Thai Pork Balls

These little beauties are delicious. It's one of Jared's recipes that he just pulled out of nowhere. He didn't have a recipe, he just threw different flavours together, which is a skill I'm slowly learning. I'm always a stickler for wanting a recipe to follow. We made these on a Saturday afternoon when I had a huge craving for McDonald's and the last thing I wanted was a healthy Asian dish. But in the end I ate nine balls!! And the next day we flattened down the 3 that were left over and turned them into hamburgers with a big crusty roll, some rocket and the dipping sauce. We gave my mum the recipe to try and its now one of her regular dishes.

The dipping sauce can be made up of your favourite Asian style sauces but we are completely addicted to the sauces made by the Lloyd Brothers and always try to use them. Here's their website: www.lloydbrothers.com.au

Pork Balls
1kg pork mince
Spring Onion chopped
2 cloves garlic, crushed
2 chilis, chopped
zest & juice of one lemon (lime if you have it)
1.5 teaspoons minced lemongrass
2 tablespoons Thai green curry paste
1 egg
1 bunch of coriander chopped
1 cup bread crumbs
S&P

Dipping Sauce
1/4 cup peanut oil
1/2 cup Wild Lime Chili & Ginger Sauce
1/4 cup Spicy BBQ Sauce
1 tablespoon soy sauce


Mix all the above ingredients together and roll into balls (or hamburgers). Cover with glad wrap and refrigerate for at least an hour.

Cook over medium heat until golden brown. Sprinkle with some left over coriander. Serve with the dipping sauce and some rice on the side. If you have made them into hamburgers, serve with your favourite roll, fresh rocket and some dipping sauce.

E.

Easy week night dinner - tom yum soup

I haven't been around much sorry, cooking and inspiration in the kitchen hasn't been the easiest thing for me at the moment. Hopefully one day soon I can explain. However, this is something I managed to whip up nice and quickly after a busy day at the office - tom yum soup. You can do the same with laksa (just use laksa paste and coconut milk instead of tom yum paste and stock). The ingredients don't matter too much, like most soups you can chuck in whatever you have in the house and think would suit. If you don't know tom yum its a sour spicy soup that is delicious!

(makes 2-3 serves)
2 tsps of ready-made tom yum paste
half cucumber, sliced
100g beancurd, cubed
handful bean sprouts
2 tbs fresh coriander leaves
500ml-1 lt stock
2 lime leaves, finely sliced
100 g oyster mushrooms, cleaned
spring onions, chopped
200g asian noodles, prepared according to packet instructions

Bring a large pot of stock to the boil, add the tom yum paste, lime leaves and mushrooms and allow to simmer for a few minutes.

Place the noodles in 2 large bowls and top with cucumber, bean sprouts and spring onions and ladle in the soup mixture to cover everything. Top with coriander leaves and serve.

Sathya-rating ****

Stirfry vegetables with tofu

So, I'm home in Adelaide, South Australia and its all good. Its so nice to be home and with all things familiar. We're housesitting for my parents who are in Holland at the moment. Its a gorgeous big house, just outside the city, on a gorgeous property. Its cold, dark, quiet, which means perfect sleeping weather! Mmm. Its great. We're here for a couple of months with my sister who's vegetarian.

I made this Kylie Kwong stirfry for us all just before Dad took off. He's on a special diet of only organic vegetables at the moment. With all the organic ingredients, this was a yummy dinner for all.

Here's what I did.

1 small Carrot, peeled
1 medium Zucchini
½ medium Red Capsicum
2 tablespoons Peanut oil
200g Tofu, sliced
1 medium Red Onion, finely sliced
1 tablespoon Ginger, julienne
¼ cup Shao Hsing Wine (Or Dry Sherry)
2 tsp White Sugar
2 tsp Light Soy Sauce
2 tsp Malt Vinegar
1 tsp Chinese 5 spice
1 tsp Oyster Sauce
½ teaspoon Sesame Oil
½ cup Spring Onion, julienne

Cut carrot and zucchini in half lengthways, then finely slice on the diagonal.

Remove seeds and membranes from pepper and cut into fine slices.

Heat oil in a hot wok until surface seems to shimmer slightly.

