11 minute read
Eat, sing and be merry
A meal prepared by architect Warren Liu in his home involves good food, much cheer and opera music as dessert. By Low Shi Ping
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Guests who are invited to a meal at Warren Liu’s home know that they are in for a treat. Warren, the head of the household, is the chef; his wife Marlene and daughter Shan serve the food. Blessed with an operatic voice, Shan usually sings for guests at the end of the meal. If they are lucky, Marlene, from whom she inherited this gift, joins her.
The private performance is like a rich dessert at the end of a wonderful repast. It’s no wonder that their guests (typically relatives of Marlene’s from Canada, where she is from, and friends) eagerly anticipate their warm hospitality.
Designed for gastronomy
The four-storey terrace house the Lius live in is clearly set up for entertaining. As an architect and head of his own practice A D Lab, Warren personally saw that its design would be conducive for mealtime gatherings.
The main door is on the second floor, accessible via a flight of stairs in the front garden, opening directly into the living room. A balcony flanks it, fitted with artificial grass and outdoor furniture, making it the perfect space for a pre-dinner apéritif.
In the middle of the house is an internal courtyard with a planter box built into a pond, from which a ficus tree grows. A money plant hangs down from the bannister on the third floor, giving the home a leafy, green heart.
On the first floor is the dining room and kitchen, seamlessly connected by a sizeable island that doubles as a food preparation station and table that sits nine. Consideration is even given to friends with children – the little ones have their own seating area recessed into the ground by the courtyard, overlooking the pond and decorated with colourful cushions.
PHOTOGRAPHY MUNSTER
“I opted for an open concept because the plot is small, just under 1,400 sq ft. Yet, because we want to identify the spaces within the continuum, and keep it spacious, we used colours to subdivide the sections of the house,” Warren explains.
The living room has hues of orange splashed over low-slung lounge-like sofas. The dining room is accented by turquoise chairs, an in-between colour of the ficus leaves and the blue of the dipping pool at the back of the house. The kitchen runs the length of the space, done up primarily in black to make it invisible and render the final effect less busy.
Oriental inspiration
Dressed in a black Chinese-style long shirt or changshan, Warren is in the kitchen hard at work preparing the meal. In fact, this sight was only seen in the last five years, after he and his family of four moved into their current place, as his previous homes were not conducive for cooking.
“I find it relaxing because you need to focus entirely on the food and you get immediate enjoyment when you eat it. I like to share this, so I entertain. It is also a way for me to escape from work.”
The theme for the dinner is Shanghai chic, and he has prepared a menu featuring dishes from China, inspired by a house party he attended recently in Sri Lanka, which served wantons.
The dinner kicks off with a spicy cucumber salad from the north, followed by a nourishing winter melon pork bone soup. There is also a Shandong chicken served with a black vinegar dressing, and of course, wantons in spicy sauce.
White ceramic plates with blue floral prints are placed on the table, a gift from his sister who lives in Beijing. The centrepiece is an elegant floral arrangement from Charlotte Puxley Flowers, made up of hydrangeas and delphiniums.
As the seven guests gather around, Warren takes up position in between the island and kitchen where, like a true home-chef who loves to entertain, he cooks and chats with his friends at the same time.
“A Chinese menu is the most difficult to make. It takes a full day of preparation, as opposed to a Western menu, which can be done in half the time. There are a lot of ingredients that go into every dish. If I don’t practice often enough, I have to refer to the recipe,” he laughs, as he peers at a tablet positioned among the plates and bowls that displays the step-by-step instructions.
After spending three hours preparing the feast, Warren finally sinks onto a barstool and helps himself to a bowl of Sticky Spare Ribs and Noodles. Shan steps into the limelight her father has vacated and treats the party to a rendition of Mon Coeur S’ouvre A Ta Voix, a French aria from the opera Samson and Delilah. Her rich voice fills every corner of the dining room, the experience like sinking your teeth in a slice of dark chocolate fudge cheesecake.
Everyone is spellbound.
As the last notes fade into the night, there is a second of stunned silence before the room bursts into applause. Warren looks on proudly, beaming at his daughter before he quips, “That should aid digestion.”
SPICY CUCUMBER SALAD
Serves 8 Prep time 20 minutes Cooking time 2 hours
spicy chilli oil
• 2 cinnamon barks • 2 star anise • 2 pcs of ginger • 6 cloves of garlic smashed • 2 cups of vegetable oil • 4 tbsp chilli flakes • 2 tsp five-spice powder • 2 tsp of salt • 3 bay leaves • 2 tsp Sichuan peppercorn
» Prepare the spicy chilli oil by cooking the spices, ginger and garlic in vegetable oil in low heat until brown. » Strain the oil and set aside. » After cooling the oil for 15 minutes, mix it with the rest of the spices using a blender or whisk.
salad
• 2 whole cucumbers • 6 tbsp of light soy sauce • 4 tbsp of dark vinegar • 1 tsp of sugar • 8 cloves of minced garlic • 4 tbsp chilli oil
» To prepare the cucumber salad, slice the cucumbers and remove seeds. Cut them into 2-inch sticks and smash them with the flat face of a cleaver knife. This will allow the dressing to soak into the cucumber. » Prepare the dressing by mixing the rest of the ingredients with the chilli oil. » Pour the dressing and mix it well with the cucumber slices. Marinate for at least 1 hour before serving.
