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.

Cabbage Rolls Soup

It has been quite some times since I've update this blog. I think it has been quite a while since my last experiments with food. Remember the last time I made Cabbage Wrap with Kimchi Paste? That was like 2 years ago! I thought I should try making cabbage rolls/wraps again. Instead of using Chinese cabbage, I opt for round cabbage this time. I have to say that Chinese Cabbage was easier to work with. Instead of serving them with spicy kimchi paste, I served this one with chicken soup instead. It's very healthy and delicious! 

Cabbage Rolls Soup

1 medium round cabbage

2 chicken breast - ground

1/2 cup mushroom - chopped

1 medium onion - chopped

1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce

black pepper

2 cups chicken stock

salt & pepper to taste

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Boil cabbage leaves 2 minutes; drain.
2. In large bowl, combine ground chicken meat, chopped mushroom onion, black pepper, Worcestershire sauce and salt. Marinade in refrigerator for 30 minutes.
3. Place about 2 tbsp of meat mixture in center of each cabbage leaf (it actually depends on the size of your cabbage leaf), and roll up, tucking in ends. Steam the rolls for 10 minutes.
4. Arrange the steamed cabbage rolls in a soup pot and pour chicken stock. Simmer for another 10 minutes. Add in salt and pepper to taste.
5. Sprinkle some parsley (optional) just before serving.

Ayam Masak Merah

Ayam Masak Merah or directly translated as Red Cooked Chicken is one of my favorite side dishes of all time. But I think, I'll translated them as Chicken cooked in spicy tomato sauce. It has the sweet and sour taste from tomatoes (and apparently sugar) and slightly spicy. If you been reading this blog for a while, you will know that I'm a fan of spicy food. 

I've never learned the proper way to make this dish. But I watched my best friend cooked this dish once, and I remembered the steps and ingredients. Anyway, this dish would usually be eaten as side dish. We usually have them with our biryani or tomato rice.

Ayam Masak Merah

1/2 medium size chicken - cut into desired size

1 tsp turmeric powder

1 cinnamon stick

4 clove

2 star anise

4 cardamom

1 medium sized onion

4 shallot

3 garlic

1 inch ginger

2 tbsp chili paste

1 tbsp sugar

2 tbsp tomato paste

2 tbsp tomato ketchup

1/4 cup coconut milk

1 medium sized tomato - cut into wedges

1 medium sized onion - cut into rings

salt as needed

oil for frying

1. Heat oil under medium fire.

2. Combine chicken with turmeric powder and salt. Deep fry chicken and set aside.

3. Blend onion, shallot, garlic and ginger into a paste. Set aside.

4. In a different sauce pot, heat oil under medium fire. Add in cinnamon stick, clove, star anise and cardamom and stir until fragrant.

5. Add in the onion paste and stir for 30 second. Then, add in chili paste and stir for 1 minute. Add in one tablespoon of sugar to caramelized the chili paste. Stir until the chilies are cooked. 

6. Add in tomato paste and ketchup. You may add in some water if you want the sauce to be thin.

7. Add in the fried chicken, and combine well. Pour in the coconut milk.

8. Add in tomato and onion. You may also add in some green peas to make the dish even more attractive. Mix well. Then, it's ready to serve. Best eaten as side dishes with rice.

My mom actually told me a few other tips to make the chicken taste even more delicious! I'll share the recipe and tips once I experimented with it :)

Chicken Stock

I thought that I wanted to post something other than sweets/dessert this time. It seems that my blog is overflowing with pictures and recipes for sweets! So, this time, I decided to write on stock. According to Professional Cooking 5th Edition, Stock may defined as a clear, thin liquid flavored by soluble substance extracted from meat, poultry and fish and their bones, and from vegetables and seasoning. 

It is a liquid which we often use in sauce and soup making. Sometimes, I use them as a seasoning in preparing stir-fry vegetables and in preparing pasta dish. The common ingredients in preparing stocks are bones (the major ingredients), meat, mirepoix (combination of onions, carrots and celery), herbs and spices. Some chefs would use scraps and leftovers from other vegetables. It is a great way to not let ingredients to go to waste!

