Tamarind and Thyme

I finally made it to Koya, that celebrated Japanese udon restaurant on Frith Street in Soho. I’d not found time to make my way there in the year and half since it opened and I’ll be honest with you, the knowledge of queues to get in every day really put me off. I sucked it up one Saturday though, roped in my good friend Roxanne and we met in front of the restaurant just before it opened for lunch. Moments after we sat down on one of the wooden benches out front, a queue started to form behind us. Whoa – this was serious. All the early queuers were rewarded with tables and everyone who arrived after they opened found themselves in that queue. We had a table! And we were hungry – of course we would try their homemade udon but we also greedily ordered two of the side dishes.

From the specials menu chalked up daily on the blackboard, Roxanne chose the Baby clams and Girolles steamed in sake (£8.20). Being quick to cook, these arrived first and we dripped the clammy juices down our arms while slurping them down. An extra spoon wouldn’t have gone amiss here as we were sharing.

I wanted to try their tempura and so ordered their Yasai Ten Mori, assorted vegetable tempura (£8.30). It may not have been cheap but it was excellent – light, non-greasy and crisp.

I was very pleased with my Buta Miso (Atsu-Atsu – hot udon in hot broth) (£9.40) – the thick brown paste dolloped on top of my noodles was porky bits in a salty, savoury miso paste. I stirred this through and it made for a most comforting bowl of noodles. The udon noodles had that wonderful bite that you only seem to get from being freshly made and were just amazing.

Roxanne also enjoyed her Tempura (Atsu-Atsu) (£9.90), which came with a large tempura prawn. If I have this next time, I’d ask for the prawn to be served on the side, keeping it as crisp as possible.

An Onsen Tamago (£1.80) (hot spring egg) on the side was beautiful and surprisingly reminded me of the soft boiled eggs of my childhood. I had expected it to be slightly more cooked but it was still good.

It was quite a bit of food between us and we could have ordered one less side dish and still have been comfortably full. I don’t regret overeating that day however – it really was all excellent. What in the world had been stopping me from visiting before though?! Oh yes, that queue but you can show up just as they open, like we did, and avoid it altogether. I’ll be back (I can’t wait to have the cold noodles next time!).

Koya
49 Frith Street
London W1D 4SG

I still have Sweden on the mind! I was thinking the other day of Delicato balls, those rather moreish oaty chocolate balls rolled in dessicated coconut that one can purchase in Ikea (are they still available there?). Turns out they’re very easy to make and go by the name of chokladbollar; if you read about them on Wikipedia, you’ll see that they used to go by a more politically-incorrect moniker. The current word though feels right on the tongue – chok-lad-bol-lar. (I bet I’m saying it incorrectly.)

They’re quite popular in Sweden and especially at children’s parties though I see no reason why adults wouldn’t like them. In addition to the chocolatey sweetness, oatmeal gives these balls a pleasant chew and it’s hard to stop at just one. They’re perfect too with a cup of hot coffee or tea and there’s certainly nothing kiddy about that.

Chokladbollar
adapted from this recipe.
makes 15-20.

100g unsalted butter, softened
100g sugar
2 tbsps cocoa powder
1 tsp vanilla
2 tbsps cold strong coffee
just a little under 1.5 cups of rolled oats
unsweetened, dessicated coconut

In a food processor or mini chopper (that’s what I have), pulse the rolled oats a few times until you end up with a coarse grind but not so fine that you have powder.

Mix together the butter and sugar until well combined. Add the cocoa powder, vanilla and coffee and again mix to incorporate. Add the ground oats and mix thoroughly. Take lumps of the mixture and form into 1 inch diameter balls. Roll in the coconut to coat and place them in a covered container. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour before serving.

A trip to the centre beckoned – I needed to buy a new winter coat and Blai required some books from Foyles. The pressure was on me to find someplace interesting to eat. Looking at my map of places I want to try (I organise it all on a Google map accessible on my mobile), I spied the Riding House Café not too far away from Oxford Circus. That’s where we would go.

