Spoon and Chopsticks

Spicy Meatballs with Flatbread and Salad

noreply@blogger.com (Spoon and Chopsticks) — Sun, 12 May 2013 07:51:00 +0000

A lovely recipe with homemade flatbread and spicy meatballs and salad. Perfect for lunch or dinner. This recipe is inspired by Adana Shish plate.

Serves 2

Ingredients for meatballs

200 grams minced meat
2 cloves garlic crushed
1/4 tsp cumin powder
1/4 tsp coriander powder
1/4 tsp mixed herbs
1 tbsp finely chopped spring onions
1/2 tbsp chopped onion
Salt to taste
1/2 tsp chilli flakes
1 tbsp breadcrumbs

Ingredients for bread

3 grams of dry yeast dissolved in warm water with some salt and sugar
2 cups flour
Water for kneading

Ingredients for salad

1/2 onion chopped
2-3 medium tomatoes chopped without pulp
1 tbsp capsicum chopped
Few olives chopped
Salt to taste
1 tbsp vinegar
2 tbsp Olive oil

Preparation of meatballs

Mix all the ingredients and make small balls lightly flattened.
In a hot pan cook the meatballs until they are brown on both sides. I didn't use any oil to cook my meatballs as they had enough fat in them. You can use some oil if you want.

Preparation of flatbread

Mix all the ingredients and form a dough.
Let the dough rest for an hour.
Make small balls and flatten the dough.
Cook the flat bread in hot pan on both sides.

You can refer to a post here if you want to learn how to make flatbread from scratch.

Preparation of salad

Mix all the salad ingredients and salad is ready.

You can make a flatbread roll with meatballs and salad, or simply present it like I did in the photo.

Soft Brown Milk Cake (Gundh Pakh)

noreply@blogger.com (Spoon and Chopsticks) — Fri, 11 May 2012 23:35:00 +0000

This soft brown milk cake (also known as Gundh Pakh) is one of the very popular sweets in Nepal. It is also eaten in other parts of South Asia. It is usually preferred during winter in Nepal. This sweet is considered nutritious and is often served to nursing mothers.

Ingredients:

3 cups full-cream milk for making paneer
2 tbsp lemon juice
About 1 cup full-cream milk for final preparation
3 tbps full-cream milk powder
2 big blocks of jaggery (If you can't find jaggery, you can use same amount of palm sugar)
1 tbsp shredded coconut
1/2 tsp cinnamon powder
A pinch of cardamom powder
Mixed dry fruits
Sesame seeds
Nuts of your choice (optional)

Making paneer:

Boil 3 cups milk. Once the milk starts to boil, add lemon juice and stir the milk. Gradually the milk will start curdling.
Pour the milk in a cheese cloth or any thin piece of cloth. Lightly squeeze out the excess water and tie it firmly to form a pouch.

Hang it over your sink and leave it there for about 1 hour to get rid of the excess water.

After1 hour, paneer will be formed.

Making the cake:

Heat pan in a medium heat. Add panner and milk powder. Stir the mixture well to break the paneer. Add 1/4 cup of milk and jaggery. Stir until the jaggery is completely melted.

Keep on stirring until the jaggery is caramelised and the whole mixture becomes brown. You have to be very careful at this stage as the jaggery gets caramelised very quickly. So you have to keep stirring continuously.
Once the jaggery gets caramelised, add shredded coconut, mixed dried fruits, cinnamon powder and cardamom powder. Add 1/2 cup milk.

Stir until the mixture comes together and is thickened.

Grease the cake pan and pour the mixture into it. Let it cool in a fridge. For best results, cool it overnight so that the cake is set properly.

Easy Shrimp Curry with Zucchini

noreply@blogger.com (Spoon and Chopsticks) — Sat, 17 Mar 2012 04:32:00 +0000

A great dinner idea! This shrimp curry with zucchini tastes mild and delicious.

Serves 2
Ingredients:

300g peeled and cooked shrimps
2 zucchini, cut
1/2 capsicum, cut
1 small onion, chopped
1/2 can of tomato
1 tsp mustard seeds
1 tsp coriander seeds
1 tsp cumin seeds
2 small dried fish
1/2 tsp chilli powder
A pinch of turmeric powder
1/2 lemon, squeezed
2 cloves garlic, crushed
A small piece ginger, crushed
Salt and pepper to taste
2 tbsp oil
Water

Preparation:

Grind mustard seeds, coriander seeds, cumin seeds and dried fish.

