Spicy Mango Barbecued Chicken

Yikes! I haven't been updating this blog for months! My last entry was in late October 2013. It's a miracle that my followers haven't removed me from their list. It's not like I haven't been cooking/baking and snapping some photos of my experiments in the kitchen - like this recipe below that I'm about to share. The truth is, I was too lazy to post, or write something up for this blog. I'm going to try my best to post more frequently this year.

I love barbecue! I think I did mention that in my earlier post (I love the sweet and spicy one). Recently I've started to make my own barbecue sauce instead of mixing in some mixture of prepared sauce. 

I've decided to make this mango barbecued sauce when my mom got this huge mango from my grandma. It was too large and a little bit sour, so I decided to take half of it to make this mango barbecued sauce. I added in some chili pepper for that little kick.

Spicy Mango Barbecued Chicken

• 4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts
• 2 tablespoon vegetable oil 
• 1 small onion, minced 
• 2 medium cloves garlic, minced 
• 1 1/2 cups peeled fresh mango, pureed  
• 1/2 cup tomato sauce 
• 1/3 cup dark brown sugar 
• 1/3 cup honey 
• 1/3 cup cider vinegar 
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce 
• 1 tablespoon yellow mustard 
• 2 teaspoons finely chopped red chilies, seeded
• salt 
• 1 teaspoon chili pepper

1. Heat oil in medium saucepan over medium heat until shimmering. Add onion and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and cook until fragrant. 
2. Stir in pureed mangoes, tomato sauce, brown sugar, honey, vinegar, Worcestershire, mustard, chili (you may use any other type of chili like Habanero), salt, and red chili pepper (Add more to your liking). Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer until the sauce slightly thickened, about 15 to 25 minutes. Stir occasionally. 
3. Puree sauce with an immersion blender, or in the jar of a regular blender, until smooth.
4. Brush hot sauce over the chicken breasts (or any other chicken parts you like). 
5. You may cook the chicken in the oven for 20-25 minutes, or cook under a hot preheated grill until cooked.

Ddukbokkie (Hot and spicy rice cake)

I think I've been watching too much Korean drama/variety show. Some of the popular dish which were introduced to me from the shows are jjajangmyun and ddokbokkie/tteokbokki. This time, I'm experimenting with ddokbokkie, or hot and spicy rice cake. It is a very popular snack which is commonly purchased from street vendors

I made my own ddok (or sticky rice cake) from scratch during my first attempt. The rice cake is made of rice flour, water and sometimes, sesame oil. The rice flour used in preparing ddok is very different than the usual rice flour which we used in Malaysia. I took the initiative to grind my own rice flour using short grained rice to make them. I think, it's important to know a bit more of our ingredients. Of course, the hardest part in preparing the ddok is the kneading process. The dough is a bit tough!

Of course, you can either buy your own ddok, or made them from scratch. On my second attempt to prepare ddokbokkie, I finally bought myself a packet of ddok from the Korean grocery store. It's interesting to compare the taste between the fresh made ddok and the prepared ddok. But, if you want to made your own ddok from scratch, you can visit Aeri's Kitchen. There's the step by step tutorial and youtube link. 

Ddukbokkie (Hot and spicy rice cake)

(recipe from Maangchi)

300g Tube shaped rice cake for ddukbokkie 

3 tbsp Hot pepper paste  

1 tbsp or less sugar

4 cups water 

7 large (or more if you're using the smaller size )dried anchovies with heads & intestines remove

1 stalk green onions (cut into long pieces)

fish cake

sesame seed

1. Separate the tubes of rice cake into individual pieces.
2. Add water in a pan, and add dried anchovies. Boil the water for 10 minutes over medium heat. Dried anchovies made your ddokbokkie taste even more delicious.
3. Remove the anchovies and add in the rice cakes. Stir in hotpepper paste and sugar. Stir it constantly. Stirring is important.
4. Add in green onions and fish cake (this is optional) and continue stirring.
5. Keep stirring until the sauce is thick and the rice cake is shiny.
6. Transfer it to a plate and serve! You may sprinkle some sesame seed for garnishing.

Ayam Masak Lemak Cili Api

I was never good with Malaysian cooking. I rarely cook any Malaysian food, although I'm a Malaysian. My mom is much better with Malaysian cooking, and I figured that it would be better to let her cook Malaysian dishes.

But, I learned this recipe while I was in my culinary school. I didn't learn this from any of my lecturers, though... I learned this from a friend who was really, really into spicy food. My friend told me that Ayam Masak Lemak Cili Api (can I translated this as Chicken cooked with Bird Eye Chili in Coconut Gravy?) is one of the simplest dishes. It was easy. Even for a Malaysian noob cooks like me...

My friend taught me to add in 25 stalks of bird eye chili. But, I reduced it to 20 stalks instead (as not everyone in my family likes spicy food). But it was still really spicy. At least for my little sister it is. She end up sweating, and she ran straight to the kitchen with a glass of iced water to help her reduce the spiciness. It was amusing to see that happen once in a while, though... :D Okay, I should probably reduce the amount of those chili the next time I make this.

Ayam Masak Lemak Cili Api (Chicken cooked with Bird Eye Chili in Coconut Gravy)

1 whole chicken - cut into small parts.

2 stalk lemongrass - bruise the lower bulb

4# potatoes - cut into medium size

2# tomatoes - cut into wedges

1 piece asam gelugor

1 cup pure coconut milk

salt to taste

2# red onion

3# shallots

3# garlic

1 inch turmeric root

1 inch ginger root

10-25 bird eye chili - depends on your preference spice level.

1. Blend red onion, shallots, garlic, turmeric root, ginger root and bird eye chili in a food processor.

2. In a soup pot, mix in the blended ingredients with chicken, lemongrass and potato. Combine well on medium heat until the juice came out from chicken. Stir occasionally.

3. Pour in coconut milk and add in asam gelugor.

4. Cook until the potatoes are a bit tender on low heat. Add in salt to taste.

5. Add in tomatoes just before serving. Best served with hot, white rice.

Sambal Terung/Eggplant Sambal

When I was a lot younger, my friend told me that eating eggplant would make you stupid. So, I haven't been eating eggplant since then. It wasn't until I was doing my diploma when a friend told me that I was stupid for believing that eating eggplant would make me stupid. I've started to eat eggplant since then. Well, my friends loved Sambal Terung (Terung = Eggplant), and I've learnt to eat and prepare this dish from her.

Sambal Terung

3 medium sized eggplant

a pinch of salt

1/4 tsp turmeric powder

2 tbsp dried shrimp

1 red chili

1 medium sized shallot

2 clove garlic

1 - 2 tbsp chili paste

2 tbsp sugar

a pinch of salt

1. Slice eggplant diagonally. combine with salt and turmeric powder. Deep fry until soften. Remove from heat and set aside. 

2. Use mortar and pestle to pound dried shrimp, red chili, shallot and garlic (or blender).

3. Heat up a wok with oil. Transfer the pounded ingredients into wok and stir-fry continuously for a minute. Add in chili paste and stir fry for a few minutes or the oil separates from the sambal. 

4. Add in sugar and salt. Mix well.

5. Add in fried eggplant into the sambal and combine well. And they're ready to be served.