Fresh, fast and fantastic!

I'm all about quick and easy at the moment - Andrew and I are in the process of merging households as well as searching for a new address in the hell that is the cut throat Sydney rental market, so we don't have a whole lot of time. Between work, open house inspections, trips up to Andrew's place on the Central Coast to pack things, work and the endless paperwork of tenancy applications, there hasn't been a whole lot of time for relaxing - or cooking anything too involved.

We decided we needed a break from this crazy schedule we are living at the moment and took time out last Sunday afternoon to hang out with good friends, have a few glasses of wine, share a lazy lunch (and a few rounds of "Beatles Rock Band"!) I had to rustle up something in a hurry to contribute to the buffet table because we had just dashed back from the coast after a bout of packing.


I was going to cop out and just do the cheese platter thing, but instead settled on these quick and easy Asian meatballs that ended up being a hit. They have bucketloads of flavour as well as looking pretty, thanks to lemongrass, mint, ginger and garlic. We ate them warm from the oven, but they are just as good cold. As a dipping sauce, I mixed up some good quality mayo and some black pepper paste (from Asian grocery stores) - it was really beautiful - and a change from that most misused and over represented condiment - sweet chilli sauce. God, I'm over that stuff - must people put it on everything??? Anyway, I digress....

I cooked these meatballs in the oven, so they don't require extra oil for frying and you don't even need to turn them. You can do the prep work in 10 minutes and cook them like I did for 15 minutes, so they are great if you are in a rush - in under 30 minutes you will have 30 meatballs. The result is delightfully moist, sesame crusted meatballs with not a lot of fuss. You can be very free and easy with the ingredients for these - my recipe is just a guide based on what I did on Sunday, but feel free to add or omit things or to experiement with different spices. Just don't be stingy with the flavours. Use whatever is around - although I would stick with the sesame seeds for the coating. They are what make the meatballs a bit more than your standard cocktail meatball. Speaking of which, these would make great finger food.


Have to run -  Hopefully next time you visit me I will have secured that elusive rental property, calmed down a bit and have a new Gourmet Goddess kitchen to relocate to. In the meantime, enjoy these lovely eastern delights....

Fragrant lemongrass, coriander and sesame meatballs

 

You will need: 1 kilo pork mince, 1/2 cup breadcrumbs, 1 egg, 1 whole bunch coriander finely chopped, 1/2 cup chopped fresh mint, 1 tablespoon very finely minced lemongrass (you can also use lemongrass paste or powder if you like) 1 teaspsoon fish sauce, 1 teaspoon dried chilli flakes, 1 cup finely chopped spring onion, 1/2 tablespoon very finely grated ginger, 2 cloves minced garlic, 1 tablespoon sesame oil, 1 tablespoon soy sauce, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon pepper, 1/2 tablespoon palm sugar (or brown sugar if you don't have it), 1 cup sesame seeds.

Method: Mix together everything but the sesame seeds in a big bowl. Use clean hands and make sure you combine everything very, very well. The mixture will be a little bit sticky, but that's fine.

Place the sesame seeds in a shallow bowl. Wet your hands and roll the pork mixture into small balls. Toss the meatballs lightly in the seeds and place them on a baking dish covered with baking paper. If you find the meatballs difficult to shape, it will be because your hands are dry. Keep your hands wet and you will find the process a whole lot easier.

Bake in a moderate oven for 15-20 minutes depending on the size of the meatballs you make.
Serve warm or cold.

*Makes around 30 small meatballs. If you don't want to serve them all at once, these freeze well.

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Creature Comforts

I went back to work today after a few days off over the Christmas break and it's been a crazy day.  Launching yourself back into a hectic work schedule after a few days of lazing around the house, reading books in your pajamas all day and having a nanna nap every afternoon is a shock to say the least. I knew it would be a challenging day, so food wise I made sure I did all the right things - healthy, fibre filled breakfast? Check. Wholegrains and veges for lunch? Check. Fresh fruit to snack on? Check. Drinking 2 litres of water instead of coffee? Check. Now it's dinner time and I wanted to continue the healthy theme, as well as having something filling and comforting.

