Easy, No-Cook Fresh Chilli and Tomato Sauce (includes Thermomix instructions)

This is such a simple, tasty, no-cook chilli sauce it's well worth making - and quicker than nipping to the shop to buy some!

I make this for drizzling over home made doner kebabs (see here for my recipe to make your own delicious doner kebab meat), but if you're a fan of spicy sauces then you could use it in lots of other ways!

As it's made from fresh ingredients it will only keep in the fridge for a few days, but it's easily halved, and you can freeze what you don't need for another time.

If you want to reduce the heat, you can either reduce the number of chillies you use, or omit the seeds.

Calories: approximately 7 calories per tbsp, 273 calories for the whole batch.

Zigni - Spicy Eritrean Beef Stew with Instant Pot Pressure Cooker and Slow Cooker method

Love spicy food? Fancy trying something new? Then why not have a go at this delicious Eritrean beef stew.

In our house at the moment, shin of beef is currently enjoying a period of popularity, as it is one of the most delicious, tasty and tender cuts of beef to cook slowly and also relatively economical.

Aside from a handful of staples, I've always enjoyed cooking new dishes on a regular basis, and re-creating food that I've enjoyed out and about. Finding new ways to slow-cook beef is always good fun, as there are so many different ways from so many different countries.

This is not a difficult dish to cook, it's extremely tasty and it's well worth making your own berbere spice mix to make it with, as that is also a simple thing to do once you've assembled the ingredients. 

Serves 8 to 10, or more as part of a selection of dishes. You can easily half this quantity if you wish to, and it freezes really well.

394 to 492 calories per serving (depending on whether a tenth or an eighth of the whole quantity - if you want to knock off around 30 calories a portion you can use pure oil spray for browning the beef and cooking the peppers, but you will need the keep the oil as stated for browning the onions).

Berbere - Ethiopian / Eritrean Spice Mix

A spicy mix predominately made of chilli, used to flavour many Ethiopian and Eritrean dishes.

One of the fundamental cornerstones of Ethiopian and Eritrean cooking is berbere - families have their own recipes for it, passed down from generation to generation - a bit like Italian families might pass down the recipes for a basic tomato sauce.

You can buy it ready made, but I think you might be disappointed with what is offered by generic spice manufacturers - much better to have a go at blending your own for a bit more authenticity.

Korean Beef Kimchi Jjigae (stew) in the Instant Pot Pressure Cooker or Slow Cooker

A deliciously spicy and comforting stew that's quite simple to make.

Bored of your traditional beef stew or beef curries? Fancy trying something a bit different for a change, that's easy to make and really tasty? Oh, and pretty healthy too, especially if you serve it with fresh kimchi which is full of probiotics and low in calories (my recipe is 48 calories per 100g, so no need to be shy!)

You can either cook this in the pressure cooker to save time, or leave it to languish in a slow cooker overnight or during the day. If you're not into gadgets, you could just simmer it on the stove top for a couple of hours instead, before the final hour's simmer.

Whichever way you cook it, it's incredibly tasty, and although it is a spicy dish, despite the different forms of chilli, I really don't think it's too spicy - I'd call it medium. Delicious served with kimchi (especially if fresh), and steamed or boiled rice on the side. Fast day? Serve yours with cauliflower 'rice' at only 38 calories per 100g.

Makes 12 servings, easily halved, or perfect for freezing in portions for future easy meals in minutes.

364 calories per serving.

Spicy Cornbread - Naturally Gluten Free

This is delicious served as a side dish to a good chilli con carne, or veggie chilli, especially fresh from the oven!

It's also very easy and quick to make - you just need to soak the toasted corn for a few hours or overnight / during the day first, then a quick mix and pop it into the oven for 15 to 20 minutes!

It's a lovely, tasty accompaniment to chilli, crusty on the outside and soft and moist on the inside - if you don't want it especially spicy you could just use half a red chilli and skip the jalepenos, or cut all the chilli out altogether if you prefer.

