Mango Ice cream without machine

In the summer I could not live without ice cream.it is summer in New Zealand now and the tropical fruits like mangoes are so cheap. I usually bought quite a lot of ripe mangoes so I thought I should do something with them.

Rad Na: Noodles with Tofu in Thick Gravy

I still abstain from meat and I'm planing to do this for a couple months.I'm neither vegetarian nor vegan though, but I do make an effort to abstain from meat during Lent.

During this period, I'm going to cook and explore vegan/vegetarian food. One of the Thai vegetarian dishes that I can think of is "Rad Na" - Thai fried noodles in Thick Gravy. It is a popular food street dish. Normally, you can add any kind of meat, but I just add Tofu. This dish is simple and easy to cook.




Yield: serves 2 people 

Ingredients

• 1 block firm Tofu, sliced
• 200 g dried or fresh rice noodles
• 2 cups all sort of vegetables (such as carrots,gailan ,broccoli) chopped coarsely
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped finely

Sauce

• 1 tsp ground white pepper
• 1 tbsp light soy sauce
• 1 tbsp dark soy sauce
• 2 tbsp Tapioca flour or corn flour, mixed with water
• 4 cups Vegetable stock soup or water

Methods

1.Drizzle 1 tbs vegetable oil into the medium heat pan, add fresh rice noodles and add 2 tbs thick soy sauce,stir until the noodled are covered in sauce or they are slightly charred.Set aside. If you have dried noodles,you will need to boil the noodles for couple minutes until they are soft.Then put the boiled noodles into cool water for a second, drain the water and then fry noodles in a pan.

2.Cut tofu into strips,use the paper towel to absorb the excess water from tofu.

3.Heat a pan over medium high heat,add oil and cut tofu. Fry tofu until golden brown. Remove from the pan and place on a dish with paper towel to absorb any excess grease. 

4.To make thick gravy sauce, add oil and chopped garlic into the medium hot pot.Saute garlic until golden brown.Then add vegetable stock soup or water into the pot, add light soy sauce, dark soy sauce and white pepper. Adjust seasonings to your taste. Mix tapioca flour with water and add into the pot, stir well.Finally add vegetables. The sauce should be thick and slightly sticky.

5.To serve,spoon the fried noodles onto a serving plate, pour the sauce on top and add fried tofu. If desired, adding Sriracha sauce for an extra kick of spicy.

Hope you enjoy this recipe.

Laab Tofu

Around October each year, Many Buddhists, especially Thai-Chinese in Thailand abstain from eating meat and do penance during this month.Some Buddhists also abstain from other food/things that bring pleasure such as alcohol. 

Mango with Coconut Sticky Rice

Now it's summer in New Zealand. Mangoes are quite cheap which mostly came from south-america. When I see these mangoes it just remind me a famous Thai dessert " Mango Sticky Rice" 

Banana Yogurt Muffins

I think most people like and dislike eating some sorts of food.I don't bananas. I think the taste a little bit weird and I also don't like the mushy texture of bananas. However, my husband does like bananas so he is the one who always buy bananas. 

Fish Cakes

Thai Fish Cakes

Every time I have fish cakes or see them, it always brings back my childhood memories. When I was a child I often had fish cakes with rice after school. My mom would cut fish cakes into small pieces and add some fish sauce.It is one of the first dishes that I learned how to cook.

Spring Rolls

Spring Rolls

Spring Rolls or lumpia are a very popular dish for all across Asian cuisine e.g. Chinese, Indonesian or Thai. Many people love to eat this dish and they often think it is complicated to cook. Actually,I think it's not that hard but it takes time to prepare. If you want to know how can I cook this follow me... 

Piggy Pineapple Tarts

The first time I saw these little piggy cookies from a Facebook friend, I thought to myself I have to make these. They are so adorable! During I am waiting for my studies start, I have plenty of time so I decide to bake these cutie little piggy cookie tarts.I adapt from a tart recipe from my baking cookbook. I use simple ingredients and I make a dozen cookies.

Beetroot Brownie

Beetroot Brownie

I've to say I love the idea of being self-sufficient.Grow your own food and veggies.I grow my own veggies. In this summer, I've got a lot of beetroot. 

I always cooked beetroot in a salad dish. I know it is a little bit boring. Until, I watched a U.K cooking show "River cottage" and was on-air in New Zealand. It inspired me to cook this recipe.

Crunchy Caramel Popcorn with Cashew Nuts

Crunchy Caramel Popcorn with Cashew Nuts

A few week ago,I chatted with my Thai friend. She told me about "the popular popcorn brand from Singapore".I'll mention the name here :-) She told me that some Thai people(mostly women)are so crazy about that brand. They pre-ordered popcorn from the people who travel to Singapore.OMG! It sounds crazy,isn't it?

Actually, I'd would love to try some but I live so far away and I am careful with the money I spend :-P

Popcorn is not too difficult to make, why not just make it yourself. I experimented with adapting an existing recipe. So here you go...homemade caramel popcorn. It is crunchy and tasty.