An Asian Bouquet

Western cooking has this thing called bouquet gani which is basically a bundle of spices and herbs to flavour the stock, soup, casseroles or gravy. The problem is nobody gets to see the bouquet when the food is cooked. How silly !


So let us try something

 Wong Bak + carrot + parsley + chicken breast meat ! Asaiin style bouquet !

Ideally should look like a vegetable spring roll done wrongly. Look pretty laborious for a small thing



Oh maybe we can think of something more Asian.

What you need:

1. Wong Bak
2. Chicken breast diced
3. Onions
4. Parsley
5. Mushrooms
6. Lime
7. Olive Oil
8. Sea Salt
9. Low expectations

So here we have Wong Bak chunk waiting for something to happen

Wong Bak = Chinese cabbage. The water content of these cabbages is higher than that of the European varieties of cabbage. They are crisper and more refreshing and also less fibrous. The flavor of Asian cabbages is more subtle and pleasant than European head cabbage.

 The Wong Bak leafs are chopped to fit a small pot and laid out in strata pattern. (Yes, I did washed by hands)

Carrots and parsley were chopped to match the same length

chicken breast meast were cut in strips to match the vegetable length

So we try to line them up parallel then roll them up into a cylindrical form. Obviously it didnt work out well as the leaves fell apart everywhere

Bottom parts of the Wong Bak were stiff and it was not really good for rolling

but if you think like an Asian real estate developer, you would eventually be able to squeeze for all it is worth into the pot to make it look like a glorious unified entity. Here stuffing the mushrooms in the center. Nabei, it looks like a Japanese hotpot !

Not forgetting Bentong ginger to insert here and there. Quarter cup of water was poured in. Some salt and olive oil was sprinkle at the top as well.

Pop in the lit and cook it at medium heat. Be patient, it should cook slowly. Time takes time.
The water inherent the vegetables would flow out to make a soup.

 When you see water actually boiling you know the cooking is almost done. Upon opening the lid , hey !!!! it looks the same as before cooking because this is what it looks like. Prod the thick Wong Bak at the top to see if it is soft. That is the indication it is all cooked.

The result? it taste like Wong Bak + Carrots + Parsley + Mushroom + Chicken (what else?)
But the integrated taste feel more like a Hainanese chicken rice adventure without the rice (haiz). The Wong Bak in this case acted as the rice.

Add a dash of olive oil with lemon and some Japanese soya sauce and you basically got yourself a hotpot special.

There were other attempts to make it look like a David Sylvian album cover but it didn't work out


 So there! An Asian bouquet gone wrong, but you get to see the stuff in the end.


Will do something more meaningful next time.