I haven't tried making this with any dairy free substitutes, as yet, as the reaction between the buttermilk and the bicarb is part if what makes it light and fluffy - so if any of my dairy-free or vegan friends or followers do make it with a dairy free substitute, I'd love to hear what you used and how you got on. Buttermilk essentially tastes like yoghurt, but is a bit thinner, and has a very low fat content - so if you can't get hold of it, then you could just use regular plain low fat yoghurt and thin it down a little with water.

Cuts into 8 or 12 wedges, serves 8 to 12 as a side to a main meal. 116 calories for a twelfth wedge, 173 calories for an eighth, if you're counting.

Easy Chilli con Carne (with Pressure Cooker method)

Chilli con Carne is something most of us have been cooking for years, without even looking at a recipe book...

I know I have - probably for the best part of two decades. I already have one chilli con carne 'recipe' on my blog here from over three years ago, back in the early days - so it's somewhat detailed on the method and goes on a bit! Although it does use soaked chipotle chillies and tastes bloody gorgeous, so it's staying where it is!

Anyway, I digress. This one is much, much simpler, has pressure cooker instructions for those who have one, and tastes equally amazing!

It's a decent sized batch if you're catering for friends, or want to put a few portions in the freezer (which is what I always do!), but you can easily halve it. It tastes even better the next day, if you've got any left! Last time I made this, I made half the quantity for a family of four and it all got eaten in one sitting, so I decided not to make that mistake again!

Serves 10 to 12 portions, at 265 to 318 calories per serving (depending on size).

Want a low carb / low calorie meal? 

Serve on top of 200g cauliflower rice per person (76 calories a serving), or 50g rice per person (raw weight, 176 calories per serving) or serve in a couple of taco shells (e.g. Old El Paso boxed tacos, for 67 calories per taco, check ingredients for GF), or mini-tortillas (87 calories each, for a 28g flour tortilla, not suitable for  GF)... or you could even use lettuce leaves to wrap it in - whatever floats your boat! All of these suggestions will bring you in at under 500 calories quite comfortably.

Spicy Chicken Salad - Yo Sushi Style

I do love a bit of sushi and sashimi - and yet if I go to Yo Sushi!, I can't resist a bowl of their spicy chicken salad whilst I'm there!

So, one not-so-fine Saturday afternoon, after a discussion about edible seaweed, I was craving a bit of Japanese food and got it into my head that I really fancied a Yo Sushi! style chicken salad. Not living in the vicinity of a Yo Sushi!, I did a bit of scouting around the internet for a recipe... and a bit more... and for once, it really wasn't very successful, so I had to make up my own!

Apparently, they have a cookbook (which I don't have), and I was able to find the ingredients (minus quantities) online on Eat My Books - however... maybe it's an old book, or they've changed things now, as they just didn't seem quite right compared with the colour and flavour of the chicken I was used to eating at Yo Sushi, and the other ingredients in the salad. I'm accustomed to a spicy, orange-coloured, highly-flavoured chicken on a bed of lettuce, julienned carrot, edamame beans and a few bean sprouts etc., but I couldn't find anything that convinced me it would recreate this. I couldn't even find a Japanese name for the salad - although I'm quite familiar with Japanese food - and to be honest, although delicious, the flavours of the chicken had always seemed a little out of sorts with my experience of Japanese food.

Turns out there's a reason for that! 

Crab claws with Chilli, Ginger, Garlic and Spring Onion

Fantastic starter or snack, or great served with a selection of Chinese dishes to share. Simple ingredients but absolutely delicious!

If you love crab, and you've seen crab claws and wondered what to do with them, then here's a delicious and really easy way to cook them, Chinese style!

This was inspired by the way my favourite Cantonese restaurant serves king prawns - with the exception that they also add a splash of ignited brandy from a metal ladle, to flambe the prawns! Feel free to add this touch for extra visual impressiveness if you want to!

Serves two, easily doubled or halved. 120 calories per serving. [Calories in square brackets]

Sticky Sichuan Chilli Chicken Wings (including Instant Pot Pressure Cooker method)

Whether on the BBQ, or under the grill, you can't beat spicy, sticky chicken wings!

With only four ingredients, and no chopping, these wings couldn't be simpler, and they have a unique umami kick from the Sichuan chilli bean paste.