 You may prepare them and keep them in a container to be use later. Besides, I think that using chicken stock is a whole lot better and healthier than using those chicken cube or chicken powder sold in the market.

Did you make your own stock or would you prefer to use the pre-made, convenience chicken cube and such?

Chicken Stock

Leftover bones and skin from raw chicken carcass
Cold Water
Celery
Onions
Carrot
Herbs (parsley, bay leaf, peppercorn)

1. Blanch the bones - Rinse bones in cold water, place them in stockpot and cover with cold water. Bring to boil. Drain the bones and rinse them well.
2. Place the bones in the stockpot and cover with cold water. Bring to boil and reduce to simmer. Skim the scum (the impurities floating in the stock) carefully.
3. Add the mirepoix and other herbs and simmer for 3 to 4 hours. Skim the surface when necessary and add water to cover bones if necessary.
4. Strain liquid though a china cap with cheesecloth.
5. Cool the stock, and keep them refrigerate until needed.

Tips:

* Don't add in salt in stock.
* You may add in scraps or leftover vegetables into your stock. Sometimes I add in leek and mushroom stalks in my stock.

Chicken Stew with Pasta

I made this chicken stew during my cousin's visit. I figured that my cousin's kids would love chicken stew with pasta and lots of cheese... And I'm a fan of dishes with cheeses myself. This dish is very easy to prepare and time saving. I love that ooey gooey, hot melting cheese on top of the chicken stew & pasta.

Chicken Stew with Pasta

1/2 chicken - cut into desired size

40g tomato puree

2 tbsp fresh grounded black pepper

1 inch fresh ginger

1 can tomato soup

1 medium onion - cut into wedges

1 medium carrot - cut into desired size

baby corn

2 medium tomato - cut into wedges

salt to taste

4 cups pasta - boiled, tossed

1/2 cup grated mozzarella

1/2 cup grated parmesan

1/2 cup grated cheddar

1. Marinade chicken with tomato puree, black pepper and fresh ginger for 30 minutes.

2. Add in chicken into a soup pot over medium heat. Wait until the juice from chicken came out a little bit.

3. Add in tomato soup and cook for 15 minutes. Add in onion, carrot and baby corn.

4. When the stew is almost cooked, add in the tomatoes. Salt to taste.

5. To serve, add in pasta with stew. Then, sprinkle mozzarella, parmesan, and cheddar generously. Best served hot.

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.

Kimchi Chicken Roulade

I love Kimchi! There are countless of dishes that you could make with kimchi.

I had some kimchi left in the refrigerator, and I thought of preparing a chicken roulade with them. Instead of preparing a sauce to go with the roulade, I made a tomato chicken broth. I simply mixed chicken stock with tomato ketchup and soy sauce, and they're good to go. The tartness from tomato ketchup goes very well with the kimchi.

Kimchi Chicken Roulade

1 piece of chicken breast (flatten)

lemon juice

1/4 cup kimchi

1 tsp gochujang (korean chili paste)

1 tsp honey

olive oil

salt to taste

Flatten your chicken breast. Cut your breast in half length-wise to make the piece thinner. You may pound your chicken with meat mallet if you like your chicken thinner.

Marinade your chicken breast with lemon juice for an hour or longer. I learned that lemon juice would make your chicken tender. Take out your kimchi and squeeze them until let the juice came out. Then, chop them coarsely. Set aside. In a small bowl, mix gochujang with honey, and set aside.

Pat dry your chicken breast with a paper towel. Sprinkle a bit of salt on both side. Next, place chopped kimchi lengthwise along middle of breast. Using plastic wrap, tightly roll up each breast lengthwise, tucking in the ends to enclose the filling. Secure seams with wooden toothpick. Rub the rolled chicken with the mixture of gochujang and honey.

Drizzle olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Brown roulade on each side for 5 minutes total, Cover the skillet with a lid, and let it cook for another 5 minutes or until the roulade is cooked through.

Place your roulade on a cutting board, and remove the toothpick. Cut the roulade into 1 inch slice. Ready to serve. You may serve them with your desired sauce.

p/s: HAPPY NEW YEAR! How did you like the new look on this blog?

