Prawn + asparagus stir fry

It might not look much but it’s the simplest, sweetest little stir fry that’s super quick after a long day … when you also really want to eat something that feels like it’s nourishing you too.

I have a bad cheese on toast habit when it’s been a long day and I need something quick but this feels a billion times better to me and doesn’t take really that much longer.

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For this quick stir-fry for one, you’ll need:

2-3 tablespoons dry basmati (or jasmine rice)

some asparagus tips or green beans

1-2 cloves of garlic, depending on their size and your taste

raw prawns, as many as you like

cooking oil - something like rapeseed or grapeseed or sunflower

2 teaspoons or so fish sauce

2 teaspoons or so white sugar

white pepper (or black pepper if you don’t have white)

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Boil water with a pinch of salt, throw in basmati rice, medium boil for five mins and then add asparagus tips or maybe green beans for three mins more.

Drain quickly leaving a little hot water in the pan. Put the sieve back over the pan and quickly again a lid on top of the pan. Leave to steam while you make the stir fry.

Crush peel and chop 1-2 cloves of garlic and de-vein however many raw prawns you want.

Put a non-stick pan over a medium heat, add oil and the garlic.

Fry for a few seconds stirring until it smells amazing but doesn’t colour.

Add the prawns and stir all the time until they are pink - add a little splash of water if the garlic looks like burning or sticking.

Add the cooked asparagus or beans then two teaspoons each of fish sauce and sugar and water plus a shake of white pepper. Add a little more water if you want more of a sauce and bubble up for a minute or two.

Fluff the rice with a fork and serve with the prawn stir fry.

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Egg-fried cauliflower ‘rice’ with prawns

This is so good. So good.

And it has taken me SO long to get how to make cauli rice delicious!

One tip … make the cauliflower ‘rice’ first as it takes a good half an hour or so.

Or rather it takes that long to make it delicious hehe.

I’ve tried other ways. You know, just stir-frying it- and yes, you can add flavour after of course, but there’s still something kind of wet and insipid about it (in my opinion).

So I started roasting the cauliflower instead (having become a little obsessed with cauliflower ‘steaks’) and this, well I think this is delicious!

Whizz the cauliflower florets up in the food processor until they are rice-like - or couscous-like if you prefer - and then tip them into a baking tray or something where they’ll be in a relatively thin layer.

Add some sprays of oil - I use a coconut oil spray - or a little olive oil, and some salt and pepper and mix it all up and then spread evenly again.

I cooked mine on Gas 7 (medium hot) for 15 minutes, then stirred it all around and gave it another 15 minutes.

It’s personal preference really - I really like it when it’s just starting to turn a little brown, but just test and try and see what you like. You might want to cook yours for a shorter time, or give it a bit more time to brown and crisp even more.

Once done, just leave it somewhere warm while you make the rest of the dish.

Or of course use it straight away as a side dish for something else!

(Like this quick chicken and veg stir fry).

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But to make a prawn fried ‘rice’ for one, you’ll need:

cooking oil

a few slices of onion

a garlic clove, peeled and squashed and minced

1 birds eye chilli, minced (have more or less to your taste, of course)

some red pepper, chopped

about 1/3 of a Knorr chicken (or veg) stock cube

light soy sauce

fish sauce

a little white sugar

a few raw prawns, deveined (you could use ready cooked of course)

one egg

coriander leaves to garnish (if liked) and half a lime to serve

Use a good non-stick pan, add a slosh of cooking oil and when hot add the onion, garlic, chilli and red pepper (yep, the red pepper at the same time, why not? I’ve tried waiting for the ‘aromatics’ to cook a little first and to be honest I don’t think it' makes any difference in a quick dish like this, so the simpler it is, the better).

Stir for a few second until it’s beautiful and fragrant. Make sure the garlic doesn’t burn and add a little slosh of water if it’s looking like sticking.

Then add a slightly bigger slosh of water and crumble in the piece of stock cube and bring to a boil.

Add a slosh each of light soy and fish sauce and add a pinch of sugar.

Stir and then add those lovely prawns and simmer for three minutes or so until they turn from grey to pink and are pretty much cooked.

Add the cauliflower rice and stir until it’s all hot.

There should be very little liquid left in the pan, so if you have a more try to boil some off before now, while you cook the prawns (this assumes you read the recipe in full of course before starting it, which I can’t say I always do!).

Push the whole stir fry to one side of the pan, add a tiny splash more cooking oil and then crack in the egg.

Leave it where it is and count to ten and THEN scramble it all in together and stir until it’s all perfect and the egg cooked through the mixture.

Turn out onto a plate (I pack the mixture into a little bowl and then turn over onto a plate so it keeps that lovely shape) and garnish with fresh coriander leaves if liked and serve with a wedge of lime to squeeze over.

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Duck, cabbage and potato stir fry with chilli, garlic + ginger

I saw the duck breasts in the shop and just wanted to see what I could make with them.

And I LOVE experimenting with cooking with what you have, not wasting food.

What I had was about a third of a cabbage and a cooked potato in the fridge - they were the main things that needed using up, so I thought I’d do some kind of stir fry but using potato instead of having it with rice or noodles.

Cabbage is so good stir-fried and I definitely think it should have the chance to be the hero, the star, every now and then, given how it’s so often over-looked or relegated to a bit part.

And of course, if you haven’t got leftover cooked potato, do cook a potato or two before starting to make this - just cut into smaller pieces and boil for ten minutes of so in salted boiling water on quite a fast boil.

Quantities are quite vague, as often, just go with what you’ve got and taste and see if it’s good … but this was a good big dish for one (moi) and I started with the duck breast.

I just patted dry with kitchen paper, then scored the skin with a sharp knife, rubbed in some salt and black pepper and then sprinkled over some soy sauce.

Get a non-stick pan over a medium heat on the hob and when hot add the duck breast, skin side down and cook on a low to medium heat for five minutes. Try not to touch it but obviously if it’s really sticking (it shouldn’t be, it has a lot of fat in that skin), then just ease it away from the bottom of the pan.

When you flip it over it’ll be nice and browned already and then just remove from the heat, pop it skinside UP this time onto a baking tray and put into a medium oven for ten minutes.

This cooked mine perfectly for me, just a little pink still, but you can always check it and cook for a couple of minutes more if you want it well done.

