I was somewhat bemused when I read Mark Bittman’s homage to Jean-George Vongerichten’s recipe for fried rice in the New York Times. “I was never more impressed than when he created his version of fried rice, topped with crisp ginger and a fried egg,” Bittman writes sycophantically.  It’s not that I take issue with the fact – and indeed it is a fact – that Vongerichten is a culinary wizard with an enviable propensity to knock up delicious fare. But what I do find egregious is the assertion that Vongerichten created a dish that is a longstanding favorite in Southeast Asia. Of course I’m referring to Nasi Goreng. This Malaysian and Indonesian staple, which translates as “fried rice” in native speak, is a concoction of rice wok-fried with chili, garlic, onions and minced vegetables all tossed with a sweet soy sauce called kicap manis and served with an oozy, sunny side-up fried egg perched on the top. To spruce up this homely dish locals add diced chicken and/or shrimp. And for a truly sumptuous take it is served with a couple of sticks of grilled skewered meat - satay-  and prawn crackers. One of the few Asian dishes that straddles the line between street fare and home-cooking, Nasi Goreng features in lunch boxes, picnic baskets and is a perennial go-to for a late night supper. Even Vongerichten’s mode of presenting his dish, carefully molding the fragrant grains in a high mound has been flagrantly poached from us Asians, sans attribution. I’m all for sharing and proliferating my culinary heritage (in the event you haven’t figured it out yet, I’m a thoroughbred Malaysian), but please Mr Vongerichten, how about a little a respect amongst foodies.  Credit where credit’s due is all I’m saying. 

My Nasi Goreng Recipe

Sambal olek is a concentrated chili paste with a fiery kick. It is often used to enliven Indonesian dishes such as this punchy meat and vegetable filled fried rice and can be increased or reduced in quantity depending on how much heat you like. If you have an adventurous palate and forgiving neighbors add a teaspoon of shrimp paste (available from Asian grocery stores) with the sambal olek. It may emit the most odiferous of whiffs but, trust me, it will imbue the dish with a sublime savory depth.  

Serves 4

 3  tbsp vegetable oil
1 small onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
2 tbsp sambal olek or chilli sauce
1 large chicken breast, cut into small dice
6 1/2 oz.  uncooked shrimp, chopped
3 1/2 oz.  finely grated carrot,
6 1/2 oz. tinned sweetcorn, well drained
3 1/2 oz. trimmed green beans, finely chopped
1 lb. cooked  and cooled basmati or jasmine  rice
1 tbsp kicap manis or soy sauce combined with a 1/4 tsp sugar
4 large eggs

1. Heat 2tbsp vegetable oil in a wok or frying pan, add the onion when hot and cook for about 2 minutes until softened and golden, then add the garlic and continue to cook for 1 minute. Add the sambal olek or chili sauce, cook for 1 minute before adding the chicken pieces. Cook over a high heat for about 2 minutes then add the prawns. Cook until the prawns are opaque and just cooked through.

2. Throw in the carrots, sweetcorn and green beans and cook for about 2 minutes until the beans are cooked but still crunchy.

 3. Add the rice to the wok or pan and mix. Pour over the soy sauce and stir until the rice is piping hot.  Remove from the heat and set aside.

 4. Heat a large, frying pan with the remaining oil and fry the eggs, two at a time, until the edges are golden and crisp but the yolks still runny. Serve the rice in mounds on four plates, each topped with a fried egg.

I was enjoying some vegan, curried apple and squash soup from Wholefoods earlier when I was struck by a curious thought three-quarters of the way through the tub. The soup was richly spiced with a boisterous chili kick; it had an unctuous creaminess often absent in vegan dishes courtesy of a good dose of coconut milk and it was nicely balanced by what I suspect to be lemongrass and a hit of lime juice. Whilst it certainly didn’t seem to be lacking anything, it suddenly struck me that the soup was distinctly less salty than how I normally take my food. So my taste buds retreated, habit waded in and I pulled out my carton of fine sea salt and assaulted the dregs of the soup with a shower of sodium.

