Thai Red chicken curry



Thai red chicken curry

I've honestly rarely ventured down d Asian food road.. just seeing all d specialty ingredients that I need to have gives me anxiety.. And my poor kitchen is already overwhelmed w Spanish & Arabic stuff!.. so when d man of d house mentioned an orange/red chicken curry I was hoping for something simple & accessible in d supermarket (as well as in d kitchen).

To my surprise Thai Red chicken curry was very easy! and full of taste (and not spicy! which was a relief).



3 specialty ingredients (should be coconout milk!)



You only need 3 specialty ingredients: thai red curry paste, fish sauce and a can of coconut milk. (Thank you food gods!) :D

Here is d wonderful, fast & easy recipe.

Ingredients:

- 1 Onion medium (halved & finely sliced)

- 1 Tbsp Vegetable oil

- 6 tsp Red Curry paste

- 500 gr Chicken breast (chopped in squares)

- 1 Tbsp Fish sauce

- 1 tsp Brown sugar

- 1 can Coconut milk (400mL)

- 20 gr Coriander

Sweat onions, add paste, lightly fry chicken
add coconut milk, let simmer 10-15 min

**Better eaten on top of plain white rice**

Heat oil in a large pan over medium-high heat. Add the onion and sweat for 1-2 minutes (until translucent and soft).

Add d Curry paste and mix well for 1 minute (stirring constantly). Add the diced chicken and do the same (mix to coat everything, stirring for a minute).

Then add in d fish sauce, sugar, coconut milk and coriander. Combine together and let reach boiling point.

Simmering in low heat - Thai red curry

Once it bubbles, turn down the heat to medium-low (3/6) so it simmers for 10-15 minutes (do not cover the pan); stirring a bit every 5 min (so it doesn't stick).

Check that the chicken is cooked (it took me about 12 min because my chicken pieces were cut small).

To serve, plate hot over a bed of white rice!

Very easy, few ingredients, and tasty :)

* For the plain white rice (for 2 light eaters): place 1 cup of white rice + 2.5 cup water + 2 pinch salt in a medium pot. Cover with a lid, and place over medium heat (3 or 4/6) until rice is fully cooked (about 10-15 min).

Macarroni n cheese



Macarroni and cheese

One of the first American things that I taught myself to cook (on a "cold" 25 C Doha winter evening :P ) was mac&cheese. I think we all crave hearty comfort food (with a bit of a crunch/texture!) when the weather gets colder.. and knowing that 'cream-based sauces' are preferred at home, I gave this winner a try! It has evensince become a staple in my house :)

This is a really fast recipe is nice and creamy/moist (but not overwhelmingly heavy).

You can prepare this in provably 15-20 min if you don't intend to gratinate cheese & breadcrumbs on top.. (Gratinating takes about 15 min on its own,, but it is well worth the texture!!)

So here we go!

Ingredients:

- 75 gr Butter

- 75 gr Flour

- 1/3 tsp Salt

- 1/3 tsp Black pepper

- 1/8 tsp Nutmeg

- 1/4 tsp Cayenne pepper

- 1/4 tsp Garlic granules

- 0.75 cube Chicken stock (Maggi cubes)

- 600 gr Heavy cream (or light cream - depending how dense & heavy you want the sauce)

- 350 gr Very sharp Cheddar cheese (grated)

**Before you start I must say the "very sharp" for the cheddat cheese is what I suggest if you want to avoid the taste of boxed/artifical mac & cheese. The sharpness gives it a nice geniune flavour. (You will find sharp is a more dry looking cheese.)**

Place the macarroni to cook in a large pot. Once done, strain them and run through them cold water to stop cooking (to mushy).

Melt the butter in a pan over medium heat (4/6). Once melted, add the flour and mix together; keep stirring until butter looks golden color.

Add in all spices, and the heavy cream gradually; mix well (still over the medium heat) with a silicone-coated whisk (so you dont scratch your pan! :) ). Keep stirring constantly, making sure there are no lumps, until the mixture has thickened (~10 min).

Then remove from the heat, and whisk/mix in all the grated cheese, until well melted & combined.

(If you are having trouble with the cheese not melting, stirr it for 10 seconds over the heat until it does completly melt).

Mixed mac n cheese

In the large pan mix the macarroni and sauce together (straight after you finish preparing the sauce; so still warm). Then place into the desired pans.

**At this stage, the mac and cheese can refridgerate for a couple of days; or freeze for later use.**

- If you want to gratinate the top:

Sprinkle the top with cheddar/emmental cheese (or even parmesan), as well as some breadcrumb powder (this will be making it crunchy!).

Pre-heat the oven (top heat) at 240 C, then place the pan on the highest/er rack and let gratinate.

Keep an eye on it!



Ready for the oven (large or individual portions)



Serve hot! :)

Shish Tawouk (Lebanese garlic chicken)

1 kg Chicken

1 cup Lemon juice

15 cloves Garlic

6 Tbsp Yogurt plain

6 Tbsp Olive oil

2 Tbsp Vinegar

1 1/2 tsp White pepper

1/2 tsp Ginger

1/2 tsp Thyme

1/2 tsp Paprika

1 tsp Salt

1/2 to 1 tsp Tomato paste

Cut chicken in desired pieces.

