Seared beef & papaya salad with tamarind soy dressing

Couple of days ago was the first day I really felt like the winter had arrived - it was cold, grey, rainy and windy. And that got me thinking back to last year. I was in the UK getting ready to visit my friend in Norway and then heading to my parents'. Usually when I get the wintery feeling I want to stuff myself with warming soup or a lovely stew, but for some reason I just felt like fooling myself into thinking that it's not winter at all. I wanted to have something fresh, light and that would take me back to South-East Asia.

As I was flicking through the last copy of my BBC Good Food magazine I came across this salad and I knew immediately that it was just what I needed. So the next day I headed headed out to buy all the ingredients. I made two portions of this lovely salad and had one straight away with beef still hot and had the second portion for lunch the day after and it was equally good.

I love the fact that it was a nice change from the usual salads - tomato, cucumber, salad leaves and then either chicken or salmon. Further, sometimes when it's dark and grey something colourful, fruity and zingy is all one needs to feel better and more full of energy. So if you want a lovely pick-me-up salad or just crave a light but filling dinner or want something different for your packed lunch then this is the perfect choice.

Ingredients

(Serves 2)
- 2 x 150g sirloin steaks
- Olive oil
- 100g baby spinach
- 2 papayas, deseeded and sliced
- 1 small pack of coriander
- 1 small pack of mint
- 1 tsp lazy chillies

For the dressing:
- 1 tbsp tamaring puree
- 1/2 tsp grated garlic
- juice of 1 lime
- 1 1/2 tbsp soft brown sugar
- 1 tbsp fish sauce
- pinch of chilli flakes

Directions
Season the steak with salt and pepper. Heat a pan with the oil and fry the steaks for 2 mins each side and then put aside and leave to rest for 5 minutes.

Mix the dressing ingredients together with 1 tablespoon of water until the sugar is dissolved. I used a very small jar with a screw on lid for mixing the dressing. Arrange the spinach, beed, papaya, herbs, cucumber and chilli on a plate. Pour the dressing on the salad and enjoy!

Recipe from BBC Good Food January 2014 magazine

Tom Yum soup

I'd like to apologise for leaving such a big gap between my posts, but I was away on a family holiday and decided to leave my laptop at home (at first it felt like I was missing a limb, but after few days I realised I had made a great decision) and ever since I arrived back in Singapore I've been battling with one of the worst jet lags of my whole life (this explains why writing this post has taken so long).

I haven't forgotten my little promise to myself to try out some Asian dishes before I move back to London and as I got six cookbooks for my birthday (my friends know me way too well) and one of them was about soups I decided to treat us for a nice Asian soup. And as I was flicking through the soup book the Tom Yum soup caught my eye. And it did so because firstly the pictures looked really nice, secondly because the ingredient list was a lot shorter than I would have ever expected and thirdly I've really wanted to try making it at home and it was my luck that I did not have to shift through dozens of recipes on the internet to find the one that I wanted to try.

What I really love about Tom Yum is the interplay between flavours - its sweet, sour, salty and spicy all at the same time. To be honest, that tends to be so with most Thai dishes, but that doesn't make it any less special. Taking into account that everything in this soup is freshly made it is actually quite quick to make - the most time consuming part is making the prawn stock. It really fills you up and even in this hot climate it makes a perfect dish to finish your day. Also, the thing with home-made food is that you can easily vary the spiciness level (always feel free to reduce the amount of chilli you put in) and you can basically tailor the food to your liking. So, if you're looking for a nice oriental soup this one is definitely worth trying out.

Ingredients

(Makes 4)
- 300g fresh prawns
- 1.25l water (plus 1.5l for the stock)
- 2 stalks of lemongrass, thick part sliced diagonally
- 4-5 bird's eye chillies, bruised
- 3 thin slices of galangal
- 4 kaffir lime leaves, washed and torn
- 2-3 tsp fish sauce
- 75ml freshly squeezed lime juice
- Salt, to season
- 2 tbs olive oil

Directions
First make the prawn stock. For that remove and reserve prawn heads and shells, but leave the tails on. Devein the prawns by making a cut along their back and remove the vein. Also, doing this will make them curl up nicely during cooking.

To make the stock, heat the oil in a large pot over high heat. When its hot add the prawn shells and heads and stir fry for 1-2 minutes until they are bright pink. Then add 1.5l water and bring to boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 20 minutes (25 minutes max). Then use a potato masher to crush the shells against the bottom of the pot to get the maximum flavour. Strain the stock through a sieve and discard the shells and set it aside.

