Thursday 13 January 2011

Beef in Chilli Sauce

Getting a bit of a "Chinese" theme for a little while. This is going to sound pretentious as hell, but the one person I know who's been to China says Chinese restaurants are propagating a lie; I don't care, they still make great food.
For 3:
300 g "Sirloin steak" (it was in the 3 for £10 in Tesco, so we're not talking quality here, any sort of frying steak).
4 Small Onions
2 (Red) Peppers
2 Spring Onions
1 Tablespoon Ground Ginger (or fresh, whichever)
1 Chilli (or 1 Tablespoon Hot Chilli Powder)
50 ml Vinegar
1 Tablespoon Almond Flour (AKA Ground Almonds)
3-4 Tablespoons Apple Juice
Wok

1. Peel and chop the onions. Chop the spring onions, chilli and peppers. Chop the chicken into bite-size pieces.
2. Mix the ground ginger, chilli, vinegar, almond flour and apple juice. Again, I mixed it with a fork in a mug, because I'm very well equipped.
3. Throw the veg into the pan, followed by the beef, then the sauce (obviously, the chilli is chopped, so make sure you throw the sauce into the pan so the chilli gets into the pan).
4. Stir-fry the lot.

Volumise: I'm not gonna be very inventive here - spinach, pak choi, lettuce, bean sprouts; like last time.
Add carbs: Again, add some sugar to the sauce. Use less vinegar and more apple juice or some kind of apple sauce into the sauce.
Add fat: I added some coconut oil to the sauce, but as it's solid it wasn't easy to mix in.
Add protein: Again, add some egg to the sauce. Perhaps serve on an omelette base.
Add pretentiousness: Point out that I went to a local "foreign" (of the "Indian" variety) to get the chillis for this and the okra for the updated Texan Chicken. I also went to an independent supermarket to get the almond flour and coconut oil.

Sweet and Sour-ish Chicken

It was tasty and kept well; it was not very sweet or sour.
For 3:
3 Chicken Breasts
4 Small Onions
3 Peppers
1 Garlic Clove
2 Tablespoon Tomato Puree
4 Tablespoons Apple Juice (or Apple and Blackcurrant Squash)
2 Tablespoons Almond Flour
1 Lemon, Juice of
4 Tablespoons Vinegar
Wok

1. Peel and chop the onions. Chop the peppers. Chop the chicken into bite-size pieces.
2. Crush or finely slice the garlic.
3. Mix the garlic, tomato puree, apple juice, lemon juice, vinegar and almond flour (with a fork in a mug, if you're me).
4. Throw the onions and peppers into the pan, followed by the chicken then the sauce. Stir-fry the lot.

Volumise: Add some spinach, pak choi, lettuce and/or bean sprouts.
Add carbs: Mix some sugar into the sauce (this was in the original recipe). Add more peppers.
Add fat: Add more almond flour to the sauce. Add more oil to the stir-fry.
Add protein: Add more chicken. I have not tried this, but add some egg to the sauce. This should also help to thicken the sauce.
Bore anyone reading this blog: Add an inane story at the end of every single post.

Wednesday 12 January 2011

Cheese and Tomato Turkey Wraps

I was not expecting these to work as well as they did. Very handy for more than one meal.
For 3:
3 Turkey breast steaks
3 small blocks of cheese (I used cheddar, but mozzarella may work better)
Tomato puree or 3 sun-dried tomatoes
Basil
Roasting tray

Served with butternut squash mash.

1. Squeeze some tomato puree onto each block of cheese or put sun-dried tomato on cheese.
2. Cover turkey in basil.
3. Wrap cheese in a turkey steak and spear with cocktail stick (ensuring you go through the tomato if appropriate).
4. Roast in the oven at 200 C for around 20 mins.

Volumise: Wrap these parcels in lettuce once cooked.
Add carbs: Add more tomato puree or more tomatoes.
Add fat: Add more cheese or use a fattier cheese.
Add protein: Wrap the parcels in bacon prior to cooking.
Scald yourself: Squeeze the parcels just after getting them out of the oven so the cheese squeezes onto yourself.

Grilled Green Chicken

Very enjoyable, just be careful to remove as much marinade as possible before frying; I nearly destroyed a frying pan doing this.
For 4:
4 Chicken Thighs
2 Small Onions
1 Roughly chopped Green Chilli
4 Tablespoons Greek Yoghurt
Handful of Chopped Fresh Mint
Handful of Chopped Fresh Coriander
1 Tablespoon Garam Masala
1 Lemon

1. Mix mint, coriander, chilli, yoghurt, garam masala, lemon juice and a little salt/
2. Strip meat from thighs.
3. Marinate chicken and onions in above mixture overnight.
4. Wipe marinade off chicken.
5. a. Fry chicken in pan until golden brown.
b. Cook onions in saucepan.
6. Serve with coconut bread and a dollop of yoghurt.

Volumise: Add more onions and celery (I haven't tried the celery).
Add carbs: Mix some honey into the dollop of yoghurt. Add some honey to the marinade. Serve with mashed sweet potatoes.
Add fat: Add more yoghurt. Add some olive oil to the marinade.
Add protein: Serve with a side of crispy bacon. Mix some unflavoured whey to the marinade.
Destroy a frying pan: As I suggested earlier, don't scrape the marinade off the meat properly.