Tag Archives: Lemongrass

Some like it hot! We like it hotter!

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Courtesy of my friend Mamik this is one hot curry… A post from a while ago but for those of you who missed it..prepare for the morning after eating this…

For this week only a reblog of a favourite an Indonesian Curry and a beautiful Thai Salad..your taste buds will sing and dance…

Next week I will be back at Sally’s with my cookery column and the lovely Sally who will I am sure have plenty of tales to tell us about her birthday celebrations…We missed you Sally xx

 

via Smorgasbord Blog Magazine – The Food Column by Carol Taylor – For all you Hot Curry Lovers.

Healthy Eating…How to lose weight and eat the foods you love…

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Welcome to my Tuesday ( Boot camp) where we have sensible conversations on what we eat and enjoy… Yes, enjoy! Let’s do this!

Just to recap on last week what have you been snacking on tell me???

Oh, and did you enjoy your pancakes ??? I did I had two with lime and a bit of sugar and they were delicious…

What did you think of last weeks post??? Which is just below in case you missed it…

https://blondieaka.wordpress.com/2018/02/13/healthy-eatinghow-to-lose-weight-and-eat-the-foods-you-love/

Did you try any of the snacks or have you got your own go-to snacks??

This week as I know so many of my readers live in colder climes I will give you the recipes for some delicious soups..all healthy, made from scratch and good for you…

This is one of my favourite Thai soups and the first time I have made it. It also brings back memories of a certain lady…Keeleigh who when she visited us could not get enough of this fabulous soup.

You may also notice that it isn’t the bright orange colour of many Tom Yum soups you see or may have had it is because a mix is used and it has colouring in it …If it is this colour it is made from scratch from fresh ingredients no preservatives and colourings.

Tom Yum soup with Prawns

Tom Yum Goon

Ingredients:

  • 2 litres of water
  • 4 stalks of lemongrass
  • 1-inch chunk of galangal
  • 10 kaffir lime leaves
  • 10 Thai chillies
  • 5 cloves of garlic
  • 500 gm Prawns
  • 300 grams of oyster mushrooms
  • 2 medium tomatoes cut into quarters.
  • 2 white onions (medium-sized) cut into large chunks.
  • 1 and a half teaspoons of sugar
  • 7 – 10 tablespoons of fish sauce (depending on your taste)
  • Juice of 5 -8 limes.
  • A handful of cilantro.

N.B Next time I will use shallots instead of white onions and I recommend using the lowest amount of limes and fish sauce and Taste! Adjust if necessary as everyone’s taste varies.

Let’s Cook!

The first thing to do is put about 2 litres of water in a large pot to boil.

Then I like to start by squeezing my limes. This is not the first step of the recipe, but it’s best to have your limes squeezed so when you need them later, you don’t need to rush to squeeze them all.

Take your stalks of lemongrass, and first tear off the outermost leaf and throw it out. Then, I like to use a rolling-pin or the handle end of a knife to lightly pound the lemongrass to release the flavours. Then just slice it diagonally into 1-inch strips or so.

Take about 1 thumb-sized chunk of the root part of galangal, and chop it into slices.

Coarsely break about 10 kaffir lime leaves – no need to cut them, just tear them – which is going to help release their flavour.

Peel about 5 cloves of garlic.

I used about 10 Thai bird chillies for this recipe, but you can use however many you’d like. First, take off the stem, and then you can either just slice them in two pieces, or give them a little pound on your cutting board like I did (just be careful of flying seeds). You can also remove the seeds if you’d still like the chilli flavour but not as much heat.

Throw the lemon grass, galangal, kaffir lime leaves, garlic and chillies into the water.

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You can put the lid on just so it starts to boil which releases the herb flavours quicker.

Now prepare your prawns I remove everything except for the tail…..others put in whole prawns…personal preference.

Boil your soup with all the herbs in it for about 10 minutes.

Then add your mushrooms, which you should pre-rinse beforehand.

Cook for 4-5 minutes.

Add tomatoes and onions.

