Bao (bow) Buns, also known as steamed buns, are thought to be derived within the Chinese culture as a filled version of ‘Mantou’, which is a steamed dumpling resembling a soft-like textured bread. However, a dumpling is commonly boiled or pan-fried, whereas bao bun’s are to be steamed in either a steamer or a slow cooker.
These buns are utterly delicious, being warm and fluffy in the inside from the sweet, white dough. You can learn how to make the dough from our Sticky Miso Roasted Aubergine Bao Buns recipe, primarily consisting of flour, Maldon Salt, sugar, yeast, milk and a dash of oil.
In this recipe, we fill our bao buns with the succulent protein of pulled pork (boneless pork shoulder), coated in soy sauce, Siracha and honey to add a touch of sweetness. We also combine layers of finely sliced carrot, radish and cucumber to add a layer of crunch for texture.
Start with the pulled pork. In a small bowl, mix the soy sauce, siracha, garlic, ginger, sesame oil, Maldon Salt, and runny honey.
Add the pork to a slow cooker and the pour over the sauce, mixing it well into the pork so it is fully coated. Place the lid on and cook on high for 4 -5 hours.
After this time the pork should be completely tender, and you can shred it with two forks. Toss in the remaining juices and set aside.
Make the pickled vegetables. In a large bowl mix the rice wine vinegar and caster sugar, whisking until the sugar dissolves. Peel the carrot and cucumber into long ribbons, and finely slice the radish, then place them into the vinegar bowl and toss well. Set aside to lightly pickle.
To serve, steam the bao buns until fluffy and soft. Then fill with the pulled pork and some hoisin sauce. Then sprinkle with sesame seeds and some finely sliced spring onions.
Serve alongside the pickled vegetables and some coriander for some extra crunch.
Store-bought granola’s can be quite expensive these days – Why don’t you save your pennies and make your own!
This recipe is packed full of nutrients from the blends of toasted nuts and seeds. Swap your honey with agave syrup for this recipe to be completely vegan-friendly as well.
Preheat the oven to 180C.
Line a large baking tray with baking paper.
In a large bowl mix together the oats, nuts and seeds with the cinnamon and Maldon Salt. In a small pan melt together the coconut oil and agave syrup gently. Then pour this over the oats and mix well, making sure everything is evenly coated.
Spread it across the baking tray and place into the oven. Bake for 10 – 15 minutes until lightly toasted and golden brown.
Remove from the oven and allow to cool slightly before stirring through the coconut flakes.
Add on top of your breakfast porridge, yogurt or even on a salad to add a new level of texture with the delicious crunch of the nuts and seeds!
We’ve teamed up with our good friend’s Bold Bean & Co in creating a perfectly spiced bean dish, accompanied with sweet, slow roasted carrots and crispy kale to add texture.
Bold Bean & Co’s Organic White Beans (haricot beans) are perfect to use for this dish as their bean’s are slow-cooked which allows them to hold their shape, creating the perfect, buttery and smooth flavour.
Amongst a bundle of spices such as chilli, cumin and garam masala, we add carrots to bring a gentle sweetness to the dish, with also a generous pinch of Maldon Salt to enhance the sweet notes and counteract the bitterness.
Preheat the oven to 180C.
Start by roasting the carrots. Peel the carrots and cut them into 2-inch pieces, then toss in some olive oil and 1 tsp of cumin seeds. Season with Maldon Salt and pepper and place in the oven to roast for 15 minutes.
While the carrots are cooking, start the spiced beans.
Melt the coconut oil in a large sauté pan. Add the diced onion and cook gently until softened. Then add the garlic, chilli, and ginger and cook for another minute. Then add the cumin seeds, turmeric, black mustard seeds, garam masala and ground coriander and cook for another minute. Follow this with the chopped tomatoes. Cook these down gently until they collapse and soften.
Once the tomatoes are soft, add the Bold Beans & Co White Beans – including their juices – and the coconut milk to the pan, and mix. Then gently simmer this for 10 minutes until lovely and thickened. Season well with Maldon Salt and cracked black pepper.
Once the carrots are cooked remove from the oven and tip out of the baking tray. In the same baking tray then add the kale leaves.
Drizzle in olive oil and a good pinch of Maldon Salt and scrunch together with your hands so they are well coated. Place this back in the oven for 5 – 10 minutes until crispy but still green.
Remove from the oven.
To serve, spoon the beans into bowls and top with the cumin roasted carrots, crispy kale, and some coriander. Serve alongside some natural yoghurt and mango chutney.
