Sabtu, 17 Mei 2008

Oven BBQ Chicken (recipe)

Oven BBQ Chicken (recipe)

Summer is the time to fire up the grill… at least that’s what the US food programs and magazines tell me. Here in Trinidad, I’ve never really known or been part of a huge grilling or BBQ culture. As a kid there was a time when my father went on a BBQ kick, that lasted about a month after which the grill was determined to difficult to clean and fell into disuse. I have no idea what became of it or the bag of coals that were so enthusiastically bought for it.

My next initiation into the world of BBQs was as a fundraising mechanism in both primary and high school. There was nothing like the smell of multiple grills all working in tandem to fill up the flimsy paper boxes that our paper chits would procure. The funds from these BBQs (and their equally popular counterpart the Curry-Q) presumably going to help fund the upkeep of a school or to support the mission of an organization. Even then my favourite BBQs had to meet certain requirements. The flavour had to be both sweet and smoky. The sauce had to be thick and shiny. And the chicken? Well the chicken had to have dark, crunchy, practically charred bits. Should any of these characteristics be lacking, and the BBQ would be a failure in my eyes.

Jumat, 16 Mei 2008

Wednesday Chicken Recipes: Joyful Jamaican Jerk Grilled Chicken & Veggies

Jamaican Jerk Grilled Chicken Recipe.jpgI’m writing with a hungry stomach today & I’ve got a serious craving for chicken. It’s funny, I was reviewing my last few posts and it looks like I’ve been in a sweet tooth mood lately! Well, say hello to my little friend- the Joyful Jamaican Jerk Grilled Chicken recipe. It’s delicious, it’s easy & you’ll want more.

Ingredients:

  • 4 tablespoons jerk sauce, found in the dressing section of grocery
  • 2 large chicken breasts, boneless
  • 1 plantain, sliced
  • 4 oz okra, cut into 1/2″ round
  • 2 red jalapenos, sliced
  • 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
  • 3 tablespoons white wine
  • 2 tablespoons butter

What’s Next:

Marinate chicken breasts with 2 tablespoons of your jerk sauce & and 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil for about an hour. Make sure to keep marinade, you’ll be using this again soon.

Go ahead & get your grill heated up.

In a large skillet- deep fry plantain slices until golden brown, set aside.

Place chicken on grill & baste every 5 minutes with leftover marinade. Grill for 15-20 minutes, or until juices run clear & no longer pink inside.

While you have the grill going, in a large skillet- saute okra & jalapeno with butter for three minutes.

Add wine, fried plantain & 2 tablespoons jerk sauce, mix well. Remove from heat once mixture is warm all over.

Once chicken is done, set veggies on plate & place chicken on top. Now you are ready to serve & to enjoy this joyful meal for two.

Jumat, 09 Mei 2008

Steamed Fish Teochew Style

Tag:, , ,
Steamed Fish Teochew Style

Steamed fish, Teochew style is typically done with the simplest of ingredients - shredded ginger, pickled sour plums, mustard greens (salted vegetable), sliced shitake mushrooms and garnished with green onions. However, being a pork lover, I could not resist adding in a bit of minced pork to add more juice and flavor to the fish gravy.

Although I am a Teochew, I am shy to say that the only dishes I am familiar with, off the top of my head, are Teochew Steamed Fish, Teochew Porridge (Congee) and Or Nee (Yam Paste).

Amy Beh from Kuali has a great Teochew-Style Steamed Fish recipe. What I have below has a few more ingredients.

Steamed Fish Teochew Style

Ingredients (Serves 2):

- 1 pomfret (you can also use garoupa fish)
- 1 tbsp ginger, shredded
- 1 stalk spring onions, shredded
- 1/4 lb (or less) minced pork, seasoned with salt, pepper and corn starch
- 2 shitake mushrooms (I used dried ones, so I soaked them in warm water before slicing them up)
- 1 tomato, cut into wedges
- 1/4 lb preserved green mustard, cleaned and shredded
- 2 preserved sour plums (I used a Japanese brand preserved plums that are red in color)

Seasoning for fish:

- 1/2 tsp salt
- a few dashes white pepper
- 1/2 tsp corn starch
- 1 tbsp light soy sauce
- 1 tsp fish sauce
- 1 tbsp rice wine or shaoxing wine
- 2 tsp sugar
- 1/2 pc chicken stock dissolved in 1/2 bowl warm water

Garnish:
- 1 stalk spring onions, shredded
- 1 red chilli, shredded

Preparation and Cooking Method:

1. Wash fish and pat dry. Make a few slits on each side of the fish. Rub lightly with salt, pepper and corn starch. Remember to do this within the fish stomach as well. Then stuff a few shreds of ginger and spring onions into the slits and fish stomach.

2. Heat up 1-2 tbsp oil. Add in shredded ginger, pork and mushrooms and stir fry until fragrant, then add in the rest of the ingredients and seasoning and bring to a boil.

3. Arrange fish on a steaming tray and pour mixture from (2) over the fish.

4. Steam over high heat for 12-15 minutes or until cooked. Garnish with shredded spring onions and chilli.

Cook’s Note:

- According to Amy, when the eyes of the fish has popped out, this is an indication that the fish is cooked.

- This Teochew Style Steamed Fish can be a bit salty becos of the presence of many salty ingredients like light soy sauce, fish sauce, chicken stock and preserved green mustard. You may wish to omit the chicken stock and just use plain warm water.

Bite This!

Baked Stuffed Fish recipe

bakedstuffedsole.jpg

Baked Stuffed Fish

Ingredients

White fish,enough for
-4-6
2 c Soft bread cubes,about
-1/2″ cubes
1 Small onion,chopped
-fine
1 Green pepper,blanched
-and,Chopped
8 oz Imitation crabmeat
1/4 c Lemon juice
1/2 c HELLMANS mayo
Salt & pepper,To Taste
Instructions:
Mix all these ingredients together and roll up in fish fillets,
securing them with toothpicks. Divide it among four or five
good-sized pieces. Bake at 400 for 30 minutes. During last 10 minutes
pour newburg sauce over fish.

It’s good with flounder, but any white fish will do. I’ve used large
cod and catfish fillets and butterflied them. Just enough so you can
roll it up over the stuffing.

Recipe: Ginger and Cilantro Baked Tilapia

2007_06_14-Fish-Recipe.jpg

This quick and easy fish bake is one of the first things we learned to cook after college, setting up house on our own. It seemed exotic at the time; now it's a pleasant, familiar standby on a busy weekday evening.

It's sweet and spicy, salty from the soy sauce and melting in the middle. We use tilapia since it's the most easily available thin white fish these days, but any thin fish fillet would do. It does, we admit, heat up the oven, but only for about 15 minutes! It makes great leftovers, too...

Ginger and Cilantro Baked Tilapia
serves 2, or 1 with lunch leftovers

2 large tilapia fillets (or similar thin white fish) - about 3/4 pound
1 jalapeno pepper (optional)
3 garlic cloves
1 inch grated ginger (1 tablespoon)
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1/4 cup white wine
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1/3 cup chopped cilantro
Scallions, chopped for garnish
Extra cilantro, to garnish

Heat the oven to 475F. Pat the fish dry and season lightly with salt and pepper. Place in a glass baking dish.