Add carrot, tofu, onion and ginger and stir-fry for 1 minute. Add wine or sherry, zucchini, pepper and sugar and stir-fry for 1 minute.

Pour in soy sauce, vinegar, oyster sauce, 5 spice and sesame oil and stir-fry for a further minute or until vegetables are just tender.

Toss in spring onion, stir-fry for 10 seconds, then remove from heat.

Transfer to a large bowl and serve immediately.

Sathya-rating ***

Thai Basil Chili Chicken

For me if its not Pad Thai when we go out for Thai its Basil Chicken. The flavour is big and unforgettable. I love it! If I’d have known how simple it and quick this was to prepare this would be my go to recipe, I would be making it all the time.
This is a Kasma Loha-unchit recipe. I have no idea how it ended up in my pile of recipes to try, but I will be attempting more of his recipe after this one was such a huge success. It taste exactly like my local Thai restaurant, which means perfect!

2-3 tbsp peanut oil, for stir-frying
10-12 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2-3 shallots, thinly sliced
500g boneless chicken thighs, cut into small pieces 10 Thai chillies, cut into very thin rounds
2 small kaffir lime leaves, finely shredded (optional)
2-3 tsp black soy sauce (I used Ketchup Manis – sweet Indonesian soy sauce)
2 tbsp fish sauce, or to taste
1 cup fresh Thai holy basil, or Thai sweet basil leaves
Pepper

Heat a wok until its surface is smoking hot. Swirl in the oil to coat the wok surface. Toss in the garlic and shallots. Stir 15 to 20 seconds before adding the chicken. Stir-fry 1 to 2 minutes, or until most of the chicken has changed color on the outside and is no longer pink.

Toss in the chillies and kaffir lime leaves. Sprinkle black soy sauce over the mixture and stir-fry for another 15 to 20 seconds. Season to taste with fish sauce, then stir in the fresh basil. Toss well. Stir-fry another 1/2 to 1 minute, or until the basil is wilted and the chicken cooked through. Sprinkle with white pepper.



S

Neil Perry's Grilled Squid Salad & Thai `Son-In-Law' Eggs

Here is the final installment of the ladies lunch I have mentioned previously with the Thai Sweet Pork Salad and Thai Egg Nests.

The last 2 dishes were a grilled squid salad and ‘son-in-law’ eggs. They were not my favourites, but I think to be fair if these were the only dishes served I would have raved about them, they are still wonderful The eggs have a gorgeous texture with a sweet and sour dressing and the squid works really well with the peanuts, ground rice and fried garlic and shallots to make it crispy and smoky along side the sweet and crunchy cos lettuce and the juicy squid.




Neil Perry's Grilled Squid Salad

2 cloves garlic
2 green chillies, deseeded
2 coriander roots
1 tsp sea salt
6 tbs palm sugar
3 tbs lime juice
5 tbs fish sauce
250 grams squid, cut into rectangles and scored inside
vegetable oil
3 shallots, thinly sliced
½ cup thinly sliced red onion
¼ cup fine julienne of ginger
1 cup mint leaves
1 cup coriander leaves
1 cup Thai basil leaves
2 red chillies, deseeded and cut into julienne
1 baby cos lettuce
fried shallots
fried garlic
¼ cup chopped roasted peanuts
1 tbs rice, roasted and ground to a powder

Pound together the garlic, chillies, coriander roots and salt and then add the palm sugar and mix in the lime juice and fish sauce.

Brush the squid with oil, and sear it quickly on a char grill.

Mix the shallots, red onion, ginger, mint, coriander, basil and chillies with the dressing and toss with the grilled squid.

Arrange the cos lettuce on a platter, place the squid on top, and sprinkle with the fried shallots, fried garlic, peanuts and rice.




Thai `Son-In-Law' Eggs

6 eggs
¼ cup peanut oil
1 onion, thinly sliced
2 chillies, seeded and sliced
2 tbs palm sugar
3 tbs water
2 tsp tamarind pulp
1 tbs fish sauce
coriander leaves

Place the eggs in boiling water and simmer for 8 minutes.

Run under cold water and peel. Dry the eggs on paper towels and pierce several times with a toothpick.

