IN THE
The Property & Lifestyle Magazine COUNTRY & TOWN April 2023
discover fine homes to buy or rent
mccarthyholden.co.uk | 1 cover photo © JohnJoe photography
Within This Issue...
40. Su Scott’s Korean fried chicken recipe
58. Why long hot summers are bad for hedgehogs – and how gardeners can help
22. Why we should grow native bluebells
30. Kim-Joy on her love of cats and the power of baking for your mental health
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A collection of exquisite properties and engaging editorial
42. How to keep chickens – according to a hen expert
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64. It happened today – April 12 to April 18
34 to 37
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38. What this food writer wants people to know about Korean cuisine
22. Alex Jones says the life-changing moments in new series Reunion Hotel
46. Kim-Joy’s ginger snap cats recipekindness of humanity
60-63. First Drive: Lamborghini Huracan Tecnica By Jack Evans, PA motoring reporter
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IN THE COUNTRY &TOWN Welcome to
Creating the inspiration to move
Spring House Moving Activity On The Up!
In our March magazine we said that many home owners decided to tap into the early new year buyer demand, resulting in new properties coming to the market at a good level. So, levels of supply have recovered and buyers and sellers are not miles apart on where they see pricing and this means house sales are being agreed at an increasing rate. More on this under first quarters trading below.
In this magazine edition we are pleased to show a selection of some of the new to the market properties so we hope you will enjoy exploring the pages which showcase some of the finest properties available on the open market.
If you are in the market for a project, then take a look at the challenge on page 18 with a former pub up for sale at a
guide price of £600,000.
But if your desire if for a high specification country house, then go straight to page 8 where we are showcasing an exquisite property with a £3.250m. guide price.
Published by Kilbricken Publishing and John Joe Photography Limited,Telephone: 07470 707275, email jjtopshot@outlook.com, web johnjoe.co.uk. Publishing 2022 - All rights reserved. Reproduction is forbidden except by express permission of the publishers.The content of this magazine is believed to be correct but its accuracy is not guaranteed and it does not form part of any offer or contract. John Joe Limited cannot accept responsibility for any omissions or errors.
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2023 First Quarter Property Trading
As indicated earlier, levels of supply have recovered and house sales are being agreed at an increasing rate.This is supported by the fact that our first quarters trading results show a 6.75 increase on the house sales front and a 7% on the house lettings front when contrasted to the same period last year.The resilience in the residential house market continues. House prices have levelled off, but because the market is more balanced with buyers and sellers more aligned on where they see pricing, then house sales productivity is actually up on the previous year in our area of operation on the Hampshire/Surrey/Berkshire borders.
Editorial Features
We hope you will enjoy reading some of the editorial features we have pulled together for our readers, including recipes from cookery writer Kim-Joy on pages 30, 46, 48 and 52 , an interview with Alex Jones on page 26, some interesting insight keeping chickens on page 42 and Su Scott’s thoughts and recipes on Korean cuisine on pages 38, 40 and 44. For the super car enthusiast there is a first drive review of Lamborghini Huracan Tecnica by motoring correspondent Jack Evans on page 60.
Kim-Joy
Alex Jones
About Chickens
Outlook For The Residential House Market
In our area of operation, house prices have held up well with some sectors only slightly lower compared to a year ago, but fears of a major downturn in prices are overdone. Falling mortgage rates and a strong labour market are supporting buyer activity levels and house sellers are becoming more realistic on price if they are serious about moving home, hence we have a more balanced market with buyers and sellers more aligned on where they see pricing. Our outlook remains the same as expressed in our January magazine and we continue to believe that the house price level we are experiencing now will be around the same level by December 2023. If you need market insight at any time in 2023, just go to our web site and ask your nearest branch for a free no obligation house price appraisal.
We look forward to producing the next edition of In The Country & Town in March when we will give our readers further market insight.
John Holden - Chairman McCarthy Holden
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Finchampstead (The Ridges), Berkshire Guide: £3,250,000
• Wonderful Interior • Superb Kitchen / Diner • Heated Swimming Pool •
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A fine home with many breath-taking interior features, first built during the 1930’s with Art Deco influences of the period and more recently the property has benefitted from significant enhancements and vast enlargement by the present owner.The property is situated in grounds of around 1.5 acres and located in a most sought after Berkshire location known as The Ridges, nearby to internationally renowned Wellington College. This significant property is build over two floors and has been enhanced with meticulous attention to detail, providing almost 6,500 sq. ft. of stunning space(almost 7,400 sq. ft. including triple garage and outbuildings). EPC D (66) - Telephone 01252 842100
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Finchampstead, Berkshire
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Guide: £3,250,000
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SIGNIFICANT INTEREST & SOLD / UNDER OFFER GOING TO PRESS (similar property required for active buyers)
SOLD stc APRIL
Fleet (Blue Triangle), Hampshire Guide: £1,250,000
Located in the prestigious Blue Triangle area of Fleet, this family home offers flexible accommodation in addition to a one bedroom annexe. Downstairs accommodation comprises living room and study as well as rear aspect kitchen/ dining room with bi-fold doors to the rear garden, and utility room. The four first floor bedrooms are all double in size, with the master bedroom and bedroom 2 benefitting from en suite facilities. EPC DS (63) – Telephone 01252 620640
• One Bedroom Annexe • Vast Kitchen • Four Bedrrooms, Two With En-Suite •
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Crookham Village, Hampshire Guide: £1,250,000
