My Thai Chicken Curry

My sister was recently visiting from the US and as anyone with international guests knows, at some point you will land up cooking for an army of people! My family, plus the in-laws, meant I was cooking for 12 people one night including 5 adult men who eat like it's there last meal... you know who you are!!

When you have a bunch of mouths to feed, you have to cook one big pot of something that everyone will enjoy, but I like to add a heap of condiments so everyone can alter their bowl to their preference. I think it makes the meal a bit more fun, especially for the little kiddies!

Too many choices, Mama!

So here's my award winning Yellow Thai Chicken Meatball Curry as enjoyed by little people, 3 yrs old, all the way to Great Grand people - 94 yrs old and still kicking! (By award winning, I mean every bowl was practically licked clean, that's the biggest compliment for any cook in my book!)

Ingredients

mmmm, saucy!

500gr chicken mince

1 egg, lightly beaten

1 small onion, finely diced

Handful of dry breadcrumbs (I use cornflake crumbs)

Small handful of chopped coriander or parsley

Salt and pepper

Jar of Yellow Curry Paste (I use Valcom brand)

400ml can of coconut milk or cream, whichever you prefer

100-200ml of chicken stock, optional

2 tbsp fish sauce

1 tbsp sugar

Serve with rice

Condiments - this is optional but it makes this meal so much fun! Put everything in little bowls and let everyone help themselves to their favorites:

grated carrots, beansprouts, corn, finely sliced spring onions, coriander leaves, sliced chillies, roasted cashews, finely sliced snowpeas, lime wedges.

How to...

- Preheat oven to 180 degrees C

- Cook your rice according to the packet instructions.

- Mix the chicken mince with the beaten egg, onion, crumbs, herbs and a good pinch of salt and pepper.

- Heat a little oil in a frypan over medium heat.

- Roll a tablespoon of the mince mixture in your hands to make a meatball.

- Gently drop the meatballs into the hot pan and fry off so the balls are golden brown all over. Don't worry about the meatballs being raw in the middle, we'll finish the cooking in the oven.

- Scoop the golden meatballs into an ovenproof dish. Once they are all golden, pop them in the oven to finish cooking for 10 minutes. (Break one open to check they are cooked)

- While the meatballs are cooking, get your condiments ready and take to the table.

- Heat the frypan again on a medium low heat and fry off 4-5 tbsps of the curry paste until fragrant. You have to cook the paste as the ingredients are raw. And don't overheat the pan or the paste will spit.

- Once fragrant, add the coconut milk, fish sauce and sugar. Add as much stock as you like to make more sauce. This is optional but I add the stock as it cuts through the heaviness off the coconut - good tip for anyone watching their weight too.

- Add the meatballs to the sauce and you're done!

This recipe feeds four, but you can easily make more or less depending on your crowd. This also freezes really well if you want to make in advance.

Mama's bowl, yum yum!

Sticky Asian Chicken Drumsticks

My hubby loves chicken drumsticks!  So when they are cheap, I buy a few kilos, portion them and put them in the freezer.  The problem I have is my mum only ever ate chicken breasts, so I don't actually know what to do with drummies... but I'm learning!

Hubby remembered his mum used to slow bake drumsticks with soy sauce, but neither could remember what other ingredients made up the sauce.  So off to the internet I went and I actually figured out the original recipe - big pat on the back for me!

This is a great mid-week meal as the total prep time is 5 minutes, is cheap and can easily feed a crowd.  Also, if you have a slow cooker, feel free to use it for this recipe.

Ingredients
- 6 chicken drumsticks
- Olive oil
- 1 onion, finely diced
- 1 clove garlic, crushed
- 1/2 c soy sauce
- 1/4 c brown sugar
- 400gr can of crushed tomatoes
- Steamed rice to serve

How to...
- Preheat oven to 160 degrees celcius.
- Heat a little olive oil, over a medium-low flame, in a oven proof dish that's large enough to hold the drumsticks in a single layer.
- Add the drumsticks and fry each side until starting to colour.
- Whilst the drumsticks are frying, mix the onion, garlic, soy, sugar and tomatoes in a bowl.
- Add the tomato mixture to the drumsticks and move the chicken around to coat.
- Place the lid on top of the dish, or cover with foil and place in the oven for an hour - don't worry if this dish cooks a little longer, it shouldn't dry out too quickly.
- I like to take the lid (or foil) off for the last 15 minutes to let the sauce reduce a little and make the chicken that little bit sticky.
- Serve with rice, spoonfuls of sauce and chopped fresh coriander.

Recipe: Asian pork mince stir-fry

I call this dish "Asian" as it has definite Asian influences (soy, coriander, cashews) but I doubt it's very authentic... however it is a bowl of yumminess!

Om nom nom!!

It's my 5 yr old niece's favorite dinner, makes great leftovers, is SUPER quick to make and is such an easy dish to modify! If you don't have green beans, use carrots or water chestnuts or add all three to bulk out the dish. Don't like fresh coriander? I won't judge you... ok maybe a little... use fresh basil, or thai basil. You get the idea!

This also makes a great filling for San Choi Bow, Spring Rolls or an Asian Omelette - if you're not sure how to make these dishes, I promise I'll post details in the very near future!

Ingredients

500gr Pork mince

2 tbsps sesame oil

3 spring onions, finely sliced

2 clove(s) fresh garlic, crushed

1 tbsp fresh ginger, finely chopped

Fresh chilli (as much as you like, or none for kiddies) deseeded, finely chopped

1/4 c soy sauce

1/4 c oyster sauce

1/2 c water

1/2 chicken stock cube

2 tsps brown sugar

300 g green beans, cut into 2cm lengths

Small handful roasted cashews, chopped

Small handful fresh coriander, chopped

Cooked rice to serve

Method

- If you haven't got cooked rice, get this going first as it will generally take the longest to cook.

- Make sure everything is chopped and ready to go - you should be able to get this to the table in 10-15 minutes!

- Combine soy sauce, oyster sauce, water, stock and brown sugar in a bowl and set aside for later.
- Heat a large frying pan over medium to high heat.

- Add oil and heat until smoking.

- If your frying pan is big enough, crumble all the mince into it and cook for a few minutes, breaking up lumps as you go. You want to brown the mince all over. (If your pan is small, do this in batches)

- Remove the mince from the pan and set aside.

- Reheat the pan and cook the spring onions, garlic, ginger and chilli for 1 minute.

- Add beans and stirfry for 2 minutes.

- Add cooked mince and sauce mixture and allow to cook for 2 minutes or until sauce has reduced and thickened a little.

- Add cashews and coriander, mix well and you're done!
- Serve immediately with cooked rice.

NOTE: I've noted this recipe as Gluten-Free, but you MUST check your labels to ensure this, every product is different and some manufacturers are sneaking gluten into their products.