nee snes eeeADD SOME MAGIC TO YOUR MIDWEEK MEALS Pork medallions offer an easy and nutritious way to help keep the midweek healthy", But who said healthy had tobe boring? Try them in our Sweet and Sour Pork Stir-fry, which can be on the table in less than 20 minutes.here is only one thing worse than having to thumb your smartphone torch into life so that you can read restaurant menus the youthful treentysomething waiter noticing you ‘doso, and bringing you one of those LED dip-on lamps. Short of wheeling the house Zimmer fame co the table foryou to use while papping tothe loo, there’s nothing beter calculated to make you feel ike an old git rs profoundly irritating, partly because i's 0 unnecessary its entirely possible tohave moody lighting while also ‘dropping enough on to a table so that those of us whose sight i not ‘quite what it once was can read the ‘damn small print without recourse 10 ‘Wembley Stadium's floods. ‘But mostly it's irritating because its. hhuge own goal It makes any restaurant seem exclusive; as in itwas designed to exclude those of us notin thevery first flush of youth All 00 often this ‘sliterally the case, albeit usualy by happenstance. The restaurant business is generally a younger person’ game. Setting them up and running them requires the sort of long hous that those of us with afew years onthe lock ‘may no longer find appealing. And people in heir 20s and 30s may well have no idea what older customers want ‘ornced, simply because they haven't got there yet. Ifa restaurateur only wants Punters thelr own age, then fine. Turn ‘down the lights. Turn up the musk Print the menu in six point Comic Sans. ‘Otherwise, here is my plea: if you're My secret ingredient Uyen Law's coconut water — ‘The Happy Eater Jay Rayner Do restaurants really have to be a hostile environment for the over-50s? opening anew hospitality business {n2022 employ someone who is at least in their mid-s0s. Ask them to ‘ty out the seats. re they padded enough for an arse that has done an extra 20 years sitting? Give them the ‘menu. Is the point size legible without recourse to that torch? Does the lighting help? Does the combination fof music and hard surfaces make reasonable conversation dificult for those who might have stated to lose the top end oftheir hearing? Beyond the all-important egal requirements of dlsability access, what ate the stales ‘down tothe loos lke fr someone ‘who might, say, have ahip or knee replacement in their fuure? Are they lusecoconut water | Coconut water insteadofwine, | iscammonin hienstockor | Vietnamese waterncures, | cookrgbecause stews,sti-ftys | therelssuchan fSnd'sauces,and | abundance ott desserts — Itbengssomuch jelles.sorbets, | depthot favour, fee pure, andinsteadot smoothies iso | sugar Icanbaance usetttodeglaze | sweetness with Aretheseats padded enough for anarse that hhasdone 20 years’ more ‘sitting? iustration Sarah Tunat-Jones whichis good because dort want my daughter toeatioads of sweets Youcan useittopoacn prawns, makes themattery deicaus.Beingthe coconut waterto thebol, and crop inyour prawns well lit? And if youre using gendered tollets, are the door signs obvious or are they bloody annoying? (The later hhas nothing to do with age. Stupid loo door signs are always infuriating) 7 ‘ot doing all ofthis isjustbad business, Restaurants really ought co be welcoming toall those with the money tospend, and who has more ofthat? Acconing tothe most recent (pre pandemic) survey of household income from the Office for National Statistics It fs the over-50s, Which isn't surprising, because they're the ones further into their careers and their households tend tobe smaller. t doesnt mean you have {otarget your restaurant a them, unless ‘you want to; it just meansyou shoulda't Actively create a hostile environment ‘Given the massive hospitality industry staff shortages, employing older people also makes