treateater Entrées, Main Dishes, Seafood

Crispy Garlic Prawns

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This is a super simple recipe for Chinese style prawns in a sweet and tangy garlic sauce. It can be made in minutes – the prawns are first fried up in a light batter before being coated the garlic sauce. I normally make this with the intention of being main dish for dinner, but the prawns are so delicious that we keep dipping in for a taste and before we know it there’s not enough for a meal. So this may be better categorised as a starter.

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Crispy Garlic Prawns Recipe

Serves: 4
Preparation Time: 5-10 minutes
Cooking Time: 30 minutes

INGREDIENTS

  • 500 g raw peeled king prawns
  • 3 tsp cornflour
  • 2 tsp room temperature water
  • 2 tsp reduced salt soy sauce
  • 1 egg yolk
  • 1 tsp sesame oil

for the sauce:

  • 2 tbsp honey
  • 1 tbsp rice wine vinegar
  • 5 tsp soy sauce
  • 2 cloves garlic finely chopped
  • 0.5 tsp finely ground black pepper

METHOD

  1. Prepare the prawns by scoring along the outside of each prawn. This will cause the prawns to splay out when cooked and adds to the crispness.
  2. Mix the batter ingredients (cornflour, water, soy sauce, egg yolk and sesame oil) together and stir in the prawns.
  3. Shallow fry the prawns in vegetable oil on a high heat in a deep frying pan until they are pink. Do this in three to four batches. It should take the prawns around 4 minutes on each side to cook.
  4. Drain the prawns on a plate lined with two sheets of kitchen roll. Remove excess oil from the frying pan and wipe down.
  5. Mix the sauce ingredients (honey, vinegar, soy sauce, garlic, black pepper) together and add to the frying pan on a medium heat for around 2 minutes. Pour in the prawns and stir them through the sauce for a further 2 minutes.

NOTES

  • Serve with steamed basmati or jasmine rice, or over noodles.
  • If you’re a spice lover try adding a teaspoon of crushed dried chilli flakes to the sauce.
  • Toasted sesame seeds also make a perfect garnish for this dish.

treateater Breakfast, Chicken Dishes

Arroz Caldo

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Arroz Caldo is a Filipino chicken and rice soup or rice porridge. In this dish the chicken is cooked with a sauteed onion, garlic and ginger base before adding in rice, fish sauce and chicken stock. When served the soup is garnished with a boiled egg, spring onion and crunchy toasted garlic. Additional fish sauce and calamansi (a type of citrus fruit that is a hybrid of a kumquat and an orange, native to the Philippines) are also normally at hand to bring the flavours out even more if desired.

In the Philippines this dish is typically eaten during the cooler rainy season days, sometimes as a breakfast dish. However, my mum makes this for my daughter and I when we’re feeling under the weather. It is the ultimate Filipino comfort food.

Some people make this with glutinous rice, but I use basmati rice. I’m not a huge fan of fish sauce so in my version I substitute this with oyster sauce. Calimansi is also difficult to find here in the UK, so I substitute this with lemon instead. For extra depth of flavour I marinade chicken thighs overnight in garlic powder and soy sauce, this gives the chicken a richer brown during the initial browning.

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Arroz Caldo Recipe

Serves: 4
Preparation Time: 15 minutes
Marinating Time: 30 minutes – 12 hours
Cooking Time: 45 minutes

INGREDIENTS

  • 1 kg skinless chicken thighs
  • 2 tbsp garlic powder
  • 1 tbsp reduced salt soy sauce
  • 2 tbsp light olive oil
  • 12 cloves garlic finely chopped
  • 1 medium onion finely chopped
  • 4 cloves garlic crushed
  • thumb sized piece of ginger finely chopped
  • 1.5 l chicken stock
  • 200 g basmati rice
  • 1tsp finely ground black pepper
  • 1 tbsp oyster sauce
  • 2 stalks spring onion finely chopped for serving
  • lemon slices for serving
  • boiled eggs for serving
  • fish sauce or additional oyster sauce for serving

METHOD

  1. Marinade the chicken: Cut 2 slashes into each chicken thigh, add them all to a large bowl and combine with the garlic powder and soy sauce. Cover and leave in the fridge for at least half an hour or overnight.
  2. Toast the garlic: Add the oil and chopped garlic to a large saucepan. Put over a medium heat and stir as it all heats up. Cook garlic until golden brown. Pour into a metal sieve and place the sieve on a plate lined with kitchen roll to absorb the excess oil.
  3. In the same pan brown the chicken thighs in batches on a high heat for around 5 minutes per side. Then set aside.
  4. In the same pan fry onions on medium heat until soft. Add in the crushed garlic and the ginger and cook for a further 2 minutes.
  5. Add in a little stock and stir well to de-glaze the bottom of the pan. Then add remaining stock, rice and the chicken and stir well. Simmer for 25 mins.
  6. Serve in bowls topped with a boiled egg, spring onion and toasted garlic garnish and a slice of lemon.

