This is an excellent and easy Pad Thai recipe. If you don’t fancy prawns you can easily substitute them with beef, chicken, tofu or vegetables of your liking. If you do use chicken or beef cut them into a bite size pieces and pre-fry them before you do anything else (beef only quickly, you don’t wanna over cook it).
- 8 oz. Thai rice noodles (linguini width), or enough for 2 people
- 1-2 cups raw or cooked shrimp, shells removed
- 1 shallot (OR 1/4 cup purple onion), finely chopped
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1-2 fresh red chilies (or as much as you like!), finely sliced
- 1 egg
- 2 cups bean sprouts
- 1/8 tsp. ground white pepper (OR substitute black pepper)
- 3 green onions, sliced finely
- 1/2 cup fresh coriander/cilantro
- 1/4 cup dry roasted peanuts, ground or chopped
- 2-3 Tbsp. oil for stir-frying (coconut, peanut, corn, sunflower, or canola are all good)
- 3 Tbsp. chicken stock
- wedges of lime for serving
- PAD THAI SAUCE:
- 3/4 Tbsp. tamarind paste (available at Asian/Indian food stores)
- 1/4 cup hot water
- 2+1/2 Tbsp. fish sauce (available in tall bottles at Asian food stores)
- 1-3 tsp. chili sauce (to taste), OR 1/2 to 1 tsp. dried crushed chili
- 3 Tbsp. palm sugar OR brown sugar
Preparation:
- Bring a large pot of water to boil, then remove from heat. Dunk in the rice noodles. Soak the noodles until soft enough to eat, but still firm and a little “crunchy”. Drain and rinse the noodles thoroughly with cold water. Set aside. Tip:Avoid over-softening the noodles at this point, as they will be fried later, and you want them to turn out chewy, not soggy.
- In a small bowl or cup, dissolve the tamarind paste in the hot water. Then add the other Pad Thai Sauce ingredients (fish sauce, chili, and brown sugar). Stir well to dissolve the sugar. Add as much or as little chili sauce as you prefer, but don’t skimp on the sugar - it is needed to balance out the sourness of the tamarind. Set aside.
- Warm a wok or large frying pan over medium-high heat. Add 2 Tbsp. oil and swirl around, then add the shallots, garlic, and chili. Stir-fry 1 minute.
- Add the shrimp plus 2-3 Tbsp. chicken stock. Stir-fry 2-3 minutes, or until shrimp are pink and plump. (If using cooked shrimp, only stir-fry 1 minute.)
- Push ingredients aside, making room in the center of your wok/pan. Add another 1 Tbsp. oil, then crack in the egg. Stir-fry to scramble (30 seconds to 1 minute).
- Add the drained noodles and drizzle over the pad thai sauce. Use 2 utensils and a gentle “tossing” motion to combine everything together (like tossing a salad). Keep the heat between medium and medium-high - you want your pan hot enough to cook the noodles, but not so hot that the noodles burns. Stir-fry 4-5 minutes.
- Add the bean sprouts and continue stir-frying 1 more minute, or until noodles are chewy-delicious and a little bit sticky.
- Remove from heat and taste-test, adding more fish sauce until desired taste is achieved (I usually add another 1-2 Tbsp).
- Sprinkle over the white pepper, onion, coriander, and peanuts, and garnish with lime wedges (these should be squeezed over before eating). Toss one more time and serve. Thai chili sauce can also be served on the side if desired. ENJOY!
Recipe from: http://thaifood.about.com/od/oodlesofnoodles/r/padthaishrimp2.htm
1 Potato finely diced (5 to 10 mill cubes)
1 carrot finely diced - as above
2 cloves of crushed garlic.
1 Onion finely chopped
1 Cup of frozen peas
1 tblspn vegetable oil
2 tspn curry powder or your own spices according to taste
Salt, Pepper to taste.
100ml of vegetable stock.
Heat the oil in a frying pan, add the onion and garlic, mix in the spices and fry until soft. Add the vegetables, seasoning and stir well until coated. Add the stock, cover and simmer for 30 minutes until cooked.
Pastry
This recipe will make enough pastry for 24 samosas and you will need:
225gm. plain flour
2 tspn. salt
2tblspb. vegetable oil
80 ml warm water.
