Friday, 18 October 2024

recipe: red kuri & shiitake laksa

sauteed slow roast red kuri squash & shiitake mushrooms w/ green beans in an aromatic & slightly spicy laksa curry served on a bed of beansprouts & flat rice noodles
red kuri & shiitake laksa
sauteed slow roast red kuri squash & shiitake mushrooms w/ green beans in an aromatic & slightly spicy laksa curry served on a bed of beansprouts & flat rice noodles
IngredientsMakes: 2200g (4)
600groast red kuri squash(recipe below)
40gbutter
185glaksa curry paste(recipe below)
800g(2)coconut milk
450gchicken stock(recipe below)
32g(2)lemon grass stalks
2g(6)bruised kaffir lime leaves(recipe below)
32gpalm sugar
20gfish sauce
20glime juice
120gshiitake mushrooms
20gbutter
200ggreen beans
660gflat rice noodle & beansprouts(recipe below)
40gchilli oil
40gcrispy onion
12gcoriander
80g(1)lime
Method
If you're making this from scratch put any dry ingredients - like kaffir lime leaves or shiitake mushrooms - on to soak first thing in the morning. Hopefully you can get fresh ones but dehydrated ones work just fine!
Get the roast squash into the oven, once cooked freeze what you don't need, or - much faster - defrost some squash from the last roasting : )
Make the laksa curry paste or - much faster - defrost some from the last batch.
Add a couple of table spoons of oil to a pot & cook the paste until nearly all the liquid has gone & a crusty brown surface has started to form on the bottom of the pot or the paste is dark brown. Deglaze this w/ coconut milk, & lift all the brown flavour off the bottom of the pot. This is the base for the laksa.
Add the rest of the coconut milk & bring it to the boil, stirring until the colour of the turmeric has come through then add the chicken stock, bruised lemon grass stalks, lime leaves & palm sugar & leave it to simmer for 45 minutes or so for the spices to develop & infuse into the sauce.
As it simmers the sauce will reduce & its flavour will intensify so leave the seasoning until after it's simmered.
Steam / boil the beans for 7mins, sauté the shiitake high 5mins, sauté the roast squash in the same pan until golden - about 4mins each side low heat.
Add the steamed beans, sautéed squash & mushrooms to the laksa. Keep on a simmer . . . .
Cook the noodles & beansprouts last minute, plate up into warm wide bowls & top w/ squash, green beans, shiitake mushroom laksa goodness!!!
Dress w/ chilli, coriander, crispy onions, chilli oil & lime wedges, or puts them on a little side dish so folk can dress it as they please - which is always nice!!
If you're on a low carb vibe switch out the rice noodles for [sweetheart noodles].
Instead of chilli oil I use oil from the top of my kimchi jar [kimchi no7] which has a gorgeous flavour.

slow roast red kuri squash w/ rosemary & thyme
roast red kuri squash
slow roast red kuri squash w/ rosemary & thyme
IngredientsMakes: 1254g (8)
1430g(1)red kuri squash
100gwater
6grosemary
5gthyme
25golive oil
4gsalt flakes
Method
For this recipe I used a 6cm deep baking tray 37x29cm - about as big as my oven will take!
I started with a 1687g red kuri squash. 1430g after deseeding.
Cut the squash in half and scoop out the seeds. Then cut each half into four pieces.
Add the water & herbs to the baking tray & place the squash on top, season & lightly drizzle w/ oil.
Cover w/ tin foil & bake 150C / 2h for perfect softness!
Good for mash, pie topping, all sorts really.
If serving as they are remove the foil 20m before the end to brown them off a bit.

laksa curry paste
laksa curry paste
IngredientsMakes: 370g
32g(2)lemon grass
50ggalangal paste
26g(6)garlic cloves
100g(10)red chillies
110g(6)shallots
15gfish sauce
20g(12)cashew nuts
8gground coriander
8gground cumin
8gturmeric
10gsalt
Method
Make a paste of the ingredients. You can use a mortar & pestle, wet & dry spice mill, stick blender & beaker all good. I used a food processor.
When making pastes like this in a food processor always blend the hardest ingredients first for a more even / regular texture.
Add & blend each ingredient one at a time up to the shallots.
Slice the lemon grass into half cm rounds then add it to the blender / fP and blend.
Peel the galangal w/ a spoon - same as ginger - coarsely slice across the grain, then add it to the fP.
Peel the shallots & cut into quarters - you can get away w/ red onion no problem.
Add the rest of the ingredients & blend to a smoothish paste.
This is enough for two 4 person curries, so I freeze the half I don't need! Saves time next time!

left to right . . bruised lemon grass, palm sugar lumps, lime leaf prepped for curry.
bruised kaffir lime leaves
left to right . . bruised lemon grass, palm sugar lumps, lime leaf prepped for curry.
IngredientsMakes: 2g (6)
2g(6)kaffir lime leaves
Method
Run the back of your knife over the leaf in a zig direction and open the doors for the aromatic contents.
When you put it into the curry all those aromatic notes will infuse into your sauce!
Hmmm . . .
If using dried leaves, put them in water to soak the night before or first thing in the morning. Use the water for any stock.

flat rice noodle w/ beansprouts & soy sauce
flat rice noodle & beansprouts
flat rice noodle w/ beansprouts & soy sauce
IngredientsMakes: 660g (4)
480gcooked flat rice noodle(recipe below)
300gbeansprouts
15grapeseed oil
15gsoy sauce
Method
Boil the water and place the noodles in it, let them soak for 2mins then add to the beansprouts.
Oil glaze a hot wok w/ a tbsp of oil & add the beansprouts, season w/ soy sauce.
Keep them moving while the noodles cook.
Drain & add the noodles as soon as they are ready, use a couple of forks to combine the beansprouts evenly through the noodles. The oil & beansprouts will stop the noodles sticking together.

If you are in Hereford check out Growing Local they currently have Red Kuri & Blue Ballet in stock grown right here in Hereford using organic practices!

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