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Zimbabwean and African Oxtail Stew | National Dish Recipe

Wayne @NationalDish — Tue, 17 Jan 2023 14:09:43 +0000

Oxtail Stew, especially when coming from Africa, is insane.

Some people get a little weird about cooking with oxtail – which I sort of get, sort of (I’m being a little polite), but they wouldn’t have an issue with oxtail soup from a can, and it tastes way better when you make it fresh.

Everyone knows, anything you cook low and slow, on the bone, is gonna be awesome, this African oxtail stew recipe is no different.

In terms of the country of origin for this oxtail stew recipe, I could have gone British, it’s very traditional. Oxtail is a fascinating ingredient, used all over the world and Sub-Saharan Africa in particular is a massive consumer and I love African cuisine, which is only going to get more popular, plus it has some spice, which = winner. I’ve tried a few and this one is from Zimbabwe.

I’ve said it’s really easy and it is. 30 mins prep and then let is sit in the oven for 3 hours. Before we get going, whack the oven on full and pop a cast iron casserole dish in there – do this first, put the kettle on too for beef stock.

Oxtail Stew Recipe

Oven is on and the casserole dish should be in there getting nice and hot - we'll roast of the oxtails for 20 minutes before adding the stew ingredients and then you can go to the pub for a couple of hours.

CourseMain Dish
CuisineAfrican, Zimbabwean
KeywordAfrica, Oxtail, Stew

Servings4 people

Prep Time30 minutes

Cook Time3 hours

Ingredients

650grams oxtailcut into chunks - as they come is fine
2whole white onionroughly chopped
2whole bay leaves
3 birdseye chilliessliced
2tbls plain flourto dust the oxtail
500ml beef stockboil the kettle up front and get this ready
3cloves garliccrushed or finely chopped
1tin chopped tomatoes400g tin will do it
2 green pepperde-seeded and chopped into handy chunks
1tsp curry powderyup, gives it a slightly different angle - this one is rather important
1tsp thymefresh is ideal but dried will do - just don't leave it out
2tbls tomato puree

Instructions

Ok, before we start chopping everything up, let's sort the oxtail out. The casserole dish should be in the oven and either getting very hot or already is. In this order, oil the oxtail and then season generously with Maldon Sea Salt and dust with the flour.
Pull the hot casserole dish out of the oven and put on the hob, add a couple of tablespoons of oil and then add all the oxtail (or in batches). Put the lid on and place back into the oven for 20 minutes - no more though, lets not burn the oxtail. During this time you can prep the other ingredients - do the beef stock first. You can seal it on the hob too, but I found this way gives the Oxtail a better finish.
Pull the casserole pot out of the oven and turn the heat down to 140 degrees. Remove the oxtail and put aside and place the casserole dish on hob, medium heat. The Oxtail should be gnarly leaving behind some tasty fat for the next step.
Add all the onions and fry for 5 minutes and then add the garlic, chillies, green pepper, thyme, curry powder and tomato puree. Stir and fry for another few minutes, gently until soft. Then add all the beef stock and bayleaves.
Give it a good stir and add the oxtail back in, push below the surface of the sauce (top up with water if you need to) and replace the lid. Place into the oven for 3 hours at 140 degrees. Check it hourly and prevent it drying out by adding more water.
You'll then have a deep bath for the Oxtail, ready to go in the oven - you can then chill. Won't hurt to check it half way through, to make sure you haven't lost too much liquid.
After three hours the meat should have been falling off the bones and you should have plenty of sauce - it serves wonderfully with white rice, but that's up to you - why not just grab a bowl and crusty bread?
Thank you Zimbabwe, Africa

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How do you make Vietnamese Pho? | National Dish of Vietnam

Wayne @NationalDish — Wed, 05 Sep 2018 13:00:37 +0000

Serve Vietnamese Pho will all the different elements ‘on the side’ and then build your bowl

There seems to be Vietnamese restaurants popping up all over the place – and for good reason, the food is the nuts. How do you make Vietnamese Pho (pronounced fur)?

This is one National Dish we don’t mind posting, we did this as part of a banquet, my good chum @fp_in_the_kitchen and I. I’ll focus on the Pho here though and post the other dishes separately.

Get ready for some good food from ‘The Nam‘, Cheltenham…that’s fucking terrible…

How do you make Vietnamese Pho? | National Dish of Vietnam

This is a single recipe that was part of an entire banquet - for 4-6. We’re focusing on Vietnamese Beef Phở Gỏi cuốn. The cooking times won't require you to be working non-stop - this is all about the prep. You need to prep ahead - OK?

