Food Minia

Thai Translation - Naw Mai = Bamboo Shoot, Moo = Pork, Nam = Water This soup is a distinctly northern dish. It is made with fresh bamboo shoots that are cut from the base of certain types of bamboo plants. The shoots are then shredded and boiled with pork bones to make a delicate soup with soft pork meat. Bamboo shoots can be purchased in jars or tins from Asian grocery stores. You should endevour to buy whole bamboo shoots rather than the pre-cut ones as they will have a better flavour for the soup. Some Asian grocery stores will also have the fresh ones which are much better to use though! Cooking Time - 1 hour Preparation Time - 10 minutes Serves 4 Ingredients 1-2 fresh bamboo shoots 150g meaty pork bones 1 litre chicken or pork stock 1 tsp soy sauce Method Prepare the bamboo shoots by removing the outer hard layers and finely cut the soft inside sections. Remove any excess fat from the pork. Bring your stock to the boil and add the bamboo shoots and pork. Bring soup to the

Thai Translation - Pad = Stir Fried, Khana = Chinese Broccoli, Moo Grob = Crispy Pork This delicious dish with a hint of the Chinese influence on thai cooking is super easy and super yummy. Made with only a couple of ingredients, it can be quickly whipped up and served with steamed rice. This is a dish I fell in love with at Spice I Am restaurant in Sydney. The flavours were amazing and I had never eaten Thai food like it before. This recipe will definitely have you wanting more! Cooking Time – 10 minutes Preparation Time – 5 minutes Serves 2 Ingredients 1 bunch chinese broccoli ½ cup crispy pork ½ tsp white pepper 2 tbsp oyster sauce 1 tsp powdered chicken or pork stock 1 tsp cornflour dissolved in 2 tbsp water 3 medium red chilli's 4 cloves garlic 2 tbsp vegetable oil Method Wash your chinese broccoli and slice into thirds. Finely dice the garlic cloves and chop the chilli's in half (leave whole if you prefer it to be mildly spicy) Heat your oil in wok over medium high he

Thai Translation: Moo = Pork, Grob = Crispy Moo Grob is an ingredient that is used in a number of different stir fries. It is made from pork belly that is fatty meat with layers of skin and fat. When it is fried in this way the fat will become soft and the flavour of the meat enhanced. When this is made, you will only need to use a small amount of it for your dish. It can be sliced and served with rice and thick sweet soy sauce or used in soups and stir fries. In Thailand, you can buy this pork ready made from markets or street vendors. Cooking Time – 15 minutes Preparation time – 3 hours Ingredients 500g pork belly 3 tablespoons salt 3 tablespoons white pepper Oil for frying Method Wash the pork and cut into slices approximately 1 inch wide. Boil the meat in a large pot until the skin is tender but firm. This will take 30 – 45 minutes. Remove from the water and allow to cool slightly. Using a fork, puncture the skin of the meat and then rub the salt and pepper into the skin and

Arguably the most famous Thai dish of them all, Pad Thai is a favourite in both Thailand and abroad. Its ribbons of rice noodles that are stir fried with soy sauce, egg, vegetables and meat. Typically, this is a dish that is sold by street vendors or in pad thai shops. This particular version uses chicken but this can easily be substituted with prawns, tofu or pork. The dish is usually made with 'pad thai' tofu which is hard tofu that is coloured bright yellow on the outside with tumeric. Peanuts and mung beans are add a delicious depth to the flavour of the pad thai and also provide extra nutrients and are high in vitamins too. Cooking Time - 10 minutes Preparation time - 10 minutes Serves 2 Ingredients 2 Tbsp vegetable oil 1 Tbsp fish sauce 1 tsp soy sauce 1 tsp sugar 150g chicken 2 garlic cloves 2 small red chilli's (optional) 100g rice noodles 1 egg 1 small carrot 1 lime small handful mung beans 1 Tbsp crushed peanuts 3 – 4 garlic chives 1 – 2 shallots 1 piece choy su

Thai Translation – Gaeng= Curry, Penang = Penang, Gai = Chicken This creamy chicken curry will be a favourite in no time. Its very easy to make and tastes amazing when you make your own curry paste too! Adding extra vegetables like pumpkin, eggplant or potato will not only stretch the dish further, but will make it that little bit more nutritious too. Cooking Time – 15 minutes Preparation Time – 5 minutes Serves 4 Ingredients 200g chicken 1Tbsp penang curry paste 250ml coconut milk 1 kaffir lime leaf 2 small red chilli's 2 tsp fish sauce Method Prepare the chicken – slice thinly and remove any fat or gristle. In a wok or non-stick fry pan, boil 2 Tbsp coconut milk over low heat until oil begins to appear on the surface. Turn heat to medium and add curry paste and cook until fragrant – 1-2 minutes. Add chicken to wok and cook until it turns white. Add rest of coconut milk and bring to the boil. Reduce heat and simmer until it begins to thicken. Add fish sauce and turn heat of

