Chinese Style Cooked Lettuce

Another recipe to tackle the ongoing lettuce glut at my allotment.  I am now searching the internet for different national lettuce recipes. Today, Chinese Style Cooked Lettuce.

According to Wikipedia, China is the world leader in lettuce production, producing half the world's lettuce.  Lettuce is a symbol of wealth and good luck in China, and served on birthdays, New Year's Day, and other celebrations. Lettuce is always cooked in Chinese cuisine.  It is served as a 'vegetable' accompaniment as I cooked it, stir fried with meat or tofu, or in a soup.

Serves 2

200g lettuce
2 tbsp vegetable oil
2 cloves of garlic, peeled and crushed 
1 tbsp light soy sauce
1 tbsp oyster sauce (or mushroom/vegetarian oyster sauce)
2 tbsp water

Wash the lettuce thoroughly. Most of the US recipes I looked at cooked long Romaine lettuce leaves whole.  I think my lettuce (the seedlings were gifted to me) was a Little Gem before it went to seed.  It was quite tatty and nibbled by pests, and whilst cooking would hide these cosmetic defects, I sliced it to make it more manageable to eat.

Wilt the prepared lettuce for 20 seconds in a pan of boiling water. Drain, reserving 2 tbsp of water, and place in a serving dish.

In the same pan, heat the vegetable oil over a medium high heat. Once hot, tip in the crushed garlic, quickly followed by the soy sauce, oyster sauce and reserved 2 tbsp of water. 

Heat to a simmer, then pour over the cooked lettuce. Serve immediately.    

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Chinese Congee (Rice Porridge/Soup)

Rice porridge may sound unappealing, but this simple Asian dish is great comfort food and can be taken in a soup flask as a packed lunch. 

Congee is the Mandarin name, Jook in Cantonese, Chok in Thailand, and Cháo in Vietnamese. I regularly had it for breakfast backpacking in Malaysia, Thailand, and Hong Kong.

The classic congee is just rice simmered in water or stock until it breaks down essentially to mush, and flavoured with ginger and soy.

Shredded chicken, minced pork, or egg can be added to the classic congee for protein, but I like to make a plant based version with vegetable stock, tofu, and colourful vegetables.

Serves 2

1 litre vegetable stock

1 cup cooked rice, white rice is traditional but I prefer brown rice

1 tbsp finely grated ginger

2 large cloves of garlic, peeled and crushed

200g firm tofu, grated

1 large carrot, grated

1 pak choi, thinly sliced 

2 spring onions, finely chopped

Seasonings - chilli oil, sesame oil, chilli flakes, soy sauce, and/or fish sauce to serve

Add the rice, garlic, and ginger to a pan.  Pour over the stock and bring to the boil.

Boil for 5-10 minutes uncovered until the rice is a runny porridge consistence. 

Stir in the tofu, carrot, and pak choi to heat up.

Serve when congee comes back to the boil.  Sprinkle each serving with a chopped spring onion, and season with what ever you have to hand and to your own taste.

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Chicken, Sweetcorn, & Egg Noodle Soup

A quick filling soup made with leftover cooked chicken (or Christmas turkey). Vegetarian and vegan alternatives are detailed at the end of the recipe

Serves 4

3 litres chicken stock

3 nests rice noodles 

340g tin of sweetcorn or 1 mug frozen sweetcorn

2cm root ginger

1 large garlic clove

300g shredded cooked chicken

1 egg, beaten 

4 spring onions, chopped

Sesame oil

Chilli Oil

Liquidise the sweetcorn, ginger, and garlic with the water from the tin, or some warm chicken stock to thaw the frozen sweetcorn.

Bring the chicken stock to the boil. Add the liquidised sweetcorn and the noodle nests.  Cover, bring back to the boil, then turn down to a simmer. Cook the noodles according to the packet instructions. I used Aldi Brown Rice Noodles which say take 5-10 minutes to cook, and in the end took 7 minutes.

Stir in the shredded chicken, turn up the heat a little, and bring back to the boil.  When bubbling, dribble over the beaten egg.  Leave for a minute for the egg to cook in the hot soup then divide into four bowls.  

