I have no idea if this is actually how you are supposed to make this dish, but it tastes perfect to me! This dish is all about the tofu, so don’t clutter it with too many veges (though, if you’re not into tofu, I’m sure a fish version of this would be delicious – though you might need to reverse the cooking process and cook the fish before the vegetables).

Like most Thai food, this dish is best cooked just before serving, and of course it needs a very generous portion of unsalted, medium or long grain rice to accompany it!

Ingredients:

• 1-3 red Birdseye chili, sliced
• 1-2 cloves garlic, thick slices (if it’s too thin it will burn)
• 1/2 cup of diced vegetables (I used a mixture of long beans, capsicum and baby corn, but if you have a sweet tooth, add some chopped pineapple)
• 1 ripe tomato, diced
• 2 cups silken Tofu, chopped into large cubes
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• 1 tablespoon of peanut or sunflower oil (or a mix of both)
• 3/4 cup hot vegetable stock
• 1-2 teaspoon fish sauce
• 2 teaspoons light soy sauce
• 1-2 teaspoon sugar
• 1-2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon white pepper
• 1 lime, cut in wedges
• large handful of coriander (separate leaves from stems, roughly chop stems)
• 1 tablespoon chopped peanuts
• rice to serve

Method:

Basically, you’re going to cook the veges, add the tofu, season the sauce and then eat it!

1. Pat the tofu dry with a towel, then lightly coat the cubes in cornstarch and set aside (the tofu MUST be dry else the cornstarch will go gluggy). If you can’t be bothered to do this step, I’m sure it will still work out just fine (though the sauce might be a little thin and the tofu might break apart a little – don’t say I didn’t warn you!).
2. Add the oil to a hot wok.
3. When the wok begins to smoke, add the vegetables and stir for 1 minute on high heat, then push the veges to one side of the wok.
4. Add the tofu to the empty side of the wok – do not stir it immediately, wait until the tofu is sealed (otherwise it will fall apart)
5. After about 1 minute, the tofu should be heated through, lightly browned on 1 side and juices should be releasing from the tomato & other vegetables. You can stir it gently now!
6. Add 1/4 of the stock and let it bubble away for a few seconds, then add coriander stems, sugar, salt, pepper, fish sauce & soy, stir gently, and switch the wok to medium heat.
7. At this point, I’d recommend you taste your sauce. It should be spicy, a little sweet and quite salty (but don’t worry, the rice and tofu should mellow it out). If you need to re-season the dish add more stock and season to taste (but remember, the stock is salty too!). Once you’re happy with the flavours, it’s time to plate up! The seasoning might need to be adjusted depending on which vegetables you are using (if you want more sauce, add more vegetable stock, but be careful not to overcook the veges).
8. To serve, pile the tofu over hot rice, top with coriander leaves, peanuts and a generous splash of fresh lime.

Preparation time: 10 minutes

Cooking time: approx 4-5 minutes.

Project Management Tip: A little planning goes a long way.

Ps. @Ycnt_ibdonlyjen – You’ll have to let me know how it turns out!

Ingredients

• 1 cup plain flour
• 2 1/2 cups self raising flour
• 3/4 cup vegetable oil
• 2 1/2 cups of shredded zucchini (aka courgettes)
• 1 3/4 cup caster sugar
• 4 eggs (lightly beaten)
• 2 teaspoons vanilla essense
• 3 teaspoons grated lemon rind
• 1 cup chopped pecans

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 175^oC
2. Grease and line 2 x loaf tins (or grease & dust with flour)
3. This is where it gets tricky… Sift the flour into a large mixing bowl, then add all the other ingredients
4. Mix to combine, then pour into the prepared loaf tins
5. Bake for approx. 1 hr in a fan forced oven
6. Leave in tin for a few minutes, then turn onto wire to cool completely

Experimental variations

Carrot, beetroot, sweet potato & corn

Project management take-home

As mentioned, this recipe makes 2 x loaves and whilst you could half it, I never have.

“Why?” you ask…

Because, as anyone who’s hard-drive has failed will know, it’s always good to have a back up!

Sometimes, I find it easier to understand a process when I don’t apply it to my ‘area of expertise’. Whether my product is the next Twitter of Facebook, or if I’m simply planning to make a birthday cake, the process is essentially the same.

You’re probably wondering at this point how pesto fits into product planning? Well, wonder no more!

Pesto is a super simple product, so it serves as a great test case… but don’t be fooled! There are tonnes of user cases. There’s lots of flavour options (I often make coriander & almond pesto, carrot pesto etc). There are many competitors. And within pesto ‘the category’, there are a myriad of product lines. Each product line suited to a different market segment … a different vision.

Let’s start with a quick poll…

If you have a great product planning process, then you probably shouldn’t read this. But feel free to add your comments and tips below!