Soup would have to be one of the most comforting dishes ever, and I really love Asian clear broth based soups. They manage to be comforting without being too heavy and have a lovely flavour as well as freshness. The soup I'm sharing with you today is one that I like to make if I am feeling tired and run down, or if I feel like I'm coming down with a cold. It tastes so damn good and is so, so healthy. If you ever doubted that food is medicine, then this will change your mind on the subject. I swear that I always feel great after I've eaten it. I like to add a fair whack of fresh chilli to it, but of course you can adapt it to your taste. The dish contains dried Shiitake mushrooms that you can purchase at any Asian grocer. They are a great ingredient to have in the pantry - they keep indefinitely and have a knockout flavour. (Just soak them in water before use) They are also used extensively in Chinese medicine and can be brewed as a tea and consumed as a tonic. The broth in today's recipe is also flavoured with fresh ginger and star anise, which makes it deliciously fragrant.

The amount below is enough for 1-2 people, depending on how hungry you are. If you are super starving, noodles would be a nice addition. If you are a vego, you can leave the chicken out and use vegetable stock instead. You could also add some tofu if you wanted to. This whole dish took about 20mins to throw together, thanks to the use of purchased stock. Of course you can make your own stock if you have time - tonight, I used the supermarket stock option. I've been a bit general with the amounts in the recipe - just add as much or as little of the ingredients as you feel like. It is a very forgiving dish.

Asian Chicken & Mushroom Broth

You will need:
For the broth 500ml (2 cups) chicken stock, 1 star anise, a thumb sized piece of ginger sliced.
For the rest 1 chicken thigh- trimmed of fat and sliced into strips, 6 dried Shiitake mushrooms (soak them in warm water until soft and then slice them. If the stalks are a bit hard, cut them off), coriander, fresh chilli, bok choy, handful of sliced spring onion, red chilli, 1/2 teaspoon sesame oil, pepper.

Method: First, make the broth. Heat the stock and add the ginger, sliced mushrooms and star anise. Simmer for 10mins and set aside.

Combine the chicken and sesame oil and season with pepper. Heat a wok or pan and stir fry quickly till cooked through. Add the bok choy and cook until it starts to wilt.

Arrange the chicken, bok choy, coriander, spring onion in the serving bowl. Pour over the broth and mushrooms. Top with extra coriander and chilli and serve right away.

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Out of your shell...

Oysters. There seems to be no middle ground - people either love them with a passion or absolutely detest them. Me? Well, I adore oysters and I find them very hard to resist at the best of times, but tonight I fell in love at the fish counter with some beautiful Pacific Oysters from Coffin Bay in South Australia. Oysters from this region come from pristine water and you can taste that in the oyster. So fresh and lovely. They looked so gorgeous, I decided on the spot that they would be dinner.

I couldn't decide how I wanted to serve them so I settled on making myself a tasting plate with a variety of flavours and textures. This would work well as cocktail food or as an entree or a tasting plate for a dinner party. I enjoyed them with a nice glass of Oyster Bay Semillion Blanc from New Zealand. A delicious Friday night dinner if I do say so myself....

Oysters Three Ways

Oysters with Proscuitto & Maple/Balsamic Dressing :Whisk together equal amounts of good extra virgin olive oil, balsamic vinegar and maple syrup with 1 clove crushed garlic. Season with pepper. Drizzle over oysters and top with strips of Proscuitto.

Oysters with Chilli Ginger Dressing :Whisk together equal amounts of rice vinegar and fish sauce (Nam Pla), a few teaspoons grated palm sugar, 1 teaspoon finely grated ginger, 1 teaspoon finely chopped red chilli, 1 tablespoon finely sliced spring onion. Spoon dressing over oysters to serve.

