Recipe — tom ka gai
Ingredients
Light coconut milk, 1 can
Sliced galangal, thumb-sized piece that’s been sliced
Sliced lemongrass, 2 small stalks
Halved shallots, 6
Garlic, 1 clove
Kaffir lime leaves, 3, torn
Sliced chicken breast, whatever works for you
Split bird’s eye chillies, 2 (those small hot ones)
Fish sauce, 3 tbsp
Lime juice, a good squeeze (I think)
I kind of followed this recipe from ThaiFoodPlus, but Neil and I agreed on some modifications (and acknowledge where we’ve fumbled!)
Method
- Bring the coconut milk to the boil.
- Throw in the galangal, lemongrass, shallots, garlic, and kaffir lime leaves (we didn’t have any kaffir lime leaves, unfortunately).
- Bring it back up to a slow boil, then add the chicken and let it simmer.
- Once the chicken has been cooked in the simmering coconut broth, throw in the chillies, fish sauce, and lime juice (we didn’t have any limes either).
- Give it a stir and take it off the heat.
- Serve it over rice or noodles.
This is the first time I’ve had a part in cooking something from scratch and it tasted good. And it only took 15 minutes, including prep time. W00t!
Total prep and cooking time on this was 20 minutes!
I want guacamole
I could actually make this guacamole recipe, although I’d strip it down even more (no chillies or cilantro, mainly because I can’t be bothered). My mum uses plain mashed avocado as a dip. She loves it. It’s not bad, but could definitely stand to gain from a teensy bit of bite from some onion.
Could burn water
In affirmation of my lack of any knowledge or skill in the culinary arts, I’ve just had to look up instructions on how to soft-boil an egg.
I actually like the whites quite runny, so I would probably let it sit for only a few minutes! Neil and his mother think I’m absolutely gross and disgusting for sitting there and spooning runny eggs into my gaping maw. Hehe.
One of my fondest memories as a child who generally wouldn’t eat anything more than crisps and Coke is weekends with my grandparents (because my grandmother was a good cook), when Saturday (or was it Sunday) mornings meant waking up to a soft-boiled egg. It would sit there in its egg cup, quietly contemplating its last moments of existence. My grandmother would remove the top and add just the tiniest of dashes of Maggi Seasoning, then we would sit at the kitchen table, raise our tiny teaspoons, and dig in.
I don’t know if it’s a sign of my ‘just existing’ or general quarter- to mid-life ennui (because it’s so easy to exaggerate angst), but after decades of not indulging in runny soft-boiled eggs, I’ve got a serious hankering. Even after I attempted a not-so-successful egg boiling last weekend, I’m not daunted. I shall try again, and I WILL triumph over the egg.
Egg, you don’t scare me. I’m gonna get you. I’m gonna boil ya and slurp ya up without even a pitying thought for the chick you might have been if your mother wasn’t a battery hen and not allowed anywhere near a rooster.
Packed lunches, or one of the four most important meals of the day
I’ve been thinking about lunches. A lot of money is saved by not eating out, so I’m casting about for ideas on what I can prepare and/or eat without giving myself food poisoning.
It’s been a couple of months since I’ve arrived in Scotland, and I didn’t touch any Maccas while I was in Singapore (I’ve had a McFlurry at Livingston, but it was disappointingly unflurried). I’ve been to Burger King once and have eaten loads of suppers from the chippy, and Neil and I have even been to Subway twice (after a late movie).
(I had a bad experience with a Subway franchise in Singapore and only ate my next sandwich earlier this year.)
The perfect sandwich, IMHO, is their cheese steak on the parmesan oregano roll, with all the salad but for green peppers and jalapeños. It’s got all the main food groups and my favourite things, steak and cheese. Oh, and olives. The only thing about a Subway sandwich is crumbs go everywhere, we (well, I) messed up Neil’s sister’s car last time. I have amazed myself twice by finishing a six-inch sandwich. I haven’t done that in years!
Then there’s my old favourite, a ham and cheese sanger. No more cheese (pre-)slices for me, it’s got way too much salt. I could put great Scottish cheese on some wafer thin ham slices (or salami… mmm), I reckon it would taste rather good. I want to do something with chick peas — maybe add some chicken and lettuce to make a salad? This Greek-Italian chopped salad sounds good.
My mum’s former maid used to pack the previous night’s spag bol for my lunch the next day, and I loved it. I think she had some sort of secret recipe, as I’ve never tasted the same since. I can get egg noodles and pre-cooked chicken at the local supermarket, so I might make some chicken and vegetable noodles, mix in sesame oil, soy sauce, and maybe a touch of something spicy for a kick*.
Maybe some day-old mac and cheese, Neil’s mum makes good mac and cheese. Not Kraft, it’s homemade. Yummy. Her tomato soup also deserves legendary status (hopefully I’ll get the recipe soonish). This quick bacon pasta from Cheap Eats looks good. I like bacon.
Another sandwich I’m a big fan of is smoked salmon on a bagel with cream cheese and a few capers for that extra bite. When I was a kid, I was under the impression that smoked salmon was extremely expensive — so, of course, I adored smoked salmon. Spinelli Coffee Company in Singapore (at Caltex House) did a decent mini bagel, and I’ve not had a great smoked salmon bagel since I lived in Australia.
Of course, my main goal is to get someone else to do this for me, since any time I make an attempt at what I laughably describe as ‘food preparation’, it ends up tasting quite, well, not good. I think it has something to do with my attention wandering after 30 seconds of doing something mundane, like stirring. There is an inverse relationship between my love for food and eating and how much I loathe cooking.
Asda sells a curried chickpea and lentil stew thing, it’d be quite good with some plain taco chips. Or mix some Dorito’s salsa with chopped salami or chorizo and make a sandwich or salad with the result. Even I could manage these things.
Anyone have any ideas for simple, not completely unhealthy lunches I can make?
* OMG I can’t believe I typed that. Something SPICY? Da-yum!