Mid-Project Regret Syndrome

In which I decide to cook a meal for 11 people and freak out halfway through slicing my ninth shallot.

Have you ever felt like you’ve bitten off more than you can chew? Welcome to my kitchen, where I routinely tackle elaborate dinners which involve at least three methods of preparation, conveniently forgetting how much I really do not enjoy cooking. Not one bit.

A handwritten note taped on my kitchen cupboard as I prepare the meal. (A.V. Kitching)

What I love to do is eat. And because the food I love to eat isn’t readily available in Winnipeg, I end up having to cook it myself. While I’ve yet to batter and deep-fry fish and hand-slice potatoes for chips — I go to Jackson Heights (584 Pembina Hwy.) to stave cravings — I can’t find a single spot in the city dishing up steaming bowls of Hokkein mee, also referred to as Penang prawn noodles.

It’s the kind of food that requires plenty of napkins to wipe off beads of sweat which form quickly on both brow and philtrum; reconsider your outfit if you’ve decided to wear white (both broth sippers and noodle slurpers have been caught out by the violent red soup splatters), and bring a scrunchie to tie long hair back.

The dish is unique to Penang, an island in the straits of Malacca in Malaysia, and it’s one of my favourites, the star of the show, a deeply savoury red-brown broth, boiled furiously for hours, redolent of fermented shrimp paste, pork ribs and prawn shells and heads.

I’d started mine the day before, cooling it overnight so the flavours had a chance to meld and deepen. The next evening I ladled it over a nest of white rice vermicelli and yellow wheat noodles, topping each bowl with poached prawns or shredded chicken, blanched spinach, green beans and beansprouts, half a boiled egg, a generous handful of fried shallots and finally a nice, big dollop of blow-your-socks-off sambal made from dried chillies, rehydrated and blended to a paste and then cooked down with salt and oil.

Despite me serving dinner an hour later than planned because I made a last-minute decision to whip up some pork wontons from scratch as an appetizer (SPOILER: We ate everything together because I forgot to serve them first), I think everyone enjoyed themselves.

A photo of my child's depiction of the meal. (A.V. Kitching)

A photo of my child’s depiction of the meal. (A.V. Kitching)

People milled about the house throughout the course of the evening, some playing the board games my kid had set up in the living room and basement area, others just opening the fridge to help themselves or offer drinks around, and two lovely souls rolled up their sleeves and got stuck in with me, one frying the little wonton parcels while the other began assembling noodles in bowls.

I don’t know many people here — some of these friends I’ve only just recently met either through work, or through my kid’s school and activities — and I’ve been struggling with feelings of homesickness and of not quite belonging for a little while now.

But not that day. While everyone was busy making themselves at home in my house, I felt, for the first time since moving to Canada, like I, too, was home.

AV Kitching, food, arts and life writer

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Tasty tidbits

Canada’s Great Kitchen Party heads back to the city on Oct. 7 at the RBC Convention Centre (375 York Avenue), and I (AV) will be joining fellow judges Christa Bruneau chef/owner of Feast, food writer and historian Christine Hanlon, twice-champion Winnipeg chef Jesse Friesen, Emily Butcher, chef/owner of Bar Accanto and Nola, fellow journalist Bartley Kives and senior judge Mike Green to judge dishes served up by previous competition winners Darnell Banman (Thermea Spa Village), Luc Jean (WOW Catering), Edward Lam (Peacock Kitchen & Drinks), Graham Peltier (The Oakwood Cafe) and Jessica Young (Spruce Catering).

The five chefs will be battling it out to represent Winnipeg at the Canadian Culinary Championship in Ottawa next year. Tickets are available here.

A swank-looking new spot opens in Osborne Village tomorrow. Sierra Café & Lounge (160 Osborne St.) is located next to Sottobraccio, and will feature coffee by day and cocktails at night, with a yet-to-be-revealed food menu and a decent-sized patio along Wardlaw Avenue. It doesn’t look like Sierra has a website yet, but there have been modest updates via their Instagram page.

Negroni Week runs through to Sunday, offering lovers of the cocktail (which typically features equal parts gin, Campari and red vermouth) the chance to explore variations made by participating eateries and lounges. Judging by the website, Winnipeg’s three Earls locations and Solera (725 Osborne St.) are taking part, but the latter features four variations on the negroni, including one that features saffron and cinnamon-infused mezcal and another that features dark rum and ruby port. You can see all four of Solera’s negronis here.

Devil May Care Brewing Co. (155 Fort St.) wants you to slip into your best lederhosen and pop by for a big stein of beer, as they celebrate Oktoberfest through to Sunday.

In addition to one-litre mugs of German-inspired beer (including a smoked marzen, a festbier and a Bavarian-inspired wiessbeir), the gemütlichkeit (look it up) will include prizes for costumes, German food (care of Freebirds Kitchen) and music, a stein-holding contest and more. Details here.

More Oktoberfest fun — Kilter Brewing Co. (450 Rue Deschambault) is also celebrating German beer, food and more starting today and running through to Oct. 3 with seasonal brews, contests, an Oktoberfest beer run, live music and so on. The food menu includes an Oktoberfest dog, bratwurst, Bavarian potato salad, warm pretzel with beer cheese sauce or mustard and more. Details here.

Recommended fare

Ben: My partner surprised me with a last-minute reso at Sottobraccio, the new-ish Italian eatery at 160 Osborne St. (right next to Sierra Café & Lounge). It’s a lovely spot, and the dishes we had — a puffy focaccia, some warm olives, a Caprese salad and the tortellini di ricotta, featuring zucchini, basil and a beurre blanc sauce — were stellar.

AV: I’ve had too many mediocre Indian meals here, so when a friend began raving about Craving Curries (3116 Roblin Blvd.), I didn’t really believe them. Well, I’m happy to eat my words. I’ve become a repeat customer, frequently popping in to avail myself of their buttery, fluffy naans, which I use to scoop up heady spiced chickpeas, melt-in-the-mouth lamb curries and a velvety and complex aubergine dish that manages to be both smoky and fresh. This is heavenly stuff — just, please, steer clear of the butter chicken.

Mid-Project Regret Syndrome

Tasty tidbits

Recommended fare

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Dish

Mid-Project Regret Syndrome

Tasty tidbits

Recommended fare

More stories to sink your teeth into...

Dish

Download our News Break app