Thai Jungle Curry with Pork

Unusually for nowadays the kids ate something different to us at their tea time because they had a friend round for tea. So that gave me the opportunity to try something new for the grown-ups. I am due to cook a Thai curry for my curry night in a few weeks so I thought I’d try a different Thai dish and jungle curry seemed just the ticket, with relatively few ingredients and a short cooking time. This is a soupy curry.

Serves 4
400g diced pork
2 tbsp cooking oil
2 tbsp red curry paste (recipe I based this on said 4tbsp!)
1 aubergine, diced (I didn’t have any so used spring greens!)
1/2 mug peas or sliced beans
10cm ginger, finely sliced
2 baby corn cut into about 3 (optional)
400ml chicken stock (or water)
4tbsp fish sauce
5 kaffir lime leaves , stems removed and finely sliced
1/2-1 tsp dried chilli flakes
Holy basil (optional)

Fry the curry paste in the cooking oil for a couple of minutes then add the pork and add for another couple of minutes. Add the rest of the ingredients, apart from the peas/beans and holy basil if using, together with the chicken stock and bring to the boil. Simmer for 10 minutes then add the remaining ingredients and simmer for another 5 minutes. Check the seasoning and add more salt/fish sauce as required. Serve over Thai fragrant rice.

Twitter: Leesa@sunhillcurry

Hungarian Goulash with Leftover Roast Pork

Leftover roast pork in our house usually gets used in a stir fry but last week I thought I’d try something different, and so goulash came to mind.

Serves 4
2 large handfuls roast pork
1 large onion, finely chopped
1 large garlic clove, finely chopped
1 tbsp olive oil
1-2 tsp smoked paprika
2 tsp caraway seeds
A large red pepper, chopped (I blended mine with the tomatoes because my kids say they don’t like it if they spot it)
1 tin chopped tomatoes
4 tbsp red wine vinegar
Leaves from a small bunch of fresh marjoram or oregano (optional, but i have so much growing wild in my garden I was pleased to have a recipe to use it in!)
1-2 fresh red chillies, de-seeded and finely chopped

Fry the onions in a casserole dish over a medium heat until they start to brown. Add the garlic, red pepper, and chilli peppers and fry for another few minutes. Add caraway seeds, marjoram or oregano stir, then add tomatoes, paprika, vinegar and pepper & salt. Top up with hot water (about a can) to cover the meat. Bring to the boil, put the lid on and simmer for 10-20 minutes or until the onion is cooked.

Serve with basmati rice and a dollop of sour cream if you have any.

Twitter: Leesa@sunhillcurry

Tarka Dhal or Lentil Curry

The best tarka dal (or dhal) I ever had was in a tiny Tibetan cafe in the backstreets of Kathmandu in Nepal. I have googled various recipes but nothing seems to conjure up the flavours I have in my mouth of this gorgeously fresh soupy lentil dish.

Today, however, as Dad is cooking tandoori chicken on the bbq, I have been challenged to turn out a tarka dal to go with. So, based on the recipe from the BBC series Indian Food Made Easy with Anjum Anand, this is what I have just prepared to eat later tonight.

Serves 2

125g red lentils
1/2 pint water
2 tbsp cooking oil
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 small onion, chopped finely
3 garlic cloves
1/2 thumb sized piece of ginger, peeled and finely chopped or grated
1/2 can tinned tomatoes or 2 large fresh tomatoes
1/2 tsp hot chilli flakes
1/2 tsp ground turmeric
1/2 tsp garam masala
1 tsp ground coriander
Small bunch chopped coriander (optional)

Rinse the lentils throughly, drain and bring to the boil with the water. Skim off the scum and simmer with a lid for 20 minutes until soft and mushy. Turn off the heat and leave covered to cool and thicken.

Fry the cumin seeds in a saucepan in the oil for a couple of minutes until they start to sizzle and pop. Add the onion, ginger, & chilli and fry for about 5 minutes until starting to brown. Puree the tomatoes and garlic, or finely chop if you don’t have a processor and add to the frying onion. Add the other dried spices and simmer for about 20 minutes until the oil rises to a simmering film on the top. Stir in the cooled lentils and heat carefully, stirring so it doesn’t catch on the bottom. Stir through chopped coriander and serve with plain boiled rice or naan breads.