CourseDips and bits, Main Dish, Starter
CuisineVietnamese

Servings4-6 People

Prep Time30 Mins

Cook Time10 Hours

Ingredients

1bone of beefget this from your butcher
2good size sirloin steak
1large bunch fresh corianderfinely chop the stalks and set aside (you'll need the leaves too)
2whole limecut into quarters
1litre beef stock
1cup bean sprouts
1large thumb fresh gingerpeeled and sliced finely
3medium white onionfinely chopped
5cloves garlicfinely sliced
4large fresh red chillisliced, don't both to de-seed (unless you really want to)
6tbls dark soy sauce
2tbls fish sauce
350grams noodlesyour choice, but flat rice noodles is the norm
2tsp Chinese five spice
8chopped spring onionstry and slice them at an extreme angle, they look cool
1bowl full mange toutuse any bean you like, sugar snaps would also be amaze
1handful Chinese greens

Instructions

Right, now the prep for this easy as hell, but after that there is a 10 hour wait - and it's worth it. If you want to make a real Vietnamese Pho, packed with flavour, you gotta do it this way. Nothing wrong with leaving it over night by the way, the longer the better.
You're gonna need some beef bones, any decent butcher should be able to sort you out with these. My guy did good. Get the oven going, place the bone(s) into a roasting tray (only needs to be big enough to take it), chop up an onion or two and some lemongrass, oil it and pop in the oven for about 20 mins at 200.
Whilst the beef bone is building up some colour, add some oil to a stock pot or saucepan on a medium high heat and then add the remaining white onion, garlic (hold a little back), two thirds of the chilli, ginger, coriander stalks and Chinese five spice - give a stir and let the onions soften before.
Whip the beef bone out of the oven, it should be gnarly and brown, drop it (along with the onion and lemon grass) into the stock pot and then add enough beef stock to cover the bone. Add the fish sauce. Bring to the boil, turn it down to super super low simmer, lid on and leave it. For AT LEAST 10 HOURS.
Whilst that's going on, use this time to marinate your sirloin steaks. In a dish that you can cover, add soy sauce, garlic and lime juice and drench the steaks in it - cover with cling film and refrigerate.
Now you should have a deep broth which you'll add a load of goodies that we'll prep now. Everything will be separate, you and your guests will build their own. You'll need some Ramen or noodles bowls. Strain your stock and add it back to the pan. if you want it nice and clear, do it twice through clean muslin. Now keep it hot (do not boil).
Ok, so we're gonna have some sirloin steak, some noodles, some mange tout, bean sprouts, spring onions, coriander leaves - you can totally go off piste here, char-grilled baby pak choy would be the nuts.
To avoid running your ass off in the final moment, firstly prep the stuff that can be served cold, lay the table, put something down to take the hot stock pot - get everything ready, so as you cook and heat things up, you can just serve and sit with your guests and enjoy it. Just think it through for a mo - it's not hard - make life easy.
The main event is the steak, for that you need a very hot pan (I prefer flat bottom not griddle - bring more of the meat into contact with the heat, resulting in more gnarlyness). Get some boiling water on for the mange tout, place a sieve over that and put the greens in, cover that with a lid. Only a few mins.
Prep the noodles to time too. We're gonna cook this steak rare - hot pan, pop em in, season with some salt and LEAVE THEM THE HELL ALONE for a few mins. When you can't bear it any longer, lift and look for decent amount of charring and flip em. This will be for a 2 mins tops probably.
On a piece of wood, whip the steaks out and slice them. Take to the table.
Everything is done - build your bowl with noodles first, then stock (provide a ladle) and add what you want, finishing with a few strips of steak and sprinkle with sprint onions.

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Cook the perfect Beef Brisket and pull it with a fork | National Dish Recipe

Wayne @NationalDish — Sun, 18 Mar 2018 18:22:52 +0000

You know very well, all that colour and those soft looking vegetables – the perfect Beef Brisket is bathing in there.

Some people find roasting and cooking beef a real challenge, ending up with a disappointingly tough result, especially a beef brisket.

All that is usually missing though, is a little patience and foresight.

Brisket is a cheap (although annoyingly, that is changing) cut of meat from the lower front chest of the cow, just above the front legs – so it gets worked hard and is therefore naturally tough.

Cook it right though and something miraculous happens.

Cook the perfect Beef Brisket and pull it with a fork | National Dish Recipe

Once you have cooked this, you can do any number of things with the finished result. You'll be able to pull it apart with a fork, leaving you with strands of the softest beef you can imagine. Run a hot sauce through it and shove it in a roll or just use the cooking liquor as a sauce, put in a bowl and cover (mashed potato would be amaze with it). You'll need a casserole dish - get that on to a hob, high heat with a little oil and put the oven on 140c (no more).

