Rachel Khoo: A taste of the Orient

I credit most of my culinary success to my adopted home, France, where I have studied the art of patisserie — and eaten a lot of it, too. But, while my love of French cuisine knows no bounds, sometimes I need a break from it. So living in Paris’s second Chinatown, Belleville, suits me well. Here, I can pop down to the corner shop to stock up on Asian essentials and rustle up a supper without an ounce of butter or cheese in sight.

Caramelised pork and sesame lemongrass skewers with coconut rice

Serves 4

For the pork skewers

400g pork mince

2 chillies, deseeded

4cm piece of ginger, peeled

3 garlic cloves, peeled

2 tsp soy sauce

2 tbsp coriander, plus extra to serve

8 lemongrass sticks, to serve

2 tbsp sesame seeds

2 tbsp sunflower oil

For the sticky glaze

2 tbsp soy sauce

2 tbsp honey

For the rice

100g creamed coconut

120g basmati rice

lemongrass leaves

Make the skewers by blending together the pork, chillies, ginger, garlic, soy sauce and chopped coriander. Trim away the tough outer leaves of the lemongrass (keep some for the rice) and the ends, and squeeze the pork on to the sticks, covering about 7cm from the top of each stick as you would a kofta. Spread the sesame seeds on a plate, and coat each skewer well. Set aside.

Measure the creamed coconut, rice and 300ml hot water into a saucepan. Season and add the lemongrass leaves. Bring to the boil, lower the heat and simmer for 10-12 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the rice is tender. Remove the lemongrass.

In the meantime, heat a large frying pan on a medium-high heat, add the sunflower oil and fry the skewers (in batches so as not to crowd the pan) for 7-8 minutes. Ensure they are cooked through and set aside on a plate.

When you have cooked all the skewers, deglaze the pan with the soy sauce, add the honey and toss the skewers in the pan to glaze. Serve sprinkled with coriander, with the rice on the side, and some hot sauce if you like a bit of heat.