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What you’ll need for the stir fry is:

lots of chopped fresh chilli (amount to your taste!)

lots of chopped fresh garlic (same! I had two cloves)

a good piece of fresh ginger, peeled and grated

a little oil (you could use the duck fat in the pan, up to you)

a slosh of fish sauce

lime juice 1/2 - 1 depending on how juicy it is

cabbage, sliced and cut into smaller pieces

granulated sugar, just a pinch

cooked potato, cut into small pieces

2 spring onions, sliced

fresh coriander leaves to serve, if liked

Get everything ready and then put that good non-stick pan back over the heat - you can use some of all of that lovely duck fat to cook the stir fry, or get rid of it and use a little fresh oil, up to you.

When it’s hot, add the aromatics (I love saying this, I don’t know why, I just love putting it all together as ‘aromatics’) and stir fry for a few seconds on a medium heat until it smells amazing!

Add a little slosh of water, plus another slosh of fish sauce, squeeze in the lime juice and then throw in the cabbage along with a pinch of sugar.

Stir, reduce heat, put a lid on the pan and let it cook for about five minutes. Stir every now and then and check if it needs a little more water.

Whenever the duck is cooked, take it out of the oven and leave on a chopping board to rest. Take it out a few minutes before it’s exactly cooked to your liking as it will continue to cook while it rests. The skin should be gorgeous and crispy now too!

Take the lid off the pan and add the chopped potato and the spring onions. Taste too and see if you want any more water, any more fish sauce, any more lime juice …

Cook, stirring, for another minute or two, then put into a bowl.

Slice the duck and add to the stir fry - yes I did eat a couple of pieces even as it made its way from chopping board to dish!

Garnish with fresh coriander leaves and a few more slices of red chilli, if liked.

I really liked having potato in the dish itself and not making separate rice or noodles and just LOVED the duck breast - what a treat. And exciting for cabbage to make it into a treat dish too!

Er, confession - I’m wondering looking at this photo if I added a little light soy sauce too along with the fish sauce and it’s very likely but I’m afraid I can’t say for sure. It wouldn’t do any harm though - I’ll try it next time I make it so I can update this recipe if need be …

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Chicken broccoli rice stir fry

You know when you want something that’s just comforting and easy but also feels like it is so.damn.good.for.you.

Well, broccoli we KNOW is good for us, and rice and chicken kind of the best comfort food.

So this simple little brunch stir fry delivered.

Perfect for any time too, I’d say - brunch, lunch or a quick supper.

Super easy …. so let’s go!

Just change the quantities for however many you’re cooking it for - I made this one just for me.

You’ll need:

rice (a couple of tablespoons of dried rice)

however much broccoli you want - I think I had half a head, cut into bite-size florets

cooking oil / spray cooking oil

1-2 bird eye chillies - to your taste - finely chopped

1-2 garlic cloves - again as per their size and to your taste - peeled, crushed and finely chopped

a nice piece of fresh ginger, peeled and then grated (I don’t really like ginger that much when it’s cut into small bits but I LOVE it grated)

a little water

1/3 chicken Knorr stock cube

1/2 - 1 chicken breast depending on size and how hungry you are

fish sauce

light soy sauce

sugar

oyster sauce

Bring a pan of water with a pinch of salt to the boil, and when boiling add the rice.

Boil on a medium boil for eight minutes, throw in the broccoli, bring back to the boil and boil another minute.

Drain rice and broccoli into a sieve quickly, leaving a little of the cooking water in the bottom of the pan, then put the sieve back over the top of the pan and quickly clamp the lid on top of that. Leave to steam while you make the rest of the dish.

Get a large non-stick pan and put over a medium heat. Add a little slosh of cooking oil or some sprays from your cooking oil spray.

Add the chillies, garlic and ginger and cook, stirring, for maybe 30 seconds until they release those gorgeous flavours and smells. Add a splash of water if it looks like sticking - you’ll definitely need to if using the spray oil.

Then add a good slosh of water ad crumble in the stock cube - bring to a simmer.

Add the chopped chicken and cook for a couple of minutes until sealed.

Then add a slosh each of light soy sauce and fish sauce and stir it all together. Add a pinch of sugar and stir again.

Always add a little more water if needed.

Lid on and simmer for five minutes.

Again, keep an eye on it and add more water if needed - you don’t want this soupy AT ALL but you don’t want it sticking and dry.

Take the lid off and tip in the rice and broccoli, and stir well to combine.

Add a slosh of oyster sauce, stir. Simmer one minute longer.

And that’s it.

I like to serve it packed first into a little bowl and then put the plate on top, tip upside down and remove bowl to leave the cooked rice etc in a lovely shape - it did fall a bit but I kind of liked that.

And it was everything I’d wanted it to be …. will definitely be making this again.

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Peppery garlic asparagus stir fry

Yep, it’s asparagus season!

And after a visit to the local Farmers’ Market I had enough asparagus to just get creative with - which is really what I love to do with food: get great ingredients and then just have fun, playing around and trying out new ideas.

First I made a Thai soup with coconut milk, a tom kha - I’ve usually had this with chicken or seafood, but I made it with asparagus and really liked it.

Next up this peppery, garlic stir fry.

In my head I’d wanted fresh green peppercorns but I was definitely too lazy to go out and get the bus up to the Thai supermarket to buy some, so I tried a mix of black, and pink peppercorns (that I had whole and ground) and some white pepper (ready ground).

I’ve since made it again with just white pepper to see what it was like, and it was still good.

Quantities are kind of vague (as they often are!) but here’s what I used to make this super simple peppery asparagus stir fry.

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A teaspoon of cooking oil - sunflower, rapeseed or grapeseed will be best

Just over a teaspoon of ground peppercorns - your choice as to what you use but on the first occasion I used a mix of black, pink and white and on the second just white pepper on its own

1 garlic clove, minced

1 red chilli, diced finely (the chilli is optional and when I made this a second time I didn’t put one in and probably preferred it without - instead I had the asparagus as a side dish with a spicy chicken stir fry and rice)

A handful of asparagus spears - I LOVE how when you bed the asparagus it just KNOWS where the right place is to snap off - woody stalk snapped off and sliced

2-3 tablespoons water

2 teaspoons fish sauce

1/2 teaspoon sugar

Fresh coriander leaves, chopped (if liked - if not just leave out)

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Put a non-stick frying pan over a medium heat, add the oil and swirl to cover the pan.

