This is as much a story about love as it is about Dutch pancakes, churros and congee. “Every day, Mark comes in and says ‘oh wow, what is this?”’ says Michael Zee who is softly bearded, smiley faced and as warm and comfortable as a feather cushion. And ultimately, that moment of satisfaction is the reason he has been making his symmetrical breakfasts every morning for the past three years.
Zee’s daily double-vision breakfast creations have captured the hearts of the Instagram community too – 605k of them and counting – who share an intimate, harmonious moment every morning with Zee and his fashion designer partner Mark van Beek. The modestly sized kitchen in the couple’s flat in a purpose-built mansion block in Hackney has the smallest patch of workspace. But every shelf and cupboard is crammed with herbs, spices, and obscure condiments from around the world. There’s banana ketchup from the Philippines; clam juice picked up in New York; packs of tiny marshmallows; yuzu; vermicelli noodles; chapatti flour; smoked garlic powder; vinegars; oils. This is Zee’s culinary playground, where he begins his mornings at 6am, preparing a different dish each day.
The couple have been together since March 2012. “We met in a club in City Road and I took Mark home straight away,” says Zee. The next morning he decided to make him breakfast. “I thought, I think this guy’s Dutch. I had just been to Holland and thought I’d make him Dutch pancakes.”
Van Beek says it was “really surreal”. “Normally when you meet someone, the first morning it’s bye and out of the house. Or there’s no food in the fridge.”
The following April they moved in together. Van Beek was working for Burberry designing the menswear collections. For six weeks, twice a year, Zee would hardly see him as he would work till two or three every morning in the lead-up to the catwalk show. So he started to make special breakfasts as it was their one opportunity to see each other before they both left for work. Friends would comment on the Instagram posts of their breakfast ritual so Zee started SymmetryBreakfast as a project. Three years and 600k followers later, Zee has quit his job as an education officer at the V&A and his first book, SymmetryBreakfast: Cook Love Share was published this month.
But in true Zee style, this is not just a cookery book, it is a proposal of marriage. He has dedicated the book to his partner: “Mark without you there would be no symmetry, no one to make breakfast for and no reason to get out of bed. You are my best friend, my love. Will you marry me?” he writes.
You may be relieved to know he was planning to share the proposal with Van Beek before the book launch – but no doubt they will be sharing their wedding breakfast some time soon.
Shengjian mantou Shanghainese breakfast dumplings
When I was a child, at weekends I would go into Liverpool city centre with my family. On Seel Street was a small Chinese bookshop that, surprisingly, sold steamed bao buns. Try doing that in Waterstones. I vividly remember the glass cabinets and huge steamers full of them. Sadly, all traces of the shop are now gone but for me it began a love affair with the bao bun that has never faded.
Shengjian buns are a typical Shanghainese breakfast. You’ll typically get four in a portion, thrown into a plastic bag on the go before work or school starts, to get you through the day.
Makes 8 big buns
For the filling
shiitake mushrooms 3 dried
Chinese leaf cabbage 100g (about 2 leaves)
salt 1 tsp
pork mince 200g
spring onion 100g, finely chopped
garlic 2 cloves, minced
cornflour 2 tsp
Chinese rice wine 1 tsp
sesame oil 1 tsp
water 50ml
light soy sauce 1 tbsp
white pepper ½ tsp
For the dough
milk 125ml
sugar 1 tbsp
dried yeast 7g
plain flour 200g
cornflour 2 heaped tbsp
baking powder 1 tsp
sunflower oil 2 tbsp
oil 4 tbsp, for frying
For the filling, soak the dried shiitake mushrooms in boiling water for 5 minutes until plump. Drain the liquid and chop finely.
Finely shred the cabbage leaves and place them in a bowl. Sprinkle the salt over them and toss with your hands for one minute. Leave to stand for 15 minutes, then give them a good squeeze and drain off the excess water.
