Balinese Slow-Roast Pork & Green Bean and Fresh Coconut Salad

A Balinese feast from Rick Stein's cook book! It was a fairly time consuming feast so I was glad I chose to make it for Sunday lunch. The Balinese spice paste which was used to stuff the pork had 17 ingredients in it!!!

I used the spice grinder to grind the peppercorns, peanuts, nutmeg and sesame seeds then used the mini food processor to blend the spice mix with the remaining ingredients; shallots, ginger, galangal, fresh turmeric, lemongrass, garlic, red chillies, red birds eye chillies, shrimp paste, palm sugar, salt, vegetable oil and lime juice. The resulting paste was thick and full of flavour and colour.

The paste was used to stuff a shoulder of pork which was tied with cooking string so it would hold its shape and left in the fridge uncovered for an hour to dry the skin out. Before putting in a hot oven it was brushed with vegetable oil and turmeric powder and sprinkled with salt.

The pork ended up a lovely golden colour from the turmeric, the meat was tender and nicely flavoured with the spice paste and the crackling was sensational!!

I served it with steamed jasmine rice and a Green Bean and Fresh Coconut Salad with crisp fried shallots, garlic and chilli. The salad was also fairly time consuming to make but the result was a lovely fresh, tasty salad that would be nice served with fish in summer. To make this salad you blanch green beans, grate fresh coconut (easy to do in a food processor once you have drained the milk, removed the shell and peeled the brown skin off), shallow fry shallots, garlic and red chilli and toss together with bean sprouts, finely shredded lime leaves and birds eye chillies. I have been removing the seeds and pith from the birds eye chillies and now find they add a nice bite without being ridiculously hot. The salad is dressed with lime juice, shrimp paste, vegetable oil, salt and palm sugar. The salad worked well with the pork and overall this was a very nice Sunday lunch.

Rating for both the salad and pork 7 out of 10.

Thai Mussaman Beef Curry

Mussaman Beef Curry (Geng Mussaman) is a Thai variation of the Muslim curries from Northern India. This Rick Stein version was very different to the typical Mussaman curry you buy in Thai restaurants in Australia; much spicer, more "Indian" in flavour and less coconut milk taste. Once again this recipe used Kashmiri chillies which I still haven't been able to buy so possibly that is why it was so spicy.

The Thai Mussaman paste was made by dry roasting Kashmiri chillies, coriander seeds, cumin seeds, cardamom seeds (from green cardamom pods), cloves, cinnamon sticks and blade mace. Blade mace is the outer shell of the nutmeg fruit (the fine bark looking peices in the picture). The spices were ground in a spice grinder after being roasted. I bought one of these and can't believe how quickly they grind reasonably hard spices and nuts; I am talking seconds! The next step in making the curry paste was to slow cook some shallots and garlic until golden and then blend the shallots, garlic and spice mix together with shrimp paste, ginger, lemon grass and coconut milk.

Whilst you are preparing the spice paste (which does take a while!) you can have your beef cooking. The beef pieces (blade or chuck steak) are simmered for 2 hours in coconut milk with cinnamon sticks and black cardamom pods (which give it a smoky flavour). After 2 hours you add in cubed potatoes, halved shallots, the curry paste, fish sauce, tamarind water and palm sugar. Tamarind paste is made by placing tamarind paste into warm water and massaging it with your fingers until the water becomes syrupy, you then strain out the seeds and fibrous material. Tamarind is a fruit that grows like a pod on a tree and it is very sour but also has a high sugar content, so adds a sweet/sour flavour. It is an ingredient in Worcestershire sauce.

Once the potatoes and shallots are tender the curry is ready to serve. Simply stir in some roasted peanuts and Thai basil and enjoy.

Like the Chicken Kapitan Curry this was quite spicy without being too spicy and had an amazing mix of flavours. It certainly wasn't a quick dish to make but was lovely for a cool Winter's night.

Rating 7 out of 10.

Chicken Curry Kapitan

Rick Stein indicates that all the ingredients required for this Malaysian curry can be bought in a supermarket. I have to note that dried Kashmiri chillies have been impossible for me to source. Apparently these chillies are medium in heat and give a beautiful red colour to the dish. I used some dried chillies I had and wonder if they were a little hotter than the kashmiri chillies would have been.

