Gordon's Kedgeree

According to the all-knowing power that is Wikipedia, kedgeree was brought back to the UK from India by British colonials who liked to eat it as a breakfast dish. It's another "use up the left-overs from brekkie" such as the perennial fave bubble and squeak but is typically less well known, especially if you didn't grow up eating it. I only heard of kedgeree a couple of years back when it was made on one of the many cooking shows I became obsessed with on the BBC Lifestyle channel when I lived in Taiwan. I believe it was a MasterChef challenge: if you can't cook a kedgeree from scratch then you don't deserve to be here kind of thing. I took this to heart, knowing that one day I hoped to be considered a Good Cook, that this was a vital piece of knowledge I was apparently lacking. 

Quite apart from it being a part of your repertoire, this dish is absolutely delicious. It's pretty easy to make and is one of those really comforting dishes that you just want to hunch over with a strong, hot cup of tea within reaching distance and just savour. Gordon's original recipe on page 67 of the Ultimate Cookery Course has already made some modifications to make it lighter, but I've gone a little bit further for the healthiest version possible. Even then, this is not really one to crack out when you're running out of ProPoints. I've got to be honest with you, this is not exactly a light eat but I promise you that it's worth it. Bulk out a smaller portion with some salad or boiled broccoli and you'll be fine. 

Serves 4-6  |  12-14 ProPoints per serve (depending on how many people share it!)

KEDGEREE:
2 bay leaves
700g undyed smoked fish*
2 tsp cooking oil
1 garlic clove, peeled and chopped
1 onion, peeled and chopped
Thumb-sized knob of fresh ginger, peeled and grated
2 tbsp curry powder
1 tbsp mustard seeds
2 tomatoes, de-seeded and chopped
150g long grain rice
Juice of 2 lemons
100g low-fat natural yoghurt

TO SERVE:
2 handfuls of chopped fresh coriander
1 red chilli, finely chopped (deseed it unless you're really brave!)
One soft-boiled egg per person
Salt and pepper

* Gordon suggests haddock, hot smoked trout or mackerel. For those of us living downunder, I've used smoked kahawai and its been lovely.

1. Pin bone your fish to make sure nobody gets any nasty surprises. 
2. Make sure you don't eat all of the smoked fish whilst doing step 1.
3. Heat 750ml of water with the bay leaves in a frying pan and bring to a simmer. Chuck in the fish, even if its already cooked, and simmer for five minutes until its lovely and flaky. Take out the fish with a slotted spoon/fish slice and set aside. Keep the water, but chuck the leaves. 
4. In a second pan, heat the oil and fry off the onion and garlic for a couple of minutes but make sure they're not colouring - you want them sweet not burned. Add in the ginger, curry powder, mustard seeds and tomatoes and cook for another 2-3 minutes until the onions have softened. 
5. Put all the rice in and stir it around to coat it in the flavoursome amazingness in your pan. Then gradually add the lemon juice and fishy water you saved earlier, one ladle at a time. Stir around well after adding each ladleful and wait for it to be absorbed. 
6. This adding and stirring process should take about 20 minutes.
7. In between the liquid being absorbed by the rice, pull the skin carefully off your fish and flake the remaining meat. Again, don't eat it all before it makes it into the dish. Or maybe it's just me who has a serious smoked fish addiction? 
8. Once all the liquid has been absorbed by the rice, add the flaked fish and the yoghurt and stir well. Take it off the heat at this point to make sure the yoghurt doesn't start to cook. Because that would be gross. 
9. To serve, divvy up the kedgeree between the bowls and sprinkle on the coriander and chilli, top with an egg each and crack over some salt and pepper. 
 

Grilled Pork Fillet with Nam Jim

My nam jim

Nam jim - until I'd read this recipe a little while ago in my search for healthy things to make I'd not ever heard of it. What a travesty! Nam jim (also known as nam chim) is Thai for "dipping sauce". There are a few different variations but all basically tend towards the Thai awesome foursome of sweet, salty, spicy and sour in taste. It is Thailand in a bowl, pure deliciousness, and can be whipped up really quickly so is good for an after work dinner that just makes the soul sing. The original recipe can be found on page 36 of Weight Watcher's Cook it Quick recipe book.

