WWDH - Asian Spiced Lemongrass Pork

 For Wednesday with Donna Hay this week, I made Asian Spiced Lemongrass Pork from Everyday Fresh.

This dish involves making a stir fry paste with ginger, garlic, chilli, lemongrass and Kaffir lime (the latter of which I left out because I didn’t have it). This paste is cooked until fragrant in a fry pan, before the pork mince is added and stir fried until golden. Finally, a sauce of rice wine vinegar, brown sugar and fish sauce is added to the mince and cooked until the sugar dissolves.

Donna suggests a number of ways to serve this mince. I went my own way with rice, green beans and carrots as sides.

To see more Donna Hay dishes, visit Kayte and Margaret.

Steamed brown sugar and coconut milk cake

On 5 February, it was Chinese New Year, marking the start of the Year of the Pig. In a recent column in the Good Weekend magazine, Helen Goh noted that cakes are important during Chinese New Year celebrations as they symbolise a rich, sweet life.  I knew there was some reason I love to make cakes!

Helen's recipe for Chinese New Year cake was a Steamed Brown Sugar and Coconut Cake.  I already had some coconut milk and the remaining ingredients are pantry staples for me, so I just had to make this cake.

The pleats in the cake are there on purpose, as the cake is meant to look rustic.  I ended up cooking my cake in a pudding steamer, as I did not have a bamboo or metal steamer large enough to accommodate the batter and leave room for rising.

I thought this cake turned out pretty well (after an initial emergency when I turned it out after the advised cooking time and noticed it had "sprung a leak" - back into the steamer!).  The cake is light and fluffy, and is a perfect vehicle for the sweet, heavy golden syrup with which it is served.

If you would like to make this cake, you will need:

5 eggs
180g dark brown sugar (I just used light brown)
zest of 1 orange (I left this out)
90ml vegetable oil
100ml coconut milk
220g plain flour
25g custard powder
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
golden syrup to serve

Grease and line an 18cm round cake tin (or if you don't have a steamer big enough to hold the tin, just use a pudding  steamer).  Fill a large saucepan two thirds full and bring to the boil, then reduce to a simmer.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whisk together the eggs, brown sugar and orange zest until the mixture is thick, pale and trebled in volume.

Whisk together the oil and milk in a jug and set aside.

In another bowl, sift together the flour, custard powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

When the egg mixture is ready, fold through the oil and milk mixture using a hand whisk.  In two batches, sift the flour mixture over the egg mixture and fold in gently.

Scrape the cake batter into the prepared tin and place in a metal or bamboo steamer.  Increase the heat on the water to a rolling boil, and place the steamer with the cake inside over the water, and seal the steamer tightly with its lid.

Steam the cake for 40 minutes or until cooked through when tested with a skewer.  (I omitted to test mine and it was not quite ready at 40 minutes.)  Remove the tin from the steamer.

Let the cake rest in the tin  for 5 minutes before turning it out onto a serving plate.  Leave the baking paper on the pudding until ready to serve, then remove the paper  and drizzle with golden syrup to serve.  The cake can be eaten warm or cold.

Laksa Bar, Little Lonsdale St, Melbourne

A hidden gem for Asian food is Laksa Bar in Little Lonsdale Street, Melbourne.  The restaurant has both high tables and regular tables, and is decorated with typical Asian prints:

Menus are provided to your table, but you must place your order at the counter.

We decided to order both an entrée to share and a main each.

For our entrée, we ordered the crispy soft shell crab with chilli lime mayo ($9):

Tim and I both love soft shell crab, so this  entrée was a winner.

For main, Tim ordered the Chicken Curry Laksa ($13.90):

It looked very vibrant and fresh, and I know that Tim enjoyed it.

I ordered the lemon chicken (~$12.90):

This dish was rather disappointing.  I expected a lemon sauce; however, the only detectable lemon in this dish was a slice of lemon garnish on the side.  It was fairly dry without the sauce, so is not a repeat for me.

I washed down the lemon chicken with Tiger, an Asian beer ($7):

If you go to Laksa Bar, I recommend sticking with the laksa and curries, but definitely give the soft shell crab a burl.

