With 2018 just hours away, we are all no doubt gearing up for various gatherings of family and friends for Hogmanay, says Fife-based freelance chef and caterer Patrick Gilmour.
Although not as stressful as the Christmas day feast, there is always the question of what to serve up if you’re in charge of the food. My family has, as we’ve got older, tended to veer towards a smaller house party with some close friends rather than a large gathering. Last Hogmanay I turned out a dozen passion fruit soufflés for dessert which is easier than you may think, if you know how!
This year I’m planning to look to the Far East for our menu inspiration, having had a trip to Vietnam in 2014 and wanting to move away from the usual French and British cuisine I cook at my outside catering events. The Asian way of dining is so conducive to a party and gets everyone diving in, often using their hands instead of cutlery.
Vietnamese food is often full of different elements that all get put on the table and you then ‘build’ the dish on your plate before devouring it. Their variety of fresh greens and herbs is incredible, and although much of the cooking is fried in oil, these herbs lift the dishes and give them such freshness and zing, especially the mint.
There are so many dishes to go for and that adds to the fun of the party, as well as hopefully offering something for everyone. One of the dishes I’m going to cook is the banh xeo pancakes (which means ‘sizzling cake’) that we ate in Hoi An, and then subsequently went on a day’s cooking course to learn how to make.
An hour before you want to cook, mix together 400g rice flour, 2 tsp salt, 2 tsp turmeric, 500ml water and 250ml beer. Leave it at room temperature. Then you’ll need 250g of prawns and/or pork finely chopped, 2 spring onions finely sliced, and 250g bean sprouts. Heat a little oil in a pan and fry some prawns/pork for a couple of minutes. Pour in enough batter to make a thin layer, top with a few bean sprouts and spring onion and fry over medium- high heat until the bottom of the pancake is crispy. Fold the pancake in half and turn out on to a plate. Repeat the process until all the ingredients and batter is used up. To serve, everyone takes a pancake and adds some topping mix (mint, coriander, basil, lettuce), rolls it up and dips in to a peanut dipping sauce.
Served with some classic gin-style mojito cocktails, using one of the many artisan Scottish gins, it’s a perfect celebration of East meets West to send off 2017 and greet 2018.
Chef’s tip
A peanut dipping sauce is really useful for lots of Asian style dishes and easily made with a spoonful of crunchy peanut butter, some garlic, soy sauce, brown sugar, pinch of chilli powder, lime and half cup of coconut milk. Put all the ingredients in a pan and mix over a moderate heat for 10 seconds.
http://patrickgilmour.co.uk
