crunchy chicken and sticky rice with 3 sauces of awesome

This meal seems to be my kids favourite at the moment.  It is very good and I bet there isn't a kid out there who wouldn't agree.  The 3 sauces of awesome (that is what Finn calls them) bring it all together.
The 3 sauces of awesome are tarmari soy sauce, kewpie mayonaise and sweet chile sauce.  There is something about the combination of all 3 that is just deliciousness.

The chicken tenderloins are coated in rice or corn flour dipped in beaten egg then crumbed in panko and glutenfree crumbs for Finn and of course 2-3 tablespoons of sesame seeds.
The rice is of the sticky variety and the coleslaw is green and red cabbage with grated carrot.
Just have a little bit of everything in each mouthful.

summer rice paper rolls

I made these rice paper rolls for my lunch today.
I had some crumbed chicken tenderloins leftover so I decided to use them along with some cucumber, red pepper, lettuce and herbs that were in the garden.

 The key to making these is to not soak the rice paper for too long in the water.  Only about 10 seconds.  They get too flimsy and difficult to work with otherwise.  It should be still hardish.  I then like to fold it in half.  Sometimes it snaps in half.  Thats ok.  It will soften up by the time you are ready to roll.
First I put the herbs down with the nice side facing outwards. Place in the middle of the rice paper.  I had coriander, mint and vietnamese basil.  Then a bit of lettuce, some chicken, cucumber and peppers some more herbs and lettuce.
Lastly pickup the end closest to you and roll over and keep it all firm and keeping rolling until all enclosed.  Traditionally summer rolls are served with peanut sauce.  I used sweet chile as I couldn't be bothered making peanut sauce, maybe another time.  This would be nice with prawns also.

cheap easy lazy chicken dinner

 I was working yesterday so I just grabbed some vegetables and some chicken drumsticks from the butcher in greenlane on my way home.  This is
just a throw together dinner and I know it looks like it too.

For this dinner you will need - feeds 5

• 2 kg of chicken drumsticks (that equates to about 15)
• 10 carrots ( at least, peeled and split in half)
• 5 onions (red or brown will do chopped into quarters)
• a bunch of asparagus
• a bag of beans
• lots of salt and pepper

Put the carrots and onions in the bottom of a large roasting pan with lots of salt and pepper.  Put the chicken on top with more salt and pepper and a little bit of olive oil.

Put it in the oven at about 190c for twenty minute episodes.  Pull it out and give it a toss in the fat that is rendering from the chicken.  Nothing really comes together for at least and hour.  I think I did another 20 minutes as well.  Just keep going until it looks the way you want it too.  The chicken is just releasing  its juices and creating a delicious sauce.

 When the asparagus is so thin and fresh like this I just pour on boiling water to cook it and it stays in the water until I am ready to use it without over cooking it.  For the beans I steamed them for 4-5 mins and then blanched them in ice water.
To assemble, find a large platter lay down the chicken with the carrots and onions followed by the greens and then pour on the pan juices.  Then add more salt and pepper.  This dish would so not do when I was a kid because I had very strong views about not allowing my different food groups to touch.  I would be horrified if that came to the table like that.  Anyway I have grown up now.
This is a really simple and easy satisfying dish.  The time is in the cooking so put it on early.

 Dinner was followed by strawberries and icing sugar.

chicken mango salad

We had this salad on Friday night which was originally made with green prawns. I made it again on Saturday using the leftover greens, but used BBQ chicken thighs instead, which also works really well with the mango and the lime and sesame dressing.

For the salad I used

• salad greens of rocket and thinly sliced iceberg and endive
• bean sprouts minus their heads
• julienned sliced mango - Mexican ones are fairly affordable at the moment
• coriander
• spring onions
• avocado sliced
• toasted sesame seeds and chopped peanuts
• BBq chicken thighs thinly sliced

For the lime and sesame dressing I used

• juice of 3 limes
• 2 tablespoons of palm sugar
• 1-2 tablespoons of fish sauce
• 1 tsp of finely grated ginger
• smidge of garlic
• 1 tablespoon of sesame oil

The quantities for the salad is up to you and the measurements for the dressing are as close to a guess as I can remember as I don't measure, but taste it until it's balanced and right for you.

