Summery Vietnamese Chicken Salad

It's Vietnamese food for lunch today. Great! We are so very fortunate to be able to enjoy cooking and eating a variety of cuisines at home now, however one of my favourites, particularly during the Australian Summer, is to eat Vietnamese. This recipe is everything that you love about Vietnamese food, healthy, fresh, full of flavour, and with lots of different textures.

This amazing recipe is based on the fantastic Vietnamese dressing and fresh salad mix used by the great Australian chef, Bill Granger in his book, Bills Open Kitchen. I have been making this recipe for years as his book was published back in 2003, but the recipe is timeless. I haven't included any noodles or rice in my recipe as we are watching our carbs, and quite frankly the dish doesn't need it, but if you must, serve this on a bed of vermicelli noodles, or with rice, and everyone will thank you for it.

It is also very versatile. If you are short on time, buy a cooked chicken, and use the chicken meat already cooked, or substitute cooked prawns for chicken. I love the flavour of Vietnamese Mint, and I'm fortunate to have it growing in a pot in my back garden, however if you can't get hold of it, substitute some chopped coriander leaves. Both of these herbs are quite strong in flavour, but I love that. I know already that a couple of my readers will say they don't like Vietnamese Mint, but there are always substitutes, or just leave it out.

Ingredients:

Serves 4 people

3 x 200 g (7 oz) chicken breasts without skin(or use 600 g precooked chicken breast)

2 tablespoons Olive oil or Vegetable oil 

sea salt

white pepper

90 g (1 cup ) bean sprouts, I even like more of them

20 g (1 cup) Vietnamese mint leaves or 1/2 cup coriander leaves

50 g (1 cup) fresh Basil leaves (sweet or Thai)

180 g (4 cups) Chinese cabbage, finely shredded, or iceberg lettuce if you must

Vietnamese dressing (recipe below)

90 g (1 cup) pickled carrot ( below) or raw carrot, peeled and finely julienned

Method:

Preheat your oven to 220 deg. C. (425 deg. F./Gas 7). 

Heat a frying pan on the stove top. Meanwhile, brush the chicken breasts with olive oil, and season with salt and pepper. Brown and sear the chicken breasts for 2 minutes, turn over and sear for another minute.  

Line a baking tray with baking paper, and place the chicken on the tray and cook them in your oven for 8 to 10 minutes. Leave the meat to rest covered for 20 minutes.

When cool enough, shred the meat into thin strips, your hands will be fine to do this, and place in a large bowl. This is the foundation of your salad.

Add the remaining ingredients and toss to combine. 

Vietnamese dressing:

60 ml ( 1/4 cup) lime juice

60 ml (1/4 cup) fish sauce

2 tablespoons rice vinegar

1 tablespoon caster sugar

2 garlic cloves, very finely chopped

 1/2 red onion, finely sliced or 3 red Asian shallots, finely chopped

1 large red Capilano chilli ( or 2 if you really like some chili), seeds removed

Method:

Place all the ingredients n a small bowl and stir until the sugar is dissolved

Pickled Carrot: as a delicious side and to mix through the salad

250 g (9 oz) carrots, peeled and finely julienned

1 teaspoon sea salt

2 tablespoons rice vinegar

1 tablespoon caster sugar

Method:

Mix the salt with the julienned carrots in a colander and toss to combine. Leave for 20 minutes to remove the excess moisture . Place 185 ml (3/4 cup) water with the vinegar and sugar in a small saucepan over a medium heat and bring to the boil. Remove from the heat and cool. Rinse the carrot, squeezing out any excess water with clean hands, and place in a bowl. Pour the pickling liquid over the carrot and stand for 1 hour. Strain before serving.

We ate this salad for lunch today, and it was so delicious. I prepared the vegetable salad early in the morning, and made the dressing, and kept them both in the frig. Then when I came home from shopping, I cooked the chicken fillets,  made the pickled carrot,  and the whole dish was very easy to assemble from there.