This sweet and sour chutney is made with a variety of home-grown tomatoes – I’m using un-ripened tomatoes, which are left behind at the end of the harvest but are delicious when fried or used in chutneys.
Start by slicing the onions and dicing your tomatoes. Put both in a pan on a low heat along with cloves, star anise, sugar, wine, pepper and a good sprinkle of Maldon Salt.
Slowly cook the ingredients on a medium heat, stirring regularly.
The chutney is ready when it has reduced by about 3 quarters and the texture has turned jammy.
Serve on fresh toast with a poached egg, add pepper, a final pinch of Maldon Salt and enjoy!
Homemade jam using foraged fruit is a labour of love. This delicious, sweet spread is made with blackberries that I foraged during the summer and stored in the freezer.
This method of foraging and freezing means that you can enjoy making jam all throughout winter.
Simply mix together your berries, sugar, and lemon juice – pips and all, for a healthy dose of pectin, which will help to bind the jam. Add a pinch of Maldon Salt to enhance the flavour and temper any bitterness. Cook on a low heat, stirring regularly.
Once the fruit has thickened and turned jammy, remove from the heat and add to a sterilized jar.
There’s nothing better than warm jam on toast, so make sure you try a bit before sealing. Delicious.
We’ve teamed up with the talented Olia Hercules to create a refreshing and zingy salad, perfect for light lunch or as a side dish to a hearty meal like spatchcock chicken.
The salad contains all the flavours that Olia enjoys! Beetroot is paired with vibrant chicory wedges and bursts of orange segments to bring a gentle sweetness to the dish. The salad is inspired by an amazing dish from Georgia called charkhali. The original dish is fantastic, and involves boiled beetroot tossed in a spicy sour plum puree, flavoured with pennyroyal mint, garlic, dill and Georgian spices. Olia goes a step further by charring the beetroot and cooking the plum sauce over fire, adding an amazing smokiness to the whole dish!
A quick pickling recipe
The pickling section of this recipe is very important to bring life to the dish. It is also very easy and quick to do in the comfort of your own home! With a combination of vinegar, honey and Maldon Salt, you need to mix the beetroot slices into the season vinegar for 15 minutes. However, if you would a stronger pickling flavour, you can leave the beetroot slice in the mixture overnight to really elevate the flavours!
Here is how to make the beetroot and chicory salad…
To boil the beetroot, simply put it whole, skin on into a pan of cold water.
Bring to a simmer and cook for about 40 minutes or until a knife can pierce them quite easily.
Cut the chicory into thin wedges.
Segment the oranges (do watch a quick video online if you don’t know how to do it).
Add the vinegar, honey and the 1 tsp Maldon Salt into a large bowl, mixing well. The vinegar will help dissolve the honey and sea salt flakes. Set aside.
In the meantime, the beetroot should have cooled off by now. Begin rubbing off its skin and cut into thin slices.
Drop the beetroot slices into the seasoned vinegar. You can leave it there to pickle for as quick as 15 minutes or do this in advance and leave them macerate in vinegar overnight for a stronger flavour.
In a large bowl, add the now pickled beetroot slices. Next, begin adding the chicory wedges, orange segments, olives and onion. Give it all a good mix until everything is blended together.
Arrange on a serving plate, drizzle over oil and add the dill.
Serve immediately. If there is any leftover, you can store in the fridge for up to 1 week.
What dressing could you use for this salad?
A dressing that would pair perfect with this salad would be a vinaigrette using fruit vinegar and honey. It is very easy to make and requires very few ingredients
In a bowl, add the ingredients and mix well, ensuring everything is coated evenly.
Add a few dill fonds into the mixture.
Once finished, let it chill in the fridge for a few minutes to let the flavours infuse together.
Once your salad is assembled, drizzle the dressing over the dish generously.
Fermented food is great for your gut and this organic sauerkraut is such a treat to make and eat.
Chop the cabbage or put it through a mandolin, adding the spices or herbs of your choice. Put the cabbage into a mixing bowl and add Maldon Salt.
Massage the cabbage for about 3-5 minutes until moist. You should see liquid start to appear when you squeeze it. Salt plays a key role in the fermentation process, encouraging the growth of healthy bacteria whilst also killing off any bad bacteria.
Sterilize a jar with boiling water and then fill the jar with the cabbage, pushing it down so that the sauerkraut has no air bubbles in it. Ideally you want the cabbage to be fully submerged in the liquid.
Leave in your kitchen for at least 5 days. You can leave it for longer if you prefer a tangier flavour, but once open, be sure to store in the fridge.
