Grilled Bean Curd Steak in Lemon Soy Jus with Grilled Onions and Parsley

Grilled Bean Curd Steak in vegetable jus with grilled onions and parsley

I have recently been touched by a series of coverage my Mercy for Animals, a non-profit organisation exposing the cruelty behind animal farming for commercial purposes. Even the methods of producing seemingly ethical milk from lactating cows deprived of their babies so humans could have them instead. How much milk do we throw away for it’s expiry date or buying too much? Baby cows are taken away from their mothers to be made into veal. Animals are like modern day gladiators. They bleed and live in slavery. They suffer from violence for the pleasure of human gastronomy and food culture. The least we can do is give them a proper life until the time of their final journey under the butcher’s knife through free range farming and ethical methods of meat packing.

Introducing my first Vegan creation inspired by French methods of cookery, nouvelle cuisine and traditional Australian using no animal-derived products of whatsoever. Grilled bean curd or more popularly known as tofu, jus made from caramelised garlic and onions deglazed with lemon juice and soy sauce, the classic Australian favourite of grilled onions and final sprinkling of chopped parsley. It is served on a bed of brown rice. Oil used was extra canola, known to have the least content of bad fat and finished with extra virgin olive oil for it’s fragrance. Mercy for Animals! Bon appetite!

French Style Scotch Fillet in Red Wine Jus with Buttered Carrots and Parsley

French Style Scotch Fillet in Red Wine Jus with Buttered Carrots and Parsley

King Fish in Fennel Jus

Seared King Fish in Fennel Jus

I was told once by one of the richest persons in Manila that Modern Australian Cuisine is among the best in the world.  Modern Australian seems to be highly influenced by French and Nouvelle Cuisine.  Fish is very popular and produce is fantastic.

This dish begins with filleting the fish and cooking the bones in shallots, mushrooms, calamari and fennel to create a jus.  Keep the fennel tops until the last minute for the are splendid when crunchy.  Finish the jus with butter as usual for emulsification and a great shine.  Sear the fish in a pan skin side down first and finish in the oven.  A few snow pea sprouts would create and Edible Art.

Voila!

 

Cocktail Wings with Chilli Honey Coriander Salad with Alfalfa

Chilli Chicken Wings marinated in Tabasco and Court Bouillon with Coriander Salad in Chilli Honey Dressing and Alfalfa

Inspired by my the recipe of my father Captain Millardo Mercado Aviñante Sr.  Poach the chicken wings in Court Bouillon for 30 minutes then toss in tabasco.  Chill in the fridge overnight.  Sautee in a pan for colour.  Toss picked coriander with chilli brunoise and honey.  You can be as creative as you want for it’s plate up.

Bon Appetite!

Roast Duck in Cherry Wine Jus and Celeriac Puree

Roast Duck in Cherry Wine Jus with Watercress, Spinach and Alfalfa

It’s funny how in the world of haute cuisine or fine dining, chefs revolve around each other’s lives.  If we love Gordon Ramsay, we have got to admire Marco Pierre White who was his mentor.  The great Curtis Stone who is the face of Coles trained under Marco Pierre White.  But this dish is a creation of someone above Marco Pierre White and that is his mentor none other than Raymond Blanc.

Raymond Blanc is a well respected chef in London but his origin is French.  According to Wikipedia, Mr Blanc began his career by accident.  He was fired from his Michelin star restaurant in France as a waiter when he offered advice to the chef on how to cook.  Raymond ventured into London with only a few pounds in his pocket.  That was the 1970s when French was still the official language of Europe.  Mr. Blanc walked around the British capital with a notepad.

This is another dish of the menu of The Wise Tapas Bar and Restaurant which has repositioned itself as a lounge and bar with the description of Health, Well Being, The Good Life.  Roast Duck in Cherry WIne Jus and Celeriac is Nouvelle Cuisine which seems to have originated from the British who are in turn heavily influenced by French Haute Cuisine.

On a pan on high heat, brown the whole duck breast down first and all the way around then place in a hot oven of 180 degrees Celsius for 30 minutes.  On a sauce pot, sauté some shallots, mushrooms and a bit of thyme and deglaze with red wine.  Put the cherries and reduce for about five minutes to thicken and pour beef stock just enough to bulk it up without compromising the consistency.  Reduce for another five minutes and take out the fire.  Put knobs of butter to emulsify further and give the jus a shine.  On a sauce pot, simmer some court bullion of thyme, shallots and mushrooms and blanch some spinach, watercress and parsley.

On another sauce pot, boil some celeriac in milk until soft.  Pierce a small knife through the celeriac and it goes through easily means it’s ready.  Drain in a colander.  Place the pot on low heat over the stove and put a lot butter.  Put the celeriac crush it with a masher to make a puree.  Season with lots of salt and a bit of white pepper to taste.  Do not put cream and definitely not too much of the white pepper!

All our ingredients are done.  We are ready to plate up.

On a pasta plate, create a bed of blanched spinach and place some sliced duck meat on top.  Pour some of the red wine jus until you create a mini pool.  Create a gurnard of the celeriac puree and place on the jus just barely floating.  Garnish with Alfalfa.

Voila!