Keep the ground powder aside.

Heat oil in the saucepan in medium high. Add onion and cook until it is slightly browned.
Add garlic and ginger. Cook it for a minute. Add ground powder, salt, pepper, turmeric, chilli powder and mix well.
Add tomato and water. Simmer for 5 minutes. Add zucchini and cook for 3-4 minutes. Add the shrimps and cook for another minute or 2. Add squeezed lemon on top.

Note: If you are using uncooked shrimps, add the shrimps and zucchini at the same time.

Yoghurt Marinated Spicy Grilled Chicken

noreply@blogger.com (Spoon and Chopsticks) — Sat, 10 Mar 2012 06:21:00 +0000

This tasty yoghurt marinated spicy grilled chicken is best served with flat bread and salad on the side. You may serve this with garlic sauce or any sauce of your choice.

Ingredients:

3 chicken thigh fillet
5 tbsp plain yoghurt
1 tsp cumin powder
1 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 tbsp lemon juice
Salt and pepper to taste

Preparation:

In a marinating bowl, whisk together the yoghurt with lemon juice, cumin powder, paprika, turmeric powder, garlic, salt and pepper to prepare the yoghurt marinade.
Add the chicken to the yoghurt marinade and coat it well. Cover and refrigerate for at least 4-5 hours or overnight.

Turn your grill to medium-high. I used oven grill. You may also use grilled pan or barbecue.
Grill chicken, turning frequently. Brush each side with marinade. Cook thoroughly until browned.

Korean Cold Buckwheat Noodles

noreply@blogger.com (Spoon and Chopsticks) — Sat, 18 Feb 2012 04:08:00 +0000

Korean cold buckwheat noodles (known as naengmyeon or naeng myun) is ideal for hot summer days. This dish is very refreshing and helps to cool your body. This is also a perfect vegetarian dish. You may add thinly sliced beef if you want it served with meat.

Ingredients for broth:

6-8 cups water
10-12 dried anchovies
4 Shiitake mushrooms, sliced
3 dried knot kelp

Ingredients for topping:

1/2 cucumber
1/2 Bosc pear
2 hard-boiled eggs, cut in half
2 tbsp mustard powder
Vinegar
Salt
Red pepper flakes
Sugar
Kimchi (Learn how to make kimchi)

Other ingredients:

Ice cubes
A small packet of buckwheat noodles

Preparation:

Boil all the ingredients for the broth for about 10 minutes. Keep it aside to cool.

Boil buckwheat noodles until soft.
Wash few times with cold water to remove the starch from the noodles and drain well. Keep it aside.

Add a tablespoon of broth in mustard powder and mix. Keep it in a warm place to ferment. You may keep it in a container and place it on top of the broth to keep it warm.
Thinly slice the cucumber. Mix it with vinegar, red pepper flakes, salt and sugar. Keep it aside.

Thinly slice Bosc pear. Soak it in water and add a pinch of sugar. This will prevent the pear from discolouring. Keep it aside.
Make small balls with the fermented mustard. Keep them aside.

Strain the broth.
Place the noodles in a serving bowl. Add 3-4 mustard balls.

Pour the broth into the serving bowl and drop some ice cubes.

Put kimchi on top of the noodles. Put pear and cucumber slices and place hard-boil egg on top. Serve immediately.

Delicious Homemade Samosas

noreply@blogger.com (Spoon and Chopsticks) — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 21:23:00 +0000

Samosas are great snacks liked by everyone. They are quite cheap to make at home. You can put any fillings as you like. I have made the vegetarian version today but you can also mix mince with potatoes.

Ingredients for dough:

1 and 1/2 cup flour
3-4 tbsp oil
1 tsp carom seeds (ajwain)
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
Water to need the dough

Ingredients for samosa filling:

3 potatos, boiled, peeled and lightly mashed
1/2 cup boiled chickpeas or boiled green peas
1/2 onion, chopped
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
Small piece of ginger, crushed
1 chilli, finely chopped
Coriander, chopped
Few peanuts
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp chilli powder
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1 tbsp lemon juice
Salt and pepper, to taste
2 tbsp oil

Also need oil for deep frying.

Preparation:

Mix salt, carom seeds, baking powder and flour together. Add oil and make crumble.

