Chinese Chicken and Corn Soup

On Thursday, Nick and I drove down to Byron Bay. Last time we were down there we both became obsessed with the Byron Bay Kebabs which we would eat breakfast, lunch and dinner. You would think we would be sick of them after constantly eating them for 5 days but we both have been craving the juicy marinated beef, fresh salads, flavoursome sauces and the toasted pita bread ever since. And so we went on a half day roadtrip to Byron Bay and indulged in the kebabs on the beach. On the way back we stopped at The Spit in the Gold Coast. This is an area along the marina, at the end of which is a hotspot for fishermen and tourists. Here we watched the sunset over the water, see photo, and worked up an appetite for dinner.


I had left over pieces of chicken tenderloins and was craving soup for dinner so I made this asian style soup. A perfect way to end the day. I'm sure this isn't the correct way of making this soup but none the less it tasted delicious. Use homemade chicken soup if you have it, as it really does make a difference to the taste. I recommend using Real Stock rather than stock cubes if you don't have homemade.


Chinese Chicken and Corn Soup
Serves 2

Ingredients
- 1.5 cups chicken stock
- 1 small can of creamed corn
- 1 small can of sweet corn
- 2 tbsp light soy sauce
- piece of fresh grated ginger (approx 2/3 size of your thumb)
- 1 egg, beaten
- 3 chicken tenderloins, cooked and shredded (any cooked chicken can be used)
- 2 green onions, green part only, sliced finely

Method
1. Bring chicken stock to the boil.

2. Add creamed corn, corn, soy and ginger and simmer for 10 minutes.

3. Reduce the heat to very low. Have the egg in a small bowl and using a whisk in the soup slowly drizzle the egg into the soup from a 15cm height.

4. Add chicken and green onions and bring to the boil. Take it off the heat and serve. Enjoy

Exotic Fruit Salad

I made this salad using canned fruit as I was craving fruit salad but couldn't find many exotic fruit at the green grocer. It turned out surprisingly good. Simone came over that night for dinner and brought over some other canned fruit that we added to the salad. This is a lovely and refreshing dessert, which looks and tastes great!



Exotic Fruit Salad


Ingredients
- 1 can lychees
- half fresh paw paw
- 1 can jackfruit
- small punet of strawberries
- 1 can of mango cheeks (use fresh mango if it's available)
- 1 can of logans
- 1 can of pineapple chunks
- 2 sprigs of mint
- 2 teaspoons of sugar

Method
1. Wash and cut paw paw and strawberries into chunks, add to serving bowl

2. Open lychee can and drain syrup into a saucepan. Place the lychees into the serving bowl.

3. Drain the logans and pineapple chunks and add to serving bowl.

4. Drain mango cheeks and jackfruit. Slice them into thin strips and add to the bowl.

5. In the saucepan with the lychee syrup, add the sugar and finely chopped mint. Put it over a very low heat and stir until the sugar dissolves. Pour over the salad and place in the fridge for an hour. Enjoy

Banana in Coconut Milk

It's been a while since I made anything with coconut and I had a ripe banana that had to be eaten so I decided to make this very simple thai dessert. This is the perfect quick dessert for a cold evening.

Banana in Coconut Milk

Ingredients

- 1 small can of coconut milk (light preferably)
- 1 very ripe banana
- 1 pinch of salt
- 2 tbsp sugar
- 1 tsp cinnamon

Method

1. Dissolve sugar, salt and cinnamon in the coconut milk over medium heat.

2. Slice the banana length ways and into 4-5cm pieces

3. Once the sugar is dissolved, add the bananas and simmer on low heat for 5-10 minutes, ensuring the bananas aren't overcooked and fall apart. Serve :)

Parmesan Risotto with a Balsamic Reduction

I was just writing up the recipe for the mushroom risotto and began craving risotto for dinner. I had no mushrooms left so I decided to make parmesan risotto with a balsamic reduction. All the ingredients in this recipe are common ingredients you will find in the kitchen so it's a good dish to make when there's nothing in the pantry.


Parmesan Risotto with Balsamic Reduction

Ingredients
- 1 onion, thinly diced
- 2tsp butter
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 3/4 cups arborio rice
- 1/4 cups white wine
- 500ml chicken stock
- 1.5/4 cups parmesan
- salt and pepper
- 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar

Method

1. Pour stock in a saucepan, bring it to the boil and then keep it on a very low heat to ensure it stays hot.

2. Heat 1tsp of butter and olive oil and add the onions. Fry until they are slightly golden. Add rice and stir for 2 minutes.

3. Add white wine. Stir continuously but gently until all the liquid has evaporated.

4. Add one ladle of the stock to the saucepan and stir continuously until all the liquid evaporates then add another ladle of stock.

5. Repeat step 4 for 20-35 minutes. Taste the rice to test if it is al dente. If the stock runs out, use hot water.

6. Once the rice is al dente add the parmesan, 1tsp butter, salt and pepper and then take it off the heat. Let the rice stand for 3-4 minutes before serving.

7. To make the balsamic reduction, pour the balsamic vinegar into a pan and put on medium-low heat and keep swirling the pan so that the vinegar doesn't burn. COntinue doing so until the vinegar begins to become slightly thicker and has large bubbles. Note that the vinegar will thicken once it cools down slightly.

8. Serve the risotto with the balsamic reduction drizzled over it.

Mushroom Risotto

Simone came over for dinner last week and I made risotto as she has never tried it before. Simone brought over pumpkin soup which was delicious! (see photo below)



Risotto isn't overly difficult to make, just need patience. Using a few dried porcini mushrooms really enhances the flavour of the risotto, but if you don't have them, like me, the risotto is still tasty.

Mushroom Risotto

Ingredients
- 350-400g tray of fresh white mushrooms, washed and sliced very thinly (squeeze a little lemon juice over them)
- 1 onion, diced finely
- 60g butter
- handfull of fresh parsley or coriander, finely chopped
- 900ml chicken stock (I used Real Stock)
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1.5 cups arborio rice
- 1/2 cup white wine
- 3 tbsp grated parmesan



Method

1. Pour stock in a saucepan, bring it to the boil and then keep it on a very low heat to ensure it stays hot.

2. In a large saucepan place 20g of the butter. Stir in the mushrooms and cook them on medium heat until they give up their juices and begin to brown slightly. Remove the mushrooms into a side bowl.

3. Heat another 20g of butter and olive oil and add the onions. Fry until they are slightly golden. Add rice and stir for 2 minutes.

4. Add the mushrooms and white wine. Stir continuously gently until all the liquid has evaporated.

5. Add one ladle of the stock to the saucepan and stir continuously until all the liquid evaporates.

6. Repeat step 5 for 20-35 minutes. Taste the rice to test if it is al dente. If the stock runs out, use hot water.

7. Once the rice is al dente add the parmesan, 20g butter and pepper and then take it off the heat.

8. Let the rice stand for 3-4 minutes before serving. Enjoy