Fry the eggs in the oil until golden and crisp and drain on paper towels.

Pour off most of the oil and stir-fry the onions and chillies until the onions are golden and slightly crisp and remove from the pan.

In a separate pan, mix the palm sugar, water, tamarind and fish sauce. Stir over low heat for a few minutes until slightly thick.

Serve the eggs with the onions spooned over, followed by the sauce and garnish with the coriander leaves.

S

Thai sweet pork salad

And with this miserable Monday I have the second instalment of our ladies Thai lunch I mentioned the other day with the gorgeous Egg Nests.

This was my second favourite dish of the day. The caramel process is a little hard, but I must say these Daring Bakers challenges have taught me to persist with caramel. I did have to add a splash of water to the pan and resist stirring it continuously and it worked a treat.

The cute story that goes along with this dish is it is the hostess’ favourite. Sophia, her daughter-in-law helped her make it a few months ago and loved. Sophia’s not too kitchen savvy but decided to try and remake this for her parents without the recipe! (Something I would never dare with dish like this). When she was plating it she was confused that it lacked the gorgeous look and texture from the caramel and so covered it with barbeque sauce! And yes, our hostess was horrified when Sophia admitted this!

500 grams pork neck (Scotch fillet)
125 grams sugar
2 tbs water
fish sauce
1 tbs light soy sauce
1 tbs soy sauce
2 star anise
5 cloves garlic
3 tbs chopped coriander root and stem
1 green chilli, deseeded 1 tsp sea salt
1 tbs palm sugar
½ cup lime juice
10 shallots, finely sliced
1 cup coriander leaves
1 cup mint leaves
2 tbs roasted peanuts, crushed
2 tbs fried shallots bean sprouts, picked

Slice the pork into 1-inch strips, place in a saucepan, cover with cold water, bring to the boil, and then strain and set aside

Heat the sugar and water until the sugar dissolves, and then boil rapidly until the sugar turns golden brown.

Add 2 tablespoons fish sauce, the light and dark soy sauces, and the star anise.
Add the pork and simmer until tender and coated with the caramel syrup, about 15 minutes, and then cool.

Pound the garlic, coriander, salt and chilli to a paste.

Dissolve the palm sugar in 3 tablespoons fish sauce, and then stir in the lime juice, shallots and paste.

Combine the coriander leaves, mint leaves, bean sprouts and pork and toss through the dressing.
Serve sprinkled with the peanuts and shallots.

S

Thai Egg Nets

I was recently invited to a gorgeous ladies lunch overlooking the Sydney harbor. There was great company, a paddle in the swimming pool, gorgeous wines, beautiful view, delicious food and a few hours of fun preparing in the kitchen.

Over the next few weeks I'll drip feed you the various recipes, but this one was my favourite for the pure enjoyment of making the fancy egg part. My first few were dodgy but I got into the swing of it and the pan got nice and hot and I was on a roll. They were quite the novelty on the table and they tasted yummy too.

a

4 coriander (cilantro) roots

2 cloves of garlic

10 peppercorns

salt

vegetable oil

1 small onion, finely chopped

115 grams minced pork

75 grams shalled raw prawns, chopped

50 grams roasted peanuts, ground

1 tsp palm sugar

fish sauce

3 eggs

coriander leaves

spring onions

2 red chillies, finaly sliced

Pound together the coriander roots, garlic, peppercorns with a pinch of salt to a paste.

Stirfry the paste in a little oil till fragrant. Add the onion and cook further till softened.

Add the pork and prawns and continue to stirfry until the meat is cooked. Add the peanuts, palm sugar, and the salt and fish sauce to taste and sontinue to cook until it becomes sticky.

Beat the eggs and pour into a squeeze bottle (makes it all much easier).

Heat a small frying pan, add a little oil, and make a lattice with the eggs into the pan using the squeeze bottle. When the net is set, remove and repeat until all the eggs have been used.

a

Lay a net on a board, lay a few coriander leaves on the holes of the net, spoon in some filling - form into a neat square (like folding a spring roll or cold roll) and repeat with the remaining nets.

