Borough Markets and Enrica Rocca Cooking School

Leading up to the holiday season, we decided on a cooking course as part of our work Christmas team event. After much research, I found the ideal cooking course, Enrica Rocca Cooking School. Check it out http://www.enricarocca.com/. It was the right mix of a morning out exploring the Borough markets followed by cooking up a feast in her kitchen in West London.

Borough Markets is a true mecca for food lovers. One could easily spend the whole day in there. The colours, sights and smells of fresh food and ingredients is truly fascinating.

Thai Green Curry

Now that you know how to make green curry paste here is a recipe for Chicken Thai Green Curry (Keaw Wan Kai) to get you going.

Ingredients (1 serving)
1 cup fresh Coriander Leaves
3tbsp Vegetable Oil
1 1/2tbsp Green Curry Paste
1 pinch freshly Ground Cumin Seeds
370ml Coconut Milk
2 tbsp Coconut Cream
1 Boned and Skined Chicken Breast, sliced
2 Green Aubergines (eggplants) - quartered
Sprig Pea Aubergines
1 tsp Sugar
1 1/2 tbsp Fish Sauce
2 Kaffir Lime Leaves (torn in half)
6 Thai Basil Leaves
1/2 fresh chilli thinly sliced

Method
In a mortar, pound the fresh coriandar leaves. Heat oil in a wok until very hot. Add the pounded coriandar leaves and fry for 1 minute. Add the curry paste and cumin powder and fry for another 2 minutes or until you get aroma. Lower the heat and add the coconut cream (tip: to get cream from the coconut milk can - put the coconut milk can in the fridge for 20 minutes. This allows the cream to settle up the top. Take a tablespoon and scoop out the cream). Let cook for a minute without stirring. Then add coconut milk a little at a time. Allow it to simmer for 2-3 minutes and then add the chicken and cook until done throughly.

Add the aubergines, sugar, fish sauce, kaffir lime leaves, basil leaves and chilli. simmer for 5 minutes. Transfer to a bowl. Sprinkle with Thai basil and serve with Thai Jasmine Rice.

Tip - you can use baby corn, bamboo shoots and green peas if you cannot find the Thai Aubergines.

Thai Green Curry Paste

A lot of people tend to instantly think of curries when they think about Thai food. There is a lot more to Thai food then just curries however they do tend to be the more popular dishes. Thai coconut-based curries are numerous but the more well known ones are red, green, yellow, panang and masamam curries. Thai names for these are gaeng phet (red), gaeng kiow wahn (green curry), gaeng leuang (yellow), gaeng phanaeng (panang) and gaeng massaman (masamam).

Green curry is the only type of Thai curry paste made with fresh Thai green chilies and thus usually the hottest. All other types of curry paste are made up of dried Thai chilies.

Ready made curry pastes are widely available in Thai and most Asian supermarkets, but just like any cooking, making it fresh yourself gives you a totally different result, and this way you can also orient it to your taste.

What I would like to share with you today is a recipe to make fresh green curry paste.

The key ingredients for most Thai curry pastes are mainly wet and fragrant and include fresh chillies, lemon grass, galangal, garlic, shallot, kaffir lime leaves, cilantro roots and shrimp paste.

Green Curry Paste

Ingredients
15 large fresh green hot chilies
3 shallots, sliced
9 cloves garlic
1 tsp finely sliced fresh galangal
1 tbsp sliced fresh lemon grass
9 tsp finely sliced kaffir lime rind
1 tsp chopped coriander root
5 white peppercorns
1 tbsp roasted coriander seeds
1 tsp sea salt
1 tsp shrimp paste

Method
Combine coriander seeds, and peppercorn in a mortar, pound well. Transfer to a bowl and put aside.
Pound hot chilies and salt together well. Add the remaining ingredients except shrimp paste, pound until mixed well.
Add the coriander mixture and shrimp paste, continue pounding until smooth and fine.

And you have yourself fresh green curry paste.

Bangkok, Thailand

I absolutely adore Thai food so on my way back to London from my trip home to Fiji in January, I made a point to stopover in Bangkok, Thailand for a few days, especially to learn more about this gorgeous cuisine.

For those of you that love to embark on culinary adventures like myself, the details are:
Blue Elephant Cooking School - http://www.blueelephant.com/school/index.html
Baipai Thai Cooking School - http://www.baipai.com/



I enjoyed the Baipai class more then the Blue Elephant one as it was set in a more authentic Thai home-style learning environment.

Spicy Grilled Beef Salad (Yam Nuea Yang)
I have a lot of Thai recipes that I plan to share with you but for my first Thai posting I have chosen the Spicy Grilled Beef Salad, solely because it is the most popular at my dinner parties, and not to mention the most healthy.