Spicy cucumber salad
WINTER MELON PORK BONE SOUP
Serves 8 Prep time 20 minutes Cooking time 2 hours
• 14 cups water • 4–5 big pork bones • 3 half-inch thick knobs of ginger • 1½ inch thick round slices of winter melon • 15 dried shrimps • 10 straw mushrooms • salt to taste » Boil the water in large pot. Rinse pork bones and drop them in boiling water. Boil for 10 minutes. Turn off heat, remove bones to plate and strain stock a few times until clear. Put bones, ginger and stock back in pot and boil another 20 minutes. » Meanwhile, slice off the rind of the winter melon, remove center pulp and seeds and slice into ½ inch thick slices. Rinse dried shrimps. Wash straw mushrooms and slice into 1/8 inch thick slices. » Skim any foam off the top of the soup. Add melons, mushrooms and dried shrimps to soup. When soup boils, turn heat to medium low and cook covered for 1 hour. » When time is up, add salt to taste, if necessary.
WANTONS IN SPICY SAUCE
Serves 8 Prep time 20 minutes Cooking time 1 hour
wanton
• 600g of minced pork • 2 eggs • 2 tbsp light soy sauce • 4 tsp corn flour • 2 tbsp chicken stock powder • 400g diced prawns • 7 stalks of diced spring onions • dash pepper » Mix the all ingredients for the wantons, except for the diced prawns, using a blender or food processor. » Mix the prawns into the blended minced meat. » Wrap the wantons with Shanghainese wanton skin.
spicy sauce
• 1 tsp sugar • 8 cloves minced garlic • 3 bird’s eye chilli • 4 tbsp black vinegar • 6 tbsp light soy sauce • 6 stalks of spring onion, chopped • 4 tbsp chilli oil
» Prepare the spicy sauce by mixing the spices and ingredients with the chilli oil.
cooking the wanton
» Add 2 tbsp sesame seed oil to a pot of water. » Heat water till boiling. » Cook till wantons are floating in boiling water. » Strain the wantons and serve with the spicy sauce.
SHANDONG CHICKEN
Serves 8 Prep time 20 minutes Cooking time 1 hour
• 3 onions, quartered • 2 carrots, cut up • 10 whole black peppercorns • 8 chicken Maryland pieces • vegetable oil for deep-frying • 6 spring onions thickly sliced
black vinegar dressing
• 6 tbsp black vinegar • 8 tbsp vegetable oil • 2 tbsp soy sauce • 2 small chillies, chopped • 4 tbsp coriander leaves, chopped
» Fill saucepan with 2 spring onions, carrots and peppercorns. Pour in enough water to cover the chicken by 2.5cm and bring slowly to boil. » Once boiling, reduce the heat and simmer for about 6 minutes. Remove from the stove and set aside to cool completely in the liquid The chicken will continue to cook during this time. » To make the black vinegar dressing, whisk together the vinegar, oil, soy sauce, chilli and coriander leaves. » Half-fill a heavy-base pan or wok with oil and heat to 190°C, or until a cube of bread dropped into the oil browns in 10 seconds. Cook the chicken pieces, skin-down first for 5 minutes or until golden and crisp. Turn and fry the other side for another 5 minutes. » Drain well and chop into bite-sized pieces. » Pour dressing and garnish with remaining chopped spring onions
Shandong Chicken
STICKY SPARE RIBS AND NOODLES
Serves 8 Prep time 20 minutes Cooking time 2 hours
• 2 rack of pork ribs, cut into individual ribs • 2 tbsp vegetable oil • 2 onions • 4 cloves garlic • 1 knob of ginger, minced • 2 tbsp five-spice powder • 2 tbsp black pepper • 2 tbsp tomato purée • 2 tbsp honey • 100g black bean sauce • 20g dried shiitake mushrooms (optional) • 500ml chicken stock • 1 litre fresh pineapple juice • 4 tbsp soy sauce • 2 limes • 4 tbsp fresh coriander, chopped • 400g cooked egg noodles
» Preheat the oven to 170°C. » Fry the pork ribs: Heat half of the vegetable oil in a large saucepan and add the ribs. Fry over a high heat to brown all over then take them out of the pan and set aside. » Fry the vegetables: Peel and finely dice the onions. Peel and mince the garlic and ginger. Add the onions, garlic and ginger to the pan with the remaining vegetable oil. Fry gently for 10 minutes, until they are all soft. Add the five-spice powder and pepper, fry for a minute then add the tomato purée, honey, black bean sauce and mushrooms (if you’re using them). » Cook the pork ribs: Fry for another few minutes then pour in the chicken stock, pineapple juice and soy sauce. Put the ribs back into the pan and put a lid on it. Put the pan in the oven and bake for 2 hours. » Finish and serve: Finish the sauce with the juiced lime and stir through the chopped coriander. Toss the sauce with the noodles and serve.
Sticky spare ribs and noodles
RASPBERRY SNOWFLAKE CAKE
Serves 8 Prep time 20 minutes Cooking time 1 hour
• 55g raspberries • 250ml coconut milk • 450ml water • 200g caster sugar • 60ml double cream • 5 leaves gelatine • 125g potato starch or corn flour • 100ml water • 3 tbsp desiccated coconut
1 » Cook raspberries, 450ml water and caster sugar in a small sauce pan and bring it to a boil. Keep whisking while cooking to help the sugar and raspberries dissolve. 2 » Soften gelatine in cold water. Add coconut milk and double cream into Step 1 and bring it to a boil again. Turn off the fire and leave it for 10 minutes. 3 » Add gelatine to Step 2 and keep whisking to help it mix evenly. 4 » Mix potato starch and 100ml water evenly and add to Step 3. 5 » Line a sheet of parchment paper in a baking tray. Pour Step 4 mixture in and leave it in a fridge till it forms. 6 » Slice the snowflake cakes and coat with desiccated coconut before serving.
Raspberry snowflake cake
