Thai Style Beef Salad

On my travels around Thailand the highlight for me was the daily menu.  So many new taste sensations.  I so enjoy the fragrant and spicy notes that Thai food has to offer.  My particular favourites include thai fishcakes, tom yum soup, green papaya salad, pad thai and those beautiful banana pancakes the street vendors whip up in a flash.  I had a real penchant for crunchy salads in the sweltering heat and curries also seemed to hit the right spot.  Here is an easy Thai style salad that is so versatile.  You can eat it with chicken or thinly sliced beef.  As far as vegetables go, anything from carrot to mung sprouts, cabbage to spinach leaves.  And finishing off with finely chopped coriander, basil or mint would do the trick.  Here is the version I made this evening.

Crunchy Thai Beef Salad

Marinade Ingredients
1 teaspoon chiu chow chilli oil (with chilli bits) or minced chilli
1 teaspoon crushed garlic
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
1.5 tablespoons lime juice (I use it out of a bottle)
3 teaspoons fish sauce
1.5 tablespoons oil

Salad Ingredients
1/2 red onion very finely sliced
salt and pepper
250g shaved roast beef
1/2 bag mung sprouts
1/2 bag baby spinach leaves
chopped coriander

Mix the marinade ingredients.  Add the thinly sliced onion and salt and pepper.  Leave in the fridge for a couple of hours to let onion absorb the marinade.

In a bowl mix sliced shave roast beef, sprouts and spinach leaves.  Add the onions and gently mix together until all ingredients coated with the onion and marinade.  Sprinkle over chopped coriander.  Allow a couple of minutes for all the flavours to combine before you grab a fork and get stuck in.

And two days later I used the rest of the sprouts, spinach and onion to make the same with cold roast chicken

Top 5 Teriyaki Chicken

When I say 'Top 5' I mean it makes the top 5 of my children's 'top 5 dinners of all time' list.  They would eat this stuff every night given half a chance.  It is so delicious with the balance of sweet and salty and with sushi rice what more could I hungry child want? 

To make the Teriyaki Sauce simple mix together the following ingredients:
1/4 cup light soy sauce
1/4 cup mirin
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 teaspoons crushed fresh ginger(out of a jar)
1 teaspoon sesame oil

Then marinade enough diced skinless boneless chichen thigh or breast meat for 4 people (about 500g) for about an hour.

Using a slatted spoon remove the chicken from the marinade and transfer into an oiled frying pan and fry until brown.  Then pour over the marinade and fry until the chicken is cooked (5-10 minutes).  Then remove the chicken from the frying pan using a slatted spoon and continue to simmer the sauce until it thickens.

Serve the chicken on top of rice (sushi rice works fantastically and I use the leftover to make teriyaki sushi) and pour the thickened marinade over the top.  Garnish with some toasted sesame seeds.

Tonight we are having teriyaki chicken on sushi rice with some greens asian style.

Ingredients
1/2 sliced onion
1 teaspoon crushed garlic
1 teaspoon crushed ginger
1 sliced courgette
handful green beans
1 tablespoons soy sauce

Method
To make the green beans, trim and cut in half.  Blanche in boiling water for 1 minute.  In a hot non stick wok toss the onion, garlic and ginger in a little oil until soft.  Add the beans, courgettes adn soy sauce and stir fry for another few minutes.  Serve steaming hot.

Monday night stir-fry

Monday nights are always a bit frantic.  First day of the week, back at work, tired, grumpy children ...  needing a quick easy tasty dinner and here it is...

Ingredients
1 red onion chopped
4 teaspoons crushed garlic
4 teaspoons crushed ginger
handful chopped beans (blanched in boiling water 1 minute)
1 chopped red pepper
handful bean sprouts
2 tablespoons light soy sauce
1 tablespoon sesame oil

1 roast chicken breast shredded

1 packet cooked udon noodles
chilli oil

coriander

Method
Stir fry onions, garlic, ginger in a litte oil for 4 minutes.  Add the remaining ingredients and stir fry for another 4 minutes.  Serve up steaming in your favourite noodle bar with some chilli oil and coriander.

Catalan style Chicken dishes....

