Coriander Beef Casserole

Another part of the Coriander Trilogy!! ....Coriander Beef Casserole for dinner tonight. I won't be buying a big bunch of coriander anytime soon...well not too soon. 


So far I've been cooking pork, chicken and now it's time for beef cooked with coriander. Now I've always found that coriander really brings out a citrus taste to beef, especially if it's been simmering in a pot for over an hour. The flavour just infuses itself onto the beef and even more so when you add just a hint of licorice with a bit of star anise. Top that off with some red wine and you have real comfort food...

Coriander Beef Casserole


450 g beef, sliced thinly into strips
5 tomatoes, chopped roughly
1/2 cup fresh coriander, chopped roughly
2 medium carrots, peeled, chopped roughly
1 medium red onion, chopped roughly
1 star anise
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 tbsp worcestor sauce
2 tbsp light soy sauce
1/2 tsp cracked black pepper
1 tbsp plain flour
1/2 cup red wine
1 cup beef stock
1/2 cup water
salt to taste


1. In a bowl, add the beef, soy sauce, worcestor sauce, pepper and flour. Combine well and leave for about 30 mins.
2. Heat oil in a saucepan and saute the onions and garlic. Add the beef and cook until browned. Add the tomatoes, star anise, coriander and carrots and stir. Stir in the wine, water and beef stock and bring to the boil. Cover and simmer for 50 mins. You can check the liquid level and add water if necessary.
3. Simmer for a further 15 - 25 mins or until the beef is tender. Remove the lid and cook until the sauce has thicken. Add salt to taste. Garnish with coriander and serve with rice or pasta. You can even try serving it with Polenta too (use the Polenta Crusted Moussaka recipe for the polenta)

Coriander Chicken Mushroom Stew

It's a Coriander overload..............I think I bought too much coriander (cilantro) on my shopping trip yesterday! So, this is my Coriander Chicken Mushroom Stew for dinner. I had already made my Coriander Pork with Bok Choy earlier for lunch and had to use up the veg before it waste away in the fridge. 

I just love coriander but I don't think the kids would appreciate everything coriander tasting. It's crunchy, tastes a bit like lemon and sage, it's a herb and good for you too. You can eat just about every part of the coriander plant and it's found in all types of cuisines from the Mediterranean, South American, Indian, Asian, and African, but just about anywhere really.

Coriander Chicken Mushroom Stew

2 chicken leg quarters, skinned, cubed 2cm

150g shitake mushrooms, thinly sliced

1/4 cup frozen peas

handful of coriander, finely chopped

1 small onion, finely chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 cup chicken stock

1/2 cup water

1/2 cup milk

1/2 cup breadcrumbs

50 g butter

salt & pepper to taste

1. Melt the butter in a saucepan and saute the onions and garlic. Add the chicken, salt and pepper and cook well. 

2. Add in the mushrooms and peas and stir. Pour the chicken stock, water and stir until combined. Simmer and cover for about 5 mins.

3. Pour in the milk and add the breadcrumbs. Stir until the sauce thickens. Add the coriander and stir until combined. Serve with rice or pasta.

The base of this stew is similar to my Fresh Shitake Mushroom Soup..... shitake mushrooms another shopping item I bought too much!!

Coriander Pork with Baby Bok Choy

A bit of carrot, baby bok choy, pork and coriander all stir fried together for our lunch, Coriander Pork with Baby Bok Choy. We are really very lucky over here, so many fresh vegetables readily available and sometimes you tend to buy too much like I did for the weekend. A big bunch of coriander, shitake mushrooms (again!!) and baby bok choy.

Coriander Pork with Baby Bok Choy

300 g pork, thinly sliced diagonally

1/4 cup carrots, thinly sliced

1 bunch of baby bok choy, cut in quarters from the base

1/2 cup coriander, roughly chopped

1 small onion, cut into small wedges

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 tsp Shaoxing wine

1/2 tsp rice vinegar

2 tsp soy sauce

pinch of pepper

pinch of sugar

1. Heat oil in a wok. Add the onion and garlic, cook. Add the pork and cook well. Sprinkle with pepper and pour in the wine, soy sauce, vinegar and sugar and stir. Add a little water too to lighted the sauce.

2. Add in the carrots and stir. Add the baby bok choy and stir until cooked.

3. Add the coriander last and cook lightly. Serve with rice.

Mini Cinnamon Donuts

For the weekend I decided to give the kids a treat and make them Mini Cinnamon Donuts, half the size of a regular donut and sprinkled with cinnamon sugar. Just small enough to have a few bites but light enough not to spoil their appetite. 

I've actually made donuts before, Jelly Donuts but this time I thought of having a break from the messy jam filling. I had blackcurrant all over my fingers the last time and covered with icing sugar too! Nope going traditional today with snack sized donuts.....but you know they were so small we all ended up eating more.

For this recipe I've adapted Martha Stewart's Donut Hole recipe and tweaked it to make these smaller sized Mini Cinnamon Donuts.

Mini Cinnamon Donuts

3 3/4 cups plain flour
6 1/2 tablespoons sugar
 2 1/2 teaspoons yeast
1/2 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup milk, warm
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
30 g butter, soften
1L vegetable oil for frying
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, coating

1/2 cup extra caster sugar for coating

1. In a bowl, add plain flour, yeast, sugar, salt. In a separate bowl combine the milk and eggs.
2. Pour the egg mixture into the dry ingredients and mix. Add the soften butter and knead the dough on a lightly floured surface until it forms a soft dough, about 8 mins. 
3. Roll the dough into a ball and place it in a greased bowl, cover with a damp cloth and leave to proof until doubled in size or for about 1hr.
** I would normally preheat the oven 180C for 3mins and turn the heat off. Place the bowl (I usually use a enamel mixing bowl) with damp cloth into the oven to proof.
4. Punch down the dough and knead to form a ball. Using a 1tbsp measuring spoon scoop out the dough and roll it into a ball. Poke a hole in the centre of the ball using a the blunt end of a chopstick. Arrange the donuts on a greased baking tray to proof for about 30 mins
5. Heat the oil for deep frying and then bring the heat down to medium. Deep fry the donuts in batches and carefully fry on each side until lightly golden. Remove and drain on paper towels. 
6.Roll the donut while warm into a bowl of the cinnamon and sugar mixture. Shake off the excess sugar and serve.


