Favourite Recipes Of The Moment [Part 1]
Indulge me while I write about something other than interiors for a moment, but as you’ll know if you follow me on Instagram, I’m a foodie, cocktail lover, and skincare and fragrance obsessive too, and I know lots of you wanted these recipe recommendations…
Cooking doesn’t come naturally to me, but I do like it when the mood strikes. By the time I kind of got into it, I had our first child, and boy, can children take the joy out of cooking, so I guess I never really got going.
I don’t believe in the rather harsh theory of ‘let them go hungry’ if children won’t eat what they’re given approach - I find it old fashioned and plain old mean, but nor can I be bothered to cook two or three different meals to cater to different tastes (although I do occasionally bow to this), so inevitably, I adapted my cooking to suit the children more than myself, which kind of killed any associated enthusiasm.
My one true love when it comes to cuisine is Asian food. Japanese, Thai, Korean and Chinese primarily - I adore it, and could happily eat it for every single meal for the rest of my life. I also love Indian food. A lot. I would never choose Italian over any of the above, and couldn’t care less if I never ate another pizza.
This basically flies in the face of my husbands food tastes, though luckily he’s also super laid back and unfussy. That said, our one common ground across the board, is burgers and fries. Oh, and steak. As a family, we really love these things.
I’m trying to remove / drastically reduce gluten in my diet, and I guess that’s part of why I’m having an Asian cooking renaissance. That, and now Edie is a fully fledged grown-up and Baxter is almost twelve, they are way less fussy and more open to trying new things. I’ve definitely managed to instil a love of Asian food in both kids which makes me very happy indeed.
Anyway, enough rambling, the reason I started writing this post is that whenever I share what I’ve cooked for dinner on instagram I get messages asking for the recipes, and also feel duty bound to share any tweaks too, so I thought I’d pop some recent favourites here for easy reference. Some Asian, some not, but all have gone down really well at Hall HQ.
I honestly couldn’t believe how good this was. I’ve made it twice in a week - it’s truly outstanding, and wayyyy better than any Thai take-away for sure. It’s not a quick week day meal though, but great for a Saturday or Sunday night.
I knew Baxter would be freaked out by the busyness of Pad Thai, so I cook some noodles separately before the rest with a few tablespoons of the sauce, a splash of soy and just some of the chicken and / or prawns, with sliced cucumber and red pepper on the side. One day he’ll graduate to the full thing I’m sure.
Recipe notes: I used Shrimp paste in place of dried shrimp which I couldn’t get locally, and halved the amount. For the daikon I used Yutaka Takuan Pickled Radish. Don’t leave this bit out - it’s a game-changer! I used the Thai Taste Tamarind paste - a whole small jar (130 grams) was right for this recipe. I’ve done with chicken - thinly sliced and marinated briefly in a few teaspoons of tamari, and a teaspoon of fish sauce, and also with prawns as per recipe. I used more tofu - half a block / 140 grams of extra firm The Tofoo Co. naked tofu. Thai taste folded rice noodles, and found they are still very firm after soaking for an hour, so they require a fair bit of extra cooking with added water. You could probably soak them in hotter water to get around this, though I don’t find it a problem.
Thai Basil Chicken - Pad Krapow Gai (Omnivore’s Cookbook)
Some of you know that I met my husband Ed while working on a TV production in Thailand, 21 years ago, which is possibly why Thai food holds such a special place in my heart. I ate this meal on repeat most days for brunch. The crispy bottomed fried egg is a must! Unlike Pad Thai, this one is pretty quick and easy.
Recipe notes: I added two tablespoons of water to the sauce mix and used a little extra soy too. Well, Tamari as I mentioned I’m trying to avoid gluten. If anyone has any intel on whether there is a dark soy that is gluten free let me know!
My past attempts at Kedgeree have been underwhelming, so when my fellow foodie friend Dan raved about this version, I knew I needed to give it a go and he was right. SO GOOD, and pretty quick and easy too. I picked bay leaves from the garden - how smug is that!
Recipe notes: I added salt. I love salt, and for me it needed it. I also added salt, pepper and lemon juice to the yoghurt and coriander sauce, and had a dollop of mango chutney on top too. I would leave the mustard seeds out next time - I’m not convinced they add anything aside from a bitter / sour pop which Baxter really didn’t like.
Cobb(ish) Salad (Simply Recipes)
This is a family favourite and a go to when I don’t know what else to make. I use the above linked recipe more for the amazing dressing which totally makes it, and the other ingredients as below. I started making it when I realised that the kids would be more likely to eat salad if it was deconstructed not tossed so they could choose what they wanted, and chopped really small. I don’t know why, but it just works. Use whatever you fancy!
Recipe notes: My go to ingredients are…
Chicken - either poached and shredded chicken breasts, or a whole roasted or rotisserie chicken cut into pieces and served on a separate plate
Seven minute eggs - firm whites and perfectly fudgy yolks. Bring water to a boil, turn down to a simmer, add eggs and simmer for exactly seven minutes, then run under cold water. Leave til you’re ready then peel and cut in half.
Bacon - a whole packet - fried til crispy and chopped
Little Gem Lettuce / Red pepper / Cucumber / Perello Gordal Olives / Chives / Avocado
That’s it for now - I’m not promising this will be a regular feature, more of a every now and then when I have four or five recipes that I’ve tried that really warrant sharing kind of thing. Enjoy!