streetfood – Recipes for the regular homecook

Prawn Curry With Lemongrass and Coconut

I am a huge fan of light curries. Curries that are not super rich in texture, but are full of flavor and taste. This prawn curry with lemongrass and coconut is one of my absolute favorites.

The fragrance of lemongrass is known to all, and this curry is so fresh and refreshing that it will make your heart skip a beat.

I got the inspiration for this recipe when I visited Bali in 2018. I had one of the best dinners in Ubud – a lemongrass prawn curry and rice. One bite into it and I knew I was in love. Such distinct and fresh flavours, and simple style of cooking. It appealed to me immediately and I have told everyone I know about that particular prawn curry. So I noted it down and have been making it ever since at home.

The broth of this curry has been reduced after putting together a lot of delightful ingredients, and the lemongrass is the hero. The coconut gives a lot of creaminess, flavor, and texture to the gravy. The broth is silky smooth as I have strained it completely, extracting all the flavor and juices out of the ingredients. Every drop of it is heaven, along with the juicy prawns. Pure bliss and one of my personal favorites. I hope you try it and love it as much as I do.

Preparation time – 30 minutes

Cook time – 30 minutes

Serves – 3-4 people

[ingredients title=”Ingredients”]

400 g prawns, cleaned and deveined
80 g fresh lemongrass stalks, cut into chunks
2 medium onions
40 g ginger
1 dried red chili, soaked in warm water for 30 minutes
Salt to taste
2 tsp pepper powder
50 g fresh coconut
1 tsp sugar
Juice of 1 lemon
400 ml hot water
Chopped coriander leaves for garnish
3 tbsp vegetable oil [/ingredients]

[directions title=”Directions”]

Clean and devein the prawns. I have kept the tail on but you can remove it if you like. Pat the prawns dry with paper towel.
Add the prawns to a mixing bowl. Marinate with salt and 1.5 teaspoons of freshly ground black pepper powder. Mix well with a spoon till every prawn is coated with the salt and pepper.
Heat two tablespoons of oil in a pan. Fry the prawns in the hot oil, one minute each side. Set them aside.
Get fresh lemongrass. Look for stalks that are fragrant, tightly formed and lemony green in color in the lower stalk (near the bulb). Chop off the lower stalk as that is the most fragrant part. Chop it into chunks.
Add the lemongrass chunks, ginger, onions, soaked red chili and lemon juice. Add a little water and grind it all to form a thick paste.
Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a pan. Once hot, add the lemongrass paste to it. Fry this till the raw aroma of the onions and ginger completely disappear. Keep the flame at medium so that it does not burn.
Add sugar to the paste. Mix well.
Once the paste releases all its water and the raw aroma disappears completely, add 400 ml of hot water. Mix well till the gravy starts to bubble.
Now turn off the heat for a minute and strain the gravy (see video) onto a bowl. Make sure you extract every drop out of the base so that all you are left with are the shreds of the lemongrass and ginger.
Put this strained and silky smooth gravy back into the pan and let it boil.
Once the gravy starts to bubble, add the fried prawns. Give it a good mix and let it bubble away aggressively for about two minutes. Check salt and add more if required.
Do not overcook. Garnish with fresh coriander leaves. Serve hot with boiled rice. [/directions]

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Perfectly Sweet, Spicy and STICKY Orange Chicken

It is the season of oranges! I can see them everywhere right now and they are just so delicious and beautiful. I am a big fan of oranges. One of my favorite things to do is to chew on some fresh oranges in the winter sun. Beautiful!

In Delhi, we get a lot of the kinnow variety of orange. Also known as Mandarin, this orange is bright, softer, super sweet and very juicy. I have used freshly squeezed kinnow juice in this recipe. You can use any variety available locally near you.

This orange chicken is one of my favorites. Super simple to make and very aromatic. The combination of brown sugar and orange juice makes for a sticky syrup, which adds a perfect glaze as well as taste to the orange chicken recipe. The chicken is shallow fried here. You can deep fry it as well if you want an extra crispy version.

Here’s a look at the ingredients and procedure.

