Category: coconut oil

Prawn, veg and wild rice stir fry.

March 15, 2019

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So you’re itching for a takeaway this weekend but you either don’t want to spend that much money or maybe you just want to be healthy? When I created this for my regular slot on BBC Leicester, it had very popular interest. I was so pleased how many people loved it. This is my kind of food that I can just grab my wok, my chopsticks and Chinese bowls and cosy up on a chair and devour it with no guilt whatsoever. Not that I do when it comes to food!

Theres lots of flavour in this dish and crammed with veg. Another great thing you will like is if you cook and cool the rice the night before, you can whip this up in about 8 minutes, yes really.

This recipe can be tweaked a little to your taste, a lot of my recipes are, so if you don’t want say the chilli in it then take it out.

Hear me cooking it for Ben’s show on BBC Leicester by clicking this link.

Ingredients:

( Serves 2 )

  • 1 tbsp of raw coconut oil ( veg or sunflower if not )
  • 1 clove of garlic finely chopped
  • 1 thumbnail size amount of fresh ginger
  • 1 small carrot or half a large carrot sliced thinly ( Julienne )
  • 1/2 a red pepper sliced thinly
  • 1/2 a yellow pepper sliced thinly
  • a handful of sugar snap peas sliced thinly lengthways
  • a good handful of edamame beans (soya) frozen and defrosted
  • 2 large leaves of spring greens sliced ( or use any greens you can i.e pak choi, kale or chard)
  • 12 or more if you require of large prawns ( I used frozen cooked and then defrosted)
  • 150g of cooked wild basmati rice and cooled.
  • 1 tbsp light soy sauce
  • 1 tbsp oyster sauce
  • 1 tbsp chilli bean sauce ( widely available in Asian supermarkets ) More if you want more hotness to it.
  • a pinch of caster sugar.
  • 1 spring onion split in half and sliced thinly
  •  handful of fresh coriander chopped.

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Method:

  • Fire up your wok and add in your coconut oil, once evaporated and hot add in your peppers, after a minute add in the carrot and stir or toss around the wok.
  • Then add in your sugar snap peas and again cook for about another minute.
  • By this point pop in your garlic and ginger and allow to cook for a further minute.
  • Add in your edamame beans, then spring greens and toss around the wok.
  • Then pop in your prawns, stir and then add your sauces and sugar. Allow to cook down for a further minute.
  • Add your wild rice and cook for a couple of minutes allowing it to heat through again.
  • Finish off with your spring onions and coriander and serve into bowls.

 

NB*  If you have any left over, keep cold for the next day for lunch. Makes a great alternative to a boring sandwich.

 

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Jerk style chicken with peach and cucumber salsa

January 6, 2016
What is it with Diets in January? I like creating healthy recipes and eating them, don’t get me wrong but why is it that when as soon as New years Eve is out of the way, people seemed to have consumed so many calories over Christmas, they must be the size of Brazil by now! 
 I don’t actually eat that much over Christmas, maybe the wrong type of foods yes but never anymore than normal really. I can’t afford much more! I say eat in moderation, have a balanced diet. Plus that way you get a wide range of foods and with the added cheeky treat.

  So I thought my readers I’d share a recipe I did back in the summer of last year that isn’t super healthy but has a lot of benefits in it thats better than a Pork pie…Ooh any of that left?
  This Jamaican marinade has so many different versions all over the world, from Grandmas recipe that has been passed down the years in a Caribbean household to such as my recipe here which I have created. Some may argue it isn’t a true Jerk recipe but its one I have been doing for sometime now and it never fails to impress people. 
  With Jerk recipes, some are dry and some are wet. I have gone for the more wet and sticky version so be prepared as you wont be able to eat this elegantly.

    The many times I have done this dish, I’ve served it with wedges, sweet potato, rice and coleslaw, ( not all at once) however it was now time for a real fruity kick of a salsa and you can’t get more refreshing than this with the added cucumber. The coconut oil adds a real sheen and added class to it. You could even use fresh coconut in there, finely grated or sliced.
  A comforting dish still for January but with some added healthy Oomph as well.



Jerk style chicken with a peach and cucumber 
salsa:




Ingredients:
(Serves 3 people)
Chicken:
–    3 Chicken drumsticks, 3 thighs
  • 3 Garlic Cloves finely chopped
  • 1 Medium sized Red Chilli finely diced, more if you like it really spicy
  • Thumbnail size of Fresh Ginger grated
  • 2 tbsp Tomato Ketchup
  •   1 Tbsp Soy sauce 
  •   1 Tbsp Malt Vinegar
  •   2 Tbsp of good quality Jerk seasoning ( depending on how powerful the seasoning is)( I used Spice Kitchen’s) 
  •   Spritz of Lime
  •   Sprinkle of caster sugar
  •   1 tbsp of Rapeseed oil
Salsa:
  • 3 peaches Peeled and diced
  •   3 inch size of cucumber peeled,de-seeded and finely diced
  •   1/2 red pepper 
  •   Half a red chilli finely chopped and de-seeded
  •   Handful of fresh chopped coriander
  •   1 tsp- 1 tbsp of Coconut oil, depending on how much it 
  •     A good squeeze of fresh Lime juice ( no more than half )
  •   A good squeeze of Fresh Orange ( no more than a quarter of a large orange )



