Ingredients:
1. Galanga (about 2cm)
2. 2 tbsp belacan (you can make fresh belacan from onions, red chillis, dried shrimps, squeeze of fresh lime)
3. 2 stalks of lemongrass
4. 2 tsp of grounded coriander (toast it first and then pound to get maximium flavour)
5. 1 tsp grounded white pepper
6. 3 fresh chillies (1 or 2 if you prefer it mild)
7. 3 cloves of garlic
8. 2 medium shallots
9. 3 spring onion ends (white part)
10. 6 – 8 macadamia nuts (candlenuts will be better if you can find it)
11. 3 kafir lime leaves (destem and you can replace this with lemon zest)
12. 1 small bunch of Vietnamese mint leaves
13. 1 tsp of tumeric
14. 1 tbsp cornflour
15. 1 egg
16. 200ml cocoonut milk (Thai coconut milk if you can find it)
17. Fish sauce
18. 700g of Trevally fillets

Method:

1. Prepare the fillet first. You can get the fishmonger to skin the fillets for you or like me, use a soup spoon and scrap the flesh from the skin. I wanted my version to be quite chunky so I ‘cleavered’ it slightly
2. Use ingredients from 1 to 15 and blend it
3. Pour the coconut milk into the mixture and blend it further
4. Taste and season with fish sauce accordingly. And add more pepper if required
5. Add the spicy paste with the chunky fish and mix it well
6. Cut the banana leaf into smaller pieces. Scald it with a flame over the stove and oil it
7. Place the mixture onto the banana leaf. Wrap it in lengthwise and hold it together by using toothpicks on both ends. Remember to soak the toothpicks in water overnight
8. Grill the fish otak about 3-4 mins on each side

Boil some large (preferably waxy) potatoes in the usual way with skins on.
Leave to cool ( even overnight in the fridge). Remove skins and cut into slices or chunks/cubes that aren’t going to fall through the holes in the grill. Place over the charcoal and cook on all sides to brown.

Season AFTER grilling with either salt and pepper or prickly ash.

Great smoky flavour, reminiscent of Ben Shewry’s potatoes cooked in the earth.

Simple yet delicious BBQ Pears, Honeyed Walnuts and Blue Cheese

4 pears, quatered and cores discarded
4 thick slices of bread for toasting, I like a fruit and nut bread for something different
50g walnuts
2 tbls honey
125g of your favourite blue cheese

Preheat hotplate over med-high heat.
Cut pears quaters into wedges, dust with sugar and cook on hotplate for about 2 minutes on each side. set aside.
Toast each side of bread on the hotplate and place on plate, ready for serving.
Warm walnuts and honey in saucepan over heat.
Arrange pears on toast, crumble cheese over the top and spoon over walnuts and honey.

4 tsp caster sugar for dusting

Cha Ca La Vong

Ingredients:

3 Tbsp ground turmeric
2cm piece of galangal or ginger, peeled
1-2 fresh long red chilis, seeded
2 Tbsp fish sauce
60 ml water
1 Tbsp rice vinegar
1 Tbsp sugar (or more to taste)

500g firm white fish (catfish, if possible), cut into bite sized pieces
150g pack of dried rice vermicelli
60ml vegetable oil
1 bunch dill, cut into lengths
4 spring onions, roughly chopped
1/2 cup shallots (French style), thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
1/3 cup chopped peanuts, lightly toasted and chopped

Lettuce, such as Iceberg
Herbs such as Vietnamese mint, mint, basil

Nuoc Cham dipping sauce – see Sugar Cane Prawn Recipe.

Method:

Blend the turmeric, galangal and chilis in a food processor until smooth, then add the remaining ingredients and mix until the sugar is dissolved. Pour into a bowl and add fish pieces. Toss to coat and refrigerate for at least 3 hours.

Place the noodles in a bowl and cover with boiling water. Leave for 10 – 15 minutes before draining and keep aside.