Twitter: Leesa@sunhillcurry

Vietnamese Beef Pho with Leftover Roast Beef

When a friend, who lived in Vietnam for a while, said she was making a Beef Pho I thought this was something I had to try for myself particulary as I had a little rare beef left from a roast. She texted me a couple of photos of recipes from two recipe books and I muddled through from there.

A lot of ‘proper’ Vietnamese recipes instruct you to roast beef bones and make your own stock. Don’t bother! I came across beef bones by chance (I buy chicken carcasses weekly to make stock for Watercress Soup that I sell to a local farm shop) but it was a long, steamy, and ultimately greasy task. And I think I’ll stick to organic beef stock cubes in future.

Serves 2

200ml wide rice noodles
500ml beef stock
1 star anise
3cm root ginger, shredded
3 bunches bok choy, shredded (I used equivalent amount of sugar snap peas, baby corn, spring onions)
Thinly sliced red onion
Handful thinly sliced raw or rare beef
Half a large bunch of coriander
2 tbsp chopped mint or 1 tbsp dried mint
1/2 tsp hot chilli flakes

Fish sauce and lime or lemon juice to serve

Prepare the vegetables, onion, beef, coriander and mint first. Bring the stock to the boil and add the start anise and ginger and simmer whilst cooking the noodles according to the packet’s instructions.

When the noodles are cooked, drain and divide between two large bowls. Quickly divide all the other ingredients and place vegetables, onion, beef, and herbs into the two bowls and pour over the simmering stock. Add fish sauce, a squeeze of lime or lemon juice, and chilli flakes before eating immediately.

Twitter: Leesa@sunhillcurry

Vindaloo Sauce with Leftover Roast Turkey

The last of the Christmas turkey was seen off a couple of days ago with some fiery homemade vindaloo sauce.  The kids had fish fingers!

I usually follow a Anjum Anand’s recipe when I make a vindaloo, but this is quite a dry dish and as I didn’t have much turkey left I decided to make a thicker vindaloo sauce to stretch the meat a little further.  And after combining several recipes I found online, this is what I came up with.

Serves a greedy 2

2 tsp cumin seeds, or 2 tsp ground
2 tsp coriander seeds, or 2 tsp ground
5 black peppercorns, left whole
2 green cardamom pods, seeds only
2 cloves
1cm cinnamon stick, or 1 tsp ground
1 tsp garam masala
1cm fresh root ginger
7 garlic cloves
1 tsp hot chilli flakes
3 tbsp white wine vinegar
Pinch of salt
1 tbsp sunflower oil
1 tsp mustard seeds, or 1 tsp English mustard powder
1 large onion
1 tin chopped tomatoes or passata
A large handful of leftover roast turkey, chicken, pork or fresh pork, prawns, chicken…
1/2-1 tsp chilli powder (optional)

If using whole dried spices, dry roast these in a heavy based frying pan for a few minutes and then grind to a powder in a spice grinder.

If using ground spices, add these to the garlic, ginger, salt, and vinegar in a mini food processor and blitz to a paste. Rub the paste all over your leftover meat, or whatever you are using, and leave to marinate for a at least a couple of hours.

When ready to cook, sizzle the onion seeds in the oil in a sauce pan until they start to pop (if using mustard powder either add to the marinade or with the chopped tomatoes), finely slice the onion and fry gently stirring only now and then (this takes about 20-30 minutes) until the onion is brown and caramelised. Add the marinated meat, stir, then add the chopped tomatoes and half a tin of hot water. Bring to the boil then turn down to a simmer and cover. Cook for 20 minutes if using cooked meat and prawns, or 30 minutes if using raw meat.

Serve with basmati rice or naan.

Twitter: Leesa@sunhillcurry

My Leftover Turkey Compilation

It’s 28th December, and despite having a 5kg bird to work our way through with only five of us I will have to cook sooner or later.  So I am trawling through last year’s turkey recipes and thought it would be good to bring them together in one place.

In no particular order:-

• Turkey stock – same principle as chicken stock, you just might need a bigger pan!
• Turkey Minestrone
• Jamie Oliver’s Sweet Leek & Turkey Pie – a warming winner every year
• Turkey & Chipolata Cassoulet – substitute chicken for turkey
• Red or Green Thai Turkey Curry – Substitute the butternut squash in this recipe for a big handful of leftover turkey
• Chilli con Christmas Turkey Leftovers
• Turkey Chow Mein – I would substitute 2 handfuls of chopped cooked turkey for the chicken in this recipe
• Christmas Turkey Noodle Soup – again substitute chicken for turkey
• Turkey Congee (Rice Soup/Porridge) – I made this with duck stock last year but turkey would work just as well
• Spicy Korean Turkey Rice Salad – a fitting end to turkey and cranberry sauce

East Meets West: Sunday Roast Leftovers Chow Mein Stir Fry

As Autumn (slowly) approaches and we have begun having Sunday roasts again, I am being begged by the kids to make this kind of chow mein for them midweek with the leftovers.  It really doesn’t need a lot of leftover meat (or arguably any at all) as a little goes a long way! You could always make a vegetarian version of this without meat or gravy.