Add water gradually to form a smooth dough. Keep it aside.

For preparing the samosa filling, heat oil in a pan. Fry cumin seeds, onion, garlic and ginger until brown. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix well. Let it cool.

Take a small piece of the dough. Roll it on your palm to form a ball.
Flatten the dough with a rolling pin to form an oval shape. Cut the flattened dough in half.

Apply some water on 2 corners and bring the corners together. Stick along the edges to form a cone.

Put a tablespoon of filling into the cone and seal the remaining edges.

Heat oil for deep frying in medium high. Fry the samosas until they are golden brown.

Serve with any sauce of your choice.

Coconut Cake

noreply@blogger.com (Spoon and Chopsticks) — Sat, 07 Jan 2012 21:23:00 +0000

If you like coconut, you will love this cake. You can serve this cake with cream or ice-cream. You may also put frosting on the top if you like.

Ingredients:

2 tbsp margarine
1 egg
2 tbsp sugar
3 tbsp self-raising flour
2 tbsp grated coconut
1 tbsp raisin
1 tbsp milk powder
Milk to make the batter

Preparation:

Preheat oven at 180°C.
In a bowl, mix margarine and sugar until the sugar is dissolved.
Add egg and beat the mixture.
Add self-raising flour, grated coconut and milk powder. Mix well.
Add some milk to the batter.
Add raisins and mix well.
Grease the cake tin (I used 11cm x 4cm cake tin) and pour the batter into the tin. Bake for 20 minutes or until cooked.

I decorated the cake with cream, chocolate pieces and few raspberries on top.

Ginger Duck Salad

noreply@blogger.com (Spoon and Chopsticks) — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 22:44:00 +0000

This ginger duck salad is one of my favourite dishes. Ginger goes really well with duck. With the addition of other ingredients- such as chilli, garlic, turmeric powder and sesame oil, have really enhanced the flavour of this salad. I like to have it with a bowl of rice.

Ingredients:

500g duck, cut into pieces
1 red onion, thinly sliced
Large piece of ginger (about 3-5cm), crushed
3-4 cloves of garlic, crused
1 cucumber, thinly sliced
1 large tomato, sliced
Salt and pepper, to taste
1 tsp chilli powder (you may use the fresh chilli)
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp sesame oil

Preparation:

Pan-fry duck pieces with skin side down. This makes the skin crispy and also releases fat from the duck. Cook both sides. If you are using meat with bones, make sure you boil the meat before pan-frying.

In a mixing bowl, put pan-fried duck meat, red onion, ginger, garlic, salt, pepper, chilli powder, turmeric powder, olive oil and sesame oil. Mix well. Let it rest for about 20-30 minutes before serving so that all the flavours come together.

Arrange tomatoes and cucumber on the serving plate. Serve it cold. You may also serve it with a bowl of rice.

Oven Baked Chicken Nuggets

noreply@blogger.com (Spoon and Chopsticks) — Sat, 17 Dec 2011 09:21:00 +0000

I've heard about chicken nuggets being made with mechanically recovered meat (MRM). I've tried making my own chicken nuggets. They are very easy to make with only few ingredients. You have a choice of adding your favourite herbs and spices. My oven baked chicken nuggets are healthier, cheaper and tastier than the store-bought chicken nuggets.

Ingredients:

350g boneless chicken, cut into small pieces
1 egg, beaten
3-4 tbsp flour for coating
1/2 cup bread crumbs
1 tbsp mixed Italian herbs
Salt and pepper, to taste
Olive oil spray

Preparation:

Mix chicken pieces with salt and pepper. Keep aside.
Mix Italian herbs with bread crumbs.
Prepare oven tray by spraying with olive oil.
First coat the chicken with flour. Then coat with egg. Finally coat well with bread crumbs.
Place the chicken on the oven tray. Spray some olive oil on top of the chicken.
Bake it in pre-heated oven at 200°C for about 20-25 minutes depending on the thickness of the chicken.

Slow Cooked Rice with Basa Fillet

noreply@blogger.com (Spoon and Chopsticks) — Sat, 10 Dec 2011 11:27:00 +0000

A simple one-pot dish for a weekday dinner. It's very easy to make with only a few ingredients and is a healthy meal.

