Roast chicken in cider with shallots, pancetta and peas with fondant potatoes

From hob, to oven, to table, Helen Graves introduces the clever Tefal Ingenio range with this cider-spiked twist on roast chicken

The Tefal Ingenio range offers cooks the ultimate in cooking versatility Photograph: PR

Helen Graves’s passion for food consumes every aspect of her life. Despite being in the midst of a PhD in psychology, Graves is the author of two successful food blogs and three cookbooks, with a fourth under way. Her Food Stories blog, inspired by her eating adventures in Peckham, won a food writing award at the Young British Foodies in 2013, and she recently launched her own jerk chicken marinade (after six years’ exhaustive testing), which she sells through her blog.

Cooking is at the heart of her incredibly busy life, so when it comes to kitchen equipment, Graves is a big believer in versatility. She’s recently switched to the Tefal Ingenio range and has been impressed at how it’s helped streamline the cooking process: “I love being able to cook on the hob and then transfer a pan directly to the oven with no fuss – it makes so much sense.”

Here, she demonstrates the range’s benefits with a delicious one-pot roast chicken made entirely in a frying pan.

Roast chicken in cider with shallots, pancetta and peas with fondant potatoes

For the chicken
2 tbsp olive oil
2 cloves of garlic, finely sliced
100g pancetta, cubed
20 shallots, peeled but left whole
2 sprigs of rosemary
500ml dry cider
1.5kg chicken
150g fresh peas
2 heaped tbsp crème fraîche
For the potatoes
150ml olive oil
600g potatoes
1 fat clove of garlic
2 sprigs of rosemary
Equipment
28cm frying pan
16cm and 20cm saucepans
(serves 4)
1 Preheat the oven to 180C (355F). Heat the olive oil in the frying pan and fry the garlic and pancetta for a couple of minutes. Add the shallots and rosemary sprigs, and continue to fry until the shallots colour. Move the shallots to the pan edges and place the chicken in the centre, seasoning the skin well. Carefully pour the cider around the chicken and then transfer to the oven. Wait until the pan is safely on the oven shelf before removing the handle.
2 Roast chicken for 1 hr 15 mins, or until the juices run clear. Stir the shallots occasionally during the cooking process, to ensure even colour.
3 About half an hour before the chicken is ready, pour the olive oil for the potatoes into the 20cm saucepan and add the aromatics. Heat gently, adding the potatoes so they fit snugly in the base of the pan. Place the lid on the pan and cook over a medium heat for around 30 minutes or until the potatoes are tender, shaking frequently to ensure they cook evenly.
4 When the chicken is ready, attach the handle and remove the pan from the oven. Transfer the chicken to a board, cover with foil and leave to rest.
5 Cook the peas in a pan of salted boiling water until tender. Return sauce to the heat and simmer until it reduces slightly. Stir in 2 heaped tablespoons of crème fraîche and the peas, and season well. Carve the chicken and serve with the sauce and potatoes.

What Is Korean Food Famous For

When was the last time you ate an entire meal that filled you up without damaging your heart with salt and fat or loading you up with empty carbohydrates? If you are honest about it, you will probably have to admit that it has been a long time.

Korean food is flavorful, colorful, and meaty, but it also nourishes the body like few other cuisines. Eating Korean barbeque in Korean restaurant in NYC can be a real eye-opener because you wrap each morsel of meat in antioxidant-rich leaves and spiced up with tiny slices of garlic. On the side you always get probiotic Kimchi, rich in lactic acid, and usually hot green chili peppers full of vitamin C. The best side dish might be "myul-chi" which is a kind of small anchovy dried out. It is full of calcium, protein, omega fish oil — and it tastes sweet and salty. It's like eating beef jerky that is actually good for you.

One more word about kimchi: This stuff is amazingly good for you, and Koreans make more than 20 kinds of kimchi. It is well known as "World's Healthiest Foods." It's not just the cabbage. Koreans seem to be able to ferment just about anything. A word of advice on kimchi if you are not accustomed to it: It is exotic and strange at first, but by the second time you eat it, you will not want to live without it. In fact, most Korean people say that they can't live without kimchi — and they are only half-joking.