Offering just over 3,000 sq. ft of accommodation, this exceptional property sits in a plot in excess of 1/3 acre and provides an exceptional kitchen/dining/family room with bi-folding doors to the rear garden, a large utility room, and 3 further reception rooms. First floor accommodation comprises 4 double bedrooms, and beautifully fitted
en-suite and family bathroom facilities. EPC C (71) – Telephone 01252 620640
• Around 3,000 sq. ft. • Excellent Garden • Stunning Kitchen / Breakfast Room •
mccartthyhollden..co..uk | 13
North Warnborough, Hampshire Guide: £775,000
• Exquisite Interior • Superb Kitchen / Diner • 4 Bedrooms •
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This beautifully presented detached, four bedroom family home is situated in the sought after village of North Warnborough in Hampshire. Wesleyan, a former church, is a truly unique home offering a stylish interior blending contemporary with character. EPC D (57) - Telephone 01256 704851
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16 | mccarthyholden.co.uk Hartland Village, Hampshire - Guide Price £950,000 Constructed in 2022 by Berkeley Homes to their Birch design, this high specification property offers 5 bedrooms and is arranged over 3 floors. Bedrooms 1, 2 and 3 feature en suite facilities, with bedrooms 1 and 2 also benefitting from dressing rooms. Hartland Village provides access to numerous areas of woodland and local interest, including Fleet Pond Nature Reserve and Bramshot Country Park. EPC B (84) - Telephone 01252 620640
Fleet, Hampshire Guide: £875,000
Situated in close proximity to the Basingstoke Canal, this attractive five bedroom property is immaculately presented both internally and externally, and offers easy access to Fleet town centre. The ground floor comprises 2 reception rooms, kitchen/dining room, separate utility room and a cloakroom.To the first floor, the master bedroom features a five piece en suite and there is an addition family bathroom to the first floor. EPC C (72) - Telephone 01252 620640
• Superb Main Bedroom Suite • Beautiful Interior • 5 Bedrooms •
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Odiham, Hampshire Guide: £600,000
Situated within the sought after village of Odiham this rare opportunity to purchase this Grade II listed former public house,The Bell Inn which was originally licensed in 1509 and is one of the oldest pubs in Hampshire.The property requires modernisation but benefits from spacious living accommodation, exposed beams, a wonderful location, and a fantastic opportunity to return it to its formal glory of a public house or perhaps changed to a resident home STPP. Telephone 01256 704851
• Former Public House In The Heart Of The Village • Refurbishment Project •
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SOLD stc APRIL
Upton Grey, Hampshire Guide: £850,000
• Exquisite Interior • Superb Kitchen / Diner • 4 Bedrooms •
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SIGNIFICANT INTEREST & SOLD / UNDER OFFER GOING TO PRESS (similar property required for active buyers)
This delightful, semi-detached period cottage, is located in the popular village of Upton Grey on a no through country lane.This well-appointed three/four-bedroom 19th Century family home has been tastefully updated and enlarged by the current owners, providing flexible accommodation with the option of a self-contained annexe on the ground floor.
EPC D (55) - Telephone 01256 704851
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Why we should grow native bluebells By Hannah Stephenson, PA
Spanish bluebells have broader leaves and have pale blue, white or pink conical bell flowers on upright stems, with flowers all around the stem, and no scent. Leigh Hunt, RHS principal horticultural advisor, explains why we should be aiming to grow English bluebells. “The larger Spanish bluebell (H. hispanica) is pretty, but can become a problem, not just because of this spreading habit, but also due to its ability to hybridise with the native English form.”
It’s almost bluebell season,when we walk through woodlands cloaked in carpets of the trademark late spring flowers.
But do the bluebell woods we visit harbour English bluebells or Spanish varieties, which it is feared will reduce our native variety? Common (English) bluebells are a protected species in the UK – It’s against the law to intentionally pick, uproot or destroy bluebells – but Plantlife, the wild plant conservation charity, says they are partly threatened by the escape of the Spanish bluebell from gardens and subsequent cross- breeding and loss of true native populations. A previous survey by the charity, in which people recorded different species of bluebell across both urban and rural landscapes, found around one in six bluebells in broadleaved woodland was a Spanish rather than native bluebell. The Wildlife Trusts recommends that if you are going to plant bluebells in your garden, go for the native types to help prevent the spread of non-native species into the wider countryside.
What is the problem with a hybrid?
A hybrid plant is the offspring produced by cross-pollinating one form and the other. This process of cross-pollination, rather than pollination between plants of the same form (species), generally creates stronger, healthier, improved offspring, said to have ‘hybrid vigour’. “Hybrid forms could potentially oust native bluebells and so we advise against growing Spanish bluebells so they can’t cross pollinate with native bluebells, changing the iconic bluebell woods we all enjoy,” Hunt says. Plantlife recommends that gardeners must take care to avoid planting Spanish or hybrid plants in the countryside or near native bluebell populations.
Are native bluebells rare?
No, they’re not rare, but if you want a good wildlife garden they provide an early source of nectar for butterflies, bees and hoverflies, he notes.
How do you tell them apart?
Native bluebells have deep violet-blue tubular-bell (or white) flowers on drooping stems, flower on one side of the stem and emit a sweet scent.
Where can you buy them?
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Bluebells can be bought as loose bulbs cheaply in autumn or growing in pots in spring.They can be grown under trees or shrubs that lose their leaves in winter, as they will largely grow and bloom before the leaves fully appear in spring. You’ll need enough room for the plants to grow, flower and for the leaves to die back naturally to encourage really good flowering.
Yes. they are available to buy and it should say on the packet. However, sometimes bulbs are unintentionally sold under the wrong name, so do check what the plant looks like when it flowers.
