Easy finger food that is really addictive, perfect with beer, taken from the Wickedfood Cooking School Chinese cooking class based around the Neil Perry cookbook Simply Asian.

Marinade
1 t soy sauce
1/2  t rice wine (shao zing)
1/2  t chilli oil
1 t cornflour
1 egg

500g pork spare ribs, cut into 5cm lengths
4 cups vegetable oil
1/2 cup coriander leaves
Szechuan salt and pepper to taste (see below)

Sauce
2 T water
2 T sugar
1 T soy sauce
1 T minced ginger
1 t minced garlic
2 T Chinese black vinegar

Marinade
Combine all the marinade ingredients. Pour the marinade over the ribs and leave to marinate for at least 40 minutes.

Heat the oil in a wok until very hot. Deep-fry the ribs until they are a deep golden brown. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain well on crumpled kitchen paper.

Sauce
Boil all the ingredients in a small pot until the sugar melts. Leave to cool.

Serve
Pile the ribs onto the centre of a large plate and sprinkle with coriander. Serve with the sauce, and Szechuan salt and pepper.

Szechuan salt and pepper
Combine 3 parts sea salt, and 2 parts Szechuan peppercorns. Roast over a medium heat in a frying pan until mixture starts to brown, then remove from the heat and pour into a bowl. When cool, grind to a powder.

Great Asian recipes – Click here:

Chicken feet

Biryani

Kaeng kari ka – yellow curried chicken

Phanaeng Beef Curry in sweet peanut sauce

Phat Thai

Tom yum kung

Green pawpaw salad

Fish head curry

Warm squid salad in a pineapple

Spiced pork spare ribs

Deep-fried silken tofu

Thai beef salad

3 Cup Chicken

Cooking schools in South East Asia

Thai House cooking school • Bangkok • Thailand

Chiang Mai Thai Cookery School • Thailand

Red Bridge Cooking School • Hoi An • Vietnam

Books reviewed by Wickedfood on Asian food:

Secrets of the Red Lantern

Kylie Kwong: Recipes and Stories

A Passion for Thai Cooking

Balance & Harmony, Asian Food

Wickedfood Cooking School

Sunninghill – (011) 234-3252 sunninghill@wickedfood.co.za

Boksburg – (011) 823-5365 boksburg@wickedfood.co.za

Runs cooking classes throughout the year at its purpose-built cooking studios. Classes are run in the mornings and evenings 7 days a week (subject to a minimum of 12 people). The venue is also popular for corporate events and private functions – team building cooking classes, birthdays, kitchen teas, and dinner parties with a difference.

Our classes are hands-on, where every person gets to participate in the preparation of the dishes. They are also a lot of fun where you not only learn new skills, but get to meet people with similar interests. For corporate groups and teambuilding cooking classes these classes are a novel way of creating staff interaction or entertaining clients.

Singapore has a vibrant mix of Chinese, Indians, Malays and a smattering of Europeans, and offers some of the best street food in the world. Wickedfood Cooking School has visited the city in search of its mouthwatering flavours. Fish head curry is one of the dishes we teach in our cooking class.

100 g shallots
130 g grated coconut
1 cup water
1t turmeric powder
2t cumin powder
3T chilli powder
5T coriander powder
1½t salt
3T oil
½t mustard seeds
½t cumin seeds
½t fennel seeds, coarsely pounded
1t fenugreek
1 medium onion, thinly sliced
10 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
2 cm ginger, thinly sliced
2 sprigs curry leaves
180 g tamarind mixed with 6 cups water and strained
300 g ladies fingers or brinjals cut into 4-5 cm pieces
4 tomatoes, quartered
1 fish head, about 1-1 ½ kg, halved and cleaned
3 tablespoons finely chopped coriander leaves

1. Blend the coconut and shallots together with the water until smooth.
2. Mix the blended ingredients with the turmeric, cumin, chilli and coriander powder and the salt.  Leave aside.
3. Heat oil and fry the mustard seeds, cumin seeds, fennel seeds and fenugreek until aromatic.
4. Add in the onion, garlic, ginger and curry leaves.  Saute till onion turn golden brown.
5. Add in the blended ingredients and saute  over low heat till oil separates.
6. Add in the tamarind water and boil for about 5 minutes.
7. Add in the vegetables and boil till tender.
8. Lower in the fish head and cook over medium heat till the fish head is cooked.
9. Sprinkle with chopped coriander leaves before serving.

