Category: Vegetarian

Thai style Green Mango Salad

Thai-style green mango salad

A lovely colleague and friend of mine gave me green mangoes this week inspiring me to make a salad to go with Thai Red Roast Pork.

A delicious combination which transported me back to eating Thai street food on my first visits to Thailand.

Whilst this recipe is simpler than traditional Thai versions and doesn’t include shrimp paste. You could roast 1/4 teaspoon some in foil and add to the dressing at the whisking stage.

You can also add prawns, tomatoes and cucumbers to this to make it a meal in itself, just make more dressing.

Ingredients

Salad:

1-2 green mangoes, peeled and grated (stop grating when you get to the seed)

1 large carrot grated

1/2 red onion or 3 eschallots finely sliced

1/2 cup chopped coriander leaves

1/4 cup fried shallots (ready made available in Asian stores)

1/4 cup peanuts

Dressing:

Juice of 2 limes

3 tablespoons fish sauce

2 teaspoons brown sugar or palm sugar

3 cloves garlic

1-2 red chillies

3 kaffir lime leaves, vein removed and sliced into slithers

1 teaspoon sesame oil

Method:

Thai style green mango salad with peanuts and fried shallots
Grate and chop salad ingredients
  1. Grate and slice salad ingredients.
  2. Pound garlic, kaffir lime leaves and chilli together in mortar and pestle (this helps release flavour from the lime leaves and enable garlic and chilli flavours to meld into dressing more
  3. Put paste into a medium bowl, add rest of ingredients and whisk until sugar dissolves (well mostly dissolves) Taste to check if additional fish sauce (salty) or sugar (sweet) needed to balance the flavour.
  4. Add peanuts to a dry non-stick frying pan and toast until browned (careful not to burn)1
  5. Assemble all the salad ingredients except he peanuts and fried shallots
  6. Add dressing and mix thoroughly then scatter over fried onions and peanuts to finish.
Thai-style green mango salad

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Urban Urab: Balinese style coconut and vegetables

Urab Sayur is a green vegetable and coconut salad that we often enjoy in Bali.

Whilst we can’t get the ingredients for our favourite fern tip “Urab” in Sydney, my so-called Urban Urab comes close to replicating the fresh and delicious flavours using local ingredients.

Bubu’s famous Fern Urab in Ubud

It goes well alongside Zuchinni in Coconut Milk Curry Sauce and Balinese Pork or any grilled or roast seafood or meat.

Ingredients:

  • 250g green beans, finely sliced
  • 2 cups of baby spinach sliced finely into shreds
  • 1/2 cup dessicated coconut
  • 2 small red chillis
  • 4 eschallots or a small red onion
  • 2-3 cloves of garlic
  • 1/4 teaspoon shrimp paste (optional)
  • 1 tablespoon fish sauce
  • juice of one lime
  • 1/4 cup Asian fried shallots
  • 2 tablespoons oil

Method:

  1. Pound garlic and chillies together in a mortar and pestle to create a paste
  2. Finely slice eschallots or red onion and the green beans….as finely as you can. Keep them in seperate bowls.
  3. Heat oil, add onion and cook slowly until caramelised and brown, then add garlic chilli paste and shrimp paste (if using) and cook for 1-2 minutes. (The shrimp paste will be smelly but adds depth and authenticity)
  4. Add green beans, fish sauce and water and cook until beans are tender but still have some crunch …about 2-3 minutes (I don’t use extra salt as the shrimp paste and fish sauce are salty but you can add salt to your taste)
  5. Remove from heat, add shredded spinach, dessicated coconut, drizzle with lime juice and scatter over the Asian fried shallots

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Zuchinni in Coconut Milk Curry Sauce

Inspired by the delicious, light “Kari Sayur” or vegetable curry side dishes which accompany most Balinese meals, this is a simple, quick side dish alongside Balinese Pork or just eat the whole bowl as a main course!

This version is very simple but comes close to the real deal using basic ingredients which are easy to get outside of Bali.

