Baked Potatoes
When looking for ways with potatoes to accompany a meat dish one day, I did not want to make chips..obviously because they had to be fried! I had no idea what to do until I found this really simple recipe. Tried it and they are …
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Chipotle Red Beans
INGREDIENTS 250 gms red beans1/2 medium sized onion, minced1 clove garlic, minced1 chipotle, chopped1 1/2 tsp cumin powder1 tsp paprika2 tbsp tomato pasteOlive oilWater DIRECTIONS Soak the beans for 8 hours, drain then boil until soft in pressure cooker with one bay leaf and vegetable …
Ajlaa’s Chicken Patties on a bed of Tomato and Mushroom Sauce
U-Chen invited us to a casual dinner party at his place last week and his friend Ajlaa, prepared most if not all of the food served that evening. Among them was this really amazing chicken patties on a bed of tomato and mushroom sauce. I begged for the ingredients and tonight we tried making it and…it was just as amazing. Something we will probably cook over and over again. Never thought chicken mince could turn out so nice!
INGREDIENTS
For the chicken patties:
Chicken mince
1 egg
1/3 medium sized onion, chopped
Fresh coriander leaves, chopped
Cumin powder
Grated parmesan cheese
Salt and pepper to taste
Breadcrumbs
Canola oil for frying
For the sauce:
1 box of button mushrooms, sliced
2/3 medium onion, chopped
6 – 7 garlic, minced
Stems of coriander leaves, chopped
Fresh basil leaves
Balsamic vinegar
1 can stewed chopped tomatoes
Chicken cube
Water
Olive oil
DIRECTIONS
Beat the egg, add all the other ingredients except the chicken mince. Mix well and taste if desired. Add the chicken mince and mix well using your hands. Add a little flour if necessary.
Form into 40 gm rough balls then roll in breadcrumbs to form a round or square patty shape. Fry in shallow oil over medium heat until golden brown.
Prepare the sauce while patties are cooking.
Heat olive oil and sauté the onions and garlic. When soft, add coriander stems then after a while add the mushrooms and cook till soft. Add the balsamic vinegar and cook through. Add the chopped tomatoes, basil, chicken cube and the water. Cook until the liquid dries and taste for salt. Add more water to get the desired amount of sauce, heat through and remove from heat.
To serve, pour sauce into a deep casserole dish, arrange patties on top. Great with a salad or some brown rice.
Home-made Salsa
INGREDIENTS 1 can chopped tomatoes in their sauce1/4 onion, mincedA bunch of fresh coriander, choppedJalapenos or other pickled chilli as much as you like, choppedLemon juice as you likeSalt to taste DIRECTIONS Mix all the ingredients in a bowl and taste for salt. Best eaten …
Tex Mex Taco Lettuce Wraps
INGREDIENTS 650 gms medium lean ground beef1/4 large onion, minced3 cloves garlic, minced1 beef cube1 tsp cayenne or chilli powder2 tsp paprika powder2 tsp cumin powder1 1/2 tsp coriander powder1 heaped tablespoon fried tomato paste or tomato puree1 tablespoon Canola oilSalt to taste DIRECTIONS Heat …
Low-Fat Herbed Ranch Dressing
This was a very fresh dressing for a mixed salad with lettuce, cucumbers, tomatoes, capers, stuffed olives and pickled jalapeno which we got from Epicurious. Instead of buttermilk, we used Activa Light. We didn’t have sour cream this time so it was a bit too liquid. Otherwise it made a good salad dressing which went very well in the salad with our Nando’s Chicken meal.
INGREDIENTS
3/4 cup well-shaken low-fat (1 1/2%) buttermilk
2 tablespoons low-fat mayonnaise
2 tablespoons nonfat sour cream
1 tablespoon packed fresh basil leaves, minced
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh chives
2 teaspoons cider vinegar
1 teaspoon dry mustard
1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 teaspoon sugar
DIRECTIONS
In a blender or food processor blend all ingredients and salt and pepper to taste until smooth. Dressing keeps, covered and chilled, 1 week. Serve dressing with soft lettuce, shellfish salad, or salmon salad.
PF Chang’s spicy green beans
INGREDIENTS One pack long beans cut into 3” long pieces1/4 large onion, minced6-7 garlic, mincedThumb-sized ginger, minced3 tbsp chilli paste3 tbsp water2 tbsp thick soya sauce1 tbsp Canola oil DIRECTIONS Boil some water and black the cut long beans. It should take no more than …
Squid rings in tomato sauce Spanish style
INGREDIENTS 500 gms squid rings1/2 medium sized onion, minced6 – 7 cloves garlic, mince3 – 4 guindilla2/3 pack tomato paste1 cap Sherry vinegar2 tbsp olive oil1/2 cup water DIRECTIONS Mix the tomato paste with 200 ml water. Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a small …
Malaysian Chicken Rice
Nasi lemak. Roti canai. Chicken rice. These have got to be the top three Malaysian national dishes! And all are favourites in our family and when we’re at home in Malaysia all we have to do when we feel an urge for any of these, is…..run down to Aji Don or Bestari.
