Finally Nasi – zhuzhed up

The easiest way to show the “zhuzh” is to give the recipe again and underline the alternative ingredients.

Here goes :

Nasi Goreng

Serves 4-6

3 eggs

1 tbsp water

1 tbsp oil

4 tbsp vegetable oil

2 onions, finely chopped

2 garlic cloves, crushed or garlic paste

half tsp chilli powder – instead of using chilli

powder use ½ tsp of sambal paste *

8oz (225g) cooked rice – instead of using plain rice, use bags

of frozen rice with added veggies *

6oz (175g) cooked chicken or turkey meat, diced

6oz (175g) peeled prawns, defrosted if frozen

2 tbsp dark soy sauce

1 tsp soft light brown sugar

1 tbsp lemon juice

instead of using soy, sugar and lemon juice use

60ml of soy sauce and 120ml of Kecap Manis *

6oz (175g) cooked wafer ham, thinly sliced

instead of using cooked wafer ham use cooked

shredded ham hock *

black pepper

Beat the egg lightly with the 1 tbsp water. Heat 1 tbsp oil in a wok or frying pan. Pour in the egg and cook until set underneath, flip it and repeat. Slide the omelette out of the pan on to a board, roll up into a cigar shape and slice into strips – set aside.

Add the vegetable oil to the wok and heat gently. Add the onions, garlic and chilli powder* and fry until lightly browned. Add the rice* and cook for a few seconds then stir in the chicken and prawns. Cook for 2/3 minutes.

Mix the soy sauce, sugar and lemon juice* together, then stir thoroughly into the rice mixture. Stir in the ham* then season to taste with pepper. Spoon the mixture into a serving bowl and garnish with the omelette strips.

Optional sides :

Add a dish of chopped honey roasted cashews

Add bowls of soy and Kecap Manis for extra drizzle

Add a stack of small thin wraps – small wraps are easier

to control for little fingers

Add a stack of Little Gem lettuce cups – ideal for

filling with the Nasi and devouring – you'll save on

cutlery too!

Whichever variation of The Gorengs you choose the principle is the same – it's the perfect vehicle for using leftovers and adding treats like prawns and ham hock. It's quick and easy to produce and so satisfying to place a large wok full of deliciousness on the table with additional sides – more chopped cashews, bowls of soy, kecap manis, a heap of small thin wraps and a stack of Little Gem lettuce cups.

a perfect “dive in dish”

Another idea for a weekend treat!

Next up speedier still ideas with noodles and rice …

If you love fish – or Nasi but not …

… a variation on a theme.

Here's the fish alternative :

Nasi but not

4 tbsp vegetable oil

2 onions, finely chopped

2 garlic cloves, crushed or garlic paste

half tsp chilli powder or sambal paste

8oz (225g) cooked rice

6oz (175g) cooked salmon fillet, flaked

6oz (175g) smoked salmon, finely sliced

6oz (175g) peeled prawns, defrosted if frozen

120ml Kecap Manis (sweet soy sauce)

60ml dark soy sauce

4-6 hard boiled eggs, quartered

black pepper

Serves 4-6

Add the vegetable oil to a wok and heat gently. Add the onions, garlic and chilli powder and fry until lightly browned. Add the rice and cook for a few seconds then stir in the salmon and prawns.

Mix the kecap manis and soy sauce together, stir into the rice mixture, then season to taste with pepper.

Add the eggs, folding in gently, serve immediately, straight from the wok.

You can adjust the amounts of fish/seafood to your own personal taste – bearing in mind that you have two elements to replace from the original recipe – chicken and ham – 175g each plus 175g of prawns. You are adding hard boiled eggs and although these are a garnish they are definitely an integral part of the dish since the sauce is quite punchy and the fish quite salty so they play an important part in the balance.

Once again though, make it your own – adjust to suit yourself, if you want more prawns then adjust the amount of salmon accordingly. The great thing about this recipe is that it is a “leftovers” dish i.e. everything in it, apart from the onion, garlic and chilli and the sauce, is already cooked.