Thai Translation – Gai = Chicken, Sai = Add, Takrai = Lemongrass Gai sa takrai is a deliciously spicy and herb laden dish. It has an unusual taste, unlike other Thai dishes but you wont be dissatisfied if you take the plunge and eat it. If you prefer your dishes on the mild end of the scale, leave out some of the chilli, but add a little just for taste. Cooking Time – 5 minutes Preparation Time – 10 minutes Serves 4 Ingredients 200g chicken ½ onion 1 stem lemongrass 3 shallots 4 small chillis 2 kaffir lime leaves 1 inch piece galanga 1/2 chicken stock cube / 1 tsp chicken stock 1 Tbsp fish sauce 2 tsp dried chilli 1 tsp sugar Juice from ½ lime Oil for frying Method Prepare the chicken – slice thinly and remove any gristle or fat. Finely chop the lemongrass, garlic, kaffir lime leaf and galangal. Chop the shallots and garlic chives into inch long pieces. Slice the onion into medium sized pieces. Chop the chilli roughly – note: the finer you cut the chilli, the spicier it will be

Satay sauce is a creamy and nutty sauce that goes very well with grilled meats. It is highly addictive, tastes great on its own and is ridiculously easy to make. You wont ever buy a store-made version of this sauce again! Ingredients 1/3 cup peanut butter ½ cup coconut milk 2 garlic cloves 2 – 4 medium chilli's 2 tsp soy sauce 1 tbsp brown sugar or palm sugar ½ lime Meanwhile, finely dice the garlic and chilli's and place into a bowl. Add the soy sauce and sugar. Stir well to combine. Add the peanut butter and mix well. Add the coconut milk to the peanut mix and carefully combine them, stirring well. This may take a few minutes for the milk and peanut to mix.   

Thai Translation – Gai = Chicken, Satay = Type of Sauce Chicken Satay is a really popular dish all over the world. Its creamy and nutty flavour combined with a small amount of spice means that it is a favourite of many. Serve this with rice so that you can eat the creamy nutty sauce, and you can even make these into a barbeque staple for something a little special. Cooking Time – 10 minutes Preparation Time – 10 minutes (+ 30minutes marinating time) Serves 4 Ingredients 300g chicken ½ cup coconut milk 1 tsp turmeric 2 tsp brown sugar or palm sugar 1 tsp cumin ½ tsp black pepper Recipe for Satay Sauce (click here) Method Prepare the marinade for the chicken – combine the turmeric, brown sugar and cumin in a medium bowl. Add the coconut milk and stir to dissolve the chicken. Add the chicken which you have cut into slices to the marinade and refrigerate for at least 30minutes. Heat a non-stick frypan or work over medium to high heat. Add a small amount of vegetable oil if required.

Thai Translation – Gaeng = Curry, Phed = Spicy, Neua = Beef Red curry is a fragrant and creamy curry, hearty and tempting. It is best served with fluffy white rice or sticky rice. You can purchase pre-made curry pastes in most supermarkets which are very good. But they are no substitute for a freshly made paste of your own that can be whipped up in minutes. Lean beef is an excellent source of protein and other minerals. It is delicious in a curry and when cooked well, it has a delicate mineral taste that goes superbly with a hearty creamy flavours in the curry. The eggplants in this curry are Thai eggplants that are small and round and often described as bitter. There are three main varieties you can use for this recipe –egg size and shaped eggplants (makhue prot), the pea sized eggplant ( makhue puang) which are crunchy and bitter in taste or the purple eggplants or aubergine. Look for the Thai eggplants in Asian supermarkets, but you can use aubergine for this recipe – just be caref

Thai Translation – Tom = Spicy Soup, Kha = Galangal, Gai = Chicken Tom Kha Gai is a warm, creamy and aromatic soup that is a crowd favourite. It is made with coconut milk and the essential ingredient that must be used in it is galangal. This is a root spice that is similar to ginger, but very different. You should not attempt to make this with ginger instead of galangal as the flavours will be all wrong. Tom Kha Gai can be served in small bowls with a side dish of rice and when eating it you should avoid the woody lemongrass, galangal and lime leaf. You can also add a few drops of chilli oil to the surface of the soup for taste and presentation and a small dish of fish sauce to add a saltiness to the soup if desired. Cooking Time - 20 minutes Preparation Time - 10 minutes Serves 4 Ingredients 500ml coconut milk 200g chicken ½ tomato ½ onion 4 – 5 straw mushrooms (regular mushrooms can also be used) 1 – 2 chilli's 1 thin piece galangal 1 piece lemongrass 1 lime 2 tsp fish sauce 1 t

