Sunday, September 27, 2015

South-east Asian Pot Luck Part 2 - Spicy Thai Fish Cakes with Sweet Chilli Dipping Sauce

As well as the chicken satay, I also made some spicy thai fish cakes for the recent pot luck dinner I hosted. This recipe came from Radio New Zealand of all places, but the recipe is actually one of Annabel Langbein's. I like this one because it has fresh fish and the ingredients list doesn't feature anything too wacky.

1 spring onion
1 red chilli
Zest of a lime or a lemon
2 teaspoons minced fresh ginger - or if you're a bit lazy like me, use the jar stuff
2 teaspoons fish sauce
1/4 cup coconut cream - I used coconut milk as I had it left over from the peanut sauce and whilst it still worked, I think coconut cream would have given them a slightly better texture.
1 egg white
500g boneless fresh white fish - I used cod

Put all ingredients into the food processor except the fish and blend to a fine paste. You could also use a hand blender if you don't have a processor. Add half the fish and blend again until smooth. Chop up the rest of the fish and mix it in by hand to keep the mixture a bit chunky. Make into balls around the size of walnuts and flatten into patties. The recipe said to barbeque or grill them, but I just fried them in a little oil on the stove. Cook the patties for about 2 minutes each side until they feel bouncy when you touch them and are slightly browned. I put them on some paper towels once cooked, just to soak up a bit of the excess oil. You can make these ahead of time and reheat in a hot oven for 4-5 minutes, however I think it's better to make them ahead of time, put them in the fridge and then cook them fresh right before you're ready to eat them. Serve with a sweet chilli dipping sauce, simply made by combining the following:


1/4 cup sweet chilli sauce
1 tablespoon fish sauce
Juice of 1 lime - or lime juice if the real thing is too pricey
2 tablespoons of chopped coriander

These fish cakes are really fresh tasting with the fish, coconut ginger and lime flavours. Not blending all the fish also gives them a great texture.

I'm pretty lucky to have some awesome friends who also happen to be excellent cooks and always made an effort for these sort of nights. Check out the spread below!


Thursday, September 24, 2015

South-east Asian Pot Luck Part 1 - Chicken Satay with Peanut Sauce

I've mentioned in a previous post that some girlfriends and I like to get together every few months and have a pot luck dinner. We choose a different type of cuisine each time, and it almost certainly involves a lot of wine, as well as an amazing array of food. I hosted at my place this time and even though we did a Japanese theme last time, we settled on south-east Asian this time. I decided to make a couple of things suitable for entrees/pre-dinner snacking - chicken satay with peanut sauce and spicy thai fish cakes with a sweet chilli dipping sauce.

I did a bit of digging around the interwebs before I found some recipes I was happy with. Serious Eats yielded the recipe for the chicken satay and the peanut sauce was courtesy of the Nigella website. I'll tell you all about the spicy thai fish cakes in part two. 

For the chicken satay you need:

1 stalk lemongrass, roughly chopped - or use pre-prepared from the jar, like I did, if you can't get it fresh.
2 tablespoons vegetable oil - I use canola
2 tablespoons fish sauce
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 tablespoon of lime juice - fresh is ideal if limes aren't crazy expensive
1 tablespoon of soy sauce
2 medium cloves of garlic
1 teaspoon ground tumeric
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon Sriracha (or another hot chilli sauce)
About 450g of boneless chicken breast - you could also use thigh
Bamboo skewers (this made about 15)

Put everything but the chicken (and skewers, duh) into the blender and whiz on high speed until smooth. Slice the chicken into strips lengthwise, about 1/2 an inch thick. Put the chicken into a large resealable plastic bag, pour the marinade in and give it a squish around. Leave it in the fridge to marinade for at least 1-2 hours, but the longer the better. While the chicken is marinading, soak the skewers in water so they don't burn under the grill. Once the chicken has marinaded, thread the chicken onto the skewers and place on a baking tray, either non-stick, greased, or lined with foil. Grill under a high heat - but not too close to the element. They will take around 15-20 mins to cook, and make sure you turn them half way through. Don't overcook them - the problem with using chicken breast is that it can dry out. You can make the peanut sauce ahead of time, while the chicken is marinading, and reheat later if you like, as I did, but I think it's best fresh.