But when you’re thousands of miles away from home, you just have to cook it! Not that people don’t cook these dishes at home in Malaysia, they do (well, maybe except for roti canai which is easily bought frozen) especially at the weekend.
Having lived away from home all these years, I’ve been on a mission to continually perfect my own rendition of chicken rice. Because hubby loves it. Son loves it and I love it. And hubby’s all time favourite quote when it comes to chicken rice has been: “Your chicken rice is so good, I can eat it on its own!” Sounds almost like the Malaysian radio commercial for Gardenia bread! 
Hainanese chicken rice usually comes “steamed” or “roasted” and since none of us are too fond of the “steamed” version, my recipe here is for that.
INGREDIENTS
For the chicken soup
Chicken bones from 1 chicken carcass
5cm chunk of ginger
2 cloves garlic
1.5 litres water
For the chicken rice
2 cups (rice cooker cup) jasmine rice
1/4 medium-sized onion or 4 shallots
2 cloves garlic
1.5 cm chunk of ginger
1 tbsp Canola oil
5cm long cinnamon stick
1 Maggi chicken cube
For the roast chicken
1 kg whole chicken
1 tbsp ginger juice
1 tbsp dark soya sauce
2 tsp honey
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp white pepper powder
1/2 tsp 5-spice powder (optional)
Canola spray oil
For the chilli sauce
6 red chillies
3 cm chunk of ginger
2 cloves garlic
1/2 tsp salt
Garnishing
A sprig of spring onions
A bunch of fresh coriander leaves
Cucumber
Lettuce
DIRECTIONS
Marinade the chicken
Remove excess skin at the neck and bottom of the chicken and cut into quarters. Wash well and drain. Prick with a fork all over, then dry with a paper towel. Place all the marinade ingredients in a bowl and mix well. Taste the marinade for salt then add the chicken quarters to the bowl and rub the marinade all over. Cover the bowl with cling film and set aside in the fridge to marinade for at least an hour.
Prepare the chicken soup
Wash the chicken bones and place in a pot with the water. Peel the ginger and garlic and smash with the sides of a large knife. Add to the pot of water and chicken bones. Bring to the boil on high heat, then let it simmer for 20 to 30 minutes. Remove from heat and let stand.
Prepare the chilli sauce
Wash the chillis, cut into 3 cm pieces and boil in 1 cup of water until chilli turns orangey. Drain and set aside. Peel the ginger and garlic and slice into small pieces. Place boiled chillis, ginger, garlic and salt into a container, add 1/2 cup of the chicken soup prepared earlier and blend using a hand blender until fine. Set aside.
Prepare the roast chicken
Preheat the oven at 180C. Spray Canola oil onto a baking dish. Remove chicken from the fridge and arrange the chicken quarters onto the dish spreading any marinade left in the bowl all over the chicken pieces. Spray the tops of the chicken with Canola oil. Roast in the oven for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, turn the chicken pieces around and roast for a further 15 – 20 minutes till brown and crispy but not burnt. Turn again and roast for a further 5 minutes. Remove from oven and let stand for 10 minutes covered in foil.
Prepare the chicken rice
While the chicken is in the oven, prepare the rice. Wash the rice under the tap to remove as much of the starch as possible. Drain and leave in colander to dry. Peel the onions or shallots, garlic and ginger. Slice the onion and garlic thinly lengthwise and julienne the ginger. Heat the oil in a non-stick pot. When hot, fry the cinnamon then add the sliced onions, garlic and ginger. Fry on medium heat till fragrant and the onions brown. Add the washed rice and fry till the rice is covered in the oil. At this point I usually just touch the edge of a knife in the Paella seasoning (basically saffron powder) then dip it in the rice to get a lovely light yellow colour. Add 3 cups (rice cooker cup) of the chicken soup prepared earlier and one Maggi chicken cube. Mix everything well and let the rice cook on medium heat. Taste for salt when most of the liquid is gone and add salt if necessary according to your taste. Turn the fire to low and insert a heat diffuser between the pot and and the gas fire to cook the rice slowly until all the liquid is dry without burning it.
TO SERVE
Cut each chicken quarter into two or three pieces and arrange on a bed of lettuce. Garnish on the side with sliced cucumbers and top with fresh coriander.
Add salt and pepper to the soup and serve with diagonal slices of spring onions.
Serve the rice, roast chicken and soup hot with chilli sauce on the side.
Crispy Roast Potatoes
I was really attracted to this dish. I think it’s the photo! I promised myself that I would make this one day and the opportunity came yesterday when we were having pan-fried merluza. Hubby said he wanted to eat the fish with boiled potatoes but …