          

There's no need to marinate (although you're welcome to if you'd like to!), and you can pop them in the pressure cooker for 10 minutes before barbecuing or grilling to ensure your wings are perfectly moist and tender inside with crispy sticky skin on the outside.

Serves: 1kg chicken wings will serve four to six people as a starter, or as a main with another dish of similar proportions (e.g. with one quantity of my Sweet and Sour spare ribs).

Jamaican Curry Goat or Lamb (includes Thermomix and Instant Pot instructions)

If you've never tried curry goat, and you love curry, then you really, really should - it's delicious! And if the thought of goat curry scares you, then try it with mutton or lamb instead, and go from there...

I do love a good curry goat, and always have to sample some when we go to the Caribbean carnivals. Traditionally it's made with cubes of meat on the bone, but if you don't like the idea of trying to pick meat from small chopped up bones, then you can use boneless shoulder meat (and if you like, optionally add a few bones to the curry whilst cooking for flavour).

Because this curry is so full of flavour, and cooked low and slow, it's also a great contender for a skinny version too, as goat meat is naturally quite lean - so if you want to cut the calories right down and use some lean meat (e.g. lean goat meat or extra lean diced lamb meat) the long and gentle cooking will tenderise it nicely.

Either way, I've given you the recipe below, with a couple of options to suit, and I hope you enjoy it! If you don't want to make your own Jamaican curry powder, then you can just use a generic ready-made *mild* curry powder if you like and add a pinch of ground allspice. Requires marinating for a minimum of 4 hours or overnight, and approximately 3 hours total cooking. Delicious (albeit decadent!) served with Jamaican 'rice and peas' - my recipe is here.

Serves six (or more with other dishes), 286 calories per serving with lean goat meat, or 368 calories per serving with extra lean diced lamb meat. [Calories in square brackets, if you're counting]

Love Jamaican food? Why not try my Jamaican jerk chicken, or fresh twist on saltfish and ackee?

Jamaican Jerk Chicken (includes Thermomix instructions)

One of the best known and loved Jamaican dishes, jerk chicken is quite literally packed full of flavour and brilliant for a barbecue if you're having one!

In the town near to where I live, there is a Caribbean Carnival every year which I like to visit with my family. Members of the local community organise the most fantastic parade full of absolutely amazing home made carnival outfits around the city, and there are all kinds of stalls including many selling traditional Caribbean foods and drinks.

A helping of jerk chicken from one of the stalls from an enormous barrel-shaped barbeques smoking away, together with some curry goat from a huge, simmering pot, rice and peas, and salad on the side has become a must, washed down with the milk of a fresh young coconut - its top skillfully hacked off by a young man with a machete, and replaced with a straw for drinking it with... sitting on the grass in the sunshine with the family, eating it and getting sticky fingers with the sound of reggae music in the background... Summer bliss! And what's more, having eaten it so often I'm completely happy that I've really nailed the flavours of the marinade in this recipe, so I hope you enjoy it too!

Pork Vindaloo Curry - Thermomix method

A fiery curry, popular in Goa which is packed full of flavour

Although it's not the hottest of all the curries, vindaloo is known as being notoriously hot - however, the chilli is just one dimension of the flavours of a vindaloo.

Some versions have cubed potato in them, although this is not traditional and I tend to think that if you're serving it with rice and/or flatbreads and potentially other dishes, potato is unecessary.

Serves a generous four or modest six (or more with other dishes) from 209 calories per serving. For the non-Thermomix version, click here.

Pork Vindaloo - with Skinny Suggestions

A fiery curry, popular in Goa which is packed full of flavour

Although it's not the hottest of all the curries, vindaloo is known as being notoriously hot - however, the chilli is just one small part of the flavours of a vindaloo.

Some versions have cubed potato in them, although this is not traditional and I tend to think that if you're serving it with rice and/or flatbreads and potentially other dishes, potato is unecessary.

Serves a generous four or modest six (or more with other dishes) from 209 calories per serving. All the flavours of the classic fiery Goan dish of pork with vinegar and garlic, with the option to cut the calories right down for fast days. If you’re confident handling meat, you could buy a whole leg of pork, de-bone and cube it, and add the bone to the curry along with the meat for extra flavour (removing before serving).