Dress the greens with some of the dressing and gently toss before adding the mango and avocado, so you don't make it mushy, finish off with the chicken and the nuts add some more dressing and give it a final gentle toss with your fingers.

lemon chicken

I have never made lemon chicken before but I decided to yesterday as I had a big bag of Meyer lemons and some left over chicken thighs in the fridge.  I used Neil Perry's recipe from his book 'balance and harmony'.  Actually now that I am looking at it I didn't follow it exactly.
I will give you his recipe and then tell you what I did differently.

For this recipe you will need

• 300g chicken thighs cut into 1 cm slices - I cut mine bigger
• 1 egg lightly beaten - I used an extra egg yolk
• 1/4 tsp sea salt
• 2 tablespoons of cornflour
• vegetable oil for deep frying - I use my wok
• 2 lemons
• 3 tablespoons of sugar
• 3 tablespoons white vinegar - I used rice wine vinegar
• a pinch of Sichuan pepper - I didn't have any - I used chile powder and sesame seeds
• 2 spring onions

Put the chicken, egg and sea salt in a bowl, toss together and leave for 20 minutes.

Remove the chicken from the egg, allowing the excess to drip away, and toss in the cornflour until evenly coated.  I actually added the flour to the egg mixture and formed a batter (by accident).

Heat the oil in a wok or deep fryer until smoking (180C) and deep fry the chicken pieces until golden and cooked through, then drain on paper towel.  I shallow fried and turned them over.

For the sauce, finely grate the zest from half a lemon, then juice the whole lemon. Peel and fillet the other lemon.  Put the sugar, vinegar, 3 tablespoons water, lemon fillets, zest and juice in a small pot.  Stir over low heat until the sugar dissolves, then bring to the boil and remove form heat. Pour the sauce over the chicken and sprinkle with Sichuan pepper and spring onions to serve.  I added a little cornflour so the sauce was thicker.

These are really just glorified chicken nuggets that would go with any type of sauce.

tomato chicken pappardelle

Lily and my favourite pasta at the moment is pappardelle, big wide ribbons of deliciousness.
This is a simple sauce which is just my sweet tomato sauce  that I use for just about everything.  I did add 2 tablespoons of tomato paste to the sauce to add more depth of flavour (but not essential).  The key to the sauce is to make sure you reduce it right down so there is no liquid left.

For this recipe I used

• 3 serves of pappardelle
• 2-3 tablespoons of tomato sauce - you don't need much
• 1 chicken thigh chopped
• 1 tablespoon of finely chopped italian parsley
• parmesan cheese
• salt and pepper 
• olive oil

Put your pasta on first.  Cook your chicken in a large fry pan (so that you can add the cooked pasta to the pan).  Next add the tomato sauce, then the pasta, followed by the parsley.  Add some pasta water to loosen it up a bit.  Toss it all around, serve in it your favourite bowl and add some olive oil and parmesan cheese and black pepper.

Other recipes that use my basic sweet tomato sauce can be found here and here on pizza, here with spicy lamb and lebanese bread and here, with meatballs and couscous.

Roast chicken, Israeli couscous, roast cabbage

This is a really simple easy dinner.
I tend to roast 2 chickens so we have plenty for dinner, leftovers for lunches and 2 carcasses to make chicken stock.

I like to roast my chickens on a bed of sliced onions, lots of maldon salt and olive oil.  I used 4 onions.
I put a lemon cut in half and some rosemary up its bum for some flavour.  This does mean a longer cooking time if you have something in the cavity.

