NatCooking

Is this Auckland’s best pie?! 🤔🥧

How many of you remember this series from back in the day?

8 Things I Hope to teach my son before my time on Earth is up 🥺🙏

Happy Birthday, Alex! Being a dad is one of the greatest joys in my life. Almost as much as being a husband, but certainly less stressful 🤣 Love you son, thank you for the village that surrounds our children!

I got to play a gig for the first time in YEARS 😭🙏 I have basically stopped playing music because my hearing loss has become so significant. I'm saving for hearing aids which I hope will help, but ultimately I'm so grateful that I've been able to "pivot" in my content creation journey. Thank you all for being here! Thank you to the for bringing us out of retirement 🤣but more importantly for the amazing
advocacy for us XLHers!

I’m learning to make 1 dish from every country in the world! This week: Miso Ramen with braised chicken featuring the amazingly talent teen chef, Kiara 🇯🇵

🍜Miso Ramen (serves 2)

Ingredients

Aromatics:
1 clove garlic
Spring onion stalks (abt 3 stalks)
3 tbsp of lard (or cooking oil)

Broth:
350 ml water
50ml milk
2 tbsp miso paste
1 tsp peanut butter
1 tsp tobanjan sauce (chilli paste - optional as spicy!)
1 tsp crushed garlic
1 tsp mentsuyu (or sub soy sauce)
1 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp sesame seeds
Salt and pepper to taste
1 tsp torigara soup (sub chicken stock)
2-3 tbsp of cashew nuts

Chicken:
200g (abt 2) skinless boneless chicken thighs
Thumb sized ginger (sliced)
2 tbsp soy sauce
2.5 tsp sake
1 tsp sugar
100ml water (just under ½ cup) plus extra as needed during cooking

Eggs:
2 eggs
3 tbsp soy sauce
2-3 tbsp sake
2 tbsp mirin
1.5 tbsp vinegar
1 tbsp crushed ginger

Toppings:
Menma (fermented bamboo shoots)
3 tbsp corn kernels
Spring onion (greens)
2 ajitsuke tamago (ramen egg)
Nori (seaweed)
The Noodles
300 g fresh ramen noodles (or packet noodles)

Method
-Place chicken thighs onto a clean board, cover with cling film, and tenderise to flatten evenly.
-Roll the chicken tightly into a log shape and secure with cooking twine.
-In a medium pot, add the chicken along with ginger slices, soy sauce, sake, sugar, and water.
-Cover and bring to a gentle boil.
-Reduce to a simmer and cook until the chicken is fully cooked through, adding extra water if needed as the liquid reduces.
-Allow chicken to cool slightly, then transfer into a zip-lock bag with the cooking liquid. Refrigerate to marinate further (optional)
-Soft boil your egg and marinade in a mixture (see ingredients) for at least an hour
-Heat lard/oil in a pot on med heat
-Add garlic & spring onion stalks. Cook until browned slightly
-Blend all broth ingredients in a food processor until smooth.
-Add the processed broth into the pan, bring to a gentle simmer then turn off the heat
-Cook the noodles according to your specific noodle type, drain & rinse under cold water
-Place noodles in bowl, ladle over broth, add sliced chicken & other toppings, serve hot

Turn a cheap can of fish into a beautiful meal with this Samoan classic, Faiai Eleni. 🇼🇸 It’s canned mackerel in a thick coconut sauce. Shout out to my friend for this one! Recipe ⬇️

RECIPE
• 2 cans of tin fish (Eleni)
• 2 cups of Kara coconut cream
• 1 can of other brand coconut cream
• 1 large onion finely chopped
• Salt to taste
• Small amount of chopped chillies (optional)

Method

1. Open the cans of tin fish and drain the liquid
2. Add it in a bowl with coconut cream
3. Add chopped onions
4. Mix well and add salt
5. Transfer them into coconut shells or foils or a baking dish.
6. Bake in the oven at 160 fan bake for 30-45 mins til desired thickness

Korean chicken pancake Padakjeon (파닭전) 🇰🇷 by 🙏🫡 Delicious!

