Lemongrass and Basil Chicken Curry

This is a quick and easy curry to whip together when you have that craving anytime during the week; yes, you even have time to make if after you get back from work! A lot of people get scared out of making curries and opt to use pre-made curry mixes in a jar, but this is very easy, and you can control how spicy you would like it to be. As I have made it below, it was not too spicy at all, which really allowed the lemongrass and ginger to come forward and support that fresh basil flavour.

For this dish, serving 2-3 people, you will need:

• Half an onion, chopped.
• Roughly 1/3 cup of chopped ginger*, or ginger powder.
• 4 stems of lemongrass.
• One clove of garlic, chopped.
• Half a cup of basil leaves.
• One tablespoon of curry powder.
• 500 milliliters of chicken stock.
• 3-4 pieces of chicken, as desired.
• One can of coconut milk.
• 1/3 cup of chopped green chilies (optional).

Preparation time: 15 mins

Cooking time: 20 mins

I made my own curry powder for this, using some cayenne pepper, yellow curry powder, paprika, turmeric, and some other pantry staples, but you can pretty much use any store-bought brand. Naturally, the taste of this curry will change depending on the powder you use, and that will also allow you to control the spiciness. You will note that I did not add any chillies! Feel free to chop up about 1/3 cup of green chilies for an awesome flavour kick ... I cannot find good green chilies where I am at the moment, so I had to do without.

Okay, first we need to tackle that lemongrass. If you are using lemongrass powder, just add it with the rest of the curry powder below.

Remove the outer husk of the lemongrass, we aren't going to eat this bit.

Next, chop that lemongrass up into little pieces.

Get your chicken stock to a boil and add the lemongrass directly into it. This will serve two purposes; it will infuse your stock with the lemongrass flavour, and it will soften the lemongrass.

Meanwhile, heat some oil in your skillet or wok.

Add the onions, garlic, and ginger, and fry them until the garlic starts becoming golden brown.

Then add the curry powder to the ginger, garlic, onion mixture and mix it in well.

Once the curry powder is well mixed with the onion, garlic, and ginger, add your chicken to the pan. I had drumsticks left over, so that is what I am using. Normally, I prefer chicken thighs for a curry.

Turn your chicken around to get it nicely coated with the curry and spices and brown the chicken.

Once the chicken is browned, add your chicken stock and lemongrass to the pan.

Throw in your basil leaves, cover the dish, and leave it for 10-15 minutes to let the chicken finish cooking.

Once the chicken is cooked, add your coconut milk and mix it in well.

Let it stew for a couple of minutes, and then serve with some warm rice!

*Tip: Don't throw away your ginger! Refer to our "Let's not waste anything!" page, and check out few ideas on how to use your leftover ginger.

As with all the other recipes we put on this site, this is meant to be easy to follow. We are hobby chefs who love to cook, and we are always up for learning new techniques. If you know of anything in this recipe which can be done a different way, whether for increased ease of preparation or better taste, please add a comment below!

Whipped up by Shyamal Addanki

Pineapple Teriyaki Chicken with a Honey Ginger Glaze

This is a lovely, silky chicken dish with a lip-smacking sweet and tangy glaze. Preparation is ridiculously easy and ingredients are readily available in most supermarkets. You can make your own teriyaki sauce if you like, but I just used the bottled sauce in this recipe.

Ingredients for 4-5 servings:

• 600 grams or so of chicken, cut into small pieces
• 1/2 cup teriyaki sauce
• Two, 1/3 cups of honey (divided)
• 300 grams of tinned pineapple*
• About a cup of fresh coriander
• Tablespoon of ground ginger

To start, whisk together the teriyaki sauce, half a cup of juice from the tin of pineapples, and the first 1/3 cup of honey. A whisk is the best way to get the honey really well incorporated; a spoon will just make honey streaks in your teriyaki sauce.

Next, add about half a cup of coriander.

And finally your chicken pieces and a pinch of salt, and mix to get the chicken coated evenly.

Cover this and refrigerate for an hour or so.

When you are ready to start putting dinner together, cut up your pineapple into small pieces (if it wasn't already in pieces).