Can you grow bluebells in pots if you don’t have much space?
Bluebells can be grown in pots, so that will reduce their spread, but do remove the seedheads to prevent seed being scattered if you only want them in certain areas,Hunt advises. They are easy to grow in pots of peat-free multipurpose or peat-free loam-based composts. Plant bulbs about 2in deep and keep compost moist from October-June to promote best growth and flowering.
When buying bluebells as bulbs or in the green, how do you know what type they are?
“You can really only tell when they are in bloom,” says Hunt. “English bluebells are highly scented, rich deep mauve-blue, and have downward hanging flowers. Spanish and hybrids tend to be a paler blue, larger individual flowers with blooms that can face upward. If you are concerned seek assurances from suppliers.”
Are Spanish bluebells easily available to buy here – and will it say ‘Spanish’ on the bulb packet?
Photo of light blue Spanish bluebells (PA / Alamy):
Photo of English bluebells (PA / Alamy):
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Fleet (Blue Triangle), Hampshire Guide: £1,675,000
• Wonderful Grounds • Superb Kitchen / Diner • Around 4,000 sq.ft. •
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Situated in one of the most sought after roads within the prestigious Blue Triangle, this impressive, detached family home with accommodation in excess of 4,000 sq. ft. (including garage) sits on a half-acre plot. The flexible living accommodation includes a 900 sq.ft kitchen/dining/sun room in addition to a triple aspect lounge, a family room and a study. Five bedrooms to the first floor, 2 of which benefit from en-suite facilities and the family bathroom complete the extensive accommodation. EPC C (76) - Telephone 01252 620640
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Photo: PA Photo/BBC/Darlun Cyf
“I think it’s reaffirming in terms of humanity and how kind people are and actually we do live in a lovely world, there are nice people out there,” says Jones.
Alex Jones says the life-changing moments in new series Reunion Hotel reaffirm the kindness of humanity By Naomi Clarke, PA Entertainment Reporter
“It wasn’t always sad tears, they were sometimes happy.”
The One Show presenter, 46, admits she did feel a great deal of responsibility as she helped the individuals share their stories and guided them into the reunion.
“These are life-changing moments for a lot of people being reunited,” she explains.
If you had the chance to connect with someone who played a significant role in your life, would you seize it?
“But lots of the stories, they were very serious, some were very happy, but the range I think is what is incredible about the series, every story is very unexpected and something you’ve never heard before. “Yes, there are adoption stories and there are programmes that do that very well but it feels like it’s very different because you get that side-by-side with something that you’ve never imagined.” Amid the current challenges many people face,the presenter also feels this programme offers a welcome relief.“I think it is really important for people to have escapism, something that feels like a warm hug, just interesting stories, good people, and it takes you away from all the things that we’re constantly bombarded with on a daily basis. I think it’s the right time to have a programme like this.”
Presenter Alex Jones and her team are giving people the unique opportunity to make this happen in a new BBC Two series which promises to provide laughter, tears and emotion. The stories explored at the Reunion Hotel include a young woman who is given the chance to meet the man who saved her life after she fell on to the London Underground tracks, a man who is reunited with his long-lost brother after discovering he had a secret sibling and a 1960s girl band who reconnect with their favourite boy band 50 years on. Based in the picturesque Iscoyd Hotel in North Wales, some participants check in to seek forgiveness while others wish to say thank you or get the answers they have longed to know.
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In recent years, Jones has spoken about her own personal experiences of having a miscarriage in the 10-part series Making Babies and the issues that can come with having a baby at an older age in the documentary Fertility And Me. The mother of three believes her open nature has been beneficial in this latest project as she thinks it is important that those who are sharing their personal stories feel like they know her.
“And I think this series really showcases how amazing people from all walks of life can be, when you put them all together in one hotel like we do it really creates something really special.” The manner in which the show was filmed was also carefully considered, as opposed to having a large team directing the action, a rig without a cameraman was used to allow for more authentic conversations. Jones feels this enabled people to open up much quicker and created a warmer atmosphere as the individuals could relax and be less self- conscious about feeling filmed. However, the stakes are as high as live television – if not more so – as the team does not get a second take to capture these once-in-a-lifetime moments. The TV presenter says her years of live TV did help her think on her feet but she also just approached it as if she was in a room with two friends or relatives to help ease the strain. “You can only do what feels right in the moment, you’re reading the room as you’re going and reacting and that’s why it’s nearly like a live programme in a sense because you can’t go back and redo anything. “You do what you think is best really and hope that that’s right. But we’ve got our counsellors and our adoption specialist when it gets really heavy, and if I feel like we need to get a professional in here they’re on hand, so we’re well buffered.”
“They put such trust (in us), they come in and share everything, sometimes things that are really difficult.
“I think that there has to be an exchange. They have to know me so that they know who the person is that they are confiding in and I don’t shy away from it, I am quite an open book. “I think sharing stuff makes you more empathetic, and it makes you more human. Very often people tend to put people who are on telly up on a pedestal but I don’t think people do with me because there’s the exchange.” She adds that this new series and Making Babies are the two projects she is most proud of, as she feels they uncover important stories, ones that she feels are often more interesting than those shared by the film and TV stars who she interviews on The One Show. “I’m super lucky in my everyday job and get to talk to film stars and television stars and all the rest of it but what’s always interesting for me is real people’s stories. “These people, of course, are incredible and they’re super talented, but often the people who we met at the hotel were much nicer and they’ve got a more interesting story to tell.
