Category: red pepper

Prawn, veg and wild rice stir fry.

March 15, 2019

IMG_0545

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.

IMG_0547

 

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.

 

IMG_0549

 

 

 

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.