Sunday Afternoon food; Chicken and Vegetable Pho

{images: coffee table from french bedroom company via lynn}  ♥

. . . after friday and saturday's crazy partying, sundays are often time for a luxuriously languid morning or to nurse your hangover. This dish is one of my favourite Hangover food. Super easy and healthy chicken and vegetable pho and it only takes 30 min to prepare. Simultaneously light and fresh and deep and rich, pho is great all year round. 

So what's your hangover cure (aside from pepp)? 

Ingredients

Broth Infusion

1kg chicken wings

2 litres chicken stock 

1 small onion, cut in half

1 stalk celery, chopped 

2 cloves garlic

4 sprigs thyme

1 bay leaf

1 stalk coriander

1 cinnamon quill

2 star anise

a small piece of ginger, halved

1/2 of a big red chilli, thinly sliced

3 pieces of coriander root

2 tablespoon fish sauce

a pinch of black pepper

1 tablespoons yuzu ponzu

Juice of half a lime

Pho Vegetables

1 packet of dried pho 

1/2 carrot, julienned

1/4 red capsicum, finely sliced

8 snow peas, julienned

1 handful bean sprouts 

2 fresh shitake mushrooms, thinly sliced

1 small bunch enoki mushrooms 

1 stalk of spring onion, thinly sliced

Squeeze of lime juice, to serve

2 sprigs Vietnamese mint, to garnish

3 sprigs coriander, to garnish

1/4 red chilli, finely sliced to garnish

Method 

1. For soup broth, boil chicken wings for 10 min. Place all ingredients in a large saucepan, bring to the boil. Reduce heat to simmer and cook for 10 minutes. Skim the fat from the top as required. Strain stock through a fine sieve and discard solids. Season to taste with fish sauce, yuzu ponzu and lime juice.

2. To serve, layer pho ingredients into a serving bowl and gently pour over 300ml of broth infusion. Garnish with lime juice, mint, coriander and chilli.

Comfort Food; Chicken and Mushroom Risotto

{image: photography by brie williams, discovered via moodboard} 

One of the very nicest things about life is the way we must regularly stop whatever it is we are doing and devote our attention to eating.  ~Luciano Pavarotti and William Wright, Pavarotti, My Own Story 

Ingredients

chicken and mushroom risotto

¼ cup olive oil

2 cups rissoni 
¼ cup white wine vinegar  
4-5 cups chicken stock 

1 cup of fresh milk
3 tablespoons butter 
2 cloves garlic, crushed 
1 brown onion, diced 
½ teaspoons chilli flakes 
200g chicken breast, diced
200g button mushrooms, sliced
100g swiss brown mushrooms, sliced
1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese
¼ cup finely chopped parsley (optional)

Method 

1. Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large saucepan over a high heat. Add alborio rice and cook for 1-2 minutes, stirring continuously. Add white wine vinegar, cook, stirring continuously, until liquid is absorbed. Stir in stock, ½ cup at a time, stirring, until liquid has been absorbed between each addition. Remove from heat.
2. Meanwhile, heat butter and remaining olive oil in a medium frying pan over a high heat. Add garlic, onion and chilli flakes and sauté until onion is translucent.
3. Add chicken and panfry for 3-4 minutes. Add button and swiss brown mushrooms and cook for 4-5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until mushrooms are soft.
4. Transfer chicken mixture and parmesan to rice and mix well to combine. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Add one cup of milk and stir till it simmer.
5. To serve, place spoonfuls of risotto into serving dishes and garnish with parsley.

Spicy, Sweet and Savoury; Curry with Lychee and Cucumber Salsa

This week table for two is delectable Chicken and Prawn Curry with Lychee and refreshing Cucumber Salsa. The recipe serves 4.