In a hot pan, or a wok, add your mixture that has been marinating. 

Let the entire thing come to a boil, and keep turning the chicken around with a spatula. Do not reduce the heat, there is enough liquid for the chicken to cook at high heat.

When your chicken is no longer pink on the outside, add about a cup of the pineapple pieces. You can always add more or less to your liking. If you reserve some fresh pieces, you can serve them on the plate with the chicken.

Keep stirring the mixture as the liquid boils for about 5 more minutes, and then check to verify that your chicken is cooked through. I added a few chilli flakes at this stage to provide some spice. Once your chicken is cooked, take out the chicken and pineapple and set aside (a slotted spoon would work best), leaving the liquid in the pan.

Keeping the pan on high heat, add the ground ginger, or ginger powder, into the sauce and the remaining 1/3 cup of honey. Stir frequently, this mixture is going to caramelise and become syrupy very quickly. In fact, it would help if someone was plating the chicken while you finish the sauce.

Finally, serve the chicken with some plain rice, and fresh pineapples. Pour about two tablespoons of sauce over the chicken and garnish with the coriander.

*Tip: Don't throw away your unused pineapple pieces, refer to our "Let's not waste anything!" page, and check out few ideas on how to use them.

As with all the other recipes we put on this site, this is meant to be easy to follow. We are hobby chefs who love to cook, and we are always up for learning new techniques. If you know of anything in this recipe which can be done a different way, whether for increased ease of preparation or better taste, please add a comment below!

Whipped up by Shyamal Addanki

Toulouse & Around - FRANCE

Toulouse is a great city to eat in, especially if you like duck, cassoulet, and wine, but we won't only recommend French restaurants as you'll see below.

The South-West region of France is also well-known for its gastronomy.

We lived in Toulouse from end of 2009 to March 2011, so all these recommendations are dated from this time.

Empanadas Argentinas

This is a small and lovely empanadas place in Toulouse. It is located 3 rue des Gestes, a 5 minutes walk southwest of the Capitole (where Toulouse's City Hall is) following rue Gambetta. They serve good-sized, delicious empanadas.

We often ate here while we were living in Toulouse, but you can also take away empenadas. The restaurant is really small, so if you plan on going you might want to book a table or be prepared to wait for a bit, especially on weekends.

The menu is varied and offers carnivore and vegetarian options. They offer fillings such as tuna, chicken-onion, spinach, three cheese, ham-cheese, corn, and organic meat empanadas.

The prices are decent and the staff is friendly, which is always nice in France.

Frog & Rosbif

This pub is quite nice, even though we like the charm of an Irish pub better.

They brew their own beer, and for the food ... interesting concept ... they use the Indian restaurant and the French restaurant across the street to cater their customers.

As far as the beer is concerned, the brew is just about decent. As an avid beer lover who lived in the Pacific Northwest of the United States, Frog's brews just don't quench my thirst for a good micro-brewed pint. But they do offer a very refreshing change from the usual beer selections common in French bars and cafes.  

Try the Ginger Blonde, that was the only one that made an impression. 

It is located 14 rue de l'Industrie, a 10 minutes walk east of Place Wilson (downtown).

http://www.frogpubs.com/pub-rosbif-toulouse.php

Grand'Pizzeria

It is quite a charming Italian restaurant, which honestly doesn't look like anything much from the outside, but it is bigger on the inside ... (this is is for you Doctor Who fans) (2 levels restaurant).

The pizzas are delicious, as well as the pastas.

The pizzas are Italian style pizzas with thin crust.

The staff is friendly, and the service is extremely quick even on a very crowded weekend. The pizza chefs take centre stage as you enter the restaurant, and they are always ready with a friendly smile and "Bonjour" even while they runaround sliding a seemingly endless parade of pizzas into and out of the giant brick oven.

It is located 11 rue Castellane, a 10 minutes walk east of Place Wilson (downtown).

The restaurant is often full, but the downside is they don't take any reservation, which is a pity.

La Mare aux Canards

It is located 14 rue des Gestes, in the same street than Empanadas Argentinas ... I completely concede it is not the same food than Argentinian empanadas, because this restaurant will serve you typical local Toulousaine cuisine. So if you like duck ... go for it.