Chop the pepper and garlic, and grate the ginger. Put in a small food processor with the soy sauce, white wine, sesame oil, and cilantro. Whir until blended. Pour the sauce over the fish, rubbing it in a little. Bake for about 8 minutes, or until the fish flakes easily and is cooked through. It will be very moist and gelatinous, still.

Serve immediately over brown rice, garnished with scallions and cilantro.

Fish Recipes

Salt and pepper flounder with a lemon snow pea shoot salad (Each fish serves 1 as a main, 2 to share as an entrée)

Salt and pepper flounder with a lemon snow pea shoot salad (Each fish serves 1 as a main, 2 to share as an entrée)

Ingredients:
1 whole medium-size flounder
salt and pepper mix (recipe below)
200 mL egg wash
50 g snow pea shoots
2 lemons, segmented
40 mL light soy sauce
olive oil for shallow or deep frying

Salt and pepper mix
1 cup cornflour
1/4 cup salt
2 teaspoons cracked black pepper
1 small chilli, chopped
1/2 bunch coriander, chopped

Method

Wash flounder and pat dry with a clean towel. Dust with salt and pepper mix, dip in egg wash, then dip in mix again. Mix snow pea shoots and lemon in a bowl and dress with soy. Heat oil in frying pan to 1700C, place whole fish in pan and cook for 5-6 minutes. Drain on paper towels. Place fish on large plate and top with snow pea shoots and lemon.

Source: Australian Seafood Users Manual

Kamis, 08 Mei 2008

Moroccan Chicken - Recipe

Moroccan Chicken
Moroccan Chicken


Moroccan Chicken
With Char Grilled Vegetables & Orange Couscous



Ingredients:


1 boneless chicken breast per serve. Honey
Moroccan spice Vanilla Pod
Couscous Cream
Oranges Butter
Sweet Potato Capsicum (Red or Yellow)
Capsicum


Directions:

Marinate chicken in a little oil and Moroccan spice, leaving overnight. Soak couscous, segment oranges, dice capsicum add ingredients together and season with salt and pepper to taste.

Parboil sweet potato and slice. Cool and brush with a little oil and char until grill marks apparent. Slice capsicum and do the same as the sweet potato.

Seal chicken and cook in a hot oven for 12-15 minutes depending on size.

Cut and scrape vanilla pod and add to cream, reduce and add honey a little at a time depending on sweetness and finish by whisking in a little butter.

To plate up, add one breast of chicken per serve, couscous can be served either hot or cold.

IMBB #24: Amanda Hesser's Lemon Chicken

Chicken_2

I might have teased a few readers and friends some posts ago, promising to write the next day about the most amazing chicken recipe I'd made - but then the Tweety Scramble got in the way, and before I knew it it was Friday and people were accusing me of not delivering on the goods. And who am I to stand in the way of hungry, righteous cooks and their recipes?

Without further ado, I present to you the dish that made Ben look up from his plate a few days ago and proclaim firmly that this was the best thing I'd ever cooked for him. Ever. And I tell you, Ben's not the kind of guy to go throwing about proclamations like that as if they were peanuts. I have to admit that he does have a point. This chicken is good. And it's easy. Do I sound like a broken record sometimes with the "easy" and the "simple"? It's just that I feel those things so much contribute to the pleasure of a tasty meal. And in any case, this time it really is sort of the point.

The recipe comes a piece in the New York Times that Amanda Hesser wrote a few years ago about creme fraiche. Creme fraiche is Amanda's best friend: she has single-handedly done more publicity for the joys of creme fraiche than any other contemporary food writer I know. After buying a pot of creme fraiche for the Lemon Pizza last week, I spent the week using up the rest of it. There are certainly worse things in life: a dollop in my scrambled eggs, a fillip swirled into my soup, and several spoons cooked down into the silkiest, most fragrant sauce for chicken I have ever tasted.

All you do is fry some bone-in and well-seasoned chicken (I used two whole legs and two breasts) in a very hot pan until the skin is beautifully browned and crisp. Then you slide the pan into the oven to continue cooking until done. When the juices run clear from the chicken, remove it to a plate while you pour off most of the fat, add in the lemon juice and then the creme fraiche. Pour this golden gravy over your chicken, sprinkle it with a fluffy pile of lemon zest and you're done. The dish tastes bright and creamy at once - if you seasoned the chicken well, you've got a whole sparkling array of flavors to contend with.

To make this a contender for Too Many Chef's "Make It In 30 Minutes" Is My Blog Burning event, put a pot of rice on to boil in chicken stock as you're frying the chicken. While the chicken cooks in the oven, wash and dress a bowl of butter lettuce. By the time you've spooned the sauce over your chicken, the people you're cooking for will be practically begging you to feed them.

Lemon Chicken
Serves 4

1 1/2 tablespoons butter
1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
4 whole chicken legs (thighs attached)
Coarse sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Grated zest and juice of 1 lemon
1/2 cup creme fraiche

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Heat a large ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat. After 3 minutes, add the butter and oil. Season the chicken generously with salt and very generously with pepper. Place the chicken, skin side down, in the skillet and brown well on both sides, turning once.

2. Transfer the skillet to the oven. Bake for 15 minutes, or until the juices run clear when the chicken is pierced with a knife.

3. Return the skillet to the stovetop. Transfer the chicken to a platter and keep warm. Remove all but 1 tablespoon of fat from the skillet. Place over medium heat, add the lemon juice, and stir to scrape up any pan drippings. Simmer for 1 minute, then add the creme fraiche and stir until melted and bubbling. If the sauce is too thick, add a few tablespoons of water. Pour the sauce over the chicken and sprinkle with lemon zest and additional pepper. Serve hot.

Sesame and Lemon Chicken



4 small to medium chicken fillets
half a lemon
0.5 tsp salt
0.25 tsp black pepper
1 egg
6 Tbsp plain flour
3 Tbsp sesame seeds
3 Tbsp breadcrumbs
vegetable oil for frying

Flatten the chicken fillets slightly by placing them between two sheets of clingfilm and gently beating them with a rolling pin. Place in a large shallow dish, season with salt, pepper and lemon juice on all sides. Cover and leave to marinate for half an hour in a fridge.
Break the egg into a soup plate, whisking it a little.
Place flour into another plate.
Mix sesame seeds and breadcrumbs on the third plate.
When ready to cook, toss the chicken fillets, one after another, in the flour, then quickly dip into the egg, and finally press into the sesame seed mixture, to ensure they're covered evenly.
Heat oil in a large skillet/frying pan over moderate heat, and cook the chicken fillets on both sides until golden brown and cooked through.
Serve with lemon slices, steamed rice and some steamed broccoli or other vegetables. Or simly with some dressed salad leaves.

