Soya Sauce Chicken

I had been over buying some fresh chicken meat lately, in fact I was thinking of steaming chicken with some chinese herbs my sister-in-law gave me but the idea was put off for couple of times due to last minute change of plans (which I really hate it when I had to accommodate for the sake of someone else's... grrrrrr) and I landed myself with several pieces of chicken breast meats already thawed in the chiller for couple of days :-(

We knew the risks of thawing and refrosting is a BIG NO-NO! I had to do something about the chicken meat... fast because later in the afternoon, there would be some people coming in to check rusty rails at my balcony. There would be lots of screeching, banging and sparks flying about ( I wished it was like in Harry Potter). Alas... my poor plants would be frightened off their leaves! Sigh... but safety first. I wished I could changed the railings to flexiglass panels but I need to submit in paperworks ,blahs, blahs, blahs.... which would take months for approval! My day, definitely not only noisy but smoky and I can't enjoy the rain. Yep, I love rain but within the comfort of my home; not forgetting hot chocolate or tea and some cookies... :-D

Well, after standing inside my kitchen for hours (yep, I'm lazy too when it rains!) this is what I could think of after trying to wake myself up with coffee (thanks dear, for the lovely coffee everyday, bisous!) It's sort of the Malay style of cooking Ayam Masak Kicap - it's simple with few ingredients that made this dish fragrant with sweet and tangy taste from the tomatoes. Serve with hot rice, vegetables, fish or prawn cracker and papadums... don't forget dessert!

Soya Sauce Chicken

Serves 2-4

5 pcs Chicken meat - clean and pat dry (about 300 g - 450 g)

3 nos Big Onions - sliced

2 cloves Garlic - sliced

10 ml Thick Soya Sauce

5 ml Sweet Soya Sauce (Ketjap Manis)

1 nos Large Red Tomato - quartered (or more if you like)

Salt and Sugar to taste

Spices for frying:

2 pcs Cloves

1 pc Cinnamon stick (about 4 cm)

Few pieces Cardamom (I used 4 nos)

Oil for frying

Method:

1. In a deep pan or wok, heat some oil, enough to fry the chicken meat in small batches. Cook the chicken pieces half-cooked. Remove and set aside.

2. Fry the big onion, garlic slices and the spices until fragrant.

3. Add in the ketjap manis (sweet soya sauce) and thick soya sauce. Let it boil for awhile in the pan.

4. Lastly add in the half fried chicken pieces and tomatoes. Mix the meat with spices well.

5. Season with salt and sugar.

6. Garnish with coriander leaves or spring onion and serve hot with favourite rice or as side dish.

Note: No need to add water because the chicken meat and tomatoes produced enough water for this dish.

Enjoy!

Chicken In Creamy Tomato Sauce

There's this little tiny ingredient that I used in this recipe that stirred hot debate in my country 4 years ago, much to my amusement and maybe to foodies abroad as well. This little itsy, bitsy ingredient had been used worldwide in cookies, bread, cakes, spice mixes and curries but illegal in some countries! You and I ate this 'secret' ingredient food in stollen, bagel, mohn, challah, Korma, Mutton Posto, Japanese's Shichimi Togarashi, medicinal purposes (yes, you saw it correctly!) and in artist's paints (surprised, surprised!) I'm refering to kaskas or khashkhash, paparounospori, pavot somnifère, haşhaş tohumu, etc... or better simply known as poppy seeds!

Don't panic and thinking of boycotting your favourite Indian, Indian Muslim or Middle Eastern restaurants or stop using on your traditional baking goods. Poppy seeds that come from ripe seeds contain no narcotic chemicals and it's safe to consume as its alkaloid content is very low (about 50 parts per million.)It's the dried latex from the unripe seed pods that opium is derived. You need to consume 1 kg or more of poppy seeds to get high and the taste is very bitter in large quantities but morphine could still be detected in the urine after such heavy consumption. There's no experiments to date to prove poppy seed consumption could lead to addiction :-P What about Coca-cola or Coke? There are interesting topics about poppy seeds, its' history and culinary uses in Chow.com, the nutrition content of the seeds in Indianet and the Encyclopedia of Spices by The Epicentre.

