Friday night in!

The weather has turned from spring back to winter, we have the fire going again, the first time since returning from Europe.  All the blossom that we have been enjoying so much is floating around landing on the windows and ground.  Even Tana is not keen on venturing out to chase the rabbits!

The positive side is that cold weather always encourages food.  Nick has a beer in hand and after a late interview with the UK I’m deserving of a glass of something.

Dinner will take a little while and it’s a bit early to start so a nibble is required.  We loved the following crab and coconut dip. I had to use a tin of crab meat as there isn’t a place to buy fresh where we are but this worked well.

Crab and Coconut Dip - Served with light Asian crackers

1 small tin crab meat

1 red chilli

Juice of 1 lime

20 finely chopped mint leaves

Coconut, ½ cup, fresh would be great but I used desiccated

1 tablespoon of good quality whole egg mayonnaise

We followed this with Steamed eggplant with three flavours it was a recipe published in the Gourmet Traveller magazine – September 2010, the recipe is from the Spice Temple in Sydney.

If you don’t subscribe to the magazine I’ve included the recipe below, simple and really good.  With some steamed rice it’s also a healthy option.  I didn’t use the peanut oil, just a non stick wok so you can eat without care….

This is my version, photo by Nick

It’s now Saturday morning and we wake up to snow, good thing the newspaper is at the gate and the fire wood just outside the door. So much for spring.

Spice Temple's steamed eggplant with three flavours

Serves 4 Cooking Time Prep time 20 mins, cook 25 mins (plus draining)

2	eggplant, cut into thick batons
12	garlic cloves
30 ml	peanut oil
400 gm	coarsely minced pork
80 gm (¼ cup)	sweet bean paste (see note)
350 ml	chicken stock
120 ml	dark soy sauce
½ tsp	sesame oil
2 cups (loosely packed)	coriander, coarsely chopped

1	Place eggplant in a colander, scatter with 2 tsp fine sea salt, set aside to drain (1 hour). Lightly rinse eggplant under cold running water, drain and pat dry with absorbent paper. Steam in a single layer in a large steamer placed over boiling salted water until soft (12-14 minutes), keep warm.
2	Meanwhile, blanch garlic in boiling water until tender (3-5 minutes). Drain, cool, finely chop and set aside.
3	Heat peanut oil in a wok over high heat, add pork, stir-fry until golden (3-5 minutes), remove with a slotted spoon and set aside. Add bean paste to wok, stir-fry until fragrant (30 seconds-1 minute), add stock, soy sauce and pork and simmer until thick (5-7 minutes), then stir through sesame oil.
4	To serve, scatter eggplant with garlic, pork and coriander and serve hot.

Note Sweet bean paste is available from Asian grocers.