Simple and Tasty Nasi Goreng

My wife and I love Prawn Crackers, we love them so much that we normally produce a meal to accompany them rather than the normal way round. Nasi Goreng, like all types of fried rices, was a way in which to use up the leftover boiled rice as the frying killed off the dangerous microbes that love to gather on rice. It has its origins in Indonesia (where it is often labelled as the national dish), however it has now spread across many of the Asian countries and also is big in Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei.

This recipe produces enough to feed four people:-

375g long-grain rice
2 eggs, beaten
2 tablespoons of sesame oil
1 small onion, finely diced
2 cloves of garlic
1 red chilli, deseeded and chopped
500g Chicken breast, cut into 1cm thick strips
250g cooked peeled prawns
2 tablespoons light soy sauce
Prawn crackers, to serve, i'll let you decide how many you want

Put a pan on to boil, add some salt to it. Once boiling, reduce to a simmer and add the rice, about 20 minutes. Then drain and rinse under cold water and the set aside in a colander to drain thoroughly.

Then make an omelette with the eggs. Then roll it up and cut it into strips, then put it aside.

In a mortar crush the onion, garlic and chilli into a paste.Then put the oil in a wok and fry the onion paste for a couple of minutes until you start getting a beautiful fragrant smell from it. Then add your chicken strips and stir-fry until it starts changing colour on all sides. Add the prawns and soy sauce, stir fry until the chicken is tender.

Now add the rice to the wok, toss until the rice gets hot. Throw in the omelette strips, season to taste and then serve.

So simple, so tasty. So give this amazing, healthy Asian dish a go, you won't be disappointed.

Eggs Benedict

The Classic Breakfast dish..... Eggs Benedict

I first made this dish for my wife (then girlfriend) and a friend two years back. They both loved it, even if they prefer their eggs hard. Since then I have made it on a few occasions, working on the recipe to get perfection and to make it fairly simple. Here is, what I feel, to be the easiest Eggs Benedict recipe out there, however I have still classed it as a Class 3 recipe because of the time and patience involved. However, if you want a wee challenge and a good breakfast, then this is worth it. 

To serve yourself and your lovely partner you will need to have:-

2 English muffins (slice in half) or 2 Rolls (sliced in half)
4 Medium Eggs
4 Slices of ham (any will do, I love using smoked ham)
About 1 and a half teaspoons of Freshly cracked pepper 
2 tbsp Vinegar (I use white vinegar)
2 egg yolks
200g butter
seasoning, cayenne pepper for taste

First put a pan on to boil with enough water to cover your eggs, bring it to the boil. Add 1 tablespoon of vinegar to the water. 

While the water is coming to the boil, in a small sauce pan put the peppercorns and the other tablespoon of vinegar into it and reduce by 1/3 then take off heat. Add 1 tablespoon of cold water, leave to cool, about 2-4 minutes. Mix in the yolks and return to a low heat, whisking continuously. DO NOT STOP WHISKING! Cook into a sabayon (that means the yolks will thicken to the consistency of double cream, it will show the mark of the whisk when passed through). Remove from heat and cool slightly, about 2 minutes. Then whisk the melted butter in gradually until it is thoroughly combined. Season to taste.

Add your eggs to the boiling water, do this by cracking open the egg and in one smooth fluid movement, they will start to cook straight away. For a soft one cook for about 2 minutes and 4 minutes for a harder one. Take out with a slotted spoon and put onto some kitchen towel to dry off. 

Toast you muffins and butter. Then add your slice of ham, eggs on top and then top with sauce.

Serve and enjoy the richness.

Nordic Style Baked Salmon

Last night (29th June) we had some very special guest round our house. Sister Gasser and her parents. This sister has been a big help to our family over the last several months she has been in Oulu, so as a thank you, we decided to cook for her and her family a really nice Nordic style dinner. This oven baked salmon is a perfect example of Nordic food, simple and tasty.

This will serve 6 people:-

1,4kg Salmon side (You want around 150-200g per person)
2 tbsp Coarse sea salt
2 tbsp fresh cracked pepper
2 tbsp Dill
Juice of one lemon
4 tbsp of olive oil

Take your Salmon and go along the middle bit and check for bones. If there is any take them out with some tweezers. Once cleaned put your salmon inside some baking paper and add the sea salt, pepper, dill, lemon and olive oil, rub into the salmon and put in the fridge for an hour.