As for me, I love Indian and Middle Eastern cuisines because of the combination of spices and herbs that made their food so addictive! Back to this recipe I wanted to share ;-P I used the Asian white poppy seed variety which is smaller, creamier and nutty than its Western Blue Poppy Seeds. You can use which ever available locally in your area. The purpose of the poppy seeds in this recipe is to thicken the gravy or sauce.

Chicken in Creamy Tomato Gravy

Serves 4-6 servings

1 tbl Cooking oil

1.5 kg Chicken meat - washed and cut to pieces (I used chicken thighs)

2 nos Onion - medium size, sliced into rings

1/2 tsp Ground Cloves

1 tsp Tumeric Powder

2 tsp Garam Masala

3 tsp Chilli Powder

To be blended until smooth with 2 tbl Coconut Milk:

4 cloves Garlic

1 tbl Fresh Ginger - finely chopped

1 tbl Poppy Seeds

2 tsp Fennel Seeds

3 pods Cardamom - smashed and reserved the black seeds

150 ml Coconut Milk - fresh 1st-pressed thick coconut from 1 coconut

1 pc Star Anise

1 pc Cinnamon Stick

4 nos Large Tomatoes - roughly chopped

1-2 nos Limes - quartered

Method:

1. Pat dry the chicken meat before frying.

2. Heat the oil in a large frying pan/pot. When it's hot, add in the chicken pieces slowly in batches into the pan. Cook for 5-10 minutes or until browned. Remove and keep aside in another plate. Continue to fry the rest of the chicken.

*When it's finished, remove some of the oil from the pan (the extra oil came from the chicken skin/fat) but use enough oil for the next step.

3. While the pot/pan is still hot, add in onions and stir-fry until golden in color. Stir in the grounded cloves, tumeric, garam masala and chilli powder. Stir for 1 minute and add in the pre-fried chicken pieces.

4. Add in the blended spice mixture, remaining of Coconut milk, star anise, cinnamon stick, chopped tomatoes and water. Give the chicken and spices a good stir so that the meat is well coated.

5. Cover the pot/pan and simmer in medium heat for 30-45 minutes or until the meat is tender and the gravy thickens to your preference. Serve with some quartered limes at the side with steamed rice and plain yogurt. You can even add some vegetables like cucumber, onions, okra, achar or pickles.

Notes:

As the pots or pans use are different with individuals, the gravy may take longer to thicken. Since the chicken meat produced more liquid into the gravy, you need to adjust the time accordingly.

You can use packed or tinned coconut milk if you can't find fresh pressed coconut milk.

If you don't have grounded cloves, you can pound/grind about 1 tbl of cloves until fine. Scoop the powdered cloves into the required measurement and leveled the top.

Use quality cardamoms - discard any browned or dried seeds or pods.

Lastly, if you still unsure about the poppy seeds, you can use grounded Cashew Nuts, Pine Nuts or Candlenuts as thickening agent for this recipe :-P

I'm also sending this recipe to the event, ' Think Spice... Think Twice: Mastic Gum and Fennel Seeds' by Ivy of Kopiaste... to Greek Hospitality who is hosting this month's Think Spice, created by Sunita of Sunita's World.

Enjoy!

Chicken In Coriander Curry

I got a big bunch of fresh coriander leaves in the fridge that I don't know what to do from last cooking episode :-D Have you noticed that Coriander Leaves are sensitive plant? Seems that it doesn't like moisture when you keep it in fridge even in the vegetable compartment. In other words you can't wash it until you need it but how can you stand looking at the soil-stucked roots which going to make a mess at the bottom of the compartment. Yes, this bunch was bought at the fresh market unlike from the supermarket, cleaned and packed nicely. Mine was wrapped in a large outdated Chinese newspaper. My mom always told me that coriander, bean sprouts and probably other vegetables keep longer if you wrap them up in newspaper. I bet it's the ink that preserves these 'sensitive' vegetables :-)

