Shrove Tuesday - Asian Style Pancakes.

Shrove Tuesday - means its Pancake Day and although I am catholic I am not strict catholic, but Shrove Tuesday is always pancake day. For those of you who don't know it Shrove Tuesday is the day preceding Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent.

The reason that pancakes are eaten is that they are made from the sugar, flour, eggs and fat from which traditionally we restrict during the fasting of Lent.

Each year I try to find a different savoury pancake but we usually always finish with traditional pancakes with lemon and sugar.

This year I hunted down this recipe from taste.com.au one of my favourite places to browse for recipes. Having had a horrid day, though but having purchased the ingredients I left it up to the boys, and they said it was easy as. Although we all thought it was rather stodgy (not sure if that's the word) it was dense with the addition of the rice flour, but without it would really have just been a frittata

Preparation Time 10 minutes
Cooking Time 15 minutes
 
Ingredients (serves 6)

• 175g (1 cup) rice flour
• 8 eggs, lightly whisked
• 125ml (1/2 cup) water
• 1/4 cup finely chopped fresh garlic chives (we substituted for just chives having them in the garden)
• Salt & ground white pepper  (black pepper from my pepper mill just as good)
• 1 tbs peanut oil  (rice bran oil)
• 300g peeled green prawns (I shop in Aldi, so i used the frozen bag of green prawn meat which was 400g - used the whole bag)
• 1 red capsicum, halved, deseeded, thinly sliced
• 1 yellow capsicum, halved, deseeded, thinly sliced (used another red as we didn't have the yellow)
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• 1 tbs finely grated fresh ginger
• 55g (1 cup) bean sprouts
• 4 green shallots, ends trimmed, thinly sliced diagonally
• 1/3 cup coarsely chopped fresh coriander

Sweet chilli dressing

• 2 tbs sesame seeds
• 2 tbs sweet chilli sauce
• 1 tbs fresh lime juice
• 1 tbs light soy sauce
• 1 tbs rice wine vinegar

Method

1. Place rice flour in a bowl. Whisk in egg and water until a smooth batter forms. Stir in chives. Season with salt and pepper. Set aside for 10 minutes to rest.
2. Meanwhile, to make the dressing, cook the sesame seeds in a small frying pan over medium heat, tossing, for 2 minutes or until toasted. Whisk together sesame seeds, sweet chilli sauce, lime juice, soy sauce and vinegar in a small bowl.
3. Preheat grill on high. Heat half the oil in a 25cm-diameter (base measurement) non-stick frying pan over high heat. Add half the prawns and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes or until prawns curl and change colour. Transfer to a heatproof bowl. Repeat with the remaining prawns.
4. Heat the remaining oil in the same pan. Add the capsicum, garlic and ginger and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes or until just tender. Add the prawns, bean sprouts and green shallot and cook, stirring occasionally, for 1 minute or until shallot softens slightly. Pour in pancake batter and cook for 2-3 minutes or until pancake is golden brown underneath. Cook under grill for a further 2-3 minutes or until golden brown and cooked through.

Transfer pancake to a chopping board and cut into wedges. Sprinkle with coriander and serve with dressing.

Honey-Lemon prawn stir-fry

Recipe - Woman's Weekly

This was a yummy and very filling dinner, although the kids opted for a chicken base not a prawn base, but with all ingredients ready not hard to split and cook two meals.

Ingredients

• 2/3 cup White rice
• 2 teaspoons sesame seeds
• 1.2kg  uncooked king prawns, shelled deveined, tails intact (halve and do 600g chicken if your cooking like me half chicken/half prawn two dishes!! (actually I think it would be nicer without the tails - next time, it looks pretty but eating was a little messy)
• 2 small brown onions, halved, cut into wedges.
• 600g Wombok, sliced thinly
• 2 small carrots, cut into matchsticks
• 4 tablespoons lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 4cm piece fresh ginger, grated
• 4 green onions, sliced thinly.

Method

1. Cook rice - We like to cook in the microwave, double the quantity of rice and use this measurement for water and then 16 Min's on high (eg 1 cup rice 2 cups water). Drain.
2. Meanwhile, toast sesame seeds, in heated wok; remove from wok and set aside.
3. Cook prawns in heated wok and remove.
4. Stir-fry brown onion, in heated pan, until tender, return prawns to wok with Wombok, carrot, lemon juice, honey and ginger, stir-fry until hot.
5. Serve with rice and sprinkled sesame seeds and green onions. We also topped ours with bean sprouts!!!

ENJOY!!!