Oven BBQ Chicken (recipe)

Oven BBQ Chicken (recipe)

Summer is the time to fire up the grill… at least that’s what the US food programs and magazines tell me. Here in Trinidad, I’ve never really known or been part of a huge grilling or BBQ culture. As a kid there was a time when my father went on a BBQ kick, that lasted about a month after which the grill was determined to difficult to clean and fell into disuse. I have no idea what became of it or the bag of coals that were so enthusiastically bought for it.

My next initiation into the world of BBQs was as a fundraising mechanism in both primary and high school. There was nothing like the smell of multiple grills all working in tandem to fill up the flimsy paper boxes that our paper chits would procure. The funds from these BBQs (and their equally popular counterpart the Curry-Q) presumably going to help fund the upkeep of a school or to support the mission of an organization. Even then my favourite BBQs had to meet certain requirements. The flavour had to be both sweet and smoky. The sauce had to be thick and shiny. And the chicken? Well the chicken had to have dark, crunchy, practically charred bits. Should any of these characteristics be lacking, and the BBQ would be a failure in my eyes.

Although there is no substitute for BBQ from the grill, oven-baked chicken recipes are in my eyes are perfectly acceptable substitute as the results of this recipe will testify! :D

Oven Baked BBQ Chicken
Adapted from a recipe on KraftFoods.com
Serves 6

INGREDIENTS:
½ cup Italian Dressing
1 broiler-fryer chicken (3 lb.), cut up
1 cup Hickory Smoke Barbecue Sauce
1 scotch bonnet pepper, chopped

DIRECTIONS:
1. Clean chicken pieces with lime
2. Season with salt and pepper
3. Pour dressing over chicken in resealable plastic bag. Seal bag; turn to evenly coat chicken.
4. Refrigerate 1 hour to overnight.
5. Remove chicken from marinade; discard bag and marinade.

6. Preheat oven to 450F
7. Blend barbecue sauce and chopped pepper; set aside.

8. Arrange chicken pieces in a single layer in a nonstick, glass, or ceramic baking dish.
9. Bake for 20 minutes, or until the skin loses its raw look.

10. Pour about 2/3 of the bbq sauce mixture over the chicken and turn to coat

11. Bake for 25 - 35 minutes, basting with some of the remaining sauce in the pan every 5 to 7 minutes.

12. Place the chicken on a serving plate and spoon a portion of the remaining sauce on each piece

Chicken Marsala



Authentic Marsala is finished with a small amount of the wine and does not necessarily have mushrooms. Enjoy this authentic Italian chicken recipe!

Chicken Marsala

Ingredients:

3 1/2 lbs skinless, boneless chicken breasts
2 eggs
1/2 cup cold unsalted butter
2 cups fresh mushrooms
1/2 bulb garlic
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup olive oil
1 cup Marsala wine

Preparation:

1 - Rinse the chicken and pat dry with paper towels. Place the breasts between layers of plastic wrap, and pound until thin. Beat the eggs in a bowl. Cut the butter into small pats. Clean and slice the mushrooms. Peel and mince the garlic.

2 - Dust the chicken with the flour. Dip in the eggs, and return to the flour. Shake off excess flour.

3 - Heat the oil to medium-high temperature in a large saute pan. Add the chicken, and brown on one side. Turn over, and add the mushrooms and garlic.

4 - Pour in the wine, and reduce to half the volume.

5 - Add the pats of cold butter, and stir into the sauce. Serve the chicken with the sauce.

Crunchy Onion Chicken Recipe

Attributed to:


1 1/3 cups French's® Original or Cheddar French Fried Onions
4 boneless skinless chicken breast halves
1 egg, beaten

Directions


1. Place French Fried Onions into plastic bag. Lightly crush with hands or with rolling pin.
2. Dip chicken into egg; then coat with onion crumbs, pressing firmly to adhere. Place chicken on baking sheet. Sprinkle with additional crumbs, if desired.
3. Bake at 400°F for 20 minutes or until no longer pink in center.

Grilled Jerked Chicken Skewers With Mango Salsa

Caribbean Jerk Chicken Recipe from Raptor Rubs.



Serves 6
Caribbean Jerk Rub adds Jamaican flavor to chicken in this recipe. Pork, lamb, steak, and seafood would all be good substitutes for chicken.
Chicken Ingredients :
3.5 oz (1 jar) Raptor Caribbean Jerk Rub
3 Chicken Breasts
2 oz. Olive Oil
18 Bamboo skewers *soak in water*
Mango Salsa Ingredients:
1 cup Mango (small diced)
½ Red Onion (small diced)
1 tsp. Red Jalapeño (minced)
1 tsp. Ginger (minced)
3 Sprigs Cilantro (chopped)
6 Mint Leaves (chopped)
2 Scallions (chopped)
1 tbs. Red Wine Vinegar
Salt and Pepper to taste

Weight Watchers Kung Pao Chicken recipe

weight watchers chinese kung pao chicken recipe

This Chinese chicken recipe is for Andreea, who requested some Asian recipes (I'm going to post some Japanese ones soon, as I'm a big sushi fan).

Kung Pao chicken is a classic dish in Sichuan (or Szechuan) cuisine. It has 11 points per serving, but it's worth trying at least once because it's so delicious.

Weight Watchers Kung Pao Chicken recipe
Makes 3 servings

Ingredients
3 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch, divided
5 teaspoons soy sauce, divided
5 teaspoons dry sherry, divided
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 boneless skinless chicken breast halves, cut into bite-size pieces
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons chicken broth or water
1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
3 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided
1/3 cup salted peanuts
6-8 small dried hot chili peppers
1 1/2 teaspoons fresh ginger, minced
2 green onions, with tops, cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces
green onions (for garnish)
dried hot chili peppers (for garnish)

Preparation
1. For marinade, combine 2 tsp. cornstarch, 2 tsp. soy sauce, 2 tsp. sherry and salt in large bowl; mix well.
2. Add chicken; stir to coat well.
3. Let stand 30 minutes.
4. Combine remaining 1 1/2 tsp. cornstarch, 3 tsp. soy sauce, 3 tsp. sherry, vinegar, chicken broth and sugar in small bowl; mix well, set aside.
5. Heat 1 tbsp. oil in wok or large skillet over medium heat.
6. Add peanuts; cook and stir until lightly toasted.
7. Remove peanuts from wok; set aside. Heat remaining 2 tbsp. oil in wok over medium heat.
8. Add chili peppers; stir-fry until peppers just begin to char, about 1 minute. Increase heat to high.
9. Add chicken mixture; stir-fry 2 minutes.
10. Add ginger; stir-fry until chicken is no longer pink in center, about 1 minute. Add peanuts and onions; stir-fry 1 minute. Stir cornstarch mixture; add to wok.
11. Cook and stir until sauce boils and thickens.
12. Garnish, if desired.