This recipe I wanted to share is quite unique because even though there's some chilli powder used, it doesn't taste hot at all but the main ingredient I wanted to point out is the use of Evaporated Milk to cook this curry which has the marriage of Malay and Indian influences. So, a less fat curry, yet you still have that special creamy taste of coconut milk! Of course, if you want the coconut milk, no problem. Just replace the Evaporated Milk in the recipe for fresh (the best!), canned or powdered coconut milk (follow the manufacturer's instruction to dilute the powder before adding to the cooking.) At least, all my coriander stalks were used! More fresh ones soon after CNY! Oh yes... I take this opportunity to wish all World Foodies who celebrate Chinese New Year with great prosperity and wealth. Most importantly, I wished you great health and best wishes for the Year of Ox. Here's a link on how Malaysia-Chinese celebrated Chinese New Year with their friends and families... the Malaysian way. While you're at the site, look out for the video recipes and for those interested in Feng Shui, there are some forecasts by Feng Shui experts as well. Keong Hee Huat Chye... Selamat Tahun Baru Cina!

Chicken In Coriander Curry

600 g Chicken Meat

Ingredients to blend:

3 nos Shallots

2 cloves Garlic

30 g Galangal

20 g Palm Sugar

1 tsp Belacan

2 stalks Coriander leaves ~ roughly chopped (approx. 20 g - 40 g)

2 nos Red Chillies ~ cut into halves

2 nos Geen Chillies ~ cut into halves

1 tsp Cumin seeds

1 tsp White Pepper

1 tsp Chilli Powder

3 pcs Kaffir Lime leaves

250 ml Evaporated Milk

A little bit of Tumeric Powder

Salt and sugar to taste

Oil for frying

Method:

1. Heat a little bit of oil in a wok or deep pot and add in the blended spices.

2.Add in the cumin, White pepper powder, cili, tumeric and kaffir lime leaves. Fry until fragrant.

3. Add in the chicken and stir until chicken meat are well coated with the spice mixture. Add a bit of water. Let it simmer until chicken meat are tender.

4. When chicken is cooked , add in the evaporated milk, chilli halves and chopped coriander leaves. Add in some salt and sugar to taste.

5. Remove from heat and serve.

Note: This dish is best overnight after the meat absorbed all the fragrant spices. You can eat with Naan, Rice, Bread, Noodles, Pita or even roll some meat and gravy in your favourite Tortillas!

Enjoy!

Baked Pork With 3 Mushrooms

It's been quite hectic days lately for me. I tried to cook some quick meals for the family and made sure that there's at least once a week, we eat home cooked meals. It's fun not to wash pots and plates but in the long run, I felt bored with the eateries' menus... :-P Talk about being fussy LOL! Don't you ever said to yourself that what you ate at the restaurants, you can cook it at home too? In current economy situation, it's time for us to make efforts being frugal. So, let's make use those 3 ingredients or 4 ingredients cooking books hidden away gathering dust in the cabinet :-P I had one book like that and recently I added a new one to my collection.

This recipe is one of the ideas of using what's left in your pantry and fridge. I nearly forgot that I froze a pack of pork shoulder meat (among others in the freezer) and some mushrooms left from previous cooking hence the 3 types of mushrooms I used in this recipe. At first, I thought it's weird and not sure how the dish will taste like especially the strong flavoured Shiitake mushrooms. Will it over powered the other mild mushrooms? My family liked it very much but let me know your feedback ;-)

Baked Pork With 3 Mushrooms

Serves 2-3

100 g Enoki Mushrooms (Golden Mushrooms)

2-4 White Button Mushrooms

2 Shiitake Mushrooms

½ Red Onion

2 cloves Garlic

200 g Pork Shoulder (or any tender chicken meat)

Seasonings:

1 tbsp Rice Wine

1 tbsp Dark Soya Sauce

1 tbsp Oyster Sauce

1 tbsp Cornstarch

1 tsp Salt

1 tsp Sugar

¼ tsp Black Pepper

Method:

1. Rinse or wipe fresh mushrooms from grits. Remove any discolored parts or hard stems and cut into shreds. Rinse the Enoki mushrooms and cut off tail-ends. Peel and slice garlic and red onion.

2. Preheat oven at 200 ºC. (For those who have oven with higher set of temperature than stated, preheat oven to 250ºC.)

3. Rinse meat thoroughly ad cut into bite size pieces. Marinate with seasonings for 20-30 minutes. Transfer into a ovenproof casserole and top with all the sliced ingredients.

