Japanese Curry Bread Box

Just before I get to occupied with assignments and forget how I made this, I thought it would be a good idea to publish this one. Unfortunately I do not have much time to do much explanation, so I will just get to the point with the recipe, hopefully everyone is fine with it, and another thing, this is going to be the first of a series of recipes without much write-ups, I only have time to get them published with a little spare time off my assignments, ARCHITORTURE... =(

Ingredients
1 loaf of fresh Cumin herbed bread load (or any bread), 8 pc chicken drumstick, 100-150g prepacked Japanese curry mix (use more if desired), 1 red Spanish onion (diced), 5 cloves garlic, 2 tbsp butter, 2 tomatoes (1 diced, another sliced into 8 pieces), 4 pieces large potato (skinned and coarsely chopped), water, 1 tbsp oil, 3 tbsp turmeric powder, 2 tbsp light soy sauce, salt and pepper to taste, coriander for garnishing.

Method
1. Wash the chicken drumsticks thoroughly, lightly score with a sharp knife, rub in with oil, light soy sauce, turmeric powder, salt and pepper, leave aside to marinate for 10-15 minutes.

2. Preheat grill or oven to the hottest temperature, roast the marinated drumsticks for about 20-30 minutes, turning them in between to make sure they are thoroughly roasted.

3. Meanwhile, heat a large pot, melt butter, throw in garlic and diced onion, saute until slightly brown by adding salt and sugar in between. Add in diced tomato and saute for another 3-5 minutes.

4. Add in Japanese curry mix, saute until fragrant and add water to cover half the pot, add salt and pepper, bring to boil, add in chopped potatoes and turn to low-medium heat, simmer with lid covered for about 35-45 minutes (the longer the better).

5. Remove drumsticks from oven or grill, leave aside to cool for about 5 minutes, pour everything in the roasting/ grilling pan into the pot of curry, leave it to simmer for another 10-15 minutes, season with salt, pepper and sugar (Japanese curry should be sweet) to taste. Throw in the remaining tomatoes now as well.

6. While waiting for the curry to be ready, carve a rectilinear hole out of the bread loaf, pack the carved-outs into the bottom of the bread so it doesn't melt away easily later when the curry is poured inside. Used the extras to thicken up the curry (the potatoes should already have done this job anyway).

7. Done, pour the curry and ingredients into the bread box and enjoy peeling the bread off to match the curry's gravy!

Tags: poultry, cumin seed, bread, Japanese, curry, potato, tomato, sweet, chicken

Dill Roasted Double Meat Strips with Buttered Brocolli Mash

In order to create a sense of sequence running in according to the festivals and special occasions, I really wanted to wait till all my pictures on my mooncake baking last week to come to me before I started to post again on my blog. However, it seems to be taking forever for my to get my hands on all of them. Hence I resorted to start straight away and leave that mooncake post to some other time, yet again, like last time.

Anyway, to start off again, I attempted to make a dish with two leftover meat in the fridge with a newly bought herb - dill seeds. This is the first time I have tried using dill and I really did not imagine how it would have tasted like, or look like, for that matter. The end result? Everyone was satisfied, they commented that the taste of dill was really mild, but its presence (smell) was undeniable, there was this mild flavour oozing out of the meat strips in every bite of it, so mild that as if it didn't exist, but when you get your mind over it, you suddenly realize, hey, that's not right, there is this special taste which is definitely not the taste of meat! That is how it is like, I tried my best to describe it, anyway, give it a try!

Ingredients:

about 300g of stir-fry pork and chicken breast fillet each, 2tbsp dark soy sauce, 2 tbsp oyster sauce, 1tbsp light soy sauce, 2 tbsp brown sugar, 1/2 cup Chinese shao xing cooking wine (or any sweet red wine, consider cherry), 5 garlic cloves, 1 tbsp vegetable oil, sea salt and pepper to taste, about 8 Shitake mushrooms (use more if desired), 3 tbsp dill seeds (lightly roasted), 1 broccoli, 2 tbsp butter.

Method:
1. Marinate the meat fillets and sliced mushroom with 2 tbsp of dill seeds, light and dark soy sauce, oyster sauce, wine, oil, sugar and salt and pepper for at least 15 minutes.
2. Roast 1/2 tbsp dill seeds in saucepan, melt butter together in the pan. On the other hand, steam the broccoli in a steamer until soft, mash the broccoli (or use a food blender for a finer texture) and add in the melted butter, mix well.
3. Roast the marinated ingredients for 40 minutes in a preheated oven at 220 degrees Celsius. Remove in between to turn the ingredients once. Done, remove from oven to cool before serving.
4. Lay meat on top of mashed broccoli, sprinkle with remaining roasted dill seeds.

