I ripped this recipe out of some food magazine ages ago; it was on an advert for Cauldron (the tofu brand) and had been stuffed between the pages of my Malaysian cookery book. I omitted their dessicated coconut but was otherwise reasonably true to the recipe: it was really tasty.
First of all assemble the "paste" ingredients: a couple of sliced lemongrass stalks, 2 chopped red chillies, a generous tablespoon of chopped ginger, a heaped teaspoon of turmeric, one of palm sugar and a pinch of salt. Also once sliced purple onion and a few cloves of garlic.
Heat up a pan with some oil and cook the garlic and onion until translucent, then add all of the other ingredients which you've already prepared. Cook for a minute or two before adding a can of coconut milk, 125ml water, 1 tsp tamarind paste (or more if, like me, you love the stuff), 4 star anise and a cinnamon stick. I also added a load of halved chestnut mushrooms and trimmed green beans.
Simmer on a low heat while you cook the rice. Then, while the rice is on the side having its final steam, pop the tofu in to cook through. I used plain tofu and I think it would have been even better if I'd drained it and fried it first, but it was still lovely au naturel. Serve over the rice and top with fresh coriander.
This is a great use of leftover roast pork but you could easily use a fresh cut if you wanted, just pre-cook it in a frying pan. The inspiration for this came from Rick Stein's Eastern Odyssey.
First get together, in a large saucepan, heaped tablespoons of dried shrimp, palm sugar, chopped ginger, a load of garlic and one star anise.
Add a pint of hot vegetable or chicken stock and bring up to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer gently while you pre-cook the noodles and prepare the vegetables.
Boil the kettle and get your chosen noodles on to cook; I used standard flat noodles that you can pick up at Asian supermarkets and some mainstream ones. When they are cooked, drain them and run cold water over them to stop them overcooking. Portion them out into the bottom of a deep bowl or bowls.
Slice up your vegetables, use whatever you have to hand. I had the following knocking about which were perfect for this: a red pepper, a chinese cabbage, a carrot and some chestnut mushrooms. You can also chop your leftover pork into strips at this point.
Season the soup mixture with light and dark soy sauce and nam pla (fish sauce), then drop the vegetables in to cook, along with the pork to heat through. When they are cooked to your liking, add a finely diced red chilli, sliced spring onion and some chopped coriander. Ladle into the bowls, on top of the noodles, and enjoy.
The love of my life has got himself a chest infection so, although I was going to make a chicken and mushroom pie, I decided that he needed something a bit more nutritious to make him feel better: chicken soup.
I chose to make an asian style one partly because of what was in the fridge, but also because it's easier to incorporate the ingredients that I've been taught will boost the immune system and soothe symptoms. After I'd made it, I thought it would be fun to find out whether the ingredients that I use when I'm ill actually do any good; I'm really glad I did as it's pretty fascinating to read that the remedies grandparents, parents, friends and books have taught you are often supported by real research.
First I chopped up an insanely large amount of onions, garlic, celery and root ginger. Garlic contains allicin which is both antibacterial, anti-fungal and believed to be anti-inflammatory and antioxidant too. Onions have a reputation for helping a sore throat and contain quercetin, which is believed to be anti-inflammatory.
I've always thought of ginger as an essential treatment for colds, 'flu, chest infections and pretty much any common ill. I looked it up and this is because it contains gingerols, which are antibacterial and reduce fever. I love to make hot lemon, ginger and honey tea when I'm under the weather, and now I know why it makes me feel better.
So, I cooked these in a little (antioxidant) olive oil before adding a pint of chicken stock, a pint of beef stock and the shredded remains of Sunday's chicken, which I have read reduces mucus production, although it wasn't mentioned in the wiki. I also added three star anise which contains, fascinatingly, shikimic acid - one of the primary ingredients in Tamiflu! I left these to come to a simmer and busied myself preparing the antioxidant sweetcorn, vitamin-c filled pak choi and vitamin and mineral rich mushrooms. When the soup was bubbling, I added the sweetcorn and, after a few minutes more, the mushrooms.
When these were cooked almost through I added the pak choi, and once that was cooked I mixed in a chopped red chilli and fresh coriander. Coriander contains antioxidants and is antibacterial. Chillies contain lots of vitamin-c. Also, although this wasn't listed anywhere in the wiki as a benefit, I also think that the way it makes your nose run is helpful, cleaning out the sinuses and making you feel less congested. I've read, outside of wiki, that capsaicin is an expectorant, thinning out the mucus so that you can get rid of it.
Finally, I seasoned the soup with a very tiny amount of rice wine vinegar. It tasted great and felt good to eat, so hopefully it's helped!
