Tag: main course
Trinidad Macaroni Pie
Trinidad Macaroni Pie
This just isn’t any old macaroni recipe. This recipe has Caribbean flavors of smoked paprika, garlic, thyme, creole salt, with slight heat from jalapeños. This is a great side dish and can be eaten as a main course.
Ingredients
- 8 oz dry macaroni cooked according to the package
- 2 tbsp butter
- 2 tbsp jalapeños minced
- 1 small white onion finely diced
- 4 garlic cloves minced
- 1 tsp thyme
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- 1 tbsp flour
- 1 can evaporated milk
- 1 large egg beaten
- 4 oz cheddar cheese
- 4 oz mozzarella cheese
- 1 tsp creole salt
Instructions
- Melt butter in a large sauce pan over medium high heat. Sauté the onions, garlic, jalapeños, thyme, and smoked paprika for 5 minutes.
- Whisk in the flour. Pour in the evaporated milk and simmer for 2 minutes.
- Scoop out a 1/4 cup of the milk mixture and whisk with the beaten egg. This process will temper the egg, allowing it to not curdle in the cheese sauce but still help thicken it.
- Pour the tempered egg back into the milk mixture, continuing to whisk. Add in 3/4 of the 2 cheeses.
- Turn off the heat. Mix in the macaroni.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Add the macaroni to a well greased baking dish. Top with the remaining cheeses.
- Bake for 25-30 minutes. Let rest for 15 minutes before serving.
Laab Kai Jiew (Omelette Salad)
Laab Kai Jiew (Omelette Salad)
Laab is a Northern Thai salad typically consisting of ground meat and mint. In this recipe, an omelette is substituted. It is then tossed with mint, cilantro, lemongrass, cucumber, shallots, and chili flakes. A dressing of lime juice and fish sauce is drizzled over. It is then sprinkled with toasted rice powder, giving it a nice mix of textures. Serve with steamed rice.
Ingredients
- 3 large eggs beaten
- 1 tsp oyster sauce
- 1/2 cup mint
- 1 shallot thinly sliced
- 8 sprigs cilantro
- 2 green onion finely chopped
- 1/2 cup cucumber thinly sliced
- 3” lemongrass thinly sliced
- 2 tsp chili flakes
- 2 tbsp toasted rice powder
- 1 1/2 tbsp lime juice
- 2 tsp fish sauce
Instructions
Toasted Rice Powder
- Add 2 tbsp of dry jasmine or sticky rice to a dry skillet over medium high heat.
- Toast until browned, 2-3 minutes.
- Grind into a powder in a spice blender. Set aside.
Omelette Salad
- In a large bowl, mix together the mint, cilantro, shallots, green onions, cucumber, lemongrass, and chili flakes. Set aside.
- Beat the eggs with the oyster sauce.
- Heat up 3 tbsp of cooking oil in a hot skillet over medium high heat. Pour in the egg mixture.
- Cook for about 3 minutes a side. Thai omelettes are browned and crispy. Remove from the skillet. Dab any grease with paper towel. Cut into chunks.
- Add the omelette to the bowl. Mix with the mint. Mix together the lime juice and fish sauce. Drizzle over the salad. Add 3/4 of the toasted rice powder. Mix.
- Serve with steamed rice. Garnish with the remaining toasted rice powder.
Pineapple Prawn Curry
Pineapple Prawn Curry
Pineapple prawn curry is prepared for special occasions such as Chinese New Years, family reunions, etc. Homemade curry paste using as Malaysian specific shrimp paste called Belacan is cooked until fragrant, then simmered with water, pineapple, then coconut milk. The shrimp are added at the last 2 minutes of cooking. I highly recommend using larger sized shrimp for this curry; at least 16-20ct. Smaller sized shrimp cook a lot faster and end up being over cooked in a curry sauce such as this. The larger ones will stay more tender and less chewy. Serve will steamed white rice.A helpful tip when using turmeric, fresh or powdered, when making a curry paste: unless you want your blender or food processor to be permanently dyed yellow, mix it into the rest of the paste ingredients in a separate bowl.
Equipment
- Food processor, immersion blender, or mortar and pestle.
Ingredients
Curry Paste
- 20 dried arbol chilies seeded
- 10 Chinese shallots
- 5 garlic cloves
- 2 stalks lemongrass bottom 4”, chopped
- 1 tbsp turmeric root grated
- 1 tbsp galangal minced
- 1 tbsp shrimp paste belacan
Pineapple Prawn Curry
- 3 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 1/2 cups water
- 1/2 small pineapple cut into 1 1/2” chunks
- 1 1/2 cups coconut milk
- 1 lb 16-20ct. shrimp peeled and deveined
Instructions
- Soak the seeded dried chilies in boiling water for 15 minutes.
- Add all of the curry paste ingredients to a blender or food processor.
- Blend until smooth.
- Heat up cooking oil in a large sauce pan over medium high heat. Add n the curry paste. Cook for 3-4 minutes until fragrant.
- Add the pineapple and the water. Simmer for 15 minutes.
- Pour in the coconut milk. Simmer for 5 minutes.
- Add in the shrimp and cook for 2 more minutes.
