Tag Archives: fish sauce

Thơm Orange om vịt với đu đủ Salad – Fragrant Orange Braised Duck with Papaya Salad

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WP_20140705_16_46_29_ProNo apologies for taking you back to Vietnam this post, the fresh vibrant and light punchy flavours seem to work during the hot and steamy weather we are experiencing at the moment. If you have been following, and trying the far eastern posts you should have most of the ingredients for this recipe to hand.

On the cookery course I attended in France recently we made Crepe Suzette, which was delicious, we also had, and did lots with Duck. I remember Duck a l’orange   in the 70’s and thought that there must be a way to combine the memories into something a bit more vibrant. In Rick Stein’s Far Eastern Odyssey there is a recipe similar to this, but this is my interpretation of Vietnamese flavours with some decent heat, its just great!

You will need the following ingredients to make this sing for 2 people!

Dressing

  1. 5 Tbls Fish Sauce
  2. 1 Tbls Rice Wine Vinegar
  3. 2 Limes (Juiced)
  4. 2 Tbls Water
  5. 2 Tbls Palm Sugar
  6. 1 – 2 Red Chilli (finely sliced)
  7. 1 Clove Garlic (finely minced)
  8. 4 – 5 Drops Sesame Oil

Braised Duck

  1. 4 Duck Legs
  2. 1 Litre Orange Juice
  3. 3 Cloves garlic
  4. 4 Red Thai Chilli’s (whole)
  5. 1 Red Thai Chilli’s (finely sliced)
  6. 2 Shallots (finely sliced)
  7. 1 Lemongrass Stalk (roughly chopped)
  8. 4 Star Anise
  9. 4cm Length Cinnamon
  10. 1 Tbsp Tamarind
  11. 1 Tsp Shrimp paste
  12. 1 1/2 Inches Galangal (sliced)
  13. 10 Black Peppercorns
  14. 4 Spring Onions (roughly sliced)
  15. Maldon Sea Salt for seasoning

Papaya Salad

  1. 1 Papaya (sknned and cut into 1 c.m. cubed)
  2. 2 Spring Onions, Sliced
  3. 1 Red pepper (Julienned)
  4. 1 Handful Green Beans (blanched and cut into 1 inch lengths)
  5. 1 Handful Bean Sprouts
  6. 1 Handful Cashew Nuts (Freshly Toasted & Salted)
  7. 5 – 10 Mint Leaves (Chiffonade)
  8. 5 – 10 Holy Basil Leaves (Chiffonade)
  9. Bunch Coriander, chopped

WP_20140705_17_11_54_ProFirst thing to do is render some of the fat of the Duck Legs, take a Dutch Oven and place on a COLD hob, season the Duck and place in the pan, turning the heat to medium. This stage takes about 15 – 20 minutes depending on their size. Once you have done one side, repeat and you should have a reasonable amount of fat in the pan. Put the legs to one side and drain most of the fat off to use for roasties or whatever takes your fancy! Watch the Duck as mine had a tendency to stick to the pan. Stick your oven on about 150 degrees (fan) 160 deg (convection).

WP_20140705_17_18_30_ProNext, take all the spices for the braising liquor and fry in the remaining Duck fat until they release their aroma, then add the Orange Juice and shrimp paste and then the Duck Legs, making sure they are covered in the liquor. The whole lot goes covered, in the oven for about 1.5 – 2.0 hours.

WP_20140705_17_22_40_ProAs with many of the recent posts, a lot of the tasks in hand are more assembly than cooking, in this case, whilst the Duck is slowly braising you can prepare some of the other ingredients.

WP_20140705_19_16_04_ProFor the salad there are a few things to do, roast the Cashews in a frying pan, and lightly season with Maldon Sea Salt whilst they are still hot. Blanch the Green Beans in boiling water for 3 -4 minutes (removing the squeaky nature!), and refresh in cold water. Make the dressing, I usually start with the Fish Sauce and Water, add the Palm Sugar and stick in the microwave oven on full for 30 seconds or so. This helps the Palm Sugar dissolve. Grate in the Garlic and add the Lime Juice, and chopped Thai Chilli. The Sesame Oil is very strong so only use a few drops and then taste, it should be a background flavor.

