Beef marinate….with a hint of coffee

From memory this is my father’s favourite beef marinate recipe and to be honest it is very popular with my guest when served with aromatic jasmine rice and my father’s soya bean sauce with lime juice, chillies and coriander.

Ingredients
Beef (any cut with a little fat)
Oyster sauce (2-3 tbsp)
Salt (½ a teaspoon)
Sugar (¾ of a teaspoon)
Black pepper (½ teaspoon)
Chillies (1 finely chopped)
Asian Herb x 3 leaf
Coffee (1 teaspoon)

Sauce
Fermented soya beans (can be bought at any Asian stores)
Lime (1 lime)
Sugar (add to take)
Chillies
Asian Herb x 1 leaf
Coriander

Steps
1. Wash beef in cold water and pat dry
2. Cut the beef into BBQ-able size and place in a large bowl
3. Add 2 -3 tablespoon of oyster sauce depending on amount of beef, ½ tsp of salt and ¾ tsp of sugar, ½ tsp of black pepper, 1 finely chopped chilli, 1 tsp of coffee and the finely chopped Asian herb ( 3 leaf ). Massage this into the beef and leave for 1 hr or overnight
4. Grill the beef and cook depending on how you like your beef


Sauce
1. Add 3 tbsp into a blender then add 1 tbsp of sugar and chillies
2. Add ½ a lime to taste; ensure the salty sweet and sour is balanced
3. Take out the mixture and finely chop the Asian Herb and add it to the sauce
4. Finally chop some coriander and add it to the sauce. Stir through the herb into the sauce.

Serve sauce on the side of the beef and some rice

Thai Style Duck Salad

Ingredients

Half BBQ duck, cut and remove all bones to ensure duck is in pieces
Half bag of Salad mix
1 carrot shredded
1 cucumber, sliced
1 red onion, sliced
Handful of fresh herbs (include mint, coriander, spring onion)
4 Tablespoon Roasted peanuts, chopped (extra if needed)

Sauce dressing

1 lime
3 red chillies
2 cloves of garlic
2 Tablespoon fish sauce
1 Tablespoon brown sugar
1 Teaspoon salt
5 Tablespoon boiled water.

Method

1. Combine salad mix into serving dish, arrange duck with carrot, cucumber, onion.
2. Blend garlic and chilli, add boiling water, sugar, salt, fish sauce and lime juice and mix
3. Pour dressing into salad mixture dish and sprinke roasted peanuts and herb mixture.

Cambodian style red curry...Modified my way

I remember going to home BBQ’s and family get to togethers and seeing this dish. Modified and cooked in many ways in accordance to their own personal style. My personal style is the Cambodian style, sweet and simple.....just the way mum makes it....







Ingredients

1kg of chicken drum sticks
3 red onions
Carrots (as many as you want)
Small potato (as many as you want)
Fish sauce
Sugar or Palm sugar
Red Curry Paste (can be bought at any Asian supermarket)
Garlic (2 cloves) Coconut milk (2 cans)

Cooking Time
43 minutes


Steps:

1. Heat a deep pot for 2 minutes and add 1 table spoon of oil. Then add some small coarsely chopped garlic ( 2 cloves )
2. Once the garlic has browned, add the curry paste and red onion to fry off some of the aroma and then add half a tin of coconut milk. Stir the mixture and let it cook for 1 min and then add the chicken drumsticks. Stir the mixture to ensure it covers the drumstick and pop the lid on for 15 minutes to medium heat.
3. After simmering for 15 minutes, add the rest of the coconut milk plus the extra can and add some water to half way up the pot. Add the potato and pop the lid back on and simmer on medium heat for another 15 minutes.
4. Add the carrots and let cook for another 10 minutes.

Serve with either rice, vermicelli (my style) or bread.

Deep fried chicken wings stuffed with prawns

My mum taught me how to debone the wings when I was a lot younger and after encountering many so called ‘chicken bone splinters’, I can now say ‘my mum taught me how to do that’. This is my own version of the recipe crispy and a hint of paprika.







1.5kg of Deboned Chicken Wings

Stuffing mixture
300g of Green banana prawns deveined
200g of Pork Mince
50g of dried mushroom
50g of sliced bamboo
50g chestnuts
100g of thin clear noodles
3 cloves of minced garlic
1 tbsp of Fish Sauce
0.5 tsp of salt
0.5 tsp of pepper
0.5 tsp of MSG (Optional)
0.5 tsp of sugar

Marinate
1 tbsp of Honey
2 tbsp of Soya Sauce
0.5 tsp of pepper

Batter
1 cup of flour
1 cup of Milk
Tbsp of Paprika
Salt and Pepper to taste
2 cup of bread crumb

3 cups of oil
Handful of Coriander and Spring Onion Optional

Preparation
1. Debone Chicken wings
2. Dice chestnuts into small pieces
3. Soak clear noodles in boiling water for 5 mins or until soft
4. Soak dried mushroom in boiling water for 5 mins or until soft
5. To prepare the batter. Sift flour into a small mixing bowl, add salt, pepper and paprika. Add milk in last and mix well. The batter should resemble a smooth consistency.

Cooking
1. Place deboned chicken wings in a large bowl, put honey, soya sauce and pepper and mix well. Cover with cling wrap and marinate for 2 hours or overnight if you have time
2. To prepare the stuffing, chop prawns into small pieces and place into a small mixing bowl and add pork mince, garlic, mushroom and bamboo. Season the stuffing with salt, pepper and fish sauce.
3. Remove the marinated chicken wings from the refrigerator and for each put prepared stuffing each chicken wing
4. Once ready cover all the chicken wings in the batter and bread crumb
5. Place oil in a deep frying pot and wait until oil is hot. Once ready place the chicken wings in the pot, making sure there is room and lower heat. Cook the chicken wings until golden and crisp approximately 10-15 mins.
6. Place cooked chicken wings in a oil strainer to remove excess oil
7. Serve on a plate and garnish with coriander and spring onions

Note: cooking the chicken wings on lower heat ensures the chicken is cooked thoroughly inside out.

Year of the Tiger- better to live one year as tiger than a lifetime as a sheep.

2010 is the year of the Tiger based on the Chinese Calender. Tigers are fierce, loyal, nuturing and strong. Seeing as i am born in 1986 i like to remind myself that i have inherited at least one of these characteristics or so i hope.

Chinese New Year festivities are emerging, how do i know this? Well, that is easy. When i walked down Cabramatta and all the groceries are lined with red shiny cellophane paper filled with coconut candy and nutty delights.. I remember Chinese new year as a child as i was given the red pockets 'unn bao'. i would use this money to go to the corner store with my older cousins where my ama and agug lived. Chinese new year is a tradition in our family where we pray to our ancestors, eat crispy pork and cha seow with chinese vegetables. As i get older, the red pockets are slowly dwindling and i soon realise it will be my turn to hand out the small red envelops to the kids.

koi mun, gouy kak, banana fritters

Every weekend i wake up to my parents preparing for the weekly sales of banana fritters at the local asian grocery. i love the smell of coconut and the taste of warm fried banana. Its deep fried sweet coconut gives a crunch everytime you bite into the banana and surely makes you wonder if anyone can hear you. Do not cover with any cling wrap or foil as it will spoil the texture and leave it soggy..