Transfer fish to a plate and scrape off the marinade and reserve. Pat the fish dry with paper towel. To give a smoky flavour it can first be grilled over a charcoal burner before being fried, but this is not essential. If grilling, place pieces of fish between layers of a greased metal grill and lace over the charcoal burner for 3 – 4 minutes until opaque.

Meanwhile, heat the oil in a medium frypan until shimmering and carefully add fish pieces in small batches being sure not to break them up. Cook until flaky to the touch but NOT crisp, about 1 – 3 minutes. Using a spider, transfer to a platter and repeat until all the fish is cooked.

Quickly stir-fry the dill and spring onions until just wilted. Place these on top of the fish pieces. Then quickly stir-fry the shallots and garlic slices in the same pan with any remaining marinade. Place this on the fish and sprinkle with the crushed peanuts.

Place some of the noodles on a lettuce leaf, add some greens/herbs and a spoonful of the fish pieces. Fold the lettuce into a parcel and dip into nuoc cham dipping sauce. Eat it with your fingers and then lick them and dream of being back in Hanoi.

Congratulations on your 4th birthday. Had my first last month, but busy on the Thermomix forum and so forgot about it until reading this.

Some recipes for your winners to try with their charcoal burners:

Charcoal Grilled Pork Chops

Ingredients:
10 – 12 pork chops (about 1cm thick)

Marinade:
2 Tbsp fish sauce
2 Tbsp sugar (palm if possible)
2 spring onions, roughly chopped
2 garlic cloves
1 tsp salt

Place the marinade ingredients into a food processor (Thermomix if you have one) and chop finely.

Marinade the pork chops for one hour in the mixture at room temperature.

Grill over medium heat with a charcoal grill until golden brown.

Serve with plain rice or rice noodles, sliced cucumber, salad and Vietnamese pickles (carrot, baby leeks, etc).

La Lot – Grilled Beef Wrapped in Wild Betel Leaves

Ingredients:

500g coarsely ground beef
100g pork back fat, ground
¼ cup shallots, chopped
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 small red chilli, seeded and finely chopped
1 Tbsp finely chopped lemongrass
4 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 Tbsp fish sauce
1 Tbsp sugar
1 tsp salt

30 large “la lot (pepper leaves) or red perilla or grape leaves
Wooden skewers soaked in cold water

Method:

Combine all the ingredients except the leaves and skewers. Knead well.

Place betel leaves dark side down on a work surface and place about 1 tablespoon of filling in the middle of the leaf and roll up into a tiny cylinder, making sure that the meat is all covered by the leaf. Thread onto a skewer so that about 6 – 8 cylinders are lined up, side-by side. Place the skewers in rows along side each other onto greased metal griddles.

Prepare the charcoal grill and cook the parcels, turning twice, until cooked through, about 8 – 10 minutes. Watch carefully as they tend to char if the heat is too high.

Serve with greens, rice paper rolls and dipping sauce.

Charcoal Grilled Pork (or Chicken) Balls with Minted Peanut Sauce

This recipe is equally delicious made with chicken breast meat. It is designed for the Thermomix, but your readers will be smart enough to be able to convert it. The balls can be steamed in tha steamer (Varoma) or made into mini patties and cooked on the charcoal burner.

Both the pork balls and the sauce can be made ahead of time. Set the balls aside on a tray until you are ready to cook them if cooking on the BBQ.

Ingredients

400g pork, trimmed and diced
2cm piece fresh root ginger, peeled
1 garlic clove, crushed
2 tsp sesame oil
1 tbsp Chinese rice wine or medium-dry sherry
1 tbsp soy
1 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
a pinch of white pepper
1 egg white

1 Iceberg lettuce, to serve

For the sauce

90 g roasted peanuts (or 4 tbsp smooth peanut butter)
400 ml coconut milk
juice of 1 lime
1 red chilli, seeded
1 garlic clove
2 tbsp fresh mint
2 tbsp fresh coriander (cilantro)
1 tbsp fish sauce (optional)

Method:

To make the pork balls, place the ginger and garlic in TM bowl and grate for 15 seconds on speed 7.
Add the diced pork, sesame oil, sherry, soy sauce and sugar, salt and white pepper and blend for 40 seconds on speed 6 . Add the egg white and mix through for 15 seconds on Reverse and speed 4.

