Thai red seafood curry

Carrying on with aquatic theme, I have a recipe involving some of the seafood shacked up in my freezer. Like many of the recipes I use, it's totally adaptable to other meats or vegetables so if all things fishy doesn't take your fancy, by all means swap it out for beef, chicken or even something like butternut squash. 

I was lucky enough to be treated with a trip to a wing yip supermarket (amazing Asian superstore) the other weekend. It was a compromise really as first on the list was IKEA but this was quickly ruled out by my other half. Instead he got to watch me marvel at every single shelf while trying not to cry with boredom, I know, he is a lucky guy. 

I already had the seafood and curry paste (cheating a little bit but they are so handy!) All I needed was some fresh herbs and vegetables, to stock up on some rice and get some tinned goods. Obviously I ended up with a little more than that but I don't think I did too badly in terms of pointless purchases.

I did find some coconut oil which is meant to be great to cook with. I used it in the curry and I have to say it did seem much less oily than usual. I also picked up some palm sugar and tamarind paste which is pretty essential in finishing Thai dishes but I've just been substituting with brown sugar and lime. They definitely made for a more authentic tasting dish and I'm very pleased that I invested in them. 

The key of all Asian cooking is achieving balance with hot, sour, sweet and salty and it's the secret to its addictive taste. Obviously I'm nowhere near an expert on Asian cuisine but I know what I like and I'm ok with playing around with it and getting it wrong once in a while. Confidence is key and worse comes to worse you can always just have beans on toast if it all goes tits up. So give it a try and remember to taste, then season and  then taste again. 

Thai red curry

Serves 4 

1 shallot or onion, finely chopped

50g red curry paste (add more or less depending on your spice levels)

1 aubergine, cut in to cubes

1 tin of coconut milk

2 kaffir lime leaves (this really makes a difference!)

2 tbsp tamarind paste or to taste

1 small piece of palm sugar,chopped or some brown sugar to taste 

1 small tin bamboo shoots

1 handful of sugar snap peas and/or baby sweet corn

Half a red pepper chopped

1 handful of mixed seafood/prawns/meat of choice

Fish sauce to taste

Roughly chopped coriander, Thai basil and some bean sprouts to finish. 

Start by frying off the shallot in the coconut oil or vegetable oil for a minute or so until translucent then add in the aubergine. Fry for a little while, the aubergine will soak up some of the oil but this is ok. Next add the paste and fry that off for a few minutes then you can add in the coconut milk and kaffir leaves. 

Now add the tamarind, bamboo shoots and sugar then leave the curry to cook down for 5-10 minutes allowing the flavours to develop. If using meat then add in now to give it time to cook through. 

The last stages are to add in your vegetables in the order of their cooking time though they should be nice and crunchy. Lastly the seafood goes in, if using, making sure not to over cook. Serve with some jasmine rice, the herbs and bean sprouts sprinkled over top. 

Top tip: large supermarkets should sell kaffir lime leaves and they keep beautifully in the freezer ready to go straight in to Asian curries and stir fries. They add that extra something! 

 

Pork belly Bao bun filling.

Carrying on from the trendy Taiwanese buns, here is the recipe I used for the filling. I'm not sure if it's a strictly traditional filling for these little pillows of dough but it looked pretty tasty and not too laboured intensive so with my large list of jobs it was ideal. It's a Shanghai style of cooking pork belly, also known as red cooked pork, I imagine because of the colour it has taken on once cooked. It was rich and sticky, just what I was looking for. The recipe calls for the belly to be cut in to bitesized chunks or slices but I think it would work well in a whole piece, cooked slower in the oven too. Serve with your own bao buns, along side rice and vegetable dishes, chucked in a noodle stir fry or even in an Asian broth. 

Shanghai-style braised pork belly ( Hong Shao Rou)

Serves 2

500-750g (depending on how greedy the diners are) pork belly, rind removed. 

2 tbsp oil

1 tbsp sugar

3 tbsp shaoxing rice wine

1 tbsp light soy

1/2 tbsp dark soy

2 cups water

Start by bringing some water to the boil and quickly blanching the pork. I'm not entirely sure if it's necessary but the recipe said it would clean the pork so I did it anyway. Feel free to skip if you wish. 

Drain after boiling for 1 minute. 

Take a heavy bottomed pan or wok and heat the oil and sugar until it's melted. 