I made these donuts thinking that it's only half the size of a regular donut but ended up eating more than I intended to eat. Too many bite size pieces to eat!!!.....Makes about 20

Getting some ZZZzzz

I was writing my upcoming posts last night after a full day and J was getting grumpy. So I put him to bed and told a few stories and .................I fell asleep..................


 with my computer on and my post still waiting .....


I didn't get back on until this morning.........so just give a moment and I'll get Sunday's post up

Shredded Chicken Mushroom Stew on Rice Noodles

Rice is not only white fluffy grains but it can be made into a variety of yummy noodles. They are mainly made from glutinous rice flour and water. Sometimes tapioca flour and cornstarch are added to change the texture. They can be rolled into sheets and cut into different widths, spaghetti-like or even into thin vermicelli. Sold freshly made or dried in bundles ready to cook anytime they are all very easy to cook.

Just like rice, rice noodles are also a stable part of Asian cuisine but are more versatile because you can eat it cold or hot. The rice noodles can be used in a soup, stewed, fried and even in salads. The best thing about rice noodles is that they absorb a lot of the flavour of the dish because just like normal rice grains they are plain flavoured and can take on any sauce or gravy.

  As a kid I use to watch my grandmother make Lo Si Fun, which is also a type of rice noodle but hand rolled and short in length, about 2 inches. This is a picture I found on the net and the Lo Si Fun has a smooth surface. My grandmother's noodles had little ridges and looked more like little worms because she use to roll the dough on the back of a colander! We would always have noodles for lunch at grandmother's house on the weekends and this was one of my favourites growing up............ Lo Si Fun is hard to find nowadays because they have to be hand rolled and take longer to make.

Shredded Chicken Mushroom Stew on Rice Noodles

5 bundles of dried wide rice noodles

1 chicken leg quarter

8 - 10 fresh shitake mushrooms, thickly sliced

1 clove garlic, minced

1 tbsp ginger, chopped finely

2 tbsp sweet yellow bean paste

1 1/2 tbsp light soy sauce

1/2 cup water plus extra 1/4 cup for sauce

1 tbsp shaoxing wine

1 tsp sesame seed oil

1/2 tsp cracked ground black pepper

1 tbsp of carrot, finely shredded

cornflour water

1. Soak the rice noodles in hot water for about 10 mins or until tender. Remove from the hot water and immediately soak in cold water. Drain and set aside.

2. Pour water in a wok and using a steaming tray, cover and bring the water to a boil.

3. In a steaming dish, place the chicken leg quarter down with the skin side facing upwards. 

4.In a small bowl, gently mash the sweet yellow bean paste. Add the light soy sauce , shaoxing wine, sesame seed oil, water and stir the mixture.

5. Arrange the sliced mushrooms and carrot over the chicken. Pour the bean paste mixture over the chicken and sprinkle with pepper.

6. Steam the chicken for about 15-20 mins or until the chicken is cooked and can gently come off the bone. Remove the chicken from the heat and take out the chicken and gently shred the meat off the bone using two forks, discarding the bones. The meat should be easily removed from the bone.

7. Pour the sauce, mushrooms and carrot into a saucepan and add the shredded chicken. Add some cornflour water and extra water if needed and simmer until the sauce has thicken. The sauce should be able to lightly cover the back of the spoon. Pour the chicken mushroom stew over the noodles and combine until the sauce has coated all the noodles and serve.

My inspiration for this lunch dish was when I went out for a quick snack with my hubby at our fav dessert place where they serve light snacks all hours of the day. I shared my plate with J while the other kids where out with friends. 

Fresh Shitake Mushroom Soup

Fresh Shitake mushrooms are in abundance here in South East Asia. Fresh or dried shitake mushrooms are a popular ingredient in many of Asian dishes and are also symbols of long life. 

So fragrant and full of flavour, these little brown pillows are my choice mushroom for making my fresh mushroom soup. Thinly sliced, sauted in butter and garlic and blended through to make a creamy mushroom soup for lunch today. A complete soup meal for a light Friday lunch , thick and hearty, and sprinkled with just the right amount of bread croutons. Another easy meal that I make with not alot of fuss and when I need something to fill the tummy.

 Fresh Shitake Mushrooms

300 g fresh shitake mushrooms, thinly sliced

2 cloves of garlic, minced

1 small onion, chopped finely

50 g butter

2 cups of chicken stock 

1 cup of water

1 cup milk

3/4 cup breadcrumbs (Japanese breadcrumbs)

1/2 tsp cracked black pepper

salt to taste

1. Melt the butter in a large saucepan. Saute the garlic and onion. 

2. Add the mushrooms, pepper & salt and cook until soften. 

3. Add the chicken stock, water and milk and bring to the boil. Simmer, uncovered for 10 mins.

4. Remove from heat and using a hand blender, carefully pulse through the soup to blend the mushrooms. Try to blend a majority of the soup but leave some slices of mushrooms too. It adds great texture and you don't want it to become a puree.

5. Add the breadcrumbs and heat over medium heat until the soup thickens. It should be creamy and thick. Add any extra salt & pepper for seasoning.

Serve the soup with homemade bread croutons or just a bit of crusty bread.