It's quite “kedgeree-esque” in that both contain fish and boiled eggs and both started life as breakfast dishes – now you have a choice – Asian or Indian!

Me thinks it's a perfect Saturday night treat.

Finally … the zhuzh

Noodles!

Before I continue I should say that I realise that budgets don't necessarily run to prawns, I've left the recipe as is, so that you can see how versatile it is.

Now for the Mie Goreng - the noodle version of the Nasi Goreng. The Mie includes two ingredients you may not have come across previously – kecap manis – aka sweet soy sauce and sambal paste – a paste made from chillies and spices and both ingredients are easily available in larger supermarkets.

Mie Goreng

Serves 4-6

3 eggs

1 tbsp water

1 tbsp oil

1 onion, finely sliced

Drop of rapeseed or vegetable oil

3 cloves of garlic, crushed or tsps of paste

2 carrots, finely sliced (you could use cooked leftovers)

2 spring onions, finely sliced

Pinch of ground ginger

1 tsp ground coriander

1 tsp ground cumin

1 red chilli, seeded removed and finely diced

1 tsp sambal paste

250g medium egg noodles, cooked

30ml dark soy sauce

60ml kecap manis

100g beansprouts

350g cooked prawns, defrosted

100g chopped roasted peanuts to garnish (optional)

Beat the egg lightly with the 1 tbsp water. Heat 1 tbsp oil in a wok or frying pan. Pour in the egg and cook until set underneath, flip it and repeat. Slide the omelette out of the pan on to a board, roll up into a cigar shape and slice into strips – set aside.

Heat a large wok or frying pan and add a drop of oil. Add the onion and stir fry for 2 minutes, then add the garlic, ginger and carrots and fry for a further 2 minutes. Add a drop of water to prevent drying out.

Add the sambal paste, coriander and cumin and fry for 20/30 seconds – again you can add a drop of water if required. Add the cooked noodles, spring onions, beansprouts and prawns – turning until warmed through. Add the dark soy sauce and the kecap manis and repeat.

N.B. For a vegetarian version, substitute the prawns with 300g of shredded Chinese cabbage – aka bok choy or pak choi and 1 yellow pepper (cored, deseeded and diced). Sweet baby peppers – red, yellow and orange – would work well too. You could add sliced water chestnuts and/or bamboo shoots.

Serve straight from wok or spoon into individual bowls and garnish with the omelette strips and peanuts.

On the other hand – if you love fish …

Rice and Noodles – The Gorengs

I know I've talked about these recipes previously but I think it's time for a refresher particularly in that they are most adaptable for leftovers – perfect in these times of frugality – desperate times call for desperate measures!

To recap, Nasi Goreng is Indonesian and began life as a breakfast dish using up leftover rice from the previous evening but has evolved into a popular street food choice, right up to being served in posh restaurants. It can be spicy, mild, vegetarian, vegan – you name it, the world is your lobster!

There's Mie Goreng too using noodles instead of rice.

Here's the original recipe :

Nasi Goreng

Serves 4-6

3 eggs

1 tbsp water

1 tbsp oil

4 tbsp vegetable oil

2 onions, finely chopped

2 garlic cloves, crushed or garlic paste

half tsp chilli powder

8oz (225g) cooked rice

6oz (175g) cooked chicken or turkey meat, diced

6oz (175g) peeled prawns, defrosted if frozen

2 tbsp dark soy sauce

1 tsp soft light brown sugar

1 tbsp lemon juice

6oz (175g) cooked wafer ham, thinly sliced

black pepper

Beat the egg lightly with the 1 tbsp water. Heat 1 tbsp oil in a wok or frying pan. Pour in the egg and cook until set underneath, flip it and repeat. Slide the omelette out of the pan on to a board, roll up into a cigar shape and slice into strips – set aside.

Add the vegetable oil to the wok and heat gently. Add the onions, garlic and chilli powder and fry until lightly browned. Add the rice and cook for a few seconds then stir in the chicken and prawns. Cook for 2/3 minutes.

