A Vagabond Life - Food

Potato Salad A classic potato salad, I use creme fraiche in France as it is easier to get than sour cream and we like the added touch of Dijon mustard. 12 even-sized potatoes 1 egg 4 bacon rashers, rind and excess fat trimmed, finely chopped 60g  whole-egg mayonnaise 40g sour cream or creme fraiche 1 small garlic clove, crushed 30g drained gherkins, finely chopped 1/4 cup loosely packed finely chopped fresh dill 4 green shallots, ends trimmed, finely sliced 2 tablespoons finely chopped capers Salt & freshly ground black pepper 1/2 teaspoon dijon mustard (optional) Place the potatoes in a large saucepan and cover with cold water and bring to the boil. Boil, uncovered, for 10 minutes or until tender when pierced with a skewer. Drain, then set aside to cool completely. Cut in large chunks and place in a large serving bowl. While the potatoes are cooking place the egg in a small saucepan of cold water and bring to the boil. Reduce heat to a gentle boil and cook

Ingredients 2  red onions, cut into wedges 500g kipfler or small potaoes, quartered lengthways 8 whole garlic cloves, unpeeled 3 large tomatoes, quartered 75g chorizo  4 Chicken Marylands 1 tsp sweet smoked paprika 1 tsp dried oregano 1 green capsicum,  cut into strips salt freshly ground black pepper Preparation Preheat the oven to 200°C Place the onions, potatoes, garlic and tomatoes in a large roasting tin. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper and give it all a good mix. Place in the oven and bake for 25 minutes Meanwhile slice the chorizo into thin slices. Slash each peice of chicken and carefully  2 or 3 times with a knife and season with pepper. Mix the paprika and oregano together in a small bowl and set aside. Remove the roasting tin from the oven and turn all the mixture. Place the chorizio on top of and then the chicken on top of everthing. Sprinkle with the paprika and oregano. Return to the oven for 25 minutes. After 25 minutes remove the baki

Tom Yam Pla This fantastic spicy yet sour soup is simply delicious! Ingredients 1.5 litres chicken or fish stock 4 whole roasted shallots 3 kaffir lime leaves, torn 1 stalk lemongrass, cut into 3 cm lengths   300g fish, scaled, gutted and cut into fillets (or cheat as I do and buy fish fillets - make sure it is a firm white fish.  4 crispy fried dried red chillies 1 shallot, sliced 3 blades corriander 1-2 tablespoons fish sauce 2-3 limes, juiced 2 tablespoons tamarind juice Method In a pot, add the stock and bring to a simmer. Add the roasted shallots, kaffir lime leaves and lemongrass. Simmer for 10 minutes. Add the fish fillets and simmer until just cooked. Add the chillies, shallot and coriander. Cook for 5 minutes. Season the soup with the fish sauce, lime juice and tamarind juice. Just before serving, adjust the seasoning, it may need more stock, lime juice or fish sauce. The Thai people eat this soup with white rice

Nam Prik Ong This is another traditional northern Thai specialty of minced meat in a mild spicy sauce with fresh vegetables. It is usually served with pork crackle/rind. Ingredients 350 gm minced pork (not too lean) 1 punnet cherry tomatoes, quartered 1 heaped tbsp red curry paste peanut or vegetable oil 2 tbsp Asian fish sauce ¼-½ cup chicken stock 2 tbsp shaved palm sugar (or soft brown sugar) 2 heaped tbsp chopped fresh coriander 2 spring (green) onions, finely chopped Fresh seasonable vegetables like cauliflower, cucumber and carrot served raw Thai holy basil sprigs  Method Put the mince, tomatoes and curry paste in a large bowl and mash until the tomatoes are broken down. Heat a little oil in a wok (or large heavy-bottomed non-stick pan) and stirfry the pork mixture until sealed, mashing it as you do so. Add the fish sauce with ¼ cup stock and the sugar. Stir well and cook for about 5-7 mins until thick and fragrant, adding more stock if needed a