CourseMain Dish
CuisineBritish

Servings6 People

Prep Time15 Minutes

Cook Time5 Hours

Ingredients

3whole white onionpeeled them all and slice two, cut the third in to quarters and leave seperate
2fresh carrotpeel them if you like, don't have to - but chop them in to chunks
2sticks celerychop into chunks
350ml aleuse your fav, even Guinness will do (not lager though)
500ml beef stockdepending on the size of the joint and pot - you'll only add enough to just cover the meat
1kgbrisket of beef
2tablespoons tomato puree
2whole bay leaves
1decent handful fresh thyme

Instructions

Casserole dish should be on the hob - if you don't have a hob proof dish, use a pan for this and add to an oven proof version. Run oil on the beef and season very well with Maldon Sea Salt and cracked black pepper.
When the oil is hot, brown off the beef brisket on all sides and ends, remove and put to the side.
You may have been able to chop all your bits whilst browning it off, turn chop, turn chop. In which case, you can throw your sliced onions straight in with the thyme and bay leaves- you shouldn't need more salt. Give em a stir, fry for 5 and get all the beef treats off the bottom of the pan.
Put the beef back in and add the ale, tomato puree and enough stock to cover the beef brisket. Put the lid on and cook for three hours - leave it completely alone.
After three hours, carefully remove the pot and turn the beef brisket over. At the same time add all the carrots, celery and quartered onion.
I also added a spoonful of Fortnum and Mason Beef Extract - this is totally optional.
Cover and put back in for another two hours - don't touch it.
When done, remove the beef brisket from the liquor - see what I mean, you've got a ready made sauce here, almost like a stew.
Put it on a chopping board, remove any chef's string, cover with folk and let it sit for 10 mins. Then grab two forks and pull it apart. Don't forget to try some - uhhhhh.
Serve it however you planned.

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Sweet and Sour Chilli Mango Chicken | National Dish Recipe from South East Asia…maybe

Wayne @NationalDish — Fri, 08 Dec 2017 14:05:11 +0000

The colour alone of Sweet and Sour Chicken with Mango is enough. All pictures copyright of nationaldish.co.uk

– we’re not 100% sure where this dish might originate.

I accidentally made it up, but that’s not to say it doesn’t exist. So in actual fact this could be a South East Asian ‘influenced’ English dish – Changlo food! You saw it here first.

Anyway, I fancied sweet and sour chicken, but wanted to add lots of chilli and forgot to buy pineapple, so used some mango I had – hence…

It’s really good – I also knocked up a cheats Mushroom Chow Mein on the side.

Sweet and Sour Chilli Mango Chicken | National Dish Recipe from South East Asia

This recipe goes to show, that if you have some items in your fridge or pantry that don't quite fit the original recipe, you can make do and come up with something ace.

CourseMain Dish
CuisineBritish, Chango, Chinese, Thai

Servings2 People

Prep Time20 Minutes

Cook Time20 Minutes

Ingredients

Main bits

2small skinless chickenbreasts, diced into large, as square as possible, bite sized chunks (big ones ok?)
1/2 red peppercut the same size as the onion
1large white onioncut in to 1 inch square pieces, look at the pic

Sauce

1400g tin mangodrain and keep the juice and dice the mango
3tsp caster sugar
1tsp corn flour
1 or 2sliced fresh red chilli
1bunch fresh corianderfinely chop the stalks and separate from the leaves
3cloves garlicfinely sliced, chopped or crushed
3tbsp sesame seedsgently roast them in a non-stick pan
3tbsp rice wine vinegar
2tbsp ketchup
1pinch sea salt flakesMaldon please
1tsp paprika powder

Marinade

1tbls soy sauceuse the light stuff if you can
1/2tsp garlic powder
1/2tsp Chinese five spiceno more than this

Mushroom Chow Mein

1handful mushroomsthickly sliced
1packet instant noodlesenough for two people
2cloves garlicchopped

