When Hope 103.2 Breakfast duo Sam & Duncan asked listeners what caused them the most anxiety, Susan called in to say that cooking for her family stresses her out—because growing up, she was never really taught how to cook.

So we decided to offer a solution.

A recipe book wouldn’t be enough. This would take some serious instructional action. We put the callout for a professional and found long time Hope listener and chef, Kristen McQueen.

What resulted was a day of cooking lessons at the kitchens of Covenant Christian School, along with a whole lot of great flavours and good fun.

Check out the video below and try the recipes for yourself.

•  Meat University: How to Cook the Perfect Steak, with Big Mo Cason
• Fun Weekend Recipe: Breakfast Sundaes

Indonesian Beef Skewers

Ingredients

• Diced beef (rump or sirloin)
• 1 knob of ginger, thinly sliced
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 1 stalk of lemongrass
• 1 tsp sesame oil
• ¼ cup of  kecap manis sauce
• 1/3 cup of brown sugar
• Fish sauce

Method

Place the meat in a bowl with thinly sliced ginger, garlic and lemongrass along with a teaspoon of sesame oil. Marinate the beef for 10 minutes. Place beef on skewers and fry in a hot pan with peanut oil.  Set skewers aside.

Reusing pan, add ¼ of a cup of Kecap Manis sauce with remaining ginger, garlic and sliced lemongrass.  Add brown sugar and splash of fish sauce, simmer and add kebabs back into pan. Simmer mixture until bubbles become large.

Serve on plate and pour sauce over kebabs.

Classic Satay Chicken Kebabs

Ingredients

• Chicken breast sliced into long strips, thick enough for kebabs
• 1½ cups peanut butter, crunchy or smooth
• 1/3 onion, finely diced
• 1 teaspoon of turmeric
• 1 teaspoon of cumin
• 1 cup Coconut milk
• Fish Sauce
• Skewers

Method

Thread chicken onto skewers and set aside.

In a saucepan, add peanut butter, coconut milk and finely diced onion. Stir well. Add turmeric and cumin along with a splash of fish sauce, mix well and bring to boil.

In a seperate frypan, heat sesame oil and cook chicken skewers. Plate chicken and pour satay sauce over the top.

Sweet Chilli Salmon

Ingredients

• Fresh salmon fillets
• 1/3 cup sweet chilli sauce
• Fish sauce
• 1 tablespoon Kecap Manis sauce

Method

Place whole salmon fillets in a bowl, pour over sweet chilli sauce, a dash of fish sauce and Kecap Manis Sauce. Set aside to marinate for 15 to 30 minutes.

In a hot pan, cook salmon skin side down initially. Flip once fish is seared and golden. Cook other side, and flip again. Reduce heat and cook until fish becomes flaky.

Ginger Brown Rice with Green Beans

Ingredients

• 1tbsp sesame oil
• 1 tsp thinly sliced ginger
• 1 tsp garlic
• 1 large family pack precooked brown rice
• 1 cup roughly chopped green beans

Method

Heat a large frying pan with oil, add ginger and garlic, cook for 2 minutes on medium heat until fragrant.

Add rice cook for 2 minutes, add 1/3 cup of water and cook for a further minute.

Stir through beans and cook for 2 minutes or until beans are tender. Serve.

Vermicelli Rice Noodle Salad

Ingredients

• 125g Rice Vermicelli Noodles
• 1 (170g) Red Onion, thinly sliced
• 1 (140g) Lebanese Cucumber, cut into thin strips
• 1 (120g) Medium Carrot, cut into thin strips
• 1 tbsp Sweet Chilli Sauce
• 2 tsp Fish Sauce
• 1 cup (40g) Fresh Coriander, roughly chopped
• 1 cup Fresh mint, roughly chopped
• 1 Juice of lime

Method

Boil noodles in a large pot of boiling water for 5 minutes or until cooked through, strain and rinse under cold water until cooled.

In a large bowl, combine noodles, vegetables, herbs, sauces and lime juice until combined. Serve.

Quick Fried Rice

Ingredients

• 2 tsp sesame oil
• 1 onion, diced
• 2 tsp crushed garlic
• 2 rashers bacon
• 1 capsicum, diced
• 1 family large bag of precooked rice
• 2 shallots, sliced

Method

In a large frying pan heat oil, add onion, garlic and bacon, cook for 5 minutes or until caramelised.

Add capsicum cook for a further minute.

Add pre cooked rice to pan and 1/3 cup water, cook stirring for 5 minutes or until heated through. Step through shallots, serve.

* Our thanks to Kristen McQueen and Covenant Christian School for their support.