Laksa Bar

108 Little Lonsdale St

Melbourne VIC 3000

Ph: (03) 9663 1941

Rice Paper Scissors, Melbourne

Recently, on a cold, wet, miserable Melbourne day, we went to see Kinky Boots The Musical at Her Majesty's Theatre.  It was a fun musical which I almost skipped, but it was so uplifting and cheerful, I am glad that I added it to my schedule of entertainment. 

Before Kinky Boots, Tim and I went to lunch at Rice Paper Scissors.  This restaurant is modelled on the hawker bars of South East Asia, and is all about shared food.  The only catch is that you can't book for less than 6 people and it can therefore be hard to get into, as it is a small but popular venue.

When we went, they were in the middle of their special yum cha season:

We didn't have the yum cha, and instead ordered off of RPS's extensive menu.  The price of the dishes varies, but there is a special where you can order 5 dishes for around $60 (that is, around $30 a head).

Our first choice was the betel leaf topped with fresh lobster, green mango salad, crispy pork belly and chilli jam:  

And what a delight little bite this was! The fresh Asian flavours are irresistible.

We also ordered one of the specials of the day, a Wagyu beef stiry fry - delicious but very hot in flavour (it definitely cleared the sinuses):

Next up was the Galloping Horses - caramelised pork, prawn and peanut on sour pineapple:

It sounds a little out there (so of course, I chose it), but it was sensational.

We also went the more traditional route and ordered the Steamed Pork Buns with pork belly, cucumber, shallots and hoisin sauce:  

The buns were soft and juicy and light as a feather.

 

Our final dish was the Duck Salad - crispy roast duck and banana blossom salad with lychee and herbs:  

This was a fresh tasty way to finish off.

As this was our first visit to RPS, we also ordered dessert - in our case, the Vietnamese tiramisu ($12):

It looks like a houseplant, but the "dirt" is actually chocolate biscuit crumbs that cover the coffee flavoured mousse beneath.

We washed it all down with Hawkers Pale Ale ($8):

The service was very efficient, and we were out of there quite quickly (it's hard to get in right away, but you can pout your name on the list and the turnover is quite rapid).  We in fact dallied longer than our fellow diners who arrived at around the same time so that we could talk and while away the time until Kinky Boots.

We loved RPS and would definitely go back.

Rice Paper Scissors

19 Liverpool St

Melbourne VIC 3000

Ph: (03) 9663 9890

Spice Temple, Melbourne

It was Tim's birthday last week.  As he likes spicy and Asian food, I thought where better to take him for his birthday dinner than Spice Temple Melbourne.  This restaurant is the Melbourne offshoot of Neil Perry's Sydney establishment of the same name, and focuses on Cantonese food.  I have a copy of Neil Perry's beautiful book on Asian cooking, Balance and Harmony, so  I was keenly anticipating our meal at Spice Temple.

We started off with a glass each of the Andre Dolorme sparkling ($10):

This is a crisp sparkling and was a good way to start our dining experience.

We decided to order the $95 banquet, because it gave us a chance to try a little of lots of things and was good value when you looked at the main menu price to buy the dishes individually, and it sounded more appealing than the $75 banquet menu.

Our banquet commenced with a crispy pork belly slider:

The flavours were so refreshing -  the chilli (which is in basically everything at Spice Temple), coriander and lime particularly stood out.  The pork belly was soft and melt in your mouth.

Next came King Prawn Wontons with aged black vinegar dressing:

I had some trepidation about trying these, as the menu denotes them in red - meaning they are hot!  However, I found that provided I didn't eat too many of the visible chillies that this was an easy dish to eat and not too hot at all.  But just in case, we were served with cucumbers with garlic and ginger:

and cabbage and radish pickle:

Our next dish was the lamb and cumin pancake: 

It was accompanied by a chilli paste, and the pancake actually needed a smear of the chilli paste to lift the flavours and make it special.

