Most of us have our go-to recipes, be it for amid-week lunch, a dinner party pleaser or a sumptuous cake that Nigella Lawson would be proud of. In case you’re stuck in a food rut, however, here are some of our readers’ failsafe recipes from around the world to add to your repertoire. Bon appétit!
Blueberry Coconut Scones
Jennifer Foreman, Canadian “These scones are wonderful straight from the oven – crisp on the outside and soft on the inside. And the coconut flavour gets stronger by day two, if they last that long!”
Ingredients:
• 2 cups of flour
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• ½ cup coconut oil
• 1 cup coconut milk
• ½ cup shredded coconut
• ½ cup blueberries
Directions:
1) Preheat oven to 230 degrees Celsius.
2) Pour all dry ingredients into a bowl.
3) Stir in coconut oil, coconut milk and shredded coconut with a fork until the mixture is moist and comes together, then stir in the blueberries gently.
4) Drop tablespoons of batter onto a lined baking tray. (To make triangle shapes, form the entire dough into an 8-inch circle on the baking tray, then cut into triangular slices as if cutting a cake.)
5) Bake for 8 to 12 minutes until golden on the edges.
Vietnamese Lemongrass Beef Vermicelli Bowls
Azlin Mohd Salleh, Malaysian “This is one of our favourite recipes – it’s especially good for the hot weather as it requires very little cooking.”
Ingredients:
• 250g beef sirloin or rump steak, sliced
• 1½ lemongrass stems, white part only, finely chopped
• 1 tablespoon fish sauce
• 1 garlic clove, crushed
• 1 tablespoon oil
• ½ onion, sliced
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• White pepper
• 125g rice vermicelli
• Platter of raw vegetables and herbs (e.g., bean sprouts, cucumber matchsticks, carrot matchsticks, shredded iceberg lettuce, mint leaves, coriander leaves)
• Fried shallots and chopped roasted peanuts for garnish
Directions:
1) Cook vermicelli in a saucepan of boiling water for 5 minutes, then turn off the heat and leave for another 5 minutes.
Note: vermicelli differs, so keep checking to make sure it isn’t overcooked.
2) Strain into a colander and rinse under cold water, then place into individual serving bowls.
3) For the beef: Marinate the meat overnight (or for at least 30 mins) with a tablespoon of chopped lemongrass, all of the fish sauce and half the garlic.
4) Fry the onion with the rest of the lemongrass and garlic for 2 minutes until fragrant.
5) Turn the heat up very high. Add the beef with its marinade and stir-fry it, adding the sugar and white pepper.
6) Serve the cooked beef on top of the vermicelli noodles and garnish with fried shallots and peanuts, then drizzle liberally with the dipping sauce (recipe below).
7) Place the vegetables and herbs on a platter in the centre of the table for guests to help themselves, as you would see on the streets of Vietnam. This dish is often served with fried spring-rolls cut into sections.
Dipping sauce (nuoc nam cham): Heat six tablespoons of fish sauce, six tablespoons of rice vinegar, 250ml of water, four minced garlic cloves and four tablespoons of caster sugar in a saucepan. Switch off the heat as soon as it comes to a boil, then allow to cool before stirring through two chopped bird’s eye chillies and four tablespoons of fresh lime juice.
BE PART OF THE GREAT RECIPE SWAP!
If you have a fail-safe recipe you’d like to submit for our next issue, send an email titled “Great Recipe Swap” to Beate at contribute@expatliving.sg with your recipe, a photo of yourself and a few words about your dish. Thanks, Chef!
Visit our Wine and Dine page to find out more about food, recipes and places to go in Singapore for a delicious night out!