I first made this a few weeks ago.  I had intended to refer to one of my earlier Chinese stir fry recipes on my blog, but Princess was so engrossed with her favourite app on my phone that I tried to do it from memory. I pulled the most commonly used Chinese ingredients out of the cupboard and fridge and just made it up as I went along. The kids declared it the best noodle dish ever (their memories are so endearingly short) so I thought I had better write it down to ensure I can impress them again!

Serves 4-5 (3 kids – 2 adults)

1-2 handfuls of leftover roast (chicken, pork, beef, xmas turkey), chopped into mouthsized chunks
2 large carrots, grated
Something green – 1/4 cabbage shredded, 10 runner beans, finely sliced, pak choi, grated broccoli stalk etc
1 large or 2 small cloves of garlic,  crushed
Small knob ginger, grated or finely chopped
1 large serving spoon of leftover gravy (optional)
2 tbsp sunflower oil
2 tbsp Sherry or white wine
4 tbsp oyster sauce
4 tbsp light soy sauce
2 tbsp sweet chilli sauce (or sprinkle with dried chilli flakes to taste at the end
2 tbps tomato ketchup
1 tbsp sesame oil (optional)
4 layers of medium egg noodles, alternatively you could serve over steamed rice or stir fry rice instead

Chinese stir frying is quick, quick, quick, so prepare all your ingredients in advance and have them within reach of the wok/frying pan.  Cook the noodles according to the packet’s instructions.  Drain, reserving a mugful of the cooking water, and leave in a pan of cold water until ready for them.  Chop your ‘solid’ ingredients, leaving the garlic and ginger to last.  Pile meat in one of the bowls you are going to eat out of, veg in another, and mix liquid ingredients in another.

Heat a wok or large frying pan until it starts smoking.  Add the oil, swirl it around, turn the extractor fan on and stir fry the onion and garlic for a minute or so.  Tip in the vegetables and continue to stir fry for another couple of minutes.  Add the meat and the sauce ingredients.  Turn down the heat and cook for a few minutes until the vegetables are slightly less raw.  Bring the pan of noodles and water over to the cooker and add the dripping noodles in handfuls (a little bit of extra water in the wok is no bad thing).  At this stage I often chop the noodles with scissors or a fork and sharp knife.  This makes it easier to mix and helps the kids get it up to their mouth.  Stir the vegetables through the noodles and leave on a low heat with a lid on for a few minutes to heat through.  If you hear a sizzling noise, this is your cue to stir it and try to turn the noodles over so the top layer is as hot as the bottom.  I like a sloppy chow mein so I add a little of the noodle cooking water to give the dish a little more sauce.

Twitter: Leesa@sunhillcurry

Spicy Korean Roast Leftovers Rice Salad

We had quite a lot of lamb left over from our Moroccan Butterflied Leg of Lamb last weekend, so after seeing Korean Stir-Fried Rice on Jamie’s Money Saving Meals I thought I’d try to recreate the distant memory of a spicy Korean rice salad we enjoyed several times in a New Zealand shopping mall over 15 years ago.  And it makes a pleasant change to having simple cold meat, veg, & potatoes midweek.

Based on what we had in the cupboards, this is what I put together

Serves 1

1/4 mug brown or white rice
Large handful of swiss chard or other leafy greens
Handful of leftover roast (lamb, beef, pork, chicken)
1 large clove of garlic
1/2 medium sized onion
1 tsp hot chilli flakes
2tbsp white wine vinegar
1 heaped tsp redcurrant jelly (I used bramble jelly)
1 tbsp sesame seeds

Cook the rice according to the packet’s instructions.  Finely shred the chard and wilt in the pan with pan with the rice for the last couple of minutes of cooking.  Drain and leave to one side.

Finely chop the meat, garlic, and onion and mix with the remaining ingredients.  Mix together with the warm rice, season with salt and pepper to taste, and either eat immediately or leave for the flavours to develop.