I put the chickens in a 200C oven for 20 minutes and then turn down to 180C for another 2 lots of 30 minutes basting as you go.  Keep the onions tucked under the birds so they don't burn too much.
I do not turn them over during the cooking time, as I think it makes for better presentation.
Once the chickens are done remove from the roasting pan as you want to make way for the cabbage.
Take out the onions and some of the juices for the couscous leaving just enough to coat the cabbage.
Slice the cabbage into thin wedges.  I have used half a cabbage and coat in the juices at the bottom of the pan, finally add some salt and pepper and roast for about 10 - 20 minutes.  Keep an eye on it as it can scorch easily, this does add to the flavour though.

For the couscous, cook as the packet directs.  You can do this in advance as it doesn't have to be hot.  Add the onions and the some of the saved chicken juices from the roasting pan  and squeeze the juice from one of the lemons from the cavity and add what ever else you like.  I added 1/2 a finely chopped red onion and some sliced raw spinach and italian parsley, (just because it was in the garden).  I wanted to add some chives but I forgot about them.

 Really simple and devine and enjoyed by all...
I have the left overs for my dinner  tonight at work along with some of the beetroot relish that was left over from the previous post.

carrot curry chicken soup

I haven't made a carrot soup before as the thought  hasn't really inspired me.
I do like carrots so I thought I would give it ago.  Anything with vegetables and chicken stock has got to be good.

For this recipe I used -   Serves 4 people

• 6 medium carrots roughly chopped
• 2 medium onions roughly sliced
• 4 cloves of garlic roughly chopped
• 2 chicken thighs and 2 drumsticks
• 275 mls approx of homemade chicken stock
• 1 table spoon of homemade curry powder
• S and P
• chopped chives

Start off by frying the chicken pieces in a fry pan on medium heat with a small bit of olive oil to render some fat by browning the skin.  You are not cooking the chicken.  Take out the chicken and put aside.
Add the onions and garlic to the pan with the chicken fat and gently cook for a couple of minutes and then add the curry powder and salt and pepper.  Remember fat is flavour.

Next in goes the carrots, give them a stir around and deglaze with stock which will also cook the carrots.  This will only take about 10 - 15 minutes.
Taste for flavour.  It should be pretty good.  Let it cool and whiz in your blender or what ever whizzing device you have.  I used my stick blender.
Meanwhile remove the skin from the chicken add it to the wizzed soup that you have put back in a pot and cook for about 20 minutes until the chicken is cooked through.  Remove, take the chicken off the bones.  You can either add the chicken back to the soup at this stage or just add it to the top of the before serving.
 

 I added a little bit of water after I whizzed it as it was a little thick.
Add some chopped chives or any other green herb you have if you want too.

easy stirfry

Like the fried rice recipe this has no rules.

I know the stirfry is very 80s - 90s but it is a goodie for a week night family dinner.
We would probably have some sort of stir fry once a fortnight.  This is one way of getting your 5 fruit and vege a day in one go.  I always make a huge amount so there are some left overs as Finn and Lily like taking it to school for their lunch.  Use what ever protein and vegetables you have at hand or choose, asian greens are perfect also, but the idea is to have a lot.

For this recipe I used

• 2 pieces of rump steak chopped into small pieces
• 10 chicken loins (they were on special at New World) chopped into small pieces
• 2 courgettes sliced julienne
• 1 head of broccoli cut into small flowerets
• 1/2 head of large cauliflower chopped into small flowerets 
• 2 brown onions sliced julienne
• 1 small red pepper sliced julienne
• 1 small yellow pepper sliced julienne
• 2 carrots sliced julienne
• 2-3 cloves of garlic finely chopped
• sticky sweet soy sauce with cornflour and water added
• brown rice 

Start off by heating your wok on medium to high heat with some oil, peanut oil goes well until smoking.  Stir fry your beef and chicken in small batches and then put aside.  The idea is to get some colour and not to cook it right through as that will finish off when you add the sauce at the end.

