Tag Archives: chefvic

Sweet Chilli and Garlic Prawn Noodles

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It was a Wednesday, it was way past lunchtime and as I said to my sister on FaceTime, I needed some kind of Oriental flavour in my mouth.

I also didn’t want to take ten years to cook it so it had to be quick and delicious.

Enter…

prawn noodles

Ingredients used:

  • Rice Noodles (300g pack)
  • Raw Peeled King Prawns (165g) – cooked prawns can also be used
  • Spring onions (2 stalks)
  • Broccoli – I would have preferred to use Tender stem Broccoli tips, but I only had the regular ones to hand.
  • Seasonings
    • Sesame oil – 2tbsp
    • Soy Sauce – 2tbsp
    • Chilli flakes
    • Chinese 5 spice
    • Garlic (2 cloves)
    • Ginger (30g)
    • 1 stock cube (maggi/knorr)
    • Sweet Chilli Sauce – 1tbsp

Prep time – 10 mins

Method:

  1. Chop the spring onions
  2. Put the prawns in a separate bowl and add the garlic, ginger and chilli flakes. Mix until all prawns are covered.
  3. Chop the broccoli as desired and soak in a bowl of bowling water for 2 minutes.
  4. Soak the rice noodles in boiling water for 1 minute, then rinse in a colander with cold water.

Cooking time – 10 mins

Cooking:

  1. Heat the sesame oil in a wok (medium-high heat) and fry the prawns once the oil is hot enough.
  2. Add the spring onions and broccoli to the wok and stir continuously for 2 minutes.
  3. Add the rice noodles to the wok.
  4. Season with soy sauce, Chinese 5 spice and stock cube.
  5. Stir the noodles until all covered with seasoning.
  6. Add the sweet chilli sauce and stir for a further minute.
  7. Serve

Extra tip: in any stir fry, I like my vegetables to be crunchy so I take extra care not to leave them soaking in hot water for too long (if this step is needed), or to leave the stir fry cooking for longer than necessary.

Pesto Tagliatelle

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You ever get those days when the only thing you want to eat is creamy, cheesy and carb-loaded?

This was one such day.

This meal is so delightful, and each calorie-filled bite is as decadent as the next.

Truly a hearty meal to curb any carb craving.

pesto carb

Ingredients used:

  • Fresh Egg Tagliatelle (500g pack)
  • Bacon Lardons (155g pack)
  • Smoked Back Bacon (6 rashers)
  • Chestnut mushrooms (4 or 5)
  • 1 large onion
  • Crème fraîche (300ml – you can use normal cream instead, but I happen to find it a little too sweet to use in cooking)
  • Seasonings
    • Vegetable oil – 1tbsp
    • 2 cloves of garlic (chopped into fine pieces)
    • 1 stock cubes (maggi/knorr)
    • Black pepper (I use a pepper mill)
    • Pesto – 3 tbsp
  • Parmesan cheese

Prep time – 5 mins

Method:

  1. Chop the onion and mushrooms and put into a bowl
  2. Slice the bacon rashers vertically and keep together with the Lardons

Cooking time – 25 mins

Cooking:

  1. In a large wok, fry the bacon and Lardons in vegetable oil until almost cooked. Then add the chopped onion and mushrooms to the wok.
  2. Season with the garlic, stock cube, black pepper and pesto.
  3. Add the Crème fraîche to the mixture and leave to simmer on low heat.
  4. In another saucepan, cook the Tagliatelle (follow the instructions on the packet).
  5. Once cooked, drain the water from the Tagliatelle and add the pasta to the wok.
  6. Stir in the pasta until all of it is covered by the creamy sauce.
  7. Leave to simmer for a further two minutes
  8. Serve

Extra tip: grate some Parmesan cheese over the pasta after serving and sprinkle some dried mixed herbs for aesthetics 

Spicy Jerk Chicken with Rice and Peas

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Fun fact about me: I love meat. I really, really do.

I don’t think I’ve ever made a vegetarian meal in my life (at least willingly).

While I enjoy eating and cooking copious amounts of meat, I find that chicken is always at the bottom of the list of meats I make. It’s a little boring to me and prefer playing with red meats.

However, every once in a while a very silly craving for chicken will hit me and it won’t go away until I have done with it what my soul desires.

Thus we have this post.

I wanted chicken, I wanted Caribbean food and I wanted it immediately.

So I made it.

jerk chicken

Ingredients used:

  • Chicken thighs
  • Seasonings
    • Vegetable oil – 1tbsp
    • 3 cloves of garlic (chopped into fine pieces)
    • 2 stock cubes (maggi/knorr)
    • Crushed habanero chilli flakes or 2 scotch bonnets
    • Jerk seasoning (Dunns River is my favourite to use)
    • Thyme
    • Salt
  • 3 cups of rice (any type is fine- I only had basmati available)
  • 1 can of red kidney beans
  • 1 can of coconut milk

Prep time – 15 mins

Method (chicken):

  1. This step is optional but I always wash all my meat in warm water with a splash of vinegar
  2. Put the chicken, vegetable oil, half the chopped garlic, stock cubes, chilli flakes/scotch bonnets and jerk seasoning into a mixing bowl and mix together until all the chicken is covered.
  3. Leave to marinate for 10 minutes.

