Tag: adam liaw

Adam Liaw’s Lions’ Heads

.Reading time 3 minutes.

Serves: 4

I almost didn’t cook this dish on account of – wait for it – the photo of the recipe in Adam Liaw’s book Asian After Work though my goodness, I’m glad I did.

Nat and I had a late Sunday lunch on Sydney’s Spit and wanted something easy and yummy for a later supper.

Talk about just god damn moorish. The stock becomes slightly oily and is filled with such a wonderful Chinese flavour. Add in those shiitake muchrooms.

And then the fried and then poached pork balls.

With some rice at the side, this is absolutely Chinese comfort. Curled up on the couch with a beer watching Yellowstone (yes, we are late to the series though how bloody good!), this was the perfect way to end the weekend.

Add this recipe to your backlog. Tick tick tick. It’s brilliant.

Ingredients

8 dried shiitake mushrooms
2 tbsp cornflour
1/2 Chinese cabbage, cut into 5cm lengths
Vegetable oil for shallow frying
500ml quality white chicken stock
1 tbsp light soy sauce
1 tbsp Shaoxing wine
1/4 tsp caster sugar
2 spring onions, white and green parts, trimmed and sliced, to serve
Cooked Jasmine rice, to serve

Lions’ Head Meatballs

750gm pork mince
2 – 3 spring onions, white and light green partsm trimmed and minced
1 tsp grated sugar
1 eg yolk
1 tbsp cornflour
2 tbsp oyster sauce
2 tsp Shaoxing wine
1 tsp soy sauce
1 tsp sesame oil
A pinch of white pepper
A pinch of caster sugar
1/4 tsp salt

Method

  1. Rinse the shiitake mushrooms quickly under running water and soak in 1 1/2 c boiling water for at least 20 minutes until softened. Trim and discard the strems, slice the caps, and reserve the liquid.
  2. For the meatballs, mix together all the ingredients and shape into 4 large balls. Sprinkle with the additional 2 tbsp of cornflour to coat, and set aside.
  3. Place the cabbage and shiitake mushrooms in the base of a large casserole dish. Deep or shallow-fry the meatballs in plenty of oil until well browned all over. Place the meatballs on top if the cabbage and pour over the stock, soy sauce, wine, sugar and reserved shiitake steeping liquid. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer, covered, for about 30 minutes, or until the meatballs are cooked through and the cabbage is very soft. Scatter with spring onions and serve with rice.

Adam Liaw’s Master Stock Poached Chicken Breast

.Reading time 3 minutes.

Serves: 2

This is an absolutely wonderful way to prepare chicken breast in such a favourful way, ready for pairing with rice maybe some Asian greens.

Make the masterstock the nighr before and it’s set and forget.

And the ginger and spring onion oil? So simple, so beautiful.

For a casual, Asian feast (is casual and feast mutually exclusive?), this is a must.

Our boys kept taking leftovers from the fridge all the next day, a sure sign you’ve nailed it.

Ingredients

Faster Master (Stock) – 2 litres

1 1/2 ltrs quality white chicken stock
250ml dark soy sauce (or substitute light soy sauce if you prefer)
250ml Shaoxing wine
4 cloves garlic, unpeeled but bruised
1 small brown onion, peeled and roughly chopped
5 thick slices, ginger, unpeeled
1 cinnamon quill
3 star anise
1/2 tsp fennel seeds
1/2 tsp black peppercorns
1/2 c caster sugar

Chicken

2 ltrs Faster Master
2 chicken breasts, skinless
A handful of coriander to serve
Cooked rice to serve
Steamed greens to serve

Ginger & Spring Onion Oil

2 tbsp grated ginger
4 medium spring onions, white and light green parts, trimmed and thinly sliced
1/2 tsp sea salt
3 tbsp peanut oil

Method

Faster Master (Stock)

  1. Place all the ingredients in a large saucepan and simmer for 30 minutes. Allow to cool, then strain out all the solids.
  2. When you use this liquid for poaching meat or fish, bring it to the boil for a minute or two after you have removed the meat or fish to kill bacteria, strain it, allow to cool, transfer to a freezer-proof container and freeze until you need to use it again.