Add the pork, being careful incase it spits and fry until it starts to brown and caramelise. Do this over a medium heat, trying not to burn the sugar. 

Turn the heat down once browned then add all the other ingredients. Add a lid and cook slowly for 45mins to an hour until the pork is nearly fork tender (you can cut it with a fork.) Take the lid off and cook until the sauce has reduced and become sticky. Serve with a garnish of coriander or chilli, to your taste. 

Trendy Taiwanese Buns

It's time for our Asian adventure to come to an end but fear not, I've saved the best instalment until last. If you like dim sum, in particular char siu buns, then you'll love this. 

Gau bao popped up on my radar last summer while going to a few food markets, in particular the kerb Saturday's. There was a stall selling them with the most unbelievably delicious smells but also an almighty queue. I debated joining the end but the look on my other halfs face told me this wasn't a good idea. Since then I've been hankering after them, so much so that I decided to just make my own. They might not be perfect or authentic but to me they were everything I was hoping they would be. Light and soft, like a cloud ready for any slow cooked meat and a sauce of your choosing to fill it

Taiwanese Bao (Gua bao)

Makes roughly 20 buns

375g strong flour

20g fresh yeast or 7g fast action yeast 

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

30g lard or vegetable suet

10g sugar

1 tsp salt

120g water

80g milk (I'd be tempted to try all milk next time) 

Mix dough for 5 minutes until it comes together. If it's really tight then add a little water, only about 20g. Then remove the dough, shape in to a round ball, grease the bowl, put back and cover with cling film or a damp cloth. Prove in a warm place for 1 to 1.5 hours until doubled in size. 

Next knock back the dough and then scale out in to 30g balls. Rolled nicely and put on to trays with enough space inbetween to allow to grow. Cover with a damp cloth and allow to prove again for 30 minutes. 

Lastly take the balls and roll in to an oval shape. Fold in half then place back on the tray with little squares of baking parchment underneath for the final prove. 

Leave for 30 minutes until they have risen then get your steamer boiling and steam for 10 minutes. You can make and cook them ahead of time and then just steam them again for 3 minutes to heat through

The start of an Asian adventure - Beijing dumplings.

Lately I've been making a list of recipes and dishes that I want to try out so that if I have some free time and the inclination to be in the kitchen, I have inspiration close at hand. A few of these dishes had a similar theme and I convieniently had some of the major ingredients in the fridge/freezer so I thought I would kill several birds with one stone. I had the weekend off and managed to rope my other half in to spending the day with me, telling him we would go off to do something fun in central London. Little did he know, 'fun' was 'go to Chinatown, buy ingredients and come straight home to cook with them.' I'm lucky enough that he obliged willingly, carried the heavy bags and only got grumpy a few times while I faffed around. 

Once home, I realised how much work I had given myself but I had spent a stupid about in SeeWoo supermarket so there was no turning back. I set to work, making my dough for the Bao buns and pickled cucumber (recipes to follow) then I got started on the dumplings. I used ready made dumpling wrappers this time, though I aim to make them from scratch at some point soon. Dumplings are one of my most favourite foods so I'm very happy this recipe makes a large amount. They are now sitting happily in my freezer ready to boil in less than 15 minutes. They are best served with some Chinese rice vinegar (which I now own as well as the whole contents of an Asian supermarket) and chilli oil mixed together to your liking. 

Pork and cabbage dumplings (Jiaozi)

Makes about 20-25 dumplings 

100g finely chopped Chinese cabbage or chives 

250g minced pork

1 and a half finely grated fresh ginger

1tbsp Chinese wine (shaoxing rice wine)

1tsp oil

1 tbsp sesame oil

1 tbsp light soy

1/2tsp dark soy

1/4 tsp salt

2 tbsp water

Take all your ingredients in bowl and stir until totally mixed together. Once mixed, set up a little filling station with a small bowl of water, your mince, the wrappers and a tray. 

Take a small spoon of mix (less than you would think, if you fill it too much it's difficult to wrap) and place in the middle of the wrapper. 

Then take your thumb, dip it in the water and brush it round the inside edge of half the circle. Then fold in half, squeezing the middle bit so it sticks with the water. 

Once folded, squeeze down either side so it's tightly secured and there are no air bubbles. Repeat until all the mix has gone. To cook just boil some water and drop them in. They should only take about 8 minutes maximum but the centre should be firm when squeezed. Eat on their own or add to Asian soups as a tasty alternative to prawns etc.