Thai Pumpkin Soup

Ingredients:

2 tsp olive oil

1 onion, finely chopped

1 tbsp brown sugar

2 cloves garlic, crushed

1 medium pumpkin (about 1.2kg), eg buttercup, peeled and diced

2 cups water

400ml can coconut milk

1-2 fresh or dried chillies, finely chopped

1 tbsp lemongrass, minced, or ½ tsp finely grated lemon zest

1 tbsp fish sauce

salt and ground black pepper
¼ cup fresh coriander or parsley, chopped

Coconut sambal:

• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• big handful fresh coriander
• ½ cup roasted peanuts
• finely grated zest of ½ lemon
• 1 red chilli, minced
• ¼ cup thread coconut, toasted

Heat oil in a big pot and gently cook onion, sugar and garlic until softened (8-10 minutes). Add all other ingredients except fresh coriander and simmer until tender, about 20 minutes. Mash roughly, adjust seasonings to taste and mix through coriander. Garnish with coconut sambal.

To make coconut sambal, blend together garlic, coriander, roasted peanuts, lemon zest and chilli. Mix in toasted coconut. Store in fridge for up to 3 weeks.

Duck Breast on spicy Asian Glass Noodle Salad

4 servings, measures in metric

Duck Breast

• 2 duck breasts
• 100 ml of soy sauce
• 100 ml plum sauce
• 1 piece lemon grass
• 1 lime leaf
• 2 chilis (the small hot ones)
• 1 star anise
• 2g Laos pepper (alternatively black pepper)
• 20g honey
• Juice of half a lime

Preparation:

Cut the duck breasts’ skin deeply, without cutting into the breast meat below. Bring the soy sauce to boiling point briefly, add all the spices, the plum sauce and the honey and allow it to cool down. Keep the duck breasts for 2 days in the marinade, turn the meat from time to time. Then take out the meat, dry it off and fry it gently on the skin side for 5 – 7 minutes, turn and fry for another 1-2 minutes. Meat should be pink inside. Set aside and let it cool down to room temperature.

Glass noodle salad

• 70 g fresh bean sprouts
• 5-10 fresh shiitake mushrooms
• 200 g of fine glass noodles
• 1 carrot
• Fresh bean sprouts
• 75g sugar snaps
• Coriander and Thai basil, fresh
• 1 ripe, aromatic, fiber-free Thai Mango
• Asian marinade – for glass noodle salad
• 1 garlic clove
• 1 small piece of fresh ginger
• 1 kaffir lime leaf
• 1 teaspoon pickled ginger
• 1 tablespoon of ginger juice (from picked ginger)
• Juice of 1 lime and its zest
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1-2 chilis (the small hot ones)
• 40 ml of light soy sauce
• 10-20 ml of sesame oil
• 10-20 ml of peanut oil

Preparation:

• Asian marinade

Sauté finely diced ginger and garlic in peanut oil. Be careful not to burn the garlic as it will make the marinade bitter. Add kaffir lime leaf, pickled ginger, chilis (all the 3 ingredients very finely chopped), the sugar, and mix it well with lime zest, lime juice, soy sauce, ginger juice and the two oils.

• Glass noodle salad

For the salad, soak the noodles in very hot water for about 1 minute. Do not boil or cook!
Cut the mushrooms, the sugar snaps and the carrots into thin strips and fry all in hot peanut oil. Keep them “al-dente”. Add the bean sprouts for about 30 seconds and let it cool down a bit.
Cut the Mango into small strips and toss it with the cooled down vegetables, the marinade and the glass noodles. Let it sit briefly.

• Setting

Cut the duck breast into thin slices, and put it on the glass noodle salad. Decorate with seasonal sprouts or herbs.

Yellow Thai Curry with Mixed Vegetables

No need to use a store-bought or pre-made curry paste in this vegetarian yellow Thai curry, as this yellow curry is seasoned and colored with curry powder, turmeric and chili sauce.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup vegetable broth
• 1 cup coconut milk
• 1 potato, pre-cooked and chopped
• 2 carrots, pre-cooked and sliced
• 1 cup broccoli
• 1/2 head cauliflower, chopped
• 1 tbsp fresh ginger, grated or minced
• 1 tsp sugar
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 tsp turmeric
• 2 tsp curry powder
• 3 tbsp chili sauce
• 1/3 tsp salt

Preparation:

Bring the coconut milk and vegetable broth to a slow simmer. Add the potatoes and vegetables and allow to simmer for a few minutes.

Add the remaining ingredients and cook for 3 to 5 more minutes.

Serve over rice if desired.