Tags: Dill, Pork, Chicken Breast Fillet, Meat Strips, Broccoli, Mash, Butter

StirFry T- Chicken

Again, this is another back-tracked dish from last week in which I helped to figure out how to cook some 8 drumsticks, it was not very easy as I was quite sick at that moment, and others are falling sick too, thanks to the awkwardly cold weather this year! Anyway, looking at what was available in the kitchen at that point, and what myself and others can actually take (we didn't want something to heaty, as everyone was not in their best conditions), I decided to give the usually tea-curium chicken a big twist. Maybe I should make the tea-curium chicken some time in the future... Haha
Anyway, this dish is not a hard dish at all, and for those who are looking at the pictures and wondering do we (or can we) actually eat the tea leafs, the answer is yes, they are by nature, leafs, and we eat vegetable leafs don't we? Not compulsory though, if you feel that you cannot get over the idea of eating tea leafs, fine, get rid of them. lol The ingredients are as following:

about 25g tea leafs (you can use any type of tea leafs you want, preferably the ones that have a sweet flavour if you are going to eat them), I used Tieh Guan Yin (literal translation would be steel Bodhisattva? lol)
1 brown onion (finely chopped)
1 tbsp soy paste (you can use SaCha or sandy tea paste? haha)
3 tbsp oil
5 cloves garlic (finely chopped)
Salt and Pepper to taste

Marinade
light soy sauce
dark soy sauce
sesame oil
black pepper
sugar
oyster sauce
some corn starch
*Note that I did not include the proportion of each, I just got fed up with measuring everything I guess, it's really just as much as you want to use, but try things at your own risk! lol

Just for start, lightly dry-fry the chopped brown onions, add sugar and salt and continue to fry until they are dry enough before adding pre-soaked tea leafs, continue the process until the tea leafs are fairly dry as well, add in oil at this point, followed by chopped garlic, stir fry until the tea fragrance is released.

Add in the marinated drumsticks at this point, followed by soy paste, mix the ingredients well, add water to cover all the ingredients, cover with wok lid and bring to boil before turning to medium heat to braise with covered lid for about 10-15 minutes. Remember to open the lid once a while to allow the ingredients some breath and stir about the un-cooked bits.

At the end of the braising, the chicken meat should fall loose from the bones easily, otherwise, consider to continue braising so that the drumsticks are cooked thoroughly, add water occasionally if the gravy starts to dry up, add seasoning to taste prior to serving. Done. Serve hot or warm.

Chicky Belacan Chicky

I thought it was really about time that I post this dish up before I forget how to cook it, so here you are, a dish that I made...about a week ago or maybe even more! Haha It is not very often that my housemates agree to spend a bit of fortune on extra sauces and ingredients for cooking, and it was during this rare opportunity that I managed to chuck a packet of Belacan (Made in Malaysia!) into the shopping basket, all thanks to Randwick Oriental's special discounts! Those who are wondering what discount is that can message me and I'd be glad to tell you how to get those discounts...

Anyway, with the cheaky (chicky) title and the short story introduction, I believe everyone should know that there is no big secret to this dish, basically Belacan (or dried shrimp paste) is the main ingredient, and our beloved Penang back in Malaysia is one the places that comes out with loads of this kind of product. There are two types of shrimp paste in the market (at least the ones from Malaysia that I know), one is in a dry form while the other is literally in paste (liquid) form, both of which are dark brown or black in colour and have a very intense (some say smelly) aroma when sniffed, and even stronger when being cooked!


Ingredients:
500g chicken breast (sliced to fillet size, can have more if desired)
5tbsp water diluted Belacan (about 1/8 of a packed dried Belacan, dilute with warm water bit by bit)
1 carrot (thinly sliced)
1 brown onion (finely chopped, feel free to use red ones also)
4 tbsp vegetable oil
4 cloves garlic (finely chopped)
3 slices ginger (about 1cm, finely chopped)
3pc dried chilie (soaked in water and finely chopped)
corn starch, salt and pepper, light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, sugar.