NOTE:  If you don’t have separate curry powders use 9T Fish curry powder

Great Asian recipes – Click here:

Chicken feet

Biryani

Kaeng kari ka – yellow curried chicken

Phanaeng Beef Curry in sweet peanut sauce

Phat Thai

Tom yum kung

Green pawpaw salad

Fish head curry

Warm squid salad in a pineapple

Spiced pork spare ribs

Deep-fried silken tofu

Thai beef salad

3 Cup Chicken

Cooking schools in South East Asia

Thai House cooking school • Bangkok • Thailand

Chiang Mai Thai Cookery School • Thailand

Red Bridge Cooking School • Hoi An • Vietnam

Books reviewed by Wickedfood on Asian food:

Secrets of the Red Lantern

Kylie Kwong: Recipes and Stories

A Passion for Thai Cooking

Balance & Harmony, Asian Food

Wickedfood Cooking School

Sunninghill – (011) 234-3252 sunninghill@wickedfood.co.za

Wickedfood cooking school runs cooking classes throughout the year at its purpose-built cooking studios. Classes are run in the mornings and evenings 7 days a week (subject to a minimum of 12 people). The venue is also popular for corporate events and private functions – team building cooking classes, birthdays, kitchen teas, and dinner parties with a difference.

Our classes are hands-on, where every person gets to participate in the preparation of the dishes. They are also a lot of fun where you not only learn new skills, but get to meet people with similar interests. For corporate groups and teambuilding cooking classes these classes are a novel way of creating staff interaction or entertaining clients.

At Wickedfood Cooking School we teach students how to make this salad in our Vietnamese cooking class. This delicious recipe originates from Red Bridge Cooking School in Hoi An, Vietnam. You can replace the squid with any other type of meat, seafood or even beancurd – the cooking time will vary accordingly.

½ cup chopped 1 pineapple
100g squid, cleaned and cut into rings
2 t of vegetable oil
1 t garlic & ginger
½t sugar
1 t salt or 2 t light fish sauce
1 T tomato puree or tomato sauce
1 T sweet & sour chilli sauce
½ cup chopped green pepper (capsicum)
½ cup chopped tomato
½ cup chopped onion
1 T water
Few pieces of fresh coriander

1. Cut the two sides off the pineapple, and then hollow out to create a bowl, retaining ½ cup of the flesh, and chop.
2. Add 2t of vegetable oil to wok and stir in garlic and ginger.
3. Add squid, salt & sugar, and fry for 1 minute.
4. Put in remaining vegetables and tomato puree/ fry for a further 3 minutes, adding water.
5. Place ail ingredients inside pineapple, and top with pepper and coriander.

Serves 4

Great Asian recipes – Click here:

Chicken feet

Biryani

Kaeng kari ka – yellow curried chicken

Phanaeng Beef Curry in sweet peanut sauce

Phat Thai

Tom yum kung

Green pawpaw salad

Fish head curry

Warm squid salad in a pineapple

Spiced pork spare ribs

Deep-fried silken tofu

Thai beef salad

3 Cup Chicken

For other articles on South East Asia see:

A Taste of Thailand

Floating markets in Bangkok

Must try Singapore dishes

The ABCs of Singapore food

Singapore hawker food centres

Vietnamese cuisine

Cooking schools in South East Asia

Thai House cooking school • Bangkok • Thailand

Chiang Mai Thai Cookery School • Thailand

Red Bridge Cooking School • Hoi An • Vietnam

Books reviewed by Wickedfood on Asian food:

Secrets of the Red Lantern

Kylie Kwong: Recipes and Stories

A Passion for Thai Cooking

Balance & Harmony, Asian Food

Wickedfood Cooking School

Sunninghill – (011) 234-3252 sunninghill@wickedfood.co.za

Wickedfood® Cooking School runs cooking classes throughout the year at its purpose-built cooking studios. Classes are run in the mornings and evenings 7 days a week (subject to a minimum of 12 people). The venue is also popular for corporate events and private functions – team building cooking classes, birthdays, kitchen teas, and dinner parties with a difference.

Our classes are hands-on, where every person gets to participate in the preparation of the dishes. They are also a lot of fun where you not only learn new skills, but get to meet people with similar interests. For corporate groups and teambuilding cooking classes these classes are a novel way of creating staff interaction or entertaining clients.