Sprinkle a chopped spring onion over each bowl and drizzle with sesame oil and chilli oil to serve.

A vegetarian version can be made with vegetable stock and grated firm tofu instead of chicken.  And a vegan version can be made with vegetable stock, tofu, and 2 tbsp cornflour mixed with 2 tbsp cold water stirred in instead of egg to thicken the soup a little. 

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One Pan Asian Salmon & Rice

I've been seeing a lot of recipes for rice cooker 'all in one' meals.  Whilst I do have a rice cooker (in the garage), I thought I'd try cooking it my Perfect Basmati Rice way.  It worked brilliantly.

Serves 4

1 mug basmati rice

1 tbsp grated ginger

1 large garlic clove, grated 

1 tbsp sesame oil

2 tbsp light soy sauce

200g baby leaf spinach or frozen edaname beans 

1 large carrot, grated 

500g salmon fillet

Put the rice, ginger, garlic, sesame oil, and soy sauce into a pan with a good fitting lid, wide enough to fit the salmon fillet.

Mix the rice and flavourings, then place the spinach and grated carrot on top of the rice.

Pour over 1.5 mugs of boiling water, put on the lid, and place the pan over a medium heat and bring to the boil.

When boiling, place the salmon skin side up on top of the spinach and carrot.  Put the lid back on, and when the pan comes back to the boil again, turn down to the lowest heat and set a timer for 10 minutes.

After 10 minutes is up, turn the heat off and set a timer for another 10 minutes to finish steaming the rice and salmon.  DO NOT LIFT THE LID!

After the second 10 minutes, remove the lid and lift off the skin of the salmon and discard. Break the salmon into flakes and gently mix the rice, spinach, and carrot.

Serve with an extra drizzle of soy sauce and sesame oil.  I also added a sprinkling of chilli flakes and sesame seeds because I had some.

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Homemade Teriyaki Sauce

In an attempt to cut down my teenage son's dependance on ultra processed foods to assist him bulking up at the gym, I have been trying to make more homemade condiments.

A bottle of this Teriyaki Sauce now sits in the fridge for him to pour over noodles when he needs a quick snack. The recipe is from BBC Good Food

350ml water

85g light brown soft sugar

70ml light soy sauce

1 large garlic clove, crushed

4cm piece ginger, peeled and finely grated

1 tbsp cornflour

1 tbsp rice wine vinegar

Heat the water, sugar, soy sauce, garlic and ginger in a small saucepan. I put roughly chopped garlic and (unpeeled) ginger into a liquidiser first, hence the 'bits' in my final sauce. 

Heat gently, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Bubble gently for 5 minutes until the sauce is glossy and slightly thickened. 

Combine the cornflour with 1 tbsp water and quickly whisk through the boiling sauce whilst still on the heat. 

Whisk through the rice wine vinegar, adding a splash of water if too thick. 

Pour into a clean jar and leave to cool at room temperature.  This sauce keeps in the fridge for up to a week.

My son pours it over stir fried beef, pak choi, and noodles. We pour it over pan fried salmon with noodles or rice.

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Rasam, Light Curried Tomato Soup

Rasam is a quick, budget curried tomato soup thrown together in a matter of minutes.

Serves 4

1 can chopped tomatoes, or 4 large tomatoes liquidised

100g red lentils 

2 tbsp coconut or vegetable oil

1 large garlic clove, crushed

1 tsp cumin seeds

1 tsp fenugreek seeds 

1 tsp black mustard seeds

1/2 tsp hot chilli flakes

1 tsp ground coriander

1 tsp turmeric

1 litre recently boiled water

1 level tsp salt

Heat the oil in a saucepan until smoking.  Remove from the heat and add the crushed garlic, cumin, seeds fenugreek, mustard seeds, and chilli flakes.

When it stops sizzling, add the rest of the ingredients apart from the salt, and return to the heat and bring to the boil.

Cover and turn down to a simmer for 30 minutes until the lentils are tender.  Stir in the salt and serve.

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Bosh's Vegan Spicy Peanut Butter Ramen

Always on the look out for quick ramen recipes for my teenage son, and Bosh's vegan Spicy Peanut Butter Ramen and on Facebook reels fits the bill.