The base of this dish is a Malaysian Kapitan paste made from Kashmiri chillies, shallots, five-spice powder, turmeric, garlic, ginger, lemon grass, shrimp paste and vegetable oil. The spice paste is cooked before adding the chicken pieces, coconut milk, cinnamon sticks, palm sugar and salt. Rick Stein mentions that this curry is a wonderful combination of coconut, palm sugar, cinnamon, ginger and star anise however there is no star anise in the ingredient list! I added one with the cinnamon stick anyway. After the curry has cooked for about half an hour you add lime juice and ground roasted desiccated  coconut. The curry is served sprinkled with coriander leaves.

This was quite a spicy curry but the flavours were fantastic! It is named "Kapitan" after the Chinese official who acted as the go-between between the Chinese and Malay rulers. This curry is considered a perfect example of nyonya cuisine which is a fusion of Chinese and Malay cuisines.

Rating 7 out of 10.

Turmeric Marinated Chicken Wrapped in Lime Leaves

A Rick Stein recipe from Vietnam. The chicken thigh pieces are marinated in turmeric, lime juice, fish sauce, chilli, shallots and white pepper then wrapped in kaffir lime leaves and threaded onto skewers. The combination of marinating the chicken and wrapping it in the lime leaves makes it very fragrant and moist.

To serve you remove the chicken from the skewers and dip in a Vietnamese dipping sauce of lime juice, fish sauce, sugar, ginger, garlic and chilli. This would be a wonderful dish to have on a summers night cooked on the BBQ. The flavours were delicious and none of the ingredients were too overpowering ..a perfect balance.

What I am really enjoying about cooking Asian food is that is is simple and full of flavour. Some of the ingredients can be hard to source but once you have them they tend to be used again and again in the various recipes. I am however going to have to find some vegetable recipes as I feel we have been lacking them in our meals.

Rating 8 out of 10.

Cambodian Marinated beef with a Lime & Black Pepper Dipping Sauce

Rick Stein's version of this Cambodian dish known as Loc Lac made a very healthy and delicious meal.

Rump steak is marinated in red chilli, garlic, ginger, lime juice, palm sugar, dark soy sauce, oyster sauce, fish sauce, tomato sauce (that one surprised me!) and pepper. The steak was then stir fried and served wrapped in lettuce leaves with sliced tomatoes, chopped peanuts and sliced onion. The "lettuce roll' was then dipped in a simple but interesting hot-sour sauce of lime juice, pepper and salt. I think most children would also enjoy this dish which is very quick and easy to make.

Rating 8 out of 10.

Caramelised Onion Pizzas

A very simple, quick and tasty dish from the new Masterchef magazine which is now on sale. A pita bread base with homemade caramelised onions, kalamata olives, marinated feta, fresh thyme and extra virgin olive oil. A delicious mix of salty olives, creamy feta and sweet onions.....yummy!

Rating 8 out of 10.

Vietnamese Beef Noodle Soup

Pho Bo or Vietnamese Beef Noodle Soup is one of the most famous dishes in Vietnam. Pho is pronounced "phir" and Bo means beef as you can also have Pho Ga which is Chicken Noodle Soup.
The base of this dish is a wonderful flavoursome beef broth which is made by simmering ginger, shallots, star anise, cinnamon sticks, fennel seeds, shin of beef, beef marrow bones, celery, carrots, onions, cloves and peppercorns for 5 or more hours. The longer the better! If you dry fry the spices, ginger and shallots before adding to the stock it will add extra colour and flavour.The stock is then strained and refrigerated overnight to make it easier to skim off the excess fat.
To serve you bring the beef broth to the boil and add in the white parts of some spring onions and fish sauce. Dried rice noodles are softened in boiling water and placed in soup bowls. The noodles are topped with thinly sliced raw beef fillet, the green part of some spring onions and bean shoots and finally the boiling stock (which will cook the beef). Serve with garnishes of lime wedges, sliced red bird's eye chillies, Thai basil, mint and coriander which each diner can add to suit their taste. I bought the birds eye chillies from our local Asian supermarket and they certainly were hot! I sprinkled a few on my Pho Bo before I realised how hot they were and then removed them however they had already added considerable heat to the soup! I had to have a small second helping without chilli so I could appreciate the flavour of the broth. Like much Vietnamese food there was a mixture of textures with the crunch of the bean shoots, the soft rice noodles and the leafy herbs.
This is a dish I feel you would need to make a few times to determine what combination and quantities of herbs, chillies and lime juice work best for your individual taste.
Thankyou Rick Stein for a new taste experience.
Rating 7 out of 10.