Garnish with more coriander leaves, the spring onion and sliced chillies.

a

S

Pad Thai (my 1st attempt)

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Our local Thai restaurant (Thairiffic - great name, huh?) is probably our most frequented restaurant. Whenever we go there, or any other Thai restaurant, I always order Pad Thai. Personally, I think I'm quite the expert after eating many versions of this dish and spending some time with a Thai chef years ago in London.

I don't recall attempting my own before, so when I saw this Nook and Pantry's attempt, I thought it was time. I gathered all the ingredients and tried it last night. It wasn't too hard, and the taste wasn't bad at all, but it didn't taste like my favourite one at Thairiffic. I will be attempting Pad Thai again, playing around with this recipe. If anyone has any hot tips, please, please let me know.

a

Sauce

1/2 cup tamarind concentrate

1/2 cup fish sauce

1/3 cup brown sugar

Chili powder to taste

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1 pack rice noodles

Firm tofu (you can use chicken or prawns or whatever you like really)

2 eggs

Vegetable oil
2 garlic cloves, finally chopped
2 spring onions, chopped
2 Tbsp minced dried shrimp or pounded until fluffy with a mortar and pestle
Garnish with garlic chives or coriander

1/2 cup bean sprouts

4 tbsp ground peanuts

Soak the rice noodles in warm water. Don't soak too long as you want them just under done, as they will continue cooking in the pan. If you're using dried shrimp, soak them in hot water for a few minutes and drain. Put all your sauce ingredients in a small pan and and simmer until dissolved.

Next, heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a wok. Add your tofu (or whatever you're using) and pan fry for a few minutes. Add about 2 tablespoons of the sauce and fry for a second and remove from the wok just and set aside.

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Add some more oil to your wok (you'll need to be generous as you don't want the noodles to stick). Fry the the garlic, dried shrimp and onions for a short moment and add the drained noodles. Then add about 1/2 cup of the sauce and stir fry until the noodles are the edible. If the pan is getting dry, add some water.

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Add your eggs in the middle of the wok or skillet and let it set a bit before tossing it with the noodles. Add some of the bean sprouts and your tofu (or whatever you're using) back to the noodles and stir fry until everything is warmed through.

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To serve, sprinkle with ground peanuts, coriander/garlic chives, bean sprouts as a garnish and serve with extra chilli and a wedge of lime.

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S

Chilled Tossed Noodles

After a hectic weekend in Adelaide, and a long trip home, I couldn't wait to eat something home-made as well as out of the Gourmet Traveller magazine I bought for the trip.

I didn't follow the recipe much but here is what I did.

250g dried rice vermicelli noodles
1 cucumber, cut into fine matchsticks
3 spring onions, finely shredded
1/4 cup sesame seeds
1 tbsp fresh ginger, finely chopped

1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 vinegar (I used half white and half balsamic)
1 tsbp sesame oil
1 1/2 tsp sugar
3 tbsp hoi-sin sauce
dash of tabasco

Soak the noodles according to the packet instructions.

Chop cucumber and spring onions.

Toast sesame seeds in a pan (no oil )until golden.

In a bowl, mix the soy, vinegar, sesame oil, sugar, hoi-sin and tabasco till the sugar dissolves.

Combine all ingredients (leaving aside a few sesame seeds) and serve with a sprinkle of the sesame seeds.

If you put the spring onions in some iced water they go kinda curly at the ends, if you feel like jazzing it up a little.

S

Spicy Bean Cakes

These are a favourite in our household, easy, quick, healthy and tasty.

I just do them under the grill but you can fry them, maybe coat them in a little flour first.

We have them for a mid-week dinner with salad usually, but you could try them as an starter of finger-food I guess.

2 cans cannellini beans, drained &rinsed
1 - 3 tsp Thai red curry paste (depending on strength)
2 kaffir lime leaves, finely sliced
handful coriander/basil leaves, chopped
4 spring onions, sliced
Sweet chilli sauce, to serve

Place beans in a food processor with the curry paste, lime leaves, coriander/basil and spring onions and process just until the mixture comes together.

Place rounded spoonfuls onto tray and place under hot grill for 5 - 10 minutes, turning over once.
S

Aromatic Vietnamese Beef Stir Fry

My darling mother gave me her electric wok. It's in perfect condition so I am ever so grateful! One of the things that always puts me off doing a stir fry is managing a wok... I'm about as good at that as I am managing chop sticks! But with an electric wok all my problems are solved!