I’m making one dish from every country in the world! This week it’s Larb G*i from Laos 🇱🇦 with Food, Stuff & Things! Recipe ⬇️

Ingredients:
500g chicken thighs
1/4 cup uncooked glutinous rice (also called sticky rice) to make toasted rice powder
1-2 tsp homemade chilli powder (or sub with chilli flakes)
1 shallot
Big handful of coriander
Big handful of mint leaves
Big handful of sawtooth coriander (if you can’t find this, just leave it out)
2 tbsp fish sauce
2 tbsp lime juice
1 lettuce & 1 cucumber to serve

Method
Cook chicken thighs in an air fryer at 180 degrees for about 15-18mins, until chicken is just cooked through (you can also pan fry in a non stick pan on a medium heat until cooked through) or in the oven at 160 for about 20-25 mins
Prepare rice powder - add rice to a small pan on a medium high heat for a few minutes to toast it, stirring every so often to make sure it’s evenly cooked and not burning. It should be a golden colour and smell nutty when done. Add rice to a blender/coffee grinder/mortar and pestle and grind into a powder. The texture should be similar to fine breadcrumbs.
If making your own chilli powder - take a small handful of dried chillies to the blender and blend into a fine powder.
Prepare herbs - finely slice shallot, and roughly chop coriander and mint leaves
Once chicken is cooked, finely dice it and add to a large mixing bowl.
Add herbs to the bowl, then add in fish sauce, lime juice, 1-2 tsp chilli powder (depending on spice preference), 2-3 tbsp of toasted rice powder and mix
Taste your dish - it should be a good balance of salty, sour and spicy. If it need more salt - add a bit more fish sauce, if it’s needs more acidity - add some more lime juice, and if it needs more spice add more chilli.
Garnish with more fresh herbs and toasted rice powder if you like!

✅30 minute dinners for under 30 bux

Part 1 of 30 - Creamy Chicken Pasta 🍝

2 large chicken breast diced
1 onion diced
5 garlic cloves
80g butter
2 tbsp flour
1.5 cup chicken stock
2 cup cream
1 cup grated cheese
1 tbsp oregano
2 tsp garlic powder
1 pack of fettuccine pasta

-Heat a large frying pan & oil on high heat. Add the diced chicken breast and sear chicken for colour (doesn’t need to be fully cooked yet). Remove from pan & set aside.
-Reduce the heat to medium and add the butter to the pan. Once melted, add the diced onion and minced garlic. Cook for 2–3 minutes until softened and fragrant.
-Sprinkle in the flour and stir well to coat everything evenly. Cook for 1 minute to remove the raw flour taste.
-Slowly pour in the chicken stock and cream, stirring continuously until smooth.
-Add the oregano, garlic powder, and extra salt and pepper to taste. Bring the sauce to a gentle simmer and cook for about 4 minutes, stirring occasionally, until it begins to thicken.
While the sauce is simmering, bring a large pot of well-salted water to the boil. Add the fettuccine and cook for about 5 minutes, or until slightly undercooked. Reserve a little pasta water, then add the pasta to the sauce and toss well to coat. If needed, add a splash of reserved pasta water to loosen the sauce.
-Stir the grated cheese into the sauce until melted and smooth. Return the chicken to the pan and simmer for another 3–4 minutes until the chicken is fully cooked and the sauce is creamy.
-Add spinach leaves & cheery tomatoes, cover & simmer for 2 minutes until spinach is wilted a bit
-Taste & adjust seasoning if needed

I’m making recipes from my late grandma’s recipe book 🥹 Mama’s Apple Muffins are so super simple and a great way to use up old apple you have lying around.

Mama’s Apple Muffins:

2 Cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
½ cup sugar
50g melted butter
¾ cup milk
2 eggs (beaten)
1 tsp vanilla essence
1 apple (peeled, cored & chopped)

TOPPING:
4 tsp sugar
1 tsp cinnamon

-Preheat oven to 180c on bake setting
-Mix all ingredients together in a large bowl (except for the topping ingredients)
-Spoon mixture into greased muffin tray (makes 12)
-In a small bowl mix together the topping ingredients and sprinkle over the muffin mixture in the tray
-Bake for about 15-20 minutes
-Allow to cool a bit before removing from tray