This all day eatery was absolutely packed when we arrived (usually a good sign) and as we didn’t have a booking, we sat at the bar when a couple seats freed up. After perusal of the Sunday menu, we decided to split a few small plates as well as a brunch dish between us.

The first small plate was Salt Cod Fritters, Red Pepper Aioli (£5). I can’t say I was particularly thrilled to see that all my fiver got me was three overly salty fritters, each the size of my thumb. And I have small hands.

From the cheapest price bracket came the Smoked Mackerel Pate, Horseradish, Keta (£3). This was alright, a mild smoked mackerel paste with no horseradish flavour whatsoever. I learned something new though – keta is the salmon roe on top (I think).

A Braised Rabbit, Soft Polenta, Parmesan (£5) rounded off our small plate selection and was the best of the lot with the tender, flavourful rabbit pairing well with the bland polenta. But once again, the size of the portion…

My verdict on the small plates – yeah, way too expensive for what they were. They should be called tiny plates.

Our brunch dish of Chorizo Hash Brown, Mushroom, Poached Eggs (£10.50) fared better. The giant hash brown was delicious, all studded with chunks of chorizo and I was really looking forward to the poached eggs on top. Unfortunately, our first eggs were sadly overcooked but when our attentive waitress checked how we were doing, I pointed them out to her and she swiftly replaced them for two perfectly cooked ones. It was nice to have the green spinach on the side and it had been dressed but just a little too saltily for me.

Knowing that the day wasn’t going to be particularly healthy, consumption-wise, I insisted on getting us some greens as well. The Autumn Greens, Chestnut Butter (£3.50) were fine though while I could see the chestnut bits, I couldn’t taste them.

We had our eye on one dessert (I think it was a chocolate fondant) but learned that the restaurant had run out of a few of the options including the one we wanted. I found this quite surprising – it’s a big place and surely they could have anticipated that a number of desserts were needed. We decided to skip it and have it elsewhere.

So, Riding House Café…sadly, food-wise, you were quite underwhelming. If you’re going, I’d stay away from the small plates and order the main meals instead. I like the space though and I could see myself rocking up to meet someone for a drink there.

The Riding House Café
43-51 Great Titchfield Street
London W1W 7PQ

I never appreciated lentils until I left home. Lentils were boring, weren’t they? And y’know, farty. I then discovered Indian dal and Spanish lentejas and the little French puy lentils and I’m not sure how it happened but I now love the little legumes. They’re cheap, they’re healthy, they’re tasty – what’s not to like? Well, ok, so they’re still a bit farty but we all can’t be perfect.

This recipe for lentils with chorizo is easy – if you didn’t want to mess up both a pot and a pan, you could fry the onion, garlic and chorizo in the pot and then chuck everything else in and set it to simmer. I wanted to get my lentils on first to save time that chilly weekday. It makes for a budget meal too as I reckon it costs about £1 a serving. You can bulk it out a bit more by adding potatoes too.

Poor Blai though! Just the look and smell of these triggered memories of terrible school lunch lentils; he admitted to feeling despair when presented with a bowl of them. Luckily (for him and me), he did proclaim enjoyment of the dish after a few spoonfuls! Hurrah!

Lentils with Chorizo
serves 3-4.

250g green lentils
150g chorizo
1 carrot
1 bay leaf
1 tbsp tomato paste
olive oil
1 onion
1 clove garlic
a large pinch of dried chilli flakes
a large splash of dry sherry
1-2 tsp pimentón
salt and freshly ground black pepper

Pick through your lentils (you’re checking for stones), wash them thoroughly and cover them with plenty of water and set to boil. When it comes to a boil, reduce the heat till it’s at a strong simmer. Stir occasionally.

Peel and cut the carrot into large chunks and throw them, the tomato paste, and the bay leaf in with the lentils. Cut the chorizo into large chunks. Heat a frying pan over medium heat and throw in the chorizo and let fry in its own oil until the cut surfaces are golden. Stir the chorizo and its oil into the lentil pot.

