Let me tell you right off the bat: this was no meditated effort to make ice cream. It was almost an accidental creation, and a wonderful one at that. Going back to the story on how I winged some baked silken tofu chocolate mousse from a pudding that was falling apart, I saved some of that mousse mixture. Instead of letting it firm over 8 hours in the refrigerator, I impatiently popped it into the freezer for a couple of hours to see what that would do to this unique texture.
That’s it, two hours later, I ended up with the perfect homemade ice cream which tasted just like the Baskin Robbins Dutch Chocolate flavour scoop I ordered a while back. The bite was enviable: firm on the spoon and yet, creamy in the mouth. Without heavy cream, condensed milk, or any churning at all!
Ingredients
Silken Tofu (firm) – 150 grams
Powdered sugar – 1/2 cup
Milk – 1/4 cup
Cocoa Powder (unsweetened) – 2 heaped tbsp
Vanilla Essence – 1/2 tsp
Egg whites – 2 (Skip the egg whites and use more tofu for a vegetarian option!)
Method
In a mixer/grinder or blender, add the cut up pieces of tofu, powdered sugar, cocoa powder, milk, and vanilla essence.
Blend well until the mixture is completely smooth. Check for sweetness and add sugar if required.
In a bowl, beat two egg whites with a hand-held blender till soft peaks form. Add a pinch of sugar midway.
Once the egg whites are ready, gradually start pouring the chocolate mixture into the bowl. Gently fold it in with the whipped egg whites with a rubber spatula.
When the mixture is well blended and uniform, pour it into ramekins if you want individual bowls of ice cream or a large bowl if you want a slab.
Let it cool and freeze for at least two hours.
Serve chilled, with a mint leaf or some crumbled cookie on top.
Tip: You CAN sub the sugar with honey for a totally healthy dessert, but the sugar granules do hold the ice cream together.
Did someone say Asian for dinner? Kidding, *I* did. I’m the first one who always does, to be honest. Anyone who knows me personally, knows exactly what takeout I will order in on every game night every week. In Calcutta, which is home to a rooted Chinese population, authentic Chinese and Indo-Chinese have come together to form one of the best gifts to the taste buds.
While we have our fair share of eating houses in Central Kolkata and Tiretti for a quick meal from office or university on one hand, on the other, we have our well-guarded, celebratory, authentic Calcutta Chinese in our very own Chinatown in Tangra. Beyond the peccant indulgence in copious amounts of appetizers at Golden Joy or the mysteriously accurate Cantonese broths at D’Ley, lie the more written about, the highly regarded chains of ‘Oriental’ masters that call this city home, the ones we save for, you know, special occasions – Mainland China, Haka, and Chowman. We might sometimes question why they’re expensive, but we certainly don’t question the food’s worth. The discourse of what is more authentic and truly Chinese and ‘good’ is a problematic one for me. If you truly love Asian, you’re probably not going to pit one take on a cuisine against the other for the sake of a petty fidelity discourse (thank you, Ugly Delicious).
Therefore, I found myself on my 38th day of quarantine, hoping to use some good firm tofu to recreate the few times I had tasted the cloudy magic of silken tofu in some of my favourite places in the city. As you might have gathered from my previous post, I was unfamiliar with this incredible ingredient, and the utter lack of confidence in handling this new texture, inspired me to completely abandon all recipes and dive headfirst into it.
To my surprise, I ended up with a recipe that I can not only call my own, but one that tastes like the ultimate feeling of comfort and satisfaction, in that the flavours turned out just like Chowman! The layered taste of the hot hunan gravy balancing the mild sweetness of the tofu and the honey, took me back to the many meals I ordered in for a quick fix to my never-ending Asian cravings!
Here’s hoping from the bottom of my heart that this finds you in the middle of your Chinese food cravings and you give this super easy recipe a chance. 🙂
Ingredients
Silken Tofu (firm) – 350 grams – sliced
Button mushrooms (large) – 4/5 pieces – sliced
Boneless chicken breast – 1 – diced
Garlic cloves – 8 – peeled and halved
Sichuan chilli or dried red chilli – 4 – soaked in hot water for 30 minutes
Scallions – 4/5 stalks – white and green parts chopped separately
Freshly grated ginger – 1 inch
Soy sauce (dark) – 1 tbsp
Oyster sauce – 2 tsp
Honey – 2 tbsp
Water – 1/2 cup
Star anise – 2 pieces
Sesame seeds
Salt
Pepper
Flour
Sesame / Peanut / Light Vegetable oil
Method
Line up the sliced tofu on the serving dish.
