Prawn & Harissa stew with couscous

One of my go to meals during revision period was this lovely Middle Eastern flavoured stew. It is really filling, incredibly quick to make (it literally takes 10 minutes) and so flavourful. And as an added bonus it is healthy as well! The only problem with stews of any description is that they are not the most "photogenic" of foods, but I just had to really share this one with you.

Like with so many of my recipes, I had bookmarked it ages ago and when I finally got around to make it I was more than pleasantly surprised. Sometimes the problem with healthier options is that they are not the most flavourful and even worse, still leave you feeling hungry after eating them. Whereas this is exactly the opposite.

This dish also has a very nice mixture of different textures - soft grainy texture, semi-crunchy onions, juicy prawns complimented by a creamy tomato sauce. Top that off with amazing flavours and you've got a real crowd pleaser. It is worth mentioning that if you're not a big fan of spicy food then it might be a good idea to reduce the amount of harissa paste you add into the stew - I like my food quite spicy and found that the 2 tbsp was just enough for my liking. But that's another perk of cooking at home - if you don't like an ingredient, leave it out and the same way if you like less spicy, add less spices.

All in all, this is a lovely and incredibly quick stew that makes a perfect and filling mid-week meal.

Ingredients

(Serves 1)
- 50g couscous
- Olive oil, for frying
- 100ml chicken stock
- 1/2 red onion, sliced
- 1 garlic clove, crushed
- 1/2 tsp ground cumin
- 200g tinned chopped tomatoes
- 1 tsp harissa
- 75g raw peeled prawns
- Coriander leaves, to serve

Directions
Put the couscous in a bowl with a tiny splash of olive oil and cover with boiling chicken stock. Cover and let it swell until you prepare the stew.

To make the stew, heat the oil in a pan, add the onion and garlic and fry until just tender. Add the cumin and fry for another minute. Then add the tomatoes and harissa and bubble everything together until it thickens. Lastly, stir in the prawns and cook for 3 more minutes (or until the prawns have turned pink).

To serve, fluff the couscous with a fork, pour the stew over it and scatter the coriander over. Serve immediately.

Recipe from BBC Good Food 

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

 

Spicy prawn & pineapple curry

I have finally managed to settle in and I'm slowly getting used to the time difference - 7 hours is quite a something to get used to. This is my last weekend before university starts here in Singapore and therefore I decided to use this little time I have productively and try out a new recipe. I admit I was a bit lazy and did not make the curry paste from scratch, but as it was my first curry every I thought that I'd leave making my own paste for the next time.

The red curry paste I used was very spicy on its own and therefore I did not need to add chillies, but if you're using a mild paste or prefer you curry really spicy feel free to add some chopped chillies when adding the lemongrass and the lime leaves. It is very quick to make - the cooking process takes just around 15 minutes - and therefore is perfect for a warming mid-week meal. I just love the addition of pineapple to curries, because it sweetens the taste and when the curry is spicy it helps to "cool" it down and actually allows you to enjoy the dish without feeling constant burning sensation in your mouth. Overall it was a flavourful and filling dish that I am likely to make again (but using a bit milder curry paste).


Ingredients
(serves 4)
- 1 tsp oil
- 2 tbsp red curry paste
- 1 tbsp palm sugar (or soft brown sugar)
- 1 tsp ground turmeric
- 1 tsp fish sauce
- 400ml coconut milk
- 1/2 small pineapple, peeled and chopped
- 5 dried kaffir lime leaves, torn
- 3 lemongrass stalks
- 300g peeled raw tiger prawns

Directions
Before starting cooking, prepare all the ingredients. Peel and devein the prawns and peel and chop up the pineapple.

Heat the oil and add the curry paste. Fry for around 2 minutes, then add the sugar and turmeric and stir well. Add the fish sauce, coconut milk and pineapple chunks and bring to boil. Then add lime leaves and lemongrass and simmer for around 5 minutes. Finally add the tiger prawns and simmer for further 5 minutes or until the prawns change colour.

Serve with boiled jasmine rice and warm naan bread

Recipe from BBC Good Food

 

Honey & pineapple prawn stir-fry

Whenever I'm travelling somewhere exotic I first of all try to eat only local food and especially use the possibility of eating fresh fruit - they taste so much better than the ones you get to buy over in the UK or anywhere else where they have been imported to. I've spent the last week in Singapore (where I will be living for a next year or so) and thought of cooking something for dinner, which wasn't western. And as my boyfriend has got me hooked on stir fries, I did not have to think for long before I knew what I was going to make. After a trip down to the local supermarket and a bag full of fresh king prawns and local pineapple I was very excited of putting together this dish.

The thing I really love about stir fries is that you can put in whatever you want (they are great for using up any leftover vegetables in the fridge) and they are really simple, healthy and fast to make, which makes them perfect for weekday dinners. This one was my first with prawns (make sure you don't overcook them) and I will most definitely be using them instead of chicken in the future. Until now, I haven't put any fruit in my stir fries but after trying out a stir fry with pineapple my imagination went flying - can't wait to do one with mango now! The dish itself is slightly on the sweet side, but if you prefer spicier food add some sambal or chopped chillies. I served it with boiled rice, but it would go well with all sort of different noodles or even just on its own (but then increase the quantities).

Ingredients
(Serves 3)
- 600g raw king prawns
- 1tsp peanut oil
- 1 medium red pepper
- 115g snow peas
- 2 small cloves of garlic
- 0.5 pineapple, chopped coarsely
- 3 tsp kecap manis (sweet soy sauce)
- 1.5 tsp honey
- Jasmine rice, to serve
- Sambal or lazy chillies (optional)

Directions
Put the rice to boil and have it ready before making the stir fry. Chop up all the ingredients before starting. Heat the peanut oil in a wok pan and stir fry the prawns, red pepper, garlic and peas until the prawns have changed colour. Then add the rest of the ingredients and stir fry until hot.

Divide the rice up between the plates and top it with the stir fry. Serve immediately.