The prices are decent: they offer a 20, 25, 28 euros menus, or à la carte.

The portions are generous.

The menu is delicious from any salad to the foie gras as well as the duck confit, and even the beef (entrecôte and onglet). And don't forget to try a dessert ... after all. you are in France.

Be careful, at the time they were often fully booked, so make a reservation.

The staff is friendly and has a excellent knowledge of the menu.

http://www.mare-aux-canards.com/

La Cave Au Cassoulet

We would recommend the cassoulet, which is a southwestern French speciality.

The restaurant is located in the cellar, quite charming way to eat.

It is located 54 rue Peyrolières, a 5 minutes walk southwest of the Capitole (where Toulouse's City Hall is) following rue Gambetta (rue Gambetta becomes rue Peyrolières.

http://caveaucassoulet.chez.com/ As in today, their website is not really working, you just get home page and the map, but no menu.

Maison Du Curry

The restaurant is quite off-centered (located avenue de l'URSS), and we only went there once just before we left Toulouse. They just have been opened for less than a week and the food was good.
The staff was really friendly. As mentioned, at the time, and it was the first few weeks they were open, they weren't really organized and we waited quite a bit to have our orders served.

They also have a booth at the Victor Hugo Market (located downtown), that's how we discovered them. We often bought some excellent food to take away.

De Danu

It is a typical Irish pub where we used to go quite often for drinks and food. The only downside, and the reason we started to go less often, is it became more like a fancy restaurant, or I guess you can call it a gastro-pub, than a pub anymore ... you even have to book a table ... which is quite ridiculous if you ask me.

The food is good but pricey, especially for a pub. 

The staff is friendly ... like any Irish pub.

It is quite off-centered, so if you're walking, it's a good 25 minutes walk from downtown.

http://www.dedanu.com/fr

Monsieur Georges

If you want good meat, excellent sauces, and wait staff who can speak english (but don't rate high on the friendly scale), Monsieur Georges in Place Saint-Georges (next to Place Wilson) is a great bet.

However, expect to pay a decent sum; an entrecôte (steak) is 24 Euros. Dinner for two, including appetizer, dessert, and a bottle of wine, will generally run over 80 Euros. 

But, the meat is really good and the staff always understood just how I like my meat, which is a big plus for me. They are not friendly or exceedingly warm, so don't expect that kind of service.

http://www.monsieurgeorges.fr/accueil_m_georges.vdom

Les 3 Dynasties

It is located in Blagnac where the airport is, so not really next to any tourist attraction, but the food is excellent and constant, so no surprise there. Les 3 Dynasties is an excellent Chinese restaurant which has been opened for a very long time (at least ten years, because I lived in Toulouse in 2000 and 2001 and I remembered eating there quite often).

http://restaurant-thai-chinois.les3dynasties.fr/

Xavier Fromager Affineur

A great selection of cheese.

The prices are not low, so if you can find the cheese you like in a supermarket or at a market, buy them there. Go to Xavier if you want a specific cheese, such as their truffle brie (the time to buy  truffles is after October-November).

Xavier Fromager Affineur is located downtown, across the street from the Victor Hugo Market.

We wouldn't recommend:

The chain called L'Entrecôte (and not only in Toulouse), from which we still don't understand why there is a waiting line. The menu is always the same, the meat is less than decent, and at the end you  just get a beef steak and French fries dish ... very sad ... and a less than medium quality.

Any other Indian restaurant (other than Maison du Curry and New Delhi, the one serving Frog and Rosbif) because the food is not Indian. There is no flavour, no spice, and every dish tastes practically the same.

Reviewed by Charline Leblond & Shyamal Addanki

Oxford - UK

Oxford might be the city of dreaming spires, academics, and future world leaders who now stumble drunk from college to pub. But it is nonetheless part of England and the culinary choices leave no doubt that food is not the priority in this part of the UK. This can be seen by the abundance of kebab trucks, a fond spot of respite for the inebriated student on his or her way home. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy a kebab as much as the next guy, but the kebabs in Oxford are something else. Literally, I mean something else - I have never seen meat coated in wax and sliced into impossible long strips. 

