Easy Stir-fry

Sometimes, I get home from work after 6pm and don't want to labour over the kitchen counter.

Sometimes, I just don't want to spend a fortune at the supermarket before getting home.

Sometimes, I am just plain lazy.

It is times like these, I'm grateful that I have access to a wok.

A simple stir-fry is my go to dish whenever I feel like putting minimal effort into cooking but still have a very nutritious meal. The best thing about this recipe is that you can vary the ingredients and the quantities to suit your own tastes and the number of guests you have -I usually go with 1/4 meat to 3/4 vegetables, but I often throw in some tofu or just go with vegetables.

My go to meat is pork and I usually just pick out any vegetables that catch my eye while I'm at the supermarket -anything crunchy like snow peas, broccoli and bok choy is great. Most days, I just use whatever is left over from other dishes I've made!

The best thing about this dish (other than being quick and yummy) is that it costs less than the local takeaways. I do most of my shopping at my local Chinese supermarket where all my fresh ingredients can be obtained for less than $6.00. 

So please give this a try and tell me all the cool combinations you have tried in your own kitchen!

Lucy's Easy Stir-fry

Ingredients:

1 cup pork, sliced into strips (or chicken or prawns or whatever takes your fancy..)
2 heaped tsp cornflour
1 tsp seasame oil
2 tsp light soy sauce
3 cups seasonal vegetables (the crunchier, the better!)
1 1/2 Tbs vegetable oil for frying
2 cloves garlic, finely sliced
2 Tbs shaoxing wine
2 Tbs light soy sauce
2 tsp white sugar

Cornflour slurry (optional, for sauce):
1 tsp cornflour
1 Tbs cold water

Method:

1. Mix sesame oil, cornflour and the first measure of soy sauce into a slurry and coat the sliced pork evenly.
2. Heat the vegetable oil in a wok or deep frying pan and add the garlic. 
3. When the garlic becomes fragrant, add the pork and fry for about 3 minutes or until it is cooked through. 
4. Add the vegetables and fry for another 3 minutes.
5. Add the shaoxing wine, second measure of soy sauce and sugar and stir until completely mixed through the ingredients.
6. If you want a nice smooth sauce, combine the ingredients for the cornflour slurry in a separate bowl and stir through the stir-fry.
7. Serve with a bowl of hot steaming rice.

Chicken Pot Pie

Although winter is technically over, I can't help but feel that it hasn't fully given way to let summer take its place. Sure, there are times where the sunlight bursts through the windows and it genuinely looks like a decent day outside. However, this is almost always followed by heavy rain within the space of 10 minutes. It's OK though, the rain stops after about 15 minutes. Whereupon this process repeats itself till the evening.

The weather in Auckland doesn't know how to make up its mind. 

Oh, and it's still super cold.

Now that I've gotten my complaining out of the way, I can focus on the good things about this cold weather that has been dragging on for way too long (I'm still a little bitter though..).

The reason for my optimism is that the cold weather gives me an excuse to continue eating winter food such as soups, casseroles and, most importantly, pies! 

Nothing, and I mean Nothing, beats a good pie. Period.

I got the idea to make these when my colleague had a pie for lunch and, for that whole week, I couldn't get it off my mind. Something about pies just brings a smile to my face and great thing about home made ones is that you know exactly what has gone into it.

My recipe for Chicken Pot Pie is quite easy and incredibly delicious so I strongly suggest you give it a go before winter truly ends. It's a great way to pack vegetables into your meal and the fact that it only has one lid means you have the crunchy pastry without a lot of the fat!

The store bought pastry I had wasn't the best size for my pie tins so I spooned some of the filling onto the offcuts and baked for about 20 minutes. 

It was fantastic.

In fact, I think I'll make these as snacks next time.

Chicken Pot Pies (Makes 5 large or 10 small)

Ingredients:
1 Tablespoon olive oil
300g chicken, cut into 2cm cubes (I prefer thigh meat because it's juicier)
1 onion, finely diced
1 large potato, cut into 2cm cubes
200g bacon, roughly chopped
1 can peas, drained
2 Tablespoons dried parsley
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 litre chicken stock
50g butter 
1/3 cup plain flour
salt and pepper to taste
2 to 4 sheets of frozen puff pastry
1 egg, beaten

Method:
1. Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan over high heat. Add onion and bacon and cook, stirring frequently for about 5 minutes, until onion is translucent and bacon is crispy.
2. Reduce the pot to a low heat. Add potato and half of the stock until potato is tender.
3. In another pan, melt the butter over a medium heat. Whisk in the flour and cook, stirring constantly, until the flour has browned slightly. Gradually add the rest of the chicken stock and continue to stir.
4. Add the vegetable mixture, chicken, peas, parsley and thyme and season with salt and pepper to your liking.
5. Bring the pan back to a simmer and cook for another 7-8 minutes, stirring constantly.
6. Preheat the oven to 200°C.
7. Divide the filling between however many ramekins you have, leaving about 1cm to the top.
8. Cut out rounds 2cm larger than edge of your ramekins/pie tins. Put the lids on top of the filling and fold the sides to make a pretty edge. Cut some small lines in the centre of the lid for steam to escape.
9. Brush the tops with the beaten egg and bake in the oven for 30-40 minutes, until the pies are golden brown and bubbling.
10. Cool for 10 minutes before serving.