 

Cook for further  6-8 minutes.

Now add prepared prawns and cook for 2-3 mins( if overcooked the prawns will sink to the bottom of the pan. If you get any scum on the surface of soup it’s from the prawns then just skim it off the surface.

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Remove from heat and stir in fish sauce, lime juice, sugar and cilantro.

Taste and adjust if necessary.

This delicious soup is now ready to serve.

 

I hope you enjoy this soup as much as we do and remember to add the smallest amount of fish sauce and lime juice and taste and build on it, taste and build until you get the right level of salty and sour for you 🙂

Thai Rice Soup.

Thai Rice soup

 

This soup is eaten for breakfast, it is given to babies, anyone who is maybe a little unwell or just because they want a comfort food. If you use cooked rice then it will be more like a porridge and how it would be given to babies and also with less seasoning for babies.

If you want a bit more of a substantial soup then add a few prawns and if you are vegetarian just omit the meat and maybe add some pak choi or white cabbage shredded., some tomato…Play with the flavours.

Ingredients:

1/4 cup minced chicken or pork

3 cloves of minced garlic

1 and a half tbsp oil

1/2 tsp salt

2 tsp soy sauce

1 and 1/2 cup of fresh chicken broth

1 cup of steamed rice

1 egg

1 tbsp finely Julienned fresh ginger

1 spring onion finely sliced

1 tbsp coriander chopped

Pinch of white pepper.

Let’s cook!

Heat the oil and add the minced ginger and cook until ginger is golden remove half and set to one side for garnish.

Add the chicken or pork and season with salt and the soy sauce then pour in your chicken broth and the rice. Cook for 3-5 minutes depending on whether you want a soup or more of a porridge.

Turn up the heat and crack the egg in the middle of the rice either sir to combine through the rice or let the egg poach.

Pour into your bowl and top with the garlic, spring onions and ginger sprinkle with a dash of white pepper.

Enjoy!

Two lovely soups ..No calorie counting…I don’t do that… we all have a good idea of what our food contains and whether or not we could eat bowls of it or not…Don’t we???

I eat fairly small portions but if I am still hungry I would have a little more obviously with these soups you don’t eat bread…

I generally never ever feel bloated I eat enough..enough to satisfy my appetite…I don’t count calories..I am old enough to know what is calorie laden and I am not on a diet… It is a lifestyle for me and easy to maintain because …I had my pancakes ..did I not on Shrove Tuesday… I enjoyed them…

That was my treat and no guilt…BUT… I was extra careful the next day and also walked a few extra km.

What I am really saying is MODERATION AND COMMON SENSE…Cheat every day…Who is the loser…It isn’t me…

I do hope this is helping you along with your feeling healthier and eating healthier path… If you have any questions or foods you love and need recipes for ..Ask me…I don’t bite and enjoy my food and my sundowners… But also lose weight or maintain it as now I seem to lose in little bursts…If I feel it needs a kick-start then I up my walking or cut my snacks not that I eat many anyway or will have a soup day.

Until next time eat well but eat sensibly xxx

 

 

Fish Friday…Tom Yum Soup with Prawns( Tom Yum Goong)

This is one of my favourite Thai soups and the first time I have made it from scratch. It also brings back memories of a certain lady..Keeleigh who when she visited us could not get enough of this fabulous soup.

Ingredients:

  • 2 litres of water
  • 4 stalks of lemongrass
  • 1-inch chunk of galangal
  • 10 kaffir lime leaves
  • 10 Thai chillies
  • 5 cloves of garlic
  • 500 gm Prawns
  • 300 grams of oyster mushrooms
  • 2 medium tomatoes cut into quarters.
  • 2 white onions (medium-sized) cut into large chunks.
  • 1 and a half tsp of sugar
  • 7 – 10 tbsp of fish sauce (depending on your taste)
  • Juice of 5 -8 limes.
  • Handful of cilantro ( Coriander)

N.B Next time I will use shallots instead of white onions and I recommend using the lowest amount of limes and fish sauce and Taste! Adjust if necessary as everyone’s taste varies.