another kind fofsense. The group that owns the ‘Wolseley, the Delaunay and others in {London actively recruits older staf. ‘As co-founder Jeremy King put itnot Jong ago: “There isso much experience and knowledge, or should be, among ‘people wino have ved alife compared {osomeone only a year orso outside ‘of college” Those of us eying and {thickening around the edges shouldn't be invisible. e's nice to have a waiter ‘who'sa grownup now and then, Not least because, i theyre working there, 1 «an be pretty sure beable co read the {damn mem. ont jprayner@observercou Whenyeuest | whent goto theminasstad, | Vietnam, youcansuckthe | UyenLuuisafood Shali'ssosweet | whiter onduthor arcpaeswel with | of etnamese: themestofthe | Simple Vtnemese prawns. That'sa | Foodto Cook at realy commen | Home Hardie shinVietnamese | Grand restaurants My |» Tumtopage cousins aeaeys | 20forour Secret foderingprawns. | Ingredient special The Observer| OPM| 1601.22 5— Interview Tim Leseis Photograph Alex ale My life on a plate Ed Gamble Comedian, 35 {thinkeabout food 80% ofthe time. 1 sues the other 20% is sleeping, My favourite episodes of Off Menu: [Gamble's foo! and drink podcast with fellow comedian James Acastr] are the ‘ones that spin off int ridiculous stories. Serge from the band Kasabian said ‘when he was growing up, he couldnt feat food if there was a magician on the telly: No one's ever said that Then b says“ just started thinking about how theirprops bag must really smell {always rejected the children's menu, ‘Theyid hand you a horrible ment covered Insteky fingerprints with crayon scribbled all vere that onl offered fish fingers or chicken nuggets. At no point Iwano eat that. wanted what my ‘mumanddad werecaing. My friends parents loved me coming cover, because you could treat me ike a Hileman dustin, twas aloe ater than other children. enjoyed every single ‘morsel presented tome. Which fm glad of i gave me a good bassin ood. And ow that's lage part of my fob. My mum madean amazing chicken ‘noodle dish, a realy nice mozzarella pasta bake, anda chicken and sweet Potato casserole. I's really sweet, she Sent meaway 10 university with & book she made with al the recipes ‘and obviously dnt cook them ‘once Actually might have cooked the Chicken noodle dish once i the third year to try and impress some people. 6 The Observer | OFM | 16.0122 | didn't expeetwhen we met Jamie Oliver [forthe podcast] that he'd get {no talking about his underpants so quickly. And t certainly didnt expect hhim to come back inta the room at the tend of the interview to show us the ‘underpants he'd just been to thecolet, totake of Any diabetic will tell you, its ike hhaving another, 24-hour ob. Especially ‘you really like food. Because every time you try something new, you don't necessarily know how your body will ‘reac ot So I elly chink about the impact itis going to have, but quite often Til go: "Tm going to eat anyway ‘yas vegan for about nine months. ‘That sums me up alittle bt. If decide ‘want todo something, I really stick to itqulte inensely fora long time. Then one day, wake up and go:"Wel, Tm not doing that any more” And go completely inthe opposite direction. 1 got rally into barbecuing during the lockdown. Iwas barbecuing five times week when Iwas really nce weather. DButthen did roast lamb when ievas snowing and Ive done ribs when iewas pissing it down, ‘Washing up in the family genes. ‘My grandad used to claim he was the ‘Northern ireland junior champion of ‘washing up.And felled that, because someone made hima certificate and he hadi on the wal I tok me unit as 2ito realise itwasa joke. on Food Stow- plain white tofu 4s02 ‘egg whites 2 medium potato flour or cornstarch 4 tbsp ‘altand ground pepper tsp ‘carrot of 1 medium, peeled ‘and coarsely grated or very finely chopped. ‘ooking oll at east 200m! Tofinish ooking oll2 tbsp ‘Sichuan chill bean paste 2 tosp garlic