Instructions

First thing is to marinate the chicken. To do that, in a bowl add the diced chicken, soy, garlic powder and Chinese five spice - leave that whilst you do the rest - not long really.
Chop everything up and get it ready - you want decent chunks. If you're doing a side, I did a cheats Mushroom Chow Mein, chop that stuff up too.
In a hot wok, add a tiny dash of oil and seal the chicken on each side, don't cook it all the way through. When done, drain off any of the sauce you haven't cooked off and put the chicken aside and wipe clean the wok.
Whilst you were doing that, in a separate non-stick pan, roast off the sesame seeds. Don't burn them, just add a little golden colour and then remove from the pan and set aside in a cold bowl.
Back on the heat, add a little oil and add the onion, garlic, chopped coriander stalks, two thirds of the chilli and the salt. Gently fry until the onion starts to clarify (not completely though) - try to avoid any charring, you almost want things looking raw.
Next add the chicken back in along with the red pepper, paprika, rice wine vinegar, ketchup, sugar and half the sesame seeds - heat and stir for a minute. Then pour in all of the mango juice (oh yeah) - bring to the boil and sprinkle the corn flour avoiding lumpage - stir. If you feel that a little more sauce is required, carefully add some water - it will reduce and thicken moving forward.
After 10-15 minutes, you should be pretty much done, throw in the diced mango and gently stir in to the sauce, it's ready when the mango is hot.
You can do the chow mein real quick. Fry off the mushrooms with the garlic and a good glug of dark soy sauce. After a few minutes add the noodles and toss and mix everything until it's a lovely soy sauce colour and hot.
Serve it up in to something that you can keep it warm in.
The chicken will now be ready. Serve it in a bowl and sprinkle with the remaining raw chilli, sesame seeds and coriander leaves.
Thank you South East Asia stroke England...maybe...

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How do you make a healthy burrito? | Chinese crispy duck cauliflower rice burritos | National Dish

Wayne @NationalDish — Tue, 05 Sep 2017 20:49:37 +0000

How do you make a healthy burrito when they contain both bread AND rice – it’s a challenge?

Compromise – in this case, the rice – which unfortunately messes up the gluten free option. Use our simple recipe for the cauliflower rice.

Add to that, this is also a fusion of East and West – China meets Mexico and it’s superb.

How do you make a healthy burrito? | Chinese crispy duck cauliflower rice burritos

Ok, so this is only a lower than normal carb burrito, it works though - so any port in a storm.

CourseMain Dish
CuisineChinese, Mexican

Servings2 people

Prep Time15 minutes

Cook Time15 minutes

Ingredients

2whole duckbreasts, skin on
6 soft flour tortillasI used the small ones
1/2small cucumberde-seeded and cut in to little fingers
1fresh mangochopped in to 1cm cubs
1 fresh red chillichopped
1/2 lime
1 white onionsliced
1tsp Chinese five spice
1tsp cayenne pepper
1/2tsp garlic powder
1tsp sea salt flakes
1/2head cauliflowermake in to cauliflower rice using our recipe

Instructions

Cooke the perfect duck breast

If you want your duck crispy on the outside and pink in the middle, whilst keeping it from tasting like boot leather, follow this and you'll get it right every time.
Get a decent frying pan on to a medium heat, whilst it heating up you can prep the duck.
Get your breasts and rub them all over with oil - grow up.
In a bowl mix the Chinese five spice, cayenne, garlic powder and salt - then toss your breasts, covering it in the mixture. Seriously, grow up.
Put them skin side down in the pan and leave for 10 minutes - the cooking should be easy going, if it's spitting and sizzling a bit, turn down the heat. The mixture will turn very dark on the skin, that's not burnt - but keep the heat under control. Turn on your grill (broiler) - medium high.
As soon as the breasts are in the pan prepare all the other bits (drop to The test section) you have 10 minutes.
After 10 minutes, turn the breasts skin side up and place under the grill for 5 minutes - keep a little eye on it.
When done, let them rest for a few minutes before slicing it up to burrito bite sized slices. It will be crispy on the outside and pink in the middle.

The rest

So your duck should be skin side down and happy in your pan. Throw the white onions in with it, around the duck.
Halve the mango, skirting the stone. Then with a tea towel in hand, hold the mango half flesh side up and with a small knife, score it in to 1cm squares down to the skin - don't go through it (hence the tea towel, just in case you do). You can then turn it inside out and slice the cubes off in to a bowl.
Add the chopped chilli, pinch of salt and squeeze the lime juice over it all and mix with a spoon - set aside, it done.
The cauliflower rice should have been cooked already for three minutes, keep that on standby for the final three minutes just as you put the duck out to rest.
Cook your tortillas, I like a hot dry frying pan, lob em in there and let them start to puff up. Gotta do this 6 times remember, so if time is tight....use two pans at the same time.

Serving it up

All your bits and pieces should be ready to go - get them on to the table and you should be ready for the final and best bit (apart from the eating obvs) - slicing the duck.
Serve it up just like that and build the burrito anyway you like.
Thank you China and Mexico
If you liked this - give it a little share and we'd love to hear what you think, leave a comment below. Enjoy.

The post How do you make a healthy burrito? | Chinese crispy duck cauliflower rice burritos | National Dish appeared first on National Dish.