Pho Bo Ingredients (serves 4) 1.5L (6 cups) of beef stock 1 cinnamon stick 2 star anise 1/4 cup (60ml) lime juice 2 tbs fish sauce 375g pkt rice noodles 650g beef fillet, excess fat trimmed 200g bean sprouts 4 green onions, ends trimmed, thinly sliced diagonally 2-4 small fresh red chillies (or to taste), thinly sliced 1 cup Thai basil leaves Method Combine beef consomme or stock, cinnamon stick and star anise in a medium saucepan over high heat. Bring to the boil. Reduce heat to medium and simmer for 5 minutes or until aromatic. Stir in lime juice and fish sauce. Cook rice noodles in a large pan of boiling water until just tender. Drain well. Slice beef into 5mm-thick slices. Heat a barbecue or chargrill pan on high. Lightly oil barbecue. Add 1/3 of the beef and cook for 1 minute each side for rare or until cooked to your liking. Transfer to a plate. Cook remaining beef in 2 more batches. Divide noodles among serving bowls. Top with bean sprou

Steamed Pork Dumplings Ingredients 300g pork mince 4 green onions, chopped 2 garlic cloves, crushed 1/4 cup bamboo shoots, chopped 2 teaspoons Chinese rice wine 1/4 teaspoon white pepper 3/4 teaspoon sesame oil 30 fresh wonton wrappers 1cm piece ginger, peeled, finely chopped 1/4 cup soy sauce 1 1/2 tablespoons white wine vinegar 3 teaspoons white sugar 1 tablespoon coriander leaves, chopped Method 1.    Combine mince, onion, garlic, bamboo shoot, rice wine, white pepper and oil in a bowl. Season with salt. 2.    Place 1 teaspoon mixture into centre of 1 wonton wrapper. Brush edges with water. Fold wonton over to make a triangle. Bring base corners of triangle together. Press firmly to join. 3.    Line base of a large steamer basket with baking paper. Place dumplings, in a single layer, in basket. Pour water into a wok until one-quarter full. Bring to the boil over high heat. Place steamer over wok, ensuring base doesn't touch water. Steam dumplings for

Steamed Pork Buns Ingredients 2 cups plain flour 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder 1/4 cup caster sugar 1 teaspoon salt 1/2 cup warm water 2 tablespoons vegetable oil 2 tablespoons reduced-salt soy sauce 2 tablespoons oyster sauce 2 tablespoons Shaoxing rice wine 2 teaspoons cornflour 1 teaspoon sesame oil 250g Chinese barbecue pork (char-siu pork), finely chopped Method 1.    Sift flour and baking powder into a bowl. Add 2 tablespoons of sugar and salt. Gradually add combined water and oil. Stir to form a soft dough. Turn onto a lightly floured surface. Knead until smooth. Wrap dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour. 2.    Place soy and oyster sauces, rice wine, remaining sugar and cornflour into a jug. Whisk to combine. 3.    Heat a wok or non-stick frying pan over medium-high heat. Add sesame oil, pork and soy mixture. Cook, stirring constantly, for 2 minutes, or until mixture comes to the boil. Set aside to cool. 4.    Divide dough into

Chiang Mai Noodles I first had this dish in Chiang Mai and loved it. I was really looking forward to getting back to the region to try it again. The version we had in Chiang Rai is a little different, not a thick as the Chiang Mai version but still very tasty. Khao Soi is a curry noodle dish from the northern part of Thailand. It is often made with chicken, served over Chinese Bah-mi egg noodle, and garnished with fried noodles, shallots, corriander, pickled mustard greens, fried whole chillis and a squeeze of lime juice. Serves: 4 Ingredients: For the chicken curry: 3 chicken fillets or boneless thighs  , sliced 1 heaped tablespoon Red Curry Paste 2 tablespoons oil 1 400g can Coconut Milk 1 tsp. Curry Powder ½ tsp. Turmeric Powder 1 brown (or black) cardamom pod, crushed or ground (optional) 2-3 cups chicken stock 1 tablespoon of brown sugar 1 - 2 tablespoons Fish Sauce The rest of the ingredients: About 6-7 (loosely packed) cups of Chinese Bah-mi eg

