The list of food I plan to master in this lifetime

I once read in a food magazine (probably Donna Hay) that if you master 10 of your favourite dishes, then you are set for life. So I thought about what to master in this lifetime. I have crossed out the food I mastered :p

1. chocolate chip cookies
(Dare I say I mastered it? Let's just say that as long as I stick to the recipe, I will be fine.)

I find it very hard to bake these seemingly simple chocolate chip cookies to perfection. I have wasted almost a kilogram of Valhorna chocolate.
(I shed tears every time I think of them)
Has anyone tried Millie's Cookies? You probably have if you have visited/lived in UK. You can find them in nearly every train station and even at Heathrow. They are not the best in the world, (too sweet for my taste) but I want to immitate the texture of miniature cookies. They seem soft and slightly chewy.
I want to make the ultimate dark chocolate chip cookies that are cripsy on the outside but chewy on the inside.

2. chocolate brownies

I wasted another kilogram of Valhonra chocolate. I despise almost all the brownies sold in Korea. Most of them do not deserve to be called 'brownies'. They are just chocolate sponge cakes with bits of nuts thrown in. Brownies should be gooey and slightly crispy on the edge.
The best chocolate brownie I tried till date comes from Chandos Deli in Bristol. It was my weekly treat. It was dense, gooey with chunks of white cholate, plain chocolate and brazil nuts here and there. I aim to recreate them.

3. pasta (one each of cream sauce , tomato sauce and olive oil base)

I don't want to sound smug, but I think I found one of the ultimate cream sauce pasta which will appear regularly when I invite guests over. It is prawn in parsley cream sauce. But for tomato sauce and olive oil base I haven't quite mastered.

4. Yukgaejang

It is a spicy Korean beef soup made of beef brisket, gosa-ri (bracken. Yes, we eat them), shitake mushrooms and leeks. My ex-maid used to make very very nice yukgaejang that I think of time to time. Whenever I come home for holidays, yukgaejang was the first dish I ate. It is hearty and spicy, just what I needed after 11 hours of flight.

5. Caramel à la Fleur de Sel

To be honest with you, I never had a real Fleur de Caramel à la Fleur de Sel. My favourite macaroon at Ladurée was Caramel à la Fleur de Sel variety. I tried once at home but it was hard to get them solid at room temprature. Perhaps the first thing I can do is to invest in a candy thermometer.

6. kimchi (baechu, kakdugi and pa)

Kimchi. One cannot talk bout Korean food without mentioning kimchi. The (usually) spicy preserved vegetables are staple of our daily life. Each household has its own unique recipe. There are actually various types of kimchi but I guess the most well known and hard-to-master one is baechu kimchi (Baechu is sold under the name Chinese cabage in supermarkets in the West). I also want to master kakdugi, a kimchi made of cubed radish pieces, and pa kimchi, made of spring onions and good fish sauce.

7. madeleine

These almondy cakes are simple yet elegant and delicate. And the shell-shaped curves are pretty to look at. A madeleine with a cup of lemon-verbena tea. Heaven.

8. Lemon tart

It is actually quite hard to find a nice lemon tart. They are often soggy or eggy (in an unpleasant way) or both.

9. omelette

Light-as-air omelette will make a perfect light meal any time of the day, whether served with green salad or smoked salmon.

10. Roast

Time to time, I get craving for roast, be it beef, chicken or pork. I miss pork cracklings, yorkshire pudding and buttery savoy cabbage. It is almost impossible (again) to get it in Korea, so why not cook my own? Mastering a roast would mean mastering roasting meat, potatoes, cooking vegetables and gravy. This will be a challenge.

What do I miss when I am stuck in Seoul?

I get cravings for random food at random moments. I don't miss fancy stuff much, but I get cravings for very easty-to-get, everyday food. So I decided to catalogue anything that appears in my head.

