Prad Kra Pow..... and an uninvited dinner guest!

Well Miss A, after such glowing recommendations on Hawkers Cuisine, we set out in search of it on Thursday night (following the opening party at the Ellington Jazz Club -where we missed out on the free snacks!). It started really well, until in a moment of confusion, it seems we were hijacked by the uber enthusiastic staff at Billy Lees and were seated in their establishment, rather than Hawkers....!

So, given we were so hungry we figured that would be fine too. And it was until we had an uninvited dinner guest and were forced to abandon ship half way through our meal. And a fine meal it was - we ordered the BBQ Duck and the XO Pork Spare ribs, which were indeed XO good! We couldn't in fact quite work out what they were - it was like a lovely, unhealthy cross between KFC chicken, schnitzel and pork.... boneless for the most part, they were covered in a lovely, crumby, tasty batter and deep fried and served with a melange of fried chilli, spring onions, garlic and ginger liberally sprinked over the top! Yum. As was the duck. And the rice. Until, half way through our feast, we had a massive flying cockroach dive bomb the duck - it had a wee swim around in the sauce and then decided it would like to take a walk across our rice.... at which point the uber enthusiastic staff decided to totally disappear inside and we were left to fend for ourselves. When the cockroach made it clear that it didn't want to leave, we decided that we would have to, sadly leaving behind half a duck and the XO ribs.... shame.

On another note, I did make one of my favourite quick weeknight dinners, where the recipe comes courtesy of another Northbridge icon - Dusit Thai. They run cooking classes every 6 weeks or so where they teach you how to make some of their flagship recipes - and then the class all sit down to devour the creations. For $60 a class, it's a stelllar idea - see their website for details....

So, this is their Prad Kra Pow Nued or Stir Fried Beef with Chilli & Basil.... and trust me, it really does taste exactly like theirs, which to me, is the pinnacle of good cookery!

Beef with Chill and Basil (courtesy of Dusit Thai) - Serving for 4

2 Large Pieces of Beef Rump Steak
2 Red Chillies sliced finely
2 Green Chillies sliced finely (I usually omit these and it still tastes fab!)
2 Garlic Cloves
1 Large Brown Onion - peeled and sliced finely
1 Tbs Kecap Manis (sweet soy sauce)
1 Tbs Soy Sauce
1 Tbs Oyster Sauce
1 tsp Sugar
1/2 cup Chicken Stock
Fresh Basil Leaves

Slice the beef really finely - a tip is to partly freeze the meat which makes it really easy to slice in even, fine strips.

Use 3/4 of the chopped chillies and crush these together with the garlic cloves. Fry this paste in some oil, then add the beef and onions and toss together until mostly cooked. Add the sugar, sauces and mix together.

Add the chicken stock to taste - I like quite a 'saucy' sauce so I add it all - and stir through. Add the basil and the remaining chillies and serve with a big bowl of steamed rice.

Tasting Notes:

• This is super simple yet has a lovely zesty heat to it....
• You can add other vegetables - I've made this with asparagus, chopped and thrown in at the end, as well as red peppers. Vary it to your taste.
• Obviously adjust the heat to your taste by omitting or adding chilli
• Again, thanks to Dusit Thai for teaching and sharing this recipe. If you can get to a class, I highly recommend them!

The Chilli Jam Cook off...

So something funny happened the other week... it turns out we both made a batch of chilli jam unbeknownst to the other.... which was quite fortuitous since we are both on the quest for the perfect jam.

Since I have a crazy lot of chillis in residence on my balcony, I needed to use some up (see the photo - that's just one small portion, of one plant - there are another 6 plants). A on the other hand is so much better at spontaneous cooking.... so she just made some, because she could.

For years I’ve been trying to locate Jones the Grocer’s chilli jam here in Perth - obviously with no luck as they don’t even retail online and there are no stores. So, hence begins the quest – and it’s lucky I have so many chilli’s as we will be trying a few recipes until I get it at least close to what I want.

This is my version – A will share her version and you can try them out for yourselves and give us your feedback...

And if anyone does have a recipe similar to Jones’, do let me know as I’ll be happy to put it to the test and shall be forever grateful if it turns out!

Chilli Jam with Roasted Garlic & Tomatoes

2 Large Tomatoes (* see note)

3 Small / Pickling Onions – chopped finely

6 Cloves of Garlic - separated, skin ON
Olive Oil – a good splash or to taste

2 teaspoons Minced Ginger
1 Tablespoon Kecap Manis

1 Lime - Juiced

2 Tablespoons Brown Sugar

4 Red Thai Chillies, chopped finely (*alter the number according to your preferred heat!)

* I had 4 spare large grape tomatoes that I also roasted. Given I had a heap of chilli’s to use up; I thought these may temper the heat a little!

Preheat oven to hot, around 200’C. Chop tomatoes in large, even chunks then toss in olive oil, salt and pepper along with the garlic cloves. Add to an oven tray (cut side up so you don’t lose the middle) and roast, uncovered, in hot oven 30 minutes or until done to your preference.

While the tomatoes are roasting, fry off the onion in some olive oil in the saucepan you intend to use for the jam. I like mine soft and brownish, so for about 10 – 15 mins should do it.

When roasted, chop tomato coarsely and squeeze the gooey garlic from the skins. Add both to the pan with the onion. Add ginger, sugar, kecap manis, lime and chilli. Combine well, stirring over low heat until sugar dissolves and then bring to a quick sturdy boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered for around 45 minutes or until thickened.

Makes about 2 cups.

Tasting Notes:

· Nope. Not Jones the Grocer CJ. Although it's been so long since I've had it, it would be hard to tell...

· Mine didn’t thicken to the jam consistency I was imagining, so I had to resort to using a cornflour paste to thicken (possibly due to the addition of the extra tomatoes). I also wanted rather a ‘fine’ jam so I gave this a quick whiz with my mixer stick (Bamix thingy). I then used about 1.5 teaspoons of cornflour mixed with some warm water and some juices... then stirred in well till thick and gooey. This then thickened up even more on cooling, resulting in more of a chilli paste than a jam.

· Still, this has a great almost Asian flavour and certainly some heat.... I did actually add 5 or 6 chilli’s as I had a heap to use up, but I suggest 4 as per the recipe above.

· I’ve had this with blackened salmon; nice vintage cheddar and crackers and in a sandwich with ham.... all were delish!

· I shared this out and anticipate using the rest rather quickly, so I didn’t sterilise jars – instead I’m storing the jam in a nice airtight Tupperware container in the fridge and it seems to be just fine! Sterilising properly will allow this to keep for weeks and weeks I’d suggest.

· FINALLY, a reminder to handle chillis safely! I didn't and I paid the price for being impatient, and just silly for not wearing gloves. After a good lot of research, apparently as soon as you finish chopping chilli with nude hands, rub them with olive oil. This breaks down the oils in the chillis.... and also results in sexy smooth hands.... I tried everything - lemon juice, vodka, bi carb soda paste, soap.... but alas, I'd left if till the burning kicked in (bloody ages since I'd chopped!) and it lasted all day!