So I've been back at work full-time (after over a year of maternity leave) and we are in the process of moving house. Everything is messy and I never seem to have the time or the ingredients that I used to during the stay-at-home housewife days.
This has resulted in quick food fixes. There is Kylie Kwong's egg recipe - simple (if you use chook eggs rather than duck). I add some stir fried greens to make this a well rounded meal and also drizzle lime juice over the end dish (obviously, the Toddler has her version sans the fresh chilli).
When any kind of cooking seems like to much trouble we have resorted to and old but wonderfully consistent haunt - Vietnamese at Trang in West End. We have a long history with this place - on the night my husband and I picked up my engagement ring we shared a half bottle of Moet over some of their do-it-yourself wrap-ups. Six years down the track I've been delighted to find out that the staff are very friendly to the Toddler and the Toddler loves the food. She has tried thick chicken noodle soup, the pho, shredded pork rolls and the vegetarian fried rice. They seem to have heaps of high chairs and the best thing is that the food arrives within minutes of placing the order (important if your Toddler is one hour past sleep time or is very hungry). The serves are so big that we have never had to order extra for the Toddler - she just eats a little of anything that we have ordered for ourselves and the cost never seems to be more than $28 for all three of us.
Showing posts with label Asian. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Asian. Show all posts
Sunday, August 28, 2011
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
Counterfeit Congee
This is not so much a recipe but a pathetic attempt to copy the soulful congee that you get for next to nothing in simple asian establishments. The end result is simply not the same (possibly because I haven't even bothered to look up a recipe in order to make it properly) but it is tasty, healthy and enjoyable. Better still, it can be made with what you have in the house and in one pot.
1 cup of any type of rice except brown (I believe you can buy special rice for congee but I have used heaps of different ones including arborio, sushi and basmati).
5 cups liquid - Use leftover Asian vegetable stock from yesterday's post or normal chicken or vegetable stock or water. If you use water, you can go crazy and add a couple of whole peeled but slightly bashed garlic cloves and pieces of peeled ginger (the size and width of a dollar coin) and simply fish them out before serving.
Vegetables - combination and amount to suit your toddler's taste and what is in your fridge - peas, corn, broccoli, snow peas, carrot, mushrooms are all good options. We went alternative today and included sweet potato.
Some protein (optional) - quarters of boiled egg, or cooked chicken are a good idea.
Place the liquid and the rice into a big saucepan and bring to the boil. Turn down the heat and lit simmer briskly until rice thickens and makes the water cloudy with its starch. Feel free to add water if necessary and keep cooking it until the rice nearly dissolves. The end result you are aiming for is a thick soupy mixture - a little like porridge.
You can cook the vegetables one of two ways:
* by placing them in a steamer that fits on top of the saucepan, or
* by placing them in the actual liquid and rice after the mixture has been simmering for about 5 minutes.
Once the congee has reached the desired consistency, place in serving bowls and add vegetables (if they have been steamed separately) and any cooked protein you would like. For a toddler who likes finger food, leave steamed vegetables separate so there is something for them to eat with their hands (my toddler also liked eating the congee with her hands but that is another story).
For any adult sharing the congee offer the following garnishes to make it more interesting:
* finely sliced spring onion
* peeled and finely sliced young ginger (give the old and gnarly stuff a miss), or
* sauce of 2 parts lime juice, 1 part fish sauce, 1 part sugar and chopped chilli to taste. I keep freeze dried sliced chilli on hand - with a dash of hot water it reconstitutes and can be added into recipes that call for fresh chilli and I don't have to worry about getting chilli juice on my hands and stinging my toddler when I touch her.
This recipe makes one adult serve and four generous toddler serves or enough for two adults and two toddlers. It can be frozen (without the adult garnishes).
1 cup of any type of rice except brown (I believe you can buy special rice for congee but I have used heaps of different ones including arborio, sushi and basmati).
5 cups liquid - Use leftover Asian vegetable stock from yesterday's post or normal chicken or vegetable stock or water. If you use water, you can go crazy and add a couple of whole peeled but slightly bashed garlic cloves and pieces of peeled ginger (the size and width of a dollar coin) and simply fish them out before serving.
Vegetables - combination and amount to suit your toddler's taste and what is in your fridge - peas, corn, broccoli, snow peas, carrot, mushrooms are all good options. We went alternative today and included sweet potato.
Some protein (optional) - quarters of boiled egg, or cooked chicken are a good idea.
Place the liquid and the rice into a big saucepan and bring to the boil. Turn down the heat and lit simmer briskly until rice thickens and makes the water cloudy with its starch. Feel free to add water if necessary and keep cooking it until the rice nearly dissolves. The end result you are aiming for is a thick soupy mixture - a little like porridge.
