Celebrate Chinese New Year-sweet chilli salmon with Tilda Firecracker rice and spring onion flowers.#IgniteYourTastebuds
I don't have a single Chinese bone in my body but as the Chinese New Year, Year of the Monkey, approaches I am happy to join in the celebrations with a gorgeous Asian-inspired meal I put together.
Now if you are a regular reader you've probably worked out that with a big family to look after I am always keen on creating low-effort speedy suppers to keep the family happy with the limited time I have available.
The great thing about this meal suggestion, salmon with Tilda's new limited edition Firecracker hot spicy rice and sweet chilli sauce, is that you could serve it for a Tuesday night tea or for a dinner party with friends.
We are big fans of microwave rice. Although I am a keen and fairly competent cook rice is one thing I have never really mastered. I have tried all the tips online but since discovering easy-peasy micro rice I have given up trying to make my own.
This new limited edition from Tilda is great for colour and flavour and is gluten free. The 250g sachets contain basmati rice, red chilli, tomato paste, garlic, soy sauce, smoked paprika, ginger and Szechuan pepper - blended to capture the vibrant flavours of a Chinese food market.
To make my Chinese New Year Firecracker dish I served the rice with salmon, sweet chilli sauce and spring onion "flowers".
To make the flowers, trim spring onions removing the roots and green tops leaving around a 10cm length of onion.
Using a sharp knife cut the top of the onion (opposite end from the bulb) into strips. Generally of you cut the top section in half then turn and cut again that will create enough strips to curl into flower petals.
Pop the onions into a bowl of very cold or even iced water, then put the bowl into the fridge. After ten minutes gently hold the spring onions by the bulb end and gently agitate the onions in the water to encourage them to curl more.
Cook the salmon- I microwaved one piece per person in a covered dish with a tbsp water and lemon juice mixed.
Cook the rice To prepare Tilda Firecracker rice you simply squeeze the pack, tear 2cm across the top and microwave for around 2 mins (depending on your microwave) or stir fry with a little oil for 4 minutes.
To serve - plate rice and salmon, top salmon with commercial sweet chilli sauce and garnish with spring onion flowers, chopped spring onion rings and prawn crackers.
For the children I put the sweet chilli sauce on the side for dipping in case they found the dish too spicy. They all wolfed down the rice which had enough heat to be interesting but not so much that the children found it too much. They all asked for seconds- that's a big thumbs up from us then.
Now if you are a regular reader you've probably worked out that with a big family to look after I am always keen on creating low-effort speedy suppers to keep the family happy with the limited time I have available.
The great thing about this meal suggestion, salmon with Tilda's new limited edition Firecracker hot spicy rice and sweet chilli sauce, is that you could serve it for a Tuesday night tea or for a dinner party with friends.
We are big fans of microwave rice. Although I am a keen and fairly competent cook rice is one thing I have never really mastered. I have tried all the tips online but since discovering easy-peasy micro rice I have given up trying to make my own.
To make my Chinese New Year Firecracker dish I served the rice with salmon, sweet chilli sauce and spring onion "flowers".
To make the flowers, trim spring onions removing the roots and green tops leaving around a 10cm length of onion.
Pop the onions into a bowl of very cold or even iced water, then put the bowl into the fridge. After ten minutes gently hold the spring onions by the bulb end and gently agitate the onions in the water to encourage them to curl more.
Cook the salmon- I microwaved one piece per person in a covered dish with a tbsp water and lemon juice mixed.
Cook the rice To prepare Tilda Firecracker rice you simply squeeze the pack, tear 2cm across the top and microwave for around 2 mins (depending on your microwave) or stir fry with a little oil for 4 minutes.
To serve - plate rice and salmon, top salmon with commercial sweet chilli sauce and garnish with spring onion flowers, chopped spring onion rings and prawn crackers.
Disclaimer: I received two sachets of Tilda Firecracker rice and a £10 supermarket voucher for the purpose of this review. Views and opinions remain honest and my own.