Hanoi 17 April 2014

After a 9 hour layover in Hong Kong we finally boarded the plane to Hanoi. We couldn't get over the amount of hand luggage the local people returning to Hanoi had on board. One couple had to each make two trips to carry their hand luggage off the plane! 

Arriving in Hanoi we felt a bit of nostalgia.  The place felt familiar even though we have neither of us been here before. We think it is the developing country feeling and so many things are reminiscent of Papua New Guinea. 

The drive in from the airport was intriguing and terrifying. We were both peering out the van windows but I was tempted to just close my eyes sometimes and wait for the bump.  Our driver ran right up against people on scooters and they were angry and we were eye to eye. In fact, we passed an accident where 2 scooter riders had been knocked off.  

Our hotel is fine. Not too shabby and not too flash. But everything we need.  We have been traveling now for 25 hours and think we will venture out for a meal and hit the sack. 

Lance's booboo- had us standing at the wrong rotunda waiting for our luggage. 

Erynn's bigger booboo- was that she couldn't find her passport when we checked into the hotel.  I was starting to feel panicky until Lance found it in my back pocket (somewhere I never put it). Phew, lucky it didn't fall out in the taxi. 

The Ultimate Chicken Pie

Let me start with two points! What makes this chicken pie the ultimate chicken pie and why this is my recipe and not the one that I found in a magazine 20 odd years ago.

Firstly this pie is your whole meal; meat, veg and carbs, it is full of hearty flavours and it looks magnificent when you pull it out of the oven. It generally does collapse when I cut it open, but that is neither here nor there!

The second is that this recipe has been developed over the years and has grown from the simple but still tasty pie in a magazine to something quite fantastic!

Here we go:

1 large Kumara (sweet potato in other parts of the world) I tend to use golden Kumara as the red is quite dry.

1 cooked chicken. I generally grab a cooked chook from the supermarket

6 to 8 rashers of bacon

1 large or 2 small red onions

A splash of red wine vinegar

1 or 2 cloves of garlic

Chopped parsley

Chicken stock - cube or gel 

More chicken stock - liquid ½ cup..ish

Ground pepper

Gravy powder or cornflour. (I use Bisto)

A good splash of either red or white wine (actually more like a few glugs rather than a splash)

Silverbeet or spinach

Grated cheese

Blue cheese (optional)

4 sheets of flakey puff pastry

Springform cake tin (essential)

Remove the pastry sheets from the freezer to thaw.

Kumara

Peel the kumara and slice into rounds about 1 to 2 cm thick. Lay them on baking paper and either spray or drizzle with oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and roast at 190 degrees celsius for around 45 minutes or until lightly brown. Remember to turn them over halfway through roasting.

Chicken

Break the flesh off the chicken and shred with your fingers.

Onions

I like to use red onions as I find them to be less acidic than brown onions.

Slice the onions and pop into a warm pan with a small amount of rice bran oil, salt, and pepper.  Slowly cook the onions on a very low heat. I use a simmer mat to create a low and even heat. If you can get the temperature really low you can leave the onions cooking for up to 45 minutes with the odd stir. Please note that I am cooking on a gas hob. I am not sure how this would work on an electric hob. A handy hint is to hold the gas knob in to turn on the heat, continue to hold it in, and slowly bring it back around to high, and then just before it gets to off the heat drops to a lower than low heat. 

When the onions begin to soften and change colour add about a tablespoon of red wine vinegar and continue to simmer until they are sweet. At this stage, I usually add the garlic either finely chopped or through the garlic crusher. You don’t want the garlic to brown too much as it will become bitter. You can cook the onions for less time and they will still be okay, but the longer you cook them the sweeter they get, try not to let them brown too much.

Chop the bacon into bite-size pieces and pop the bacon rashers into the pan with the onions and garlic. I find scissors to be the most effective bacon chopping device!

Deglaze the pan with some red wine if you have it, white wine will also be okay. And turn up the heat as you stir everything together making sure to lift anything that remains on the bottom of the pan.

Add the parsley and the chicken stock gel or cube and liquid and pepper. You want to have enough liquid to create a thick sauce that will coat the chicken rather than float the chicken.

Once the liquid is simmering add your choice of gravy powder or you could just use cornflour. Warning! Cornflour and some gravy thickeners will need to be mixed with a little bit of water before you add it to the pan to stop the lumps! Sprinkle the powder (or your cornflour concoction) and stir until it is thick and coats the spoon. If it gets too thick add some more liquid stick. Toss in the chicken and allow it to warm through. Don’t let it boil too rapidly as your sauce will become gluggy and eventually disappear or burn. You just want to warm the chicken.