Preheat your oven to 200oC.

Take your fish out of the fridge and wrap the baking paper around it, then cover it in tin foil. Place on an oven tray/dish and put into the oven.

After 30 minutes open up your parcel and return back to oven for 15 minutes.

Take out of oven and serve. It is that simple.

Billionaires' Shortbread

In the UK, Caramel Shortbread is a favoured confectionery. However not many people know that it actually originated in Australian in around the 70's. I love the stuff, have fond memories of getting a small square from the local bakery in my town of upbringing. Over the years I have experimented with the recipe and tweaked it.

About 12 months ago I told my wife about Millionaires' shortbread and she asked could I do it with white chocolate so she could take it to her workplace. I thought i'd give it a go. It went down a treat, the creamy white chocolate made this rich biscuit even richer. I decided to name these adaptations Billionaries' shortbread on account that White Gold is worth more than yellow gold.

So Tuesday just gone we had a Professor of the Philosophy of Religion come over to our house, accompanied by the missionary Sisters. I had met this learned guy before, he wasn't interested in joining the Church but wanted to know more about our Church and what made us different from other faiths. So for the snack I was originally going to make just some normal, boring biscuits until my wife asked could I do the white chocolate caramel shortbread. They went down a storm, so much so that I didn't have many left.

So to make a 33cm * 25cm tray you will need:-

2 cups of flour (225g)
175g butter (not marg)
75g/5 tbsp caster sugar

150g butter (not marg)
1 tin (379g) condensed milk
100ml golden syrup

260g white chocolate

First preheat your oven to 150oc and greaseproof your tray.

Put the flour, 175g butter and the sugar into a food processor and blitz until it looks like fine breadcrumbs. If no food processor then rub with your fingers. Put the mixture into your tray and even out and press flat using a spoon (you can use your hands too), then put in oven for 30 minutes (or until a light golden brown).

Pour your milk, butter and syrup into a pan and slowly heat until all the butter is melted. Then bring to boil. Make sure you stir frequently otherwise you will burn the caramel, I use a silicon spatula for this. Keep stirring until it gets thicker and turns a nice golden colour (about 15/25mins). Put aside and leave to cool for 10/15 mins. Do the same with your shortbread.

Once both have cooled a little pour the caramel on top and spread evenly. Leave to cool completely.

Then melt your white chocolate using a Ban Marie (a pan with boiling water over heat and another pan/bowl on top of it). Then pour over the caramel and smooth out. Then leave to cool and harden, then cut them to your desired shape.

ANZAC Biscuits

Today (April 25th) is known as ANZAC in Australia and New Zealand, as well as many areas of the British Commonwealth. It was originally the day of memorial for members of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (more commonly known as ANZAC) who fought during the disastrous Gallipoli Campagin, which started on April 25th 1915 and ended in January 9th 1916 and saw over 35,000 of them dead or wounded. Today the day is for the memorial of servicemen of both countries "who died in all wars, conflicts, and peacekeeping operations" and "the contribution and suffering of all those who have served".

Tradition has it that the wives and daughters of ANZAC troops produced these tasty, simple and long lasting biscuits so their husbands and fathers could have something tasty and they would survive the long naval voyage that post had to go through back then.

I have a real like for these biscuits, they are super tasty and can be made up in large batches and then eaten at your leisure. I also remember having them at primary school on ANZAC day, as well as my Nana making them (some of our relatives are Australian).

So in honour of ANZAC day, here is my recipe for ANZAC biscuits. They have been tried and tested by a real life Aussie (Sister Francis) who was serving a Mission in Oulu last year at the time of ANZAC day and she gave them a pass.

This will be enough to make around 8:-

1cup/80g Rolled Oats (Porriage oats)
3/4 cups/ 55g dessicated coconut
1cup/ 125g plain flour
1cup/ 200g caster sugar
1/2 cup/ 155g butter
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1 tbsp golden syrup
2 tbsp boiling water

To start preheat your oven to 175oC. Then get a large mixing bowl and mix together the oats, sugar and coconut. Then in a small pan on a low heat combined the syrup and butter, make sure the heat is low otherwise the syrup will burn. Once melted, add the bicarb of soda and water to the syrup/butter mix.
Now add the syrup/butter mix to the dry ingredients and mix thoroughly. Then you want to put a tablespoon of the mixture onto a greaseproof papered baking tray, repeat until the tray is full, make sure you leave some room for expansion. Bake for 15-25 minutes. Take out when done and leave to cool down 10-15 minutes at least before tasting.

