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Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.
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Jollof rice with spider crab custard at Ikoyi
I’ve had several different iterations of Ikoyi’s jollof — the iconic west African rice dish — and this was the best one, eaten just before they moved from St James’s to their new digs on the Strand. It mixes the essential smokiness of jollof with the rich, unctuous crab custard sauce, which takes the dish to a different level. -
Sharpham Park spelt, cured ox heart and long pepper glaze at Anglo Thai
John Chantarasak is a half-British, half-Thai chef who is one of the leading cooks of Thai food in the UK. He popped up at Outcrop at 180 The Strand last summer and I ate this dish there. John stopped putting rice on his menus some time ago in a bid to be more sustainable; here he uses grains from Somerset. He fries them in aged beef fat, glazes them in an aromatic beef reduction and then grates over cured ox heart. -
Salt fish fried rice at Singburi
This is comfort food, but elevated. It looks really simple but they source the ingredients meticulously: the salt fish comes direct from Thailand. As it’s a preserved fish, it’s very funky, but within a rice dish the funkiness moves into the background. Magical. -
Rice and peas at Maureen’s
One of Brixton’s best-kept secrets. Normally, I’d have curry goat with rice but I could eat Maureen’s rice and peas — properly seasoned with just the right amount of spring onions and herbs — on its own. Maureen has a small stall behind her house; get your order in before midday because it will be sold out by lunchtime. -
Lamb fried rice at Beresfords Fish & Chips
Beresfords is a conventional chippie in Woolwich, next door to a vast Iceland, but it has a separate special Nepalese menu including mo-mos (Nepalese dumplings) and seven fried rice dishes. My favourite is the lamb.
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