Thai-style pork parcels

‘I love fresh basil and coriander’

This recipe is another one from the cookbook ‘Egg’ by Alex Barker. With the eggs, we’ll make simple omelettes to make parcel wrappings. For the fillings, it’s Thai-inspired stir fry mince pork cooked with fish sauce, tomatoes, chillies and herbs.

Fresh coriander is used in the book. Since I have fresh coriander and basil in the fridge and cannot decide which one I should use, I decided to use both herbs. The mince pork filling is tasty; it’s sour, salty, spicy plus you get the fresh flavour from the herbs. What a contrast to the delicate taste of the eggs. Best served with hot steamed jasmine rice

Thai-style pork parcels

(adapted from ‘Egg’ by Alex Barker, 2000)

(makes 4 parcels)

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 1 large onion, finely chopped
• 300 gr minced pork
• 3 tablespoons Thai fish sauce
• 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
• 2 tomatoes, diced
• 4 red chillies, finely chopped
• 1 small handful fresh basil leaves
• 1 small handful fresh coriander leaves
• salt and black pepper
• extra basil and coriander to garnish

Omelettes

• 6 eggs
• 1 tablespoon Thai fish sauce
• 4 teaspoons olive oil

Eggs and fish sauce

Step 1. Heat the oil in a wok, add the garlic and onion, and fry for 3-4 minutes until soft. Add the pork and fry for about 8 minutes until lightly browned.

Step 2. Stir in the fish sauce, sugar, tomatoes, chilli, salt and pepper; simmer until slightly thickened. Mix in fresh basil and coriander.

Step 3. To make the omelettes, whisk together the eggs and fish sauce. Heat 1 teaspoon olive oil in a large non-stick frying pan. Add a quarter of the beaten egg mixture and tilt the pan to spread the egg into a thin, even sheet. Cook until the omelette is just set, then spoon a quarter of the filling into the center. Fold into a neat square parcel by bringing the opposite sides of the omelette towards each other – first the top and bottom, then the right and left sides.

Step 4. Place the parcel onto a plate, folded side down. Repeat with the rest of oil, eggs and filling. Garnish with fresh basil and coriander and serve with steamed rice.

Thai-style pork parcel served with steamed jasmine rice

It’s seriously good

xxx,
Inge

 

Smoked fish and potato pie

This pie recipe is from the cookbook titled ‘Egg’ by Alex Barker. This cookbook is the first cookbook I bought, and this was wayyy back before I love cooking . Obviously I was not keen to cook when I bought it, but was mesmerised by the photos inside the book

'Egg' by Alex Barker

This pie is a simple pie made from smoked cod fillets, potatoes and eggs . It’s pretty healthy indeed. The egg whites were whisked until stiff, and this makes the pie light and fluffy and no need to add cream or milk or lots of butter . The smoked cod fillets can easily be found in most supermarkets. They are already salty, so do not season the potato mash with too much salt.

(adapted from recipe by Alex Barker – ‘Egg’ by Alex Barker, 2000)

(serves 4)

• 500 gr smoked cod, soaked for 20 minutes in cold water
• 500 gr cooked, peeled potatoes, kept warm
• 50 gr butter
• 3 tablespoons chopped spring onions, plus extra to garnish
• 4 eggs, separated
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• salt and black pepper

Smoked cod - soak for 20 mins

Brushed potatoes for the mash

Chopped spring onions

Step 1. Preheat the oven to 180ºC. Drain smoked cod, place in a large pan, cover in cold water and bring to simmering point. Poach the fish for 5-7 minutes until it flakes easily. Cool slightly, then drain well and remove the skin and bones.

Smoked cod flakes

Step 2. Mash the potatoes thoroughly with the butter, spring onions, egg yolks, salt and pepper. Stir in the flaked fish and lemon juice. Whisk the egg whites until stiff and fold into the potato and fish mixture.

Step 3. Spoon into a buttered, deep ovenproof dish and bake for 45 minutes or until golden on top.

Spoon the mixture to ovenproof dish and bake

Smoked fish and potato pie

xxx,
Inge

 

Chicken caesar salad

I think I got a few recipes for caesar salad in the cookbooks I have. I like this particular one that I found in the Epicure tabloid from The Age newspaper. The dressing is a lighter and healthier version than the classic caesar dressing, as it is made from yoghurt rather than mayonnaise. The anchovy fillets give a hint of saltiness, you will hardly notice it is from anchovy. I suggest not to use more than 1 garlic clove (and not too big one either), as the garlic is really strong and hot. Also, do make sure you crush the garlic well. I used mortar and pestle to crush the garlic, and also the anchovy so it is easier to combine the ingredients to  make the dressing.

This salad makes a complete meal with the roast chicken, croutons, eggs, bacon and crisp cos lettuce leaves. I used chicken maryland fillets; do trim the fillets and remove the fat.

(recipe by Jill Dupleix, published in Epicure The Age, Tuesday 26 Jan 2010)

(serves 4)

• 4 x chicken maryland fillet, trimmed
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• salt and pepper
• 2 thick slices bread. I used 1 burger bun.
• 6 slices lean bacon
• 4 hard-boiled eggs, quatered
• 2 x baby cos lettuce
• 2 tablespoons grated parmesan

Baby cos lettuce

Caesar dressing

• 2 tablespoons yoghurt
• 1 garlic clove, crushed
• 2 anchovy fillets
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 1 teaspoon honey
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon grated parmesan
• 4 tablespoons olive oil

Step 1. To make the dressing, whisk the yoghurt with the crushed garlic, anchovy fillets, mustard, honey, lemon juice, parmesan, salt and pepper until smooth. While whisking, gradually add the olive oil until runny. Lighten with water if required.