WP_20140705_19_33_22_ProWe are nearly done. next stage is to remove the Duck Legs carefully from the pan, and reduce the remaining sauce until ‘gloopy’ and thick enough to stick to, and coat the back of a spoon. Its worth passing the sauce through a sieve first, but retain the pieces of Spring Onion as they can go onto the dish with the sauce. The Salad can be prepared whilst the sauce is reducing, but don’t add the dressing until the last minute. When the sauce has thickened pour boiling water over the noodles as per the instructions (mine needed 3 minutes) to cook.

WP_20140705_20_12_01_ProDrain your Noodles and place them on the plate, lay the Duck legs on top and add the sauce with cooked Spring Onion, its deep, rich and comforting (with some heat!). The Salad adds a cold, but HOT element from a spicing perspective, the Cashews add crunch and there is some bitter as well so back to the old Yin Yang so beloved of Vietnam.

WP_20140705_20_14_43_ProThis is a cracking dish, the Duck is meltingly soft, the Orange sauce, Tangy, Spicy and inviting, the contrast with the Salad which is even hotter, but with Sweet elements from the Papaya with Salt and crunch from the Cashew Nuts.

I may drift around the world next time and see what I can find that’s new and different to cook.

Till next time……………………….L8ers…………….

 

 

 

 

เสือร้องไห้ Sueh-ah Rong Hai (Weeping Tiger Beef) – Another Venture to the Far East, and a way to get your 9 a day!

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If you have a minor craving for something a bit spicy then this is definitely a dish worth considering! Maybe I should rephrase the last sentence, If you have a craving for Blisteringly Hot, Sour, Salty and slightly Sweet then gather the following ingredients as you are in for a treat.

Weeping or Crying Tiger Beef is a Thai Salad that can brings tears to your eyes, if you have been unwell, like I have over the past couple of weeks and fancy something tasty and healthy then I can highly recommend this dish.

Marinade

  • 1 Sirloin Steak per person, the best you can afford
  • 2 teaspoons white pepper (I used Muntok from Steenbergs)
  • 2 tablespoons fish sauce
  • 4 tablespoons fresh lime juice
  • 2 tablespoons palm sugar
  • 8 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 Inch Galangal, grated

Put all the ingredients into a dish and let the Steaks marinade for at least 2 hours, you can prepare the Salad dressing etc. whilst waiting for the meat to soak up all the flavours.

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Dressing

  • 2 tablespoons Sugar
  • 1/2 cup fresh Lime Juice
  • 3 – 4 tablespoons Fish Sauce (to taste)
  • 4 – 6 Shallots, finely sliced
  • 4 – 6 Thai Chilis very finely sliced
  • 2 stalks Lemongrass, remove outer stalk and slice very thin or grind
  • 1 inch Galangal, finely grated

Add all the ingredients to a bowl and set aside for at least an hour, stirring from time to time to ensure the Sugar is completely dissolved.

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Salad

  • 1 Mango, cut into 1 inch approx. pieces.
  • 1 Baby Gem Letture, leaves separated and quartered
  • 1 large red Onion, thinly slivered
  • 1 bunch Spring Onion, cut to ½ inch lengths at an angle
  • 1 handful Bean Sprouts
  • 1 Cucumber, peeled & seeded cut in half lengthwise
  • 1 small handful French Green Beans, cooked in salted water for 6 minutes and then cooled under running cold water
  • 10 – 15 sliced Cherry Tomatoes
  • 1 lemon, cut in half lengthwise and very thinly sliced
  • 1 Handful Roasted Peanuts, lightly crushed to garnish

Take a bowl and add all the ingredients except the Red Onion, Cucumber and Lemon, which are placed in a separate bowl and sprinkled with half the dressing and put aside for 15 minutes. The French Beans can be cut into 1 inch approx. lengths. I used Peanuts that still had skins on, so they were de-skinned and roasted fresh, and then seasoned with some Maldon Sea Salt and lightly crushed.

