MASTERCLASS
A fancy dish with multiple components requires serious effort. To make it worth your time in the kitchen, head chef Sujatha Asokan of Botanico at The Garage shares two fail-proof recipes. By Victoria Lim
XO pasta and lamb tenderloin
Kitchen thrill-seekers looking to up the culinary ante thrive on multi-step recipes. While such recipes require longer than average cook times, the steps need not always be overly convoluted. Take a look at Botanico head chef Sujatha Asokan seemingly complex Lamb Tenderloin with Soy Pickled Tomatoes, Curried Mash Potatoes, Smoked King Oyster Mushrooms and Pickled Spanish Onions. Although there are five components leading to the final build up of the dish, Asokan assures that the recipe can be completed one hour in advance (not including brining and pickling time, of course) and assembled when your guests are seated at the table.
The small things, however, can make a big difference to the final plate. “For instance, buying ground pepper to season the lamb tenderloin is not as effective as grinding down the fresh peppercorns yourself, because you will lose out on the delicate aroma and sweetness that comes from the black peppercorn varietal,” she advises. And instead of rushing through the brining process, allow the lamb tenderloin to rest in the brine for 90 minutes to absorb all the umami goodness. Likewise, the king oyster mushrooms requires the smoking process to be repeated to impart a more intense flavour dimension to the lamb.
Asokan’s other crowd-pleaser is
XO Pasta with Lobster in its own Butter and Pickled Turnips. “With this dish, the most important step is getting the flavour of the XO sauce right. Sautéing the sauce too quickly will result in an unappealing liquid mess, but keeping it a few minutes too long might result in a burnt and bitter flavour,” says Asokan. She continues, “Only sauté the sauce to the point where it achieves a beautiful deep brown shade, and then take it off the stove immediately, as the colour will continue to deepen with the residual heat.”
XO PASTA WITH LOBSTER IN ITS OWN BUTTER AND PICKLED TURNIPS
Serves 3 Prep time 1 hour + 24 hours pickling Cook time 20 minutes
pickled baby turnips
50ml water
4 coriander seeds
15g sugar
50ml apple cider vinegar
20 baby turnips, peeled and thinly sliced
1.1 Bring water to boil in a saucepan and add coriander seeds.
1.2 Turn off the heat and add sugar. Stir to dissolve. 1.3 Allow solution to cool, then add apple cider vinegar.
1.4 Pour pickling liquid over the sliced baby turnips and soak for 24 hours.
XO sauce
80g dried scallops
120g dried shrimps hot water
70g Chinese ham
100g shallots
3 stalks of lemongrass 4 cloves of garlic, peeled 15ml fish sauce
20ml dark soya sauce 15ml sesame oil
100ml chicken stock
10g chilli flakes sugar, to taste salt, to taste
2.1 Soak dried scallops and shrimps in hot water for 20 minutes, ensuring that the ingredients are completely submerged by the liquid.
2.2 Blend soaked scallops, shrimps and Chinese ham into a coarse paste.
2.3 Blend shallots, lemongrass and garlic into a coarse paste.
2.4 In a pan, sauté scallops, shrimps and Chinese ham paste for 20 minutes over medium heat.
2.5 In another pan, sauté shallots, lemongrass and garlic paste for 20 minutes over medium heat.
2.6 Combine all ingredients in another pan and sauté until a deep brown shade develops and liquid is fully evaporated. Season with sugar and salt.
lobster
boiling water
4 live Boston lobsters (450-550g each) ice cold water
750g unsalted butter
3 sprigs of thyme
3.1 Blanch lobsters in boiling water for 4 minutes.
3.2 Immediately transfer blanched lobsters into a bowl of ice cold water, to stop the cooking.
3.3 Remove shells with scissors and gently pull the flesh out. Chill flesh. Reserve shells and head.
3.4 Place reserved shells and heads with unsalted butter, together in an oven-proof container.
3.5 Cover container with aluminium foil and bake at 140°C for 2 hours. Stir mixture every 30 minutes.
3.6 Set mixture aside for two hours, then strain.
3.7 Transfer lobster butter to a saucepan and bring it up to 65°C.
3.8 Add lobster flesh and cook for 6 minutes.
XO pasta 300g dried pasta of your choice 4 cloves of garlic, peeled and sliced 90ml water
1 chilli padi, sliced
250g XO sauce salt, to taste pepper, to taste
40g unsalted butter
1 tbsp fresh Italian parsley, chopped
4.1 Blanch pasta in salted boiling water for 6 minutes.
4.2 In a pan, sauté garlic with olive oil until fragrant, then add water, chilli padi and XO sauce. Bring to a boil.
4.3 Strain pasta and add to pan. Season with salt and pepper. Allow pasta to braise in the mixture.
4.4 Reduce mixture to half its volume and turn off heat. Then, stir in unsalted butter and chopped parsley.
assembly microgreens, to garnish
5.1 Coil pasta on a plate, with a fork.
5.2 Place lobster on top of the pasta.
5.3 Lift 5 slices of baby turnips and a pinch of microgreens and arrange them around the pasta.
5.4 Serve immediately.
“Only sauté the (XO) sauce to the point where it achieves a beautiful deep brown shade, and then take it off the stove immediately, as the colour will continue to deepen with the residual heat.”