, and some cumin seed and koriander powder, sounds pretty much like a dish of 17th century spice trade. But the whole point is that the end result was fantastic. I made the point of using the "shin" of beef (a cut from the leg), which is hard, but goes really melting soft if you cook over hours in the casserole.

Pan-fried Red Mullet with Italian Salad and Sauteed Shimeji Mushroom

I have decided that Red Mullet is best when it is simply cooked. So this time, I simply seasoned it with sea salt and pan-fried it with a touch of butter and oil. For the salad, I mixed in some fresh basil leaves, rocket, and really fresh cherry tomato. Dressing was a mustard-based really simple one with some vinegars and oil. I made a little twist when I added in some honey.

Lemon Chicken

It's a classic chinese dish, although the recipe came from Bill Granger, an Australian chef and restauranteur, known for his sunny disposition as well as for his west-meets-east kind of fine but very relaxing international cuisine. No doubt, the sauce is critical, as it really defines the total flavor of the dish, but I think the real trick is in the chicken. Pull chicken out of the oven when it is still moist inside.

Langoustine Risotto

I cooked this as part of my journey to find "the ultimate rice dish". I felt like this journey was already over! I am greatly influenced by Rick Stein for this dish, from using langoustine shells to extract stock to the basic method of cooking risotto.

Extracting stock from langoustine shells. Langoustine shells give out incredible flavor, which will be the base taste of the risotto. So do not throw them away!

Langoustine

Baked "John Dory" with Cherry Tomato, Fennel, and Balsamic Vinegar

Rib-eye steak on Paksoi with Ginger, Garlic, and Chili sause

This is really heavenly. It is the kind of dish that really makes you quiet and concentrate on digging in. Cooking time takes not more than 20 minutes, but the secret is in the sause. Grate your garlic, chili, and ginger into a bowl. Add in lots of olive oil, some soy sause, and just the touch of sesame oil. Squeeze in some lemon juice for extra freshness.

Indian curry with Okura

Pan-fried Red Mullet with Crispy Breadcrumbs and Tomato Salad with Fresh Herbs

Initial idea was that I wanted to make a salad using Red Mullet. But when I had a small bite on the fillet after pan-fried, it was such a delicate and satisfying flavor that I decided to keep the fillet instead of breaking them into smaller flakes. The original recipe came from Jamie Oliver, and he says the combination of Red Mullet and fresh tomato is magnificent. He was dead right.

Red Mullet

Pan-fried Sole with Lemon and Capers

I love this dish because it is so simple to cook! First you season the fish well with sea salt and freshly ground pepper. Sprinkle paprika powder if available. Then dip it into flour on both sides, and shake off the excess. Heat a good glug of olive oil and butter in a pan until foaming. Add the fish and cook on both sides for about 5 minutes each. Remove the fish onto a plate. Add capers and some lemon juice into the pan. Then pour over the fish before you serve.

Paella

What I like about Paella is that it is easy, tasty, and it is a rice dish!

Paella was once a regional dish of Valencia, Spain, where "men" were supposed to prepare this dish, usually outdoor on picnic settings. Paella is not necessarily about seafood; originally, it was chicken or rabit. But the real Paella has to have saffron.

Squidink Pasta with Mussels, Tomato, and Baby Spinach
This is decent food. Very nutritional, and well balanced. And yet, what I like about it really is its beautiful color. Look at the bright contrast of tomato, spinach, and mussels!

Indian curry with drumsticks and champignon

Indian curry is becoming one of my favorite dishes to cook. It's healthy and tasty, but most of all, I think it is a fun dish as you can flavor the dish slightly differently to your favor all the time with a touch of bits and pieaces you add into it. The process of cooking Indian curry itself is certainly as satisfying as its results.

2-egg omelet with shrimp, tomato, and Italian herbs

This is absolutely my favorite holiday breakfast. My inspiration for omelet came when an American family in Seattle did a really nice omelet one Sunday afternoon back in 1990. It had various ingredients in it, including shrimp, mushroom, ham, cheese, and what not. It was really rich in taste, but apart from it, it was so thick! I never had an omelet so thick, rich and so filling. That was really sensational experience, and since then my attempt to cook omelet has always been in search of that sensation again.

For your birthday dinner

Chestnut and Apple-Stuffed Rolled Loin of Pork with Potato au Gratin

This is not my original; the recipe came from James Martin, although I changed walnut into chestnut, which I think really did the trick. But the combination of apple and pork is amazingly magnificent, something I would never have thought of without the hint from James Martin. The rolled loin of pork is fantasitc cooked this way with a wrap of foil, as it keeps the moisture of the meat, and the flavor that arise from the stuffing trapped in the foil.