Preparation time – 20 minutes

Cook time – 30-40 minutes

Serves – 2-3 people

[ingredients title=”Ingredients”]

For marination:

Boneless chicken thighs cut into equal pieces, 500 g (make sure they have been patted dry)
Fresh ginger paste, 1.5 tsp
Fresh garlic paste, 1.5 tsp
Sesame oil, 1 tsp
Dark soy sauce, 3 tbsp
Cornflour, 30g
Salt to taste

For the recipe:

Vegetable oil, 4 tbsp
2 green chilies, finely chopped
3 medium onions, finely chopped
Brown sugar, 1 tsp
Crushed garlic, 1 tsp
Crushed ginger, 1 tsp
1 medium capsicum, cut in cubes
Black pepper powder, 1 tsp
Salt to taste
150 ml freshly squeezed orange juice
2 tsp dark soy sauce
Chopped spring onion greens for garnish
Toasted sesame seeds, for garnish [/ingredients]

[directions title=”Directions”]

Mix the boneless chicken thighs with ginger paste, garlic paste, sesame oil, dark soy sauce, cornflour, and salt. Marinate this for 20 minutes.
Heat 3 tbsp vegetable oil in a wok. Shallow fry the marinated chicken in batches, till they are crispy from all sides. Set aside.
Heat 1 tbsp vegetable oil in another wok. Add the chopped green chilies, followed by the chopped onions. Saute for a minute.
Add the brown sugar and mix well. Saute for another two minutes till onions turn translucent.
Add the ginger and garlic and stir. Cook this till the raw aroma of the ginger and garlic disappears.
Once the onions merge well with the ginger and garlic, add the chopped capsicum. Cook this for another minute.
Season with salt and black pepper powder. Stir well.
Pour in the freshly squeezed orange juice. Cook till it reduces by half.
Wait for the orange juice to turn into a sticky and thick sauce. Add the fried chicken to the mixture.
Gently mix the fried chicken with the rest of the ingredients.
Drizzle in some dark soy sauce and stir well till the color changes to a darker version of the original.
Take the wok off from heat.
Garnish with spring onion greens, sesame seeds, and orange zest.
Serve hot with plain rice or fried rice. Enjoy! [/directions]

I hope you do try this simple, mouth-watering recipe.

If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to me with a comment or connect with me on Instagram or Facebook.

Happy cooking!

Street Style Pad Thai Noodles at Home

Pad Thai noodles is an epic dish. It is not only found in almost every street corner in Thailand, the world has opened its arms and embraced this beautiful noodle dish because of its simplicity and divine taste. I have been a big fan for years now. I whip it up in my kitchen every once in a while. Trust me, it is very easy. Just make sure you have some key ingredients and in no time you can make this recipe for yourself in the comfort of your homes!

Pad Thai Noodles has it all in terms of taste and texture. Flavors include sweetness, fiery sauces, salt and an equal amount of sourness from lime and vinegar. You can add one or more protein to your pad thai noodles, be it chicken, shrimp or tofu. Eggs are a must add in street style pad thai noodles and they make it extra yum! I have gone ahead and added more than one protein because, why not? 😀

The most important ingredient that you most probably might not have are mung bean sprouts. I usually grow them at home, it takes about 3-6 days. They are also available in the market but not so much in India. So you can either grow your own (they are super simple to grow btw) or get it from a store if you wish. I suggest a homemade version because that will be super fresh. I usually make a large batch and store it for weeks in the refrigerator.

So take note of some key ingredients and you will be good to go.

Preparation time – 15 minutes

Cook time – 15 minutes

Serves – 2

[ingredients title=”Ingredients”]

For the sauce:

4 tbsp lime juice
1 tbsp crushed palm sugar/regular sugar
2 tbsp rice vinegar
2 tbsp Sriracha sauce
2 tbsp fish sauce

For the noodles:

1 tbsp vegetable oil
1/2 onion, finely diced
20 g garlic, finely chopped
50 g tofu, cut into cubes
100 g shrimps, deveined and cleaned
2 eggs
100 g flat rice noodles
Green onions for garnish
A handful of mung bean sprouts
50 g crushed peanuts
Chili flakes for garnish
Salt to taste [/ingredients]

[directions title=”Directions”]

Soak the flat rice noodles in warm water for 30 minutes.
Make the pad thai sauce by mixing all the ingredients mentioned – lime juice, rice vinegar, sugar, Sriracha sauce and fish sauce. Mix well and save for cooking.
Heat oil in a wok. Add the garlic and onion and saute for about a minute.
Add the tofu and the shrimp to the wok, and fry for another two minutes. Cook the shrimp one minute on each side.
Shift the tofu and the shrimp to the sides of the wok, clearing out the middle. Break open to eggs into this and let it cook.
Be gentle with the egg and give it a light stir, eventually mixing it up with the rest of the ingredients in the wok.
Time to add the soaked noodles to the wok and mix well.
Pour in the pad thai sauce to this and mix it all up till every strand of the noodles gets soaked in the sauce.
Once done, add green onions, mung bean sprouts, and crushed peanut for extra crunch. Give it one last toss.
Serve on a plate with lime, bean sprouts, crushed peanut and chili flakes on the side. Serve hot! [/directions]

You will be amazed at how good this simple preparation tastes. Do try and let me know how it came out. Happy cooking!