I think the key to a great product is great planning. And it’s hard to have a great plan without a great process. Today, instead of using dry ingredients like sign up screens and server loads, let’s look at the high level product process through pesto goggles.

Have you ever made pesto? No? Well, then let’s start with a basic recipe: Combine basil, garlic, pine nuts Parmesan or Pecorino cheese and olive oil.

It’s dead easy. Right?

WRONG! I can’t tell you how many times I’ve eaten horrid pesto (think: that jar of pesto that’s been sitting in the back of your friend’s fridge since 1986).

Revisiting focus!

In an earlier blog post, I spoke about (brutal) focus, broken into the following sections (thx @liubinskas)

• Vision
• Market Segment
• Core Feature
• Key Metric

As we learned earlier, pesto has 5 simple ingredients: basil, garlic, pine nuts, cheese and olive oil. But it’s dead easy to fuck up.

Let’s journey through this process to start up Mishy’s Multinational Pesto Corporation Pty Ltd, which will no doubt be cash flow positive by year end.

Vision:

For the pesto product plan, my vision couldn’t be clearer! I want to make the world’s #1 Best Pesto! It’s so simple… Let’s move on.

Market segment

Who am I making this pesto for? Who is my #1 ideal customer? Is it sold at a Saturday market? In the local corner shop? In a supermaket chain? Who is it best for? Am I really going global right away?

We encounter our first stumbling block. We need to refine the vision…

Vision 2.0:

I want my Pesto to be the #1 Pesto on sale at the Fox Studio Saturday Farmers Market (let’s start small, we don’t want to get carried away).

That’s better. The vision now helps me understand my market segment. I even know when and where I’m distributing, and the likely customer reach (mid-upper class foodies and families).

The more refined my vision is, the more likely I’ll get an early win. But is my vision too narrow? Maybe I should aim higher? #1 Pesto on sale in Australia? Too high! #1 Pesto on sale in Sydney’s Gourmet Markets & Stores?

Ask yourself ‘is my vision realistic?’ If your vision is too big, you’ll most likely feel deflated before you reach your end goal. Start small and build up from there.

I’m settling with “#1 Pesto on sale at Sydney’s Farmers Markets & Gourmet Grocery Stores”

This still covers a lot of ground. Sydney (whilst not as big as New York or Shanghai) does still have a lot of gourmet food outlets & farmers markets.

So, now we go back to market segment…

Market segment 2.0

I’m going to target middle aged affluent, educated women who live in the Eastern Suburbs of Sydney.

Why? Because (based on personal experience & broad stereotypes) often these women either don’t want to cook, don’t have time to cook or don’t know how to cook. They also like to buy presents for dinner parties, for friends, for their children, for Christmas/Chanuka/Housewarmings, thus they can extend my reach.

Core feature

It’s always tough to pick one core feature. I think for this product, it’s a given that it needs to taste like great pesto, but does it need to be the best tasting pesto in the world? Probably not. Is freshness important? Yes. But is it the core feature? Not likely. I need my pesto to stand out. I need one single feature that will make it remarkable. That will make it stand apart from all the other pesto on sale at the market.

So, in this instance, I’m being brave and opting for stunning packaging as my core feature. I know that if it doesn’t stand out, it won’t sell. It needs make noise. It needs to look like a gift. Something you could take to your friends place for dinner in place of a good bottle of wine or box of Lindt chocolate.

I know, I know, of course, it has to taste great (ie. it has to work), but for my market segment it really needs to look impressive. Whether they gift the pesto or keep it for themselves, it needs to feel like a real treat. An indulgence. It should even have a gift tag so people know that it’s perfectly acceptable to give to a dinner party host. (In future I may even include an option for the pesto pamper hampers which can be delivered, like flowers, to your loved ones, but let’s keep it simple for now!)

So, in sum, my core feature is actually the bottle which showcases the pesto!

Key metric

This could simply be ‘number of sales/day’ to begin with.

In future, I’ll track number of hampers sent, number of repeat sales, or number of subscribers (in my ideal world, people subscribe to pesto) but like I said, I’m keeping it simple while I’m in start up mode.

What else have a learned about my product through this process?

I know it needs to be good quality. It needs to taste fantastic. It needs to look expensive. It needs to be fresh. I can’t cut corners because these people expect the best (no substituting pine nuts for walnuts to reduce the cost ok?). It needs to last for a while out of the fridge if I’m going to sell it at Farmers Markets.

I know my price point (a little less than a decent bottle of wine eg. $15-20). Maybe I need to bundle the pesto with free home made lavosh crackers so they feel like they are getting good value? That would also mean that it’s ‘ready to go’ straight from the Farmers Market to the lunch table.

I know my vision, my market segment, my key feature & my metric… Now what?

