Kung Po Chicken

Ingredients:
Chicken 500g, cubed
15 dried chilli (originally recipe called for 30!!)
2 garlic clove, sliced
10 slices ginger
2 stalks spring onions, cut into 1 inch lengths
1 tsp sichuan pepper corns
1/2 cup toasted cashews
optional:
1 red capsicum, sliced
1 green capsicum, sliced

Marinade:
Season the chicken with 2 tsp light soya sauce, 2 tsp cornflour, 1 egg white.
Stir well and marinate for at least 20 mins.

Gravy:

3 tbsp Chinese cooking wine 

3 tbsp sugar 

2 tbsp black vinegar 

2 tbsp water 

1 1/2 tbsp light soya sauce
1 1/2 tbsp black soya sauce

1/2 tbsp sesame oil 

1/2 tbsp cornflour 

stir well to combine

Method:
Heat pan and add 2 tbsp oil. When it's hot, add chillies and fry til they are black and smoking. (warning: the smoke will make you cough and choke!!)
Toss in garlic, ginger and peppercorns and fry for 1-2 mins.
Add chicken and fry til 90% cooked.
Add capsicum and gravy and stir fry til chicken is cooked (when you can cut through the meat quite easily).
Add spring onion and nuts and stir through.
Serve with rice.

comments: this is the definitative dish to cure any pangs of homesickness...for me at least! Love love it!!!! Essential ingredients: sichuan peppercorns, dried chillies, spring onions and cashews. Without any of these, the dish seems incomplete...perhaps it's just cos that's the way my uncles cooked it...my mom's three brothers all had their own zi char stalls..strange that i never thought of asking my uncles for any cooking tips...til now! hmmmm...

Mrs Lee's Ayam Siow

another scrumptious recipe from the new Mrs Lee Cookbook!

Ayam Siow
(grilled chicken served in a thick tamarind sauce)

ingredients:
1 whole chicken or chicken parts (drumsticks, thighs and wings)
2 tbsp oil
½ cucumber, sliced

Marinade
5 rounded tbsp tarmarind pulp
450ml water
10 shallots (i used 450g of red onions)
2 tbsp coriander powdr
120 g sugar
1 ½ tbsp dark soy sauce
1 ½ tbsp vinegar
2 ¼ tbsp salt
1 ½ tsp pepper

Preparation
1. Prepare the tamarind marinade with the 450ml water. (Soak for 15 mins and then sieve. Alternatively, buy the ready to use, de-seeded type)
2. Peel and finely pound the shallots.
3. Toast the coriander powder in a toaster oven or by dry frying over a low flame.
4. In a large pot, mix all the ingredients together for the marinade into the tamarinde marinade.
5. Cut the chicken pieces and rinse. Place chicken in the marinade. Cover and refridgerate for 12 hours or overnight.

Method:
Place the entire pot of chicken on the stove. Bring to the boil, then simmer until the meat is tender (about 30 minute)
Remove and drain the chicken, returning the marinade to the pot.
Simmer uncovered until the sauce thickens
Grill the chicken til golden brown. (as you can see from the picture, the chicken was black instead of 'gold' cos i forgot about them in the grill! :P)
Serve the thicken sauce over the chicken. Garnish with sliced cucumbers

comments: this recipe was invented in the time before refrigeration and the herbs and spices were actually able to preserve the chicken quite a long time....up to a week it seems! Amazing, isn't it?? And needless to say, it is extremely flavourful!

Spicy apricot chicken

ingredients:
750g chicken thigh fillets, cut into 5 cm pieces
5 tbs plain flour + 1/2 tsp salt, dash of pepper and cumin powder
2 tbs oil
2 tsp red curry paste
415 g can apricot halves in light syrup
1/2 cup chicken stock/ water
chopped basil/ coriander for garnish, optional

method:
light coat chicken in the flour mixture.
Heat oil in a saucepan, add curry paste and stir fry over low heat for 1 minute. Add chicken and cook over medium heat for 2-3 minutes, until chicken is golden.

Add apricots with juice and stock to the pan. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 10 minutes, or until the chicken is tender.

Serve hot with couscous or steamed rice.

comments: I love recipes which have few ingredients and are quick to dish up!! Ha....First...a word about the red curry paste...i used 'Mae Ploy' brand...cos my second sister who used to run a Thai eatery swears by it.....as you can see from the picture, I used some chicken thigh with the bone in instead of fillets... so it took around 20 minutes, instead of 10 for the chicken to be cooked. Tastewise?? Spicy, sweet and slightly sourish! Very appetising....hmmm...and on hindsight, the apricots do taste somewhat similar to tarmarind, perhaps i can use apricots to subsitute for tarmarind paste in the future?