How do you make a New England, USA Mixed Fish Chowder? | What is the national dish of New England, United States?

Wayne @NationalDish — Sat, 12 Aug 2017 22:12:34 +0000

So much more than a soup New England Seafood Chowder
Photograph: Wayne Morgan – nationaldish.co.uk © 2017

You know how some things have names that sound exactly like they are? Well, a chowder is one of those things and what a wonderful thing it is. So much more than a soup and not a blitzer in sight. This chowder is based on the New England recipe, but rather than just clams I’ve lobbed in loads more goodies.

New England Mixed Seafood Chowder | We got cockles, mussels, smoked haddock, prawns, scallops oh yah

You can add whatever seafood you like to this, I grabbed what I had, it's your preference, the shellfish shells do look good for presentation though. To help, I've added my ingredients below - I was very specific, which helps you manage the cost too.

CourseMain Dish
CuisineAmerican

Servings2 people

Prep Time15 minutes

Cook Time30 minutes

Ingredients

1/2fillet smoked haddockundyed obvs, why would anyone eat that yellow rubbish? Cut it into bit sized chunks
6live mussels
12live cocklesclams are the norm and amazing
1handful shrimpsmall cold water prawns, these can be cooked
4whole scallopsslice these so you get lots of round discs of scallop
5whole new potatoespeeled and sliced in half, longways
3roughly chopped and deseeded fresh tomatoesyou only want the outer part
1bunch parsleychop the leaves
150ml single cream
300ml milk
250ml fish stockor you can use chicken
100ml white winea cold bottle of Muscadet is ideal
1large white onionchopped
1whole corn cobslice the corn off length ways with a knife, picture below
4rashers baconthis should be chopped, smoked, streaky and preferably dry cured
1clove garliccrushed
2tsps cayenne pepper
1tbls corn flour

Instructions

Grab a soup pot, a small saucepan, small frying pan, garlic crusher and put the kettle on for the stock. Chop the onion, bacon and have the shellfish to hand. The early stages all happen quite quickly, after which you can chill out.
Put the small saucepan on a high heat and have the white wine and live shellfish to hand - they should all close when you give them a shake, any that stay open, throw away.
Whilst the pan is heating up make the stock in a good sized measuring jug and have a strainer on hand.
When hot throw in the shellfish and then immediately the wine (in that order), it should generate lots of steam - cover and let it steam for no more than one minute, give it a couple of shakes. Then remove the lid and strain directly over the stock pot, capturing the liquor with the stock. They can sit there for a little while - they should all be open, throw away those that are closed.
Put the soup pot on a medium high heat with a little oil and cook the bacon until browned, releasing the fat, remove and set aside. Add the onion to the pot with the cayenne, a pinch of sea salt flakes, crush the garlic and stir. Gently cook the onions until soft and translucent. Get the other ingredients ready in the meantime.
This is what I meant with the corn by the way.
Take your now slightly under cooked shell fish and remove most of the meat from the shells, leaving a few intact. Put the small frying pan on a high heat and get it really hot and add a little oil - have your sliced, dry scallops to hand and when almost smoking, add them all, so each slice touches the bottom of the pan. All we want he is fast colour, at which point, remove them from the heat (a minute is probably to long, don't move them much either) and set aside. You don't have to do this, but it gives you nicer bites of scallop rather than floppy shellfish.
Onions should be done, move to the side in the pan and add the flour with a little oil or butter, cook it off so you have a bit of a roux and mix through the onions. Add the corn and whack up the heat.
Add the stock/shellfish liquor, potatoes and bring to the boil and turn down to a good simmer, cook until the potatoes are just under cooked. Now add all the milk and tomatoes and bring to the boil and turn straight back down to simmer - add the haddock.
This is now the final 5 minutes. Firstly, if you haven't already, taste your sauce and carefully season with salt and ground pepper - then add ALL of the remaining seafood (inc the shellfish you cooked at the start) and the bacon.
Stir it all gently and add the single cream, again, gently stir. Taste it, season only if needed and you should have a creamy consistency - too runny and you didn't reduce your stock enough - but, you should be just fine. All you want to do here is get everything hot, don't cook it any more than you have to.
Serve it up (pasta bowls are good for this), with the shells on top, covered in the parsley, maybe a grind of black pepper and if you must, chunks of sour dough bread and the rest of the Muscadet sat right next to it.
Thank you New England, USA

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Chinese Chicken Fried Cauliflower Rice | 鸡炒饭 | What is the national dish of China?