Silverbeet

Wash and check for creepy crawlies, then slice into 1 cm pieces.

If you have never grown silverbeet you should give it a try. Just bung it in the ground and mother nature does the rest

Pastry

Grease the cake tin lightly and cut a round of pastry for the top and for the bottom. Then some strips for the side, but make them wider than the depth of the tin so you can squish the pastry pieces together. Line the cake tin leaving the top until you fill the pie.

Layering

Place the roasted kumara on the bottom of the pie in one layer.

Spoon the chicken mixture over the kumara.

Load the uncooked sliced spinach onto the chicken. You may think that you need to add less silverbeet but you want it to be bursting. It will reduce in size considerably on cooking. 

Sprinkle the grated cheese and crumble the blue cheese over the top. Then jam on the lid using the overhanging sides to seal the lid on. Use wet fingers like glue to make the edges sticky so the two pastries stick together. Brush with beaten egg, place the cake tin onto an oven tray (leakage), and put into the hot oven until the top is brown and shiny.

Removal

If you are serving this to guests you may like to take this extra step. 

Remove the springform side and brush the pie sides with more beaten egg, then pop it bake in the oven (on a tray) for a few more minutes. This will make your pastry more stable.

It is best to let the pie sit for a minute or two to let it settle before you cut it. Be prepared for the deliciousness to cascade onto the tray when you cut it open. 

This is your whole meal, serve it with a tasty relish or chutney. See Erynn’s Tamarillo Chutney recipe on this blog.

 

 

Eight Hour Flight to Nowhere

We have been anticipating this, our first ever trip to Rarotonga, for two years now. Lance and I have had flights booked four times and three of these have been cancelled due to COVID. 

As the date for this, our fourth booking, approached we we a bit scared to get excited and left our packing until the last possible day just in case! Omicron has been biting our heels and making everyone feel a bit nervous, so when we awoke at 5am on the morning of the 22nd we were beginning to feel slightly confident that we might finally get away.

Arriving at Auckland Airport there was a somber feeling all around as the usually buzzing departure area sat empty with a small crowd queuing for the only flight that morning to Rarotonga. Our usual check in is directly through the premium lounge, but that also was shrouded in emptiness. Being an early flight we chose not to have breakfast, assuming that we could grab something hot in the Koru Lounge. Alas that was also closed and we picked at something at the only cafe open. However the coffee was good!

In the departure lounge a feeling of excitement ran through the crowd. Some were returning home to Rarotonga after an extended stay in New Zealand due to COVID restrictions. Others, like us, had booked several times and were finally getting away on holiday. I know this because Lance talks to everybody and anybody! A voice over the loud speaker asked us to pay attention to important information and I actually haven’t experienced a crowd in this environment actually shut up and listen before. I wondered if like me they were expecting a lockdown announcement and everyone was quiet and alert. But it was just boarding information and regulations and finally we were on board! Lance had an upgrade due and we paid $200 for me to join him in premium economy, which in the scheme of things was a wise move. Even if we were not sitting next to each other, Lance was sitting in front of me. The captain addressed the passengers in the normal routine but he had some extra information for us… the weather in Rarotonga was so bad that there was only a 50/50 chance that we would be able to land!

You guessed it, after 3 hours and 45 minutes and two failed landing attempts we turned back to New Zealand. The flight attendants were great and plied us all with alcohol. They did announce that they did not have enough meals on board so business and economy would choose from the lunch menu and anything left would go down the back. Those were their words! I guess another blessing was that no kids were on board as under twelves are not allowed to fly to Rarotonga yet. As the 8 hour flight to nowhere may have been a bit challenging for them. Fortunately for me my flight attendant smuggled in the Laurent Perrier champagne from business class so I didn’t have to drink the Dulcet that was being served in premium economy! 

A replacement flight was arranged for 6:45 the next morning but this change in plans held extra complications. We already had to have PCR COVID tests 48hours before leaving Auckland at a cost of $250 each. They would be out of the time threshold by the time we flew on Sunday, so new tests were arranged, and we sat in a deserted airport 12 hours since we first arrived Saturday morning waiting for the New COVID tests to be performed. 

At 7pm they announced that the weather was still going to be a problem and Sunday’s flight had been cancelled. A new flight had been scheduled for early Monday morning and we would have to somehow organise our own travel PCR COVID test before then. 

