Indonesian Cap - Cay

Cap Cay in Hokkian language (one of many dialects spoken among Asian communities) means everything mixed together. Which is literally what this dish is all about. It’s a vegetable stir-fry and you are welcome to throw any vegetable you want to make Cap Cay. It is another popular vegetable dish in Indonesia.

 Ingredients :

• 1.7 oz (50 g) of sugar snap peas
• 2 chicken thighs (de-bone and thinly sliced)
• 5-6 sweet prawns and sliced squids (optional)
• 2 carrots (thinly sliced)
• 1 large tomato (cut into wedges)
• 3.5 oz (100 g) broccoli/cauliflower florets
• 5-6 wild mushrooms (sliced)
• 1 bunch of yu choy/chinese broccoli (washed and roughly chopped)
• 2 cloves of garlic (finely chopped)
• 2 teaspoon ginger (finely chopped)
• 1/2 onions (thinly sliced)
• 1 C of chicken stock
• 2 Tbsp of corn starch (more if needed) dissolved in 1 Tbsp water
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1 Tbsp oyster sauce
• 2 Tbsp of Olive oil/ Canola oil

Instruction :

1. Heat up oil in the wok. Add in garlic, onions, ginger and stir fry until they are fragrant.
2. Add in chicken meat, prawns, sliced squids and oyster sauce. Saute until it is cooked. Add in broccoli/ cauliflower florets, carrots, snap peas, yu choy, and tomato wedges and cook until they are soft
3. Add in chicken stock and let it simmer for about 1 minute. Season with salt and pepper
4. Add in corn starch mixture and stir until the sauce is thickened. If it’s not thickened enough, you can repeat the corn starch mixture and add more
5. Remove from the heat and place on the serving plate. Serve immediately with rice and other dishes

Nasi Goreng ( Fried Rice )

This simple, yet wonderful recipe for Fried Rice will please everyone at your table. It's easy to make and just as tasty as the fried rice you'll get at your favorite Asian restaurant.

Ingredients : 
2 cups (500 ml) rice
5 cups (1¼ litres) water
4 sachets Concentrated Liquid Fish Stock
   OR 4t (20ml) Chicken Stock Powder
4 T (60 ml) canola oil
4 onions, sliced
2 chicken breasts, cut into strips
4 cloves of garlic, chopped
2 T (30 ml) Coriander Pesto
1 t (5 ml) grated ginger
1 to 2 red chillies, finely chopped
4 T (60 ml) soy sauce
200 g cooked prawns, peeled (optional)
6 eggs, fried in butter
Diced carrot, green peace n celery

  
Instruction :
Cook the rice in the water with the stock for 15-20 minutes. Once cooked, allow the rice to cool.

Stir-fry the onions in the oil until beginning to brown.

Add the chicken breast strips and continue cooking over a high heat until the chicken is just done, no more than 5 minutes.

Lower the heat and add the garlic, Coriander Pesto, ginger, and chillies. Sauté for one minute to develop the flavours. Add the soy sauce, cooked rice and the prawns. Warm through while stirring to prevent the rice from sticking.

If you want, top the dish with fried eggs and prawn crackers.

PS : Any other diced meat or fish can be used instead of the chicken and prawns. Vegetarians can replace the chicken with cubed butternut and the prawns with feta cheese.

Lasagna

The classic Italian dish Lasagna (Lasagne as the Italians would insist), is a rich and flavoursome meal that uses fresh and wholesome ingredients helping it become a family favourite over the years.

 Ingredients:

1 table spoon of olive oil
Cracked black pepper
½ pint of beef stock or similar
500g of lean steak mince
100g of mushrooms
1 large chopped red onion
¼ clove of garlic (or to taste)
15 grams of tomato concentrate
1 tin of quality chopped tomatoes
1 packet of lasagna sheets/preferably green, (Verdi)

White Sauce:
300ml of milk
150g of grated chedder
20g of butter
25g of plain flour

Cooking instructions and tips for lasagna:
Whilst heating the pan on a low heat with the oil chop the onion and finely chop the garlic.

Add the onions and turn up the heat to sweat for 30 seconds, then add the garlic. Immediately start breaking up the mince into the pan. Stir continuously until golden brown.

Some of the mince will start to water, feel free to drain any excess water for a lower fat option; add the pepper to your taste.

Add the chopped tomato and the tomato concentrate and then the mushrooms once the tomato is consistently spread; add the beef stock and leave on a simmer heat whilst preparing the white sauce.

Melt the butter in a pan being careful not to burn and sieve flour into the butter to avoid lumps and stir to consistency, add the milk. Stirring on a low heat will avoid any issues.

Once to a medium heat slowly add the cheese, stirring continuously, add more cheese to taste.
Better to use a Pyrex dish, but simply layer the meat, then pasta, then white sauce, then pasta, then meat and so on. The more pasta you use the drier the dish and likelihood of the lasagna keeping its form when cut into portions, but do try not to overlap pasta when creating your layers.

Make sure there is a white sauce layer on the top and sprinkle the remaining cheese on top. At this point feel free to add Italian herbs, grated bread crumbs, chilli flakes and parmesan to your taste.

Bake in the oven at 180c  for 45-60 minutes and use a butter knife to push through to understand if the pasta has cooked.

Serve with a crusty bread role or a rocket side salad, but the most important thing… yet more parmesan!
  
serves 4-6 people

Spaghetti Carbonara

Spaghetti Carbonara is one of the most popular Italian pasta dishes. This carbonara recipe combines cream, eggs, cheese and bacon.

The traditional Italian version omits the cream, but most people in the states are accustomed to having a bit of cream in their pasta carbonara.

 Ingredients:

• 1 lb spaghetti
• ¼ cup heavy cream
• 4 eggs
• ½ lb bacon, cut into ½-inch dice
• 1 tsp extra virgin olive oil
• 2 Tbsp chopped Italian parsley
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• ¾ cup freshly grated pecorino-romano cheese (parmesan may be substituted)

Preparation:

1. Fill a large soup pot with cold water and add a handful or so of Kosher salt. Stir and taste; it should taste like seawater. Cover the pot and heat the water until it boils.


2. Add the diced bacon to a cold sauté pan and cook slowly over a low heat for 10 to 15 minutes or until crisp. Remove bacon from pan and drain on paper towels.


3. Drop the spaghetti into the boiling salted water and cook according to package instructions, about 6 to 9 minutes or until al dente, or tender but still firm to the bite.


4. While the pasta cooks, combine the eggs, cheese, cream and olive oil in a bowl and beat with a whisk until completely mixed.


5. Drain pasta, toss with the egg and cream mixture, then add the cooked bacon and chopped parsley. Serve right away, with additional grated cheese if desired.

Serves 4