7up chicken!

ingredients:
1 kg chicken drumlets (abt 10 pieces)

marinate:
1/2 cup 7-up or any lemonade soft drink
1/4 cup dark soy sauce
2 garlic, minced
4 slices of ginger, minced

method:
1. Marinate chicken overnight.
2. Bake on a greased tray in a preheated 180 degrees oven for 20 minutes.
3. Transfer to a grill, three minutes each side or till chicken skin is slightly crispy.
Bon appetit!!

Comments: Of course, you can use any other cut of meat...if using a fillet, you can pop it on the grill straight. Why I baked it in the oven first? cos my grill burns food very easily...and baking shortens the grilling time considerably.. :)

honey oyster chicken

1.5 tablespoon of oyster sauce
1 tablespoon of honey
1 teaspoon of chopped garlic
1 teaspoon of soy sauce
400g of chicken (pieces)

mixed the above ingredients and marinate overnight. you can bake it or shallow fry it. Use it to marinate chicken wings too for bbq! Came up with this sauce on my own and been using it often!

Mushroom and chicken coq au vin

ingredients:
1/4 cup olive oil
1 kg chicken pieces
salt and ground black pepper, to taste
200g bacon rashers, rind removed and diced
400 g cup mushrooms, sliced
1 medium onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
2 tbs plain flour
1 cup white wine
1 cup chicken stock
6 sprigs fresh thyme

method:
1. Heat oil in a large heavy-based frying pan over medium high heat. Season chicken with salt and pepper. Add half the chicken and cook for 2 minutes on each side until golden. Remove to a plate. Repeat using the remaining chicken.
2. Add bacon, mushrooms, onion and garlic to pan and cook, stirring often, over medium high heat for 5 minutes. Stir in flour and cook, stirring occasionally for 2 minutes.
3. Reduce heat to medium, add wine, stock and thyme. Stir until well combined. Add chicken and turn to coat in wine mixture. Bring to the boul, reduce heat to medium low and simmer, uncovered, for 15-20 minutes or until chicken is cooked through and sauce thickens slightly.
4. Season with salt and pepper.

* Sufficient for 8 portions if served with a carbo side. We had it with egg pasta tossed in butter n salt. Other options: steamed/ mashed potatos with fresh crusty bread.

recipe from AMGA (got it free from the Mushroom Stall at Central Market; the recipes r actually all quite good!!)

Comments: I loved this dish!! People always say that the cook doesn't like to eat what they cook...but i think i m the exception...haha...perhaps cos everything is so new...this dish was really simple and delightful...yum!!!! Will definitely serve it again.... :D
the amount of oil can be cut into half i think though...
Coq au Vin...is actually 'Rooster in Wine' in french...it's a traditional dish and usually more matured birds are preferred....and a whole bottle of red wine is used with one chicken...been wanting to try this dish for ages and m v glad that it turned out so well!!

Cashew Pilaf Rice with Greek Chicken Stew

Cashew Rice Pilaf
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Cashew-Rice-Pilaf/Detail.aspx
Serves 8

INGREDIENTS
1 1/2 cups uncooked long grain rice
1 cup chopped onion
1 cup diced carrots
1 cup golden raisins
1/4 cup butter or margarine
3 cups chicken broth
1 teaspoon onion salt
2 cups frozen peas
1 cup cashews
1 1/4 cup cooked wild rice (omitted)
1/4 cup thinly sliced green onions

DIRECTIONS
1 In a Dutch oven, saute the long grain rice, onion, carrots and raisins in butter until onion is tender. Add the broth and onion salt; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 20 minutes or until liquid is absorbed and rice is tender. Stir in peas, wild rice and cashews; heat through. Sprinkle with green onions if desired.


Greek Chicken
From Imperial Kitchen Forum posted by Makan Kaki

serves 6

Ingredients:
4-6 potatoes, quartered
1-1.5kg chicken pieces
2 large onions, quartered
1 whole bulb garlic, minced
3 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 tbsp olive oil

Method:
Place veggies on the bottom of a crockpot, followed by the chicken and then the seasonings. Cover, cook on High for 4-5 hours or on Low of 9-10 hours.

Comment: I added oyster sauce, dark soya sauce and a flour solution to make it into a stew cos the colour of the chicken looked too light.. hee..