Cooks Tips:

• If you find you have a lot of the Chinese cabbage left over as I often do, my Wombok and noodle salad recipe has been very popular amongst readers, and my family love it. You can find the recipe at this link. It is also a Christmas favourite here in Queensland
• The pickled carrot makes a delicious side dish, however it is optional and as an alternative just mix some grated carrot though the salad.
• If necessary, crispy iceberg lettuce could be used instead of Chinese cabbage.
• Use a bought cooked chicken on busy days to make this dish, your family will hardly know the difference.
• Cooking the chicken fillets as I did in this recipe, produced very tender, flavoursome, shredded chicken
• If you have any chance of growing your own Basil plants or Vietnamese mint plants in Summer, it is well worth doing.
• If you have them growing, add two very finely chopped kaffir lime leaves to the salad. 

Here is another delicious salad in the same style as the one I have just shared with you, my Vietnamese Ruby Grapefruit Salad

HAPPY RETIREE'S KITCHEN : Vietnamese Ruby Grapefruit Salad (happyretireeskitchen.blogspot.com)

 Best wishes,

Pauline

Instant Chocolate Mousse, it's egg free and delicious

Chocolate Mousse is such a crowd favourite, and when we both had a yearning for a chocolate dessert,  I was intrigued to find this Express recipe by the iconic Nigella Lawson, which uses mini marshmallows instead of raw eggs as the setting agent. The secret ingredient is the gelatine in the marshmallow, and it works beautifully and is delicious without being too sweet. There's no stress involved with worrying whether or not this chocolate pudding will set, because it sets brilliantly in the refrigerator. I tweaked this recipe over a couple of days as there are a few versions of it out there in books and online, but this is my final rendition of this classic dessert. I am so pleased that I now have the perfect chocolate mousse recipe to offer, which I will be very happy to make repeatedly, and without using lots of valuable eggs along the way. 

The first two batches were still edible but very dense and chocolatey, is that a word? I can't tolerate very rich desserts anymore, although Mr. HRK still thought they were delicious as he was feeling a little unwell with a head cold, but I knew the texture I wanted, light and creamy and fluffy but still with delicious chocolate as the base, and not overly sweet. For the first batch I made, I tried chopping up normal marshmallows into small pieces as I couldn't find mini marshmallows at the first supermarket I shopped at. I don't suggest that you try this as an alternative, as chopping up marshmallows is an onerous job, and they took a long time to melt. That first batch almost became Rocky Road, which would have been a delicious outcome, but I persisted, and it was eaten anyway by our young neighbours, happy to be experimented on. As you can see, I had fun along the way and shared the love of chocolate. 

Do you derive a huge sense of satisfaction out of working with a recipe until you finally achieve the result you are after? To be honest, I don't do it that often, but with this recipe I enjoyed the process, so did Mr. HRK. Read on my friends, and I know you will enjoy making and eating this divine Chocolate Mousse. My Cook's tips will give you further insight into my cooking process.

Ingredients:

150 grams mini marshmallows, pink and white is fine

50 grams (4 tablespoons) softened butter

250 grams good quality dark chocolate melts or dark chocolate chips (I used melts)

60 millimetres (1/4 cup) hot water (from a recently boiled kettle)

284 millimetres thickened or double cream

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Method:

In a flat, wide heavy-based pan, place the marshmallows, butter, chocolate buttons and water. It's fine if the mini marshmallows are pink and white. 

Heat the saucepan over a gentle heat, to melt the contents. Stir often whilst hovering over the pan. The chocolate will melt first, the marshmallows will take longer.

The marshmallows are starting to melt while I stir. Marshmallow streaks are starting to appear.

The marshmallows are melting well.

When all the ingredients are melted and combined, remove the pan from the heat. It will be a smooth and silky chocolate sauce like mixture.