Note: If you have left over pastry and a little extra filling, you can always spoon some filling onto flaky pastry squares for a delicious snack like above. Just bake for 20 minutes and you're done!

Prawn and Cheese Risotto

Approximately every 4 years, I tell myself that I'm going to take up running or swimming or a competitive team sport. It probably won't come as a surprise to you that these moments happen to coincide with the Summer Olympic Games every year.

I get super inspired, go for runs and join gyms until my enthusiasm inevitable fizzles out (which just happens to coincide with the end of the Olympic Games) and I'm stuck with a gym pass that I will only use once a month.

Sauté prawns with garlic until just before they're done.

This time I am 4 years older and, hence, 4 years wiser. Instead of rushing out to buy a gym pass or new running shoes, I stayed in bed and made a mental list of Olympic sports I could seriously consider and then reasons why it would never work:

1. Diving - don't like heights or deep water.
2. Equestrian - not rich enough to own a horse (and I don't understand this sport).

note: anything that requires large amounts of movement or generally being fit has automatically been taken off this list on the account that I have no stamina whatsoever.

These were the ones I was left with:

1. Shooting - Pro: doesn't seem like there is an age limit. Con: have terrible eyesight and not very good at keeping still for long periods of time.
2. Under 58 kg Women's Weightlifting - Pro: I fit the criteria. Con: cannot lift anything over 15kgs. Extra Pro: would be awesome if I could lift Jason.

Waiting for the wine to evaporate.

So in conclusion, I stopped myself before rushing out to buy weights or a horse and, instead, have started going swimming with Jason. We actually started a couple of months before the start of the Olympic Games so the chances of keeping this activity up is quite high (and besides, Jason is a great motivator).

Mixin' in the goodies.

It's probably best that I leave the real athletes to it. Meanwhile, I'll be sticking to what I do best -eating. This creamy risotto is one of my favourites to make when I have a bit of time on my hands.It is packed with all sorts of goodies and is a great way to get little kiddies to eat their veggies=)

Prawn and Blue Cheese Risotto (Serves 4)
(An original Lucyeats recipe)

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups arborio rice
1 cup dry white wine
4 cups chicken stock (or veggie)
1 Tablespoon olive oil + 2 Tablespoons olive oil
2 Zucchini, sliced into rounds approximately 0.5cm thick
4 Brussel sprouts, chopped
6 or so medium sized button mushrooms, sliced (or use portebello if you're feeling fancy!)
2 cloves garlic, chopped roughly
200-300g fresh prawns, shelled and deveined (you can chop them up if you like, but I think they look nicer whole)
80g good blue cheese, crumbled
Handful of fresh basil
Salt and pepper to taste

Method:
1. Heat 1 Tablespoon of olive oil and add garlic until fragrant. Add the prawns and sauté until just before they're done (approximately 1-2 minutes). Set aside.
2. In a saucepan, heat 2 Tablespoons of olive oil. Add the rice straight away and stir to coat with oil. Allow this to 'toast' for a minute.
3. Add the wine. Allow to evaporate before adding a ladle of stock and stirring until it is absorbed by the rice. 
4. Add another ladle of stock and continue to stir until absorbed. Repeat this step until you have used up 4 cups of stock.
5. Before the 5th cup, add in all your veggies and stir.
6. Continue stirring and adding stock until you have used it all up. Check the rice is translucent - if there are still white specks in the rice, you may need a few more ladles of stock.
7. When all the stock has been absorbed, take it off the heat and mix in the blue cheese and prawns immediately, allowing the heat to finish off cooking the prawns.
8. Divide the risotto between 4 bowls and top with a grinding of pepper and some fresh basil to serve.

Tomato and Basil Twist

Part of my job as a pavements engineer entails driving around Auckland to my various construction sites. It is absolutely mind-boggling how much planning and design goes into a regular ol' road that the average person doesn't know about.

First, comes the month's worth of site investigations and then comes another month's worth of design..

Spread half of the tomato paste over the base, dot half of the tomato mixture around the base

..And then comes comes another month's worth of bumbling around because I'm a recent graduate. This, along with construction monitoring, means I'm at the office quite a lot and miss out on my weekend baking times. I'm going to admit, the sheer amount of new information to process was very intimidating and stressed me out at times, but I always had very supportive co-workers around to lend a hand.