hep, finely chopped. singer tsp. finely chopped tunsalted vegetarian stock or hot ‘water 300m! castersugar 2 (sp Tight soy sauce sp potato flour or cornstarch 1p mined with 4 sp cold water ‘Chinkiang vinegar 2 sp ‘pringonion greens 5 tbsp, green parts onl, finely sliced toasted sesame oil tspLunar new year © Directions Pace the died mushrooms in bow cover with Bolling water from the kte and leave to soak {oratleast half an hou "when the mushrooms are fully reconstnted sce of and discard the stems andthe finely hop the caps. Place nawok ‘wth he soaking water, topped Up fmecessay to make 200m eatoverahigh flame, hen Sram, sing often, or about {veminutes, und the wateras evaporated. Set ase Rough chop the tofu and place ina food processor with the eg whites, potato starch or comlour ands tsp salt and ‘wilt pepper to tase lace ina bow ad the prepared carrot and ‘mushrooms and mix well Hea at est 200ml of cooking calinawokto 190C Usea spoon {o drop balls ofthe mixture (bout Ps thspin siz) int the coi. {ry the rok alsin batches. With slot spoon or coking chopsticks, separate so they dont Stcktogether Fy for1-2 minutes ‘onboth sides until deep golen, then remove witha sloted spoon and set aside on kitchen paper to dain Thisstep canbe done afew hous in advance "When you wish tserve the ish, heat the 2 tablespoons of ‘lina seasoned wok over a medium lame. Ad the el team paste and tir fy unt it smells delicious and the ol has reddened tang care not o burn. ‘Then a he garcand ginger and continue tory untthey smell wonder fo. “Add the stock o water with he sugar light sey sauce and ofa Duals bring to the boland then bol fora few minutes, stirring and spooning the guid over the {ofa aod the sauer has ede Dyabout halt Give the starch mistrea str and. in owoor thre stages, mixin jest cnouzhcothicken the sauce OREM 1 ray lke consistency. Add ERATOR thevincgarand spring ion ROOSTER rcens and stirora few seconds CTR torus the avours. Of the heat, BERD rinse scsame oil and then turnintoasering dish ‘The Observer] OFM 16.01.22 37Cool buckwheat noodles with chicken and mixed vegetables ‘ese can be eaten as aside dish ora snack Substitate smoked ot Spiced firm tofu, cut ino slivers, chicken to make ftvegan, Spice itup according to your taste Serves 4 as partofa Chinese meal with rice and about 3 other dishes red peppers ‘green pepper 3 noked chicken 2005 bbeansprouts 100% dried buckwheat noodles s60g sunflower or rapeseed oll sp easter sugar Isp fine sat sp ih soy sauce 1: tb hinklang vinegar > cbsp hull ol tbsp with chil Sediment. to taste asted sesame oll tsp Sichuan pepper ¥- sp, roasted and ground, or1 sp Sichuan, pepper ol ro ast © Directions CGatthe peppers into fine slivers 1d the eicken ino thin st Galite thicker than the peppers, doesn fal apa) Bring alarge pan of water to the boll. Add the peppers and beansprouts and blanch for bout a minute, then rem witha sot ‘o lander and cool unde tape they should retain a it «runch, Drain well and set aside. Aad the noodles tot and str to prevent sticking il unt ust cooked (stall minutes) Then tp into the ander and cool under the i tap, Drain well Sprinkle the sunflower or rapeseed ll over noodles and stiri in switly, so they don stick together. Place the noodles, blanched vegetables and chicken in a big mixing bow ina small bow, combine th sugar, salt, soy sauce and vinegar and str well Add the remaining ingredients, then pour the sauce lover the noadle mixture. Toss cverything together and serve 38. The Observer | OFM | 160Creative director and co-founder, Bao, London White cut poached chicken For lunar new year, we would always celebrate with abanquet- Style meal. Athome in Taiwan ‘we would have the chicken dish hilled and eal on in the meal, ‘whereas at my partner Shing’s Celebrations they would have ‘warm and nearer the end. I prefer the chilled chicken as gives the flesh that nice consolidated flavour