Grilled Lemon Basil Chicken Recipe


Grilled Lemon Basil Chicken Recipe



6 boneless skinless
1 tablespoon
1 teaspoon
1 teaspoon
1/2 teaspoon
1/2 teaspoon
1/2 teaspoon
1/4 teaspoon
chicken breast
brown sugar
lemon pepper
dried basil
garlic powder
onion powder
salt
paprika

Tandoori Chicken Baked in Oven

DSC02708 The word Tandoori is synonomous to India. Tandoori Chicken is so famous in India as Pizza is in Italy.

My Tandoori chicken recipe is not made in the traditional Tandoori oven but can be baked in our home conventional oven or on a Barbaque Oven.

It has a simple recipe and except for the time to bake all that takes is a 3-5 minutes to prepare the marinade for marinating the chicken overnight.

It tastes better when consumed fresh and hot. So at times when we feel we may not finish all the chicken that is marinated, bake only the amount that can be finished at that time. We can save the remaining for the next day to bake it fresh.

Ingredients:
Chicken Thighs with Drum sticks : 4 (Skin and fat removed)
Magarine to coat a Baking Tray lined with foil.
Marination:
Yogurt : 1/4 cup
Ginger Garlic Paste : 1 Tbsp
Tandoori Chicken Masala : 2 Tbsp ( I use Kissan Brand)
Finely chopped Mint and Coriander leaves - 1/4 cup
Salt - to taste
Oil - 1 tsp
Optional
A hint of Seekh & Bihari Kabab Masalas - 1 tsp together ( I use Shan brand)
Red chilly powder - 1/4 tsp (for extra spice)

Procedure:
1. Prepare marinade with the marination ingredients above.
2. Marinate the chicken in the marinade masala, preferably overnight or atleast for 3 hours, in the fridge.
DSC02557 3. Pre heat the oven for 350 C,
4. Arrange the Chicken on the foiled tray and place it in the oven to bake for 20 - 25 minutes on one side.
5. Now drain off the excess water and the oil that comes out of the baking chicken in the tray and turn the chicken peices and bake them on this side for another 10 - 15 minutes.
6. Again drain off any excess oil and water, turn the chicken again and bake for 5 minutes more for the final finish and the red color.
7. Remove the tray from the oven, keep aside for 5 minutes and then transfer the chicken peices into the serving plate.

This is served with a salad, slices of cucumber, onions and lemon.

Easy Lemon-Pepper Barbecue Chicken

D.Schmidt
Easy Lemon-Pepper Barbecue Chicken
This Easy Lemon-Pepper Chicken Recipe is juicy and extremely delicious, plus very easy to make. The simple lemon and black pepper marinade marry beautifully with grilled chicken, leaving the flesh succulent and tender. Make the marinade in less than 10 minutes, toss with the chicken, then barbecue - or bake in the oven. Serve this barbecue chicken any way you like - with rice or potatoes, over salad, or even Western-style: sandwiched between a bun. It's delicious any way you grill it, and makes barbecue chicken easy as a summer breeze!

Grandma's Secret Chicken Recipe (Best of 2007)

There's a certain magic in preparing a family recipe. Some recipes have been passed down from generation to generation. If we're lucky we make a point of writing down the delicious recipes of our childhood. Sometimes "secret" ingredients and recipes never make it onto paper. This is very sad. (The death of a recipe!) Make a point of recording your family recipes on a regular basis. Your kids will appreciate it so much, and special family memories will always be remembered through your favourite dishes.

I have a recipe my grandma used to make and then my mom used to make it, and now I make it. It's not a complicated recipe, but it will always be in our family because it tastes so good. It also conjures up some carefree childhood memories for me. We'd often have this dish on a hot summer day. My mom would make it ahead of time in the morning and we would it eat cold with rice for supper. I remember sneaking pieces before dinnertime because the taste was so addictive...

Here's the recipe:

Mix together: 1 packet of dry onion soup mix, 250ml of Russian salad dressing and 1 c. of apricot jam. Add 2 lbs. of chicken drumettes. Mix well. Chop up 8-10 dried apricots into slivers and place on top of the mixture. Bake covered at 400 degrees for 30 minutes, then bake for 20-30 minutes at 350 degrees uncovered. The sauce tastes great over rice or mashed potatoes.

Oven-Fried Chicken

image of tea setThis recipe is truly wonderful and is low fat and low calories. What more can you ask for? The secret to the success of this recipe is to make sure that both the chicken and the yogurt are very cold (hence, soaking the chicken in the ice water). The preliminary soaking will help the breading adhere and produce a crisp coating much like that of fried chicken.

For more great Low Fat Recipes, Low Calorie Recipes, Low Carbohydrate Recipes, and Diabetic Recipes, check out my Diet Recipe Index. Also check out my Nutritional Chart for fat grams, carbohydrate grams, and calories for all your favorite foods.

Check out more great Poultry Recipes and how to Brine Poultry for a moister and tastier dish.


Oven-Fried Chicken

12 chicken drumsticks, skinless*
3 1/2 cups ice water
1 cup plain non-fat yogurt
Breading Mixture (see recipe below)

* The U.S. Department of Agriculture, as well as food agencies in the United Kingdom and elsewhere, advises against washing poultry. Rinsing chicken will not remove or kill much bacteria, and the splashing of water around the sink can spread the bacteria found in raw chicken. Cooking poultry to 165 degrees Fahrenheit effectively destroys the most common culprits behind food-borne illness.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a large baking sheet heavily with vegetable-oil cooking spray. In a large bowl with ice water, place chicken pieces; set aside.

In a shallow bowl, place yogurt. Remove one piece of chicken at a time from the ice water; roll each piece of chicken in the yogurt. Place one chicken piece into a plastic bag with Breading Mixture, reseal and shake to coat thoroughly. Transfer breaded chicken to prepared baking sheet. Repeat process until all chicken pieces are breaded. Spray chicken lightly with vegetable-oil spray.

Place baking sheet onto bottom shelf of oven and bake, uncovered, 1 hour, or until a meat thermometer registers an internal temperature of 165 degrees F. (juices will run clear when cut with the tip of a knife), turning the chicken pieces every 20 minutes to allow even browning. Remove from oven and transfer onto a serving platter. Serve hot or at room temperature.

Makes 6 servings.

Breading Mixture:
1 cup
bread crumbs
3/4 cup all-purpose
Ffour
1 tablespoon Creole seasoning
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/8 teaspoon coarsely ground pepper
Red (cayenne) pepper to taste
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme, crushed
1/2 teaspoon dried basil, crushed
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano, crushed

In a large resealable plastic bag, combine bread crumbs, flour, Creole seasoning, garlic powder, pepper, cayenne pepper, thyme, basil, and oregano. Seal and shake well to mix.

Selasa, 06 Mei 2008

Recipe: Southern Fried Chicken with Moroccan Spices

IMG_4145.JPG

If you live in the South, you had better know how to make fried chicken.

Your “friends”-–all excellent home cooks--will be persnickety, so you have to get it right, especially if you’re a Johnny-come-lately who didn’t learn how to make perfect fried chicken standing at her Mama’s elbow. The meat must be succulent, enveloped in rich, crispy, golden brown skin, fried but lightly so, with just enough grease to make you whimper with pleasure as you’re devouring your third piece. And you’d do well have a little twist—a mystery ingredient--that makes your chicken different from your neighbor’s.