The Reunion Hotel is aired on BBC Two and BBC One Wales.
Photo: PA Photo/BBC/Darlun Cyf
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Fleet, Hampshire Guide: Offers In Excess Of £1,150,000
• Sought After Location • Exquisite Interior •
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A unique 3 / 4 bedroom detached family home situated in a no through road in the popular Pondtail area of Fleet and with the benefit of a rear garden of approximately 120ft. in length. Offered to the market for the first time since being built, this property is offered for sale with no onward chain. . EPC D (62) - Telephone 01252 620640
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PA Photo/Ellis Parrinder
kitchen.
Kim-Joy on her love of cats and the power of baking for your mental health By Katie Wright, PA It’s been an eventful few months for former Bake Off contestant Kim-Joy, who got engaged last summer and married shortly after in a spontaneous ceremony in Las Vegas. “I didn’t really want to do the whole engagement thing, because we’d already talked about it, so I thought we were just going to get married,” says Kim-Joy, whose partner of nine years, Nabil Homsi, popped the question in their
“He kept asking where my favourite place is, and I kept saying the kitchen… now he feels like it’s some sort of weird sexist thing, but I’m like,‘No! That’s what I want!’” Leaving everything to the last minute, while on holiday in America the couple headed to a wedding chapel on theVegas Strip and tied the knot in front of an Elvis impersonator, the beaming bride donning a bright orange mini dress for the occasion. Returning home to Leeds, the newlyweds continued to renovate the house they’d bought together, while Kim-Joy put the finishing touches to her debut graphic novel (more on that later) and her latest recipe book.
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“I definitely went a bit bonkers and I couldn’t really sleep for a while – but it was all worth it in the end,” she says of the home transformation, which features decor as colourful as her culinary creations. Bake Me A Cat sees Kim-Joy combining two of her great loves.“Baking and cats make sense together because they’re both so relaxing, and both are really good for your mental health.” The pun-filled book features adorable feline fancies, such as marshmeowlow cats, miaowringues and pudgy 3D cookie cats. Each recipe is stamped with a paw print rating, showing the difficulty from one (paw-fect pancakes, for example) to five (such as purrfect doughnuts that need deep-frying and decorating). Not that you need to recreate each recipe to exacting standards, insists Kim-Joy, who is proud mama to fur babies Inki (so called because of his black coat) and Mochi (named after the Japanese dessert).
feel useful.”
On a similar theme, forthcoming fictional graphic novel, Turtle Bread, tells the tale of a bunch of friends who meet at a baking club.
“The main character is kind of based on my experiences,” Kim-Joy explains.
“The characters all experience loneliness in different ways, but they join together and bond through baking.”
Named after the reptilian bread she made on Bake Off, the title is “a metaphor about stepping out of your shell – having that armour up, which prevents you from being vulnerable and connecting with others.”
The beautifully illustrated tale isn’t all sunshine and rainbows, however.
“I love cute and happy things, but I like sad stories, too,” Kim-Joy says.
“It’s more like real life, in that you bake and things are a little bit better, but it’s not always good. It’s about how we keep going.”
“I don’t like things that are all the same or really uniform – it takes a bit of life out of them,” she says.
“I wanted this book to be full of life, full of the quirkiness and weirdness of cats, to capture that within the bakes.”
Bake Me A Cat by Kim-Joy is published by Quadrille on March 16, priced £16.99. Photography by Ellis Parrinder.
The Belgium-born baker – who was runner-up in the 2018 series of Bake Off – worked as a psychological wellbeing practitioner before taking part in the show, and has been open about her own mental health struggles. “I grew up with mental health issues, and still have social anxiety,” she says, explaining why baking can be such a soothing antidote during difficult times. “Baking can be a mindful activity, where you can totally lose yourself. There’s structure within it, too, which makes me feel a bit safe. Plus, offering a batch of brownies or a homemade cake to a loved one can be its own reward:“It makes you confident as you’re learning new skills and also being able to bring happiness to other people.” Volunteering with Leeds social enterprise The Wren Bakery, which provides disadvantaged women with baking and barista training, she’s seen firsthand how developing new skills can be so beneficial.
Kim-Joy’s ginger snap cats recipe - Page 46 Kim-Joy’s fat cat pizza recipe - Page 48 Kim-Joy’s happy purrthday cake recipe - Page 52
“I see a lot of women at the start and then at the end, and the transformation is amazing.
“One woman was in the first cohort, now she mentors new trainees. I think it’s because it’s something that makes you
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Hook, Hampshire Guide: £699,950
Situated within the popular Holt Park development within Hook, this four-bedroom detached family home is offered to the market with no onward chain. Benefits to this property include a 21ft kitchen/breakfast room, three reception rooms, three bathrooms and a garage with driveway parking. EPC C (78) - Telephone 01256 704851
• Exceptional Interior • Fine Main Bedroom • Superb Kitchen / Diner •
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Fleet, Hampshire Guide: £1,100,000
PROPERTY PREVIEW - DUETOTHE MARKET SOON A handsome four double bedroom property set in a prime location within the Blue Triangle area of Fleet, close to the town centre and within easy access of Fleet mainline station.. Telephone 01252 620640
• Arrange An Early Viewing •
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Finchampstead, Berkshire Guide: £2,250,000
• Beautiful Rural Setting • Superb Kitchen / Breakfast Room • Almost 10 Acres •
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This fine property benefits from a stunning long approach over a private road through a country park-like setting, commencing with access via shared electric gates and culminating at this wonderful equestrian / country house set in grounds of almost 10 acres. Built around 1900, this character family home offers almost 2,500 sq. ft. of superb space with the added benefit of working from home spaces.The equestrian facilities include an enclosed stable yard which has 6 large stables, a hay barn, tack room and tool store.There is a 40x20m all-weather, floodlit sand school behind the yard and the main paddocks to the north measure approximately 6 acres, with further smaller paddock areas.The property also enjoys private pedestrian and hacking access on to Park Lane from the paddocks and overall the property benefits from glorious Berkshire countryside views. SEE MORE IMAGES ON FOLLOWING PAGES - EPC C (71) – Telephone 01252 842100
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Finchampstead, Berkshire
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Guide: £2,250,000
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PA Photo/Toby Scott
her half-Korean daughter, Kiki, is now eight.