A smooth and silky chocolate sauce mixture, a few marshmallow streaks don't matter as cream will be added

Leave the chocolate mixture to cool off the stove top.  Meanwhile whip the cream with the vanilla extract until thick.

 Fold the cream by large spoonfuls into the cooled chocolate mixture until the mixture is smooth and well mixed.

Pour or spoon the chocolate mixture into 4 decorative glasses or ramekins, allowing about 175 ml/3/4 cup each in capacity, or 6 smaller ones (125 ml/1/2 cup), and chill until you are ready to eat dessert.

Decorate with swirls of cream and grated chocolate, or just grated white chocolate.

Cooks Notes:

• This recipe doesn't use eggs. The gelatine in the marshmallow is the ingredient that sets the mousse and works it's magic.
• Make them the day before and keep covered and chilled in the refrigerator. This makes life a lot easier on the day of eating as the work is already done. 
• Take the mousse out of the refrigerator when the main course is being served, cover,  and allow the desserts to soften up slightly for eating while the main course is being eaten. The mousse may become quite solid in the refrigerator. It needs to be soft and fluffy and "mousse like" before being served.
• If you like your mousse to be on the lighter chocolate side, use the dark chocolate buttons or dark chocolate chips. However if you like your mousse to be very dark chocolate, and rich and denser in texture, use a finely chopped dark chocolate block, at least 78 % cocoa. The ratio of cream to chocolate determines how light and fluffy the mousse will be. Some recipes only use 1 cup of cream, I like to use 284 millimetres of double cream for a lighter and fluffier mousse. It's a matter of personal taste, and the amount you need to serve to your guests. More cream will  stretch the quantity of the mousse, and take slightly longer to set. But it will set on the same day in a couple of hours.
• If the mini marshmallows are taking a long time to melt in the pan, increase the heat slightly on the stove and keep stirring. My stove is electric and I did most of the melting at number 2, and raised it to 3 to melt the marshmallows.

This second Chocolate Mousse batch below was quite dense and very rich, using 78 % Lindt chocolate and only 1 cup of cream.

What is your preference for a chocolate dessert ? Do you prefer the the very rich and denser chocolate mousse, or are you like me and prefer a lighter and fluffier style of chocolate mousse. It's certainly easier to eat more of the latter, but both are achievable by altering the ratio of cream to chocolate sauce.

Best wishes,

- Pauline xx

Slow Cooked Beef Brisket (not Corned Beef) with Prunes and Vegetables

I'm enjoying a reprieve from the balmy tropical heat of November, as temperatures lower, the sea breezes lighten our mood and the occasional shower of rain brings relief to the parched lawns and to us. It's meant to last the whole week, and I am making the most of it by slow cooking a piece of beef brisket in the most delicious way, and by slow cooking I mean low and slow, using my new stove top and the oven in tandem with each other. I haven't succumbed to using my slow cooker this time. In time I might, but I wanted to be in control of the tenderness required for this cut of meat. 

So what is Beef Brisket? Have you only eaten it cooked, sliced and cold from the butcher or the deli? It's a cut of beef that needs to be slow cooked until it is tender on the fork, but still slices easily, unlike some other cuts such as chuck, whilst delicious for beef stews, can shred after lots of slow cooking.  Brisket seems to keep its integrity. Beef brisket is a large primal cut of beef taken from the lower breast of the cow, which the cow constantly exercises. It has become very popular as a preferred cut of meat for corned beef, pho, smoked brisket, pot roasts and many more. However depending on how it is to be used, the distinction needs to be made between using the Point or the Flat part of the brisket. Its important to have a good butcher, who knows the cuts of meat and will give you a good cut of meat depending on how you want to cook it. Also hopefully a butcher where the meat is constantly being moved to the customer, and is grass fed. Brisket has a very meaty flavour, and an amazing texture.