Once you have done the meat put aside.  Add some more oil to the wok and put in the onions, courgettes and garlic  and cook on medium heat for about 5 minutes.  Then add the carrots and the peppers and the broccoli and cauliflower (that I have previously steamed) and mix around and stir fry for around 2 minutes and then finally add your sauce.  I make quite a large quantity of the sauce mixed with cornflour and water and add until I have the amount I want.  Lots of sauce its good as you want plenty for the rice.  The sauce will thicken as it heats up.  Finally add the beef and chicken and give it one more stir through and serve with rice.  I used brown rice as I am going through a brown rice  phase.

brown rice fried rice

 Fried rice is such a simple meal to make and makes use of whatever vegetables you have left in your fridge.
William my nephew who is a cyclist, inspired me to add some spinach when I was reading his blog 'Yarns of a kiwi cyclist'. He adds it to his bacon and egg fried rice.

I decided to use brown rice as I thought it would go well with the spinach.

Left over vegetables that needed using in my fridge were

• 1 courgette diced
• 1 orange pepper diced
• spinach sliced up ( you can use a lot as it cooks down to nothing)
• beansprouts - a big handful

I also added 

• 1 chicken breast cut into pieces - any protein would be good or a combination
• 1 brown onion - finely chopped
• 3 cloves of garlic
• 1 tablespoon fresh finely chopped ginger
• sprinkling of finely chopped basil, as there was some on the bench
• tamari soy sauce
• sweet chile sauce
• 7 peppers, pepper

First off add 1 cup of brown rice in large pot of boiling water and boil until cooked.  I often will put some rice on in the morning so when I want to make the fried for lunch or dinner it is already to go when you want to prepare the fried rice.

 Next fry off the chicken in the wok or fry pan with some oil and then put aside.

Then cook the onion, courgette, garlic and ginger in the wok until softened and cooked down and a little browned, takes about 10 minutes followed by the spinach and beansprouts,  They only take a minute to wilt away.

Finally add the rice and chicken and the soy sauce to your liking.

I add a blob of sweet chile on the top with the basil and some 7 peppers, pepper.

This is always a good meal as it stores well in the fridge ready for a re heat whenever you are hungry.

chicken caesar salad

Creamy avocado, succulent chicken, crunchy croutons and lettuce, tasty parmesan mayonaise dressing. Yum yum.  A marriage made in heaven in my eyes...

The recipe I use for making a basic mayonnaise is by 'Jamie Oliver'.  I like his recipe because he only uses one egg yolk so hence it is not too eggy in flavour.

The recipe goes as follows

1 large egg yolk
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
salt to taste
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
1 tablespoon lemon juice
285mls peanut oil ( I use grapeseed as I think peanut oil is too strong)
258mls olive oil

I don't use all that amount of oil, as I think it makes to much.
I hand whisk and just add equal quantities of oil and stop when I have as much as I need.

"Mayonnaise can be be made in a food processor, by hand with a whisk and a bowl, or in a food mixer.  Put the egg yolk, mustard,  3 small pinches of salt, vinegar and lemon juice into a bowl and whisk until the salt has dissolved.  Whisking fast, add small drops of the oil bit by bit, so the egg can emulsify with it.  ( If you add it too fast it could split.)  When you've added a quarter of the oil it will start to look like mayonnaise, and you can add the oil slightly quicker.  If at any point it does split, just pour a tablespoon of boiling water in the mayonnaise and that should re-emulsify it.  When you've added all the oil, the mayonnaise should look thick, creamy and slightly yellow.  At this point you should check for seasoning."

At this point I add 1/2 a cup of finely grated Parmesan cheese, 1/2 teaspoon of caster sugar and a smidgeon of finely grated garlic, Probably 1/8 of a teaspoon.  Adding the cheese thickens it up.

Make sure your egg is at room temperature before you start, as if it is cold there is a great chance of it splitting.  I have been known to cry on more than 1 occasion when my mayonnaise has split.  I then just give up.  I was very pleased that I was successful this time.

For the croutons, slice 1-2 day old baguette wafer thin.  They are much nice and crunchy this way.
Bake in a 200C oven for just 2-3 minutes.  Keep an eye out as you don't want them too brown.

