I love Thai Food

A few pictures that i haven't manage to upload till now because of my manic schedule.

Langoustines in Sweet chilli Garlic Butter Sauce and Pandan chicken, using wings instead. I'll post the recipes later. Busy busy

Pan seared trout with raspberry salsa

Rainbow trout that is. Meaty texture and mild flavour. Brilliantly orange in colour. Pan seared for 10 minutes, turning once. Heat some olive oil and a bit of butter, chopped garlic clove, rosemary and season with salt and pepper. Absolutely tasty. Crispy skin and moist meat.

The salsa? Mix a handful of raspberries into a bowl, with chopped coriander, chopped chillies,chopped onions, salt, sugar an lemon juice. Furiously crimson in colour and adds a fiery hot and tangy kick to the fish. A tad too hot though, i think it would be better of using capsicums.

Pleasure on a Plate

Pasta with seafood sauce or Pasta con Frutti di Mare as Sicilians call it. Do you know how much this costs to make? 3 pounds! Yes, the seafood costs 3 pounds from the frozen food genius;Iceland. Surprisingly, it was as succulent,juicy and flavoursome as fresh seafood from the market. Just pop the packet in the oven for 40 mins, Gas mark 7 and voila! That's when the juices start to exude and make your mouth water. Seriously good stuff i tell you.

My second version of seafood pasta, much simpler, but personally, tastes loads better. Cheaper too. The difference is no canned tomatoes,tomato puree,basil and grape juice so the sauce from the seafood is just pure and clear. Not overpowered by other ingredients . Just chop half of a beef tomato and toss in the pasta, drizzle olive oil, sprinkle parsley and season with salt. Simplicity never tasted better!

Happy Hari Raya!

Last sunday saw LufBru's Raya celebration. Good delicious food, great people and great fun! It was a potluck event so every house brought bits of food. Our house went all out on this and brought Smoked Salmon Bruschetta for starters, Mee Mamak, Nasi Briyani and Lamb Curry for mains. Our lovely neighbours brought their trademark Orgasmic Tiramisu.(Featured in June 2008 Hehe). I cooked from 7am to 12noon along wit Zaw. It was worth it cos we got the prestigious best main course award for Mee Mamak! haha. The prize was a cert and a brand new wok!

So Zaw made the Nasi Biryani and Lamb Curry and i made the bruschetta and the mee mamak. Here you go

Naughty But Nice

It's good to be back in Loughborough. Where it's never hot and sweaty. Free from people judging what you wear and do. We moved in to our new home where i got a smaller but a warmer and prettier room. It wasn't long enough before i started cooking again after my 2 month hiatus. Just been busy with dissertations,endless errands and plenty of eating out.

One of my first creations after a few days of cooking with ready made sauces. Oven roasted drumstick lodged with a long and meaty sausage. I know,naughty right? but nice~~~~
Accompanied with hot crisp hash cut fries and my version of ratatouille. Mediterranean vegetables; courgettes, tomatoes, roasted peppers and grilled onions cooked in basil and tomato sauce with a sprinkle of thyme.

The one below is my daring take on pasta with sardines in rich tomato sauce.Salmon with pasta yes, but sardines?It's what i call creating something out of nothing. What looks like a fancy tenner's worth actually costs only 2 pounds to make.

Thick and tangy sauce with the bold flavour of rich sardines. Funnily enough, the fresh breath of herbs cuts through the strong fishy taste of what could otherwise be an awkward tasting dish.

The How to's:
Oven roasted sausage stuffed chicken
4 Chicken drumsticks deboned.
4 beef sausages
a chopped onion
4 cloves of chopped garlic
1 Tbsp olive oil to drizzle
1 tsp Paprika
salt and pepper to taste
1 Tbsp of dried mixed herbs.

Clean the chicken and debone it. Then lodge the sausage into the drumstick cavity. Grease the baking tray. Place the chicken and sprinkle with seasoning, paprika and mixed herbs all over. Sautee the onions and garlic until caramelised. sprinkle on top of the chicken. Lasty drizzle with olive oil and shove in the oven for an hour Gas mark 7. Make sure chicken is thoroughly cooked when ready. Enjoy.

Pasta with sardines in tomato sauce
1 canned sardines in tomato sauce.
200g pasta
1 large onion chopped.
3 cloves of garlic chopped.
2 carrots and 2 celery stalks.
2 Tbsp sugar
sprigs of thyme.
Chicken stock and pepper
A tube of tomato puree.

First, fry the onion and garlic and onion until fragrant. Then add the chopped carrots and celery for 10 minutes stirring constantly. Squeeze in the tomato puree and simmer for another 10 minutes adding water if necessary. Add the sugar and stir.Add the can of sardines lastly and cook for a further 2 minutes. Season well and add the thyme during the cooking process and for garnish