Flammekuechen

Flammekuchen (German), or tarte flambée (French), is a speciality of the region of Alsace. It is composed of bread dough rolled out very thinly in the shape of a rectangle or oval, which is covered with fromage blanc or crème fraîche, thin-sliced onions and lardons.

I love this dish. I love this ever since the first time I tried it in Germany. There's one flammekuchen specialty shop in Mainz that I really love and always make an effort to go if I were in Mainz.

Since I missed Germany, I asked my friend to give me an authentic flammekuchen recipe. Here's the one that he sent, I made, and my family love these!

Tarte Flambee Alsace (For 4 persons)  

Preparation:   

Overall time        2 hrs 

Working time      20 min 

Rest period          1 hr 

Cooking time      40 min  

Ingredients for 4 persons:  

Wheat flour           400 gram 

Dry yeast               20 gram 

Lukewarm water   250 ml 

Olive oil                3 tablespoon 

Bacon                    125 gram 

Onions                   500 gram 

Sour cream            200 ml

Whipping cream   200 ml

Steps:

1. For the dough, mix the dry yeast with a little bit of the lukewarm water and let it rest for 10 minutes. 

2. Sift the flour into a bowl, add the yeast mixture, the rest of the lukewarm water, the olive oil and a little bit of salt. 

3. Knead everything to a smooth dough and cover and let rise in a warm place for around 30 minutes. 

4. In the meantime, cut the bacon into fine strips. Peel the onion, cut in half and finely slice it. 

5. Whisk the sour and whipping cream with salt and pepper.  

6. Quarter the risen dough. It is best to roll out each piece of dough on a large piece of baking paper into a wafer-thin rectangular sheet. 

7. Spread 1/4 of the cream mixture on each and sprinkle with onions and strips of bacon. (of course, I have to make a few different variations based on what I have at home)

8. Bake the tarte flambee individually in a convection oven at 220 degrees for 10-15 minutes until golden brown. (I use 200 degree C for 15 minutes)

Sine I have a few bottles of self made funghi sott’olio and pomodori secchi sott’olio, I have made totally 4 different variations of flammekuechen this round. All of them have onions and bacons as base, but the other toppings are slightly different.

preserved mushroom in olive oil and broccoli 

sweet peppers and broccoli

sun-dried tomatoes and mushrooms preserved in olive oil,
sweet peppers and cheddar cheese

mushrooms preserved in olive oil, broccoli and greek cheese

Just like pizza, you can make any flavoured flammekuechen you like. I'm glad that I will have tons of experiments to try later.

Be creative, and have fun!

Tom Yum Goong Banglamphu

I discovered this humble road-side stall back in 2018, and I was hooked ever since. I hope they are not impacted by Covid-19 and I wish they are still open as their customers are mainly local. I'm looking forward for the time that I can finally visit them again.

This family run stall is located at Soi Kraisi, very near to Khao San. Once you are at Soi Krasi, you won't miss this stall as there's always a long queue in front of the stall.

From my observation, it looked like Uncle handled the tom yum goong and most of the salads, while Aunty handled the stir fried and deep fried dishes.

The first time I went, I was aiming only for the tom yum goong. Little did I know, they are actually the king of wok! No joke, the "wok hei" here was amazing. Every single dishes that we ordered was outstanding. They really have excellence control of the "fire" (火候).

First, of course, we have to talk about their tom yum goong. Of course I haven't tried every single Tom Yum Goong in Thailand yet. But I am sure, this must be one of the best!

Their broth was extremely rich and buttery, with layered of flavours, and wonderfully aromatic. All that creamy fatty butteriness came from the freshwater shrimp. Their freshwater shrimp cooked just nice. A few seconds longer will be overcooked and a few seconds shorter will be undercooked. Really. They must have run the hell of Design Of Experiments to get this perfect texture and juiciness. 

While I love every dishes here, still, I have to highlight their omelet. How do you make something so simple so incredible tasty? Crispy outside, tender inside. Yes, some complaint that it is oily, but come on, please bring your "healthy standards" some where else, don't come judge and spoil these rare authentic food.

Did I tell you that their crispy pork is very good too? You can order just as it is, or you can ask them to use this to stir fry various types of vegetables.

They served very good Thai salad dishes. I think it is mainly due to the freshness of their raw material, and how they ingeniously mix all the difference spices so well.

