We had Summer last week and this is what we cooked... - Thai Style Marinated Pork with Chilli Dressing

 

 

Ah Summer. That one day of the year in England when the sun comes out, and the results are profound. Flesh that has been hidden for the 364 days previously is revealed and consequently burned, Argos sells out of inflatable swimming pools, and any shops that sell either bread, burgers, beer and charcoal have their shelves decimated of these items as soon as the doors open and if you leave it too late on in the day to decide you are getting the barbecue out, then you will be left with some squashed sliced white and the odd vegetarian sausage to try and get the best out of. Which I suppose is okay if you are a vegetarian...

 

I have to say though that I am a bit of a miserable bitch and the thoughts of getting the barbeqce out does not fill me with brimming joy. It is mainly to do with the feeling of having to create stuff to go with it, like salad, or else scrabbling through the cupboard for the burger relish that you remember using the previous summer and there is no way you are going out and getting another one (if you are me, that is...) And then there are the accompaniments to the burger, and slicing the bread, and keeping the flies off the food, and keeping the kids away from the barbecue and because of my disorganised nature I always seem to be traipsing back to the kitchen for something. And another thing, whilst I am not averse to a tasty burger, I am sick of having them off barbecues. It is like that is all there ever seems to be...

 

So I got out some pork fillet. I buy so many pork fillets for great prices because I don't think anybody who shops where I shop actually knows what to do with them. I decided to adapt Bill Granger's recipe for Thai Marinated Pork and Chilli Dressing from his book Easy Food, where he marinated pork chops for this, and it worked a treat. Cooking the pork fillet over the coals created meat that was succulent and tasty and it was just so nice to taste something different. This is different, and next year when Summer comes again, you should try it.

 

Thai Style Marinated Pork with Chilli Dressing, adapted from 'Easy Food' by Bill Granger

 

My adaptations in red

 

Serves Lola, Finn, Mum and Dad.

 

Ingredients:

 

4 brown shallots, sliced (I used a medium sized onion)

1 tbsp grated ginger

2 garlic cloves, crushed

Handful coriander, including stems, coarsely chopped

2 tsp soy sauce

1 tbsp fish sauce

1 tbsp caster sugar

4 pork cutlets (I used 420g pork fillet)

Olive oil

 

For the sauce

 

2 tbsp. rice wine vinegar
1 1/2 tbsp. caster sugar
1 tbsp. fish sauce
1 long red chilli, finely chopped
1 tbsp. thinly sliced spring onion
1/4 cucumber, seeds  removed, finely chopped

 

Method:

 

Tastes better than it looks!!!

 

Place shallots, ginger, garlic, coriander, soy sauce, fish sauce, sugar, sea salt and pepper in a food processor and whiz to a paste.

 

Still tastes better than it looks...

 

Transfer to a shallow, non-metallic dish and add the pork.

 

Mix well, then cover and leave to marinate in the fridge for at least 15 minutes. (I left mine for an hour and a half)

 

Preheat a barbecue or chargrill pan to medium-high heat and brush lightly with oil.

 

 

 

Grill the pork for about 4 -5 minutes on four 'sides' (you might have to squash it a bit to do this) or until cooked to your liking.

 

For the chilli dressing, place vinegar, sugar and fish sauce in a bowl and stir until sugar has dissolved.

 

 

 

Stir in chilli, spring onion and cucumber.

 

 

 

Serve pork with cucumber, chilli dressing. In a completely authentic Thai way, I got some tortilla wraps and just put the meat and the dressing on that. Messy but really tasty!

Still indulging my fondness for the Orient, express style! - Glazed Pork Fillet with steamed rice and stir fry vegetables

 

 

I'm loving the fact that I have rediscovered my wok and tapped into those half bottles of Asian ingredients that I bought on a whim, used once or twice and then being the culinary butterfly that I am, decided that I wanted to cook Italian (or insert Mediterranean country here) or something after a few stir fry sessions. Anyway, the fact is I am back rocking the wok for a short time at least and it's great, not least because it is quick, healthy and Lola and Finn seem to be enjoying it.

 

Anyway, whilst the wok isn't compulsory equipment here, a tablespoon or two of some of those aforementioned bottles of Asian ingredients certainly was and the result was a speedy dish of burnished, sticky citrussy pork which the children really enjoyed. Even Finn. Though he did leave the vegetables, because they are vegetables, and therefore evil.