A Premium Alternative to An Alcoholic Drink
We are delighted to team up Feragaia, the first ever working alcohol-free distillery in Scotland! Co-founders Bill Garnock and Jamie Wild combine traditional distillery methods with a bountiful of 14 botanicals from both land and sea, including seaweed, bay leaf and chamomile.
It is this reason that makes Feragaia so unique, as the brand does not rely on alcohol to carry it’s flavours unlike other alcohol-free spirits; they use natural flavours and qualities to transform the spirit into having a complex yet clean taste which is making powerful movements within the drinking scene.
Traditionally distilled and bottled in the beautiful Scottish Lowlands, the natural flavours go through distillation runs, which are then blended with fresh, Scottish water to create a perfect balance of earthy, spice notes.
In Conversation with Feragaia
We recently had the opportunity to sit down with Feragaia and explore the inspirations behind the brand, from Bill and Jamie’s story to them letting us know the perfect food pairings that go well with the spirit. Make sure to have a tea and biscuit in hand as this makes a perfect read!
We are BIG fans of your drinks! Tell us, what inspired you to make an alcohol-free spirit?
We love to hear it, thank you! We’re huge admirers of the heritage and quality of Maldon. For me, Feragaia started with a question that I kept on coming back to. It was ‘why do I feel so trapped by alcohol?’ Working in spirits gave me a high exposure to alcohol, combined with a traditional English drinking habit – I found it relentless and restricting. I concluded that confidence could answer my question and so I set about developing a premium, unapologetic and confident alternative. So people can have a equal choice – very democratic!
How would you describe the taste of Feragaia?
It’s an original and unique taste, with a refreshing depth of flavour. 14 carefully selected botanicals create a layered and wild journey through land~sea~spice.
We’ve done some research and found that ‘Feragaia’ translates to ‘wild earth’. Is there a correlation behind your name and your drinks?
You got me! In a small way perhaps, but Wild fortunately evokes so much more than just me. Like so many, Earth’s wild places are places that Bill and I greatly value and crave connection to. It was this shared core belief that established the Wild/Fera seed!
Courier – Food & Drink – Julia Bryce – Feragaia Distillery story – CR0038565 – Glenrothes – Picture Shows: Bill Garnock (31) and Jamie Wild (31) at Feragaia Distillery, Scotland’s First Alcohol Free Spirit Distillery – Tuesday 27th September 2022 – Steve Brown / DC Thomson
What an accomplishment in becoming the first working alcohol-free distillery in Scotland! We would love to know Jamie and Bill’s story on how Feragaia was born to where it is now.
Thank you. It is something we are incredibly proud of. We’ve always wanted to set the benchmark for transparency and quality in this category, there is too much ‘smoke and mirrors’ and it’s hurting the reputation of alcohol-free spirits. Bill is the Scottish one in Feragaia and was the driving force behind our provenance and process, out of which was born Feragaia’s respecting of Scotland’s rich heritage of premium spirits and progressive nature.
Would you say the alcohol-free movement is becoming more popular as the years go on?
Absolutely! Since launching Feragaia in 2019 we have sampled thousands of people. I can confidently say people’s curiosity and confidence in alcohol alternatives has and continues to grow. I expect this to be the case for some time.
We’ve seen you make many delicious cocktails, what would you say your top 3 favourites are?
In order of simplicity. I love our perfect serve ‘Wild Ginger’ 50ml Feragaia, Ginger ale and a slice of lime. Next up, our most popular cocktail serve – ‘Paloma’ 50ml Feragaia, Pinch of Maldon salt, squeeze of pink grapefruit and topped with tonic. Finally, it took me months to perfect this one, but the ‘Smokey Old Fashioned’ with a large ice block brings me great joy. Lapsang Souchung tea, ginger syrup, lime and Feragaia. It really redefines in my mind what an alcohol-free drink can be.
How would you try and convince someone who has never purchased an alcohol-free spirit to give it a try?
“I still drink alcohol, but sometimes I can’t or I’d rather not. In which case why should I sacrifice my experience, and feel left out?” Feragaia, is the original-free spirit that is redefining alcohol-free through its refreshing depth of flavour that’s distilled at our very own distillery in Fife, Scotland. It allows you to have a sophisticated and delicious drink to savour and enjoy during those moments where alcohol is to be avoided – how about a taste?”
What food would you say pairs well with Feragaia?