To assemble the salad.
Firstly I coat the lettuce leaves in a small amount of the dressing in a separate bowl, so as to keep the salad bowl clean.  I used cos and frilly lettuce, but iceberg would be good as well.
Now put some lettuce leaves down in the salad bowl, then some sliced avocado, croutons and chicken, then repeat.
Finally add some more dressing if you wish.
This would be gluten free if you didn't add the croutons.

teriyaki chicken with choy sum and sushi rice

This is my ultimate comfort food dish.  I could just about eat this every other day.  We have it at least once a week for dinner and I sometimes take it to work.
It is really easy and quick to prepare.

For this recipe I used

• 2 chicken thighs
• sticky or sushi rice
• teriyaki or sweet sticky soy sauce
• choy sum (cut the lengths into 3 parts - steam the stalk ends for 2 mins and then add the leaves and steam for a further minute)

Prepare the rice and teriyaki sauce so it is ready to go.

Open out the chicken thigh and butterfly so it is the same thickness and spread out.

I like to bbq the chicken as I think it tastes better.  It doesn't take very long and I like the smokiness that the rendered fat creates.

Assemble first with the rice, the choy sum, the sliced chicken and as much teriyaki sauce as you want. 

thai chicken curry

 I have been making this chicken curry for years and is a firm favourite in our house.  Unfortunately I don't follow a recipe so it is slightly different every time I make it.  I will try my best to get quantities right.

For this recipe I used

• 3 large chicken breasts, chopped and lightly salted
• 1 red onion finely chopped
• 6 cloves of garlic or about 3 tablespoons finely chopped
• 3-4 tablespoons of finely chopped fresh ginger
• 2 green chiles or more it you want really hot
• 2-3 tablespoons of finely chopped coriander root and stems
• 2 courgettes diced
• 4 small coloured capsicums or 2 large
• 1 can of coconut cream
• 2 tablespoons of jaggery, palm sugar or brown sugar
• 2-3 tablespoons of fish sauce
• zest and juice of 1 lime
• 2 kaffir lime leaves

 Finely chop the onion, coriander stems, chile, garlic and ginger and gently fry in the wok with some plain oil, ( I used coconut oil, only because I had it) for about 5 mins until nicely cooked down.  Do not colour.
Then add the diced courgettes and capsicums and some salt and cook for about 10 mins,  they  should become very soft.
Next add the coconut cream, fish sauce, kaffir lime and sugar and simmer until you get a nice consistency of sauce.  Taste for balance of flavours and add more fish sauce or sugar if you need to.
Next, add the chopped raw chicken and let it cook in the heat of the sauce on a gentle simmer.  Stir it around until just cooked.  The chicken can remain tender if you watch it.
Lastly add the lime juice and zest and some chopped coriander leaves.
Taste and tweak again and then serve on some plain boiled long grain rice.

chorizo chicken soup with crispy tortilla strips

This was our dinner last night.  I sort of made this up as I went along.  I have wanted to make a soup like this for a while now.

For this recipe I used

• 4 small uncooked chorizo sausages - casings removed
• 6 chicken tender loins or whatever chicken meat you have, chopped
• 1 onion finely chopped
• 1 leek washed and finely sliced
• 1 carrot finely diced
• 1 large potato diced 
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 1 can of whole tomatoes in juice
• 1 cup of water
• 1 tsp smoked paprika
• 1/2 tsp of chile powder
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1 tsp or more of maldon salt
• black pepper
• 500 mls of home made chicken stock ( I used the stock pot and not the slow cooker)
• deep fried strips of left over tortilla wrappers - I think I used 4 - you can make them while the soup is cooking
• 1 avocado diced
• sour cream
• sweet chile sauce

Start of by heating your pot on low to medium heat, it will need to be a relatively large one.  Add some olive oil and your onions and cook for a couple of minutes, try not to colour them.  Next add the chorizo sausage that you have removed from the casings and broken up into small pieces and fry.  Next add the leek, carrot, potato,garlic and cook for a further 5 minutes or so.  Once everything has softened up a bit add the can of tomatoes, the salt and sugar, smoked paprika and the water and let it simmer away for about 20 minutes until the potatoes are tender.  Finish off by adding the stock and let it reduce down until you get the desired consistency.