This, in the wake of a recently published study by Californian researchers which reveals that there would be between 54,000 and 99,000 fewer heart attacks every year and up to 92,000 fewer deaths, if everyone ate just half a teaspoon less salt per day. And if that isn’t startling enough- it rides the coattails of another recent piece of research, this time from Japan, which shows that aside from the well known connection between salt and high blood pressure, increased intake of salt boosts the risk of heart disease and the risk of cancer. My bad.

As a responsible foodie who buys organic eggs, vitamin-rich locally grown kale and ensures her meat once roamed grassy pastures, I have come to parade myself as being something of a model of sensible eating. But when it comes to my salt intake I shamefully admit to being a salt fiend of the worst kind. It’s true that processed foods, whether you’re talking deli meats, chips, tomato sauce or perfectly square white bread, are packed with monstrously high levels of salt – 3 rashers of bacon can account for nearly your entire daily allowance of salt. In fact, over 80% of our salt intake comes from processed foods, so we barely even realize it’s there. But, it’s a terrible misconception that people who don’t frequent fast food joints, who shop at farmer’s markets and who regularly cook with fresh ingredients, i.e. folk like me, are consuming any less salt than the Burger King fanatic. If anything, I’m committing an even worse crime because I’m directly responsible for my own high salt quotient.

Research conducted last summer by the Center for Science in the Public Interest showed that 85 out of 102 meals served in 17 chain restaurants including Chili’s and Olive Garden contained more than a day’s worth of sodium (some even contain 4 days worth!!). But such salt sprees aren’t limited to budget friendly joints. Should you ever roam about the kitchens of haute cuisine establishments with a tasting spoon you’ll note that the best of chefs are as liberal with their salt shaker as they are with their sticks of butter. “Season, season, season” was the mantra of my instructors at culinary school. What they often meant by this was throw in a third teaspoon of salt. It was this training, I believe, that altered my tastebuds to crave salt like a toddler craves candy. There are numerous theories as to why chefs develop such a hearty appetite for salt. One is that their palates lose their sensitivity to the seasoning over years in the kitchen. Another albeit somewhat tenuous theory I heard from a fellow chef is that many chefs are heavy smokers and this dependency dulls their tastebuds. Whatever the reason, quite frankly, whether you are dining out on Michelin starred fare or at Red Lobster’s all-you-can-eat buffet, you are overdosing on salt.

The good news though, is that apparently once you recognize you are consuming too much salt, and you cut the amount you add by a third, it actually won’t be all that long until your palate reacclimatizes and your cravings for the white powder lessen. The bad news is that for the first 2-3 weeks that it takes your taste buds to adjust, you’ll probably find your food tastes bland and lacking and you’ll hanker after a salt block to suck on.

As a rule of thumb, you should have not much more than 1 teaspoon of salt a day (about 2300mg). On average Americans consume 2-3 times this amount. Here are some tips to help you cut your salt intake with as little pain as possible.

1. Combine your salt with a mixture of your favorite spices, such as ground cumin, ground pink peppercorns and ground coriander and use this concoction to season your cooking. This way you’ll use less salt and the spices will give your dish a real boost.
2. Use half the amount of salt you would normally use and jack up the flavor with a squeeze of fresh lemon juice and a handful of freshly chopped herbs. The wonderful, fresh flavors will compensate for the reduction of salt.
3. Use low –sodium soy sauce. Soy sauce has far less sodium that salt as a general rule but will still give you’re their salty taste with a umami boost.
4. Cut the salt and add a squeeze of tomato paste instead. Like soy sauce and mushrooms, tomato paste is packed with umami goodness that will add a rich, savory backdrop to your dish.
5. Keep salt only in the kitchen cupboard and not on the dining table. Instead, indulge in a chic, new pepper mill so you can enjoy freshly ground pepper instead of salt at the table.
6. Use garlic powder and onion powder to add flavor and savory depth rather than salt to your cooking. And the pale appearances of these powders will trick your brain into thinking you’re getting your salt fix.
7. If you use canned fish or vegetables, rinse them well under running water before cooking or eating. To inject flavor into them, look to your spice cupboard and a smattering of fresh herbs!

