{san choy bao in hermie}

Oh no, I've been neglecting this blog for so long that guilt is creeping in. I have been inspired in the last few months by lots of different things but finding the time to write up my latest experiments in the kitchen has been lacking. But, now I think I have my mojo back. Why? Well, in case you haven't heard, here in Australia the launch of the new TM5 has occurred just over a week ago. Having Hermie 2.0 in the kitchen is very exciting as there are some great new features... but this is not what this post is about. That will be in a separate one in the near future.

Isn't this supposed  to be how to make san choy bao using Hermie? Yes it is and I think it fits in very well with all the different ways that people are eating these days. What I'm referring to is the latest diet craze or food allergy/intolerance. Although I have never been on any dieting bandwagon, I have experienced food intolerance and allergies myself and within my little family. These include lactose intolerance, dairy allergies, nut allergies, following the FAILSAFE diet and FODMAP. I think we've pretty much got all bases covered.

So, san choy bao is one of those dishes which is Asian flavour based (which is my favourite) and ticks lots of categories including:

- gluten free

- wheat free (check the sauces you're using)

- dairy free

- grain free

- carb free

- high protein

- and most importantly delicious.

It is easily made from the staple ingredients from an Asian Pantry as well as some fresh food items. A bonus is that it is very quick to make and the kids have fun 'making' their own little lettuce cups. Enjoy!

3-4 dried shitake mushrooms

15 grams ginger, peeled, roughly chopped

1-2 cloves garlic, peeled

1 small-medium carrot, peeled, roughly chopped 3-4cm

450-500 grams pork mince

20 grams vegetable oil (canola, rice bran, peanut etc)

12 baby cos lettuce leaves (your cups)

big handful of beansprouts (or to taste)

1-2 spring onions, chopped to 1cm lengths

20 grams Shao XsIng wine

10 gram light soy sauce

15 grams dark soy sauce

10 grams oyster sauce

40 grams hoisin sauce

1. Place mushrooms into bowl and pour over hot water to cover and soften mushrooms

2. Place ginger, garlic & carrot into TM bowl and chop 5secs/ speed5. Scrape down sides of bowl.

3. Add pork mince and oil to TM bowl and saute 6mins/ varoma (TM5=110C)/ speed1/ reverse. 

4. Meanwhile, drain water from mushrooms and dice (using a knife) into 0.5cm pieces and wash the 12 lettuce leaves and beansprouts and set aside for later.

5. Scrape down sides of bowl and with spatula, stir the bottom around.

6. Add wine, soy sauce, reserved mushrooms and spring onions into TM bowl and cook 4mins/ varoma (TM5=110C)/ stir speed/ reverse. 

7. Scrape down sides and add in dark soy, oyster sauce and hoisin sauce. Cook 2mins/ 100C/ stir speed/ reverse.

8. Once complete, pour into thermoserver and serve by scooping into reserved lettuce cups and topped with bean sprouts.

Bon Appetit xx

Serves 2-3 depending on appetite

Note: Great for finger food. Just need to use the tiny baby cos lettuce leaves and a teaspoon of filling.

{indonesian spicy roast chicken with hermie}

There are many ways to roast a chicken but for some reason I seem to find ones with Asian flavour combinations appeal to me more. It's probably because growing up in a Chinese Malaysian household, spices and herbs like ginger, spring onion, coriander, turmeric and chilli were a weekly staple, bought and used in everyday dishes. My palate is less familiar with 'western' herbs such as tarragon, sage and rosemary. Having said that, one of the unexpected benefits of having Hermie is that I am being more creative and my family is eating a larger variety of food. I'm getting better at cooking western meals and am slowly discovering new flavour combinations.

Having said that, there are times that I just crave rice and a meat and a vegetable dish. The recipe below is really handy and fits into this category. It comes from an 'essential' asian cookbook that has sat on my bookshelf for a while and I've finally had time to peruse it and mark out all the recipes I want to try. First off the list is this Indonesian Spicy Roast Chicken recipe. It's great to use the whole chicken if you're entertaining friends and family, however, if you want to keep it simple, just use some chicken pieces like drumsticks instead. Enjoy!