NOTES

  • Yes, the fried garlic garnish is a bit of a faff (peeling garlic is so tedious), but it definitely makes this dish pop – the effort is so worth it.
  • Tip: when peeling the garlic slice off the hard end of the clove (where the cloves join together in the bulb) then place the clove under the handle of your knife. Press down firmly on the handle to very slightly crush the clove. This will loosen the skin and make it easier to peel off.
treateater Fish Dishes, Main Dishes

Blackened Salmon with Garlic Lemon Butter

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I always feel a little bit fancy when I eat salmon, so this dish is great for a date night or special occasion. It’s perfect for when you want a bit of “wow” factor at the dinner table, but you don’t want spend the whole day and evening in the kitchen. The seasoning in this salmon recipe has a creole influence, and the salmon is pan fried on a high heat. This allows the seasoning to go a nice deep brown colour producing that “blackened” crust. The garlic lemon butter adds a complimentary tangy-ness to the fish.

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Blackened Salmon with Garlic Lemon Butter Recipe

Serves: 4

Preparation Time: 5 minutes

Cooking Time: 17 minutes

INGREDIENTS

For the salmon:

  • 520 g salmon slices with the skin on (around 4 slices)
  • 0.5 tsp cumin
  • 0.5 tsp smoked paprika
  • 0.5 tsp mild chilli powder
  • 1 tsp garlic powder
  • 1 tsp onion powder
  • 0.5 tsp dried oregano
  • 0.5 tsp salt
  • 0.5 tsp pepper
  • 1 tbsp light olive oil

For the garlic lemon butter:

  • 2 tbsp butter
  • 4 cloves garlic
  • 1 lemon sliced (discard the ends)

METHOD

  1. Mix the dried spices (cumin, paprika, chilli powder, garlic powder, onion powder, oregano, salt, pepper) together.
  2. Sprinkle the seasoning over the flesh side of the salmon.
  3. Heat the olive oil in heavy-based frying pan over a medium high heat.
  4. Place the salmon slices flesh side down in the pan cook for 5 minutes. Be careful not to over crowd the salmon slices, fry them in two batches if there is not enough space in the pan. I find that my 28 cm Anolon Sauté Pan is ideal for this as it has a big enough area to cook all four slices of salmon at the same time. It’s a really versatile high quality pan – honestly the most used pan I have in my kitchen. Click here for more details.
  5. Carefully flip the salmon onto the skin side. Cook for and additional 7 minutes.
  6. Remove the salmon from the pan and place the fillets on a plate and set aside.
  7. Add the butter to the pan, once it is melted add the garlic cloves and stir for 2 minutes.
  8. Slowly add in the lemon slices, be careful as they will sizzle in the pan. Cook the lemon in the butter for a further 1 minute on each side.
  9. Pour the butter sauce over the salmon fillets and top each one with a slice of lemon and serve with the garlic cloves.

NOTES

  • Serve with wild rice or sweet potato mash, and steamed asparagus spears.
treateater Side Dishes

Easy Garlic Naan

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Recently I’ve been really inspired by South Asian cuisine. Curries and dal are currently my bag. I’m loving the heat from the spices, the wholesomeness of the pulses and satisfying savouriness of the sauces. Plain steamed rice was my accompaniment of choice, but I was craving the soft buttery naan you get in restaurants and decided to have a go at making my own garlic naan. It was way easier than I thought and super tasty. I can honestly say that I will not be buying dry supermarket naan bread again.

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Easy Garlic Naan Recipe

INGREDIENTS

For the naan:

  • 7 g fast acting yeast
  • 2 tsp caster sugar
  • 1 tsp salt (optional, see Notes below)
  • 300 g plain flour
  • 0.5 tsp baking powder
  • 150 g natural yoghurt
  • 25 g butter melted plus an extra tbsp
  • 2 cloves garlic grated
  • 100 ml water (room temperature)

For the garlic butter:

  • 50 g butter melted
  • 2 cloves garlic grated

METHOD

  1. Place the yeast, sugar, salt, flour and baking powder (i.e. all the dry ingredients) for the naan bread in a bowl and mix with a spoon.
  2. Add in the melted butter, and yoghurt. Then gradually add in the water whilst stirring with a spoon.
  3. Once a the mixture has come together use your hands to knead the dough for around 5 minutes. The dough should be a little tacky, but not overly sticky that a lot of it sticks to your fingers and you have difficulty kneading it. If you find that it is too sticky then add in a tablespoon of flour.
  4. Grease a large clean bowl with the additional butter and add the dough. Grease the top of the dough and cover the bowl with clingfilm. Place a tea towel on top and leave the bowl in a warm room for around 2 hours in order for the dough to rise.
  5. Once the dough has risen preheat your oven to the lowest heat setting.
  6. Make the garlic butter by mixing the butter and the garlic.
  7. Split the dough into 6 small balls.
  8. Place a non-stick frying pan on a medium high heat. Do not add any oil.
  9. Use your hands to press and stretch one of the dough balls into a flat tear shape. Wet your hands slightly with clean water to stop the dough from sticking to them.
  10. Dry fry the raw naan in the frying pan until it starts to puff up, around 3 minutes each side. Reduce the heat a little if you find it burns before reaching 3 minutes.
  11. Once cooked use a pastry brush to brush each side of the naan with the garlic butter and place on a baking tray.
  12. Repeat steps 9 to 11 for each of the dough balls.
  13. Place the baking tray of naans in the oven to keep warm.

NOTES

  • The salt in the naan bread is optional. I only add it if I am using unsalted butter.
  • Don’t worry about the naan sticking to the frying pan. The butter in the naan seems to prevent this.
  • Serve as a side dish with a curry or kebab.