1. Sandwiches (Prêt à Manger and Old Cheese Shop in Bristol)

Does it sound lame to you? I never thought I would miss sandwiches. It is almost impossible to get a decent sandwich in Korea, except Vecchia e Nuovo at The Westin Chosun. But I don't want to spend over £6-7 for a sandwich all the time.
I just want a simple sandwich made from a nice loaf of bread. Ciabatta sandwich is good, but I just want a good old English sandwich. I miss nice egg sandwich, BLT with ENGLISH bacon, chicken avocado sandwich from Prêt. I also dream of an Old Cheese Shop chicken club sandwiches, no butter but just with mayo. The sandwich there is made right in front of you. The shop was close to my dorm and usually it was office workers around there used to come for a bite and I think I was one of the very few students who went there. The owner used to make Nigella Lawson's lemon cake and banana cake. They were just so yummy.

2. Chocolate

I wish I can buy Valhorna anywhere I want. Valhorna cooking chocolates are sold by grams at Bangsan Market (a lot of bakers go there to buy imported ingredients) but I can't trust the people there. I sometime feel that some chocolates have passed their shelf life. So I usually buy them when I am travelling. Sometimes my dear brother brings back cooking chocolate for me but he buys Montezuma ones - which I also like. A bar of Valhorna Guanaja got me through dark, cold days at Social Science library. It was sold at Chandos Deli or even at Sainsbury's. I saw Valhorna (not cooking chocolate) at Shilla Hotel pastry shop a few years ago but I haven't seen them since. Maybe I should look around more. Nowdays, more dark choclates are available, but for me, I haven't met a nice bar of dark chocolate that gives a clear 'snap' when you break it and leave a trail of bitter yet fragrant aftertaste in my mouth. I also miss chocolate bars. I miss Cadbury's Fruits and Nuts, Caramel, Crunchie, Yorkie (fruit and biscuit balls), Aero mint, Kitkat Chunky, etc etc. (I know that SA is cringing by now because she does not think these stuff qualify as chocolate, but a mere dollop of chocolate flavoured sugary fat mass)

3. Chocolate brownies

If any of you end up in Bristol, UK, do go to Chandos Deli. I had the best chocolate brownies there. It was my weekly treat. I dared not eat in so often because it was devilishly intense, gooey and sweet. It was double/tripple chocolate brownie with brazil nuts. The brownie part itself was rich enough but it had extra chunks of plain and white chocolate.

4. Crisps

When I was at boarding school, packed lunch usually consisted of a sandwich, a Penguin bar, a can of Tango and a bag of crisps. It was Walker's crisps. Although I usually chose plain salted one, prawn cocktail was another favourite.

5. Salad

Somehow, salad in this country is not so fresh. I strongly feel that the agricultural produts distrbution network needs overhauling. Too many steps to go through before vegetables and fruits get to our table. The best salad I had till date was the bulghur wheat salad in an Italian restaurant in Surbiton (or somewhere around there) I had dinner with my darlings A and M there and I don't even remember the name of the restaurant. It was tart (lemon), salty and smooth (cheese). It had rocket and tomatoes if I remember correctly. The salad really tingled my senses.

6. Cheese

The thought of creamy gorgonzola alone is enough to make to drool. I have been craving for cheese for sometime and it has not been satisfied yet. Gorgonzola, mature camembert and brie, creamy salty burrata (I love this cheese so much that I thought about naming my dog after the cheese) and countless cheeses I bought from the organic market in Paris (Boulevard Raspail) ....stilton and aged cheddar. I just love strong salty cheese... I mean, I can get gorgonzola etc in Korea, but I will have to go to a fancy department store supermarkets. Besides, they cost double.

7. Bangers and mash

Meaty and juicy sausage perched on a dollop of creamy mash, in a small puddle of onion gravy. Yum

8. ZAFFERANO

My darling A introduced me to her favourite restaurant. It has become my favourite, too. It certainly is not a cheap place but compare to other restaurants in Kinightsbridge, excellent value. And their tiramisù is to die for. I loved my homemade pappardelle with homecured pig cheek in saffron sauce so much that I decided to imitate it at home. I failed miserably. http://www.zafferanorestaurant.com/

9. Clotted cream

Hot scones smothered in clotted cream and strawberry jam. Need I say more?

10. Couscous salad/barley salad from Chandos Deli

I used to have one of the two with elder flower cordial on a hot summers day when I got sick of sandwiches.