Gourmets come in every shape and size. Some have a predilection for baking, other just love to get down and dirty at the outdoor grill. But if you don’t know the different between a mouli and a mandoline – gifting your favorite foodie can be tricky business. Fear not, help is at hand…just scroll down. 

For the gourmet who loves to snack…

A food dehydrator might not sound like a kitchen essential, but if you know someone who regularly dips into the beef jerky jar or always seems to have a fruit roll-up to hand, then this is their ideal Christmas gift. Its even better for those who are never quite satisfied with their shop bought chewables. This way they can adjust the seasonings, cures and sweeteners in their snacks and experiment with new flavor combos. Great for campers, hunters, gardeners with prodigious fruit harvest, those on a raw food diet, anyone with kids, folk who want peaches in December and intrepid grazers. And as a bonus, you can make fantastic dog treats in this as well – why let people have all the fun?

Splurge: At $220, the Excalibur 3900 Deluxe Series 9 Tray dehydrator really is the Ferrari of dehydrators.  Sleek and all black, it will sexy up the kitchen counter while revving up the snack supplies. With 15 square feet of tray space in all, there’ll never be a shortage of dried foods. The heavy duty fan is at the back of the unit which allows for even drying and keeps it away from getting spoilt by juice drippings. As with all the best dehydrators, this one has a thermostat AND while it doesn’t have an inbuilt timer as such, it will automatically switch itself off when the contents are dry enough. All the trays also have mesh linings, so they can be used to dry herbs and chopped ingredients like garlic and onions without the worry of losing anything. With the more common round machines, fruit leather can be a tricky, whereas if you line these square trays with plastic wrap, the leather is extremely easy to cut into thin strips, roll up and store.  The only drawback is the size of the machine 17 x 19 x 12 inches – make sure the person you’re buying this for has ample space and REALLY is a jerky junky….   

Stinge: This may not be the absolute cheapest machine on the market (you can find them for as little at $35) but at $54.99 on Amazon the Nesco FD-75PR 700-Watt Food Dehydrator is great value. With a fan mounted at the top of the machine, a variable thermostat and 5 stackable trays, it’s easy to use and for the most part, dries evenly and thoroughly. (You may get better results if you shift the trays around once or twice during the drying process.) Will dry most fruit chips and leather, meat strips and jerky in under 12 hours. And with a low hum, it does it without disturbing the entire household. Two drawback; the lack of an inbuilt timer and with the fan on the bottom juices from meats and fruits can drip onto it which can shorten its lifespan. 

For the gourmet who loves to bake…
The confection that every gourmet who reckons themselves a skilled baker, must perfect, is the brownie. Yielding the ultimate marriage of chewy, dense edges with just the right amount of crunch and the decadently gooey, fudge-like interior is a feat achieved only by a select few. Key to success, is the right pan. And here is where you – would-be Santa, come in. 

Splurge: The is the pan for the brownie aficionado who’s all about the crust. And it’s also one for lovers of quirky-looking kitchen accoutrements! But there’s more than just funky aesthetics to this zig-zag shaped pan. Indeed, there’s genuine technological innovation that puts the Edge Brownie Pan ($34.95) amongst the ranks of the All-Clads and Le Creusets of the culinary world. The interior walls ensure evan cooking and the promises that every square of chocolatey goodness will have a crispy, chewy crust. And if you are worried about your confection making its way out of this vessel, don’t be. The interior is coated with a super strength non-stick coating. Oh, and if you are a fan of the homegrown, it’s also made in the Good Ol’ USA.  

Stinge: 

There’s little worse than pulling a tray of near perfect brownie of of the oven and then mutilating the slab as you try and wedge it out of the tin. The Perfect Brownie divider pan ($19.95) solves this problem. It’s coated in a wonder material that makes the brownies just slide out of the pan with a great crust on the bottom and the sides. Better still, once you’ve poured the batter into the tin you slip a divider rack into it. As the brownie cooks it magically divides into equally sized portions. This way every square is evan and has the ideal proportion of squidgy center and crusty outer edges.   

