Grilled Whole Sardines with Thai Side Sauce

Ingredients

• 8-10 whole sardines, cleaned well (intestines and entrails removed, rinse and let dry)
• Barbecue Rub for Sardines:
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 3/4 tsp turmeric powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 tsp cornstarch
• 1/2 tsp dry chilli flakes or 3/4 tsp chilli powder
• 1 tsp ground pepper
• Side Sauce
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tsp butter
• 1 fresh chili, deseeded & minced
• 1/4 cup fresh chopped coriander
• 2 tbsp fish sauce
• 3-4 tbsp lime juice
• 2 cloves garlic minced
• 1 tsp brown sugar

Method
- To make the barbecue rub, simply stir all the ingredients together in a small bowl.
- Drizzle 1 tbsp vegetable oil and slather evenly over the fish. Gently marinate the fish with barbecue rub for at least 10 minutes
- To make the side sauce, place all sauce ingredients in a small pot and heat very briefly (do not boil), just warm up over medium heat to bring out the flavors. Taste and adjust the sauce to suit your liking, it's expected to be sweet, salty and sour at the same time.
- Heat the grill with cooking oil, grill the fish for 5-8 minutes each side or until cooked. When done, the fish will appear golden and the skin will be crisp.
- Serve hot with side sauce.

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Silken Tofu Crusted in Lemongrass & Chilli

Ingredients 

• 200g silken tofu, sliced into bite sized pieces
• 1 lemongrass stem, white part only, minced
• 1 fresh red chilli, finely chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
• 2 fresh coriander sprigs

Method
- In a bowl, add the lemongrass, chilli, garlic, salt, sugar, and pepper. Mix all the  ingredients together, then gently the mixture on the tofu.
- Heat oil in a large frying pan over the medium heat, pan-fry each side of the tofu for 3 minutes or until brown and crisp.
- Garnish the fried tofy with coriander sprigs and serve hot.

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Thai Chicken Laksa

Ingredients

• 3 skinless, boneless chicken thighs
• 1 tbsp five-spice powder
• 1 tbsp honey
• 1 tsp sesame seeds
• 1 chicken stock cube
• 2 garlic cloves, peeled
• 1 thumb-sized ginger piece
• 1 fresh red chilli
• 1 tsp turmeric
• A small bunch of spring onions, roughly chopped
• 1 tbsp peanut butter
• 4 dried kaffir lime leaves
• A small bunch fresh coriander
• 1 tbsp sesame oil
• 1 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tbsp fish sauce
• 2 bunches asparagus, trimmed, halved
• 200g noodles
• 200 ml coconut milk
• 3 limes
• Salt to taste, ground pepper

Method
- On a large sheet of grease-proof paper, season the chicken with a good pinch of salt, pepper and five spice on each side. Fold over the paper, then lightly bash the chicken with a rolling pin.
- Heat a griddle pan on a medium high heat, when the pan is hot, add in the chicken and cook for 4 minutes on each side or until nicely charred and cooked through.
- Drizzle the honey over the charred chicken, squeeze over the juice of 1 lime, scatter with the sesame seeds and toss to coat. Remove from the heat and set aside.
- Boil 800ml water in a pot and crumble in the stock cube.
- In a food processor, add the peeled garlic and ginger, fresh chilli, turmeric, trimmed spring onions, peanut butter, dried lime leaves, coriander stalks (reserving the leaves), sesame oil, soy sauce and fish sauces. Blitz to a paste, then tip into the boiling stock.
- Add the noodles and asparagus into the pot. Pour in the coconut milk, and as soon as it boils, taste and correct the seasoning with salt and lime juice. Then remove from the heat.
- Serve hot with lime wedges and sprinkle everything with the coriander leaves.

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Pumpkin Curry

Ingredients

• 250g pumpkin, diced 
• 1 cup of sliced button mushroom
• 1/2 cup roasted peanut
• 1/2 tsp mustard seeds
• 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
• 1 tbsp ginger garlic paste
• 8 curry leaves
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 1 tomato, finely chopped
• 1 knob of butter 
• 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
• 4 green chillies, slit
• 1 tsp red chilli powder
• 1 tsp coriander powder
• Handful of coriander leaves, finely chopped
• Oil, salt to taste, ground black pepper

Method
- Heat oil in a casserole over medium heat, add mustard seeds and cook until they pop (it takes about 10-15 seconds). Then add cumin seeds, ginger garlic paste and cook for a minute until the raw smell of ginger is gone; quickly add chopped onion, occasionally stir until lightly golden brown (adding a little bit of salt to the onion helps it cook faster). Then add chopped tomato, curry leaves, green chilli and cook for a few minutes.
- In the mean time, combine all spices (chilli powder, coriander powder, turmeric powder) in a small bowl. When the tomato is soft and nicely cooked, add the spice mixture into the casserole and stir well. Add a little water to prevent the spices from getting burnt.
- Add in the pumpkin and mix well, fry the pumpkin for a few minutes then add water enough to cover all the pumpkin. Season it well with a good pinch of salt.
- When the curry comes to a boil, add mushroom and roasted peanuts, cook altogether until it comes to a second boil, add butter and chopped coriander leaves.
- Serve hot with a touch of ground black pepper, steamed rice or bread.

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Panfried Salmon with Baby Broccoli & Orange Sauce

Ingredients

• 3 oranges, peeled, cut into wedges & get juice from the membranes
• 300g baby broccoli, trimmed
• 1 salmon fillet, skin on or skin off
• Salt, ground black pepper, oil
• 30g cubed butter

Method
- Place the orange juice in a saucepan over medium heat for 10 minutes or until syrupy. Remove from the heat and cover with a lid.
- Meanwhile bring a medium saucepan of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the baby broccoli and cook for 2 minutes. Drain and rinse through with cold water. Pat dry with paper towels and keep aside.
- Season the fillet with a good pinch of salt and pepper on each side. Heat oil in a large heavy non-stick frying pan over medium-high heat, then add the salmon with skin side down and cook for 3-4 minutes until the skin is crispy. Then turn over and cook for further 2 minutes for medium rare, or for a further minute until cooked to your liking. Transfer it to a plate and let rest for 2 minutes.
- In the same pan, add the baby broccoli and cook for 1 minute. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
- Serve the salmon with baby broccoli, orange wedges and drizzle of orange sauce.

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