This recipe is from the Monday Morning Cooking Club recipe book, which a friend of mine owns, and where I first tasted this dish causing me to wax lyrical about it all evening and to think about it during the whole of the following week. The flavours in this dish are to die for.  I read where Brisket is the most popular primary cut used for a Jewish Pot Roast, which makes sense, as even though this was said by a beef expert in the United States, the ladies who make up the Monday Morning Cooking Club are all Jewish Australian, and amazing cooks. 

This is my kind of meal. Perhaps it's partially because of my background, from growing up in Beef Country in Rockhampton, Central Queensland, or Rocky as the locals call it and who also claim it as the Beef Capital of Australia. We ate a lot of beef when I was growing up at home in Rocky, and vegetables as well I hasten to add, but that was before we realised the need to reduce our meat consumption for environmental and health reasons and also chicken and lamb were quite expensive back then, which is hard to believe now. My Great Uncle, Lionel De Landelles, founded the first Brahman cattle stud in the Rockhampton area near Yeppoon, (Cherokee Brahman Stud) and was the first Cattleman to import Brahman Cattle to Central Queensland. He became quite legendary for his work with the Zebus from India, which the beautiful Brahman cattle originated from.  They are a very sturdy animal in the hot areas of Queensland and in the tropics, distinguishable by a hump just above their shoulders. So you could say that a love of good beef is in my genes. However when I cook beef now, I like to know where the meat came from, and I really appreciate it when I can eat a spectacular cut of meat like this. I think it's a great thing that now we don't take eating good meat for granted.

This recipe serves 8 people.

Ingredients:

 1 tablespoon vegetable oil

2 kg (4 lb. 8 oz) piece fresh beef brisket

2 onions, halved and sliced into wedges

1 kg waxy potatoes (such as kipfler), peeled and thickly sliced if you can get them. (I used washed small potatoes and left the skins on)

400 g (1 1/4 cups) pitted prunes

sea salt and freshly ground pepper

175 g (1/2 cup) golden syrup

2 tablespoons lemon juice

Method:

This brisket and the vegetables will be cooked on the stove top for the first 1 1/2 hours so you will need a very large saucepan to hold the meat and the vegetables. 

Heat the oil in the pan  and brown the brisket on both sides. 

Add the potatoes, the onions, three quarters of the prunes and 2 teaspoons of salt. 

Cover with boiling water and half the golden syrup. Bring to boil, partially cover then simmer until quite tender, at least 1 1/4 hours.

Preheat your oven to 180 deg C (350 deg. F /Gas 4).

Take the meat out of the liquid and place in an ovenproof dish. Strain and reserve the liquid and spoon the onion, potatoes and prunes on top of the brisket. 

Pour enough liquid into the dish so that it comes halfway up the meat. This is about half the liquid from the cooking saucepan.

Top with the remaining prunes and golden syrup. Sprinkle over 1/2 teaspoon salt and plenty of pepper. Roast uncovered, basting about every 15 minutes, for 1 - 1 1/2 hours, or until the meat is fork tender.

To serve, sprinkle with lemon juice, and enjoy all the delicious scrapings from the bottom of the dish.

The prunes might look as if they are burnt but they are not, just deliciously cooked.

Hoping you enjoy a wonderful weekend with friends and loved ones.

Warm wishes,

Pauline

Delicious and Healthy Wholewheat, Chocolate and Oatmeal Biscuits/Cookies

 Even though this is one of the healthiest biscuit recipes I have ever baked, it is also one of the most delicious.

