DIY- How to fold a T-Shirt (Japanese Style)

Thai chicken cakes with sweet chilli sauce

Serves: 4

Prep: 10 min
Cook: 5 min

Ingredients

2 chicken breasts, cubed
1 garlic clove, roughly chopped
1cm knob fresh ginger root, roughly chopped
1 small onion, roughly chopped
2 tbsp Coriander, chopped
1 green chilli, roughly chopped
Salt, and freshly ground black pepper
2 tbsp Olive oil

To serve:

sweet chilli sauce
1 spring onion, finely sliced

Method

1. Place the chicken, garlic, ginger, onion, coriander and chilli in a food processor and season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Blitz for 15 to 20 seconds.

2. Shape the chicken mixture into small cakes.

3. Heat the olive oil in a frying pan over a moderate heat and fry the chicken cakes until golden.

4. Serve immediately, with sweet chilli sauce and a finely sliced spring onion.

Tom yam soup

Serves: 4

Prep: 15 min
Cook: 15 min

Ingredients

Tom Yam Soup

1 tbsp vegetable oil
4 Thai shallots, finely sliced
1 tbsp grated galangal/ginger root
1 tbsp chilli flakes
1 litre chicken stock
175g Pork fillet, frozen
20 canned straw mushrooms, drained and halved
100ml fresh lime juice
8 lime leaves, shredded
15g fresh coriander leaves
50ml Fish Sauce
10ml light Soy sauce

Method

1. Heat the oil in a large saucepan. Fry the shallot and galangal for 2-3 minutes until fragrant.

2. Add chilli flakes and fry until the chilli colours the oil. Pour in the chicken stock. Bring to the boil and simmer for 5 minutes.

3. Once simmering, shave in the frozen pork fillet and add the straw mushrooms, lime juice, lime leaves and coriander.

4. Stir in the fish sauce and soy sauce. Simmer until the pork has cooked through and serve.

Jewish Princesses Chicken Soup

Serves: 10

Prep: 15 min
Cook: 7 hrs

Ingredients

1 stewing chicken, (mature female chicken), skinned and cut into 8 pieces
1 celery heart, halved
8 Carrots
4 Turnips, sliced into large chunks
2 Parsnips, sliced into large chunks
1 large onion, halved
2 tbsp dried Parsley
1 tbsp chicken bouillon powder, for every 600ml water used

To serve

golden Eggs, and/or pre-prepared matzo balls (see Cook’s note below)
400g egg noodles

Method

1. Clean the stewing chicken under cold running water and place in a large stockpot. Add the celery, carrots, turnips, parsnips, onion and dried parsley to the pan. Cover with cold water and 1 tablespoon of chicken bouillon powder for every 600ml water used. Bring to the boil.

2. Turn the heat down to low, cover the saucepan and leave to simmer gently for 5-7 hours. You can test the soup is ready by using a fork – the chicken should be so soft that it should practically falls away from the bone and the soup should be a deep golden-brown colour. Strain the soup into a clean pan and add salt and pepper, to taste. You can make the soup in advance up to this point and keep it, covered, in the fridge once cooled – simply remove any excess fat on the surface of the soup with a spoon when you are ready to cook it.

3. If you are using golden eggs, wash them and peel off the outer membrane. Add the golden eggs to the soup and bring it back to the boil. If you are using matzo balls, you can also reheat the pre-prepared matzo balls in the soup. Boil for about 5 minutes.

4. While the eggs are cooking, boil the egg noodles in a pan of boiling salted water according to manufacturer’s instructions and divide the noodles between 10 bowls. Top up the serving bowls with the soup and serve hot.

Cook’s note: serve the Jewish Princesses’ version of matzo balls with this soup. Golden eggs (the egg found still inside the chicken) are available from specialist kosher stores.