For the gourmet who loves to cook Asian…
Anyone that’s whipping up a hearty curry or tasty stir-fry on a regular basis will benefit from a rice cooker. I know at the outset it seems like a big waste of precious kitchen space. But, cooking rice in a saucepan can be a drag – it’s easy to burn bottom of the rice if the heat is up too high or the pan too thin and with half the rice sticking to the base of the pan, you have to cook double of what you need and leave the pan soaking overnight before you scrub the remnants off. As an added bonus, most  rice cookers can be used as steamers and even to cook simple broths and soups. Multi-purpose – that’s a phrase we love! 

Splurge: Obviously the Mitsubishi IH  rice cooker Wclass NJ-WS10 is the most qualified for this role. The induction heating, all-black rice cooker is made from a block of solid carbon and costs $1000. But, I’m not going to suggest you even contemplate it – good rice, no great rice can be had for much less; $750 less to be precise. The sleek looking, stainless steel  Zojirushi NP-HBC10  Rice Cooker and Warm ($250) can cook up to 5 1/2 cups of rice. Its best asset is that it takes all the guesswork out of rice cooking. With its easy-to-use LCD control panel you just key in the type of rice you are cooking – jasmine, basmati, brown, sushi yada yada yada, add the prescribed amount of water that flashes up on the screen and the pretty silver box takes care of the rest for you. The best rice cookers are said to use induction heating systems – this model has one of those and it also incorporates micro computer technology (it sounds important whatever it means!). A tiny drawback; it isn’t the speediest of machines. Even white rice can take up to 45 minutes to cook. But as they say, the best things in life are worth waiting for. 

Stinge: At £25.99, this Aroma mini 4 cup rice cooker, is an ideal budget gift for anyone with a small kitchen. An efficient, multi-purpose instrument it can cook white and brown rice,oatmeal and soups. You have to gauge the amount of water you add, but use the measuring cup supplied and the instruction booklet that accompanies the machine will guide you to a tasty meal. With its stainless steel exterior, its looks pretty enough and the aluminium cooking pot has a non-stick coating which will make washing up a cinch. (There, will however be washing up – this isn’t dishwasher safe.)  

For the gourmet who loves vegetables….

Nope, I’m not being facetious, vegetable peelers would make a great gift for a gourmet. Those in the know will concur that a peeler is an essential part of any cook’s arsenal. And take my word for it, it’s easy to get seduced by some newfangled gadget that either shreds your produce to an inch of its life or simply gives a carrot a good rub down rather than shaving anything off.  So, choosing wisely here will no doubt garner you, o gift giver, a plethora of tasty well-peeled veggie dishes.

Splurge: The Rösle serrated peeler ($24) is so fine that you”ll want to use it only on the best, organic produce.  A lesser vegetable would not be worthy of it’s graceful high-carbon stainless steel blade and robust but still artfully craft handle. Though expensive, it’s ultimately good value because it only takes off the thinest sliver of skin, leaving all the edible parts for your nourishment. Vegetable peelers have a habit of wearing down quickly. This one won’t and 5 years down the line, peeling potatoes will seem as effortless as the very first spud you spud you derobed.  

Stinge: 

I know what you’re thinking; 15 bucks, that don’t seem like no bargain! But hear me out, what you are getting are three cutsy colored , Swiss made, old fashioned style swivel peelers from William Sonoma – the best kind in my book. There’s a standard straight edged peeler for harder vegetables, a julienne peeler for long thin strips and a serrated peeler for more delicate tomatoes, kiwis and other soft produce. You could potentially get three great stocking fillers out of one buy, or spoil yourself and keep a couple. I have a set myself and can vouch for the razor sharp edges of the surgical grade steel blades.  Also, being a leftie, it’s great to find a product that hasn’t been made to make my life more difficult! They’re dishwasher safe, but personally I’d keep them out of there; just to protect the sharpness of the blades.

Now I don’t mean to flog a dead horse (metaphorically speaking, of course, I don’t actually want to do anything with dead horses, that would just be in bad taste) but since I wrote my manifesto on the correct way to kill lobsters in the summer, a new gadget has appeared on the animal slaughtering scene that may well revolutionize my methods.

