Beef Rendang

I love curry and like many people, I used to make them using the widely available curry pastes in the market. But since I first gave it a try, I have to say that there's something satisfying about making your own curry paste from scratch. So as far as possible, I try to do exactly that although sometimes, when in a crunch, I will still use the ready-made stuff. In particular, I find the Mae Ploy brand from Thailand unbeatable. In fact, when I took cooking classes in Bangkok, the chefs there even recommended that we use it.

For dinner this past weekend, I chose to make a Beef Rendang, a curry that originated from Indonesia and is traditionally made with buffalo. The hallmark of this curry is that the gravy is extremely thick, almost dry even. This is one of M's favourites and it is one of the rare times that I ever see him order red meat.

If you can find the ingredients, making the spice paste is not hard at all. I suppose if you were to remain true to tradition you would make this using a mortar and pestle. I'm not one to shun modern conveniences, however, so I whipped mine up in a food processor. If you do the same, the active preparation time is only 15 minutes or so and the rest of the time the rendang just simmers slowly in its pot. You have to be careful towards the end, though, as when the curry dries, it is prone to scorching. Thus, it is prudent to stir constantly when the rendang is almost done.

The rendang is delicious with a side of rice or even some crusty baguette which you can use to soak up the sauce.

Beef Rendang
From Shiok!

1 kg rump or stewing steak, cut into large chunks
800 ml coconut milk
3 stalks lemongrass
6 lime leaves
4 slices galangal (blue ginger)
1 tsp salt

Spice paste
5 tbsp freshly grated coconut
8 dried chilies, soaked till soft
2 tbsp ground coriander
1 tbsp ground turmeric
1 tbsp ground cumin
1 onion, chopped
1 1/2 tbsp minced ginger

To prepare the spice paste, fry coconut in a dry wok over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until light brown, 5 to 6 minutes. Grind with remaining spice paste ingredients until fine.

Combine spice paste with all the beef and other ingredients in a large heavy-based pot and bring to a boil over medium heat. Reduce heat to low, partially cover and simmer for 1 1/2 to 2 hours or until beef is tender and gravy is very thick and shiny with oil. Serve hot.

Serves 2-4

Green Papaya Salad

Anyone who's ever been to Thailand or a Thai restaurant for that matter, has probably had som tum, or green papaya salad. As in common in many Thai dishes, som tum is a mixture of salty, sweet, sour and spicy which makes it a perfect appetizer, in my opinion. The combination of flavours seems to open up your palate, as if to prepare you for what's to come.

I'm a huge fan of Thai food, in general, and this salad, has got to be one of my favourites across all cuisines. I've made it several times for dinner parties and its always well received. The best thing is, its really not that hard to make either. Finding some of the ingredients outside of Asia can be challenging but since Thai food is so popular globally, its becoming increasingly common to be able to buy things like lemongrass stalks and galangal (also known as blue ginger).

If you've never tried this, I highly recommend it. Watch the chilies though, they can get really spicy!

Green Papaya Salad (Som tum)
From Green Mangoes and Lemon Grass

3-4 cloves garlic
4-6 red or green bird's-eye chilies
2 tbsp dried prawns, soaked to soften
2 tsp sugar
1 small tomato, diced
2 long beans or green beans, cut in 2cm lengths
1 unripe green papaya (about 300g), peeled and shredded
2 tbsp fish sauce
2 tbsp lime juice
2-3 tbsp coarsely crushed dry-roasted peanuts

Divide the garlic, chilies, and dried prawns into 2 batches. Put half into a mortar, add 1 tsp of sugar into a mortar and pound until well broken up. Add half of the long beans and pound a little to bruise, then add half of the chopped tomato and pound a few times just until they are broken up. Add half the papaya to a mortar, a little at a time, pounding until lightly bruised. Transfer the mixture to a bowl and repeat with the remaining garlic, chilies, dried prawns, sugar, tomato, beans, and papaya.

Add the fish sauce, lime juice, and peanuts to the bowl of papaya mixture, tossing to mix well. Taste and add a little more lime juice, fish sauce, or sugar if you like, and serve immediately.

Serves 4-6

Oodles of noodles

You may think that since I am Chinese, it is only natural that I love noodles, but actually, my love affair with noodles didn't start till I was an adult. I was an extremely finicky eater as a child and I loved rice but would hardly touch noodles. Nowadays, I find that its often the reverse. I often order noodles but seldom eat rice anymore.

One of our favourite casual places to eat here in London is Wagamama, an Asian noodle bar that started here in London but now has 80 restaurants around the world. Inspired by our frequent visits, I searched the web for an Asian noodle recipe and came up with this Soy Chicken with Soba Noodles. Although the original recipe called for pickled ginger, I opted to leave this out as I am not much of a fan.

True to its source, the noodles were delicious. On top of that, they were quick to make - 15 to 20 minutes tops. A perfect, easy-to-make meal to add to the weekday repertoire.

Soy chicken with soba noodles
Adapted from delicious.

1/3 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 tbsp mirin
2 tbsp rice vinegar
4 x 150g skinless chicken thigh fillets
250g soba noodles
2 tsp sesame oil
3 spring onions, thinly sliced

Heat an oiled chargrill or barbecue to medium-high. Whisk soy, sugar, mirin and vinegar in a bowl. Add chicken and toss to coat. Reserve marinade and cook chicken on barbecue or grill for about 4 minutes each side until cooked through.

Meanwhile, cook noodles according to packet instructions, then drain. Toss with the sesame oil and all but 2 tbsp of the spring onion.

Bring marinade to boil in a small pan.

Simmer on medium heat for 2-3 minutes until thickened. Place noodles in bowls with thickly sliced chicken and sauce.

Garnish with reserved spring onion.