We lived in Oxford from September 2011 to July 2012, and even though British food is not great, we found few places where the food was good. Relatively speaking.

Shanghai 30's

Located at 42 St Aldate's, just across the street from Christ Church College, Shanghai 30s has a lovely decor, well accented by period furnishing and yet not overly tacky. And the food is delicious, the original menu will spoil you for choice - no simple Orange Chicken here. In fact, they even have a separate menu for the more "authentic" (read: Spicy) dishes their chef offers. Every time we ate at Shanghai 30s, we tried new dishes and we were never even once disappointed, whether it was a noodle dish (like their home made knife shaven noodles) or a sauce-based dish (like their Pineapple "Gu Lao" chicken). Their spicy selection was very well balanced without being too hot, one could appreciate the nuances of garlic and ginger being used as spice elements to complement the chillies.

The staff at Shanghai 30s was always polite and friendly, in the passive Chinese way of staying away from you unless you call. You won't get bothered very often, but when you do ask for something you will be greeted with smiles and and eager disposition.

http://www.shanghai30s.com/

Bangkok House

Bangkok House is located at 42A Hythe Bridge Street, and is a great Thai restaurant with a delicious menu and a great selection of authentic Thai dishes. The usual Thai curries, red, green and padang, are all excellent as are their appetiser plates of egg rolls and dumplings. One thing to note is that rice is not included with the curries or stir fries, it has to be ordered separately and there is a choice of normal, fried and coconut rice, which goes fantastically with the aforementioned curries. As a bonus, their dessert choices include the delicious fried banana and pandan cake.

It is a bit pricey, especially on a student budget, but it is totally worth every penny. The staff is nice and friendly, and the crackers they provide in the beginning are absolutely amazing. If you order a beer, it will come nice and chilled ... which is already more than most of England can manage. 

Jude the Obscure

Located in the pretentious Jericho neighbourhood of Oxford, Jude the Obscure is one of the pubs that seems to have resisted the Oxford pollution. Despite its location right on Walton Street, it remains a nice, charming pub with a regular clientele of slighter older locals. One of the pleasant surprises here is the friendly staff, they are happy to swap a joke or two and seem to actually be eager about making you feel happy to be at Jude the Obscure.

Another happy surprise is that the food at Jude the Obscure is quite decent. Stick to the simple - burgers and sandwiches are done well - and you won't be disappointed. You can ask for your burger to be done medium if you like (but if you don't say anything it will be well-cooked). After trying the duck-wrap and vegetarian chilli, it seemed best to stick to the burgers and sandwiches so try the rest of the menu at your own risk.

Their beer selection is typical for a pub, a few English ales and a handful of chilled beer on tap, along with some special brews, such as Crabbies, in bottles.

They offer a fantastic deal for lunch, either a burger and a beer for 8.95 or a sandwich and a beer for 5.95 (as of this writing, please double check the prices at the pub) and they don't skim on the quality just because it is a lunch special. 

Bella Italia

This UK chain of Italian restaurants is consistently pleasing with little variation in the cuisine between restaurants. The food is good, and very reasonably priced, leaving little reason to spend more at other fancy Italian restaurants. Generally, all the pasta and meat dishes we have tried have been quite good, but the pizza leaves something more to be desired. We had the Pollo e Spinaci, rigatoni pasta with chicken, spinach, and mushrooms in a gorgonzola sauce, and enjoyed it so much we ordered it a few times. They also do some great non-pasta dishes, such as their Pollo alla crema, a baked chicken dish with a white wine sauce.

However, this Bella Italia in Oxford does leave a little wanting in the service and general ambiance areas. While the staff is polite, you don't get the same warmth and friendliness we have encountered in other Bella Italias.

This specific restaurant is not very big, but one gets the impression that they tried to cram too many tables in there. While this is also true of the Bella Italia in London, on Martin's Lane, in Oxford it leads to a noisy and chaotic atmosphere that can be quite disagreeable to a romantic date or quiet dinner with friends. However, the side booths work quite well to hide from the din, so try to score one of these when you make a reservation. Which brings me to my next point - make a reservation, especially on a friday or saturday.

