Photo by India Hobson & Magnus Edmondsen
I can’t tell you how much I have been looking forward to this book. I’ve eaten Pippa Middlehurst’s food — her Tantanmen, a Japanese take on Dan Dan Noodles and Kuay Teow Gai, or Thai Noodle soup were both out of this world — and have been itching to get in the kitchen and try my hand myself. And her book is everything I wanted it to be: a glorious invitation and accessible primer, full of deliciousness. I want to cook and eat every recipe in this book, but it’s with the Biang Biang Noodles — wide, elastic, noodles that you sort of swing into shape — that I want to start, allowing me to wallow in her Cumin Lamb and Hot Oil versions. And the Chilli Crab Noodles, Spring Onion Oil Noodles and Miso Clam Ramen are singing spicily to me, too. And for those who don’t feel ready to embark on making their own noodles, Middlehurst gives (except for the Biang Biang dishes) alternative shop-bought-noodle alternatives for each dish. Where to start with the dumplings? It might just have to be the Har Gau — translucent dough wrapped around juicy, gingery chopped prawns — though it seems unfair to pick just them out. Of course, much of this food takes time, but there is a special joy to be derived from this kind of kitchen project. In winter, I will be hunkering down and making a stash of what seems very reasonably to be titled The Best Chicken Broth and her Charred Onion Broth. And I just have to give a quick mention of her Roasted Garlic Chicken Fat. I know.
But the recipe I am sharing with you today is for neither noodle nor dumpling, but an eat-me-on-everything Sichuan Chilli Oil.
Dumplings and Noodles by Pippa Middlehurst (Quadrille, £16.99)
Photography © India Hobson & Magnus Edmondsen