Wayne @NationalDish — Mon, 24 Apr 2017 13:29:13 +0000

Chicken Fried Rice, try it with cauliflower instead of all at that carb

When you think of fried rice you think of China. There are dump loads of variations and that’s before you even get to ‘special fried rice’ on the take away menu. This uses cauliflower rice instead of the complex starchy carb, rocket fuel, real rice version, much healthier for our rich western diets – and just as nice, no, nicer.

Firstly, you’ll need to sort the cauliflower rice, here’s the recipe, do the 3 minute version – see you back here soon.

鸡炒饭 | Chinese Chicken Fried Cauliflower Rice

Just to really overload you with fresh healthy veggies, I even lobbed in some broccoli - your mother will lose her shit when she learns about how healthy you've been eating, she spent years trying to force this down your throat, finally, she's getting somewhere and it even tastes good.

CourseMain Dish, Side Dish
CuisineChinese

Servings2 people

Prep Time15 minutes

Cook Time25 minutes

Ingredients

1medium cauliflower
2 spring onionschunky slices at an angle
1bunch fresh corianderfinely chop the stalks and keep separate to the leaves
1sliced fresh red chilli
1medium broccolicut into florets
1tbls sesame oil
1/2 red pepperchopped into 2cm chunks (use your favourite colour)
1/2 green pepperchopped into 2cm chunks
60ml dark soy sauce
2beaten eggs
1 white onionchopped
300g chicken thigh filletscut into bite sized chunks
1small handful celery3mm slices
1small handful carrotchopped

Instructions

Firstly, you should have sorted out the cauliflower rice to the three minute recipe, you'll finish it off here.
In a pan, preferably a wok, heat the oil over a medium high heat and fry off the white onion, celery and carrot for a couple of minutes. the add the chicken,
Mix and cook for a few minutes, adding colour to everything.
Add all the peppers and coriander stalks and mix in, By now you should have loads of colour - cook that off for a couple of minutes.
Add the broccoli and mix that in and then leave to simmer, stirring from time to time for 10 minutes, don't let it catch. If it dries out, add a little water just to keep it loose.
Add all the cauliflower rice and mix,
Next. move everything to the side, hold the pan up slightly and pour in the beaten egg.
Scramble the egg over the heat before you mix through.
Give it a taste and season very carefully with salt, don't forget you've use soy, so this is just to balance it up if you think you need it, but very likely, not.
On a serving plate, build a pile and garnish with the coriander leaves and spring onions.
Thank you China

谢谢

The post Chinese Chicken Fried Cauliflower Rice | 鸡炒饭 | What is the national dish of China? appeared first on National Dish.

How do you make Nigerian lamb Suya? | Rago Suya | What is the national dish of Nigeria?

Wayne @NationalDish — Thu, 06 Apr 2017 20:43:24 +0000

Nigerian lamb Suya, a seriously cool street food kebab, great served with Ghanaian Jollof cauliflower rice
Photograph: Wayne Morgan – nationaldish.co.uk © 2017

Africa is a amazing place, with food all to often hard to come by for far too many people. That said, amazing things happen when they cook. Nigerian Lamb Suya is rather unique, a West African dish that is great fun to cook and far more than just a kebab.

Paired this one up with a cauliflower Jollof rice dish from Ghana.

Rago Suya | Nigerian lamb Suya a West African street food shish kebab

This requires some grinding and marinating after which it's rather straight forward. You will need skewers, if using wood it help to soak them in water for an hour first, prevents them from burning when you cook them. I have cooked this using a griddle pan on the hob, but a BBQ would be even better.

Servings2 people

Prep Time25 minutes

Cook Time25 minutes

Ingredients

The marinade - KuliKuli

5tbsp roasted peanutsnot dry roasted, salted is fine
1tsp cayenne pepper
1tsp dried chilli flakes
1tsp chilli powder
1tsp smoked paprika powder
1tsp sea salt flakes
1tsp ground ginger
1tsp garlic powder

For the kebabs

2leg steaks lambcut in to large chunks
1medium white onionchopped in to large chunks, not stupid little things, go CHUNKY
1medium red onionchopped in to chunks, same size as the white onion
1large tomatochopped in to chunks, similar size to the onions
1 red pepperchopped in to chunks, you can guess what size
1bunch fresh corianderleaves roughly chopped for garnish

Instructions

Marinade

Add all the marinade ingredients to a Magimix or spice grinder and blitz until as powdery as you can without turning the peanuts in to a paste - this is called KuliKuli.
Once you're happy, remove a third and leave aside. Place the remainder into a mixing bowl along with all the lamb and make sure it gets fully coated and leave it for 30 minutes and heat up the griddle or BBQ - very hot.

