Just when I thought there was a bit of spring in the air, I find myself out de-icing my car windscreen again!  I am so ready for the spring to start, I am already dreaming of all the vegetables I'm planning to grow.  In anticipation of what I like to think of as the lighter eating months of the year I have been cooking up some really tasty salads.  I am particularly proud of this one, as it fits in nicely with my Chinese New Year recipes this week and is really fresh and healthy, so enjoy! Spicy Sichuan Chicken SaladA lot of Chinese dishes can be heavy going but this spicy Sichuan chicken salad, is light, bright and crisp.  To get the best aromatic flavour out of the Sichuan peppercorns, toast them in a hot oven for a few minutes, allow them to cool and grind in a... Similar posts

I was interviewed earlier this year for a blogging feature in Irish Tatler and a few weeks after I was offered the chance to become a regular contributor. This is the recipe I wrote for the October issue! Asian Chicken Salad with Chilli, Ginger and Lime Dressing Packed with tasty ingredients, this recipe is perfect for entertaining.  You can prepare all the ingredients separately, stick them in the fridge and assemble the salad when your guests arrive.  Don’t be afraid to add other vegetables here, peppers, cucumber, spring onions and bean sprouts are all tasty additions. Serves 4 Marinade: 2 tablespoon of soy sauce Juice of ½ lime 1 clove garlic, finely chopped ½ red chilli, finely chopped ½ thumb sized piece of ginger minced Dressing: 3 tablespoons of sunflower oil... Similar posts

As you might have guessed, if you are a regular reader of the blog, I have a major thing for zingy Asian food!  It all started when I was a lot younger, when my grandmother bought me a simple Chinese cookbook.  At that stage I had already worked my way through most of the cookbooks in our house but had never tried to cook any sort of Asian food.  Ingredients like ginger, lemongrass, coconut milk, and the rather peculiar looking star anise were all foreign to me, as a curious youngster.  I took it upon myself to become immersed in this little book, being brave and cooking the most strange sounding dishes first, in order to get a taste for the vast landscape of this cuisine.  From fortune cookies to spring rolls, from Thai green curry to sushi, I really gave... Similar posts

This is such a tasty, fragrant and fresh dish, I have had the idea for this dish for a while now and eventually got round to cooking it last night. The whole process took about 30 mins and was pretty hassle free. The duck is from Silverhill foods, it's a really great product, it's so handy to have in the freezer and is nice and crispy when cooked.There is nothing more appealing to me in fresh cooked food as combining texture's and this dish has it all, crunchiness from the cucumbers, crispiness from the duck, and softness from the aromatic vermicelli noodles.This recipe is a perfect example of experimentation in cookery. I had a vague idea of what I was doing when I started but the dressing itself came purely from my own tastes. That's the way cooking should be, not meticulously... Similar posts