I think there is something so appealing about Mediterranean cooking, especially Chicken catalan style.  My favourites include Delia's Chicken Basque(http://www.deliaonline.com/recipes/main-ingredient/poultry-and-game/chicken/chicken-basque.html) which incorporates those ingredients that make this style delicious like olives, paprika and chorizo.  Also just doing a simple chicken casserole like the one I cooked last night ticks all the boxes.  As a friend commented 'it makes your house smell so welcoming'

Recipe

Ingredients
4 large skinless chicken thighs on the bone
olive oil for browning
1 red onion
2 red peppers
1 clove garlic
50g sliced chorizo sausage
600g pototoes suitable for casseroles cut into cubes
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1 can chopped tomatoes
2 cups chicken stock
1 glass wine
2 bayleaves
2 tablespoons tomato paste
handful olives
salt and pepper

Method
Brown the chicken in a pan and set aside.

Fry the onion, garlic, chorizo and red peppers until soft. 

Add the can of tomato, tomato paste and paprika and simmer for another minute.

In a casserole place the potatoes on the bottom, cover with the soft vegetables, top with chicken, and pour over the stock and wine.

Season with salt and pepper, scatter over the olives and add the bayleaves.

I then cooked this for 2-3 hours in a 170 degree oven until the potatoes were soft.  It would also work well in a slow cooker.

My go-to dinner when feeling heavy... Tofu Ramen

This is the meal I eat sometimes several times a week when I am feeling heavy.  It is very tasty, healthy and easy to make.  As I have decided to cut out wheat based carbs for the next 2 weeks, I am not including udon noodles in my bowl, but my partner will be enjoying them as per usual.

Tofu Ramen Recipe

Ingredients(for two)

1 block of tofu
1 teaspoon sesame oil

Broth Ingredients
3 cups of water
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 teaspoons of sugar or sugar substitute
1 teaspoon ginger
3 teaspoons chicken stock powder

Veg Ingredients
4 slices mushrooms
10 snow peas
1.5 cups bean sprouts
1 big handful baby spinach leaves
1 spring onion

chilli oil
1 packet instant udon noodles

Method

First things first, chop the tofu into decent size chunks and fry until crispy in a non stick frying pan with the sesame oil.  If you are feeling like something more meaty, then some sliced seared rump steak, sliced cooked chicken breast or a handful of cooked prawns also work really well.

Prepare the broth my mixing all the ingredients in a saucepan and bringing to the boil.  Add the thinly sliced mushrooms and snow peas and simmer for a couple of minutes.  Add the bean sprouts and simmer for another minute before adding the baby spinach leaves and removing from the heat.

To assemble the dish, put half a pack of udon noodles in the bottom of each bowl.  Add half the broth to each bowl, and then top with crispy tofu.  I then sprinkle some chopped spring onions over the top before making is spicy with some chilli oil.  The chilli oil I prefer in Asian dishes is the one pictured above.  Very good in small quantities.

The problem with dieting....

Day 1

Is that you spell it DIE with a T on the end. It always feels like punishment. I am determined to lose 10 kilograms and enjoy what I am eating. Without constantly measuring and obsessing about every crumb I put in my mouth. I know I have been eating too many carbs and sugars lately, and just too much in general. So I have decided to follow different eating regimes based around how I am feeling that week, and see whether it works. I have nothing to lose at this stage apart from pounds...


I just can't deal with portion control this week, so have decided to drop the evil wheat carbs and sugar for a week and see what happens. So far, so good, although it's only lunchtime. I can literally feel those lbs melting away (!?)

For lunch I have just enjoyed a delicious broccoli salad loosely based on Jamie Olivers Cowboy Salad (minus the bacon and much less fat in the dressing) - basically take a head of broccoli and cut into nicely sized florets(not too big) and blanch in salted boiling water for 1 minute. Add 1 chopped tomato, and several chopped spring onions to the broccoli. I then added a can of smoked chicken breast, but you could add tuna, tofu, or any other protein of your choice that's healthy. Even Weight Watchers chicken bacon would be really good in this. I then made a dressing of 1/2 clove crushed garlic, salt and pepper, 1 tsp Dijon mustard. 3 tbs wine vinegar, and 1 t oil. Mix it all together and you have a healthy salad lunch for two.

My kind of Chicken Pasta

On a recent tour of the South Island, my cousin made a beautiful chicken pasta dish one night which I loved as it contained some of my favourite ingredients. I have adapted it slightly to suit my palate better by adding spinach, as it seemed to be more naughty than good for one, but the addition of spinach allows me to think I am being virtuous.

This makes a good amount for 4...