Atomic Burger

If you crave a good burger and have been slowly dying every time you have a burger at a british pub, Atomic Burger is your elixer of life. This little joint is in East Oxford, at 96 Cowley Road, which makes it a bit far off if you are in the center or north of Oxford. Honestly, if we had known about Atomic Burger before arriving in Oxford, we would have only looked for accommodation within a food-coma zombie walking distance of its colourful doors.

They have a great selection of classic and original burgers and a choice of normal or awesome fries, in portions big enough to satisfy that hankering you have had for a real burger. And to wash down the meal, you have to try one of Atomic Burger's milkshakes - and yes, they do malted shakes!

The staff is extremely friendly and casual. They will take their time to sit and explain their menu and address any questions you may have about their offerings. When you are in doubt about what to choose, they will even be glad to make recommendations and they come back to make sure that your burger was done the way you wanted. It is almost like North American customer service here!

The staff and the atmosphere in general are quite funky in a off-pop sci-fi kind of way, quirky but not Kirky. Unfortunately the place is quite small, so you ought to make a booking. The first time we went, we were told there would be a 45 minute wait. While we deliberated on what we were going to do, a burly man who looked like he had just finished his foodgasm walked out and - noticing our lack of enthusiasm for waiting 45 mins to eat - solemnly nodded at us and told us with a straight face that it would be the best burger we have ever had. We waited, and we were not disappointed.

http://atomicburger.co.uk/

The Old Bookbinders

A seemingly lost pub in Oxford is The Old Bookbinders. When I say "lost", I mean it in the sense that it is trying to find its identity amidst all the student bars and quaint old pubs filled with old-time regulars. Their menu is heavily French influenced, due to the owner and chef's background, and features charcuterie, moules-frites, and crêpes. This might be the only pub in England where you cannot have Fish-n-Chips.

That being said, they excel in making French-fries, or chips. They do the thin-cut, crispy kind, while most other pubs take the lazy way out of serving thick-cut wedges. Their fries are really something amazing, and competes for deliciousness with their house cole-slaw. This is coleslaw like you have never had, it tastes freshly made with crispy cabbage and carrots you can actually taste, rather than the white gooey lump offered at most other establishments.

Fortunately, the fries and coleslaw come as sides for their burger, which is equally fantastic. The one you must have is "Le Benicàssim", which is a beef burger topped with bacon, cheddar and a sunny-side-up egg.

The crêpes are disappointing for a kitchen with a French chef. At The Old Bookbinders, one single type of crêpe is used for all the crêpes, both sweet and savoury. This is not at all how crêpes are normally made and it simply comes across as being a lame attempt at taking a shortcut rather than making crêpes the way they are supposed to be made.

The prices are quite high and the staff's attitude is kind of a hit-or-miss: they are not really friendly, even a bit snob.

http://oldbookbinders.co.uk/

We wouldn't recommend at all:

Nando's on George Street. Nando's is a restaurant specialized in chicken dish. The food was not good, we were a table of five and nobody ate at the same time, even worse: 15 minutes after 2 people at our table had been served, we had to ask where the rest of the dishes were, and were told, in a nonchalant tone, that they were coming. Finally when the rest of the plates arrived, we realized they screwed up one of the orders and had to wait another 15 minutes. Also, the staff is not friendly and the food is awful.

Salmon with Sesame and Ginger

Salmon, salmon, salmon. Its not only good for you, but also easy and quick to put together for dinner. I have previously tried out Orange and Ginger Salmon; but for a bit of an Asian flair here is Sesame and Ginger Salmon. Served with a bit of rice, it makes for a lovely light and easy dinner.

Yes, you can have dinner ready in 20 minutes.

For two servings, you will need:

• One tablespoon of sesame seeds
• One half-palm size of ginger* (or slightly less if you use ginger powder, minced ginger, etc)
• About two or three tablespoons of soy sauce
• One teaspoon of sugar
• One tablespoon of oil

Of course, it would help of you had some salmon filets. I have served my salmon with rice, but I shall leave you to pick whatever side you would like to use.