Rick Stein's Stir-Fried Green Chicken Curry

This cook book is to be my inspiration for this month. I stumbled upon Rick Stein's TV show on the ABC one night and was so impressed I immediately jumped on the internet and purchased this cook book.

My Asian "adventure" started yesterday when I went and bought a selection of ingredients for my first 2 dishes. Fresh herbs (coriander and Thai basil), ginger, galangal (a member of the ginger family), shallots, red and green chillies and lemon grass. Note that shallots refer to a small brown vegetable that resembles an onion with garlic like cloves. They are sweeter and not as strong as an onion and are often used in Asian cooking (not to be confused with spring onions which we also commonly call shallots). My senses were going into overdrive before I even started cooking!

The first step was to make a green curry paste using lemon grass, galangal, green chillies, kaffir lime leaves, black peppercorns, garlic, shallots and shrimp paste. Shrimp paste is another common ingredient in Asian cooking. It is made from fermented ground shrimp which are sun dried and then cut into blocks. It sounds and smells terrible but adds great flavour.

Lemon Grass Tip: you only use the pale lower section of the lemon grass stem in this recipe but keep the hard green stalks and freeze to have on hand to infuse custard.

The difference between this dish and a regular green curry as we tend to know it is that the chicken is stir-fried and the curry paste is more concentrated. This dish also has much less coconut milk or cream making it healthier than the usual green curry. The chicken is simply cooked in the green curry paste with a small amount of coconut milk, kaffir lime leaves, fish sauce, palm sugar (sugar extracted from the sap of palm trees, widely used in Asian cooking), red chillies, aubergines (I used Lebanese aubergines or eggplant), lime juice and Thai basil. Like most Thai food the resulting dish had a good balance of salty, sweet, sour and spicy flavours. There was a nice amount of chilli and the flavours from the fresh green curry paste made all the difference. Served with jasmine rice this dish was a hit!

Rating 8 out of 10.

Sticky Asian Pork Belly

I have always liked pork belly when I have ordered it in a restaurant but have never cooked it. This Donna Hay recipe was from her "Beef, Lamb, Pork, Simple Essentials" Cook Book. The pork belly was marinated in garlic, ginger, hoisin sauce, Chinese cooking wine, brown sugar and kecap manis then baked skin side down for 2 hours, with the marinade, covered with alfoil. For the last 30 minutes you remove the alfoil. I actually turned the pork belly skin side up for this last step thinking it may cook the skin better. My pork belly skin had been scored very finely which meant it was very hard to cut the belly to serve (I should have bought an unscored piece). The lean pieces of meat were very tender and had a nice flavour but I still found it had too much fat. I am not sure if this was how it was meant to be or due to the cut of meat or due to the way it was cooked. I will experiment again with pork belly but was disappointed with this attempt.
Rating 4 out of 10.

Cranberry Pistachio Biscotti, Spicy Tomato and Clam Broth, Crusty Bread and Kiwi Fruit Sorbet

Our second cooking club get together was held last Friday and was another successful, fun day!

We were greeted with the wonderful aroma of freshly baked Cranberry Pistachio Biscotti which was as delicious to eat as it smelt and looked! Fresh from the oven it still had a "cookie like" texture and I could have eaten the whole plate!
This recipe can be found at http://allrecipes.com.au/recipe/10743/cranberry-pistchio-biscotti.aspx

Main course was Donna Hay's Spicy Tomato and Clam Broth (from her "Seasons" cook book) served with Stephanie Alexander's Country -Style Crusty Bread.