I was cooking a belated birthday dinner for Andy and Laura. Laura is trying to eat low carbs and I'm still on this no carb diet so I thought this recipe would suit us just fine! Unfortunately I forgot to buy fish sauce so I added lots of salt instead... It tasted fantastic. There wasn't a scrap of food left at the end. But I assume it would be even more delicious if I wasnt such a bimbo and forgot the fish sauce. I know there will definately be a next time for this dish though! It took ten minutes and was a breeze!

2 tablespoons peanut oil

800g beef strips

1 medium onion, chopped finely

1 long red chilli, chopped finely

10cm stick lemongrass, chopped finely

3 medium bulbs garlic, crushed

4 cardimom pods, bruised

1 quill of cinnamon

1 star anaise

2 tablespoons Hoisin sauce

1 tablespoon fish sauce

350g snake beans, cut in 4cm lengths

1/4 cup sliced almonds, roasted

1/2 cup fresh corriander, chopped

Add 1 tablespoon peanut oil to the wok and brown meat. Set the meat aside but cover with alfoil to keep it warm. Add the remaining tablespoon of peanut oil. Fry the onions until soft. Add the garlic, chilli, lemongrass, cardimom, cinnamon, star anaise and the beans. Fry until the beans are soft. Remove the cardimom pods, cinnamon quil and the star ainaise.

Drain the meat and return it to the wok. Stir fry for another few minutes and serve into a bowl. Sprinkle the almonds and corriander over the top. Serve.

E.

Teryaki Beef Stir Fry

I love stir fry because it is so quick and easy and tasty! And you can add whatever you like! My sister in law gave me this recipe and it was mighty fine! Thanks Catherine.

2 tablespoons peanut oil
2 teaspoons sesame oil
2 cloves garlic, sliced thinly
600g rump steak, sliced thinly
1 medium brown onion, sliced thickly
230g can bamboo shoots, drained
½ cup bean sprouts
¼ cup teriyaki sauce
½ cup of beef stock
450g hokkien noodles
4 spring onions sliced thickly

Heat oil in wok or large non stick frying pan; stir-fry garlic and beef, in batches until beef is browned.

Stir-fry brown onion and bamboo shoots for 2 minutes.

Return beef mixture to wok with sprouts. Stir in sauce and stock; stir-fry until the mixture boils.

Meanwhile, place noodles in medium heatproof bowl; cover with boiling water, separate with folk, drain. Serve stir-fry with noodles sprinkle with spring onion.

E.

Chicken & Snake Bean with Thai Basil

Now, I know that you might think, everyone can cook a stir-fry and it is true, but not everyone gets it just right, I’m no expert but I find that effortless dishes like this can easily be made too rich so it’s important to go back to the basics every now and then…. And as you can see this meal is minimal work with maximum flavour. I’m a big fan of salt and used salted cashews instead of toasted. I also find that you can chop and change the vegetable contents as you please, or to suit what’s in your fridge, just having the core spices and sauces in your cupboard is the key.

700g snake beans
1 tablespoon of peanut oil
880g chicken thigh fillets, chopped coarsely
2 medium white onions, sliced thickly
3 cloves of garlic, crushed
1 teaspoon of five-spice powder
½ cup of oyster sauce
2 tablespoons light soy sauce
½ cup of cashews, toasted
½ cup of loosely packed thai basil leaves

Cut snake beans into 5cm lengths

Heat half of the oil in wok or large frying pan; stir-fry chicken in batches, until browned all over and cooked through.

Heat remaining oil in wok; stir-fry onion, garlic, and five spice until onion softens. Add beans; stir-fry until beans are tender. Return chicken to wok with sauces and nuts; stir-fry until sauce boils and thickens slightly. Just before serving stir in basil. Serve with rice if desired.

E

Sathya's Chicken and Vegetable Curry

Murphy paid me a visit last week on my well deserved week's annual leave and landed me with a god awful cold.

By day 4 I dragged myself into the kitchen and made this curry. I put loads of chilli, garlic and ginger and sure enough the next day I was a lot better.

