Monday 11 June 2012

Steak au poivre

Butter me up.

Ingredients


Sirloin/Rump steak
Black pepper
White pepper
Salt (Maldon or something tasty)
Butter
Brandy


Method


Crush about a teaspoon of mixed white and black peppercorns per steak. Season the meat with salt flakes. Press down onto the ground pepper.

Heat your griddle until smoking. Lay the steak down into it. The key thing with beef is: Do not turn it until one side is cooked, keep the heat high, and let it rest for a minute before serving/slicing.

If the pan is clean, add a lump of butter after transferring the steak onto a warmed plate with a piece of kitchen roll. Add a healthy dash of brandy - I almost singed my face off when cooking this, so keep the pan at arm's length. Season with salt and pepper and let the alcohol burn off (flambeing is fun).

Cover the steak with the butter, alcoholic sauce. Serve with bread, and salad with white wine vinegar and olive oil. Tasty!

Thursday 7 June 2012

Vietnamese Pork Belly

Courtesy of this.

Ingredients


Pork Belly
Fish sauce (2 parts)
Sugar (3 parts)
Water (1 part)
Garlic


Method


Slice the pork belly quite thick. Heat it in a frying pan fat/skin side down until golden.

Mix the fish sauce, sugar and water in a bowl. Chop the garlic finely.

Turn the pork belly. Add the garlic. It should take about 5 minutes for the garlic to roast, and for the other side of the pork belly to crisp up.

Add the fish sauce mix to the pan. Let it sizzle and caramelize while stirring.

Remove from pan and add freshly ground black pepper.

Serve with rice, and steam broccoli.

Delicious!

Saturday 2 June 2012

Tom Kha Goong - Thai Coconut Shrimp Soup

Aah yeah!

Ingredients


Coconut milk
Stock (vegetable or chicken)
Lime leaves
Galangal
Red Chilli
Lemongrass
Coriander
Lime

Shrimp (Gambas or similar)

Fish sauce
Green chillis
Sesame oil

Rice


Method


Prepare the rice as you like it.


If using long red chillies, slice thinly. Otherwise, chop the red chilli finely. Halve the lime leaves, removing the stem. Slice the galangal. Bash up the lemon grass, so that it releases its flavour but it is still in tact. Or slice lengthways - remember to remove the tough outer leaves. Chop up some coriander.

Empty a tin of coconut milk into a pan. Add 2/3 of the same amount of stock. Add the ingredients above to the pan and bring to a simmer. Add some fish sauce and lime juice.

For the shrimp, you want to keep the head and tail on. Remove the rest of the shell carefully.

Taste the soup. If it is too sweet, add more fish sauce. If it is not spicy enough, mash the green chillies, coriander, fish sauce and sesame oil with a pestle and mortar to make a spicy paste. Add it to the soup and stir.

Boil the shrimp in the soup for about 4 minutes. Serve the soup, and top with fresh coriander and squeeze of lime. Together with the rice, it makes a substantial and tasty meal.

Friday 1 June 2012

Beef Noodles with Oyster Sauce

What to do with a leftover steak?

Ingredients


Beef, thinly sliced
Flour
Soy sauce
Onion
Green bell pepper
Noodles (Ho Fun or something similar)
Oyster sauce
Sugar


Method


Cover the sliced beef in flour and soy sauce.

Heat a wok and add some oil. When ready, throw in the beef and thickly sliced onion and pepper.

Mix one part oyster sauce with one part soy sauce, and a dose of sugar and some black pepper. Cover the beef with this.

Add the noodles (boiled beforehand if necessary) and let it all heat through briefly in the wok. Serve piping hot.

Paprika and Vinegar Roast Pork, Chorizo Paella

Spanish stylee...

Ingredients


Pork Hock (or any other meaty pork joint)
Paprika
Sugar
White wine vinegar
Thyme
Bay leaves
Soy sauce
Olive oil
Lemon

Chorizo
Bell Peppers
Onion
Paella rice
White wine
Vegetable stock
Saffron
Lemon


Method


Mix the spices and liquids from the first list, and smear over the seasoned pork after rubbing it with lemon. Throw on some thyme and bay leaves. Leave to marinate for 1 day.

Set the oven to a fairly low temperature. Brown the pig in a very hot pan, before transferring to oven to cook slowly.

Fry the diced chorizo and strips of pepper, then remove from pan. In the same pan, fry some diced onion. After a while, add the rice and stir. Throw in some white wine, and let it soak and sizzle.

Return the chorizo to the rice pan, and add the stock (roughly 250ml rice - 500ml stock). Mix in the saffron. Season. Layer the peppers on top. Cover with foil, and cook in the oven for about 25 minutes, or cook on the hob. Leave it rest, covered, for about 10 minutes before serving.

Garnish the paella with lemon and parsley. Wine is essential with this dish!

Tuesday 29 May 2012

Beef Shin with Chorizo

Spanish stylee...

Ingredients


Beef shin (about 500gs)
Onion
Carrot
Peppercorns
Bay leaves
Cloves
Thyme
Parsley stalks
Red wine

Onion
Carrot
Chorizo
Tomatoes
Paprika

Method


Brown the beef shin and remove from pan.

Add the sliced onion and chunky carrots. After a few minutes, add the herbs and spices from the first list.
Return the beef to the pan. Add the red wine to just about cover the meat. Bring to a simmer.
Remember to season as you go. Simmer gently for about 60-90 minutes.

When beef is tender, strain the contents of the pan (reserve the jus). Fry up some diced onion and finely cut carrots in the pan. Add the chorizo after 10 minutes. Then add the tomato, or tomato puree, and paprika.

Put the beef chunks back in with this mix, and cover with the jus. Thicken it by reducing, or adding cornflour if necessary.

Tastes much better on the next day, so store overnight, and remove whatever fat you can.

Monday 28 May 2012

Pork Chop with Caper Butter Sauce

Meaty

Ingredients


Pork chop
Butter
Lemon
Capers
Thyme

Method


Pork chops often need a good beating to be tenderised. Do that, then season generously.

Get a pan of butter frying on a low heat. Add the pork chop. Turn it once after about 5 minutes, depending on the size of your chop. When it has been satisfactorily cooked, transfer it to a hot plate.

Melt some fresh butter, then add some capers. Squeeze in some lemon. Finally, add the herbs. Drizzle over the pork chop, and serve with something like carrots.