Recipes Articles for the Month of December 2023

1. Remove skins and cut galangal, shallots and lemongrass into small chunks. Add to a food processor, along with garlic, lime leaves and chilli. Pulse a few times to break up the fibres into ‘straw’. Empty mix into a large mixing bowl.
2. Add pork mince and the rest of the ingredients into the mixing bowl. Using gloved hands, mix everything until well combined (Test the filling for seasoning by pan frying or microwaving a little nugget. Adjust if necessary by adding more fish sauce or salt to taste). Allow mx to marinate for at least 30 mins. A few hours is better.
3. Thread mix onto skewers or shape into patties.

For best results, grill over charcoal.

You can also bake or air fry these on 210C for 15 mins followed by a quick sear on a stove top grill or pan.

Serve with nam jim jaew and sticky rice

For the Nam Jim Jaew

2 T tamarind puree

1 T palm sugar

1 T fish sauce

1 T toasted rice powder

1 T shallots, finely diced

1-2 T lime juice

4. Mix everything together until the sugar has dissolved. Garnish with sliced spring onion, chopped coriander and dried chilli flakes.

1. Melt 2/3 of the butter in a large skillet and add in garlic. Season with salt. Cook until garlic starts to soften but hasn’t taken on colour.
2. Meanwhile, cook pasta/noodles until slightly before al dente. Reserve 1 cup of the cooking water.
3. Add gochujang, honey and vinegar to the garlic in the skillet. Stir through and bring to a simmer over med-high heat. Keep stirring the mix and continue to reduce the sauce until thickens (test by using your finger to draw a line through the sauce over the back of a spoon. The sauce is ready when the line drawn will hold and not fill back in).
4. Add the noodles, along with some of the reserved cooking water to loosen. Toss through to coat, adding more water if necessary.
5. Add remaining butter and toss through. Garnish with spring onions.

Serve and enjoy immediately.

1. Prepare the watermelon by cutting away all the green outer skin. Next up, cut away the watermelon flesh and save for another use. It’s ok if you leave a fine layer of flesh on the rind. Cut the rind into 1½ cm square chunks. Place prepared rind into a bowl and add salt. Mix to coat and leave for 1 hour, giving them a toss at the half way mark.
2. After this time, your rinds will have released a lot of liquid. Drain the juice and rinse the rinds a couple of times with cold, running water. Squeeze out all the excess water. Add rinds to a mixing bowl, along with the rest of the ingredients. With gloved hands, mix until everything is well combined. You can gently massage the rinds with the seasonings to ensure that they are well coated.

Serve this kimchi immediately, or store in a sterilised glass jar in the fridge to enjoy the next day when the rinds have had a chance to develop more flavour. This kimchi is best eaten within a couple of days.

1. Preheat grill to very hot (maximum heat).
2. Add corn, onion, mayo, sugar, and salt into a bowl and mix to combine.
3. Melt butter in a small 8” cast iron skillet (or any stove to oven safe vessel) on the stove. Add corn mix and stir to heat through or until it starts to bubble. Turn off heat. Add half of the mozzarella and stir through. Sprinkle the rest of the mozzarella on top of corn mix.
4. Place skillet under a hot grill to cook until the cheese has melted.
5. Serve immediately.

1. Add rice to a large bowl and fill with tap water. Leave to soak overnight.
2. The next day, drain and rinse the rice under cold running water. Line a steamer basket with baking paper then fill with drained rice. Steam for 30 mins.
3. Add 85mL coconut milk, caster sugar and salt into a large bowl. Mix to dissolve the sugar then add to the freshly steamed rice. Mix until everything is well combined then set aside for about an hour for the coconut milk to absorb into the rice.
4. Meanwhile, make the coconut sauce by adding 315mL coconut milk, sugar and salt to a small pot.
5. Tie the pandan leaf into a knot and add to the pot. Heat to dissolve the sugar. Simmer for 5 minutes then remove from the heat. Remove and discard the pandan leaf.
6. Peel your mangoes then cut 2 mango cheeks from each mango. Place each cheek flat onto your cutting board and slice into a more bite sized pieces.
7. Spoon a mound of sticky rice onto each serving plate. Place one cheek of mango next to each mound. Drizzle on coconut sauce and garnish with toasted peanuts and sesame seeds.