Method:
1. Marinate the chicken breast fillets with a dash of salt, pepper, light and dark soy sauce, corn starch, dark soy sauce, Chinese shaoxing cooking wine, and lastly sesame oil (do not add too much cooking wine and sesame oil otherwise the taste will contradict the belacan flavours). Leave to rest for about 15 minutes.
2. Brown the chopped onions using a dry-clean frying pan (add in a dash of salt and sugar, fry lightly before adding oil to further saute). Bring the oil to its peak heat, add in dried chili, chopped ginger and garlic, lightly fry for a minute or two until fragrant, add in sliced chicken breast fillets.
3. Stir fry for about 3-5 minutes, while the fillets still present slight pink-ish, add in diluted belacan at this point, continue to stir fry for until all fillets are thoroughly cooked (adding water ocassionally when almost drying up). Bring stir fry ingredients to a boil, add additional sugar, salt and pepper to taste if necessary. Done. Serve hot with heaps of rice.

Spicy Buttered Chicky-Corn Soup

It was my turn to cook again a few days back and one of the tasks was to have a soup, I was trying to 'think out of the box' as I didn't want to cook just 'yet another typical soup', hence I eneded up with this soup, hopefully everyone enjoys this experimentation of mine....

To start off with, cut out 3 corn cob worth of corn kernels (keep the cores), prepare 1 red spanish onion (finely chopped), 3 cloves of garlic, 3pc dried chilie (coarsely chopped), 1tbsp hot paprika powder, about 8 drumsticks (you can adjust this accordingly), 2tbsp of butter, 1tbsp golden syrup, 5tbsp light soy sauce, salt and pepper to taste.


To marinade the drumsticks, lightly draw a few knife cuts on the meat, season with additional light soy sauce, black pepper powder, a dash of Chinese shao xing cooking wine, and some sugar, leave to sit for about 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat a soup pot, lightly sautee the onion with 1tbsp of melted butter. Add in garlic when the onion starts to turn brownish, continue to sautee for a minute or so, stir in the corn kernels and sitr fry over medium-high heat. Add in golden syrup at this point, followed by the hot paprika powder, salt, pepper and continue to stir-fry until the corn kernels start to brown. Cover with water and bring to boil with lid covered, add more water to allow it to simmer off later on. Add in the drumsticks and corn cores as soon as the water boils, stir throughly, add in 5tbsp of light soy sauce, bring to boil again and cover with pot lid to allow to simmer over low-medium heat for about 30-45 minutes or even more if desired. Remove lid, add in the remaning butter, add seasoning to taste if desired, done, serve hot.

Double Cooked Chicken... Derrick's Farewell Gift

Derrick's farewell party was celebrated by a series of homemade dishes rather than a generous dining out at some restaurant. Partly due to the fact that other housemates of his still have a few papers to sit for during this exam period. Well, another reason I think, is probably because his housemates do not want to celebrate his leaving as he was leaving too early, you should stay longer in Sydney Derrick! HaHaHa. Just joking, do not take it too serious!

As per Derrick's request for something more generous and/or luxurious for his departing dinner, I agreed to make this poultry dish, while he took care of the other dishes, partly as a sign of gratitude to his housemates. Nevertheless, this one dish was worth the effort of all the other dishes, it took me a whole day preparing it, well I think it was partly due to the fact that it was my first time making it as well, I only came out with the idea of making this dish 2 days ago. Luckily it turned out as expected, or it would have ruined the party!

Sticking back to the making of this dish, let's first look at the ingredients needed, this dish serves about 4 to 5 person:

1 big Roasting Chicken (about 1.5kg)

100g Glutinous Rice (soaked overnight pre-use)

25g Sliced Chinese Shitake Mushroom (soaked with sugared water pre-use)

50g Chestnuts (rinsed and toasted pre-use)

10g Chinese Red Dates (soaked re-use)

1 tbsp Light Soy Sauce

1 tbsp Dark Soy Sauce

1 tbsp Sea Salt

1 tbsp Black Pepper Powder

2 tbsp Vegetable Oil

Water

3 pc Lump Sugar

Marinate

5 tbsp Sea Salt

2 tbsp Five Spice Powder

2 tbsp Black Pepper Powder

3 tbsp Light Soy Sauce

2 tbsp Dark Soy Sauce

Now, in terms of preparing the dish, rinse the chicken thoroughly, especially the inside of the chicken, pat dry with kitchen towel, apply sea salt thoroughly to the entire chicken, giving it a good massage at the same time. Leave aside for 15 minutes. Mix five spice powder, black pepper powder, light and dark soy sauce in a bowl, apply mixture thoroughly onto chicken, with the remaining sauce being poured into the chicken from the backside. Leave aside for 1 to 2 hours or more. I did mine for 3 hours.