500g of your favourite pasta
2 chicken breasts, chopped into bite size chunks
1 chopped onion
crushed garlic
chopped bacon
1/2 tub cream cheese (use the light variety if you are watching your fat intake, it works just as well)
sundried tomatoes
olives
capers
spinach(I use baby leaf or frozen parcels, defrosted)
parmesan cheese
pine nuts

Boil the pasta as per the packet instructions...

While the pasta is cooking, saute the garlic, onions and bacon in a little butter/olive oil and put aside. Fry the chicken breast in a hot pan until golden and cooked through but still moist. Put in a mixing bowl along with bacon/onion/garlic. Stir through the tomatoes, olives, capers and spinach, and the cream cheese. When the pasta is cooked stir this through too, and the season with salt and pepper (remembering not too much salt as the bacon and olives are salty). If you need to add more cream cheese do so. Grate parmesan cheese into the pasta and sprinkle over toasted pine nuts. Serve up with your favourite green salad. Bon Appetito.

Thaislaw

It's mid-week and I'm trying to control my calorie intake as I seem to have overdone the naughties over the weekend. Had a peek in the fridge in the hope of finding some kind of healthy but tasty ingredients. Spotted a bag of coleslaw - ie ready shredded carrots and cabbage with a couple of sachets of dressing which inspired me to whip up some of my favourite asian flavoured coleslaw...

Thaislaw

500g shredded cabbage and carrot (ready bagged from the supermarket or do it yourself)

3 Tbs freshly squeezed lime juice

2 Tbs sweet chilli sauce

1 Tbs fish sauce

1 Tbs oil

1 handful coriander leaves

additional chilli if required

Open bag of coleslaw and empty contents into a mixing bowl. I discard the dressing sachets straight into the rubbish as they usually have that fake mayonaissy taste which I really despise. In another bowl mix the remaining ingredients to make a dressing. You will need to check the balance of salty/sweet/spicy flavours and adjust accordingly. If chilli is your friend, add more in the form of fresh birds eyes, or the dried variety. Toss the dressing through the slaw to thoroughly coat all the vegetables and leave to infuse for about 20 minutes. Serve with your favourite cold cuts. I find cold shredded roast chicken or beef works pretty well. Today I added some shaved beef from the deli. If you really want to posh it up, you could add some dried shrimp and crushed roast peanuts. This dish is reminiscent of my favourite thai green papaya salad.

Friday Night Dinners...

Our family runs by the 80-20 rule - healthy food most of the time, but we do also need our treats. And so began the Friday night tradition... Basically the most well behaved person in the house gets to choose their favourite dinner and dessert. This person almost always turns out to be my 4 year old son Jack who has a penchant for fish and chips and all things junk. The challenge is to health it up a bit and also add a new spin on it. So tonight Jack would like Chicken Burgers and Chips.

Chicken Burgers are a firm favourite in this household and here follows the recipe for my favourite style of burger - chicken accessorised with bacon and avocado. I like to serve my burgers in mini pita breads as a healthier option as we prefer more protein and less carbs in our diet. Normally I am quite a purist when it comes to all things culinary but when it comes to chips - I can't be asked. I usually resort to buying ready fried chips hot from the local chip shop smothered in salt and vinegar or bags of the cholestrol friendly variety from the frozen section. These are best served with cheats aoli which I whip up by mixing my favourite mayonnaise with roast garlic(chop the top off a whole garlic, drench in olive oil and roast til soft before squeezing it out and mixing it into the mayo).

Chicken, Bacon and Avocado Burgers

2 chicken breasts
4 rashers bacon
1 egg
1/4 cup flour
1 tbs plum sauce
salt and pepper
4 wholemeal pita breads
avocado
tomato
lettuce
gherkins
aoli

In a food processor whizz together chicken, bacon, egg, flour, plum sauce and seasoning. If you don't have plum sauce(a personal favourite of mine), cranberry sauce would be a great substitute. Divide your pulverized burger mix into 4 and shape into burger size patties. Place on a greased baking tray and grill for about 7 minutes on each size until golden.

Spray pita breads with a little olive oil spray then grill on either side to crispen up. Slit open the pita bread and spread some aoli on the base. Then add layers of lettuce, tomato, cucumber, chicken bacon burger and finally some mashed avocado.

Serve with fries on the side and a dollop of aoli.

Tonight these burgers were enjoyed with a bottle of french pinot noir and followed by some very dark and delicious chocolate.