In Australia there is a big divide on whether they should be hard and crunchy or soft and chewy. You can decide on how you want them by the cooking time. 15 minutes is ideal for soft and chewy while 25 is the maximum for hard and crunchy.

Beef and Sweet Potato Curry with Cinnamon and Cardamom Scented Rice

I love a good curry, who doesn't? I have cooked many curries throughout my career as a chef, normally though they were Korma, Madras and Tikka. This time I decided to try something a little different, a contrast of spice with some sweetness. The Cinnamon and Cardamom Scented Rice was inspired by several similar recipes online.

You'll find this curry very simple, doesn't require a lot of effort but is packed full of flavour.

This makes enough for four people:-

600g Stewing Beef
200g sweet potato, diced
1 onion, thinly sliced
5g fresh ginger, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1/2tsp chilli powder
2tsp ground coriander
1/4tsp cardamom
1/2tsp turmeric
1/4tsp nutmeg
400g tin of chopped tomatoes
200g yoghurt (I used Turkish)
juice of half a lime
2tsp cornflour with 2tsp water
2tbsp chopped fresh coriander
100ml water
seasoning
some olive oil

Firstly heat up a little olive oil in a cast iron pot (you can also use a normal pot if you want) and brown the meat with the spices and onion. Once meat is browned and the onions are starting to be soft, add the tomatoes, water and seasoning and reduce the heat and cover, cook for about an hour and a half, until the meat starts becoming tender. Add the sweet potato and cook for another 20 minutes. Then add the cornflour, take off the heat and stir in the yoghurt, lime juice and fresh coriander. Taste and correct seasoning if needed.

For the Rice you will need:-

300g long grain rice
fresh coriander
one cinnamon stick
2tsp cardamom
2tsp turmeric
juice of half a lime
seasoning

In a pot  pour in 450ml of water and bring to boil. Then add the Rice, cardamom, cinnamon and turmeric and cook until tender. Drain and put in a bowl, stir in the lime and sprinkle some fresh coriander on top.

Enjoy, I hope this meal gives you a little extra spice in your food life. Goes great with Naan Bread.

Carbohydrates

So this week I will look into the other most commonly misunderstood nutritional element, Carbohydrates, also known as Carbs.

hhhhhmmmmm..... delicious carbs.

What is carbohydrates and what does my body use it for?

The main purpose of carbohydrates is to provide energy for the body. This helps you keep going throughout the day. It does this by absorbing or producing glucose from the components in the food. The body then goes on to use the glucose straight away or store some for future usage.

There is three main types of carbohydrates

1. sugar
2. starch
3. cellulose

Sugar

Sugar can be broken down into several different kinds:

• glucose: found within the blood of animals, fruits and honey.
• fructose: found within fruits, honey and cane sugar.
• surcose: found in beet and cane sugar.
• lactose: found in milk
• maltose: produced naturally during the germination of grains.

Sugars are the simplest form of carbs and are the end products of the digestion of carbohydrates.  They are mainly used for energy and providing the body heat. 

Starch

Starch is the most common carbohydrate encountered in nutrition. Pure starch is white and used to help thicken sauces, it is tasteless and insoluble in liquid.   They are complex carbohydrates and so always need cooking to help with the digestion process, uncooked starch is not digestible. Most of the staple foods that we eat contain starch; potatoes, grains, vegetables, pastas, rice, pulses and certain fruits. 

Cellulose

Cellulose is more commonly referred to as dietary fibre. It isn't digested but the body uses it for roughage in the intestine. It is recommended that a person eats 14 grams of fibre for every 1,000 calories. Dietary fibre is helpful in preventing constipation, reducing risk of colon cancer, help with weight management, reduction in certain heart problems and help with insulin and glucose control. 

You will find dietary fibre in all the same places as starch.

Carbs and Healthy Diet

It is recommended that for a healthy diet that you aim to get around 55%-75% of your calories from carbs, with only 10% of them coming from sugars. So the best way to get a healthy diet whilst maintaining a good balance of carb intake is by focusing on stables like potatoe, rice, and pastas and bulking them out with vegetables, fruits and pulses. Try and limit your intake of simple sugars but don't eliminate them all together, just be careful.