Place the pork, cabbage, spring onion and garlic in a large bowl. Make your hand into a claw shape and, with a circular motion, stir everything together. Dissolve the cornflour with the rice wine and add, along with the oil, water, soy sauce, white pepper and chopped mushrooms, to the pork mix. Combine thoroughly (with the same claw) and set aside. You can prepare this a day ahead if you prefer.
Moving on to the dough, warm the milk, ideally to 37C (99F), and add the sugar and yeast. Give it a stir and set aside for 10 minutes to become bubbly.
Sieve the flour, cornflour and baking powder together into a large bowl. Make a well in the middle and add the yeast mix and 2 tbsp oil. Bring it together into a dough and knead until it is smooth. Depending on how strong you are, this could be 5-10 minutes. Leave the dough to rest for 10 minutes.
Turn the dough out on to a clean surface and roll it into a sausage shape, 30cm long. Cut the dough into 8 even pieces and roll each into a smooth ball. Take one at a time and, using a rolling pin, flatten it into a circle 10–12cm across.
Place 2–3 teaspoons of the pork filling in the centre of the dough and bring up the sides, pinching at the top to seal the dumpling tightly.
If you’re looking for inspiration, there are some fascinating videos on YouTube on all the different ways they can be sealed. Cover with a tea towel to rest for 10 minutes as you complete the remaining tasks.*
Heat 4 tbsp of oil in a large frying pan over a medium heat. Put the kettle on too. Place as many buns as you can fit into the pan without overcrowding and fry them for 3 minutes. Be careful that the heat isn’t too high; it’s better to take your time than to burn them.
Pour 100ml of freshly boiled water over the buns and cover with a lid. Check after 5 minutes, then, once the water has been completely absorbed, remove the lid and cook for a further 3 minutes. Your dumplings should look fluffy white on top and dark golden brown underneath.
Serve immediately with black rice vinegar, chopped spring onion and a cup of something like an oolong or a smoky lapsang souchong.
*At this point you can freeze the buns – they won’t take any longer to cook from frozen, either. Place them on a tray or plate lined with baking parchment with space between them, dust with some flour and freeze them. You should eat them within a fortnight.
Dutch puff
Mark finds the name of this pancake incredibly confusing. Being a Dutch puff himself he wonders why he wasn’t informed about his namesake sooner. I use beef dripping here, but any flavourless oil is a fine substitute.
Makes 2 puffs
streaky bacon 6 rashers
plain flour 100g (strong bread flour can also be used)
caster sugar 2 tsp
salt ½ tsp
milk 150ml
eggs 3
vanilla extract 1 tsp
beef dripping or oil 2 tbsp
To serve: soft fruits (blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, redcurrants), maple syrup, icing sugar
Preheat your oven to 220C/gas mark 7. Fry the bacon until very crispy and drain on some paper towel. When cooled, crumble into pieces of various sizes. This will make the most excellent topping.
In a bowl, mix the flour, sugar and salt together with a whisk. Measure out your milk and add the eggs and vanilla extract. Beat until smooth and add this to the flour mix. Whisk until you have a smooth batter, then set aside.
Place two cast–iron skillets on a baking sheet or sturdy tray and add a spoon of the dripping or oil to each. Place them on the middle shelf of your oven with space above for your babies to grow.
Transfer the batter into a measuring jug for easier pouring. After about 15 minutes in the oven the oil should be smoking hot. Quickly and carefully, split the batter between the two pans. Bake for 10–12 minutes. Do not open the oven door until they’re done! Your puff should look like a huge cloud of batter with crispy golden edges.
Serve with the soft fruits of your choice, crispy bacon pieces, maple syrup and a dusting of icing sugar for beauty.
Pide Turkish pizza
Makes 4 pide
dried yeast 7g
sugar 1 tsp
strong bread flour or 00 flour 250g
salt 1 tsp
olive oil 1 tbsp
cold water 100ml
butter 100g, melted
For the filling
onion 1
olive oil 2 tsp
cumin powder 1 tsp
caraway seeds 1 tsp
spinach leaves 200g
beyaz peynir or feta 100g (or more, if you like)
eggs 4
In a jug, combine the yeast, sugar and a few tablespoons of warm water. Leave to sit for 10 minutes.