Prepare the diced boneless chicken pieces with some salt and pepper and coat them lightly in some flour.
For the fresh chilli garlic paste, take the stalks off the soaked dry red chillis and discard them. Put four cloves of garlic, the red chillis and a tablespoon of water into a grinder and blend it into a paste.
In a medium depth, flat bottom skillet or pan, heat about 4 tablespoons of sesame/peanut/any light flavoured vegetable oil. Once the oil is hot, add a piece of star anise, the remaining chopped garlic and the chopped green scallions. Sauteè for a minute.
Add the sliced mushrooms and a pinch of salt, cook till the mushrooms are all coated in the oil and begin to only slightly soften.
Add the coated chicken to the pan and cook till the meat is no longer pink of the outside.
Add the chilli garlic paste to the pan and coat all the mushrooms and chicken well, stir frying till the spices are aromatic.
Meanwhile, in a bowl, prepare the mixture of the soy sauce, oyster sauce, honey, grated ginger, and water. Add broken up pieces of another anise to this broth. You could add a teaspoon of vinegar if you want some acidity to cut through the heat of the dish.
Add the broth to the pan and bring to a slow boil. Then, simmer for 5 minutes.
Once the pan-braised gravy is ready, pour it over the tofu in the serving dish, ensuring that the broth covers all of the tofu generously.
Sprinkle with the chopped green scallion and sesame seeds.
Serve hot with steamed rice or jasmine rice.
Let me know how this turns out for you!
Tip: In case you don’t have tofu, give this dish a try without the tofu, just for the incredible flavours ! Go low on the red chillis if hot food is an assault to your taste buds.
Now that we’re stuck at home for longer, I thought I’d share my first original recipe on this new, periodically abandoned blog. Curated with love and desperation, this experimental mousse might leave you questioning my knowledge on the *science* of cooking, but with a taste of the idea that making food, after all, is a matter of the heart.
Having learned from the exceptional generations of culinary masters in my family, I use the art of improvisation well. Mostly. I recently got my hands on some great quality silken tofu at the unassuming grocery shop around the corner in my block, and I admit, I wasn’t even aware of the reservoir of delicious potential I was tapping into when I felt that I overpaid for this imported piece of bean curd.
So here I was, with a packet of firm silken tofu on my hands, wondering how I could make the most of it and do it justice. Dinner is on me most nights (division of labour), so I knew I couldn’t use all of this for dessert, even though the box suggested, “best for entrees, salads, and desserts”. After an hour of research on how to cook tofu delicately and with perfection, I decided to “wing it”. Needless to say, if it hadn’t all worked out so shockingly delightfully, you wouldn’t be reading this.
What I did for dinner is another story (another post), but first, I decided to make a chocolate pudding with a part of the tofu. When I got to the end of it, I realised that the pudding was too runny because I had to save much of the tofu for our dinner and couldn’t afford to add more to make it firm. So I beat up two egg whites on an impulse, and the rest is history. No, literally. This unimaginably airy, poofy lovechild between a souffle and a mousse is going down in the history of my family.
I do hope whoever tried this out finds as much joy and ease in this lifesaving, melt-in-your-mouth baked mousse! But if you don’t, let me know how you improvised!
Ingredients
Silken Tofu (firm) – 150 grams
Powdered sugar – 1/2 cup + 1 tbsp
Milk – 1/4 cup
Cocoa Powder (unsweetened) – 2 heaped tbsp
Vanilla Essence – 1/2 tsp
Egg whites – 2
Chocolate shavings
Method
In a mixer/grinder or blender, add the cut up pieces of tofu, powdered sugar, cocoa powder, milk, and vanilla essence.
Blend well until the mixture is completely smooth. Check for sweetness and add sugar if required.
Preheat the oven to 150°C.
In a bowl, beat two egg whites with a hand-held blender till soft peaks form. Add a pinch of sugar midway.
Once the egg whites are ready, gradually start pouring the chocolate mixture into the bowl. Gently fold it in with the whipped egg whites with a rubber spatula.
When the mixture is well blended and uniform, pour it into ramekins halfway through the bowls.
Bake the mousse at 150°C on the middle rack for about 15 minutes.
Take it out and check the consistency – it should have a wobble.
Let it cool. Sieve some powdered sugar on top and finish with some shaved chocolate.
Serve chilled.
Tip: If you want this to be an entirely healthy dessert, sub the sugar for honey or your preferred healthy choice of sweetness. But as we say here, nevermind the waistline, eat till you flatline!
