Olive bread

INGREDIENTS
1 tbsp dry yeast
1 tbsp caster sugar
1 cup warm water
3 cups plain flour
1/4 cup olive oil
1 tsp salt
Handful of sliced black kalamatta olives

METHOD
In a large bowl, combine the yeast, sugar and warm water. Whisk and set aside until frothy.

In a second large bowl, combine the flour and salt. Make a well in the centre of the flour and add in the yeast mixture and the olive oil. Combine with a spatula, then transfer to a flat surface and knead until the mixture is smooth (5 - 6 minutes).

In a clean bowl, add a little olive oil and coat the dough. Cover with a tea towel and set aside to rise until the dough doubles in size (about 1 hour).

Remove the dough to a lightly floured surface. Punch the air out of the dough and roll to a rectangle roughly 40cm x 30cm.  Sprinkle the surface with the sliced olives leaving a 2cm clear edge with no olives.  From the long side, roll the dough (like a swiss roll of olives. fold the short edges under. to seal the olives in. Place the dough on a baking tray covered with baking paper.  With a sharp knife make 3 or 4 diagonal slices into the surface of the dough. Cover with a tea towel and set aside to rise again (about 20 - 30 mins).

Pre-heat the oven to 190C (170C fan-forced).

Lightly dust the top of the dough with flour and bake for 25 minutes until golden brown.

Crunchy sesame topped banana cake

• 
  INGREDIENTS
• 250g caster sugar
• 250g self-raising flour
• 2 tbsp sesame seeds
• 1 tbsp butter, chopped into small pieces
  
• 2 eggs
  
• 2 egg whites
• 3 bananas
  
  , mashed
• 150ml olive oil
  
• 100ml milk
  
• 1 tsp cinnamon
  
• 1 tsp baking powder

METHOD

1. Heat the oven to 180C (160C fan forced)

2. Spray the inside of a 20 - 25 cm diameter silicon cake 'tin' with oil. 

3. For the sticky topping combine the sesame seeds with 2 tbsp of sugar, 2 tbsp of flour and the butter. With your fingers, rub together until you have sticky crumbs.

4. In a large bowl, mix together the mashed banana, oil and milk until well combined. This is the 'wet mix'.

5. In another large bowl combine the remaining sugar, flour, cinnamon and baking powder. This is the 'dry mix'.

6. In a small bowl, whisk the egg whites until slightly stiff. 

7. Add the wet mix to the dry mix and stir until you have a smooth mixture.  Then, with a spatula gently fold in the egg whites. Pour the mixture into the prepared tin. Scatter the crumb over the top  and bake for 1 hr, until a toothpick stuck in to the middle comes out clean. 

8. Cool on a wire rack.

Soy milk Ramen

INGREDIENTS
(This recipe serves 4 or 5)
Note: if you are planning on having sliced pork with your ramen you should prepare this in advance.

6 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
2 cm square of ginger, finely grated
4 spring onions
4 tbsp sesame seeds
sesame oil
6 tbsp miso
1 tsp spicy tobanjyan (if you prefer a more spicy soup, increase the tobanjyan and decrease the miso by the same amount.
4 tbsp cooking sake
6 tbsp soy sauce
4 cups of unsweetened soy milk
2 cups of kombu dashi
Pack of fresh ramen noodles (4 servings)

Picture 1.

Picture 3

Picture 2

Picture 1: L-R (i) Tobanjyan - Chilli bean paste (broad bean and soy bean).(ii) Non spicy tobanjyan bean paste.  I tried making the soup with this and was less successful, but there may be other brands that will work better if you prefer no spiciness to your soup. (iii) Miso paste.  I got all these from a local Asian supermarket.

Picture 2: 2 kinds of concentrated dashi or Tsuyu. The one on the left os made with Kombu (a type of seaweed) and Shiitake mushrooms. The one on the right is only Konbu. Read the instructions on how much water to add to the concentrate to make your dashi. In my case it was 3 parts water to one part concentrate. Both these were available in the same Asian supermarket.