According to the menu, this dish was supposed to be fried and steamed snapper with chilli and Sichuan pepper:

However, I can guarantee you that it was in fact fried squid with whole five spice and dark chilli paste from the $75 menu.  Not that I minded - I think I actually liked this better (I adore calamari), and it was one of my favourite dishes.

For a total contrast, our next dish was stir fried spanner crab with garlic, chilli and coriander:

This dish was quite a contrast to the other dishes in that it had minimal chilli, and tasted quite cool and refreshing.

Time for another drink, and being intrigued by the house-made sodas, I chose a spicy ginger beer on the waitress's recommendation ($7):

Tim had a bottle of Lord Nelson brew (made by a Sydney hotel where we have stayed) instead.

Coming to the business end of the menu, we were served stir fried Wagyu brisket with eggplant and chilli:

The brisket melted in the mouth; however, this was quite a rich dish, not a quality that you ordinarily associate with stir fry.

Next came my favourite main dish - stir fried corn with smoked pork and chives:

This dish was just so good, with the pork being a subtle second player to the star, the corn.

Our final dish was three shot chicken with beer, chilli and soy:

I found this to be identifiably hot, but Tim didn't find it to be so.  It is in red on the menu, so my feeling was right. This dish was OK, but not as good as some of the other dishes.

There was a bowl of steamed rice served with the mains.

Our banquet also included dessert - hooray!  This dessert was mango pudding with condensed milk chantilly, complete with a sesame snap:

I am a dessert lover, and this pudding was sublime.  Despite the mango and condensed milk, it was not overly sweet, and it was as smooth as silk and melted on the tongue.  Heavenly!

The banquet was just the right amount of food - I was not rolling in the aisle, nor was I left hungry.

The staff at Spice Temple were friendly and attentive, and did a great job of rotating around a number of very busy tables.  Our water glasses were frequently refilled - which is very important at a restaurant where nearly every dish contains chilli!  We even did a spot of "celebrity" spotting, with Martin King from A Current Affair being on one of the corner tables. 

On our way back to the train, we passed this lovely mural of Audrey Hepburn at Southbank:

I highly recommend Spice Temple for diverse, beautifully tasting food with a spicy accent.

Spice Temple

Shop 7, Crown Entertainment Complex

8 Whiteman Street

SOUTHBANK VIC

Ph: 03 8679 1888

WWDH - Fried Rice

Yesterday was Melbourne Cup Day holiday in Melbourne, so I spent my time making my Christmas cake, pudding and fruit mince so that they mature for Christmas.  It was a pretty productive day, and a good one for staying in, as it rained a fair bit.  Prince Charles and Camilla of England were in Melbourne for the Cup, and presented the winning owner with the trophy for the Cup.  A horse called Green Moon won - a few people I know won money on it.  I didn't have a bet, so I didn't win anything.  I did win a day off though, which is good enough for me. 

It's Wednesday with Donna Hay, and my choice for November is Fried Rice from p148 of Modern Classics Book I.  This is a pretty traditional Asian style fried rice with prawns, but sans the frozen peas and egg.  It had a spicy kick to it with chillies, which made it a little different from your bland Chinese restaurant fried rice.

I quite enjoyed this for a change.  Kayte is on hiatus, but please visit Margaret and Chaya to see what they thought of this rice dish.

Pork neck cooked in lemongrass and chilli

Until recently, my Thursday nights were centered around Luke Nguyen's cooking show, Vietnam, where Luke took us on a culinary tour through his family's native Vietnam.  The food and the scenery were so beautiful that I longed to be there.  I will admit there were some things that I am not keen to try (dog penis anyone?), but most of the food was delightful.

I am not well acquainted with Vietnamese cuisine, so I was excited when Luke's second book, The Songs of Sapa, became available through our work bookclub.  It is a beautiful book, and I have enjoyed browsing through the pages, but I am also keen to try some of the recipes.

For my first dish from The Songs of Sapa, I made Pork Neck Cooked in Lemongrass and Chilli (p153).  Perhaps one thing that I didn't appreciate when I made this dish was the words "serves 4-6 as part of a shared meal".  I believe that Luke intends that for one meal, you will make a number of dishes, and I found the portion size quite small.  Next time, I will double the portion size so that there is enough for my once-a-week cooking outing.