11. Pierre Hermé

Should have pigged out there when I had a chance to. OK, not pigging out all at once but should have bought something there on a daily basis.

12. Bread

I miss a loaf of bread. Plain white or wholewheat. Something for toast. A plain loaf of bread will make you 'why?'. But this very plain of of bread is almost impossible to get. The loaf bread sold here have sweet undertone. I don't know why bakers here put extra sugar in it. This is why it is hard to find a good sandwich in Korea. It will be wonderful to start a day with a cup of hot tea and buttered toast with marmalade.

13. Chips

I miss cripspy-on-the-outside and soft-on-the-inside chips. Not from frozen ones but with freshly cut potatoes. It is impossible to do that here with Korean potatoes because our variety is a bit to starchy.

14. Fudge Buttery, sweet fudge.

I hardly ate it but I miss it.

15. Orangette covered in dark chocolate//stem ginger in dark chocolate

Christmas favourites.

16. English breakfast

Rashers of English bacon, sausges, eggs, fried bread, baked beans, black pudding, extra toasts spread with butter and a cup of milk tea.

17. Macaroons

Ladurée, naturally. So far, Ladurée macaroons are my favourite. I really miss their rose water macaroons and salty caramel macaroons.

18. Croissants from Poujauran

While I was living in Paris, I decided to wake up very early one Saturday morning (could have been Sunday), took metro all the way to 16th Arrondisement (could be 8th. My memory is a bit fuzzy) to Poujaran, bought a croissant and some rustic French cakes. I muched it down while waiting for the Metro home. It was so nice and buttery. I still think of that moment.

19. Dimsum

Dimsum I get in Korea are mostly yikes.

20. Roast duck/Peking duck/suckling pig roast

Yum.

21. Chinese sweet soymilk

I would be very happy to start a day with a glass of warm sweet soy milk.

22. Chocolate-covered cornflakes

A UK school children's perennial favourite. I never really liked them until I tried Marks and Spencer's Belgian Milk Chocolate covered Cornflakes. To be honest with you, I only had 1 bag of it. But it creeps back to my mind time to time. I get naughty ideas about them, like sprinkle them over a scoop of ice cream.

23. Lemon sherbet

I am not talking about iced sherbet, which is like sorbet with milk. I am talking about boiled sweet wich has a powdery lemon sherbet inside. I stock them up when I visit London.

24. Penny sweets

Those I used to get at school tuckshop. One a penny, I (in fact, most of us) would buy by 50 pence or £1. Sour discs or something bigger cost 2p each. My favourite was fried eggs.

25. Victoria Sponge Cake

Light sponge cakes sandwiched together with cream/butter cream and jam. A classic English cake I love.

26. Petit-suisse and fromage blanc

Mere utterance of those words fill my heart with butterflies and brings me back to my care-free days in Paris. (Of course, I had worries then too, but it seems to me now that I had nothing to worry about). I used to have those for breakfast with a bit of jam or brown sugar. Or with creamed chestnuts for dessert. I especially loved fatty petit-suisse sprinkled with a bit of sugar. No wonder I gained 7-8 kgs while living in Paris.(I just found out that petit-suisse has fat content of over 60%) It was creamy, unctuous, slightly sour delights that made me happy. I really miss Paris.

27. Bethillon icre cream in Paris

I miss their dark chocolate ice cream. It was not far from where I lived, so I used to walk there for a sorbet and an ice cream. I miss those days...

28. Oat cakes

They are delicious and also rich in fibre. Lovely with cheese or with honey drizzled over.

29. FishWorks in Bristol

I had a very memorable meal there. I tried fresh taramasalata for the first time. Grilled skate was beautiful, too.

30. Plain yoghurt.

Why is it damn hard to find a decent plain yoghurt in Korea? I mean, I understand that it is not relaly a part of our diet, but why don't dairy companies introduce Korean consumers to thick greek yoghurt? A small bowl of plain yoghurt topped with granola and fresh blueberries is one of my breakfast favs. A dollop of plain yoghurt spiked with cumin and chili powder goes very well with grilled chicken and bread.