Ingredients
Serves 4Red Duck Curry
1 stalk lemongrass, chopped
4cm piece ginger, peeled, sliced
1 teaspoon peanut oil
3 tablespoons red curry paste
400ml can coconut cream or milk, unshaken (Ayam brand)
2 cups chicken stock
1 Chinese barbecue duck or 400g cooked duck breasts, skin and bones removed, coarsely chopped
¼ cup fish sauce
2 tbsp grated or chopped palm sugar
1 large lime, juiced
565g can lychees, drained
1 bunch baby bok choy, shredded (see tip)
½ cup Thai basil leaves, optional
Cooked fresh rice noodles, to serve
Happy Face Biscuits
Makes 38
125g butter, softened
1¼ cups brown sugar
1 egg
¼ cup cocoa powder
¼ cup self raising flour
1 cup plain flour
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
½ cup sultanas
200g good quality dark, milk or white chocolate, chopped
Large packet Smartie chocolates
Method
Red Duck Curry
Place the lemongrass and ginger in small food processor or mortar and pestle and process or pound to a paste.
Heat a wok over medium-high heat until hot. Add oil and swirl to coat the wok. Add red curry paste and lemongrass paste and cook, stirring, for 20 seconds or until aromatic. Add the thick top layer from the top of the can of coconut cream or milk and cook for 1 minute or until it splits (this is known as cracking the milk), then add the remaining coconut cream or milk and chicken stock. Bring to the boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 5 minutes or until reduced slightly.
Add the duck and simmer 3 minutes. Combine the fish sauce, palm sugar and 3 tablespoons lime juice and stir into the curry with the lychees and boy choy stems, simmer 3 minutes.
Remove from the heat add bok choy leaves stir to combine. Scatter over the basil leaves if using and serve over noodles.
Tip: When you shred the leaves and stems of the bok choy keep them separate as the stems require a little longer cooking than the leaves.
Happy Face Biscuits
Preheat oven 170°C fan forced. Line 4 baking trays with baking paper.
Using an electric mixer beat the butter and sugar until just combined. Add the egg and cocoa powder and beat until well combined. Sift the flours and bicarbonate of soda together over the chocolate mixture and mix until the dough comes together. Stir in the sultanas and chocolate.
Drop spoonfuls of mixture onto the tray, allowing room for spreading. Flatten slightly with your fingertip. Top with smarties, biscuits spread so make sure add enough smarties (see tip).
Bake two trays at a time for 10 minutes until cracked on top. Remove from the oven, if the biscuits have spread into funny shapes you can use a knife to carefully push back into shape while they are hot. Stand on trays for 15 minutes until firm enough to transfer to a wire rack to cool.
Tip: It’s not uncommon for me to open the oven door after 7 minutes and quickly add a few more smarties to the top of each biscuit if I think they’re needed.
Family Food & Weekend Feasts by Janelle Bloom, Random House, RRP: $39.95