1 can coconut milk
2 tablespoons crunchy peanut butter
1 teaspoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 teaspoon dried chilli flakes
1 small red chilli, finely chopped - leave out one or both types of chilli if you'd rather have it milder
1 small onion, finely chopped - I used a shallot
1 clove garlic, crushed
1/2 tablespoon of peanut oil - I just used regular canola oil

Heat the oil in a pan and fry the garlic, onion and chilli over a medium heat until the onion is soft - but don't let it brown. Add the sugar and stir until slightly caramelised. Add the soy sauce and peanut butter and stir through. Add a little coconut milk at a time until you get the consistency you want.

These are really tasty - a great depth of flavour from the marinade with a hint of spice, and with the creamy nuttiness of the peanut sauce, they make a great snack at a party or entree before a main meal.

Next time - spicy thai fish cakes with a sweet chilli dipping sauce!


Sunday, September 13, 2015

Slow Cooker Greek Lamb

As promised (albiet a little while ago), here's something yummy and easy peasy for the slow cooker - and coming into Spring, it's actually pretty perfect. Last weekend, we were pretty lucky to have a beautiful sunny weekend here in Wellington, so it's starting to feel like winter might finally be over. Which also means I probably won't be using my slow cooker quite as much any more, so best to get in a few final meals. I put this on last Sunday morning, before heading out to a baby shower and to visit some other friends, and it was lovely to come home to the house smelling like a good roast - with hardly any effort.

Sometimes I struggle to find interesting things, beyond the standard stews and the like, to make in the slow cooker - if you know any good links, please let me know. This recipe is courtesy of www.kidspot.co.nz, a good website for kid-friendly recipes but also if you're not very experienced in the kitchen. I've found a few good, simple recipes on there - even one or two my partner was willing to have a go at!


3 tablespoons olive oil
1kg rolled lamb loin - I actually used a bone-in roast, because it was about half the price of a rolled and stuffed lamb loin, so this is ok too. Mine was about 1.2kgs.
1kg potatoes
1 bunch rosemary
1 head garlic
1/2 cup dry white wine
1/2 cup lemon juice


Peel and cut the potatoes into eighths. Place these at the bottom of the slow cooker and put 2 sprigs of rosemary on top. Peel 6 cloves of garlic and slice. I had some large home grown bulbs a friend gave me which have a really strong flavour, so I used 4. Poke holes in the skin of the lamb with the point of a knife and push the garlic into the holes. Heat the oil in a pan on the stove and brown the lamb all over. Place the lamb on top of the potatoes in the slow cooker and push sprigs of rosemary into the holes you put the garlic into earlier. I had some leftover sliced garlic so I put that into the slow cooker too. You can also put your squeezed lemons in there as well. Pour over the wine and lemon juice and cook on low for 6 hours or high for 3 hours - a little less if you like your meat rarer.


The meat was lovely and tender and the potatoes were really soft. I took them out of the slow cooker and fried them, to make them a wee bit crispy.I didn't need to use any extra oil either, as they had some of the fat from the meat on them. Be warned though - the potatoes can have a little bit of a tart flavour from the lemon and wine, which didn't bother me but my partner thought the flavour was a bit too strong. If you didn't want to fry them, you could always roughly mash them with some feta cheese, fresh parsley and cracked pepper. I served the lamb with mint sauce but there was leftover liquid in the bottom of the slow cooker that could've made a nice gravy if I hadn't been feeling so lazy (or hungry). And there's always leftovers for sandwiches - which I'm sure everyone agrees is pretty much the best part about a Sunday roast.