All posts filed under: Recipes

Satay Chicken Burgers

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My husband and I, and our rabbits moved from Auckland to Whanganui into our first home a few days before lockdown. Level 4 lockdown in New Zealand looks quite different than isolation in other countries. For starters, all hospitality was shut down. Yes, that includes restaurants, fast food, bars and cafes. All of them. Even drive-through and delivery. All classed as non-esssential. Level 3 lockdown included takeout and delivery. Level 2 included dining out but with many restrictions in place. Obviously, I haven’t had much of chance to explore where to eat in our new city during lockdown, but so far I’ve been missing Auckland’s large selection of very excellent fried chicken. My favourite fried chicken in Auckland is at Lowbrow and when fried chicken guru, chef Kyle Street recently shared his fried chicken tips on Instagram, I was intrigued. I’ve combined his tips with an “11 herbs & spices” recipe and the result is bangin’. I’ve combined this into a burger with a local wonder sauce. Sone’s Satay Sauce is a dreamy mix of …

Venison, mushroom and red wine pies

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“I love cooking with wine. Sometimes, I even put it in the food.” There’s a chill in the air. The days are getting shorter. Winter is coming. Comfort food is calling. This venison pie is great with some green vegetables or mash. Extra gravy too if that is your thing. Venison, mushroom and red wine pies Makes 4 pies INGREDIENTS 2 tablespoons cooking oil 500 grams venison mince 1 onion, diced A knob of butter 100 grams thinly sliced button mushrooms 2 tablespoons plain flour 1 cup red wine 1 tablespoon tomato paste 1 cup beef stock 1/2 teaspoon salt Freshly ground pepper Cooking spray (or butter) 4 sheets frozen puff pastry 1 egg yolk, beaten FILLING Place a sauté or non-stick frying pan on medium high heat. Add cooking oil. Once hot, add venison mince and onion, breaking up the venison with a wooden spoon and stirring as you go. Cook for 5 minutes on medium heat until venison is browned. Add a knob* of butter, mushrooms and flour and cook for 2 minutes …

Rainbow Bowl: Sweet soy ginger braised pork belly

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I‘m not a salad kind of girl but I love a good rainbow bowl. Sweet soy ginger braised pork belly on rice with a perfectly gooey free range egg, sauerkraut, cucumber, carrot, capsicum, spring onion and a dollop of my favourite mayo. Garlic furikake and wild Korengo seaweed for texture and flavour. I could eat this breakfast, lunch or dinner. This pork belly braise uses black vinegar. Also known as Chinkiang Vinegar, this can be found at Asian grocers. Delicious for dipping steamed or fried dumplings into. You can use balsamic vinegar as a substitute. Sweet soy ginger braised pork belly Makes 4 portions INGREDIENTS 500 grams ( 1 lb) pork belly, cut into large cubes 2 tablespoons brown sugar 3 slices ginger 3 cloves garlic, smashed 2 star anise 2 bay leaves 1/2 teaspoon five spice powder 1/2 teaspoon chilli flakes 2 tablespoons black vinegar 2 tablespoon soy sauce 1 teaspoon dark soy sauce 2 cups hot water PREPARATION Heat a non-stick frying pan and add pork belly. Fry on medium heat for 5 …

Hong Kong Macaroni Soup

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Today I’m sharing a humble dish that is perfect for when it is starting to get cold. HK macaroni soup. A popular breakfast dish in Hong Kong. It’s not glamorous so it doesn’t get international recognition. It won’t have traveled far and wide to any restaurant or dinner party. It’s just not that kind of a dish. This breakfast soup is found at every no-frills diner/cafe in Hong Kong. Featuring a sunny side up egg, with ham or SPAM. It is so popular it is even served in Hong Kong McDonalds. Not as a limited edition menu item, but as part of their regular breakfast menu. Yes, you can get a combo with macaroni soup, coffee and a hash brown. Macca’s version features their sausage patty. I have fond memories eating this at McDonald’s in Hong Kong in the wintertime and it’s super easy to recreate at home. HK MACARONI SOUP Serves 4 INGREDIENTS 1L chicken stock 1 tablespoon light soy sauce 1 teaspoon sugar 1 teaspoon rice vinegar A pinch of white pepper A …

Pork and prawn wontons

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The wonton. The less glamorous sister to the dumpling. Wontons are my ultimate comfort food but I’ve served these a little different to how we ate them growing up. This recipe makes 50 wontons and freeze well. So enjoy some now and freeze the rest for later. Wonton wrappers often come in packs of 100 so just double the recipe, or freeze half the wrappers. If you want to make the full 100 wontons, you might want to employ an extra pair of hands or put on your favourite podcast and settle in. Pork and prawn wontons Makes 50 INGREDIENTS 500g (1 lb) pork mince 250g (1/2 lb) shelled prawns, chopped 1 cup finely chopped cabbage 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped 1 tablespoon fresh ginger, finely chopped 1 tablespoon light soy sauce 1 teaspoon sesame oil 1 teaspoon sugar 1/2 teaspoon ground white pepper 1/4 teaspoon five spice powder 50 wonton wrappers PREPARATION Place the filling ingredients together in a large bowl and mix well. Take 1 wonton wrapper and place a heaped teaspoon of filling …