Ingredients
Curry with Lychees
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
3 chicken thigh fillets, chopped, seasoned with salt and pepper
200gr of king prawns, shelled and deveined
3 tablespoons red curry paste
200ml coconut milk
4 kaffir lime leaves
Juice of 1 lime
250g drained canned lychees
(keep some of the lychees syrup to replace sugar)
1 teaspoon fish sauce or to taste
2 long red chilli, thinly sliced on an angle
a pinch of pepper
1 cup cooked jasmine rice to serve
Crispy fried shallots, fresh coriander and lime cheek to serve

Curry Paste
4 green chillies, deseeded and roughly chopped
4cm piece of ginger, peeled and finely grated
2 sticks lemongrass, bruised and finely chopped
4 kaffir lime leaves, roughly chopped
4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 shallots, finely chopped
1/4 cup finely chopped thai basil
1/4 teaspoon salt
Red Curry Paste
8 dried long red chillies
3 teaspoon coriander powder
2 teaspoon cumin powder
1 teaspoon white pepper
3cm piece ginger
3cm piece fresh galangal
2 cloves fresh garlic, coarsely chopped
1 lemongrass stick, outer leaves removed, white part coarsely chopped
1 shallot, coarsely chopped
1 large fresh red chilli, de-seeded and finely chopped
15g shrimp paste
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
4 coriander roots, washed and chopped
1 teaspoon salt

Cucumber Salsa
1 tablespoon fish sauce or to taste
2 tablespoons coarsely grated palm sugar
Juice of 1 lime
1 Japanese cucumber, halved lengthways and sliced
1 shallot, thinly sliced
1/3 cup coriander leaves, chopped
1 long red chilli, chopped at an angle

Making the Red Curry Paste
1. Remove ends of dried chillies and shake out seeds. Soak in hot water for 5 minutes or until soft.
2. Place coriander powder, cumin powder and  chillies, ground spices and remaining ingredients in a blender until they form a smooth paste. Transfer to a bowl and set aside.

Making the chicken and Cucumber Salsa
1. Heat the oil in a non-stick oven-proof frying pan over medium heat. Stir fry chicken for approximately 7 min.
2. Add 3 tablespoons of the curry paste and cook, stirring for 2 minutes or until fragrant. Add coconut milk and kaffir lime leaves and simmer, stirring occasionally for 3-4 minutes or until thickened slightly. Add lime juice, lychees, fish sauce and chilli to sauce.
3. Add prawns stir until prawn are pink in colour.
4. For the Cucumber Salsa, place all ingredients into a medium bowl. Stir well to dissolve sugar and stand for 10 minutes.
5. To serve, arrange on a serving plate and sprinkle with crispy shallots. Place 3-4 lychees next to chicken and prawns.
6. Spoon 2-3 tablespoons of sauce over the top. Serve with a bowl of Cucumber Salsa, a side of rice and a lime cheek.

A taste of Thai; Green Chicken Curry with Coconut Rice

Was down with a little flu today so I had a sudden urge this morning to rustle up a comfort Thai dish at home.

Ingredients

Rice

1 cup rice, washed and drained
1/2 coconut milk

1/2 cup chicken stock

Curry Paste
4 green chillies, deseeded and roughly chopped
4cm piece of ginger, peeled and finely grated
2 sticks lemongrass, bruised and finely chopped
4 kaffir lime leaves, roughly chopped
4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 shallots, finely chopped
1/4 cup finely chopped thai basil
1/4 teaspoon salt

Curry

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

4 chicken thigh fillets, chopped
200ml coconut milk
1 tablespoon fish sauce
1 teaspoon palm sugar
a handful of sugar peas
Coriander sprigs, to garnish

Method 

1. Place rice in a rice cooker and add coconut milk and salt. Cook it the way you would cook your normal rice.
2. For curry paste, place all ingredients and 2 tablespoons water in the blender. Blend until finely blended. 
3. Heat 1 tablespoon of oil into a large frying pan and add ¼ cup curry paste. Cook for 2 – 3 minutes or until fragrant and soft. Add chicken and cook for 4-5 minutes or until chicken is cooked through. 
4. Pour coconut cream over chicken and stir to combine. Add fish sauce, palm sugar and sugar pea and simmer for 3-5 minutes. Season with salt.
5. To serve, place curry in a bowl with a side of rice and garnish with coriander.

Comfort Food; Chicken Pesto Pasta

{images: photography by katie quinn davies, via pretty good; also seen on decor8}

Ingredients

• 1 (16 ounce) package bow tie pasta
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-size pieces
• crushed red pepper flakes to taste
• 1/3 cup oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, drained and cut into strips
• 1/2 cup pesto sauce

Method

1. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; drain.
2. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Saute garlic until tender, then stir in chicken. Season with red pepper flakes. Cook until chicken is golden, and cooked through.
3. In a large bowl, combine pasta, chicken, sun-dried tomatoes and pesto. Toss to coat evenly.