One big difference you will notice between Korean food and Western food is the dessert. Typically, you will be given a cup of cold and refreshing cinnamon tea, along with a plate of fruit. This cleans the palate, but it is also full of nutritious goodness because of the fruit. The heaviest dessert you will ever get in a Korean restaurant is "pat-bing-su" — a kind of crushed ice with red beans and sugary stuff in it. The sugar is not good for you, but at least it does not clog your arteries like cheesecake.

How To Make Delicious Sashimi Easily At Home

What is Sashimi? In short, sashimi is raw fish that is sliced thinly. Although, other seafood such as squid or abalone can be used as well to make sashimi. Learning how to make sashimi is as simple as having good knife skills and buying sushi grade fish.

Basically, sashimi is raw seafood and is typically made from salt water fish. It is thought that fresh water fish seem to carry an added danger of containing too many ill causing parasites. Some of the most popular fish for making sashimi are Yellowfin Tuna, Bigeye Tuna, Salmon, Yellowtail or Hamachi, Snapper, and Halibut. Sashimi is usually eaten as an appetizer and is served with a dipping sauce. The most common dipping sauce seems to be Wasabi and soy sauce.

Garnishes such as Ginger, Shiso leaf, and Daikon are typically used with this Japanese dish to add color as well as different textures. Although, you can use whatever you want to garnish this dish. Some ideas are carrots, cucumbers, sprouts, green onions, edible flowers, lemons, limes, and radishes.

Some people prefer to buy sushi grade fish or sashimi grade fish for their sashimi. Sushi grade fish tends to be very fresh and has a more desirable texture - usually a fattier piece of fish as well. There does seem to be some controversy over whether or not this type of fish has to be frozen for a certain period of time. Some claim that it kills certain parasites, but frozen fish does not necessarily have a better texture than fresh.

How to Make Sashimi

Cutting against the grain is how to make sashimi more tender.

Whether its the flesh of a fish or animal, the flesh contains fibers which flow in a distinct pattern or direction.

When you slice against this pattern or direction, you will get broken pieces of fiber instead of longer pieces of intact fiber.

This makes it easier for your teeth to cut through and break down the fibers of the fish you are chewing.

Know About Japanese Cuisine Culture

Japan is a unique culture with many traditions and customs. The other day there was news about the Japanese government having a Japanese traditional "Washoku", meaning Japanese-style meal, catered at the formal UNESCO conference in 2013. Recently, Japan has been getting more attention around the world due to the Japanese food culture.

When people hear the word, "Japanese-style meal", they usually think of sushi, tempura, sukiyaki, and so on. It is true that these foods are very popular and have a good taste, but there is also formal Japanese cuisine called "Kaiseki". Kaiseki dishes are highly regarded not only for their taste but also because they use many seasonal ingredients. Most of all, they have a very beautiful appearance. These dishes are also very famous because they represent the delicateness of the Japanese people and their food.

Another important part of Japanese food culture is table manners. Japanese people have unique table manners regarding such things as chopstick usage. People in Japan mainly use chopsticks for all meals rather than using forks, spoons, or knives to eat. The very first person who used chopstick in Japan was Prince Shotoku. The use of chopsticks was first brought to Japan through Japanese missioners who went to China during the 7th century. Afterwards, using chopsticks spread throughout Japan as the most common way to eat.

In addition to chopstick usage being an important part of table manners, Japanese people also say traditional phrases, like "Itadakimasu" and "Gochisosama," before and after meals to show appreciation for the food and the person who made the meal. There are some inappropriate ways to use chopsticks such as watashibashi, mayoi bashi, and choku bashi. Watashibashi is acting that rest chopsticks sideway across the top of dishes, mayoi bashi is acting that hove chopsticks over the dishes while humming and hawing about what to eat. And, choku bashi is acting that not to use the serving chopsticks, but your own sticks to get food from shared plates.

Japanese food and customs are somewhat similar to other Asian countries but very different from Western countries. Therefore, many people in Western countries find it difficult to understand Japanese food culture and get used to it. Japan has recently become influenced by western food culture, and young Japanese people do not eat as many Japanese – styled foods as they did a few decades ago. However, Japanese food is becoming very popular in other countries because of its healthiness and its taste. It is even common to see people around the world using chopsticks nowadays. When considering that Japanese food and customs are becoming common everywhere, they are likely to live on forever.

