• Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Snapchat
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

MsMarmiteLover

  • Food
    • Recipes
    • Vegetarian
    • Vegan
  • Travel
    • France
    • Italy
    • Spain
    • UK
  • Wine
  • Gardens
  • Supperclubs/Events
  • About
    • Press
    • Books
  • Shop
    • Cart

Lackety yak in the yurt

November 21, 2010 5 Comments Filed Under: Food, Recipes, Uncategorized


“For christ’s sake: has no one in London got a milkable yak?” MsMarmitelover on Twitter.

Books like Tintin in Tibet and Seven Years in Tibet inspired me to travel there, hitching in the back of Chinese trucks, when the border with Nepal was opened in 1987. Three months later, descending to sea level, blessed suddenly with superhuman strength as a result of my thinned blood, I reflected that it was the most surreal country I had ever visited, like another planet.

Recreating a Tibetan and Mongolian meal in the Highgate Yurt last night was not easy. I spent months researching, emailing, tweeting, asking around for tsampa and yak milk. I wrote to London Zoo asking if they would mind milking their yaks for me. They replied that they didn’t have any yaks. Is it the sea level altitude in London? Is this not a cosmopolitan city? On the tsampa front I was luckier, I came across a website and went to visit Tashi at his home in the East End of London…he comes from the glamorous warrior like ‘Khampa’ tribe, and in my head I nominated him the title of ‘cockney khampa’.

Tashi not only sold me a kilo of freshly roasted tsampa (ground barley) he also prepared it for me Tibetan style and gave me a brick of Tibetan tea and a recipe for momos (Tibetan dumplings). Little vegetation grows in Tibet so the diet is limited. A high proportion of Tibetan males become Buddhist monks who are generally vegan hence they don’t even allow honey. Tashi showed me some recent photos of Llasa, I was shocked. When I was there it was dirt roads and no cars. Now the streets are paved and busy with traffic. Tsampa itself is very good for you, with an earthy smokey aroma.

The yurt has an intimate atmosphere and my guests were sat on cushions which again created a feeling of comfort and relaxation. Our waiter was 8 year old Raphy who was delighted at being allowed to stay up late. Eventually yawns got the better of him and he slumbered in a corner of the yurt, which rather added to the nomadic family ambiance.

The menu:
Champagne
Vegetable wrapped sushi
Mongolian Peanuts:This recipe, apparently authentic, called for the peanuts to be boiled then simmered in star anise and Sichuan pepper for 12 hours, then roasted and then fried. To me they still tasted like normal peanuts (a Mongolian joke perhaps?) but guests pronounced them the best peanuts they have ever eaten!!

Tsampa bowl: Tashi explained that you melt some butter in hot tea, then mix it with tsampa and grated cheese which you mush together with your fingers. You then pour tea over the top of the tsampa at the bottom of the bowl. A Tibetan delicacy is to wait until the tsampa forms a crust and then lick it off with your tongue.

Stuffed with Cavolo Nero, ricotta and mushrooms
Momos, steamed and fried. 
Fried noodles (plum buckwheat) with bok choi and lotus root

Fried chilli tofu (there was one restaurant in Shigatse that did this dish. It was so delicious I went back every day for lunch, however, it was difficult to enjoy your meal when surrounded by begging children at your table)

Another Mongolian recipe: Grilled leeks on skewers, done on an ingenious little barbecue called an Ozpig.
Seared tuna steaks.
Daikon and celeriac salad 


Mongolian hot pot with corn, beans and mushrooms cooked in a Dutch oven, which give unique flavour to food. Often hung on a tripod over a fire or can be placed on top of the fire where the shape of the lid enables the cook to also heap charcoal on top. Dutch ovens were used by American settlers, on the Great Western cattle drives and were passed down from generation. They were incredibly valuable and it was considered a great honour to inherit one. I’ve been reading the Little House in the Prairie books and they carried a Dutch oven on their wagon. An essential bit of kit if you are settling a new continent.

Cheeses being passed round on what became known as the ‘cheese canoe’
Matcha pannacotta with chocolate dipped physallis

Oolong teas from Jingtea. I’m becoming addicted to their Iron Buddha Oolong. The difference in taste between proper whole leaf tea and the factory floor shavings we get in our teabags is incredible.

The last guests left at 2 am.

Recent posts

Hostile environment training. Me in front with our kidnappers.

Hostile Environment Training

July 1, 2022

Air Fryer recipe: aubergine sticks with yoghurt, tahini sauce

June 20, 2022

A dingle in Donegal: seven-day family trip discovering my Irish roots

June 12, 2022

Previous Post: « The Underground Christmas Market on December 5th
Next Post: News! Lots of it! »

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Robert Giorgione

    November 21, 2010 at 11:43 pm

    Looks very interesting!

