dinner party tonight...12 dishes....bit shattered now!
Discussion
Well, my girlfriends parents and a few friends came around for dinner tonight so I thought I would lay on a decent spread, since they had heard I like to cook. I went with Chinese as its what I probably cook best vs people's expectations, and ended up with 12 dishes.
in order...
quick fried "hot-and-numbing" cucumber sticks with sesame oil
gong-bao king prawns in shells (stir fried with chilli and peanuts)
general Tso's chicken (marinated chicken pieces, quickly deep fried, then stir fried with soy, sugar, vinegar, garlic and ginger)
fish-flavour aubergine (deep fried aubergine that is then stir-fried with vinegar, onions and garlic, the typical accompaniments to fish)
ma-po tofu (white tofu simmered with chilli bean sauce, black beans, leeks and szechuan pepper)
stir fried morning glory stalks with black beans and ginger
stir fried morning glory leaves with thai basil and chilli
stir fried chinese cabbage with vinegar and soy
rice
carrot cake
strawberries and marscapone with chocolate vinegar dipping sauce
i missed the opportunity to take a photo for the "picture of your dinner thread" mainly due to being knackered and needing a whisky afterwards. The good thing is that with good prep, all these dishes can be done in minutes (i think i was 40 minutes of actual cooking time) if you are good at keeping two woks on the go at once.
The deep frying bit is a faff but gives such better results for stir fries - the crispy coating soaks up the sauce just like you get in a restaurant, but you control the sugar and MSG levels so its not gross.
ill definitely do again, but maybe not on a weeknight...
in order...
quick fried "hot-and-numbing" cucumber sticks with sesame oil
gong-bao king prawns in shells (stir fried with chilli and peanuts)
general Tso's chicken (marinated chicken pieces, quickly deep fried, then stir fried with soy, sugar, vinegar, garlic and ginger)
fish-flavour aubergine (deep fried aubergine that is then stir-fried with vinegar, onions and garlic, the typical accompaniments to fish)
ma-po tofu (white tofu simmered with chilli bean sauce, black beans, leeks and szechuan pepper)
stir fried morning glory stalks with black beans and ginger
stir fried morning glory leaves with thai basil and chilli
stir fried chinese cabbage with vinegar and soy
rice
carrot cake
strawberries and marscapone with chocolate vinegar dipping sauce
i missed the opportunity to take a photo for the "picture of your dinner thread" mainly due to being knackered and needing a whisky afterwards. The good thing is that with good prep, all these dishes can be done in minutes (i think i was 40 minutes of actual cooking time) if you are good at keeping two woks on the go at once.
The deep frying bit is a faff but gives such better results for stir fries - the crispy coating soaks up the sauce just like you get in a restaurant, but you control the sugar and MSG levels so its not gross.
ill definitely do again, but maybe not on a weeknight...
Sounds like a cracking little feast 
) myself when they're done?
Mobile Chicane said:
Blimey - did you get to eat any of it yourself, or always busy in the kitchen?
incidentally is it just me that loves creating nice meals and stuff for a good few people at home, but can't be bothered with them (the meals not the people ) myself when they're done? Stu R said:
Sounds like a cracking little feast
) myself when they're done?
If I'm cooking for more than one or two, I'm normally so stressed that I can't eat what I've made Mobile Chicane said:
Blimey - did you get to eat any of it yourself, or always busy in the kitchen?
incidentally is it just me that loves creating nice meals and stuff for a good few people at home, but can't be bothered with them (the meals not the people ) myself when they're done? 
it came together fairly well, timing wise. The only thing i would have liked to have done better was getting the veg sides out sooner with the main courses - there was about a 5-10 minute wait, but as people were tucking in it was fine.
something i will keep on doing after trying tonight is seperating vegetables out - in this case leaves and stalks - but for instance with pak choi you could do steamed leaves and stir-fry the crunchy body.
something i will keep on doing after trying tonight is seperating vegetables out - in this case leaves and stalks - but for instance with pak choi you could do steamed leaves and stir-fry the crunchy body.
its not a patch on the collection you've built up mate!
I'm going to add a couple more Balvenies and a Glenfiddich Caoran (the peated one) next week. And of course more lovely Monkey Shoulder
My non-whisky drinking girlfriend is on a slippery slop now that she admits she enjoys Monkey and Ginger and Show Me the Monkey cocktails...she'll be on the malts soon enough!
I'm going to add a couple more Balvenies and a Glenfiddich Caoran (the peated one) next week. And of course more lovely Monkey Shoulder
My non-whisky drinking girlfriend is on a slippery slop now that she admits she enjoys Monkey and Ginger and Show Me the Monkey cocktails...she'll be on the malts soon enough!
Wadeski said:
its not a patch on the collection you've built up mate!
I'm going to add a couple more Balvenies and a Glenfiddich Caoran (the peated one) next week. And of course more lovely Monkey Shoulder
My non-whisky drinking girlfriend is on a slippery slop now that she admits she enjoys Monkey and Ginger and Show Me the Monkey cocktails...she'll be on the malts soon enough!
I'll be very interested to hear what you think of Caoran. I'm not much of a fan of it. I bought it maybe 4 or 5 years ago and there's only 3 or 4 drams out of the bottle... It's one I give to people who want coke in their scotch!I'm going to add a couple more Balvenies and a Glenfiddich Caoran (the peated one) next week. And of course more lovely Monkey Shoulder
My non-whisky drinking girlfriend is on a slippery slop now that she admits she enjoys Monkey and Ginger and Show Me the Monkey cocktails...she'll be on the malts soon enough!
What Balvenies are you looking to get? I just got the Golden Cask last weekend and it's top notch. 21 Portwood still my favourite B I must admit.
p.s. Monkey is great
Edited by Lefty Guns on Wednesday 17th June 13:08
Gassing Station | Food, Drink & Restaurants | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff