Tuesday, March 27, 2012

Simple Thai fish cakes

Hallelujah a meal that takes 10 to prep and 10 to cook! The perfect weeknight meal. The recipes meant to be for 4 but 2 of us at all of it! Also, I subbed chili jam for sweet chili sauce and you do need to season well with sea salt which the recipe doesn't mention. 

Simple Thai fish cakes

For a no-fuss taste of Asia, Donna Hay's fish cakes are hard to beat

Ingredients

    For the fish cakes

  • 500g firm white fish fillets, skin off
  • 2 tsp ginger, finely grated
  • 2 tbsp chilli jam
  • small handful coriander leaves
  • 1 egg white
  • vegetable oil, for shallow frying
  • lime wedges, to serve
  • For the cucumber and lime salad

  • 1 tbsp lime juice
  • 2 tsp fish sauce
  • 1 1/2 tsp caster sugar
  • 3 Lebanese cucumbers, sliced lengthways with a vegetable peeler
  • small handful mint leaves
  • small handful coriander leaves

Method

  • 1. Place the fish, ginger, chilli jam, coriander and eggwhite in the bowl of a food processor and process until smooth. With slightly wet hands shape the mixture into 12 flat cakes. Heat a non-stick frying pan over medium-high heat. Add 1cm of oil and cook the fish cakes, in batches, for 3–4 minutes each side or until cooked through.
  • 2. To make the cucumber and lime salad, place the lime juice, fish sauce and sugar in a bowl and mix to combine. Add the cucumber, mint and coriander and toss to coat. Serve with the fish cakes and lime wedges.

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Wednesday, March 21, 2012

Lindt Cafe Darling Harbour

It would have been wrong, so wrong to not pop in when I saw I was walking past the Lindt cafe. I bought 2 chocolates and a macaroon. The chocolates were delicious - in surprised they didn't have the signature Lindt taste? The macaroons are a very heavy and large macaroon but I won't deny it hit the spot!

Monday, March 19, 2012

Thai chicken green curry with rice



Sent from the Yahoo!7 My Kitchen Rules App. Get it for your iPhone now!

The following recipe is direct off the My Kitchen Rules App and you'll notice I decided to do chicken instead of lamb.

Here are my tips for doing this recipe ... and it turns out wonderful!

- Don't stress if you can't get galangal. Use ginger.
- Scrap the 2 tsp salt

Thai lamb green curry with rice

Ingredients
Extra shredded kaffir lime leaves, to garnish

Steamed jasmine rice and lime wedges, to serve

Curry Paste
1 tsp shrimp paste 
2 black peppercorns 
1/2 tsp coriander seeds
1/4 tsp cumin seeds
2cm piece galangal, finely grated 
2 tsp salt
2 stalks lemongrass, trimmed, chopped
5 garlic cloves, chopped
4 small green Thai chillies, finely chopped
4 small red Thai chillies, finely chopped
5 coriander roots, chopped
2 eschallots, chopped

Curry
375ml can coconut cream 
2 tsp fish sauce
2 tsp grated palm sugar
2 kaffir lime leaves, shredded
400g lamb back strap, cut into 4cm pieces
4 baby eggplant (Lebanese), cut into 1cm slices
100g green beans, trimmed
1/4 cup Thai basil leaves

Method

1. To make curry paste, wrap shrimp paste in foil. Dry-fry foil package in a small frying pan over medium heat for 1 minute each side (this will bring out flavour of shrimp paste). Remove and cool package.

2. Add peppercorns and seeds to same pan. Dry-fry for 3 minutes or until fragrant. Cool. Grind to a powder in a pestle and mortar. Remove and set aside.

3. Place galangal and salt in a pestle and mortar and pound until soft. Add lemongrass and pound until soft. Continue adding garlic, chillies, coriander roots, eschallots, toasted spices and shrimp paste, one ingredient at a time, pounding to combine and soften after each addition.

4. To make curry, bring 125ml of the coconut cream to a boil in a medium saucepan or wok. It will begin to separate (a term known as 'cracking') – with the oil rising to the top and some of the water/milk evaporating. Add 3 tablespoons of the curry paste. Cook, stirring, for 3-4 minutes. Stir in fish sauce, palm sugar, lime leaves and remaining coconut milk. Simmer gently for 5 minutes. Stir in eggplant and green beans. Stir in lamb. Simmer, covered, for 15 minutes or until vegetables are tender and lamb is cooked to your liking (lamb backstrap can easily overcook, so be sure to watch it). Stir in basil.