Chicken and Ginger & Spring Onion Oil

  1. Bring the Faster Master to a simmer in a medium-sized saucepan. Remove from the heat, add the chicken breasts and cover tightly. Allow to stand for 10 minutes and test the internal temperature, and either continuing poaching (possibly over a low heat depending on where you are in cooking terms) or rest for 2 minutes.
  2. Pound the ginger, spring onion and salt in a heatproof mortar to a rough paste. Heat the oil in a pan over a high heat until smoking hot, then pour onto the mixture. Once the sizzling stops, mix the sauce and allow to stand until ready to serve.
  3. Slice the chicken, scatter with coriander and serve with the ginger and spring onion oil, rice and greens.

Adam Liaw’s Vietnamese Affogato

.Reading time 1 minute.

Makes: 1 1/2 ltr of ice cream

This incredibly simple ice cream doesn’t even require an ice cream machine, though I did use our churner and the result was wonderful.

We had Nat’s parents over for a mid-week meal and so a streamlined menu was a must.

This ice cream absolutely nailed the brief.

Ingredients

1 – 2 shots of strong espresso per person*

Condensed Milk Ice Cream

1 can (395hm) sweetened condensed milk
600ml thickened cream

Method

  1. To make the ice cream, pour condensed milk and cream into the bowl of an electric mixer and whip to stiff peaks. If not using an ice cream maker, transfer to a container and freeze for a least 4 hours or until firm.
  2. Place a large scoop of the ice cream in a chilled glass and serve with a shot of espresso in a glass on the side. Pour the coffee over the ice cream and eat immediately with a spoon.

* Substitute Frangelico or similar to really dial it up!

Adam Liaw’s Barramundi Curry with Tomato Coconut

.Reading time 4 minutes.

Serves: 4

I’ve previously written about what a big fan I am of Adam Liaw.

Brilliant cook. Funniest Twitter account. Genuinely lovely guy.

And so there I am during Sydney’s Covid lockdown; in-line in a Chinese grocer and who walks up behind me, but Adam Liaw.

So I introduce myself and tell him what a fan I am of his; that I have purchased several of his latest book for friends.

He politely thanks me.

Clutching snake beans, I explain that I accidentally purchased garlic chives the day before and ho ho ho, what an easy mistake that is right?

And he gives me that look: no it isn’t moron. Only you could make that mistake.

Anyway, still a fan and yes, it was a moron mistake.

In keeping with all of Adam Liaw’s recipes, this one is a keeper. A total keeper.

A wonderful coming together of Malaysian and Indian flavours as he puts it.

We had this mid-week as a date night and didn’t we have a great evening! This dish and a bottle of cold white were big contributors.

Ingredients

1/4 c vegetable oil
1 tsp fennel seeds
1 tsp black peppercorns, crushed
4 cardamom pods, bruised
1 cinnamon quill
10 curry leaves
1 onion, peeled and thinly sliced
2 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
2cm ginger, peeled and roughly chopped
2 large green chillies, sliced
2 coriander plants, leaves picked, stalks and roots roughly chopped
2 tsp ground coriander
2 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp chilli powder
3 tomatoes, roughly chopped
2 tbsp tamarind puree
400ml coconut milk
1 tbsp fish sauce
1/2 tsp sugar
10 okra, trimmed (optional and omitted)
750gm skinless barramundi fillets

Method

  1. Heat a large frypan or saucepan over a medium heat and add the oil. Add the fennel seeds, peppercorns, cardamom and cinnamon and stir for about 30 seconds. Add the curry leaves, and stir for 10 seconds. Add the onion, garlic, chillies, plus the coriander stalks and roots and stir well.
  2. Cook for about 4 minutes until the mix is fragrant but the onion is not yet coloured, then add the ground coriander, turmeric and chilli powder. Stir well, then add the tomatoes, tamarind, coconut milk, fish sauce and sugar plus a splash of water* and simmer for 2 minutes.
  3. Add the okra (if using) and simmer for another 10 minutes, then add the barramundi and simmer until cooked through: about 6 minutes. Taste, adjust seasoning if necessary, then scatter with the coriander leaves and serve.