Heat vegetable oil in a wok, add sliced mushroom and stir fry for 1 minute, add some brown sugar and salt to brown. Stir in Chinese red dates and chestnuts, mix well. Add in the glutinous rice soaked earlier, stir fry and mix well for 3 minutes. Add in all the remaining seasonings (except for the lump sugars), add water to half the level of the ingredients. Mix well and cover with lid, braise for 3 minutes. Remove lid and continue to stir fry for another 2 minutes, add some water if necessary...

Scoop all the stir-fried ingredients into the chicken, throw in the lump sugars before hand, use a spoon to make sure all the ingredients are packed tightly. Seal the opening behind the chicken with toothpicks. Done. Move chicken to a steamer, steam continuously for at least 1 hour over high heat. Add water to steamer when necessary.

After an hour, remove chicken from steamer and place it on a roasting pan, pour all the remaining sauces onto chicken. Roast in pre-heated oven at 200 degrees Celsius for 30 minutes, with the chicken turned sides at 15 minutes interval. Done. Serve hot or warm.

Sweet and Spicy Tomato Drumsticks

Ingredients: (serves 2-3)
350g Mini Chicken Drumsticks
1 tbsp Tomato sauce
1 tbsp Sambal Chili Sauce
1 tbsp Vegetable Oil
1 tbsp Sugar
2 tbsp Light Soy Sauce
1 tsp Salt
1 tsp Dark Soy Sauce
1 tsp Tandoori Curry Powder
1 tsp Sweet Paprika Powder
3 medium size Tomato (cut into big chunks)

Method:
1. Mix all the ingredients together except tomatoes, leave aside to marinade for at least 30 minutes.
2. Roast in preheated oven for 30-45 minutes at 200 degrees Celsius or until chicken turn reddish-brown. Remove dish from oven.
3. In a heated wok or pan, pour in all the ingredients from the roasted dish earlier. Stir in tomatoes, allow to cook for a while (best with lid covered). When sauce starts to thicken (after about 3 minutes), turn off heat, done, serve hot.

Note: Add in cumin seeds while marinating, the dish will have another flavour and aroma.

Five Spice Pumpkin Drumsticks Stew

I have not been blogging for sometime now, thanks to an elective I took, never thought that it would take up that much time... But anyway, I have been keeping all my photos of those dishes that I made over the last week, so today I will post a few of them once and for all! Check out this pumpkin stew that I made, it's really delicious, especially the gravy, something that is nice about it that is indescribable....


Ingredients: (serves 3)
500g Mini Chicken Drumsticks (about 9)
400g Pumpkin (coarsely chopped)
400g White Button Mushrooms (sliced thickly)
1 tbsp Five Spice Powder
1 tbsp Fermented Black Bean Paste
1 tbsp Salt (more to suit own taste)
2 tbsp Black Pepper Powder
2 tbsp Light Soy Sauce
6 tbsp Vegetable Oil
1 tbsp Brown Sugar
2 stem Spring Onion (coarsely chopped)
3 cloves Garlic (finely chopped)
2 slices Ginger (finely copped)
Water

Method:
1. Marinade the chicken drumsticks with five spice powder, 1 tbsp light soy sauce and 1 tbsp black pepper powder, leave aside.
2. Heat vegetable oil in a wok, parboil the pumpkin chunks until they turn golden brown.
3. Remove pumpkin chunks from oil, pour away excess oil, keeping about 3 tbsp, parboil the drumsticks with this remaining oil, remove from oil when they turn golden brown.

4. In the same wok, stir fry sliced mushrooms, add brown sugar, continue to stir fry for another 1 minute or 2. Stir in garlic and ginger until fragrant. Add in pumpkin and drumsticks at this point, continue to stir fry.

5. Stir in fermented black bean paste, light soy sauce, salt and pepper. Subsequently, stir in pumpkin and drumsticks prepared earlier. Add water to cover at least half of ingredients, stir well and bring to boil. Cover with wok lid and turn to low heat, braise for about 10 to 15 minutes. (You can change to use pot at this point if you want.)

