Recipe samples

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[ COOK IT YOURSELF ]

Green Green Thai Curry Text & photo by Kim Yukawa

SEPTEMBER 2009 | FOODIE

[ COOK IT YOURSELF ] 23 Kim Yukawa is a food stylist based in Hong Kong. She was born in Hong Kong, but raised in Kobe – mostly in her grandma’s kitchen.

SERVES 4 people Ingredients For the green curry paste: • 1 cup of chopped coriander (leaves and stems) • 6 green chillies, de-seeded and roughly chopped • 3 garlic cloves, crushed • 3 shallots, roughly chopped • 1 kaffir lime or lime, grated zest and juice • 5cm galangal (ginger), peeled and grated • 1 tablespoon vegetable oil Others: • Vegetables of the season (chopped into bite-sized pieces) Step 1 Heat the oil in a pan, add vegetables and fry gently.

Step 2 Stir in half of the green curry paste, and fry for a minute.

Step 3 Add the remaining curry paste, Thai chilli paste and palm sugar. Fry for another minute. Add lemongrass, fish sauce, kaffir lime leaves and coconut milk.

Bring to boil, then simmer for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are tender.

• 400 ml or 1 can of coconut milk • 1 tablespoon Thai chilli paste • 2 tablespoons fish sauce • 2 tablespoon palm sugar • 2 lemongrass stalks, chopped • 8 kaffir lime leaves, torn into pieces • Thai basil leaves • Thai red chillies (optional)

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TOOL Mortar and pestle Preparation Place all the green curry paste ingredients in a mortar and pestle (or food processor) to create a thick paste.

Tip: A food processor cuts the ingredients into fine pieces, but doesn’t release the aromatic oils of herbs the same way a mortar does.

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Tip: Add more fish sauce, if required.

Step 4 Stir in Thai basil leaves. Serve with hot steamed rice.

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Bon appetit!

Other variations you can try: - Prawns, mango and snap peas - Chicken, Shi-take mushrooms and baby corn - Duck, lychee and water chestnut

FOODIE | SEPTEMBER 2009

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[ COOK IT YOURSELF ]

Jack O’ Mac Cheese To celebrate Halloween, I have combined two children’s favourites in one: macaroni cheese and pumpkin. This is a fun and easy recipe to cook with your kids. Happy Halloween!

Text & photo by Kim Yukawa

OCTOBER 2009 | FOODIE

[ COOK IT YOURSELF ] 23 Kim Yukawa is a food stylist and a recipe writer. She was born in Hong Kong and raised in Kobe, where she spent most of her childhood in her grandma’s kitchen.

Ingredients • 1 medium sized pumpkin • ½ onion, finely diced • 1 cup of boiled macaroni pasta • 1 tablespoon butter or olive oil • ½ cup white wine • 1 cup double cream • 1 egg yolk • ½ cup grated cheese (parmesan or mozzarella) Preparation • Preheat the oven to 200°C/ Gas 6/ fan oven 180°C. • Cover the pumpkin in cling film and cook it in the microwave for 5-10 minutes, then cut out the top and scrape out the seeds.

• Beat the egg yolk with a tablespoon of double cream.

Step 1 Melt the butter in a frying pan, add onions and cook until golden.

Deglaze with white wine, and simmer till the portion is reduced by half. Pour in the rest of the double cream and mix well.

Step 2 Take the pan off the heat. Add the egg yolk and cream mixture, and a tablespoon of grated cheese. Mix well.

Step 3 Add the macaroni to

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the cheese sauce and stir well. Simmer for a few minutes to melt the cheese. Season with salt and pepper.

Step 4 Fill the pumpkin shell with macaroni cheese, and cover with grated cheese. Bake in oven for 20-30 minutes until the pumpkin shell turns soft and the top turns golden brown.

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Variation: Replace macaroni cheese with macaroni meat sauce!

FOODIE | OCTOBER 2009

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[ COOK IT YOURSELF ]

Lamb Meatball & Chinese Marrow Tagine with Couscous The first time I had tagine with couscous was ten years ago at mosquĂŠe de Paris in France. Ever since, I have been a great fan of this fragrant Moroccan dish. This recipe is incorporated with a local vegetable, chit-gwa (Chinese marrow) and it works beautifully. Have a go with the squash and marrows in season, or whatever vegetables you may have in your fridge.

Text & photos by Kim Yukawa

NOVEMBER 2009 | FOODIE

[ COOK IT YOURSELF ] 23 Kim Yukawa is a food stylist and a recipe writer. She was born in Hong Kong and raised in Kobe, where she spent most of her childhood in her grandma’s kitchen.

