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.

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.

brown rice salad with butternut pumpkin

I made this salad yesterday to use up the ingredients that are floating around in my kitchen.  I have had a butternut pumpkin sitting on my bench for over a week now and the nut mix was not going to be nice if I didn't use it soon.  The last of the goat cheese was used and so was the sweet tomato sauce that was left over from the weekend dinner.  There are always onions and brown rice in my pantry.

For this  salad I used

1 cup of uncooked brown rice - cooked
1 butternut pumpkin - that was a lot you probably only need to use half
handful of nuts that I toasted  (tasti do a nut mix that have cashews, pumpkins seeds, sliced almonds and pinenuts)
2 onions cut into 1/8ths
bulb of garlic (optional) I over cooked most of mine
handful of water cress or rocket
chile flakes
a few crumbles of goat cheese or feta
chopped chives - they were in the garden - you can use any herb
sweet tomato sauce dressing

Start off by cooking your rice.  I did that as soon as I was up so it was already to go at lunch time.
Next cut your  pumpkin into whatever size you like.  (Jacob said he thought ours was too big).
Roast with the onions and garlic.  Divide up the bulb but leave the skins on.  I like to put all in a bowl and mix with the olive oil and salt and pepper before putting in the roasting pan so they all get a good coating.  Space out the vegetables as they will go soggy and gently turn them over 3-4 times during their cooking time.  A little care is required so the pumpkin retains it shape.  If the onions are getting too scorched, take them out ahead of the pumpkin.
While the veges are cooking make the dressing.  Use 2 tablespoons of the sweet tomato sauce along with 2 tablespoons of olive oil and 2 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar.  Whisk together and add to the brown rice along with some chile flakes and combine well.  Always a good idea to dress your rice first so it can absorb the flavour and it doesn't mush up your vege if you added it later.
Once the veges have cooked to your liking let them cool for about 15 mins then add to the rice mixture along with the rest of the ingredients.

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.

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. 

sushi

I love sushi and I go through patches where I make it all the time and then nothing for months, I guess that is like anything though.
Well, I am going through a sushi making phase once again and this time I attempted to make inside outside rolls.  Not too bad for my first attempt, still far from perfect.  I think the photo makes them look better than they were.  They are filled with tuna mixed with kewpie mayonnaise, avocado, red pepper and cucumber.

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.

simple prawn salad

This is really simple and the sort of food I like to eat.  I bought the prawns already cooked.  They were surprisingly good and I will buy them again.  The rice is my sticky rice recipe.
The salad is what you can see, prawns, cabbage and sticky rice.  Of course I did put a dressing on it before I ate it and some chile as well.
I think it would be nice with a wasabi mayo type dressing which I will make some time soon but I had it with the usual sweet soy sauce.  It's kind of eating sushi without the nori.  Some avocado would be nice also, oh and some sesame seeds, ah and some raw tuna, the possibilities are endless.

sushi rice salad

I have been meaning to put a salad together like this for a long time.  It is another way to use sushi rice and whatever vegetables you have on hand.  The idea is that you chop your ingredients all the same size and group them on top of the rice.

For this recipe I used

• 1 chicken thigh panfried and finely sliced
• an  assortment of julienne vegetables - cucumber, cabbage, beansprouts (with their heads removed), avocado
• top it off with some spring onions, red chile and chopped  peanuts (you could use sesame  seeds as well)
• asian dressing of some sort - I used some dressing left over from last nights 'Pad thai' dinner, but you could use the sticky sweet soy sauce or miso dressing or anything else you would prefer

The combinations are endless, I want to try it with prawns next time.
This would be a good lunch to take to work already prepared the night before, just add the dressing and the nuts before you eat...

sort of kedgeree...

Actually I made the curry powder (previous post) because I felt like this dish for breakfast on Sunday morning.  I can eat any types of food any time of the day and any left over dinner to me is the ultimate breakfast.
Anyway there was some left over plain white rice in the fridge from the previous nights dinner and I felt like something savoury and spicy, so kedgeree came to mind, not that I have made it before or actually eaten it either.
Well I started looking at some recipes and realised I did'nt have the main ingredient which is smoked haddock.  Well that wasn't going to deter me and I thought tuna from a can would be a reasonable substitute.  I was pleasantly surprised, very tasty.  I love eggs and tomatoes so it couldn't be wrong.
Probably a dish you don't want to eat at work as it has the winning smell combination of eggs, fish and curry.