 

The recipe I used is a Trish Deseine recipe, which I found on the RTE website. From the cookbooks I have that she has written, I never even thought of consulting them for something oriental, but then if I had been more thoughtful at the time, I might have thought of 'Indochine' and the fact that there's eastern influence in French cuisine too. I have much to learn.

 

Anyway, the only alterations I made to this was that I upped the sauce content because we like sauce here and I would rather have too much than too little. And I used palm sugar instead of Demerara, mainly because the Demerara is right at the back of the cupboard which is the one I have to boot shut, such is the amount of cramming of random ingredients therein. If I wasn't so feckless I'd sort it out. Anyway, enough of my inadequacy, here's the recipe:

 

Glazed Pork Fillet, adapted from 'Glazed Pork Fillet' by Trish Deseine, from the RTE website

 

My adaptions in red

 

Serves Lola, Finn, Mum and Dad

 

Ingredients:

 

1 pork fillet (Mine was about 400g)

Juice of four large oranges with a little zest (I used six, with the zest from one of the oranges) You may need extra juice.

a little garlic (I used one large clove, finely diced)

a little bit of ginger (I used about half a thumb's worth)

Thai fish sauce (I used 2 tsp)

soy sauce (I used 2 tsp)

Demerara sugar (I used a little palm sugar)

 

Method:

 

 

Mix all the sauce ingredients together in a bowl and then pour into a pan that will be big enough to hold your pork fillet. Bring the sauce to the boil.

 

 

 

Wheen the sauce has been boiling for three to four minutes, drop the fillet carefully in and seal it on one side.

 

Once it’s evenly coloured, turn it over gently to do the same on the other side. Then just look after it and keep basting it in the sauce for 15 or 20 minutes, until the meat is cooked through. (I also turned mine around reasonably often and the cooking time was just over 20 minutes).

 

 

 

The sauce will reduce during the cooking of the pork until it has almost caramelised and the fillet will be covered with a lovely sticky glaze.

 

If it is in danger of drying out, make sure you have extra freshly squeezed orange juice standing by (which I did use just to loosen the sauce a little).

 

Pre sauce addition, I should say.

 

 

Slice and serve with rice and something crunchy like green beans or snap peas. (I served with rice, mange tout and baby corn).

 

Easy and flavoursome. Pork, Oriental Style, with Honey and Soy Sauce

I do love a recipe that requires the minimum of faff with stuff I invariably have in the cupboard and that takes very little time to cook because, whisper it, I sometimes really and truly cannot be bothered. Do you ever get like that? Maybe it is if I am tired, or 'cooked' out, or would just prefer to be somewhere else than the kitchen. A restaurant, if I am lucky. Or in the bath. A bubbly bath. With candles. This recipe relies on you remembering to marinade the pork for a couple of hours, and stand around for the 10 minutes or so it takes to cook the pork and assemble the rest of the dish.

I think Michel Roux Jr is fab. I adore watching him on the television. I adore his passion for food and his attention to detail and his sheer culinary skill. And, whilst outward impressions may be misleading, he just seems like a really nice bloke, and so I was very pleased to receive his cookery book as a present. I have cooked a few of the recipes which were all stunning. When I saw this recipe, relatively lacking in faff, I decided that maybe this was the way to create something Michelin starred in no time. Well, I don't know about the Michelin star, but this is tasty and more importantly in terms of this blog, Lola and Finn liked the sweetness of the pork and the noodles, and in their book 'noodles' means 'pasta' and is therefore the best food ever.

I had to alter the cut of pork I used. Michel Roux Jr recommends neck end pork chops because of their fat content, and when I cook this again, I will look for a fattier chop. However, as this was one of these dishes that I chose to cook on a whim, I subbed the pork escalopes I had in the freezer. Whilst the fat content was missing, the marinade still gave the pork a lovely flavour.  I served this with steamed vegetables and noodles and apart from the vegetables on Lola and Finn's part, the meal was enjoyed by all. By using the three escalopes, I think I had probably reduced the amount of meat from the original recipe, but I kept the marinade quantity the same, because I wanted to have a little extra to put on the escalopes as I was cooking them in the hope that it would create a little sauciness for the vegetables and noodles. I pan fried these by the way, rather than grilling them.

Pork with Honey and Soy Sauce adapted slightly from 'Grilled Neck End Pork Chops, Oriental Style', taken from 'Cooking with the Master Chef' by Michel Roux Jr.

