Party Perfect: Crispy Chicken & Veggie Dumplings

Golden delicious, super cute looking & highly addictive. Perfect snack to serve your guests at a party. It's not hard to make (except the deep frying part - I know, I know) & the veggie in the filling gives it a crunch & sweetness as if there were chunks of prawns. Genius!

This is my helper's recipe. She is da bomb, she rules my kitchen! I know, I am soooo blessed.

Recipe

Filling:

- 2 chicken legs (or breast) filled, skin removed & minced

- 1/2 cup frozen veggie (cubed carrots, corn & peas)

- 1 egg yolk 

- 1 tsp corn starch

- 1/3 tsp salt

- a pinch of chicken stock powder (optional)

- a pinch of sugar

Skin:

- spring roll skin (square ones), cut into 4

- oil for frying

Mix filling ingredients in a bowl. Prepare spring roll skin. Add 1 heaping tsp of filling in the middle of wrapper & bring the 4 corners together to form a pocket. Deep fry just before serving. Serve with sweet chilli sauce or mayo.

The cute yummies shall be gone in no time.

Crunch crunch crunch.

PS. Drink lots of water or herbal tea after sinful treat ;)

Just A Simple, Healthy, Thrifty and Tasty Menu

I love one pot/one dish meals (I am lazy like that), and I have to learn from SC's mom to make the most out of a minimum budget. She whips up multiple dishes menu daily, three meals a day minimum!
This is an example of a her simple lunch menu.
Meat, fish, vegetable, rice.
Very well balanced, easy to make, and inexpensive.
She is my guru!

Stir fried chicken with ginger, garlic and scallion.


Pan fried grass carp, simply seasoned with salt and pepper. You can also steam this if you don't want your flat to be perfumed by fish oil :D


And choy sum stir fried with garlic and chinese wine.
Served with fluffy jasmine rice.
I have a longgg way to learn to be able to create thrifty, healthy and tasty meals like her.
Give me a shout if you need any of the recipe.

Hope your Monday's yummy.
Mine gives me headaches T_T

Roasted Corn, Chicken and Coriander Soup

Summer's too hot for soups?
Hmpfh. I don't think so.
But I do prefer clear soup instead of the rich and creamy ones for summer.
This one started with a minimalist quick chicken broth, to which I added roasted corn, coriander and some citrus juice at the last minute.

Recipe
- 1 chicken, broken down to quarters, excess fat removed
- 1 clove of garlic, crushed
- 3 cloves of shallot, thinly sliced
- a big bunch of fresh coriander, chopped
- 4 ears of corn (or you can used canned corn kernels)
- 1 lemon
- cooking oil, butter, salt, pepper, sugar, nutmeg, water (or chicken stock if you want it more intense)

In a stock pot, saute chicken, garlic and shallot in a bit of oil and butter until fragrant. Add hot water (or chicken stock), bring to boil and simmer for 10 minutes to make the chicken stock soup base. While the chicken soup is simmering, slather corn with some butter and grill until golden brown. Remove corn kernels, season with salt and pepper, then set aside. Check on the chicken soup base, season with salt, pepper, sugar, and nutmeg. Turn off heat, add chopped coriander, squeeze some lemon juice, add roasted corn kernels and serve. You can add a bit of fresh chopped chillies if you want more heat.

I love mine with buttered toasts or sandwiches and a big glass of iced tea.

Honey Lemon Basil Chicken Pie

Underneath this dramatic exterior...there's something sweet trying to come out.


I asked for some ideas for summer-friendly savory pies on twitter, and it's so amazing how V, a food loving pal and I shared the same thought! We both thought of lemon chicken pie! Sweet, savory and tangy at the same time. It's perfect!


The filling is very easy to make and I used some leftover puff pastry I had in my fridge. If you want to make your own pie crust from scratch, you can use Jamie Oliver's recipe that I've tried before.