For my adapted recipe from Jamie Oliver, you will need

• 2-3 cups of cooked plain white rice
• 1 small tin of lite tuna  (or preferably use smoked haddock or even smoked fish would be better)
• 1 finely chopped onion
• 2 cloves of finely chopped garlic
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped ginger
• 2 tablespoons of curry powder
• 1 tablespoon mustard seeds
• 4 chopped tomatoes
• 4 soft boiled or hard if you prefer eggs
• 1 handful of chopped coriander

Start by frying the onions in some butter on medium heat then add the garlic and ginger and gently fry till they have softened.  Next add the curry powder and mustard seeds and mix together to get a good paste.

Next add the rice to the pan and mix through the spice mixture till well coated and warmed through, followed by the tuna, tomatoes, coriander and eggs and there you have it.

chicken tikka masala

I was watching the cooking show 'Perfect' the other week and Anjum Anand was making a chicken tikka masala and it looked so good I felt I had to make it.

I can't be bothered to write it out so I'll just link you back to her recipe.
I don't know why I have red onion in the first picture because it doesn't seem to be in her recipe and I don't know why I have 2 marinade parts.  I might have just decided to add it.  I can't remember now.

Here are all the marinade ingredients.  I let it marinade for about 6 hours.  I used chicken thighs.

 I grilled the chicken in the oven to try and get some charness to it.  It does release a lot of fluid.

Tear up the chicken ready to add to the sauce for later.

I served it with some Naan bread that I made but I can't remember what recipe I followed.  Thats the problem when I take the photos and then post several days later.  When I remember I will post it.  It was a good recipe too.

paella

I was watching 'Master chef' master class last week. They were making Paella and decided I would give it a go as I have never made it before.  My recipe is n't exactly authentic but close enough.  I researched a few recipes and they are all done quite differently.

This is my recipe - You will need

• 500g of Bomba rice (quite expensive but I wanted to use the real thing)
• 1.5 litre of stock, chicken or fish ( I used a combination of chicken and some stock that was left over from the mussels that I steamed when making some fritters the other day)
• 1 chorizo sausage sliced
• 1 chicken breast sliced into chunks ( thigh would probably be better)
• 15 whole raw prawns with their heads and shells on
• 250g of squid ( I bought the already prepared scored diamond patterned in a packet)
• 1 red pepper chopped 
• 1 onion finely chopped
• 3 cloves of finely chopped garlic
• 5 small tomatoes
• 1/4 teaspoon of saffron 
• 1 teaspoon of smoked paprika
• 2 bay leaves
• parsley
• lemons sliced into quarters

I started off frying the chicken with salt and pepper just to get some colour on it and then removed it from the paella pan.  It was not cooked through.
Next I added the onion with some olive oil along with the pepper, chorizo and garlic until golden.

Add the stock (which has been heated in a pot), tomatoes, bay leaves, saffron, smoked paprika and lastly the rice.
Keep the temperature at the lowest setting and gently cook till the rice absorbs the stock.  You can stir it around for even cooking.  I even turned the heat off so as not to burn the bottom at times.  It is supposed to have a crunchy bottom or 'soccarat' crust.  You just don't want it burnt.

When you think it is fully absorbed or nearly add the prawns first then the chicken and squid.  I overcooked my prawns and chicken.  So I suggest you just add the protein turn off the heat and cover in foil and leave for 5 minutes.  Apparently it is really hard to overcook this rice, so don't worry about over doing it.

Finally finish up with the chopped parsley and lemons.
Don't forget to squeeze on the lemon and some ground black pepper before eating.
I really enjoyed it, it was  full of flavour and just what I felt like.

anna's sushi

Beautiful sushi made with freshly caught snapper, avocado, sugar snaps, crunchy beans and springs onions.
Kindly shared by my friend Anna made with the sticky rice recipe.
Thanks.

chicken rice soup

I know this may look pretty bland and anaemic to you but the opposite is the case, well the bland part anyway.  Lily loves this and requests it every other day.  It is something that she craves.  I have made it several times over the school holidays.  It is really easy to put together if you have all the ingredients.  There is something really clean and restorative about it.

