Chocoholic's Heaven

Chocolate ... The very word conjures up images of indulgence and romance.

As we know it, the modern history of how cocoa and chocolate came into being is as follows:

> Johannes Van Houten invented a method of extracting cocoa butter from ground cocoa beans, removed the bitter taste, combined the resulting cocoa powder with sugar to make drinking chocolate.

> Using the extraction method of Van Houten, Fry & Sons, manufactured the chocolate bars, as we know it today.

> Daniel Peter went on further to create the first milk chocolate bar using the same Van Houten extraction method.

The actual process for making chocolate is rather complicated and time consuming, a long process that involves harveting, crushing the pods, frementing for 6 days, drying the beans for 7 days or more, roasting the beans, light crushing to seperate the parts of the bean, some may alkalise the beans and colour further (optional as the purpose is to enhance the colour and flavour). Then the beans are either preserved to make cocoa liquor or pressed to extract cocoa butter.

The cocoa liquor and/or cocoa mass is mixed with chocolate butter and other ingredients to produce the varying types of chocolate. The darker the chocolate, the more % the cocoa solids.

Cocoa has the highest natural source of magnesium and this helps with reducing incidences of hypertension, heart disease, diabetes, joint problems and PMS. Chocolate contains trace elements and nutrients such as iron, calcium, potassium, vitamins A, B1, C, D and E.

Chocolate's reputation as an aphrodisiac is partly mythical and partly scientific. Chocolate contains Phenylethylamine and Serotonin - both which are mood lifting agents - and definately addictive. These substances are naturally released by the brain when we are happy, in love, passion or lust!

My love affair with chocolate began when I was just a wee lass - with the infamous Lana Chocolate Fudge cake (the establishment is now managed by the second generation and sadly, the quality of this infamous cake has gone down. I now get my Chocolate Fudge cake fix from their closest competitor - Vicky of Holland Grove Road), which was my birthday cake for many years. When I started baking at 10, the first cake was a chocolate cake out of a box! I have since moved on to making my own versions of Chocolate Cake.

I came across this wonderful mega chocolate cookie recipe and I have to say that this is the death-by-chocolate cookie that even my father loves it!

The Very Chocolatey Chocolate Chip Cookie

Ingredients

125g butter
125g light brown sugar
1 egg
250g X 2 blocks chocolate (melted)
150g plain flour
30g cocoa powder
1 teaspoon sodium bi-carbonate
a pinch of salt
250g X 2 packs chocolate chips

a good handful of chopped nuts

Method

1. Mix everything together.
2. Use a large ice-cream scoop to spoon the mixture onto a greased tray. Allow plenty of space as it spreads.
3. Bake in 170 degrees C for 18 minutes.

4. Cool slightly and then gently remove from the tray and place on rack to cool down completely before storing.
5. Makes 12 large super size cookies.

Sink your teeth into these absolutely addictive yummy cookies with a good strong cup of tea or coffee!!

NB: To control the sweetness of these cookies, you can use the full range of bitter chocolate to milk chocolate.

Soup in a Dragon Bun

One of my favourite small bites is a basket of steamed small dragon buns ( Xiao Long Pao). They were supposed from Shanghai and I must say that when I first had them during my visit to Shanghai’s Yue Yuen (Yue Garden) years ago, I was suitably impressed but not knocked over.

When I first visited Taipei with my then boss, we went to a local restaurant called Din Tai Fung where they specialised in this. They had a kitchen in the front with a large glass window where you could watch the cooks at work - nimble fingers encasing the minced pork filling into thin pastries with the standard number of 18 folds at the top. With the very first tongue-burning piece that I had, I was hooked for life. I make my pilgrimage to Din Tai Fung in Taipei whenever I am there.

Since then, Din Tai Fung has opened branches in many countries and having eaten in several of them, I have to say that if you want the best Xiao Long Pao in town, go to Din Tai Fung. The main restaurant in Taipei still serves the best version of their Xiao Long Pao.

Xiao Long Pao is literally a steamed dumpling with minced meat and soup in it. A good Xiao Long Pao has to fulfil several criteria:

> Thin strong skin - gently lift the dumpling with your chopsticks and not only should the skin remain intact, but you should be able to see a little reserviour of soup at the bottom.
> Filling - the minced meat within the dumpling should be juicy and succullent which means that it has a good ratio of meat to fat. It should not be too salty.

How to eat a Xiao Long Pao:

> When the hot steaming basket of Xiao Long Pao arrives, control your impulse to grab a dumpling with your chopsticks. Wait … it needs to cool down a bit unless you plan to torture your tongue with the hot soup that lies innocently in each dumpling.

> After a minute or two, gently lift a dumpling with your chopsticks (do not attempt to scoop it with a spoon or you will break the skin and lose the soup!), dip it into a plate of ginger infused with dark vinegar and place it on your chinese soup spoon.

> Take a few strains of ginger infused vinegar and place them on top of the dumpling.
If you feel brave enough, you can pop the whole dumpling into your mouth.

> If you dare not risk burning your tongue, then gently bite into the side of the dumpling, use your chopsticks to lift the dumpling off the spoon and tip the soup out of the dumpling onto the soup spoon. Drink the soup and then pop the whole dumpling into your mouth.

I prefer to eat the dumpling whole as I love the sensation of the soup bursting out of the dumpling when I chomp into it.

There is an on-going debate with regards to which restaurant in town serves the best xiao long pao. Everyone has an opinion and a favourite. I’ve tried them all. My verdict is always Din Tai Fung - everywhere else is second best. Din Tai Fung has mastered the art of making the perfectly delectable Xiao Long Pao - everywhere else is just a copy of the master.