Thai Fried Noodles (Phad Thai)

Thailand is copping the wrath of the great flood. Central Bangkok is going to brace the onslaught of  THE raging water from the Uplands anytime soon...But stating that opening salvo is in no way of trying to make you lose your appetite due to the seriousness of the problem. My heart goes to the whole nation. Because I am truly enamoured by their culture especially by their food. Thai dishes remain one of my favourite culinary tastes, if not my favourite. Having said that, I also don't want to leave Italian dishes out of the equation. I have loquaciously claimed that I was once an Italian raggaza in my past life. Hehehe.

Phad Thai, Tom Yum soup and Glutinous Rice with Mango, in that particular order, are my top three (3) picks. I could eat them every day and you will never see me complain. I have been meaning to cook Phad Thai for so long as I can remember and yet only managed to cook it for the first time today. Truth be told, Phad Thai is everything I dreamt of and more. And cooking Phad Thai is my claim to fame. I have arrived. Lol!

Preparation time: 25 minutes

Total cooking time: 10-15 minutes
Serves 4

Ingredients:

250g thick rice stick noodles
2 tablespoon oil
3 gloves garlic, chopped
2 teaspoons chopped red chillies
150g (5 1/2 oz) pork, thinly sliced
100g (3 1/2 oz) peeled raw prawn (shrimp) meat, chopped
1/2 bunch garlic chives, chopped
2 tablespoons fish sauce
2 tablespoons lime juice
2 teaspoons soft brown sugar
2 eggs beaten
90g (1 cup) bean spouts
sprigs of coriander (cilantro)
40g (1/4 cup) roasted peanuts, chopped

1. Soak the rice stick noodles in warm water for 10 minutes or until they are soft. Drain and set aside. head the oil in a wok or large frying pan. When the oil is very hot, add the garlic, chillies and pork; stir constantly for 2 minutes.

2. Add the prawn meat to the wok. Cook, stirring constantly, for 3 minutes. Add the garlic chives and drain noodles to the wok; cover and cook for another minute.

3. Add the fish sauce, lime juice, sugar and eggs to the wok. Toss well with tongs or two wooden spoons until heated through.

4. Sprinkle with sprouts, coriander and peanuts. Traditionally served with crisp fried onion, soft brown sugar and chopped peanuts on the side

Garlic and Thyme Prawns

There is value on skimming through junk mails; while others may deem junk mail as rubbish, we could on the other hand be unearthing a diamond in the rough here. Such is the case of the recipe today. I got the inspiration from one of the inserts of a sunday newspaper; and an exclusive sneak peek of Donna Hay's 10th birthday collector's edition through several recipes was being unraveled right before my very eyes. 

And as I have not been showcasing my non-sweet creations, for lack of better term, as often as I should, I might as well take this opportunity to put the spot light on a scampi dish. :)

6 cloves of garlic
1 tablespoon of olive oil
60g butter softened
1 bunch of thyme (leaves only)
1 teaspoon dried chili flakes or cayenne
400-500g of green or tiger (raw) prawns

Preheat over to 180C. Place the garlic on a baking tray, drizzle with oil and roast for 30 minutes. Increase temperature to 220C. Remove the garlic cloves from their skins, place in a bowl and mash until smooth. Add the butter, thyme, chilli, salt and pepper and mix to combine. Place the prawns on a baking tay, top with the garlic butter and cook for 6-8 minutes or until cooked through.

Whoopie pies with peanut butter filling

My heart sank when last weekend at the central business district (CBD) of Melbourne I found myself in an abandon unit space which was once the cul-de-sac  of my favorite book store, Reader's Feast. My favourite 20-year old book shop has decided to close shop until further notice. In fact this is not the first time nor the first bookstore to do so in the past  four (4) months in Australia, closing shop, that is. Border's has closed its business due to slow (or poor) sale. I would like to think that this is due to the influx of electronic gadgets these days and therefore books can be read electronically nowadays. I sincerely hope that this generation doesnt forget the culture of book reading; It is also almost inconcievable to think not having book stores around, as Melbourne is known to be UNESCO City of Literature, mind you. My heart throbs just to think of how stories were woven together to fit a 15x22  500-page binder and how writers are awe-inspiring  as they breathe life into the fictional characters. My eyes well up sometimes on how words were beautifully crafted into proses and phrases. And how stories transport me to places I have never been to and how they leave an indelible effect in me. Call me a nerd or a book worm, if you may, but I simply couldnt imagine a life without books to accompany my idle hours, aside having my little boy and family of course.

Reader's Feast holds a special place in my heart as well; the first cookbook that my little boy has bought for me - Silver spoon (famous italian cookbook translated into English) - was from THAT bookstore. I am a privileged reading programme member as well.  All the books I bought and owned since living in Australia were well and truly from THAT bookstore.

I googled and alas Reader's Feast is going to open its door before the year ends....until that time, I shall remain hopeful.

