Recipe: Chicken Kaffir (No Fat, Low Carb Super Tasty Broth - 500kcal)

by Simon Fernandez of ferdiesfoodlab

If you’ve ever suffered on one of those low carb diets but want to see it through and want a big feed packed with flavour, veg and protein then this broth is an absolute H E R O of a dish!! Even better it takes 20 minutes to make! Well, basically how ever long you can last waiting for the flavours to infuse into the broth!

Sometimes a little coconut milk can go a long way in terms of flavour. Quite a lot of calories in a whole tin though so you will never get through all of it. (Snork, slurp wipes coconut milk out of eyebrows, sideways look.) So the good old freeze it in an ice cube tray trick works a treat!! (They are however surprisingly hard to get out!!)

DO NOT CHOP UP YOUR LEMON GRASS IF IT'S WHOLE TO START! (MINE WASN'T)

ingredients (serves 1 - very hungry person)

for the broth

600ml water

20g dashi miso

1 chicken stock

3 kaffir lime leaves (bruised)

1 large clove garlic

1 lemon grass (bruised)

2 large shiitake mushrooms (stalk off then sliced)

1/2 birdeye chilli (long one)

2 king prawns (buterflied)

15g ponzu

1-2 blocks light coconut milk (optional luxury - 30g each)

squeeze lime

for the cucumber noodles

120g cucumber (about 1/3 - julienned / mandolin)

1 spring onion (chopped)

4g coriander (chopped)

4g mint (picked, chopped)

touch of salt & lime 

for the dark lime dressing (120ml)

40g palm sugar

40g dark soy

40g lime

for the chicken

1 chicken breast 

15g dark lime dressing

for the garnish

mixed sesame seeds

maitake / enoki mushroom

chilli (sliced)

coriander

broth

Put every thing but the prawns, coconut milk, ponzu & lime, into a pot and bring it to the boil then simmer for 20-30mins.

Butterfly the prawns and add them and the (optional) coconut milk. Mix in well then season with ponzu and lime juice. Remove the shiitake stalks and lemon grass before serving.

cucumber noodles

Mix the ingredients and dress with a little lime and a tiny amount of salt.

dark lime dressing

Put all the sugar and dark soy into a microwavable container and heat for 30-40 seconds. 

Stir the mix until the sugar is dissolved then mix in the lime juice. It should have lower notes of molasses in the flavour.

chicken

Butterfly the chicken breast, this will allow it to cook quickly and without loosing too much moisture which is important if you’re not using any oil. As soon as it’s cooked add the dark lime dressing (or ponzu or teriyaki). Slice it up just before adding to the broth so it stays warm and moist.

to serve

Place cucumber noodles into bowl, add chicken and pour on the steaming broth.

Dress w/ sesame seeds, small mushroom & chilli if you like a little heat. Serve immediately.

Recipe: Crispy Chicken & Red Vegetable Curry w/ Cardamom Rice

by Simon Fernandez of ferdiesfoodlab

For me the sign of a good curry is when you can taste the individual flavours of all the components, and the marriage of all those flavours and textures brings a party to your mouth! (not sure why I’m thinking “Bing Bang Theory Bollywood dance” take on that party but I am) Anyway to get that individuality coming through it’s best to cook a few items separately at the start and then combine them together at the end!

This recipe has come along considerably since it was on the menu in 2010, the chicken for example is done separately so it remains crispy and succulent. It makes a great combo with the vegetable red curry!

ingredients (serves 6)

for the chicken

1 chicken (spatchcocked)

paprika (to dust)

oil

flaked salt

for the red curry

1/2 butternut squash or 2 small sweet potato (1/2 inch dice)

1 red pepper (large dice)

1 onion (large dice)

5 chestnut mushrooms (quartered)

1 medium aubergine (large dice)

130g red curry paste (recipe here - less if it’s shop bought)

20g ginger (sliced)

2 garlic cloves (crushed)

5 kaffir lime leaves (bruised)

400g light coconut milk

50ml fish sauce

1 lime (juiced)

450ml chicken stock

for the rice (6)

540g long grain rice

900g water

75g butter / ghee

18 cardamom pods (crushed, but not broken apart)

30 curry leaves

4g salt

for the garnish

lime

thai basil

coriander

equipment

rice cooker

method

Peel the butternut squash and dice it int 1/3 inch chunks. Same with the sweet potato, peel it if you like, I prefer the skin on! Place onto a lightly oiled baking tray. 

