Pad Grapao Gai - Stir-Fried Minced Chicken with Holy Basil

I still recall eating this dish on many an occasion for weekday lunches in Singapore. I may hold back on the chillies (or at least remove half the seeds in future), but it was worth it! It was a quick and easy meal to put together, but if you live in a cold climate as we do, be sure to have warmed serving dishes on standby, especially while you get your eggs fried after you've cooked this dish. I also ended up using minced beef instead of chicken.

Serves 4

2 tbs sunflower oil
4 garlic cloves, crushed
3 long red chillies, 1 finely chopped, 2 sliced on the diagonal
6 red bird's-eye chillies, finely chopped
400g minced chicken
1 tsp soy sauce
2 tsp dark soy sauce
1 tsp fish sauce
1 tbs oyster sauce
1/2 tsp caster sugar
10 green beans, thinly sliced
4 large Asian red eschalots, thinly sliced
1 cup holy basil leaves
Steamed riced and 4 fried eggs, to serve

Dipping sauce
4 thinly sliced red bird's-eye chillies
125ml (1/2 cup) soy sauce
1/2 Asian red eschalot, thinly sliced
1/4 cup holy basil leaves, finely chopped

To make dipping sauce, combined all the ingredients in a bowl and set aside.

Heat oil in a wok over high heat. Add garlic, 1 chopped long red chilli and all the bird's eye chillies, and cook for 30 seconds or until fragrant. Add chicken and cook, breaking up lumps, for 4 minutes or until cooked through.

Combine soy, fish and oyster sauces and the sugar in a small bowl. Add to the wok with beans, sliced long red chillies and eschalots, and cook, stirring occasionally, for 1 minute or until heated through. Add basil and remove from heat. Serve the stir-fry with rice and dipping sauce and top with a fried egg.

Risotto with Bacon and Mushrooms

This was the first risotto I've ever made, and I guess trying the recipe on the packet can actually be a good start. Feel free to substitute ingredients when you've got a feel of getting the consistency right.

2 tablespoons olive oil

30g butter

1 teaspoon minced garlic

1 large onion, chopped

4 rashers rindless bacon, sliced

2 cups arborio rice

4 cups chicken stock, simmered

1/4 cup white wine

2 cups button mushrooms, sliced

1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Chopped parsley

Ground black pepper

Heat olive oil and butter in a large heavy based saucepan. Add garlic, onion and bacon and cook for 3 minutes. Stir in arborio rice and cook over a medium heat for 5 minutes or until rice slightly colours, stirring frequently. Add wine and simmer to absorb the liquid, stirring constantly. Begin adding stock, a cup at a time, allowing each addition to be absorbed and stirring well between each addition. After the first cup of stock, add mushrooms. Adjust consistency with each extra water or stock, if necessary. When all stock has been absorbed, remove pan from heat. Stir in cheese, parsley and pepper. Serves 4.

Sticky Honey, Soy & Ginger Pork Ribs

I must admit it's been refreshing trying out new dishes over the past week or so. My cookbooks are still boxed up in the shed, but I have been pulling out a book or two here and there. Trying to live with a minimal kitchen also means using as much of what we've already got at home, so that there's less to pack when we get ready for our new kitchen. I couldn't have found this recipe without Eat Your Books (and the fact that I knew exactly which box this book was in).

I may have had too much water in the roasting pan, so it took ages for me to reduce the liquid for the glaze. I also would've taken it out at 35 minutes, so getting the rice cooker ready and having my evening shower a little earlier might have been a good idea.

Serves 3-4

5cm piece fresh ginger, grated
6 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1/2 cup (125ml) light soy sauce
1/2 cup (175g) honey
1/2 cup (125ml) Chinese rice wine (shaohsing)
1 tbs sweet chilli sauce
1.4kg pork ribs, cut into individual ribs
Coriander, lime wedges and steamed rice, to serve

Combine the ginger, garlic, soy, honey, rice wine and sweet chilli sauce in a large zip-lock bag. Add the ribs, close the bag and shake to coat the pork thoroughly. Marinate in the fridge for at least 1 hour or overnight.