Recipe
Filling
- 1 boneless skinless chicken thigh fillet, cut into bite sized chunks
- juice and zest of 1 lemon
- 1 clove garlic, crushed
- honey, salt, pepper, sugar, nutmeg, corn starch, water, cooking oil, butter
- fresh basil
Marinate chicken chunks in salt, pepper, sugar, nutmeg, lemon zest, a bit of lemon juice and corn starch for about 15 minutes. Saute garlic in a bit of butter and oil until fragrant, add chicken chunks, let cook for a bit, add honey, lemon juice, cook until the chicken's a bit caramelized, taste, adjust seasoning if necessary, add some chopped fresh basil, add corn starch which has been diluted in water to thicken the sauce, set aside.

Pie Crust
- Defrosted puff pastry
- 1 beaten egg
- butter/oil to grease pie pan
Preheat oven to 200C. On a lightly floured surface, roll puff pastry until it's about 2 mm thick and wide enough to cover the pie pan/pot, make two pieces, one for the bottom (bigger), one for the top (smaller).  Butter/grease the oven proof pie pan/pot, place rolled puff pastry gently, don't cut the excess yet, add filling, trim the excess pastry but leave about 1 cm. Brush the edges with beaten egg, place the topping, trim to fit the pan, seal with the excess pastry of the bottom, brush the top with beaten egg, poke a few holes, bake for about 40-50 minutes or until golden brown, serve with fresh basil.

Whew!
You can skip the whole pie-making extravaganza and just make the filling and eat it with a carb of your choice ;)

Ham & Cheese Chicken Roulade FAIL 失敗的芝士火腿雞肉卷

Look it in the eye.
The face of (another) failure.
一睇就知係失敗之作..

One day, I saw Athena's ham and cheese chicken roulade, I love the idea and decided that I was going to make it.
有日我見到Athena整芝士火腿雞肉卷, 見佢整得咁靚, 我就試吓啦


I am very bad at following recipes, I pretty much just looked at the pictures briefly and I was convinced that I could do it. I was wrong.
其實我唔係好識睇食譜, 多數都係睇住張相就黎整..

I used a slice of ham and a slice of cheese for half a chicken thigh, so I didn't have enough chicken to cover the filling, I couldn't seal the chicken properly and the cheese leaked all over the place...
整整吓先發現件雞唔夠大件...包唔埋..

Yikes! Taste-wise, it was delicious, since I seasoned the chicken really generously, and the skin turned nicely golden. Anyway, I will try again, I will succeed, and I will post the recipe.
可惜, D埳溜晒出黎, 雖然唔好睇, 但係食起上黎又好好食喎!

What a determination. Atta girl.

Have a delicious weekend la!
大家如果想試整就去Athena個blog睇吓啦

Mie Ayam Jamur with the Best Homemade Egg Noodles 自家制印尼雞麵

I have a constant craving for mie ayam (Indonesian chicken noodle), and so far, I haven't been happy with all the ready made noodles that I've tried. There's one Indonesian restaurant in Hong Kong that serves mie ayam with homemade egg noodles just like what we have in Indonesia, but I prefer a different type of chicken topping, which I can make at home, but they won't sell me their handmade noodles. This is really frustrating! I want the perfect combo! Perfect noodles and perfect topping! Is that too much to ask? (It probably is. Heheheh)
我對印尼雞麵有種情有獨中, 有份情, 食過現成個D好多都唔係咁掂. 係香港有間都係自制既雞麵, 都係用蛋做嘅, 但係我唔係咁鐘意佢個餸. 可惜佢地冇得浄買面..

Luckily, a good friend of mine, Ieie, was willing to share her uncle's homemade egg noodles recipe. He uncle was a mie ayam vendor in Indonesia. Wow! How perfect! So, one fine day, we braved ourselves and tried to make the noodles (actually Ieie made the noodles, we just "helped" i.e. annoyed her). We also prepared some backup store-bought noodles, in case we failed miserably.
好彩有個朋友開鋪, 係印尼轉整哩個麵, 就叫埋我老友去我屋企一齊整啦


That's baby Marcus, wanting to grab a strand of the homemade noodles.
傲B都話相整埋一份..XD

Here's the recipe...neatly written on Ieie's notebook :)
下面就係秘傳嘅食譜, 要問准好多人先放得上黎架, 大家整嘅時候真係要心存感激呀!!