What this food writer wants people to know about Korean cuisine By Prudence Wade, PA
Now 42, Scott has spent most of her adult life in the UK, and she remembers:“As an immigrant living in the UK, trying to embrace the culture and immerse myself into it, I lost the sense of who I am. Having my daughter made me question my identity. “Cooking Korean food felt like the most immediate, tangible thing I could reach out to, to make some sense of who I was.” Not that it was necessarily this easy. “The whole process went on for a long time, it crept up slowly but surely,” she says.
Food writer Su Scott says her world started to “collapse” after giving birth to her first child.
“It sounds dramatic, but when my daughter was born, it was like wow,I have this child,there is a responsibility to keep this newborn alive,” she remembers, with the added pressure of being “the sole bearer of the culture as an immigrant mum”.
“It didn’t take me long to realise that my world was collapsing
Scott moved from Seoul to London when she was 19, and
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in front of me. I didn’t know how to put it together. I knew I’d have to dig deep.”
in her debut cookbook, Rice Table.
“When you talk about Korean food with other people, they talk about bulgogi and bibimbap. Of course, these are wonderful dishes that champion Korean cuisine, but they are only a fraction of what we offer,” she says. “I wanted to champion the daily home cooking of Korean culture. I wanted to champion all the mothers and their labours – that’s not necessarily always celebrated.”
Scott calls it a “hard” and “lonely” experience, but says it was “very rewarding, because you come out the other side knowing exactly who you are”.
She used food as a way to reconnect with her homeland, but suggests its importance isn’t uniquely Korean.
“It’s not just my culture – I think food is such an integral part of human living.What we often forget is how the small things from our ordinary days can make up such a powerful part of who we are,” she says.
A big part of this – and what makes up the first chapter in the book – is banchan culture.
“It’s the small-plate dishes,” Scott explains. “When you Google ‘banchan’, a lot of websites will tell you it’s a side dish” – something that “really bugged” her. Banchan dishes in the book include tofu with buttered kimchi, stir-fried fishcakes with green peppers, soy sauce- glazed aubergines, and spring onion pancakes.
When embarking on this journey, there were two dishes from her childhood Scott wanted to try.
“The thing I really wanted to recreate and eat was bone broth,” she says, lighting up at the memory.
“When I think about my childhood, there’s this powerful moment of smell,” says Scott. “There’s this one specific memory of my father sourcing the good meat bones, and my mother preparing the broth for days on end. “The whole house would smell of bones.It’s not a nasty smell, but it’s not overly pleasant either. It’s the dish I absolutely hated as a child, but it’s also the one I felt so loved with.” Scott was initially too scared to make it herself – in case it tainted her memories – but now she says “it has got another story to it”, and she makes it every winter for her daughter. And no, it doesn’t taste like her mother’s – but she says that’s “a good thing in a way”. The other dish that“really connected me to the Korean food of my childhood was kimchi stew”, Scott says. She started cobbling together the ingredients for this dish without really thinking about what she was doing, and felt a “moment of euphoria” when it all came together. “This is the taste of home,” she says.“Making this dish taught me so much about how I could reconnect to my culture, my heritage and myself.
“Individually they are delicious, they each have a place in their own right. It’s a bit sad to call them side dishes, isn’t it?”
Rice Table by Su Scott is published by Quadrille on March 30, priced £27. Photography by Toby Scott.
Su Scott’s Korean fried chicken recipe - Page 40 Su Scott’s tofu with buttered kimchi recipe - Page 44 Su Scott’s sweet rice doughnuts recipe - Page 45
“I needed to find the person I was when I was in Korea, in order to make sense of who I am now, as a mother.”
Korean food has more visibility on the world stage than ever before, with Scott saying: “It’s so exciting, isn’t it? I never, ever imagined that I would see a jar of kimchi in a normal supermarket. It’s amazing.
“I think Korean food has still got a long way to go in the UK, though.The range is very limited.”
That’s why Scott wants to highlight everyday Korean dishes
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1tbsp vegetable oil
Su Scott’s Korean fried chicken recipe By Prudence Wade, PA “It is quite likely I’m chasing perfection that doesn’t really exist. In my vivid dreams, this fried chicken tastes intently sweet but not sickly,” says Su Scott, author of Rice Table. “Deep nutty background sweetness lingers like an intense pull of stupid first love that you fail to resist, and is only accentuated by the heat of chilli and umami salinity that hugs the fat. It’s not claggy – smothered in thick paste of gochujang – but rather softly candied, like a buttery caramel-coated popcorn. “I am unsure if such a glorious perfection of taste can be replicated. But I keep going back for more, no longer sure if I am craving the chicken or my home so many miles away.”
