"Chef's Diary"

Ingredients:

(serves 4)

* 4 medium bananas

* 85g milk chocolate

* 50g soft brown sugar

* 400ml can coconut milk

* optional: 1 tbs rum

Method:

1. Heat oven to 200C/fan 180C/gas 6. Peel the bananas and cut into large chunks on the diagonal. Roughly chop the chocolate and set aside. Place the bananas on the bottom of 4 large ramekins, sprinkle with the sugar and pour over the coconut milk. Bake in the oven for 15 mins, until the bananas are soft. Remove from the oven and sprinkle over the chocolate. Stir a little to create chocolate swirls before eating.

Note: This is very easy, quick(cca 1/2 h) and tasty recipe. For extra aroma and adults only version add 1 tbs of rum to coconut milk.

Ingredients:

(serves 2)

1 lb of flank steak, thinly sliced crosswise

1/4 cup of cornstarch

3 teaspoons of canola oil

1/2 teaspoon of grated ginger (about 1/2 inch piece)

1 tablespoon of chopped garlic (about 2 -3 large cloves)

1/2 cup of water

1/2 cup of soy sauce (I use low sodium)

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon of red pepper flakes

3 large green onions, sliced crosswise into thirds

Method:

Prepare the meat:

First, make sure the steak slices are dry (pat them dry) and mix them with the corn starch. Using your hands or a spoon, move them around to make sure all pieces are coated. Place beef slices in a strainer and shake off excess corn starch (see picture bellow).

Make the sauce:

Heat half of the oil in a large wok at medium-high and add the garlic and ginger. Immediately add the soy sauce, water, brown sugar and pepper flakes. Cook the sauce for about 2 minutes and transfer to a bowl. Don’t worry if the sauce doesn’t look thick enough at this point. The corn starch in the beef will thicken it up later.

Cook the meat and assemble dish:

Turn the heat up and add the remaining oil to the wok. Add the beef and cook, stirring until it is all browned (this is a quick thing). Pour the sauce back into the wok and let it cook along with the meat. Now you can choose to cook it down and reduce the sauce or leave it thinner. Add the green onions on the last minute so the green parts will stay green and the white parts crunchy.

Serve it hot with rice.

Ingredient:

2 teaspoons of vegetable oil

1 tablespoon of Thai red curry paste

4 cups of chicken stock

400 mls can of coconut milk

1 piece of ginger, peeled, about 5 cm

2 pieces of boneless, skinless chicken meat (breasts)

2 teaspoon of brown sugar

2 tablespoons of fresh lime juice

1 tablespoon of fish sauce

Chopped vegetables such as carrots, broccoli and celery

2 tablespoons of chopped fresh coriander

1 small bunch of Thai basil leaves

Method:

Cut the chicken meat into cubes of about 1 inch in size.

Heat oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add the curry paste and cook quickly for about 30 seconds without burning it. Add the stock, coconut milk and ginger and bring it to a boil. Add the chicken, cover and reduce heat to medium-low. Cook until chicken is cooked through, about 15 minutes. Add the sugar, lime juice, fish sauce and vegetables. Turn heat up and cook until vegetables are just cooked but still crunchy, about 5 minutes. Stir in basil leaves and pour into bowls. Top each soup bowl with cilantro and serve with rice.