Problem with me is, I always cook for 10 people, when there is only 2 of us! Thankfully Stacy and Will came to the rescue, thanks guys.

Ingredients:

2 tsp mustard seeds
1 ½ tsp cummin seeds
8 coriander seeds, smashed in mortar & pestle
½ tsp tumeric
7 curry leaves
2 tsp ground coriander
1 ½ tsp ground cummin
½ tsp asafoetida
2 tsp chilli flakes
3 fresh chillies
3 cm ginger
2 onion
3 garlic
2 tins diced tomatoes
tbs tomato paste
4 tsps of stock powder
vegetable oil
4 potatoes, peeled and cut into large dice
8 chicken thighs, large dice
300g green beans, cut in half
greek yogurt
streamed basmati rice

Frying all the spices, etc can go fast, so I find it easiest to have everything ready on the bench next to me for east access.

I put the onions, garlic, ginger and fresh chillies into a food processor to chop to a mush. According to the experts who have taught me their tricks, this makes a nice “gravy”.

In a large pot heat up a tablespoon of oil. You will need a lot of oil to fry all these spices, so feel free to add more.

Once the oil is hot add the mustard seeds. Once these begins to sizzle and pop add the cummin seeds, asafoetida, curry leaves and chilli flakes. I had a cold when I made this curry so I added a lot of chilli so use your own chilli opinion. Fry for a minute or 2.

Add the ground cummin and coriander to this mix and stir through.

Add the processed mix of onions, garlic, ginger and fresh chillies to the spices and and fry for 5-10 minutes. Turn down the heat so as not to burn.

In a separate pan, fry the chicken quickly to seal.

Add the tinned tomatoes, chicken, potatoes, 4 cups of water, stock cubes, tomato paste and season.

Bring to the boil and turn down to a simmer and allow to simmer for as long as possible. Minimum 30 minutes, maximum 2-3 hours. Allowing the curry to simmer for several hours will cause the meat and potatoes to fall apart nicely.

Serve with rice, yogurt, and chutney or pickle as you desire.

S

Thai Green Curry

Somehow I had too much coriander in my fridge this weekend.

As I was walking to the shops I decided I'd make Thai Green curry paste to use it up.

Unfortunately, I couldn't remember the ingredients off the top of my head, so I went into the bookstore and scurried around trying to find a recipe while Tony looked at me strangely. Having finally one I aprroved of, I made him list off the ingredients and measurements while I scribbled it in my little book (hence, above, it says vege cup, its meant to be vegetable oil).

I must have been having one of my bimbo days as I realised as I was waiting to pay for my items that we were going to a party that night, and I wouldn't in fact be needing to make dinner.

Whilst straightening my hair and applying make up I whizzed up the paste to make life easier for me when I got home from work last night.

Liz and I discovered the monstrosity of coconut milk so I used lite, coconut flavoured evaporated milk instead, which worked really well considering the difference in fat.

I made extra curry paste so I could use it in the future, but the curry ingredients are enough for 3 serves + rice.

So here's what you need:

For the paste:

3 lemongrass stalks, bruised and roughly chopped

1 large piece of peeled ginger

10 green chillies, with tops off

1 tbsp pepper

2 bunches of coriander, stalks and all

2 tbs shrimp paste

10 lime leaves

1 large onion

10 garlic cloves

piece of lime rind

The rest:

4 skinless chicken thighs, chopped

2 tbs vegetable oil

3 potatoes, cut into large chunks

1 tin of sliced water chestnuts, rinsed and drained

2 tbs fish sauce

handful of green beans

1 tin of evaporated milk or coconut milk

fresh coriander to serve (optional)

Greek yogurt to serve (optional)

Put all paste ingredients in a food processor and blend till thick paste. Add a little vegetable oil too loosen if necessary.

Heat oil in large pot. Fry 2 tablespoons of Thai Green Curry Paste in oil till becomes fragrant.

Add chicken and seal. Add potatoes and fry quickly with chicken so they are coated with the paste.

Add the tin of milk, fish sauce and water chestnuts. Bring to the boil and then turn down heat to simmer for 20-30 minutes.

Serve with rice, yogurt and coriander as desired.

S