3. Cover with aluminum foil and transfer to preheated oven. Bake for 30-40 minutes or until tender to your preference. (If your oven's at 250ºC, bake the dish for 20 minutes.)

4. Remove aluminum foil and serve.

Note: If you don't have an oven, this recipe can be cook in a heavy pot on stove as well. Besides pork, you can also use chicken like fillets, thighs and breast meats. Serve this recipe with rice or noodles of your choice. I tried it 'dry' and as soup on cooked yellow noodles (with extra water added to the gravy)- it turned out surprisingly tasty too. I also add extra sliced spring onions, julienned carrot and red chillies as garnishing as you can see in the picture. Actually, I separated the recipe into halves because I have a guest who's not a fan of chillies (it made him upset stomach.) With the other half I added extra chopped chillies, julienned carrot and lots of sliced spring onions. Mixed it all up nicely, just before serving. It's yummy that way for me! Tell me what you think...

Enjoy!

~ Tagged: 7 Facts About Myself ~

I was tagged by CK Lam recently which is the 1st time for me since I started blogging. Frankly, I'm quite confused about this meme and tag thingies. It's like a kind of confession about yourself and since it's nearly end of the year, perhaps this tag may help me for my new resolutions! I also received few requests from those I tagged before though. It's no obligation and feel free to pass my tag(s) :-)

1. My 1st lesson in cookery was frying an omelette at age of 9.

2. I never owned Barbie Doll... I don't know why I don't have interest like some of my neighbourhood girls about Barbie. Maybe the price or I'm not blonde and skinny... :-D

3. I love books... My favourite... science, thriller, children's stories of magical world, Art & History, Famous Five, Hardy Boys, Nancy Drew, Sherlock Holmes, 3 Investigators, languages ... the lots! Plus board games like Mastermind, Othello/Reversi, Congkak ( a version of Mancala) and many more...

4. I have phobias of swimming (no, no, no, not because of JAWS!) and driving. I need to troubleshoot the later though...

5. I love travelling... the most memorable event was flying in the Swiss Alps. I felt so timid, speechless and at awed the wonders of Mother Nature created. At the same time, my soul was peaceful thousands of feet above sea level looking down at the Matterhorn and Mont Blanc.

6. My best working life was seeing my design on TV worn by Silver Medalist in Men's Single Table Tennis in XXV Olympic Games in Barcelona. I followed the player and created the sportswear collection until I retired in 1998... LOL

7. I need to do 'fridge cleaning' (a term given by Food4tots) more often then I'm doing now :-P

Magadip - Madurese Aromatic Chicken Stew

Have you tasted before a recipe that has no chillies, garlic or coconut milk in its ingredients yet it's just as potent ? The recipe I'm referring to originates from Madura, an Indonesian island located East of Java in the Greater Sunda Islands Archipelago. The dish was a surprise for me, as we knew that most Indonesian dishes are hot and spicy and every dishes cooked or Sayur Lalap must have some chillies of some sort like Sambal Oelek, Sambal Terasi, Sambal Badjak pastes added as condiments with their meals. My favourite is Rijsttafel that ends with Spekkoek and coffee... it's a wonderful ending!

This Madurese speciality dish I'm sharing is called Magadip or better known as Madura Aromatic Chicken which is easy to prepare and you can actually used the ingredients for lamb as well. You can prepare it 1 to 2 days ahead which will make the dish tastes even more delicious after you let the flavours permeate the meat or freeze it until it's needed. The ingredients I'm using are for 2-4 persons as part of a meal but you can easily double the portions to suit your needs.

Magadip

Serves 2-4

500 g - 600 g Chicken or any part of chicken you like

1 Tbl Coriander seeds

1 tsp Cumin seeds

4 pcs Cloves

1 bulb Onion - small size, finely chopped

1/2 tsp Palm Sugar/ White Sugar

1 tsp Salt

1/4 tsp Tumeric powder

1/4 tsp Nutmeg powder (freshly grounded)

1 tsp Black Peppercorns (freshly grounded)

125 ml Chicken Stock/Water

1.50 cm Fresh Ginger - peeled and sliced

2.50 cm Cinnamon stick

Extra Salt and Pepper to taste

Garnish: Onion Crisps, Spring onions or Coriander leaves.

