This recipe is courtesy of Sydney-based Malaysian food writer Carol SelvaRajah.

Thinly slice the beef (or chicken pieces)  across the grain – they should 2 cm wide and 10 cm long.
Combine all the marinade ingredients with mortar and pestle. Coat the meat with the marinade and  refrigerate for 30-60 minutes, or longer if time permits, covered with plastic wrap .
Thread the meat onto the skewers. Trim off any straggly bits of meat with scissors.
Mix together the coconut cream, oil and brown sugar to form a basting mixture.
Grill on an open hot griller, brushing  lightly with some oil and then cook the skewers for 1-2 minutes on each side, brushing them with coconut cream baste mixture.
Serve with yellow rice for a festive look.

In our household, this is known as ‘get-better-soon’ soup. Make sure you use a good chicken stock so that the soup is really flavoursome.
If you prefer, substitute wontons or mini dim sims for the noodles and use vegies of your choice. The recipe is from my book Mini Chef – Cooking with Kids.

Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 10–15 minutes

Equipment:
Measuring cups and spoons
Chopping board
Medium bowl
Strainer
Vegetable peeler
Medium saucepan
Kitchen knife
1. Place noodles in a medium heatproof bowl, cover with boiling water and leave to stand for 2–3 minutes. Drain and set aside.
2. Heat the chicken stock in a medium saucepan. While stock simmers, add the carrots and cook 2–3 minutes.
3. Add the chicken breast strips and corn kernels and cook for 1 minute. Add celery, soy sauce and noodles. Simmer very gently
for 2–3 minutes or until chicken is cooked—don’t let it boil.  Season to taste and simmer for 30 seconds.
4. Ladle into warm serving bowls and top with sliced green onions and a few drops of sesame oil, if using.

Tip: Add a few sugar snap or snow peas for more colour and goodness. You’ll find pre-cut chicken breast strips at the supermarket in the poultry section.

This is a good dish to learn the basics of stir-frying.  Make sure you have everything ready before you start cooking as the idea is to cook the food quickly. Combine the four sauce ingredients before you start.  If you don’t like chillies, there’s no need to add them – the Thais love their food hot, spicy and sour with a touch of sweetness.

1.   Heat a wok or heavy frying pan until hot.  Add the oil and when hot, add the onion.  Stir-fry for 1 – 2 minutes or until onion is softening and turning transparent.  Add garlic and chillies, stir-fry another minute.
2.  Add chicken strips and stir-fry until chicken turns white and is beginning to colour, about 3 – 4 minutes.  Add  beans and capsicum and stir-fry for another minute.  Add  the basil leaves and sauce, stir to combine.
3. Cover wok with a lid, turn heat to low and leave to simmer for one minute.  Serve immediately with steaming hot jasmine rice.

Tip:  You can use chicken thigh meat instead of breast, if you like – it is juicer. If you can’t find Thai holy basil, use Italian basil – wash and dry the basil thoroughly before using – a salad spin-dryer is handy for drying leaves.  The onion is cut so that the pieces fall into petal shapes.

Photo of Eloise Moore holding the Thai stir-fry dish we made in the kids cooking class during January 2012 school holidays.

This recipe is from Susan Austin’s new book Frost Bite – Easy Cooking for Your Freezer (New Holland). “Our lives seem to be busier and faster than ever, yet one thing doesn’t change – we still have to stop to eat,” says Austin. “Just as we’re moving away from the freezer we should be using it more than ever.  It makes sense that we should cook when we have the time – on the weekends, or late in the evening…Freezing makes it easy to prepare ready-to-eat meals.”