Preheat the oven to 180 deg C.

Remove the ribs from the bag, reserving the marinade, and place on a rack over a roasting pan filled with 1cm water. Roast for 35-40 minutes until sticky and golden. Remove the pork from the rack and set aside, loosely covered with foil, while you make the glaze.

For the glaze, place the marinade in a small saucepan over medium-high heat with any juices from the roasting pan. Bring to the boil, then allow to bubble for 4-5 minutes until the mixture is sticky, watching carefully to ensure it doesn't burn. Brush over the ribs.

Place the glazed ribs on a serving platter with coriander and lime wedges, then serve with steamed rice.

Thit Heo Mam Ruoc - Pork Shoulder, Slow-Cooked with Shrimp Paste and Lemon Grass

I had so much fun cooking this dish, and believe it or not, this is the very first time I've used shrimp paste in my cooking. I couldn't find pork shoulder, so I ended up using pork belly instead. I was just ready for any kind of pork at this point! I may hold back on the salt in future, as there was plenty in the shrimp paste. It was great as pork curry puffs the next night, too!

1kg (2lb 4oz) pork shoulder, with skin and fat
1 1/2 tablespoons oil
4 x 8cm (3 1/4 in) pieces of lemon grass (with white part), finely chopped
2 spring onions (scallions), chopped
3 garlic cloves, chopped
1 tablespoon shrimp paste
2 tablespoons fish sauce
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons white pepper
approximately 2 litres (70 fl oz / 8 cups) pork stock

Wash the pork under cold water, then pat dry with paper towel. Place on a cutting board and cut into 4 x 1cm (1 1/2 x 1/2 in) pieces. Add the oil to a large saucepan over medium heat, then add the lemon grass, spring onions and garlic. Fry until the lemon grass starts to brown slightly, then add the shrimp paste with 2 tablespoons of water and increase the heat. Add the pork to the pan and stir through well. Seal the pork, then add the remaining ingredients and enough pork stock to cover the meat by about 2cm (3/4 in), then bring it to a slow simmer. Cook for 1 1/2 hours, adding a little extra stock if required. You should be left with enough liquid to sauce the dish.

Serves 6.

Pad Thai

I've found myself wanting to try new dishes over the last few weeks, and I knew this was one of them as soon as I saw the packet of rice noodles at the shops. This was the recipe on the back of the packet, and I stir fried some chicken before I proceeded with the main dish.

150g Pad Thai Rice Noodles
300g cooked chicken, sliced
2 cloves garlic, finally chopped
2 tbsp chopped spring onions
1-2 tbsp peanut oil
2 tbsp chopped chives
2-3 tbsp brown sugar
1/2 cup unsalted peanuts, chopped
2 tbsp fish sauce
juice of 1 lemon
1 egg, beaten
1/2 cup bean sprouts, soaked in water
coriander to garnish

Place the Pad Thai Rice Noodles into boiling water, cook for 6-8 minutes until soft then drain.

Finely chop the garlic and onions, fry gently in peanut oil until transparent.

Add all the remaining ingredients except the egg and bean sprouts and continue to fry.

Add egg slowly and continue to mix. Add the drained bean sprouts and continue to fry for 30 seconds.

Garnish with coriander and serve hot.

Spiced Beef Curry - Daging Rempah

I'm all for using cheap cuts of meat to make a great meal, but I wasn't sure if I wanted to do the Simplest Beef Stew again. I've been out of touch with my cookbooks in storage while we're renovating, and it's difficult trying to think up new ideas for dinner.

So when I had the sudden urge for a beef curry, I went digging around the shed for my books, and found this recipe! I had most of the ingredients at home, and it was the thought of a spicy curry on a cold winter's night that got me. As with all good curries, the secret is in the slow simmer, then reducing the liquid, until you get a thick consistency that you will recognise. Imagine all that big flavour soaked in the meat!