And so here are some just as awe-inspirng and best selling whoopie pies to cave in for while waiting for the Reader's Feast Bookstore to open its doors for me and while you are held captivated by the words woven in and stories coming to life out of your favorite pocket books;

Chocolate Cake-Cookie Rounds;

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup Dutch-process cocoa powder

1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup well-shaken buttermilk

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, softened

1 cup packed brown sugar

1 large egg

Preheat oven to 350°F (180 C or 160 C fan-forced). Whisk together flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt in a bowl until combined. Stir together buttermilk and vanilla in a small bowl.

Beat together butter and brown sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer at medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes in a standing mixer or 5 minutes with a handheld, then add egg, beating until combined well. Reduce speed to low and alternately mix in flour mixture and buttermilk in batches, beginning and ending with flour, scraping down side of bowl occasionally, and mixing until smooth.

Spoon  mounds of batter (you can use one rounded tablespoon or pipe them on your baking sheet) about 2 inches apart onto 2 buttered large baking sheets. Bake 11 to 13 minutes. Cookies will be done when they spring back when gently touched. Be careful not to over-cook. Transfer with a metal spatula to a rack to cool completely.

For peanut butter filling;

2/3 cup natural, creamy peanut butter

1/2 cup butter, softenend

3/4 cup confectioners' sugar

Beat all ingredients together.

David Lebovitzes Devil's Food Cake

As I write this, Melbourne and the whole region of Victoria is going overdrive and has gone mad. The Australian Football League (AFL) Grand Finals has just started. And Geelong Football Team has just scored its first goal within the first 10 seconds of the game.

I baked this cake last night but it was a conscious decision on my part to write the blog entry while the game is ongoing to distract me. I couldn't bear the suspense. Its killing me. Argh! And as I write this, I could feel my heart racing wild and can hear the throbbing of my anxious heart...

To say that the whole Melbourne echoes my state is an understatement. The world stops in this side of town and half the population trooped to the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) and the other half have their eyes glued on their television to watch the best of the best in wild abandon.

Australians love their sports, and to say that they are passionate about it yet again is an understatement. Sports fill their waking hours, literally hogging the limelight anytime and anywhere.

I will always love sports; watching and playing anything under the sun. I might not be "that" good playing anything sporty, but I love to sweat them all out. My little boy say I show more testosterone while watching a game; I would stand up from the bleachers, raise my fist and utter expletives. Hahaha! It came at no surprise that this Grand Finals is eating me slowly...I couldnt watch it. Its too much for me.

Australian Football League or to be more politically correct, Australia rules Football is a league of its own. I have to issue such statement lest I suffer the onslaught of hardcore fans if I compare AFL with American Football. AFL Footballers don't wear all those body cover-ups and its not European football either because its quick and extremely physical (click here to understand the sport). The only common denominator, for layman, is one has to kick  a goal.

I also wanted to introduce you to the latest favourite food blogger/writer of mine, David Lebovitz. The Devil's Food Cake is his version. I have baked several in the past and his version is one of the best thus far.

But my mind and heart is somewhere else at the moment, I couldn't seem to concentrate due to the bloody Grand Finals!

David Lebovitz deserves a blog entry beautifully crafted (as if. hehehe) like his food creations. And so I will write about him in a few.

For the meantime,  let me distract myself out of this quandary; I reckon I'll go and do some cleaning. The suspense is really killing me.

And by the way, I'm for Geelong, no matter what. GO CATS!


*Snagged from http://www.davidlebovitz.com/

For the cake:

9 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder

1½ cups cake flour (not self-rising)

½ teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

¼ teaspoon baking powder

4 ounces (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature

1½ cups granulated sugar

2 large eggs, at room temperature

½ cup strong coffee (or water)

½ cup whole or low-fat milk

For the ganache frosting:

10 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped

½ cup water (or cream)

¾ cup (1½ sticks) unsalted butter

1. Adjust the oven rack to the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350 F degrees.

2. Butter two 9″ x 2″ cake pans and line the bottoms with circles of parchment paper.

3. To make the cake layers, sift together the cocoa powder, cake flour, salt, baking soda, and baking powder in a bowl.

4. In the bowl of a standing electric mixer, or by hand, beat together the butter and sugar about 5 minutes until smooth and creamy. Add the eggs one at a time until fully incorporated. (If using a standing electric mixer, stop the mixer as necessary to scrape down the sides to be sure everything is getting mixed in.)

5. Mix together the coffee and milk. Stir half of the dry ingredients into the butter mixture, the add the coffee and milk. Finally stir in the other half of the dry ingredients.

6. Divide the batter into the two prepared cake pans and bake for 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool completely before frosting.

7. To make the frosting, melt the chopped chocolate with the water (or cream) in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of barely simmering water, stirring occasionally until melted. Remove the bowl from the pan of water.

8. Cut the butter into small pieces and whisk them into the chocolate until completely melted and the ganache is smooth. Cool until spreadable, which may take about 1 hour at room temperature.

To frost the cake:

Run a knife around the inside of each of the cakes which will help release them from the pans. Tilt one cake out of the pan, remove the parchment paper from the bottom and invert it back onto a cake plate. Spread a good-sized layer of icing over the top. Top with the second cake layer and spread the top and sides with the remaining icing as decoratively as you want.

POSTSCRIPT: GEELONG WON. GO CATS! :))