Recipes From Around The Globe To Try At Home

10th February 2021

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Travel Counsellors shares destination-inspired dishes from Japan, Hungary and Cambodia.

Japan: ginger teriyaki beef

Teriyaki is traditionally a type of Japanese cooking where soy sauce, sake, mirin and sugar are mixed together to make a sauce that is also used as a marinade or coating for meat, tofu or vegetables.

Ingredients (serves 4)

– 80ml teriyaki sauce.
– 125ml hoisin sauce.
– 2 Tbsp rice wine (mirin) or substitute rice vinegar and add 1 tsp sugar to counteract the sour flavour, or even a dry sherry can be used (although this will alter the flavour a little).
– 1 Tbsp oil.
– 750g frying steak cut into thin strips.
– 250g broccoli cut into florets.
– 250g sugar snap peas, rinsed and trimmed.
– 115g baby corn, halved lengthways.
– 4cm piece of fresh ginger grated (or 20g of minced ginger).
– 120g beansprouts.

Instructions

Combine the sauces and the rice wine in a small bowl and set aside.
Heat half the oil in a deep-sided frying pan or wok and stir-fry the steak in batches until browned, then remove from the pan and set aside on a plate.
Heat the remaining oil in the pan and stir-fry the broccoli until almost cooked through and tender.
Return the steak strips to the pan together with the sauce mixture, and the remaining ingredients except for the beansprouts and stir-fry until everything is tender.
Add the beansprouts and stir-fry for a couple more minutes until they are cooked through.
Serve with steamed rice or any cooked noodles you prefer

You can substitute the steak for chicken, prawns or any vegetarian alternative like tofu

Hungary: beef goulash

This is a hearty rich soup of meat and vegetables seasoned with paprika and other spices. Goulash is a traditional Hungarian dish containing a generous amount of paprika, which reflects the nation’s love of the spice and gives the dish a red hue.

Ingredients (serves 4)

– 3 Tbsp vegetable oil.
– 700g stewing steak, diced.
– 2 Tbsp plain flour.
– 1 tsp caraway seeds.
– 2 onion, diced.
– 2 red peppers, deseeded and sliced.
– 2 crushed garlic cloves.
– 2 Tbsp tomato puree.
– 2 ½ Tbsp sweet Hungarian paprika.
– 500ml beef stock.
– 2 x 400g can chopped tomatoes.
– Bunch of parsley.
– 200ml sour cream.

Instructions

Heat the oven to 160 degrees (or 140 degrees for a fan oven, or gas mark 3).
Heat 2 Tbsp oil in an ovenproof casserole dish. Coat the beef in flour and caraway seeds and season with salt and pepper and fry in 2-3 batches until browned. Remove the beef and set aside.
Add the remaining Tbsp of oil to the pan and add the onion, pepper and crushed garlic and fry for 5-10 minutes on medium heat until softened.
Add the tomato puree to the pan then stir in the beef and paprika until well coated.
Pour in the beef stock and chopped tomatoes and bring to a simmer. Put the lid on the dish and place in the oven for two hours.
Sprinkle with chopped parsley and a drizzle of sour cream to serve.

Cambodia: chicken amok

Amok is a deliciously fragrant curry made with a coconut milk-based sauce that is infused with curry spices and is traditionally served either in a coconut shell or in a bowl made from banana leaves. It is typically accompanied by gorgeously sticky jasmine rice, and is most commonly fish or chicken.

Ingredients (serves: 4)

For the amok paste:

– 3 Tbsp lemongrass stalks, chopped (you can substitute with lemongrass paste, or even some lemon zest finely grated if you don’t have fresh lemongrass).
– 4 whole large fresh mint leaves chopped (or a teaspoon of dried mint).
– 1 tbsp minced galangal (if you cannot find galangal, then you can substitute fresh ginger root, minced).
– 1 shallot finely chopped.
– 2 garlic cloves crushed.
– 1 red chilli (seeds removed, flesh finely chopped).
– 1 tsp ground turmeric.
– 1/2 tsp salt.
– 1 Tbsp water.
– 1 Tbsp coconut milk.
– 1 tsp palm sugar (you can substitute maple syrup, or half the amount of muscovado sugar, as palm sugar is not as sweet as ordinary sugar).
– 1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper.

The rest of the dish:

– 500g chicken breast boneless, skinless and cut into bite-sized pieces.
– 1 can coconut milk.
– 1 Tbsp fish sauce.
– 2 tsp cornflour.

To serve:

– 2 tsp lime zest for garnish (optional).
– 360g jasmine rice (to make four servings).

Instructions

Prepare and cook the jasmine rice according to the instructions on the packet. Whilst the rice is cooking, prepare the rest of the dish.
Place all the Amok paste ingredients into a mini blender or use a hand blender, and blend thoroughly for about two minutes. The paste should be fairly smooth and not too thick. If not, add a little more water to thin it slightly.
In a separate bowl, whisk together the coconut milk and fish sauce. Set aside.
In a deep non-stick frying pan or wok, stir fry the chicken pieces until they are done. Transfer chicken to a plate and cover until needed.
In the same pan, heat the Amok paste on a medium heat until it becomes fragrant, which should take around 3-4 minutes. When this is done, add in the coconut milk/fish sauce mixture and stir through to combine.
To thicken the sauce, mix 2 tsp of cornflour with 2 tablespoons of the sauce (which has been allowed to cool a little before mixing) in a small bowl, and whisk together to make a roux.
Pour the roux into the sauce, stirring continuously whilst you pour, and continue to stir until the sauce is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.
Once the sauce has thickened with the roux, add the chicken pieces back into the pan and simmer for around 10 minutes until the chicken pieces are cooked through.
Serve with the jasmine rice, and if using, the lime zest sprinkled over the top of the curry.