Friday 1 May 2009

Exciting News!

Hello! Firstly I would like to share some news, I have been given the opportunity of hosting some cookery weeks throughout Autumn in Andalucia in A beautiful Hacienda, the weeks are for both cooks and non cooks and are designed to be fun with sightseeing and of course lots of good food and wine, if you are interested in joining me contact me on 07990966144 for further details.
I cant believe it is May already, I love this time of year and with the threat of warm weather on the way we can look forward to lots of alfresco eating and red wine! I have some really nice Summer recipes to share with you in the coming months. The nice part about doing these monthly recipes is I cook every one before going to print and my hubbie photographs the finished dish and of course gets to eat it so he is very happy.... Thank you Richard!
I hope you enjoy this months Asian delight very simple again, and of course you could add more dishes to make it a more formal meal.
Please dont forget to comment it is always nice for me to receive feedback good and bad. so get writing!! Meanwhile enjoy the warmer weather while it is here!

Cameliaxx

A Tasty Asian Treat


The thing I love about Asian food is, it is designed for the shared table: a few dishes, a bowl of rice, some nice wine with good company - to me that makes good eating. I have put together a cheap simple menu ideal for a midweek supper or, with a few more dishes added, could be a more formal menu. Pork ribs are such good value, try to choose the smaller ones as they tend to be sweeter and more tender. The shaoshing wine can be bought in some supermarkets or in Asian stores. If you can’t find it, sherry is equally as good. Again all can be prepared in advance with little effort, especially good after a busy day, and for some reason there is something really wholesome about chewing bones and getting in a sticky mess. Enjoy! Sheng ti jian kung. (Good health).

Sticky Chinese Ribs:

Ingredients Serves 6

For the ribs:
2 x 1.3 kg rack of ribs
Black pepper

For the marinade:
4 cloves garlic finely chopped
2 tblspn ginger finely grated
250 ml soy sauce
125ml honey
3 tblspn shaoshing wine or sherry
1 tblspn Chinese five spice
125ml Hoi Sin sauce

To Serve:

2 tblspn coriander leaves
2 spring onions chopped on the diagonal
3 dried chillies split and chopped (optional)
Lime wedge quartered

Method:
1. Preheat the oven to 160C/gas 2. Put the ribs on a baking tray and season generously with salt and pepper. Roast for 1 hour, or until the ribs are tender.
2. While the ribs are in the oven, put the garlic, ginger, soy sauce, honey, wine, five-spice powder and Hoi Sin sauce in a small saucepan. Place the pan over a medium heat and cook the sauce for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until it has thickened.
3. Baste the ribs with the sauce and continue roasting for another 20 minutes.
4. Put the ribs on a chopping board, baste again with the sauce and cut into individual ribs.
5. Garnish with coriander, spring onions and chillies and accompany with lime wedges.

Warm Rice Salad:

Ingredients:
300g jasmine or long grain rice
1 red pepper finely chopped
1 yellow pepper finely chopped
2 spring onions finely chopped on the diagonal (green bits as well)
1 tblspn toasted sesame oil
A few splashes of Tabasco
salt and pepper

Method:
Place the rice in a heavy based pan, add the water and a pinch of salt and bring to the boil.Cover with a tight fitting lid, reduce the heat to low and cook for approx 15 to 20 mins until all the water has gone and the rice is soft. Fluff up the rice and mix all the ingredients into the warm rice putting the oil and Tabasco in last. Check for seasoning

Wilted Sesame Spinach:
Ingredients:

1 pack of young fresh spinach leaves
1 teaspn toasted sesame seeds
A splash of light soy sauce
A splash of sesame oil

Method:
Place a small amount of water into a large pan and bring to the boil. Add the whole bag of spinach for about 30 seconds just enough to wilt and drain well, carefully removing the liquid. Then toss in the sesame seeds, soy sauce and sesame oil.