A Recipe for Mine Frire (Fried Noodles), The Most Democratized Dish of Mauritius
This is mine frire.
The name of this staple alone exemplifies the diverse ethnic makeup of Mauritius. Mine derives from the Hakka word for noodles, mein. Frire comes from the French word for fry. In Mauritius, it’s among the most democratized of all its dishes - you can get it everywhere and it’s made by everyone.
Kimchi: The Beginner’s Guide to Fermenting
You may have noticed that we, The 3 Spoons, have developed an obsession with fermentation - the most ancient and natural practice of preserving food. By delving into the making of beer and sourdough bread, we’ve been indoctrinated with its health benefits, but even more fascinating is its crucial role in the history of human civilization. This issue, we are exploring the afterlife of food - the different methods of natural preservation - and thought it fitting to start with something our dinner table is rarely without.
In our household, there are a handful of things that you will always find: Keen’s mustard, freshly roasted coffee beans, cornichons...and kimchi. Our avid consumption of kimchi is arguably comparable to most Korean Canadians. Unusual, given that neither of us is Korean. Given the speed at which we can finish a 1.2 kg tub of kimchi, I’ve begun to make my own.
Recipe: Lemon Ice, Dill Shortbread, Tobiko
Here’s a recipe for the next time you’re bringing dessert to a seafood-themed dinner party. Inspired by one part morbid curiosity, two parts Iron Chef, we wanted to round out our trio of seafood recipes with something decidedly thematic. Seafood dessert. You read that right; and it couldn’t be more simple. Allez cuisine!
It started with a simple question: could we make a three-course seafood meal? Appetizers (like our salmon gravlax) and mains (may we suggest our clam chowder?) are easy. But dessert? There are few things more culinarily disconcerting than sweet seafood. Challenge accepted.
Recipe: Clam Chowder in a Sourdough Bowl
On my annual visits to see Uncle Regis (link ) in San Francisco, I had developed a habitual 1-day walking tour, which I embarked upon every single trip. The route began with dim sum at Yank Sing in the Rincon Center, followed by a pilgrimage to the Ferry Building Marketplace, and then a leisurely stroll along The Embarcardero all the way to Fisherman’s Wharf.
It had been years since I’ve been back to San Francisco. Coincidentally, the city is also where I was introduced to my very first cookbook over a decade ago. At the time, Uncle Regis had an obsession with America’s Test Kitchen and after spending days flipping through The America’s Test Kitchen Family Cookbook, I got myself a copy as soon as I was back home.
Recipe: Vacuum Sealer Beet-Cured Gravlax
Gravlax is one of my favourite Nordic treats. With simple ingredients - and a just little time to smooth its flavours - gravlax is also the easiest luxury to make at home.
I’ve tried dozens of recipes over the years. The most traditionally accurate call for two fillets of fish - preferably from opposite sides of the same fish - liberally cured with salt and sugar and sandwiched skin-side out around a core of herbs and spices. It’s then tightly wrapped with cling film and popped into the fridge with a weighted object on top to help expel moisture.
Homebrewing With Brew North
I remember my first experience with homebrewed beer.
It was during my university years, naturally. The concoction bore an insipid, pale yellow hue - the bare minimum needed to differentiate it from water. When nosed from the glass: the pungent aroma of wet bread.
Summertime Cocktails
It was a struggle to figure out how to fill an issue about dining al fresco in Toronto that wasn't just about booze and BBQ. But the reality is, that's exactly what we as Torontonians - no, as Canadians - do to cherish our impossibly short summers. So, rather than fight it, we went with the flow.
Food Styling 101
The pre-meal photo shoot has become a global, cross-cultural, cross-generational phenomenon. A cult-like ritual that begs the philosophical question: if there is no photo, did it really happen? Food itself is art, but it has also been the subject of art for millennia. From discoveries of caveman paintings and Egyptian hieroglyphs depicting food, to its central presence in Renaissance paintings, to modern representations; it’s in fact one of the first subjects of novice illustrators and painters. Social media is simply a new medium, accessible to the masses.
In The Kitchen: Challah
Perhaps it's challah's intricate braiding that called us to it. Or the way its crust glows with tantalizing luster when it emerges from the oven. Or its softly yielding crumb, fluffy with just a hint of sweetness. Perhaps it's all of these things. Whatever the reason, we definitely didn't turn to baking this bread because we keep Kosher.
The Art & Struggle of Sourdough
There's flour everywhere. It's pervasive. It's in my hair and smeared across my apron. There's a fine dusting of the stuff on every surface of my house - cooking space or not. But it's not this wheat invasion that's concerning me; it's the amorphous mass of flour and water in front of me, mocking me. I'm trying to make bread, and it's going horribly.
Afternoon Tea At Home
Bringing a touch of Downton Abbey to the home is easier than you think. Just keep that pinky down.
It's one of the defining features of British culture, along with crooked teeth, fish & chips (or chicken tikka masala), and surrealist humour. We're talking about tea time.
Cooking With Tea
We make a 3-course tasting menu featuring one of the world's favourite beverages: tea.
Step into any pastry shop today and you will likely find a sweet ode to matcha, or perhaps chai or Earl Grey. Tea has broken into the pastry game, and the results are delicious. Cocktail bars have also adopted the brew, incorporating it into their revisions of old classics. Before long, tea will be making its way into savoury dishes in the hottest spots around town. I’m surprised it hasn’t already. What’s taking so long? After all, it’s no novel idea.