Add the pepper and garlic (and chilli if using) and cook for 20-30 seconds, stirring all the time, until it smells good. Add a splash of water if it looks like it’s going to stick or burn - it needs to keep moving.

Then tip in the sliced asparagus and stir to cover with the lovely oily peppery garlicky mixture and then add the water, fish sauce and sugar.

Do adjust the amount of water if you’d like more of a sauce or if at any point in the cooking time it looks like it’s run out of water and is going to stick.

Cover and simmer for about four minutes until the asparagus is cooked but still has a crunch - or to your liking of course. If you prefer it softer, cook it a little longer.

Add the coriander leaves if using and stir to mix it all together.

Serve on its own with rice for a delicious light lunch or supper, or have alongside other dishes in a multi-dish meal.

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Chicken with ginger + onions

Well, I’d had this in my head for a while and had intended to make it with white fish - a couple of pieces of cod perhaps, fried in the pan, then removed while the sauce is made.

And I do still want to make this ….

But when there’s no white fish in the shop, what to do? Make it with chicken instead!

So I’ve made this twice now to test it out - once last night when I fried the chicken first in thin sort of escalopes - and then once today for lunch when I thought I’d try just cooking diced chicken in the pan and then adding the sauce ingredients to it (that’s why the uncooked chicken is in my ‘ingredients’ photo, but ignore that).

Both were good, but there’s something that just works that little bit better in cooking the chicken separately then slicing and adding to the sauce.

You could fry it, poach it, roast it, griddle it … anything really, but I think griddled looks prettiest.

Just have the chicken cooked and hot and ready to go … oh, and the rice too of course.

To make the sauce - enough for one or two people, you’ll need:

cooked hot chicken, ready to add

cooked hot rice, ready to add

cooking oil - I used light olive oil as this dish wasn’t cooked at a high temperature

2-3 teaspoons of grated fresh ginger

2 garlic cloves, peeled, squashed and minced

1 small red chilli, finely sliced (this is optional, I’m just a chilli fiend - but I think the dish would have more purity with fish instead of chicken and without the chilli - so when I do get some cod fillets I’ll be trying it like that)

2 teaspoons demerera sugar

the juice of half a juicy lime

1 tablespoon fish sauce

half a white onion, thinly sliced

a big handful of spinach leaves

fresh coriander leaves to serve, if liked

Get everything ready … the ginger, garlic and chilli (if using) in one dish, and combine the sugar, lime juice and fish sauce in another.

Put a good slosh of oil into a non-stick pan, probably about a tablespoon, into a non-stick frying pan and cook the aromatics over a gentle heat, stirring, for a couple of minutes - don’t let it stick, so do add a little splash of water if it needs it.

In another pan add more oil and put the onions on to fry - keep an eye on these, stirring regularly , and cook until golden - probably 5-6 minutes over a medium heat.

Add the lime juice mixture to the first pan and bring to a low simmer, and simmer for another couple of minutes - again add a little water if you prefer it to be a thinner sauce, or if it’s looking too thick or sticking at all. You want to keep it loose as it’s the sauce.

Slice the hot cooked chicken into bite-sized pieces and add to the pan, then add the spinach leaves and cook for a minute to wilt.

Remove from heat and stir so it’s all completely combined and the spinach wilted.

Serve the chicken mixture with cooked rice and top with the fried onions and some chopped fresh coriander leaves, if liked.

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Thai vegetable stir-fry with ginger, chilli and lime

I did consider joining in Veganuary, but realised that it didn't feel right to me to do so.

Generally I feel best when I eat fish, seafood, meat with salad and vegetables.

And I'm fine with that - we're all different and I think it's good knowing what feels best to you.

The only exception for me is if someone was to say they feel best only eating packaged, processed food ... that would test my belief a bit!

I also didn't want to sign up to something that I would then feel I HAD to stick to even if I wasn't feeling good about it ... yep, an over-strong sense of responsibility sometimes here (like Tamagotchis - remember them? I couldn't have one as I'd have felt so much responsibility!).

But I was definitely curious and have decided to just kind of participate in my own way, which is to experiment more with vegan and vegetarian food and recipes.

Today I had a lot of vegetables that needed eating, including a few Brussels sprouts, half an onion and a few carrots - these were the ones that really needed eating ASAP!

So I thought I'd try a vegan vegetable stir-fry for brunch and it was really good ... I also feel good and light after eating it, even though it was a lot of vegetables :)

To make this, you’ll need:

rice (cook it first and it can keep warm while you cook the stir fry)

any vegetables of your choosing

plus onion, garlic, chilli, grated ginger (I much prefer grated ginger to sliced as I find it a bit over-powering).

For the sauce you'll also need:

1/3 vegetarian (vegan) stock cube

light soy sauce

1/2 teaspoon sugar

1/2 lime

1/2 teaspoon toasted sesame oil.

Heat a non-stick frying pan, add a little oil (I use a few sprays of my spray oil plus a little splash of water) and then add the onion, garlic, chilli and ginger and stir-fry over a medium heat for about a minute - add a little more water if it looks like it's going to stick or burn.

Crumble in the stock cube with some more water - I like to make it with quite a bit of sauce but how much is up to you.

When it's simmering, add the vegetables (I added all except the courgette as I'd julienned it and it will cook pretty much instantly) and stir fry again for about four minutes - half way through this add the soy sauce and the sugar.

Then add the julienned courgette (if using), squeeze in the lime juice and add the sesame oil. Stir to combine thoroughly and remove from heat.

And that's it! I added some chopped fresh coriander but this is optional - I know a lot of people don't care for coriander and that's fine too - it's your food and it should be exactly as you like it!

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Stir fry seafood with chillies // pad talay

Often I have an idea in my head of what I want to make, create, cook.

Sometimes it works first time, sometimes it doesn't.

Today it did with this easy and delicious stir-fried seafood with chillies.

Make the rice first to have with it and then leave to steam with a lid on the pan or sieve hooked over a pan. 

This is for one but to make for two you'll just need more seafood really and adjust the seasonings to taste, don't just double without checking what it tastes like.