Despite the small portion size, this dish tasted wonderful.  The chilli, lemongrass, garlic and fish sauce worked well together and gave the pork a lovely subtly spicy Asian flavour.  I served the pork with boiled rice and bok choy that had been stir fried with soy sauce, honey and ginger.

If you would like to try this dish (bearing in mind my comments about portion size), you will need:

2 tablespoons sugar
3 tablespoons fish sauce
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 stems lemongrass, white part only, finely chopped
3 crushed cloves garlic
4 birds eye chillies, finely chopped (I used two ordinary chillis)
300g skinless pork neck cut into 2cm cubes

150ml water (I forgot this!)
(optional: fresh coriander and sliced cucumber to serve)

Put the sugar, fish sauce, 1 tablespoon oil, 1 tablespoon lemongrass, 2 teaspoons garlic and two teaspoons chilli into a large bowl, and stir well to combine.  Add the pork to the bowl, coat it in the sauce, then cover and refrigerate for 20 minutes.

Heat two tablespoons oil in a frypan or wok, and add the remaining lemongrass, chilli and garlic, and stir fry until fragrant.  Add the pork and stir-fry for 3 minutes.  Add the water, then cook for a further 10 minutes.  Transfer the meat to a serving bowl and garnish with coriander.  Serve with rice and sliced cucumber (if desired).

Warm and comforting - Beef Massaman Curry and Shepherd's Pie

Are you supersticious? The higher part of me would like to say that I am not, but when I noticed that I would have 13 posts for May if I stopped now, I knew that something had to be done about it, as if 13 posts for a month was akin to walking under a ladder or crossing paths with a black cat. (That said, a friend of mine, Stevie, has the loveliest, enormous, fluffy black cat called Russell, whom I have had the pleasure of cat-sitting on one occasion, and who loves nothing better than a brush. Hmmm, maybe I am not supersticious after all.)

To avoid the 13-post curse, for post number 14, I am going to regale you with some of my savoury ventures. I know, I know, these are not as aesthetically appealing or half as much fun as the cakes, but on the bright side, they will help you to get you "5 a day" and grow up to be big and strong like me (ignore my twig arms, OK?).

The picture at the top of this post is of Bill Granger's Beef Massaman Curry from his latest book, Feed Me Now! There is no picture of it in the book, so now you know what the dish would look like, sans food styling. It is from the chapter called "Freeze Me", so the curry is appropriately photographed in the Tupperware dish in which I intended to freeze it.

Coming from a book with a title like "Feed Me Now!", I assumed that this curry would be quick and easy to make, and left it until 6.30pm to commence. Wrong!!!! It takes the best part of two hours cooking time, leaving aside the preparation matters, so needless to say, I ate baked beans on toast the night that I made this and froze the lot for another night.

Whinging about the time involved aside, this curry is delicious. It is not particularly spicy and it is certainly not "hot", so if these descriptions of a curry float your boat, then this is not the curry for you. Presumably Bill has made it mild because his books are family orientated, and he is trying to share family recipes. This suits me - I don't particularly like things being so hot that my nose and eyes run relentlessly. You could of course spice it up to your liking.

To make Bill's beef massaman curry, you will need:

1.2kg trimmed blade steak, diced
2 teaspoons Chinese five-spice powder
60ml oil (I always just spray the pan with oil, so depends on what you like)
2 diced onions
2 tablespoons massaman curry paste (I used curry powder - perhaps this is why mine wasn't too spicy??)
400ml coconut milk (I used light without incident)
300ml beef stock
2 tablespoons lime juice
1 tablespoon fish sauce
1 tablespoon brown sugar
400g potatoes, peeled and diced
1 large carrot, sliced
2 tablespoons chopped roasted peanuts (I left these out)

Toss the beef in the five spice powder to coat, then brown in batches in a wok in which 2/3 of the oil has been heated. Remove the meat from the wok and set aside.

