King Prawn Pad Thai

I harp on alot about my love of Asian cuisine, particularly Thai. Before my husband and I opened our cocktail bar I worked in a local pub, The Grotto in Weybridge, Surrey which had a dining room serving up authentic Thai food. I loved working in the small restaurant part of the pub and learnt alot about food preparation there.

Toy, the Thai chef managed the kitchen virtually single handedly. Of course she had no method in managing the fast orders coming through (for takeaways as well as diners).  She did each ticket in turn, but everything she cooked was always incredible. I'd watch her hand rolling the vegetable spring rolls, preparing fresh satay sauces and stirring the Massaman curry whilst it stewed away. My love for Thai food really came from working here. She'd often send me off home with a garlic chilli squid stir fry or if I was lucky, my favourite: Pad Thai. I don't think I can ever hope to re-create Toy's amazing Pad Thai (and I'm certain I wouldn't want to ProPoint it!), but Pad Thai is still my dish of choice when I go to a Thai restaurant. I've tried for the last few years to cook a really tasty Pad Thai that is WeightWatcher friendly and delighted to have finally achieved it with this recipe!

Earlier this year I re-visited a newly refurbished Grotto as the new owner had managed to lure Toy back into the kitchen. The menu was just the same as it ever was and amazingly Toy remembered me from my stint there in 2002! I only worked there for a short time but she knew I went on to more glamourous things when we opened our cocktail bar down the road.  I've sadly heard that The Grotto has once again re-closed. I do hope someone snaps it up and gets Toy back in the kitchen as Weybridge will not be the same without her delicious Thai food.

You'll need for 2:

• 1 tsp groundnut oil or vegetable oil
• 1 garlic clove, crushed or grated
• 175g raw king prawns
• 1 medium egg, beaten
• 25g roasted, salted peanuts, finely chopped
• 1/2 tsp chilli flakes
• Asian vegetables of your choice, sliced to your liking
• Couple of big handfuls of beansprouts
• 3-4 spring onions, sliced
• 1 tsp soft brown sugar
• 2 tbsp soy sauce
• 2 tbsp fish sauce
• 1 lime, juiced
• 125g rice noodles, soaked in hot water then drained
• Fresh coriander leaves

What to do:

Firstly get the kettle boiling and put the rice noodles into a shallow dish. I use the Pad Thai thick style noodles which are available in Waitrose. Please do not buy the 'straight to wok' rice noodles as these are just horrible and will ruin what is a most fabulous supper! Pour the boiling water and leave to soak for 15 minutes while you prep the other ingredients.

Get everything chopped up and ready and have all the sauces and condiments to hand as the dish doesn't take long to stir fry.  Beat the egg in a bowl with a dash of light soy sauce for seasoning.

When the noodles have finished soaking, drain until needed.

In a wok, heat the oil and when hot add the prawns and garlic. As soon as the prawns are pink all the way through remove with a slotted spoon, keeping as much of the juice in the wok as possible.  Add the vegetables and stir fry on high heat for a minute or two. Quickly add the chilli flakes, fish sauce, soy sauce, lime juice, sugar and peanuts stirring frequently.  

After a couple of minutes of stir frying, add the prawns back in and any juices along with the noodles.  Add the beaten egg and stir everything for another minute or two until the noodles are nicely coated.

Serve up and sprinkle with fresh coriander.

WeightWatchers ProPoints Per Serving: 12

Thai Green Curry with Chicken or Prawns

Oooh I love a good Thai! It's my preference over a Chinese meal any day. Thai food has a wonderful fragrant aroma and the combination of sweet, sour, hot and salty is just sublime.  It's also a great one to prepare in advance and can be re-heated very successfully.