(we made half of the recipe, serves 4)
我地將個食譜除左半, 四人食

- 1 kg of all purpose flour (for best result, we used Indonesian flour, Cakra Kembar)
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- 4 egg white, 6 egg yolk, beat together
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tbsp alkaline (air ki)
- water (room temperature)
- corn starch for rolling and to keep noodles from sticking
- a big pot of boiling water with a touch of oil to cook the noodles

- 1kg 麵粉 (最好可以用印尼麵粉)
- 2 湯匙 植物油
- 4 隻蛋白, 6個蛋黃, 一齊攪均
- 1 茶匙 鹽
- 1 湯匙 食用碱水
- 水 (室温)
- 生粉 (用黎整到冇咁癡)
- 一鍋熱水, 用黎"拾"麵
 
Mix eggs, oil, salt, alkaline and a bit of water in a bowl.
將蛋, 油, 鹽, 碱水同少少水係個碗度攪均


Add 1/3 of the flour, mix...
將1/3嘅麵粉加入, 攪拌


...gradually add more flour while keep mixing it into a sticky dough.
再一路攪一路落麵粉



Knead the dough while keep adding more flour, keep kneading until the dough is no longer sticky (it took quite a while, more than 20 minutes for us, beware of sore arms)
係咁打個麵糰同加麵粉, 直到唔"癡"為止, 大概20分鐘



If you have a pasta maker, this is a good time to use it. Since we don't have one, we rolled the noodles manually.
如果有麵條機以下就好用啦..唔係真係好麻煩...好似我地咁..手動..


Baby Marcus refused to sit alone, he wanted to be a part of it.
傲B又黎攪攪震..

SC helped rolling the dough really thin...
SC就幫手整左幾野, 大力真係有用架係哩度..


...it was rolled into my favorite shape...a long and large amoeba. Heheheh. Keep adding a bit of corn flour to prevent the dough from sticking.
繼續加生粉

Fold the dough...
打, 壓, 摺



...and cut into noodles.
最後, 亦都係最難嘅部分, 切麵



Perfect noodles! Add a bit of corn flour from time to time to keep the noodles from sticking.
落D生粉等佢地唔好黏埋



Bring a large pot of water to boil, add a couple tbsp of oil, dump the noodles in.
煲水, 放入去


Once it's come to a boil, drain the noodles immediately. Overcooking them would be disastrous!
一熟就倒晒D水佢

Place in a bowl, add a bit of vegetable oil, get ready to serve.
加D油食得啦


It was a huge success! No alkaline smell, just the right amount of chewiness. It stays springy even when it's cold. I need to make this again soon.
估唔到攪得掂, 有碱水味, 仲好彈口!

I served the noodles with this chicken mushroom topping.
餸就係蘑菇雞

\
- 2 chicken thigh fillet, diced
- 1 cup of straw mushrooms, cut into chunks
- 3 cloves of garlic, minced
- 2 shallot, thinly sliced
- fish sauce, light soy sauce, pepper, a touch of Indonesian sweet soy sauce (kecap manis), vegetable oil
- crispy shallot and scallion for garnish
Saute garlic and shallot in hot oil, add mushroom chunks, add chicken chunks, season, and ready to serve. Prepare the topping ahead of the noodles.


To assemble, add 1 tsp sesame oil, 2 tsp vegetable oil, 1 tsp light soy sauce, 1 tbsp fish sauce into individual bowls, add noodles, mix well, add chicken and mushroom topping, serve with chicken broth on the side (I used store bought chicken stock), garnish with crispy shallot and scallion. Add boiled choy sum, dumplings or meat balls. I served mine with fried chicken and shrimp balls.

It's hard work, but it's totally worth it! I ate two bowls of this perfection! I want it again now.

一個字, 好食, 大家都試吓啦..