Birthday Dinner - Entree Ginger Garlic Prawns with Asian Greens and Sweet Chilli Sauce

Recipe by Dylan Bowers in honour of my 43rd birthday.


Julienne of Carrots, Celery and Snow peas, mixed through small amount of sweet chilli sauce. Make a nice little pile on the plate.

Green Prawns head removed, deveined and split down the back. Marinated in Garlic and Ginger and some Olive oil, then in a hot pan place some melted butter and throw in the prawns and toss.


Place 3/4 prawns on the pile of Veggies on the plate and drizzle around the plate with some Sweet Chilli Sauce.

This was just Yummy and the perfect start to a spoiling meal.

Asian Style Salmon en Papillote

Recently when the Masterchef challenge was on it reminded me of this dish and its a family favourite that's been a while since I last cooked...so it was requested, and here is how I do it...it obviously came from somewhere, but for the life of me I don't recall, and well as I do it now just from memory - there aren't really any measurements but I will keep a note as I cook, just so I can share with you all.

Here is a link on how to fold it properly, that I have used.....but sometimes just scrunching the ends is just as good ;)

OK here goes for round 2 - blogger wasn't helpful. there isn't a recipe as such, I have just estimated what I have done as I have gone along.

This is a real taste and test as you go, to be sure that you get the right sweet, salty and sour perfect.

1 bunch of Bok Choy, washed and leaves separated

4 pieces of Salmon

1/2 Red Onion finely diced

1 clove Garlic finely diced

1 small piece of ginger finely diced ( 1 teaspoon from the jar kind )

1 chilli finely diced ( 1 teaspoon from the jar kind - :) yep it's whats on hand tonight)

1/4 cup soy sauce

1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar

juice of one lime ( sometime more sometimes less)

1 disc of palm sugar chopped ( or if you don't have it 2 tablespoons brown sugar will work)

Simmer all but the bok choy and salmon in a small saucepan just till the onion and garlic are softened and the sugar dissolved - yep taste it now to be sure that it's just got that sweet, sour, salty flavour right - adjust with either the sugar or lime here) set aside.

Take 4 sheets of baking paper and fold them in half

Place a selection of the bok choy leaves on one side near the fold

Place the Salmon on top, drizzle about 2 table spoons of the onion syrup mix over the salmon - as pictured below

Then fold the paper over and starting on the left with the fold at the back, work from left to right just folding and bending as you go - the link above explains this better...but you get half circles like below, slide onto a baking tray and then pop in a moderately hot oven for 10 - 15 minutes. The time it takes to steam some rice in the microwave

1 cup rice 2 cups water in a large uncovered bowl for 16 minutes on high - perfect rice every time. Let the rice stand for a few minutes before serving.

Dish up and enjoy - let me know if you like it.

Tip - If you have a bunch of coriander - I didn't tonight - I like to chop some and sprinkle over the salmon before serving just for that fresh touch.

Indian Style Salmon Curry with Tomato & Lime

Well having just got a phone call from Janet who is craving my 12 hour dinners - and this one in particular....so this recipe share is for them, and I know whilst they eat they will remember us.

Recipe by Bill Granger from Feed Me Now Image Source Serves 4

WHAT YOU WILL NEED 

• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1 large onion, finely chopped
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 400g tin chopped tomatoes
• 10-15 fresh curry leaves
• sea salt
• 250ml chicken or fish stock
• 1 teaspoon caster sugar
• Juice of 1 lime
• 900g skinless salmon fillet
• freshly ground black pepper

to serve

• Steamed rice
• coriander leaves
• dollop of yoghurt
• finely diced white onion, diced red tomatoes, salt and pepper - combined to make salsa

Method

1. Heat the olive oil in a large heavy-based pan over a medium-low heat.Add the onion and cook stirring occasionally, for the 5 minutes or until translucent. 
2. Add the ground coriander, cumin and turmeric, and cook, stirring for another 2 minutes or until fragrant.
3. Add the cayenne, tomatoes, curry leaves and 1 teaspoon salt, then pour in the stock. Cook, stirring frequently, for 10 minutes. 
4. Add the sugar and lime juice and cook for 1-2 minutes.
5. Meanwhile, cut the salmon into 3cm cubes. Add to the pan and simmer for 2-3 minutes, then remove from the heat. 
6. Set aside for 5 minutes to allow the salmon to finish cooking in the residual heat. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

***I like to serve this with a fresh tomato and onion relish, and a salad of baby spinach, red onion and cucumbers. Also a nice yoghurt and mint raita.