Super Sensational Spicy Chicken

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    A dish by many names: Big Plate Chicken, Sensational Spicy Chicken, XinJiang Style Chicken, or Hot and Spicy Chicken. I first met this fiery chicken, potato and capsicum stew at Shaolin Kung Fu Noodle on Dominion Road. At Shaolin, this dish comes in two sizes, large $48 or small $38. Served with their famous hand pulled noodles which are toothsome and filling, a large will feed an army and a small will push two adults into a food coma. Since I first ate this dish, it has been popping up all over the Dom Road as this style of cuisine becomes more common. While I love the flavours in this dish, I have a some issues with it. I’ve made a few tweaks to make this a bit more eater-friendly. The authentic dish has a one or two giant noodles served on the side or placed on top. This is fine if you are a giant who loves a metre-long noodle. Giant noodles look cool (and symbolise long life) but are a bitch …

Arroz Caldo for two.

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It’s been a month since we got back from the Philippines and winter has landed heavily on New Zealand. I’ve pulled out my old winter coat and I’m wrapped in my biggest scarf. I’m contemplating new slippers. Is two pairs of slippers really enough? All I want is comfort food. I love comfort food. If I could figure out how to make a living devouring the world’s comfort foods, I would be in heaven. One comfort food that I grew up with is congee. Rice porridge. Placed somewhere between soup and risotto, it’s a bowl of steaming goodness. My Cantonese parents made congee when we were sick or just needed comfort. Congee was brought to the Philippines by Chinese migrants, where the locals tweaked it and gave it a Spanish name: Arroz Caldo. ARROZ is “rice”, CALDO is “hot” and this tricked up relative to congee was on my list of dishes to try. Many parts of the Philippines serve a yellow-hued Arroz Caldo (coloured with safflower) however, we visited the Visayas where they serve …

One thing I would absolutely eat again and one thing I would not.

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I just spent three and a half weeks in the Philippines. I ate balut on the first day. It was completely unplanned. I promise. Yeah, OK, it was on my list of things to eat. Way, waaay down, at the bottom. Past lechon (pig on a spit), adobo (chicken or pork vinegar soy stew), sisig (sizzling chopped pigs head and chicken liver), arroz caldo (chicken rice soup), kare kare (peanut sauce stew). Even past dinuguan (that’s pork blood stew if you were wondering). Like, if we seriously ran of things to do, I *might* eat a duck fetus for shits and giggles. But that is not what happened.  We arrived in Mactan on a Friday morning and met up with our dear old friend Adam. We started on the local beers fairly early in the day and later enjoyed a jolly dinner with his Mactan crew. There was local BBQ (marinated meat on sticks) tacos and of course, local beer. The subject of balut was brought up I mentioned I was interested in trying it…at …

Coriander Chimichurri

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I am obsessed with polarising flavours and ingredients. “What is your favourite food?” is such a common question but I think, “What is your least favourite food?” is far more interesting. My own list of hated foods have evolved over the years and I imagine yours is ever evolving too. If we were meeting for the first time – making conversation – I might ask you, “What food do you hate?” and you might answer, “Coriander” (or cilantro). Known as coriander in most parts of the world but known as cilantro in Spanish (and in the US). Fresh and leafy, the entire plant: leaves, stem, root and seed are used in cooking. The root and seed taste notably different and should not be substituted in place of the green parts. Probably the most polarising herb in the world, those who dislike it call it foul, soapy or grassy. Those who love it describe it as fresh or citrus-y. I don’t taste citrus but it goes beautifully with lemon and lime IMO. Buy coriander in a …

Vietnamese Shaking Beef

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It’s been a minute since The Koala and I visited Vietnam. We visited in January 2011, completely unprepared for the winter. We got off the plane in the early, early hours of the morning, were accosted by motorcycle drivers, dropped our bags off at our hotel and went in search for our first meal on foot. We happened upon a little noodle shop that was packed first thing in the morning. We figured that any place that was packed with locals for breakfast would be a good bet. Once we were seated, we realised the shop only sold eel. Options included fried eel, eel soup, eel noodles or eel porridge. Every item on the menu was under $2NZ. And that’s how we ended up eating eel for our first meal in Vietnam. We couldn’t speak a lick of Vietnamese but we got through our trip by pointing and our drawing skills helped us out more than once. Still, we made some incredible food memories and I still think fondly upon the Vietnamese way of cooking and eating. …