Bakso Goreng Kuah - Fried Chicken & Shrimp Balls in Broth 炸蝦雞波

I made these fried chicken and shrimp balls as an "accessory" to the handmade noodle feast we had last weekend. They're not yet as good as the ones we buy off the streets in Indonesia (I just don't know how they make those crispy-on-the-outside-yet-fluffy-and-airy-on-the-inside "meat" balls), but they were definitely good enough to satisfy my fried balls cravings. Pork would've been better, but since our helper eats with us and she doesn't eat pork, I made chicken ones instead.
個炸雞波其實係個印尼雞麵嘅配菜, 但係妹仔大過主人婆, 所以佢今日出先 XD 老老實實, 冇出面個D整得咁好食, 唔知佢地個D點整可以整到咁有口感嘅, 又彈牙㗎呢? 本來用豬肉肯定會好食D, 但係工人姐姐唔食得, 所以用左雞肉啦.


The recipe is adapted from Lidia's.

- 200 gr ground pork/chicken

- 200 gr small shrimp meat, roughly chopped

- 3 cloves garlic, 1 shallot, minced (and I didn't use green onion)

- 1 tbsp oyster sauce

- 4 tbsp fish sauce

- 2 tbsp white pepper

- 1 tsp sugar

- 2 tbsp corn flour

- 1 egg

- oil for frying

Lidia的食譜:
- 200gf 雞/豬肉
- 200gr 切碎的蝦肉
- 3 舊蒜頭, 1個紅蔥頭, 切碎
- 1 湯匙蠔油
- 4 湯匙魚露
- 2 湯匙胡椒
- 1 湯匙糖
- 2 湯匙生粉
- 一隻蛋
- 大量嘅油, 要嚟炸野

Mix all ingredients in a mixing bowl, heat up oil in a frying pot, shape mixture using two tablespoon and fry until golden brown. I use store bought chicken stock for the broth, garnished with chopped scallion and crispy shallot.
攪均晒D野, 整熱D油, 唔好咁大火, 如果唔係出面燒焦裏面仲生.., 你可以用兩隻匙一交一替咁整D波波, 咁就唔使整到成手都係. 最後就煮雞湯, 攪掂!

Oven Grilled Sate Ayam (Chicken Satay)

I've tried charcoal grilling sate in my tiny Hong Kong flat before, read all about the madness and the recipe here. But this time, there's a baby in my tiny flat, and I am just too lazy busy to be fiddling with charcoal grill, I just made oven grilled sate to satisfy my sudden sate craving.

Were they good? Not too bad. Nothing compared to charcoal grilled sate, but enough to make my brain stop saying "sate sate sate sate chocolate sate sate sate fried chicken sate sate sate..." at least for a few days.

I'll deal with the chocolate and the fried chicken cravings later ^_^

Steamed Chicken in Shrimp Sauce

Oh no. I might be addicted to shrimp sauce.
It makes every single stupid simple thing taste so bloody delicious it's just unbelievable.
This one's just an easy and simple steamed chicken dish, which would be as boring as my weekdays without that magical touch of shrimp paste, which some of you might think is stinky.
Opps.
I love stinky.
It's like a perfume to me.

Recipe
- 2 boneless chicken thigh fillet, skin removed, cut into bite sized chunks
- a sprig of scallion, chopped
- 1 or 2 pieces of red chilli, chopped
- 2 tsp shrimp sauce (I used Lee Kum Kee)
- pepper, sugar, oil, 1 tsp corn starch
Mix chicken meat with shrimp sauce, pepper, a bit of sugar, a bit of oil and corn starch, marinate for at least 15 minutes if you have time (the longer the better). Before serving, steam for 10 minutes or until the chicken chunks are thoroughly cooked. Serve with warm steamed rice.

Stinky delicious.
I meant fragrant.

Oyster Sauce Chicken Frozen Roti Pratha "Pizza"

My "TV snack" for last night's Oscars, along with a bag of Caramel Corn.
I am still full of guilt now. So guilty, I contemplated going on a daily healthy sandwich lunch diet, but fortunately and unfortunately, I've failed even before I've started. Classic me.
Now, the "pizza", very easy. I went more Asian inspired this time, just because I had some leftover chicken cooked in oyster sauce.