Let’s Cook!

The first thing to do is put about 2 litres of water in a large pot to boil.

Then I like to start by squeezing my limes. This is not the first step of the recipe, but it’s best to have your limes squeezed so when you need them later, you don’t need to rush to squeeze them all.

Take your stalks of lemongrass, and first tear off the outermost leaf and throw it out. Then, I like to use a rolling-pin or the handle end of a knife to lightly pound the lemongrass to release the flavours. Then just slice it diagonally into 1-inch strips or so.

Take about 1 thumb-sized chunk of the root part of galangal, and chop it into slices.

Coarsely break about 10 kaffir lime leaves – no need to cut them, just tear them – which is going to help release their flavour.

Peel about 5 cloves of garlic.

I used about 10 Thai birds eye chillies for this recipe, but you can use however many you’d like. First, take off the stem, and then you can either just slice them in two pieces, or give them a little pound on your cutting board like I did (just be careful of flying seeds). You can also remove the seeds if you’d still like the chilli flavor but not as much heat.

Throw the lemongrass, galangal, kaffir lime leaves, garlic and chillies into the water.

You can put the lid on just so it starts to boil which releases the herb flavours quicker.

Now prepare your prawns I remove everything except for the tail…..others put in whole prawns…personal preference.

Boil your soup with all the herbs in it for about 10 minutes.

Then add your mushrooms, which you should pre rinse beforehand.

Cook for 4-5 minutes.

.Add tomatoes and onions.

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Cook for further 6-8 minutes.

Now add prepared prawns and cook for 2-3 mins max( if overcooked the prawns will sink to the bottom of the pan. If you get any scum on the surface of soup it’s from the prawns then just skim off with a spoon.

Remove from heat and stir in fish sauce, lime juice, sugar and cilantro.

Taste and adjust if necessary.

This delicious soup is now ready to serve.

Tom Yum Goon

You will notice that this soup does not have the bright orange colour of many of the Tom Yum soups which you have in restaurants it is because either a Tom Yum paste or stock cube is used and it is not made from scratch.

This soup can also be made with chicken and coconut milk which is also a popular variation and known as Tom Ka Gai (Coconut Chicken Soup)

J

 

 

Fish Friday!……Beautiful Thai Steamed Mussels.

It’s # Fish Friday# what else could be nicer than a lovely steaming bowl of fresh mussels?

 

Which we had yesterday evening even though it wasn’t Friday but why not? They were calling my name when I went shopping and I couldn’t resist and once you have bought them they just have to be cooked.

The worst job is the debearding and they can tough little buggers to get out but well worth the effort and no one likes to eat the beard do they? It doesn’t look appetising either.

Ingredients:

  • 2lbs fresh mussels scrubbed and debearded.
  • 1tbsp oil
  • 2 shallots sliced
  • 1 cup of chicken broth
  • 3 stalk of lemongrass crushed
  • 3 slices of fresh ginger
  • Zest of half a lime
  • 1 sm chilli sliced
  • A handful of Thai basil.

Let’s Cook!

Heat the oil in a large straight-sided pot and add shallots and cook for 2-3 minutes add the other ingredients except for the mussels and bring to the boil, stirring then lower heat and simmer for 8-10 minutes.

Turn the heat up to medium add mussels and put on the lid cook for 2-3 minutes then stir and cook further 1 minute all the mussels should then be open. Discard any which are not.

Spoon the mussels into individual bowls or one serving bowl and spoon over liquid.

These are lovely served with a spicy chilli dip.

STEAMED MUSSELS WITH CHILLI AND LEMONGRASS

If you want something a little more special then try this instead.

Ingredients:

  • 1 stalk of minced lemon grass
  • 2-3 kaffir lime leaves
  • 1/2 cup chicken stock
  • good 1/4 cup white wine
  • tbsp rice wine vinegar.
  • 2/3 tbsp fish sauce
  • 1/2 chillies sliced
  • 1/2 cup chopped coriander.
  • tbsp finely chopped garlic
  • tbsp brown sugar
  • 2tsp cornstarch dissolved in a little water.