Finely chop the onion. Place the frying pan back over the heat, add some olive oil and add the chopped onion and a large pinch of dried chilli flakes. Fry until the onion is golden. At this point, mince or chop the garlic and add it to the pan and fry until fragrant. Deglaze with the dry sherry and once all the alcohol has bubbled away, scrape everything into the lentil pot too.

Stir in the pimentón and continue simmering lentils until done – about 45 minutes altogether. Add more water if required during the simmering time – how thin you wish to have it is up to you. Add salt and pepper to taste and serve with some bread on the side.

We ate quite a bit of Taiwanese beef noodle soup, growing up in Vancouver. It was one of my father’s favourite noodle soups and he’d look for it when we went out to sup and it grew on us too. I’ve not actually been to Taiwan, of course, but Vancouver does have a good reputation for its Asian food and what I ate as a teenager was all delicious. Anyway, it’s a wonderfully soothing meal-in-a-bowl and while it’s possible to have it in London (I’ve had it at Formosa in Fulham and Mr Noodles recently had a version at Mama Lan in Brixton), it turns out it’s quite easy to make at home. (I’ve since learned that its Chinese name is niu rou mian and it is made all over China.)

The soup itself has a phenomenally simple recipe and it only gets involved once you’re putting together the bowls of noodle soup. The list of ingredients does seem long but if you normally cook Chinese food at home, you’ll have most of it in your cupboards. They’re pretty much just dumped into a large pot and left to simmer for about 4 hours – what results is a hearty, beefy soup that’s eminently slurpable and tender, melt-in-the mouth chunks of beef. All that’s required is a bit of greenery and a tangle of wheat noodles. If you’d like it spicier, add some chilli oil.

Feeling a little restless while the soup was on the simmer, I put my hand to making hand pulled noodles. The idea had been on my mind after I read a recent blog post on Pulled Noodles, Lady Style on Life on Nanchang Lu (I also found this very good explanation of the technique.) This method takes up less space and less mess than the regular hand pulled noodles (lamian or laghman in Uygher) you see made by men pulling the dough to an arm aching degree and dusting flour all over the place and I believe is made at home in Xinjiang by women. I can’t say I was incredibly proficient on my first go but as you can see, I did manage to produce enough to feed the two of us!

Taiwanese Beef Noodle Soup
adapted from a recipe from The Newlywed Cookbook (on Gapey’s Grub)
serves 4.

500g beef shin
500g oxtail
2 tbsps sunflower oil
6 cloves garlic, smashed
4 slices ginger, bruised
4 spring onions, cut in half crosswise
1/2 tsp Chinese five spice powder
2 star anise
1 tsp Sichuan peppercorns
2 dried red chilies
1 fresh red chili
2 tbsps Shaoxing rice wine
2 tbsps light soy sauce
1 tbsp dark soy sauce
2 heaped tbsps chili bean paste
2 tbsps sugar
7 cups water (2.25l)

To serve:
wheat noodles for four
spinach or pak choy
chopped spring onions
chopped coriander

This first step is optional but makes things a little easier at the end. Take a square of muslin/cheesecloth and bundle up the star anise, Sichuan peppercorns, dried chilies and fresh chili.

Heat a large stock pot over medium-high heat and add the sunflower oil. Brown the oxtail and beef shin on all sides before adding the garlic, ginger and spring onions. Stir and fry until fragrant. Add the five spice powder, the spice bundle, the chili bean paste, the Shaoxing rice wine, the light and dark soy sauces and the sugar and pour over the water. Bring it to a boil and then turn down the heat and leave to simmer, half covered, for 4 hours.

At the end of the simmering time, take the meat out and separate it from any bones and cut into large chunks. Set it aside. Strain the soup (I used a Chinese spider), skim any fat if there looks to be too much, and keep hot.

Boil water in another pot and boil your noodles until cooked. Drain and place in a bowl. Top with some beef. Bring the broth to a simmer and add the vegetables. When cooked, drain the vegetables and place on top of the noodles also. Pour some broth over the noodles and sprinkle it all with the chopped spring onions and coriander. Serve immediately.