We modified the broth recipe slightly so we could use the fresh produce we had on hand; cherry tomatoes rather than roma tomatoes and fresh red chillies rather than chilli flakes. The hosts had already prepared a fish stock from Stephanie Alexander's "The Cook's Companion" so it was very simple to put together the broth from this point.

The clams were frozen Vongole Clams from NZ so they only needed heating rather than cooking. You could easily use mussels rather than clams. After playing around with the quantities of tomatoes, chillies and fish stock we ended up with a tasty broth that was improved even further by the coriander it was served with. The cous cous, which was added to the broth at the end, gave the dish added interest and texture. I am not a great fan of tomato based seafood dishes but those that are tell me this dish rated at a 6 to 7 out of 10.

The Crusty Bread recipe was also modified as we didn't have time to let it go through each "rising process". We ended up letting it rise once and then placed it straight on a hot baking tray to cook rather than kneading it and letting it rise again. The dough spent about 25 minutes in a hot car to try and speed the rising process up further! We learnt how to plait the loaves (thanks to one of our clever cooking club girls) and they looked great! Hard to explain in words but you simply divide the loaf into 3 sections, lengthwise, leaving one end of the loaf attached, then plait the 3 sections and join the ends.

The resulting bread was beautiful; crisp outside and although probably slightly heavier than the recipe would have produced if we had followed it exactly, it was perfect to serve with the broth. Personally I would rate the bread a 9 out of 10 and I was surprised how easy it was to make.

The Kiwi Fruit Sorbet was another Stephanie Alexander recipe from her "Kitchen Garden Companion" cook book. We made it with Golden Kiwi Fruits as our host had a plentiful supply in her garden. This resulted in a different coloured sorbet but the flavour was fantastic. A light, sweet dessert which would be a perfect end to any meal, especially a lunch or summer dinner.

This menu was perfect for a ladies lunch and I think we all enjoyed cooking recipes we may not have attempted on our own. Looking forward to the next get toether in 3 weeks time which is going to have a Spanish theme!

Beef, Onion and Red Wine Pie

Is there any better comfort food than a warm, home made meat pie with golden pastry?

This Donna Hay recipe is a perfect family meal for a cool night. The meat mixture is slow cooked until thick and tender then baked in store-bought shortcrust and puff pastry. I served it with freshly shelled peas, fresh corn kernels and mashed potato. Simple, easy and delicious

Rating 8 out of 10.

Chicken, Haloumi and Preserved Lemon Skewers

The chicken and haloumi cheese were marinated in olive oil, lemon juice, preserved lemon rind, salt and pepper then threaded onto skewers with fresh oregano leaves. They can be cooked on a BBQ plate or under a grill. Serve with pita bread or a wrap, baby spinach leaves and lemon wedges. Another simple Donna Hay recipe, full of  flavour. Would be a lovely summer dish (it came from the summer section of her recipe book, Seasons).

Rating 8 out of 10. 

Soy Chicken

An Asian inspired Donna Hay, "Roast Chicken". The whole chicken is simmered in an amazing mix of dark soy sauce, Shaoxing (Chinese cooking wine), brown sugar, cinnamon sticks, star anise, orange peel, garlic, ginger and shallots for half an hour and then baked in a hot oven for 20 minutes or until crisp. The soy sauce gives the chicken a wonderful dark colour and the aromas coming from the simmering chicken were incredible.

I served it with steamed rice and Kylie Kwong's, Choy Sum with Oyster Sauce. The chicken is chopped Chinese style to serve and topped with the soy sauce mixture. To chop a chicken Chinese style basically means you chop the whole chicken into smaller sized pieces with the bone left in the chicken pieces. Makes for a nice, messy, finger licking good meal!

This chicken dish was very tasty and the flesh was really tender. Yum!
Rating 8 out of 10.

