Chicken Pad Thai

Servings: 4-6

Ingredients:

• Flat rice noodles - 500gm(1lb)
  
• Chicken breast fillet - 500 gm( 1lb), cut into strips
• Bean Shoots - 3 cups
• Carrots - 2 med, julienne cut
• Broccoli florets - 2 cups
• Soy sauce - 1 tbsp
• Garlic cloves - 4, minced ( half separated)
  
• Green chili - 3, minced
• Peanut butter - 1 tbsp
• Eggs - 4
• Salt & pepper - to taste

• Sauce:
• Soy sauce - 3 tbsp
• White Vinegar - 1 tbsp
• Fish sauce - 2 tbsp
• Brown Sugar - 1 tbsp
• Chili flakes - 1 tsp

Methods:

• 1. Cook the rice noodles according to package instructions. Drain and set aside.
• 2. Prepare and chop the veggies, set aside. Mix in the ingredients for the sauce, set aside for the flavours to develop.
  
• 3. Marinate the chicken strips with soy sauce, black pepper, salt, chilies and half the minced garlic.
  
• 4. Heat 2 tbsp of oil in a non-stick wok. Add the chicken strips. Saute on high heat till they are cooked through. Remove from wok and set aside.
• 5. Wipe the wok clean with a paper towel. Add 2 more tbsp of oil and heat up. Cook the eggs by scrambling them. Once they stiff up a bit, add the carrots and broccoli. Season with salt & pepper. Saute on high heat for about 3-4 min till they are softened a bit. Make sure you don't over cook it. They still need to be nice and crunchy.
• 6. Return the chicken to the wok. Stir to combine. Saute for a min. Remove everything from the wok on a plate and set aside.
• 7. Add 1 tbsp of oil to the wok, add the left over minced garlic and saute till they are fragrant. Add the noodles and saute for a min. Return the chicken and veggies to the wok, stir to combine.
  
• 8. Add the sauce to the noodles. Saute on high heat for about 2-3 min, or till the noodles absorb all the sauce. Turn the heat off.
• 9. Serve immediately.
  

Chili Beef

Servings: 4

Ingredients:

• Beef strips - 500 gms
• Onion - 1 lrg, sliced
  
• Chilies/capsicum - 1 cup, sliced (seeded if heat is not preffered)
  
• Corn flour - 1 tbsp
• 
  
• Marinate:
• Soy sauce - 1/2 cup
• Tasting salt - 1 tbsp
• Black pepper - 1 tbsp
• Chili powder - 1 tsp

Methods:

• 1. Mix in the ingredients for the marinade and marinate beef strips overnight.
• 2. Heat oil in a pan, add the beef and saute on high heat for 4-5 min, till cooked through, remove from the pan and set aside.
• 3. Add the onions and peppers to the pan, with some black pepper and tasting salt. Add a splash of oil if required, however you should not need to. Saute on high heat till the onions are browned on the edges a bit, but still crispy.
• 4. Return the beef strips to the pan. Stir to combine and saute for 2-3 min on high heat.
• 5. In a bowl mix 1/2 cup of ice cold water with the corn starch and 1/2 tsp black pepper, 1 tsp soy sauce and 1/2 tsp tasting salt. Whisk to combine smoothly.
• 6. Add the mixture to the beef. Stir vigorously so that the corn starch does not lump up in one place. Once the gravy starts to thicken and simmer a bit, turn the heat off.
• 7. Serve immediately on a bed of pasta or rice. Bon Appétit!
  