Spatchcock the chicken, rub a little oil onto the skin and dust with salt & paprika. The oil will help them stick. Place it on top of the veg skin side up. Place into a preheated oven at 230C / 40m.

(If you’re only making the vegetable red curry set oven to 200C and coat the sweet potato w/ oil and salt.)

Put the rice ingredients into a rice cooker / sauce pan and set to cook.

Brown the mushrooms and aubergine and set aside. Char the onion a little on a griddle if you have one then cook the onion red pepper, garlic and ginger until the pepper has softened. Add the red curry paste mushrooms and aubergine and mix until coated evenly. (the chicken should be coming out about now, or soon!)

Add the coconut milk slowly so it sizzles and lifts the flavours off the bottom of the pan. 

Add the lime leaves and leave to simmer. (20 minutes max from this point)

Remove the chicken from the oven, lift the chicken off the veggies and put the it on a chopping board to rest. Remove the veggies and add them to the curry. Deglaze the baking tray on the stove with 200ml of white wine and add the jus to the curry too.

Mix well and serve immediately! B O O M !!

thinking ahead

Can make this curry in the afternoon, and reheat for dinner! (It also freezes well). The chicken should be timed for dinner for it to be both juicy and crispy!

cooking order notes:

start - 8.22PM

* spatchcock chicken & cut sweet potato > oven

* put rice on to cook (don’t forget to turn the rice cooker on!)

* cut mushroom and aubergine > stove lightly sizzling

* make the paste

* make the veg curry

* chicken out naan in

* finish the sweet potato 

* cut chicken 

* finish & season curry, naan out & serve!

L U S H !

10.22PM - come on!! In my defence that included photography!!

I reckon an hour and twenty minutes for curry from scratch!!

to serve

Serve with naan of your choice, cardamom rice and dress with coriander, thai basil, chilli and a lime.

Dribble!

Recipe: Coconut & Cointreau Sorbet

by Simon Fernandez (@ferdiesfoodlab), for Movember 

This is one of those recipes that makes you look good, for very little work indeed! It has an amazing combination of flavours, and it's a really light finish to a meal.

Extract from the Movember Cook book which
you can get here: Cook Like A Man - Movember

ingredients (serves 8 x 70ml)

for the sorbet

130g caster

250ml coconut milk

150ml coconut juice

1/2  lime (juice & zest)

50ml cointreau

for the garnish

small mint leaves (tip of mint plant)

lime zest

apparatus / equipment

ice cream machine or 

food processor

method

sorbet

Put all the ingredients except the lime and the cointreau into a pot on the hob. 

Turn on to a medium/high heat and stir until the sugar has dissolved.

Take off the heat and allow to cool completely. Then add the lime juice and the cointreau, and mix them in thoroughly. 

Put the mix into an ice cream machine and follow its instructions. 

If like me you don't have an ice cream machine, freeze the liquid in a couple of ice cube trays. It will separate into 2 layers, pop out the sorbet cubes and put them into a food processor, run the motor until you have a slush puppy consistency. Refreeze immediately, in a tupperware box.

to serve

Serve in a decorative cup or a martini glass, put a couple of good sized scoops in.

Sprinkle a few zest strands onto the sorbet.

Pick the small leaves from a mint plant and place one in the centre of each sorbet.

Serve immediately!

thinking ahead

Best to make this in advance; at least one day in advance! It takes quite a while to cool and longer to freeze!

Why not try it with a raspberry liqueur