So for my exactly-as-I'd-wanted-it brunch stir-fry, I had:

2 small cloves of garlic, finely chopped

approx 1 tsp fresh ginger, peeled and grated

1 green chilli, finely chopped

approx 1/3 a small-ish white onion, thinly sliced

a few long / fine green beans, trimmed and cut into 1 inch lengths

about 1/3 green pepper, diced

about 1/4 Knorr chicken stock cube

mixed seafood (defrosted if frozen) - I had a few prawns, scallops (cut in half if very large) and squid rings .... de-vein the prawns and cut along the outside back (leaving top and bottom intact) so they butterfly somewhat on cooking

1 tablespoon light soy sauce

a good slosh of oyster sauce

a pinch of sugar, perhaps 1/4 teaspoon

2 spring onions, thinly sliced 

1 red chilli, diced

Getting it all together, the prep, is the only time-consuming thing, and then it's so easy to bring together.

Put a non-stick frying pan over a low heat, add 20 sprays cooking oil (or a tablespoon if you don't use spray oil) and add the garlic, ginger and green chilli.

Stir for about 30 seconds until it smells good then add the onion, green beans and green pepper.

Stir and add a slosh of water and the piece of stock cube, and stir, cooking for about a minute.

Add the prawns first, toss and stir ... then the scallops - toss and stir ... and then the squid and stir again.

Add the soy and oyster sauces plus the sugar and cook for 2 minutes or so until the seafood is cooked.

Throw in the spring onion and red chilli and cook, stirring, for another minute.

Serve with the rice ... and that's it!

Super-simple, really tasty and a great storecupboard staple if you keep frozen seafood in the freezer.

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Pork belly + noodles

Sticky, crispy pork belly, with soft noodles and lovely warm flavours - this is my favourite comfort food of the moment.

Really simple to make, and really good.

Quantities are kind of flexible so it's up to you if you want more of the pork belly or more of the noodles, or to make the sauce more of a soupier texture. Or just more of all of it of course!

I'd say maybe 2 pork belly slices per person and we want these good and dark and sticky and crispy, so add a couple of tablespoons of light soy sauce and another couple of runny honey. 

Mix it all together and then cook on a baking tray a medium oven (or in a remoska, like me), turning a few times, for 45-60 minutes. You can finish under the grill if you really want it crisped up more.

While the pork is cooking, prepare some dried rice noodles according to the pack instructions so they're ready to stir fry.  

I like these vermicelli rice noodles for this dish and mine took longer to soak than the packet said - I like them very soft in this dish anyway, so soaked mine in a pan of boiling water (taken off the heat the minute it comes to the boil and the noodles thrown in) for about ten minutes, then drain and rinse in cold water to stop them cooking further.

They can then just wait until the pork's done.

Also prepare the other ingredients:

1/2 onion, thinly sliced

1 garlic clove, minced

1/2 - 1 red chilli depending on your taste and how you feel 

2 or 3 tablespoons - maybe a little more - water

1/3 Knorr chicken stock cube

1 tablespoon fish sauce

2 finely sliced spring onions

fresh coriander leaves, chopped

When the pork is cooked, remove it from the baking dish and slice into bite-sized chunks - I also remove some of the fat if it's very fatty but that's just personal choice, so do whatever's going to taste best for you.

Then put a non-stick frying pan on the heat, add the tiniest amount of oil - I use a few sprays of a spray oil - and add the onion, garlic and chilli, stir frying for a couple of minutes.  Add a splash of water if it looks like it might be sticking - garlic burns really easily so keep it moving and add that splash of water if you need to.

Then add a good slosh of water, crumble in the piece of stock cube, add fish sauce and bring it all to the boil, reduce the heat and simmer for five minutes or so until the onions are soft.

It's entirely up to you if you want to add more or less water, to make more of a sauce or more of a dry dish.

When the onions are softening, add the noodles, and stir fry for another few minutes - again add water if you need or want to - until the noodles are hot through.

Then add the pork pieces and stir - cook for another minute or so, then add the spring onions and coriander, stir through, remove from heat and serve.

Finish with a sprinkling of freshly ground black pepper and - that's it!

Yes it takes a little time for the pork belly to cook, but then the rest of it is just combining a few ingredients really.

Eat and enjoy .... 

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Gai pad pong karee / chicken curry stir fry

It's a curry, kind of, a stir-fry, kind of ... and just a good, easy comfort-food dish really.

It uses curry powder rather than paste plus some nam prik pao - chilli paste in oil - for the heat, and it's all finished into a scrambled egg mixture.

OK, I can't say it's the prettiest dish ever, but when you need something warming, comforting and easy ... this would be a good choice, whether for brunch or a simple supper.

Serve with lovely hot fluffy rice and do cook the rice first - so it's ready to go.

For two, you'll need:
 

one egg

1 teaspoon mild curry powder

2 teaspoons chilli paste in oil (buy in Asian supermarkets or it's easy to make your own)

a good splash of fish sauce

a good big blob of oyster sauce

a good splash of almond milk (or use cow's milk if you prefer) - maybe 50-100 ml

cooking oil spray plus 1 teaspoon of the oil from the top of the chilli paste in oil

1/2 an onion, sliced

a few slices of red chilli, if liked

1 garlic clove, minced

1 chicken breast, cut into very small pieces

some vegetables, whatever you have and like really - I made it once with red and yellow peppers and spinach and then again with orange pepper, asparagus and broccoli - all cut up small

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Mix the egg, curry powder, chilli paste, fish sauce, oyster sauce and milk in a bowl and set aside.

Add some sprays of cooking oil and the oil from the top of the chilli paste to a non-stick frying pan and then add the onion, chilli (if using) and garlic and cook, stirring often, over a medium heat for a couple of minutes until the onion starts to soften. Add a little splash of water if needed.

Then add the chicken and cook for another three minutes or so, again add a little splash of water if it's too dry.

Next add the vegetables and cook again, stirring all the time, for another two minutes or so.

Then tip in the egg mixture and stir to cook and scramble - it'll take another couple of minutes or so until scrambled.

I forgot to take a photo of when the eggy mixture first went in! I'll add one next time I make this.

And that's it!

Something a little different and really easy - I hope you try it.

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Eating for energy // steak + broccoli

Eaten alone, these are both still great choices for energy, each being a great source of iron and of B vitamins.

But eaten together they are even more powerful - broccoli is also an excellent source of vitamin C and the body absorbs iron better when it's taken with vitamin C. 

