Thursday 12 September 2013

The Great Pandan Hunt

Sometimes when a recipe calls for an unusual ingredient, finding it can be an adventure in itself. I missed Kaya toast, a Singaporean speciality so much that I googled a recipe for it.
Kaya recipe
All of them required Pandan leaves, not something your local New World carries. In fact I had not come across it at any Chinese grocers. Then driving down New North road I saw a shop called Thai food importers its no 849 New North Road. They have a handy carpark at the back and I thought I might go sneak a peak. Needless to say I found Pandan leaves, I also found galangal, pad thai sauce, massaman curry paste, Laksa paste and Panko bread crumbs all at great prices.

I couldn't wait to take my goodie bag home and try the Kaya recipe. There is a reason I do not make custard at home from scratch. I am an impatient cook. The Kaya split! I have a jar of jam that is now lying neglected in the fridge and I am still drooling with the memory of beautiful Kaya toast with a blob of butter we devoured in Singapore. So what is the point of my post you ask?

Well I made a quick Massaman curry yesterday using the single sachet paste I bought at the Thai shop.
I made a version with prawns as they cook quickly and Hospobaby loves prawns. This is of course not very traditional as Massaman curry is usually made with Beef or Lamb.
The curry is a perfect way to introduce spices to the little ones. By spices I do not mean hot chillies. Zoya loved this curry as it was a perfect balance of sweet from the sugar, salty from the fish sauce and sour from the tamarind.




Here is my recipe

1 sachet Massaman curry paste
1 can coconut milk
1 red onion roughly diced
3 teaspoons of fish sauce
4 teaspoons of tamarind paste
2 tablespoons soft brown sugar or palm sugar
potatoes or butternut pumpkin/squash diced into cubes
1/2 cup peas
prawns/lamb/beef/chicken diced
Green chill sliced or chilli oil for adults
Roasted peanuts to garnish

Hot Fluffy rice to serve

Add a tablespoon of oil into a pan and saute the paste for a couple of minutes. Add the red onion and cook. Now add the can of coconut milk (use 2 cans if using meat), fish sauce, sugar and tamarind paste. Add the vegetables and meat if using (do not add the prawns at this stage if you are using prawns in this recipe instead of meat). Bring to a boil and simmer down until sauce thickens and vegetables are cooked. Add the prawns if using and cook for a further 4-5 minutes. Garnish with roasted peanuts and serve on rice. I provided chilli oil for the adults to add heat to the dish.




Monday 2 September 2013

Hospobaby and Jamie Oliver's 15 minute meals

I have been inspired by our experience of My Food Bag to try to experiment more in the kitchen. This week I am trying 4 new recipes from the Jamie Oliver 15 minute meals. I know Jamie is coming up with another book that has more economical recipes called "Save with Jamie". I will have to wait to try those on Hospobaby and Chef Sid.

Meanwhile here are links to what we are cooking this week in case you don't own the book. The recipes take me longer than 15 minutes for sure so that is not what I am testing this week, but seeing if Hospobaby loves the different tastes and textures.
We usually eat out on our days off - Sunday and Monday hence our week starts on a Tuesday

Tuesday - Chicken Dim Sum
Chicken dim sum with coconut buns

Wednesday- Pork Belly Tacos
Pork tacos with Spicy black beans and avocado green salad

Thursday- Prawn linguine with Sicilian Shaved fennel
Prawn Linguine with Silican Shaved Fennel

Friday- Grilled steak, ratatouille and saffron rice
Grilled steak, ratatouille and saffron rice

Saturday- Mexican BLT
Mexican BLT, Chillies, Guacamole and Salad

I will update our reactions at the end of the week. Good luck trying the recipes in your own kitchen.

Tuesday:






Making the coconut buns was a bit messy, Zoya helped me shape them and stick them into the muffin wrappers. She stole cucumber ribbons as I was busy getting them pickled. I had to do batches of the chicken and buns as I have small steamers. I didnt give Hospobaby the pickled ginger but the grown ups loved it and I also added some chilli oil to the hoisin for the adults to dip into.
Hospobaby loves Broccoli (shes strange) so she had a few broccolini stems. She remarked that this meal reminded her of Yum Char!
Personally I found the coconut buns to be a bit doughy and I could only eat a couple. Will definitely try the chicken again with some rice next time as the mushrooms and broccolini make it super healthy.

Wednesday:





Pork Tacos with black beans and avocado salad.
Zoya loves tacos, period. I found the pork a bit tough. It was a bit funny as the recipe asks you to use skinless pork belly. I bought pork belly with skin on and had to skin it myself. Ended up cutting my finger in the process. It went against my instincts to do this as the skin and fat are the best part in the pork belly. The meal was saved by the yummy black beans and salad that Hospobaby loved.

Thursday:
Prawn linguine with Silican shaved Fennel.
This was one of our favorite meals of the week. Here is a cool tip I learnt from my husband. After you spoon the spaghetti in the bowl for the little ones use a kitchen scissors to cut up the spaghetti/linguine so that it is easier for the kids to eat.
Fennel and parmesan make an amazing salad for grown ups.
YUMMY

Friday: Steak, Ratatouille and Saffron rice



Hospobaby enjoyed this meal a lot. The adults ummm we loved the steak but not the Ratatouille.
I substituted the eggplant in the ratatouille for carrots. The harrissa didnt work in the ratatouille and  tomatoes passata somehow gave it a funny sweetish taste. It works for kids palates but not so much for adults.
Sid refused the ratatouille but the steak with mustard and parsley was a hit with him. Saffron rice with lemon was delicious.

Saturday: Mexican BLT

This was by far my favourite for the week as it actually took 15 minutes to make. The guacamole tasted fresh and bashing the chicken was a real stress buster, LOL. The bread was a bit tough for Hospobaby so I gave her chicken and guacamole with bread on the side. Will be making this one again