Wouldn't that 'get on your goat'?

Is there anything worst than spending a day in the kitchen, only to discovered that dinner is a BIG disappointment? That is what happened last night.

Yesterday was our first 'at home' day in all of the (school) holidays, I was itching to cook. I had defrosted some goat I'd bought from a local butcher a few weeks ago. I thought that an easy Malaysian Goat Curry would be the perfect dinner. Unfortunately, the delicious Asian flavours, like kaffir lime leaves, garlic, ginger, chilli, lemongrass and coconut, were completely washed out by the water added (as per recipe) The leftovers have been put in the freezer, with some playing around, I think that there is the potential of a very nice Asian-style goat soup - hopefully.

And for the vegetables? I had green beans and snow peas in the crisper and and some of these eggplants ready to use. I made a very simple Chinese bean stir-fry by tossing the beans with chilli, garlic and soy.

Surely this couldn't go wrong?

Well, it was OK, but not great. However, the eggplant saved the night! I made a Thai eggplant dish that I hadn't cooked for years. YUM! I pretty much just ate a lot of this and jasmine rice.





At the last minute, I decided to make roti bread to go with the curry. I did a Google search and just cooked the first recipe that I found. It was a bit hit and miss. There certainly was a lot of excitement around the frying pan as the kids gathered to watch the roti puff up in the heat. Unfortunately it took us a few goes to get the roti to 'puff.' I think it all comes down to the right heat and also how thin you make them. My first few were, perhaps, a little too thick. So back to the drawing board on that one. But with a bit more research on Google and I'll be trying them again soon.

All was not lost, at least I can share the eggplant recipe with you. Enjoy.



Stir-fried Thai Eggplant with Basil
 
serves 4

• 2 eggplants (cut into four lengthwise and roughly chopped)
• 1 bunch thai basil leaves
• 2 tablespoons peanut oil
• 2 cloves garlic (crushed)
• 2 red chillies (finely chopped)
• 2 tablespoons fish sauce
• 1 tablespoon sugar

Heat the oil in a wok. Stir-fry the eggplant until almost cooked. Add the garlic and chilli. Stir-fry for 1 minute. Add the fish sauce and sugar and stir until the sugar has dissolved. Remove from the heat and stir through the basil leaves. Serve immediately.