Green Papaya Salad with Char-grilled Beef

I am off to my cousin's 18th birthday party tonight but I thought that I would just get a quick post in before I do.

I have found myself sitting around doing quite a bit of contemplating over the past couple of days. Some times that is not a good thing, other times it is great to consider all the options. My current contemplations have been of the not good kind. The kind where you doubt the decisions you are making, wondering what the hell you are doing and why you are doing it. Oh and the all time most useless contemplation of all...what is going on in someone else's head....sigh. It is not like you will ever be able to answer that last one with any sort of accuracy so why even start. I just can't seem to help it sometimes though. All I can do is try not to let the negativity get the better of me and just go with the flow.

There are a few recipes in Sydney Food that I was wondering if I would ever get the chance to make. There are a couple of seafood dishes that I am not sure of. I probably would be able to get everything but I just don't know what the quality of the ingredients will be like. I guess I will just have to wait and see, there is still plenty of time since it is only April. This Green Papaya Salad with Char-grilled Beef was one of those recipes that I really didn't think that I would get a chance to make. I had never seen green papaya (or paw paw) here before. I thought that if I did take a trip away somewhere I might be able to do it then, depending on where I was, but I really didn't think I would get it made and was already trying to figure out what sort of substitutions could be made. I was really surprised one day not so long ago when I walked into one of our local fruit and veg shops to find a variety of more unusual ingredients including about 4 green paw paws. There was a nice small one so I quickly changed my plans and grabbed it and then went across the street to my favourite butcher to get a lovely piece of sirloin to use. Oh, it was so worth making. I was so pleased with the result. There was a fabulous combination of flavours and it was so fresh. I was a little disappointed that it wasn't as good the next day as leftovers, but I guess you can't have everything. I would definitely make this one again, I just hope that our fruit & veg shop with continue to get these ingredients in. 

Green Papaya Salad with Char-grilled Beef

Serves 2

Ingredients: 

• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1 red chilli, finely chopped 
• 1 tbsp palm sugar 
• 3 tbsp lime juice 
• 2 tbsp fish sauce 
• 1 1/2 c julienned green papaya
• 1/2 c julienned cucumber 
• 2 green onions, finely sliced 
• 1/4 c Thai basil leaves (I used a combination of lemon basil & sweet basil) 
• 1/4 c mint leaves 
• 1/4 c coriander leaves (I used parsley) 
• 2 sirloin steaks 
• peanut oil 
• cracked black pepper 

Method: 

• Combine garlic, chilli, palm sugar, lime juice and fish sauce and stir until sugar has dissolved. 
• Add papaya, cucumber, green onions, basil, mint and coriander and toss to combine. 
• Oil steaks and season with pepper. 
• BBQ or grill until done to your liking then rest for 5 minutes before slicing thinly. 
• Divide salad between serving plates and top with slices of beef.

Blackberry Crumble

Hmmm, two posts in two days. Nothing like jumping straight back in. I have a few things up my sleeves that I have made recently but then I am really going to have to get back into cooking from Sydney Food. Lately, I have been cooking some rather slack things like toasted sandwiches but there are some good things that I will post eventually.

I had a lovely day off work yesterday. Had the day in a nearby town. I had an appointment to go to so spent the day over there. Bought some new running shoes, which I actually got properly fitted for and they feel so much better. I also got a lovely red lightweight blanket for my bed. It is starting to get to that time of year where it is getting cooler but it is not even close to cold enough for my heavy wool blanket or  the even warmer deepest winter weight wool quilt that is all snuggly and warm but only gets used for about 2 - 3 months a year. It is nice to have a blanket that I can use with my bedspread during those in between times. When I got home I headed off to a friend's place for dinner. I just love it when someone else cooks for me. As much as I love cooking sometimes it is just nice not to have to do anything and to be fed good food. Unfortunately, it was back to the grindstone today though.

I made Bill's Individual Blackberry Crumbles one night for dessert not too long ago. I used frozen blackberries so it needed longer to cook. I didn't have an individual dishes large enough so I ended up doing the recipe in one dish which also contributed to the need for extra cooking time. It was nice but I thought that there was way too much crumble. I think that half the amount would have been plenty. My crumbles usually consist of a lot more oats and way less flour. This was fine but I think I would stick with my way next time. 