Serves 4

Scottish Treats

I have been a shortbread fanatic ever since I was a kid. I remember vividly the boxes of Walkers shortbread that always came in festive hampers in Singapore. Usually, I find that the contents of these gift hampers usually leave much to be desired but Walkers shortbread, for me, was the exception. These were what I would always plead with my parents to open the hamper for.

Interestingly enough then, since I started baking heavily, I have never attempted to make my own shortbread. No real reason, I suppose, other than the fact that there are just too many recipes to choose from. Having recently been on a short trip to Edinburgh, where I had a fantastic shortbread at the Edinburgh castle, I was inspired to finally attempt my own.

Comparing the various recipes that I found in my books, I finally settled on this one from Tartine which uses cornstarch to make the shortbread very tender. Other recipes that I saw either omitted this or used rice flour instead of cornstarch.

The two main things that concerned me about making the shortbread were excessive spreading of the cookie and being able to cut the shortbread cleanly without breaking them. Thankfully, neither of them really posed a problem. I got around the first issue by baking my shortbread in a rectangular fluted tart pan, which meant there was really no way they could spread sideways. As for the second, I followed the recipe's instructions to slice them while still warm, but to remove them from the baking dish only after the shortbread had been thoroughly chilled (I left mine overnight in the refrigerator, wrapped well with clingfilm).

Seeing as it was my first attempt at shortbread I was extremely happy with the results. The cookies did indeed have a tender and crumbly texture. I must say though that I prefer my shortbread with a bit more crunch. Next time then, I'll try a recipe without the cornstarch. If you like melt-in-your-mouth cookies though, this one's for you.

Shortbread
From Tartine

255g unsalted butter, very soft
1/2 tsp salt
255g all-purpose flour
75g cornstarch
70g granulated sugar
55g superfine or granulated sugar for topping

Preheat the oven to 325F. Butter a 6-by-10-inch glass baking dish (or baking dish of your choice with approximately the same dimensions).

Place the butter in a mixing bowl. The butter must be very soft - the consistency of mayonnaise or whipped cream. Add the salt to the butter and mix well with a wooden spoon or whisk so that it dissolves completely before you add the rest of the ingredients. Sift the flour and cornstarch together into a bowl. Add the granulated sugar to the butter and mix until just combined. Add the flour mixture and mix just until a smooth dough forms.

Pat the dough evenly into the prepared baking dish. The dough should be no more than 2/3 inch deep. Bake until the top and bottom are lightly browned, about 30 minutes. The middle of the shortbread should remain light. Let cool on a wire rack until warm to the touch.

Sprinkle the shortbread with the superfine or granulated sugar. Tilt the dish so that the sugar fully and evenly coats the surface and then tip out the excess sugar. With a very thin, sharp knife, cut the shortbread into rectangular fingers about 1/2 inch wide and 2 inches long. If the cookies have become cold they will not slice well, so they must still be warm to the touch at this point. Chill thoroughly before removing from the baking dish.

The first cookie is difficult to remove, but the rest should come out easily with the aid of a small, thin offset spatula. The cookies will keep in an airtight container in a cool place for up to 2 weeks.

Makes one 6-by10-inch pan, about sixty 2-by-1/2-inch bars

Healthier cookies... or so I tell myself

I'm a big fan of Alice Medrich's Bittersweet so when her new book, Pure Dessert, came out several months ago, I knew I had to get myself a copy. Even though I was drooling while eagerly flipping through it upon its release, it wasn't until this past week that I finally got around to trying one of the recipes.

Given the number of must-try recipes in this book I was hard pressed to pick just one. Ultimately, however, I settled on what I think are healthier cookies - whole wheat sables. In truth they are just as laden with butter as any other cookie but the dough is half made of whole wheat flour and whole wheat is good for you, isn't it?

Instead of just making plain sables, I chose to use one of the suggested variations and added cacao nibs to my cookies to add a delightful crunch. Even as the cookies were baking in the oven I could tell from the buttery aroma that permeated the air that these were going to be good. In her book, Alice Medrich describes them as "meltingly tender, butter cookies with the nutty flavor of whole wheat" and they were exactly as advertised. Fresh from the oven my cookies were, thin, crispy, crumbly and mind-blowingly buttery. They are supposed to be even better the next day but the cookies almost didn't last till then. Thankfully I managed to restrain M and myself from eating them all so that we had enough to serve as a welcome treat for M's brother and his wife who were visiting from New York the next day.

Nibby Whole Wheat Sables
From Pure Dessert

1 cup all-purpose flour
Scant 1 cup whole wheat flour
2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp pure vanilla extract

Position a rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat the oven to 350F. Line the baking sheets with parchment paper. Whisk the all-purpose and whole wheat flours together. Set aside. In a medium bowl, with the back of a large spoon or with an electric mixer, beat the butter with the sugar, salt and vanilla for about 1 minute, until smooth and creamy but not fluffy. Mix 1/4 cup cacao nibs into the creamed butter. Add the flour and mix just until incorporated. Scrape the dough into a mass and, if necessary, knead it with your hands a few times, just until smooth.

Form the dough into a 12 by 2-inch log. Wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, or, preferably, overnight.

Position the racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven and preheat the oven to 350F. Use a sharp knife to cut the cold dough log into 1/4-inch-thick slices. Place the cookies at least 1 1/2 inches apart on the lined baking sheets.

Bake until the cookies are light golden brown at the edges, 12 to 14 minutes, rotating the baking sheets from top to bottom and fron to back halfway through the baking. Let the cookies firm up on the pans for about 1 minute, then transfer them to a rack with a metal pancake turner and let cool completely.

The cookies are delicious fresh but are even better the next day. They can be stored in an airtight container for at least 1 month.

Makes about 48 2-inch cookies