Vietnam Surprise

I have never eaten Vietnamese food before, but judging by my love for everything Asian at the moment, I decided to give it a go. Yesterday was my last day in London, and now I am back in my mum's house in Oxford for the whole month. So as a leaving 'do' I went to a Vietnamese restaurant behind my apartment, and I cannot believe I hadn't tried Vietnamese earlier! It's amazing. The blends of sour, sweet, salty and savory all balance beautifully, and there is a whack of heat from chilli and ginger which is surprisingly pleasent. I am not usually a chilli lover, but I ate all of our chilli dip that came with the Prawn Rolls, and the chilli oil that came with the Vegetable Spring Rolls. For a main, I ate Crispy Chicken Noodles, which isn't very adventurous, but the combination of chicken, crisp noodles, vegetables and a cracking sauce (I've no idea what it was), was a joy to eat!

 Prawn Rolls in a paper pastry, with lettuce and herbs (mint and coriander)

 Crispy Chicken Noodles, with vegetables

My Aunt had a prawn curry dish that was divine! You can even see the chilli on the top, but the heat was manageable and a pleasure to eat. Please excuse the bad photo quality as these were taken on my Blackberry not my camera. 

Prawn and Green Bean Couscous

Today I cooked... (which I how I think many posts on this blog will begin), prawn and green bean couscous. This recipe came from The Food Doctor everyday diet, and I must say I am really impressed with the flavours and textures achieved from such few ingredients. As my favourite cook, Gizzi Erskine says: flavour replaces fat! Speaking of fat, this meal is only 228 calories, yet is incredibly filling, refreshing, zingy and down right good to eat. I have served this with a basic salad of spinach leaves, cucumber and grated carrot.

50g (uncooked) couscous

100ml of stock (I used chicken, but fish/vegetable stock would work)

1/4 lemon juice

25g (one cup) of cooked and peeled king prawns

25g green beans

Fresh parsley

salt and pepper

1. Put the couscous into a shallow bowl, then pour over boiling stock. Cover and allow absorption
2. While the couscous cooks, cook the green beans in a steamer.
3. When the couscous is cooked, mix in the prawns, lemon juice, herbs and beans. Season with salt and pepper
4. Serve with a mixed salad

N.B. I had to microwave the couscous for about 1 minute to dry it out a little, so using a tiny bit less stock may help get fluffier couscous