The Bosh recipe calls for cooking the noodles first, adding a little of the noodle water to make a thick sauce, and using the noodle seasoning instead of stock.  I tweaked this a little to make a more filling noodle soup.

Serves 1

1 layer of noodles

1 tbsp unflavoured oil

2 garlic cloves

1 tbsp sesame seeds

1 tbsp chilli flakes

1 tsp peanut butter

1 tbsp vinegar

1-2 tbsp soy sauce

1 tbsp maple syrup

Vegetable stock cube

500ml boiling water

Handful chopped greens (optional)

Heat the oil in a small saucepan. Stir in the garlic and chilli, and turn off the heat.

Stir in the peanut butter, vinegar, maple syrup, crumbled vegetable stock cube, sesame seeds, soy sauce, and 500ml boiling water.  

Add the noodles and cook for 4-5 minutes, or the recommended cooking time.

Serve

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Gluten Free Vegan Curried Vegetable Pancakes

We've gone pancake mad this Shrove Tuesday. Kids made sweet pancakes, OH made savoury pancakes with cheddar and chorizo, and today I've made Curried Vegetable Pancakes based on my Asian Vegetable Pancakes.

As the gram flour can be a little bitter, I made a quick Coconut Chutney to go with these.

Serves 4, as a light lunch

Pancakes

180g gram flour
350ml water
1 tsp salt
Thinly sliced, grated vegetables; 1 carrot, 1 small onion,  quarter cabbage (I used homegrown brussel sprouts)
1 tsp medium curry powder, or 1 tbsp garam masala, or 1 tbsp curry paste
Vegetable oil for frying

Coconut Chutney

100g desiccated coconut

100g cashew nuts

4 tbsp tamarind paste

1 tbsp mustard oil

1/2 tsp chilli flakes

1cm ginger root

100ml water or as required

Whisk the flour and water in a large mixing bowl. 

Finely slice and/or grate the vegetables, and mix well into the batter.  It should look like the vegetables are lightly coated in batter, rather than swimming in it.

Leave the veggies to rest in the batter whilst you make the Coconut Chutney if using.  Liquidise all the chutney ingredients, adding enough water to make a thick but pourable 'chutney'.

Heat a non stick frying pan over a medium high heat, greasing with about 1 tsp vegetable oil. 

Add 1/4 of the mixture and flatten out in the pan.  Fry for a few minutes until golden brown. Flip over with a fish slice and fry the other side till golden brown too.  

Remove to a warm plate and continue to fry the next three pancakes one after the other (unless you have more frying pans).

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Quick Spicy Peanut Butter Noodles

It's 6pm New Year's Day, I was out until 3.15am, OH will be cooking dinner at 7pm on his return from visiting his elderly mother, and my 14 year old son announces he's going out to a friend's in an hour and  needs feeding.  

We have a portion of cooked egg noodles in the fridge, and there's a 'express ramen' recipe on Instagram I've been meaning to try.

Serves 1

1 serving of cooked noodles

Half a pak choi, thinly sliced (optional)

1 egg

1 tbsp crunchy peanut butter

1 tbsp maple syrup

1 tbsp soy sauce

1 tsp sriracha or sweet chilli sauce

1 spring onion, finely sliced 

Vegetable oil, for greasing

Cook the noodles according to the instructions on the packet, together with the pak choi if using.

Whilst the noodles are cooking, beat the egg and pour into a lightly greased creme brûlée dish or microwaveable noodle bowl. Microwave for 1 minute. Leave until cool enough to handle then tip onto a chopping board and dice.

Mix the peanut butter, maple syrup, soy sauce and chilli sauce in the bowl you are going to eat the noodles out of.  Add the chopped egg and spring onion.

Drain the noodles, reserving a couple of tablespoons of the cooking water. Toss the noodles with the rest of the ingredients in the bowl, adding a tablespoon or two of the reserved cooking water to make the sauce a little looser.

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Chicken (or Turkey) Noodle Soup

This BBC Good Food Chicken Noodle Soup is so easy, and will work just as well with seasonal turkey leftovers. 