How Attractive Is Sichuan Food Culture

People immediately think of Sichuan food as being hot, sour, sweet, and salty; using fish sauce; or having a strange taste. Actually, these flavors were introduced only in the last 100 years, and initially were popular only in the lower strata of society. Hot pepper, an important flavoring in Sichuan cuisine, was introduced into China only 200 to 300 years ago.

During the period of the Three Kingdoms, the kingdom of Shu was located in Sichuan. According to historical research, the people in Shu liked sweet food. During the Jin Dynasty, they preferred to eat pungent food; however, pungent food at that time referred to food made with ginger, mustard, chives, or onions. As recently as 200 years ago, there were no hot dishes in Sichuan cuisine, and few were cooked with pungent and hot flavorings. Originally, its flavorings were very mild, unlike the popular dishes of today, such as pockmarked lady's bean curd and other hot dishes, Even today, some Sichuan dishes, like velvet shark's fin, braised bear's paw, crisp duck roasted with camphor and tea, sea cucumber with pungent flavor, minced chicken with hollyhock, boiled pork with mashed garlic, dry - fried carp, and boiled Chinese cabbage have kept their traditional flavors.

Sichuan has been known as the land of plenty since ancient times. While it does not have seafood, it produces abundant domestic animals, poultry, and freshwater fish and crayfish. Sichuan cuisine is well known for cooking fish. As a unique style of food, Sichuan cuisine was already famous more than 800 years ago during the Southern Song Dynasty when Sichuan restaurants were opened in Lin'an, now called Hangzhou, its capital city.

The prevailing Sichuan food consists of popular dishes eaten by common people and characterized by pungent, hot, strange, and salty flavors. Although Sichuan cuisine has only a short history, it has affected and even replaced more sumptuous dishes.
The hot pepper was introduced into China from South America around the end of the 17th century. Once it came to Sichuan, it became a favored food flavoring.

Sichuan has high humidity and many rainy or overcast days. Hot pepper helps reduce internal dampness, so hot pepper was used frequently in dishes, and hot dishes became the norm in Sichuan cuisine. Sichuan food has become the common food for most people in the area, especially since the dishes go well with rice. In this respect, Sichuan cuisine differs from Beijing cuisine, which was mainly for officials and nobility; Huai - Yang cuisine, which was mainly for rich, important traders; and Jiangsu - Zhejiang cuisine, which was mainly for literati. Typical, modern Sichuan dishes like twice - cooked pork with chili sauce, shredded pork with chili sauce and fish flavor, Crucian carp with thick broad - bean sauce, and boiled meat slices are common dishes eaten by every family.

Sichuan food is famous for its many flavors, and almost every dish has its own unique taste. This is because many flavorings and seasonings are produced in Sichuan Province. These include soy sauce from Zhongba, cooking vinegar from baoning, special vinegar from Sanhui, fermented soy beans from Tongchuan, hot pickled mustard tubers from Fuling, chili sauce from Chongqing, thick, broad - bean sauce from Pixian, and well salt from Zigong.

Much of the spicing of regional Chinese cooking is based upon bringing together five fundamental taste sensations – sweet, sour, pungent, salty and bitter. The balance of these particular elements in any one dish or regional cuisine can vary, according to need and desire, especially as influenced by climate, culture and food availability.

In Szechuan cuisine, there are a variety of ingredients and spices used to create these basic taste sensations. These include a variety of chili peppers, peppercorns over various types, Sichuan peppers, which are in reality a type of fruit, not pepper, and produce a numbing effect in addition to their warm flavor. Sichuan peppers, also called flower pepper and mountain pepper, are a traditional part of the Chinese five spice powder, or at least of those that are modeled upon the most authentic versions of the spice combinations common to regional Chinese cooking.

Other ingredients used commonly in Szechuan cuisine to create the five fundamental taste sensations include different types of sugars, such as beet root sugar and cane sugar, as well as local fruits for sweetness. The sour comes from pickled vegetables and different varieties of vinegar. A special bitter melon is added to many dishes to offer the touch of bitterness that complements other flavors. Other spices and flavors include dried orange peel, garlic, ginger, sesame oil and bean paste. Salt is important to Szechuan cuisine, and the area produces uniquely flavored salts that help to distinguish authentic Szechuan cuisine from the other regional cuisines from China.