Make Thai Food at Home With Thai Taste*

As you may well have noticed from my blog or my Instagram account, I love food! I love trying foods from around the world and there are very few things that I won’t try out. When I was asked if I wanted to try and create some Thai recipes at home with authentic brand Thai Taste, I jumped at the opportunity to try out something new. Thai Taste has partnered with Thai restaurateur Seb Holmes to inspire people to create restaurant-quality Thai food at home. It is not often that I cook Thai food so I was excited to give it a go.

Seb has devised four recipes that allow consumers to maximise the creative potential of the Thai Taste range. All of the Thai Taste products are authentically Thai and can be found in the majority of supermarkets in the UK. The recipes that have been devised include Crab & Prawn Vermicelli Noodle Salad, Coconut Braised Pigs’ Cheeks with Lemongrass, Galangal and Kaffir Lime, Mango Sticky Rice and Pumpkin, Galangal and Coconut Soup. I was kindly sent the ingredients to create the Crab and Prawn Vermicelli Noodle Salad and I have outlined the recipe below, credit to Thai Taste.

Crab & Prawn Vermicelli Noodle Salad 
Serves: 2 (Gluten-free)
Preparation: 20 minutes
Cooking time: 10 minutes

Ingredients:
6 fresh tiger prawns, de-veined and sliced lengthways in half
50g fresh brown crab meat (white meat or a mixture is also delicious)
100g Thai Taste vermicelli noodles, blanched in boiling water for 10 minutes and then refreshed under cold water
6 cloves garlic, peeled
1 tablespoon coriander root (leave out if you can’t find it)
1 tablespoon Thai Taste galangal
1 tablespoon Thai Taste turmeric paste
200ml, Thai Taste coconut milk
10g coriander, picked and washed
1 tsp Thai Taste Red Chilli paste
10g chives, chopped into 1cm pieces
10g mint, leaves torn slightly
20g peeled Thai shallots, sliced (any sweet shallot will be nice)
2 spring onion, cleaned and finely shredded
1 lime, chopped into cheeks
1 teaspoon coarse sea salt
1 tablespoon Thai Taste fish sauce
1 teaspoon Thai Taste palm sugar
2 tablespoons vegetable oil

Method:
1. Mix the garlic, galangal, turmeric and red chilli paste together
2. In a large pan or wok heat the vegetable oil on a medium to high heat and then fry this paste out, moving constantly to avoid it sticking to the pan. When the paste begins to turn golden brown in colour add the prawns and brown crab meat and continue to fry for a further 2-3 minutes until they are completely pink and hot throughout.
3. At this stage add the fish sauce and the palm sugar and fry for a further 30 seconds to caramelise the sugar, you will notice that the paste begins to darken at this stage. Next add the coconut milk, blanched noodles, shallots, mint, coriander and chives and delicately toss everything together in the pan allowing the noodles, salad and prawns to all mix and be coated by the coconut sauce.
4. Serve the noodles straight away in bowls with spoons and chop sticks and a cheek of lime, it’s also great with a good helping of Thai Taste sweet chilli sauce. This recipe makes enough for a hearty lunch, however this is an awesome dish to serve at dinner too, double the recipe if you want a bigger feed.

This dish was absolutely delicious and went down a treat. The only thing I didn’t have was coriander leaves but the dish worked well without them. Not only was this so simple to create, the food was amazing and tasted very authentic. Now that I have the store cupboard staples at home I can recreate this dish whenever I like.

If you like the look of this recipe, head over to Thai Taste to find out more.

*I received some of these items free of charge in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own and I was not influenced in any way.

Turtle Bay Norwich - New Menu Review*

It’s been a while since I last went to Turtle Bay in Norwich so when I heard that they had launched a new menu I instantly knew that I wanted to try it out. When Turtle Bay opened we had just moved house so it has been a busy few months of having no money, hence why we hadn’t returned since! This is the first big menu enhancement that the restaurant has undertaken since it came to Norwich and includes 15 new dishes, 7 new drinks and some new gluten free, veggie and vegan options. I was kindly invited to head down for a review and was allowed to bring someone with me. James and I hadn’t had a nice meal out together for a long time due to all of the house renovations so I thought I’d bring him along and turn it into a little date night for the both of us. We were greeted by Tom who very kindly took us over to our table and we started off by ordering some cocktails which I will talk about in more detail below.

The menu has been inspired by the feedback from guests but still stems from the Caribbean culture that Turtle Bay is all about. The dishes continue to celebrate Turtle Bay’s signature flavours with some fresh new twists and offer more choice for those with allergies and dietary requirements. I noticed there was also some healthier options on the menu. The classic dishes such as the famous Jerk Chicken and Curried goat that I tried on my first visit to Turtle Bay are still on the menu which I was pleased to see. We were served by Evelyn, who was very friendly and happy and always available if we needed more drinks.

For starters, I decided to go for the Sweetcorn Fritters which I had tried when I last came. I was given a little basket with 4 fritters in which was just the right amount. They were crispy and delicious and not greasy at all. I really enjoyed them. James went for the Crispy chilli Squid which he really enjoyed too. He said they had a great kick to them.