So by adding broccoli to our steak we get maximum energy benefits.

And of course, it's also just a great-tasting meal.

First I toasted some flaked almonds in a dry non-stick pan and set aside to add at the end - just for a lovely crunch on top of the broccoli and for extra healthy fats. Don't use peanuts - peanuts are legumes rather than nuts and don't have the same health benefits as nuts!

I trimmed the ends of the broccoli and then put it into a pan of boiling water which I then immediately removed from the heat and let the broccoli sit for ten minutes.

I drizzled my piece of rump steak with a little soy sauce then cooked it on a very hot griddle pan for three minutes on each side (leaving it alone during that cooking time) and then rested it while I stir-fried the broccoli n a few sprays of cooking oil in  a non-stick pan with a little red chilli and a dash of soy sauce.

Note: I like my steak medium-rare to rare so do just cook your steak the way YOU like it!

I love the simplicity of this dinner and also just that magic of how things work together - this is a perfect pairing for energy.

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Ruam mit gratiem - pork + seafood stir fry with garlic

II'm not sure about these Thai words - except gratiem meaning garlic.  But having looked them up, I think it means 'all together' something to do with 'friends' .. and garlic.

I like to think - as pork and seafood are such great friends - that it's along the lines of the pork and seafood being friends and inviting the garlic to join them!

This recipe was sent to me by a friend fluent in both spoken and written Thai who has translated it from a Thai cookbook for me.

I tried it for the first time a couple of years ago - and somehow have forgotten to make it again.

But that's now been remedied as I've made it twice this weekend. 

It's delicious.  And easy.  And quick.

And all the things I wanted it to be.

As always, cook your rice first as the dish itself comes together very quickly.

For a lovely, quick and simple dinner for two you'll need:

cooking oil

about 100-200g pork - tenderloin would be best as the Thai instructions were to cut into 'spoon-sized' pieces, but I only had a loin piece and so chopped into 'bite-sized' bits (and I've since made with a pork belly slice, chopped small)

5 or 6 prawns, defrosted if frozen, and de-veined (I had huge jumbo prawns so two each was perfect)

two big cloves of garlic, finely chopped  (a dessert spoon of minced garlic)

2 squid,, defrosted if frozen and cut into tubes and scored, or sliced into rings

2 teaspoons oyster sauce

1 teaspoon light soy sauce

1 teaspoon fish sauce

1 teaspoon sugar

2 teaspoons ground chilli powder (I used flakes)

a splash of water

2 spring onions, finely chopped (optional)

white pepper, sliced cucumber and coriander leaves to garnish

Put some oil in a wok or frying pan and heat until hot and then add the pork and garlic and fry over a medium heat (not so hot the garlic burns), stirring all the time for two-three minutes.

Add the prawns and squid and turn the heat up a bit at the start until it's really hot, then reduce again to medium and cook for a further two-three minutes until the pork is cooked (cut into a piece to check).

Tip the meat and seafood onto a plate or into a bowl and then tip away any juices from the pan.

Then return the pan to the heat adding a little more oil if necessary to cover the bottom.

When the pan and oil are hot add the oyster sauce, soy sauce, fish sauce, sugar and chilli flakes plus a splash of water, and the spring onions - and stir fry for about a minute until mixed and sticky.

Return the pork, squid and prawns to the pan and cook for a minute more.

Serve with rice with a shake of white pepper plus sliced cucumber and coriander leaves to garnish.

I hope you try this - I think it's so much nicer than I can describe, and so simple too!

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Chicken stir fry with yellow bean sauce

I love this recipe - actually I love all recipes that are super-simple to make but feel somehow really special.

This is definitely good enough to have when entertaining friends - and also easy and quick enough for an everyday midweek supper.

I usually try to avoid using specialist ingredients in the recipes I share, but I don't have a substitute for yellow bean paste I'm afraid. It'll be available in Asian supermarkets or I'm sure will be online too.

Do try to get hold of some - it's got a lovely savouriness that just makes the dish delightful.

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OK, so for dinner for two, you'll need:

2 teaspoons dry sherry (optional but good)

1 tablespoon light soy sauce

1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil

1/2 teaspoon sugar

a small chunk of fresh ginger, grated (about 1-2 teaspoons)

1/2 - 1 teaspoon dried chilli flakes (to your taste!)

1-2 skinless chicken breasts, depending on their size and your greed/hunger, cut into small pieces so it cooks quickly - or firm tofu. I tried tofu recently when my vegetarian niece came to stay and it was really good.

Cooking oil spray

2 peppers, sliced into strips - either red or yellow (not green which is too bitter) or a combination would be prettiest - I only had red when I made it this time.

2 tablespoons yellow bean sauce (decant the rest of the tin into an airtight tub and keep in the fridge for a day or two)

2 teaspoons light soy sauce

 1/3 of a Knorr chicken stock cube 

2 teaspoons cornflour mixed into 2 tablespoons cold water, stirred until smooth

about a tablespoon of flaked almonds or sesame seeds - toasted quickly in a hot dry pan - to serve

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Put all the marinade ingredients - italicised in the list about - into a bowl with the chicken. Mix and leave to marinate for 15-30 minutes.

Then put a frying pan on to a medium heat, spraying with the spray oil (I use about 20 sprays) and add the chicken - cook for 3-4 minutes stirring all the time so it doesn't stick, and add a little splash of water if needed.

Remove the chicken from the pan and set aside, and add the peppers to the pan and stir fry for a couple of minutes over a medium-high heat, again stirring all the time so they don't stick and add the tiniest splash of water if needed.

Add the chicken back to the pan, reduce heat to medium, and add the yellow bean sauce (I've used two varieties now and both good, but it's great having found the big bottle of paste as I can keep it in the fridge for longer) - cook for a minute or so, stirring every now and then.

Next add the soy sauce, crumble in the piece of stock cube, and add the cornflour and water mixture - stir in, simmer for another minute or so until the sauce has thickened a little.

Serve with rice and sprinkle with the toasted almonds or sesame seeds.

cHICKEN STIR FRY WITH YELLOW BEAN SAUCE AND TOASTED SESAME SEEDS

TOFU STIR FRY WITH YELLOW BEAN PASTE AND TOASTED ALMONDS + SESAME SEEDS

I really love this and hope you do too! 

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Prefer to watch how to make it? Here's the video ...

