Hello Posterous

I'm cheating on Blogger. Don't tell anyone...

Posted via email from

Lunch or Dinner: Larb Gai (i.e. Thai Chicken Salad)

Today is a Public Holiday in Australia, and I decided to take yesterday off work and create a 4-day weekend/3-day week. Last week was really busy, with work [obviously], plus multiple gigs (Joanna Newsom and The Decemberists [both awesome]), trips to the tennis, leaving drinks, and a splitting migraine which wrote off most of my Tuesday. Yesterday was a chance to have a well deserved lie-in.

Once I was back in the land of the living, I walked around the corner to Victoria Street (home of many a Vietnamese restaurant, Asian Supermarket and the odd person who really, really likes heroin), via the aforementioned detour to Three Bags Full. The plan was to pick up some ingredients for Larb Gai (a Laotian/Thai Salad of Minced Chicken with Toasted Rice, Lime and Chilli) and Banana, Coconut and Walnut Bread (recipe to follow later in week)

Having had Larb made by friends, and eaten it at restaurants, I was pleasantly surprised with how my effort turned out - sweet, sour and salty with a decent chilli kick and a nice bit of texture added by the ground rice. Plenty of leftovers to take to work for lunch too...

LARB GAI (Makes approx 6 serves)

Ingredients

1/3 cup glutinous/jasmine rice

1/3-2/3 cup fresh lime juice

1/3 cup fish sauce (nam pla)

1 tbl sugar

2 tsp Roasted chilli paste chili-garlic sauce (nam prik pao)

100ml Chicken Stock

700g minced chicken

1 cup thinly sliced spring onion, finely chopped

1 small red onion, finely chopped

3 tbl minced lemongrass

1 tbl minced ginger or galangal

1 tbl thinly sliced (hot) Thai chilli

1/4 cup chopped fresh Vietnamese Mint

1/4 cup chopped fresh coriander

small handful of green beans, chopped small.

Lettuce/Asian Cabbage Leaves, sliced cucumber and carrots to serve.

Method

1. Whisk lime juice, fish sauce, sugar and chilli paste together in medium bowl to blend; reserve sauce.
2. Bring stock to simmer over medium heat. Add chicken. Simmer until cooked through, breaking up meat with spoon. Add onions, lemongrass, ginger/galangal and stir for a minute of so until most of liquid has evaporated. 
3. Meanwhile blanch the green beans in boiling water for one minute. Refresh under cold water once tender.
4. Remove chicken from heat. Stir in sauce, coriander, sliced chilli, green beans and mint. Season with salt and pepper. Leave to cool.
5. Toast rice in a dry pan for a few minutes until fragrant and lightly coloured. Grind into a coarse powder using a food processor or pestle and mortar.
6. Before serving, stir rice powder into chicken to add texture and partially soak up the sauce.
7. To serve, spoon into lettuce/cabbage leaves with finely sliced carrot and cucumber.

Brunch at Three Bags Full

Three Bags Full
Corner of Nicholson and Mollison Streets,
Abbotsford, 3067 (map)

Whilst I certainly enjoy food, it's fair to say that I don't intend this blog to be packed full of reviews of places I eat. Similarly, I see a hell of a lot of live music, but struggle to articulate the good and bad when someone asks me how it was - maybe I'm not critical enough, and maybe I don't have the poetic way with words that others do. I'm not very good at being concise either.

So with that disclaimer out of the way, I'll tell you about today's brunch at the newly-opened (this very morning apparently - thank you Twitter) Three Bags Full. It's from the people that brought you Liar Liar in Hawthorn, and APTE in Alphington, and can be found in a converted Warehouse just off Victoria Street in Abbotsford. Somewhat conveniently, this is less that ten minutes walk from my house.

The fit-out is fantastic; free-hanging light bulbs (some with cup and saucer shades), reclaimed industrial furniture, including seating made from old road signs, amongst other things. There's a bit of a yellow thing going on, which gave me an opportunity for gratuitous use of the 'Colour Accent' photo on my Canon IXUS - always a plus.

As usual, a Clover machine on site, and Five Senses providing in the beans was the sign that that a great coffee was on the way. I stuck with Long Macchiatos today, which were strong and smooth, and looked over the menu which had plenty of options for those who have an aversion to eggs in their simplest form. Despite the long list to choose from, I couldn't go past the Cauliflower Fritters with Halloumi, given my long-standing love for fritters in general, and my ever-growing obsession with a cheese that doesn't melt when you heat it up.

And ohhhhh they were good. Two fritters, lightly flavoured with some Middle Eastern spices, came layered with halloumi and accompanied by a minty, yogurt dressing and what was basically a warm tomato chutney. It was all I could do not to lick the plate afterwards. And that's why I decided to write it up on here.

I haven't been to Liar Liar since it changed hands, but with Three Bags Full, and Proud Mary in Collingwood, I've gained two new haunts even closer to my house - not a bad outcome at all. I'm going to walk past at the weekend and see how packed it is - I bet there'll be queues round the block....

Dinner #1: Lamb w/ smashed peas, feta and mint

Whilst I've ben cooking recently, I haven't been blogging. That said, there's a few photos stacked up that I'll work my way through eventually but for now, here's a weekday dinner (as made this evening) that takes about 10 minutes to prepare and cook.

Lamb w/ smashed peas, feta and mint (Serves 2)

Ingredients

2 x 150g pieces Lamb backstrap or fillet
Frozen Peas
Crumbled Feta
Crushed Garlic
Dried Oregano
Olive Oil
Lemon Juice
Fresh Mint

Method

1. Marinade lamb in olive oil, garlic and oregano. (ideally before you go to work in the morning)
2. Pan-fy over a medium-high heat for no more than 3 minutes each side. Cover with foil and leave to rest.
3. Boil frozen peas until tender, drain and crush lightly with a fork or potato masher. Mix with feta, fresh mint, a drizzle of olive oil, and a squeeze of lemon juice.
4. Once lamb has rested, slice on the angle, serve on top of the peas, drizzled with a little more olive oil.