500ml chicken or vegetable stock (or Miso soup mix)

2 tbsp sweetcorn, canned or frozen

2-3 mushrooms, thinly sliced or a handful of sliced greens (pak choi, cabbage, kale) 

1 handful chopped cooked chicken or turkey

1 tsp chopped fresh ginger

1 garlic clove, finely chopped

Serving of rice, wheat or buckwheat noodles

2 spring onions, shredded

2 tsp soy sauce, plus extra for serving

Chilli flakes, to taste

 

Simmer the noodles, along with sweetcorn and mushrooms or greens in the stock until cooked according to the instructions on the packet.

When cooked stir in the remaining ingredients and tuck in.

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Asian Vegetable Pancakes with Dipping Sauce

Easy vegetable pancakes.  

There is some debate in our house, with an Anime obsessed teenage son,  whether these are Korean Vegetable Pancakes (Yachaejeon), or Japanese Vegetable Pancakes (Okonomiyaki). 

I followed a brief Korean pancake recipe off Instagram, but added a few more (Japanese) flavours, and googled a Korean dipping sauce because there wasn't one on the Instagram recipe.

Serves 4, as a light lunch

Pancakes

180g plain or self raising flour, white or wholemeal
350ml water

1 egg (optional)

1 tsp salt

1 tbsp miso paste (optional)

Thinly sliced, grated vegetables; 1 carrot, 1 small onion, quarter cabbage,1 medium courgette, 4 spring onions

1 tsp finely grated ginger

1 tsp finely grated garlic

Vegetable oil for frying

Dipping Sauce
2 tbsp soy sauce
2 tsp vinegar
2 tsp sweet chilli sauce 
2 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp sesame seeds

Whisk flour, water, egg, salt and miso together in a large mixing bowl. 

Finely slice and grate the vegetables, ginger and garlic and mix well.  

Heat a non stick frying pan over a medium high heat, greasing with about 1 tsp vegetable oil. 

Add 1/4 of the mixture and flatten out in the pan.  Fry for a few minutes until golden brown. Flip over with a fish slice and fry the other side till golden brown too.  

Remove to a warm plate and continue to fry the next three pancakes one after the other (unless you have more frying pans).

Whilst frying the pancakes mix up the dipping sauce ingredients and divide into 4 small bowls.

Cutting the pancakes into a 'chequerboard' seems to be the preferred presentation for serving, ready to dip large bitesize pieces into the dipping sauce with chopsticks.

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Madhur Jaffrey's Lamb Dalcha (Red Lentil Dal with Roast Lamb)

Use your leftover lamb roast in this healthy Indian lentil dal, Madhur Jaffrey's Lamb Dalcha. 

Serves 6

225g red lentils
½ tsp ground turmeric
4 tbsp vegetable oil
4 cm cinnamon stick
6 whole cardamom pods
1 medium-sized onion, peeled, cut in half length-wise then sliced into half moons
1 tsp finely grated fresh ginger
225g boneless cooked lamb
1 tsp finely grated garlic
¾ tsp red chilli powder (or cayenne pepper)
1 tsp salt
3 tbsp tamarind pulp or about 2tbsp lemon juice

2 tbsp ghee (or vegetable oil)
½ tsp whole cumin seeds
1-2 dried whole hot red chillies
8-10 fresh or dried curry leaves
2 cloves of garlic, peeled and cut in half lengthways

Put the lentils in a heavy-based pan with 900ml of water and the tumeric. Bring to a simmer, cover, and cook for 20-30 minutes until the lentils are soft and mushy.

In a wide based pan, heat the vegetable oil over a medium heat. When hot, put in the cinnamon and cardamom. Stir for a few seconds, or until the cardamom begins to darken. Add the onions and fry until slightly browned. Add the ginger, garlic, and ¼ tsp red chilli powder. Stir for 1 minute to allow the spices to brown then add the cooked lamb and 175ml of water and bring to a simmer.  Turn the heat off until the lentils are ready.

When the lentils are tender, stir them vigorously into a purée. Add the tamarind, salt and chilli powder. Either add the lentils to the lamb, or the lamb to the lentils, whichever is the bigger pan! Simmer with the lid off whilst you prepare the tarka/tadka (spiced oil).