6. Check occasionally to make sure there is always enough water and the gravy does not dry off.

7. Stir in spring onions just before removing from heat. Done. Serve hot. Enjoy!

Mini Wine Drumsticks

I picked this recipe from my mom, simply because its simple to prepare and everyone just loves it, give it a try, I made it a couple of times since I came here, and almost all who tried it liked it...

Ingredients: (serves 3-4)
600g Mini Chicken Drumsticks
10 tbsp Chinese Shao Xing Rice Wine
2 tbsp Sesame Oil
3 tbsp Light Soy Sauce
1 tbsp Sugar
1 tbsp Black Pepper Powder
25g Lily Flower Pods (pre-soaked for at least 15 minutes)
25g Wolberry Fruit (pre-soaked for at least 15 minutes)
25g Black Woody Fungus (pre-soaked for at least 3 hours, slice to desired shape and sizes)
10g Red Dates (pre-soaked for at least 15 minutes)
50g Chinese Black Shitake Mushroom (pre-soaked for at least 3 hours with warm water, slice to desired shape and sizes)

Method
1. Marinade chicken drumsticks with 3 tbsp rice wine, 1 tbsp
sesame oil, 1 tbsp light soy sauce and black pepper powder. Leave aside to rest for at least 30 minutes. ( I did mine for 2 hours plus)
2. Mix the remaining seasoning (except the wine) with lily flower pods, wolberry fruit, red dates, black woody fungus and shitake mushrooms. Leave aside for 15 minutes or so.
3. Heat up a steamer, lay drumsticks at the bottom of a bowl or plate, top with the remaining ingredients, place in steamer as soon as water boils. Leave to steam for about 20-30 minutes. Done. Mix well before serving hot. (Add soy sauce and not salt if the dish is not salty enough)

Orange Chicken

It was my turn to prepare dinner yesterday and I was reluctant to go out and get extra ingredients for the day's cooking, thanks to the fact that I had a long and tiring day with the choir. Fortunately I manage to dig out an orange and some orange juice from the fridge, hence I decided to give this dish a try, never tried it before, it's my first attempt! Hope everyone likes it!



Ingredients: (serves 2-3)
1 Orange (skinned and peeled)
1 Tomato (coarsely chopped)
400ml Orange Juice
300g Chicken Breast Fillet (sliced lenght wise)
2 cloves Garlic (finely chopped)
1cm Ginger (finely chopped)
1pc Khafir Lime Leaf (thinly sliced)
2 tbsp Vegetable Oil
1 tbsp Light Soy sauce
1 tbsp Soy Bean Paste
1 tsp Dried Basil Leafs
1 tbsp Sugar
1 tsp Salt
1 tsp pepper


Method:
1. Marinade the chicken fillets with 100ml orange juice, ginger, light soy sauce, soy bean paste, dried basil leafs, salt, sugar and pepper for at least 30 minutes.
2. In a wok, heat oil and stir fry garlic until aromatic. Stir in the chicken fillets, stir fry until the meat colour starts to turn white, add in orange juice bit by bit while stir-frying.
3. Add in the peeled orange pieces, fry for another 1 minute before adding tomato and lime leaf at the end, give it a good stir. Done. Serve hot or warm.


Note: If you prefer more succulent meat, use chicken thigh fillet, would taste a juicier and smooth while passing through the throat. Breast meat has a different texture.

Sweet Malt Chicken Strips

Ingredients: (serves 3-4)
350g Chicken Breast Fillet

2 tbsp Maltose (melt before mixed)

2 tsp Lemon Juice

2 tbsp Sugar

1 tbsp Soy Bean Paste

2 tsp Pepper
1 tsp Salt

1 tsp Dark Soy Sauce

1 tsp Light Soy Sauce

1 Cucumber (finely sliced) (about 75-100g)

1 Carrot (finely sliced) (about 75-100g)

1/2 cup Oil for frying

Method:

1. Cut the chicken breast fillet lenghtwise into about 1cm thick stirps.

2. Marinade the chicken with maltose, light and dark soy sauce, soy bean paste, 1 tsp sugar and 1 tsp pepper. Leave aside for at least one hour.

3. In a bowl, mix carrot and cucumber, stir in lemon juice, salt and the remaining of sugar and pepper. Keep in refrigerator.

4. In a wok, heat oil, parboil chicken in oil until they turn rick brown. Leave on serviette for a few minutes. Then fry again in oil on high heat for 1 or two minutes. Remove from oil, soak remaining oil off chicken with serviette.

