Jamie’s coconut buns with chicken stir-fry

This is another recipe from one of Jamie Oliver’s latest books 15 Minute Meals. So far none of them have been close to the fifteen minute mark but they’re quite tasty nonetheless. After the success of Jamie’s seared tuna with jiggy jiggy greens I decided to give another recipe a go. This one stood out due to the lack of complicated ingredients and I was really curious to see how these coconut buns would come out. I simply followed the recipe and made the dough in a food processor and then steamed them and surprisingly they came out looking pretty profesh if I do say so myself.

However, I wasn’t a huge fan of the taste- I did use all the coconut milk but they didn’t have a very strong coconut taste. They were a bit bland and I didn’t feel like there was enough sauce to scrape up with the buns. When I make this recipe again I think I’ll do the chicken stir fry with Jamie’s coconut rice instead and see how that goes. Overall it was a good weeknight recipe and I loved the simple flavours of the stir fry.

I used an adapted version of Jamie’s recipe that stir fries the chicken and veggies instead of steaming them.

Coconut buns with stir fried chicken and veggies
Serves 4
See the recipe here

Ingredients:

For the coconut buns:
270g tin of light coconut milk
Use the empty coconut milk can to measure out two cans worth of self-raising flour

For the chicken:
1 tsp vegetable oil
4 boneless skinless chicken thighs, thinly cut
100g mushrooms, I used shiitake and button
1 bunch of broccolini, cut into small pieces
3 tablespoons oyster sauce, plus extra to serve
2 tablespoons lightly toasted sesame seeds
Lime wedges, to serve

Directions:

1. For the coconut buns: Pour the coconut milk into a food processor. Use the empty tin to measure out the self-raising flour, you’ll want two tins worth of flour. Add the flour and 1/2 tsp of salt to the food processor and process until a dough forms. Lightly knead the dough onto a lightly floured surface, then roll out small balls of dough. I was able to make about 9 small buns. If the dough is too sticky just add some more flour to your workspace and your hands.Place the dough into large muffin cases and place, in a single layer, into a steamer basket with a lid. Put the steamer over a pot of boiling water and steam for 10 minutes.

2. For the chicken: Place a wok over high heat and add the vegetable oil. When hot, add the chicken in pieces and stir until the chicken is browned, about 3 minutes.

3. Place the broccolini in a microwave-safe container and microwave for 50 seconds.

4. Add the broccolini and mushrooms to the wok with the chicken and stir for 1 minute. Add the oyster sauce and stir until the chicken and veggies are coated and heated through.

5. Serve the chicken and vegetable stir-fry with the coconut buns. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and squeeze a bit of lime juice over the top.

 

 

Lighter coconut red curry shrimp

My relationship with spicy foods has been a bit of a roller coaster. And just as I used to hate giant roller coasters with all of my being, my feelings were pretty similar towards spicy food.

Anything with chilli, jalapeno, wasabi…it was out of the question. I think there was a time when I was in New Mexico with my family and we went out to dinner to this nice authentic Mexican restaurant and I remember uncontrollably crying and sweating as I tried to eat my meal. I remember being offered quesadillas with honey to try and ease the pain though it did little against the mighty wrath of that dish. That was about the time I swore off anything spicy for a while.

However, nowadays my palate has been craving spicy foods and I don’t know what is going on. Maybe it’s just that I’ve been introduced to it in more ways and perhaps better ways. My boyfriend’s mother cooks quite a few Malaysian and Singaporean dishes which at first made me want to drink a whole gallon of milk to get me through but now I really quite enjoy. Last summer I also went out to have sushi with my family and my father mistakenly ordered one roll, I believe it was called the Volcano roll, which was basically a huge mound of wasabi with one or two tiny flecks of fish rolled in seaweed and rice. Not knowing what it was I simply popped it in my mouth and got my first wasabi head rush. It’s actually kind of cool the way it rushes through your nose and makes your head want to explode but then subsides quite quickly. It’s strangely addictive.

So now I’ve been adding more wasabi to my sushi, putting more chilli in my pho, I even made a little pilgrimage to find Sriracha sauce which isn’t commonly available here. And apparently spicy food is very good for your metabolism so that’s a win as well.

And after that whole rant about how I love spicy food, I will admit I didn’t even put all the red curry paste that is called for in this recipe since I was afraid it would be too much. What can I say, I may love spicy food now, but I’m still a bit of a chicken when it comes down to it.

Whether you make it spicy or mild this dish is actually very delicious and I highly recommend it.

Lighter coconut red curry shrimp
From Can you stay for dinner?

1 can (13.66 ounces) coconut milk

2 tablespoons Thai Kitchen® Red Curry Paste

1 tablespoon brown sugar

1 pound large shrimp, peeled and deveined

1/4 cup fresh Thai basil, chopped roughly (optional)

1 1/2 tablespoons fish sauce

Your choice of vegetables, I added 1 head of broccoli, 1 cup of sugar snap peas and about half a bag of shelled edamame

Directions:

Simmer coconut milk in large skillet over medium heat. Stir in curry paste and sugar until well blended; bring to boil. Reduce heat to low; simmer 5 minutes.

Stir in shrimp and vegetables. Cook 3 to 5 minutes or just until shrimp turn pink. Stir in basil and fish sauce.

Serve over either brown or jasmine rice.

Serves 4

Nutrition Information Per Serving (not including rice): 295 Calories, Fat 19g, Protein 21g, Carbohydrates 10g, Cholesterol 168mg, Sodium 1095mg, Fiber 1g