Add the rest of the oil to the wok and turn down the heat to medium. Cook the onions until soft, then stir in the curry paste until the mixture is fragrant. Add the coconut milk, stock, lime juice, fish sauce and brown sugar to the wok, and bring the mixture to the boil. Add the browned beef to the pan, reduce the heat to low and simmer for 30 minutes.

Add the potatoes, carrots and peanuts (if using), and simmer the curry for another 30-40 minutes until the vegetables and meat are tender.

You can now either cool and freeze the curry, or serve immediately with rice, Thai basil and more peanuts.

My second savoury creation for your delectation is a good old fashioned shepherds pie. Shepherds pie was a staple at home when I was growing up, and there are endless variations of the recipe, but the crucial element is that the pie must be topped with mashed potato (or other root vegetable).

My shepherds pie recipe this time came from here, which proclaims shepherds pie to have originated somewhere in the British Isles.

I made the pie in a dish that was a teensy bit small to take it all, so you can see that it overflowed somewhat:

Doesn't all that tomato sauce look good??

If I made this again, I would add some spice to the potato toppping, which was a tad bland for my liking, and perhaps spiced up the meat with some chilli as well to make the dish a winter zinger. However, once again, if you are feeding the family, the kids are most likely going to eat this if you make it as the recipe states - my memories of being a child tell me that kids do not appreciate "zing".

Many of you are heading into summer (I am "Down Under" so it is the first of winter tomorrow), and these dishes are not very summery, but when the weather gets cooler, I can recommend them as enjoyable and filling meals that can easily be modified to suit your family's (or individual) tastes. For singletons like me, they can also be frozen and reheated as required.

Beef Noodles with Orange and Ginger

It's been a while since I posted about anything other than baking, so to mix it up a bit, I am going to share with you one of the recent main meals that I made - Beef Noodles with Orange and Ginger.

I really like Asian flavours - they are crisp and clear, and the meals themselves are usually quite light, so you are not left feeling bloated afterwards. I am pretty hopeless at keeping down calories, so I was quite excited when I saw the Low Fat, Low Cholesterol Chinese Cookbook by Maggie Pennell and Jenni Fleetwood for sale at an online bookstore. If someone else helps me out with "healthiness", that is a great start.

Flicking through this book, the recipe for Beef Noodles with Ginger and Orange caught my eye. I have never tried orange flavours with beef before (although I once made marmalade chicken), and I am a fan of citrus and ginger flavours, so I decided that this was the dish for me.

As you can see, this dish looks pretty good with its burnished orange sauce. My only complaint is that I would have liked more vegetables in the recipe than just carrot and spring onion (easily fixed), and I found the portion size quite small (which is probably deliberate given this is a low fat, low cholesterol cookbook). Otherwise, I really enjoyed the unusual pairing of beef and orange, with the ginger zing in the background.

To make this stir-fry style dish (with my modifications), you will need:

450g lean beef, cut into thin strips
zest and juice of 1 orange
1 tablespoon light soy sauce
1 teaspoon cornflour
2.5cm knob of fresh ginger, grated
175g rice noodles
3 teaspoons cooking oil
1 carrot cut into matchsticks
2 spring onions, thinly sliced

Put the beef, orange zest and orange juice into a bowl to marinate for half an hour.

Drain the beef, reserving the juice, and set the juice aside.

In a large bowl, mix the beef with the soy sauce, cornflour and ginger.

Cook the noodles in accordance with the packet instructions and set aside; keep them warm.

Place the oil in a large wok or frypan, and heat it until hot. Add the beef and stir fry for one minute, then add the carrots and stiry fry for another 3 minutes.

Add the spring onions and the reserved juice to the wok, and heat ntil the sauce boils and thickens. Remove the wok from the heat.

Serve the beef immediately over a bed of rice noodles. (Serves 4)

Asian Influence - Pad Thai

When I eat out, one of my favourite types of cuisine is Thai. I love the curries, the stir fries, the noodles and the combinations of crisp and spicy flavours. One of my favourite dishes is Pad Thai. Despite this, I had never attempted to make Pad Thai at home - until now.

