Bol Renversé

Bol renversé, literally meaning Upside Down Bowl, is very a popular Mauritian dish. Although it definitely has Chinese origins, it doesn’t exist in authentic Chinese cuisine. I like to think that it is a hybrid dish that Chinese immigrants came up with by applying their cooking technique to local ingredients.

I LOVE bol renversé. 

Like love to death. I make it on special occasions such as the Independence Day or for Christmas dinners (not very traditional) but everyone loves it. One of the reasons, I like it so much is also because it is very easy to prepare and very versatile ingredient-wise. You can add any vegetables you have at hand and any meat of your choice. I usually prepare bol renversé with chicken and shrimp but I decided to pimp my bol renversé this time by substituting the meat to chicken sausage. It was a really fast and easy dinner fix.

Look at my picture. Should I say more?

Bol Renversé

(Serves 2)

You will need:

• 6 small chicken sausages, diced or sliced thickly
• 1 big onion, diced in quarters
• I small can of corn (maize)
• 1 bell pepper, sliced lengthwise
• 1 Carrot, sliced
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• 3 tbsp Oyster sauce
• 1 tbsp maizena (cornflour)
• 4 tbsp Soy Sauce
• ½ cup water
• 1 tbsp white wine (optional)
• 4 tbsp oil
• Salt and Pepper to taste
• 2 cups cooked basmati rice

Steps:

• Heat wok over medium heat and add the 2 tbsp of oil.
  Add the crushed garlic followed by the sausage and the carrot. Stir-fry until half-cooked.
• Then add the diced onion and bell pepper and cook until tender.
• Lastly, add the corn and the wine and stir-fry for about 2-3 minutes.
• In a glass, mix the oyster sauce, cornflour, water and soy sauce to form a sauce.
• Pour this sauce over the sausage/vegetable mixtures and let it cook a few minutes until the sauce thicken (less than 5 mins).
• Remove from heat and keep.
• Heat a pan with some oil and fry the egg with a pinch of salt.
• When cooked, transfer the fried egg to a small deep bowl, add the sausage/veggies mix and some sauce and cover with basmati rice. Cover with a flat dish. Flip the bowl over and tada! Your yummylicious bol renversé is ready.
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Enjoy hot with a hot chatini pomme d’amour (tomato salsa).

Quick Dinner Idea - Shrimp Pesto Pasta

Mauritius - June 9, 2012

Yesterday, after a loooong day driving around for work deliveries, I just wanted to come home and unwind. Only the parents were away for the weekend and that meant no steaming dinner waiting on the table. Tough luck! I thought long hard at my options: heat up a frozen pizza or come up with a really fast dinner. After a quick tour in the pantry I decided on my all-time favorite pasta:  the Tagliatelle. 

I discovered this yummy variation when I was visiting my sister in Paris. As all Mauritians, I am undoubtedly a great fan of macaroni (my mom used to make it veggie-style on Fridays) and spaghetti. But tagliatelle is so much easier and fun to cook with (it cooks faster than spaghetti) and I usually recommend getting it fresh. 

Anyway, I chose to whip up some quick creamy pesto tagliatelle for dinner to reward myself for another great productive day.

Creamy Shrimp Pesto Pasta
(Serves 4)

You will need:

• 500g tagliatelle pasta
• 500g large shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 75g Pesto
• 1 tbsp butter
• 3 garlic pods, crushed
• Small handful parsley, chopped
• Grated Parmesan cheese ( Kraft works too : )
• 1/2 cup heavy cream (optional)
• Salt & Pepper
• Garam Masala (2 pinches)
  

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add tagliatelle pasta, and cook until al dente; drain.
• In a pan, heat butter and add the crushed garlic. Stir in the chopped parsley, followed closely by the shrimps. Season with salt and pepper and cook for about 5 mins, until they turn pink. Reserve.
• Pour the pesto in a large saucepan and heat for 2 mins. Ass the cream.
• Turn off heat and add the shrimps and tagliatelle. Mix thoroughly. Season again if need be. 
• Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese (or Kraft) and Garam Masala and serve hot!

I added some cream to the pasta to have a more consistent sauce but you can omit it if you don't have any at hand.

Try this recipe for a romantic quick dinner. It works wonders!