Ingredients:

2 cups medium-grain rice
400g basa fillet, cut
1 onion, finely chopped
500ml chicken stock
1/2 cup green peas
3 cloves garlic, crushed
Salt to taste
Pepper to taste
Oil

Preparation:

Heat slow cooker on medium heat. Add oil and fry the onions and garlic for a minute.
Add rice and fry for a minute.
Add chicken stock and cover. Cook until the rice is soft. It takes about 15-20 minutes. Check regularly. You may need to add some extra water.
When rice is done, add green peas, basa fillet, salt and pepper and combine together with rice. Cover and cook for 4-5 minutes.

Bean and Mince Nachos with Guacamole

noreply@blogger.com (Spoon and Chopsticks) — Sat, 26 Nov 2011 03:37:00 +0000

This lovely and delicious bean and mince nachos with guacamole is a perfect dish for my weekend lunch. It is very easy to make and loved by everyone in family.

Ingredients for Nachos:

100-120g corn chips
200-250g beef mince
300g canned red kidney beans, drained and rinsed (You may also use dry red beans. You have to soak them overnight and cook until the beans are soft.)
1/2 onion, diced
2 tbsp tomato paste
1 tsp chilli powder
1 tsp cumin powder
Salt, to taste
Grated cheese
Sour cream, to serve

Ingredients for Guacomole:

1 avocado
1/2 onion, finely diced
1/2 ripe tomato, finely diced
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 small green chilli, de-seeded and finely chopped
Salt and pepper, to taste

Preparing Guacamole:

In a medium bowl, mash the avocado using a fork until smooth.
Add the onion, tomato, garlic, chilli and lemon juice and mix well.
Season with salt and pepper.

Preparing Nachos:

Preheat oven to 200°C. Heat oil in a pan over medium heat. Cook onion for about 2 minutes or until browned.
Add mince and cook until browned.
Add red kidney beans, chilli powder, tomato paste, cumin powder, salt and little water. Reduce heat and simmer for 3-5 minutes until the mixture is thick.
Place a layer of corn chips on an oven-proof plate.

Top with bean and beef mixture.

Cover the mixture with corn chips.

Sprinkle with cheese.

Add another layer of corn chips and sprinkle with cheese again.

Bake for about 15 minutes, or until the cheese is melted. Top with guacamole and sour cream to serve.

Fermented Tomato Pickle

noreply@blogger.com (Spoon and Chopsticks) — Sat, 19 Nov 2011 09:41:00 +0000

This fermented tomato pickle is quick and simple to prepare. You can use it as an accompaniment with any meal. I usually make this pickle during summer when the tomatoes are cheaper. If you have extra tomatoes in your fridge, just try this simple tomato pickle.

Ingredients:

6-7 ripe tomatoes, diced
2 red chillies, cut into small pieces
Small piece of ginger, cut
10-12 cloves of garlic
2 tbsp black mustard seeds (Edit: you may use yellow mustard seeds instead of the black ones)
Salt to taste
Chilli powder to taste
5-6 tbsp olive oil

Preparation:

Dry-fry the black mustard seeds for about 3-4 minutes. Keep it aside to cool.
Once the seeds have cooled down, grind them to make a fine powder.
Put the rest of the ingredients and mix well. You may even eat this pickle at this stage.

To ferment the pickle, use a clean and dry jar washed with hot water.
You can leave it outside for a day if you don't like your pickle too sour. If you like more sourness, leave it outside for 2-3 days.
You can refrigerate it for about a month.

Gnocchi with White Sauce and Pan Fried Chicken Breast

noreply@blogger.com (Spoon and Chopsticks) — Sat, 12 Nov 2011 06:16:00 +0000

Gnocchi and white sauce goes well together. Pan fried chicken breast on the side makes it a perfect meal.

Ingredients for gnochhi in white sauce:

500g gnocchi
1 tbsp butter
1 tbsp flour
1 and 1/2 cup milk
Salt and pepper to taste

Ingredients for chicken breast:

2 chicken breasts
2 tbsp vinegar
1 tsp mixed herbs
1/2 chicken stock cube, crushed to form powder
1/2 tsp chilli powder or paprika
Salt and pepper to taste
Oil

Preparing gnochhi with white sauce:

Put gnocchi in boiling water. You'll know gnocchi are cooked once they start floating to the surface. Strain gnocchi and keep it aside.
Heat saucepan in medium heat. Add butter and let it melt.
Add flour and cook for 2-3 minutes, stirring it continuously.
Gradually whisk in milk. Cook and stir until the sauce is thickened. Add salt and pepper.
For serving, you may either add gnocchi in the sauce or put sauce on top of gnocchi.