Heat the last 2 tbsp of vegetable oil a small frying pan over a medium heat. When hot, add the cumin seeds, whole red chilli and the curry leaves. Stir. As soon as the chilli darkens a bit, add the sliced garlic. Stir until the garlic turns a light brown in colour then pour over the lentils and lamb and serve.

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Indonesian Egg Fried Rice with Smoked Mackerel

A quick midweek Omega 3 rich family friendly fried rice, based on BBC Good Food's Indonesian Fried Rice with Mackerel.

For a fish dish, this went down really well with the kids.

Serves 4

2 tbsp vegetable oil

2 eggs, lightly beaten

1 tbsp red curry paste

800g cooked basmati rice (about 250g-300g uncooked)

4 fat spring onions, sliced

140g frozen peas, edamame beans, or sliced cabbage

4 smoked mackerel fillets, flaked

4 tbsp kecap manis (Indonesian sweet soy sauce),  or 2 tbsp soy sauce + 1 tsp sugar

Sriracha Chilli Sauce, to serve

Cook the rice if you don't have any ready cooked, and leave to cool.

Heat the oil in a wok.  If using cabbage, stir fry this for a couple of minutes, then add the curry paste and fry breaking up any lumps with a wooden spoon.

Pour in the egg and swirl around as if making an omelette, then break up with the wooden spoon and push to one side.  Add the mackerel to the side of the wok you've just cleared, then add the spring onion and peas or edamame.  Stir and mix well then add the rice and stir everything through well.  

Once the rice is well mixed, cover and turn the heat down low for a few minutes to heat the rice through thoroughly.

Serve with a tablespoon of kecap manis per person, and Sriracha chilli sauce to taste.

I would have made this with brown rice had we had some, and possibly would substitute the red curry paste for garlic in ginger as in Nasi Goreng, Indonesian Fried Rice with Chicken & Pork I was taught years ago by someone who lived in Singapore.

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Veg Rich Noodle Soup

Ditch flavoured instant noodles for quick healthier veg rich homemade version, loosely based on Wagamama's Chicken Ramen but more veg.

Serves 1

1 portion of dried noodles (egg noodles, rice noodles, soba noodles etc)

500ml recently boiled water

1 low salt chicken or vegetable stock cube

1 cm piece of ginger finely grated or chopped

1 garlic clove, peeled and crushed

Half a mug of frozen sweetcorn

1/4 tsp chilli flakes

Small handful of cooked chicken or tofu, or fry an egg to serve on top

1 spring onion, finely chopped

1 small carrot, peeled and cut into ribbons with the peeler

1 tbsp soy sauce

Cook the noodles for the recommended cooking time on the packet in 500mlof water together with the crumbled stock cube, sweetcorn, ginger, garlic and chilli.  

Put the rest of the ingredients in a a bowl and pour over the noodles and stock when the noodles are cooked.

If the noodles only require soaking in hot water, bring the stock ingredients to the boil.  Put the dry noodles in the soup bowl with the remaining ingredients and pour over the boiling stock. Cover and wait the time on the packet.

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Protein Packed Noodles

These protein packed noodles are my son's lunch today whilst out at a drama workshop

Serves 1

1 bundle soba noodles

1 spring onion, finely sliced

1/4 cucumber, grated

50g smoked salmon trimmings

1 tbsp crunchy peanut butter

1 tbsp miso paste

1tbsp rice wine vinegar

1 tbsp soy sauce

1 tbsp mirin

1 tbsp sesame oil

1/8 tsp hot chilli flakes

Cook the noodles according to the instructions on the packet. Drain and leave in cold water.

Mix the sauce ingredients in a small bowl, then stir in the cucumber, smoked salmon, spring onion and cold noodles.

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Gado Gado, Indonesian Vegetable Salad with Spicy Peanut Dressing

Gado Gado is a Indonesian salad of raw or lightly steamed vegetables, hard boiled eggs, boiled potatoes, and friend tofu with a spicy peanut sauce. It makes a pleasant, but filling, change from heavier fried rice (Nasi Goring) or fried noodles (See Goring). 