I came across a recipe for Pad Thai in Janelle Bloom's Fast Fresh and Fabulous, and decided to give it a go for myself. And I am glad that I did - it is so good. It has the light Asian flavours combined with just the right amount of nuttiness.


To make your own Pad Thai, you will need:


250g dried rice stick noodles
1/4 cup fish sauce
2 tablespoons brown sugar
juice of 1 lemon
150g diced firm tofu
2 tablespoons cornflour
2 tablespoons cooking oil
2 thinly sliced chicken breast fillets
3 sliced green onions
2 cloves crushed garlic
2 small chopped red chillis
2 lightly beaten eggs
1/2 cup chopped raosted peanuts
125g bean sprouts

In a bowl, cover the noodles with warm water and set aside for 5 minutes or until softened. Drain and set aside.

Put the fish sauce, sugar and 1/4 cup lemon juice in a small bowl and stir to combine. Set aside.

Coat the tofu with the cornflour. Heat a wok, and once hot, add 2 teaspoons of the cooking oil and the tofu, and stur fry until the tofu turns golden brown. Remove the tofu from the wok and set aside.

Reheat the wok, and add one tablespoon of oil. Once the oil is hot, addthe chicken and stir fry until golden brown. Remove the chicken from the wok.

Put the remainder of the cooking oil in the wok with the green onions, garlic and chillies and stir fry for one minute. Push the vegetables to one side of the wok, and pour the eggs into the cleared space and cook them until slightly set, before using a spoon to scramble them.

Add the softened noodles, sauce mixture, chicken and tofu to the wok, and stir fry for 2 minutes or until heated through.

Serve and enjoy!

Pad Thai and Spring Racing Carnival

Spring is here in Oz, and I am very excited about it. I hate the cold, and even worse, I hate the grey, overcast days that often accompany it. Along with spring comes the Spring Racing Carnival. I am not a huge fan of racing itself, but I love all the froth and bubble that goes along with it - it's a time when women and men dress up in gorgeous fashions that they never wear at any other time, and I love watching the rich and famous on the race telecasts, decked out in their finest. Many shops blossom like exotic flowers, filled with brightly coloured dresses, hats and fascinators, like The Best Dressed Hat, a new shop in Toorak Road, South Yarra:

I purchased a gorgeous headband by Millunacy (created by Doreen Torkomyan of Toorak), consisting of navy ribbon folded in such a way that from one angle, it looks like a 1940s hat, and topped with a diamante clip. It is incredibly elegant - I love it!!

With spring here, I am also hunting around for lighter meals to match the season, full of fresh produce. When I saw a recipe for my favourite Thai dish, Pad Thai, in the October 2008 edition of BBC Australian Good Food, I knew that I had found the perfect spring meal. I love the wonderful colour and texture of this dish, and it contains 5 different veggies, so that I get my recommended daily dose of veggies in one hit!

To make this delicious Pad Thai, you will need:

200g dried rice stick noodles
1 teaspoon oil
1 sliced onion
300g chicken breast strips
4 finely chopped garlic cloves
1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
1 cup grated carrot (~1 large carrot)
1 head of broccoli, sliced into florets
2 sliced capsicum
150g halved baby corn
2 tablespoons fish sauce
2 tablespoons sweet chilli sauce

1/4 cup water
1 tabelspoon brown sugar
160g alfalfa sprouts
4 sliced shallots
1 cup chopped coriander leaves
50g toasted peanuts

Soak the noodles on hot water for 20 minutes until softened, then drain and reserve.

Heat the oil in a large wok, and cook the onion until soft. Add the chicken, and cook until the chicken has browned, followed by the garlic and ginger, and cook for 30 seconds. Add the carrot, broccoli, capsicum and baby corn and stir fry until the vegetables are just softened.

Add the fish sauce, sweet chilli sauce, brown sugar, water and noodles to the wok, and toss with the other ingredients to combine. Add the alfalfa sprouts, shallots and coriander and cook for approximately 1 minute, until heated through.

Remove the wok from the heat and divide the dish between 4 plates. Top with the toasted peanuts and extra chopped coriander. Enjoy!