Travel-inspired recipes for you to try at home

08 April 2020

New activities to fill the days, and ways to freshen up mealtimes have been all over social media recently. So, how about combining these with your love of travel to create destination-inspired dishes from across the globe? Here is a selection of authentic recipes, featuring some local specialities, that you can adapt and adopt to keep your time filled, and hopefully your plates empty!

Japan: Ginger Teriyaki Beef

Teriyaki is traditionally a type of Japanese cooking where soy sauce, sake, mirin and sugar are mixed together to make a sauce that is used as a sauce, marinade or coating for meat/tofu/vegetables. The finished teriyaki dish should have a lovely gloss to it, as the sauce is either poured over the dish while cooking or seasoned with it afterwards. 

Total preparation and cooking time is around 25 minutes

Serves: 4

 

Ingredients

80ml Teriyaki Sauce

125ml Hoisin Sauce

2 tbsp Rice wine (mirin) or substitute rice vinegar and add 1 tsp sugar to counteract the sour flavour, or even a dry sherry can be used (although this will alter the flavour a little)

1 tbsp oil

750g frying steak cut into thin strips

250g broccoli cut into florets

250g sugar snap peas, rinsed and trimmed

115g baby corn, halved lengthways

4cm piece of fresh ginger grated (or 20g of minced ginger)

120g beansprouts

 

Instructions

• Combine the sauces and the rice wine in a small bowl and set aside.
• Heat half the oil in a deep sided frying pan or wok and stir-fry the steak in batches until browned, then remove from the pan and set aside on a plate.
• Heat the remaining oil in the pan and stir-fry the broccoli until almost cooked through and tender.
• Return the steak strips to the pan together with the sauce mixture, and the remaining ingredients except the beansprouts and stir-fry until everything is tender.
• Add the beansprouts and stir-fry for a couple more minutes until they are cooked through.
• Serve with steamed rice or any cooked noodles you prefer

You can substitute the steak for chicken, prawns or any vegetarian alternative/tofu

 

Cambodia: Chicken Amok

Amok is a deliciously fragrant curry made with a coconut milk-based sauce which is infused with curry spices and is traditionally served either in a coconut shell or in a bowl made from banana leaves. It is typically accompanied by gorgeously sticky jasmine rice, and is most commonly fish or chicken.  Most good supermarkets these days stock a lot of the ingredients, but so that you don’t have to make unnecessary journeys out to stock up, alternatives have been added here where possible, which you may already have in your cupboards.

Total preparation and cooking time is around 45 minutes

Serves: 4

 

Ingredients

For the Amok Paste:

3 tbsp lemongrass stalks, chopped (you can substitute with lemongrass paste, or even some lemon zest finely grated if you don’t have fresh lemongrass)

4 whole large fresh mint leaves chopped (or a teaspoon of dried mint)

1 tbsp minced galangal (if you can’t find galangal, then you can substitute fresh ginger root, minced)

1 shallot finely chopped

2 garlic cloves crushed

1 red chili (seeds removed, flesh finely chopped)

1 tsp ground turmeric

1/2 tsp salt

1 tbsp water

1 tbsp coconut milk

1 tsp palm sugar (you can substitute maple syrup, or half the amount of muscovado sugar, as palm sugar is not as sweet as ordinary sugar)

1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper

 

The rest of the dish:

500g chicken breast boneless, skinless, cut into bite-sized pieces

1 can coconut milk

1 tbsp fish sauce

2 tsp cornflour

 

To serve:

2 tsp lime zest for garnish (optional)

360g jasmine rice (to make four servings)

 

Instructions

• Prepare and cook the jasmine rice according to the instructions on the packet. Whilst the rice is cooking, prepare the rest of the dish.
• Place all the Amok paste ingredients into a mini blender or use a hand blender, and blend thoroughly for about 2 minutes. The paste should be fairly smooth and not too thick. If not, add a little more water to thin it slightly.
• In a separate bowl whisk together the coconut milk and fish sauce. Set aside.
• In a deep non-stick frying pan or wok, stir fry the chicken pieces until they are done. Transfer chicken to a plate and cover until needed.
• In the same pan, heat the Amok paste on a medium heat until it becomes fragrant, which should take around 3-4 minutes. When this is done, add in the coconut milk/fish sauce mixture, and stir through to combine.
• To thicken the sauce, mix 2 tsp of cornflour with 2 tablespoons of the sauce (which has been allowed to cool a little before mixing) in a small bowl, and whisk together to make a roux.
• Pour the roux into the sauce, stirring continuously whilst you pour, and continue to stir until the sauce is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.
• Once the sauce has thickened with the roux, add the chicken pieces back into the pan and simmer for around 10 minutes until the chicken pieces are cooked through.
• Serve with the jasmine rice, and if using, the lime zest sprinkled over the top of the curry.

This can also be served with roti, or chapatis, and a side salad.

 

Mexico: Chilli Enchiladas

Our take on a Mexican favourite, using leftover chilli as the filling. A spicy, filling dinner treat with a melted cheese and refried bean topping.