Preparing pan fried chicken breasts:

Marinate chicken breasts with vinegar, mixed herbs, chicken stock powder, chilli powder or paprika, salt and pepper. It's better to leave it overnight in a fridge or for at least a couple of hours.
Heat oil in a pan in high heat. Put chicken flat on the pan. Cook both sides well.

Milk Powder Cake with Lemon Curd Frosting

noreply@blogger.com (Spoon and Chopsticks) — Sat, 05 Nov 2011 10:16:00 +0000

This delicious cake made with milk powder and topped with lemon curd frosting is perfect with tea or coffee.

Ingredients for the cake:

3/4 cup self-raising flour
3/4 cup milk powder
4 tbsp sugar
2 tbsp margarine
2 eggs
Additional water if the the batter gets too thick
Chocolate shreds for decoration (optional)

Ingredients for the lemon curd frosting:

2 eggs
2 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp sugar
A pinch of cinnamon powder

Making milk powder cake:

Preheat oven at 180°C.
Grease your non-stick cake pan with margarine.
Using an electric mixer, beat the margarine and sugar until smooth.
Add eggs and and beat the mixture until it is smooth.
Add self-raising flour and milk powder and beat well.
Pour the batter into a cake pan.
Bake it for around 35-40 minutes.
To test if the cake is ready to be taken out, pierce a toothpick or a fork and see if it comes out clean. If not, put it back into the oven for 5 more minutes and repeat the test.
Let it cool in a rack.

Making lemon curd frosting using Bain Marie (double boiler) process:

Mix eggs, sugar and lemon juice in a bowl.
Simmer water in a saucepan. Place the bowl on top but make sure it doesn't touch water in the saucepan.
Slowly whisk the mixture until the mixture is thickened. Add cinnamon powder and mix.

You can adjust the taste of the lemon curd adding more sugar and lemon juice.
Let the lemon curd cool.

Final step - Frosting the cake:

Before frosting the cake, make sure the top of the cake is smooth and even for the best result. If the cake has the top puffed up, you can cut off the top to even out the cake.

Put the frosting in the middle of the cake and spread it evenly all around.

Decorate as desired. I sprinkled chocolate shreds on top.
Put it inside the fridge and let it set for at least 2-3 hours before serving.

Potato Puff Recipe

noreply@blogger.com (Spoon and Chopsticks) — Sat, 29 Oct 2011 05:09:00 +0000

This is an easy snack with only a few ingredients that are easily available in your kitchen. The cumin powder enhances the flavour of the potato mixture and makes it more delightful. You can enjoy these potato puffs with any type of sauce. These can be enjoyed in lunch or in picnics.

Ingredients:

Yields 8 potato puffs

4 medium-size potatoes, boiled
1 red onion, finely chopped
1/2 capsicum, finely chopped
A handful of chickpeas, soaked overnight and boiled
1 tsp salt or to taste
Chilli powder to taste
1/2 tsp cumin powder
1 egg, whisked
2 sheets of Filo pastry, defrosted

Preparation:

Mash the potatoes but don't mash them too hard.
Put potatoes, onion, capsicum and chickpeas in a bowl. Add salt, chilli powder and cumin powder. Mix well.

Cut the defrosted Filo pastry into 4 squares.
Put the potato mixture in the centre of the square pastry.

Bring the 2 corners together and seal along the edges to form a cone shape.

Then seal the opening.

Spray the baking tray with oil. Put the puffs on the tray and brush them with egg wash.

Bake in a moderate oven for about 15-20 minutes or until brown.

Crab and Potato Salad

noreply@blogger.com (Spoon and Chopsticks) — Sat, 22 Oct 2011 07:14:00 +0000

It's almost summer here in Sydney. During a hot summer day, I don't feel like spending too much time in the kitchen. I need something easy and refreshing. I usually make this salad for my light lunch or even as an entrée.

Ingredients:

A can of crab meat
2 potatoes, boiled
A handful of corn kernels, cooked (you may use canned kernels)
Rocket leaves (optional)
4 tbps mayonnaise
1 tbsp lemon juice
Salt and pepper to taste

Preparation:

Drain the excess water from the canned crab meat.
Peel off the skin from the potatoes and cut into cubes.
Put all the ingredients in a bowl and mix well.