*Nat and I did a virtual cooking class with Neil Perry during Sydney’s lockdown and the most prominent comment from the 750 or so Instagram participants was “slow down”. And it wasn’t that we did not have the ingredients ready.

The issue was cooking time.

Neil’s induction was putting our gas hobs to shame.

And it is why I assume so many chefs ask for a cup of water to be added to a dish and then reduced in 10 minutes. Because they can… and we can’t.

I’m subscribed to the view that you add water as you go rather than reducing large quantities of it. Because it always takes multiples of what you are told it should take time wise. And with respect to Adam, adding a cup of water at this stage meant another 15 minutes frantically trying to bring this back over a very high heat.

Adam Liaw’s Chicken with Garlic & Crispy Lime Leaves

.Reading time 2 minutes.

Serves: 2 – 4

Another cracking Adam Liaw dinner by Nat.

Very simple. Very elegant. Very garlic.Very Monday night. Very much an excuse to open a bottle of white.

Enjoy.

Ingredients

4 chicken thighs, skinless
8 cloves garlic, peeled and roughly chopped
10 kaffir lime leaves, veins removed and shredded
Vegetable oil for for deep frying (about 2 litres)
Lime wedges to serve

Marinade

1 tbsp fish sauce
2 tsp oyster sauce
1/2 tsp caster sugar
1 tbsp cornflour
1 tsp sesame oil

Method

  1. Trim any visible fat from the chicken and cut each thigh across the grain into 1cm strips. Mix together all of the marinade ingredients and stir through the chicken strips. Set aside for at least 10 minutes at room temperature.
  2. Heat the oil in a deep-fryer, wok or open saucepan to 190c and deep-fry the chicken strips in small batches for 2 minutes, or until well browned and almost cooked. Set aside on a wire rack to drain and rest for a few minutes (the chicken will continue to cook through while resting.)
  3. Reduce the heat of the oil to 160c by adding a little cold oil and testing the temperature again with a thermometer. Fry the garlic until just browned and then scoop out with a wire-mesh strainer and set aside. Add the shredded lime leaves to the hot oil for just 1 – 2 seconds until they crisp. Set aside to drain on paper towel.
  4. Place the chicken on a warmed plate and scatter the the crispy garlic and lime leaves on top. Serve with lime wedges.

Adam Liaw’s Salt & Pepper Pork Belly

.Reading time 2 minutes.

Serves: 4

There are a couple of chefs and cooks that I put blind faith in.

Adam Liaw is one of them.

When I saw his new book, Asian After Work, a quick skim and it was clear it had to join the house. Nat and I browsed through it in the kitchen that night and I swear, there is not one recipe we would not cook.

It’s that good.

This pork belly is just wonderful and quite a surprise from Nat who is suspicious of pork belly on calorie grounds.

Made my night and teaches that pork belly is not exclusively about slow cooking and crackling.

Ingredients

500gm piece of pork belly, skin and bones removed
1 tsp sesame oil
2 cloves garlic, peeled and roughly chopped
1 bird’s eye chilli, sliced
2 spring onions, white and light green parts, trimmed and sliced
1 tsp salt flakes
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
A handful of coriander leaves to serve
Boiled Jasmine rice to serve

Method

  1. Slice the pork into 1cm steaks, then cut into 3cm squares about 1cm thick.
  2. Heat a wok or frypan until very hot and add the sesame oil. Fry the pork in batches until well browned on all sides and cooked through. Set aside.
  3. Poor out any excess fat from the pan and add the garlic, chilli and spring onions. Toss over very high heat until the garlic starts to brown and the mixture is very fragrant. Return pork pieces to the wok, add the salt and black pepper and toss to coat well.
  4. Transfer to a warm plate, scatter with coriander and serve.