Method (rice):

  1. Wash the rice by putting the rice in a bowl, submerging in warm water and stirring. Tilt the bowl to pour out the starchy water. Repeat this step until the water remains clear.
  2. Put the rice in a large saucepan.
  3. Pour the red kidney beans into the saucepan.
  4. Use a measuring cup to pour the coconut milk into the saucepan. (It’s usually about 2 cups). This step is important because you will subtract this number from the amount of water you put in the rice.
  5. Season with salt, thyme and the remaining garlic.

 

Cooking time for rice – 20 minutes

Cooking time for the chicken – 30 minutes

Cooking the chicken:

  1. Preheat the oven to 190 degrees(gas mark 5)
  2. Place the chicken on a foil-lined oven tray skin side down and leave to bake for 15 minutes.
  3. Turn the chicken thighs so the skin is facing upwards and leave to cook for a further 15 minutes.
  4. Remove from oven once the juices run clear and the skin is nice and crispy.

Cooking the rice:

(For every cup of rice, use 1.5 cups of water to cook)

  1. Boil water in a kettle
  2. Add the boiling water to the rice (subtracting the number of cups that was used to add the coconut milk- so if 4.5 cups of water is needed to cook 3 cups of rice, and 2 cups of coconut milk was added to the rice, only 2.5 cups of water needs to be added to the rice).
    Who knew cooking required so much maths?
  3. Once the rice starts to boil, lower the heat and cover the saucepan with a tight fitting lid.
  4. Leave the rice to simmer for about 15-18 minutes then remove for heat and leave to steam in the saucepan for a further 2-5 minutes..
  5. Use a fork to fluff the rice and mix the kidney beans throughout.
  6. Serve.

Extra tip: use the stock from the chicken as a sauce for the rice.

Pancake Day

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So yesterday was pancake day!

I’m not an avid pancake eater. I do enjoy it every now and again but it’s not really my go-to breakfast option.

I also prefer simple pancakes. No muss, no fuss- just plain ol’ sugar, milk, eggs and flour.

The exciting part for me is what you put on the pancakes.

Like the Lemon and Raspberry pancakes I made below…

pancakes

Basic pancakes with a drizzle of lemon juice, dusting of icing sugar and top it up with whipped cream and raspberries.

It. Was. Delicious.

P.s. I should have made a raspberry compote to add to the pancakes, but I’m very lazy.

Roasted Honey and Black Pepper Pork

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Pork is probably my favourite meat.

I find it so versatile and it easily and readily absorbs the flavours of your desired cuisine.

My go to with pork is usually some sort of Asian flavour but one day I had a hankering for pork belly that I knew wouldn’t be satisfied with the Asian flavour.

So I went into my kitchen and let the spirit lead me.

IMG_2196

Ingredients used:

  • Pork belly (a pack bought from the supermarket)
  • Seasonings
    • Sesame oil – 2 tbsp
    • Soy sauce – 2 tbsp
    • 1/2 cloves of garlic (chopped into fine pieces)
    • Chopped ginger (not much is needed)
    • 1 Stock cube (maggi/knorr)
    • Crushed chilli flakes
    • Honey – 5 tbsp
    • Crushed black pepper

Prep time – 20 mins

Method:

  1. Cut the pork belly into bitesize chunks and put in a mixing bowl
  2. This step is optional but I always wash all my meat in warm water with a splash of vinegar
  3. Put the sesame oil, soy sauce, garlic, ginger, chilli flakes and stock cube into the bowl with the pork belly and mix together until all the pork is covered. For an extra kick, you can add half a scotch bonnet.
  4. Leave to marinate for 10 minutes.

Cooking time – 25 minutes plus 5 minutes

Cooking:

  1. Preheat the oven to 175 degrees (gas mark 4)
  2. Place the pork belly on a foil-lined oven tray and leave to cook for 15 minutes, then turn the pork belly and leave to cook for a further 10 minutes.
  3. Take the pork out of the oven and coat with the honey and crushed black pepper.
  4. Increase the heat of the oven to 200 degrees (gas mark 5) and cook the pork for a further 3-5 minutes.
  5. Serve with steamed black kale and broccoli for a delicious and nutritious dinner.

Extra tip: if you’re feeling super hungry, this meal can also be paired with steamed rice.

Yet another food blog?

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Nah.

This isn’t a food blog.

Not really.

It’s more of a place where I can write down the recipes that hit me in a moment of inspiration and cause me to create some of my most spectacular dishes (at least according to my taste buds).

Some are pretty basic recipes with my own twist, some are ones I have completely imagined out of thin air. All include intense flavour.

I’ve been meaning to write these recipes down for the longest time but I just haven’t (mostly due to laziness)…until now.

So here it is: Chef Vic’s recipe book.

Enjoy.