"Recipe"
- Chicken in oyster sauce (bite sized chicken chunks stir fried in garlic, shallot, ginger, oyster sauce, sugar and pepper)
- mozzarella and parmesan cheese
- oyster sauce
- freshly chopped scallion and crispy shallot
- frozen roti pratha
- butter
Preheat oven to 200C, brush frozen pratha with a bit of butter, bake in the oven (or place in non stick frying pan on stove top) until a bit puffy, place on greased baking sheet. Add a bit of oyster sauce on the roti pratha, add chicken chunks, add grated cheeses and bake until golden brown. Garnish with freshly chopped scallion and crispy shallot.

I think I enjoyed my snacks more than the show last nite...did you watch? What was your TV snack?

Baked Cheesy Pumpkin, Chicken, Mussels & Rice with Bacon Bits

This is why I like dumping stuff into my oven.

Uh huh!

It all started with one leftover small Japanese pumpkin.
It'd be lonely in the oven, so I added a chicken leg fillet I had in my fridge.
Then I saw a pack of mussels, already defrosted.
Ah, join the fun please...
...and why stop there?
Some bits of bacon won't hurt, right?

Recipe
- 1 small Japanese pumpkin, peeled, cut into similarly sized chunks
- 2 Chicken leg fillet with skin cut into 2 or 4 chunks (too bad I only had one, it wasn't enough)
- Some mussels (if you have fresh, still in shell, nice...but you gotta clean them. Mine aren't as nice but they were already clean, ready for dumping)
- 3 slices of bacon, cut into bits
- 4 cloves of garlic, crushed, don't need to peel
- 4 shallot, peeled, cut into chunks
- Butter, olive oil, salt, pepper, sugar, rosemary
- Cooked rice
- Cheeses (I used grated mozzarella and parmesan)

Preheat oven to 250C while preparing ingredients. Place pumpkin chunks, chicken (skin side up), garlic, onion, and bacon bits in a baking dish. Add olive oil, dots of butter, salt, pepper and sugar (season generously), mix well with your hands until everything's coated with some oil and butter, and seasoned well. Bake until chicken skin's golden and pumpkin chunks are tender. Add mussels about 5 minutes before done.

This could already be a delicious dinner, but if you're mad like me (or you have some spare cheese to melt...), you can go further...

Butter a baking dish, or small pretty "le creuset inspired, made in China" individual baking dishes like me, add cooked rice, add various bits of the baked dish, top with cheese and bake until the cheeses melt and golden.


Uh huh! Uh huh!

Ahem, sorry for being pushy, obnoxious and shameless...but...
Remember my adorable son (as his mom, I am highly biased, but I think he is pretty cute)?

He still needs more vote for Huggies HK photo contest.
If you haven't voted but you want to, here are the links:
1. Like this page: http://www.facebook.com/HuggiesHK
2. Like his picture here: http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=179319918779117&set=a.179319748779134.44752.175747015803074&theater

Thanks so so so so so muchhhh for your support and have a yummy weekend!

Chicken & Shrimp Balls FAIL

Another FAIL.
I've been missing bakso goreng (fried pork & shrimp balls) from my hometown so much, I tried to recreate it, but it didn't work out. I've tried twice, and I've failed both attempts miserably.
Mine turned out too...fluffy. They resemble mini fritters more than the dense and slightly chewy fried balls with chunky bits.
Argh!

This is what I've done:
- 1 chicken thigh fillet
- a cup of shrimps
- a chunk of jicama (bengkoang)
- 1 small clove garlic
- 1 shallot
- 3 tbsp flour
- 1 tbsp corn flour
- 1 tsp baking powder (I dunno why I added this? Maybe this is the thing that makes the balls too fluffy?)
- salt, pepper, sugar, oyster sauce
- 1 egg
- a bit of oil (I dunno why I added this too)
I minced and mixed everything in food processor, not too fine, leaving some chunky bits, scoop a bit of the mixture at a time using two teaspoon and deep fry in hot oil.