The pour the strained stock into a clean pot and add lemongrass, chillies, galangal and lime leaves. Bring this to boil over medium heat. Add the prawns to the pot and cook for 2 minutes (or until they are just cooked and curled). Switch off the heat and stir in the fish sauce.

Season the soup with lime juice (taste it so the sour-salty balance is perfect for you) and add little salt if necessary. Serve immediately and enjoy!

Recipe from C. Tan's book "Slurp"

 

Super fast prawn noodles

After realising the fact that my time here in Singapore is coming to an end (less than 3 weeks to go until I finish my masters) I thought I should use the time left here to try out some other Asian influenced dishes. So, the other day I was flicking through my recipe collection to see whether anything caught my eye and fortunately I found this recipe. I am a huge fan of fresh king prawns and whenever I do the food shopping and see them on offer I make a mental note that I should try to use them more often. From a more personal point of view, I was looking for something on a bit lighter side as after all the BBQs and desserts and restaurant visits with parents I felt like giving my body a small break from having to digest heavy food.

So, as this recipe ticked all the boxes - Asian, light, quick to make and involves king prawns - I decided to give it a go. To be honest with you, usually when I try out a new soup, my fiancé just states that it tastes nice, but this one had a really different reaction. The moment he tried I was told that I could make this again (read: it's delicious!) and I've acted on these words and actually made it for dinner again yesterday.

After discussing various things here I feel that I should actually give some insight about the soup. Well, it's incredibly easy and quick to make and I love the combination of the various sauces and a slight hint of ginger just creates the perfect balance of different flavours. It makes a delicious and filling mid-week supper and is guaranteed to add a nice exotic touch to your day.

Ingredients

(Serves 2)
- 500ml chicken stock
- 1 tbsp oyster sauce
- 1 tbsp hoisin sauce
- 1 tsp fish sauce
- Medium piece of fresh root ginger, shredded into thing matchsticks
- 150g peeled king prawns (approx. 12 prawns)
- 2 bok choy, cut into quarters
- 100g noodles (straight to wok or soak hard noodles for few minutes before adding them in)
- 2 spring onions, finely sliced

Directions
Firstly peel and devein the king prawns. Then, bring the stock to boil in a wok or large saucepan. Stir in the different sauces and then add ginger. Simmer for a moment and then add the prawns until they've turned pink. When the prawns are ready, add the bok choy and cook for further 2 minutes until just wilted.

Finally, add all the noodles into the broth, stir to loosen the noodles and cook until they're warm. Divide the noodle soup between two bowls, scatter with spring onions and serve straight away.

Recipe from BBC Good Food

 

Honey & sesame prawns on bok choy

I do have to admit that most of my days here I have fruit and salad (and take aways from local hawker centres) and do not cook 'real' food as such. Mainly because I don't have time, but also because the choice of dishes in Singapore is incredible - I could have absolutely anything I wanted. And so far all the food I've tried has been delicious. Being inspired by the food that I've eaten over the past few weeks I tried to make an Asian meal myself. I still haven't overcome my fascination of fresh king prawns (and how affordable they are in this part of the world) and therefore once again I have included them.

This dish is incredibly easy to make and probably the most time consuming part is peeling the prawns (obviously you could buy ready peeled ones) and the marinating. But if those are out of the way, it just takes few minutes to put together this tasty and relatively light dish. I had it as a light lunch, but it could easily be serves as one of many side dishes to a dinner or as a starter at a dinner party - it looks very impressive and sophisticated when arranged properly.

Ingredients
(Serves 1)
- 10 king prawns, peeled
- 1 tsp fish sauce
- 1 tsp honey
- 1 tbsp kecap manis (sweet soy sauce)
- 1/2 lime rind
- 1/2 lime juice
- 4 small bok choy heads
- 2 tsp sesame seeds
- sesame oil, to fry

Directions
Firstly, peel the king prawns. Then mix fish sauce, honey, kecap manis, lime rind and lime juice in a small bowl. Add the prawns to the marinade mixture, coat with cling film and set aside for 30minutes or so.

Them, cut of the bottom pit of bok choy so you have separate stems with leaves and set aside. Heat a wok pan and when it is hot add the sesame seeds. Cook them for 1-2 minutes until golden. If they are ready, remove and set them aside.

Heat some sesame seed oil in the same work and stir fry the bok choy for around 4 minutes. When they are ready, place them on a plate.

To cook the prawns, remove them from the marinade (but don't throw it away), heat some more oil in the wok and cook the prawns on both sides until golden. If the prawns are ready add the marinade and cook until it reduces slightly. Finally, place the prawns on bok choy, pour over the sauce and sprinkle with sesame seeds. Serve immediately.

Recipe from taste.com.au