Method:
*  Place all marinade ingredients into a bowl and mix together
  • Make some score lines in your chicken and add to your marinade, working it into he chicken. Cover your bowl and leave in the fridge from 6 hours up to 24 hours if you can. (The longer the better)
  • Chop all ingredients for your salsa and set aside in the fridge
  • Pre-heat oven on 190c-200c
*  Check if your chicken looks a little dry, add a bit more of rapeseed oil, not too much as the chicken has skin on.
  • Pop your Chicken into the baking tray/dish of your choice and pop in the oven for 30 minutes or until all cooked through and sticky on top.
*  Serve with your Salsa and your ready.





Veg, chickpea and coconut kale curry

November 30, 2015


I love a “Fridge raid” dish as you know by now.  Something where you look at what you have got in the fridge and come up with something amazing. I tend to do this normally on a Monday or Tuesday when I’ve had lots of Meat or fish over the weekend when maybe you’ve had a roast or similar to takeaway food. I always then thrive on having a vegetarian meal.
   Now, One might say this is a Keralan dish or a Sri Lankan Curry as there are some resemblances to it.  I just know its a warming curried dish that makes me feel happy when I eat it!
 It has a lovely subtle coconut flavour to it which cools along side the spices.
  I wanted to show you a recipe that is so easy and quick to make but still makes you feel full after it and believe it or not, its vegan and dairy free! 
  A dish that will warm your cockles and still give you the satisfaction of being quite a healthy curry.



Veg chickpea & coconut kale curry:




Ingredients:
  • 1 Onion diced
  • 2 tsp Sri Lankan spice mix ( I use Spice Kitchen, all other ground spices and seeds below are too. )
  • 1 hot green chilli chopped
  • 1 tsp chilli powder 
  • 1 tsp Turmeric
  • 1 tsp Ground Coriander
  • Sea Salt to season
  • 1 tsp Cumin seeds   
  • 1 thumbnail size of ginger grated
  • 2 cloves of garlic finely chopped
  • 1 tbsp Coconut oil
  • 1/2 400g tin chickpeas drained
  • 1 courgette chopped into chunks
  • 2 bell peppers diced into inch size pieces
  • 1/4 butternut squash chopped into chunks
  • 3 handfuls of kale
  • 30g red lentils
  • 1/2 400g tin of chopped tomatoes
  •   2 tbsp Coconut flavour soya yoghurt
  • Little bit of water if needed ( If a little dry )
  • Long grain Rice to serve
Method:
  • Cook the butternut squash in boiling water until just starting to soften and then drain and set aside.
  • In a frying pan or wok, start to fry off your onions, then after a minute add in all of your spices including the garlic and ginger also. Stir, allowing not to burn your garlic.
  • Add in all your veg ingredients except your kale and butternut squash to the pan, the lentils and chopped tomatoes plus a little water and simmer for 15 minutes, not allowing it to dry out.
  • Add in your butternut squash, kale, stir and cook for a further 3-4 minutes. 
* Season to taste if needed, add in your coconut yoghurt and serve with your long grain rice.





  

Oriental Quinoa salad with sticky Chicken for BBC Radio Leicester

July 7, 2015
Last week saw temepratures reaching to up to 35 degrees in some parts of the UK,maybe more Im not sure, that was on the Wednesday.  I knew I was on the radio with Ben for BBC Radio Leicester on the Friday so I knew I had to do something light. I did not want to be in and out the oven when the sun is blazing through.  
   So I thought I’d share a recipe that I did last year just by chance one day for lunch. It’s a salad thats just so refreshing and crunchy when the days are hot, very simple to make and lets face it with the words sticky chicken in it, its got to be a winner.

  Its chose to use Quinoa ( pronounced Keen-wah ) as its high in protein but also is a wheat alternative, so it will fill you up but not bloat you. Don’t be afraid of cooking it, its very simple.

  This Salad is a great way of introducing different grains into your children’s diet or even your own.  You can either Pan fry the chicken like I did or even marinate the chicken with the sauces and then pop onto the BBQ.

  You can hear me doing my recipe here with Ben and by the way, If you can’t see much Chicken left on some of the pictures, well, thats Ben’s fault.


Oriental quinoa salad with sticky Chicken:




Ingredients:
(Serves 2 approximately)

Chicken:

–  1 Chicken thigh for 2 people sliced into strips
–  1-2 tbsp the oil of your choice ( I used coconut oil, Lucy Bee )
–  1-2 cloves of Garlic depending on size
–  Thumbnail amount of grated fresh Ginger
–  1/4 Red chilli (without seeds) chopped finely
–  Tbsp light soy sauce ( Mine is from Wang Fung Hong in Leicester )
–  Tbsp Oyster sauce ( Wang Fung Hong )
–  Good pinch of caster sugar
–  good squeeze of lime juice
Salad:

–  A good handful of Quinoa cooked
–  Handful of sugar snap peas thinly sliced lengthways 
–  2 handfuls of bean sprouts
–  1 carrot thinly sliced ( julienned) 
–  1/4 of side of White cabbage thinly sliced
–  3 spring onions chopped
–  3-4 leaves of Pak choi sliced diagonally 
–  6 radishes round or breakfast sliced into thin rounds
–  few leaves of fresh coriander chopped
–  May need an extra spritz of lime to taste


Method:





*  Cook off Quinoa to packet instructions. Then rinse in a sieve under cold water and drain.