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Lamb (leftovers) stir fry

I love a good roast dinner.  Lamb is probably my favourite - and my step-mum makes possibly the best roast lamb ever ... it's testimony only to the size of the lamb that there were leftovers at all!

We had the roast lamb last Sunday with mint sauce - of course - and roast potatoes and vegetables and an incredibly good gravy.

And on the Monday evening I made a simple stir fry with the leftovers (even simpler for me as my dad had done the work slicing all the meat into small-ish strips). 

I really like using fresh mint leaves in this - it's a sort of nod to the mint sauce of the day before.

We had enough lamb to serve four as a stir fry with rice.

Here's what you need:

1 garlic clove, minced

1 red chilli, finely chopped

1 stalk of lemongrass, outer tough parts removed and finely chopped

1 thumb-sized piece of ginger, peeled and minced

Some chopped vegetables-  we had peppers and mushrooms

2-3 spring onions, sliced

cooked lamb, cut into strips or diced

fish sauce

light soy sauce

zest and juice of a lime

a handful of coriander leaves, chopped

a handful of mint leaves, chopped

rice, to serve

Heat a pan, add a little oil and when hot, tip in the garlic, chilli, lemongrass and ginger and stir over quite a high heat, moving the ingredients around in the pan constantly to prevent burning.

After about 30 seconds, when it starts to smell good, add the chopped vegetables and a little splash of water, enough to loosen it and make it easy to turn in the pan.

After a minute or so, add the cooked lamb, a couple of sloshes of soy sauce, one of fish sauce and the lime zest and juice, and continue cooking until the lamb is hot right through. 

Do taste and taste and taste as you add the sauces and lime - add half in first, stir and taste, before adding the remainder of each so you can check you're happy with how it tastes. If you think it's a bit too sour, just add a pinch of sugar.

When it's all ready, throw in the fresh herbs, immediately remove from heat and stir in to wilt.

And that's it! 

Serve with rice .... this is such an easy delicious dinner - I do hope you try it!

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Simplest seafood stir-fry with lime + chilli

Late Sunday morning.

Realise need to eat and that, having been up for several hours (well, from 7.30am and now it's 10.45am.

I really need brunch.

Time for my own personal take on Masterchef's 'invention test' (the one I'll be looking forward to most should I ever get on it).

I have: a rasher of smoked back bacon; a packet of cooked seafood mix (squid, prawns and mussels); some asparagus tips I picked up cheaply yesterday as they were put on offer as they became out of date. 

So ... time to rustle up the simplest seafood stir fry! 

It all goes together well - pork and seafood HEART each other big time. 

This is super-simple but it IS spicy and it IS very lime-y.

I actually think lemon might be nicer - and I rarely use lemon!

Cook your rice first so it's ready and then prepare the ingredients:

1 garlic clove, minced

a small piece of ginger, minced

1-2 bird eye chillies, squashed and chopped

1-2 spring onions, sliced

cooking oil, or Frylight spray oil 

1 bacon rasher, fat removed and chopped(I had smoked but whatever you have is good)

some mixed seafood (probably around a small bowlful or around 200g)

if you have them asparagus tips are good, but you could use another vegetable

1 lime

fish sauce

sugar

oyster sauce

cooked rice and chopped coriander leaves (if liked) to serve

I use my Frylight 1-cal oil spray as I'm losing weight at the moment, but you can just use a tablespoon of cooking oil if you prefer- and if so, you probably don't need the splash of water, but see what you think and add it if you need to.

Put a frying pan over a medium heat and add 20 sprays of 1-cal spray oil and then put in the garlic, ginger, chillies and spring onions.

Stir for around 20 seconds until it smells good and then add the bacon and stir for another 20 seconds - add a splash of water now, or earlier if you think it needs it.

Cook for another 20 seconds or so and then add the asparagus tips (if using) and cook for a minute. Add another small splash of water if needed at any time.

Tip in the seafood, stir and squeeze in the juice of the lime. 

Add a splash of fish sauce and half a teaspoon of sugar then cook, stirring all the time, for a couple of minutes until the seafood is hot all the way through.

Add a little glug of oyster sauce and cook for up to another minute until it's all hot and good.

Turn off the heat, add the coriander (if using) and serve with rice. 

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5 fave breakfasts/brunches

Usually a weekday breakfast is something quick - a croissant, fruit and yogurt, a green smoothie or just toast and marmite.  My daily cup of tea first thing and then a coffee grabbed on the way to the office (flat white please!).

And several days a week I skip breakfast altogether as I'm interested in intermittent fasting and by having dinner a little earlier than usual the night before, say finishing at 8pm, and then not eating until 1pm the next day, that's created a nice 17 hour break for your digestive system (and I find it easy to do, with a couple of coffees in the morning though - I'm not that strict about it).

But when there's time to cook something more special, and time to enjoy and spend longer over breakfast, chatting or reading, these are my favourite brunches.  I'm not sure you can call them breakfast really when it's after 10am.

So after a cup of tea, after journaling, after a walk outdoors round the park, here's what I come back and make ...

1. Eggs in purgatory

A little garlic, a very little chilli, eggs poached in tomatoes and sprinkled with parmesan. Mine rarely make it out of the pan when I make this just for me as I dunk bits of baguette in and scoop spoonfuls straight from the pan.

2. Kai jeow - Thai omelette

Yes, another eggy breakfast. Eggs are good!

I love this Thai omelette - really savoury with minced pork, served with some chopped chillies in fish sauce.  You can serve it with rice or have it on its own.

I also do a super-quick version using ready cooked diced chicken or pork.

3. Pad krapow gai - spicy stir fry with chicken and holy basil

I ate this all the time for breakfast when I lived in Thailand.  

I loved that there was all the usual variety of food for breakfast, rather than 'breakfast food' as we often categorise it.  

I'm not sure why that is, but it doesn't have to be that way and for me, a favourite first meal of the day is this very spicy, very good stir fry with rice - and sometimes with a fried egg on top too.

If you can't get holy basil, it's still worth making without it.

4.  Kao pad gai - chicken fried rice

Especially good if there's been a rice dish the night before - I deliberately cook extra rice so there's some for breakfast as this is best made with cold cooked rice.

Just something so comforting about this dish (it's a good one for mopping up hangovers too).