I’ve been told that I make great fried chicken and I owe it all to Salli. It started one foggy morning in Nantucket, when my children and I were curled up in bed watching a fried chicken cook-off between Martha Stewart and her friend Salli LaGrone. Martha’s dark mahogany-colored chicken, which had soaked overnight in buttermilk and was dusted with cayenne-spiked flour, reposed magnificently on a platter, garnering lavish praise--while Salli’s plate of fried fowl was almost licked clean by a hungry crew who couldn’t wolf it down it fast enough. (Go here to see Salli’s original recipe.)

One of Salli’s secrets is a pinch of cinnamon added to the flour in which the chicken is coated. Over the years, I’ve gradually increased the pinch to a scant teaspoon. I love the way cinnamon’s sweetness coaxes out the natural flavor of the chicken, while its astringent edge contrasts pleasingly with the luscious fried skin. One other change I’ve made is substituting peanut oil for the shortening, which I dislike on principle. Peanut oil is great for frying and gives the chicken a tasty flavor. I’ve developed my own timetable for turning the chicken as it cooks, but these are minor tweaks to a truly stellar recipe.

One shouldn’t fiddle with success, but last week I added a teaspoonful of ras-el-hanout, the robust Moroccan spice blend that works so well with chicken cooked in a tagine, to the flour. It too contains cinnamon, but also black pepper, nutmeg, mace, allspice, ginger and turmeric. The results were subtly different, the chicken even more devilishly delicious than usual. “Your best ever,” said my husband, reaching for a forbidden fourth piece.

Now that’s my secret for great fried chicken.

IMG_4138.JPG

Recipe: Southern Fried Chicken with Moroccan Spices

(adapted from Salli’s Fried Chicken on Martha Stewart Living)

Ingredients:

3/12 to 4 pound chicken, cut into 8 pieces
Salt to taste
1-3/4 cups flour
1 scant teaspoon cinnamon
1 scant teaspoon ras-el-hanout (see note)
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
Peanut oil
1-1/2 cups buttermilk

Lemon wedges (optional)
Siracha or other hot sauce (optional) (see note)

Equipment:

Cast iron frying pan
Deep frying thermometer

Method:

1. In the refrigerator, soak the chicken overnight in a bowl of cold water covered with plastic.
2. When you are ready to cook, pat dry with paper towels and sprinkle with salt to taste. If the breasts are large, cut them in half with kitchen shears.
3. In a large bowl, combine the flour, cinnamon, ras el hanout and black pepper. Dip each piece of chicken into the flour mixture and shake off the excess. Let the flour dry for 15 minutes. Pour the buttermilk into a large bowl and set aside.
4. In the meantime, pour about 1 inch of peanut oil into a cast iron frying pan and turn the heat to high. When the oil reaches 350 degrees on a deep frying thermometer, adjust the heat to maintain that temperature.
5. Dip half of the chicken pieces in the buttermilk and then into the bowl of flour, shaking off the excess. Carefully place them in the hot oil, skin side down, using tongs if necessary. Fry the chicken until it is light golden brown, turning frequently.
6. Place the chicken skin side down, cover the pan and turn the heat to low. Cook the chicken for 6 minutes, then turn and cook, covered, for another 6 minutes. Remove the top and turn the heat to high. Cook the chicken until it is crispy, about 2 minutes, then turn and cook until the other side is crisp, about 1 minute.
7. Remove the chicken from the pan and drain on several layers of paper towel. Place them on a baking sheet in a 250-degree oven to keep them warm.
8. Repeat steps 5-7 with the remaining chicken. Be sure to bring the temperature of the oil back to 350 degrees before putting the second batch of chicken in the pan.
9. Serve the chicken on a platter with wedges of lemon and small bowls of siracha, the Vietnamese hot sauce, if desired. I like to accompany it with a bowl of cole slaw made from red and green cabbage dressed with a white balsamic vinaigrette.

Note: I made Kitty Morse’s recipe for ras el hanout. You can also buy good ready-made versions from www.chefshop.com and www.herbies.com.au. Siracha, the fiery Vietnamese hot sauce, can be found at most Asian markets.

Recipe: sweet and sour chicken

Posted by spots (Singapore, Singapore) on 10 January 2007 in Food & Cuisine and Portfolio.

i must be eating too much chinese take-out, cos i suddenly developed a craving for sweet and sour chicken! here's my home-cooked version:

Combine 1tb light soy, 2tb tomato sauce (aka ketchup), 2tb rice wine vinegar and 1 tb sugar. Heat up the mixture lightly till warm & all the sugar is incorporated, then set aside. Use a kitchen scissors to cut about 250g (about half pound) of boneless chicken thigh meat into bite-sized cubes. In batches, dunk the meat cubes into a beaten egg & then douse in flour, before deep-frying till browned.* When done, mix the sauce into the chicken and serve immediately. Enjoy!

*It helps to have 2 bowls - one for the beaten egg and one for the flour. So, you basically dunk batches of meat into the egg bowl, then transfer to the flour bowl, then fry! To save on oil, you can also pan-fry the meat cubes on both sides till crispy brown. Just use enough oil to cover the bottom of the pan, and replace for the next batch if the oil runs out. Either way, the oil must be hot before you put in the chicken, otherwise the coating will become oily & soggy.

malaysia food-Hainan Chicken Rice




Ingredients:

1 1/2 kg whole chicken
2 cups long grain rice
14 shallots
12 pips garlic
½ inch long ginger
1 tsp salt
½ tsp pepper
4 tbsp cooking oil
Ingredients for Chicken stock:
250 gm chicken bones
750 ml water
salt to taste

Ingredients for Chilli Sauce:

5 red chillies
4 pips garlic
1 lime
1 Tbsp sugar
½ inch long ginger
¼ tsp salt
Garnishing Ingredients:
1 cucumber
1 tomato
1 sprig spring onion
2 tsp sesame oil
2 tsp light soya sauce

Preparation of Ingredients:

Boil chicken bones with water to obtain chicken stock. Add salt to taste.
Smash 8 shallots, 6 pips garlic and ginger.
Clean the chicken and stuff the inside with the smashed ingredients. Rub the skin with salt and pepper.
Finely slice the remaining shallots and chop the remaining garlic.
Pound red chillies, ginger and garlic together. Extract lime juice. Add lime juice, sugar and salt to the pounded ingredients. Set aside mixture.
Finely slice the cucumber and tomato.
Cut the spring onions into 2 cm lengths.
Mix the sesame oil and light soya sauce together.
Wash the rice grains.

Method:

Heat oil in wok. Fry the chopped garlic and sliced shallots until golden brown. Then add in the washed rice grains and continue to fry until fragrant.
Transfer the fried rice grains into a rice cooker. Add in the chicken stock and continue to cook until rice is done.

