"I can cook curry! Curry rice...and I can make very easy cake... Noodles, noodle soup..."

Ming

Curry rice

This sweet and spicy "curry rice" is from Japan, but has become popular in Taiwan as well. I used a recipe from a blog called Taiwanxifu, with only a few changes made. It was a different way of preparing curry than I'd made before; by making a tomato and curry based roux and thickening it with chicken stock.

This is such a delicious dish, and it goes a long way!

1 tbsp chopped ginger
1 large clove garlic, chopped
4-5 cups chicken stock
4 tbsp flour
2 tbsp Japanese curry powder
1 tbsp tomato paste
1 onion, chopped

2 carrots, peeled and in chunks

3 small potatoes, in cubes

1 lb chicken thighs, cut into bite-sized pieces

1 red apple, peeled and grated

1 tbsp soy sauce (or sweet soy)

Rice, to serve

1. In a large, heavy bottomed pan, heat a knob of butter with a good splash of oil. Add the ginger and garlic and cook briefly, until aromatic.  Meanwhile, bring a pot of your  chicken stock to boil.

2. Add flour and cook for a bit, stirring frequently. Once it's gotten a bit of colour, add curry and tomato paste. Heat through.

3. Add a small amount of hot stock and stir to incorporate. Ladle by ladle, add hot stock to the pot, stirring constantly. 

4. Add remaining ingredients and bring to the boil. Reduce heat to low and cook for about a half hour, stirring occasionally.

5. Serve with rice.

What is your favourite holiday and what do you eat then?

"Pesach...coleslaw by my grandmother, matzo balls, coconut and chocolate macaroons..."

Liz, Toronto, Canada

Matzo Ball Soup

The smell of matzo ball soup cooking is a surefire sign that spring is on it’s way! Though, I’d be happy eating this any day of the year…

Chicken fat, or shmaltz, as it’s known in Yiddish, is the secret ingredient to a perfect matzo ball. You can buy it, but you can also just use the fat that you scoop off the top of your broth as it cooks.  I also used chicken salt in my matzo balls (a strange Aussie product that I love) for an extra chicken-y kick.

Boiling a whole chicken will yield way more meat than you need. I made some chicken salad with kewpie mayonnaise and avocado... delicious! (And probably pretty good on matzo…)

For the soup:

1 whole chicken

2 onions, quartered

2 peeled carrots, cut into large chunks

2 stalks celery, cut into large chunks

A pinch peppercorns

Salt

A bay leaf, some thyme and rosemary tied up with string

For the matzo balls:

1 cup matzo meal

1/4 melted chicken fat (you can also use oil)

4 eggs

1/4 cup seltzer

Ground pepper

Salt

1. Put all your soup ingredients in a large pot. Cover completely with water and bring to boil.

2. Gently boil, uncovered, occasionally skimming any impurities or fat that rise to the top. 

3. Meanwhile, make your matzo balls. In a medium-sized bowl, combine all ingredients and mix well. Be sure to use plenty of salt! Wrap in clingfilm and refrigerate for at least an hour and a half.

4. Let your broth cook for at least two hours. To keep it from reducing drastically, you can add water occasionally. Salt graciously.

5. When your matzo ball mixture is ready, boil a pot of water. Form smooth, golfball sized balls, and add to the pot. Cover with a tight fitting lid, reduce to a simmer, and cook for about thirty minutes.

6. When the broth tastes rich and flavourful, remove chicken and leave to cool on a platter. Strain the broth and reserve the carrots.

7. Shred the cooked chicken and slice the cooked carrots into coins.

8. To serve, put a handful of shredded chicken, some carrots, and a couple of matzo balls into each bowl and ladle hot broth over.

Enjoy, and if you're celebrating Pesach, chag sameach!