“Shrimp grits” Congee

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My family is Cantonese so I grew up with congee as a go-to comfort food. Congee or “JOOK” (rhymes with book) in Cantonese is long grain rice cooked in plenty of water until it resembles a thick porridge. Also known as rice porridge, it can be served plain or stirred through or loaded with various toppings. Being notoriously squishy and easy to digest, it’s also a common baby food, or food for the sick or elderly. Eaten for breakfast, lunch or dinner. 100% comfort. I’m more than a little obsessed with American soul food. I don’t know why, but shrimp and grits is a fascination of mine even though I’ve never visited the US. Having eaten shrimp and grits in Wellington recently, I’ve had it in my mind to recreate something similar at home. Shrimp and grits was traditionally a breakfast dish but now eaten at other meal times as well. I present to you: the lovechild of congee and shrimp grits! “Shrimp grits” congee Serves 1 Ingredients 1/2 cup long grain rice, rinsed 4 …

Prawn sushi bowls

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I eat in season because I cannot bring myself to pay $9 for an avocado. Avocados are back in season, baby. It’s time to GORGE. This recipe features my current favourite way to eat avocado: Cut in half, flesh scooped out. Topped with a dollop of mayo, a rosette of pickled ginger and a sprinkling of black and white sesame seeds. Sushi bowls are great when you don’t want the effort of making sushi. There’s a bit of chopping and slicing involved but that fits in perfectly into the time it takes for your rice to cook. I’m no nutrition expert but eating the rainbow sure is pretty. Makes a great lunch or lighter dinner. Measurements below are rough. Tweak to your own taste, appetite and preferences. I’ve made a quick sushi vinegar rice but you can totally use plain rice, brown rice or black rice. Prawn sushi bowls Makes 2 bowls Ingredients 1 cup raw peeled prawns 1 teaspoon salt 2 cups cooked sushi rice 4 tablespoons rice vinegar 2 teaspoons sugar 1 perfectly …

Smokey hummus and roast veggie trumpets (and a giveaway)

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This post was made possible thanks to the folks at Lisa’s and Farrah’s , who know a thing or two about quick and easy meals. Scroll to the bottom of this post to enter the giveaway. I love hummus. My absolute favourite way to consume chickpeas. Who’s with me? I love hummus slathered, spread, dipped or dolloped. I have absolutely eaten hummus with a spoon. Lisa’s is a beloved name in dips and their latest creation is the new Lisa’s Smokey Hummus. Delicately pair Lisa’s Smokey Hummus with the savoury and sweet flavours of roasted vegetables, honey and miso. I’m so pleased with how these turned out. I tested this recipe out on two hungry men who devoured them with glee. Super easy to assemble, hearty and full of flavour, this recipe is sure to be put on rotation at your house. I’ve used Farrah’s wraps which are generously portioned. My recipe uses one wrap, cut in half and cone folded to form two cute trumpets. You will need a microwave for this recipe meaning …

An ode to pie

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In my thirty-something years of living in NZ, I have eaten a lot of pies. More than a hundred, less than a thousand. I love pie. In New Zealand, the word pie usually refers to a meat pie, not the fruit pie you might find in the US. My pie of choice is the mince and cheese pie. With golden pastry, beef mince, gravy and a oozy layer of melted cheese, it’s a classic. Found in every school tuck shop, dairy, lunch bar, bakery and cafe across the country, this humble meal is portable, cheap and filling. A fond pie memory: my 9th birthday party at the newly opened Rotorua Georgie Pie. Georgie Pie was a pie franchise that was KILLIN’ IT in the early ‘90s. Their $1 mince and cheese pie, a hand-held square in a paper sleeve. I thought it was the best thing ever. When we moved to Auckland the following year, we quickly located our closest Georgie Pie on Glenfield Road and made it our local. Loyal. Like any ubiquitous food, the …

Smokey Mezze Bagel (and a giveaway)

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This post was made possible thanks to the folks at Lisa’s  and Abe’s Bagels, who know a thing or two about quick and easy meals. Scroll to the bottom of this post to enter a delicious giveaway featuring both brands.   This post is for everyone who enjoys a good mezze platter. Traditionally served at the beginning of a meal – according to Wiki, mezze comes from the Persian word mazze meaning taste or snack – and as much social ritual as a meal. Grazing with friends is one of the more enjoyable ways to spend an afternoon. A great addition to any mezze platter is Lisa’s new Smokey Hummus. I love smoke and I love hummus but I’ve never tasted a smokey hummus before now. The smoke is subtle, not overpowering at all. The cream and lemon notes go beautifully with other mezze ingredients. I love the process of picking out the next morsel and combining items together. You curate every mouthful. Pick. Bite. Select. Down the hatch. Flavour, texture and colour go a …