Adam Liaw’s Cauliflower Nachos

.Reading time 2 minutes.

Serves: 4

Adam Liam is on a tear and these nachos are no different.

GENIUS.

Lower calorie especially if you use less cheese, guacamole and turkey mince as your protein.

Either way, they are no compromise.

Even better than cauliflower rice – which is in itself not much of a compromise when you take into account you belt size – these nachos have it all.

Do them once, you’ll do them again.

Week time treat.

(Tip: pickle your own jalapeños which we did. Do a bunch of them and refrigerate in a jar. We have them in the fridge and have them with chilli and all sorts of things. A-mazing – look it up, a million recipes!)

I have adjusted this nacho recipe slightly.

Ingredients

3 tbsp olive oil
500gm (turkey) mince
1 tsp salt
2 tbsp ketchup
2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp sweet paprika
1 tsp dry oregano
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1 very large head cauliflower (or 2 small)
1 – 2 cups (low fat) grated cheese

Fresh tomato salsa

1/2 red onion, finely diced
2 Roma tomatoes, finely diced
1/4 tsp sugar
Good pinch of salt
1 tbsp red wine vinegar
2 tbsp finely shredded coriander
1 tbsp olive oil

To serve

Lime wedges
2 tbsp pickled, sliced jalapeños to serve
2 tbsp sour cream
Guacamole

Method

  1. Heat your oven to 220c. Break the cauliflower into (large-ish) florets and drizzle with 3 tbsp of olive oil. Season with salt and arrange on a larger baking sheet. Roast for 25 mins until well browned (evening blackening) and tender. Transfer to an oiled baking dish.
  2. At the same time, for the mince, heat a large saucepan over a high-heat and add 1 tbsp of the olive oil. Add and mince and fry until browned. Add the salt, ketchup, cumin, paprika, oregano, cinnamon, and 1 cup of hot water and bring to a simmer. Simmer until the water is evaporated but the mince is still moist.
  3. For the salsa, combine all the ingredients and set aside.
  4. Turn your oven to grill and top the cauliflower in the baking dish with the mince and then the cheese. Grill for 5 minutes until the cheese is browned.
  5. Serve with the salsa, Jalapeños, guacamole, sour cream and lime wedges.

Adam Liaw’s Chicken Veloute Stew

.Reading time 3 minutes.

Serves: 4

I am a big fan of Adam Liaw.

Since Masterchef fame, he has stepped it up big-time.

His Twitter account is very funny, he writes recipes for Fairfax Media and others, he travels extensively to cook and he serves up some really good dishes.

His food is obtainable and he writes ordinarily (in a good way) about it so that mugs like us can really feel his sentiment towards it… and the background to it.

This recipe is a really comfortable one and you only need to glance down the ingredients to know why.

You keep layering the vegetables and in the end, you have a whole dinner, starting with your chicken and ending with your broccoli and beans.

It is a Sunday-night sort of thing and with a bottle of red, some music and the lights down, it really is a great way to end the weekend.

Nat and I speak from experience!

(Note: the original recipe called for chicken wings… we are a breast and thigh family only, so I have updated the instructions below to reflect how we did it. Plus a few small changes to how the vegetables were prepped.)