Steam the chicken in a wok or steamer for about 20 minutes or until the chicken is tender.
Once the chicken is cooked, remove from heat and cut into bite-size pieces.
Arrange the cucumber and tomato slices around the edge of a serving platter. Then place the chicken pieces in the centre of the same platter. Sprinkle the spring onions over the chicken and pour the mixed sesame oil and light soya sauce over it.
Serve chicken with the steamed rice and chilli sauce.

malaysia food

malaysia food

Lemand and Rendang




Hari Raya Aidilfitri (Malay term for the Muslim festival of Eid ul-Fitr, Muslim celebration) is coming very soon. Here I would like to share traditional Malay (Malaysian) food for this special festive occasion.


Lemang is a traditional Malay food cooked in a hollowed bamboo stick. This dish is usually eaten with rendang.


Rendang is a popular dish in Malaysia which is traditionally prepared. Though rendang is sometimes described as being like a curry, and the name is sometimes applied to curried meat dishes in Malaysia, authentic rendang is nothing like a curry. It is made from beef (or occasionally chicken, mutton, water buffalo meat, duck or vegetables like jackfruit or cassava) slowly cooked in coconut milk and spices for several hours until almost all the liquid is gone, leaving the meat coated in the spicy condiments. The cooking process changes from boiling to frying as the liquid evaporates. The slow cooking process allows the meat to absorb all the spices and to become tender.





Lemang Recipe

1 kg glutinous rice
2 liters coconut milk ( Add in salt to taste)
Banana leaves
Bamboos

Soak glutinous rice in water for 6 hours.
Drain the glutinous rice.
Meanwhile clean the bamboos and insert the banana leaves in the bamboo as an internal wrapping.
Put the glutinous rice in the bamboo.
Pour in coconut milk until 1.5 inch higher than rice level.
Make stand for the bamboo and set alight firewood.
Cook the bamboos in the fire one side at a time.
You have to turn the bamboo regularly until cook to avoid the bamboo burnt.
Once cooked, let it cool to room temperature.
Split the bamboo; take out the rice with banana leaves.
Cut the rice 1~2 inch thick and serve with rendang.








Beef Rendang Recipe


1 cup oil
5 cm long cinnamon stick (kayu manis)
4 cloves (bunga cengkih)
6 star anise (jintan manis)
4 cardamom (pelaga)
1kg stewing beefcut into 1.5 to 2 inch cubes
2 cups thick coconut milk
4 teaspoons of assam water from tamarind pulp (assam glugor)
4 kaffir lime leaves (daun limau purut), julienned
2 turmeric leaf (daun kunyit), julienned
4 tablespoons of fried grated coconut (kerisik) *
3 teaspoons sugar or to taste
Salt to taste.
4 shallots (daun bawang)
4 cm lengkuas
5 stalks of lemon grass (daun serai)
5 cloves garlic (bawang putih)
5 cm (3/4 inch) ginger (halia)
10 dried chillies (cili boh) soaked in hot water to soften


Peel and coarsely chop lengkuas/galingale
Crush the lemon grass
Lightly mash up red chilies, cinnamon and cloves with a little
Peel and coarsely chop shallots, ginger and garlic. Put the above into an electric blender and blend into a smooth paste.
Fry the paste with a little cooking oil in a non-stick pan until fragrant then throw in the cinnamon, cloves, star anise and cardamom. Cook for about 8 minutes or so, adding water IF necessary. Pay close attention and make sure the paste is not overcooked.
Add the beef cubes, coconut milk and tamarind water. When mixture boils, reduce heat to medium and cook for about 30 minutes. Stir often to prevent curdling.
When the meat is almost cooked, add in kaffir lime leaves, turmeric leaves and fried grated coconut.
Add sugar and salt to taste.
Reduce fire and gently cook until the meat is really tender and the gravy has disappeared.


* To prepare fried grated coconut


Fry 300g fresh grated coconut in a dry wok or wide shallow saucepan until brown on slow fire to avoid scorching. Ground the fried coconut until oily. Leftover fried grated coconut can be kept in an airtight container.

malaysia food

Satay




If you've never had the real stuff, then you're going to be blown away by the succulent taste of this satay recipe. Strips of chicken (or beef) are marinated in a special paste, then skewered and grilled on the BBQ or broiled in the oven. It is then served with homemade peanut sauce for the ultimate taste sensation. Even your kids will love it. Chicken Satay also makes a great party food!

INGREDIENTS:
  • 8-16 or more chicken thighs, cut into small pieces or strips, or the equivalent of beef (enough for your family/party)
  • 1 package wooden skewers
    optional garnish: 1 red chilli, sliced thinly

SATAY MARINADE:

  • 1/4 cup minced lemongrass, fresh or frozen (if using fresh, see below for instructions)
  • 1 small onion, quartered
  • 2 cloves garlic
  • 1 thumb-size piece galangal or ginger, peeled and sliced
  • 1/4 of thumb-size piece fresh turmeric, OR 1/2 tsp. dried turmeric
  • 2 Tbsp. coriander seeds, ground (grind them yourself with a coffee grinder)
  • 2 tsp. cumin
  • 3 Tbsp. dark soy sauce
  • 4 Tbsp. fish sauce
  • 5 Tbsp. brown sugar
  • 1 Tbsp. fresh lime juice

PREPARATION:

  1. Cut chicken or beef into small, thin pieces or strips (small enough to easily skewer). Place in a bowl.

  2. Place all marinade ingredients in a food processor (discard the upper stalk of lemongrass). Process well.

  3. Taste test the marinade - you will taste sweet, spicy, and salty. The strongest taste should be SALTY in order for the finished satay to taste its best. Add 1 - 2 Tbsp. more fish sauce if you feel it needs more.

  4. Add the marinade to the meat and stir well to combine. Allow to marinate for at least 1 hour, or longer (e.g. overnight).

  5. When ready to barbecue, slide the pieces of meat onto the wooden skewers. TIP: Fill only the upper half of the skewer, leaving the lower half empty so that the person barbecuing has a "handle". This makes it easier to turn the satay during cooking.

  6. Barbecue the satay, OR grill in the oven on a broiling pan with the oven set to "broil". Place satay close beneath the heating element and turn the meat every 5 minutes). Depending on how thin your meat is, the satay will cook in 10 to 20 minutes. Garnish with slices of fresh red chilli, if desired.Serve with my Homemade Peanut Sauce for dipping.



Peanut Sauce

INGREDIENTS:





  • 1 cup dry roasted peanuts
  • 1/3 cup water
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • 1/2 tsp. dark soy sauce
  • 2 tsp. sesame oil
  • 2 Tbsp. brown sugar
  • 2 Tbsp. fish sauce (If vegetarian, use vegetarian fish sauce or regular soy sauce)
  • 1/2 tsp. tamarind paste
  • 1 tsp. red chilli sauce (more or less to taste)
  • squeeze of fresh lime juice (about 1 tsp.)
PREPARATION:

Place all ingredients in a blender. Blend until sauce is smooth. If you prefer a runnier peanut sauce, add a little more water.
Do a taste test for salt and spice, adding more fish sauce if not salty enough, and more chilli sauce if not spicy enough.