Crispy Duck with Spicy Beets and Celeriac Mash

Another Donna Hay recipe (except for the celeriac mash which I added). Baby and Golden Baby Beetroots baked in a paper parcel with ginger, garlic, orange rind, orange juice, wine and brown sugar until tender. Duck breasts pan fried until crisp and then baked in oven until cooked through. Creamy celeriac and potato mash with cream and parmesan cheese. All three of these worked well together. The duck breasts were perfect; crispy skin and tender flesh. The celeriac mash was delicious and I will definitely be making it again. The spiced beets were nice and the ginger gave them a nice flavour but for some reason, and I can't pin point why, they weren't sensational! I would like to try the Golden Baby Beetroots again as they seemed to have quite a different flavour to the Baby Beetroots but were so small it was hard to get a good taste.

Overall a nice meal.

Rating 7 out of 10 (but I would give the duck breasts an 8 out of 10!)

Fruit and Veg 4U

If you happen to live any where near Arundel on the Gold Coast I would highly recommend this greengrocer I discovered yesterday, "Fruit & Veg 4U", at Arundel Plaza on Napper Rd, Arundel. I was doing a ring around trying to find golden baby beetroots so I could attempt Donna Hay's Crispy Duck with Spiced Beets. I spoke to the very helpful Domenic at Fruit and Veg 4U who told me he would try and get them at the Brisbane markets for me this morning. He did get them and promptly rang me on my mobile to let me know they would be at his shop today. If you ever need anything a little unusual or hard to find Domenic is at the markets up to 5 mornings a week and is happy to try and get what you need. What a wonderful service!

Whilst at the shop I also picked up some fresh peas..could have done with those a few weeks ago rather than substituting shelled snow peas (much smaller and took FOR EVER to shell!!)...and celeriac as I have never cooked or tried it. Celeriac apparently has a mild but distinctive flavour - a cross between celery and parsley. Thought I would try a Celeriac Mash with my Duck. Mash recipe below.

Celeriac mash

1 large (about 850g) celeriac, trimmed, peeled, coarsely chopped

1kg sebago (brushed) potatoes, peeled, coarsely chopped

125ml (1/2 cup) thickened cream

40g (1/2 cup) shredded parmesan

Cook the celeriac and potato in a saucepan of boiling water for 15 minutes or until tender. Drain. Return to pan. Use a potato masher or fork to mash until smooth. Add cream and parmesan and stir to combine. Season with salt and pepper.

Salt and Pepper Prawns

A simple dish of green prawns dusted in rice flour, deep fried until golden, then seasoned with salt, pepper and chillies. The sea salt, Sichuan peppercorns and dried red chillies were dry roasted and ground until fine in a mortar and pestle. Once cooked the prawns were tossed in the salt and pepper mix. As they were still hot and slightly oily quite a lot of the mixture stuck to the prawns and unfortunately they ended up being so salty that they were unpleasant to eat (and made you very thirsty!!!). And I like salt! It sounded and looked like such a delicious dinner that it was very disappointing. If I were to make it again I wouldn't "toss" the prawns in the mix but instead sprinkle the mix over.

Rating 2 out of 10.

Potato Gnocchi with Pea Pesto

I found this gnocchi recipe on the Weight Watchers web site which has some fabulous healthy recipes. This particular recipe can be found at http://www.weightwatchers.com.au/food/rcp/index.aspx?recipeid=23221

I didn't follow it to a "T" as I wanted to use some of the gnocchi tips I had gathered previously (see earlier blog). This recipe mashed the potato however I used my mouli. The gnocchi held together well when cooked and had a nice texture..yippee!!!

The pesto was made from rocket leaves, peas, garlic, parmesan, pistachio nuts, chives, lemon juice and stock (I used chicken but vegetable would be good). Rocket leaves are jagged-edged indented leaves with a strong, peppery pleasant bite.

The pesto was meant to be roughly chopped in a food processor but I used a blender and added a little olive oil so my pesto ended up being a smoother sauce...it still tasted great and the colour looked fantastic. I would recommend heating the pesto before mixing it into the gnocchi but it didn't really matter that it was cold.

Rating 8 out of 10.