and different cexture. Make sure ‘when first cooking, dip itin and fou to eaten the skin: to achieve that jelly layer in between the skin, fash itn ice ater cooking, Serves 4 Forbrining the chicken whole sugar star anise 3 pleces spring onions > singer acm Seasalt For ginger spring onion oll Spring onion og rapeseed oll 1005 saltotaste sugar to taste © Directions Prepare te liquid or brining and poaching, You'l need enough ‘Water fo cover the chicken normally go for a1 ratio (chicken ‘weight to brine weight) bu i depends on what size pot you have {opoach the chicken in. So tobe sale, go for i.5(ciekensbrine). For example, a 1akg bird wil need nearly akg of liquid. For every 1 lite of water, ada 5 table sal. soy sauceand 1% sugar. Add th star anise, spring onion and peeled finger, and leave overnight inthe fridge-You can substitute the water ‘with chicken stock if you have i ‘You ean prepare the ginger springonion olearit If ot, make ‘while the chicken s cooking "Toprepare the ginger spring onion ol finely dee the ginger, farlicand the whites of the spring ‘onion. Heat the ol ina pan toa high temperatu jingerand spring onion. Let it ook for on 5-10 seconds, Take the pan off the heat and season heavily with slr and sugar, decant ft a bowl and set aside. “Tale the chicken out ofthe {ridge an hour before cooking and remove i from the lguld, so the chicken reaches room temperature, Put the brine liquid ina saucepan with deep sides and bringtto the bol Dip the chicken {Infor around 30 seconds, then ‘ake tout fora minute, Repeat this process 2more times and skim any {Impurities that ave come tothe surface. On the as dip, keep the ‘water simmering and lave iin for Tse an S-shaped metal butcher hook that allows you to pierce the chicken tthe top tot it out of ‘he liquid but ifyou don't have a hhook and you have a small 13k chicken, then use metal tongs and ‘lamp i rom inside the evityand Ii out For larger birds, you can ‘sea spatula withthe other hand {ahold the base ofthe chicken ‘when iting i out of the iquid If you strugee, then you can skip the ef whitecut poached chicken Opposite coot Iruckohewe ‘oodles teth chicken and mised egetables ippingand conn osismer Take the pan off the heat and keep the lid on. Leave the chicken inthe poaching liquid for about ‘ao minutes (using Lk ied). Iyou have larger chicken, add 1S minutes for every 300g extra in ‘weight. large 2kg chicken would take about 70 minutes Ifyou have a thermometer probe to check the internal temperature itshould be if here isn'ta thermometer availble, pierce the chicken atthe ‘thickest part to see if the juice uns ‘leat. Once the poaching times ‘up place the chicken in iced water Immediately to stop the cooking "When the chicken has rested for ‘a minimum of15 minutes (you can eave or longer i you want to eat the chicken chilled), carve the meat into slices and eat b dipping them into the ginger oll served along ‘with boiled rice. » The Observer| OPM | 16.01.22 39Explore our etait Indulge your curiosity From award-winning novelists to filmmakers, musicians and more, our online programme of Guardian Live events invites you to stimulate your cultural curiosity from home. Discover where your favourite author finds their inspiration, put your questions to film directors, and hear new ideas from writers around the world. Browse our full programme at theguardian.com/live-online GutGian LiveLunar new year Banquet-syle meat or fish dishes are cooked to celebrate ‘and to wish for an abundant ‘year to come. Ghar sia is Aefintely a lassi, ts edness and its sweetness symbolising jy and good luck This isa traditional Cantonese recipe that was passed on to me bya Cantonese friend, You can find allthe ingredients online oF rom (Chinese supermarkets To get ate complexity of favour, we use three kinds of fermented sauce. The miso gives alight fragrance, the tofuru ‘beancurd forthe mid-tone