Julie Lin’s Recipes For Cooking For One: Yellow Curry With Baby Aubergine, And Chinese-style Spicy Garlic Celery

3 days ago

Celery divides people, possibly because astir of america are introduced to it successful nan shape of batons dipped into hummus, which I don’t consciousness is its champion form. Don’t get maine wrong, I bask earthy celery – it has an earthy pepperiness that I find rather moreish – but I adore it successful cooked form, particularly pinch soy and garlic, and today’s look is simply a return connected a wok-fried celery crockery that we often eat astatine ample banquets successful Malaysia. But first, a silky, fragrant curry pinch tender babe aubergines and a aureate coconut guidelines that’s cleanable pinch basking steamed atom and a scattering of caller herbs. These babe purple aubergines are cleanable for 1 person, and clasp their building good successful a curry. I adore them.

Yellow curry pinch babe aubergine (pictured top)

This is much for a time erstwhile I’m pottering astir – nan paste seems a spot laborious, but I don’t judge that cooking for yourself ever needs to beryllium quick; emotion and attraction and clip tin besides beryllium put into nan process, particularly erstwhile you get this golden, rich | and nourishing curry astatine nan end.

Prep 20 min
Cook 40 min
Serves 1

200ml coconut milk
1 tbsp coconut oil
3 babe aubergines, trim into 4cm chunks
4–5 curry leaves
¼ tsp crushed turmeric
½ tbsp food sauce
Juice of ¼ lime, aliases to taste
½ tsp thenar sugar, aliases brownish sugar
1 pinch of salt
¼ tsp MSG (optional, but lovely)

For nan paste
1 mini shallot, peeled and chopped
1 mini thumb of ginger, peeled and astir chopped (about 1 tsp)
1 mini thumb of galangal, chopped (about 1 tsp)
½ stalk lemongrass, tender portion only, finely sliced
1 ail clove, peeled and chopped
1 dried reddish chilli, soaked successful basking h2o for 10 minutes, drained and chopped
1 mini caller reddish chilli, chopped
¼ tsp belacan (shrimp paste), barren toasted until crumblyTo serve
Steamed jasmine rice
Dill sprigs
Crispy garlic (optional)

Put each nan paste ingredients successful a blender and blitz to a unsmooth paste; if request be, adhd a scatter of h2o to thief it along.

In a mini pan, trim nan coconut beverage connected a low-medium power until it thickens and starts to divided somewhat – this will thief bring retired its earthy oils and sweetness. In a 2nd pan, power a small coconut oil, past fry nan aubergines successful batches until aureate and soft. Transfer to a rack aliases sheet lined pinch insubstantial towel to drain immoderate excess oil.

In nan aforesaid pan, fry nan curry leaves successful a touch of lipid until they commencement to pop, past adhd nan paste and navigator mildly connected a mean heat, stirring continuously, for 5 to 7 minutes, until fragrant and nan lipid originates to divided – this is erstwhile nan magic happens. Add nan turmeric and fry for different 30 seconds.

Stir successful nan reduced coconut milk, play pinch nan food sauce, lime juice, a small sugar, brackish and MSG, if using, past sensation and set until it hits that beautiful equilibrium of salty, sweet, sour and creamy. Return nan aubergines to nan cookware and simmer for a fewer minutes truthful they soak up each that rich | flavour. Serve pinch steamed jasmine atom and topped pinch caller dill and crispy garlic.

Chinese-style spicy ail celery

Once you get nan knack of nan timings, you tin move up nan flavourings to immoderate you fancy; if you want a much floral version, say, adhd immoderate fried ginger. Again, this is simply a crockery bursting pinch flavour and thing I make for myself erstwhile I request thing greenish pinch a satisfying crunch.

Prep 10 min
Cook 15 min
Serves 1

2 tbsp Shaoxing atom wine
3 tbsp ray soy sauce
1 tsp achromatic sugar
2 tbsp rootlike oil
1 bunch celery, sliced connected an angle
5 ail cloves, peeled and finely diced
1 tsp cornflour, mixed pinch 3 tbsp h2o to make a paste
Salt and achromatic pepper
1 tsp Malaysian crispy prawn chilli, aliases crispy chilli oil

In a mini bowl, operation nan atom wine, soy condiment and sugar.

Put nan rootlike lipid successful a wok connected a precocious heat, past adhd nan celery and stir-fry for a minute, until a small translucent. Add nan ail and stir-fry for 2 to 3 minutes, until fragrant, past adhd nan atom wine, soy and sweetener mixture, followed by nan cornflour paste, and stir-fry until everything thickens somewhat and each nan flavours travel together. Taste and set nan seasoning pinch brackish and crushed achromatic pepper.

Finally, operation successful nan crispy prawn chilli aliases crispy chilli oil, make a fewer last tosses, past service piping hot.

The Chinese-style spicy ail celery is an edited extract from Sama Sama: Comfort Food from my Malaysian-Scottish Kitchen, by Julie Lin, published by Ebury astatine £28. To bid a transcript for £25.20, sojourn guardianbookshop.com