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: Caramelised Pork Belly w/ Boiled Eggs and Rice

by Simon Fernandez of ferdiesfoodlab

This is classic Vietnamese fare.  Normally the pork is braised for and hour with the boiled eggs but I happened to have a rather large amount of cooked pork belly in the fridge so I though I’d do it a couple of different ways for my housemates.

This is a simple and tasty recipe; it’s a real corker, I’ve written the recipe how it would normally be made with uncooked pork belly.

The belly I had, had already been slow cooked so I put it in about 30minutes into the braising process so it wouldn’t fall apart in the broth, but still have enough time to take up the flavours and be soft and delicious!

Normally this is served with rice . . . 

 ingredients (serves 4-6)

for the caramelising slow braising broth

1/4 side pork belly (1.7kg uncooked weight) (cut into 3-4cm chunks)

500ml coconut water

1 red onion (fine dice)

6 cloves garlic (fine dice)

45g ginger 

30-60ml fish sauce (to taste)

80g palm sugar (or brown sugar)

6 eggs

caramelising slow braising broth

Boil the eggs for 8 minutes, then immediately run under cold water. Once they’re cold enough to handle, peel them, ready for the pot.

Fry the onions until they’re a little charred, then add the ginger and garlic and cook for a couple of minutes. Deglaze with a little coconut water and pour the mix into a bowl.

In the same pot add the sugar and a slug of coconut water. Cook on a medium heat until the sugar is a dark caramel colour, then add the rest of the coconut water (through a sieve). Careful it will spit!

Add the fish sauce, garlic ginger mix and the boiled eggs and set to simmer for 30 minutes.

After 30 minutes add the pork belly, bring back up to the boil and set to simmer for another 30mins.

If you don’t have any 3 hr slow roast pork belly kicking about, sear off some pork shoulder and add it in at the same time as the eggs, then simmer for 60 mins. 

At the end of the 60 minutes check the flavour. If it’s needs it, you can sharpen it up with a touch of lime juice just before service.

thinking ahead

You can make this the day before and pop it in the fridge, and reheat when needed.

what could go wrong? (notes)

It’s impossible to cluck this up! Oink.

to serve

Serve it in a large bowl with a ladle in it, and serve with boiled rice.

Recipe: Cambodian Seared Beef Salad with Lime, Coriander & Peanuts served with Chips (AKA Steak, Chips & Peas)

by Simon Fernandez of ferdiesfoodlab

This recipe is inspired by my travels in Cambodia. I can't claim to be able to get hold of any prahoc, but I can claim to have been exposed to a serene culture, with an amazing and, frankly, dark past. I have mixed memories of land mine museums, electric bicycles, and the most friendly population I've ever encountered on my travels. Recovering from a pretty grim past I found the Cambodian people really welcoming. What to see? Jungle, elephants, amazing stonework sculpture and temples.

We'll take you to the floating village - come with us!! - Little monkeys!

Angkor Wat popping out of the jungle - although I didn't know it at the time, this was to be one of the happiest holidays of my life!

That's an elephant's arse!! How did that get in there?

 

I have to be honest - the food in Cambodia was a pretty hit and miss thing! This one sticks in my memory, I tried to get the recipe from the chef, a little old Cambodian woman, but it was a hopeless task since we had no common language (except food) whatsoever. I had to do a little research to get it right, but it's pretty faithful! It's mostly about the sauce, great depth!

Just look at that, what a stunning view!

Prahoc is a fermented fish paste, made from mudfish & gourami, amongst other things. It is widely used in Khmer cuisine. Try finding that in the supermarket!! Tuk prahoc is a liquid made by adding prahoc to boiling water and leaving over night

I've used shrimp paste instead of prahoc, and in the photos some leftover ribeye roast beef. I used sirloin steak last time I made it for supper club. This is a gorgeous recipe, great summer food!

You can use whichever steak you prefer, for this salad, my preference is sirloin or ribeye.

ingredients (serves 4)
for the salad and chips
750g sirloin - seared and thinly sliced - raw in the middle
400g sugar snap peas (julienne - diagonal)
800g Maris Piper potatoes 

From bottom CW: garlic, shrimp paste, lime, palm sugar & lemon grass. Got everything but the shallot!!!

for the sauce

2 lemon grass (blended)
2 shallots (blended)
2 cloves garlic (blended)
50g palm sugar (blended)
3 limes (juiced)
3.5g shrimp paste (+50ml boiling water)

for the garnish
2 birdseye chilli (fine sliced rings)
15g coriander (chopped coarse, stalks ok)
70g peanuts (coarsely ground)
sprinkling of garlic chives (optional)

apparatus
heavy based pan
fine sieve

beef salad and chips
Cut up the sugar snaps in long diagonal strips, take off any tough stalky bits, of which there should be very few, and place them in a salad bowl ready to mix. Use your favourite method to make chips, I'd suggest a 10mm square cross section, the rest I'm leaving for another post! Put them somewhere where they will keep warm in a tray lined with kitchen towel.

Chips glorious chips . . . hot chocolate and biscuits?

For the photography, I used some leftover roast ribeye of beef and pan seared it. Very, very nice! (Video of how to roast ribeye coming soon) If using sirloin, remove the fat and cut it into 1.5cm (1/2 inch) steaks, and marinate them in a little of the sauce for a couple of hours.  Bring the meat to room temp before cooking: this way it's not cold in the middle after searing. Cooking the steak should be the last thing you do! When you're ready, bring a heavy-based pan up to a high heat, pop a glug of olive oil in with the steaks, make sure they're coated with it, season lightly and put in the pan. Turn them a couple of times, once they're golden brown it's time to whip 'em out.  Slice thinly across the grain, and serve immediately! The thinner you slice the faster the meat will go cold, so not too thin! Think of that gorgeous, steamy, beefy goodness!!

sauce (overnight infusion - or first thing in the am)
Bring the water to the boil in a pan and add the shrimp paste. Stir until dissolved, then leave to cool.
Once cool, add the sugar and dissolve.  Blend the rest of the ingredients and add them, then leave the mix in the fridge overnight. In the morning sieve the mix. It's now ready to use.

garnish

Now that's and explosion of flavours, sharp and light!

Personally, I don't mind a few chilli seeds in my salad. If you're not of that persuasion, cut the stalk end of the chilli off at it's widest point, roll it between your index finger and thumb to release the seeds, then slice it into rings.
Coarsely chop the peanuts with a knife or with a couple of pulses of your blender. Do not powder them! They contribute a great texture and flavour, if there are quarter peanut-sized lumps in there that's great!!
The coriander is fine torn by hand, stalks and all!!

thinking ahead
Make the sauce the night before, so those flavours really infuse with each other.

to serve
Place the steak on a bed of peas, dress with coriander, chilli and peanuts and sauce serve with bowl of chips (making sure your plates are hot!)

Thank you Cambodia!