5. Arrange hot chicken strips on top of cold salad. Sprinklt with some toasted sesame. Done.

Honey & Peanut Sauce Chicken

Ingredients: (serves 1)

Chicken Thigh Fillet
1pc Chicken Thigh Fillet
1 tbsp Honey
1 tbsp Crunchy Peanut Butter
1 tbsp Brown Sugar
1 tbsp Butter
2 tbsp Chinese ShaoXing Wine
1 tsp Dark Soy Sauce
1 tsp Sea Salt
1 tsp Light Soy Sauce
1 tsp Black Pepper Powder
1 tsp Lemon Juice
1 stem of Rosemarry (take the leafs only)

Asparagus
6 sticks Asparagus
1 tbsp Chinese ShaoXing Wine
1 tbsp Butter
Pinch of Salt, Sugar and Pepper

Method:
1. Marinade the chicken thigh fillet with all the ingredients, leaving the butter.
2. In a pan (preferably non-stick), melt the butter and slowly saute the fillet over medium-low heat, this should take about 10-15 minutes.
3. In a flat pan, melt butter and saute the asparagus over low heat, tossing occasionally. Add the leftovers of the marinate if available, season to taste.
4. Add the wine at last before removing from heat, toss a few times. Done

Basil Chicken with CharSiew & Orange Sauce

I actually learnt this dish from Derrick and improvised it a bit to suit my own taste. If you are looking for the original recipe, simply visit Lee Kum Kee's official website. They offer a lot of recipes there, but mostly using their own sauces. But anyway, back to my own version, I added some spiciness to it, particularly to suit my own preference and to add another taste to the flavour of the whole, check it out...

Ingredient: (serves 1)

2 pc Chicken Thigh Fillet

1 orange (peel and teared not cut, zested)

2 bunch Sweet Basil (rinsed and cleaned)

2 tbsp Hot Paprika Powder

2 tbsp Char Siew Sauce

5 tbsp Orange Juice

1 tsp Orange Zest

6 petals Chinese Cabbage

2 cloves Garlic

1 tbsp Light Soy Sauce

1 tbsp Vegetable Oil

Method:

1. Marinade the chicken fillets for at least 1 hour with the hot paprika, char siew sauce and orange juice.

2. On a plate, spread the chicken thigh fillet, place on top 1 bunch of basil leafs, 1/2 tsp of orange zest and 2 pieces of orange, wrap the chicken around the ingredients, tie with kitchen string. Repeat the same steps for another piece of fillet.

3. Place the wrapped chicken thigh fillets in preheated oven and roast for 20 minutes at 200 degrees Celsius. Take out, turn the fillets to another side and roast for another 20 minutes. Remember to include all the marinate sauce and the remaining oranges when roasting.

4. Meanwhile, heat oil in a pan, crush the garlic, add in and stir fry with the Chinese cabbage, add light soy sauce, just to give it some taste.

5. On a plate, place the Chinese cabbages, place the roasted chicken thigh fillets on top and pour on top the remaining sauce. Done. Serve hot.

Stir fried Chicken with Ginger & Spring Onion

Ingredients:
1kg chicken drumsticks (coarsely chopped)
100g ginger (thinly sliced)
1/2 bunch spring onion (coarsely chopped)

1 tbsp vegetable oil

2 tbsp dark soy sauce

3 tbsp black pepper powder

3 tbsp salt
3 tbsp sesame oil
4 tbsp light soy sauce
5 tbsp shaoxing rice wine (preferably yellow rice wine)

Method:
1. Marinate the chicken meat with vegetable oil, 1 tbsp light soy sauce, 1 tbsp salt and 1 tbsp pepper for about 15 minutes.
2. Toast the ginger in a heated wok (without oil) for about 3 minutes, add in sesame oil, fry for another 2 minutes.
3. Stir in the chicken meat, followed by the remaining seasonings, leaving the wine for the last. Sir-fry for another 3 minutes before closing lid. Bring to boil.
4. Remove the lid, stir-fry for 1 minute, close lid again. repeat this step until the gravy starts to thicken up, add in the wine then, stir fry for a while and cover with lid again for another 2 minutes.
5. Remove lid, add in spring onions, stir fry for another 2 minutes, done, serve hot.