*  Slice chicken and fry off in a frying pan on a medium heat. Add Garlic, ginger and chilli and fry off for a couple of minutes.

*  Once Chicken is starting to brown, add your soy stir and cook for a minute or two.

*  Add your oyster sauce, stir and cook for another minute.

*  Sprinkle in your sugar, spritz of lime and let it cook on a low heat for another 3-4 minutes or until nice and brown and sticky.

* Whilst your chicken is cooking away, prepare your salad.

*  Add your cooked quinoa to the salad, add your Chicken, chopped coriander and then toss all together.

*   Taste to see if it needs extra lime or not. Then serve.






Chinese steamed Sea bass with Stir Fried Greens for Food Friday on BBC Leicester

January 20, 2015


One thing that I get asked a lot by people, especially Mums with children (Teenagers more) is how to create take away favourites at home.  If I am not mistaken, I do believe we are calling this a “Fake-away” .  I have always cooked Takeaway favourites at home particularly Chinese dishes for many reasons: 1, Healthier. 2, It’s being Frugal. 3, you know exactly what is in your food and 4, you can get the Children involved with you in preparing it.  I could go on. 
  So last Friday was my Slot for doing my regular Food Friday programme with Ben Jackson on BBC Radio Leicester.  I felt that I wanted to do a “Fake-away”dish that is super Healthy, Super quick and also fairly Cheap… Well it’s certainly cheaper than picking up the Phone and ordering a banquet! 
  It’s also January, you may want to loose a few pounds? Or just changing the way you eat? Get some more Fish into your Diet? It was Friday after all, so a healthier Fish Friday! 

   I felt I should share a dish I regularly cook for myself.  It has hardly any ingredients in it but is PACKED FULL of flavour. Plus this style of cooking is so easy to do and such a great interacting dish, by if you put this in the middle of the table, you can all get stuck in. It’s a great dish to do for an intimate dinner also where you just do not want to spend all night slaving over the stove, if you know what I mean! 
  Even though it may not look spectacular, it has been a real hit so far. Listen here to hear Myself showing Ben how to do this Quick, Simple, healthy dish.
  
By the way, Ben couldn’t wait to dive in as you can see by the pictures as I haven’t one with all the fish intact! Sorry! 

Chinese Steamed Sea bass with Stir fried Greens


Ingredients:

(For the Sea Bass)

–  1 whole Sea bass or Sea Bream
–  3 inch piece of Fresh Ginger Julienned (Sliced finely length ways)
–  5 spring Onions julienned (sliced Length ways)

(For the dressing)

–  2 Tbsp Light Soy Sauce (I used one specifically for Seafood) (I buy all my sauces from my local Chinese Supermarket Wang Fung Hong in Leicester)
–  2 Tbsp Dry Sherry ( I used Pedro Ximenex )
–  Juice of 1 clementine or half an Orange
–  2 Tbsp of Water

(For the Sir Fry Veg)

–  2 tsp Raw Organic Coconut oil ( I use Lucy Bee )or another oil you have but Coconut will add extra flavour
–  5-6 Leaves of Pak Choi
–  3 inch piece of cucumber Sliced length ways 
–  approximately 10 sugar snap peas Sliced Length ways
–  2 cloves of Garlic sliced (Chopped Roughly)
–  1/2 Red chilli Diced finely 
–  2 Tbsp Light Soy Sauce ( Wang fung Hong )
–  1 Tbsp Oyster Sauce ( Wang fung Hong)
–  2 Tbsp Water
– Pinch of caster Sugar

Method:

–  Preheat your Oven on a warming setting, about 100c

–  Take a Large Wok and fill with approximately 1/4 Litre of water and place a grid of some kind so you can place a plate on top or if you have a bamboo steamer…Even better! 

–  Turn the heat up high so your water will start to boil but not too Rapid.

–  Put in Half of your sliced Ginger and Spring onions into the cavity of the fish, score diagonal lines through the skin of the fish, about 4 but making sure you don’t go too deep.

–  Place the fish onto your Plate or Steamer and cover with a lid or in my case I used another Wok. Steam for about 10 minutes.

–  After 10 minutes place the rest of your Spring Onions and ginger on top and half of your dressing over the fish. Continue to stem for a further 5 minutes.

–  Once cooked and the flesh will just flake away, place into the oven on a large serving dish with the dressing, veg and juices to keep warm.

–  In the meantime Stir fry your veg in the Coconut oil and as the veg starts to cook down after a couple of minutes add your sauces, water and sugar.

–  Serve as it is on large dishes so people can dive in and you could also serve some Noodles and Boiled Rice if you wish.