Barbecue Pork

This Donna Hay recipe used pork neck, which is also known as pork scoth fillet. It is a common cut used in Asian cooking as it has seams of fat in it which stop it from drying out and it can be cooked quickly or slowly. The pork was marinated with crushed coriander roots, star anise, garlic, ginger, hoisin sauce, Shaoxing (Chinese cooking wine) and Char Sui Sauce. I found the Char Sui Sauce at an Asian Supermarket; it is a sauce commonly used in Cantonese cooking to flavour pork and is made from sugar or honey, Chinese five spice, red food colouring, soy sauce and sherry. Once the pork had marinated it was simply baked until sticky, caramelised and cooked through. It smelt amazing cooking! The outside edges of the roast were delicious, nice Asian flavours, however the actual meat was a bit bland. It would have been nice to have a sauce of some sort made from the marinade. I am not sure the quality of the meat was great either as it was a bit tough.

Rating 5 out of 10.

Garlic Chicken

Another super easy but still tasty Donna Hay recipe. A simple week night dinner of pan fried chicken breasts with garlic, lemon juice and parsley. I do have a tendency to overcook my chicken as I am paranoid about it being undercooked so it was a little drier than it should have been. I served it with home made potato wedges and vegetables stir fried in the same pan so they had the same garlic and lemon flavour as the chicken....plus it saved washing up!

Rating 6 out or 10.

Beef Tagine

Tagines form the basis of traditional Moroccan cooking. The dish and the cooking vessel are both known as a tagine. A tagine cooking vessel has a unique conical shaped lid which is designed to lock in moisture and flavour. In the past I have found tagines to be a bit bland so I decided to double my spices this time and found it made a huge difference.

This particular tagine was a Beef Tagine with Sweet Potatoes, Peas, Ginger and Ras-el-hanout (a spice mix known as "top of shelf"). This receipe was in the Tagine cookbook by Ghillie Basan. The tagine was served with plain buttery couscous (a staple grain in Morocco, generally made from semolina) , preserved lemons (lemons preserved in salt and sliced to use as a garnish or ingredient, found in delis or you can make your own), coriander and plain yoghurt.

A tasty alternative to a stew...great for a colder night.
Rating 7 out of 10.

Cauliflower Soup with Porcini Oil

There is nothing nicer than a bowl of soup for lunch now the weather is turning cooler. This Cauliflower Soup was very quick and easy to make. The soup was drizzled with porcini oil; made by heating dried porcini mushrooms (found in delis) in olive oil for 5 minutes. I was surprised how much flavour this added to this creamy soup.

Rating 7 out of 10.

We enjoyed the left over oil for an easy "dinner" of bread dipped in the oil and dukkah. If you have never tried dukkah it is mix of nuts, seeds and spices. There are many types available and they can be used widely in cooking but are particularly nice served with drinks with olive oil and turkish bread.

Haloumi Baked in Vine Leaves, Beef and Black Bean and Apple Puddings with Butterscotch Sauce

A feast!! As my Mum was visiting I decided to go all out and make a Donna Hay three course meal.

The Haloumi Baked in Vine Leaves was tasty but I didn't feel the haloumi was as nice as it is when lightly fried. Baking it left it a bit squeaky to eat! The flavours of fresh oregano, garlic and lemon juice were nice and I do love haloumi! Vine leaves can be found in most delis.

Rating 5 out of 10.

The Beef and Black Bean was a nice Asian twist for a beef roast. The beef was coated in salted black beans (found in Asian supermarket), garlic and ginger before being roasted. I know many will think I overcooked my beef but I am a die hard "well done" girl and as I had used a beautiful piece of MSA rib fillet it was still very tender. It was served with Gai Larn (Chinese Broccoli) and a black bean sauce (the marinade with added soy sauce). It was quite a salty dish but had nice flavours. I served it with steamed Jasmine rice.

Rating 6 out of 10.

The Apple Puddings with Butterscotch Sauce were delicious!! True autumn comfort food. We were rather full after the first two courses but all managed to finish them off. Easy to make and worth making.

Rating 9 out of 10!!!

Crispy Pancetta and Chilli Pasta

This dish was a disappointment in terms of flavour. It had everything going for it but didn't quite come together. The roasted pumpkin and pancetta were both nice, the homemade spaghetti was nice and the baby beetroot leaves (chard) were also nice. I think the roasted garlic, lemon juice and olive oil dressing let it down. To me it was lacking in flavour and too oily. Not one of Donna Hay's best recipes.

Rating 5 out of 10.