Shrimp Fried Rice

Servings: 4

Ingredients:

• Shrimp - 1 lb, shelled and deveined
• Onion - 1 med, chopped
• Carrots - 1 cup, sliced
• Frozen sweet peas - 1 cup, defrosted
  
• Green chilies - 2-3 , chopped
• Soy sauce - 2-3 tbsp
• Tasting salt - 1 tbsp (or to taste)
• Black pepper - 1 tsp
• Eggs - 2
• Basmati rice - 3 cups(raw)

Methods:

• 1. Rinse and drain the rice.
• 2. Bring water into boil, add the rice with 1 tsp of salt and boil till the rice seems al dente. Drain and set aside.
• 3. Heat 4 tbsp of oil in a large non-stick frying pan. Fry the eggs by scrambling them, remove and set aside.
• 4. Add the onions to the pan, saute till they are translucent. Add the carrots, half the amount of tasting salt and black pepper. Saute for 2-3 min till they are a bit softer. Add the sweet peas and saute for 2-3 more min. Remove the veggies from the pan and set aside.
• 5. Add the shrimp to the pan with 1/2 tsp of garlic paste and 1/2 tsp of tasting salt. Saute till they curl up.
  
• 6. Return the eggs and veggies to the pan. Stir to combine and saute for 1-2 min.
• 7. Add the drained rice to the pan. Carefully stir to combine as not to break the rice. Test for salt. If required add a bit more tasting salt and black pepper. Saute for 3-4 more min.
  
• 8. Sprinkle the soy sauce on top, turn the heat off, cover and let it rest for 10 min before serving.
• 9. After the 10 min, stir the rice a bit so that some of the whiter rice and some of the darkened rice with soy sauce will mix evenly. Serve with a side of fried chicken or any side of your choice.
  

Spring Fried Chicken

Servings: 4

Ingredients:

• Chicken - 1 lb, cut up in 2 inch size pieces.
• Plain flour - 1/2- 1 cup
• Soy sauce - 2 tbsp

• Marinade:
• Soy sauce - 1 tbsp
• Tasting salt - 1 tbsp
• Black pepper - 1 tbsp
• Garlic cloves - 2, minced

Methods:

• 1. Whisk in the ingredients to make the marinade. Marinate the chicken pieces overnight, refrigerated or minimum of 2 hours.
  
• 2. On the day of cooking take the chicken out of the fridge and let it come to room temperature before cooking.
  
• 3. Mix in the extra soy sauce with the chicken. Sprinkle the flour on top of the chicken pieces and combine gently with your hands to coat every chicken piece.
  
• 3. Heat oil in a wok, enough so that the chicken pieces will be half submerged. Fry on med-high heat for about 4-5 min on each side, until cooked through and golden and crispy.
• 4. Serve immediately.
  

Tuna Salad with Chili Oil

Servings: 4

Ingredients:

• Red cabbage - 1 cup, thinly shredded
• Red Capsicum - 1 lrg, thinly sliced
• Red Onion - 1 sml, thinly sliced
• Seedless cucumber - 1.5 cup, thinly sliced
• Canned Tuna chunks - 1 cup, drained of the canning juice/oil
• 
  
• Chili oil dressing:
  
• Salt & pepper - to taste
• Chili oil - 1/2 cup
• Honey - 2 tbsp
• Lemon/lime juice - 1 tbsp
  
• 
  
• Chili oil:
  
• Olive oil - 500ml
• Birds eye chilis - 2-3, ( or to taste) sliced lengthwise.
• Garlic clove - 1

Methods:

• 1. To make the chili oil, get a large non-stick pot. Wipe it clean of any residue. Pour the oil and heat it up on low flame, approx 2-3 min. Add the chilies and the garlic. Keep the oil on low heat for 5- 10 min. Make sure the oil does not get hot enough to cook the chilies or the garlic. It should just be warm enough to infuse the flavours into the oil. After the 10 min, turn the heat off, let the oil cool down and store it in a sterilized glass bottle for future use.
• 2. Chop and prep the veggies, set aside. Drain the tuna chunk of its canning juice, break it into bite size pieces and set aside.
• 3. In a large bowl, whisk in the honey and lemon juice with salt and pepper. Slowly pour the chili oil while you whisk the dressing. This will create a nice thick dressing.
  
• 4. Toss the veggies into the dressing to coat evenly. Gently toss in the tuna.
• 5. You can serve it as it is or as side to any main of your choice. I personally like to eat it just on its own.
  