Method:

1. In a large pan, dry fry the coriander, black peppercorns, cinnamon, cumin and cloves over medium heat until fragrant (it's very important not to burn your spices or you'll end up with bitter and burnt gravy.) Add in the tumeric powder and nutmeg powder. Give a quick stir to mix the spices thoroughly. Remove from heat. Grind in a food processor until fine. Set aside.

2. Blend the onion and ginger until smooth paste. Set aside.

3. Wash the chicken and cut into frying pieces. Put the chicken pieces in a deep pan or casserole. Sprinkle with salt and sugar. Toss the chicken pieces thoroughly (supposed to help release the juices in the chicken.)

4. Add in the grounded spices, onion and ginger paste and chicken stock/water. Mix well into the chicken pieces. Cook over medium heat for 40-50 minutes or until the chicken meat is tender and half the gravy evaporates.

5. Adjust the taste with salt and black pepper as needed.

6. Serve portions of chicken meat with gravy, on rice or as side dish.

Note: This recipe can be substitute with lamb and ostrich meat. Cooking time should be adjusted accordingly to the type of meat cuts or until the meat is tender. If the gravy evaporates too quickly, you can add extra 125 ml/ ½ cup of water. In this recipe I added some potatoes wedges which also thickened the gravy.

You can make the dry spices few weeks ahead. Make certain portions for each kilogramme or ½ kg. of meat. Let the toasted spices cool down. Grind into fine powder and keep it air-tight container or vacuum pack. Don't forget to label how many grammes that quantity of spice will give you and how many spoons you need for the amount of meat you use.

Enjoy!

Tomato Chicken Stew

After a week of bad coughing, sneezes and lack of sleep, I really need something to perk me up. Something spicy and sourish yet doesn't hurt my sore throat (big grin), to get back to my usual self... I had to cook the deboned chicken breasts & drumsticks I bought before expired. My brain still shrouded with sleepy lambs as I typed this entry and I still need to finish the antibiotics... urghhh! Please excuse me if there's typo error... :-D Outside, it's raining heavily and windy since yesterday morning. I don't mind though... it helps to cool down the hot weather several days ago. After this, I'm going to make a cup of hot cocoa... hmmm... maybe a jug?

Tomato Chicken Stew

Serves 2-3

500 g Chicken, chopped into 5 cm pieces (or drumsticks/breast meats)

Pinch of Salt & Tumeric powder

1/2 cup Oil (for shallow frying)

2 nos Onions, sliced

1 small can Tomato Purée

2 nos Tomatoes, quartered

1 tbl Sugar or to taste

1 tbl Salt or to taste

Some Water

Spices (ground/blend finely):

6 nos Shallots

3 cloves Garlic

6-10 Red Chillies, seeded

1 pc Lemongrass (use the plump white portion only)

2 cm knob of Ginger, skinned

Method:

1. Rub chicken with a pinch salt & tumeric powder. Set aside.

2. Heat oil in a deep pan/wok over medium fire/heat. When hot, fry the chicken in batches for 5 minutes. Remove chicken, drain on kitchen papers and set aside.

3. In the remaining oil, stir-fry the ground spices until fragrant and oil separates - about 3 mins.

4. Add sliced onions and stir-fry until they start to soften - about 1 minute. Stir in tomato purée and bring to a boil.

5. Add chicken and mix well. Pour some water to cover the chicken by 3/4 (about 2 cups). Bring to a boil.

6. Reduce fire/heat to low and simmer for 10 minutes. Add quartered tomatoes and continue to cook for another 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until chicken is tender and gravy is thick. Season to taste with salt and sugar. Garnish with chopped spring onions or coriander.

Notes: This is a Malay style stew. As with stews, it tastes better the day after. Prepare it a day ahead and warm up to serve. You can serve with rice, fried rice or even on pastas.

If you like really hot, you can replace the chillies with Dried Red Chillies but soak it first, remove the seeds and then ground/blend together with other spices.

Hope you like it... :-)