Kebabs

Get the, hopefully wet, skewers and start loading them up - you want to aim for 4. I prefer to start with onion, as a stopper, then pepper and then a chunk of lamb. Continue filling the kebab, alternating between red and white onion - again, best to finish with a chunk of onion.
When done you'll have a beautifully colourful quartet of kebabs. Drizzle a little oil over them and feel free to throw a pinch of salt at them too - uhhhhhh
Griddle should be very hot by now - whip em on. Trick here is to keep them turning, about every minute or so, building up the colour.
Because kebabs won't sit particularly flat to the griddle, you can take a heavy pan and sit it on top of them - this will bring more of the kebab in to contact with the heat. Still got to keep turning them to prevent burning.
When they're done, either serve up on the skewer or remove and serve with some Jollof Rice, a handful of roughly chopped coriander leaves and then, either on the side or sprinkled over the top, the remaining KuliKuli.
Removed makes it much easier to eat though.
Thank you Nigeria

Na gode

The post How do you make Nigerian lamb Suya? | Rago Suya | What is the national dish of Nigeria? appeared first on National Dish.

Ghanaian Jollof cauliflower rice with crayfish tails | Jollof Shinkafa | What is the national dish of Ghana?

Wayne @NationalDish — Thu, 06 Apr 2017 20:42:03 +0000

Jollof Rice is a dish that features in may West African countries, Ghana being one of the foremost.

The beautiful red colour that this dish carries is all down to the palm oil, the oil of choice for the region.

It is often cooked with various meat, such as chicken and/or beer, this version contains crayfish tails and cauliflower rice. That makes this a side dish version, in this case, served with Nigerian Lamb Suya.

Jollof Shinkafa | Ghanaian Jollof cauliflower rice with crayfish tails

Take a look at the cauliflower rice recipe first, cook it for three minutes and then come back here - you'll be gone 5 minutes.

If you were to cook Jollof Rice with actual rice, you would follow the same method here but use more liquid as the rice would absorb it. In this case, we still use a good volume of liquid but let it reduce and concentrate to build the flavour and then mix the rice through it and logically thinking, this version should have a deeper flavour and it's totally healthier.

CourseMain Dish, Side Dish
CuisineAfrican, Ghanaian, West African

Servings2 people

Prep Time20 minutes

Cook Time45 minutes

Ingredients

For the cauliflower rice

1medium cauliflowergrated in to a microwaveable bowl mixed with a handful of finely chopped coriander stalks
1bunch fresh corianderstalks finely chopped and added to cauliflower rice and leaves roughly chopped for garnish

For the sauce

1tin chopped tomatoesor 6 large tomatoes chopped
1large white onionchopped
200g tomato puree
4tbls red palm oil
1tsp sea salt flakesseason carefully to taste
150g crayfish tailspre-cooked is fine.
150g okra
500ml fish stock
1/2 red pepperchopped in to bite sized chunks

All the spices (for the sauce)

1 scotch bonnet chillifinely chopped, deseed if it bothers you
1pinch cumin powder
1/2 nutmegfinely grated
2cloves garlicfinely chooped
1tsp cinnamon powder
1tsp chilli powder

Instructions

Heat a chef's pan or wok over a medium heat and add all the Palm Oil, don't let it burn. Once it's hot enough, add the onion and enjoy the colour transformation, this should get you in the mood.
When the onion has softened add all the spices and stir. Next add the tomato puree, stir and then add the tinned chopped tomatoes - stir, you should then have a good base.
Pour in 200ml of the fish stock and you'll have a rather wet mixture. You need to make 500ml (or the maximum that the stock cube states, unless you make it yourself) but only use 200ml of it for the two people portion - you don't want it over concentrated. If you were cooking rice you would use more as the rice would absorb the stock, not so when using cauliflower, and do not worry about loss of flavour, we're about to go to town on flavour.
Leave this mixture to simmer and reduce, halfway through (see pic) add the red peppers and okra and then reduce further until you get a wet paste - this process will concentrate the flavour. Now is the time to taste and season with salt, carefully!
When happy, add your cauliflower rice, which should have been pre-made and cooked for 3 minutes, stir and then add the crayfish.
From here, it's just a case of mixing everything together and heating it through - a few mins tops.
Grab a warm serving plate, big pile in the middle and garnish with roughly chopped coriander leaves. If you can get it, serve with Hot Shito Sauce.
Thank you Ghana

Na gode

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Nepalese Dal Bhat with Cauliflower Rice | दालभात | What is the National Dish of Nepal?

