Quick dinner- Minced lamb pasta sauce

Hello All!

This was a quick and easy dinner I knocked up for myself this evening. I defrosted some minced lamb the night before and used it to make a 'quick bolognese-style' sauce. I find that using lamb makes up for cooking the sauce for a shorter period of time- traditional bolognese often involves cooking for a long period of time to intensify the flavour. I personally love the flavour of lamb and plus as I don't take beef, lamb is a delicious alternative!

When I cooked this, I did think of a friend of mine, A who is half Italian. I remember his expression of horror when I told him once that I often use lamb in my pasta sauces. He even said he would have to consult his mom ( who's Italian) on whether that's acceptable!

Quick pasta sauce + spaghetti

Ingredients

Makes 2 portions

300 grammes of lamb mince

3 cloves of garlic, chopped

1 tablespoon of capers

1 tin of plum tomatoes

1 generous tablespoon of tomato puree

1 teaspoon of mixed herbs

Salt and sugar (yes you read it right!) to taste.

1 tablespoon of vegetable/ olive oil

Method

1. Heat the oil in a deep saucepan on medium heat. In the meantime, cook your pasta according to the instructions on the packet.
2. Fry the garlic until slightly brown. Add the capers and stir through.
3. Add the mince and fry till cooked through.
4. Add the tinned tomatoes and tomato puree. Simmer for about 10 minutes until the sauce thickens slightly.
5. Season to taste. By this time, your pasta should be done and voila, dinner is ready!

Char Siu Sou - Cheat's version

Hi All!

I promised Z to make char siu bao but when I googled recipes to make the bun itself, it looked a bit too time consuming for me (I will be baking a cake as well this weekend, so was rushed for time- more on that later). So, I made char siu sou instead. And to save time even more, I used shop bought puff pastry (yes yes, I know, disappointing!). This saved a lot of time, and left me with less worries as to how the pastry will turn out! I got the idea from here- I thought it was very clever!

BUT.. I did make the char siu! (Hooray!) I marinated it for two nights, but I suspect one night will be sufficient. I used the tenderloin for this recipes, so it's less fatty. Some people would prefer char siu with a bit a bit of fat (I do as well!) but for some reason, I feel that a leaner cut of meat will work better in this recipe. 

the lovely insides! :)

Char Siu Sou
Makes 5 large char siu sous

Marinade for char siu
200-300 grammes of pork tenderloin- I cut it to several large chunks
3 tablespoons of hoi sin sauce
1 teaspoon of grated fresh ginger
1 teaspoon of salt
1 tablespoon of sugar
1 teaspoon of sesame oil
1 teaspoon of red food colouring (optional)

Additional ingredients for the filling
1 teaspoon of dark soya sauce
1 onion, finely chopped
1 teaspoon of sugar/ honey- to taste
1 tablespoon of vegetable oil (or any oil that does not have a strong odour)
1 tablespoon of corn flour diluted in 2-3 tablespoons of cold water (important to use cold water, otherwise you'll have congealed mess!)

500 grammes of puff pastry (I used JusRoll's puff pastry)
1 beaten egg

Method

1. Marinade the pork for a few hours, or if possible overnight.
2. Roast the pork in a pre-heated oven at 150 C  (fan) for about 30-40 minutes. Reserve any juices/leftover marinade. I checked my meat halfway through to see if it was cooked- it should bounce ever so slightly upon being pressed.
3. Leave the meat to rest for 10 minutes.
4. Heat the oil in a wok and fry the chopped onion on medium heat till soft and lightly caramelised. This will take probably about 3-5 minutes.
5. Chop the rested pork into small cubes and add it to the work.
6. Add the rest of the ingredients and stir well. Add any leftover marinade and heat through. 
7. Season to taste and add water accordingly - the filling should be slightly sweet and slightly wet.
8. Roll the puff pastry to about 5mm thick. Don't roll it too thin, otherwise it will not puff up.
9. I cut the pastry to about 5 relatively large rectangles using a sharp knife. This will take about 1 1/2 tablespoons of filling.
10. Put the filling on one side of the rectangle and brush the edge of that side with the beaten egg. Fold the pastry over and seal the parcel. 
11. Poke some holes on the parcel with a fork- this allows any steam to be released to avoid additional moisture.
12. Brush the parcels with the egg wash.
13. Bake in a preheated oven at 150 C (fan) for 30-45 minutes until golden brown and pastry is cooked through. I made the mistake of turning my pastry halfway through the process- don't! This results in a flattened top of the parcel. Using the lower rack is advisable, to make sure that the bottom of the parcel is cooked at the same rate as the top half of the parcels.

It's been a looonnng time!

Wow! without realising, it's been more than a year since I last posted! So what has been happening since then? Well, I got a new job, I moved to another location, and I have been baking as well! I also *hopefully, with lots of fingers crossed* have sat my last written exam for now. So lots of exciting things, and it's been a bit of a rollercoster ride.

So to end a long hiatus, let's have a review rather than something I cooked recently ( which has been mostly stirfries, which I personally enjoy but not sure if it can fit into 'exciting eats'. It's also been more than a year since I had a meal at this place, so I think it sort of fits the post!

It's a restaurant I discovered when I was still at my old job, thanks to a friend of mine who was eating there almost every evening for a few months! It's a no fuss restaurant, more like a cafe. I find the food delicious, non pretentious and just some good old filling grub. It's a place where you go for the food rather than the atmosphere. The service is basic, friendly but not over the top.

On this occasion, I had it as a takeaway instead. I was busy packing my stuff (yes, it was among my last meals in Birmingham, where I was based until September last year). I had a 'mixed meat rice' dish- roasted chicken and duck with steamed rice. It was SO GOOD (in fact, I wish I have a plateful now). You can sort of see some steamed chinese cabbage underneath the pile of meat. It was comforting and really satisfying- gave me the energy to continue packing my things afterwards. The meat was tender, well cooked, and the duck was oh so juicy!

I often call the place 'dodgy lane' restaurant, not because it's actually in a dodgy area (far from it, it's smacked in the middle of Chinatown), but because it's along one of the smaller lanes in Chinatown, places where people don't venture to unless they know what they're looking for. Despite being back to Brum a few times since I left, I have not had the chance to go back to this beloved cafe. Only because I'm usually there to meet a big group of friends, and the cafe doesn't really have the capacity to take large groups.

Prices are reasonable (I think the dish above was about £7), and portions are generous. I would definitely recommend this place for a good, wholesome Chinese meal!

Peach Garden
34 Ladywell Walk, Birmingham
B5 4RX

Disclaimer: This entry is not a sponsored post, and is entirely based on my personal tastebuds. I have not received any monetary or non-monetary payment to write this post.