Ingredients - Per 1 serving
80 grams Beef fillet
1 tsp Seasoning Soy Sauce
1 Shallot - Finely Shredded
1/2 Tomato - seeded and finely sliced
1/2 Cucumber - seeded and finely sliced
1 Chinese Celery - roughly chopped

Dressing
1 Hot Chillie - finely chopped
3 cloves garlic - finely chopped
2 tsp Lime Juice
2 tsp - Fish Sauce
1 tsp Sugar (Brown)

Method
Marinate beed with seasoning soy sauce for 30 minutes. Then grill over medium heat turning regularly until it is medium or well done. Slice thinly and set aside. Prepare the dressing by mixing chopped chili, garlic, lime juice, fish sauce and sugar together. Combine beef slices, shallots, tomato, cucumber and chinese celery in a bowl and add dressing. Toss well and serve.

Miso Soup

This recipe is quick and easy to make, but more importantly tastes so good it'll make you wonder why on earth you kept buying those awful sachet mixes (oh you know who you are).

Photo courtesy of Japanesefood.about.com

Ingredients (Serves 4)
Fresh tofu - 1 small block (cut into small cubes)
Spring Onions - 1/4 cup
Seaweed (Wakame) - handful
Soy Bean Paste - 3-4 tbsps
Dashi Stock - 3 cups

Method

Add the Dashi stock to a pan and bring to a boil. Add the tofu cubes to the soup. Simmer the tofu for a few minutes on low heat. Take out a little soup stock from the pan and dissolve soy bean paste in it. Gradually return the miso mixture in the soup. Add Wakame. Stir the soup gently. Turn off the heat and add the chopped green onion.

Note: You can find dashi stock with miso paste (combined) in some Japanese stores.

Useful tip: Remember never to boil the soup after you put miso in.

Japanese - (Tamago-Yaki) Rolled Omelette

A few months ago I took a Sushi and Sashimi course. I thoroughly enjoyed the class and would highly recommend it to anyone interested in learning to make Japanese food.

More information on the courses can be found on: http://www.hashicooking.co.uk/

The classes are run by Reiko who is a great chef and an awesome teacher. She welcomes you into her home and shows you how fun and easy Japanese cooking can be. She has years of experience with Japanese food as well as other world cuisines.

And now for some recipes.

Tamago -Yaki (sushi Omelette). Tamago is Japanese for "egg". Tamago-Yaki is sushi using an egg.

The Japanese rolled omelette may look really complex but once you know how to make it, it is quite simple.

An essential is the Tamago pan in which the omelette is made.









Ingredients
1 tsp of dashi powder dissovled in a little bit of water
1 tsp mirin
1 1/2 tbsp caster sugar (can adjust according to taste)
1 tsp soy sauce
1 tsp salt
6 large eggs, beaten

Garnish
Grated Daikon (white Japanese raddish)

Mix all the ingredients in a large jug and stir well. Heat the pan over medium heat and brush it with some vegetable oil. Pour in a quarter of the egg mixture. Till the pan to coat it evenly. When the egg starts to set, roll it up towards you with a pair of chopsticks (will form a roll at the end of one side of the pan). Keep the rolled omelette in the pan. Push back to the furthest side from you. Grease the empty part of the pan and pour 1/3 of the egg mixture in at the empty part of the pan (half the egg mixture is used at this stage). Lift up the first roll with chopsticks, and let the egg mixture run underneath. When it looks half set, roll the omelette around the first roll to make a single roll with many layers. Move the roll gently onto a bamboo sushi mat. Roll the omelette firmly and leave to stand rolled up for 5 minutes. Repeat the whole process to make another roll. Cut the rolled omelettes into multiple inch slices crossways.

Serve with grated daikon on the side with a splash of soy sauce or make Tamago-Yaki. Will add sushi rice and more sushi recipes in the next few days.

Chunky Double Chocolate Cookies

This winning recipe was given to me by a friend of mine a few years ago. I have since whipped up this treat on several occasions and its been a success every single time.

I took a jar full of these delicious cookies to work a few weeks ago and not suprisingly they were gone in no time. So make sure to keep these luscious treats under lock and key unless you are feeling generous ;-)

Ingredients - Makes 20-22
115 grams unsalted butter, softened
115 grams of light muscovado sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla essence
150 grams of self raising flour
75g of porridge oats
115 grams plain chocolate, roughly chooped
115 grams of white chocolate, roughly chopped

Method
Preheat oven to 190°C
Lightly grease two baking sheets.
Cream the butter with the sugar in a bowl until pale and fluffy.
Add the egg and vanilla essence and beat well.
Stir the flour over the mixture and fold in lightly with a metal spoon, then add the oats and chopped chocolate. Stir until evenly mixed.
Place small handfulls of the mixture into 20-22 heaps on the baking tray, leave space for expanding.
Bake for 12-15 minutes or until the cookies are beginning to turn golden.
Let cool for 5 minutes on the baking sheets, before putting them on a wire rack to cool completely

Note: Will post picture the next time I use this recipe

Taste of Spain - Paella

Paella refers to both the dish and the specialized shallow pan in which the dish is cooked. Paella originates from the region of Valencia.