Chicken Burger with Mushroom Ragout and Sauteed Capsicum

I made this burger and thought it would go really good with mushroom ragout. The patties were made of ground chicken, chopped onion, basil, ground pepper and salt. It was topped with mushroom ragout, cheddar slice and chicken patties (though beef patties would make a better match with the ragout). Then, I sauteed some capsicum and served them as side dishes. 

Related Recipe:

• Mushroom Ragout

Pan Fried Chicken with Mushroom

I made this for my sister the other day. I didn't have much time to prepare anything else. And it almost time for her to break fast. So, I made this. Pan Fried Chicken with sauteed mushroom. It was really simple too.

Thinly slice the chicken. And soak them in lemon juice for an hour. Pat them dry. Season them with salt and pepper. Coat them with flour, egg and breadcrumb and pan fried them with little oil - as simple as that!

If you been reading this blog for a while, you would know that my sister didn't like vegetables very much. I think, mushroom was the only vegetable she ate. So I sauteed some diced white button mushroom with pepper and salt.

Ginseng Root & Yok Chok Soup

I bought a packet of Ginseng Root & Yok Chok the other day. I was actually hunting for some ingredients to prepare Samgyetang - Korean Ginseng Chicken Soup.But I thought buying a whole chicken for three people is such a waste. I thought, I should prepare a Ginseng Root & Yok Chok soup instead. 

It was really easy too.

Boil some water and add in the ingredients (Wolfberry, yok chok and ginseng root) and bring to boil (I added in some red dates too!). Then, add in chicken or any other kind of meat to simmer until meat is tender. Add salt to taste. Serve with rice. The soup taste really good too! It has a really mild taste. 

Baked Chicken Chop with Hugarian Sauce

I've been quite busy with classes lately. I haven't find my time to cook, although I had a short list on what should I be experimenting on! So, when I had nothing better to do today, I asked my mother if I could make dinner for tonight. Baked Chicken Chop was on my lists. I've been wanting to try them for quite some times. I wanted to practice my deboning technique too. However, I forgot to buy myself some bread crumb. So, I toast some bread, and blend them finely to make my own bread crumb.

Baked Chicken Chop

2 Chicken legs - debone

1/2 nos Lemon (juice)

1 cup Bread crumbs

1 tbsp Salt and black pepper (combined)

1 eggs

1/2 cups flour

1. Marinate chicken legs in lemon juice for 2 hours.

2. Mix bread crumbs with salt and pepper.

3. Toss juice from chicken.

4. Coat chicken with standard breading procedure (flour, eggs, bread crumbs).

Hungarian Sauce

30 gm Minced onion

1 tbsp Paprika

10 gm butter

500 ml chicken veloute.

1. Sweat onion with paprika in butter until soft.

2. Add chicken veloute, and simmer for 10 minutes.

3. Strain.

Chicken Mayo Tortilla Wrap with Tomato and Olive Salad

I was thinking that I need to eat something healthy. Well, it worries me that I haven't lose any weight. It's hard to discipline myself to stay in diet while staying home. My mother is a good cook. She never fails to lure me to eat more than necessary XD

So, when my mother went out with my brother, I made myself some Chicken Mayo Tortilla Wrap with Tomato and Olive Salad. This dish is very simple and easy to prepare. If I had to make myself a bento, I will definitely add in this dish in my bento box.

Chicken Mayo Tortilla Wrap with Tomato and Olive Salad

Chicken Mayo Tortilla Wrap

Tortilla

Chicken Fillet - Shredded

Sliced Cheddar Cheese

Capers - Chopped

Mayonnaise

Lettuce

Salt and Pepper

1. Mix mayonnaise with capers and shredded chicken fillet. Add in salt and pepper to taste.

2. Arrange lettuce, cheese and chicken on tortilla and wrap!

3. Cut into rounds to serve

Tomato and Olive Salad

1. Heat oil in the skillet over medium-high heat. Add in the tomatoes and stir until they're wrinkled, about 5 minutes.

2. Mix in the olives season with salt and pepper. 

3. Mix the tomatoes and olives with lettuce before serving.

Spicy Cinnamon Chicken

I meant to prepare some Peri-Peri Chicken for dinner when I realized that I am out of paprika, and I forgot to buy some lemon. You see, I been having this recipe since 2 years ago, while I was taking International Cuisine course in my culinary school.