Sweet Potato and Fetta Salad This recipe is an absolute favourite and perfect when entertaining. Ingredients Olive Oil 3 -4 Large sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into large cubes 3 dried chillies, crumbled 1 teaspoon cumin seeds, lighted pounded in a mortar and pestle (you just want to bruise the seeds) 1 red onion, finely diced 3 - 4 quality ripe tomatoes, chopped A handful of rocket or mache (lambs lettuce) A handful of basil leaves, torn Balsamic vinegar 200 grms fetta cheese Method Heat oven to 190c Toss the sweet potato in olive oil, cumin seeds and chilli until well coated and bake in the oven until it is soft and starting to go golden. Set aside to cool. In a bowl place the lettuce, chopped tomato, onion and basil. Drizzle with balsamic vinegar and olive oil and mix well. Place the sweet potato on a large platter and squash slightly with the back of a fork, add the salad mix then crumble the Fetta over the top. Drizzle with a little more olive oil and

Basic Potato Gnocchi Ingredients 1 kg potatoes 200g plain flour 1 egg Salt Method Steam the potato until soft and then mash while still hot. Stir in the flour, add the egg and salt and kneed or a soft dough.  On a floured bench top take a piece of dough and roll into a long roll, cut into small pieces about 2 cm long. Repeat until all dough is cut. Bring a large pot of water to the boil and gently drop the gnocchi in. When the gnocchi rises to the top remove with a slotted spoon and place in a bowl. Add your favourite sauce and serve. Hint: be careful with the quantities of flour to dough - too much flour will make the gnocchi hard and to much potato with make it too soft and it will fall apart when cooking.

Green Papaya Salad Som Tam Coming Soon

Green Mango Salad Som Tum Mamuang Coming Soon

Thai Beef Salad Serves 2 Ingredients 1 piece quality steak  Salad Handful rocket Handful of fresh herb (coriander and basil work well) 1 small red onion finely, sliced 8 - 10 cherry tomatoes, halved 1/2 cucumber, peeled and diced 1 tablespoon of roasted un-salted peanuts a pinch of roasted chili powder (optional) 1 teaspoon of toasted rice powder (optional) The roasted chilli and rice powder will evenly disperse the heat through the dish - if you do not like spicy food leave this out. Roasted Chilli Powder Dry roast 3 - 4 whole dried chillis in a frying pan until they turn black then pound them to a powder in a mortar and pestle. Roasted Rice Powder Dry roast a tablespoon of rice in a frying pan until it turns golden brown then pound it to a powder in a mortar and pestle. Dressing 1 clove garlic, crushed 1 french shallot, finely diced 1 small red chilli finely chopped 1 tablespoon tamarind water 3 tablespoons lim

In France we can get eggplant all year round so I am always searching for new and interesting things to do with this lovely fruit. (Yes it is a fruit) This dish can be served hot, warm or cold. Ingredients Peanut oil 2 aubergine 1 tin chopped tomatoes 2cm knob of ginger 6 garlic cloves 1 teaspoon fennel seeds 1/2 teaspoons nigella seeds 1 tablespoon ground coriander 1/4 teaspoon tuneric 1/2 teaspoon chilli powder salt Method Cut the eggplant in half length ways and then cut into wedges, place in a colander and salt generously. Leave over a plate for half an hour or so, this will eliminate the bitterness from the eggplant. Rinse the aubergine well and pat dry. Heat several tablespoons of oil in a large frying pan and cook the aubergine until it is tender - you may need to do this in batches. When cooked place on paper towel to drain. Puree the ginger, garlic and 1/3 of the tomatoes together. In a heavy based saucepan heat a tables

Looking for something new to do with potatoes? This very simple dish is just delicious and yet so quick and easy to make. Ingredients 3 tablespoons sunflower oil 1 teaspoon fennel seeds 600g potatoes boiled and cubed 2 teaspoons tamarind pulp diluted in water 4 tablespoons tomato puree 1 teaspoon chilli powder 1 teaspoon tumeric powder 1 teaspoon garam masala Salt 4 tablespoons cream 4 tablespoons coriander leaves finely chopped Method Heat the oil in a large heavy based saucepan. Add the fennel seeds and cook until they change colour, then add the potatoes. Stir together for a minute. Add the tamarind, tomato puree, spices and salt and stir well until the potatoes are totally covered with the mixture. Remove from heat to a bowl, garish with cream and corriander