james taylor (owner) says: "i found this stall in a street market, when our bus stopped not far from tonle sap lake in cambodia. these are eaten all over cambodia as a snack but you could upgrade them to a delicious valentines dessert for 2 by adding coconut ice cream and drizzling honey and chocolate over them. eat with your fingers!"

ingredients
7 tbs. rice flour
3 tbs. sesame seeds
4 tbs. palm or brown sugar
pinch of salt to taste
4 egg whites
400ml canned coconut milk
4 slightly green bananas
oil for deep frying

mix the flour, sesame seeds, salt and sugar in a bowl. add the egg whites and mix again, and then add enough coconut milk to form a thick batter. peel a banana and wrap in a plastic sheet and flatten with a pan, if you have children to hand, they will enjoy this bit but don’t let them puree the banana! heat the oil till hot in a wok or deep pan. dip a few of the bananas in the batter and fry in the oil until crisp and golden. repeat for all the bananas and serve immediately.

after many happy years of tasting and refining this is my ultimate hot and sour soup – this will send colds away and your energy levels rising. try it on your friends, they’ll love it as a as a quick and easy dinner party starter.

the secret to this recipe is using a really good homemade chicken stock and adjusting the seasoning to taste at the end. you don’t need any thai pastes.

ingredients
chicken stock: good quality chicken on the bone, garlic, ginger, a green chilli, onions, dash soy sauce.

boil chicken for 5 minutes, then discard water and boil again with fresh water adding remaining stock ingredients. simmer for 1 hour. skim off any scum as it rises. jam as much chicken into the pan, so that the stock is really flavoursome.

ingredients (for 4)
bunch fresh coriander chopped
10 cherry tomatoes finely chopped
2 green chillies very finely chopped
dash of fish sauce
juice of 4 limes

to make – prepare a large soup bowl for each serving. into each bowl put some shredded chicken meat from the stock pot, and a small handfull of fresh coriander, green chillies to taste, juice of a lime and the tomatoes. fill up the bowl with stock and add a dash of fish sauce.

tip - add the fish sauce bit by bit, as each dash changes the taste and has the dish jumping around on hot coals changing its name in a multitude of different kitchens and dialects. feel free make up your own name for it. cold beater.

vegetarian tip – simmer sugar snap peas , mushrooms, bean sprouts and baby corn in a veg broth for 5 minutes, substituting soy sauce for fish sauce. tofu works well too. 

few would associate the steamy shores of malaysia’s malabar coast with a warming winter punch, but go up into the cameron highlands and you will find a land that time forgot – no dinosaurs, well just the english variety! well manicured lawns, tea served in immaculate china and the odd monkey call, but only at appointed times.

the evenings can be a little on the chilly side, so what better way to warm up, than with a well spiced punch – and we’re not talking about the one you’ll get if you stumble into the highlands golf club in the wrong attire! no, this is spicy cinnamon drink to fire you up for that after christmas dinner jungle walk.

malay ingredients (for 4)
2 shots of dark rum
4 shots of calvados apple brandy
300 ml of apple juice. we recommend cornish orchards apple juice, but any good apple juice will do.
3 teaspoons of honey
juice of a lemon
good sixed knob of ginger sliced
one cinnamon stick

to make – pour all ingredients into a saucepan and heat slowly, the adventurous can add a red chilli! don’t boil as the alcohol will evaporate. adding bit of orange peel will also go well with the cinnamon. sieve into a chunky glass tumbler and serve with a twist of citrus fruit.

what to do with left-over tamarind? try a bollywood-inspired aperitif onyour guests. bombay now hustles for attention with the other asian bighitters of shanghai, hong kong, singapore and bangkok.

mix one shot of the best tequila you can find, with strained tamarindpulp (or table spoon of tamarind concentrate) and sugar syrup. serveover crushed ice and in a frosted glass dipped into cinnamon sugar orchillie powder. enjoy!

pumpkins or squash – you can call them by either name, they are inseason and very versatile. at chantek we use pumpkin slices to make alight japanese tempura – at this time of year easily supplemented byseasonal courgettes and peppers and one of our most popular vegetariandishes is an aromatic red curry with pumpkin and coconut.
 

pumpkin hummus

tips: pop the pumpkin in a microwave for 2 minutes to make it easier towork with and choose pumpkins with a deeper colour, they have moreflavour.

