RECIPE: STIR FRIED CHINESE CABBAGE WITH CHILLI SAUCE

Ingredients
½ Chinese/Napa cabbage or wombok – sliced into 2 or 3 cm lengths
3 cloves garlic – minced
2 tbsp chilli sauce
2 tbsp white vinegar
½ tsp chicken stock powder
½ tsp salt or to taste
1 tbsp veg oil

Method
Heat oil in wok and fry garlic until aromatic.

Add in the wombok, mix well and add in the rest of the ingredients. Cook for 1 to 2 mins, lift and serve as a side dish with meat/seafood and rice. I served this with my CHICKEN WITH LEMON GRASS, CHILLI AND CASHEWNUTS.

Note: To make a substantial meal, you may add some meat with the garlic, cook until the meat is tender and follow the rest of the process. You may need to adjust oil and seasoning quantities.

NATTER: SAVING MOTHER EARTH

I have been feeling really guilty the past few days for being a wooz (because it has been cold, wet and windy) and not riding my scooter to work. Anyway, I got to bring it out this morning as it is a glorious day in Canberra today (eventhough there was a frost this morning and I was riding whilst it was -1 degree C. I think I have frost bite on my nose!).

After seeing this cartoon, I did not feel bad (well not as bad as I was feeling initially) that I have been driving the car for a few days.....my household after all does its share of recycling and composting, and we have dual flush toilets, water saving shower heads, energy efficient lights...... and my scooter! Yay....

Enjoy the cartoon.

RECIPE: CHICKEN PADPRIK

I have the making of a migraine today….. My head is already pounding (with a ‘tension headache’ and typing this does not help) and it’s because I am feeling ‘too loved’ today (sorry P, I know you don’t like that terminology). I know, I know….we complain when we are taken for granted and complain when the reverse occurs….no win situation.

Well today I had two divisions within my department fighting over who was going to keep me after the project that I am currently undertaking ends. I know I should be honoured but I just don’t like office politics. I had already stated my preference, but no one was listening…..hello! In the end, I asked them to sort it out among themselves and gave them the ultimatum that if I did not like the outcome of their decision/s, compromise, etc, etc… the DEPARTMENT could miss out altogether in the end…..cos I would just go and find a position elsewhere! I don’t know who was more surprised…..the directors or me! I could not believe I said that. Hence the reason for my headache.

You’d probably wondering where this story is leading. Hold on, there is a method to my madness here. Now part two of the tale. Unfortunately, yesterday, I told Mr G that I would take care of dinner tonight. Wrong move (but I did not know that I would be having a headache today, did I?). So when I arrived home today and Mr G asked me (quite cheerily, I must add), “what’s for dinner tonight, bubs?” I could have quite easily bitten his head off ……but then it’s not his fault that I have had a bad day at work today, is it?

So another headache in addition to the one I was having…..what to b#**%y cook tonight? I could not be bothered cooking a few dishes so I thought of a good ol Penang Malay ‘cook all in one pot’ dish – Chicken Padprik (I told you this story was heading somewhere!).

I believe that this dish is originally from Thailand but the Malaysians have claimed it as part of their cuisine. One of the best renditions I have eaten was at this eatery in Minden Heights, Penang, Malaysia, which was a house that was converted into a restaurant and had tables and chairs in its lawn. Mind you, this was back in 1987- 1991. I wonder if it’s still there???

This is how I made my Chicken Padprik. You can substitute the chicken with seafood such as prawns and squid if desired.

Note: Sorry you had to put up with my rant before I came to the recipe…..it’s the price you have to pay to learn how to cook this meal, he! he!. If I may say so, this is a really yummy and easy dish to cook. You won’t be disappointed.

Ingredients
750 g chicken breast or thighs – cut into thin slices
1 large brown onion – sliced thickly
3 – 4 gloves garlic - minced
2 carrots – halved lengthways and sliced thinly
A packet of fresh baby corn
½ a small head of cauliflower or broccoli or a combination of both (I used cauliflower only today)
Large handful of snow peas
4 to 5 kaffir lime leaves – torn into pieces (this releases its aroma)
6 – 8 red bird’s eye chillies – halved lengthways or substitute with 2 – 3 normal red chillies, quartered
4 to 5 tbsp tomato sauce
4 to 5 tbsp chilli sauce (don’t use SWEET chilli sauce – I use Yeo’s chilli sauce for cooking. It is neither too sweet nor too hot. You can also use the garlic and chilli version)
4 to 5 tbsp oyster sauce
1 tbsp chinese light soy sauce
1 to 2 tbsp chinese caramel soy sauce
2 stalks lemon grass – each cut into 2 to 3 segments and bruised
2 tbsp or more veg oil

Method
Heat oil in a wok and fry the garlic and lemon grass until aromatic.

Add in the chicken pieces and fry until chicken is nearly cooked. Add additional oil if required. Add in the chillies and carrot. Fry for 1-2 mins, add in cauliflower. Cook for another minute.

Now add in all the sauces (I premixed it in a bowl), baby corn, snow peas and the lime leaves. Mix well, cook for another min, add in lime juice. Mix well, lift and serve hot with rice.

PS: I didn’t add any salt because there is sufficient salt from the sauces for my palate. You may want to add some.

RECIPE: CREAMY CHICKEN AND ASPARAGUS PASTA BAKE

It was on the local news last night that Canberra has had its mildest June on record for the last 51 years. Oh well. It made up for it today. We have had gale force winds and Mr G has been worried all day that his hot house won’t be able to withstand the winds. Here’s hoping that it holds up.
I went as far as the corner this morning on my scooter when I turned back…..there was just no way I could ride in the head wind. Mind you, with the temp at nearly 0°c, I did not need much prompting!

Easy meal today, courtesy of Mr G. He used macaroni in the dish (he said he could not be bothered going to the shops; don’t blame him and moreover, I took the car to work, didn’t I?) ….original recipe calls for fettuccine.

Ingredients (for 4-6 people)
400 g fettuccine pasta (used Macaroni)
2 tbsp olive oil
1 onion – chopped
2 cups diced chicken (you may also use cooked chicken from yesterday’s roast!)
1 red capsicum – diced (did not put it today)
2 small sticks celery
1 small chicken stock cube – crumbled
1 cup water
300 g carton sour cream
440 g can asparagus cuts, drained
½ tsp dried oregano leaves
1 cup (125 g) grated tasty cheese (you may want to put more)

Method
Cook pasta according to cooking instructions. Drain and rinse under cold water. Drain well again.

Heat oil in pan and cook chicken until cooked. Add in onion and cook until onion is soft. If using cooked chicken, fry the onions first, then add in the cooked chicken.

Add in the capsicum, celery, stock cube and water and bring to the boil, then simmer for 5 mins.

Add the cream, asparagus and oregano and cook until heated through. Remove from heat.

Either mix the cooked pasta into the sauce and fold the mixture evenly and place it into an oven proof casserole or assemble the pasta in two layers by spooning half the chicken mixture over the base of an oven proof casserole, followed by all the pasta and finally the remainder of the chicken mixture.
In both version, to finish, sprinkle with the cheese and bake in a moderate oven for about 30 mins or until the cheese is lightly browned.

Serve on its own or with steak and/or salad

Source: Adapted from the Australian Women’s Weekly Home Library – Pasta Cookbook.