Matzo balls

Serves: 10

Prep: 20 min
Cook: 20 min

Ingredients

7 large matzo sheets
1 tbsp Olive oil
1 large onion, finely chopped
3 large Eggs
3 tbsp Matzo meal
2 tsp chicken bouillon powder

Method

1. For the matzo balls, break the matzo sheets into small pieces, put them in a colander, pour over cold water and leave to drain. Heat the olive oil in a frying pan and fry the onion until golden-brown.

2. Put the drained matzos, onion, eggs, matzo meal, chicken seasoning and salt and pepper, to taste, in a bowl and mix to a dough. Using your hands, roll teaspoons of the mixture into balls.

3. Bring a large saucepan of salted water to the boil. Drop the balls into the water and simmer for 20 minutes, then drain. Add the matzo balls to hot chicken soup. The matzo balls can be stored (covered) in the fridge until you are ready to reheat them in the soup.

Cook’s note: serve the matzo balls on top of the Jewish Princess’ traditional Jewish chicken soup

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Chilli battered courgettes

Serves: 4

Prep: 10 min
Cook: 10 min

Ingredients

150g plain flour
2 Eggs
100ml Milk
6 ice cubes
1 tsp crushed chilli flakes
500g baby courgettes
500ml vegetable oil for deep-frying
1 lemon, cut into wedges
1 pinch sea salt

Method

1. Place the flour in a large bowl. Add the eggs, then the milk and whisk to form a thick batter.

2. Add the ice cubes and chilli and season.

3. Top and tail the courgettes, then slice lengthways.

4. Pour the oil into a deep saucepan and heat it to 170?C.

5. Drop the courgettes into the batter, tossing to coat. Deep fry a few courgettes at a time, cooking for two to three minutes until golden brown and tender.

6. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on kitchen paper. Repeat with the remaining courgettes. Serve with lemon wedges and a sprinkle of sea salt.

Hoso maki sushi – the most simple sushi roll

Serves: 2

Prep: 45 min, plus 30 mins soaking
Cook: 15 min

Ingredients

For the sushi vinegar

140ml rice vinegar
70g Sugar
1/2 tsp Salt
1 tsp concentrated dashi stock or dashi powder

For the rice

675g Sushi rice, (short-grain white rice)
900ml water

To assemble the sushi

1/2 sheet yaki nori, available from specialist Japanese stores and some supermarkets
wasabi paste, to taste
100g raw Salmon
1 roasted red pepper, sliced
185g can Tuna
2 tbsp mayonnaise
shiso leaves

Method

1. For the sushi vinegar: put the rice vinegar, sugar, salt and dashi in a saucepan and heat gently until the sugar has dissolved. Set aside to cool.

2. For the rice: rinse the rice with cold water and drain. Repeat this three times so that the water almost runs clear. Put the rice into a shallow dish with the measured amount of water and leave to soak for at least 30 minutes (it could be left for up to 5 hours).

3. You can cook the rice in a rice cooker: simply follow the manufacturer’s instructions and then allow the rice to stand for 15 minutes. To cook the rice in a saucepan, tip the rice and water into the pan, cover tightly and then bring to the boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for about 15 minutes or until all the water has been absorbed (still with the lid on). Remove from the heat and then leave to stand for 15 minutes.

4. Spread the rice out onto a large, flat-based bowl (preferably made of wood) while the rice is still very hot. Gradually pour over the sushi vinegar and fold it in with a plastic or wooden flat spatula. Fold the vinegar into the rice, cutting through the rice at a sharp angle; do not stir – otherwise the rice grain will become lumpy and crushed. As you gently fold the rice, use your other hand to fan it until it comes to room temperature. Do not over-cool the rice or it will harden – the rice should be shiny and sticky, but the grains should remain separate. Place a damp cloth over the rice to stop it drying out.

5. To assemble the sushi: place a bamboo sushi mat on a clean work surface, rough-side up. Place one half of the yaki nori on the mat horizontally, rough-side up.