Paprika Chicken

Those who cannot take spicy food, please be wary on this dish, it is deadly I reckon, but only to those who cannot take spicy food at all. From my own judgement, I would probably givie it a spicy intensity rating of 6 out of 10. So, feel free to try it, on your own risk. Hahaha



Ingredients:
1 whole chicken
5 potatoes
1 brown onion
1 red capsicum
1 tbsp sea salt
1 tbsp black pepper
2 tbsp lemon juice
2 tbsp olive oil


Marinate & Sauce:
2 tbsp sweet paprika powder
2 tbsp hot paprika powder
1 tbsp crushed chili
1 tbsp Indian tandoori powder
1 tbsp black pepper
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp rosemary
1 tbsp basil
3 tbsp vegetable oil
5 tbsp milk (use coconut milk for better aroma)
A handful of curry leaves


Method:
1. Crushed all the marinate ingredients and mix well. Leave aside for about 30 minutes.
2. Wash chicken, tap dry with kitchen towel, cover with the marinate, pour the rest into the chicken, tie the legs, leave aside for at least 30 minutes.
3. Cut the potatoes, capsicum and onion into large chunks. Mix well with pepper and salt. Drizzle over with lemon juice and olive oil.
4. Roast the potatoes, capsicum and onion in preheated oven at 200 degrees Celsius for 20 minutes. Consider using aluminium foil.
5. Take out, stir and mix the ingredients. Place chicken on top and cover with aluminium foil, put into oven again and bake at 250 degrees Celsius for 20 minutes.
6. Take out again, turn over the chicken and bake again at 200 degrees Celsius without aluminium foil covering. Remove from oven after approximately 20-30 minutes, or until desired brownness attained. Done, serve hot.


Note: If you don't mind waiting, pour the marinate only after the potatoes, capsicum and onion undergoes first round of roasting. Place raw chicken on top the roasted ingredients, pour and cover evenly with the marinate or sauce.

3 Cup Chicken

The Taiwanese have a famous dish called the 3 Cups Chicken and I have always wanted to try it, which I finally did! The result is quite good I reckon, but there is always room for improvement, i.e. the picture taking skills...



Ingredients:
500g Chicken meat, preferably with fat
2 bunch of fresh Basil Leafs
1 cup Vegetable Oil
1 cup Chinese Cooking Rice Wine
1 cup Light Soy Sauce
4 cloves Garlic
2 slice Ginger


Method:
1. Heat up a wok on intense heat. Add in chopped Garlic and Ginger, fry until aromatic. Add in Vegetable Oil. Stir fry until pungent.
2. Add in Chicken Meat, stir fry until all meat is coated with oil, cover with lid for a few minutes.
3. Remove lid, add in Light Soy Sauce and stir fry. Turn to low heat.
4. Cover with lid again and braise for a few minutes until sauce starts to reduce.
5. Remove lid, add in Wine, stir fry and cover with lid again for another 2 minutes.
6. Remove lid and add in the Basil leafs this time, stir well. Cover with lid again to allow all the tastes to be released. Done. Serve hot.


Notes
1. The notion of 1 cup is arbitary, as long as the proportion of the 3 main things, are at the ration of 1:1:1
2. Bare in mind that this is a oily and salty dish, it is the way it is, not made up by me.
3. For best results use a claypot, it will help to maintain the heat and flavour better..
4. The end result should have a very pungent and aromatic smell upon removal of lid, thanks to the Basil leaf. Use sesame oil for even pungent scent.

Salty Curium Chicken

It was a nice Sunday afternoon and my friends asked me over to their place to prepare a dish and have lunch together. I did not have any idea on what to prepare initially, but finally decided to go wild on my imaginations. Back in Malaysia, Salty Curium Chicken was a famous dish, but I did not know exactly how other people made it. Hence, I came out with my own version of it...

Ingredients:

1 whole chicken

1/2 cup Coconut Milk

3 stems Spring Onion

1 inch Ginger

50g Black Pepper Corn

500g Crystallized Sea Salt

Method:
1. Marinate the Chicken in Coconut Milk for about 30-45 minutes.

2. Preheat oven to 250 degrees Celcius.

3. Roughly chop the spring onion and ginger and stuff inside the chicken.

4. Roughly crush the Pepper Corn and fry them together with the Sea Salt in a heated wok.

5. Prepare a tray with aluminum foil placed in tact. Lay a layer of Pepper Corn and Sea Salt when the aroma is pungent enough. Place the chicken on top. Cover with the remaining Sea Salt and Pepper.

