Asian mince on rice

Ingredients:

• 500g pork or beef mince
• 1T Thai sweet chilli sauce
• 1T sesame oil
• 1T grated fresh ginger
• 1T soy sauce
• 1t fish sauce
• 2t brown sugar 
• 2T oyster sauce
• 2 spring onions, diced
• 2 carrots, peeled and grated
• 2 zucchinis, grated; or a head of spinach or silverbeet, prepared like this
• 2T chopped coriander, mint, basil (or mixture) 
• 1/4c cashews, roasted

Method:

1. Mix mince with sweet chilli sauce, sesame oil, ginger, soy sauce, fish sauce and sugar. Leave for at least five minutes, or all day in the fridge.

2. Heat a wok and fry mince mixture over high heat until cooked through.

3. Reduce heat and mix in oyster sauce, carrots, silverbeet/spinach/zucchinis, spring onions, herbs and cashews.

4. Cook for another couple of minutes.

Serve on plain Basmati rice.

Serves four to six.

Tips:

• Try using other vegetables e.g. diced onion, sliced mushrooms, small florets of broccoli &/or cauliflower, sliced capsicum, grated cucumber.
• The first time I made this I didn't have oyster sauce so just added an extra 2T of soy sauce. 

Peanut Butter Satay Stirfry

Satay sauce ingredients:

1/2 a small brown onion

1 small fresh red chilli pepper

1 garlic clove or 1 tsp crushed garlic (from a jar)

½ cup water

¼ cup (70g) of smooth peanut butter

1 teaspoon each of peanut oil

1 teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon Juice

½ teaspoon Balsamic Vinegar

1/4 teaspoon brown sugar

Stirfry ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon oil
• 300g lean frying beef, sliced into strips
• 2 cups of selected vegetables (e.g. broccoli, peppers, carrots, mushrooms) cut into bite-sized pieces

Method:

1. Peel and finely chop half an onion.
2. Trim, rinse and finely chop the red chili pepper then crush the garlic clove.
3. Add the peanut oil into a mid-sized saucepan or wok and heat over a medium heat.
4. With your peanut oil ready to go it is time to add the finely diced onion. Continue cooking the diced onion until it becomes soft and golden (roughly 5 minutes) remembering to stir all the time.
5. Gradually stir in the crushed garlic and the finely diced red chili. Continue cooking until the mixture becomes aromatic (around 1 minute).
6. Remove from heat and add the peanut butter, water, lemon juice, Balsalmic vinegar and brown sugar into the mix. Stir well to combine.
7. Add olive oil to wok/saucepan. Fry beef until lightly browned, stirring all the time.
8. Add vegetables and sauce to wok/saucepan. Stir-fry for 3 to 4 minutes to heat vegetables and retain crunchiness. If you prefer softer vegetables stir-fry for 6 to 7 minutes.

Other serving suggestions:

You can use the same recipe to make a satay dipping sauce. Follow the method to step 5. Then

remove from heat and add the peanut butter into the mix. Stir well to combine. Once ready reheat the mixture over a low heat. Stir in the water, lemon juice, Balsamic vinegar and sugar. With all of the ingredients now in the saucepan continue cooking until the sauce thickens (3 minutes or so). Don’t forget to stir.

Alternatively you might like to try using the satay sauce as a marinade for satay sticks. Follow the same method as for dipping sauce. Try skewers with beef, chicken, pork, lamb or vegetables.

Makes 3/4c of sauce.

Beef Stroganoff - Slow Cooker

This is an extremely flavourful, tender, sumptuous slow cooker recipe. Perfect for guests or as a warm comfort food! Also great to prepare in advance and freeze!

Ingredients

600g stewing steak chopped into 1/2 inch cubes

1 can condensed cream of mushroom soup (not a cheap brand)

200ml milk

100-200g closed cup mushrooms sliced thickly

2 medium onions chopped

2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce

150g garlic & herb cream cheese

5 portions fusilli or taglietelle pasta (size & type depending on appetite!)

60 ml soured cream (optional) Preparation method 1.Add steak, onions, mushrooms, mushroom soup, milk and Worcestershire sauce to slow cooker and cook on low for 6-8 hours or high for 4-5 hours. You do not need to add extra liquid for the condensed soup, this is what the milk is for. 2.An hour before finish, add the cream cheese and stir well to disolve. 3.Cook pasta according to packet instructions when stroganoff is done. 4.Serve stroganoff over pasta with sour cream on top.

Beef Teppanyaki

This is an easy stir-fry with a Japanese twist. Take care not to over cook the beef. Once added, the meat should only be cooked for about 3 minutes.



To prepare: 5 minutes and 10 minutes standing beef
To cook: 5 minutes

Marinade:
2 T soy sauce
1 -2 t hot chilli sauce, to taste
1 T sesame oil
2 T root ginger, grated
1/4 c sake, mirin or sherry
1 T rice wine vinegar or wine vinegar
1 T sugar
Other ingredients:
200 - 250 g lean beef steak, eg. rump, sliced in very thin strips
2 T vegetable oil
200 g mushrooms, thinly sliced
1 red pepper, cut in thin strips
2 spring onions, peeled and thinly sliced


Optional:
1/4 c pickled ginger, finely sliced as garnish

METHOD:

1. Combine all marinade ingredients in a clean bowl or plastic bag.
2. Mix sliced meat through marinage. Leave for 10 - 15 minutes.
3. Heat oil in a large wok or fry-pan and cook mushrooms and pepper for 2 - 3 minutes stirring or shaking the pan frequently.
4. Remove mushrooms and peppers from pan and put to one side.
5. Lift meat from marinade and drain, reserving marinade.
6. Add meat to pan with spring onions and cook over very high heat for 2 -3 minutes until cooked.
7. Add reserved marinade into pan with onion and mushroom mixture and heat through.
8. Sprinkle over pickled ginger and serve at once.

Serves 2

Accompany with noodles or rice.