Combine the meat, spring onions, soy sauce and coriander (and chilli, if using) together in a bowl and mix well.
Place a wonton wrapper on a plate and place a teaspoon of the filling on the wrapper, slightly off-centre.
Spread it out a little so that the filling is fairly flat, making sure you leave a border around the edge of the wrapper. Dip your fingers in water and brush around the edge then fold in half to produce a semi-circle shape and press the edges of the pastry together.Repeat with remaining wrappers and filling.
To freeze: ‘Flash freeze’ the potstickers on trays lined with baking paper then transfer to a freezer bag or plastic container.Defrost: Allow to defrost in the fridge (or partially defrost on the kitchen bench before finishing in the fridge). Not suitable for the microwave.
To cook: Heat a frypan over medium heat. When hot, add a little oil to the pan and swirl to coat the base. Add enough potstickers to cover the base of the pan and cook for 2–3 minutes or until lightly browned on the bottom. Add 1/3 cup of chicken stock and cover quickly with a lid or large oven tray. Cook for another 2–3 minutes then transfer to a serving plate with the browned side facing upwards.

To serve: Serve as is, no dipping sauce is required.

The recipe for this magnificent dish was given to me by Richard Ekkebus, Culinary Director of the Landmark Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Hong Kong.   Richard is in charge of the 2 Michelin star restaurant, Amber, and is renowned for his delicate, refined touch, and for his clever way of combining foods “from the land and the sea”, something which is common in many Asian dishes.  There are a number of steps involved, but it is not a difficult dish for aspirational cooks to prepare once you have all the ingredients.  Tasmanian sea urchins are available locally.

Lobster consommé:  Heat the olive oil in a heavy bottom saucepan, add the lobster and color golden brown, add the vegetables, sweat till all juices are evaporated. Deglaze with the brandy and flambé the pan until the alcohol has been burned off, add the white wine and reduce till syrupy consistency. Add the chicken stock till level & bring to boil, just before the boiling point skim off all impurities (repeat this during the cooking process to obtain a clear bouillon). Keep just under the boiling point and simmer for 20 minutes. Remove from the stove and leave to set for 30 minutes.
Pass the lobster bouillon delicately thought a sieve covered with a pre-rinsed mousseline cloth or kitchen towel. Reheat 1 litre and dissolve the pre- soaked gelatine. Check the seasoning and adjust with salt if needed. Cool down delicately over ice till the gelatine starts to set.

Cauliflower mousse: Boil the cauliflower in the salted milk, until the cauliflower is well cooked and fondant. Mix the cauliflower in a blender till a smooth consistency, then pass through the sieve. Take 100 g of cauliflower puree and  heat in a small heavy bottom sauce pan. Add the pre-soaked getaline leaves and stir gently until dissolved. Cool down slowly over ice until the gelatine starts to set. In the meantime whip the cream with a pinch of salt, then incorporate the half whipped cream and mix delicately. Check the seasoning and add salt if needed. Place the mousse in a pastry bag, place the bag in the refrigerator until needed.,

Seaweed waffle: Blanch the spinach leaves in salted boiling water. Cool in iced water, squeeze out the excess water. Mix the spinach in a blender till a smooth consistency, then pass through the sieve. Mix all the ingredients in a bowl and then add the butter mix till smooth. With the help of a spatula spread the waffle mix on silicone mats in regular shaped circles of 10 cm diameter, ensure you spread as thin as possible to obtain thin, delicate waffles.
Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius and bake for 8 minutes till crispy. Let cool and serve.

Montage sea urchin: Select the 20 best and most perfect looking sea urchin tongues, the ones less pretty can be used in the bottom of the shell. Place 2½ of these tongues in the centre of the cooled shells. Cover with a ½ sphere of 30mm of cauliflower mousse, place on each ‘½sphere’ with 5 tongues neatly arranged. Then cover each with 2 tablespoons of almost set jell-O and place in the refrigerator for 1 hour to set.

To serve: Place each sea urchin shell on shaved ice, garnish with the dulce seaweed. Garnish each sea urchin with a quenelle of 10 g caviar and add the gold leaf on the top. Serve the crispy waffle on the side.

Here’s a colourful stir-fry to make for dinner using baby broccoli.  Broccolini baby broccoli was introduced to Australia by Perfection Fresh in 1999 it’s a cross between broccoli and Chinese kale and combines an asparagus-like stem with tiny buds reminiscent of a mini broccoli head. Unlike broccoli, Broccolini baby broccoli stalks are firm, tender and succulent from flower to stem and don’t need peeling or scaling.

