When your BBF goes on a holiday......{Thai Seafood Salad}

 

 

So my wonderful bestie Paul decided to go and spend a month in Laos, lucky thing! Although I missed him desperately, I loved that every few days he managed to find the time to send me pictures such as these;

 

 

 

Hard life huh?! He also sent me a recipe - the boy knows me too well! He proclaimed it the best salad he had ever eaten so I had to give it a go myself - it was delicious with lovely fresh flavours which are perfect for the summer. I changed a few things, his version had mint leaves instead of coriander and the shallots were in the salad not in the dressing, but hey recipes are meant to be played around with. How lucky I am that even when half way across the world lovely Paul things of me and this little blog of mine! And whilst I love the photos and food stories and the fact he is having amazing experiences I am so very pleased that he is home safe and sound, he has been missed.

 

 

 

 

 

Paul's Thai style Seafood Salad

 

 

salad:
 

2 gem lettuces, roughly chopped 

small bunch of coriander, chopped

3 spring onions, sliced

200g cooked basmati rice

1 dsp coconut oil

3 squid, cut into rings

10 unpeeled raw prawns (shell on)

dressing:
 

4tbsp fish sauce

1 shallot, very finely sliced

1 red chilli, finely chopped

1 1/2 lemons (or limes), juice of

1 dsp light brown sugar

 

 

put all the ingredients for the dressing in a bowl and mix together. warm coconut oil and toast the rice - you want to be scraping it off the pan so it looks crusty and it is more flaky then rice grains - don't be scared you need to just stand by the pan and keep on scraping and stirring. remove from pan and set aside. in the same pan cook the seafood, this takes no time at all about 5 mins for the prawns and 3 mins for the squid. take the salad vegetables and herbs and toss in a large bowl with 1/2 the dressing. and the toasted rice. divide the salad in two bowls and top with the seafood and the remaining dressing. Eat outside, dreaming of warmer climates and beautiful beaches!

Today I'm linking up with the lovely Miriam at Farm girl

40 Days of Fitness.......... {Thai Red Prawn Curry}

 

 

 

 

 

So Sunday is a day of rest on 40 Days of Fitness although yesterday I went on my first run with H. Feeling pretty proud of myself and I loved finally being able to run with him! The programme suggested that rather than a roast we have a healthier Thai red chicken curry. We don't really do roasts in our house but we love Thai curry so rather than use shop bought paste I rustled up my own and used prawns and veg rather rather than chicken as I'm trying to use up bits in my freezer but the paste can be used with any protein combination. Making your own pastes are quick and easy and really are much more flavoursome and fresh - give it a go.

 

Thai Red Prawn Curry

for the paste:
2 red chillies, chopped
4 cloves garlic
thumb sized piece of ginger, peeled and roughly chopped
3 lime leaves
1 lemongrass stalk, roughly chopped
1 TSP paprika
1 lime, juice
1 TBSP fish sauce
1 TSP sugar
2 TBSP coriander stalks

for the curry:
coconut oil
1 red onion, sliced
4 baby aubergines, cut into chunks
1/2 red pepper, sliced
1 tin (400ml) coconut milk
150g raw king prawns
100g small peeled prawns
couple of handfuls soya beans
2 TBSP Coriander leaves, chopped 
1 lime, juice

to serve:
brown rice
lime wedges, sliced red chilli and some coriander  

place all of the paste ingredients in a blender and blend until a smooth paste. heat the coconut oil in the pan and place in the onions, cook until soft and then add in the aubergines and peppers, cook until aubergines have softened. add in the paste and coast all of the vegetables. add in the coconut mil, fill the tin up with water and add that in as well. bring to boil and then turn down to simmer. add in the prawns, soya beans, coriander and lime juice and then leave to simmer for 10 minutes or so until prawns are cooked through. serve over rice in lovely deep bowls  

 

 

 

A Blast from The Past ...... {Thai Grilled Chicken}

When I was young Sainsbury's did a load of adverts that I guess were the first kind of supermarket celebrity endorsed adverts ever made. A celebrity would basically talk you through a recipe usually one that was slightly exotic (apparently it's thanks to these adverts that mozarella became mainstream on supermarket shelves) and then you could pick up the recipe card in store and get all the ingredients. Apparently when an advert came out Sainsbury's shelves would be empty of the ingredients on the card. Any how my Mum had a folder of these recipes and when she had people for dinner she would often make the Thai chicken that Shirley Bassey (I think) endorsed and I loved it, so after finding the video on YouTube (the recipe folder has long gone) I decided to make my version of this last night, and it was every bit as good as I remembered. Strange how tastes can evoke such strong memories.... anyone else remember the adverts? Guess its a UK thing......

Thai Grilled Chicken 

200g block of creamed coconut
300ml hot water
4 cloves of garlic, peeled and chopped
3 fresh green chillies, de-seeded and chopped - I had to use 1 red as I ran out of green 
1-2 TBSP fresh ginger, chopped
3 TBSP rich soy sauce
grated zest and juice of 2 limes
2 level TBSP caster sugar
1/2 pack of fresh coriander

3 boneless chicken breasts (this makes enough for 4 chicken breasts though)

Wild rice

mangetout 

cut the coconut cream into large chunks and place in a bowl. Pour the hot water over the coconut and stir to dissolve. place this in a blender with all the other ingredients except the chicken. Blend for a few seconds until well mixed and allow to cool slightly. make diagonal cuts across the chicken breasts, arrange in a dish and pour over half the coconut mixture. Cover and marinate in the fridge for at least 30 mins - overnight is best though. arrange the chicken skin side down in a grill pan and spread over the marinade grill for 15 – 20 mins, turning and basting occasionally. heat the remaining coconut mixture in a saucepan stirring occasionally and simmer gently for 2 or 3 minutes but do not boil. Serve the chicken with the sauce wild rice and some steamed mangetout. 

Linking up for the first time with Honest Mum - Thanks for inviting me to join in Tasty Tuesdays! 

And with Delcious Dish Tuesday with Eat Drink and Be Mary and Full Time Mama