6. Spread the sushi rice over the nori sheet to cover evenly, leaving a 1½ cm margin on the side furthest from you. Spread the rice to smooth the surface, but do not press it down too hard. Spread a little wasabi paste, to taste, across the rice.

7. Prepare one of the fillings by mixing the tuna together with the mayonnaise in a bowl. Arrange the strips of fillings horizontally in a row along the centre – make one section with salmon and red pepper and the other with tuna mayonnaise and shiso leaves – and allow them to poke out of the sheet slightly. Hold the sushi mat with both hands and carefully roll up, neatly wrapping the different fillings in the middle while rolling away from the side closest to you. When rolled, hold the sushi mat with both hands and squeeze gently to firm up the roll.

10. Leave the roll on the work surface for at least 5 minutes with the nori joining side touching the work surface – this should enable the nori to stick naturally (you shouldn’t need to add water to help it stick).

10. Using a sharp knife, slice the sushi into pieces and serve

Notes:

To stop the cooked rice sticking to your fingers, have a bowl with a little vinegar and water mixed in it to dip your fingers in before handling the rice.

Andalusian pork

Serves: 4

Prep: 10 min, plus marinating overnight
Cook: 10 min

Ingredients

2 tbsp Paprika
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp dried thyme
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 tbsp coarse sea salt
2 tbsp Olive oil
500g Pork fillet, trimmed
2 Lemons, cut into wedges, to serve

Method

1. Mix the paprika, oregano, garlic and salt with the olive oil to make a thick paste.

2. Spread the paste evenly over the pork, cover and marinate in the fridge, ideally overnight.

3. Cut the meat into slices on the diagonal.

4. Heat a griddle or large heavy frying pan until very hot. Cook the pork for 3-4 minutes on each side until cooked through.

5. Serve at once with the lemon wedges.

Ajo Blanco

Serves: 4

Prep: 15 min, plus chilling time

Ingredients

100g crusty white bread, 2-day old, sliced
125ml Milk
100g whole blanched almonds
2-3 garlic cloves, halved
1-2 white wine vinegar
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
500ml cold water
pinch Salt
small bunch mixed red and green seedless grapes, halved

Method

1. Place the bread in a dish which will hold it in a single layer, and pour the milk over. Leave until the milk has been absorbed.

2. Transfer the soaked bread to a blender and add the almonds, garlic, vinegar, oil, salt and half the water. Process until smooth. Check the consistency and add more water until you get a soup-like consistency. Adjust the seasoning.

3. Chill the soup until very cold. Chill the grapes at the same time.

4. Serve the soup in chilled teacups or bowls, each one garnished with a small handful of grapes.

White bean salad

Serves: 4

Prep: 20 min, plus overnight soaking
Cook: 1 hr

Ingredients

500g white kidney beans, soaked overnight
A bunch of Sage
6 peppercorns
1 garlic clove, peeled
salt and fresh ground black pepper
vegetable oil, for deep-frying
3 Tomatoes, diced and drained
1 onion, finely chopped
4 tbsp Olive oil
2 tbsp red wine vinegar

Method

1. Drain the white kidney beans and place in a large saucepan. Add a sprig of sage, peppercorns and the garlic clove. Cover generously with water.

2. Bring to the boil, reduce the heat and simmer for 1 hour until tender. Season with salt just before the end of the cooking period. Drain the white beans and discard the sage, peppercorns and garlic.

3. Pick the sage leaves off their stalks. Pour the vegetable oil into a small frying pan until it reaches 1 cm up the side of the pan.

4. Heat the oil and fry the leaves until crispy. Remove the leaves with a slotted spoon and drain on kitchen paper.

5. Mix together the remaining olive oil and the wine vinegar, making a vinaigrette. Season with salt and freshly ground pepper.

6. Toss together the white beans, tomatoes and onion. Toss with the vinaigrette. Garnish with the fried sage leaves and serve.