Thai Green Curry with Chicken and Vegetables

I only had to cook for myself tonight and felt like something easy. I had a few veggies to use up and I spotted some green curry paste in the fridge and a chicken breast in the freezer – a done deal. I whacked on the rice cooker, and cut up the chicken and set it to marinating in a few spoonfuls of curry paste whilst I prepared the other ingredients. I had a baby zucchini and a few hungarian wax peppers which mum had given me from her garden so they went in, along with capsicums, broccoli and red onion.

I sealed the chicken in a hot pan and added the onions to soften a bit. Then I poured in a bit of water and the zucchini. After simmering for a couple of minutes I threw in the softer vegetables and stirred in about 200ml of coconut cream/milk. A couple of minutes later it was ready to serve with a big squeeze of lime juice and steamed jasmine rise.

Rice Pudding with Caramel Sauce

Rice pudding is a strange thing. I remember eating it as a kid on Scout camps where it was cooked over the fire. I made it for the first time myself recently and quite liked it. Since then I haven’t been able to get enough. This time I decided to make a caramel sauce to pour over it with icecream. It works well I think. If rice pudding is your thing, you might like it too.

Beef Stirfry

I made this little stirfry a few nights ago and was quite impressed with how it tasted. Usually I would just use sweet chilli and soy sauce, but I put a bit more effort into it this time. I tried to create a balance of sweet and sour by using vinegar and brown sugar, with oyster sauce and hoi sin for the saltiness, and hot chilli sauce for some oomf! I would recommend using a rice vinegar or wine like shao hsing, and good quality, authentic sauces.

I used some purple heirloom carrots which my mum gave me from her garden and just whatever else was in the fridge. I think there was capsicum, broccoli, red onion and eschallots in there, and some corriander to garnish. I don’t recall the exact quantities or ingredients but I will be making something similar to this in the future, it was really yummy.

Chilli Garlic & Honey Chicken with Rice

This dish has been a favourite in my family for many years. It is based on a recipe from a Vietnamese cookbook, but it actually reminds me more of Chinese cuisine. It doesn’t have the tangy balance of sweet, sour and salty that you would expect from a lot of Vietnamese food, but rather an intense emhasis on the three ingredients in the name: garlic, honey and chilli. Muffy and I like to use a lot of garlic when we make this, and it’s sort of become the dish we make when one of us feels like we might be coming down with something. It’s very quick and easy to prepare, and delicious all year round.

Garlic is a thing of beauty

I like to use some vegetables when I make this, but that is up to you. Carrots work particularly well with the sweetness of the honey, and I also like adding red capsicum. Other good options would include broccoli, snow peas, water chestnuts or even bamboo shoots. Go for vegetables that are firm and crisp and can be cooked quickly; I would avoid watery things like cabbage, tomatoes or celery.

Fried Rice

Fried rice is perfect for using up leftover rice, vegetables and meat you might have in your fridge. In fact, it’s the only time I really make it. Last night on MasterChef the contestants made fried rice in a challenge, so I was feeling a little inspired. I also had heaps of coconut rice left over from a few days ago and some other things I wanted to use up, so fried rice was an obvious choice.

In addition to the pre-cooked rice, I ended up using:

• garlic
• red onion
• spring onion
• shallots
• red pepper
• carrot
• mushrooms
• peas
• corn
• chicken

Really you can use whatever you want, in any quantities, but it’s best to have a source of protein or two plus a good selection of flavoursome vegetables.

Ideally you should use peanut or sesame oil for frying as they add a nice flavour, but any oil is fine really. Get the wok or pan really hot before adding the rice, and maintain a high temperature whilst frying. I fried the chicken, garlic, onions and shallots separately first and then added them after the rice. I used a little fish sauce, salt, pepper, soy sauce, and curry powder towards the end, but it’s important not to add too much.

I haven’t made a lot of fried rice but I’m getting better at it. Next time I think I’ll use Chinese sausage or barbecued pork for the meat and maybe some bacon too. I’d also like to boost the flavour a bit more with some ginger, and perhaps some shao hsing wine or vinegar, and a little sugar to balance out the flavours. I might replace the fish sauce with oyster sauce as well.