Pho Bo (Vietnamese beef soup)

Uh, after posting the link to my blog on Facebook, the number of viewers increased drastically – obviously you would say. It was still a very positive surprise and motivates me to continue… In the hope that the number of you checking out the recipes will stay high!

Today’s recipe is Pho Bo, a Vietnamese beef soup. I discovered it in London since you know that I have never actually been to Asia… But maybe this fall, I’ll finally manage. Inshallah ;-). Until then, I just ignorantly continue to cook from (probably Europeanised) recipes. Still, they're really tasty... so I hope you like the outcome as much as I do!

 

Ingredients (for 4 to 5 portions):

1 ½ L beef stock

1 tbsp. fish sauce

2 onions

3 cm of ginger

2 stars anise

2 cloves (yes, just 2)

1 cinnamon stick

200g fresh, thick rice noodles (or dried, but cook them first)

200g beef filet

100g fresh bean sprouts

2 spring onions (with the green)

1 lime

2 tbsp. fresh coriander leaves

If you like and have: Thai basil leaves

Preparation:

Firstly, prepare the beef (same procedure as for the Bibimbap): rinse the beef under cold water, then pat it dry with a paper towel and wrap it in cling film. Freeze the meat for about 30 minutes (until it is firm to the touch, but not frozen solid). When ready, remove the beef from the freezer and unwrap the cling film. With a sharp knife, cut the beef into thin slices.

At the same time, simmer the stock with the fish sauce, the onions (cut into quarters), ginger (cut into slices), anise, cloves and cinnamon for 30 minutes. Strain the stock and bring it to the boil. Put the rice noodles (they have to be soft) and the beef (raw!) into soup bowls. Pour the stock over the noodles and beef. Put the bean sprouts, spring onions, lime (cut into slices) and coriander leaves on a plate and serve with the soup. 

Olive and tomato tapenade

My grandmother makes this really good olive and tomato tapenades - and for these warm summer evenings, crunchy bread with some delicious olive or tomato spread is just all you need!

Ingredients for the olive tapenade:

200g black olives (or if you prefer, green olives), without stones

2-3 cloves of garlic

50-100g capers (depending on how much you like capers

Olive oil, salt and pepper

Optionally, lemon juice and anchovies

Ingredients for the tomato tapenade:

1 glass of dried tomatoes in oil (do not use the oil)

5 black olives (without stone)

Olive oil, salt and pepper

Optionally, garlic and the skin of 1 lemon

Preparation:

Purée all the ingredients, add 6 tbsp. of olive oil and season with salt and pepper according to need and taste.

Serve with fresh bread or crackers. 

Banana times two

It was festival time in Bern so please excuse the delay in posting new recipes!

I have realised that it has been a while since I have posted any dessert recipe. In order to make up for the long silence and the absence of any sweets, here come two recipes (Asian of course) with banana – both equally healthy... ;-) Enjoy!

 

Fried bananas

Ingredients (6 baby bananas):

50g flour

5 tbsp. coconut flakes

3 tbsp. sugar

2 tbsp. corn starch (Maizena for example)

2 tbsp. sesame seeds

¼ tsp. baking powder

2 pinches of salt

100 ml water

6 baby bananas (or 3 normal ones)

Oil (for frying)

Preparation:

Mix the flour, sugar, corn starch, sesame

seeds, coconut flakes, baking powder and salt in a bowl. Add the water and mix well. Cover the bowl and let the mix rest for 30 minutes at room temperature. Cut the baby bananas in half (in the length; if using normal bananas, cut them in half in width as well). Add about 3 cm oil into a frying pan and heat. Turn the bananas in the marinade and bake (i.e. fry) until golden (about 2 minutes per side). Put the bananas on paper towel to dry, but serve warm.

Milky bananas

 

Ingredients (8 baby bananas):

8 ripe baby bananas

150g sugar

200 ml coconut milk

1½ tsp. salt

1 L + 100ml water

Preparation:

In a glass bowl, mix the water with 1 tsp. of salt. Peal the bananas and put them in the water for about 5 minutes. In the meantime, heat 100ml of water in a saucepan. Add the sugar and simmer (at lower heat) for 2 to 3 minutes, stirring occasionally until the sugar has dissolved in the water. Take the bananas out of the salty water and put them in the sugary one. Cook the bananas at low heat for 15 minutes, turning them carefully (once is enough). The baby bananas will turn yellow (other bananas turn light brown). Mix the coconut milk with ½ tsp. salt in another saucepan and bring to the boil. Simmer for 10 minutes, stirring continuously. To serve, place the bananas into little bowls (with the sugared water) and add the warm coconut milk. 

Ham croissants

This is one of my favourite apéros… Homemade ham croissants are just ever so slightly better than their supermarket colleagues. My mouth is watering just from thinking about them now… Maybe I should make some today!

Ingredients (for about 20-30 croissants):

2 puff pastries (octagonal ones are more practical)

150-200g cooked ham

3 eggs

1 bunch of parsley

Salt and pepper

Preparation:

Cut the ham finely (ca. 5x5mm). Scramble two full eggs and the egg white of the third egg (keep the egg yolk!). Season with peper and salt. Chop the parsley and mix it with the ham and eggs. Cut the pastries into triangles and place a tea or table spoon (depending on the size of your triangles) of filling onto the pastry. Roll the triangles from the bottom to the tip and curve into croissants. Brush the croissants with egg yolk and bake them for about 10 minutes at 200°C in the middle of the oven (or until they look nice and tanned). Bon appétit!

