Thai curried fried rice

December 8, 2013February 19, 2014 | Rekha Vengalil

One of the easiest one-pot meal that can be done up in a jiffy…

You can use beef, pork or prawns and veggies of your choice. Of course don’t use veggies that get too mushy as they cook. I have not used salt as store brought curry paste are salty and so does fish sauce. So please taste first before adding salt.

You need –

Red curry paste – 2 tablespoon
Cooked cold rice – 2.5 cups
Chicken fillet – 200 grams, cut into thin strips
French beans – Cut into 1.5 inch long, 1/2 cup
Carrot – Cut into thin 1.5 inch long, 1/2 cup
Baby corn – Cut into 1.5 inch long, 1/2 cup
Lime leaves – 2, finely chopped
Fish sauce – 1.5 tablespoons
Spring onions and coriander leaves to garnish

How to –

Heat oil in wok/skillet. Add the curry paste and cook till fragrant and oil starts to separate. Add the chicken strips and fry till done.

Add the veggies and cook till done ( Do not over cook. Keep them crisp). Add the rice, lime leaves and fish sauce. Combine well and continue to fry till the rice is heated through.

Garnish with spring onions and coriander leaves. Serve hot with fried eggs.

Sending this recipe to Cooking With Seeds (CWS) December 2013: Rice. For detial on the events click here CWS event announcement

Asian inspired chicken with roasted potatoes

November 28, 2013February 19, 2014 | Rekha Vengalil

You need –

Boneless and skinless chicken thighs – 2, cut into bite size pieces
Potatoes – 3 small, quartered
Fresh rosemary – 1 sprig of rosemary
Garlic – 2 cloves
Grated ginger – 1 teaspoon
Onion – 1, finely sliced
Dried red chili – 2-3 or per taste
Dark soy sauce – 1 tablespoon
Chili sauce – 2 teaspoons
Honey – 1 teaspoon
Paprika – 1 teaspoon
Ground oregano – a good pinch
Crushed pepper – ½ teaspoon
Crushed fennel seeds – ¼ teaspoon
Salt to taste
Olive Oil as required

How to –

Pre- heat the oven to 180 C.

In a baking tray, put the potatoes, rosemary, garlic (with skin on); sprinkle the ground oregano and drizzle around 1 tablespoon of oil. Toss well and bake for 30 minutes or until they are tender and golden tossing them twice in between. Remove and set aside. Remove the garlic ; peal the skin and mash it.

Heat oil in wok, add the grated ginger, mashed garlic, dried chilies and fry for a few seconds. Now till the onion and cook till translucent.

Add paprika, crushed pepper and fennel seeds. Cook for 2-3 minutes. Increase the heat to high and add the chicken and cook for 3-4 minutes. Now reduce the heat and cook till the chicken is almost done.

Add the roasted potatoes along rosemary and mix well. Now add the soy sauce, chili sauce and honey. Stir well and cook till the sauce is thick and chicken is done.

Turn off the heat and serve hot with fried rice or just plain rice.

Note – Please adjust the spices to suit your taste.

Thai Mango Sticky Rice

November 11, 2013February 21, 2014 | Rekha Vengalil

You need –

Glutinous rice – 2/3 cup
Thick coconut milk – 3/4 cup + 1/4 cup for the sauce
Granulated sugar – 3-4 tablespoons + 1 tablespoon for the sauce
Ripe mangoes – 2
A pinch of salt
Yellow split peas – 2 tablespoons, dry roasted

How to –

Rinse the rice in several changes of running cold water. and soak the rice over night in bowl of fresh water.

Drain the rice well and spread it evenly in a steamer lined with muslin or cheese cloth. Cover and steam over a pan of simmering water for about 25-30 minutes or till the rice is tender.

To make the sauce, In a pan warm 1/4 cup of coconut milk over low heat. Add 1 Tablespoon. sugar (Add more to suit your taste), stir till the sugar dissolves. Turn off the heat and set aside.

In pan pour 3/4 cup of coconut milk salt and sugar. Over a medium heat, stir continuously and dissolve the sugar. Bring to a boil. Now add the rice and stir well. Turn off the heat. Cover and leave the rice mixture to stand for 10 – 15 minutes.

Peel the mangoes, cut into slices. To serve spoon the rice on to the serving plates and sprinkle the peas over. Arrange the mango slices on the side and drizzle the sauce over.

Note – Traditionally bamboo baskets are used for steaming. So if you have one go ahead and steam the rice in the basket lined with muslin or cheese cloth as mentioned in the recipe above.

Asian style linguine

June 30, 2013February 12, 2014 | Rekha Vengalil

My weekday lunch is quick and one pot meal most of the time as it’s just me for lunch at home and too lazy for anything else. This is also the time when the creative cook in me gets working with what is available and no referring to cook books or browsing for a recipe.

Most often the base ingredient is left over rice, pasta or noodles. And then loaded with veggies. Also there is another ingredient that is used very often “the sambal chili paste “(guess you know that by now). It comes so handy especially for fried rice, noodles and stir-fries. Options are many. They add so much depth to a simple dish. If you ask me its a must have in your pantry.

Here’s another simple, great tasting recipe (if I can say that myself) that was just born out of curiosity to cook Italian, the Asian way 🙂

You need –

Linguine – 200 grams
Egg – 2, Scrambled
White button mushroom – 200 grams, thinly sliced
Shallots – 3, finely chopped
Garlic – 1 large clove, minced
Sambal chili paste – 1 tablespoon
Olive oil – 3 tablespoon
Salt and pepper to taste
Parsley to garnish

How to –

Cook the pasta as per the instructions on the packet.

Heat oil in a pan on medium-low flame, add the garlic. saute the garlic briefly making sure not to burn the garlic. Add the chopped shallots and cook till translucent. Add the sambal chili paste, salt to taste and saute for a couple of minutes or till fragrant.