Easy Homemade Kimchi (includes Thermomix method)

With just a few simple steps, you can have your first batch of kimchi ready in just a day or two, with a couple of large jars in the fridge for later...

If you're familiar with kimchi, you most probably know it as a spicy-sour, extremely tasty cabbage or radish dish, often eaten as a side dish, and also used as an ingredient in various Korean dishes.

          

If you're not that familiar, kimchi, also known as kimchee or gimchi is known as Korea's national dish and your average Korean consumes 40 pounds a year! It is mainly made with napa cabbage (also known as Chinese leaf  lettuce) and/or a large white Japanese radish known as daikon or mooli (or a few other things), brined or salted and then flavoured with other ingredients such as red pepper flakes, fish sauce and/or anchovy sauce, garlic, ginger and spring onions (scallions). It is frequently a hot and spicy dish where the ingredients are left to ferment (although not all varieties include red pepper / chilli).

         

There are many different recipes for kimchi, including other ingredients such as salted shrimp (available in jars), oysters and squid (brined seafood is more commonly found in Southern varieties) - this is a recipe for 'mak kimchi' inspired by Maangchi (do have a look at her website, there are some fantastic traditional Korean recipes, as well as lots of tips about kimchi too!), which is an easy cut cabbage version (rather than stuffing the sauce into cuts made in whole cabbages as in the autumnal baechu kimchi, although the sauce has the same flavours) which does not include any brined seafood, only fish sauce. If you've never made it before - don't worry, this is easy!

Fragrant Thai Prawns with Sweet Chilli Sauce (with Thermomix method)

Quite simply *the* most succulent, delicious prawns - an absolute favourite here, and well worth treating yourself to some nice juicy big prawns for!

This is a fantastic way to cook prawns, and so good that the quantities given would suffice for a main course, if you served it with rice or noodles and a side dish, although it's presented here as a (generous!) starter (the photo shows a double portion for sharing).

The light egg and cornflour coating locks in the moisture - like the chinese technique of 'velveting' used with chicken to give moist and tender results - together with giving the prawns a really zesty and fragrant fresh flavour with the marinade ingredients, and the heat is in the dip.

Serves two (easily doubled) - 199 calories per serving for the prawns, and 60 calories per portion for my Sweet Chilli Sauce (see here for recipe, includes Thermomix instructions)

Sweet Chilli Sauce - includes Thermomix method

Who doesn't love dipping into a sweet chilli sauce?

And with only 5 ingredients, you can make your own quickly and easily in around ten minutes!

Delicious with Thai food, such as fishcakes, crabcakes or plump and juicy prawns, this quick recipe can be put together while whatever you are dipping in it is cooking!

Serves four, easily doubled. You could even make up a large batch if you wanted to, and store it in sterilised bottles as it would last a long time due to the ingredients. 60 calories per serving [calories in square brackets].

Chicken in a Smoky Chipotle Chilli and Tomato Sauce

Spice up chicken breasts with a sauce redolent of Mexican flavours in this easy oven-baked dish.

Delicious served with my Mexican 'Green Rice' (which has a cauliflower rice option too to cut down the calories and carbs), and Cheat's Mexican 'Pot' Beans with a dollop of sour cream (or Greek yoghurt if you're counting the calories) and a quick fresh Tomato Salsa (as pictured).

Do something a little bit different for dinner, and easily tailor the heat to suit your tastes.

Serves four, 216 calories per serving.

Salted Chillies

This has to be one of the simplest preserves imaginable.
Just two ingredients - salt and chopped up chillies. Mix them together and sprinkle a little more salt on top, that's IT!

They need to sit in a cool place for a couple of weeks, and then they're ready. Just keep them in the fridge once you've opened them and they'll last for months. They're incredibly versatile, and traditional in (Hunanese) Chinese cooking (so there will be some recipes here which call for them). You can use them as a seasoning, to just stir into something when you fancy a kick, or if you're cooking something which calls for fresh red chillies and you haven't got any in, they're a great standby. They're also a traditional condiment for certain oriental dishes. So, what are you waiting for?