Mix flour and salt into a bowl. Make a well into the centre and add the oil and enough water to make a firm dough. Knead the dough on a floured surface until smooth and roll into a ball. Cover in plastic wrap and set aside at room temperature for 30 minutes.
Divide the pastry in 4 parts and roll them in to thin rectangles. Cut the rectangles into 10cm strips and place a spoon full of filling on one end. Fold the pastry in to a triangle shape like so:
Deep fry in vegetable oil until golden brown.
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Me and my saucier had a little wedding planning dinner at a local restaurant called Thai Thara. Their menu was way too large to pick just one dish so we ended up getting a set menu for two, which included starters and 3 different dishes + rice and noodles. One of my absolute favourites was their wonderful, fragrant yellow curry and I decided to try if I could recreate it at home.
I have to say I did fairly well. I need to get a better balance with the seasoning but all and all I was very happy with the end result.
Yellow Thai curry
- 6-8 chicken drumsticks OR other chicken pieces (remove skin if you prefer a lower fat dish)
- 2-3 potatotes, chopped into small chunks
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes, OR 1-2 medium-sized tomatoes, sliced into wedges
- 1 cup good-quality chicken stock
- handful fresh coriander
- CURRY SAUCE:
- 1 stalk fresh lemongrass, minced, OR 3 Tbsp. frozen prepared lemongrass (available at Asian food stores), OR substitute 1 Tbsp. lemon juice
- 4 cloves garlic
- 1 thumb-size piece galangal, ginger, or Thai ginger, sliced thinly
- 1 shallot OR 1/4 cup purple onion
- 1 yellow or red chili, sliced, OR 1/2 to 1 tsp. dried crushed chili (from the spice aisle)
- 1/2 tsp. chili powder (North American type)
- 3/4 tsp. turmeric
- 1 tsp. ground coriander
- 1 tsp. ground cumin
- 1/4 tsp. cinnamon
- 1/3 tsp. white pepper (available in the spice section)
- 3/4 tsp. shrimp paste (available by the jar at Asian stores)
- 2 Tbsp. fish sauce
- 1 Tbsp. lime juice
- 2 Tbsp. sugar
- 1 Tbsp. ketchup, OR substitute 1 Tbsp. tomato paste + 1/2 tsp. sugar
- 3/4 can coconut milk (reserve remaining 1/4 can for serving)
Preparation:
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
- Place all Curry Sauce ingredients in a food processor, large chopper, or blender. Process well to create a fragrant yellow curry sauce.
- Transfer curry sauce to a large casserole-type dish (you will need a lid or foil). Add the chicken stock and stir to combine.
- Add the chicken pieces, potatoes, and tomatoes. Stir everything together. Cover and bake at 375 degrees for 1 hour. (Note: if you’d like your tomatoes to maintain their form, wait and add them during the last 10 minutes of cooking.)
- Remove from oven and check the chicken. If the meat is tender and juices run clear, the dish is cooked. If not, stir and return to oven for another 10 minutes.
- Before serving, stir in the reserved coconut milk. Now taste-test the curry, adding more fish sauce instead of salt as needed. If the curry is too salty, add a little more lime juice. More chili can be added for more spice. If too spicy, add more coconut milk or chicken stock.
- Top with a handful of lightly-chopped coriander, serve with rice, and ENJOY!
I couldn’t find any drumstick so I used chicken thighs instead and they worked just as well. You can also use chicken breasts and cut them in to bite size pieces. That will also cut your cooking time from an hour to about 40 minutes and makes the diss leaner.
Recipe from: About.com
I decided to celebrate getting my student loan by cooking something I’ve been dying to try for months: Moroccan style lamb roast. This delicious recipe is from Jamie Oliver and it is the one of the simplest roasts I’ve ever made. Takes awhile to cook but it’s worth it.