Chicken and vegetable pie with creamy white wine and tarragon sauce

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Hey folks, it’s officially winter in New Zealand. This week we have had bright cold days with beautiful blue skies. Now that we’ve hit the long weekend, the gloom has set in. The rain is relentless today. It’s 9am and as dark as night. We have the lights on, the heater cranking and it is good to be inside. Bring on the comfort food. I’ve been craving pie lately and since leeks are in season (just a dollar each!) I decided to make a chicken and vegetable pie. The creamy white wine and tarragon sauce is stunning. This is a good one to have up your sleeve. This recipe is very forgiving. I’m sorry, the ingredients list looks super long but you can use whatever vegetables you have on hand to the equivalent of about 2 litres (an ice cream container) of filling. Some other vegetables that would try are: mushrooms, silverbeet, pumpkin, and celery. Read through the recipe ahead of time, as steps 2, 3 and 4 can be worked on simultaneously. Chicken and …

Chorizo kumara hash

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This was brunch this morning. One of those quick scrappy meals using up whatever we had in the fridge at the time. It wasn’t definitely NOT going to be a blog post but The Koala said it looked pretty and convinced me to photograph it. So here it is. 100% could be served for dinner if you enjoy a good breakfast for dinner. For those outside of New Zealand, kumara is the Māori word for sweet potato. Feel free to use sweet potato or a combination of sweet potato and potato. I used fresh chorizo sausages made from free range pork. You can substitute this with any well spiced sausage. Do not substitute with dried or cured chorizo. Chorizo kumara hash Serves 2 Ingredients 2 kumara (sweet potato) 2 tablespoons olive oil 3 fresh chorizo sausages 1/2 an onion, diced 1 garlic clove, chopped 1-2 tablespoons tomato paste 2 handfuls baby spinach To serve: fried eggs and buttered toast Preparation Peel kumara and cut into 2-3cm cubes. Place in a saucepan of boiling water and …

Bluff oysters and Red Red Mignonette

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Bluff oyster season kicked off last week and so far, I’ve scoffed 3 dozen. Oysters can be an acquired taste but I have the taste for oysters in my genes. I can’t remember a time I didn’t love them, though I didn’t grow up on Bluffies. If you’re not an oyster fan, I wouldn’t recommend starting with raw oysters and certainly not with Bluffies. They are truely for the oyster connoisseur. The season is March to August and fans go a little crazy for the season. Bluff oysters can be identified by their flat saucer shape and their creamy warm grey colouring. They’re less “frilly” than their black and white Pacific cousins. My very first bluff oyster was at a design event a few years ago, the oysters were free and shucked to order. Being a design event rather than a food event, there was no one queuing up for oysters. Not one to turn down free oysters, I kept eating as long as they were shucking. This was the first time buying oysters in a …

Perfect picnic food with Californian Medjool Dates

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This post was made possible thanks to big and juicy Californian Medjool Dates. These whole fruit treats are a natural source of fibre and a wonderful to refined sugar. Available at Huckleberry stores and in the fresh produce section of your local supermarket. Scroll down for giveaway details.   We have had a deliciously warm summer in Auckland. Great picnic weather, and typically for Auckland, some not so great picnic weather. To me, perfect picnic food works at ambient temperature and extra points if it can be eaten with hands. I’ve created these Moroccan chicken pies with Californian Medjool Dates to be enjoyed hot or cold. Chicken, dried apricots and Californian Medjool Dates pair beautifully with cumin, turmeric, cinnamon and ground ginger. These spices are warming but don’t pack any heat, making them excellent for a range of palates including little ones. The filling can be made ahead of time and the pies filled and baked before you head out. And if you plan on bringing these to your next picnic, place pies a tea …

Five spice roast pork belly with peaches

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Summer is in full swing. It’s muggy AF and I am chancing mosquitos to sleep with the window open. So far so good. I haven’t left Auckland this summer, instead, I’m enjoying local day trips. I’ve hit 70k steps every week so far – it’s only been 2 weeks – and regularly include Mt Eden summit in my daily walks. I’m a little obsessed with my FitBit and doing well with my “more steps” resolution. Yesterday, The Koala and I explored Duder Regional Park, enjoyed ice cream truck treats and swum at random beach on our way home. We usually stay central, or head north or west so exploring east is new for us. I hope to discover more of Auckland’s regional parks this year. My first recipe of the year is fiercely seasonal and embodies the kinds of food I love to eat. A shit-ton of vegetables (another resolution) and some beautifully cooked free range meat. Yes please! I usually order pork belly if I see it on the menu so it makes sense …