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Set your oven to 100 degrees and put in a plate to warm up, the Steaks will need to rest once they are cooked for 10 minutes, this stage is important to enable the meat to relax and become meltingly tender.

Cook the Steaks in a frying pan on a high heat for 2-3 minutes each side, you want them rare to medium rare so still slightly red in the middle, once cooked pop into the oven and wait patiently for 10 minutes.

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Whilst the meat is relaxing, add the marinated Cucumber, Lemon and Onion mix to the Salad and add the Dressing making sure that everything gets a good coating, then after ten minutes, thinly slice the Beef, lay onto the Salad and sprinkle with the Peanuts.

C’est tout, more of a construction job than cooking but the results are stunning, with HOT, Spicy, Salty, Sour and slightly Sweet it will knock you taste buds into the next century.

You will need to adjust the balance of the flavours as especially Chillis can vary quite a lot, so make sure you taste the dressing to make sure the balance is right.

Special thanks to Vicars Game in Ashampstead, who continue to source the most wonderful Meat, Game and Poultry.

Until next time,

L8ers

Jacobs Ladder – Slow Braised Beef Short Ribs In a Fragrant Sauce

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As you will notice, many of my recipes are a bit time consuming, mostly due to the complex flavours I like to experience on my palate, but also the cuts of meat I like to experiment with.

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Earlier in the week I had been thumbing through some cookery books trying to find something to make at the weekend and came across a couple of recipes, further bolstered by a trawl on the internet I headed out to our favourite meat supplier, who has never disappointed with unusual and different cuts of meat.

These bad boys (to use a Tom Kerridge phrase!), are Beef Short Ribs and are extremely good value if you can find a supplier. In this case £4.89 yes, that cheap for 1.25 KG’s of taste sensation. They are also known as Jacobs Ladder, which is a reference in the book of Genesis, and in my case, one of my favourite rock songs by the group RUSH, a Canadian rock band.

The dish I am about to describe will take a couple of days to complete, as the preparation and cooking is done in several stages, most of the time is spent cooking/resting, the hands on prep is about 30-40 minutes max. I started on the Saturday afternoon for a Sunday evening tea. You will need the following for two hungry people:

  • 1.25KG’s Beef Short Ribs
  • 1 Tbs Coriander Seeds
  • 1/2 Tsp Cumin Seeds
  • 1/2 Tsp Lampung Black Peppercorns (available from Steenbergs), or whatever is in your cupboard
  • 1/2 Tsp Muntok White Peppercorns (available from Steenbergs), or whatever is in your cupboard
  • 1 Black Cardamom
  • 1 Star Anise
  • 4 Whole Cloves
  • 3-4 Shallots roughly chopped
  • 4cm piece Lemongrass (bash with a rolling pin or knife to break apart)
  • 4cm piece Galangal roughly sliced
  • 4cm piece Fresh Ginger roughly sliced
  • 6 Red Chillis
  • 1 Head Garlic sliced in half
  • 2 Litres Chicken Stock (preferable Low Salt & Organic, Kallo is great and readily available)
  • 1 Tbs Fish Sauce
  • 1 Tbs Light Soy
  • 1 Tbs dark Soy
  • 2 Tbs Shaoxing Rice wine
  • 1 Tbs Rice Wine Vinegar
  • 4 Tbs Tamarind
  • 2 Tbs Palm Sugar
  • 4 Kaffir Lime Leaves
  • 1 Tsp Shrimp Paste
  • 1 Bunch Coriander
  • 1/2 Lime Juiced

Stage 1

Take all the dry spices and roast them gently in a frying pan without any oil until you can smell the evocative aromas filling the kitchen. This process causes the oils in the spices to develop, if you look at the Cloves, you will notice they will have expanded considerably.

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Now that the spices are toasty the next stage is to season the ribs with Salt & Pepper and seal in some flavourless oil such as Ground Nut or whatever you have available. We are trying to get some colour on the meat and also release some of the sugars which turns the meat brown. You can click HERE for a really geeky explanation of the Maillard reaction which is what we are trying to achieve.

WP_20131130_008Mine looked like this after this stage and took 10-15 minutes making sure you turn the meat and cook each side.

