Happy Chinese New Year heralds in the Year of the Dragon

Hi R

Happy Chinese New Year.

In China, the New Year is known as "Spring Festival" so we were asked to dress in bright colours in order to attract wealth  when we went to a magnificent dinner party hosted by a chinese friend, to herald in the Year of the Dragon.

龍 Dragon

辰 Chen

February 5, 2000

January 23, 2012

February 10, 2024

 

Our hostess cooked a magnificent dinner but we brought a few pre dinner nibbles / finger food.  Here is the recipe for my Asian Chicken Bites, which everyone seemed to enjoy. Usually I would serve them with a dipping sauce but decided just a squeeze of lemon juice was all that was needed.

Happy healthy wealthy chinese new year to all.

Clara

Asian Chicken Bites
These tasty little chicken balls are ideal for party / finger food. I hope the dragon likes them!
500g minced chicken
2/3 cup fresh breadcrumbs
1 tbsp ginger finely grated

1 to 2 garlic cloves finely chopped
1 birdseye chilli finely chopped and/or 1 tbsp sweet chilli sauce
2 spring onions finely chopped or 1 onion
1/4 bunch coriander finely chopped
1 egg white, beaten (you can use the whole egg if desired)
Soy sauce to taste
squeeze of lemon juice
Vegetable oil

Combine all ingredients then roll into small balls, (using damp hands to assist this process.) Pan fry in oil until golden, or for a lighter dish, arrange chicken in a baking dish, on baking paper and cook in a hot to moderate oven for approx 20 minutes until turning golden. (For best results start with a hot oven and turn down a little after 10 minutes) Makes approx 30 bite sized balls. Serve with a squeeze of lemon and garnish with coriander or mint.



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Asian herb salad ideal for christmas lunches



With a wonderfully wild freshness due to the overuse of
delicate herbs, this is a definite Clara favourite.

Hi there lovers of Asian Salad
Asian herb salad got the tick with key players at the birthday party so I am going to repeat it for Christmas Day.  It went perfectly with the first course of BBQ chicken skewers served Asian style. See link below
The wonderfully wild freshness is achieved by massive overuse of delicate herbs along with an Asian dressing.
Clara

Ingredients
250g / 8 oz rocket (arugula) leaves - (trimmed of excess stems (substitute any peppery lettuce)
125g / 4oz each of mint, basil, cilentro leaves (leaves picked from stems, washed and spun dry)
30g / 1 oz chervil if available
2/3 cup canned bamboo shoots - (preferably already cut into matchstick)
Dressing
2 shallots, peeled, halved, and finely sliced
l tbsp rice vinegar (or white wine vinegar)
l tsp sugar
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp toasted sesame oil
1 tbsp mirin
sea salt and pepper

For the dressing, mix the shallots, rice vinegar, and sugar together in
a small bowl and set aside.
Trim any excess stems from the arugula, and pick the herb leaves from
their stems. Rinse and spin dry the arugula and herbs. Cut the bamboo
shoots into matchsticks.
To make the dressing, whisk the olive oil, sesame oil, mirin, sea salt, and
pepper together in a large bowl. Stir in the shallot mixture, then taste
and adjust the flavors.
Very lightly toss the arugula, bamboo shoots, and herbs in the dressing,
and serve, with chopsticks.

Link for chicken skewers belowhttp://fitinyourjeanscuisine.blogspot.com/2010/10/skewers-capture-finger-food.html

Passionate about leafy greens and herbs

Hi R

Yes - Leafy greens again!!  From the garden

Blogger Queen is back!!!! - and so are my beloved green leaves.  I'm wondering if you are eating enough of them - they help everything else so must be good for insomnia.  The secret though is to get them as fresh as possible when you can virtually see the vitamins jumping out.  Obviously, the best way to eat greens is uncooked, fresh from the garden, with spinach or rocket being my favourites because of their versatility. They can be stir fried in a little olive oil, wilted by steaming for a very short time, but I love them when added to cooked vegetables, at the last minute for extra colour and super nutrition.
 
Christmas in Australia is salad oriented since it is mid summer, but we eat salad all year, sometimes adding the leaves to warm roasted vegetables and drizzling with a  dressing.   

We enjoy flat-leafed parsley, known for it's excellent flavour, spinach (perpetual leaf, easy to grow with continuous cropping), some shallots for salads which harvest in 8-12 weeks, to join the  rocket which can be sown all year round - love the peppery flavour added to roasted veges, and wilted rocket is divine. Our basil crop is doing well as is the lemon-scented thyme, lemon grass, Vietnamese mint, as well as ordinary mint - this part of the land has a few hazards re survival of the species - insects, possums (protected).