Depending how much rice you are making, you might want to start the rice first. Check the package for instructions on how to cook your rice.

While the rice is cooking, start with your ginger. I used about a half-palm sized piece.

To retain some nice texture of ginger in the final dish, slice it into toothpick-long sticks. Don't fret about how thin or how thick to make them; it won't matter much at the end. I made three horizontal slices into the piece above before slicing it. You will also need one tablespoon of sesame seeds.

Lets start with the sesame seeds, roast them in a pan at medium-high heat with a bit of oil. You don't need too much oil as the sesame will ooze some of its own. Let your oil heat up well before adding the seeds.

You want to roast the sesame until it becomes nicely browned.

Now add your ginger slices.

Let the ginger become well browned, continuously stirring on high heat.

Now reduce the heat to a bit below medium and add your soy sauce.

Sprinkle a teaspoon of sugar and stir it in to the sauce, now we will let it simmer and reduce for a few minutes.

It is now time to cook the salmon, but if you are making rice on the side you might want to check the progress. There is no point in having your salmon ready if your rice is still cooking. Assuming the rice is ready, or whatever side you are using, you can add your salmon to the grill.

For the salmon, a bit of oil in a frying pan and just leave the salmon a few minutes on each side ... you can check the progress as it cooks up the side of the salmon filet.

By the time your salmon is done, the sauce will have reduced enough and is ready to serve.

Plate your rice, add a salmon filet, and spoon the ginger and sesame on top of the fish. If you like, you can spoon some of the infused soy sauce on the rice.

There! Less than 20 minutes and such an easy way to prepare a healthy dinner.

*Tip: Don't throw away your ginger, refer to our "Let's not waste anything!" page, and check out few ideas on how to use your ginger.

As with all the other recipes we put on this site, this is meant to be easy to follow. We are hobby chefs who love to cook, and we are always up for learning new techniques. If you know of anything in this recipe which can be done a different way, whether for increased ease of preparation or better taste, please add a comment below!

Whipped up by Shyamal Addanki

Cashew Chicken with Broccoli.

This is an easy stir-fry you can whip up in a wok with minimal effort. I personally love the contrast of textures between the firm and crisp cashew, the tender chicken and the soft broccoli.

The best part is that you just need:

• Some cashews, about a fistful per serving
• Some chicken, one breast or thigh per person 
• Some broccoli, one large flower is good for three servings
• A bit of soy sauce, or teriyaki sauce, or any other stir-fry sauces you can find 

Preparation time: 5 minutes
Cooking time: 15 minutes

Each type of sauce adds a different flavour, and you can be the scientist and mix-and-match different amounts of each sauce until you find one combination that you like.

Lets start with the cashews; with a little bit of vegetable oil in a wok, add a fistful of cashews for each person. If you really like cashews (as I do), feel free to add more! I like to add a bit of chilli powder and salt at this stage; if you are extremely adverse to spice, then skip the chilli. You can also add some paprika for some nice colour without the spice.

Roast them for about 3 minutes and then keep moving them around in the hot wok. We just want to get them nicely browned, then take them out and set them aside. We will use the oil in the wok for the chicken, so let it rest in there.

Next, lets cut the broccoli into manageable pieces and toss out the stem.

I used chicken thigh meat and chopped it up, you can use thighs or breasts as you like. Chop up the chicken and toss it in the wok on medium-high heat until it gets nicely browned.

Reduce the heat to medium and add the broccoli and cashews.

Now toss the pile around to get all the flavours mixed in, and at this stage you can add your sauces. Generally, add no more than one or two tablespoons of soy or teriyaki sauce per serving. Keep the heat up when you add the sauce; don't get scared if it starts sizzling!

When you have added your sauces, reduce the heat to medium-low and let it sit for a few minutes, to soften the broccoli. I always like to raise the heat to high at the very and for a quick toss in the wok and a final crisping of everything.

And finally, serve over rice.

As with all the other recipes we put on this site, this is meant to be easy to follow. We are hobby chefs who love to cook, and we are always up for learning new techniques. If you know of anything in this recipe which can be done a different way, whether for increased ease of preparation or better taste, please add a comment below!

Whipped up by Shyamal Addanki