Stage 2

We now need to put some oil in a dutch oven or decent size saucepan, the Ribs’s are going to braise for 4 1/2 hours at 125 Deg (fan), 145 Deg (Convection) and the meat needs to be covered so use this as you guide as to the size of pan to use.

Firstly, fry the shallots until the develop some colour, about 5 – 10 minutes. Then, add the toasted dry spices and continue to fry gently, you will start to smell the heady aromas fill the air. Then add the sliced Galangal, Ginger and Lemongrass, continuing to cook gently, then the two halved Garlic heads, and Chilli’s.

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At this stage it should look something like the picture above. You want to cook the spice mix gently so nothing burns but hard enough to extract the flavour oils from the ingredients. Now set your oven to 125 deg/145deg to warm up.

After 10 – 15 minutes start to add the wet ingredients, starting with the Soy Sauce, Fish Sauce, Rice Wine etc. Then a bunch of coriander, finish with the sugar, then the Chicken Stock at the end and put the Ribs in, ensuring the are covered completely. Finally add the Lime juice.

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You now need to get a piece of Tin Foil, doubled in half, that covers, and overlaps your pan. This is going to be used to seal the pan with the lid firmly pressed on top. Then place in the oven, set the timer for 4 /12 hours and go and put your feet up!!

Stage 3

After 4 1/2 hours, remove the pan from the oven and take out the ribs and place in a container and stick in the fridge, covered with foil or a Plastic container with lid. Drain the remaining sauce through a strainer and also place in the fridge overnight.

You will have noticed in the 1st picture, there is a decent amount of fat on the ribs, the slow braising will have rendered the fat into the sauce and in the morning you will have a ‘fat lid’, sitting on the sauce. The following morning, take the meat and sauce out of the fridge,  gently remove the fat and strain the sauce to remove as much of the fat as possible.

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This is what mine looked like before sieving the sauce to remove the remaining bits of fat which you can see floating on the surface. The colour has changed significantly into a deep rich brown colour, partly as a result of the browning stage (Monsr Maillard again!).

Once this is done, the meat on the left needs to go into the sauce, to marinade for a few more hours to further develop the flavours. Cover the pot with cling film or foil and pop it back into the fridge until you are ready to complete the final stage. It will take about 45 – 60 minutes at 160 deg/180deg before the ribs are ready to eat, so you can plan when dinner is served and when you need to be back in the kitchen.

Stage 4

Almost done! Set the oven to 160deg/180deg and remove the meat/sauce from the fridge about an hour before you are ready to cook to bring it up to room temperature. To go with the beef I was going to do some equally fragrant Rice and Bok Choi.

Take a saucepan, and put some water on to boil, you will need a Jasmine Tea bag, 1 star anise, kaffir lime leaves (2) and a couple of slices of Galangal. I left the tea bag in the water for a couple of minutes before removing, the remainder of the spices had a good 30 minutes in the pan. Thats the infusion completed, just follow the instructions on the rice packet, mine needed about 10 minutes.

The Bok Choi was quartered lengthways, and put in a pan with a glug of hot oil, followed by a splash of water to create a steam. I chucked in a couple of cloves of garlic that had been bashed, a splash of Shaoxing Rice Wine, similar of light Soy sauce and a little sugar to counterbalance the salty Soy.

WP_20131201_008Finish the Bok Choy with a twist of fresh cracked pepper and you are done. The beef can be removed from the pot, and set aside in a covered dish and left in a warm oven whilst you finish off the sauce. You may find its still a bit thin so you can reduce it on a hob, and use a little Cornflour or Arrowroot and water to thicken. Drain the rice and you are ready to serve.

WP_20131201_005 To add some further texture elements I dry fried some Cashew nuts and Red Chilli for a bit of punch, and fried some prawn crackers and dusted with 5 spice powder to accompany the ribs. All you need to do now is serve the meat/rice/sauce and vegetable on a warm plate and experience a tasty, sumptuous exotic meal, all prepared by your own hands and not breaking the bank!WP_20131201_010

So there you have it, Beef Short Ribs, with  a fragrant sauce and assorted accompaniments, delicious.

Go on, have a go yourself.