Ingredients:

1-2 eschallots (small red onion) finely diced

2-3 cloves of garlic

2 small red chillies

2 tablespoons of vegetable oil

1/4 cup coconut milk

1 tablespoon of fish sauce

1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder

1/4 cup water

2-3 zuchinnis cut into medium size chunks

Salt to taste

Method:

  1. Pound together garlic and chillies to create a paste or if easier just use a garlic press and finely chop the chillies.
  2. Finely dice the eschallots or red onion
  3. Heat oil over medium heat, add onion and cook slowly until soft and transparent about 5 minutes
  4. Add garlic and chillies, turmeric powder and cook for about 1 minute, then add coconut milk, zuchinni, salt, fish sauce and water…bring to boil and simmer slowly until zuchinni is tender. You might need to add more coconut milk and/or water as you want the end result to be soupy and not dry.
  5. Serve as a delicious side dish to anything, but great with Balinese Pork and jasmine rice.

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Grilled figs, Burrata and rocket salad

This was a delicious combo …drizzle honey with over figs and grill until slightly caramelised then combined with rocket, Burrata and sprinkle of balsamic vinegar, sea salt and black pepper.

Lovely salad with our bbq tonight.

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Almost Vegee Thai Fried Rice

I’m always surprised when I remember that Thai Fried Rice has tomato sauce in it! But it does make it quick an easy to make. This version is completely vegetarian except for the addition of some chopped bacon (because I had some).

It’s a great way to use up leftover rice and is a satisfying and yummy dish in it’s own right.

Almost vegee Thai Fried Rice

Ingredients:

1 onion finely diced

1 carrot diced

Handful of green beans chopped

1/4 cup corn kernels

1 tomato cut into sixths

1/2 cucumber cut into half moon pieces

1 beaten egg

2 rashers bacon, rind removed and diced (optional)

1.5-2 cups cooked rice, preferably chilled from fridge (jasmine best, but any leftover rice will do)

2 tablespoons tomato sauce

1 teaspoon Thai red curry paste

1/2 tablespoon soy sauce

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

Coriander to garnish

Lime to serve

Method:

1. Heat oil in a wok or frying pan, fry curry paste until fragrant, add onion, carrot and bacon if using and cook until carrot is cooked. Add green beans and cook for a minute.

2. Mix tomato sauce and soy sauce together and add to carrot mixture.

3. Move vegetable mixture to side of pan , add beaten egg and scramble before mixing through rice.

4. Add rice, then corn, tomato and heat through until green beans are softened and rice is warm.

5. Garnish with cucumber and coriander. You can also throw in some shredded baby spinach leaves if you want to up the green content. Eat with a squeeze of lime! Leftovers are great for lunch too.

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Green and Gold Rice Pilaf #spinach #peas #beans

This combination of green vegetables and turmeric rice makes for a lovely accompaniment or as a shared dish on the dinner or lunch table. Also delicious on its own with a simple yoghurt and cucumber raita on the side. It is packed with green goodness!

It’s a great way to brighten up leftover rice and can be made with brown rice for an even healthier outcome, although it won’t look as “green and gold”.

I served it alongside orange glazed salmon which made for a delicious and healthy summer dinner.

Note that you will need to cook and preferably chill the rice overnight and also park boil/microwave the green beans before starting to put this recipe together.

Green and Gold rice pilaf

Ingredients:

1.5 cups basmati rice cooked with 1/2 teaspoon turmeric , preferably chilled overnight

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 large onion sliced into thin half moons

1 clove garlic crushed

1/2 cup of peas

1 cup baby spinach chopped

1/2 cup of green beans cut into small pieces, par boiled until just cooked

1/2 small green capsicum finely diced

1 small green chilli (optional)

Salt and pepper to taste

Handful of torn mint leaves (optional)

Handful of toasted pine nuts (or toasted nuts of your preference)

Method:

1. Heat oil in large non-stick frying pan, add onions and half the diced capsicum and sauté slowly until transparent and beginning to brown

2. Remove half the onions/capsicum mixture and set aside for garnish later

3. Add garlic to remaining onions in the pan and cook for 1 minute

4. Add peas and green beans and cook for 2 minutes until warmed through.

5. Add rice and chopped spinach with 1/4 cup of water and cook until rice is heated through and water has evaporated.

6. Add with remaining onions, fresh diced capsicum, pine nuts and mint leaves and mix through before serving.

Green and Gold Rice Pilaf

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