In February HarperCollins is publishing the new cookbook by Norman Musa, Bowlful: Fresh and vibrant dishes from Southeast Asia (HarperCollins, HB, RRP $49.99). Bowlful is a celebration of the fresh and diverse flavours of Southeast Asia with over 80 accessible and easy to follow recipes.
From Norman Musa: “Thai food is known for its spiciness, especially the use of bird’s eye chillies. I have omitted these fiery chillies for this recipe and used chilli paste instead, because when my Thai friend Kym introduced me to this dish, the heat was too much for me – and I was too embarrassed to admit it! As I come from Malaysia I should be used to the heat, but my taste buds have changed. I am sure Kym won’t be pleased to discover I have left out the chillies. If you like it hot, add either bird’s eye or red chillies by slicing them thinly and frying them at the beginning with the onion, garlic and Thai basil. Kym served this dish with rice, as it should be, but here I serve it with baguettes as a perfect sandwich filling.”
Spicy Minced Beef & Kaffir Lime Leaves
Ingredients:
- 1 Tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 10 fresh Thai basil leaves
- 500g minced beef
- 6 kaffir lime leaves, ribs removed, rolled and thinly sliced
- 2 French baguettes
- round lettuce, cut in half and leaves picked
- 10 cherry tomatoes, halved
For the seasoning:
- 2 Tbsp chilli paste (I recommend sambal badjak)
- 1 Tbsp light soy sauce, plus ½ tbsp extra for the salad dressing
- 2 Tbsp oyster sauce
- 1 Tbsp fish sauce
- ½ Tbsp palm sugar
Method:
- Mix the seasoning ingredients together well with 2 tablespoons of water in a small bowl.
- Heat the oil in a wok or large frying pan over a medium-high heat and fry the onion, garlic and Thai basil for 2 minutes, until fragrant and golden.
- Add the beef and seasoning mixture and cook for 5 minutes. Add the kaffir lime leaves, stir well and turn off the heat.
- Cut each baguette lengthways and scoop out some of the insides to fit the filling inside. Fill each baguette with the beef mixture, lettuce and tomatoes. Cut each baguette in half, transfer to serving bowls and serve.
Recipe extracted with permission from Bowlful by Norman Musa (HarperCollins, HB, RRP $49.99). Photography credit to Luke J Albert.
Norman Musa is an internationally recognised chef and promoter of Malaysian cuisine. He moved to the UK in 1994 and after graduating and working in the construction industry, he switched his career to become a full-time chef and restauranteur in 2006.
He received the UK’s Young Asian & Oriental Chef of the Year Award in 2012 and in the same year became a member of the Hospitality Guild’s Young Hall of Fame. Norman has featured in MasterChef Malaysia, Tom Kerridge’s Best Ever Dishes as well as Channel 4’s Sunday Brunch. He has hosted five seasons of his own cookery shows on Malaysian TV and was awarded the UK’s Asian & Oriental Chef of the Year Award in 2015. His bestselling debut ‘Amazing Malaysian’ was named by Ken Hom as “the definitive Malaysian cookery book”.
Norman is currently based in Leeds, UK and holds the Executive Chef position at Kuala Lumpur Restaurant & Bar in Horsforth, Leeds as well as Masterclass developer and tutor for the Wagamama Chef Academy.