5. And number 5 ... is a total cheat!

I couldn't decide, so it's 'anything made from a combination of these ingredients'!

Avocado, smoked salmon, eggs and spinach.

It could be avocado on toast with a squeeze of lime and a little salt and a few chilli flakes.

Or smoked salmon and scrambled eggs on spinach. Poached eggs on sliced avocado with a little dill on top. Any combination of these things is going to be a winner!

So ... what are your favourite brunches? 

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Wat ton hor / fried noodles in an egg gravy

A few days ago I'd never heard of this dish and now I've made it twice in two days! A colleague at work was telling me about this great dinner they'd made, a noodle dish, from Gizzi Erskine's Healthy Appetite.  Another book to go on my wish list! 

I'm a Gizzi fan and a noodle fan so that was it for me, no further discussion needed - and I bought the few things I needed that I didn't already have at home ready to make it.  

Well, except for making a trip to the Thai supermarket to get the wide rice noodles it really needs (it's been freezing in London this weekend and has not been weather for going out).  

So I used some thin dried rice noodles from the supermarket that were in the cupboard and it was so good I can only imagine how much better it's going to be with those wide slippery noodles.  So much so that I'd even go out in freezing rain for them next time I make this if necessary.

This dish is another that I know might sound a bit odd. Egg gravy anyone?

But as with my recent discovery of Eggs in Masala, it's another one that is just so much lovelier than it sounds.

Another one that's just perfect comfort food for wintry days (and nights) . .. it's soft and soothing and delicious. 

Back to the recipe.  The recipe I'd been given was for four, so I just made up what the measurements would be for one (very greedy) portion.  I had to improvise a little at various stages and wasn't quite confident enough in my version to share it.  

But I was very intrigued by the recipe so searched online and found a few other versions and made mine again today with more confidence and slightly more simply. 

This serves a huge portion for one very hungry person (it actually defeated me today which is unheard of - but don't worry, I went back to it and finished it off an hour later) or two as a very light meal.  Or just add a few more noodles for two and another rasher of bacon to make it for two - honestly, I don't think it's possible to ruin this dish no matter what you do!

Prepare the noodles as required so they're ready to stir fry, and then then other ingredients you'll need are:

cooking oil 

1 teaspoon light soy sauce

1 teaspoon dark soy sauce

1 teaspoon oyster sauce

1-2 cloves garlic (your choice, I used two), finely chopped 

a small piece of fresh ginger, finely chopped

1 rasher unsmoked streaky bacon, chopped into small pieces

some thinly sliced chillies in a little soy sauce, to serve

some slices of squid (I had one small squid ready cleaned from the supermarket fish counter) - I like it in slices then scored so they end up rolling up into tubes, but you could use ready sliced into rings calamari if that's what you have

a few prawns - I had four - deveined

1/2 cup or so chicken stock (I used half a Knorr cube and then just topped up with boiling water straight into the cup)

light soy sauce

white sugar

white pepper

some pak choi or other leafy green vegetable

one egg, beaten (you actually only need half an egg, so instead of breaking straight into the pan, it's easiest to beat it first and then tip in half.  To be honest I was a bit heavy handed and it didn't affect the deliciousness!)

Heat a pan, add a glug of oil and when hot add the noodles, soy sauces and oyster sauce and stir fry over a medium heat for 2-3 minutes, stirring all the time so the noodles don't stick.  Some recipes say to cook until 'charred' or 'caramelised' but I wasn't really sure what this would look like so just cooked a little longer than I'd though necessary, so all the sauces are coating the noodles and then noodles are hot through. 

Tip into a bowl and put somewhere to keep warm.

Wipe the pan with kitchen paper if your noodles stuck at all, or just put straight back onto the heat and add some more oil, then the chopped garlic.

Stir fry for a few seconds until the garlic smells good and add the ginger, bacon and squid and stir over a medium heat for a few minutes, taking care that the garlic doesn't burn (don't have the heat on too high!). 

Add the prawns, stir and tip in the stock plus a dash of soy sauce, a pinch of sugar and a shake of white pepper.  Stir and then simmer for two or three minutes til the prawns are done.

Next stir in the cornflour and water mixture and keep stirring for a minute or so as the gravy thickens.  If it looks too thick just add a splash of water.

Add the pak choi and stir for another half a minute, then turn the heat off and immediate pour in (half) the beaten egg, stirring all the time so it scrambles . Keep stirring until it's all combined and the egg cooked in the hot gravy.

Get the bowl of noodles and unstick them a little if they've stuck together a bit then top with the lovely gravy. 

Top with some of the sliced chillies and soy sauce, if liked.

Twice in two days and I'm still not sick of this! If it wasn't for the fact I have a bacon and egg pie to make I'd even be considering having it for dinner too!

Would love to know what you think! Please make it and let me know. 

PS. Next time I make prawn balls, I'll be saving a few to freeze to halve and have with this dish. I'd fry them at the same time as the bacon and squid.

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Chicken stir fry with chilli paste and Thai basil

So, first the chilli paste in oil, or nam prik pao.  If you like cooking Thai food, you may have a jar of this in the cupboard or fridge already.  

If you don't - and you fancy making it - I've a very simple version that's super-quick to make right here.

You can use the nam prik pao in a tom yum soup, or in this lovely squid stir fry.  It's also just a really versatile condiment and I just might have been known to scoop a little on cheese on toast or have with shepherd's pie too ... 

If you've got some nam prik pao, and you've made the rice to serve with this in advance, then you're basically ready to go - as this stir fry is quick to make.

For two, you'll need: 

cooking oil 

2 cloves of garlic, flattened and chopped

1 chicken breast, minced (in the food processor, or chopped as I prefer to do it)

1 heaped tablespoon chilli paste in oil (nam prik pao)

1 teaspoon fish sauce

some chopped veg (I had red and yellow peppers, a mushroom and a few spring onions)

a tablespoon or so of water

a big handful of Thai sweet basil leaves, or 1.5 teaspoons of jarred Thai basil

dried chilli flakes (to serve)

Put your pan on a medium heat and when hot add a good slosh or two of oil and when that's hot add the garlic.

As for many Thai recipes, stir fry the garlic for perhaps up to 30 seconds over a medium heat, making sure it doesn't burn, until it 'smells good'. (Yep, that's the instruction on most recipes!).