    Reply
  2. Sally - My Custard Pie

    November 22, 2010 at 4:59 am

    Priceless- have you any yaks I can milk London Zoo keeper?! Your imagination and resourcefulness and downright bravery know no bounds. You are the Tin Tin of the restaurant world.

    Reply
  3. Plum Kitchen

    November 22, 2010 at 6:20 am

    That looks amazing, your attention to detail is phenomenal:) I have just got my Little House books back from Mum & Dad, my all time favourite was when they all came together to kill the pig (sorry!) and when Ma made butter. I had to try this myself, colouring it with grated carrot juice (goodness knows what colour I was aiming for….)I so wish I could come to the Thanksgiving, what a highlight!

    Reply
  4. theundergroundrestaurant

    November 22, 2010 at 11:13 am

    Thanks for your comments: it really was a very special night.
    I think I will do a Japanese night in the yurt next time.
    Plum: Just spent a fortune on importing grits and hominy from the states for the Thanksgiving meals.

    Reply
  5. Gerry Snape

    November 22, 2010 at 4:34 pm

    I'm almost speechless at the amount of prep needed for all the goodies that YOU PREPARED.
    Best I've seen so far!

    Reply

Leave a Reply to theundergroundrestaurant Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




Primary Sidebar

MsMarmiteLover aka Kerstin Rodgers.

Chef, photographer, author, journalist, blogger. Pioneer of the supperclub movement.

This is my food and travel blog, with recipes, reviews and travel stories. I also stray into politics, feminism, gardening.

