Recently I’ve become quite obsessed with being able to cook. It’s something I see as quite the talent. I always hated whenever my mum turned to me and went “try that, see if you think I need to add anything” and I’d never have a clue. I vowed to myself that I would learn to be self sufficient in the kitchen department by the time I moved out (which is an undecided date). On dull days like this, all I want in the world is a nice bowl of soup to warm me up but seeing as we’re creeping into summer, I felt a broth would be a lighter option.

I’m not quite a culinary queen so making up my own recipes is something I’m yet to know how to do. I found this recipe on the Jamie Oliver website and so I will, of course, link it below so you can see for yourself.

This dish was the most flavoursome and potentially the most complicated dish I’ve made in all my 5 minutes of cooking. That doesn’t mean it actually is difficult – I struggle  with cooking pasta let alone making a broth from scratch. In this post I wanted to show you some photos of the steps and also how a beginner managed.

The ingredients include things like kaffir lime leaves and lemongrass – the kind of things that take me far longer to find in Sainsbury’s than your everyday foods. The longest part of the cooking is the preparation which I really liked. It meant that when I was actually cooking  the food I didn’t have to wait so long before I can eat it – perfect.

I wish I could share fragrances through my computer screen because MY. GOD. Once all the ingredients for the chicken rice balls were whizzed together my kitchen has honestly never smelt so good. The lemongrass and ginger give it a really summery feel but also make you feel like you’ve really created an oriental dish.

I found that when it came to cooking the chicken rice balls it was far easier to fry them in a frying pan instead of in a casserole pan. I also added far more oil than said in the recipe simply because they stuck pretty easily to the bottom.

Once the balls and the prawns were cooked to the level that’s said in the recipe (see link at the end), I transferred them to a casserole pan. I followed the instructions and it came together absolutely perfectly. If you try the broth halfway through, don’t be alarmed if it tastes like you’re missing something. The soy sauce completely finishes it off. I used dark soy sauce instead of the less-salt soy sauce to give it a bit more flavour.

I didn’t cook the pak choi and mangetout for too long in the broth so that they were left crunchy and the beansprouts need no time at all. Jamie Oliver certainly knows his stuff.

And that’s all there is to it! You can garnish it how you like with chillies and fresh lime juice. I found one wedge of lime juice was the perfect addition.

The recipe takes a little longer than you’d expect but it’s completely worth it. And that’s coming from the most impatient amateur chef on the internet. It tastes amazing and fills you up but not to the level where you feel like you’re going to explode – the perfect meal when you fancy something different.

The link to the recipe is down below –

http://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/chicken-recipes/asian-chicken-rice-balls-broth/

Let me know if you give this a try!

But most of all, enjoy!!!

VB x