Mechoui lamb with carrot and orange salad
1 shoulder of lamb (approximately 2.5kg)
• 50g smen or butter, at room temperature
• 1 heaped teaspoon ground cumin, plus extra to serve
• 1 heaped teaspoon ground coriander, plus extra to serve
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• a small handful of fresh thyme sprigs, leaves picked
• a few sprigs of fresh rosemary, leaves picked
• freshly ground black pepper
• 1 bulb of garlic
• 4 flatbreads
• seeds from ½ a pomegranate
• 250g Greek yoghurt
• 4 tablespoons harissa
Smash your garlic bulb open, separate the cloves and push them into the butter on the lamb. Pour around 100mls of water into the bottom of the tray and snugly cover the lamb with a double layer of foil. Put the tray into your hot oven and immediately turn the temperature down to 180ºC/350ºF/gas 4. You’ll need to cook a shoulder this size for around 3 hours in total. Remove the foil for the last 30 minutes of cooking. When the skin is nice and crisp and the meat is falling off the bone and deliciously tender it’s ready.
Leave to rest for 10 to 15 minutes, covered loosely with the foil. While it’s resting, make the salad. Using a speed peeler or mandolin, or the grater or julienne cutter of your food processor if you’ve got one, shred your carrots as finely as possible into a bowl. Dress them with the orange juice, a good lug of extra virgin olive oil, a splash of red wine vinegar, the mint leaves and a pinch of salt and pepper, then toss and take to the table or divide between your plates.
Serve with the salad, flatbreads and some yogurt sauce (Natural yogurt, tomato puree, chilli powder, paprika powder, cumin, coriander, salt and pepper).
For two people 2,5 kg shoulder of lamb was a bit too much, so we had quite a bit left over. I found another Jamie Oliver recipe and created a lamb ragu from the leftovers.
Lamb ragu with pasta
2kg shoulder of lamb
Small bunch of fresh rosemary, plus
2 sprigs extra
Olive oil, plus extra-virgin olive oil for drizzling
1 large onion, finely chopped
2 carrots, finely chopped
1 leek, finely chopped
2 celery stalks, finely chopped
4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 fresh bay leaf
2 sprigs fresh thyme
½ bottle red wine
300ml lamb stock, plus a bit extra
2 x 400g tins chopped tomatoes
400g dry pasta
Fresh oregano leaves and parmesan cheese, to serve
Turn your oven up to full. Slash the fat side of the lamb all over. Scatter half the bunch of rosemary in a high-sided roasting tray, rub the lamb with oil, salt and black pepper. Place in the tray, and cover with remaining rosemary. Tightly cover with foil and place in the oven. Turn the oven down to 170?C/gas 3 and cook for 4 hours, until lamb pulls apart easily.
When cooked, place lamb on a board. Cover with a tea towel and rest until cool, then gently shred using two forks.
Add the vegetables and garlic to a large pan with the oil, bay leaf, thyme and extra rosemary. Cook for 15 minutes or until veg are soft.
Pour in the wine and cook until most of it has evaporated.
Add stock and tomatoes and cook gently for an hour. Season to taste. Add the lamb to the sauce and cook for another hour, adding extra stock if it looks dry. Keep stirring and scraping the sides. Season to taste.
Put pasta into a pan of salted, boiling water and cook according to packet instructions. Drain then stir through the ragù. Finish with a drizzle of olive oil and top with oregano and grated parmesan.
These little breads are excellent with curries or meze/tapas style food.
2-3 dl warm water
½ teaspoon salt
½ bag dry yeast
about 6 dl plain flour
oil
Mix the yeast and salt with the water and start adding the flour. When you get a good consistency, continue kneading by hand for about 5 minutes. Leave to dough to rise in a warm place for 30-60 minutes.
Preheat the over for 220 c. Make little balls from the dough and roll them flat (about ½cm or less). Brush them with oil and sprinkle a bit of salt on top. Bake for 6-8 minutes.
Dal (or lentils) is one of the most amazing vegetarian dishes. It will fill you up and keep you going all day, especially if eaten with rice. This recipe is once again from Camelia Panjabi’s 50 Great curries of India and it’s dead simple.