1tbsp gochugaru (Korean red pepper flakes), ground to a fine powder
For the batter:
50g plain flour
70g rice flour
20g cornflour
150ml cold water
To finish:
Toasted white sesame seeds
Method:
1. Place the chicken pieces in a mixing bowl, along with the sake, sugar, celery salt and black pepper. Massage well to combine, cover and leave to marinate in the fridge for one hour. 2.To make the glaze, combine the jocheong, ketchup, water, sugar, soy sauce, gochujang and garlic in a bowl. Mix well and set aside.
Korean fried chicken
Ingredients:
(Serves 4)
For the chicken:
3. Remove the chicken from the fridge, so it comes back to room temperature before you cook it.
600g boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into 3cm cubes
2tbsp sake
4. Put one tablespoon of vegetable oil and the gochugaru in a cold wok or sauté pan over a low heat to warm up, stirring constantly to prevent the gochugaru from burning – a flat flexible spatula is great for this. In a few minutes, the oil will change in colour to a deep red and the gochugaru will start to bloom. Swiftly add the glaze mixture and increase the heat to rapidly bubble for about two minutes to thicken the sauce enough to coat the back of the spoon, like a runny custard, but not yet sticky like wet glue. Remove from the heat and set aside. 5. Prepare the wet batter by combining the plain flour, 30 grams of the rice flour and the cornflour.Add the water gradually to the mix and whisk to break up any lumps. 6.Toss the chicken thoroughly with the remaining 40 grams of rice flour then add the chicken to the batter. Give it a good mix by hand.
1tsp golden granulated sugar
½tsp celery salt
½tsp freshly cracked black pepper
Vegetable oil, for frying
For the glaze:
60g jocheong (Korean rice syrup)
2tbsp tomato ketchup (catsup)
2tbsp water
1tbsp golden granulated sugar
7. Prepare a cooling rack set over a roasting tray.
1tbsp soy sauce
8.To fry the chicken, fill a saucepan suitable for deep-frying with vegetable oil. It should be deep enough to submerge the chicken pieces but only come three-quarters of the way up the pan while you are frying. Heat the oil to 160°C.
1tbsp gochujang (Korean red chilli paste)
3 garlic cloves, minced
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Carefully lower in a few of the battered chicken pieces and fry for two to three minutes until the chicken is cooked through but only pale golden, transferring onto the cooling rack when done to allow the steam to escape. Don’t put too many pieces in at once. Continue until you have cooked all the chicken.This first fry is to cook the chicken through, so it shouldn’t have too much colour. Check for doneness. 9. Once the first fry is done, increase the heat to 175°C and fry for the second time for two to three minutes until they’re golden and crispy.Work in batches to prevent overcrowding the pan.When the batches are ready, transfer them onto the cooling rack, so any excess oil
drains off. Don’t be tempted to sit the chicken on kitchen paper as it will just steam and lose its crispiness.
10. Put the wok or sauté pan with the sauce over a medium heat to warm up.As soon as the edges start to bubble up, toss in the fried chicken while energetically moving the pan around to glaze. In a brief moment, the sauce will coat the chicken and thicken around the crusts. Remove from the heat and sprinkle with sesame seeds.
Rice Table by Su Scott is published by Quadrille on March 30, priced £27. Photography by Toby Scott.
PA Photo/Toby Scott
mccarthyholden.co.uk | 41
cage would take up.That’s the kind of space a hen run will take up in your garden or allotment,” says Parkinson.
How to keep chickens - according to a hen expert By Hannah Stephenson, PA
“You could get away with 20 square metres for three birds who are going to lay (eggs) over the spring and summer months.” Chicken runs currently need to be covered with netting or clear plastic sheeting to protect them from wild bird droppings, and make them bio-secure to guard against bird flu. “Consider converting a fruit cage, which will ensure that your hens are bio-secure against bird flu because they are under a netted top, and it keeps wild birds away from the feed.You just need to enforce the sides with a thicker wire that a fox isn’t going to be able to chew through,” he advises. Ideally, place the run/coop near plants and try to place it in a sheltered spot in the sun, as hens don’t like to be exposed to wind or rain either, Parkinson suggests.
While many children grow up with a cat or a dog, Arthur Parkinson grew up with chickens.
As a child growing up in an ex-mining town in Nottinghamshire, kids in the playground called him ‘Chicken Boy’ – and now, his eponymous memoir explores how keeping hens has been his sanctuary.
It also delves into what others might want to know if they’re keen to keep chickens of their own.
The most important thing is to do your homework, the writer, gardener and hen-keeper advises.
“I was obsessed with hens from being little and went to the library, just as you would if you were starting a new garden from scratch. ” Here, Parkinson offers advice for beginners who want to keep chickens in their garden (owners and potential owners should be aware of the ‘flockdown’ restrictions currently in place because of bird flu).
They are companions
“They’re not just going to sit there and lay you an egg every day, they’ve got personalities. A lot of people that get chickens are just thinking about eggs, but the eggs are secondary,” he adds.
Parkinson says chickens will bond with their owners, that they recognise voices and can see in full colour.
You need space
“Ideally, each hen needs 10 square metres. A pair of birds will need a fairly substantial run. Imagine the space a fruit
“My girls hate it if I’ve got a woolly hat on, because they don’t recognise me,” he says.“Hens have strong personalities.You
42 | mccarthyholden.co.uk
get those that are talkative and forward and others are quite aloof.They are very inquisitive.”
under that, that they can take out every couple of days and put on to the compost heap.
Hens are flock birds, so need to be kept in a pair. Parkinson suggests getting three because if something happens to one, you’ve still got two left, as it’s very difficult to introduce new birds once the flock is established because of the pecking order formed when they are chicks.