Let’s Cook!

In a large straight-sided pan bring the chicken stock to the boil. Add wine, vinegar, fish sauce, chilli, sugar, lime leaves, garlic and 1/2 cup of chopped coriander when the sauce is gently boiling add the mussels and stir gently, put on the lid.Cook for 2/3 minutes remove lid and stir and cook for further 1 min any mussels which are still closed remove.

Push mussels to one side and add dissolved cornstarch cook 30 seconds and it should have thickened gently stir in mussels.

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Now taste and if too salty add lime juice and if not salty enough add more fish sauce.

Sprinkle with Thai basil.

Serve in a large bowl or individual bowls.

I hope you enjoy these mussels as much as we do…Let me know which ones you prefer with or without the wine???

If you want to see more of Thailand and it’s traditions then check out some of my other posts.

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Miss my other Fish Friday posts?

British Fish and Chips

Thai Squid Salad

Seabass with lime, ginger and fennel

Until next time stay safe, have fun and laugh a lot as it is the best medicine and of course its FREE…If you are Lisa then eat more ice cream xx

 

 

 

 

Fish Friday…Prawns with Asparagus.

It’s that time again Fish Friday...I honestly don’t know where the days go they just fly by..when you were kids did you not think that it took so long for Christmas to come round and then, of course, there was Easter but it just seemed like forever until Easter came  now before we know they all seem to merge into one and I can certainly remember last Christmas as if it was yesterday….Is it only me or does time just fly….

Today I am giving you one of my favourite dishes  Asparagus is very plentiful here and one of my favourite stir fries are with prawns, lemongrass and lime leaves.

Very quick and easy to do once you get your ingredients together.

Ingredients:

250 gm asparagus cut in half…asparagus is very thin here but if you are using thicker asparagus then either shave the asparagus or cut into 3-inch pieces.

A small piece of ginger peeled and grated.

1 stalk of lemongrass bashed and very finely chopped.

4 lime leaves very thinly sliced

3-4 tbsp of fish sauce

1 tbsp palm sugar or light muscovado sugar

1 tbsp coconut oil

10 raw king prawns either peeled or leave the tails on.

1 shallot thinly sliced

1-2 Thai birds eye chillies finely sliced

2-3 cloves of garlic finely chopped

4 spring onions cut into 2-inch pieces

Lets Cook!

Mix together the ginger, lemongrass, lime leaves, fish sauce and sugar and put to one side.

Meanwhile, heat the wok on high and when it’s really hot add the oil. Once the oil is shimmering, add in the king prawns and stir-fry for one to two minutes, until the prawns have gone pink with slightly golden edges. Remove with a slotted spoon.

Add the onion to the wok and stir-fry for two minutes. Add the chilli, garlic and spring onion and stir-fry for a further four minutes until the onions have softened. Add the asparagus and stir-fry for a further minute.

Finally, add the prawns, pour over the sauce which was prepared earlier, and cook until the sauce becomes sticky (around three minutes).

Serve immediately with Thai steamed rice and enjoy!

Last weeks post is here just in case you missed it…as it turned out it was a really popular recipe https://blondieaka.wordpress.com/2017/10/06/fish-friday-thai-shrimp-cakes-and-thai-sweet-chilli-sauce-recipe/

I am very happy for you to share these recipes with your family and friends and if you do…. Thank you x

I am now off to the kitchen to cook up another Halloween treat….

Until next time stay safe, have fun and laugh a lot as you know laughter is FREE and one of the best medicines known to man…

Smorgasbord Health 2017 – Cook from Scratch with Sally and Carol Taylor – Mushrooms.

This weeks post from Carol ( Moi) and Sally is Mushrooms…Sally tells you all about the many benefits of eating mushrooms and why you shouldn’t….I supply the recipes and typos…On re-reading for the hundredth time I have spotted a few.more..Drat!..It just shows I am human…I am…lol