You can cook the vegetables one of two ways:
* by placing them in a steamer that fits on top of the saucepan, or
* by placing them in the actual liquid and rice after the mixture has been simmering for about 5 minutes.
Once the congee has reached the desired consistency, place in serving bowls and add vegetables (if they have been steamed separately) and any cooked protein you would like. For a toddler who likes finger food, leave steamed vegetables separate so there is something for them to eat with their hands (my toddler also liked eating the congee with her hands but that is another story).
For any adult sharing the congee offer the following garnishes to make it more interesting:
* finely sliced spring onion
* peeled and finely sliced young ginger (give the old and gnarly stuff a miss), or
* sauce of 2 parts lime juice, 1 part fish sauce, 1 part sugar and chopped chilli to taste. I keep freeze dried sliced chilli on hand - with a dash of hot water it reconstitutes and can be added into recipes that call for fresh chilli and I don't have to worry about getting chilli juice on my hands and stinging my toddler when I touch her.
This recipe makes one adult serve and four generous toddler serves or enough for two adults and two toddlers. It can be frozen (without the adult garnishes).
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Deconstructed Asian Noodle Soup for the Toddler with a Tummy Bug
The Toddler had (for reasons that I am too polite to mention) lost a lot of fluids in the last 24 hours. I needed to give her something that was liquid and soothing but full of garlic and ginger...and it had to be fun. When you have been at home sick for two days straight then the food has to double as entertainment before the next sleep for recovery.
I adapted the Asian Soup Stock recipe from Moosewood Daily Restaurant Daily Special by the Moosewood Collective. After making the stock I poured several ladles over some vermicelli noodles and, after the noodles had cooked, draped them on on her flat eating tray along with a few pieces of carrot that had cooked in the stock. The noodles were great for playing with and slurping up but in the end it was spoonful after spoonful of the warm gingery broth she wanted (or perhaps she just liked sucking it out of the white china soup spoon).
10 cups water
2 leeks or onions chopped
2 carrots chopped
4 celery stalks chopped
5 chopped and peeled cloves of garlic
4 cm square (roughly) of peeled and sliced ginger
5 whole black peppercorns
5 dried shiitake mushrooms (optional)
Vermicelli noodles (as much as you would like to serve)
Bring all ingredients except noodles to the boil. Turn the heat down and let it simmer gently for 1 hour. Place noodles in a bowl and pour enough broth to cover. Stir occasionally and wait for noodles to cook through. Serve.
Notes:
* The recipe makes far more stock than you need for one serving. After straining out the cooked vegetables, freeze the rest or convert into an easy meal for older children/adults by adding cooked chicken or sliced and steamed vegetables after the noodles have 'cooked' in the stock. Seasonings like soy sauce, fish sauce or freshly chopped chilli and lime juice will make it more interesting for more sophisticated palates.
* The recipe would be even better with a few pieces of organic chicken like wings, drumsticks or all of the bones from a roast chicken dinner added at the start. If you do this, cook the stock for a lot longer - up to three hours.
I adapted the Asian Soup Stock recipe from Moosewood Daily Restaurant Daily Special by the Moosewood Collective. After making the stock I poured several ladles over some vermicelli noodles and, after the noodles had cooked, draped them on on her flat eating tray along with a few pieces of carrot that had cooked in the stock. The noodles were great for playing with and slurping up but in the end it was spoonful after spoonful of the warm gingery broth she wanted (or perhaps she just liked sucking it out of the white china soup spoon).
10 cups water
2 leeks or onions chopped
2 carrots chopped
4 celery stalks chopped
5 chopped and peeled cloves of garlic
4 cm square (roughly) of peeled and sliced ginger
5 whole black peppercorns
5 dried shiitake mushrooms (optional)
Vermicelli noodles (as much as you would like to serve)
Bring all ingredients except noodles to the boil. Turn the heat down and let it simmer gently for 1 hour. Place noodles in a bowl and pour enough broth to cover. Stir occasionally and wait for noodles to cook through. Serve.
Notes:
* The recipe makes far more stock than you need for one serving. After straining out the cooked vegetables, freeze the rest or convert into an easy meal for older children/adults by adding cooked chicken or sliced and steamed vegetables after the noodles have 'cooked' in the stock. Seasonings like soy sauce, fish sauce or freshly chopped chilli and lime juice will make it more interesting for more sophisticated palates.
* The recipe would be even better with a few pieces of organic chicken like wings, drumsticks or all of the bones from a roast chicken dinner added at the start. If you do this, cook the stock for a lot longer - up to three hours.
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