A Quadblogging Culinary Celebration!

To celebrate the conclusion of our Quadblogging Club for this year we feasted on traditional foods from Thailand, New Zealand, and the UK in honor of our Quadblogging Partners!  Oh, and we cooked them all ourselves! 

We prepared:

New Zealand: lemon squares (reflects the yellow balaria flower)

UK: chips, apple crumble

Thailand: soup, noodles, fried eggs

Here are the recipes we used:

-->

Lemon Squares

Original recipe makes 1 - 9x13 inch panChange Servings

 1 cup butter, softened

 1/2 cup white sugar

 2 cups all-purpose flour

 4 eggs

 1 1/2 cups white sugar

 1/4 cup all-purpose flour

 2 lemons, juiced

Check All Add to Shopping List

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

In a medium bowl, blend together softened butter, 2 cups flour and 1/2 cup sugar. Press into the bottom of an ungreased 9x13 inch pan.

Bake for 15 to 20 minutes in the preheated oven, or until firm and golden. In another bowl, whisk together the remaining 1 1/2 cups sugar and 1/4 cup flour. Whisk in the eggs and lemon juice. Pour over the baked crust.

Bake for an additional 20 minutes in the preheated oven. The bars will firm up as they cool. For a festive tray, make another pan using limes instead of lemons and adding a drop of green food coloring to give a very pale green. After both pans have cooled, cut into uniform 2 inch squares and arrange in a checker board fashion.

Noodles in soy sauce

Prep Time: 25 minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes

Total Time: 40 minutes

Yield: SERVES 3-4

Ingredients:

9 oz./250 g. pad Thai rice noodles

1.5 Tbsp. soy sauce*

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 fresh red or green chili, sliced

1 thumb-size piece galangal OR ginger, grated

4 green onions, sliced

1 egg

2-3 cups bean sprouts

1 fresh lime, sliced into wedges

2 Tbsp. vegetable oil

PAD THAI SAUCE: (without tamarind*)

1/3 cup good-tasting chicken stock (chicken soup powder)

3 Tbsp. rice vinegar (or substitute white vinegar)

1 Tbsp. lime juice (substitute with lemon juice)

3-4 Tbsp. brown sugar

1 Tbsp. soy sauce*

1/8 tsp. white pepper

Preparation:

Place prepared chicken in a bowl and toss with 1.5 Tbsp. soy sauce. Set aside.

Combine 'pad Thai sauce' ingredients together in a cup, stirring well to dissolve sugar. Note that this sauce needs to taste sweet first, followed by sour and then salty to create good pad Thai. Set aside.

Bring a large pot of water to boil. Dunk in rice noodles and switch off heat. Allow noodles to soak approximately 6 minutes, OR until soft enough to bend easily, but still firm and 'undercooked' by regular standards (this is the key to good pad Thai, so be sure not to over-soak or boil the noodles. They will finish cooking later). Drain and rinse noodles briefly with cold water to keep from sticking. Set aside.

Heat a wok or large frying pan over medium-high heat. Drizzle in the oil and swirl around, then add the garlic, chili, galangal/ginger, and half of green onion (or just the white parts), reserving remaining for later. Stir-fry 1 minute to release the fragrance.

Add chicken and stir-fry 3-4 minutes, or until cooked. If pan becomes dry, add 1-2 Tbsp. of the pad Thai sauce, just enough to keep ingredients frying nicely.

Push ingredients aside and crack egg into center of pan. Stir quickly to scramble, then combine with other ingredients.

Add prepared noodles plus 3-4 Tbsp. of the pad Thai sauce. Using two utensils, lift and turn noodles to stir-fry and combine with other ingredients. Continue frying in this way, adding more of the sauce every minute or two, until all sauce has been added and the noodles are chewy-delicious and a little bit sticky (8-10 minutes). When sauce has been absorbed and noodles are cooked, fold in the bean sprouts (you want them to stay crispy).

Remove from heat and taste-test, adding more fish sauce until desired taste is achieved (I usually end up adding 1-2 Tbsp. fish sauce, but I like mine on the salty side). Portion out onto individual plates and add a lime wedge on the side. Before eating, top with remaining green onion and squeeze over the lime wedge, then finish with a generous sprinkling of chopped/ground nuts. For those whole like it extra spicy, serve with Thai chili sauce on the side, and ENJOY!