If too salty, add another squeeze of fresh lime juice.
Serve as a dip with fresh veggies, chicken or beef sate, fresh spring rolls, or mix with noodles to create a Thai-style noodle dish or cold noodle salad. Enjoy!

kimchi

Kimchi (김치; also known as Gimchi and Kimchee) is a traditional Korean fermented dish made of seasoned vegetables.

The most popular type of kimchi is made with napa cabbage; other varieties include kkakdugi which is a kimchi made with cubed radishes, oh-ee so-bae-gi which is a stuffed cucumber kimchi and kkaennip (깻잎) kimchi with layers of perilla leaves marinated in soy sauce and other spices.

Kimchi has been a Korean cuisine for over 2000 years; it is probably right to say that a Korean meal these days is incomplete without Kimchi. Kimchi is often eaten with rice and other dishes, but over the years Kimchi has developed into various forms of delicacies like Kimchi soup, Kimchi ramen, barbecue Kimchi and Kimchi spring role etc… creativity is the only limit to the reinvention of Kimchi recipe.

Picture of Korean food Kimchi
Kimchi (Image courtesy of Nagyman)

An extra bonus for eating Kimchi is its health value; it has been claimed as one of the world healthiest food for its richness in vitamins and healthy bacteria that aids digestion.

japanfood



Home Made Okonomiyaki + Recipe



Okonomiyaki is sometimes called Japanese Pizza because it is round and contains different ingredients। Okonomi means “As you like” and Yaki means “grilled” so every Japanese family has their own Okonomiyaki recipe “as they like”। Some people put seafood, mochi, kimchee or even cheese on it. Create your own Okonomiyaki that suits your taste buds!





Japanese families usually cook Okonomiyaki on a Hot Plate or Teppanyaki Grill in the middle of the dining table much like Fondue. All the family members pitch in to prepare the meal and enjoy conversation while waiting for it to be steamed. :o)

Special Kitchen Tools

Hot plate - A large frying pan will work also.
Grater or Food Processors
Mixing Bowl - A large bowl works best.


Ingredients

Japanese Cabbage - 1/2 of a head, approx. 300g
Nagaimo (Chinese yam) or Yamaimo Powder - 1 package
Sakura-ebi (Sakura Shrimp) - 3 tablespoons
Okonomiyaki-ko (Okonomiyaki Flower) - 3/4 cup
Pork (Thin sliced pork loin) - 6 slices
Okonomi-sauce - Moderate Amount
Mayone-zu (Japanese Mayonnaise) - Moderate Amount
Katsuobushi (Dried bonito) - Moderate Amount
Ao-Nori (Green Seaweed Flakes) - Moderate Amount
Water or Milk - 160 cc (I use milk for a better flavour)
Eggs x 2
Vegetable Oil - 2 Tbsp (I recommend Light Olive Oil)

Prep

1. Chop the cabbage to 1/4 of the head, cut off the core and shred.
2. Peel a nagaimo (chinese yam) and grate. Wrap it with paper towel to prevent it from slipping. At Japanese Specialty store also sells a great product called Yamaimo powder which works as a substitute for this.
3. Pour Okonomiyaki powder and water or milk into a bowl and mix until the lumps disappear and it is smooth. (If necessary, use a whisk to avoid creating lumps while mixing.)
4. Put eggs, nagaimo, sakuraebi (Sakura Shrimp), cabbage and the Okonomiyaki powder mixture together and mix it gently from the bottom to soak it with air.
5. Spread vegetable oil (1 tablespoon) on the heated hot plate or frying pan. Pour in half of the mixture gently to make a round shape. Cook it at 350 degrees for about 3 minutes. Then, put three pieces of pork on the top, make sure to stretch them thin.
6. Flip over and close the lid to steam for about 5 minutes.
7. Open the lid, flip over one more time, close the lid and steam for another 2 minutes. It is done!
8. Mix Mayonaise and Okonomi Sauce and spread it on top. Sprinkle katsuobushi (dried bonito) and aonori (Green Seaweed lettuce) “as you like”.

Enjoy!!! ^-^v

japanfood

hayashi_raisu2.jpg

I have not added a yohshoku (Japanese-adapted Western food) recipe in quite some time. The main reason for this is I haven’t been making any…since most yohshoku dishes tend to be a bit heavy on the butter or cream or rich sauces.

I do sometimes crave this classic yohshoku dish. Hayashi raisu (or hayashi rice) is a Japanese version of a rich beef stew, and in terms of popularity it’s second only to the mighty curry rice, Japanese style curry. Just like curry, you can buy hayashi raisu roux blocks at Japanese grocery stores (look in the curry roux section).

Incidentally, the hayashi part sounds like the Japanese word for a wood (as in a smaller version of a forest), but it’s derived from “hashed”, as in hashed beef. I think the origins are a hashed beef stew. I can see influences from beef bourgignon, stroganoff and various British stews in there.

The beef used is not tough old chewy meat - it’s usually made from cuts that are tender enough to be cooked quickly. The kind sold for ‘minute steaks’ is fine. Sukiyaki beef is great if you can afford it. I’ve seen recipes around that suggest using pork instead of beef, but…that’s just not right to me. Hayashi rice = beef! Beef!

Making hayashi rice from scratch can be easy or tremendously complicated, depending on one thing: whether you make your own demi-glace or not. Demi-glace is reduced, concentrated beef stock that is thick and paste-like. In Japan you can buy demi-glace in cans. You can buy it elsewhere too, though the good kinds can be very expensive. The only other substitute is to make your own strong beef stock from beef bones, meat trimmings and so on and reduce it down and so on. Using stock cubes just won’t do it, I’m afraid, and forget about the usually insipid beef stock in a carton or can.

I’ve given instructions for making hayashi rice from handy roux blocks (which can vary in quality) and using demi-glace.

Hayashi raisu (Hayashi rice)

  • 450g / 1 lb thinly sliced beef
  • 4 medium onions, thinly sliced
  • About 10-12 mushrooms, sliced
  • 1 medium carrot, thinly sliced
  • Butter or oil
  • 1 garlic clove, chopped
  • 1 cup (240ml) red wine
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 1 tsp. dried thyme
  • 1 Tbs. Worcestershire sauce or Bulldog chuunou sauce
  • 1 Tbs. soy sauce
  • Parsley or green peas for garnish

The sauce ingredients:

  • 1/2 cup demi-glace or 4 cups strong beef stock
  • 1 16-oz or 440g can of canned tomatoes
  • 1 Tbs. tomato paste
  • 2 Tbs. butter
  • 3 Tbs. flour
  • Water

OR

  • 6 blocks (or more if you like it thick) from a hayashi rice roux packet
  • Water

Equipment: a large frying pan or sauté pan, a heavy bottomed pot for stewing or a crockpot

Cut the meat up into bite-sized pieces. Heat up a frying pan with butter, oil or combination of both, and sauté the beef until browned. Take out the meat and set aside.