Using a sharp knife, cut the roll in half lengthwise and then twist the two strands loosely together

Last weekend, I was finally able to have some time to myself in the kitchen to use up the last of the basil and tomato from our garden before the winter cold sets in. The result was a very delicious tomato and basil twist and a very calm Lucy.

Boy, is baking therapeutic.


Tomato and Basil Twist (Makes 2 twists)
(An original Lucyeats recipe) 

Ingredients:

3 cups plain flour + 1 cup extra (just in case)

2 tsp active dry yeast

1 tsp salt

1 1/2 cups lukewarm water

3 Tbs olive oil for brushing

4 Tbs tomato paste

2 medium tomatoes, chopped

50g feta cheese, crumbled

Handful of basil, shredded

1/4 parmesan, grated

salt and pepper to season

Method:

1. Place the plain flour, yeast and salt in a large bowl and mix well to combine.

2. Make a well in the centre and add the water. Make sure the water is LUKEWARM. If it is too hot, it can kill the yeast.

3. Use a wooden spoon to combine and then use your hands to bring the dough together.

4. Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic. Around 10-12 minutes.

5. Shape the dough into a ball, lightly brush with olive oil and place into a bowl. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or tea towel and place it in a warm place for 1 hour or when the dough has doubled in size.

6. Once the dough has doubled in size, punch it down to release the excess carbon dioxide produced by the yeast.

7. Knead the dough for another 2-3 minutes or until smooth and elastic.

8. Preheat the oven to 200°C
9. Divide the dough into two equal portions and set the first one aside.
10. Mix the tomato, basil and feta together in a bowl and season with salt and pepper.
10. Roll out the first ball into a rectangle about 40cm x 20cm.
11. Spread half of the tomato paste over the base, dot half of the tomato mixture around the base then roll up tightly .
12. Using a sharp knife, cut the roll in half lengthwise and then twist the two strands loosely together. Place on a baking sheet.
13. Repeat steps 10 to 12 again with the second portion.
14. Brush the tops of each twist with olive oil and season with salt and pepper.
15. Bake for 35 minutes, taking it out at 20 minutes to sprinkle on grated parmesan.

Best. Noodles. Ever.

"Best. Noodles. Ever." says Jason in a creepy voice. The type emitted from one who was once starving but has now been satisfied.

Can you believe it only took me about 15 minutes to make?

A few minutes down the road from my house is one of my favourite fast food stores, Noodle Canteen. It basically a "Subway-esque" noodle bar where you can pick your own ingredients and watch them cook your meal up right in front of you! As well as being quick and delicious, Noodle Canteen also provies enormous portions -one "meal" can feed both Jason and I or last two meals for me alone.

Spicy Teriyaki Sauce -$2.80, Black Pepper, Courgette -$0.50, Carrot -$0.20, Hokkien Noodles -$2.47, 1/2 Celery -$1.49, Chicken Mince -$3.00, Olive Oil, Sesame Oil. Total = $10.46

Keeping in theme with the cheap and easy lunches of the "Crap! I can't really afford Noodle Canteen and feeling very lazy right now" variety, we decided to make some stir-fry noodles of our own this Sunday. It's deceptively easy. Or deceptively hard? This phrase always confuses me..

..Lets just say it's really easy. Because it is.

Strips of veggies, chopped up celery (1/4) and crushed garlic

I had the idea to make stir fried noodles when I saw Hokkien Noodles on sale at my local Asian supermarket. Usually going for $5.00 per packet, I was surprised when I saw a big 1kg bag for $2.47! I know it's kind of weird to make such a big deal about something as basic as noodles, but you would understand if you've ever tasted the eggy goodness. I quickly bought a couple of bags to freeze (don't worry, I looked at the expiry date).

Kikkomans Spicy Teriyaki is really enhances all the flavours

 Here's another plea to my poor student friends who are flatting: please stop eating baked beans and toast. Give this a try! Keep in mind I only used half a packet of noodles and less than half of the celery and chicken mince so you can have it the next day!

Best. Noodles. Ever. (Serves 4)
(An original Lucyeats recipe) 

Ingredients:


500g Hokkien Noodles
250g Chicken Mince
1 medium carrot, cut into strips
1 medium courgette, cut into strips
1/4 celery, chopped
1 cup water
2 cloves garlic, crushed
Olive Oil for frying
Sesame Oil to taste
Kikkomans Spicy Teriyaki Sauce


Method:

1. Soak the noodles in a bowl of boiling water to separate and drain.
2. Heat some oil in a pan and add the garlic.
3. Once fragrant, add the chicken mince and cook through.
4. Add vegetables and add water. Cover to steam.
5. Once the water has almost evaporated, add teriyaki sauce, sesame oil and noodles and stir to mix through.
6. Season to taste.
7. Um.. that's basically it.

See how easy it is?

Note: All the ingredients amount to the price of one box of noodles from Noodle Canteen. Except that it yields about 4 containers. Take that, fast food!