For this recipe you will need

• 500 mls - 1litre of chicken stock (homemade is best) depending on how soupy you want it.
• 2 cups of cooked medium grain or sushi rice
• 5 long slices of green ginger
• 4 spring onions  sliced on the diagonal
• chicken meatballs or raw sliced chicken breast

Put the chicken stock in a pot with the spring onions and ginger and heat.  Add the cooked rice and simmer gently for about 10 minutes.  You want the rice to become overcooked and swollen.

Either add the raw chicken to the broth and cook through or fry in a fan and add once cooked. 

The meatballs have fresh ginger, spring onions and a tiny bit of garlic and of course salt. Simple and really tasty.  I steamed them in a steamer before adding them to the soup. 

Finally taste for enough salt as the rice takes it out of the stock.

Sprinkle with spring onions and chile pepper.

Sweet and Sour Pork

Batter for pork is as follows - This is Gluten free batter

1 kilo of pork pieces,  I think pork shoulder is best as it has a little bit of fat which makes it more tender.
4 egg yolks
1/4 cup of tamari sauce or soy sauce (won't be gluten free if you use regular soy sauce)
1tablespoon of sesame oil
3 tablespoons of cornflour

Using your hands mix together and marinade for at least 2 hours

Deep fry  on medium heat in batches until golden.  I use my wok as it works perfectly and uses less oil.
Do not over cook.

I put the cooked pork pieces on paper towel and put in the oven on a low heat until  all the pork has been deep fried.  It will still keep on cooking while in the oven so that is why not to over do  it in the wok.

 Meanwhile you can prepare the pickled vegetables while the pork is marinading.

Pickling mixture

Combine 1/2 cup of rice wine vinegar, 2 tablespoons of sugar and 1tsp of salt and about 1 tablespoon of fresh ginger.  Mix until dissolved.

Use 3 peppers,  I used 2 red and 1 yellow, use whatever you like.
1/2 cucumber - Peel leaving just a tiny bit of the skin just to add some flashes of dark green.  Then cut in 1/2 lengthways and remove the seeds.
Julienne the peppers and (remove the membrane) and the cucumber into matchsticks.
Add to the pickling mixture and let marinade and pickle away.  An hour is plenty of time.  Just remember to move them around so they all get a coating and soak in the vinegar.

Sweet and sour sauce is as follows

1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup pineapple juice
2 tablespoons of tomato sauce or ketchup
1/4 cup fo rice vinegar
1 tablespoon of tamari sauce
1 tablespoon cornflour

Put all the ingredients in a pot and mix together until all the cornflour has dissolved.
When you are ready to use and pour onto the pork just gently heat until the sauce has thickened and is hot.
Assemble by putting white rice down first, then add the pork the sauce and finally the drained pickled vegetables.  Yum Yum

Finn's Lunch - Chicken balls and vegetables

Finn's lunch today was the left over chicken mince that I used for spring rolls that were made for my daughter's 13th birthday party yesterday.  I had hoped to have taken some photos but I was to busy to stop.  Feeding 12 hungry girls is a task.

Basically all it is, is chicken mince and a small amount of grated garlic (using my plane) and some salt.  Roll into balls and coat in cornflour and then shallow fry.  Really simple.  The cornflour provides a lovely golden colour and a slight crispness.

Served with the usual sticky rice and sweet soy sauce.  The vegetables are steamed broccoli and cauliflower with and added sprinkle of sesame seeds.

Finn's Lunch - Chicken and vegetables

Finns school lunch today.  Variation of the same.

This time stir frying chicken breast instead.  Remove from wok.  I cook with peanut oil.  Add some sea salt as well.  I probably crowded the wok by putting too much in the wok in one go.

Then do the vegetables, whatever you have got.  Slice finely red and white cabbage about a handful of each and the same for the bean sprouts.

I had already steamed some broccoli florets  and added them along with a sprinkle of sesame seeds.

Served with the usual sticky white short grain rice and sweet soy sauce.  There was even enough for me to take for my dinner tonight to work.