Hot Thai Beef Salad

A nice, quick recipe for a warm day.  Mind you, I found it quite spicy with the use of one chilli; I could only get my hands on the bird's eye ones so that might explain it!

*Taken from Margaret Fulton's 'Margaret Fulton's Kitchen' pg 158, published 2007*

Ingredients

500g rump or sirloin steak

freshly ground pepper

1/2 cup torn mint leaves

1 large red onion or 2 large spring onions, thinly sliced

2 red chillies, sliced (I used 1)

juice of 1 large lime or 1/2 lemon

2 tbs fish sauce

1 tsp sugar

a handful of mixed salad greens

1 cup cherry tomatoes

a handful of rice vermicelli

vegetable oil, for frying

2 tbs roughly chopped roasted peanuts (omitted)

1 red chilli, halved (omitted)

lime wedges for serving

Method

Season the steak with the pepper and cook on a hot ribbed griller or under a preheated grill for 5 minutes on each side or until done to taste.  Remove and leave to stand for 10 minutes.  Cut steak into very thin slices and place in a bowl with any meat juices.

Meanwhile, combine the mint leaves with the onions, chillies, lime or lemon juice, fish sauce and suger.  Stir well and add to the beef slices, tossing.  Combine with the mixed salad greens and cherry tomatoes and set aside.

Heat some vegetable oil in a wok, testing the heat with a few strands of vermicelli.  It should swell immediately of the oil is hot enough.  Fry the vermicelli, scooping out with a wire strainer as soon as they puff and turn pale golden.  Drain well on paper towels and cool, then arrange in a bowl.  

Pile the beef salad on top of the crispy noodles.  Scatter with peanuts and chilli and serve with lime wedges.

Serves 4-6

Green Chicken Curry

Always on the hunt for a good Green Chicken Curry recipe, this one came pretty close. Our only complaint was that it was a bit too spicy for our likings (and Lyndon loves spicy foods!) Next time I would minus one of the tablespoons of curry paste, but otherwise this was pretty tasty...

*Taken from Murdoch Books 'Australian Family Favourites'*

Ingredients
250ml (1 cup) coconut cream
4 tbs green curry paste
8 boneless, skinless chicken thighs or 4 chicken breasts, cut into pieces
250ml (1 cup) coconut milk
4 Thia eggplants (aubergines) or 1/2 purple eggplant, cut into chunks
2 tbs shaved palm sugar or brown sugar
2 tbs fish sauce
4 mukrut (kaffir) lime leaves, torn
1 handful Thai basil leaves
1-2 large red chilies, sliced
coconut milk or cream, for drizzling

Method
heat a wok over a low heat, add the coconut cream and bring to the boil. Stir until the oil separates out.

Add the green curry paste, stir for 1 minute then add the chicken. Cook the chicken until it turns opaque, then add the coconut milk and eggplant. Cook for 1-2 minutes, or until the eggplant is tender. Add the sugar, fish sauce, line leaves and half the basil, then mix together.

Garnish with the rest of the basil, the chilli and a drizzle of the coconut milk or cream. Serve with rice.

Serves 4

Thai Garlic & Ginger Beef

The Thai restaurant across the road makes a wicked version of this, so I thought I would attempt my own. To be honest with you, I just made up my own recipe, with inspiration from Jamie Oliver I guess.... Delicious and very authentic. *Melody pats herself on the back*

Ingredients
300gms round steak
1 tbs fish sauce
1 tbs lime juice
1 tbs water
1 tsp palm sugar, grated
1 tbs peanut oil
2 green chilies, de-seeded and finely sliced
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp grated fresh ginger
4 spring onions, chopped
1 can bamboo shoots
2 tsp Thai spice (optional) I used McCormick's 'Lemongrass, Lime & Ginger'
Cooked rice to serve

Method
Partially freeze the steak, then slice into thin strips.

Mix together the fish sauce, lime juice, water and sugar in a small bowl. This is the sauce.

Add oil to a pre-heated wok or large frypan. Stir-fry the meat in batches until cooked through. Remove from the pan and keep warm. To the pan add chilies, garlic and ginger. Stir fry for 15 seconds, then add the spring onions and bamboo shoots. Cook for about a minute then add meat back into pan. Add the sauce and cook, whilst stirring, for about 2 minutes or until heated through.

Serve immediately with rice. Enjoy.

Serves 2

Fragrant Green Chicken Curry

With inspiration from Kimbofo, I decided to make a Green Curry for last night's dinner. Hunting through my own recipe books I came across this Jamie Oliver recipe. It was very easy to make and very, very authentic tasting. However, compared to the photo in Jamie's book and that of my own, it looked completely different! Mine actually looked like the Green Curry from the Thai restaurant across the road from us. (Yes, we live virtually opposite a Thai restaurant.)

*Taken from Jamie Oliver's 'The Naked Chef'*

Ingredients

4 chicken breasts, skinless and boneless, each cut into 5 large pieces (I used 2 and cut into thick strips)

1 x 400ml tin of coconut milk

1 handful of chopped pistachio nuts (I didn't add these, after all, Monet was to be eating this)

1 can bamboo shoots (This wasn't in Jamie's recipe but I added these)

For Green curry paste

6 spring onions, washed and trimmed

4-6 medium green chillies, deseeded and finely chopped (I used 2)

2 cloves of garlic

1 tbs fresh root ginger, peeled and finely chopped

1 tbs coriander seeds, pounded or crushed

1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper

Sea salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Half a handful of lime leaves, torn

2 lemon grass stalks, trimmed back and finely chopped

2 good handfuls of fresh basil on the stalk

3 good handfuls of fresh coriander on the stalk

3 tbs extra virgin olive oil

zest and juice of 4 limes (I used 2)

Method

Put all the green curry paste ingredients in a food processor and whizz to a smooth green paste. Marinate the chicken in a little of the paste for 30 minutes, then ass a little oil and the chicken pieces to a hot casserole-type pan or wok. Fry for 4 minutes, then ass the remainder of the marinade - it will sizzle and spit. Stir in the coconut milk, bring to the boil and simmer gently for 8 minutes until the chicken is cooked. Season to taste. The flavour should have a kick but be reasonably mellow - very fresh and fragrant.

Sprinkle with the pistachios and some coriander leaves and serve with steamed rice or noodles.

Serves 4