Eggs Benedict

Ingredients

4 eggs, at room temperature
4 English muffins, split
20g baby spinach leaves
100g smoked salmon

Hollandaise Sauce

1 tablespoon water
3 egg yolks
125g butter, melted and cooled
1 tablespoon lemon juice, or to taste

Method

To make hollandaise sauce: process water and egg yolks in a food processor until creamy. With motor running, slowly add butter in a thin stream. This should take 3 minutes. Stir in lemon juice. Transfer to a bowl. Season with salt and pepper. Cover surface with cling film.

To make poached eggs (the way professionals do it): Tear a square of cling film. Drizzle with oil, and spread with your fingers to evenly grease. Lay into a small cup or bowl, overhanging the sides. Break the egg into the cling film and pull the plastic up to gather it around the egg.

Expel all the air around the egg, and twist the cling film to shape the egg. Tie the plastic, sliding the knot down close to the egg to preserve the shape. Place into a pan of simmering water and poach for 5 minutes, until the white has set but the yolk is still runny.

Meanwhile, toast muffins. Top muffin base with spinach leaves and smoked salmon.

Lift the eggs from the water with a slotted spoon, place on top of the smoked salmon and using scissors, carefully cut the cling film below the knot. Gently peel away the cling film.

Drizzle with hollandaise sauce and season well. Serve.

Notes & Tips

Hollandaise sauce is a simple emulsion of butter, egg yolks and lemon juice. It is made easily in a blender or food processor and can be kept warm in a bowl sitting over warm water, the surface covered with cling film to stop a skin forming.

Musashi Japanese Restaurant

Hubby and I went to see Mary Poppins in Capitol Theatre and just before watching the show we thought we'd have dinner at a nearby restaurant. So I had a look at the Capitol Theatre website to see what restaurants were suggested and noticed Musashi Japanese Restaurant which is conveniently located next door to Capitol Theatre. Great!

When we arrived we noticed immediately that it was a popular place to eat. The restaurant was packed and looked very busy so we had to wait outside the restaurant (they apparantly don't take bookings). 15 minutes later we got a table inside the restaurant and immediately upon walking in, all the wait staff and sushi chefs greeted us in Japanese (I think they were saying welcome or hello??)

We kicked off with an entrée of soft shell crab- one of my favourite dishes. This soft shell crab was nice and crispy with just the right hint of spiciness. Presentation of this dish is beautiful and vibrant looking.

Mushashi Bento $24.80

Whilst waiting to order our food, I could see what some of the other tables had ordered and the nice displays of sushi and sashimi on their plates/platters. Since hubby and I didn't have a lot of time to sit down to a three course meal we decided to order a Mushashi bento box each so that we could get to try a bit of everything- sashimi, sushi, teriyaki chicken, tempura etc.

When our bento boxes arrived it looked so well presented and appetizing. The sashimi was very fresh and well prepared and the sushi delicately moulded. The tempura had a nice and crispy batter and did not taste oily and the teriyaki chicken was tender and not overly sweet.
Overall, the bento box contained good quality food with lots of variety and tasted absolutely delicious. The only disappointment with the bento box is that it didn't come with miso soup or rice. I had to pay extra for my miso soup ($2.80) but I'm just nit picking here.

Overall I had an enjoyable experience at Musashi. The food was delicious and was at a reasonable price. The service was polite despite the dinner rush and the waiters and waitresses rushed off their feet the entire time we were there.
Walking out, I hear the wait staff and sushi chefs shout out something in Japanese to us, maybe they're saying thank you for coming???

I must come back to try their desserts and their mocktails- I saw on their dessert menu they had tofu pannacotta and green tea creme brulee. Yum!

Pasta with Tuna, Chilli, Lemon and Thai Basil

Ingredients

300g dried ribbon pasta
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 lemons
425g can of tuna in brine, drained
3 eschalots, finely chopped
2 long red chillies, halved lengthwise, seeded, finely chopped
1 bunch Thai basil, leaves picked

Method

1. Cook pasta in a saucepan of boiling salted water until al dente. Drain. 
2. To make lemon oil: place oil in a large frying pan. Using a vegetable peeler, thinly peel rind from lemons over the pan. Place pan over low heat and wait for the mixture to sizzle. Cook for a further minute, then remove from the heat. Remove lemon rind from oil and chop finely.
3. Meanwhile reheat the lemon oil in a large pan over medium heat and cook eschalots for 5 minutes or until soft. 
4. Add the lemon rind, pasta, tuna, chillies, basil and the juice of 1 lemon to the pan. Toss gently to combine and warm through. Serve.

Mock Vegetarian Meat Stir Fry in Bean Sauce

This recipe is keeping in the tradition of strict (Buddhist) vegetarians of not using onion, shallots, garlic or ginger, however if you're not strict with your food practices, feel free to add it into the recipe.

Ingredients

300g mock vegetarian meat pieces
1 small green capsicum, cut into 2.5cm pieces
1 small red capsicum, cut into 2.5cm pieces
1 long red chilli, chopped
1 small eggplant
100g mushroom, sliced
Thai basil a few sprigs
2 tsp lemongrass
4 tbsp of oil
2 tsp sesame oil
100ml of water
1 tsp of corn flour mixed with 2 tbsp of water
vegetable oil

For the stir-fry seasoning sauce:

2 tbsp crushed/ground yellow bean sauce
2 tsp of light soy sauce
1 tsp of dark soy sauce
1 tsp of sugar
1 tsp of Shaoxing wine/Chinese rice wine

Method

1. Mix together all the stir fry seasoning sauce ingredients in a small jug and set aside.
2. Heat up some oil in a wok over medium heat and pan fry eggplant, set aside on paper lined plates.
3. Heat up some more oil in a wok and stir-fry lemon grass and chilli at low heat until fragrant and aromatic.
4. Add in mock meat pieces, capsicum, eggplant, mushroom and stir-fry at high heat for 30 seconds.
5. Add in water and cover wok with tight lid for 30 seconds at high heat.
6. Add in stir fry seasoning sauce and Thai basil leaves. Stir fry for a further 30 seconds then serve with rice