Soy Milk Ice Cream without Ice Cream Maker

noreply@blogger.com (Spoon and Chopsticks) — Mon, 17 Oct 2011 01:07:00 +0000

This healthy homemade ice cream is made without an ice cream maker. I used soy milk instead of full cream milk, added less sugar and used dark chocolate and nuts. I did not use cream in this recipe but I still managed to get a smooth and tasty ice cream with this method. Let me know what you think about this method.

Ingredients:
(Yields 2 serves)

1 and 1/2 cup soy milk
2 egg yolks
25g dark chocolate
1tbsp sugar
Nuts of your choice, chopped

Preparing custard mixture:

Heat soy milk in a saucepan in medium heat.
In a bowl, lightly beat the egg yolks.
Gradually pour the soy milk into the egg yolks while continually mixing. Make sure the soy milk and egg yolks combine well and quickly. The mixture should not be lumpy.
Pour the mixture back to the saucepan and heat it in a low heat while continually mixing. The mixture starts getting thicker. To check if the custard is ready, dip a spoon and see if the back of the spoon forms a thick and smooth coat.

Chop the chocolate blocks in small pieces and add them to the custard. Stir well until the chocolate melts.

Preparing ice cream:

Put a thin layer of custard mixture on a plate or a tray and put it in a freezer for about 30-40 minutes (depending on how thick your layer is). This will start forming ice crystals near the edges.

Break the ice crystals using spoon or spatula by stirring vigorously.
Put it back into the freezer. Repeat the above steps in every 15-20 minutes. You have to repeat the steps 4-5 times until you get a smooth texture. In the last step, add the chopped nuts.

Fenugreek with Dried Peas and Mince

noreply@blogger.com (Spoon and Chopsticks) — Mon, 10 Oct 2011 09:20:00 +0000

I often use fenugreek seeds in my cooking. Fenugreek seeds have a bitter taste and have certain health benefits. Fenugreek seeds are readily available in any South Asian grocery stores.

Making this dish in a pressure cooker reduces the cooking time. You may also make this dish in a pot but you may need to add more water and cook it for a longer time. It can also be made as a vegetarian dish by removing the mince from the recipe.

Ingredients:

80g fenugreek seeds, soaked overnight

50g dried peas, soaked overnight (I used dried green peas)

100g mince
1/2 onion, chopped
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
Small piece of ginger, crushed
A pinch of turmeric powder
1/2 tsp cumin powder
Salt and chilli powder to taste
1 cup water
Oil

Preparation:

Wash the soaked fenugreek seeds 2-3 times with cold water and drain it. This will reduce bitterness from the fenugreek seeds.
Heat oil in pressure cooker in medium heat. Fry the onions, ginger and garlic until they are brown. Add mince and fry until brown.

Add fenugreek seeds and dried peas. Stir well.
Add salt, chilli powder, turmeric powder and cumin powder.

Fry for 2-3 minutes. Add water and cover the pressure cooker. Cook for about 10 minutes.

Simple Homemade Pad Thai

noreply@blogger.com (Spoon and Chopsticks) — Sun, 02 Oct 2011 09:31:00 +0000

I made this traditional Thai dish with my own homemade tamarind sauce. My recipe is done with shrimps. You may use chicken or other meat or even make it vegetarian. Pad Thai has a great combination of sweet, sour and chilli. You can adjust the recipe according to your taste.

Ingredients for sauce:

2 tbsp tamarind (I used tamarind in block form)
1 cup warm water
100g palm sugar
1 tbsp caster sugar
2 tbsp fish sauce
1 tbsp soy sauce

Other ingredients:

150 - 200g shrimps
1/2 red onion, sliced
2 eggs
150-200g rice noodles
Garlic chives, cut into 1 inch pieces
Bean sprouts
Spring onion, cut into 1 inch pieces
Roasted peanuts, chopped
1 green chilli, chopped
Chilli powder
Oil
Lemon

Preparation:

Soak the tamarind in warm water for few minutes. Squeeze with your fingers to separate the pulp from the seeds. Remove the seeds from the liquid.

Pour the liquid in a sauce pan. Add palm sugar, caster sugar, soy sauce and fish sauce. Bring it to a boil to make tamarind sauce.
Cook rice noodles and drain water. Set it aside.
Heat your wok in high heat. Fry onion and shrimps until the shrimps start changing the colour.
Add garlic chives, bean sprouts, green chilli and spring onion. Push contents to the side of the wok and add egg. Mix well with the rest of the ingredients in the wok.