Serves mum, dad, Lola and Finn

Ingredients:

3 pork escalopes (the original suggests six neck end pork chops, rind off)

3 garlic cloves, chopped

2 tbsp fish sauce

2 tbsp oyster sauce

3 tbsp light soy sauce

1 tbsp honey

juice of 1 orange

coarsely ground black pepper

a little chopped coriander, for garnish

Method:

Marinade the chops by putting them in a non reactive dish and adding the garlic, the 'sauces' the honey, the soy and the orange. Mix well and rub the marinade over the meat. Leave for at least a couple of hours in the fridge, covered in cling film.

Preheat the grill, if you are grilling, or the barbecue, or the griddle or the frying pan. Place the meat on the hot surface and cook until ready. Mine took about five minutes or so either side.

Serve with whatever you like. I steamed some sliced vegetables and noodles to accompany the pork.

Trying to be healthy - Spicy chicken with cashew nut and cucumber vermicelli

Well, I say healthy, in comparison to the recent Chocolate Guinness Cake it is. This was a delicious, fresh and not really very spicy dish which we enjoyed recently. Cucumber fan Lola was extraordinarily impressed that you can have cucumber for dinner and Finn on this occasion loved the spicy chicken. Both went for the vermicelli, but I think that's because they think it's like pasta, because chez Lola and Finn, pasta is king.

This is yet another Bill Granger recipe. I haven't tried one yet that has failed and I really do like the emphasis that he places on fresh, clean flavours. This is amazingly zingy with a sweetness Lola and Finn really liked. I did too. Should we get a summer this year, I envisage making this again (for it is really quite quick) and being sat outside on a warm evening with a crisp dry white wine (to be decided).

At least if I have something light for dinner I can have a seriously 'sod it' type of pudding, can't I?

Spicy chicken with cashew nut and cucumber vermicelli, adapted from 'Open Kitchen' by Bill Granger

Feeds 3, plus Lola and Finn

Ingredients:

For the spicy chicken thighs:

3 tbsp fish sauce

Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

3 garlic cloves, peeled, crushed

2 large red chillies, finely chopped

a small handful of coriander (my addition)

2 tsp sugar

8 chicken thighs, bone and skin removed

2 tbsp vegetable oil

For the cucumber and cashew noodles:

3 tbsp lime juice

3 tbsp caster sugar

200g/7oz vermicelli rice noodles

2 cucumbers, halved and thinly sliced

Small handful fresh mint leaves (I omitted these)

4 spring onions, sliced finely

2 tbsp cashews, crushed

 Method:

To prepare the chicken, combine the fish sauce, pepper, garlic, chillies and sugar together in a bowl. (I whizzed them first as you can see)

In a separate bowl, pour half the marinade over the chicken. Cover with cling film and put in the fridge for 20 minutes. Reserve the rest of the marinade.

For cucumber and cashew salad, make a dressing by adding the lime juice and sugar to the reserved marinade, stirring until the sugar has dissolved.

In a heat-proof bowl, cover the vermicelli with boiling water and leave for a minute or so until the noodles have softened.

Drain and rinse the noodles under cold water. Mix the drained noodles in a large bowl with the cucumber, mint, spring onions, cashews and the dressing until well combined.

 

Remove the chicken thighs from the marinade, shaking off any excess. Fry the chicken thighs in the oil in a large frying pan over medium-high heat for 3-4 minutes on each side, or until cooked through. (You may have to do this in batches.)

To serve, plate up the vermicelli mixture and then place the chicken on top.

Making it sound sweet so my kids will eat it! Caramel Chicken

I have to confess when I first happened upon this I did wonder whether this was something I would like to eat, as I couldn't shake the idea of it tasting like a Werther's Original, but I figured that the intriguing title meant that it was worth a try and I am glad I did, because Lola and Finn adored this. There is a caramelly nature to this, but I think it is more to do with the colour, a gorgeously burnished affair, rather than sweetness, though there is a hint of something caramel about the taste, but only fleeting. It's nowhere near enough to think that you are eating dessert.

I am also convincing myself that this comes under the guise of being healthy.

I made few alteratins to the original. I am not a massive fan of red onion when it is cooked so I subbed spring onions. I have a thing for flecks of green. I served this with some stir fried vegetables and noodles and it was delish!