5. Garnish curry with extra lime leaves. Serve with rice and lime wedges.

Notes
Tips:

- If your coconut cream has additives or stabilizers, the oil may not separate (crack) from the milk/water (it is the oily part you want, in which to cook your paste). If this is the case, cook the curry paste off in a little peanut oil before adding the coconut cream.
- To use lemongrass, trim away bulbous root end and peel away tough outer leaves. Trim away yellow-green top stalk (you can freeze this to use later to infuse syrups, teas, soups or custards). Thinly slice remaining tender white-green stalk (if stalk is a little tough, you can lightly crush it with a pestle or rolling pin before slicing).
- If you are time poor, you can use a mini processor to make the paste, instead of a pestle and mortar.
- To present the rice, we placed it inside a small greased bowl, then inverted the bowl onto the serving plate.
- This is an authentically spicy Thai green curry. Reduce the chillies if you prefer less heat.
- Curry paste can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to a week. 

- If available, try using Thai eggplant. They are small, round and available from Asian grocers.

Recipe by David and Scott

Sent from my iPhone

Monday, March 12, 2012

Chilli Cashew Chicken Noodles

               
Serves 4.

-          200g dried thick rice noodles
-           2 tablespoons peanut oil
-           2 onions, sliced into wedges
-           ¼ cup (55g) white sugar
-           4 chicken breast fillets, sliced
-           1 red capsicum, sliced
-           ¾ cup (115g) unsalted roasted cashews
-          4 tablespoons fish sauce
-          4 tablespoons soy sauce
-          3 tablespoons sweet chilli sauce
-          4 tablespoons lemon juice
-           ¼ cup coriander (cilantro) leaves

1.         Place the noodles in a saucepan of boiling water and cook for 3 minutes or until tender. Drain.
2.         Heat a wok or deep frying pan over high heat.
3.         Add the oil, onion, chilli and sugar and cook for 2 minutes. Remove and set aside.
4.         Add the chicken and cook, stirring, for 4 minutes or until the chicken is golden. Add the capsicum, cashews, fish sauce, soy, lemon juice, onion mixture and noodles to the pan. Cook, stirring, for a further 4 minutes or until heated through.
5.         Sprinkle with coriander.
6.         Serve.

This is a Donna Hay recipe that I’ve tweaked a little http://www.donnahay.com.au/recipes/chilli-cashew-chicken-noodles

Monday, March 5, 2012

Recipe - Walnut Cake

Serves 8

For the cake
  • 250g fine semolina
  • 200gm (2 cups) walnuts, coarsely chopped
  • 150g (1 cup) plain flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 250 grams of unsalted, softened butter
  • 250gm caster sugar
  • zest of ½ an orange
  • 6 eggs, separated
For the sugar syrup
  • 2 cups of caster sugar
  • 2 cinnamon quills
  • 5 cloves
  • I piece of lemon rind, removed with a peeler.
  1. Preheat the oven to 170C.
  2. Combine the semolina, walnuts, flour, baking powder and cinnamon in a bowl. Set aside
  3. Cream the sugar, orange and butter in a mixer until it becomes nice and light.
  4. Fold in semolina mixture, then yolks, set aside
  5. Whisk egg whites until soft peaks form, and then fold them into the semolina mixture in three batches.
  6. Place the mixture into a 24cm square cake tin buttered and lined with baking paper
  7. Bake until cake is cooked through and springs back when lightly pressed (30-35 mins)
  8. Whilst the cake is cooking prepare your sugar syrup by boiling all the ingredients in 500ml water. Once the mixture comes to a boil, turn the heat down to medium-low and simmer till reduced by half (20-25 mins) until we have a nice thick syrup.
  9. Remove the cake from the oven and let it cool for 5 mins. Pour the sugar syrup over the cake, stand to soak in (15 minutes), remove from tin, cool to room temperature..
  10. Cut the walnut cake into diamond shapes and serve with double cream
Im also keen to try this version: http://souvlakiforthesoul.com/karydopita-walnut-cake