Useful kitchen gadgets – garlic saucer

Garlic Saucer

This gadget may prove a little challenging for you. I recently promised one of my co-authors one and ended up on a much longer quest than I had hoped as well-known kitchen shop in the USA where I originally bought it no longer stocked it!

But, do persevere, once you have used the garlic saucer (or ceramic garlic plate), you’ll never grunt and groan over ginger or garlic again, each are reduced quickly to a paste.

Does anyone know of a source in the UK? I’ve found some similar ones on Amazon, but the grid is not so regular and even.

Dumpling dipping sauce

Danielle wrote about Chop Chop in Leith in June. The wonderful people who brings you Chop Chop dumplings are good enough to freeze some of them for your private delectation. Here’s my favourite dumpling dipping sauce, tasty and versatile, to eat with Jian’s potstickers or your own, home-made dumplings.

Ingredients

• Light soy sauce
• Sherry or rice wine vinegar
• garlic, finely chopped or minced
• fresh ginger, finely chopped or minced
• fresh chilli, finely chopped
• fresh coriander, finely chopped

Optional ingredients:

• Peanut butter, crunchy or smooth
• Basil, finely chopped
• Lime juice

Method

1. Mix garlic, ginger, chillies, vinegar and soy sauce to taste.
2. Add coriander.
3. Serve.

A note on amounts

Typically, you’ll use 1 part vinegar to 2 parts soy, and as much of the flavourings as you want to achieve the flavour you are after. If this is your first ever time, take 1 small clove of garlic, half an inch of ginger, a handful of coriander leaf and half a medium chili. As you get used to the sauce, you can add or subtract amounts to suit your taste.

Variations

• For a satay-style sauce, add a couple of table spoons of peanut butter and mix thoroughly.
• For a Thai-inspired sauce, swap vinegar for lime juice and coriander for basil.

@eatatchopchop