We talk about depth and length of flavour as this is what slows you down and makes Feragaia ‘a drink’ apart from a soft drink, juice, tea etc. The long finish is very complimentary when eating as there isn’t too much of a clash on the top of the pallet. I’ve always liked the combination of some savoury appetisers like roasted nuts and Feragaia in that aperitif moment. If I’m really pushing the boat out then the link between our land & sea botanicals and oysters are quite special!
Your bottle and cap are both 100% recyclable and the botanicals used are composted after distillation. Is this a topic in which you are passionate about?
We tried to register ourselves on B Corp before we registered on companies house! Then we realised we needed to have a registered business to apply for B Corp. At the core of our business lies a belief that truth, authenticity and purpose are ‘must haves’ today. We have developed a sustainable foundation on which Feragaia can grow and meaningfully support the changes that we need to make together in the world.
Now…we are very much excited to announce that Maldon Salt is in the Paloma recipe. What is your favourite way to enjoy Maldon Salt in a drink?
I love the story of land and sea, which could be more apt for Maldon Salt. Salinity when used in drinks correctly is really effective. You just can’t better the Paloma, bitter citrus, saline complexity and the defining depth of Feragaia – It is complete! Sláinte
Feragaia x Maldon Salt Cocktail
In celebration of Dry January, Feragaia and Maldon have come together to create a ‘Paloma Cocktail’.
This cocktail has a beautiful, fresh taste of citrus from the courtesy of Feragaia’s blackcurrant leaf and lemon verbena and Two Keys Pink Grapefruit Soda. Being naturally sweet, the flavour is hightended from a generous sprinkle of Maldon Salt on top to emphasise the sweet notes and counteract the bitterness…delicious!
Add 50ml Feragaia, 15ml Two Keys Pink Grapefruit Soda and a pinch of Maldon salt to a highball glass.
2.Stir until dissolved, add ice cubes and garnish with pink grapefruit.
Win a Bundle of Goodies!
You could be in the chance of winning one of our limited edition bundle packs, which includes a bottle of Feragaia, Two Keys Grapefruit Soda and an exclusive Maldon Salt Pinch Tin…the perfect combination to create our deliciously good Paloma cocktail!
Head over to our Instagram Giveaway now to enter… But be quick! There are only a number of limited bundles to win.
Lastly, we LOVE seeing your creations – please tag us on Instagram using the #maldonsalt so we can share your cocktail masterpieces on our socials.
Squash is one of the most exciting vegetables to grow as they come in so many shapes and sizes. One of my favourite autumn recipes is squash soup, seasoned with fresh herbs, Maldon Salt and topped with crispy mushrooms.
Pre-heat your oven to 220 degrees Celsius. Start by taking the skins off the squash. The best way to do this is with a knife rather than a peeler.
Chop up the squash into cubes and place on a baking tray with red onions and garlic cloves in their skins. Add thyme, a drizzle of olive oil and plenty of Maldon Salt and pepper.
Once the vegetables are soft, take the skins off the garlic and add to a pan with the squash, vegetable stock, a tin of chopped tomatoes and a pinch of Maldon Salt and pepper. Cook for about 10 minutes and then blitz with a hand blender or food processor.
Place the mushrooms on a lined baking tray with olive oil, season with Maldon Salt and roast them until crispy.
To serve, spoon the soup into bowls, add the crispy mushrooms, pepper and a final sprinkle of Maldon. Delicious
Soft boil the Burford browns for 6 minutes. Place into an iced water bath instantly. Allow to cool before carefully peeling. Set aside
Sweat the diced onion until soft and caramelized along with the thyme leaves and sage. Allow to cool before mixing with the turkey mince, diced cranberries, and plenty of Maldon salt and cracked black pepper.
Shape the filling around the peeled eggs carefully, pressing it well so they are tightly enclosed and then place them into the fridge for 30 minutes to set up.
Get three separate bowls, in the first add the plain flour and season well with Maldon salt and cracked black pepper. In the second, add the beaten egg. And in the final bowl, add the panko breadcrumbs.
To coat the eggs start by rolling in the flour, making sure it covered all over lightly, tapping off any excess. Then place it in the beaten egg and coat, then into the panko breadcrumbs. Use the wet egg to stick the breadcrumbs on and press it in firmly with your hands. Repeat with all 8 eggs.
In a large pan, add some vegetable oil so it comes up halfway up the pan, then heat until it reaches 180C on a thermometer.
When the oil has reached temperature, use a slotted spoon to lower the scotch egg into the oil and deep fry for 3-4 mins then remove and set onto kitchen paper. You will have to do this in small batches. Serve straight away with the sauces, some chopped chives, and a final sprinkle of Maldon salt and cracked black pepper.