Anyway, I was halfway done with my Peri-Peri marinade when I realized that two ingredients were missing. I decided to replace the lemon juice with some vinegar. Then, I found some cinnamon powder, and decided to add in some of them into the marinade. I heard that cinnamon goes well with chicken, but never had the chance to pair them together. So this is my chance.

It was delicious. The chicken I mean. The sweet smell of cinnamon was everywhere in the kitchen (and the living room). It blends really well with the chicken and I just love the spiciness of the chicken! 

Recipe 

1 chicken breast

Marinade:
3 fresh hot chili peppers – chopped
4 tbsp vinegar
5 tbsp oil
1 tbsp cayenne pepper or red pepper, or one tablespoon dried red pepper flakes
2 tbsp cinnamon powder
1 tsp minced garlic
salt to taste 

 Procedure

Combine all ingredients. Grind and mix the ingredients into a smooth paste. Adjust the ratio of cayenne pepper to paprika to taste.  Rub marinade onto meat and allow marinating in a glass bowl for thirty minutes before cooking. Put them in the oven for 40 minutes over 200°Celsius.

Gai Hor Bai Toey/Deep Fried Chicken wrapped in Pandan Leaves

I've always wanted to try making this Gai Hor Bai Toay. I've learned them while I was still in culinary school, and there was one Thai Chef coming to our school to demonstrate a few of Thailand cuisine. I thought that the wrapping procedure looks fun! A few of my classmate did get the experience to wrap the chicken with those Pandan/Screwpine leaves. I didn't. Well, we didn't have enough Pandan leaves to begin with. 

Ingredients

500g Chicken

60g Pandan Leaves

150ml Cooking Oil

100g Palm Sugar/Brown Sugar

20g Salt

3-5 nos Pandan Leaves - blended

Pandan/Screwpine Leaves

Toothpick

1. Cut the chicken into a small size. Then, marinate with cooking oil, palm sugar, salt, oyster sauce and with blended pandan leaves. Let the chicken rest for 10 minutes.

2. After 10 minutes, put the chicken in the pandan leaves. Wrap it.

3. Steam the chicken for a while (about 2 to 5 minutes). You don't want to steam them too long, or your chicken gets dry. Then, deep fry the chicken.

Image from asianonlinerecipe

 
Sauce

100ml Water

50gm Shallot - finely chopped

40g Garlic - finely chopped

50g Brown Sugar

50ml Fish Sauce

50ml Dark Soy Sauce

100ml Coconut Milk

40g Dried Chili Powder

2 tbsp Tamarind Juice

1. Combine all ingredients in the pot, and simmer them until thick

I guess, the hardest part of making this dish is the wrapping part. I get confused, and I used too many toothpick in the first batch in wrapping them. After a few practice, the wrapping gets a lot easier.

Have fun!

Black Pepper Chicken and Mushroom in Pita

I'm not a big fan of kebabs or anything which includes pita bread. During my practical training, I used to prepare the ingredients for chicken and mushroom in pita. Once in a while I would sneak to taste the chicken and mushroom while filling them up in the pita pocket. It was delicious! However, I'd never had the chance to learn the complete recipes.

I remember onions, chicken, and mushroom as the main ingredients. Using these ingredients, I decided to make my own chicken and mushroom pita, and come out with black pepper chicken and mushroom in pita.

Ingredients:

1 no      Onion - Chopped
1 clove  Garlic - Chopped
400g     Chicken - Cubed
400g     Mushroom - Cubed
2 nos    Bay leaf
dash     Oregano
5g        Ground Black Pepper
            Salt as needed
            Corn Starch


Directions:

1. Preheat the oil in pan. Add in bay leaf, onion and garlic. Saute until soft.
2. Add in mushroom and chicken and stir frequently.
3. Add some oregano and ground black pepper. Stir in the corn starch, and season with salt.
4. Cut the pita bread, and serve the chicken in the pita pocket.