Picture 3: Fresh ramen noodles. These were harder to find and I was about to attempt to make them myself when I discovered them in an Asian grocers in the chilled section. Buy more than you need and freeze them for the next time.

Soy milk. It is important you use unsweetened soy milk. I use VitaSoy Calci Plus unsweetened which is widely avail;able here.



TOPPINGS
The sliced green halves of spring onions.
Roast rolled boneless shoulder of pork, sliced thinly. (If you leave this out this dish is entirely vegetarian)
Boiled eggs, sliced in half lengthwise
Can of sweetcorn kernels, drained
Beansprouts, blanched
Sheets of nori seaweed
Any other cooked vegetables you like, such as bok choy, bamboo shoots)

METHOD
To make the soup
In a dry frying pan, dry roast the sesame seeds for 1 or 2 minutes. Grind the toasted seeds in a pesle and mortar or in a coffee grinder.. Set to one side.

Separate the spring onions into white and green halves. Chop the white stems finely. Chop the green halves into fine rings.

In a large pan fry the garlic, ginger and the chopped white part of the spring onion in sesame oil over a low heat until they soften and the aromas are released. Add the miso and tobanjyan and stir with a wooden spoon to mix the ingredients and to sop them from burning. Then add the sake and use the spoon to unstuck any of the sauce that has stuck to the pan. Then add the soy sauce and toasted ground sesame.Stir to mix thoroughly. Now add the soy milk slowly, stirring all the time to dissolve the miso paste and heat gently. 

Finally stir in the kombu dashi and add salt and white pepper to taste. The soup is now ready. Set aside and warm when ready to serve.

To cook the noodles
In a large pot bring several litres of water to the boil.  Separate the noodles into 4 servings, making sure the noodles aren't stuck together.

Warm the soup.

Add one or two servings at a time to the boiling water. Cook as per instructions on the pack or to taste. Remove noodles from boiling water with a sieve spoon. Place in serving bowls and cover with soup. Dress with toppings to taste.  Repeat for all the servings.

Chinese style 'Soboro' (fried minced meat)

Soboro is a Japanese minced meat dish that I find too sweet. This is a version that I read on a website somewhere but modified to suit the ingredients I had to hand.  If you prefer this a little spicier, add a chopped red chilli with the onions and garlic.

INGREDIENTS

1 kg of minced beef (or any other meat if you prefer)

2 onions, finely diced

3 garlic cloves, finely diced

4 or 5 spring onions, chopped

2 tbsp Sesame oil

Oil for frying

Sesame seeds for garnish

Sauce:

2 tbsp hoisin sauce

4 tbsp oyster sauce

5 tbsp soy sauce

2 tbsp mirin

2 tbsp sugar

METHOD

Combine the ingredients for the sauce and stir to dissolve the sugar.

In one frying pan heat a little oil and add the onions and garlic. Fry gently for a couple.of minutes until the onions start to brown

In a second frying pan, fry the minced meat, turning frequently until browned. Discard any fat/juice. Then add the meat to the onions.

Add the sauce and continue to cook on a low heat until the meat absorbs the dark, rich colour of the sauce. Add half the spring onions and the sesame oil and continue to cook for a further 2 minutes.

Serve over steamed rice and garnish with the remaining spring onions and sesame seeds.

Chicken and Daikon Niimono

A Japanese dish that we make in bulk for hungry kids. For an easier and much quicker version of this substitute diced chicken thigh for the chicken drumsticks and halve all the ingredients. That said, however quick you cook this it will taste much better the next day!

INGREDIENTS

1kg of chicken drumsticks

1 large daikon radish, peeled, halved lengthwise and then sliced into half moons 

2 leeks, chopped into diagonal

2cm cube of fresh ginger, juliened

Oil for frying

Sauce:

4 cups of dashi (Japanese stock)

1/2 cup of cooking sake 

3 tbsp of mirin

5 tbsp of soy sauce

4 tbsp of sugar

METHOD

Combine all the ingredients of the sauce in a large bowl and stir to dissolve the sugar.