Ingredients

8 chicken thighs, sliced
100gm butter
2 cups button mushrooms, halved
4 thick rasher bacon, cut into lardons
1 brown onion, sliced
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup white wine
1 1/2 liters chicken stocks
2 bay leaves
4 sprigs thyme
1/2 small cabbage, roughly shredded
3 carrots, chopped
1/2 head broccoli, separated into florets
Handful of green beans, tailed
100ml pouring cream

Method

  1. Heat a little of the butter in a large saucepan over a medium-heat. Fry the chicken thighs until well browned though not yet cooked through; set aside. In the same saucepan, fry the mushrooms until well browned and set aside.
  2. Add the bacon and fry until browned, then add the onion and remaining butter and cook until the onions soften.
  3. Add the flour and cook, stirring for 3 minutes until a roux forms. Add the wine and chicken stock, a little at a time, stirring constantly to remove any lumps from the roux until you have a thick sauce. Season with salt and (white) pepper. Add the bay leaves, thyme, cabbage and carrots, reduce the heat to a simmer, then cover and cook for 20 minutes.
  4. Add the sliced chicken thighs to one section of the pot. Add the mushrooms to another section. Simmer for 5 minutes, then add the broccoli and beans in their own sections. Simmer for a further minute and then taste and adjust for seasoning.
  5. Pour the cream over the stew and serve.

Turmeric fish skewers and garlic greens

.Reading time 2 minutes.

Turmeric fish skewers and garlic greens

Serves: 4

My respect for Adam Liaw grows with every recipe of his I have cooked.

He is grounded and his recipes have always been excellent including that they are more than achievable on any given, adventurous weekday night.

I have a bunch lined up to cook and I really can’t wait.

This recipe is no different.

It is super healthy, really easy to prepare and really quite exciting for a Monday night when we had it.

Double it and you have a great Tuesday lunch on your hands and a great start to the week.

Ingredients

½ cup (fat-free) Greek yoghurt
½ tsp ground turmeric
1 tsp ground coriander
¼ tsp chilli powder
½ tsp salt
¼ tsp ground black pepper
600g ling fillets, cut into 5cm cubes (or another firm white fish)
2 tbsp olive oil
4 cloves garlic, sliced
2 spring onions, sliced
1 bunch broccolini, cut into 5cm lengths
½ bunch spinach, cut into 5cm lengths
1 small bunch kale, torn into bite-sized pieces
Lemon wedges, to serve

Method

  1. Heat a grill/griddle to very high, or a barbecue until it’s very hot.
  2. Combine the yoghurt, turmeric, coriander, chilli powder, salt and pepper and coat the ling fillets in the mixture. Set aside for 10 minutes then thread the fish onto soaked skewers and cook, turning occasionally, until the fish is cooked through, about five minutes.
  3. Heat a large frying pan over a high heat, add the olive oil, garlic and spring onions, and fry until fragrant.
  4. Add the broccolini and fry for about three minutes, then add the spinach and kale, season with lots of salt and pepper and fry for a further two minutes, stirring well.
  5. Arrange the greens on a platter and top with the fish skewers. Serve with lemon wedges.

Adam Liaw’s Walnut and Watercress Salad

.Reading time 1 minute.

Serves: 4

This is a really wonderful salad. So good in fact, that Nat wants to bottle the dressing for friends.

The nuttiness of the walnut with the freshness of the watercress and mint is special.

Even the boys hoovered it up.

Sophisticated, clean, healthy and fresh.

A must do.

Ingredients

½ cup peeled walnuts*
1 tbsp white wine vinegar
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp honey
1 tsp Dijon mustard
2 anchovy fillets (or ½ tsp salt)
1 bunch watercress, picked and washed
1 cup loosely packed mint leaves

Method

  1. Place half the walnuts in a small food processor with the vinegar, olive oil, honey, mustard and anchovies (or salt), and process to a smooth dressing.
  2. Toss the watercress, mint leaves and remaining walnuts in the dressing.

* Toast the walnuts – either in the oven or in a pan – until darkened and the skins are starting to flake. In a kitchen towel, rub the nuts together until the skins separate and then in a colander, shake to separate the skins from the nuts.