Mix the soy sauce, sugar and lemon juice together, then stir thoroughly into the rice mixture. Fold in the ham then season to taste with pepper. You can place the wok in the middle of the table and “dive in” or spoon into serving bowls and garnish with the omelette strips.

This is an excellent recipe for leftover chicken and veggies from the Sunday roast – it's quick, easy and tasty. If this dish doesn't fit the “dive in” category then I don't know what does. It's an all time favourite in our house. A definite crowd pleaser and lip smackingly good to boot.

Then there's Mie Goreng, using noodles in case you're not fond of rice!

Reflections recipe - A Vegan Dessert Sauce!

Sticky Toffee Sauce

200ml Elmlea Plant Double Vegan

Alternative cream

40g Flora unsalted plant butter

100g dark soft brown sugar

Mix the ingredients in a saucepan and bring to the boil, then reducing to a medium heat, stirring until thickened – 2 minutes!

It freezes well.

Simple, yet it has all the ingredients to be a hit – can't fail – I hope.

Fast forward … in a word “gobsmacked” - they loved it.

It wasn't rocket science as I'm fond of saying, but it was a great success and a recipe that was quick, easy and I'll use again and again.

If you're stuck for a dessert give it a go anytime – it's not just for Christmas! I used it again for New Year for other members of the family and the reaction was the same.

May be I should call it the “Anytime Sundae”!

Reflections - a Vegan dessert idea – hints and tips!

Your sundae dish should be narrow at the base and wide at the top :

Swedish Glacé is an excellent product – it covers all the bases – vegan, dairy free, lactose free and gluten free!

Here's a photo of the raspberry version – available in vanilla as I used in this recipe and chocolate too.

As for the apples I'd got 6 medium eating apples that I didn't want to go to waste so I quartered ad sliced them, added a sprinkle of brown sugar and a drop of water and cooked them gently on the hob (you could use your oven if it's already in use) and used 3 medium pots to freeze since it's more convenient and less wasteful!

Sticky Toffee Sauce recipe coming up ...

Reflections on Christmas cooking …

… I needed a dessert for Christmas Eve.

The brief – it had to be plant based for two of us, the remaining four guests didn't have any dietary requirements.

You can go dizzy trying to split the atom – should I give in and buy a dessert or two? No! Then I realised go “plant based” for all.

Okey dokey, I want a combination of fruit, cream – may be ice, crunch or texture if you like and then a surprise.

Hmm, I have cooked apples and Swedish Glacé in the freezer, that's the fruit and ice cream sorted – uninspiring you might think.

Then I had a lightbulb moment - M&S Plant Kitchen makes Double Chocolate Chip Cookies (8 for £2 in the biscuit aisle) – I could bash them to a rubble in a food bag, clipped, using the end of a rolling pin.

I'm getting there … and then a lightbulb moment for the finale – sticky toffee sauce warmed to drizzle over – the bonus I can make it ahead and freeze. All that's required is a glass sundae dish to serve!

Here's the plan :

for assembly - using your sundae dish

a generous tablespoon of Swedish Glacé

a generous tablespoon of cooked apples

a generous handful of the cookie rubble

warm the Sticky Toffee Sauce in the microwave

(1-2 minutes) and drizzle generously over the top

I think I'll call it a Christmas Sundae!

The Pasties – the photos

Have a look at the results :

These are large pasties – they measure 22cms/8½” x 12cms/4½” over the middle. Cut in half or leave whole if you're feeding hungry hoards or have a very large appetite!

The bonus – you can make a batch of the pastry, divide, weigh and wrap and treat the filling in the same way. I took my own advice and made two pasties and popped the remaining portioned pastry and filling into the freezer, ready for when I needed a comfort food fix.

I should also say that authentic Cornish pasties are cooked with raw ingredients – I've “borrowed” the pastry, used my own filling and am very pleased that I did!

A small tip - pasties will keep warm for a long time - wrap them straight from the oven in either greaseproof or baking paper and then a clean tea towel. It does work and the pasty will stay warm – it definitely saves burning your mouth when you're itching to devour.

Ta dah – and economical too!