Also, order anything stir fried. You won't regret. Their "wok hei" guaranteed the quality!

There's also a small stand just right in front of Tom Yum Goong Banglamphu. They sell very good fish cakes and prawn cakes. You are allow to order and eat at Tom Yum Goong Banglamphu while waiting for your food to be served.

Another stall that I have to mention, is the fruit juice stall right opposite of Tom Yum Goong Banglamphu. They have very big menu with all kinds of fruits, and also all sorts of combinations. Very reasonable price. These juice go extremely well with the food at Tom Yum Goong Banglamphu.

Bangkok itineraries:

2013 - Thailand: 5D4N Bangkok + Ayutthaya + Lopburi

2016 - Thailand: 4D3N Bangkok

2017 - Thailand: 4D4N Bangkok for First Timer

2018 - Thailand: 4D3N Bangkok Food Hunting

2019 - Thailand: 4D3N Bangkok

自制泡菜（不是韩国泡菜啊！）

世界各地都有泡菜的影子，风味也因各地做法不同而有异，可是我必须得在这儿声明不是韩国泡菜，免得哪天我不小心成名了被韩国人攻击。哈哈。

在中国，泡菜古称葅（读zū。本义;腌菜），是指为了利于长时间存放而经过发酵的蔬菜。《诗经》中有“中田有庐，疆场有瓜，是剥是菹，献之皇祖”的诗句。庐和瓜是蔬菜，“剥”和“菹”是腌渍加工的意思。《商书.说明》记载有“欲作和羹，尔惟盐梅”，这说明至迟在3100多年前的商代武丁时期，中国就能用盐来渍梅烹饪用。由此可见，中国的盐渍菜应早于《诗经》，应起源于3100年前的商周时期。泡菜历史悠久，流传广泛，几乎家家会做，人人吃，甚至在筵席上也要上几碟泡菜。

在马来西亚，感觉上一直以来我们吃比较多的是咸菜，酸菜好像是近几年开始更广泛的接触中国的饮食文化后才开始盛行。

MCO期间，看了好多烹饪的Youtube channels（我先爱上小高姐的 Magic Ingredients，MCO1.0期间玩了一堆面食；后来爱上老饭骨，看几位国宴大师的食谱传承，看几位北京大爺做菜嘮嗑；也看大师的菜，看中国美食文化背后的故事），又看李子柒总是心血来潮就腌泡菜的，于是就兴起了自己腌制泡菜的念头。最重要是身边“损友”多，PH早就买了玻璃坛酿酒了，我就托他帮我买了两个泡菜坛子。我不要现在线条简单方便的玻璃瓶子，指明要以传统坛子设计的玻璃坛子。

一月尾收到的酸菜坛子

我买的坛子，还附送一包泡菜卤母水。第一次试制，就现以这母水炮制。下次再自己从零开始做起。虽说如此，我还是看了看别人的泡菜做法，拿些基本只适合概念。

小高姐的泡菜做法：

 

王刚的四川泡菜：

我的自制泡菜这就开始：

1. 把坛子洗干净，晒干。

2. 把自己想吃的蔬菜洗干净，切块，晾干。

注：

1. 王刚声明第一次做的泡菜一定要有白萝卜增加回味

2. 王刚说用冰糖增加回味

3. 小高姐说切好的菜稍微晒一下至稍微脱水的状况，腌出来的泡菜比较脆

4. 小高姐声明不要放蒜（好多video都教放蒜的），蒜泡久了蒜汁会跑出来，蒜汁泡久了会发臭

5. 小高姐说不要用平时用的盐，必须用泡菜盐。泡菜盐不含碘，有碘的话泡菜容易发黑。我不知道该到哪儿买泡菜盐，只用普通家里用的盐，没问题。

6. 大家都说不可以用自来水！我用家里平时煮过的饮用水。

7. 大家也声明必须注意在制作过程中一定不要有任何的油污，那样会让整坛泡菜变味。

3. 我把泡菜母水装满半个坛子，然后开始把晾干后的菜慢慢放进去。最后，我加上辣椒干、花椒、盐、糖（家里没冰糖）。把坛子的盖封上，然后放在阴暗没有日晒的角落。

4. 因为是第一次自己腌制泡菜，再加上我的坛子是透明的，我天天给泡菜拍照。哈哈。

5. 第三天试吃，酸死我了！再加两大勺子的糖进入泡菜坛里。

6. 我天天试吃，结论是第十天开始的泡菜的味道是我喜欢的味道。这个配白粥太还吃了！

新年期间，难免会剩一些火锅汤，我就用那高汤弄了个酸菜面。灵感来自酸菜火锅汤底。

【大师的菜·酸菜鱼火锅】四川泡菜与火锅能碰撞出怎样的美味？

 