Cauliflower-Prawn Curry

As promised, I am moving away from the salads. But not from the Asian ;-). This recipe of a prawn curry is very simple and delicious! If you don’t like cauliflower, just exchange it with another vegetable.

 

Ingredients (for 2 portions):

300-500g prawns

1 lime

1 tbsp. peanut oil

2 tbsp. yellow curry paste

300-500g cauliflowers

1 onion

2 cloves of garlic

4 dl coconut milk

½ tbsp. raw cane sugar

2 star anise

1 cup of jasmine rice

Preparation:

Mix the prawns with the lime juice (keep the limes!). Prepare the rice (before cooking, wash the rice until the water is no longer cloudy). Heat the oil and fry the curry past. Chop the onion and garlic finely and add it to the paste. Break the cauliflowers into smaller pieces and add them to the pan. Steam for about two minutes. Mix in the coconut milk, sugar and star anise and simmer for 20 minutes. Add the prawns and simmer for four more minutes. Take out the anise. Serve the curry with the rice and grate some lime skin on top (or if you happen to have any around, sprinkle with cut kaffir lime leaves). 

Summery Salads - N°5: Glass noodle salad

I think this will be the last one of the series for a while since maybe you got a bit tired of just reading about salads. To remain true to myself, it’s yet another Asian salad. Very easy and quick to prepare.

Ingredients (for 1 bowl of salad):

150g glass noodles

50g raw cashew nuts

300g cherry tomatoes

½ red onion

100g bean sprouts

3 tbsp. honey

1 handful of coriander leaves

1 handful of Thai basil leaves (or sweet basil leaves)

Chilli powder

1 garlic clove

2 Chillies

4 tbsp. lime juice

½ tsp. lime zest

4 tbsp. fish sauce

Preparation:

Cook the glass noodles in a saucepan (in boiling water for about 2-3 minutes). Drain the water and rinse the noodles with cold water. Dry the noodles with a paper towel and add them to a salad bowl.

Heat a frying pan (medium-high heat) and add the cashew nuts. Dry-roast until they start to brown. Add the chilli powder and 1 tbsp. of honey and stir until the cashew nuts are well coated. Once the nuts are cooled down, chop them roughly. Add the cherry tomatoes, onion, bean sprouts, coriander and Thai basil to the bowl with the glass noodles. For the dressing, mix the finely chopped garlic with the chillies (deseeded and sliced), lime juice, lime zest, fish sauce and 2 tbsp. honey. Add the dressing to the salad and serve it with the roasted cashew nuts. 

Summery Salads - N°4: Malaysian papaya salad

So, number two in the series is, surprise surprise, an Asian summer salad! I don't think it needs much more introduction, so here comes the recipe:

Ingredients (for 2 reasonably big portions):

50g green beans and/or 

50g sugar peas

1 small (unripe) papaya

½ cucumber

¼ Chinese cabbage (optional)

1 mandarin

½ avocado

4 cherry tomatoes

2 tbsp. fresh coriander

1 tbsp. vegetable oil

½ red onion (or 1 spring onion)

1 garlic clove

1 tbsp. sesame seeds

1 tsp. Sambal Oelek

1 tbsp. raw cane sugar

Juice from 1 lemon

1 tbsp. fish sauce

Preparation:

Blanch the beans and/or sugar peas in boiling water for 3 minutes. Half the cucumber and papaya, remove the seeds and cut into small cubes. Fry the onion and the garlic (chopped finely) in the oil. Mix the sugar with the lemon juice and fish sauce. Cut the cabbage (if you choose to put it in), the mandarin and avocado. Roast the sesame seeds. Mix all the ingredients in a bowl and decorate the salad with the sesame seeds, cherry tomatoes and coriander. 

Summery Salads - N°3 - Tabbouleh

Now, this is the Lebanese version of Tabbouleh (i.e. based on a lot of parsley rather than a lot of bulgur or couscous as is the Moroccan version). Yet, you still need a bit of bulgur for the Lebanese version too. In case you don’t know what that is, let me explain quickly: “Burgul” is the Turkish word whereas in Arabic it is called “burghul”. It looks a lot like couscous, but is a bit thicker. According to Wikipedia, bulgur is made from the groats of several different wheat species, most commonly from durum wheat. You find it a lot in Middle Eastern cuisine, as for example in Tabbouleh. So here comes the recipe:

Ingredients (for a bowl of salad):

4 bunches of flat parsley

1 bunch of fresh mint

½ cucumber (optional)

5 tomatoes

1 small white onion

5 tbsp. bulgur

Olive oil

Juice of 1-2 lemons

Salt and spices (cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and pepper)

Lettuce and cabbage leaves

Preparation:

Wash the parsley and mint and dry them thoroughly. Chop both finely and add them in a bowl. Cut the cucumber, tomatoes and onion and keep separately (the Tabbouleh gets soggy quite quickly). Shortly before serving, mix in the tomatoes, onions (and cucumber) with the parsley and mint and add the bulgur (no cooking needed!). Add the liquids: lemon juice and olive oil and season with salt and the spices. Mix well and serve with lettuce or cabbage leaves.