Because our little plot doesn't get quite enough sun, this year I have added some large pots of herbs in a sunny spot.  Even though the yield isn't huge, I adore being able to pick a few leafy greens every day, knowing that they are such a powerhouse re antiageing qualities. 

Clara 

Leafy Green Info
It was common for our ancient ancestors to eat up to six pounds of leaves per day, ie a grocery bag full of greens each and every day? Calorie for calorie, they are perhaps the most concentrated source of nutrition of any food. They are a rich source of minerals (including iron, calcium, potassium, and magnesium) and vitamins, including vitamins K, C, E, and many of the B vitamins. They also provide a variety of phytonutrients including beta-carotene, lutein, and zeaxanthin, which protect our cells from damage and our eyes from age-related problems, can help prevent age-related cognitive decline and may also reduce your risk of skin cancer among many other effects. Dark green leaves even contain small amounts of Omega-3 fats.
Almost Carb-Free, with the carbs that are there packed in layers of fibre, which make them very slow to digest.

Perhaps the star of these nutrients is Vitamin K. A cup of most cooked greens provides at least nine times the minimum recommended intake of Vitamin K, and even a couple of cups of dark salad greens usually provide the minimum all on their own. Recent research has provided evidence that this vitamin may be even more important functions.
Vitamin K
•Regulates blood clotting
•Helps protect bones from osteoporosis
•May be a key regulator of inflammation, and may help protect us from inflammatory diseases including arthritis.
Fat-soluble vitamin, so make sure to put dressing on your salad, or cook your greens with oil.
Quick-cooking Greens
These greens can either be eaten raw or lightly cooked. Six cups of raw greens become approximately one cup of cooked greens and take only a few minutes to cook. Spinach, Chard, Rocket, Beet Greens, Dandelion greens, Sorrel and Cabbage belong in this category.
Greens should be dry or almost dry, after washing; store in a bag with as much of the air pushed out as you easily can. I like to put a barely damp paper towel in for just the right amount of moisture. Then, put them in the vegetable drawer of your fridge.

What is Lemongrass, where do I find it and what do I use if I can't?

R asked "How much lemongrass goes into the Thit Lon Rim?" 
Clara - This is a very good question - 2 teaspoons.



What is lemongrass and where do I find it and what do I use if I can't?

LEMONGRASS

(cymbopogon citratus)

Can be grown in a temperate environment or bought at fruit and vege marts.  The straggly appearance of this almost woody tropical grass belies its subtle lemon perfume and balm-like flavour.  Discard the leaves, which are very sharp, and trim the stems to 8-10 cm (3-4 in) in length.  Bruise the stems with the back of a large knife and add to stocks and broths to infuse a delicate citrus flavour, or peel back the outer leaves around the base to reveal the tender white core which can be sliced or pounded to a paste.  Lemongrass loses flavour when dried, but will store in the fridge for about a week and can be frozen.  Two or three strips of lemon peel can be used as a substitute.

Can I substitute pork tenderloin for the pork leg?  I'm not a good meat chopper?

I'm sure it would be lovely, probably wouldn't need as much cooking however, or you could stir fry the recipe, leaving out the water.

Fresh red chilli? I'm assuming a hot chilli.

Yes - the little hot fellas - I am very wary of fresh chilli and often use a bottled variety which is already chopped.  We grow super potent chilli where the sting and heat was still in my finger tips for days.  I use dried chill as well and it is easier to handle but still very potent!

And finally, what in the world is a punnet and a lychee?
A punnet is a plastic container with a lid which holds approx 200 grams of produce (a little less than 1/2 a pound.)  Now when are you guys going to catch up and go metric? Sooooooo much more logical. When I become Prime Minister or Madam President, I am going to standardise the world in these matters.

Lychees


Lychee Description - What is a lychee?R - I'm having hamburgers on the grill with baked beans tonight!

By Bill Mee & Krystal Folino

A lychee is a rare sub tropical fruit originating in South China where the lychee is very important in their culture and is famed as "the King of Fruits".
The lychee fruit is about 1½ to 2 inches in size, oval to rounded heart shaped and the bumpy skin is red in color. Once you peel the skin off, the crisp juicy flesh of a lychee fruit is white or pinkish, translucent and glossy like the consistency of a grape, but the taste is sweeter. Lychees have a sub acid sweet taste and have a wonderful freshness to them that is hard to describe. Lychee fruit is high in the antioxidant Vitamin C and the essential mineral Potassium. We can buy them in season here but they are excellent in the canned form.

Canned Lychee Fruit -  Each can contains lychee fruit that has been peeled, seeded and canned in sugar syrup.

Lychee vely vely goood!  Like baked beans! - Clara