Prep Time: 15 minutes.

Cooking Time: 10 minutes.

Place noodles in a large heatproof bowl. Cover with boiling water. Set aside for 5 minutes. Drain well.
Separate noodles with your fingers. Combine oyster sauce, soy sauce and honey in a small bowl.
Heat oil in a large wok over high heat. Add the  baby broccoli, baby Brussels sprouts, capsicum, onion and celery. Stir-fry for 4 minutes.
Add the Tuscan cabbage (cavolo nero) – if you are using it -  and water to the wok. Toss. Cover and cook for 2 minutes, tossing once, until cabbage just wilts.
Add noodles and combined sauces. Toss until well combined and heated through.
Divide stir-fry among serving bowls. Top with cashews and serve.

This recipe is from Food of India by Carol Selva Rajah and and Priya Wickrwmesinghe (Murdoch Books). “Moghul lamb with turnips, a festive dish from the  Punjab region of India would have once been served in the Mogul palaces  at the time of their rule in India” says Carol. ” Even today this is reserved for festive occasions  when it comes to the table covered in silver leaf  accompanied with a stack of garlic naan and yoghurt with saffron threads sprinkled over.” .

Put the onion, garlic, ginger and chillies in a food processor and chop them to form a paste. If you don’t have a food processor, chop everything finely or grind them in a pestle and mortar.
Heat the oil in a karhai or casserole and add the onion mixture with the bay leaves. Fry over high heat for 5 minutes, then reduce the heat to medium and fry for another 2 minutes. Don’t let the onions turn more than golden brown. Add the meat and stir until all the pieces are thoroughly coated with the onion mixture. Fry for 15 minutes, stirring constantly. This is a very important part of the cooking process as the longer you fry the meat, the more flavour it will absorb. It is ready when the oil starts to separate out from the meat.
Add the asafoetida, chilli powder, coriander, cumin, turmeric and garam masala and stir in well. Cook for 1-2 minutes, then add the tomato puree and yoghurt. Fry for another minute and add the salt and pepper. Pour in 500 ml water a little at a time, stirring into the mixture after each addition. This will ensure that the dish retains the heat throughout and will be constantly bubbling until you have a rich, thick sauce. Cover the pan and simmer for 30 minutes.
Add the turnips to the pan and continue simmering for another 45 minutes, or until both the lamb and turnips have completely softened and the oil has separated from the sauce and turned bright orange.
Serve warm.

This recipe is  courtesy of chef Le Ping Wong, The White Olive, Murwillumbah.

Preheat the hot plate of a BBQ.
Cut the banana leaf into a square or rectangle large enough to enclose the fish. Scatter top with some finely sliced preserved lemon skin (discard the pith and membrane).  Season with freshly ground pepper and a little salt.
Wrap up into a parcel and secure with toothpicks.
Place the fish on the BBQ (or in a frying pan) for approximately 8 – 10 minutes. Top with some of the salad before serving.
For the Bush Tucker Salad: toss all the ingredients together in a bowl, season to taste and drizzle with olive oil.

More info: the whiteolive.com.au

This delightfully fragrant coconut fish curry is from Cambodia.

Originally a classic Khmer dish, Amok is sometimes made with an egg to produce a kind of savoury custard or mousse.  It also appears in Thai cuisine as Ho Mok and in Laos as Mawk. Great served with steamed jasmine rice for lunch. Make sure you prepare the wet paste and the Krahorm Kroeung (red curry paste) before you get started.

First make the wet paste: pound the sliced lemongrass, galangal and coriander root in a mortar and pestle.  Keep pounding until smooth. You can use a blender, but the result will be better in a mortar and pestle.  Add the kaffir lime and coriander leaves, then mix in the chilli and turmeric powder.