I’ve spent all of fifteen minutes now, thinking about what my first words should be on my first blog post ever. I could have eaten exactly five pieces of unagi nigiri (eel sushi) in this time (UGH!). I’m just going to go right ahead and admit that I’m just a noob trying to help all fellow sloths who find themselves in the search for some food or the other to obsess over. So, today I’ll talk about all the sushi I’ve tried in my humble capacity, within my city (and a few special mentions outside the city), and where I think you’ll find the best rolls! (Stay tuned for a million days till I make it to Japan and give you an authentic review). The first time I ever tried sushi in Calcutta was some takeaway joint tucked away in the corner of a mall, which sold boxes of pre-packed sushi. Needless to say, I don’t remember what that tasted like at all! However, I remember being apprehensive of the bespoke “raw fish”, but it wasn’t intimidating or icky at all, and that’s when I knew, I could really go out and try it.
Calcutta
Years later, the first time I went out, sat down, took a pair of chopsticks and finally had a real piece of sushi was at Fung Shway, Southern Avenue. Here, I tried the sake maki (salmon roll with seaweed on the outside) and the ebi tempura uramaki (batter fried prawn roll with the rice on the outside). Both came in 8 pieces for ₹600, which was comparatively not that steep, and it was worth it. Later, we went back and tried their tuna maki roll and the calamari nigiri. I wouldn’t go too much into this place, because, to my utter disbelief, it has recently shut down. Nevertheless, I owe it to this place for introducing me to the demanding world of sushi.
Fact: Sushi is NOT raw fish. It is fermented, or cured, and sometimes cooked (in countries outside of Japan). The word ‘sushi’ refers to the vinegar rice, and not the fish at all! Raw fish is ‘sashimi’. And people who find sushi fishy are often put off by the taste of nori (seaweed) which has a stronger flavour than the fish itself.
The next place I tried the sacred roll at was Mamagoto, Park Street. Two of my most trusted sushi partners—my college best friend and my sister—were dragged down to Park Street for an afternoon of soy and sangria coma. We ordered a non-veg Maki’s Platter, which included 4 pieces each of ebi tempura, California roll, and chicken katsudon (I cringe at the thought of chicken in sushi, but David Chang taught me that food has no fidelity discourse). Note: They got the name wrong, because these rolls had rice on the outside, which is called ‘uramaki’, meaning ‘inside out’, whereas ‘maki’ is the type of classic sushi rolls with the nori on the outside. This platter was priced at only around ₹799, which I thought was great for 12 pieces! We paired this with a pitcher of green apple and cinnamon white wine sangria!
Mama’s Platter at Mamagoto, Park Street
Next up was The Fatty Bao, Camac Street. I went here with an inauspicious ally—my boyfried—who will never fail to shoot a diss when I order sushi (in his defense, only at every possible place ever!), but will always pop one in his mouth and critique it. WHY?! Too hard to resist 🙂 So, here I called for the Spicy Salmon, Cucumber, and Cream Cheese uramaki and the amazing Crabmeat and Tobiko uramaki. Pro tip: Tobiko is THE best sushi topping if you have an acquired taste for all things fish. Tobiko is simply flying fish roe (fish eggs) whose texture is best explained as tiny tapioca beads that just explode on your palate. The cream cheese and salmon sushi had a wonderful creamy texture. A half plate of each type comes only at around ₹365 for 4 pieces. The rice at Fatty Bao is made rather well, unlike many other places where the chewing process is tedious, no matter how good the roll tastes in itself. Go in the day to get the perfect photos with the natural sunlight from the large windows that give you a spectacular view of the city!
(L) Crab Meat and Tobaki Maki and (R) Salmon, Cucumber, and Cream Cheese Maki, at Fatty Bao, Camac Street
The Orient, Salt Lake, is another new-ish Asian joint in City Centre 1, serving up some real unique fares (more on this in a different post!). Ironically, on my boyfriend’s birthday, we went there and I ordered a plate of Salmon, Ponzu Aioli Sauce and Tempura Flakes maki. This comes in 6 pieces for ₹675, which is on the expensive side even for sushi. Now here’s the thing, I can never hate sushi unless it absolutely sucks, so I’d say you should give this a try among other fabulous things at this place, but if you give it a pass, I wouldn’t hold it against you. A few days later, we tried the Assorted Nigiri Platter with Maguro (tuna), Ebi (prawn) and Hamachi (salmon), which I admit was a better deal at ₹675. If you’re a seafood junkie, try their delectably refreshing seafood salad (this is off the menu, so ask for it!)