Fried Oysters with Chive & Wasabi Cream :Combine good quality, thick Greek style yoghurt with Wasabi (as much or as little as you fancy) and finely chopped chives. Set aside.
Whisk together 1 egg, soda water, a few tablespoons flour, salt and pepper to make a batter that coats the back of the spoon.
Dry the oysters with a paper towel and heat some vegetable oil for frying, Coat the oysters in the batter mixture and fry until golden. This will happen very quickly - be sure not to overcook them! Serve with the Wasabi Cream.

***About Coffin Bay Oysters:
For more info about luscious Coffin Bay Oysters, check out their website:
http://www.coffinbayoysters.com.au/

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Pumpkin Head

Today I decided to make some soup to have for my lunch this week. My criteria was that I wanted something with Asian inspired flavours, it had to be vegetarian and it had to be good for me. I love pumpkin soup, so I played around with my usual pumpkin soup recipe and came up with something brand new, that ticked all the boxes. The result is today's recipe - Spicy Pumpkin and Coconut Soup.

Because I wanted a coconut flavour, but still wanted the soup to be healthy (An average 400ml tin of Coconut milk has a whopping 60g of fat in it, which is ok for the occasional treat - but I planned to eat this soup almost every day this week!) I decided to try the reduced fat coconut infused evaporated milk from the supermarket. I have never used this before and frankly I wasn't convinced that it would be all that great but I was pleasantly suprised by the result. Rich coconut flavour? Check. Creamy texture? Check. Low fat option? Check. (It only has around 6g of fat in a whole tin)

The soup has a lovely velvety texture and has a delicious aromatic taste, with the addition of ginger, garlic, chilli and of course the coconut. Serve the soup with fresh coriander and some extra fresh chilli to ramp up the flavour even more.

Spicy Pumpkin and Coconut Soup

You will need: 500g pumpkin, 1 large onion, 2 large carrots, 2 large potatoes, 4 cloves garlic, 4cm piece ginger, 1 x 375ml tin coconut evaporated milk, 1.5 litres vegetable stock, 1 Tablespoon vegetable oil, 1/4 teaspoon chilli powder (or more, if you want it spicier), salt and pepper to taste. Fresh coriander and chilli to serve.

Method: Peel and then roughly chop the ginger, garlic and onions. Set aside. Peel and roughly chop the pumpkin, potatoes and carrots.

Heat the oil in a pot and add the garlic, onion and ginger. Cook on a medium heat until the onion starts to turn transparent. Add the pumpkin, potato, carrots and the chilli powder. Combine well and cook for 5 minutes, stirring often.

Add the vegetable stock and bring it to the boil. Reduce the heat slightly and allow it to simmer for 25 minutes. After 25 minutes, add the evaporated milk and mix well. Let the soup simmer for another 10 minutes.

Blend the soup until very smooth with a hand blender or food processor. Taste for seasoning and add salt and pepper as required. Serve with fresh chilli and coriander.

Serves 6

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Go Mango!

I absolutely love mangoes and we are starting to see the first of the season appearing in the markets right now. I love them in sweet dishes, but I think they really shine when teamed with seafood or white meat. They also make a great addition to salsas or sauces, particularly with a bit of heat from chilli or peppers.Tonight's recipe uses my first mango purchase of the season teamed with fresh Australian ocean caught prawns. It is super quick and easy to prepare and has plenty of flavour, with the addition of ginger and chilli and a light tangy dressing. This would make a great entree or light dinner and something different to serve at a BBQ.

With the exception of the dressing, I haven't specified any amounts ingredient wise in tonight's recipe - just grab as much or as little of the ingredients as you need and follow the instructions. You know what you like - let your tastebuds guide you. This salad would also work well with calamari or scallops if you don't fancy prawns. Oh, and apologies for quality of the pic today - I was having battery issues with my digital camera.

Mango and avocado salad with ginger and chilli prawns

You will need (For the salad) Fresh raw prawns shelled and de-veined, lettuce (I chose Migonette today), sliced cucumber, sliced fresh ripe mango, sliced avocado, finely sliced red (Spanish) onion, fresh chilli and ginger, splash of olive oil, salt and pepper.

