Thursday, April 24, 2008

Anything but Corny: Crispy Chicken with Corn & Tofu in Coconut Milk


I've tweaked Hong Kong's classic corn sauce (consists of corn kernels, eggs and corn starch) previously by adding garlic and cream. Now I wanna tweak it some more and South-East-Asian-ize it by adding coconut milk instead of cream, and fool myself into thinking that I am eating healthy food (despite the cholesterol from coconut milk) by adding pieces of tofu LOL! To top it off, while others garnish their beautiful dishes with chopped fresh corriander or parsley, and I've decided to garnish mine with pieces of crispy chicken! HAHA!

Recipe
(serves 4)
- 3 boneless chicken thigh fillet, remove excess fat
- 3 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
- 2 cloves of shallot, finely chopped
- a bit of ginger, crushed
- 2 eggs, beaten
- 1 can of sweet corn cream style (I use del monte)
- 3-4 tbsp of coconut milk (can be replaced with cream/milk or omit it for a healthier version)
- 1 piece of tofu, diced
- salt, pepper, sugar
- olive oil, a bit of butter

Boil chicken with (optional) a clove of garlic, 2 cloves of shallot, a bit of ginger, until the meat is thoroughly cooked, drain, set aside to remove excess water. You can keep the stock for later use. Season chicken with salt pepper, sugar, in a hot pan, heat up a bit of oil with a bit of butter, and brown the chicken's skin, set aside on kitchen towel to remove excess oil, cut into bite sized chunks if you want. Remove excess oil from the pan, leave a bit to get the sauce going. Saute garlic, ginger, shallot, add corn, add tofu, add salt, pepper, sugar to adjust taste, add coconut milk, add beaten egg, stir about for a bit, turn the heat off, pour over chicken.

Healthier alternatives
- Skip browning chicken skin
- Use skinless boneless chicken breast fillet instead
- Just saute chicken meat before adding corn (pale & clammy chicken skin just doesn't do it for me, I'd choose skinless chicken meat for this option)
- Garnish with chopped fresh corriander (I was out of fresh corriander, sob sob)
- Skip coconut milk/cream/opt for low fat milk
- Skip eggs
- Skip chicken and add more tofu for a vegetarian option
- No, skipping a meal is not hot! Just don't!

Now...while you guys are enjoying your healthier alternatives, let me look at my "garnish" once again, up close and personal *grin*

You might also like my Golden Fish Nuggets with Creamy Corn Sauce

17 comments:

daphne said...

i looveeee cream corn! I have never tried that sauce before! It looks really good with the chicken. Smart garnish I have to say.

Lia said...

keliatannya yum, jadi lafer nih ^_*

Susan @ SGCC said...

This looks awesome! I love anything with coconut milk, especially crispy chicken! ;)

Retno Prihadana said...

boleh juga nih Rit..ikutan nyicip ah

Peter M said...

Crispy indeed Rita...I'll have to try this method for chicken.

tigerfish said...

It sounds like a lot of work! Admire your patience in putting that up!
Must be tasty too :)

Anonymous said...

I could honestly eat this right off the page. It's absolutely beautiful!

taste memory said...

Love cooking w. coconut milk + creamed corn (would not have considered, but sounds yum!)

MC Rita is a new read for me....but love the inspiring ingredients....I just posted a bit about Mocha-Rita and would like to present you the "E" award becuz I do enjoy your posts!

For details you can visit me at my blog + today's post....

Little Corner of Mine said...

I like your corn and tofu in coconut milk too. That crispy chicken is an added bonus!

KC said...

Your coconut corn sauce sounds very delicious! You have given me an idea to make a corn pudding with those ingredient.

Anonymous said...

Oh yes! I'm going for the un-healthy alternative! Haha. Hey, at least I can say I had tofu for dinner! ;-)
I'm familiar with the corn sauce (I've been to HK 3 times, I'm not a novice! Hehe) but I like your version better!
You can fedex me your leftovers anytime! :-)

test it comm said...

I would never have though of combining corn and coconut milk but thus sounds really good!

SIG said...

That is lovely. I would enjoy that.

Unknown said...

hi daph! maybe you can try the classic hk style...as it is healthier :)

hi lia and mba retno...maem yokkkk..nyicip yokkk

hi susan..yeah! this is what happen when i have coconut milk leftover, i wanna drizzle it on anything!

hi peter, try try! :)

hi tigerfish...i know...the longer i play in the kitchen...the more challenge i wanted and the more complicated things became...i should watch out or i'd have time to cook and no time to eat it hehe

thanks for virtually devouring my dish, noble pig! :)

tm girl, wowww thanks for the award!....this calls for a celebration tonight! yay!

hi ching, i think we can just have the corn, tofu, santan with rice for dinner hehehe but yeah i love my "garnish" lol

hi kc! cool! can't wait to check out your corn pudding, must be yummmy!

hi kevin, thanks! same goes for your green tea white chocolate with chocolate ganache...i loveeee it and can't get over it! :)

hi zen chef, wow, where did you try the corn sauce? i am currrioussss...and what's ur fedex a/c no? one portion of (perishable) leftover coming your way haha

singairishgirl, glad you like it :)

Anonymous said...

I had the corn sauce at my friend's house in Kowloon. Homecooking haha.. over rice with bits of chicken in it. Yum!

Have you tried the stinky tofu? the street food near Prince Edward? so goood...and stinky. ;-)

Elle said...

This looks absolutely fantastic! The golden brown chicken is gorgeous.

Anonymous said...

duuhhh nekkk keliatan enakss b angett booww...:D..bagiiii...qiqiiqiq