In the same pan, add a bit more butter (no this is not diet food) and add the onions. Sauté over medium-low heat until limp and slightly brown. Add the garlic, mushrooms and carrot. Sauté until the mushrooms are turning limp.

Put all the vegetables in a heavy-bottomed stew pot (a crockpot will do nicely too).

Add the wine. If you’re using the hayashi rice roux blocks, add about 4 cups of water (don’t add the roux at this point yet). If you’re using the other sauce ingredients, add either the demi-glace plus 3 cups of water, the canned tomato and tomato paste, or 4 cups of strong beef stock and the canned tomato and tomato paste. Add the bay leaves and thyme.

Let it all simmer until the liquid has reduced to about half. Add the beef to the pot and contine simmering - the beef should be very tender.

If you’re making your own sauce, make a roux by melting 2 Tbs. of butter in the frying pan and adding the flour. Stir until the flour is grainy and a little bit browned. Add to the stew and stir. Add the Worcestershire sauce and soy sauce.

If using the roux blocks, add them now and stir well to melt.

Add a little water or stock to thin out if it looks too thick. Simmer a few minutes.

Taste and add salt or pepper as needed. Take out the bay leaves.

Serve over rice that’s been mixed with a little salted butter. Garnish with chopped parsley or a few green peas.

This makes 6 to 8 servings.

Curacha!

(A local Chavacano name given to this sea crab species that is uniquely found in the waters around Zamboanga, and no where else in the world. It is popularly described as a highbred crustacean, with crossbreed characteristics of a large sea crab and the big spiny lobster. Thus, it is unusually large [reddish-pink in color] for a hybrid crab and quite meaty, and oh so delicious! A special Zamboanga City treat.)

Cooking Instructions:
Steam or boil in plain water, until cooked to desired level. Curacha is best experienced in its natural exotic flavor, cooked minimally so as to preserve its original taste.

***If you care to add a touch of local flavor to it, mix in some lemongrass and about 3-5 cups of coconut milk to sauce, and boil until done. Sauce topping could be enhanced with ginger, grated coconut meat, sea salt, pepper, red chilis, and choice vegetables.

Oxtail Soup Recipe (Sop Buntut)



Ingredients :
1 kg Oxtail / beef tail, cut into serving pieces
1/2 tablespoon Chopped ginger
1/2 Nutmeg, bruised
1 Spring onion, cut into 2-3 pieces
1 tablespoon Margarine
200 g Carrots, cut into 3 cm piece, then halved or quartered
250 g Potatoes, cut into 4-6 pieces, Salt to taste



Spice (ground)
6 Shallots
3 cloves Garlic
1 teaspoon Peppercorns

Garnishing
Fried shallots
Spring onions
Chopped Chinese parsley


Method :
- Put oxtail in a pan with 2 liters water and bring to the boil.
- Carefully scoop off and discard the scum floating on the surface.
- Discard the stock and replace with 2 liters clean water.
- Add chopped ginger, nutmeg and spring onion.
- Cover the pan and simmer over low heat until tender.
- Remove the tail, reserving 1 1/2 liters stock.
- Bring the stock to the boil, then add oxtail.
- Heat margarine and fry ground spices until fragrant.
- Add to the boiling stock, then add carrots and potatoes.
- Bring to the boil until the ingredients are thoroughly cooked.
- Garnish with fried shallots, spring onions, and Chinese parsley.
- Serve hot.

Black Rice Dessert

In indonesian i called "Bubur Pulu Hitam"

Bubur Pulut Hitam (Black Rice Dessert)


Ingredients:
240 g Black glutinous rice
(washed & drained)
60 g White glutinous rice (pulut)
(washed & drained)
7 c Water
2 Pandan leaves, knotted
1/2 c Sugar
Pinch of salt
1/2 T Tapioca flour or cornflour
Combined with 2 Tbs water to
Form a paste
1/2 c Thick cocnut milk
Pinch of salt



Directions:
Put rice in pot with water and pandan leaves and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, remove pandan leaves and simmer for 45 minutes until liquid is thick. Add sugar and simmer for 10 minutes. Add salt and thickening. Remove from heat.

Serve in small bowls topped with 1-2 tablespoons thick cocnut milk.


Tumis Tahu Sayur



Ingredienten:
- 150 gr. tahu
- 75 gr. tauge
- 75 gr. peultjes
- couple of brushwood selderie
- bit leek
- 2 eetlepels shredded onion
- 2 shredded teentjes garlic
- 2 eetlepels of ketjap
- oil

Construction:
Dry the tahu with kitchen paper and cut it in cubes of 1 cm. Barge them slightly brown in, approx. 5 minus clears oil on high fire. Obtain them from the pan. By the leek and selderie. Fruit onion, garlic and leek 2 minutes in a beetje oil. A cup does water the tahu and the peultjes. It lets cook 5 minutes softly. Joint then selderie, tauge, ketjap and salts to taste and cook once more 2 minutes. Let cool down the Court and at least a half hour to stand.


Bajak Chili Sauce - (Sambal Bajak)



Ingredients :

8 x red chilies seeded and sliced
1 tsp dried shrimp paste (terasi) toasted
1/4 tsp grated nutmeg
3 x garlic cloves peeled and sliced
6 x shallots peeled and sliced
1 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp chopped palm sugar
2 tbl oil
2 x salam leaves
2 x lemongrass stalks bruised
1/2 x inch galangal (laos) peeled and sliced
4 tbl tamarind juice

Method :
Grind with a mortar and pestle or blend the first 7 ingredients very finely.
Heat the oil over medium-high heat. Saute the ground ingredients along with salam leaves, lemongrass and galangal. Stir it frequently until the mixture changes color and becomes very fragrant.
Lastly, pour the tamarind juice and let it simmer for about a minute and then leave to cool.
Remove salam leaves, lemongrass and galangal before serving.
Keeps up to 1 week or longer if refrigerated.


Indonesian Egg Sambal




Serves 4-6

Ingredients:


  • 4 eggs

  • 3 tablespoons peanut oil

  • 1 onion, finely chopped

  • 1 teaspoon crushed garlic

  • 1/2 teaspoon dried shrimp paste

  • 1 tablespoon sambal ulek or chopped red chillies

  • 1 teaspoon finely chopped galangal, fresh or bottled

  • 6 candle nuts or macadamia nuts, finely grated or pounded

  • 2 teaspoons palm sugar

  • 125 ml/4 fl oz/1/2 cup coconut milk

  • salt to taste

  • 2 tablespoons lime or lemon juice



Directions:

Have eggs at room temperature or gently warm them in tepid water before cooking them.

Stir for the first few minutes so yolks are centred, then simmer for 8 minutes. Cool in a bowl of cold water. Shell eggs and halve lengthways.

Heat oil and fry onion and garlic until onion is soft and golden. Add shrimp paste, sambal, galangal and nuts and fry, stirring, until fragrant. Add palm sugar, coconut milk, salt and lime juice and simmer, stirring frequently, until oil shines on surface. Put in eggs, spooning sauce over.