Moong dal uttar pradesh-style
200g moong dal
2 large tomatoes chopped
2 green chillies chopped
2,5cm piece of ginger grated
3 garlic cloves crushed
1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder
salt
1 tablespoon coriander leaves chopped
about 8 curry leaves
Wash the dal and soak for 15 min. Bring a litre of water to boil and add the tomatoes, dal, chillies, ginger, garlic and turmeric. Add salt to taste. Cook for 30 minutes. Remove from the heath and whisk gently with a egg beater, until the grains are completely mashed (you can also use a blender if you feel like it). Add the coriander and curry leaves and cook for another 5 min. Serve with rice or as we did the last time, some spicy potatoes:
Fried potatoes with mixed spices
500g potatoes
½ teaspoon turmeric powder
salt
65ml oil
½ teaspoon coriander powder
1 teaspoon chilli powder
½ teaspoon garam masala
1/3 teaspoon dried mango powder
Boil the potatoes with the skins on, with the turmeric and salt for 5 minutes. Peel and cut to chunky chips or wedges.
Put the oil in the wok with the coriander and chilli. Let the spices heat up on a very low heat. An soons as the oil is hot add the potatoes and stir well. Cover with lid and leave to cook for about 20 minutes. Stir from time to time.
When the potatoes are almost done, add the garam masala and toss couple of times. When ready, sprinkle with the mango powder and serve.
The weird colour comes from using green lentils, don’t let it fool you.
Bunch of fresh asparagus
6-8 champion mushrooms
200g bacon
2-3 dl arborio rice
about 5 dl chicken or vegetable stock
about 50g parmigiano
black pepper
thyme
splash of white wine
oil
(salt)
Chop the asparagus, slice the mushrooms and bacon and precook them in a pan. Put aside to cool down. Grate the parmigiano.
Heat up about tablespoon of oil in a pan and add the rice. Stir quickly (be careful not to burn) and add a splash of wine. Wait till the wine reduces a bit and then start adding the stock one decilitre at a time (wait till it reduces and add another dl). Continue this constantly stirring until you’ve used all the stock. If the rice isn’t cooked trough yet, add some water until it is.
Add the bacon, asparagus and mushrooms, season with black pepper and thyme and then stir in the parmigiano. Add salt if needed.
I recently misplaced my trusted curry book (well, my theory is that either A) we have borrowers in our flat or B) the sock vortex that is controlling our bedroom, has started to take other objects as well) and had to look up a recipe from the internet. I ended up making one of the best curries I’ve ever made and here’s it is:
Lamb balti
Serves 4
To make the Onion Puree, bring a small pan of water to the boil and add some chopped onions. Boil until soft, drain and puree with a hand blender or in a food processor. Freeze any extra you make for next time.
Pour the oil into a large saucepan bring up to a high heat. Add the whole seeds and cook until they sizzle and crackle then add the chopped onions and reduce the heat to low. You can optionally add 1 or 2 Whole Star Anise which help bring out the sweetness of the onions and imparts a subtle aniseed flavour but remove them once the onions are cooked. Cook the onions gently and slowly until they turn a golden brown colour.
Make a paste of the ginger puree, garlic puree, curry powder, Turmeric powder, Chilli powder, with a little water. Add to saucepan and stir in well and fry for a couple of minutes.
Now add your 800g Diced Lean Lamb Steak stir in well.
Add the pureed carrot.
Mix the Cream, Yogurt, Tomato Puree, Onion Puree, together in a jug with the water or stock and pour into the saucepan and mix in well. Turn up the heat until the sauce begins to simmer and leave to simmer for 20 Minutes. Stir occasionally.
Finally sprinkle in the Garam masala and stir in well for the final 2 minutes of cooking. Garnish with the Roughly chopped fresh coriander leaves and serve.
Recipe from Curry Frenzy
I got this recipe years ago from a friend who almost never cooks but this one she got spot on. It’s dead simple and dead tasty.
Vegetarian lasagna
lasagna sheets
4-6 tomatoes
Fresh spinach (or frozen if you can’t get fresh)
1-2 balls of fresh mozzarella
grated cheese
1 jar of raguetto
or
Homemade tomato sauce (2 tins of chopped tomatoes, salt, pepper, garlic, herbs and a pinch of sugar)
Start with making the tomato sauce if you’re making your own. Heat up the tin tomatoes in a pan, add the spices and let it simmer for about half an hour.
