AVOCADO EGG BAKED

Ingredients

2 thin slices beef bacon

2 avocados, halved and pitted

4 eggs

½ tsp salt

¼ tsp black pepper powder

1 cup salted boiled peas

¼ cup boiled carrot, cut as you wish

Method

Preheat the oven to 200°C. Coat a 11-inch loaf pan with non-stick cooking spray. Scoop out enough of the flesh of each avocado half, to leave a ½-inch shell. Place in the prepared pan. Crack egg into each avocado cup. Loosely cover the pan with foil. Bake for about 15 minutes or until egg white is set and yolk is of desired consistency. Sprinkle each with salt and pepper. Garnish with tomatoes and carrots.

DORY FISH GRILLED

Ingredients

For fish marinade—

250g fish fillet

1 tsp olive oil

¼ tsp garlic powder

¼ tsp ginger powder

¼ tsp dry red chilli powder

½ tsp Italian seasoning

¼ tsp black pepper powder

¼ tsp salt

For spicy mayonnaise sauce —

2 tbsp mayonnaise

½ tsp lemon juice

1 tsp tabasco sauce

Method

Marinade the fish for 30 minutes. Make the mayonnaise sauce and keep it in the refrigerator. Heat an iron-cast pan with 1 tablespoon olive oil until very hot. Add the fish, turn once one side is done. Continue cooking for another 4 minutes. Arrange in a lettuce bed plate, serve with cherry tomatoes, olive and spicy mayonnaise sauce.

STUFFED SQUID WITH VEGETABLE

Ingredients

500g squid

2 tbsp oil

2 tbsp garlic minced

1 tbsp coriander roots minced

2 tsp bird's eye chillies minced

1 cup green beans, cut in ¼ inch long and boiled

½ cup radicchio, thinly sliced and boiled

½ cup carrot, cut in small cube and boiled

½ cup snake gourd, cut in ¼ inch long and boiled

1 tsp green peppercorn powder

1 big red spur chilli, sliced thinly

1 tbsp fish sauce

1 tbsp soy sauce

1 tbsp sugar

¼ cup spring onion, cut in ½-inch long pieces

½ cup sweet basil

Method

To prep the squid, rinse it, and separate the tentacles and the tube, and chop them up to use for the filling.

For the stuffing, heat oil and add garlic, coriander root and chilli minced. Sauté until slightly brown. Add all the ingredients from the green beans to the snake gourd with the head and the tentacles. Fry for 2-3 minutes.

Add all the ingredients from green pepper powder to sugar. Add a little water to prevent it from burning. Once all the liquid has evaporated add the sweet basil and remove from the stove.

Begin stuffing the tube. Using a small spoon fill each tube with the stuffing. Use a toothpick to close the opening so that the filling does not fall out.

Heat a steamer and place the stuffed tubes in a tray and steam for 6 minutes. Serve with some cucumber. This dish does not need any extra sauce.

BROWN CHICKPEAS SOUP

Ingredients

¼ cup oil

½ cup onion, sliced

1 cup carrot, sliced

½ cup raw papaya, sliced

2 tbsp garlic, sliced

½ tsp turmeric powder

2 tsp cumin powder

1 tsp dry chilli powder

2 tsp salt

3 cups boiled brown chickpeas

½ cup tomatoes, cubed

1-liter chicken stock

1 tbsp Thai roasted chilli paste

1 tbsp tamarind pulp

1 cup mint leaves

To serve, whole steamed papaya

Method

Heat the oil, add all the ingredients from onion to salt. Fry for 2 minutes and add water to prevent it from burning. Add the boiled chickpeas, tomatoes, and stock. Cover and cook for 20 minutes. Add Thai roasted chilli paste and tamarind pulp. Mix well. Taste and adjust. Serve with mint leaves. 

AMAZING CORN SOUP WITH POACHED QUAIL EGGS

Ingredients

1 can whole kernel corn

1 tbsp vegetable oil

1 tbsp rice vinegar

1 cup of chicken, thinly sliced

¼ tsp salt

1 tbsp soya sauce

4 cups of chicken stock

2 tbsp corn flour, plus ¼ cup water (mixed into a slurry)

2 egg white

¼ tsp black pepper powder

¼ cup coriander leaves, finely chopped

2 tbsp spring onion

10 quail eggs

Method

Stir fry the corn kernel in vegetable oil in a wok until the heat gets through then add the rice vinegar, continue frying until liquid evaporates. Add the stock and heat until boiled, then leave to cool completely. Transfer the content from the wok to a blender and have blend roughly.

Pour the blended content into a pot and simmer for 5 minutes on low heat. Add the chicken, salt and soya sauce. While the soup is boiling, stir in the corn flour slurry. After the soup gets slightly thicken, pour in the egg white through a sieve and stir thoroughly quickly to make strands of the egg white float on the soup. Carefully add the quail eggs, lower the heat to low. Taste and adjust. Ladle soup into a bowl and sprinkle with coriander leaves and spring onions.

WONTON SOUP

Ingredients

For the filling —

350g shrimp

350g chicken, minced

¼ cup spring onion, thinly sliced

1 tbsp ginger

1 tbsp sesame oil

1 tbsp sake or rice vinegar

1 tsp sugar

1 tbsp cornflour

½ tsp white pepper powder

500g wonton wrapper

For the soup—

1 litre stock

250g bok choy

2 tsp sesame oil

2 tbsp soya sauce

Salt and black pepper

Method

Combine all the ingredients for the stuffing except the wonton wrapper. Use 2 teaspoons of the mixture and make the wontons until all the mixture is used up. In a soup pot simmer the stock with soya sauce, salt and pepper. Taste and adjust. Add the bok choy and sesame oil. Heat a big wok with water. Once the water starts simmering carefully drop the wonton. They will float on top once done. Serve individually with three wontons in one bowl and pour the hot soup on top.

Food and Photo: Shaheda Yesmin