Then add the chicken, nam prik pao and fish sauce and stir fry for a few minutes until the meat is nearly cooked. 

Add the chopped vegetables and a splash of water and stir, then add the jarred basil (if using jarred) and cook for another 4-5 minutes until done. 

If using fresh basil add right at the end just before turning off the heat and stir in until wilted.

Serve with the rice and with a sprinkling of dried chilli flakes (if liked).

I really love this simple stir fry - I think it has unexpected depth from the nam prik pao.

What do you think?

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Stir fried chicken & broccoli w/ oyster sauce & sesame seeds

Oh, this is very nice!  And very simple. And good.

One of my sisters emailed me a recipe for 'broccoli in oyster sauce' yesterday and it looked great, so I tried it tonight - adding a few other things along the way - and very good it was too. 

I've a feeling it's going to become a new favourite.

It's also a great vegetarian dish, well, pescatarian, as it has oyster sauce.  Just leave the chicken out if you're pescatarian!

Many a time a reader of my recipes has laughed at my vague or slapdash-seeming approach to measurements.

And when I say 'reader', you know I mean 'friend', but I'm being polite (but you know who you are).

It's just really difficult with this sort of cooking - different soy or fish sauces have different strengths and one lime will have more juice than another.

Plus I think the best bit about cooking is using your own palate and what tastes good to you. 

This recipe is possibly - to date - the MOST vague and slapdash when it comes to quantities. 

You're really going to have to guess and guage and taste!

To be honest, it doesn't include any ingredients you have to be careful with and is pretty much guaranteed to taste pretty awesome no matter what you do.  

So do give it a go! 

You'll need: 

cooked rice, to serve, if wanted

broccoli, the long stemmed sort is nice, but any sort will do - quantity is however much you feel like eating of it

cooking oil - I like my coconut oil at the moment but any oil that cooks at a high temperature is good for stir frying so vegetable, grapeseed, rapeseed etc (NOT olive oil which cooks at a lower temperature and will burn)

1-2 garlic cloves, depending on size (and your taste!)

1 chilli, or quantity to your taste

a couple of spring onions

a piece of fresh ginger 

one small-ish chicken breast, or however much you'll want to eat

dark soy sauce

oyster sauce 

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Cook the broccoli first so it's ready to stir fry by steaming or boiling for a few minutes.

If you're cooking rice to serve with this then just pop a steamer over the top for the last 4-5 minutes - or you could just put the broccoli into the rice to boil with it for a few minutes of course (no need to over-complicate).

Remove from heat and keep warm until needed.

Then toast some sesame seeds (I'd say around a tablespoonful) in a dry pan for a few minutes, shaking all the time and again, when toasted, set aside until needed.

Chop the garlic, chilli, spring onion - cut it on the diagonal for this dish so it looks nice - and ginger.  Cut the chicken into very small pieces so that it will cook quickly. 

Heat a wok or frying pan over a medium-high heat, add some oil and only when it's hot tip in the chopped garlic, chilli, spring onion, ginger and chicken - it should sizzle when it goes in.

Keep stirring and turning until the chicken is sealed and if you need to turn it down a little to prevent the garlic burning, then do! If it looks like it's going to stick, add a tiny splash of water.

After a few minutes, when the chicken's cooked, add the broccoli.

I think the long-stemmed broccoli very elegant but once I'd added it to the pan tonight, I decided to chop it up a bit to make it easier to eat! Up to you what you do. 

Cook for a minute, stirring, then add the soy and oyster sauces.  I used a scant tablespoon of each. 

Stir and continue cooking for another minute. 

Then put the rice onto a plate, spoon the stir fry around and sprinkle everything with the toasted sesame seeds. 

Very good indeed! Let me know what you thought.

Next time I might try half a teaspoon of toasted sesame oil right at the end too, just before it's removed from the heat ... 

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Pad keemao gai - drunken noodles with chicken

I love pad keemao (drunken noodles) - and no surprise there as it has my same favourite pad krapow flavours but in a rice noodle dish and with some more veg.

So the same rules apply! If you can get krapow - Thai holy basil - then that's the best. If you can't but you can get fresh or jarred horapha - Thai sweet basil - then definitely do that! And if you can't get either then honestly I would still make itanyway.

Another thing ... whilst pad keemao should be made with rice noodles, you could use whatever noodles you like. I often make it using leftover cooked pasta with shapes like penne - and it tastes amazing still.

So - this is really versatile and up to you how you pimp it basically!  Oh, and you can also use any meat or seafood of your choosing of course or have just with vegetables.

Ok, so to make a couple of portions you'll need ...

about 1.5 chicken breasts, chopped small so it cooks quickly

a few garlic cloves and bird eye chillies, skins and stalks removed and bashed in a plastic bag with a rolling pin. The chilli pieces should still be large enough to remove easily if you don't want to eat them.  I used three garlic cloves and six chillies

I had a few slices of white onion, chopped, but this isn't traditional and I'm only adding it as I had a piece of onion that needed using up. Entirely up to you to include or not.  If not I would definitely include spring onion in your vegetables

half a chicken knorr stock cube

selection of veg, chopped - I've got spring onion, a piece of carrot, red pepper, fine beans and mange tout

rice noodles, ready to stir fry, or other noodles or pasta cooked ready to add

fresh or jarred Thai basil

white sugar, soy sauce, oyster sauce, fish sauce

handful of spinach leaves (optional but nice)

Heat a frying pan or wok, add cooking oil and when hot add the chicken, chillies and garlic and onion (if using).

Stir fry over a medium-hot heat until the chicken is completely sealed, then crumble in half a stock cube and a splash or water and stir fry until it's all mixed in.

Add the veg and stir ... then add a teaspoon of jarred Thai basil (or half a good handful of Thai sweet basil leaves).

Stir again and then add a good pinch of sugar, a few dashes of soy sauce, a glug of oyster sauce and a small splash of fish sauce.

Cook for a minute and then add your noodles - and yes, I've got too many noodles or too small a pan really!

Stir fry for a couple of minutes and then add half a teaspoon more Thai basil from a jar (or another handful of fresh Thai basil leaves) and a big handful of spinach leaves (if using).

Stir until the leaves begin to wilt and then turn off the heat and continue stirring until the leaves are completely wilted in.

Hope you like this recipe: it's an everyday favourite here! Let me know what you think ...

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