Total preparation and cooking time is around 40 minutes

Serves: 4

 

Ingredients:

4 – 6 Tortillas, preferably corn, although flour tortillas will do if that is all you have

400g leftover chilli (or if you have less, add some cooked white rice into it to make it go further)

1 small can of refried beans*

Half a 250g carton of passata*

100g of grated cheddar cheese

 

Instructions

Heat the oven to 200 degrees (or 180 degrees for a fan oven, or Gas mark 6)

Lightly grease the inside of a deep rectangular oven dish

Mix the tin of refried beans with the passata and put to one side

Add several spoons of the chilli/chilli and rice mixture in a line down the centre of each tortilla, roll it up and place it in the oven dish, keeping the fold underneath to prevent it unwrapping whilst cooking.  Continue with the chill and tortillas until all is used and the dish is full.

Pour the bean and passata mixture over the top of the tortillas and spread evenly across, then top with the grated cheese.

Bake for around 30 minutes in the oven until the sauce and cheese topping is bubbling and the tortillas are starting to go golden brown.

Serve with a side salad, sour cream, salsa and guacamole.

 

*  If you have no refried beans/passata, you can substitute with salsa

 

Italy: Classic Tomato Sauce

This sauce is a basic Italian tomato sauce, and lends itself as a base to many classic dishes (it can be a pizza base if thickened slightly with a tomato puree, or can be used with minced beef to make the meat layer of a lasagne) or it can be served as a dish in itself with whatever cooked pasta you have to hand. You can add various other ingredients and herbs to it to vary the flavour too*.

Total preparation and cooking time is around 40 minutes

Serves: 4

 

Ingredients

1 small onion, peeled and finely chopped

2 tbsp oil

1 small carrot, peeled and finely chopped

2 sticks celery, trimmed and finely chopped

500ml passata or 600g of tinned chopped tomatoes

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

 

Instructions

• Gently fry the onion in the oil for approx. 1 minute.
• Add the carrot and celery and continue to fry for approx. another 2 minutes, until the vegetables are all tender and the onion is going translucent. Do not cook on too high a heat, and do not let the vegetables go brown.
• Add the passata or chopped tomatoes and seasoning and bring up to almost boiling, then simmer for around 20-30 minutes until the sauce has thickened. You can add a tbsp of tomato puree to help thicken the sauce too.
• Once cooked, allow to cool a little then blend until smooth (sauce can be heated up again once blended).
• Serve hot, poured over cooked pasta and sprinkled with grated parmesan if wished. Garlic bread also makes a great accompaniment.

 

*       Add cooked ham, or cooked bacon lardons to the sauce if you want a meat-based dish, or chili flakes and cooked prawns to make a spiced prawn dish.

*       Add herbs, such as basil, or oregano to give an alternative flavour, especially if using for lasagne or pizza sauce

*       Add a clove of crushed garlic when frying the vegetables

 

UK: Easter Biscuits

Finally, how about that staycation?

Easter biscuits are a West Country biscuit, traditionally given to guests on Easter Sunday. They are lightly spiced, currant-studded, soft, round biscuits with a sugary crunch.  The true recipe has Cassia oil flavouring (the food grade kind) in it, but this can be substituted with mixed spice and cinnamon if you don’t have it or can’t get it.  This is also an ideal recipe to bake with children as it is quick and easy.

 

Ingredients

400g plain flour, sieved

200g margarine or butter

150g caster sugar

150g currants

2 eggs

2 - 4 tbsp milk (if dough is dry)

6 drops of cassia oil (or 1 level tsp ground mixed spice and 1 level tsp ground cinnamon)

 

• Preheat the oven to 180C(160C Fan oven or Gas mark 4). Lightly grease two baking trays or line with greaseproof paper.
• Beat the butter and sugar in a bowl together until light and fluffy.
• Beat in the egg yolk (add a spoonful of the flour if the mixture starts to curdle).
• Add in the flour and spices and mix into the butter, sugar and egg mixture. Add some of the milk if the dough is too dry and stiff.
• Bring together using your hands, to make a fairly soft dough.
• Add the currants and knead gently on a lightly floured work surface. Don’t knead too much as this will make the biscuits tough and hard.
• Roll out to a thickness of about 5mm/¼in. Cut into rounds using a circular cutter (or chicks/ducks/eggs if you have those shapes, or even just cut freehand with a knife), and place on the prepared baking trays.
• Bake in the preheated oven for 15 – 20 minutes, or until pale golden brown. Keep a careful eye on the biscuits, they should not be too brown.
• Sprinkle with caster sugar whilst they are still hot. When they are cool enough to handle, lift onto a wire rack with a spatula/pallet knife and leave to cool.
• Store in an airtight container (if you can resist them for that long)!

 

To discuss anything travel-related, whether that’s your next adventure or which of these recipes you’ve enjoyed the most, contact your Travel Counsellor and they’ll be happy to help.

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