The taste was ok, but let's face it, the above flavors could hardly go wrong. But the texture...it's just...not it!
Clearly I must have done something really wrong. What did I do to ruin it?

Does anyone have good bakso goreng recipe? Do share. Please, pretty please? T_T

I'm desperate.

Black Bean & Garlic Grilled Chicken Fillet

Weekdays. Brrffffftttt.
Mondays. Pffft.
Not in the mood for cooking.
But just in case you're tired of all the delicious fancy schmancy restaurant food you had on weekend, or simply went totally out of budget, overspent everything on food (I was really just talking about me), here's something quick, easy, won't-cost-an-arm-and-a-leg, and tasty.


"Recipe"
- Chicken leg fillet, with skin on (allow minimum 1 fillet per person)
- Black bean and garlic sauce (I used Lee Kum Kee)

Preheat oven to 200C, rub chicken with black bean and garlic sauce, place chicken in oven proof tray, grill skin up until the skin's golden brown and the meat's cooked through.

Consume with your choice of carb & veggie, I recommend the good ol' steamed rice...(err...did I have any veggie with this dish? Ahem!).

Happy almost-the-end-of-Monday, y'all!

Curry Chicken & Frozen Roti Pratha "Pot Pie"

Look at this...

...is it one of those tasty soup with buttery flaky puff pastry?
Is it a pot pie?
I'd think so too, but this isn't.

The flaky buttery top is made of frozen roti pratha and under it...curry chicken!
If you want to make something that looks impressively pretty, tastes absolutely delicious and extremely easy to make. This one's for you.

Recipe
- 1 frozen roti pratha (per serving/per pot) and a bit of butter
- 2 chicken leg fillet, remove skin, cut into bite size chunks
- 2 clove garlic, crushed
- 1 cm ginger, crushed
- 2 shallot, thinly sliced
- 1 lemongrass, sliced into 5cm long pieces
- a few kaffir lime leaves
- a cup coconut milk
- flour (optional), hot water, cooking oil, salt, pepper, sugar, ground corriander, cumin
or you can skip all of these spices and just cook the chicken chunks with your favorite curry paste, red, green, or yellow, and coconut milk.

Preheat oven to 200C. Saute aromatics in some hot oil, add chicken chunks until they're a bit browned, add spices and seasoning, add coconut milk, thicken with some flour to give your "pie filling" some volume if you wish, or skip it and let coconut milk do all the thickening. Pour curry chicken into an oven proof pot, place frozen roti pratha on top, brush with butter, bake until roti pratha is golden brown.

Grab a spoon, push the buttery and flaky frozen pratha into your thick and rich curry for maximum enjoyment.
Licking lips optional.
:)

Ayam Cah Mete - Chicken & Cashew Nuts Stir Fry

This dish appears in most Chinese menu in Indonesia, but I hardly (if not never) see it in Hong Kong. I love the hearty chicken chunks with the crunch and nuttiness (duh!) of the cashew nuts. Cauliflower is quite a common addition to this dish, but I decided to add large green chillies for an extra kick of heat, and refreshing tang.

Recipe
- 2 boneless thigh chicken fillet, remove skin and cut into bite sized pieces
- 1/2 onion, thinly sliced
- 1 garlic, crushed
- 1/2 cm ginger, crushed
- 1 large green chilli, remove seeds, cut into chunks
- a handful of roasted cashew nuts
- vegetable oil, corn flour, water, light soy sauce, sugar, white pepper

Mix chicken chunks with corn starch, light soy sauce, sugar and white pepper. Saute garlic, ginger, onion and green chilli in hot vegetable oil until fragrant, add chicken chunks, add cashew nuts, adjust seasoning if necessary, add water if you want more "sauce", add corn starch diluted in water if you want the "sauce" to be thicker. Serve with steamed rice.