ingredients
500g cooked pumpkin or squash, seeds and skin removed
handful of roasted cashew nuts,
150g toasted sesame seeds,
generous handful chopped coriander,
2 tsp light soy sauce,
juice of 2 limes
2 tsp palm sugar (or demerara)
1 cucumber sliced
crush everything together in a pestle and mortar and add soy sauce, sugar and lime to taste.

tip: try to balance the sour (lime) sweet (sugar) andsavoury (soy) flavours – you may not achieve spiritual balance but yourtaste buds will achieve heaven.

garnish with sesame seeds and serve with sliced cucumber andtraditionally with nam pla – fish sauce with chopped garlic and chillies

thai pumpkin custard
for a stunning family friendly dessert, flavour a custard with coconutand vanilla pods and pour into a hollowed out pumpkin, put the top backon and bake for 1 ½ hours. set aside for 30 mins. to cool. use a goodquality thick coconut milk and the custard should set. slice, serve andpour over a little brandy.

for a satisfying evening meal try chantek’s classic tamarind duck, served with pak choy, the perfect foil to the meatiness of the duck. tamarind is one of the few fruits that is both sour and a bit sweet. if you are lucky enough to have a crab apple tree, these will do just as well. our local country kitchens have long been graced by the odd duck here and there, legal or otherwise. wild ducks can be lean and a little tough, hence the addition of a tart fruit such as crab apple or sour cherry to tenderise the flesh. tamarind is the tropical equivalent. 

ingredients (for 4)
4 duck breasts – lightly grilled and cut into slices
40g of tamarind pulp
300g of pak choy
30 g ginger cut into julienne strips
2 red chillies chopped
2 cloves of garlic chopped
2 tablespoons oyster sauce
1 tablespoon fish sauce
2 tablespoons palm or brown sugar
6 spring onions chopped
50ml chicken stock
fresh coriander and roasted cashew nuts

cooking instructions
soak tamarind pulp in boiling water until dissolved, strain through a sieve, reserve pulp, discard solids left. heat some oil in a wok and stir fry the ginger garlic and chillies for 2 mins, add duck and stir fry for further 2 mins. add tamarind, sauces, sugar and stock and bring back to boil, add pak choy and spring onions and fry until tender. garnish with chopped coriander leaves and cashew nuts.

strawberries are in season and what better way to enjoy them than in afrozen strawberry daiquiri.  legend has it that daiquiris hail from along lost beach club in cuba, and were beloved of earnest hemmingway andthey will go equally well in your back garden next to summers bbq. chantek thinks a daiquiri is best with lime and light rum such asbacardi, but feel free to experiment by adding triple sec, strawberryliquor such as crème de fraise or even strawberry icecream.

ingredients (for 4)
2 oz light rum
1 oz lime juice
5 strawberries
5 cubes of ice
1tsp sugar

instructions
blend ingredients together until they reach a sorbet like texture andpour into a chilled glass. tip for garnish – freeze some tropical fruitpieces and thread onto a cocktail stick to add to finished cocktail –enjoy! 

ingredients
2cl dark rum
2cl white rum
2cl 1cl orange curacao or cherry brandy
juice of a lime
25ml grenadine

mix vigourously in a shaker and pour into a cocktail glass.
garnish – melon, cherry & a straw

tip: garnish with an exotic flower and a sprig of mint on the rim of the glass

thai pumpkin custard
for a stunning family friendly dessert, flavour a custard with coconutand vanilla pods and pour into a hollowed out pumpkin, put the top backon and bake for 1 ½ hours. set aside for 30 mins. to cool. use a goodquality thick coconut milk and the custard should set. slice, serve andpour over a little brandy.

ingredients                                                                                        
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 large onion, sliced
1 pack of chantek masaman curry sauce
1kg lean diced leg of lamb
350g potatoes, cut into rounded chunks
tbsp roasted peanuts or cashews

method
1. heat the oil in a large pan, add the onion and cook for 3-4 minutes until softened.
2. add the lamb and brown
3. stir in the curry sauce and bring to boil
4. add potatoes, stir well then cover and simmer for 30 minutes to anhour, until both the lamb & potatoes are tender. stir in thepeanuts.
5. serve the curry in bowls, garnished with fresh coriander and accompanied by jasmine rice or chantek special fried rice.

chefs tip: slow grill finely sliced onion and sprinkle over curry to serve

we recommend serving with:
white - wombat hill classic reserve chardonnay australia  
red - new  chantek reserva malbec 2006 argentina (order from chantek)