*Note about Tamarind: Although today we associate pad Thai sauce with tamarind, in this authentic southern-Thai recipe, the sourness comes from a combination of rice vinegar and lime juice instead. Traditionally (several hundred years ago), pad Thai was made in just this way - without tamarind - and versions of this original formula can still be found in various regions of Thailand. This particular recipe was taught to me by a local Thai chef in south-western Phuket, Thailand.

Eggs

"My Thai family never worries about the amount of oil used to prepare fried eggs – Kai Dao. We pour just enough oil into the pan to fry the egg, about 3 tablespoons. Some of the oil will be left in the pan after the egg is cooked. But for myself and my health conscious fans, a tradeoff for this recipe is to use a well-seasoned wok or cast iron pan to get a very crispy texture to the egg. I am happy to have just one side crispy instead of both."

This Kai Dao can be served with steamed jasmine rice, or any Thai fried rice dishes, with just a few drops of fish sauce or soy sauce on the egg, and served along with a stir-fried vegetable.

Serves 1

1 tablespoon canola oil

a dozen eggs

Heat a well-seasoned wok or cast iron skillet on high heat. Pour in the oil and tilt the pan to cover the whole surface with oil. Then crack one egg and place it in the center. Fry on high heat until the bottom is crispy and golden brown to your liking, about 30 to 40 seconds. Then reduce the heat to medium and cover with a glass lid; cook until the egg white is cooked and the egg yolk is done to your liking, about 30 to 40 seconds. Remove and serve.

© 2012 Pranee Khruasanit Halvorse

Soup

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes

Total Time: 30 minutes

Yield: Makes 2-3 Meal-Size Bowls

Ingredients:

6 cups good-tasting chicken broth (chicken soup powder)

1 stalk lemongrass., finely sliced and minced, OR 3 Tbsp. bottled or frozen prepared lemongrass

3-4 kaffir lime leaves, OR substitute 1 bay leaf

1 thumb-size piece galangal OR ginger, grated or sliced into thin strips

1 large carrot, sliced

several bunches baby bok choy, separated (or other added greens of your choice)

1 red chili, minced, OR 1 tsp. chili sauce OR 1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper

3 cloves garlic, minced

1/4 cup fresh lime juice

2-3 Tbsp. fish sauce (to taste)

1/4 to 1/3 cup coconut milk

white or black pepper (to taste)

generous handful of fresh coriander

8-10 oz. dry flat Thai rice noodles, or other noodles of your choice

optional: 1 tsp. sugar, to taste

Preparation:

Bring a large pot of water to just under a boil and add the noodles. Remove from heat and allow noodles to soak 5-8 minutes, or until soft but still chewy ("al dente"). Drain and rinse briefly with cold water to keep from sticking.

Using a large soup pot, bring chicken stock to a boil over high heat. Add the fresh or roasted chicken, lemongrass, galangal or ginger, carrot, whole lime leaves (plus chicken or turkey bones, if available). Boil on high for 1 minute, then turn heat down to medium and cover with a lid. Allow soup to simmer for 5-6 more minutes, adding bok choy when chicken is nearly cooked.

While continuing to simmer the soup, add the chili, garlic, lime juice, plus 2 Tbsp. of the fish sauce. Stir well.

Turn heat down to minimum and add the coconut milk (add up to 1/3 cup for creamier soup). Stir to incorporate.

Taste-test the soup, adding more fish sauce until desired flavor/saltiness is reached (how much you will need depends on how salty your stock is). If it tastes too salty, add another squeeze or two of lime juice. Add more chili if not spicy enough, or more coconut milk if the soup is too spicy. If the soup is a little too sour for your taste, add 1-2 tsp. sugar (to balance out the lime juice).

To serve, place a generous mound of noodles in each bowl, then top with the hot soup. Finish with a final sprinkling of pepper and fresh coriander. If desired, serve with Thai chili sauce, either store-bought or my own homemade Nam Prik Pao Chili Sauce (homemade recipe) to give your soup an extra kick of spicy flavor. ENJOY!

Apple Crumble

Double this recipe

4 granny smith apples, peeled, cored and sliced

3/4 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 cup flour

1/2 cup rolled oats

3/4 teaspoon cinnamon

3/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1/3 cup butter, softened

Directions:

1. Put apples in an 8 or 9 inch square baking dish.

2. Combine the rest of the ingredients in a separate bowl and mix.

3. Spread crumble mixture over apples and bake for 35 minutes in a 375ºF degree oven.

4. For an added treat top off with a little English custard.