and the yellow bean paste ives a ‘deep rich favour. Serves Forthe marinade ‘aster sugar 3805 salt 90g ‘onion 60g, minced sarlie Gog, minced ‘mei kuei lu ehiew Gog (a Chinese rose-flavoured sorghum liquor, salable online) ‘Soy sauce Goa ‘sesame sauce 308. oF tahini ‘iso paste 30%, yellow bean paste 30, fofuru or fermented beancurd 308 shallot 30g, minced beetroot powder 205 pork neck filets 2x 2005 {preferably Iberco park forthe flavour and the well distributed ‘marbles of fat, ut normal pork neck works perfectly toc) For the cucumber dressing ‘soy sauce 1008 rice wine vinegar 252 Sichuan chill ol 50% Toserve ‘cucumbers 2 toasted sesame seeds tbsp © Directions ‘Tomake the marinade, put all the Ingredients except the pork into ‘ablender and bit until smooth. Cover the pork neck with itand put tin the fridge overnight ‘The nextday tale the pork neck ‘out of the fridge and bring to room. Us ie — —s = i = PL temperature. Set the gil in your ‘ven tots highest setting, ‘Mix the sy sauce ie wine ‘vinegar and Sichuan oll together to make the dressing and set aside Place the marinated pork neck ona metal ack above a trays making sure is covered excessively with the marinade, ‘This recipe has a high sugar content so when the marinade rips It burs quite qulely- Make sure ou line your tray with a baking sheet or foil under the rack catch the marinade for easier washing up late. ‘Onee the grillisashot aie can be, cook the pork rec for 5 the pork neck and cook for $ ‘more minutes, Switch off the aril and et the meat rest for nother 2 minutes in the oven, You are ooking for an internal ‘emperature of 65C. You should feta char siu pork neck with nicely charred edges. Take the filles out ofthe oven and start preparing your cucumbers. Peel and cut each cucumber into 2 rectangles roughly 3m x 7m x ‘Lm, Sear the cucumber pieces on both sides in a hot pan, until the surface turns brown and ic: ‘Toserve,artange2 pieces of seared cucumber on each plate, sprinkle over some toasted sesame seeds, and spoon on some ‘cucumber dressing ‘Cut the grilled pork neck into ‘smm slices and equally distribute the sliced pork nec into 4 portions over the cucumber. Serve immediatly. “The Observer aims to publish recipes Jorfish rated as sustainable bythe ‘Marine Conseroation Society's Good Fish Guide ‘The Observer] OFM 16.01.22 41— The last word Rachel Cooke There's a new till-less shop near me ~ so I just popped in for spring rolls and simmering despair (GONE read the ones on any shelf that Js temporarily empo ollowed (ina strictly non- peculiar way) a wentysomething ‘Woman with a huge rucksack into ‘whieh she was huting her shopping ‘while simultaneously frantically {Whats Apping on her phone. Ie seemed hard to imagine tha she could just walk out “YOU'RE GOOD TO Go ‘ays the sign ~ with allthis booty. But ‘when, ike some nervous old granny, ‘checked, the man a the gate assured ‘me thatthe cameras miss nothing: no packet of ramen goes unnoticed by {heirall-seeing eyes, Does thishave | peculiar eect on shoppers? 'm guessing that it does, and will do unit the novelty wears of Because no bill fs totted up, and no money exchanged (Gou're charged via your amazon Account)’ almost as if everything is Ii can says that I should have known better. No, my decision tovisit the ranch of Amazon Fresh that has just opened near where Ilive ‘was not atalla good match for the "weeping month-long programme of mindlulness and joy-sparking | tentatively set in motion for myself on 1 January. Bu there {was al the same, curiosity having goe the better of me ‘And yes, the result was predictably awful, As any wellness curu worth the name could doubtless have told me, this way lay simmering despair and an almost overwhelming desire to buy a packet of Jacob's Mini Cheddars. Tl have no idea how Amazon got the go-ahead to setup a branch ofthe srocery wing ofits rampaging empire in the grade-t listed