Cut the fish into 2cm -3cm cubes, making sure that all the bones have been removed.   In a medium-size bowl, stir the wet curry paste into half the coconut milk until well mixed.  Add the fish and stir again.  Add remaining coconut milk, the fish sauce and sugar and mix again, stirring in the same direction for 5 – 10 minutes.

Add 2 tablespoons Krahorm Kroeung curry paste to the fish mixture, stirring  again in the same direction for 3 – 5 minutes.

First clean the leaves with a wet cloth, then hold them over a hot flame with a pair of tongs to soften them (this helps prevent them cracking when being shaped – alternatively, dip them into hot water).
Using a cake tin, trace 25cm circles onto the banana leaves, then cut into circles. Place two together – this is important as one leaf is not strong enough to hold the mixture. Make a square in the middle of the circle – this will be the bottom of the cup. Place a thumb on one right angle of the square and pull up 2 sides, tucking the fold, and pinning together with a halved toothpick. Move your thumb to the right and make another please. Continue until all 4 sides of the cup are held together – some might require 5 pleats.  You should now have a neat cup container.  You will need six of these.
Spoon the fish curry into the prepared containers and cover each container with a banana leaf (or use foil). Top each with a little coconut cream and slivers of red chilli or a star anise. Place containers on a flat dinner plate (three per plate). Now put the plate on a rack in a steamer and steam until cooked, 20 – 25 minutes. Test with a skewer – if there’s no resistance, it’s done. Remove and serve immediately with hot steamed rice.

If the banana leaf parcels are too challenging, you can spoon the curry into six bowls , each lined with a silverbeet leaf or Chinese broccoli leaf (central rib removed). Cover the bowls with foil, then proceed as above.

For steaming: use a wok. Fill with boiling water to just under the level of the rack and make sure the whole wok is covered with a tight-fitting lid.

Tip:  Use a good quality coconut cream (like Mae Ploy) as the fat helps to bind the fish.
Use a good quality red curry paste or make your own Kroeung:

To make the Krahorm Kroeung (Red Curry Paste): Using a mortar and pestle, crush the lemongrass.  Add the lime leaves and zest, chillies, galangal, turmeric, shallots, garlic and peppercorns. Add the shrimp paste and continue pounding until a smooth paste is formed. You will only need 2 tablespoons – keep the remainder in an airtight container in the fridge.

These crisp savoury rice flour crepes are very popular in Vietnam and are generally eaten as a snack.  Some versions are made with coconut milk, but this one is both delicious and simple to prepare. The pork is optional but adds flavour.
Make sure to prepare the fish sauce before you start making the crepe.

Make the pancake batter: in a small bowl mix the rice flour together with the 8 tablespoons water. Stir until smooth.  It should be the consistency of pouring cream – add a little more water if needed. Stir in the turmeric and season with salt and pepper.
Heat a medium non-stick frying pan (20cm base measurement), add half the oil and when hot, add the prawns, pork and onion. Cook over medium high heat for 1 – 2 minutes. Turn up the heat and pour in the batter, swirling the pan so that it covers the base of the pan – the batter should sizzle as it hits the pan. Scatter the pancake with the green onions and beansprouts. Cover with a lid and steam 1 – 2 minutes or until batter is cooked through.  Remove lid and drizzle the remaining oil around the sides of the pancake (this helps to make it crispy) – it is cooked when the edges are crispy and golden.  Remove pan  from heat, fold pancake in half and serve with the fish sauce and an assortment of fresh green herbs (basil, mint, coriander) and lettuce leaves.
To make the fish sauce: pound the garlic and chilli in a mortar and pestle until smooth.  Add the sugar and pound for another minute. Stir in the fish sauce, water and lime juice, tasting as you go.
Note: Vietnamese people often cut the the pancake into pieces, wrap it in a lettuce leaf, top with fresh herbs and fish sauce and eat with their hands – a delicious version of the better known ‘sang choy bow’.
This recipe was given to me by Hhan Nguyen, sous chef at Six Senses resort, Con Dao, Vietnam where I was a guest courtesy of Travel Indochina.

www.sixsenses.com/SixSensesConDao/
www.travelindochina.com.au