The next step is research! Confirm your assumptions. Go to the markets. Check out what else is on sale. Taste the competition. Speak with the stall holders. Find out how much foot traffic is likely each Saturday. Check out the Gourmet food outlets in the area. Get out there and ask some questions!!!

I’ve done some research… where to from here?

Now I know what I’m making, who I’m making it for, what my goal is and how I’m going to track my success, I just need to make a checklist of the next steps:

1. Budget – how much is it going to cost to produce and how much do I need to sell to make a return?
2. Time line – do I to have something ready this Saturday or is there a 6 month waiting period for a stall at the market?
3. Resourcing – am I making it at home, by myself? In my tiny mortar and pestle? Or should I outsource it? Will I run the stall or hire a more polished sales person?
4. Distribution – Where are you going to target first? Start with the Fox Studios Farmers Market, then tackle Ultimo, Glebe, Rozelle?
5. Marketing – How are you going to market your product? Are you going to advertise or is word of mouth sufficient? Are you offering a starter special (2 for 1) or will this cheapen the brand? Are you hosting a dinner party for gourmet foodies to up-sell your product? (I know most product plans don’t include marketing, but I think it’s important to have an idea of how the product is going to be marketed, so you can ensure you are creating something desirable for the customer you’re trying to reach. If you don’t know how you’re going to reach your market, how are you going to get your plan off the ground?). It’s a bit of chicken-and-egg, but if you don’t plan you plan to fail!

Of course, this is only a high level product plan. But it’s a step in the right direction toward global domination (or whatever it is that you’re trying to achieve). Remember, the more refined your plan is to begin with, the less headaches you’ll have down the track!

What’s your #1 product planning tip?

Tip: If you want your pesto to stay green add a handful of chopped flat leaf parsley to the mix.

Ingredients

• Olive oil
• Garlic – 7 cloves (sounds like a lot, but it is worth it)
• 1/2 green capsicum, diced
• 2-3 large ripe tomatoes
• 3 medium size potatoes, cut into 1 cm rounds
• 2 cups (hot) vegetable or fish stock
• flat leaf (continental) parsley
• 2 fillets of white fish (cod, snapper, ling, or whatever looks good) cut into small cubes
• S&P & lots more olive oil

Method

1. Roughly chop 4 cloves of garlic and all the capsicum into small bite size pieces
2. Put enough olive oil in the pan to coat the bottom of the pan, and place on med-high heat
3. When the olive oil is hot, add the garlic and capsicum and stir
4. Meanwhile, cute the tomatoes in half and grate (yes, grate!) the tomato (you should be left with around 1 cup of tomato puree, no skin).
5. Saute the garlic and capsicum until it slightly changes colour, then add the tomato puree (stand back as it may spit at you!).
6. Stir on high heat for 1-2 minutes (you should notice the tomato change colour from dark red to a lighter orange/red)
7. Add the potatoes and pour over enough stock so that the potatoes are covered. Add some parsley, cover and leave for 10-12 minutes on high heat until the potatoes are cooked
8. While the potatoes are cooking, crush 2 cloves of garlic in a mortar & pestle, then slowly drizzle in the olive oil to make an aoli (add some lemon juice and salt to taste). Tip: If you add the oil too quickly the aoli will split!
9. Once the potatoes are cooked, add the fish and cover for another 3-5 minutes (until the fish is cooked, it should flake easily)
10. Add a little pepper, salt and extra parsley to taste
11. Set aside for 3-5 minutes before serving (this will give the fish a chance to infuse the vegetables).
12. To serve, place the potato in the bowl, then layer over the fish, capsicum and tomato broth. Drizzle with the aoli and add a generous amount of parsley.

Cooking time/quantity

20 minutes, 2 serves

Variations

This would be great as a starter with some crusty bread, or add beans instead of potatoes for a quick version which is lower in calories.

If you don’t like capsicum, add another green vegetable like green beans, peas or squash.

It takes about 45 minutes in the oven and is ‘nearly’ as good as the traditional way.

Ingredients

• 2 cups arborio rice
• 5 cups boiled water
• 1 vege stock cube
• 1 tablespoon of butter/spread
• 4 cups of sliced mushrooms (a variety of types is best)
• 1/4 cup of grated good quality Parmesan or romano
• 1 cup of spinach leaves, asparagus or snowpeas
• Optional – 1 tablespoon of fresh pesto or a handful of fresh basil

Method

1. Heat the oven 200 degrees C
2. Combine all ingredients apart from the Parmesan and greens
3. Cover the dish and place in the oven for 30 minutes
4. Once al-dente, stir through greens and cheese, sit for 2-3 minutes

Variations

• You can make this with pretty much any vegetables.
• I haven’t tried cooking this in the microwave, but I’m sure it would work (probably around 12 minutes on high).
• If you have leftovers, put it into a muffin tray and bake for 20 mins on 180
• To make this recipe vegan, leave out the cheese (and make sure the spread is oil based)