Usually a Thai green curry would be a complete no no on a diet.  A can of coconut milk alone has 18, yes 18 ProPoints!!  That's 3 and a half glasses of wine!!  I know what I would rather have!  My recipe uses the reduced fat coconut milk and just half a can for 2 people.  This makes it only a couple of ProPoints per person but the challenge is to get the full flavour whilst keeping it healthy.  Admittedly you may feel you need more chicken or prawns but if you pack out the veg each mouthful will give you a different taste and texture sensation

You'll need for 2:

• 200g chicken breast cut into chunks or 200g raw king prawns
• 1 tsp groundnut oil or any flavourless oil (not olive oil)
• 2 heaped tsp of Thai green curry paste
• Juice from 1 lime
• 1 tbsp fish sauce
• A few kaffir limes, crushed
• 1 tsp grated ginger
• 1 garlic clove, crushed or grated
• Handful fresh coriander, chopped
• A few spring onions, sliced
• Approx 90g fine green beans
• Approx 90g of mangetout or sugarsnap peas
• Half a 400g tin of reduced fat coconut milk
• 150g dried brown basmati rice

What to do:
It's pretty straight forward; heat the oil in a wok or a non-stick frying pan.  Seal the chicken pieces until golden, turning to sear on all sides.  Grate in the ginger and garlic.  Add the vegetables and stir fry for a few minutes.  Add the curry paste, fish sauce, lime juice and stir thoroughly.  Add the coconut milk and turn heat down to a simmer until the chicken is cooked through and the veggies still have a slight crunch to them.   If you find the sauce is reducing too much, cover the pan so the moisture stays in the pan.  It shouldn't take long to cook, perhaps 10-15 minutes.  Quicker than a takeaway

Stir in the freshly chopped coriander and spring onions, just before serving with the cooked basmati rice.

WeightWatchers ProPoints Per Serving: 13

Chicken Balti

My love for a chicken balti started some 16 years ago whilst I was at university in Birmingham.  Monday or Tuesday night was partaay night!  Drinks in our uni flat, followed by student night at The Dome which invariably ended up in one of Birmingham's many curry houses.  My usual, was a chicken balti and naan bread and I am quite ashamed to admit that this is still my curry of choice when eating out 16 years later!

I'm not great with too much chili so this mild to medium curry is perfect for me and I'd much happier go for the sweetness of tomatoes in a balti over a creamy korma any day.  This bodes well when you are trying to Eat Healthy But Tasty as cooking a creamy curry with all that coconut cream is simply out of the question.  I'd hate to even try to work out the ProPoints on a korma or a chicken tikka masala.

You'll need for 2:

• 1 tsp sunflower or vegetable oil
• 385g chicken breast, cut into large chunks
• Half an onion, finely diced
• Red pepper, chopped
• 1 tin of tomatoes
• 2 tsp Pataks Balti curry paste
• 1 fat garlic clove, grated or minced
• 1 thumb piece ginger, grated or minced
• Half a lemon
• Seasoning
• 1 tsp soft brown sugar
• 140g dried brown basmati rice
• 1 tbsp fat free natural yogurt
• Handful fresh coriander

What to do:

Spices cooking out

In a large saucepan, heat the oil. Add the onions and fry until soft.  Add the curry paste a cup of water.  Stir to mix in and allow to bubble furiously to cook out the spices.  Add chili if you like it medium - hot and grate or crush the ginger and garlic.  Give it 3-4 minutes and then add the chicken.  Keep stirring to coat the chicken.  Add the red pepper and any other vegetable you fancy.  You could add cauliflower, spinach, green beans or even tenderstem broccoli.

Next add the juice of half a lemon and some seasoning.  Add the tomatoes a little more water so everything is nicely covered.  Add the sugar and stir well. Simmer on a medium heat for 15 - 20 minutes until the chicken is cooked through.  Stir in a tbsp of fat free natural yogurt.

Serve with brown basmati rice and a sprinkle of fresh coriander.

I was fortunate enough to have some of my mother's white bhaji in the fridge tonight so I didn't add any green veg to my balti. 

WeightWatchers ProPoints Per Serving: 13