Panko Fish with Katsu Curry Sauce

 

MUNCH RATING: 4/5

 

When I was in the Chinese supermarket with my brother and we walked past the Panko breadcrumbs I told him that’s what is used to make Chicken Katsu Curry like in Wagamamas. So he asked how do I make the curry sauce and I told him I use the Golden Curry sauce mix (Medium Hot). So he bought some, but I’m not sure if he’s used it yet. So this recipe is for you Greg!

 

 

In the packet there are 2 foil-sealed blocks of the sauce mix and each block has 4 squares. The instructions say a whole packet will make enough sauce to serve 5, but I use just 1 square to make enough sauce for myself and Steve. I calculated the amount of water is 175ml to create a nice thick sauce.

 

 

Chicken Katsu is traditionally deep fried, but I don’t really like deep frying so I always shallow fry for about 5-10 minutes until crispy and golden brown and cooked through. Fish cooks a lot quicker and only needs a few minutes each side. After I learned my new trick to breadcrumb chicken using only oil (instead of using flour and egg first - see Creamy Chicken Kiev) I used the same method for the fish and it worked really well.

 

Steve likes his curry with brown rice, but I decided to have some roasted squash and sweet potatoes with mine.

 

• Serves: 2

 

Ingredients:

• 2 fillets of white fish (I used tilapia), cut into smaller pieces if very large
• Olive oil
• 2 handfuls of Panko breadcrumbs
• Vegetable oil
• 1 square of Golden Curry sauce
• 175ml hot water

 

Directions:

1. Coat the fish (or chicken) with the olive oil, then coat well with the breadcrumbs.
2. Heat a few Tablespoons of vegetable oil in a large frying pan and then add the fish when the oil is hot (test the temperature by dropping a few breadcrumbs in and if they sizzle then it’s ready). Fry the fish for 4-5 minutes on each side until golden brown and crispy.
3. Meanwhile, make the curry sauce by putting the hot water in a small saucepan, then add the square of curry sauce and whisk constantly over a medium heat until the square has dissolved and you have a nice thick sauce.

Profiteroles (Choux Pastry)

 

MUNCH RATING: 4/5

 

After watching the episode of Good Eats called ‘Choux Shine’ I decided to follow Alton Brown’s advice of using bread flour when making choux pastry. I didn’t use his recipe though, I just used bread flour instead of plain flour in a recipe I already had, because his recipe makes 48 profiteroles and I didn’t want that many. I’m not sure the bread flour makes a huge difference, but they did puff up in the oven and didn’t deflate when I took them out, which is the problem that some people have.

 

 

I’m not a huge fan of cream, so I filled them with ice cream instead. The chocolate sauce is really gorgeous and so easy to make. This quantity of sauce will be enough for 6-8 people, so I just put the remainder in the fridge where it can stay for 3 days.

 

I will try Alton’s recipe next time, as this recipe only makes 12 and they went down very well, so I’m sure that more will be needed for next time!

 

• Makes: 12 profiteroles
• Oven temperature: Gas mark 7/425°F/220°C then reduce to Gas mark 5/375°F/190°C
• You will need: a deep saucepan, a baking sheet lined with parchment or Magic Non-Stick Liner.

 

Ingredients:

FOR THE CHOUX PASTRY

• 25g butter
• 150ml water
• 50g plain or bread flour
• 1 large egg yolk
• 1 egg, beaten

FOR THE CHOCOLATE SAUCE

• 100g plain chocolate (I used Asda Value)
• 150ml double cream
• 2 Tablespoons golden syrup

FOR THE FILLING

• Vanilla ice cream (I used Carte D'Or)

 