(For the dressing) 2 tablespoons each of olive oil and maple syrup, 3 tablespoons rice vinegar, salt and pepper.

Method: Combine the prawns, ginger and chilli with a splash of olive oil, salt and pepper. Let them marinate for a few minutes.

Assemble the lettuce, cucumber, avocado, mango and onion on your serving plate/s. Whisk together the dressing ingredients.

Cook the prawns quickly in a very hot pan. Add to the salad ingredients and drizzle over the dressing. Serve right away with some extra fresh chilli on the top.

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Double Deliciousness

Today's dish is really two - two tastes, two textures and two techniques. One of the wondrous things about Chinese cuisine is their understanding of the role of texture in our enjoyment of food. These two dishes could not be more different in taste and texture, but they both start with the same process. My suggestion is to make the first recipe, then use half of the chicken to make the second recipe and serve them together. They are such a beautiful contrast and eating them as part of the same meal is a real treat for your tastebuds.

The first dish originates from Hainan, an island in the South China Sea and the smallest province of China. If you have ever had the pleasure of visiting the food heaven that is Singapore, you would know this dish well. It is sold in hawker stalls and restaurants everywhere and is unofficially Singapore's national dish. It is usually served with richly flavoured rice and a bowl of fragrant chicken stock, spring onions and chilli. It is meltingly tender, super moist and succulent. If you are inspired to follow the Singaporean tradition, then save the cooking liquid as a basis for the stock to serve with your chicken.

The second dish uses the Hainan chicken as a base, but takes it a step further to transform it from soft,mellow and melting to crispy, zingy and aromatic. Be warned - it is extremely moreish!
One last word on today's recipe - Don't be daunted by the poaching technique if you have never poached a whole chicken before. It really is worth the tender loving care and the end result will give you chicken that is unbelieveably moist and perfectly cooked, I promise.

Hainanese Poached Chicken

You will need: 1 size 15-16 free range chicken, 6 spring onions, 3cm piece ginger, 1 teaspoon salt, 1 tablespoon sesame oil, boiling water (to cover), ice water (to cool)

To serve: soy, sliced spring onion, and chilli.

Method: Remove and discard any visible fat from the inside of the chicken and dry it well inside and out with a paper towel. Place the chicken breast down, in a large heavy based saucepan or casserole dish that also has a lid.

Slice the spring onion into large pieces (about 8cm long). Remove the skin from the ginger and slice into pieces. Add to the pot, along with 1 teaspoon salt. Cover the chicken with enough boiling water to just cover the chicken and bring it to the boil on medium heat.

Reduce the heat to low, put the lid on the chicken and simmer for 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and set aside for 45 minutes, covered. The chicken will continue to cook as it sits in the liquid.

When 45 mins has elapsed, carefully remove the chicken from the poaching liquid (you want to avoid breaking the skin if you can) and plunge the chicken into a bowl of ice water. Leave for 15 mins until the chicken is cold.

After 15 mins, gently remove the chicken and allow it to drain. Pat dry with a paper towel. Place the chicken on a plate and rub all over with sesame oil. Cover loosely and refrigerate until ready to serve.

When serving, top with sliced spring onion and chilli.

Crispy Fried Chicken with Aromatic Salt

You will need: 1 poached chicken cut into pieces (see the recipe above), 3/4 cup plain flour, 1 tablespoon salt, 1 teaspoon five spice powder, 1 teaspoon dried chilli flakes, 1 teaspoon finely ground Szechuan pepper, peanut or vegetable oil for frying. Sesame seeds and sliced spring onion to serve.

Method: In a small pan, gently roast the five spice, Szechuan pepper, chilli and salt for about 2 minutes, until fragrant. Set aside.

Dust the chicken pieces with the flour, shaking off the excess. Heat the oil and fry in batches until crisp and golden.

Arrange the chicken on a platter and sprinkle with the spiced salt, sesame seeds and spring onion to serve.

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