Spicy Dishes

Spicy Aubergine Cassarole

Ingredients:

-         100 grammes pork minced

-         350-400 grammes aubergine/eggplant

-         1 shallot chopped

-         2 clove garlic chopped

-         1 tablespoon tomato paste

-         2 – 3 tablespoons cooking oil

-         1 ½  to 2 tablespoon Chilli Bean Sauce

-         ½ cup chicken broth

-         ½ tablespoon oyster sauce

-         ½ table spoon coriander ( optional)

-         1 spring onion cut into fine rings

Marinade:

-         ¼ teaspoon salt

-         ¼  teaspoon sugar

-         ½ teaspoon Chinese wine or dry sherry

-         ½ teaspoon light soya sauce

-         ½ teaspoon dark soya sauce

-         a pinch of ground white pepper

-         a dash of sesame oil

-         ½  teaspoon cornstarch

-         ½ tablespoon water

Method:

1.      Mix the minced pork with the marinade and put it into the fridge to stand for 20 – 30 minutes

2.      Cut the aubergine lengthwise into half inch thick slices and than cut the each slice diagonally into strips.  If you prefer not to have the skin on, peel the skin off before you cut the aubergine.

3.      Heat a heavy bottom saucepan or a casserole with the cooking oil. When hot, stir in the tomato paste and let it cook on high heat for a ½ minute or until the oil turns red.

4.      Add shallot, garlic and cook for 30 seconds and then stir in chilli bean paste. Stir for another minute.

5.      Add minced pork and mix well with the sauce.  Stir well and try to break down the pork mince with spatula to avoid them forming lumps. 

6.      Cook for 2 minutes and pour half of the chicken broth, mix well and add aubergine.  The aubergine will absorb the liquid very quickly, keep stirring and little by little add the other half of the chicken broth and the oyster sauce.

7.      Lower the heat and let the mixture simmer for ten minutes, you can adjust the quantity of the sauce by adding more warm chicken broth or warm water, depending on how much sauce you prefer in this dish.

8.      Before serving, add salt to taste if needed, sprinkle spring onion and coriander.

 Hints-

-         If you use Asian eggplant which is long and thin and paler in colour. Simmer for less time because It is easier to cook through and softer.

-         As you simmer the mixture and the aubergine softens, you will find more liquid release from the mixture.

-         When you cut aubergine, you can put the cut pieces into a bowl of water with salt to avoid it turning brown, but make sure you drain them well before you cook.

-         If you are having a dinner party, this dish could be prepared beforehand (in fact, it tastes better the next day ).  Follow all the steps, only leaving the spring onions and coriander till before you serve.

-         This can be a vegetarian dish - simply omit the marinated minced pork.

Main Dish

Steamed Chicken and Shitake Mushroom Wrapped in Chinese Tien Jin Cabbage ( Won Bok)

Ingredients:

-         2 boneless chicken thighs, with or without skin

-         16 pieces similar size Tien Jin cabbage (won bok) leaves (please see hint below)

-         8 medium size shitake mushroom, dried or fresh

-         4 streaky bacon rashers (optional)

-         Big pot of boiling water

-         Coarse sea salt for blanching.

-         16 tooth picks

Seasoning:

-         Ground pepper

-         ½ teaspoon flaky sea salt

-         1 teaspoon light soy sauce

-         ¼ teaspoon caster sugar

-         1 teaspoon fresh root ginger juice

-         Drops of sesame oil

Sauce:

-         1 dried scallop (conpoy)

-         ¼ teaspoon flaky sea salt

-         2 teaspoon corn starch

-         1 tablespoon water

-         ½ cup chicken broth or the juice given out when steaming the chicken wraps

Method:

1.      Rehydrate the dried shitake mushroom ( for dried mushroom only) and dried scallop by soaking them in water for 2 – 3 minutes, drain them and soak them again in water. Soak the mushroom till they are soft and squeeze them dry. Soak the dry scallop till soft, squeeze it dry and shred them by hand. Set them aside and keep the soaking liquid.

2.      Clean, drain and dry the chicken thigh with paper towel, cut each of them into 8 equal pieces and season them with ground pepper, sea salt, light soy sauce, sugar, ginger juice and a few drops of sesame oil.

3.      Cut each shitake mushroom into 2 equal parts by slicing them at a 45 degree angle. Also cut each bacon rasher into 4 even pieces (optional).

4.      Select the cabbage leaves near the core, clean and drain them. Cut the bigger ones lengthwise to achieve all leaves in similar width. Heat a big pot of water to boil, add coarse salt and blanch the cabbage leaves. Take them out as soon as they are softened. Drain and pat them dry.

5.      Place a piece of chicken, mushroom and bacon (optional) at the leafy end of the cabbage leaf and roll them up to the top as picture above. Close them with a tooth pick, put all the parcels in a serving plate and steam them in a wok or steamer for 10 minutes.

