Silken Tofu with Peas and Mushrooms...and the time I admitted to being homesick.

When I was growing up, my nanny spoilt me by feeding me rice that had been cooked with pandan. The first time I had rice that had been cooked without it, I immediately noticed the lack of that familiar perfume. Putting a knot of pandan leaves into the rice pot is a practice I have continued to this day, and boy was I relieved to find them sold in the Asian supermarket!

You know, I have a tiny bone to pick with the UK.

Yes, the entirety of the UK.

Ok no...just the people who advertise for Scottish universities.

Now, you take tropical international students like myself and feed us tales of highland bagpipes and kilts and how all the men look like James McAvoy (ok, maybe that lie I got from the media but let's not get nitpicky here). Sure, you tell us the winters are cold. We expect that. We're not stupid. In fact, because we don't know any better we welcome this foray into the winter because it gives us a chance to be like all those cool instagram people! All bundled up in their hipster reclaimed tartan blankets, and urban outfitter jumpers, clutching designer mugs of rainforest certified hot chocolate. Oh how we live for the chance to capture this aesthetic! Yes, the blankets will come from Oxfam and the jumper will probably be from Primark but we will be there. Living the pictures we see on the Christmas cards back home.

But you know what you don't tell us? You know what the ultimate deception is here? Winter may leave. Hell, it might even be summer. That doesn't mean a damn thing. You don't tell us it's COLD ALL YEAR ROUND.

Huh. St. Andrews. Sunniest place in Scotland. 

Well yeah buddy, that really doesn't say much for the rest of Scotland.

Ok ok. I will acknowledge that most of this rant can be attributed to homesickness (yes ma, I said it. No ma, I do not need to fly home).  Being here over the summer while amazing (like genuinely, I've had the best time), it has worn me down a tiny bit. I miss my family, my friends, my boyfriend, my dog, not having to put on a jacket whenever I step out of the house, having durian on demand, having dim sum on the cheap, not having to make biryani myself....

Ok maybe slightly more than a little homesick.

But that is ok!!! 

This is something I can deal with. Millions of students have dealt with this before me and I am NOT going to wimp out. I am the master of my own moods.

And you know what gets me in a good mood?

Oh please...I'm not even going to finish that for you.

This was so simple to make. And don't be fooled, it may look plain but it packs a punch of flavour. 

Silken tofu with peas and mushrooms

~ 2 tbsp veggie oil

~ 1/2 inch ginger (minced)

~ 2 cloves garlic (minced)

~ 5 chestnut mushrooms (stems separated from caps, sliced.)

~ 1 big red chilli (sliced)

~ 1 cup water

~ 1 tbsp soy sauce

~ 1 tbsp oyster sauce
~ 1 cap full Chinese rice wine

~ 1 tsp sesame oil

~ a pinch of sugar

~ 1/2 cup frozen peas

~ 300g silken tofu (cut into cubes)

~ 1 Knorr fish stock pot

OK, first thing you want to do is crank the heat all the way up on that wok. ALL the way up guys. All your ingredients have been prepped. Don't worry. I believe in you.

Pour the oil in along with the ginger and garlic. Keep tossing it around the wok until you have garlic and ginger perfuming the air. Add the sliced up mushroom stems and stir fry till slightly softened. Add the sliced caps and sliced red chilli and stir fry for about a minute. Add your water all in one go. It will sizzle. You will live. I promise. Add the soy sauce, oyster sauce, rice wine, sesame oil and sugar. Stir to dissolve then add you peas and tofu. Stir, but be gentle. You just want to separate the tofu pieces, but silken tofu is fairly delicate and you run a risk of breaking the pieces. That will happen, no getting around that. But let's keep it to a minimum, shall we?

Add the stock pot ( I LOVE THESE. I keep a few of the veggie and chicken ones in my cupboard as well. They're so easy to use and are great for thickening sauces and soups), stir, then cover with a lid and let simmer for 3 minutes to warm up the tofu and peas. Serve hot over a bed of hot rice.

Best eaten whilst under a duvet and watching That 70s Show. 

Mushroom soup...and the time I asked Santino and Paolo to fall in love with me.

Someone please put an end to my torment. Why do we have exams? Why? I am not going to be a doctor. My line of work is not going to need me to make split second decisions on someone's life. I'm assuming as a psychologist I will have the luxury to let the patient leave, then calmly consult my copy of the DSM-IV-TR (whichever edition it will be in) and determine "hmm...yes...schizophrenia it is..."

Elisa has done nothing but laugh at me this past week, simply because I've been watching John Bluth's Thumbelina on repeat and listening to the Roger and Hammerstein's Cinderella musical soundtrack (ahem, Santino Fontano? Paolo Montalban? Please fall in love with me?) from dawn to dusk. And you know what I have HAD IT. Where is my prince charming? Is my fairy prince lost? Normally I rescue myself with chocolate, but I need reinforcements for the exam diet. If anyone can look you in the eye and say that they sincerely do not want a fairy prince to take them on a magical bumblebee joy ride so they don't have to study, then they are LIARS.

Ah well...ranting and fantasy aside, what I say is true. My body is weak and my soul is TIRED. And assuming you're in the same place, this recipe will help. Mushroom soup is is the elixir of life. It has the power to calm the body and soothe the soul. This version is very chunky, and you get nice chunks of mushroom throughout, held together by a thin rich broth. Use any mushrooms you'd like. Well...ok, please don;t use button mushrooms if you can help it. They're sad sad little things with basically no flavour. Much like students during finals week.

Mushroom soup

~ 1 Tbsp butter
~ 1 Tbsp olive oil
~ 2 cloves garlic, minced
~ 1/4 diced sweet onion
~ 10-12 mushrooms of your choosing, cut into rough 1cm bits.
~ 1/2 cup chicken stock
~ 1/2 cup milk
~ salt, black pepper and smoked paprika to season
~ a handful of chopped chives.



+ In a small pot, melt the butter and olive oil together, then use it to fry the onion and garlic till fragrant.
+ Add the mushrooms, and let them sweat for a little bit. They'll soften up and go nice and tender. Season with some salt and smoked paprika.
+ Add your chicken stock and milk, simmer till the soup is as thick as you would like it to be. At the last minute, toss in your chives. Sprinkle over some black pepper for a little extra kick.


Alright guys, this recipe is my exam week present to you. Take a break, stretch your back and make it for yourself. Mop the bowl with some bread and feel your body slowly come back to life.
Remember, you are going to be absolutely fine. You have done as well as you possibly can and no one can ask for more than your best.

Good luck!