meemalee

It's supposed to be Summer, so why are the gutters along my rooftop overflowing with rain? I'm cold, I'm miserable, and I want something to cheer me up.  I wander into the kitchen, and I get a pack of mixed seafood from the freezer, some kimchi from the fridge, a lime, some chives, a chilli, and a packet of udon.  I combine the lot with some vegetable broth and, in minutes, a magical broth is formed. Suddenly it doesn't seem so bad that the sun won't come out to play. Seafood and Kimchi Noodles Serves 2 500ml vegetable stock (I like Marigold bouillon) 400g fresh udon noodles (~ 2 packets) 300g mixed seafood (frozen or fresh, cooked or raw - you can just use prawns if you prefer) 1 tbsp caster sugar 1 tbsp good fish sauce (Three Crabs or Hung Thanh Phu Quoc) 4 tbsp kimchi, chopped ( easy recipe here  or buy ready-made) Handful of chives, chopped One lime, halved 1 red finger chilli, chopped (optional) Combine the stock with the sugar in a...

NOODLE! by MiMi Aye A while ago, I was asked to write a book about noodles as part of a wonderful series called 100 Great Recipes published by Absolute Press .  I'm a bit of a noodle geek (though by no means an expert), and there's nothing I like more than sticking my face into a big bowl of the stuff, so my first thought was, "Amazing! I'd love to do this". However, I have a full-time job, so I ummed and ahhed for a while, thinking I wouldn't have the chance to work on it.  Then I decided that, as I was pregnant, I could just write the thing whilst I was on maternity leave.  This was a mistake. She tried to stop me writing this book, but failed. Roll forward a year, and after blood, sweat, tears and many, many sleepless nights, here we are - Noodle! * by me is out today. The dishes were styled by the wonderful Genevieve Taylor and stunning photos taken by Mike Cooper . Forgive me for quoting the official press release, but: Pop...

Tarragon Sugared Doughnuts and Pink Peppercorn Ice Cream I am contrary. If someone tells me to go left, I feel myself veering to the right (this is possibly why I don't drive, and you should all be grateful)*. So when Lurpak sent me a product from their new Cooks' Range - Lurpak Clarified Butter (or ghee as it's often known) with some tarragon and some pink peppercorns and then suggested I might use them to make a nice steak, my first thought was, "I don't think so". In fact, I'm contrary enough that I thought I'd make a dessert instead, and as any fule kno, I don't do puds (unless they're as ridiculously easy as the Burmese New Year snack known as mont lone yay paw ). So anyway, I sat staring at the wee tub of ghee and the little baggies of herbs, and I racked my brain and I came up with the following - Tarragon Sugared Doughnuts with Pink Peppercorn Ice Cream. It occurred to me that tarragon is sweet and fragra...

Mont Lone Yay Paw - Sweet Floating Rice Balls Burmese New Year begins this weekend - a week long Buddhist festival which is known as Thingyan in Burma aka Myanmar. Three of the signs that signify that Thingyan has begun are that people start chucking water at each other indiscriminately in the spirit of mischievous fun, the sunshine yellow padauk flowers are blossoming, and the sweet snack known as Mont Lone Yay Paw  (or mote lone yay paw ) is dished up to everyone. A traditional Burmese dessert, similar to Malaysia's onde onde , China's tangyuan and Indonesia's klepon (and, I suspect, influenced by all these) ,   mont lone yay paw is to Thingyan what plum pudding is to Christmas Day - ie if you're having a pud to celebrate the occasion, you wouldn't dream of serving up anything else. The name mont lone yay paw literally means "round snack on the water" in Burmese, as it's made by boiling up balls of r...

Smoky Bacon and Watercress Noodle Soup There's a sudden chill in the Spring air, and I feel like I need warming up, but I don't want to indulge in something too stodgy.  This noodle soup is sweet, smoky and slightly sharp - which makes for a satisfying, but light and refreshing dish.  It takes no time at all to make and uses mainly store cupboard ingredients, so is perfect for a week-night meal.  This dish is a recent invention, but it's already become a favourite at home.  You can switch the leafy herbs according to what's available - try mizuna, peashoots, or a friend of mine made a lovely suggestion of using wild garlic which is in season right now. Smoky Bacon and Watercress Noodles  ( this also appeared in The Guardian's COOK supplement on 15 March 2014 ) Serves 2 Ingredients 6 rashers of smoked streaky bacon 500ml chicken or vegetable stock 2 tbsp caster sugar 300g fresh udon or rice noodles 2 tbsp light soy sauc...

Burmese Meatball Curry A-thar-lohn-hin aka meatball curry is eaten throughout Burma, but especially in Upper Burma. It is usually made with goat ( seit-thar ), but beef ( a-mair-thar ) is also popular. Lamb makes an excellent substitute, although is uncommonly used in Burma, partly because the Burmese word for "lamb" is thoh which also sounds like our word for "rotten". It's also good using 50:50 pork and beef mince, and the higher up you travel in Burma, the more likely pork will feature in the mix. Traditionally served with steamed rice, you could also eat it with naan bread, or even serve on noodles for a Burmese take on spaghetti and meatballs. Burmese Meatball Curry (A-thar-lohn hin) Serves 4-6 For the sauce 4 medium onions, diced  2 cloves garlic, chopped 1 tsp turmeric 4 tbsp groundnut or other neutral oil 400g can chopped tomatoes  3 red finger chillies  1 tbsp sweet paprika  2 tbsp fish sauce - good quality - I like Three ...