6.      Meanwhile, put the water that soaked the scallop in a saucepan or frying pan, when it starts boiling, turn down the heat to medium low and put in the shredded scallop to simmer. If more liquid is needed when simmering, add little by little the water that soaked the mushroom. The liquid should all be absorbed when the scallop is cooked and completely softened. Turn the heat off and wait for the cabbage to be ready.

7.      When the cabbage parcels are ready, carefully pour out the juice that the parcels have released during steaming into the saucepan or the frying pan with the shredded scallop. Turn the heat back on, mix the corn starch and water, when the juice boils, add in salt and the corn starch mix in and keep stirring with a wooden spoon till the juice thickens and become sauce.

8.      Take out the tooth picks that hold the cabbage parcels, pour the scallop sauce on top and serve.

Hint:

-        Choose the cabbage leaves near the core because their fibres are not as stringy as the outer leaves.  It will be difficult to have 16 leaves in similar size, just cut the bigger ones lengthwise and make sure the width of the leaves are similar. The difference in length is not important.

-        If fresh shitake mushroom is used, no soaking requires, just half them in a 45 degree cut, this reduce the thickness of the mushroom but maintain a similar size with the chicken pieces and the bacon

-        If health is a concern, do not use the bacon. If bacon is used, streaky bacon is recommended.

-        If you want to introduce another texture to the dish, you could deep fried the shredded scallop instead and sprinkle them on top of the sauce before serving.

Calorie Restricted

Grilled Chicken Breast with Mange Tout and vegetables with Orange Juice Dressing (292 Calories)

Ingredients:

-         200 grammes skinless chicken breast.                                                              211.6 Calories

-         100 grammes Mange Tout                                                                                     26 calories

-         60 grammes red onion, about half of a medium size onion                            22 calories            

-         60 grammes red capsicum, about half of a medium size capsicum             17 calories

-         60 grammes of cucumber, about 10 thin slices                                                 9 calories

-         1 tablespoon orange juice                                                                                      7 calories

-         Ground pepper

-         Flaky sea salt for seasoning

-         Course sea salt for blanching the mange tout

-         Pot of boiling water

-         Small amount of cooking oil

Method:

1.      Trim off all remaining fat on the breast, rinse and dry with paper towels. Season with salt and pepper.

2.      Cut half of the onion into rings, the red capsicum into strips and cucumber into thins slices. Trim both ends of the mange tout . Rinse all vegetables and drain well. Squeeze out a tablespoon of orange juice from half of an orange. Set them aside.

3.      Heat up a non-stick skillet with grill lines on the stove and at the same time boil a big pot of water.

4.      Brush some cooking oil on the skillet, when the skillet is very hot put in the chicken breast, serving side down, also put in the red onion bedside the breast and grill at the same time. Grill the breast for 3 minutes. turn it 90 degrees and grill for another 3 minutes on the same side to achieve the nice “char pattern”. Turn the onion rings occasionally to grill them to a bit char but not burnt. Take the onion out from the skillet when they are cooked and set aside.

5.      Meanwhile, when the pot of water starts to boil, add some course sea salt and put in the mange tout. Blanch them and when they start changing to bright green colour, take them out by a slotted spoon, drain and set aside.

6.      After grilling the chicken breast with the serving side up for a total of 6 minutes,  turn down the heat slightly and grill the other side for another 6 minutes. If there are sides /surfaces that are not seared/cooked properly, press them onto the skillet to assist cooking.

7.      Use a sharp skewer or knife to pierce into the thickest part of the breast, if clear juice comes out, the breast is done.

8.      When the breast is done, take the chicken breast out of the skillet and let it rest for a few minutes.  Before you turn down the heat of the skillet, put in red capsicum and cucumber rings and stir round the skillet for1 to 2 minute to warm/wilt the vegetables.

9.      Put the red onion, mange tout, red capsicum and cucumber onto serving plate and put the chicken breast on top. Pour the tablespoon of orange juice on top before serving.

Hint:

-         The amount of cooking oil brush onto the skillet should be as little as possible so as not to add too much calorie to the dish.

-         This is a warm dish for winter.

-         Depends on the thickness of the chicken breast, you may need to add or reduce the cooking time. Checking with a skewer for doneness is recommended. 

Seafood

Pan Fried Salmon with Roast Fennel and Cherry Tomatoes served with Fusilli in Fennel Pesto Sauce

Ingredients:

-         500 grammes Salmon Fillet

-         2 fennel bulbs with stalks and fronds

-         20 cherries tomatoes about 200 grammes

-         Flaky sea salt

-         Ground pepper

-         1 tablespoon coarse sea salt

-         2 tablespoon olive  oil

-         ½ cup plain flour

-         2 tablespoon cooking oil for frying

Pasta and Pesto Sauce:

-         250 grammes Fusilli

-         Coarse sea salt for cooking pasta

-         Fennel stalks and fronds from the fennel bulbs above

-         1 clove garlic

-         8 tablespoon or ½ cup olive oil

-         4 mint leaves

-         1 tablespoon lemon juice

-         Flaky salt to taste

Method:

1.      Rinse the salmon fillet and take out the remaining bones with a pair of tweezers and remove the scales from the skin. Cut the fillet into four even portions and dry them thoroughly with paper towels. Season the fillet pieces with flaky salt and pepper on all sides, set them aside.

