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Zoe's Chicken Laksa recipe

500g of boneless chicken (can be skinless too, if you prefer) breasts or thighs.
2-3 spring onions, chopped thinly and horizontally.
200ml coconut cream.
*a handful of freshly chopped coriander.
*a handful of freshly chopped parsley.
2 Tbsp finely chopped ginger.
4 cloves of garlic, finely chopped.
2 tsp garam masala (the mixture can be bought from your local supermarket).
Half an onion, chopped finely.
between 2-3 tsp of salt, add to taste.

*these can be the dried version if you can't get your hands on the fresh version, or it's too costly. but the fresh option definitely adds more flavour.



1. use a frying pan and just enough oil (I prefer olive) to cover the bottom of the pan. Brown the garlic, ginger, onion and the white bits of the spring onion, with the stove on medium. once the kitchen becomes fragrant, you know the ingredients have been browned to perfection.

2. add the chicken and cook thoroughly, or risk campylobacter/salmonella/general food poisoning. I've heard it's quite nasty.

3. add the coconut cream and let it simmer for a few minutes.

4. add the green bits of spring onion to garnish.

5. finally, serve with hot rice or noodles.

note: for those who like their Indian cuisine spicy, feel free to add chillis

serves 4

watch this space

This space will be filled by two recipes, butter chicken and chicken laksa. I'm the type of person who can't go without rice or noodles at least two days a week, having grown up in an environment where my mother made three meals a day, sometimes even bringing hot lunch to school for my brothers and I. So most of my recipes will, unevitably, have distinctly Asian flavours and ingredients.

Need to Know - The Basics?

Came across this link today:

20 Dishes you need to know

It’s a list of essential recipes for a flatter (or anyone else who regularly cooks for a large group of people). The first thing I noticed was how American most of these suggestions were. Well, obviously the lasagne qualifies as Italian food (but we all know it’s the Americanised version anyway).

Most of the dishes listed revolve around cheese, meat and pasta. Now I have nothing against a plate of meat smothered in (delicious, DELICIOUS) fatty sauce, but as a reasonably health-conscious person I thought it’d be a good idea to add some variety. Mac and cheese by itself is just carbs and fat after all, I reckon we can do better!

So over the next few months I’ll be compiling some recipes that’ll be easy, cheap, tasty and healthy (yes, these do exist).

Mmmm Salt + rice... We can turn this instant Risotto into something that actually looks like what's printed on the packet =)

Happy eating!

-Ju

I scream for icecream

Lately, I haven't had much of an opportunity to eat out, but I've eaten several icecreams from various brands and stores.

Mövenpick is a Swiss brand of high-quality gourmet icecream. It's a 900ml container of pure delight. Although it's a tad expensive...about $8 for any flavour, available at Mövenpick stores or at New World Supermarkets. Someone once joked that it would be virtually impossible to get fat on this brand of icecream unless one had money to throw around. To enjoy this icecream, you should eat in small portions.

So, I've currently tried the Maple Walnut flavour as well as the Chocolate flavour from their Classic range. The Maple one had a lasting effect on me, even though I'm usually not a fan of walnuts. The creamy texture of the icecream was what grabbed me. The Maple syrup in the icecream gives it a fragrant sweetness, whilst the caramelized walnut bits accompany the maple perfectly, by adding crunch.

On the other hand, the chocolate one was not at all what I had expected. Normally, I am the world's most undisguised chocoholic. Upon tasting two spoonfuls of this icecream, I was let down. The icecream itself was somewhat bland, no rich chocolate aroma and an overtly milky aftertaste. Its saving grace was supposed to be the thin cover of hardened chocolate. It reminded me of Choc Bar [a cheap chocolate ice-block you can buy at the dairy for less than $2]...It was much too sweet, obviously to compensate for the plain taste of the rest of the icecream.

Cadbury Well, usually I wouldn't touch their chocolates with a ten-foot-long pole, but their icecream range is fantastic! Their 2 litre tub of Triple Chocolate icecream is what I've been munching [only because licking sounds too kinky :P] on throughout these stifling hot summer days. There are tiny little chocolate drops inside the rich milk chocolate icecream. It's of a smooth texture, though probably not quite as upper-class smooth as the Mövenpick range. Topping off the taste-bud explosions, there's a thick chocolate sauce pooled at the centre of the icecream. Mmmmm...it'll make you dream about chocolate all day long. And, it's cheap enough to not leave a dent in your wallet! I bought four tubs over the course of a month and a half.

