In the Kitchen: Meet Home Chef Minna

“When I first moved to Dubai, I always wanted to go to supermarkets”, says Minna Herranen. “It was so exotic. I wanted to experiment on all the ingredients that were new to me.”

Having spent 13 years in Dubai, Minna has seen the supermarkets.

“Now I want to spend my time doing something more fun!”

That something fun is cooking.

“I think cooking is a ‘use it or lose it’ kind of a skill. Here in the UAE it’s too easy to lose it. You can just order take out from a restaurant and have it delivered.”

“But, when I do that, I tend to order more than I actually need. And then I eat more than I should, because I don’t want to waste food.”

Minna feels that restaurant food totally pales in comparison, in every aspect.

“You never really know what is in it. But when you cook your own meals, you see everything that goes in. The chance to control the ingredients is especially great if you’re sensitive to something. After eating restaurant food, I often have to wonder why my stomach hurts.”

Minna’s corporate job keeps her days and occasional evenings busy. She also manages her own business, Nordic Power General Trading, that imports healthy berry powders to the UAE. The powders are made from nutritious Finnish bilberries, aka wild blueberries that grow in the Nordic forests.

No wonder Minna appreciates healthy food! She prefers to cook Asian salads and stir-fries, light pasta dishes and European classics with an Arabic twist. She often finds just the right kind of recipes in the Hello Chef menu. One of her favorites is a Warm Thai Beef Salad (see the recipe below).

“It’s amazing that most of the Hello Chef meals are done in under 30 minutes. That’s less than a restaurant delivery service takes!”

Minna loves the sense of achievement that she gets from serving a home made dinner to her husband and her 22-year-old son.

“For me, it’s a way of showing my love and care.”

Warm Thai Beef Salad with Nam Jim Dressing

Serves 4

Cooking time 25 min

Ingredients:

4 rump steaks

4 carrots

2 zucchinis

2 shallots

200g bok choy

160g beansprouts

12 lime leaves

2-4 red chillis

10g fresh thai basil

20g fresh coriander

2 limes, for serving

cooking oil, for frying

salt and black pepper, to taste

Dressing:

juice of 2 limes

2 Tbsp fish sauce

1 Tbsp soy sauce

1 Tbsp brown sugar

Method:

1. Bring the steaks to room temperature 30 minutes before cooking.

2. Peel and cut carrots to matchsticks. Rinse and cut zucchini to thin sticks. Wash and slice bok choy. Peel and finely slice shallots. Rinse and drain beansprouts. Finely slice lime leaves. Discard chilli stems (and seeds, if you prefer a milder taste), and mince chillis. Chop coriander and basil leaves.

3. In a small bowl, combine the dressing ingredients: lime juice, fish sauce, soy sauce, and sugar. Set aside.

4. Heat a frying pan over high heat, and add cooking oil. Fry the steaks to raw, medium or well done, as you desire (see pro tips below). Season with salt and pepper. Allow the meat to rest on a plate or wooden board for at least 5 minutes after taking off the pan.

5. Meanwhile, wipe the pan clean, heat up, and add a bit of oil. Quickly stir fry the carrots, zucchini and bok choy, for 2-3 minutes.

6. Mix all the vegetables and herbs (stir-fried and raw) together in a large bowl. Toss in the dressing, and mix well. Garnish with lime wedges. Slice the steaks on top, and serve.

Pro tips:

To cook a 2 1/2 cm or 1 inch thick steak:

Rare: 2 minutes per side

Medium Rare: 3 minutes per side

Medium: 3 1/2 – 4 minutes per side

Well done: 6 minutes per side

Per serving:

Cal 470

Carb 20,3g

Prot 41,6g

Fat 23,5g