Add the noodles, tamarind sauce, peanuts and chilli powder. Mix well.
Serve with additional bean sprouts and sprinkle some crushed peanuts on top.

Baked Basa Fillet with Walnut and Olive Pesto

noreply@blogger.com (Spoon and Chopsticks) — Sat, 17 Sep 2011 23:35:00 +0000

For this baked basa fillet recipe, I made my own homemade pesto with walnuts, olives and spinach leaves instead of the usual garlic, pine nuts and basil. Cover the left-over pesto and leave it in a fridge. You can also use this pesto in bread wraps or mix with pasta.

Ingredients:

7-8 green olives
Handful of walnuts
Handful of baby spinach leaves
1 long red chilli (if you like it hotter, you may add small red chillies)
Olive oil
Pepper to taste
Basa fillets (you may use any fish fillet)

Preparation:

Use mortar and pestle to pound all the ingredients for the pesto: olives, walnuts, red chilli, olive oil, baby spinach leaves and pepper. You can also use a food processor to do this.

Apply a layer of pesto on top of your fillets.
Put the fillets on greased tray and put inside a moderate oven for about 10 minutes or until the fish is cooked.

Homemade Cinnamon Rolls

noreply@blogger.com (Spoon and Chopsticks) — Sat, 10 Sep 2011 06:59:00 +0000

Cinnamon rolls (also known as cinnamon buns) are perfect for breakfast and afternoon snacks. The store-bought cinnamon rolls are usually more sweet. In my recipe, I've tried to make the cinnamon rolls more healthy by reducing the amount of sugar. The nice aroma of freshly baked cinnamon rolls are truly inviting.

Ingredients for dough:

250-300g plain flour
5g dry yeast
1 egg
1 tbsp margarine
1 tbsp sugar
1 cup luke warm water (you may use milk instead)
1/2 tsp salt
Extra flour for dusting

Ingredients for the filling:

1 tbsp cinnamon powder
1 tbsp margarine
3-4 tbsp brown sugar

For glazing:

1 egg mixed with 2 tbsp milk

Preparing the dough:

In a bowl, mix all the dry ingredients for the dough.
Add egg, water and margarine. Mix until it forms a dough.
Dust the working surface and place the dough on the working surface. Knead the dough for a couple of minutes until the dough is smooth.
Dust the bowl and place the dough in the bowl. Sprinkle some flour on top of the dough. Cover with a clean dry cloth. Let it rest for an hour or until the dough rises double in size.

After the dough has risen, punch the air out from the dough and knead it lightly.

Dust the working surface and place the dough on the working surface.

Flatten the dough using a roller pin about 1/2 inch thickness.

Preparing the cinnamon rolls:

Mix cinnamon powder, brown sugar and margarine in a separate bowl to form a paste.
Spread the paste on the flattened dough evenly.
Roll the dough as shown below.

Cut the roll into 2-3 inch pieces.
Place the roll pieces in a baking tray lined with oil-sprayed aluminium foil or baking paper.

Cover the rolls with a clean dry cloth for about 30 minutes.
Glaze the rolls with egg mixture.

Bake in moderate oven for about 20 minutes or until brown.

Spinach and Corn Pancake

noreply@blogger.com (Spoon and Chopsticks) — Sat, 03 Sep 2011 10:11:00 +0000

This spinach and corn pancake is quick and easy to make with simple ingredients available at home. This pancake is great for a quick breakfast or light lunch. You can also add grated vegetables or diced ham to this recipe.

Ingredients:
(Yields 2 pancakes)

Spinach leaves
Corn kernels
Onion, finely diced
1/2 cup flour
2 eggs
3-4 tbsp milk to thin the batter
Salt and pepper to taste
A pinch of turmeric powder for colour (optional)
Oil

Preparation:

Mix flour, egg, milk, turmeric powder, salt and pepper. Beat until it forms a smooth batter. You may need to add more milk if the batter is thick.
Add corn kernels and onion, and mix well. To remove corn kernels from the cob, hold the cob steady on the chopping board and make downward strokes on the cob using a sharp knife. This will easily separate the kernels from the cob.

Heat oil in a non-stick pan in medium-high. Pour the batter and smooth out with a ladle.