A little curry powder and saffron elevate the classic combination of cauliflower and cheese to another dimension in this soup. It is ideal as a winter warmer. This delicious cauliflower soup can be served with warm Indian bread or Cheddar on toast.

The recipe is taken from the Wickedfood cookbook-of-the-week – Cooking for Friends by Gordon Ramsey. This recipe will also be included in our cookbook-of-the-month cooking class, when we will be featuring a number of the recipes from the book and reinterpreting them with lots of additional tips for our students.

¼ cup olive oil
2 medium onions, chopped
2 celery stalks, chopped
1 medium head of cauliflower, cut into florets
1t mild curry powder
pinch of saffron strands
300ml hot chicken or vegetable stock
300ml milk
100g medium or strong Cheddar, grated

1. Heat half the oil in a large saucepan and add the onions and celery. Stir over medium heat for 3-4 minutes until the vegetables are beginning to soften.
2. Add the remaining oil, cauliflower florets, curry powder and saffron, and season with salt and pepper. Stir well and cook for a couple of minutes. Cover the pan and cook for another 4-5 minutes, lifting the lid to give the mixture a stir every now and then.
3. Remove the lid and pour in the chicken stock. Bring to a simmer, then pour in the milk, adding a splash of water if the liquid does not cover the vegetables. Return to a gentle simmer. Partially cover the pan and simmer for 10 minutes until the cauliflower is very soft.
4. Use a hand-held stick blender to liquidize the soup, or blend the soup in 2 batches if using a regular blender.
5. Return the soup to the pan and place over low heat. Bring to a gentle simmer, then slowly stir in the cheese to melt. Loosen the consistency with a little hot water if the soup is too thick, and taste and adjust the seasoning

Serves 4-6

Wickedfood Cooking School

Sunninghill – (011) 234-3252 sunninghill@wickedfood.co.za

Wickedfood® cooking school runs cooking classes throughout the year at its purpose-built cooking studios. Classes are run in the mornings and evenings 7 days a week (subject to a minimum of 12 people). The venue is also popular for corporate events and private functions – team building cooking classes, birthdays, kitchen teas, and dinner parties with a difference.

Our classes are hands-on, where every person gets to participate in the preparation of the dishes. They are also a lot of fun where you not only learn new skills, but get to meet people with similar interests. For corporate groups and team building cooking classes these classes are a novel way of creating staff interaction or entertaining clients.

Lamb has a delicate tender meat with a fine grain and white crumbly fat to keep it succulent. Allow the roasted leg of lamb to rest for at least 10 minutes before carving to allow the meat to relax and the juices to disperse. At Wickedfood’s cooking classes, students make this dish with roast potatoes and grilled root vegetables.

lamb chopped bones from butcher

1 head of garlic, halved horizontally
1 x ±2kg leg of lamb bone in
6 garlic cloves, halved
1 bunch fresh rosemary cut into 2cm sprigs
1T  butter
salt and pepper

• Preheat the oven to 220°C
• In the bottom of a roasting tin scatter the chopped bones, trimmings and garlic head.
• Make 2.5cm deep incisions in the lamb, into each incision insert a half garlic clove and rosemary sprig.
• Rub the butter over the lamb and place the leg on top of the bones, season and place in the oven for 1-1½ hours (15 minutes per 450g for rare and 20 minutes for medium) turning over half way through.
• Remove the lamb from the oven, season again and transfer to a tray to rest.

Gravy

• Place the roasting pan over a moderate heat to caramelise the lamb juices, this will take 2-3 minutes. Strain of any excess fat.
• Pour in 350ml cold water, reduce heat and simmer gently for five minutes. Strain through a sieve. Serve the lamb with the gravy and seasonal vegetables.

Serves 6-8

Wickedfood Cooking School

Sunninghill – (011) 234-3252 sunninghill@wickedfood.co.za

Boksburg – (011) 823-5365 boksburg@wickedfood.co.za

Runs cooking classes throughout the year at its purpose-built cooking studios. Classes are run in the mornings and evenings 7 days a week (subject to a minimum of 12 people). The venue is also popular for corporate events and private functions – team building cooking classes, birthdays, kitchen teas, and dinner parties with a difference.

Our classes are hands-on, where every person gets to participate in the preparation of the dishes. They are also a lot of fun where you not only learn new skills, but get to meet people with similar interests. For corporate groups and teambuilding cooking classes these classes are a novel way of creating staff interaction or entertaining clients.