Using wet hands, shape the pork mixture into thumb-size balls for steaming, or into larger patties for barbecuing.

To make the sauce, put the chilli and garlic into the TM bowl. Mince for 15 seconds on speed 7. If using peanuts, add these now and blend for 30 seconds on speed 7. (If using peanut butter add now).

Add the remaining ingredients to the mixture in the TM bowl, blend for 30 seconds gradually increasing to speed 6 for 20 seconds. Remove to a serving bowl and set aside. Roughly clean the TM bowl.

If steaming the balls, place the pork balls onto silicon paper in the Varoma. Add 600 g water to the TM bowl and position the Varoma. Steam for 10 -12 minutes at Varoma temperature on speed 2.

If grilling, place the pork (or chicken) balls between the layers of a greased metal grill and place over a charcoal burner and cook until golden brown.

Arrange the lettuce leaves on a large serving platter. Place the pork balls on the leaves and serve with the dipping sauce in small bowls for guests to help themselves.

Another designed for the Thermomix, but there are plenty of non-Thermomix recipes out there – just the idea of something Vietnamese to put on the charcoal burner
Sugar Cane Prawns
Ingredients
1 stem sugar cane, peeled
3 garlic cloves
2cm piece of fresh ginger
1/2 small bunch coriander, including roots and stalks, washed and roughly chopped
1 red chilli, seeded and roughly chopped
30g palm sugar
60g pork back fat, chilled and chopped into 1cm cubes
1/2 teaspoon salt
500g peeled, deveined green prawns
1 egg white
10g cornflour
2 teaspoons fish sauce
1/2 tsp ground white pepper

Dipping sauce
1 clove garlic (from above)
1/2 teaspoon chilli, seeded and roughly chopped
1 tablespoon sugar
4 tablespoons fish sauce
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
Juice of 1 lime
pinch salt
Method
Cut sugar cane into 10 cm lengths, and then cut into sixths lengthways. Place in water to soak while preparing mixture.

Place garlic cloves into TM bowl and then peel the cloves for 5 seconds on Reverse + Speed 4. Remove the papery coating from the bowl and remove one clove and keep aside for the dipping sauce. Add the ginger and chilli and chop for 10 seconds on Speed 7 (remember to take it off Reverse). Next add the palm sugar, pork fat and salt to the TM bowl and process for 15 – 20 seconds on Speed 6, until nearly smooth.

Finally, add the prawns, egg white, cornflour, fish sauce and pepper and mix for 30 seconds on Speed 6. The mixture should be sticky.

Remove sugar cane sticks from the water and dry well. They must be very dry on the outside to hold the mixture. With oiled hands, wrap mix around sugar cane. For ease of eating outdoors, place the mixture at one end of the stick. If you are going to remove the prawn mixture and wrap in lettuce leaves or roll in rice paper, then place midways along the sticks.

Place some oiled baking paper with holes cut in, to allow better steam penetration, into the Varoma tray. Place the prawn skewers into the tray. Put 600ml water into the TM bowl and position the Varoma tray on top. Set the TM to cook for 10 – 12 minutes at Varoma temperature on Speed 1, until the prawn mixture has changed to be opaque and firm to the touch.

They may be served as they are in rice paper or lettuce leaves, or for a more authentic flavour, place between Vietnamese metal grill and grill over charcoal until charred on the outside.

Serve the sugar cane prawns surrounding a small bowl with dipping sauce.

Dipping Sauce
Place garlic clove and chilli into TM bowl with sugar and chop for 10 seconds on Speed 7. Add remaining ingredients and mix all together for 5 seconds on Speed 4.

I will get around to sorting out my blog with pics.

Again – Happy Fourth