building it now free. itis the daylight sober version of inhabits an old tram depot that when ‘The right lights, The banks of cameras late-night drunken internet shopping "first came to this part of London was above my head, The store is, would though i's open till 1pm, s0 ican be the home of ots of litle antique shops say,angled strongly towards the young | both, | sues. (iP). There was, seem to remember, fndsingle. There are lots of meals for | Twenty-first century capitalism's Abit ofa kerfuffe over its alcohol fone in transparent plasticbowes,and an | great trick sto make us long forthe licence, but in the end it got the green expansive selection of instant noodles. | useless and the unnecessary and, sure light, in spteof the fat that there are But t's quite ahotch-poteh. Some ofthe | enough, grim and lonely though it was already three large supermarkets mere stuffis Amazon branded, but there are | inside Amazon Fresh, I could feel that metres away. Now it stands there rather also bizarrely a number of things | itch starting up. Ifthere was nothing | ‘mournfully, es lard sign seemingly from my beloved Booths the so-called | needed, surely there was something 1 aiming to attract elther those who ‘Waitrose ofthe north, ‘Wanted, Restless roaming the aisles, Simply cannot be bothered to crass felt a did when firs et home the road, or those who prefer to Keep And, hardly knowing howto feed fon theirheadphones as they shop. a ‘myself, my diet was often strange and (Amazon Fresh’s USP is that it has no Aisordered, Into my bag {put some lll so customers need notspeak to | There are nthe day Ivistted, there were | spring rll, abox of Feel New tea fan a single soul) This, have read, sone three members of staffon hand: oneat | energising blend of aniseed, fennel ofiObranches nthecaptalso arty | 1OCSOF meals | vee errrence which has gatesyou ener | Sid erdamom, apparent) and,ye5.a 2025,thecompany hopes tohave 260 | (OF ONAN | byusing an app on your phone: another | packet of Cheddars, which Tate on the across the UK an expansive | standing uardby thebooze:anda | walk home, felinga bit dead inside Forawhile,Iwandereddazedly | Selection | thirdat the counter where you can pick "The future rose up ahead of meal around, sruggngto absorb the ul Uupamazon pares but nomatter! In| vegetable ol ad delsons and urban Sony, lim goingtohave touse theword | OF MStant | place of aman interaction, there are | desolation. crt “gsiopian weirdness Thesience. | noodles trgentyperesigns."SO GOODIT'S | @ulfaceicooke 20 best Sy | eer ees toe, 5 Easy dinner recipes {Ee on ee Dpety edt uy Design retry a Simple delicious dishes rom some of our Sy grec Preaxnnate sos favourite cooks inclu masala omelet, Sey peor ei Pete ao : Spaghetti with Marmite and a quick chien pe Sree tre Cams posit tress Peas 42 the Observer| OPM | 16.0122200 years of Guardian imagery Tocelebrate the Guardian's 200th anniversary, we've selected 58 of ‘ourmosticonic photos, which you can now buy asprints. Discover photography from our reporting on pivotal moments throughout history, including extraordinary shots of prominent figuresand our natural world, and relivekey sporting, cultural and political moments. Buya: ra ie help’ eer ae ‘Guardian'sindependent journalism -foranother 200 years tocome. Th e Browse the collection today at Guardian theguardian.com/anniversary-photos 0, nl in progresseet Podcasts Comfort Eating with Grace Dent ‘Supported by @ocado You might not tell, but your favourite celebs 7 | Whatdo you Wl Beckorasecond Jonson restaurant ene ae ae asks famous: guests Th including Stephen Fry, Laura Whitmore eat when ye FOUN TE naucingsephen ry taura Whitmore doors wide open on friendship, family-and home alone? the foods thathaveseen them through tall Out every Tuesday. Egg timersat the ready. Ustenon: Grove Podcasts | sti Goole Podcasts Fyewd| Listen wherever you get your podcasts