In a large bowl, combine the flour, salt and olive oil. Add the yeast mix and work everything together with your hands, slowly adding the water until you have a ball. You may not need all the water.
Tip the dough out on to a lightly floured work surface and knead it for 5 minutes until smooth. Oil the bowl and the dough and leave covered for 30 minutes.
For the filling, fry the onion gently in a pan with the olive oil, cumin and caraway for 10 minutes. Add the spinach and wilt for a few minutes. Take off the heat.
To assemble the pide, preheat your oven to 200C/gas mark 6 and line a baking tray with parchment.
Place the dough on a floured surface and knead it again for 20 seconds. Cut the dough into 2 equal pieces. Roll each half into a long boat, around 40cm long and 12cm wide. Poke it all over with a fork and transfer it carefully to the baking tray. Repeat with the second half.
Layer the spinach, leaving a 2cm border around the edge, and top with cheese. I like to fold the edge over, but you could also crimp it with your thumb and finger to create a raised border. Twist the ends of the pide to a point so that the whole thing resembles a boat shape. Bake in the oven for 12–15 minutes until golden brown. Halfway through the cooking time add the egg. Brush with plenty of melted butter and serve.
Champorado Filipino chocolate rice
While tablea – tablets of pure compressed cocoa – can be difficult to find, you can make it at home with some patience and a food processor. Dry-fry some cocoa beans until dark and intensely chocolatey, then leave to cool completely. Remove the outer shells and blitz until a dark, sludgy paste forms. Shape into golf balls or small pucks and allow to harden. Failing that, use the best quality dark chocolate you can find – 80% cocoa or higher.
Serves 2
glutinous or sticky rice 200g
water 800ml
tablea 4 (or substitute 150g pure cocoa or bitter chocolate) caster sugar 50g
milk 100g (regular or evaporated)
In a pan, bring the rice and water to the boil over a medium heat. Boil for 1 minute, then turn the heat down to low and cover with a lid. Cook for 15 minutes or until the rice is soft.
If you are using tablea, grind it into a powder in a pestle and mortar. If using chocolate, roughly chop into very small pieces.
Remove the rice from the heat. Add the sugar to taste along with the tablea/cocoa/chocolate. Stir thoroughly until combined.
Divide between individual bowls and pour the milk over. Serve with fresh fruit, such as mango or papaya, accompanied by either black or Jasmine tea.
Magic grits
Perfect with just a knob of butter, grits are also the ideal canvas for topping with egg, cheese, shrimp, bacon or chorizo.
The original measurements are in US cups but have been converted into metric here.
Serves 2
milk 120ml
water 420ml
salt 1 tsp
black pepper ½ tsp
grits 85g (Dunn’s River is widely available in the UK, but Palmetto Farms from the US is my favourite)
Cheddar 55g, grated, sharp or mature
butter 30g
Add the milk, water, salt and pepper to a heavy saucepan and bring to the boil.
Turn the heat right down to low and add the grits, stirring continuously for 5 minutes. The aim here is low and slow. If the grits start to bubble, then your heat is too high. Cover with a lid and continue to cook on low for 20 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes. Taste to check if they are tender and cooked. Take off the heat and add the cheese and butter, stirring until melted.
Serve the grits as they are with an extra knob of butter, or with crispy bacon and fresh grilled jumbo shrimp, egg, or perhaps with chorizo or spicy Merguez sausage. The beauty of grits is that they’re a vehicle.
Go to town with the flavours: perhaps make them with half milk and half stock, or add some chilli paste and a teaspoon of honey.
SymmetryBreakfast by Michael Zee is published by Bantam Press, £14.99. Click here to order a copy from Guardian Bookshop for £12.29
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