I also made up Aloo Gobi that night for some veggies to round up the meal.

2 heaped tablespoons (about 80g) tamarind pulp
600ml hot water
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 sprig fresh or 9 dried curry leaves
1 kg chuck or blade steak, cut into 5cm cubes
2 tablespoons dark soy sauce
2 tablespoons sugar
freshly chopped red chilli

Spice Paste (Rempah)
6-10 dried long red chillies
1 tablespoon cumin seeds
1 tablespoon fennel seeds
2 teaspoons black peppercorns
1/2 stick cinnamon
8 cloves
2 star anise
1 sprig fresh or 9 dried curry leaves

Using your fingers, mix tamarind pulp and water until dissolved. Pass through a fine sieve, discard fibre and seeds and set liquid aside.

To make the spice paste, soak chillies in hot water for 10 minutes (seed them first if you prefer a milder paste), then drain and chop finely. Set aside. Using a mortar and pestle or a small food processor or spice grinder, pound or grind remaining spice paste ingredients, except curry leaves, to a powder. Add chilli and curry leaves and reduce to a smooth paste. (If you are using a food processor or spice grinder, add 1/4 cup water to facilitate easier blending.) Set aside.

Heat oil in a saucepan and toss in curry leaves (be careful - they will pop). Add spice paste, stirring often to prevent burning, and fry until fragrant, about 3-5 minutes. Add beef and stir well to coat thoroughly with paste. Add tamarind liquid, soy sauce and sugar. Cook very gently for 1 1/2 hours or until meat is tender and liquid has reduced to a sauce consistency. Taste and adjust seasoning if required. Ladle beef into a large serving bowl and scatter with chilli. Serve with steamed rice.

Aloo Gobi (Potato and Cauliflower Curry)

This was originally posted in November 2006, and I've come such a long way since. Aloo Gobi was the dish that inspired me to start cooking, and over the years I've committed this to memory, making little tweaks here and there. I've also been attempting new techniques, cooking it at medium heat, in a casserole, and finishing it off in the oven. Next try: Aloo Gobi in the slow cooker!

+Nick has also made a suggestion recently, that the mushier the potatoes and cauliflower the better, so that's on the list, too!

INGREDIENTS AND PREPARATION:


1/2 cup Vegetable oil
1 large onion, peeled and cut into small pieces
Large bunch of fresh coriander, seperated into stalks and leaves and roughly chopped
Small green chillis, chopped into small pieces
1 large cauliflower, leaves removed and cut evenly into eighths
3 large potatoes, peeled and cut into even pieces
1 tin of whole, peeled tomatoes, grated
Fresh ginger, peeled and grated
Fresh garlic, chopped
1 tbsp Cumin Seeds
2 tsp Tumeric
2 tsp Salt
2 tsp Garam Malasa


MAKING THE CURRY SAUCE:

Heat half a cup of vegetable oil in a large saucepan.
Add the chopped onion and one tablespoon of cumin seeds to the oil.
Stir together and cook until onions become creamy, golden and translucent.
Add chopped coriander stalks, two teaspoons of tumeric and two teaspoons of salt.
Add chopped chillis (according to taste).
Stir grated tomatoes into the onion mixture.
Add ginger, garlic and mix thoroughly.


FROM SAUCE TO ALOO GOBI:

Add potatoes and cauliflower to the sauce plus a few tablespoons of water (ensuring that the mixture doesn't stick to the saucepan).
Ensure that the potatoes and cauliflower are coated with the curry sauce.
Cover and allow to simmer for twenty minutes (or until potatoes are cooked).
Add two teaspoons of Garam Masala and stir.
Sprinkle chopped coriander leaves on top of the curry.
Turn off the heat, cover and leave for as long as possible before serving.