Taking a walk through the Cairns Botanic Gardens in Far North Tropical Queensland

 We drove to beautiful Cairns in Far North Tropical Queensland last week where our daughter lives, with a stopover at Mission Beach, and on Sunday afternoon after lunch, I went for a walk through the remarkable Botanic Gardens.  If I was asked what are my favourite things to do when I'm travelling, besides going to the beaches and restaurants,  one of them would definitely be visiting the nearest Botanic Gardens. I have been to the Cairns Botanic Gardens several times during previous visits, and each time I just escape into the wonderful world of lush tropical plants and not so tropical plants, some thriving in dappled sunlight, some growing in full sun, but always interesting and inspiring. It is easy to forget that the gardens located in trendy Edge Hill are only 5 minutes away from the Cairns City Centre, with very easy access. It is a marvellous form of escapism for me and very calming to the soul. So dear reader, I invite you to take a walk with me through the Cairns Botanic Gardens and let the photos tell most of the story. I was only there for 90 minutes this time, leaving many more areas to explore next time I visit. The Gardens are open from 7.30 am to 5.30 pm every day, no pets allowed.

The bright orange flowers of the large exotic Panama Flame Tree were one of the highlights of my visit and one of these trees is close to the Gardens entrance. I've never seen this one in flower before. That is the wonderful thing about gardens, there will always be different plants in flower depending on the seasons and the time of year you visit, and they are a mirror of what home gardeners in the area might be planting as well. So inspirational.

The Panama Flame Tree

My first place to visit in the  gardens is always the enclosed Watkins Munro Martin Conservatory, because as my friends and family know, I am a fan of tropical orchids. This is also the butterfly conservatory, but it's very tricky to catch those little darlings on camera. All the photos here were taken on my phone.

I loved this perfectly vivid orange orchid. 

Ascocentrum miniatum 060125

This delicate Vireya Rhododendron "Kisses" thrives in a tropical climate. I was quite taken with 

her.

Coral Seas "Rhododendron"

Pretty Phalaenopsis Orchids

The Tropical Pitcher Plant is quite eye catching, don't you think?

I took a photo of this one to remind me to repot my yellow Aggregatum orchid which is quite similar to this one, into a larger pot.

Can you spot the butterfly below.

This yellow and white soft cane dendrobium is one of my favourite orchids in flower right now.

Delicate.

Hardy and butterfly loving Pentas

And there's important information.

Very lush, and reminiscent of a tropical rainforest

Lipstick Palms, very popular in Cairns gardens

I did walk with care.

By this time, I was in need of some refreshment, and the Cafe is appropriately rustic, licensed, and serves good food. There is also a much more modern cafe located closer to another entrance, which I didn't get to this time, but we have enjoyed good coffee and food there during other visits.

A sample of locally produced jams and preserves available for sale at the cafe.

Cafe menu

Interesting formation, spiky and growing in full sun

A very large Staghorn

An elusive Scrub Turkey, red head, black feathers

I was excited to find an Australian Native Bee Hive.

Can you see the tiny native bees entering the hive through the black hole?

Cooling and calming waters nearby.

Enter the Heliconias and Gingers with Fanfare

Mmmm, a conversation starter? Just popping up out of the ground, in response to the heat and humidity.

Beautiful Medinillas

Medinillas are one of my favourite plants, so delicate, and they always seem to be in flower here in Cairns. As you can see I took plenty of photos of these. I love them. We have one growing at home in our garden, and one in a hanging pot, which I bought from the Friends plant stall at the Cairns Botanical Gardens. The potted one flowers almost continuously, but after two years the one in the ground still hasn't flowered. However I am persisting.

A magnificent prized Tassel Fern

Back to the Orchid House for another peek before I leave.

I hope you enjoyed this sojourn with me through the tropics. The Staff and Friends of the Botanic Gardens do an amazing job to grow and maintain these plants under sometimes quite dry and trying conditions. Cairns hasn't had any decent rainfall for a while now, but it will come with a vengeance.

Thankyou to you all for your very heartfelt messages after the passing of our Locky dog. A little piece of our hearts went with him, and it meant a lot to hear from those of you who sent a kind message. We still can't believe he has left our lives,  however since he has gone, Mr. HRK and I have been travelling and keeping busy and whilst we still miss him every day, we are trying to dwell on our happy memories of him.

Take care,

Pauline