Think of it like an Asian Salad Niçoise with tofu instead of tuna, and don't be fussy about the ingredients. Yesterday I made its with lettuce, celery, yellow pepper, cucumber, carrot, and red onion, but a lot of recipes include potatoes and tofu.  To me, the essential thing is crunchy colourful ingredients, and of course the spicy peanut sauce. Below is a suggested list of ingredients

Serves 4

400 g cooked new potatoes
4 large free-range eggs, boiled & shelled
400 g firm tofu, cubed & fried
½ Chinese cabbage or Romaine lettuce
2 ripe tomatoes, chopped into bite size pieces 
1 handful of radishes, halved 
½ cucumber, sliced into bite size pieces
2 handfuls beansprouts (ready to eat)

Chilli flakes (optional)

Gado Gado Sauce

4 tbsp crunchy peanut butter 

4 tbsp Kecap Manis (sweet thick soy sauce - use soy sauce plus 4 tsp sugar if you don't have any)

4 tbsp fish sauce 

4 tbsp sweet chilli sauce

1 large clove of garlic, crushed 

1 tbsp lime juice

100ml coconut milk (optional - some recipes add coconut milk, others don't. I didn't have any handy)

Mix all the sauce ingredients together then arrange the salad as takes your fancy.  Pour over the sauce. Mix well before serving.

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Homemade Vegetable Gyoza & Miso Soup

Finally got round to making homemade gyoza. A lot cheaper than buying them ready made, but fiddly, even with a gyoza press off ebay! Might try rolling the dough through the pasta bike next time, or buying wrappers.

Serves 2

250g plain flour

150ml boiling water

1tsp salt

Cornflour, for dusting

For the filling

200g white cabbage (might try 100-150g next time as I have about half the filling left over)

4 chestnut mushrooms

1 carrot

4 water chestnuts (optional)

thumb-sized piece of ginger, peeled and finely grated

2 garlic cloves, finely grated

3 spring onions, finely sliced

2 tbsp sunflower oil, plus extra for frying

1 tbsp soy sauce

1 tbsp saké, Shaohsing rice wine or dry sherry

For the dipping sauce

6 tbsp soy sauce

2 tbsp rice wine vinegar

crispy chilli oil (optional)

Miso Soup

500ml boiling water

1 vegetable stock cube, crushed

1 tbsp miso paste

2 small sheets dried seaweed, snipped into small strips

100g tofu, cubed

Mix the flour and salt and stir in the boiling water. When cool enough to handle, knead for 10 minutes (I put it in the bread machine on the dough cycle), then dust with cornflour, wrap and chill for at least 1 hour.

Whilst the dough is chilling finely grate/chop/mince the filling ingredients.  Heat the oil in a wok and stir fry the chopped vegetables for a couple of minutes until soft.  Drizzle over the soy and saké and cook for a couple more minutes until the liquid has evaporated.  Turn off the heat and leave to cool.

When the dough has rested for an hour, dust a clean surface in cornflour and divide the dough in two. Roll the first ball of dough out until paper thin. Cut out 10cm circles of dough with a pastry cutter or glass. Repeat with the trimmings, and the second ball of dough, until you have about 25 circles. I have to say I found the dough tended to spring back and found it hard to get paper thin dough, but I did rush things placing my dough in the freezer for 30 minutes as all the time I had.

To make the gyoza, hold a circle of dough in the palm of one hand and put a teaspoon of the filling in the centre. Dip your finger in a handy bowl of cold water and wipe around the inside edge of the skin. Bring the edges of the skin together, pinching it closed. There are videos of gyozas being beautifully pleated closed but I couldn't be bothered.

Dissolve the stock cube and miso in the water in a small pan. Snip in the seaweed.  Once boiling turn off the heat and add the tofu cubes and cover.

Heat a drizzle of oil in a non-stick frying pan with a lid. Fry the gyoza, flat-side down, for 2 mins until golden. Add 100ml water to the pan and cover. Cook over a medium heat for 3-5 mins until the water has evaporated and the gyoza is cooked through. Remove the lid and leave the gyoza to sizzle on the bottom for a minute. Mix the dipping sauce ingredients together and pour into little bowls/ramekin dishes.  Pour the miso soup into bowls, and serve with the gyoza.