Blackberry Crumble 

Ingredients: 

• 3 cups blackberries 
• 2 tbsp caster sugar 
• 1 cup plain flour + 1 tbsp
• 1/2 cup firmly-packed brown sugar 
• 1 tsp baking powder 
• 3 tbsp quick-cooking oats 
• 100 g unsalted butter, cut in small pieces 

Method: 

• Pre-heat oven to 200 C. 
• Place blackberries, caster sugar and the tbsp of flour in a bowl and toss to coat the berries. 
• Combine flour, brown sugar, baking powder and oats. Rub in butter until it resembles crumbs. 
• Divided berries between two ovenproof bowls and top with crumble mixture. 
• Bake 20 - 25 minutes or until golden & bubbling. 
• Serve with ice cream. 

Spicy Chicken Salad with Lime

Oh oh, it would appear that I had a little lapse in concentration for a couple of weeks there and forgot about posting. I kept meaning to come and post the new things that I was making but I just never seemed to get it done. I have been busy with a bit of a social life lately. **shock** So have not had as much time in the evenings to post. Still, it is no excuse for neglecting my little blog for so long.

This past weekend a friend and I took a little trip away for a few days. It was so good to get away from home even if  only for just a few days. I managed to go to the beach, do some shopping, have a pedicure and met some lovely new people. If you are ever in the mid-north NSW coast town of Coffs Harbour I would highly recommend paying a visit to Macauleys Restaurant. The meal was fantastic, the service wonderful and the atmosphere terrific. We ate off the wonderful menu for the most part except for the Five-spice duck breast and pomegranate salad I had for an entrée, which was a special. It was the best dish that I have had in a restaurant in a long time, such a simple dish too. The spiced duck breast was perfectly cooked and the simple salad of red onion, rocket and pomegranate arils was perfect. I will definitely be going back the next time I am in Coffs Harbour. 

This Spicy Chicken Salad with Lime was something that I made ages ago now but I have made it several times since then. It is simple and fresh and perfect for an easy lunch or a light dinner. I love the spiciness from the Szechuan peppercorns, although make sure to roast them off a bit before grinding to release their flavours. If you cannot find them they are available at many of the online spice stores, I buy from Herbies. I replace the coriander in the recipe with parsley but other than that it is made as per Bill's recipe. I managed to score a kilo of limes at the markets in Coffs Harbour so will more than likely make this again on the weekend for lunch. 

Spicy Chicken Salad with Lime

Ingredients

• 4 chicken breasts
• olive oil 
• sea salt 
• freshly ground black pepper 
• 1 cucumber, halved, de-seeded and thinly sliced
• 1 cup parsley, roughly chopped 
• 1 cup mint leaves, roughly chopped 
• 1 tsp ground Szechuan peppercorns
• 1 tbsp fish sauce
• 1 tsp sesame oil 
• 3 tbsp lime juice 
• 2 green onions, thinly sliced
• 2 cups finely shredded iceberg lettuce 
• lime wedges 

Method: 

• Pre-heat oven to 200. Pre-heat frying pan over a high heat.
• Brush chicken with oil and season. 
• Sear breasts for 2 minutes each side. Transfer to a baking tray and bake for 15 minutes or until cooked through. 
• Rest 20 minutes then slice or shred. 
• Combine chicken, cucumber, parsley and mint in a bowl. 
• Mix szechuan, fish sauce, sesame oil and lime juice and then pour over chicken etc. 
• Divide lettuce between 4 serving bowls and top with chicken mixture and green onions and serve with a lime wedge.

Peach-stuffed French Toast

Okay, so while I am posting one I may as well set one to post tomorrow night. I made this French toast ages ago now but just hadn't gotten around to posting it. 

This recipe required brioche loaf. I haven't been able to buy that where I live. I did consider just using regular bread however I decided that I would have a go at making my own brioche loaf. I had had this recipe bookmarked for ages and it seemed like the perfect time to try it out. It was really easy to make, although the texture of mine was pretty light, airy and cakish. I think this had to do with it being so hot on the day that I made it and the dough rose really quickly. The farm-fresh eggs that I used in it also made the brioche really yellow. It was really good though. 

As for the actual French toast, it was nice but I had trouble stuffing it without the brioche breaking up. Also the 4 cm seemed way too thick and it didn't "compact" down the way that it looked like it did in Bill's picture. I found it incredibly rich and had trouble finishing half of a serve. The peaches and yoghurt were lovely. The brioche was great toasted with some honey on it but I wouldn't go to the trouble of making the French toast recipe again. 