And so to said object of my desire; the Crustastun – the world’s only compassionate stunning system of crabs and lobsters. The boxy device, which looks like a cross between a giant panini press and a photocopier is roughly the size of microwave and works by passing an electric current through the head of a lobster. Killing a lobster by boiling it is said to take up to 10 minutes (depending on whose research you read). It will certainly not be less than 2-3 minutes. Death by Crustastun is only a few seconds.  Unfortunately I don’t have the necessary $4072.50 (£2,500) to kit out my shoebox sized Manhattan kitchen with one of these babies. So I’m appealing to Santa or any other kind benefactor (anybody? I make a spaghetti lobster marinara to die for…) who thinks that my insatiable need for humanely culled lobster is a cause worthy of festive philanthropy.

Crustastun was conceived of by British entrepreneur Simon Buckhaven – a former criminal lawyer- in the mid 1990’s after he was horrified to discover on a family trip to the Southwest of France that lobsters are most often boiled alive. When Buckhaven returned home he called up the patent office to see if anyone had patented techniques for electrocuting lobsters. The answer was no and Buckhaven enlisted a team of scientists from the University of Bristol to figure out the best means to stun lobsters in much the same way that cattle or other livestock are stunned.

The premise of Crustastun is simply set out by Studham Technologies, Buckhaven’s company. The lid of the stainless steel unit contains an electrode and a damp electrode sponge. The base contains a tank of salt water, with another electrode. The lobster (the machine works just as well with crabs, langoustines, crayfish etc.) is placed belly down on a tray in the base. As the lid is closed, the shellfish and tray are pushed down by the electrode sponge into the saline solution. A stun button on the front of the machine is pressed and a current passes through the 13 brain centers (brain is a highly contested word when it comes to crustaceans – many believe these creatures don’t actually have a brain at all, much less 13 of them) of a lobster. The current works by instantly interrupting nerve function, so that the shellfish cannot receive stimuli and – if you belong to the camp that believes lobsters can feel pain – won’t suffer. This takes less than half a second. The stun is applied for another 5 seconds or so to kill the creature.

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When your crimes against the humble ham hock include slathering it with peanut butter, smothering it with cheese and casseroling it with chunks of banana and deep-frying it before dousing in the required gallon of butter and sugar combo, don’t be surprised if the insulted joint swings round and hits you in the face.

And this was precisely Paula Deen’s fate yesterday as she was helping to deliver 25,000 pounds of the cured meat to Hosea Feed the Hungry and Homeless in Georgia. You probably won’t be surprised to learn that flinging hams from the back of a truck is indeed one of Deen’s preferred activities. After all, what better way to expend all that energy gained from ingesting lard slathered on, ermm lard. “This is my favorite part, y’all,” Savannah’s celebrity chef was reported to have said this summer during a similar charity event. “Tossin’ hams.”

But let this be a lesson to us all. Ham tossin’ is no child’s play. It was when Deen’s friend Eric, returned her football toss with a rather “misdirected” lob of his own that the teapot-shaped Southern (peroxide) blonde got smacked in the face. “He threw the ham back and I was unexpecting the pig…That knocked me for a loop,” Deen later explained to CNN in her usual articulate drawl. Deen was able to laugh off the incident but one can’t help but to wonder whether Eric will be dis-invited from future ham scrimmages.

Then of course, there is the rather irresistible irony that Deen was assaulted by a Smithfield spiral sliced ham that was not only massaged with her own signature crunchy honey glaze but also bore the ultimate indignity of having to wear a picture of Deen’s perfectly rotund smiling face on its already tacky shiny blue wrapper. In our most optimistic moments we would like to think that Deen had learnt her lesson. That she will henceforth treat the ham with the reverence it deserves, that there will be no more ham flinging shenanigans and that there will be absolutely no adulteration via peanut butter and banana. But, without these, there is no Paula Deen. What will those chubby digits do if they aren’t bastardizing pure and simple ingredients with sticks of fat and cups of corn syrup and hurling them into the air with the enthusiasm of a bull dog puppy on a sugar high? The alternative is too pathetic to contemplate.

I couldn’t find a clip of Deen’s ham and banana casserole to share…so here’s the next best thing. Sugar glazed doughnut, burger, bacon and egg breakfast sandwiches. I kid you not.