I Quit Sugar for Life (35 page)
Read I Quit Sugar for Life Online
Authors: Sarah Wilson
The meal that made me cry!
SERVES 4
OK, so when I’m asked to cite my favourite food experience, this is the one I share. I first ate cari ga on a mountain-bike trip with my
brother Pete in Vietnam. We’d been riding for 9 hours through a desert and up one of the highest mountains in the country. Plus, I had food poisoning. By the time we arrived, I was deadset
delirious. Pete found us a hole-in-the-wall place steaming with a cauldron of this Vietnamese version of chicken curry. At the first spoonful, I cried from the life-giving pleasure it injected into
me and ordered another two serves. I keep a picture of it above my desk as a big reminder of the worth of getting over a mountain. Cari ga is traditionally made with potato and served with a chunk
of baguette, but I’ve substituted sweet potato.
700 g chicken thighs or chicken pieces, skin on and bone in
1 stalk lemongrass, finely chopped, green ends reserved (or 1 tablespoon bought chopped lemongrass)
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
3-cm knob of fresh ginger, finely chopped (or 1 tablespoon bought chopped ginger)
2 tablespoons fish sauce
5 tablespoons yellow curry powder or Massaman curry paste
1 cup (250 ml) Leftovers Chicken Stock (see
here
)
2 medium sweet potatoes, cut into 2.5-cm chunks
1 large carrot, cut into 2.5-cm chunks
1 onion, cut into 2.5-cm chunks
400 ml can coconut milk
½ teaspoon granulated stevia (optional)
2 bay leaves
2 tablespoons arrowroot, cornflour or chia bran (optional)
2 spring onions, chopped
roti, mountain bread, poppadoms or a baguette, to serve
Place the chicken, chopped lemongrass, garlic, ginger, fish sauce and half the curry powder or paste in a bowl (it’s best to use the ceramic insert from your electric slow
cooker) and toss to combine. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour to marinate. (You could even leave it overnight. I do.) Transfer the mixture to the slow cooker (if you’ve marinated the chicken in the insert, simply replace the insert). Mix the rest of the curry powder or paste with a
little of the stock, and add to the slow cooker along with the vegetables, the rest of the stock, the coconut milk, stevia, lemongrass ends and bay leaves. Stir to combine and cook on low for
7–8 hours or high for 3–4 hours.
If you like a thicker curry (I do), 20 minutes before serving, remove 4 tablespoons of the liquid from the slow cooker and whisk in the arrowroot, cornflour or chia bran to
form a slurry, then pour back into the curry and stir through. Replace the lid, turn the slow cooker to high and cook for another 20 minutes.
Garnish with spring onions and serve with roti, mountain bread, poppadoms or a baguette.
SERVES
2 bunches broccolini (tender stem broccoli)
small handful of basil leaves, plus extra to serve
½ cup (75 g) cashews
600 g skinless whiting fillets, cut into even portions
½ cup (120 ml) Deceptively Sweet Chilli Sauce (see
here
)
Preheat the oven to 180°C (gas 4). Arrange broccolini (tender stem broccoli), basil and cashews in a large ovenproof dish. Top with the fish pieces and drizzle with sweet
chilli sauce. Bake for about 15 minutes, or until the fish is cooked through. Serve garnished with the extra basil leaves.
Bulk-out Variation:
A clever way to bulk out this recipe for hungry families is to add rice. Place ½ cup (100 g) rice and 1½ cups (350 ml) water in a large ovenproof frying pan or a
cast-iron skillet that will fit in the oven, cover with a lid or foil and bring to the boil over high heat, then reduce the heat to medium and simmer for 10 minutes – most of the water should
be gone and the rice should be tender but still a little undercooked. Remove pan from heat. Follow the recipe as above, using the pan or skillet containing the rice base.
SERVES
Travelling in Southern Europe, I’ve come across a lot of different ways to fix a fennel. When in season (during autumn), you should buy up
these sweet-satiating, stomach-settling and inflammation-busting bulbs and make both versions of this twist on the French dessert classic. The sweet version is great for afternoon tea, the savoury
for a weekend lunch.
1 tablespoon coconut oil
2 medium bulbs fennel, trimmed and cut into wedges
1/3 cup (75 ml) rice malt syrup
2 tablespoons full-fat milk (or any other kind of milk)
½ (115 g) cup macadamia nuts
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 sheet puff pastry or gluten-free puff pastry, thawed
full-fat organic plain yoghurt, cream or Whipped Coconut Cream (see
here
), to serve (optional)
Preheat the oven to 200°C (gas 6). In a large ovenproof frying pan, heat the oil over medium–high heat. Add the fennel wedges and cook for 4 minutes on each side or
until golden and caramelised. Drizzle over the syrup and milk, and cook for another minute for the syrup to thicken. Arrange the fennel in a pattern in the pan. Add the macadamia nuts and sprinkle
the lot with the cinnamon. Remove from the heat and cover with the puff pastry cut to fit. Pop in the oven and cook for 15–20 minutes or until the pastry is puffed and golden. To serve,
gently dislodge the edges of the pastry from the pan using a fork or knife. Place a large plate upside down on top of the pan and flip the whole thing over. You may need to reshuffle a couple of
the fennel wedges. Serve warm on its own or with a spoonful of yoghurt, cream or Whipped Coconut Cream.
Savoury Variation:
Make as for the sweet tarte tatin, but replace the cinnamon with ½ tablespoon of thyme leaves and, instead of the Whipped Coconut Cream, top the cooked tarte with 125 g
of soft goat’s cheese, crumbled, and freshly ground black pepper to taste.