Subscribe to my mailing list

msmarmitelover

Kerstin Rodgers/MsMarmiteLover
Looking at vegetables in Italy. Photo by @loredana Looking at vegetables in Italy. Photo by @loredanaparisi72
My piece in the @hamandhigh about the 3 day @heat My piece in the @hamandhigh about the  3 day @heathostile training course. Incredibly interesting & challenging. Link: https://www.hamhigh.co.uk/things-to-do/hostile-environment-training-9037980 to read more #hostileenvironmenttraining
Supper club dishes from Saturday: pickled beetroot Supper club dishes from Saturday: pickled beetroot eggs, cheeseboard, stracciatella & cucumber, tomato/strawberry/peashoot salad with real balsamic & spruce oil, home cured dill gravlax, smoked salmon, homemade sourdough crisp bread, potato salad with wild fennel & lots more! #supperclub #midsummer #eattherainbow (miss you @linnsoederstroem)
Last nights supper club. My first supper club in 2 Last nights supper club. My first supper club in 2 years was great fun. I’m pleased with my food, the guests were lovely, it looked magical in the garden. But the weather! I even had to bring my duvets from the bedroom out. They looked like refugees. But this brought even more laughter! Next event September
My first supperclub in two years will take place t My first supperclub in two years will take place this Saturday 18th June starting at 7.30pm. Tickets are £50 byo you can book here: https://msmarmitelover.com/product/midsommar-supper-club there are still a few places left. Pescetarian menu. Scandi and botanical influences. #gettingbackonmyfeet #postpandemic #smallbusinesses #supperclub #london
I recently completed the 3 day @heathostile train I recently completed the 3 day  @heathostile training course. On the last day I was kidnapped by ex-special forces for a few hours & learnt how to deal with compliance training & a hostile environment. It was one of the most interesting experiences of my life. 3 intense days of combat first aid, navigation & how to survive in a war zone. I handled short, long guns, mortars, grenades, bullets, and tourniquet & bandaged an amputee. I learnt where to sit in a car, where to hide from a bullet, where to protect myself if in a car. It was brilliant. Highly recommended for any journalists, photographers, cameramen, charity workers, paramedics going into any difficult environment say a disaster or war. The stories from the tutors & the other participants were so interesting. My piece on it out soon. Book a course: https://hostile-environment.co.uk/  They also do jungle & desert training. I’d love to join the Antarctic expedition. Anyway that’s me hooded in the front. #adventures #het #hostileenvironmenttraining #experiences #travel
Bundoran beach, Donegal. I spent a week knocking o Bundoran beach, Donegal. I spent a week knocking on doors, going to libraries, searching through graveyards for my Irish forebears. It’s really hard to find information prior to 1850. I found this in last years trip to Arbroath in Scotland. Headstones wear out, records are lost or burnt in a fire, everybody has the same name and are known by nicknames, successive children have the same first name, that usually means they died and the next one is called by the same thing. Women did have children out of wedlock, and people remarried more often than you’d think, plus families fall out & never see each other again. I learnt that my Irish great grandfather michael went to Glasgow & met a woman who came from a similar place: somewhere wild & beautiful by the sea. Then they and their children came to london. Chasing the work & the money always. Politics and economics matter for they push people around from rural to city. And now we rodgers are Londoners. #ireland #scotland #family #travel #roots
How some of us celebrate the Queen’s jubilee! My How some of us celebrate the Queen’s jubilee! My sister & a random Irishman come for the Rory Gallagher festival in ballyshannon. Sis has pulled already!  #getyourcoat #sexpistols #ballyshannon #rorygallagherfestival #ireland
Tullaghan, county Leitrim, Donegal, where my grea Tullaghan, county Leitrim, Donegal,  where my great great grandfather john Rodgers was a postman, then a tailor, then a pawnbroker. #irishheritage #donegal #myancestry #irish #rodgers #travel
I’ve taken down the previous post as it’s poor I’ve taken down the previous post as it’s poor timing considering what’s happened over the last 24 hours. Being British I’ve not grown up around guns. It’s interesting to be on this course and find out more about the reality of them, although my focus is learning the ‘golden triangle’ of first aid, communications and navigation. But at the same time It’s depressing how in America nothing will ever change regarding gun law. RIP.
Me as a punk. #pinkhair @caplanmelissa Me as a punk. #pinkhair @caplanmelissa
Sniffin’ glue: Me n @Jaybladesmbe at the Loctite Sniffin’ glue: Me n @Jaybladesmbe at the Loctite pop up yesterday. I’m all about repairing and upcycling my brocante finds: this time a beautiful pale wood lamp shade stand which had broken off at the bottom. I’m going to rewire it with 2 core sky blue twisted fabric wire, pop on my hand sewn pleated lampshade I learnt to do @workshopminerva and it shall be beautiful. Don’t chuck out your chintz: repair it! #therepairshop #selfie #interiors #popup
in June I’m having my first supper club in two y in June I’m having my first supper club in two years: here is the link to book: https://msmarmitelover.com/product/midsommar-supper-club £50 18th June  Saturday night. Byo.
#chelseaflower coming up. Last year I bought these succulents and planted them in a vintage zinc garden sieve. Now they are flowering. My balcony is like a little greenhouse: I can grow aubergines & other plants that usually need to be under glass. #londongarden #may #plants #succulents in the garden
Lemon drizzle cake. The trick is not to stint on t Lemon drizzle cake. The trick is not to stint on the citrus. I used 7: 2 Italian lemons (from Lidl):some ordinary lemons and some limes (18p) at Lidl. Don’t be afraid to mix and match your citrus. I also used buttermilk from @fenfarmdairy in Suffolk from their honesty shop. Last night we ate it still warm from the oven. #cake #lemondrizzle #homebaking #citrus #buttermilk
A Simple tomato, goats cheese and basil salad, spa A Simple tomato, goats cheese and basil salad, spanking fresh asparagus / fried in olive oil, season, then add a little boiling water, not too much, put on the lid, dressed with lemon zest & Parmesan, @fenfarmdairy baron bigod cheese, good bread. This is how I like to eat. Claire’s plates found at the beccles brocante. #suffolk #suffolkfood #supper #dinnerwithfriends  #vintageplates
Can’t wait to see what they will be like when th Can’t wait to see what they will be like when they are fired. All my favourite themes: gingham and scallops. Thanks to @clairebelljar for a wonderful weekend and pottery workshop. Such fun! #workingwithyourhands #playtime #creativity #ceramics #pottery #suffolk
Making plates with talented potter & old South Ham Making plates with talented potter & old South Hampstead girl @clairebelljar in Suffolk. She has the most beautiful house I’ve ever seen. Such a joy to be reunited with her. #friendsreunited #makers #potters #scalloped #wildflowers #cowparsley #pottery
Another budget gourmet recipe, the Sicilian capona Another budget gourmet recipe, the Sicilian caponata, which is like a more interesting ratatouille, in which you add capers, olives & vinegar. £2.50p. I was asked to develop a series of recipes which were delicious enough to serve at a dinner party but also cheap. I shopped at Lidl. #costoflivingcrisis #budgetgourmet #recipe #vegetarian #vegan #lidluk
Mackerel pâté, a recipe that cost under £2.50. Mackerel pâté, a recipe that cost under £2.50. Lemon & herb smoked mackerel fillets from @lidl (take off skin)3 big scoops creme fraiche from Lidl and juice of half a lemon. Blend. Plenty of black pepper. Serve with bread. #budgetgourmet #costoflivingcrisis #eatorheat
Just wrote a very personal piece for @hamandhigh o Just wrote a very personal piece for @hamandhigh on my decade as a single parent on benefits, how I learned to cook & how things are so much harder now because not only are ingredients pricier but the cost of cooking them is too. 3 budget gourmet meals serving 4, for £2.50 each. #costoflivingcrisis #budgetgourmet #povertyshame #singleparents #foodblogger
Load More... Follow on Instagram

Archives

Copyright © 2022 msmarmitelover