Goblin Surprise

1 tbsp of neutral oil 1 onion, finely chopped 1-2 cloves of garlic, crushed 2 tsp ground laos (galangal root) 1 tsp ground ginger 1 tsp ground coriander seed 4 tbsp sweet soy sauce (ketjap manis) 2 heaping tablespoons of peanut butter 1 cup of milk or light coconut milk Heat the oil in a saucepan, fry the onion until translucent. Add the garlic and spices and fry until fragrant, then add the soy sauce. Cook while stirring until reduced by about half. Add the peanut butter, stir through, then add the milk and bring to a boil while stirring. The sauce will thicken as it heats. Add more peanut butter if it is too runny, or more milk if it is too thick.

This weekend I'm cooking at Exhumation, held at Chateau Dalheim, just across the border from Maastricht in Wallonia, Belgium. The chateau is relatively modern, having been built in 1912. It has since been renovated into a group accommodation - a bit of a budget job unfortunately, but the building is quite charming nonetheless. As you may expect, my haunt is the kitchen, located in the basement/lower floor at the back of the chateau. Since the building is built into a slope, the kitchen actually has windows looking out across the chateau grounds. The kitchen itself is pretty good. I'd rate it at 3.5/5 Goblin Ears. Highlight is a huge electric oven, spacious room and good supply of pans. It also has a separate dishwashing kitchen - WITH PROFESSIONAL DISHWASHER - on the ground floor. The basement cooking kitchen and the dishwashing kitchen are connected with an ancient dumbwaiter, operated with pulleys and rope. You'll also find three different coffee makers here - a Senseo, a...