2.      Preheat the oven to 220C /425F for conventional oven or 210/410F for convection oven.  Heat up a big pot of water.

3.      Cut off the stalk and fronds from the fennel bulbs and save them for the pesto sauce. Cut the bulbs into halves lengthwise and cut each half into 2 – 3 wedges. When the water is boiling, add coarse sea salt and the fennel, boil them for 10 minutes and drain.

4.      Cut fennel stalks in small rings and pick the leaves from the fronds. Cut the clove of garlic into thin slices. Put the fennel stalk, stalk of the fronds, garlic slices, mint leaves, lemon juice and olive oil into a blender. Blend the mixture  well, add salt to taste and set this pesto sauce aside.

5.      Rinse and dry the cherry tomatoes.  Pierce the top end of each tomato with a bamboo skewer and put them in a roasting tin with the drained fennel. Spread them evenly, sprinkle some flaky sea salt and drizzle 2 tablespoons of olive oil on top of them and put them into the preheated oven for 20 minutes.

6.      While the vegetables are in the oven, boil another big pot of water for the pasta, when the water is boiling, add coarse salt and dry fusilli, cook as directed in the package or till al dente and drain.

7.      Heat up a frying pan with 2 tablespoons of cooking oil. Dust the salmon fillet pieces in plain flour on all sides (make sure you shake off excess flour) and put them in the pan when the oil is hot. Put the skin side down first and use a spatula to gently press the fillet down to prevent the fillet  curl up when they start shrinking.

8.      Fry the skin side for 1 to 1 ½  minutes till it is brown, then turn to the side and fry each side for 1 minute. Fry the side opposite to the skin last. You may need to tilt the pan to get the oil to the meat on this side because this side cannot sit evenly in the pan. Take the fillet pieces out with a slotted spoon and drain the excess oil.

9.      Toss the fennel pesto into the drained fusilli and sprinkle the fine fennel leaves onto the pasta. Serve the Salmon on top of the roasted fennel and tomatoes.

Hint:

-         Cutting the salmon fillet to smaller portion helps to judge the doneness of the fish. You can actually see the meat turns colour.

-         The timing of frying the salmon above will give you a soft centre result.  Adjust your own time if you want it rarer or more cooked.  Don’t forget the fish will still be cooking for a while after you take them out from the frying pan.

-         Using flour to dust the salmon before frying helps reduce oil splashing, holds the meat better and gives a better colour.

-         If you want a crispy skin, fry the skin side longer and reduce the frying time of the other sides.

-         You can also peel the skin of the cherry tomatoes.

Tapas/Starters

A Dozen Oysters Served 4 Ways

Ingredients:

-         12 oysters, pacific or bluff oysters in NZ

-         1 egg, beaten

-         Plain flour for  dusting and 1 teaspoon for mixing

-         Panko

-         1 tablespoon Soy sauce

-         1 teaspoon white wine vinegar

-         1 teaspoon Fine sea salt

-         1/8  teaspoon ground pepper

-         1/8 teaspoon five spice powder

-         Oil for deep frying

Dipping sauce/condiments:

1.      Lemon wedges

2.      Minced shallot in white wine vinegar

3.      Minced garlic in mayonnaise with a few drops of lemon juice

4.      Minced coriander

Method:

1.      Save 3 oysters for  au naturel, serve them with lemon wedges and minced shallot in white wine vinegar.

2.      Rinse off the slimy bits of the remaining 9 oysters and dry them thoroughly with paper towels.

3.      Crumbed:-

Dust 3 oysters with plain flour then put them in beaten egg and covered with panko and deep fried them till turning golden. Drain excess oil and serve with garlic mayonnaise.

4.      Salt and Pepper:-

Mixed 1/8 teaspoon ground pepper, 1/8 teaspoon five spice powder, 1 teaspoon sea salt and 1 teaspoon plain flour together. Coat 3 oysters with this mixture and deep fry them  for 1 minute or till they turn golden. Drain excess oil and sprinkle with minced coriander and serve.

5.      Torched:-

Mix the soy sauce with 1 teaspoon of white wine vinegar, brush a layer of the mixed sauce on top of 3 oysters, then a layer of beaten egg and torch them till they start to char but do not burn them. Brush with another layer of mixed sauce before serving.

Hint:

-         After mixing the garlic, lemon juice and mayonnaise, leave them for 10 minutes to let the garlic infuse into the mayonnaise before serving.  Same for the minced shallot in white wine vinegar.

-         Make sure the oil is hot enough when deep frying the oysters with salt and pepper, if the oil is not hot enough, the flour coating will turn gluey.

-         Make sure you shake off excess panko or flour with salt and pepper before you deep fry the oysters.