Saffron Infused Fried Rice with Garlic Chives

Servings: 4

Ingredients:

• Basmati rice - 3 cups (raw)
• Onion - 1 med, finely diced
• Garlic chives - chopped, 1 cup
• Saffron strands - 1/2 tsp
• Garlic cloves - 2-3, minced
• Green Chili - 2-3,( or to taste), sliced
• Salt & pepper - to taste
• Cumin powder - 2/3 tsp
• Whole anise seeds - 1 tsp

Methods:

• 1. In a large saucepan bring water to boil, drop the rice and boil until al dente. Drain and set aside.
• 2. In a non-stick wok, heat 3 tbsp of oil. Add the garlic, green chilies and saffron strands to infuse the oil.
• 3. Add the anise seeds, onion and chives, saute for 2-3 min till the onions are translucent.
  
• 4. Add some salt and pepper and the cumin powder, saute for a min. Add the drained rice to the onions. Saute on high heat for 5-6 min, till the rice have absorbed the flavoured oil. Season if required.
• 5. Serve with any meat or fish side.
  

Pepper Beef

Servings: 4

Ingredients:

• Beef rump steak - 500gms(1lb), cut into thin strips
• Green Capsicum - 1, cut into strips
• Banana peppers - 1 , cut into strips
• Whole pepper corns - 1/2 tsp
• Soy sauce - 3 tbsp (2 tbsp more separated)
  
• Black pepper - 1 tsp
• White pepper - 1/2 tsp
• Chili powder - 1/2 tsp
• Salt - to taste (account for the saltiness of the soy sauce)
• Corn flour/starch - 1-2 tbsp
  

Methods:

• 1. In a bowl, mix in the 3 tbsp soy sauce, black pepper, chili powder, white pepper, salt. Marinate the beef strips in the sauce mix for half hour.
• 2. Heat some oil in a wok. Once smoking hot, add the whole pepper corns to the oil followed by the marinated beef strips. Saute for 6-8 min, till they cook through.
• 3. Add the sliced onions, capsicums and peppers. Saute on high heat for 4-5 min. Add some salt and pepper to taste.
• 4. In a bowl, whisk in the corn flour with 1 cup of cold water and 1 tbsp of soy sauce. Pour this over the peppers and beef.
  
• 5. Keep stirring until the sauce thickens up. Serve immediately on simple fried rice.
  

Hokkein Noodles with Garlic Sesame Prawns

Servings: 4 - 6

Ingredients:

• Hokkein Noodles - 2 packets (450gms each)
• Prawn - 500gms, shelled and deveined
• Carrots - 1 cup, cut into strips
• Snowpeas - 2 cups, deveined
• Bean shoot - 2 cups, rinsed
• Garlic cloves - 3, minced
• Birds eye chili - 4-5, whole
• Chili flakes - 1 tsp ( or to taste)
• Salt - to taste
  
• Cooking oil
• 
  
• Sauce:
• Soy sauce - 2 tbsp
• Oyster sauce - 1 tbsp
• Fish sauce - 1.5 tbsp
• Sesame oil - 1.5 tsp
• White vinegar - 1.5 tbsp
• Brown sugar - 1 tsp

Methods:

• 1. In a bowl whisk in the ingredients for the sauce, set aside.
• 2. Cook the Hokkein noodles per package instructions, drain and set aside.
• 3. Heat oil in a large frying pan, add the minced garlic and the birds eye chilies, to infuse the oil with their scent and flavour.
• 4. Add the cleaned prawns and a pinch of salt and 1 tsp of the made sauce. Saute the prawns on high heat for about 3-4 min, till they curl up. Move them to the side of the pan.
• 5. Add the carrots and saute for a min or so.
• 
• 6. Add the snowpeas and stir to combine. Saute for 1-2 min.
• 7. Add the bean shoots and the drained noodles. Saute for 2-3 min on high heat. Pour the sauce over and stir to combine thoroughly. Turn the heat off and serve immediately.