Peach-stuffed french toast

serves 4

Ingredients

• 1 kg ripe peaches
• 2 tbsp lemon juice
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 4 eggs
• 1 cup milk
• 1/2 cup cream
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• a pinch of nutmeg
• 8 slices of brioche loaf, 1.5 inches/4cm thick
• 4 tbsp unsalted butter
• yoghurt, to serve

Method

• Blanch peaches for 10 seconds in boiling water then refresh and peel.
• Slice peeled peaches into 1cm slices and toss with lemon juice and 1/4 cup sugar.  Leave for 20-30 minutes.
• Whisk together eggs, milk, cream, vanilla, remaining sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg in  a bowl.
• With a sharp knife carefully slit open one side of each slice of bread to form a pocket.   Make sure to leave at least 1cm buffer at the edged.
• Stuff the bread pockets with as many peach slices as you can.
• Reserve any leftover peach slices for serving.
• Soak the stuffed bread for 1 minute in the egg mixture, flipping once after 30 seconds to soak both sides.
• Preheat oven to 180C. 
• Heat butter in frying pan over medium heat. Add egg-soaked bread slices to pan to brown on both sides.
• Place on a baking tray and finish cooking in the oven.  Bake for about 12 minutes or until done.
• Serve with leftover peach slices and yoghurt.

Delicious - March 2011 - Five-spice Chicken & Cucumber Banh Mi

Oh dear, I cannot believe how long it has been since I have updated my lovely little blog. Spend some time in the doldrums and the sprinkle liberally with spending time with a new friend and other things seem to fall by the way side. I have even been doing a lot of cooking. At least not stuff for my blog, to don't want to be blogging about spaghetti with grated parmesan, garlic olive oil and shredded basil... **oops** Oh and there have been plenty of sandwiches and a few convenience meals from the supermarket freezer section, none of which have been very nice. 


It hasn't all been bad though. This month's Delicious. magazine had some fantastic recipes in it. The first that I wanted to make was Rachel Allen's Slow-roasted Ginger & Citrus Shoulder of Pork. The recipe is a sweet citrusy marinade with ground star anise in there. It is marinaded overnight and then roasted for 12 hours. Instead of a bone-in shoulder, I used boneless and cooked for 10 hours. The flavour was fabulous but it was over cooked. Next time I would probably reduce the temperature further and probably reduce the cooking time a bit more. The crackling didn't crackly but I never seem to have any luck with crackling if the skin has been marinaded. It was find the way it was though. 


From this issue I also made David Prior's Five-spice Chicken & Cucumber Banh Mi. I followed the recipe almost exactly. The only thing I did differently was to marinade the chicken overnight, oh and I pan fried rather than grilled the chicken. This meal was so wonderful. Just perfect for a special lunch time meal. There was so much flavour in the chicken and it all combined perfectly. Don't skimp on the mayonnaise though. I used Neil Perry's mayo, my go to for bought mayonnaise now. I highly recommend this. It is easy to make. It is flavoursome just a little bit fancy. Oh and the left over chicken meat was fabulous in salads. 

Five-spice chicken & cucumber banh mi 

Serves 6

• 3/4 cup (165g) caster sugar 
• 3/4 cup (185ml) white vinegar 
• 3 carrots, cut into thin matchsticks or grated 
• 900g skinless chicken thigh fillets 
• 1/2 cup (150g) whole-egg mayonnaise 
• 2 baguettes, cut into thirds, split 
• 2 long red chillies, seeds removed, cut into thin strips 
• 1 telegraph cucumber, thinly sliced into ribbons
• 1/2 red onion, very thinly sliced 
• Baby rocket, or other salad greens

Marinade 

• 1/4 cup (60ml) soy sauce 
• 5 garlic cloves, finely chopped 
• 4 eschalots, finely chopped 
• 2 tbs fish sauce 
• 1 tbs caster sugar 
• 1 tsp black pepper
• 2 tsp five-spice powder

Method: 

• Combine sugar, vinegar and 1/2 tsp salt in a bowl, stirring until sugar and salt dissolve. Add carrots and toss to coat. Stand at room temperature for at least 2 hours or overnight. Drain. 
• Combine all the marinade ingredients together in a large bow. Add chicken, turning to coat. Cover and marinate in the fridge for 1 1/2 hours or overnight. 
• Preheat frying pan to medium-high. Remove chicken from marinade and pan-fry, in batches, for 6-8 minutes, turning, until cooked through. Slice on an angle and keep warm. 
• Spread mayonnaise on bottom half of baguettes, then fill with carrot, chilli, cucumber, chicken, onion and rocket. Serve immediately.