Thai green curry with prawns

Tasty curries

Initially I was going to name this post ‘thai green prawn curry,’ but then I thought that that could give the impression that it was the prawns that were green, rather than the curry, which is definitely not the case. If your prawns are green...well, I would probably throw them away if I were you.

Thai green curry seems to be one of those recipes that pretty much everyone has in their repertoire these days. Here’s how I make mine.

*Disclaimer* - This curry is no doubt hideously unauthentic, but it tastes good and is super-speedy, so I really don’t give a damn.

Thai green curry with prawns

Serves 4

For the paste:

3 cloves garlic

3 green birds eye chillis

4 spring onions

Small knob of ginger

1 tbsp phad-kapraow paste (holy basil and chilli)

For the curry:

1 tin coconut milk

2 tbsp fish sauce

3 sticks of dried lemongrass

1 pack of mange tout

1 pack of fine green beans

Handful of peas

Handful of mushrooms

1 pack raw king prawns

1 pack cooked small prawns

1/2 lime

To serve:

Basmati rice

Lime wedges

Put your rice on to cook.

Stick all the paste ingredients in a blender and blitz.

Phad-kaprow paste! This stuff is crazy-spicy. Seriously. It burrrrrns.

 

Devein the king prawns and fry with the paste for 2 mins. Add the mushrooms and fry for another minute.

Add the coconut milk, fish sauce, lemongrass sticks, mange tout, green beans, and juice of half a lime. Cook for a further 3 minutes, until the vegetables are almost tender. Add the peas and small prawns and cook for a minute more.

Serve your curry with the rice and a wedge of lime.

Roka, Canary Wharf, London.

(From left to right) Sweet potato with soy, chicken and spring onion skewers,  rice hot pot,  brocolli with miso.

I had a lovely meal at Roka with friends from work. If you find yourself in the Wharf, and are looking for some tasty Japanese food that goes beyond just sushi, I would recommend it as the food is delish.

However, one slight word of warning - Roka is one of those restaurants with a 'concept.' A 'concept' that they feel obliged to explain to you before you order. If you're like me, you are likely to get slightly annoyed by this. The 'concept', as it was, turned out to be nothing more than 'everyone shares what they order.' Which is fine, y'know, because I like trying as many things as possible and so normally end up sharing with friends. However, it vexes me slightly when I am told, in an *ever-so-slightly-condescending* manner how I am to eat the food that I have paid for. Anyway, as I said, this is a minor beef really, as the food is so good. Rant over.

We ate:

tori no kameshi  - rice hot pot with soy chicken and shitake mushrooms

 koika no kara age - fried baby squid with shichimi and lime

kihada maguro no tataki - tuna tataki with apple mustard dressing

yakitori negima  - chicken and spring onion skewers

We also had a couple of side dishes – sweet potato with soy and broccoli with miso.

My favourite bit was definitely the tuna tataki, which was truly spectacular.  It was almost worth the guilt. I KNOW it’s endangered, we really shouldn’t be eating it, I GET IT, I do. It’s just…well, it really is very tasty isn’t it? The Bear was suitable peeved at me when he heard that I’d ordered tuna (he studies marine ecosystems and stuff, so knows about this shiz). I promise to be better from now on guys, honest. Mackerel all the way!

Crispy-skinned mackerel with asian dressing

Tasty mackerel dinners

The other night I decided I wanted to do something with mackerel, and after a brief peruse online I found this little gem of a recipe from Jamie Oliver. It is nice and speedy to make – the dressing comes together in the time it takes the fish and rice to cook – which made it perfect for me to throw together on Friday night having just come back from London (and so not in the mood for faffing about with anything too complicated). I expected this to be tasty, but not quite as tasty as it was in reality, which is to say REALLY DAMN TASTY.

Funnily enough, I never used to like mackerel when I was younger. Then again, I didn’t like the taste of coffee either, so it is clear that I was a foolish child. Nowadays it’s a rare morning that I don’t have a cup of coffee, and I’m pleased to report that mackerel is firmly back on the menu too.

Mackerel is a fish which really does tick all the boxes...it’s very good for you, it’s pretty cheap, it’s sustainable (very important to the Bear) and most importantly it’s absolutely delicious. In fact, the only downside is that hours later, if you happen to burp - it will taste like mackerel. Accept this fate, and you’re onto a winner.

Crispy-skinned mackerel with asian dressing

Serves 2

For the fish:

2 x mackerel fillets

½ lemon

Olive oil

S + P

For the dressing:

1 red chilli

1 spring onion

A thumb-sized bit of fresh ginger

1 garlic clove

2 tbsp soy sauce

2 tbsp runny honey

1 tbsp sesame oil

Zest and juice of 1 lime

To serve:

Basmati rice

1 spring onion

1 red chilli

A few sprigs of mint

Put your rice in a pan, add boiling water and leave to cook for 10 mins. In the meantime, add some olive oil to your frying pan and heat up until it is nice and hot, then add the mackerel, skin side down. Season the fish with the salt and pepper. Grate your garlic, ginger, spring onion, lime zest and chilli into a bowl, then mix in the soy sauce, honey, sesame oil and lime juice. After about 7 minutes, flip the fish over, squeeze over the lemon juice, and leave to cook for a further couple of minutes.

Finely chop the remaining spring onion, chilli and mint. Drain the rice and divide between 2 plates. Serve the fish on top of the rice, drizzled with the dressing and sprinkled with the spring onion, chilli and mint. Oh yum.