korean style ddukboki spicy rice cake

Married life has certainly taught me a thing or two about food; how to shop for groceries, how to get the best prices, how to cook for two but most of all, how to be adventurous and cook up restaurant meals in the comfort of your own home. The boy and I have tried to be good and tend to cook dinner most nights; main reason being that if we cook enough we have lunch to bring to work the next day which ends up saving us a tonne of money (and it's healthier too)

Korean Spicy Rice Cake is one those things which I always order if I see it on the menu at a Korean restaurant. Usually it's only the boy who is brave enough to eat this with me because depending on how heavy handed the cook has been with the chilli, this one can come with some serious bite. Cooking it myself, I could see why.

Soak 1 package Korean rice cake in boiling water until softened. In a small bowl, mix together 1 tbsp soy sauce, 1 tbsp chilli flakes, 1 tbsp minced garlic, 1 tsp sesame oil, 1/2 tsp ginger powder, 1 tsp salt and 3-4 tbsp gochujjang (Korean red pepper paste). In a large pot, boil 2 cups water, stir through the sauces until all dissolved. Add 3 sliced green onions, 1 pack sliced fishcake, 1/3 head of cabbage, and the soaked rice cakes and simmer for about 5 minutes until the sauce thickens. Once the sauce has thickened, the dish is ready to eat.

I'd say on a scale to 1-5 (5 being hot), this is probably a 4.5!

Surprised how easy this one was to make and reheated really well the next day in the microwave at work. A colleague of mine even commented how gourmet it looked and how adventurous I was but really, it takes just over 10 minutes to make from start to finish.

carrot & chorizo soup

As I was growing up, my mum's advice to me when it came to looking after myself had always been to know how to cook. She'd say 'You need to cook for your future husband otherwise what are you going to eat?' Fortunately, it seems mum and I have both been somewhat lucky and married husbands that are quite handy in the kitchen and actually don't mind doing a bit of the cooking; my own has been doing a disproportionate amount of the cooking over the last couple of weeks (which I'm ever grateful for).

To make this Carrot & Chorizo soup, heat 30g unsalted butter and 1 tbsp olive oil in a pot over medium heat. Cook 2 finely chopped onions and 2 finely chopped cloves of garlic for 5 minutes until softened. Add 5 coriander roots, 2tsp ground coriander, 1 tsp ground tumeric and 2 tsp cumin seeds and cook, stirring for 1-2 minutes. Add 1 kg chopped carrots, then cover and cook for 10 minutes until the carrots start to soften. Season with salt and pepper and then add 1.25L chicken stock. Bring to the boil, then reduce heat to medium and simmer for 20 minutes until carrots are tender.

Cool slightly, then blend in batches until smooth. 

Always a tip to place your hand over the blender cover to make sure no nasty accidents happen (though I suggest a towel in between the hand and cover when you're dealing with hot soup).

The boy and I actually made this the night before we actually ate it to save a bit of time. 

To serve, heat a frying pan over medium heat, add 150g chopped chorizo and cook for 3-4 minutes until crisp. Serve the soup with chorizo and coriander leaves. This soup is absolutely divine and actually reminds me of a curry because of the spices; great for this winter weather and worked out well to take to work.

A huge thank you to M for the blender wedding gift. It's taken us a little while but we've finally cracked it open and have it sat proudly on our kitchen bench. Looking forward to breakfast smoothies, soups and other blended goodies - thanks again!

chinese fried dough stick with kaya

I really can't help but be a snacker - the boy doesn't agree with it and says I should eat more at meal time but bad habits die hard. And well, despite the boy telling me one thing, he snacks too and introduced me to this somewhat unhealthy snack of his but by golly, it is tasty and makes for a great snack!

Preheat oven to 200 degrees. Place store bought Chinese fried dough sticks on a tray and bake for 5 minutes till warmed through. Top with a generous serving of kaya.

Kaya can be bought from most Asian supermarkets but if you're lucky like me, you'll get a jar of homemade kaya as a wedding gift (definitely amongst the top of my list of wedding presents!) It's a big jar too so should last me for a good while.

Probably not something to snack on every day but as a treat once in awhile, I'll say that it's ok. There's just something about combining sweet and savoury that makes this snack absolutely perfect!

miss chu tuckshop @ regent place, sydney

Miss Chu has been on my radar for a long while now but with the original Darlinghurst shop being a little out of the way, I didn't quite get round to trying it (yes, it's partly laziness). How convenient that Miss Chu Tuckshop pops up in Regent Place in the city!

If you didn't know already, Miss Chu's is queen of Vietnamese rice paper rolls. We took the special they had that day; the roast pork rice paper rolls. One word - YUM! Give me a dozen of these any day.

Some other things we had that night; the Caramelised Free-Range Pork Belly Stew (served with Asian greens and a brown rice). Pictured also is a serve of the Traditional Pork Hanoi spring rolls.

Prawn dumplings which are a little drowned in a puddle of sauce. The skin on these are a little thick unlike traditional Chinese dumplings.

What had my attention though were the desserts - Thai Custard with a Black Glutinous Rice Slice and their Lychee Tapioca Pudding with Coconut Cream. The boy didn't seem to think these were all too healthy but by god, they are so very yummy in the tummy.

Miss Chu's is certainly a refreshing take on Vietnamese food but at the same time a little more pricey than your average Vietnamese shop. The tuckshop at Regent's Place isn't all that big either so better for small groups (it was actually quite cute to see how they had ironing boards as dining tables but they only seat about four).

marion grasby's thai green curry

When we first moved out, both sets of parents seemed to be immediately concerned about what we were eating and whether we were eating at all. It's been a good couple of months now and to be honest, not a whole lot has changed. Every trip back has us leaving with bags of fresh food, reheatable food and things we can chuck in the freezer. Somehow or other, the parents seem to coordinate themselves too - we rarely get double of the one thing! If that's coincidence or prearranged - we're only left guessing.

And as anyone with a day job will know, it's often tricky to come home and be all that energetic to prepare a meal so those reheatable meals do really come in handy. That's not to say though that we've just been eating reheatable food, mum did suggest a few easy meals we can cook but also suggested, Marion's Thai Green Curry as something we could try - nice and tasty plus being quick too (apparently my auntie; mum's younger sister, is a big advocate of Marion's Thai Green Curry and has been getting everyone to try it out)

Found this on a trip to Coles.

You'll need one pack of Thai Green Curry to which you add, green beans, capsicum and chicken thigh. Everything else you need is in that neat little green box.

Serve with steamed rice and if you are me, a serving of bok choy (because you can never eat enough vegies).

Thumbs up to Marion Grasby and her Thai Green Curry! It was a meal that was so easy to whip up and tasted fantastic (on par with any green curry you might get if you eat out). I've since actually gone on to try her Chicken Satay (mum actually gave me the box on a trip back home) and well, let me save that for another post. There's a Sang Choy Bow and Pad Thai packet in her range which look like they'd be worth trying too.