Serves 4  |  5 ProPoints per serve (not including rice)

500g of pork scotch fillet (fat removed)
2 long fresh green chillies
2 cloves of garlic
10cm stick of lemongrass, coarsely chopped
2 green shallots, chopped
1/4 cup (60ml) lime juice
2 tbs fish sauce
2 tbs grated palm sugar (or any other sugar)
2 tbs olive oil
1/2 cup fresh chopped coriander leaves

1. Pre-heat your grill or barbeque over a medium-high heat. Lightly spray the pork with oil and season with salt, then whack it on the barbie. If it's winter or you don't have a barbeque, then you can cook it in a pan on the hob, just make sure you cover it with a lid to ensure it cooks as evenly as possible. Cook for 8-10 minutes, but always check it's cooked all the way through. 
2. Once pork is cooked, transfer to a plate to rest, covered in foil, for five minutes.
3. Put chopped chillies, garlic, lemongrass, shallots, juice, fish sauce, sugar, oil and coriander in a food processor and whizz until just about smooth. 
4. Slice the rested pork thickly and top with nam jim to serve.
5. Serve with steamed rice (3 ProPoints for 1/2 cup) or with blanched broccoli or bok choy (or both) for 0 ProPoints and a feeling of utter virtuousness. 

Hainanese Chicken

Mmmm, Hainanese chicken. I absolutely loved eating this as a lunchtime treat in Taipei - if you happen to be reading this and physically in Taipei, my favourite store was at 221 Zhongxiao E. Road, Sec. 3 just along from Exit One of Zhongxiao Fuxing MRT station - but sadly as you might imagine, these versions of the dish aren't exactly waistline friendly. So imagine my surprise and delight when the Weight Watchers' Cook it Quick recipe book (pg. 74) had an 8 ProPoints version of it! I had to try it, even though it isn't technically Gordon. Here's how it went down...




Serves 4  |  8 ProPoints per serve (includes rice)

2 cups (500ml) chicken stock
1 whole star anise
1 cinnamon stick
2 tbs soy sauce
1 tbs shaoxing cooking wine
600g lean chicken breast (skin off)
1 tbs peanut oil (or cooking oil)
3 green shallots, thinly sliced
1 cup bean sprouts
1 long red chilli, de-seeded and finely sliced
1 bunch gai lan (can substitute spinach)
2 cups of rice, cooked

1. Wash your rice and set to cook in your handy-dandy rice cooker. If you don't own one of these, immediately leave what you're doing and get one. 
2. Combine the stock, star anise, cinnamon stick, soy sauce, shaoxing wine and 1 cup (250ml) of boiling water together in a fairly large saucepan. Bring this to the boil, then simmer for 5 minutes. 
3. If the chicken breasts are of the heftier variety, cut them lengthwise to make sure all meat cooks through at the same rate. Add the chicken to the stock mix and simmer for five minutes. 
4. Once you're confident the chicken is not going to give someone salmonella, remove from the heat, cover and put aside. Reserve the stock. 
5. Heat a wok over a high heat and add half of the oil (1/2 tbs) and heat until glossy and shimmering. Chuck in the sliced shallots, bean sprouts and sliced chilli and stir fry for one minute.  Prepare for a fragrance sensation to overtake your nostrils and for this to bring anyone else in the same house (or street for that matter) piling into the kitchen to ooh and ahh over what's for dinner. Once cooked, remove and put aside in a small bowl.
6. Reheat the wok with the rest of the oil (1/2 tbs) and heat for 30 seconds before chucking in the gai lan (or spinach) and stir fry until the stems are tender and the leaves are just wilted. 
7. Thinly slice your cooked chicken breast in readiness for serving.
8. To serve, divide the rice amongst the bowls. On top of this layer the gai lan, then the chicken. Pour over the reserved broth, then top it all off with the shallot, bean sprout and chilli mix.