Killinchy Gold [self-proclaimed premium New Zealand icecream] Vanilla flavour really didn't make me go back for seconds. While it's not unpleasant, it's just so very off-the-shelf Vanilla icecream. It's got some random little brownish-black bits in it, which I presume to be the roasted vanilla beans, but aside from that, it's a boring flavour. Before I can comment on the entire brand, I shall have to try more flavours :3

One final brand, your supermarket regular Tip Top icecream, available virtually anywhere in New Zealand. The French Vanilla flavour is definitely more interesting than the original Vanilla one; this could be due to the fact that I don't like the no-nonsense, down-to-earth minimalist taste, being a rebellious young adult and all :D

Anyway, once I get the hang of uploading photos onto Blogger, I shall put faces to names ^_^

edit: one more icecream I tried, Real Strawberry icecream from the cafe by the Waldorf Tetra complex on the corner of Wakefield St and Symonds St, Auckland CBD. It was delicious, and really did taste of strawberries, as opposed to strawberry flavouring. However the strawberries were frozen ones, and were not as juicy or aromatic as I had anticipated. Nevertheless, it's worth my recommendation.

Doing the Auckland Tourist Thing

I love it when out-of-town friends come to visit. It’s a great excuse to spend a bit and do all the tourist things you’d never normally be bothered with. After all, it’s a treat right? Stuck with a limited budget, no car and only a weekend to explore Auckland, we headed off to Waiheke Island.

Last year I had a great night dining at Vino Vino, their scallops were excellent and the view from the balcony was fantastic as well. The Island has the advantage of being conveniently close to the city but still far enough away to qualify as a mini-break.

Actually the biggest advantage is that you can actually WALK to places from the ferry terminal. The town of Oneroa takes roughly 20min to travel on foot and if you choose the scenic route (as I’ve mistakenly done in the past) you can experience the glory of... the... uh, bush and wildlife.

A hot, sweaty walk later, we found the Local art gallery. Ah, the AC was amazing in there. The displays are also worth checking out, with plenty of local artists making contributions.

Phoenix – Melbourne boy was impressed with the ingredients

First food stop: local vege mart. When it became obvious Bryan and I weren’t keen on all the wine tours (And there are MANY on offer), we went to find a picnic lunch. Cherry tomatoes, vita-wheat crackers, bit of cheese and sundried tomatoes went well with the organic cola.

Maybe everything just tastes better with the sea air? Just don’t try stuffing a whole load of cherry tomatoes down in one go. That didn’t go down so well for us.

Herbal Cola tastes almost the same as normal coke but with a hint of herbs. Similar to the zing of ginger in gingerbeer. We didn't feel any REE-LAXing effects expect maybe the pride of choosing a slightly 'healthier'/alternative drink. Oh, and it's made in NZ as well.

After finishing a bag of Grainwaves we felt sufficiently satisfied (and fat) to go for a walk around the beach. We did the mandatory splashing, running, getting slightly sunburnt etc.. typical beach activities. Thirsty work!

Salvage's Iced Chai Lattes =D

Bryan wanted to try a chai latte, but it was really too hot to go for something with steamed milk in it.

“Do you have chai lattes that are served cold?”

“In fact, as of last week, we are serving iced Chai Lattes”

To be honest, marshmallows and whipped cream just don’t go well with tea. The sweetness overpowered the normally spicy and aromatic drink and the cream on top of the latte made it too rich for my taste. Maybe heat is required to activate its goodness? Either way, it was good, but not fantastic. I’d go for the hot version next time.

Two nights later we hit Hansan, a Vietnamese restaurant on Nuffield St in Newmarket. I like the place mostly for its waterwall and its affordable price (approx $10 per dish).

Chicken? Noodles? Yes please!

Vermicelli wins my heart at Hansan, but Bryan opted for egg noodles which were just as good. I’d recommend the drier dishes at Hansan (ie. Rice, normal noodles etc), mainly because I find soupy noodles too oily to drink down.

Tidbits – Costs and Locations

Ferry tickets (return from city centre) costs roughly $30 -35 depending on whether or not you qualify for a student discount.

Hansen Vietnamese Restaurant

(09) 570 6338

525-529 Ellerslie Panmure Highway

(This is what their business card claims, the one we went to was on Nuffield St in Newmarket... hmm)

Salvage

(09) 372 2273

1/118 Oceanview Road

Oneroa

Waiheke Island

Summer School Eating

One day I realised this:

I frequent WAY too many food blogs. Here’s a sprinkling of my favourites:

The Girl Who Ate Everything

Serious Eats

Cupcake Bakeshop (alas, no longer updated)

Unfortunately Palmerston North, my more-or-less hometown, doesn’t offer the wide variety of food that NYC or Europe or any other city with a population of more than 70,000. In fact, the biggest letdown was the closing of the local Gelateria one winter morning. Alright, for a city that rains a good half of the year and produces enough gales to power a moderately attractive fleet of windmills the ice-cream store lasted a fair amount of time. But the cravings...

And SO! When uni called and I moved my then-skinny ass up to Auckland, it was HEAVEN to discover ice-cream readily available and so close to campus. Ah, and the weather is rather perfect for ice-cream gorging on much of the days.

Auckland didn’t the start the food-obsession, but it did open up an opportunity for me to sample a lot more variety (albeit sparingly and cheaply). This blog began as an attempt to catalogue some of the smaller and more affordable student eateries around City Central.

Here we go folks =)

- Ju