“Nesting boxes need to be filled with chopped straw. I buy the straw that sells for horses that’s treated with eucalyptus, because it smells nice. I clean the area under the perches every day and the rest of the henhouse gets cleaned out once a week to a fortnight.”
Where do you buy them?
Check bird flu restrictions
“If you want the lovely coloured eggs in dark brown and blue, Legbars of Broadway supply the Burford Browns at about 16 weeks old before they start to lay, which is a good age to settle in.” Chickens To Your Door also delivers nationwide. A pure breed will cost around £40 each, he estimates.“Read up on your breeds and think about what you want them for. Do you want them as pets or producers?”
Anyone keeping chickens or considering doing so should be aware that proposals to require all poultry keepers to officially register their birds were launched by the government recently as part of efforts to tackle bird flu.
Details of current restrictions can be found at The British Hen Welfare Trust
Chicken Boy by Arthur Parkinson is published by Particular Books on April 6, priced, £22.
What do you feed them?
“Soya-free layers pellets – I recommend the Smallholder Range – and not too much corn because that will make them fat. If people think chickens can produce eggs on leftovers, that’s an old wives’ tale.” But he’ll occasionally give his birds sweetcorn out of a tin. Parkinson urges owners to invest in a hanging rat-proof feeder. Chickens need to be able to access food all day, as they are grazers. They will need plenty of water too. They also need to be eating grit – such as broken-up oyster shells – which makes a strong egg.
How many eggs can you expect?
One a day from each bird, Parkinson estimates. “They will take a day off a week, so some days you’ll get two eggs, but most of the time if they are young hens, they will supply a family very easily.As the hens get older they lay less, but the eggs get bigger.”
You don’t need a cockerel for eggs
“They are not necessary for egg production. The hens will lay without one. The only thing you need to do is put a dummy egg in the nesting box, because without a cockerel they often don’t know where they should lay their eggs.”
A cockerel will often go in the nesting box and he’ll cluck and encourage them to lay their eggs in the box, he explains.
How do you keep them clean?
Make sure they can have a dust bath in dry soil every day, he suggests. “Most chickens leave their droppings at night under the perches, and a lot of people just put newspaper
mccarthyholden.co.uk | 43
Method:
Su Scott’s tofu with buttered kimchi recipe By Prudence Wade, PA “Dubu kimchi is made up of two parts: poached tofu and stir-fried kimchi. It is a popular dish, often served as anju, a Korean word that means ‘drinking food’,” explains food writer Su Scott.“Soured, overripe kimchi is prized for its flavoursome tanginess that works perfectly in stir-fried dishes, usually paired with rich, fatty pork to dial down the complex, sour pungency with contrasting richness.The loud and bold flavour of kimchi is warmly supported by poached tofu that is welcomingly tender on the tongue.”
1. Heat the vegetable oil in a large sauté pan over a medium heat.Add the onion with a pinch of salt and fry for one to two minutes to soften.When the onion has collapsed and is starting to smell fragrant, add the pork and the cracked black pepper and stir frequently for about eight to 10 minutes until lightly browned, without allowing it to burn. It should be golden brown in colour with an almost sweet, caramelising smell. 2. Lower the heat and melt in the butter with the garlic, then add the kimchi, sugar, mirin and gochugaru. Give it a good stir to combine the ingredients, then sauté gently for five minutes, stirring occasionally. Make sure not to burn the gochugaru.We are not here to caramelise the kimchi, rather to soften it slowly in luscious fat. 3.After five minutes, your pan should look a little drier than when you started to fry the kimchi. Stir in the soy sauce, ensuring it is completely incorporated, before adding the tomatoes. Let it simmer for a further 10 minutes. 4. Meanwhile, bring a pan of well-salted water to the boil. Slice the tofu into two long blocks about 4cm wide. Gently drop the tofu blocks into the boiling water and poach them for five minutes over a low heat. Carefully drain the tofu and cool slightly, taking care of the hot steam.When they’re cooled down enough to handle, cut each block into 2cm thick slabs. 5. By now, the kimchi should be ready. Check the seasoning and add a pinch more salt or sugar, if necessary.To finish, stir in the sesame oil and white sesame seeds. Reserve some of the spring onion for garnish, if you like, and add the remainder. 6.To serve, transfer the sliced tofu slabs onto a serving platter or individual plates, along with the sautéed kimchi either on top or on the side.Top with the black sesame seeds and reserved spring onion.