Bottom line is that we have cancelled. If we did get to Rarotonga on Monday we would be flying home on Thursday.

So… this morning we went online to book a couple of days North of Auckland in beautiful Paihia. A gorgeous apartment had been chosen in a prime location but just as Lance was hovering over the ‘book now’ button I yelled “Wait a minute!”  “When I was in the supermarket this morning I heard someone say something about a press conference at 11am.”

And so we waited… and waited … because the PM was late again. And low and behold we are back in the red light zone due to COVID! Apparently, we can still travel but Lance and I think the best thing is to stay put at home. So I have bought a pineapple and I am off now to make the most delicious pina colada I have ever had in my life. Or is that destined to fail as well!

Postscript: Thanks to our travel agent Samara Liyanage at the Flight Centre who was available out of hours to help us with flight cancellations etc.  g

Duck With Cherries

 

Two Peking duck breasts (or plain duck breasts)

1 large red onion 

Half a cup of red or white wine

Cherries - either 1 can of cherries or 1 cup of pitted fresh cherries.

3 Tablespoons of tamarillo chutney (see Erynn’s Tamarillo Chutney recipe) or another fruit chutney.

Juice and zest of 1 orange

Salt and ground pepper

Please note that in these photos I used four breasts which can feed 6 people  Although at the time there were only four of us and we ate the lot because we are gluttons.  

Serving duck seems to impress a lot of people. I often wonder why this is and I have come to the conclusion that in most New Zealand homes it is only something that is eaten at a restaurant. If you have never had a go at cooking duck at home now is the time to give it a try.  In saying this I generally only cook duck breasts, as I find them to be more succulent. 

For this recipe, I like to buy duck breasts that have already been coated in a Peking marinade, if you can only find plain breasts it is not difficult to google some spices to rub into the skin. 

 Caramelising the onions.

I like to use red onions as I find them to be less acidic than brown onions.

Slice the onions and pop into a warm pan with a small amount of rice bran oil, salt, and pepper.  Slowly cook the onions on a very low heat. I use a simmer mat to create a low and even heat. If you can get the temperature really low you can leave the onions cooking for up to 45 minutes with the odd stir. Please note that I am cooking on a gas hob. I am not sure how this would work on an electric hob. A handy hint is to hold the gas knob in to turn on the heat, continue to hold it in, and slowly bring it back around to high, and then just before it gets to off the heat drops to a lower than low heat. 

When the onions begin to soften and change colour add about a tablespoon of red wine vinegar and continue to simmer until they are sweet. You can cook the onions for less time and they will still be okay, but the longer you cook them the sweeter they get, try not to let them brown too much. Put the onions aside and clean the pan.

One of the most important things to remember is that duck skin is very fatty, and needs rendering to get tasty crispy skin. Heat a heavy-based frypan and take it down to a low temperature. Use a simmer mat to get slow and even heat. Pop the breasts in the pan skin side down. If you are feeling a trifle worried about it sticking you could rub some oil around the pan with a paper towel. But you definitely don’t need any more than that as soon you will be draining off delicious duck fat to be used to roast vegetables. 

As the fat melts away from the breast drain it off. This will ensure you end up with crispy skin. Continue to cook the duck in this way until the skin is crispy and the layer of fat under the skin has reduced to almost nothing. Remember, my photos are showing duck that was coated in a Peking marinade so it appears to be very red.

Turn the duck and cook for a few minutes, maybe four maximum, making sure that all edges have a bit of colour. Then take it off the heat to rest in a covered dish. Don’t feel nervous about the whole ‘poultry needs to be cooked thing. Duck breasts are best when they have a pink tinge when sliced. 

Whilst the duck is resting drain the remaining fat from the pan and add the wine. Turn the heat up and cook off the wine whilst deglazing the pan, using a wooden spoon to lift any sticky remnants off the bottom of the pan.

Once the wine has reduced and no longer has that alcohol smell you can add the caramelised onions to the pan.

Add the cherries, orange juice, orange zest, and tamarillo chutney. Other chutneys will be okay if you don’t have tamarillo, I have used plum chutney before.

Cook this on a medium heat until the cherries are almost melting into the sauce.

Add salt and ground pepper to taste.

Take the duck breast and slice it thinly, but not too thin, and lay it on a plate. Spoon the cherry sauce over the top and serve. 

We served ours with hassle-back potatoes and roasted greens.