Caramel Chicken, adapted from Open Kitchen by Bill Granger

Serves 3, plus Lola and Finn

8 chicken thigh fillets, skinless, chopped in half, (though I used breasts)

1 tbsp vegetable oil

3 spring onions, sliced

3 garlic cloves, sliced

55ml/2fl oz dark soy sauce

110g/4oz brown sugar

55ml/2fl oz Thai fish sauce

Method

Place the chicken and oil in a bowl and toss to combine. Heat a large frying pan over a high heat until hot.

Add half the chicken and cook for two minutes on one side until lightly browned, turn and cook for another minute. Remove from the pan and repeat with the remaining chicken.

Reduce the heat to medium and add a little extra oil if needed. Add the onion and garlic and cook for five minutes, stirring occasionally.

Return the chicken to the pan, season liberally with black pepper, add the soy sauce and stir to combine.

Cover the pan, reduce heat to low and cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Increase the heat to high, add the sugar and stir to combine. Cook uncovered for 3-4 minutes, or until the sauce is rich, dark and syrupy.

Add the fish sauce and stir to combine. Place in a serving dish and serve with your chosen accompaniments.

Thai - rrific: Nigel Slater's Coconut chilli (or chili) chicken

I know the premise of this blog is that I am a mum and that I try to create dishes to broaden the food horizons of my bubs, who, given the choice would happily live on chips, pasta, frubes and jaffa cakes. But sometimes, just sometimes, I crave something that is Lola and Finn 'unfriendly', and when that is the case, out comes the pasta, a tomato sauce is whipped up, some garlic bread may be added, and they are good to go. Meantime I set to work.

I do like a curry and so does Phill. And whilst I adore Indian food, lately I have enjoyed food with more of a Thai influence, which led me to cooking up this wonderful recipe from Nigel Slater, which is really so easy. You can take on the takeaway with this one; simple and quick to make (as long as you have a whizzy chopper) and smells divine. The smell when the spice mix hits the hot frying pan is heady and exotic. The other joy is that once the chicken is in, you let it blip away for 20 minutes or so whilst you open the Riesling and stack the dishwasher (if you're me, that is).

A note on my tweaking of the recipe. We like sauce and so I decided to use five chicken thighs instead of the recommended eight. There was a lot of sauce but that was fine by us. Obviously if you are sauce averse, alter the sauce ingredients dependant on how much chicken you are using.

I served this with simple boiled rice; an excellent foil for the punchy, spicy sauce. And it is a little punchy, in a nice way. It kind of starts off with a coconutty, creamy caress before the spicy slap of chilli. Not a bad thing.

Coconut chilli chicken, adapted from Nigel Slater's Simple Cooking

Ingredients:

3 plump stalks lemongrass

50g/2oz fresh ginger

2 hot red chillies

2 cloves garlic

a bunch coriander

2 limes

2 tbsp groundnut oil

200g/7oz tomatoes (I used tinned)

2 tbsp fish sauce

2 tbsp dark soy sauce

8 chicken thighs (I used 5 boneless, skinless ones)

400ml/14oz can coconut milk

8 apricots, halved (but I left them out)

Method:

Peel and discard the outer leaves of the lemongrass as they can

sometimes be tough. Cut the inner leaves into short lengths and put

in the food processor.

Peel the ginger, then slice into thin pieces and add to the lemongrass. Chop the chillies, discarding their stems and add to the ginger with the peeled garlic. To reduce the heat a little you could totally deseed the chillies and take out all of the white membrane.

Roughly chop the stems and half of the leaves of the coriander to add to the food processor,

reserving the rest for later.

Grate the lime zest into the food processor, reserving the limes for later, then turn the machine on and let it chop everything to a coarse paste. Add a little groundnut oil and scrape the sides down with a spatula if it sticks. Add the fish sauce, soy sauce and the tomatoes

and process for a few seconds longer until all the ingredients appear amalgamated.

Warm a further tablespoon of groundnut oil in a deep pan over a moderate to high heat and use it to brown the chicken pieces, turning them so they colour nicely on both sides. Lift the chicken pieces out and pour away anything more than a tablespoon of oil and juices.

Add the spice paste and let it fry over a moderate heat for two minutes till fragrant, stirring almost constantly, then return the chicken to the pan. Pour over the coconut milk, stir, cover and leave to simmer over a low heat for 15-20 minutes. Meanwhile halve and stone the apricots (if using) and leave them to one side.

Test the chicken for doneness making certain it’s cooked right the way through, then add the apricots, if using. Leave to simmer for a few minutes, then add the juice of the limes and the reserved coriander leaves.