Tofu with buttered kimchi
Ingredients (Serves 4):
1tbsp vegetable oil
½ onion, thinly sliced
200g minced pork
½tsp freshly cracked black pepper
20g unsalted butter
2 garlic cloves, minced
350g overripe kimchi, roughly chopped
2tsp golden granulated sugar
1tbsp mirin
1½tbsp gochugaru (Korean red pepper flakes)
1tbsp soy sauce
200g tinned chopped tomatoes
396g block of firm tofu
Sea salt flakes
To finish:
1tbsp toasted sesame oil
½tsp toasted white sesame seeds
1 spring onion, thinly sliced
PA Photo/Toby Scott
A pinch of black sesame seeds
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as much water, or might need a touch more, than stated here. 3.When the dough is cool enough to handle, start bringing the ingredients together by gently kneading until the dough feels supple and the surface is smooth. 4. Place the dough in a reusable plastic bag or wrap in clingfilm. Rest in the fridge for at least one hour or overnight. 5.After the dough has rested, divide it into four equal-sized portions, so you have a more manageable volume to work with.Work one piece at a time, keeping the remaining dough covered. Shape the dough roughly into a log, then divide it into five small golf-ball-sized pieces.The texture of the dough may feel unusual and a little crumbly. Don’t worry if this happens – just squeeze the dough firmly to shape. 6. Combine the sugar and cinnamon together in a bowl or a rimmed roasting pan. Have another plate or dish ready lined with some kitchen paper. 7. Fill a saucepan suitable for deep-frying with vegetable oil. It should be filled deep enough to submerge the dough balls but no more than three-quarters full. Heat to 160°C. If you don’t have a thermometer, a cube of bread should brown in 12 seconds.When it reaches 160°C, turn off the heat and carefully lower a few of the dough balls into the pan, making sure you don’t overcrowd the pan. Keep the heat off for two minutes.After two minutes, the dough will start to move and float a little. 8.Turn the heat back on and maintain the temperate at 160°C. Fry the dough balls for five minutes, making sure to gently push them down with a heatproof sieve or wire skimmer, as they will continuously float up.After five minutes, the doughnuts should appear golden brown and cooked through.Transfer to the plate lined with kitchen paper to absorb the excess oil. Continue with the remaining dough balls. 9.When all the batches are cooked, roll them in the cinnamon sugar while hot and serve immediately.
Su Scott’s sweet rice doughnuts recipe By Prudence Wade, PA “This is a popular old-school Korean snack, which I think deserves more recognition – strangely, it is not well known outside of Korea,” says Su Scott, author of Rice Table. “This could be partly to do with the fact that, more often than not, most recipes call for ‘wet’ rice flour: freshly milled rice flour made from pre-soaked rice.“In traditional baking, wet rice flour was preferred because of its excellence in retaining moisture, resulting in more moist and chewier rice cakes that keep well. Nowadays, more recipes are being developed using dry flour for the convenience of home baking.”
Sweet rice doughnuts
Ingredients (Makes about 20 golf-ball-sized pieces):
250g glutinous rice flour
50g plain flour
½tsp baking powder
½tsp bicarbonate of soda
40g golden caster sugar
½tsp fine sea salt
30g unsalted butter, melted
80ml warm full-fat milk
Rice Table by Su Scott is published by Quadrille on March 30, priced £27. Photography by Toby Scott.
150ml hot water, about 80°C
Vegetable oil, for deep frying
PA Photo/Toby Scott
For the cinnamon sugar:
2tbsp golden caster sugar
½tsp ground cinnamon
Method:
1. Sift both flours, the baking powder and bicarbonate of soda into a large mixing bowl.Add the sugar and salt. 2. In a pourable and heatproof jug, combine the melted butter and warm milk. Stir this into the flour mix, using a wooden spoon or chopsticks. Gradually pour in the hot water and continue to mix until it resembles rough crumbs. Do this in a few stages as your flour may not need
mccarthyholden.co.uk | 45
3. Pour in the melted butter, add the golden syrup and stir until the mixture forms a soft dough. 4. Roll the dough into a 25-cm long log shape, then cut into 16 equal pieces. Roll each piece into a ball and place on the prepared baking sheets, spaced at least 5cm apart. Flatten each ball slightly with the back of a spoon – they will spread during baking. Chill in the fridge for at least 30 minutes, or in the freezer for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 170°C/gas mark 3. 5. Bake for 12-15 minutes until cracked on top and deep golden in colour. Leave on the baking sheets for 10 minutes to firm up, then carefully transfer to a wire rack to finish cooling. 6.While the biscuits cool, make the royal icing.Whisk the egg white (or aquafaba) with 180g of the icing sugar together in a large bowl until smooth, then gradually keep adding icing sugar and whisking to combine until the consistency is thick enough to pipe. If you lift a spoon out and drizzle over the top, the trail should hold for about 15 seconds before disappearing. 7. Leave a third of the icing white, then divide the remaining icing between two bowls. Dye one portion orange and the other black using gel food dyes.Transfer the different icing colours to piping bags, cutting a small tip in each. Pipe angry ginger tom cat faces onto each cookie and vary your designs, so that each cat is quirky and unique. Store in an airtight container for one to two weeks.
Kim-Joy’s ginger snap cats recipe
By Katie Wrights, PA
“These are exactly how grumpy ginger tom cats would be personified in cookie form,” says former Bake Off star Kim-Joy. “These little guys look fierce, but that fierceness belies a crisp and addictive cookie, with a fiery ginger heat that warms your belly.”
Ginger snap cats
Ingredients (Makes 16):
For the cookie dough:
150g self-raising flour (to make gluten-free, substitute with a gluten-free self-raising flour blend, plus ¾tsp xanthan gum)
1¼tsp bicarbonate of soda
2½tsp ground ginger
70g caster or granulated sugar
¼tsp salt
75g unsalted butter, melted (or vegan butter – use one that’s close to 80% fat content)
3tbsp golden syrup
For the royal icing:
1 medium egg white (or 30-40g aquafaba or pasteurised egg white)
180-240g icing sugar
Orange and black gel food dyes
Note:You only need to make half the quantity of royal icing, as it’s hard to make a much smaller quantity and divide it up to create different colours.Any leftover icing can be piped out onto baking paper in long thin strands and left to dry. Once dry, chop up – and you have made sprinkles! Store these in an airtight jar. Method: 1. Line two large baking sheets with baking paper. 2. Add the flour (plus xanthan gum, if gluten-free), bicarbonate of soda, ginger, sugar and salt to a large bowl, and stir until combined.
Photo: PA Photo/Ellis Parrinder
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