Wayne @NationalDish — Thu, 16 Mar 2017 16:29:10 +0000

The national dish of Nepal is Dal Bhat – a lentil curry with rice, this is a low carb version with cauliflower rice.
Photograph: Wayne Morgan – nationaldish.co.uk © 2017

Cooking Himalayan food is nowhere near as difficult as climbing Mount Everest but the result is equally enjoyable…ok, safer.

Dal Bhat (Lentil Rice) could be argued as a side dish here in the UK rather than a main and the meat eaters among you will probably want something else other than lentils and rice. To help you why not add in a Nepalese Lamb Pakku (in Nepal they would use mutton/goat) which you can prepare at the same time and uses some of the base spices from this dish – although on a much grander scale, seriously, it’s mental.

You’ll appreciate that rice forms part of the staple diet for much of the world, especially those areas that are heavily impoverished. Our western bodies aren’t geared up for such an energy rich diet, so for those of you wishing to manage that, I’ve replaced the rice with cauliflower rice – which quite frankly, adds to this dish. Don’t forget, the lentils carry a fair old whack of carb energy themselves, so this avoids doubling up.

But, if you must use rice, use white basmati rice – why not give this one a whirl first eh?

दालभात | Nepalese Lentil Curry with Cauliflower Rice

If you cook the Lamb Pukka with this, then head over there and start that first, it's best to get that going whilst you prep this as it only takes about half the time.

CourseMain Dish, Side Dish
CuisineNepalese

Servings4 People

Prep Time10 Minutes

Cook Time35 Minutes

Ingredients

Main stuff

1cup lentilsyou can use any kind, I went for red split lentils
1diced white onion
2sliced spring onionsslice them at an angle
1400g tin chopped tomatoesItalian is best, everyone know's that right?
300ml vegetable stockmake 500 ml and then you have some more if you need to top up
1tablespoon olive oilEnglish rape oil or ghee would be better

Spices and stuff

3cloves garlicchopped or crushed
2tsps chilli powder
1fresh fresh red chillisliced at an angle
2tsps turmeric powder
1tsp cumin powder
1decent bunch fresh corianderyou'll use the stalks and the leaves
1fresh limeif you do the Lamb Pakku then you can share the lime across both dishes

Instructions

Heat the oil or ghee in a pan over a medium high heat. Finely chop the coriander stalks and add them to the pan with the onion and garlic and cook until soft. Add a little salt, just to stop them from browning.
If you are cooking rice, start it now - follow the instructions on the packet - ugh! If you are doing the cauliflower rice, the instructions are below - just have a quick look, really straight forward.
Then add all the lentils and stir them round for a couple of minutes before adding the stock (you can use just water if you like but the vegetable stock will left it a little more) - let it simmer on a low to medium heat for 10-15 mins - don't let it dry out - low and slow.
Whilst this is cooking down, slice your red chilli and spring onions, looks nicer at an angle, chop all your coriander leaves and cut the lime in to 4 wedges - set aside.
You should now have a slightly gooey mixture that may have lost a bit of colour, that's about to change. Bang in all the spices, give it a good mix and add the whole tin of tomatoes, mix again and leave to simmer for another 10 mins, again if it needs more stock/water, add it.
Grab a handful of coriander leaves and throw them in (keep a generous pinch back to garnish), stir and it's almost ready to serve. Hopefully you have been tasting throughout, now's the time to season, carefully.
The rice should be ready, create a little pile in the middle of a plate or bowl, spoon the Dal over the top, garnish with a little pinch of coriander leaves, the sliced chilli's, spring onions and wedge of lime.
If you also cooked the Lamb Pukka, serve on the side, that's right, the meat is the side.
So not only do Nepali people have a brilliant mountain, they also have deeply spiced and comforting food.
Thank you Nepal

धन्यवाद

Recipe Notes

For the cauliflower rice

Remove the outer leaves and stalk so that you are left with the whole head. A medium sized cauliflower will feed about 4 people. Cut it in half and you can either use a food processor to bung it through and chop - go for a rough blade or get the course side of a cheese grater and run it up and down that. You want it slightly chunky, rather than like Cous Cous.

Put it in to a microwavable bowl - that's right, don't panic, used intelligently the microwaving can do clever things. Cover with cling film, don't add any water pierce it a couple of time and then microwave on full for 6 minutes for an 850w.

Best thing to do is microwave for 3 mins and then when you think you are 3 minutes from the end of the main dish, finish it off.

What you'll be left with is an al dente rice substitute that is actually better than rice. Your kitchen may smell a little like farts, but that's fine, it tastes nothing like it.

The post Nepalese Dal Bhat with Cauliflower Rice | दालभात | What is the National Dish of Nepal? appeared first on National Dish.