6. Wrap the chicken in aluminium foil and curium in oven for at least 45 minutes at 250 degrees Celcius. Done. Unwrap and serve hot.

*Lightly scrape off the Sea Salt and Pepper Corn before serving.

Well, I cannot say that the recipe is perfect, there is still room for improvement. I think I already know how to do it the correct way, as what people make for selling to others. But that will have to wait till next time...

Happy Birthday Lee Shean

I've been really busy recently, all the subjects are having major submissions, and my elective is particularly taxing, wish that it was easier. Anyway, having forcefully indulging in books of literature and theory for almost a week, I rreckon it is time to have a break, and cook something special, for a special occasion, it's my housemate's Birthday! So here we go, not a really hard dish I reckon...

Ingredients:
3 Chicken Maryland
5 Potatoes
2 stems of Rosemarry
1 Lemon
3 tbsp Cooking Malt
1 tbsp Butter
A good drizzle of Olive Oil
Chinese Shao Xing Wine (or any Sweet Red Wine)

Sauce:
10 Button Mushroom (Sliced)
1 tbsp Butter
3 tbsp Plain Flour

Marinate:
A good rub of Sea Salt
1 tbsp Sesame Oil
2 tbsp Dark Soy Sauce
2 tbsp Light Soy Sauce
2 tbsp Mix Spice Powder
3 tbsp Black Pepper Powder
4 tbsp Chinese Shao Xing Wine (or any Sweet Red Wine)


Method:
1. Marinate the maryland for at least 30 minutes.
2. Preheat the oven to 250 degrees Celcius.
3. Cut the Potatoes into wedges, spread over roasting tray, sprinkle over some rosemerry, pinch of salt and pepper. Give a good drizzle of Olive Oil and mix the ingredients. Place inside the oven and roast for 10 minutes at 200 degrees Celcius.
4. Melt the Malt and Butter beforehand.
5. Take out the Potatoes, place the maryland on top of the potatoes, sprinkle over the remaining of the Rosemerry and give a good drizzle of Wine and Olive Oil. Roast in oven for 25 minutes at 250 degrees Celcius.
6. Take out the Chicken, flip over, coat the chicken with the Malt and Butter mixture. Halve a Lemon, sprinkle some Salt, Sugar and Olive Oil and placing beside chicken, with the cut face upward. Roast for another 25 minutes at 200 degrees Celcius.
7. For the sauce, drain the juice or sauce from the roasting tray after removing from oven. Melt butter in saucepan, add in the Button Mushroom, add in the juice drained earlier. Add in Plain Flour dissolved with some water, or better still, lemon juice. Done.
8. Pour the sauce over chicken and juice the lemon roasted earlier over. Serve hot.

Sesame Chicken

We always see Sesame Chicken around, and hence I wanted to make my own version. But I did not want to go through the hassle of frying the chicken, so I came up with my own version, I think it was not bad, hopefully other people likes it.


Ingredients:
400g Chicken meat (any parts will do)
60g Chinese Mushroom
30g White Sesame
1 tbsp Light Soy Sauce
1 tbsp Salt 1 1/2 tbsp Pepper
1 glass Water
2 tbsp Malt
2tbsp Chinese Shao Xing Cooking Wine
2 tbsp Sugar (preferably Brown Sugar)
2 cloves Garlic
2 slices of Ginger
3 tbsp Vegetable Oil

Marinade:
1 tbsp Salt
1 tbsp Light Soy Sauce
1 tbsp Pepper
1 tbsp Corn Flour
2 tbsp Dark Soy Sauce
2 tbsp Sesame Oil

Method:
1. Marinate the Chicken for at least 30 minutes
2. Lightly toast the sesame in a clean wok, take them up when they start to brown, put aside.
3. Heat up a wok, lightly fry the mushroom without any oil, add in 1 tbsp of sugar, add in 1 tbsp of oil when they start to caramelize. Add in the ginger and garlic later on, followed by another 2 tbsp of oil. Keep stir-frying.
4. Add in the chicken, fry them till the colour of the meat changes, add in the seasonings and water. Cover with lid if possible, bring to boil.
5. Remove lid, add in the wine. While still boiling, stir in the Malt, make sure it is fully dissolved. Bring to boil again.
6. When the sauce has thicken, quickly stir in the sesame. Done and ready to serve.