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to Gas mark 7/425°F/220°C.
2. Sift the flour onto a piece of greaseproof paper.
3. Put the butter and water into a deep saucepan and heat until the butter has melted. Bring to the boil.
4. Then add all the flour at once and quickly lift off the heat, beating hard with a wooden spoon until you get a smooth, thick paste that comes away from the sides of the saucepan (about 30-40 seconds). If necessary replace the pan over the heat and beat for a few minutes.
5. With the pan off the heat, add the egg yolk and beat really well until it is incorporated (it might seem like it has curdled and won’t mix in, but persevere!), then add the beaten egg a little at a time (you might not need it all) beating continuously. The mixture should be thick and shiny and be able to stand up on its own.
6. Place the choux pastry into a piping bag with a 1cm plain nozzle and pipe blobs in a circular motion onto the lined baking sheet.
7. Bake for 10 minutes at Gas mark 7/425°F/220°C, then reduce to Gas mark 5/375°F/190°C for 20 minutes, until they are golden brown and feel dry to the touch.
8. Remove from the oven, then use a skewer to poke a hole in the bottom of each one to allow the steam to escape and place on a wire rack to cool completely.
9. Split the profiteroles in half, then sandwich the halves together with a generous teaspoon of vanilla ice cream.
10. To make the sauce: Place the chocolate, double cream and golden syrup in a small saucepan and gently heat until the chocolate has melted and the sauce is smooth and glossy. Pour over the profiteroles.

 

COOK’S NOTES:

• I recommend watching Alton’s ‘Choux Shine’ episode to get a really good idea of how to make choux pastry, as he shows you what the texture should be like. It’s also quite an amusing episode!
• Since my piping bag busted, I used a plastic food bag instead (like Alton suggests) and it worked really well.
• I made the pastry by hand, which was fine, but when I try Alton’s recipe I will use a mixer because it is a much bigger quantity and it will be easier to incorporate all those eggs!

‘Choux Shine’ episode Part 1

‘Choux Shine’ episode Part 2

 

Hollandaise Sauce

MUNCH RATING: 3/5

Steve and I didn’t know what to have for lunch the other day. We settled on poached eggs and then I suggested Eggs Benedict as I fancied having a go at making hollandaise sauce. We didn’t have any ham or smoked salmon though, so it’s not a proper Eggs Benedict!

Our poached eggs went a bit wrong as we’ve never been able to master making them into perfect balls of egg, they always spread out in the pan! They still tasted good though and the yolks were nice and runny. I would like to buy some of those Poach Pods from Lakeland as I’ve heard they’re really good.

Anyway, the hollandaise came out really good, except I used salted butter when I should have used unsalted, but we didn’t have any. Thus the sauce was incredibly salty on its own, but with the plain toast and the poached egg it worked really well.

This amount of sauce makes quite a lot, enough to generously serve 4 people. So we had a lot of sauce leftover and I used some to jazz up the mashed potato topping of my Shepherds Pie.

I have to say that this is a quick and simple way to make hollandaise sauce and there are loads of different recipes and methods. I quite like the look of Marco Pierre White’s foolproof method on the Knorr website.

Ingredients:

• 4 egg yolks (you can freeze the egg whites and use them for meringues)
• 2 Tablespoons water
• 175g unsalted butter, melted
• lemon juice
• salt and white pepper

Directions:

1. In a large mixing bowl whisk together the egg yolks and the 2 Tablespoons of water over a pan of simmering water (don’t let the bottom of the bowl touch the water). The mixture should look foamy and lighter in colour.
2. Next, very slowly to begin with, whisk in the melted butter. Whilst continuing to whisk, add the lemon juice, salt and pepper to taste.
3. Continue to whisk constantly with the heat very low, until the sauce thickens.
4. Serve immediately or keep warm for up to 30 minutes before serving.

Tzatziki

The first time I tried tzatziki was in Rhodes in Greece with some fantastic meze. I wasn't sure if anything I could create would taste as good as we're lacking essential holiday ingredients of sun, sea and sand in the UK but I was very impressed that this tasted quite authentic.

I first made this as an accompaniment to spatchcock roast chicken, which is a great way to roast chicken as it cooks faster and results in lovely juicy meat.

For the tzatziki I adapted a recipe from Rachel Allen's book "Rachel's Favourite Food for Friends". Her original recipe included 1 heaped tsp freshly chopped mint and 2 tbsp cream but I didn't have any so I left them out.

The recipe serves 10-12 but any leftovers can be stored in the fridge for a few days.

1 crisp cucumber, halved lengthways, deseeded & diced into 3/4 cm dice
salt & pepper
dash of lemon juice
2 cloves garlic
450ml Greek Yoghurt

1. Put the cucumber dice in a sieve, sprinkle with salt and allow to drain for about 30 minutes.
2. Dry the cucumber on kitchen paper. Put it in a bowl and mix together with the garlic, lemon and the yoghurt.
3. Season to taste.