NB. Gyoza can be prepared in advance and frozen.  After making them, space them out on a baking tray dusted with cornflour and freeze.  When frozen tip into a bag and put back in the freezer. Will keep for three months. Can be cooked from frozen.

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Pilau Rice

Thought I'd try a pilau rice for the first time with last night's Sweet Potato & Chickpea Jalfrezi. Providing you have the spices, it's pretty straightforward.

Serves 4-6

2 tbsp vegetable oil 

½ tsp ground coriander
6 cardamom pods
1 tsp cumin seeds
8 cloves
1 cinnamon stick
2 bay leaves
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
½ tsp ground turmeric
½ tsp black mustard seeds
300g basmati rice
500ml vegetable or chicken stock, fresh or made from 1 stock cube

Heat the oil in a saucepan over a medium heat.  When hot add the onion and garlic and fry for 5 minutes, or until softened, stirring regularly. Stir in all the spices and fry gently for 2 minutes, stirring.

Add the rice and stir it around in the buttery spices before adding the stock. Stir well, cover with a tight fitting lid, and bring to the boil. Once boiling, reduce the heat to its lowest setting and cook for 10 minutes.  After 10 minutes, turn off the heat. DO NOT lift the lid, but leave to steam with the residual heat for another 10 minutes.

Fluff gently with a fork and serve, warning diners about the whole spices.

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Pad Thai, Stir Fried Noodles

This recipe is a bit of a combination of a recipe from Chiang Mai Thai Cookery School I spent couple of days at in 1998, and a Jamie Oliver recipe 

Serves 4

4 rice noodle nests
3 tbsp sunflower oil
2 tbsp chopped garlic

4 shallots, peeled & finely sliced

400g firm tofu, cubed

250g cooked peeled prawns (leave out if vegetarian)

2 eggs beaten

300g beansprouts 

4 tbsp tamarind sauce 

4 tbsp fish sauce

1/2 tsp hot chilli flakes 

4 tbsp dried mint

4 tbsp peanuts, crushed

Cook the noodles following the instructions on the packet. Traditionally Pad Thai uses wide rice noodles but in addition to these sticking together too much when I cook them, vermicelli type rice noodles are much easier to come by. Leave soaking in chilled water until ready to use.

Heat the oil in a wok over a medium high heat.  Stir fry the garlic and shallots for a minute or so.  Add the tofu, stir then add the prawns, Stir fry for a minute or so, boiling off any water. Pour in the beaten egg and stir around until it scrambles. Add the beansprouts, stir around and then add the drained noodles.  Once the noodles are hot, stir in the rest of the ingredients and serve piping hot (the crushed peanuts were added in the topping above as I have one family member who doesn't like them).

NB Aesthetically (and probably nutritionally), I feel this recipe could do with a bit more colour/green. The Chiang Mai Cookery School recipe does suggest chives or cabbage, and I do think a some spring greens could have been added after the garlic & shallots if I  had had some.

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Gyoza Dumpling Soup

We were introduced to Itsu Vegetarian Fusion Gyoza at friends last weekend. The kids loved them, especially the Japanese obsessed teen boy, so I stocked up when I spotted them in the supermarket.

On a cold autumnal day, I served them up in a warming soup. Feel free to add more green veg, and even noodles if feeling particularly hungry

Serves 2

1 pack Vegetarian Fusion Gyoza (20 dumplings, although we found 21 in each of the two packs I had)

1 tbsp miso paste

1 vegetable stock cube

500ml boiling water

2 spring onions, finely sliced (optional)

Sprinkle of chilli flakes (optional)

Drizzle of sesame or chilli oil (optional)

Boil the kettle and bring 500ml of water to the boil with the miso and stock cube. When dissolved add the gyoza from frozen, cover, and bring back to the boil over a high heat. Once boiling turn down to a simmer and cook for 3 minutes.

Pour into a bowl and sprinkle with spring onion, chilli, and oil if using.

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