If you see a "foggy" photograph again such as this one, it's probably because I couldn't find a decent photo to post.
Opppps. Sorry ^_^'

Chicken & Corn in XO Sauce

Hong Kong is a place where most of us don't really have to buy stuff in bulk and keep them at home. In fact, most of us can't afford to buy in bulk. It's not the money...it's the space! Everything's tiny mini mini here, I barely have enough space for my ass :D

However, I try to always keep a few things at home for some days where I don't have time am too lazy to shop. Instant noodles, some random frozen snacks, frozen chicken thigh fillet, assorted sauces and some random canned food. This was one of those days. I was even too lazy to get outta my pjs and dine out.

Just grab something out of the kitchen cupboard, the fridge, and put them together.

Recipe
- 2 chicken thigh fillet, remove skin and excess fat, cut into bite sized chunks
- 1 can of corn kernels, drain
- XO sauce (can be purchased from most Asian grocery stores)
- soy sauce, white pepper, corn starch, sugar, vegetable oil

Mix 2 heaping tsp corn starch, soy sauce, a touch of sugar and white pepper with the chicken chunks. Heat up a bit of vegetable oil in a frying pan, add chicken pieces, let them caramelize a bit, add corn kernels, add XO sauce, cook until you see a bit of brownage on the corn kernels too, serve with rice.

What do you keep in your pantry for lazy days?

Chinese Drunken Chicken Soup

If you've never tried this soup...
Please do.
Seriously.
It has just become my favorite Chinese soup!

It's a classic confinement tonic for women who just gave birth, but confinement or not...I love this soup! Plus, unlike other type of slow cooked soup which takes forever to make...this takes less than one hour to whip up!
Fast, easy, delicious & warming for this cooler days....perfect!


Recipe
- Half a chicken, chopped into pieces
- a handful of red dates
- wood ear fungus, soaked in water until soft and sliced thinly
- glutinous rice wine, about half a cup
- 3 cm ginger, sliced thinly
- 2-3 bowls of hot water
- vegetable oil for sauteeing, salt to season

Saute ginger and chicken in a bit of vegetable oil, add sliced wood ear fungus, add glutinous rice wine, cook for a few minutes, add 2-3 bowls of hot water, let cook for about 20 minutes, or until all the flavors merged, season with salt and serve.

A bowl of liquid gold! Slurp!

Ayam Kecap - Chicken in Soy Sauce

I wasn't feeling very well yesterday and wanted something warm, something comforting, but yet still easy to put together (typical me)...and suddenly I thought of this dish I grew up with, ayam kecap (chicken in soy sauce), cooked the way it's cooked at home, again minimum ingredients, maximum deliciousness.


Recipe
- one whole chicken, cut into parts (or you can buy the ones that's already butchered, or you can use chicken fillet), remove excess skin and fatty bits, keep some skin though, it makes the soup really luscious
- 2 cloves of garlic, crushed
- hot water, soy sauce, white pepper, salt

Add chicken pieces into a pot, our hot water just enough to cover the chicken pieces, pour about 3/4 ladle of soy sauce, half a teaspoon of salt, a dash of pepper, bring to boil. Once boiling, simmer under low heat until the chicken meat is super tender and the meat absorbs the flavor of soy sauce (which will happen in no time if you used chicken fillet). Since I used a whole chicken and I have a pressure cooker, I pressure cook it for 20 minutes...and done.

Sometimes it is tempting to add this and that...five spice powder, sugar, shaoxing wine, oyster sauce, vegetables, tofu , etc etc etc...but really...you don't need any. This time I successfully kept it as minimum as it originally was and it's finger smacking delicious!

Serve with steamed rice. Back home, my sister and I would break down every single piece of meat off the chicken and gnaw on each bone with our bare hands...eat plates after plates of rice...with a few pieces of kerupuk...our legs up on our chairs, sweat dripping down our backs. Not too elegant perhaps, but what a memorable pleasure! I'm now too pregnant to eat with my legs up my chair...but I still used my hands to wrestle with my dinner last nite and it made me feel a wholeee lot better.

Hope you'd enjoy this ridiculously easy dish too :)