1. 准备调味料（蒜头、花椒、辣椒干）和酸菜（我稍微切一切）

2. 用适量的猪油和菜油（我的适量对你来说可能太多，你自己看着办。我喜欢油油的酸菜汤）爆香蒜头、花椒和辣椒干。等香味出来后，把酸菜加进去炒。

3. 最后加入高汤滚一滚。

4. 加入面和你想吃的料（我这是在清冰箱里的火锅料），就是一碗美味无比的酸菜汤面啦～（下图汤汁比较少，因为原本是煮一人份的，爸爸突然说他想尝尝，来得及煮面和料，酸菜汤就只好两人平分了）

今天，风和日丽，我又晒菜了……

一年的女红作品

我从小是手残党党员，要不是几年前我外甥的到来，我应该从来不会开始做女红的。

话说那时为了迎来家里第一个宝宝，我自以为很能干地在淘宝找了一对可爱的婴儿手套脚套。那时候明知道收礼物的人不敢嫌弃，胆粗粗的选了个马宝宝手套和马宝宝脚套。弄好了那手套脚套后就再也不敢提起女红活，直到大家都因疫情陷入长期宅家的日子，这才兴起玩玩女红的念头。

MCO 1.0开始后不久，我开始成了shopee的常客。买得有点儿疯狂，竟然不自量力的买了一些花布。收到后的隔天，就手缝了“七粒buah”，希望妹妹两个小瓜回来时可以教他们玩一些传统的游戏。（当然，后来看疫情一副一发不可收拾的样子，他们的归期遥遥无期，只好寄去新加坡了）

过后，上网找看有什么简单的女红玩意儿，发现没有缝纫机对我而言应该是太不可思议了，于是又上网买了个玩具一样的小小缝纫机。这么一来，玩意儿也多了。

首先，给小妹妹缝了个library tote，里面还有个小小纽扣，可以让她勾住她的library card holder。

然后给我和我弟的共用洗手间缝了个厕纸挂袋（我们俩都是不可多得的懒人，厕纸用完后总是互相测试对方的忍耐度，总是谁都不愿意拿个新的，直到其中一人忍无可忍为止。缝了这厕纸挂袋并没有解决问题，只是减少问题发生的频密度而已）

缝了几样东西，自我感觉太好，竟然开始了本sewing project journal。有时候，连我我都觉得自己太“姿整”、太不可思议。

接着，开始给小妹缝个library card holder。小妹是“bunny控”，找个有小兔子的花布就先取得一些底分了。

由于对于缝纫机的操作还不是很在行，又拿了一些剩下的布料来练习。

再简单不过的杯垫

渐渐比较熟练了，下一个project弄个整套的library tote + library card holder给哥哥。现在哥哥的library card holder也拿来放公交卡，上学下学都带着呢。

四方形的玩意儿上手了，这次玩个圆底的布袋，正好装我的电饭盒（去年一月开始，基于疫情的危险性，我们公司开始禁止员工出外用餐。我在那时候开始到网上买了个电饭盒，可以煮饭、蒸食物、热饭菜。自MCO开始至今天天带食物上班，给自己缝个布袋和餐垫，在办公室里吃饭也要有仪式感。呵呵）

随后，既然大家都带口罩，我就缝起口罩收纳袋给身边朋友。也开始缝一些scrunchie和发带。

圣诞来临、新年之际又给自己缝了几个很节庆的小枕头、餐垫。

为了取悦小妹，我为我家庭里最好命的soft toy -- T缝了一堆的拉拉杂杂的。适逢小妹生日，也给她缝了个小挂包（还和她的T同款呢）

T的一堆物品 -- 我妹说这是pretend play最高境界

给妹妹缝了这么多东西，有点儿过意不去，于是又给哥哥手缝了个很畸形的小象（结果被嫌弃了）

下一个project会是什么呢？我妹妹为她的两个小瓜讨了百家被。理论上来说是可行的，但几时可以完成是另一个更迫切的问题。至少，我至今已经剪了不少花布。拭目以待吧。