In a large/deep pan, add a little oil and fry the leeks and ginger for 2 mins. Add the chicken and brown the skin for 5 mins, stirring frequently. Add the daikon and the sauce. Bring to a boil and the reduce the heat to simmer. Cover the pan with a sheet of tin foil and simmer until the chicken is tender and the daikon is soft and has absorbed the flavours. This will take about an hour.
Serve with steamed rice.

Malaysian Curry Sauce for Roti Canai

I love the Malaysian hawker markets in Singapore. This is about the cheapest lunch I've ever eaten but absolutely delicious, so I had to learn how to make it. I've not got it exactly right yet but this sauce is the best I've managed so far and is very good in its own right - just not quite what I remember. This is a sloppy curry sauce ideal as a dip for roti (see recipe for Butter Roti)

INGREDIENTS
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
2 dried chilli, chopped
2cm stick of cinnamon bark
1 star anise
1 tsp curry powder
2 cups stock - chicken or vegetable
1/2 can coconut milk
3 potatoes, chopped into bite size pieces (I leave the skin on but it's up to you)
Oil for frying

METHOD
In a heavy pan, heat the oil over a medium flame.
Add the onions and garlic and fry until they start to caramelize.
Add all the spices and continue to fry for another minute or two
Stir in the stock and bring to a slow boil, then add the potatoes
Reduce the heat and simmer until the potatoes are cooked through.
Stir in coconut milk to taste (or try replacing with fresh cream)
Remove the cinnamon stick and the star anise before serving.

Butter Roti

Cheat and make Indian roti the easy way.  Delicious with everything. Also see Malaysian Curry Sauce for Roti Canai which is a favorite of mine.

INGREDIENTS
2 cups plain flour (I like to mix wholemeal and plain half and half, but frankly I'll use whatever I have in the pantry!)
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup of chilled water
Lots of salted butter - soft enough to spread.
Vegetable oil for frying

METHOD
In a large mixing bowl combine the flour and salt with a whisk.
Make a well in the centre and add about 2/3 of the water.
Stir with a plastic spatula to combine, then use your hands, adjusting the water or flour if necessary to form a dough.
Remove from the bowl to a lightly floured surface and knead for 5 to 10 minutes until you have a smooth elastic dough.
Divide into 8 equally sized pieces. On a floured surface, roll out 8 rectangular thin 'pancakes'.
Spread butter onto a pancake, then roll into a scroll.
Standing the scroll up lengthwise, use the flat of your hand to squash the tall scroll back into a ball - you'll end up with an oddly shaped ball of dough with seams of butter running circularly. Repeat for all 8 balls of dough.
Heat a little oil with a little butter in a heavy frying pan over a medium heat. 
Cook each roti for 1 to 2 minutes each side until they puff and turn golden brown in patches.

Try not to eat them all at once!

Besan pancakes

Really easy to prepare and cook spiced breakfast pancakes. Serve these with any chutney, curry sauce, thinly sliced onions or even just ketchup.

INGREDIENTS
1 cup besan flour (also called chickpea flour or garbanzo flour)
1 cup water
1 tsp turmeric powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 chopped chilli (fresh or dried). Leave this out if you prefer.
2 spring onions, chopped
Pepper to taste
Oil for frying

METHOD
Combine all the ingredients in a bowl and use a whisk to gently combine.  The batter is quite watery. Don't adjust - this will work fine.
Heat enough oil to coat a frying pan over a medium flame.
Add a ladle-full of the batter to the pan. Pick up the pan and roll the mixture out thinly across the pan.
Cook for 2 to 3 minutes then using a spatula flip the pancake and cook the other side. Remove to a warm plate, make sure the pan is still coated in oil, then cook the next pancake.
You should get 4 or 5 pancakes from this recipe.

Serve with your topping of choice (or without!)