Recipes for Paella are wide and varied although the the traditional seafood and chicken version is a favourite.

Ingredients - Serves 4
8 - 10 Prawns - whole and shell on
2 Squid - cut into rings
10 - 12 Mussels - scrubbed, beards removed and must be tightly closed
2 chicken thigh or breast pieces- cut into small pieces
50 grams Chorizo - cut into small pieces
300 grams Spanish Paella Rice
1 Red Pepper - deseeded and cut into cubes
1 Tomato - deseeded and cut into cubes
1 Onion - cut into cubes
2 Cloves Galic - crushed
2 tbsp Olive Oil
800ml of good hot Chicken Stock
100 grams of Frozen Green Peas
100 ml White Wine
Salt and Pepper
Lemon Wedges for garnish
1 1/2 tsp Saffron
1 tsp Paprika

Equipment
30cm Paella Pan
Wooden Spoon
Aluminium Foil - enough to fully cover the pan

Method
Heat oil in the Paella Pan over medium heat. Add chicken pieces and fry for 8-10 minutes (less for boneless). Once halfway cooked, add chorizo and fry for another 3-4 minutes. Add onions at this stage and mix well.

Then add chopped peppers, followed by the chopped tomatoes. Mix all ingredients together. Add garlic and season with salt and pepper. Then add the rice and mix well, coating the rice with all the flavours. Add saffron and paprika. Then add white wine and cook for a few minutes. This is then followed by the hot stock, which should cover all the ingredients. Cook for 8-10 minutes or until almost all the water evaporates.

Place the seafood strategically in the pan (look at picture above for an idea). Tip: Mussels can be pushed half way into the rice mixture but needs to be placed with the opening end upright for it to open with the heat.

Sprinkle the frozen peas, lower heat (very low), cover pan with aluminium foil and let cook for a further 5-7 minutes. Turn heat off but let the dish stand for another 5 minutes without tampering or removing the aluminum foil.

And Voilà (dont think there is an equivalent word in spanish) your Paella is ready. Serve the Paella in the cooking pan garnished with lemon wedges and enjoy!!

Project Hotpot

As winter approaches I am looking forward to having some delicious hotpots. So where do one start from. I thought of putting a plan together to kickstart this project..thus project hotpot.

Equipment you will need to get you started at home are

Camper/Portable Stove











Yin Yang Pot










Skimmers









Other Equipment
Bowls and Chopsticks
Plates for Ingredients
Base for Stove

Ingredients
Sauces/Base
Hot Pot Sichuan Soup Base
Normal Soup Base
Soy sauce
Sesame Oil
Coriander
Chillies
XO Spicy Sauce
Eggs
Spring Onions

Sauce Recipes
Light Soya sauce, Very hot chilli paste, Sweet chilli sauce, Chilli oil, Sesame oil, Sesame paste, XO sauce etc – so people can make their own sauce
Soya sauce mixed with a bit of vegetable oil and a dash of sesame oil
The dipping sauce was prepared by mixing plenty of shacha sauce (Chinese barbecue sauce, made from soybean oil, garlic, shallots, chillies, brill fish and dried shrimp), one raw egg (optional), plenty of freshly chopped coriander, freshly chopped red chillies (optional), chilli sauce (optional) and Soya sauce (optional). You can also use shacha sauce, raw egg, coriander and a dash of soya sauce.

Main Ingredients
Lamb – freeze and slice paper thin (so it will curl) - For easier cutting, partially freeze the meat, or ask the butcher to cut it for you. For speedier cooking, cut meat into paper thin slices, no more than 1/4-inch thick.
Beef – same as lamb
Prawns – shell on
Fish balls
Wantons
Noodles – Ho Fun noodles
Cabbage
Tofu
Scallops

Tips
When serving a combination of meat and vegetables or tofu, cook the meat first to flavour the broth more quickly.
If making your own special homemade dip, prepare it a few hours ahead of time and refrigerate, covered, until needed. This gives the flavors a chance to blend.
To prevent running out of broth, prepare a large batch on the stove, and then add it to the hot pot or fondue pot as needed.
Keep the broth at a low simmer throughout the meal
Provide each guest with their own soup bowl for placing the cooked food.
Keep a soup ladle on hand for ladling out soup, noodles, and other food that isn’t cooked with fondue forks.
For an extra touch, provide guests with wooden chopsticks to eat their food.
Serve tea, beer, or saké with hot pot dishes.

Hotpot Night













A Yin Yang pot allows you to accomodate different people....one side contains spicy sichuan soup and the other a milder broth.














Lay table with the stove in the middle surrounded by all ingredients. Sit around the table, cook your favourites and enjoy...and the result














A couple of happy campers!!!! Camping stove...happy campers...get it !!!