The Captain's Table

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Rice

Here's my rice method, extracted for easy reference without having to read the whole of the other recipe as well. Make some rice. Make however much rice you think you'll need, but make sure all the water is cooked out. Here's my foolproof method that I inherited from my mother that works every time: Decide how much rice you want, and double the amount of water ready to boil (fill a kettle, basically; or if you have a fancy boiling tap, use that). Heat oil or butter in a saucepan on high heat - choose a pan with a lid that fits. Coat the rice in the hot butter and keep it moving so it doesn't burn. When the rice is coated, add the water (which is twice the volume of the rice). I use a pyrex measuring jug, so if I usually serve 100ml or 4oz of rice I just double that in boiling water. Easy. Stir, making sure that any rice that made its way up the sides of the pan is all incorporated. When the liquid starts bubbling again, put on the lid, which is wrapped with a cloth.

Goreng time

Time for another recipe. Next week I'll tell you how to pan-roast a chicken, but this will more than suffice for now: Nasi Goreng. I warn you now, this is far from an authentic masterclass, but it'll get you there for a sweet and spicy stir fry treat of an evening. Ingredients: For the paste : Three cloves of garlic (minimum) 2 inch/5cm long piece of ginger 2 birds eye chillis Half a red onion Tomato puree Oyster sauce Light soy Kecap Manis For the fry : Meat or Tofu (I used pork in this instance) Vegetables Day-old rice EGG You will need : Pestle and mortar/blender Wok Rice cooking equipment Egg pan The Method: Start off by cooking off your rice first. It is possible to use freshly made and cooled rice, as cardinal a sin as that is, but if you're short on time/suddenly inspired to make this, it will work - as long as you get the lid off and allow as much steam to escape the cooked grains. I use basic long grain rice as standard - cheap by the kilo compared to basmati, b

Stir Fry

Here's a quick one. When I was at uni, I managed to get the three-ingredient stir fry down to about 20 minutes from prep to plate, including rice or noodles. How? Well, mainly heat, and lots of it. I eat stir fry meals, ooo... maybe as much as 4 or 5 days out of seven? As I've said many times before and will do so again, I don't really eat much in the way of vegetables due to deep-seated texture and flavour problems, and this super-fast method allows me to control those two factors more easily. Over the years, of course, my tastes have gradually changed and my methodology has improved, so let's run down a classic... The secret to all of this is keeping your pan really seriously terrifyingly hot - hard to achieve with a normal domestic hob, but do the best you can. Here's the OG method - this will sort you out literally in minutes. Everything is based around having a "main" ingredient that you accompany with other things, so meat or seafood or tofu or

Pork chops with Jäger sauce

Time for something a little more... exciting. Stretch your legs a bit. Half this plate I made for the first time on Sunday, so don't think this is hard or anything. This rich and hearty hunters' sauce is a great accompaniment for meats and is usually paired with schnitzel (more on those later), but it's delicious so have it with whatever you want. Ingredients: For the chops: Pork chops For the sauce: Onion Garlic Mushrooms Rosemary Sage Stock Plain Flour Method: Timing is crucial, as ever. The sauce will take a small amount of time, so my advice is to make that first. Use a pan with a lid (I've got an 8"/20cm skillet), and cover it when you're done until you're ready to serve, basically. Dice your onion and garlic. I used one mid-sized red onion and three cloves of garlic; use at least this amount of garlic, if not more. Slice up your mushrooms. I had chestnut closed cup mushrooms, so split head and leg and sliced pretty thin

Chicken and Rice

Right then. We might as well start at the top. This is it, the cornerstone of my cuisine. The sine qua non of dinner, the ne plus ultra. So good, yet so utterly basic that it beggars belief. Ingredients: Chicken thighs Rice (long grain or basmati) Hot sauce Method: Make some rice. Make however much rice you think you'll need, but make sure all the water is cooked out. Here's my foolproof method that I inherited from my mother that works every time: Decide how much rice you want, and double the amount of water ready to boil (fill a kettle, basically; or if you have a fancy boiling tap, use that). Heat oil or butter in a saucepan on high heat - choose a pan with a lid that fits. Coat the rice in the hot butter and keep it moving so it doesn't burn. When the rice is coated, add the water (which is twice the volume of the rice). Stir, making sure that any rice that made its way up the sides of the pan is all incorporated. When the liquid starts bubbling

"Meez"

Hello, everyone. Looks like I might be back. I've been writing and self-publishing on the internet for about 10 years now, off and on. During that time, I've moved four times, graduated, and been through several cycles of employment. I started writing as a way to manage with what I'd term as a difficult living situation, one which I often wondered if I could escape through rather drastic and final measures. Suffice to say I didn't, and well, here I am. Over the years I've helmed a few blogging projects, most of which can be found quite easily with a cursory search. Usually tied up in concerns of surviving mundane things like studying and struggling with the concept of responsible adulthood (or what passes for it these days), I sort of lost my way towards "the end", as it stands, and the immediate previous opus is not easily palatable as I struggle with my ongoing mental and physical health, and my career. Heavy going at the best of times. Howev