From Abita Brewery - Abita Springs, Louisiana I just finished my newest post on my visit to the Abita Brewing Company Tour and Tasting Room. Two words: Free Beer. Good beer as much as you would like to drink with 15 varieties to try before and after the tour in the tasting room, what could be better than that! Here is a pic of the mahogany bar, which visitors can step behind and and fill their cups until their hearts content! From Abita Brewery - Abita Springs, Louisiana Visit the whole post at Nola Cuisine here ! Also be sure to check out my ever growing Index of Creole & Cajun Recipes which provides links to all of the recipes featured at Nola Cuisine !

There are many ways to make a bowl of comfort beef stew. This non authentic recipe is one of my favourite and good way to clear up the vegetable drawer in the fridge. The stew looks ordinary like any tomatoey beef stew but with few oriental ingredients this will taste quite different. Gochujang gives a lovely chilli flavour without being too spicy hot. Star anise is great added to any beef stew

Halved, steamed in a pressure cooker for a few minutes, then placed in a buttered pyrex dish, sprinkled with butter and grated Gruyère cheese, under the broiler for 5 minutes.

Two of our closest friends moved to New Zealand last summer for a year and we were fortunate enough to visit them last month. It was so nice to spend some time with them and to discover this beautiful country (our first time south of the Equator!). To welcome us, our friends prepared an amazing tajine dish* of chicken, green olives and preserved lemons (not exactly a typical Kiwi dish, but rather a nice reminiscence of our friend's childhood in North Africa). I must have had this dish in mind when I pulled ingredients out of the fridge the other night and prepared the chicken dish that follows. Serves 4 4 whole chicken legs 1/2 jar (12 oz) strained tomatoes about 20 olives juice of 2 lemons 4 thin slices of pancetta, diced 1 cup white wine (Chardonnay or Pinot Grigio) 2 cloves garlic, peeled and halved, stem removed 1 bunch yellow chard leaves, whole or coarsely chopped 1 tbsp olive oil salt and freshly ground black pepper I like whole (non pitted) kalamata or mixed Greek olives, i

Liang fen 涼粉 is a jelly noodles made with starch and water. Starch and water is cooked to a thick custard, set and chilled.  It is then cut into whatever shape and size you like then dressed in a Sichaun spicy sauce with some spring onion, coriander and few sesame seeds etc... If you like rice noodles you will love liang fen. This jelly noodles is much springier and better texture than rice

Fu zhì jiang you 複製醬油 loosely translated as replicated soy sauce. Another common name you may come across is red soy sauce 红酱油 for tian sui mian 甜水麵. This is an aromatic sugar and spice infused/reduced soy sauce for many Sichuanese dishes especially for snack xiaochi 小吃 and salad 凉菜 including noodles. 1 cup light soy 生抽 2 tbsp dark soy 老抽 1 piece rock sugar/ plain sugar (about 2 tbsp) 冰糖/ 白糖 4

Toyomansi is my latest favourite sauce. It's a Filipino soy sauce with calamansi lime juice, a sourish soy with a citrus fragrance. I like it but having had fresh calamansi before, I have a suspicion some flavouring other than real calamansi is added but on the label flavouring is not listed. Toyomansi is available from most oriental supermarkets, quite cheap under £2 for a large bottle of 750ml.

From Middendorf's Seafood Restaurant Just finished my post on my visit to Middendorf's Seafood Restaurant , a long awaited journey which ended with me enjoying some of the most perfectly fried catfish known to man! From Middendorf's Seafood Restaurant Check out the post at my main site Nola Cuisine , loaded with a bunch of pics from my visit! Also, be sure and check out my ever growing Index of Creole & Cajun Recipes at Nola Cuisine !

水晶粽子 水晶 shui jing  = water crystal 粽子 zhongzi  = leaf wrapped dumpling Here is another unusual zhongzi. The recipe is based on Thai tapioca dumplings, Sawku Sai Muu. The pastry dough is made with tapioca pearls. They are called crystal zhongzi because the pastry is translucent.  The pastry is very soft, bouncy, rubbery and chewy. I really like the texture. The filling is delicious and spicy

Ker ja bun zong 客家粄粽 Zhongzi can be written as 粽子 or 糭子 Today is Duan Wu Festival 端午節 or Dragon Boat Festival. The origin and story behind this festival see Wiki. Zhongzi or leaf wrapped dumplings are a must to be eaten during this festival. There are few ways to wrap zhongzi. Most people use bamboo leaves, available dried in most countries and fresh is available in some S E Asian countries.