For mains, we were spoiled for choice. A new burger menu has been added which I was instantly drawn to. I love burgers and couldn’t wait to try one out with a Caribbean twist to it. The menu features a Jammin’ Lamb Burger alongside a Two Way Chicken Burger, Mushroom and Goats Cheese burger as well as the favourite Jerk ‘n’ Pulled Pork Bun. The burgers are pit grilled and come with a Caribbean slaw and either spiced fries or salad and when I come back I am definitely going to try one of these out.

Other new menu items include Bajan Beef Cheeks which is six hour slow cooked beef cheeks marinated in a Caribbean spice, okra, potato, garlic, ginger, star anise, cinnamon, coriander and toasted coconut. This dish was recommended by Tom when we arrived and said it was really good if you are a meat eater! It comes served with steamed rice and a roti flatbread. James went for this for his main and he said it was really nice and tender. He said it was spicy but not so much that you couldn’t appreciate the flavours. Slow Braised Beef Rib also makes a new appearance on the menu and comes served with sweet potato fries and a watermelon salad. I was very intrigued by the sound of this dish! I love watermelon and wondered how well it would go with beef so I thought I would give it a try. My generous portion arrived and I couldn’t believe how tasty it was. I had a choice of 3 jerk glazes so went for the pineapple glaze which was fruity and not too hot. The meat fell off the bone and there was hardly any fat on my ribs. It was absolutely delicious. The sweet potato fries were amazing and the watermelon went surprisingly well with this dish.

Not forgetting there is now a range of new vegan and vegetarian dishes too including the Spiced Chickpea Ital Wrap, Vital Veggie Beach Platter and the Spinach, Aubergine & Sweet Potato Curry. Okra Ladies’ Fingers consist of spiced panko coated okra fingers with mango mole, fresh lime and coriander mayo and  are a new side order from the Caribbean – vegan friendly, and you won’t find them in any other restaurants in Norwich! The new Beach Salad range provides a lighter, fresher superfood option for a quick healthy bite. The salads come as three bases and you can add a choice of toppings such as avocado, mango, chicken or even squid to really make it your own. 

It’s not just the food menu that has some new additions, the Caribbean cocktail list has also been livened up. Some old favourite’s have made a return due to popular demand such as Goombay Smash and Roots Culture which join the new arrivals Rum Negroni and Rum Margarita. Speaking of cocktails, it is now possible to book a ‘Cocktail table’ at Turtle Bay and enjoy drinks and snacks anywhere in the restaurant and bar. Don’t forget Happy Hour, available until 7pm and from 9:30pm Sunday to Thursday and until 7pm and from 10pm Friday to Saturday where you can take advantage of 2-for-1. It would have been rude for me not to try one of the new cocktails so I went for the Roots Culture and the Goombay Smash, both rum based and both absolutely delicious. As designated driver, James went for a watermelon crush which he really enjoyed. Turtle Bay also continue to be the venue of choice for those not drinking with their fabulous range of Caribbean Softs. New mocktails include Elderflower Cooler and Pineappleade. 

For desserts, we both went for something we had previously tried a small piece of at the press event. James went for the Dark Chocolate Brownie which he must have enjoyed as he didn’t even let me try a piece! I went for the Banana and Toffee Cheesecake. Both dishes were fantastic and really finished the meal off. We were then offered the rum menu or a choice of teas and coffees but both of us were completely stuffed!

There are also some new sharing platters on the menu to really get a feel for the laid back ‘liming’ culture of the Caribbean. Overall we had an amazing meal at Turtle Bay. So much that we are going to book to go back soon and really make a night of it. After your meal you can move to another table and continue the night with some cocktails! I love the laid back atmosphere in the restaurant, service was amazing and everything we ate and drank was absolutely fantastic. Thank you to Turtle Bay, especially Tom and Evelyn for having us and making it a really great night.

You can find Turtle Bay on Facebook, I visited the Norwich branch.

Turtle Bay Norwich
8 Swan Ln,
Norwich NR2 1HZ

*I received this meal free of charge for the purpose of review. All opinions are my own.

Chocolate Orange Cheesecake

I recently made my mum a cheesecake for her birthday after deciding that the usual sponge cake or cupcakes I make were getting a bit boring. I debated between making a mini egg cheesecake or a chocolate orange one so in the end I settled for the chocolate orange knowing my mum is a big fan! Keep reading for the delicious recipe.

Ingredients:

15 Plain Digestives
120g Stork Margarine
200g Philadelphia Cream Cheese
180ml Double Cream
100g Icing Sugar
2 Terry's Chocolate Orange's

Method:
Start off by crushing your digestive biscuits until they resemble a fine powder. If you've got a food processor it may be easier to put them in there but I just put mine into a sandwich bag and crushed them with a rolling pin. Melt your Stork Margarine and add this to the biscuits. Press your mixture into a cheesecake pan and set aside in the fridge whilst you prepare the rest of the cheesecake.

Mix the Philadelphia and icing sugar together in a bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk your double cream until it becomes whipped and has stiff peaks.

Open your chocolate oranges and set aside around 10-12 segments for decoration and melt the rest. Mix the melted chocolate with the double cream and then fold into your Philadelphia mix and whisk until light and fluffy.

Place your mixture on top of your biscuit base and decorate with the remaining segments. Pop in the fridge to set for around 4 hours and enjoy!

I thought this cheesecake was going to be sickly with how much chocolate I put in there, but it was actually really refreshing with the orange. One slice wasn't quite enough! Let me know if you try this recipe - or if you have any other great ideas for future cheesecakes!