When the bottom is cooked, add spinach leaves on top and flip over. Heat until cooked.

Serve with your favourite sauce.

Chuck Steak Salad with Green Baby Garlic

noreply@blogger.com (Spoon and Chopsticks) — Sun, 21 Aug 2011 08:22:00 +0000

I did a post about stove-top beef salad a while ago. Today I am going to do a similar recipe using thinly sliced beef chuck steak with green garlic (also known as baby garlic). The lovely flavours of green baby garlic and sesame oil really enhanced the taste of this salad.

Difference between green garlic and shallots

Green garlic looks similar to shallots or spring onion. The difference between green garlic and shallots is the shape of the leaves and the flavour. The green garlic leaves are flat while the leaves of shallots are round or tube-shaped. The green garlic also has stronger garlic flavour than the shallots.

Ingredients:

200g chuck steak, thinly sliced - about few millimetres thick. Chuck steak is supposedly a tougher cut of meat. It is important to have the slices really thin. This will make it easier to cook.
A strip or two of green garlic, cut into pieces

A small piece of ginger, crushed
Salt to taste
Chilli powder to taste
1 tsp sesame oil
Oil for frying

Preparation:

Place the thin chuck slices on a pan with oil in a medium-high heat. Cook both sides until the meat is slightly charred. Remove from heat and keep them aside.

With a little bit of oil in a pan, fry the stem part of green garlic for a minute or two. Then add the leaves and give it a good toss. Make sure the green garlic is not overcooked, otherwise they will start getting chewy.

Mix the meat slices and green garlic with salt, ginger, chilli and sesame oil. Let it rest for at least half an hour before serving.

Simple No Cheese Pizza with Mustard Paste

noreply@blogger.com (Spoon and Chopsticks) — Sat, 13 Aug 2011 05:10:00 +0000

This simple and healthy homemade pizza is full of unique flavours. I tried mustard paste on the pizza base and used only a few toppings without cheese on this pizza. A good drizzle of olive oil and Sriracha chilli sauce on top added extra flavours to this cheeseless pizza. Hope you'll enjoy!

Ingredients for pizza topping:

2-3 tsp mustard paste. I used "Hot English" mustard paste.
8-10 olives, cut in half
4-5 mushrooms, sliced
7-8 prawns
Olive oil
Chilli sauce (I used Sriracha Thai chilli sauce)

Preparing the pizza base:
For ingredients and preparing the dough for the pizza base, please refer to my earlier post on homemade pizza. I followed the same steps demonstrated on the post.

For this pizza, I made my base a bit thinner. I used a roller to flatten the dough.

Preparing the pizza:

Use some olive oil on the pan before placing the pizza base.
Apply an even layer of mustard paste on the pizza base.

Put the toppings- mushrooms, olives and prawns; and evenly spread them around the base.

Bake in a preheated oven of 300°C for about 15 to 20 minutes or until the crust is cooked.

Before serving, drizzle some olive oil on top.
I also tried some Sriracha chilli sauce on top for a nice chilli flavour.

Red Kidney Beans in Tomato Sauce

noreply@blogger.com (Spoon and Chopsticks) — Mon, 08 Aug 2011 23:05:00 +0000

Red beans are a good source of iron and protein. Red beans are also very good source of cholesterol-lowering fiber. To make it as a full meal, you may also add some cooked pasta or rice. It also goes very well with any type of bread. This delicious homemade red kidney beans in tomato sauce is also a good substitute for red meat.

For this recipe, I have used dry red kidney beans as they don't contain any preservatives and they are cheaper. However, you can also use canned beans for this recipe.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup of dry red kidney beans, soaked overnight
1 small onion, chopped
1/2 cup of plain pasta sauce
1 tbsp tomato sauce
1 tsp cumin powder
1 tbsp oil
1 tsp sugar
Salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup of water
Coriander to garnish

Preparation:

Boil the red kidney beans in salted water until they are soft. Once its cooked, drain and put aside.
Heat the oil in sauce pan and cook the onions until they are brown.
Add the pasta sauce, cumin powder, salt and pepper. Stir it well and cook for 2 minutes to get aroma of cumin.
Add water and wait till it comes to boil.
Add the red kidney beans, tomato sauce and sugar. Simmer it until the sauce is thick or the consistency you like.
Garnish it with some coriander or any other fresh herbs.