Mix all ingredients in a bowl, then mix in chicken and let marinate for at least 4 hrs.

Place on grill and cook.

Paella (simple)

Spanish Paella (simple)

Paella is one of the most well known Spanish dishes. It truly can be one of the most simple, friendly, budget-friendly main courses :) Foreigners identify paella as a variety of seafood cooked over yellow rice with sometimes cheek peas and chiken pieces; however this dish has many variants and elements (black paella made with squid ink, chicken or vegetable paella) it all depends on what part of Spain you are in! (Or what is available in your kitchen cabinets).

In my family we generally eat paella on Sundays (like most families in Asturias, my region) because it is a kind of food that you share and gather around. The other occasion in which we like to have paella is cooked in one of those black huge pans over a beach fire in summer :)

This recipe comes from my grandmother, it is extremely simple, healthy and budget-friendly (as I realize most of her recipes are). The key to getting paella to tasting authentic is getting authentic Spanish ingredients, particularly the olives! (trust me.. those organic Wholefoods' olives that you love are gonna make your paella taste like rubbish.. been there..).

Ingredients

 

Paella (simple):

- 1 cup Rice (preferably Calrose type)

- 1 can Tuna (in olive oil)

- 1 small can Baby cheek peas

- 1/2 can Spanish Olives (manzanilla type)

- 1/2 Avecrem/chicken stock cube

- 3 stems Saffron

- Olive oil

Fried/browned rice

Take the cup that you used to measure the rice and fill it with water. Place the saffron strands (or powder) and let dissolve.

Place a deep pan over medium heat (3 or 4/6), introduce a splash of olive oil & the rice. Stir until rice turns brownish (yes you are sort of pre-frying it, so it won't be sticky later).

Ready to cook/boil

Add the saffron water, plus an additional 2 cups of water. Continue by adding the chicken stock, cheek peas, tuna, olives and salt. Mix into the rice. Place the pepper stripes as decoration over the rice mixture, and let cook.

Once all the water has been absorbed/evaporated you are done! The rice should be soft and edible (if it's hard just add more water and let cook further. You are done! :)

Bazella (Lebanese peas & carrot, beef)

Bazella:

- 500 gr Frozen peas & carrots (diced)

- 400 gr Frozen minced beef

- 1 medium Onion (chopped med/small; not tiny)

- 3 Tbsp Tomato paste

- 4 cups Water

- 2 Tbsp Vegetable Oil

- 1 Tbsp All Spice

- 1/2 Tbsp Cinnamon

- 1/2 Tbsp Black Pepper

- 1 Tbsp Salt

- 1 Lemon (juiced)

Put the vegetable oil in a deep pot over medium/high heat (4-5/6), when hot add the onion and sweat for 2 min. 

Add the frozen minced beef and turn for the meat to break in small pieces; Add spices to the mix (Salt, cinnamon, all spice, black pepper). Stir until meat cooked :)

Prepare 3 Tbsp of tomato paste mixed with 4 cups of water; add into the meat mixture. Let raise to the boil, then lower the heat (2/6) and let simmer for 35 minutes.

Once done, add the lemon juice & serve!

** This dish is normally served with Lebanese rice. First layering the rice in the bottom of the plate, then this in the center :) Enjoy!**

Albondigas (Spanish meatballs)

Albondigas - Spanish meatballs

Albondigas - Spanish meatballs:

- 1/2 cup Parsley

- 1 Onion (medium)

- 1 clove Garlic

- 0.5 to 1 Kg Minced Meat

- 2 Eggs

- 3 pinches Salt

- Flour

- White Wine/Bier

- Avecrem

Finely chop the onion, garlic and parsley. Beat separate 1 1/2 eggs on a bowl, and 1/2 egg.
Mix minced meat & chopped onion mix, add 1/2 of a beaten egg.

Roll into balls > Roll over beaten egg > Roll into Flour

In the meantime heat a pan at high heat (5/6) with olive oil (2mm).
Fry meatballs in hot olive oil until golden.

Once done, add a spoon of flour to the used oil and fry until flour is golden color. Add Avecrem, white wine & water until achieving the desired consistency. Put meatballs in gravy and let simmer for some minutes.

Lebanese rice (white rice & vermicelli)

Lebanese rice

Lebanese rice:

- 2 Tbsp Vermicelli

- 1/2 cup White rice (Calrose)

- 1 Tbsp Olive oil

- 1 1/2 cup Water

- 1 Tbsp Salt

- 1/4 tablet Chicken stock (Maggie)

Put oil in a pot over med/high heat (5/6) add the vermicelli. Stir the same until light brown.

Add in the rice, stir a couple of times; then add the water, salt and chicken stock.
Cover the pot with lid, and let cook until water is done (about 10-15 min).

Voila! :)