1.5-1.6kg whole chicken
1 red chilli
3 cloves garlic, peeled
2 teaspoons peppercorns
5 grams brown sugar
40 grams soy sauce
2 teaspoons turmeric
20 grams lime juice
drizzle of vegetable oil (can use butter)

1. Pre-heat oven to 180C.
2. Butterfly whole chicken and place on a roasting rack in a baking tray. Roast for 30mins.

3. Meanwhile, prepare marinade. Place chilli, garlic, peppercorns & brown sugar into TM bowl. Chop 5secs/ speed7. Scrape down sides of bowl.
4. Add in soy sauce, turmeric & lime juice (tip: squeeze lime directly onto lid with MC in to prevent pips going into bowl) and mix 3secs/ speed 4.
5. Take chicken out of oven after 30mins and pour marinade over the top. Using a basting brush, make sure it is spread out all over chicken. Drizzle over some vegetable oil over the chicken and roast for another 30-40mins until juices run clear.
6. Cut Asian style and serve with steamed rice and green vegetables (my favourite is to serve with Kang Kong stir fried with blachan, garlic and chilli).

Serves 4-6 in a shared meal.

Bon Appetit xx

Tips: To turn this into an all-in-one meal, after step 5, do not rinse the TM bowl out. Fill with 1500grams water and steam (300-400grams) rice in Hermie. This will produce a flavourful rice to go with your chicken. Cook for about 15-20mins/ varoma/ speed2. In the last 5 minutes, add some green veg, oyster sauce and sesame oil to the varoma and there you have it!

{apricot jam in hermie}

I'm not one of those people who are lucky enough to have a large backyard to grow my own fruit and vegetables so for the whole of summer, I've been on the lookout for cheap, nearly overripe apricots. Why? Because Apricot Jam is Mr S's most favourite jam flavour and I can see why. He has grown up with amazing Auntie's that have made jam for most of his childhood and having tasted it myself, it's super tasty. It has a beautiful chunky texture (so you know there are real apricots in there) and the orange colour is vibrant and natural.

I don't have their recipe but I'm trying to do Apricot Jam justice. This is best served on a chunky piece of toast with a dollop of thick cream in the middle. Or, if you're more adventurous, make some homemade rough puff pastry and fill with jam for an Apricot Danish. Delish!

650-700 grams apricot, quartered and de-stoned
1 green apple, quartered and de-seeded
30 grams lemon juice
450grams raw sugar
150grams water (1.5 MC's)

1. Add apple to TM bowl and chop 3secs/ speed 6. Scrape down sides of the bowl.
2. Add apricot, lemon juice and sugar to bowl. Cook 80mins/ 100C/ speed2 with MC on it's side (or the TM basket on the top).
3. Pour into sterilised jars. I find using my old baby bottle steriliser the easiest way to sterilise jars. If you don't have one of these lying around, sterilise the old fashioned way either boiling or putting them in the oven (Disclaimer: make sure you read up how to do this properly!)

Bon Appetit!

Makes about 2x 400ml jars

Tip: If you want a smooth jam, wait until it has cooled for about 15mins and then blend 1min/ speed9.

{coconut glutinous rice with mango in hermie}

Lately, I've been noticing that more and more people have eating requirements that are either Gluten Free, Dairy Free, Lactose Free, Sugar Free and more. I'm not sure what's happening to our bodies but we either are more in touch with how we feel or something we're eating is affecting us. My little Miss A is one of those such people and needs to eat Dairy and Egg Free. 

Having said that, as my family eat a majority of Asian food and in particular South East Asian, this is not that hard. In a lot of countries like Malaysia and Singapore, it's not that common to eat or drink a lot of dairy and desserts like this are of the norm. They are delicious and actually very easy to make with or without a Thermomix. Enjoy x

200 grams white glutenous rice
250 grams hot water
750 grams water for steaming
200 grams coconut milk, reserve the rest for serving
50 grams sugar
1/4 teaspoon of salt
2 large mangos, sliced thinly
2 teaspoons sesame seeds or roasted coconut shavings for serving

1. Place rice into TM bowl. Add hot water and sit for 15 mins.
2. Using TM basket, drain off the water and keep rice in TM basket.
3. Place water into TM bowl for steaming and insert TM basket. Steam 40mins/ varoma/ speed 3. If you find the water bubbling too much, put the temperature down to 100C.
4. Scoop rice into TM Server and cover.
5. Meanwhile, pour out excess water from TM bowl and dry. Add coconut milk, sugar and salt and mix 2mins/ 70C/ speed 2 until sugar is dissolved.
6. Add coconut milk mixture to rice and mix through with spatula.
7. To serve, place rice in bottom of bowl or glass, top with mango, reserved coconut milk drizzled over and sesame seeds.

Serves 4

Bon Appetit xx

Tips: This is a great dessert for a dinner party as you can steam while the main is eaten. Also, you could use a mixture of black and white rice for a more exotic look. Alternatively, the rice could be served with an extra dash of coconut milk and maybe some coconut or palm sugar syrup. Lastly, if your mangos are not as sweet as they should be, increase the sugar to 70-80 grams and it will taste better.