Chilli Lime Prawns and Caramel Chicken

What to have for dinner - the never ending dilemma!!

I raided the freezer to see what we had - I didn't really want to go out and buy anything as it was the end of the week and the big shop was looming.  I knew I had some chicken thighs somewhere in the freezer.  Now just what to do with them?  Lots of grand ideas - I could make a chicken and bacon gnocchi - had all the ingredients, but the trouble was I didn't have enough time in between taxi runs with afternoon activities.  Pasta? No - going to have that tomorrow!  A quick flick through the current cooking magazines and I found a recipe for Caramel Chicken.  Great that will do, but will there be enough for us all?  Probably not, another scrounge through the frozen tundra resulted in some green prawns.  Ok we will have 2 dishes now!!!

Chilli Lime Prawns is an old stand by in this house.  Always quick and simple to make - great on the BBQ, and always a welcome addition to any meal.

Chilli Lime Prawns

500g green prawns, peeled, but tails intact
juice from 1 lime (if you like it extra sour you might like to add the zest as well)
1/2 bunch of coriander, finely chopped
4 cloves garlic, crushed
1/4 cup sweet chilli sauce

Combine all the above ingredients in a bowl and allow to marinate for at least 1 hour - longer if time permits.

Heat a large frypan or wok over high heat, quickly stir fry the prawns until they turn pink, and are cooked through.

Serve immediately.

Caramel Chicken with Pickled Cucumber and Carrot
Adapted From Super Food Ideas Magazine - August Edition

Serves 4 

800g chicken thigh fillets, trimmed, thinly sliced
1 large red onion, thinly cut into wedges
4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
1 tbs dark soy sauce
1/4 cup caster sugar
2 tbs fish sauce
juice of 1 lime

Pickled Cucumber and Carrot

1/4 rice vinegar
2 tbs caster sugar
2 lebanese cucumbers, cut into thin ribbons
1 carrot, finely shredded

To make the pickled cucumber and carrot.  Place the vinegar and caster sugar in a small saucepan with 1 1/2 tbs cold water.  Heat over medium heat, stirring until the sugar has dissolved (approx 2 minutes).  Place mixture in a heatproof bowl.  Make the cucumber ribbons using a vegetable peeler.  Place the cucumber ribbons and shredded carrot into the vinegar mixture.  Set aside to cool completely.

Caramel Chicken

Heat a small amount of oil in a wok over medium high heat.  Cook the chicken in batches, stirring until just cooked. Transfer to a bowl.

Add a little more oil, then the onion, cook stirring for approximately 5 minutes, or until the onion has softened.  Add the garlic, and cook for 1 minute, or until fragrant.  Add  the chicken back to the pan.  Add the soy sauce.  Cook, covered for 5 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through.  Add the sugar, and cook stirring for 1 - 2 minutes, or until the mixture is bubbling.  Add the fish sauce and lime juice.  Cook stirring for 1 minute, or until the sauce thickens.

Serve with steamed jasmine rice, and the pickled cucumber and carrot.

If you have tried my Chinese Spag Bol and liked it, then you will love this recipe too.  Lovely sweet, juicy pieces of chicken - a good one for the kids!!!  Yes, "The Darlings" liked it, but one did pick out the onion!!!!

Oh if only it would stop raining.

I have to go out now and get a new battery for the car - don't you just love it when the battery starts to go,  and it is the most absolutely crappiest weather outside.  You don't want to go out - but you know that if you test the boundaries, that battery is going to fail you in the worst possible way, at the worst possible time otherwise!!!  Wish me luck - now I have to sit at the mechanics, held a prisoner in the waiting room because of the weather!!!

Hope the weather is nicer wherever you are reading this blog!!!!

Asian Style Beef Pot Roast

Yesterday was cold, cold, cold!  I don't think the temperature climbed much above 12 degrees C all day, and as the afternoon progressed it seemed to get even colder.

Worst was yet to come though, overnight New South Wales was lashed with a severe storm - icy winds, and rain, rain rain.  I am thankful that even tough we live in an incredibly bushy little hollow, the winds tend to whip over the top of us - I can lie in bed and watch the trees whip from side to side - one day I am sure we will not be so lucky - but keep your fingers crossed!!  Rain however, that is another story - we still live with a room that leaks every time it rains (bad renovation and litigation still pending).  I'd like to tie the builder up and leave him to rot under the leak sometimes!!!

Thank goodness I had the foresight to prepare a lovely warming meal for last night's dinner.  It was supposed to be a pot roast that was cooked on the stove top, but I thought I would put it in the crock pot instead.  This was not your usual run of the mill pot roast - there was no thick gravy, instead a lovely Asian style broth.  At first I was going to serve it with rice and steamed Asian greens, but in the end I made Garlic Paris Mash (in the Thermomix of course) and some steamed veggies.

Asian Style Beef Pot Roast
Adapted from recipe found in Super Food Ideas Magazine - August Edition

Serves 4-6

1.2kg piece beef silverside roast
1 large brown onion, thinly sliced into wedges
4 cloves garlic, sliced
3 cm piece of fresh ginger, cut into thin slices
2 star anise
2 cinnamon sticks
the peel of 1 mandarin, (medium-large size) into strips
juice of 1 mandarin
1/3 cup Shao-Hsing cooking wine
1/3 cup light soy sauce
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 cups beef stock

Place a small amount of oil into a large frypan over medium high heat.  Brown all sides of the piece of beef.  Remove from pan.

In the same pan, add another small amount of oil, if needed, then add the onion, and cook stirring for 5 minutes, or until softened.  Add the  garlic, ginger, star anise, cinnamon and orange rind.  Cook stirring for 1 minute, or until fragrant.  Add the cooking wine.  Simmer for 1 minute.  Add the soy sauce, sugar, mandarin juice and beef stock.  Bring to the boil.

Place the piece of beef in the crock pot.  Cover with the liquid.  Cook on low for 8-10 hours.  You could also now cook this on the stove top.  Simmer, covered for 3 + hours, or until the beef is very tender.  You want the meat to be falling apart!!!

Serve with steamed veggies of choice and mashed garlicky potato!!!!

This was a deliciously light meal, I just loved having lots of the broth on the plate, and being able to mop it up with the garlicky mash!!!

All in all great flavours, and really simple to make!!!

If you live in New South Wales try to keep warm and dry Dear Readers!!!!

What to make to keep warm on the inside tonight???  Time to go raid the freezer and the pantry and see what we have in stock - don't want to go out in this weather!!

Do you have any suggestions Dear Readers, what do you like to make when it's cold and wet outside???