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SERVES

4 people

INGREDIENTS

For the meatballs t H PG MBNC NJODF t UBCMFTQPPOT PG CSFBEDSVNCT t UBCMFTQPPO PG PMJWF PJM

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OTHERS t t t t t t t t

UBCMFTQPPO PG CVUUFS $IJOFTF NBSSPX DVU JO SJOHT ESJFE QSVOFT DMPWFT HBSMJD DSVTIFE DBSSPUT DIPQQFE POJPO DIPQQFE UBCMFTQPPO PG UVSNFSJD QPXEFS DVQ PG DIPQQFE DPSJBOEFS MFBWFT and stems) 1 can of peeled tomatoes (400ml) t DBO PG XBUFS NM

t NM PG XBUFS t )BSJTTB PQUJPOBM

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PREPARATION FOR COUSCOUS

Place 300g of couscous in a bowl and add 1 tablespoon of olive oil with a pinch of salt and mix well. Pour 400ml of water and leave aside for 5 minutes for it to swell then steam over boiling water for 10 minutes. Take off heat, break the lumps gently until fluffy. Add 1 tablespoon of butter and mix well.

STEP 1 Add all meatball ingredients in a bowl, and mix thoroughly. Roll mixture into small golf-size balls.

STEP 2 Pan-fry the meatball until browned, and set aside. Sweat the chopped onion, add the meatballs, crushed garlic and turmeric powder, then stir-fry for a minute.

STEP 3 Add the remaining ingredients. Bring the mixture to boil, then turn heat to low and simmer with lid on until the vegetables turn soft. Add salt and pepper to taste, and serve with couscous and harissa (if desired).

OTHER VARIATIONS t $IJDLFO MFH XJUI DIJDLQFBT t 4IJO PG CFFG XJUI CVUUFS TRVBTI t -BNC TIBDL XJUI MFOUJMT FOODIE | NOVEMBER 2009

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New Year Soup Known as Zouni, this is a soup which traditionally every Japanese will have on New Year’s Day. The recipe varies from regions. Generally, round mochi is eaten in Western Japan and rectangular mochi in Eastern parts.

This simple Zouni recipe is created from the Kobe style to give you a taste of Japanese Osho-gatsu.

Text & photos by Kim Yukawa

JANUARY 2010 | FOODIE

[ COOK IT YOURSELF ] 25

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SERVES 1 person Ingredients • 2 1/2 tablespoons Shiro dashi concentrate • 500ml water • 1 piece mochi • 2 slices of kamaboko (Japanese fish cake) • 2 pieces of carrot, cut out into shapes • 3 pieces of chicken breast or thigh, cut into cubes • A handful of spinach, cut into 10cm lengths • Yuzu (Japanese fragrant mandarin) • Mitsuba (Japanese parsley) PREPARATION For the broth, boil 500ml of water with the dashi.

METHOD 1. Grill the mochi on a griddle or

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non-stick pan over low flame without oil. Grill both sides for a few minutes until the outside is crisp but the inside is still soft.

2. Boil the carrots and chicken pieces in a saucepan containing 300ml of the prepared broth.

Once the ingredients are cooked, add the spinach and boil for another minute. Then, drain the ingredients and place them neatly in a bowl.

3. Add the kamaboko slices and mochi and gently pour in the remaining 200ml of broth. Add a small piece of yuzu peel and garnish with mitsuba leaves.

Serve hot.

Kim Yukawa is a food stylist and a recipe writer. She was born in Hong Kong and raised in Kobe, where she spent most of her childhood in her grandma’s kitchen.

FOODIE | JANUARY 2010

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Sweet & Tangy Lemon Chicken Lemon chicken is a Cantonese home-cooked dish, very popular as Chinese take-away around the world. Here’s a quick and easy recipe to make it at home.

Text & photos by Kim Yukawa

24 | MARCH 2010 | FOODIE

[ COOK IT YOURSELF ] Kim Yukawa is a food stylist and a recipe writer. She was born in Hong Kong and raised in Kobe, where she spent most of her childhood in her grandma’s kitchen.

Ingredients (a) Marinade • 1 egg • 1 teaspoon salt • 1 teaspoon honey • 1 clove garlic, crushed • a pinch of ground pepper (b) Lemon Sauce • 1 whole lemon, juiced • 2 tablespoons rice vinegar • 3 tablespoons sugar • 3 tablespoons water • 1 teaspoon custard powder Others • 1 de-boned chicken leg • ½ cup cornstarch • lemon slices (optional) • vegetable oil for deep frying METHOD 1. Thoroughly mix ingredients (a) in a bowl and add the de-boned chicken leg. Rest in the fridge for one hour.

2. Take the chicken out of the marinade and place it in a plate of cornstarch. Evenly dust both sides of the chicken with the cornstarch.

3. Mix the custard powder and water in a small cup and set aside.

Place lemon juice, rice vinegar and sugar in a saucepan over low flame. Once the sugar is dissolved, add the water and custard powder and mix briskly with a small whisk. Stop the flame once the sauce has thickened.

4. Fry the chicken in heated oil, turning from time to time until the piece floats in the oil. Drain the chicken well and slice into pieces,

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then pour over the lemon sauce.

Garnish with lemon slices and serve hot.

FOODIE | MARCH 2010 | 25