Recipes of the week: Massaman lamb shanks & Creamy salmon bake

Welcome to another instalment of the HotHouse Kitchen.

I’m not sure if the dishes I made this week were easier or whether I’m simply getting the hang of cooking three dinners on a Tuesday.

But I was very calm and collected when I packaged everything up at 5pm and dropped it to my friend’s house.

I decided to cook my pulled beef tacos again because they’re so easy and yummy. Click here for the recipe.

I even had enough pulled beef left over to make a quick pulled beef and kidney bean chilli con carne to serve on nachos a few days later.

Of course, I forgot to photograph everything else, as per usual. Next time you’re in Hong Kong, you can get the lamb shanks in the main pic at Baan Thai – 57 Wyndham Street -Central & Western District.

The Creamy Salmon Bake is something I used to make for dinner pre kids – it’s a bit old fashioned, like a tuna mornay, but comforting and tasty. The pic is actually a Cheesy 10-minute Salmon Bake from Taste. Click here for the recipe.

I’m all cooked out now – the eldest and I are having burgers for dinner tonight while we slam a few episodes of Twin Peaks. Catch you Monday.

Massaman lamb shanks with roast pumpkin

1/2 small butternut pumpkin, chopped into chunks

1 onion, sliced

vegetable oil

4 lamb shanks

1 cup chicken stock

1/3 cup AYAM Massaman Paste

450ml coconut milk

Jasmine rice and fresh coriander to serve

METHOD: Preheat oven to 200C. Toss butternut pumpkin in a little oil. Roast until golden and tender. Remove. Reduce heat in oven to 160C. Brown shanks in a frying pan with a little oil. Place sliced onion in an oven proof dish with a tightly fitting lid. Add chicken stock and lamb shanks. Roast for two hours. Remove lid. Add coconut milk and pumpkin and cook for 30 minutes. Serve with rice and fresh coriander leaves.

Creamy salmon bake

40g butter

1 clove garlic, chopped

2 sticks celery, chopped

440g can creamed corn

1/2 cup cooking cream

1 tablespoon cornflour

4 cups brown rice, cooked

1 cup chicken stock

450g can red or pink salmon, bones discarded and flaked

2 spring onions, chopped

1 tablespoon sundried tomato pesto

Panko bread crumbs

Grated tasty cheese

METHOD: Preheat oven to 200C. Spray a casserole dish with oil. Heat butter in a frying pan and saute celery spring onions and garlic. Add stock, cream and creamed corn and bring to a simmer. Mix cornflour with a little warm water and add to mixture, stirring to avoid lumps. Add salmon, sun-dried tomato pesto and brown rice. Simmer five minutes. Pour into casserole dish. Top with panko crumbs and grated cheese and bake until golden.