tom yum soup

Ingredients

For the fishcakes

• 400g fish – I’ve used cod, prawns, whatever
• 3 spring onions, roughly chopped (green and white parts)
• Half a bunch of coriander, roughly chopped
• Small piece ginger, peeled and roughly chopped
• 1 red or green chilli, roughly chopped
• 1 clove garlic
• 1 tsp fish sauce
• 1 tsp red curry paste

For the soup

• 300ml good chicken stock
• 2tsp tom yum paste
• 5 spring onions, roughly chopped (green and white parts)
• Half a bunch of coriander, roughly chopped
• Small piece ginger, peeled and roughly chopped
• 1 red or green chilli, roughly chopped
• 1 stick lemongrass, trimmed and chopped
• 1 clove garlic
• 1 tsp fish sauce
• whatever veggies you have stocked

Method

For the fishcakes:
Put all the ingredients in the food processor and process until finely chopped but not too paste like. Form into small cakes and refrigerate until you’re ready to cook them.

For the soup:

Chop all the vegetables and sort them according to the order in which they’ll cook. In a large pan, warm a little oil and add the chilli, ginger, garlic and the white part of the spring onions. Cook until the wonderful volatile oils make you cough, but nothing is browning. Then add your slower-cooking veg, the stock, tom yum paste and a cup of water. Simmer until the hardest of the veg – usually the carrots – are beginning to tenderise. Then add the softer vegetables and simmer.

Heat a pan with a little oil or non-stick cooking spray and cook the fishcakes for about five minutes a side, until brown, sticky and cooked through.

Add your final ingredients to the soup: the spinach and spring onion tops, tofu or raw prawns if you’re using them. Simmer briefly, then finish with fresh coriander.

Serve the fishcakes on the side and the soup in its pot. You can eat them separately or dunk the fishcakes in the lovely fragrant broth.

Asian Sticky Chicken

Ingredients

8 skinless, boneless chicken thighs or chicken tenders
3 T balsamic vinegar
3 T low sodium soy sauce
1 t Splenda or (2 T Brown Sugar Blend Splenda or 3 T honey Consolidation)
2 t chili paste

Method

In a skillet with a bit of cooking spray, brown both sides of your chicken.  Chicken thighs should probably cook for 5 minutes a side, chicken tenders for about 3.  While you’re doing that, combine the rest of the ingredients in a saucepan, bring to a boil and simmer for 5 minutes, or until it thickens.  After your chicken has browned, add the sauce to the skillet and cook for another 5-10 minutes for thighs, 5-7 minutes for tenders, or until chicken is fully cooked.  Voila.  It’s that simple!

Thai Basil Chicken

 

Ingredients

• cooking spray
• 4 cloves garlic minced
• 2-6 thai “bird” chilies chopped and pounded with a mortar and pestle (keep seeds in for extra heat)
• 2 shallots finely diced
• 250g/1/2 lbs boneless chicken thigh boneless chicken thighs, coarsely chopped, or cut into small bite-size pieces
• 1 tbsp. Thai fish sauce
• 2-3 tspn. black soy sauce (the sweet kind), or to taste
• 2 tspn splenda
• pinch of white pepper
• big bunch of Thai Holy Basil or or Thai sweet basil, stems removed
• 2 eggs
• 2 small kaffir lime leaves, very finely slivered (optional)

 

Method

Add spray into a heated wok, follow by chopped garlic and shallots. Stir fry the garlic and shallots until aromatic, then add the chicken meat into the wok. Quickly stir-fry and break the ground chicken meat into small lumps. When the chicken meat changes colour, toss in the chillies and the seasonings (fish sauce, sugar alternative, and sweet soy sauce) and continue to stir-fry. Add in the basil leaves and do a few quick stirs until the basil leaves are wilted and you smell the exotic fragrance of the basil leaves. Sprinkle two dashes of pepper powder into the dish, do a final stir, dish out and serve immediately.