(L) Salmon, Ponzu Aioli Sauce and Tempura Flakes maki and (R) Nigiri Platter at The Orient, Salt Lake
Too late for TLDR, because this next place is the BEST place for sushi of all shapes, sizes, textures, and colours, in Calcutta. The entire point of writing this post has been THIS place — WASABEE! This one’s located at two places, Deshapriya Park and Prince Anwar Shah Road. We only visited the one at Deshapriya Park and that was enough to make this chain our absolute favourite. Three of us made our way there on a quiet afternoon while their sushi festival was on in May 2019. We sat right next to the sushi chef’s work table, where we could see the spectacular precision of every movement that goes into making a roll. We ordered 7 plates of sushi/sashimi—the chef was surprised or drained, or both. We joked among ourselves that he didn’t expect such a wild afternoon when he came in that morning. Here is what we got (you might not find a few of these on the regular menu because these were part of the festival, but you can try your luck by asking the chef whether he can make these for you—all unmissable!): Cheu sushi (prawn, crab, and cheese uramaki), Futo maki (salmon, spinach, tamago, and sweet shitake), Salmon Roe maki, Unagi nigiri, Spicy Maguro (tuna) uramaki, Tempura Sake maki (deep fried salmon and seaweed rolls), and a Squid Sashimi! Everything was incredibly affordable. Each plate has a minimum of 4 and a maximum of 8 sushis, priced between ₹350 to ₹800. All in all, we had 38 pieces of sushi that day, and they were all unbelievable. Our absolutes favourites were the Futo maki (which came in a boat!), unagi nigiri (eel has a beautiful texture), tempura sake maki (the entire roll is deep fried and then cut, leaving a delicious crispy batter on the sides of the seaweed), and the salmon roe maki (slightly overwhelming with all the fish eggs, but an experience you won’t regret). Every ingredient used is fresh like it was bought from the Tsukiji Market that morning! I don’t know with what stomach we ordered a plate of yakitori and one of omurice after this audacious affair! I’m only saying this because they were absolutely perfect! (More on this later)
(L) The sushi spread and (R) Unagi Nigiri
If there were any other places I’ve tried sushi at in Calcutta, they probably weren’t good enough to remember. We did try a spicy salmon uramaki from The Japanese Restaurant and Garden (located at Eco Park, Newton) counter at Ahare Bangla, a fantastic annual food festival that has been occurring for the last couple of years, attracting all the ‘ahaare’ bangalis for maach, mishti, and more. The sushi wasn’t too special but the 8 pieces were worth the ₹400 we paid for it—although the roll was narrow. I wouldn’t mind having it again! If you go to the ITC Royal Bengal Grand Market Pavillion buffet, which costs just 1475 (incl. of taxes) for lunch or dinner, be sure to fill up on the unlimited salmon uramaki rolls besides the breads and cold cuts. Further, the gimbap (Korean seaweed rolls count too, if you love sushi enough) at King’s Bakery in Rosedale Plaza, Newtown, is the cheapest sushi-adjacent serve-up you can get and it’s amazing too!
Gimbap at King’s Bakery, Rosedale Plaza
P.S. I’m aware that there are several other places that more experienced foodies will talk about and I’m only starting out—🐻 with me. I hope this list helps too.
Other Cities
If you’re in Pondicherry and you’re craving sushi, head over to Buddha by the Bay on the rooftop of The Promenade. It’s expensive, tasteful, and the sushi is whatever but it’ll get you through. The view and the mosaic tile floor is to die for.
BOMBAY – I’m sure there are numerous gourmet places for sushi here but we only had an hour before our flight after attending a Cigarettes after Sex show the previous night and we went to Kofuku on Linking Road! The best sushi experience I’ve ever had. I ordered a yellowtail maki, my first ever, and it was perfect. Complete with pink cherry blossoms and Japanse-style dining table options, warm and cold sake and the perfect ambience and service, this place served up more than sushi. You can’t miss this pretty place. I packed some sushi up for the airport and spilt soy in my bag, but it was all worth it.
Yellowtail Maki at Kofuku, Linking Road, Bombay
Once again, this is Korean, but do not miss the gimbap at Shimtur, Paharganj, Delhi. So cheap, you’ll love discovering this place and the thrill of steel chopsticks is boundless. Tip: their kimchi is so satisfying!
For research and recollection for this post, I searched up the word sushi on my Whatsapp chats. There are 112 results. How many would you have?
EAT OR DIE 