Finally add the chicken and turn off the heat and let the chicken gently cook in the soup.  Let it stand for 5 minutes before serving.  That way you will not over cook it.

 Make sure you taste for sweetness, salt and spiciness and adjust to your liking.

To make the tortilla strips 

Slice your tortilla wrappers into strips and shallow fry them until golden. Do them in batches.  They only take seconds so watch out.  Drain on paper towels.  

Garnish the soup with the strips, avocado, sour cream, sweet chile sauce and salt and pepper.

Some chopped coriander would be nice also.

I really enjoyed it,  make sure you dunk the strips in the soup and get a bit of avocado in your mouthful.

chicken spring rolls

Springs rolls like the 'kransky sausage rolls' are an extended family favourite and again this recipe is courtesy of sister in law Sarah.  I have tweaked it a little to my taste.

For this recipe you will need

• 2 packets of 20 spring roll wrappers ( found by the pastry in the freezer section of the supermarket)
• 500g of chicken mince
• 1/2 clove of very finely crushed garlic
• 2 spring onions finely chopped
• 1-2 carrots julienne - 5cm
• 1-2 courgettes julienne 5cm
• bunch of coriander
• sesame oil - 1 teaspoon
• maldon salt -1teaspoon

Add the spring onion, salt, garlic and sesame oil to the chicken mince and mix till combined.

I fry a little bit to taste to see if if needs more salt or sesame oil.

Prepare your veges

Start by placing about 1 teaspoon of the chicken mince mixture near one corner of the wrapper, next put 2 slices of the carrot and 3 slices of courgette and 1 sprig of coriander down on the top.

Pick up the corner and roll over the mixture folding in the sides as you go, making sure you keep the sides parallel.  It doesn't really matter if they are not perfect, as you can see with mine.

Heat up the wok to medium heat and deep fry till golden and cooked through.

Let them rest for a bit because they are extremely hot.  Slice them on the diagonal or eat them whole whatever you like best.  Make sure you dip into some sweet chile sauce first.
We had this for dinner last night served with a cabbage salad with red and yellow peppers and cucumber dressed with sweet lime dressing

chicken herb pasta

This is my default pasta recipe as I always seem to have the ingredients at home

For this recipe you will need

• bavette or linguine pasta
• big bunch of finely chopped basil
• big bunch of italian parsley
• zest and juice of one lemon
• 1/2 to 1 teaspoon of chile flakes
• 1/2 to 1 cup of finely grated parmesan cheese
• a generous glug of 'Colonna' olive oil with lemon, but any good olive oil will be good
• lots of maldon salt and black cracked pepper
• 2 chicken breasts or thighs, pan fried and sliced finely, which I usually chuck on top of the pasta at the end

Cook your pasta and add it to the fry pan that you cooked the chicken in.  ( deglaze the pan with a little of white wine just after you have cooked the chicken first).  Add all the remaining ingredients toss until all combined.  Top off with further parmesan cheese and olive oil if you desire.

roast for one

This is my dinner that I made and took to work last night.  We had some drumsticks left over from another dinner and decided I would roast whatever was about.  Which was carrots, kumara, potatoes, some cabbage an onion, cloves of garlic and one very small red pepper and of course some herbs that are in the garden.

 Prepare the vege, add a glug of olive oil and lots of salt and pepper.  I slice the onions and layer them on the bottom of the dish along with the rosemary and thyme.  Then pile on the rest any way you like.

Roast in a 180C - 200C preheated oven.  I cook it in 3 lots of 15 minutes, turning it over and making sure things aren't getting too charred and that everything is getting coated in the juices.
I added some fresh thyme at the end because it tastes so nice.  The cabbage becomes really sweet and amalgamates with the onions perfectly.  Lastly it's added to my lunchbox all ready to be reheated in the microwave at dinner time at work.  Yum...