Chicken Ragout with Aubergine

Ingredients:

• 2 tbsp olive oil, plus extra (I know……)
• 4 skinless chicken filet/breasts
• sea salt and black pepper
• 2 shallots chopped2 peeled Garlic Cloves, smashed
• 1 medium aubergine/eggplants chopped.
• handful of thyme sprigs
• handful of rosemary sprigs
• 2 courgette/zucchini chopped
• glass of dry white wine
• 4 good tomatoes, peeled, seeded, and chopped (or 400g/1 14oz can of chopped tomatoes)

 

Method

• Pre-heat the oven to190C/375F. Heat a large skillet and add smear with a little olive oil
• Season the chicken breasts with salt and pepper. Brown the chicken for 3 minutes each side and transfer to a plate.
• Add 2 tbsp. olive oil to the pan and add the shallots, garlic, aubergine/eggplants, and a few thyme and rosemary sprigs. Cook for 7 minutes, stirring occasionally and generously season with salt and pepper.
• Add the courgette/zucchini and pour in the wine. Reduce down until about half the wine is left. While you’re reducing, put an sprayed roasting pan in the oven to heat up.
• Stir the tomatoes into the vegetables and add to the roasting pan. Place the seared chicken breasts on top and scatter some more herb sprigs on top. Bake in the oven for 10 minutes or more if needed until the chicken is cooked through.
• Let the meal sit for about 5 minutes after removing it from the oven and you’re done

Enjoy

Spicy Garlic Sauce

Quick sauce which works great with any leftovers you have in your kitchen and it’s dead easy to make.

Ingredients

• 2 minced garlic cloves
• 100ml/half a cup of beef broth
• 100ml/half a cup of red wine
• 2 chopped scallion
• 1 tblspn oyster sauce
• 2 tblspn low sodium soy sauce
• 1 tspn of sugar alternative
• 1-2 tspn. red pepper flakes or crushed dried chilli
• 1 tblspn Corn starch mixed with 1 tblspn of water

Method

• Mix all ingredients up to the corn starch and add to a pan.
• cook for 1 minute and add the corn starch
• simmer for 2-3 minutes

 

Works great over beef and/or veggies

Easy Tandoori chicken Lunch ala Dukan

Ingredients

• 6 whole chicken drumsticks skin discarded
• 1 cup plain yogurt (no-fat Greek-style which is nice and thick)
• chopped fresh mint leaves
• chopped fresh coriander/cilantro
• 2 tblsp hot curry paste (Pataks?)
• 1 tspn salt
• black pepper to taste

Method

• Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 250C/500F. Line rack of a dish with tin-foil.
• Stir together all ingredients . Coat the chicken legs completely, and put in oven dish
• Roast chicken until charred in some spots, turn once halfway, and cook through for about half an hour

If you want a more authentic Tandoori recipe try this one. More work and ingredients for sure.
If you have the time, a great way of doing it

Dukan Moussaka

A Dukan friendly version of Moussaka, even the kids didn’t mind my diet food and they really don't like Aubergine/eggplant

 

Ingredients

• 500g/2 lbs ground beef
• 2 large aubergine/eggplants, cut into slices
• 1 chopped onion
• 1 can diced tomatoes
• cup of red wine
• 2 tspn dried oregano
• fresh parsley, chopped
• 1 tspn cinnamon
• 2 eggs (separated)
• 100gr/1/2 cup oat bran
• 3 tblspn Parmesan cheese, finely grated
• dash of freshly ground nutmeg

Sauce

• 700 ml (3 cups) 0% fat or skim milk

• 2 tblspn corn starch mixed with 2 tblspn milk

• dash of cinnamon & nutmeg

• 60g /1/4 cup grated Parmesan

Method

• Warm oven to 180C/350F
• Make Béchamel sauce by almost bringing the milk to the boil. Add the corn starch, stirring constantly until thick.
• Add the cinnamon, nutmeg, cheese and egg yolks stirring constantly until you have a nice thick sauce Allow to Cool while making the rest
• Sauté onion and beef with some cooking spray and drain.
• Add tomatoes, wine, oregano and simmer for half an hour
• Place aubergine/eggplants on a baking sheet, and grill/broil until lightly browned.
• Add the egg whites,cheese and oat bran to meat sauce and take off heat

 

• Spray your dish of choice with cooking spray and layer the dish with half of the aubergine/eggplant, all the meat mixture and the rest of the aubergine/eggplants . 
• Pour the béchamel sauce over the top and add Parmesan and nutmeg.
• Put in oven and bake in for 1 hour