Slice the tomatoes and mozzarella and chop the spinach (or alternatively defrost the frozen spinach). Put a layer of tomato sauce, sliced tomatoes and grated cheese on a bottom of a oven dish. Top with lasagna sheets and make the next layer out of spinach and fresh mozzarella. Continue until you fill up the dish of run out of ingredients. Make sure that your top layer is tomato sauce and grated cheese. Bake in 200c for 25 min.
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During the summer red meat sometimes feels a bit too heavy so here’s couple of very simple and tasty chicken recipes.
Gruyere stuffed chicken breast
4 chicken breasts
100g gruyere cheese
salt
pepper
about 3 dl breadcrumbs
2 eggs
about 3 dl plain flour
Serve with:
asparagus
baby corn
new potatoes
Flatten the chicken breast with a mallet or a rolling pin. Put the flour, breadcrumbs and eggs on separate plates and cut the cheese in to small cubes or slices.
Stuff the chicken breasts with the the cheese and roll them first in the flour, then the egg and last in the breadcrumbs. Brown the breasts on both sides and season with salt and pepper. Then cook in the oven for 20-30 minutes in 200c. You can just cook them on the pan if you wish but cooking in the oven is just easier.
While the chicken is cooking boil the potatoes and prep the vegetables. Remove the wooden bits from the asparagus and put them in a some sort of deep dish with the corns. Poor a little oil on them and season with salt, pepper and thyme.
Grill for 3-4 minutes just before serving.
If you feel that the dish is a bit too dry on it’s own, try some hollandais sauce with it or just a simple knob of butter with your potatoes.
Breaded chicken with tagliatelle and trumpet chanterelle sauce.
2 chicken breasts
2 dl breadcrumbs
2 eggs
2 dl flour
1 lemon
1-2 teaspoons of thyme
salt
pepper
tagliatelle
1 can of single cream
hand full of dried chanterelles
Put the mushrooms to soak. Flatten the chicken breast with a mallet or a rolling pin and put the flour, breadcrumbs and eggs on separate plate. Grate the lemon zest and mix it, and the thyme with the breadcrumbs. Roll the chicken breasts first in the flour, then the eggs and last in the breadcrumbs. Fry them in a pan with a bit of oils until done. Season with salt, pepper and lemon juice.
While the chicken is cooking, cook the pasta and make the sauce. Drain the mushrooms and fry them in a small amount of oil. Then add the cream, heat up and season to taste with salt and pepper.
If you can’t get hold of trumpet chantarelles, you can use any mushrooms that you like.
Teriyaki chicken with couscous salad
2-3 chicken breasts
2 Tbsp sake (rice wine)
4 Tbsp soy sauce
2 Tbsp sugar
grated ginger
Salad:
255g couscous
5 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
½ pint cold water
2 red peppers
½ glove of garlic
1 chilli, deseeded and chopped
2 tomatoes, deseeded and chopped
juice of 1 lemon
2 handfuls of fresh herbs (basil, coriander or flat-leaf parsley)
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon red wine vinegar
salt
pepper
Chicken:
Mix other ingredients in a bowl. Marinate the chicken in the mixture for 15 minutes in the refrigerator. you can either leave the chicken breast whole or cut them to pieces. Fry the chicken from both sides until slightly brown. Pour the sauce used to marinate chicken in the pan. Cover the pan and steam cook the chicken on low heat until done. Remove the lid and simmer until the sauce becomes thick. Stop the heat. Slice the chicken and serve on a plate. Pour thickened sauce over the teriyaki chicken.
Salad:
Start with making olive oil and lemon dressing by mixing the 5 tablespoons of olive oil with 2 tablespoons of lemon juice, salt and pepper. Mix it with the couscous, add the water and leave for 15 minutes. Meanwhile grill the peppers whole, until blackened. Put in a bowl, cover with clean film and leave to steam. Peel and chop finely. Mix with the tomatoes, herbs chilli, lemon juice vinegar and garlic. Drizzle with olive oil and leave for 15 minutes until mixing with the couscous.
This wasn’t actually cooked by me but my trusted saucier (hence the brilliant presentation :) ) but I though I’ll share the recipe with you just the same.
Teriyaki chicken recipe is from About.com, Couscous salad from Jamie Oliver’s Naked chef.
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