Step 2. Heat oven to 180ºC. Drizzle the chicken fillets with 1 tablespoon olive oil and lemon juice, season well and bake for 25 minutes until cooked. And then set the oven to grill and grill the chicken for 5-10 minutes until golden brown. Place the chicken to a plate to rest.

Step 3. Cut bread into big bite-sized croutons and toss in the remaining oil. Grill the croutons and the bacon for 5 minutes or until crisp, tossing once or twice. I used the same baking tray I used for the chicken. Chop the bacon into small pieces.

Croutons

Step 4. Cut the lettuce into big bite-sized pieces. Gently toss with the croutons and half the dressing and arrange on the serving bowls. Cut the chicken into bite-sized pieces and scatter on top. Add the quartered eggs and bacon pieces, drizzle with the remaining dressing and scatter the grated parmesan.

Chicken caesar salad

xxx,
Inge

 

Thai-style beef stir fry

This stir fry dish is great when you don’t have much time to prepare dinner . It’s very easy and quick to cook. The Thai-inspired dish is from Gordon Ramsay; it has aromatic flavour from the garlic and ginger, a hint of chilli and the sourness from the vinegar. It has a lot of vegetables too which I love. Carrot, onion, capsicum, mushroom, snow peas or bean sprouts are perfect for this dish.

I served this dish with store-bought fresh noodle. Alternately, serve with steamed rice.

(from ‘Gordon Ramsay’s Healthy Appetite’, 2008)

(serves 4)

• 600 gr beef fillet, trimmed and cut into thin strips
• 1 garlic clove, peeled and chopped
• 2 cm knob of ginger, peeled and chopped
• 3 red chillies, trimmed and roughly sliced
• 200 gr button mushrooms, trimmed and thinly sliced
• 1 carrot, peeled and thinly sliced on the diagonal
• 150 gr snow peas
• 2 spring onions, trimmed and sliced on the diagonal
• salt and black pepper
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• handful of Thai sweet basil or coriander leaves, to garnish

Beef stir fry ingredients

Sauce:

• 3 tablespoons light soy sauce
• 4 tablespoons oyster sauce
• 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
• 1 teaspoon caster sugar
• 1 teaspoon corn flour
• 3-4 tablespoons water

Step 1. Have the beef and all the ingredients chopped and ready before you begin to cook. For the sauce, mix all the ingredients together in a small bowl and set aside. Lightly season the beef strips with salt and pepper.

Chopped veggie

Stir fry sauce

Step 2. Heat a wok or a large frying pan until hot then add a little oil, swirling the wok to coat the surface evenly. Add half the beef strips and stir fry for about a minute until just brown on the surface, but still medium in the middle. Remove to a plate and repeat with the remaining beef. Set the beef aside.

Step 3. Add a little more oil to the wok along with the garlic, ginger and chilli. Stir fry the mixture for about a minute until lightly golden and fragrant. Toss in the mushrooms and stir fry for a minute. Add the carrot and a splash of water. After a minute, toss in the snow peas. Stir fry for another 2 minutes or until the vegetables are just tender.

Step 4. Give the sauce a stir and pour over the vegetables, then return the beef to the wok. Toss over the heat for another minute until the sauce has thickened. Turn off the heat and stir in the spring onions.

Step 5. Serve with noodle and garnish with coriander leaves. Steamed rice will make a great companion too

Thai-style beef stir fry served with noodle

xxx,
Inge

 

Spicy sausage and bean soup

This hearty soup is particularly good for a healthy treat in a cold winter day. Melbourne is far from winter , but I made this soup as it has been pretty cold and gloomy in Melbourne. Served with toasted breads, the soup makes the perfect light lunch or dinner with the goodness from the pork, tomatoes and beans.

For this soup, do use good-quality sausages which contains less fat. The sausages I used are fennel and italian herbs pork sausage from Woolworths supermarket.

The sausage chunks and the beans make the soup quite filling. I also love the hint of chilli in the soup. If you don’t like chilli, just simply omit the chilli and replace with 1 teaspoon of sweet paprika.

(adapted from ‘500 soups’ by Susannah Blake, 2007)

(serves 4)

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 4 good quality pork sausages
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 4 red chillies, seeded and chopped
• 400 gr canned chopped tomatoes
• 750 ml chicken stock
• 2 x 400 gr canned mixed beans, rinsed and drained
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
• salt and ground black pepper

Ingredients for spicy sausage and bean soup

Step 1. Heat oil in a large saucepan. Add the sausages, brown them all over and then remove. Add onion, garlic and chilli to the saucepan and fry gently for 3 minutes.

Brown the sausage

Fry onion, garlic and chilli

Step 2. Cut the sausages into thick slices and return them to the pan, adding the tomatoes and stock. Bring to boil, then reduce the heat, cover and simmer gently for about 20 minutes.

Cut the sausages into chunks

Step 3. Put half the beans in a food processor or blender and add a couple of ladlefuls of the soup stock.  Process until smooth, then stir the purée into the soup with the remaining beans and simmer for a further 10 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste, and stir in the parsley before serving the soup.

Spicy sausage and beans soup

xxx,
Inge