Tom Yam Braised Chicken

Before we had our Korean craze, we were so in love with Tom Yum. Tom Yum soup, Tom Yum steamboat, Tom Yum fried rice, etc. I looove Tom Yum! So instead of the usual Tom Yum Soup, I'm going to cook something a little different. Tom Yum braised Chicken!

Head to any major supermarket and you should be able to find a jar of Tom Yum paste. It consist of all the spices you need to make the soup. 

Yes, I guess you can call this a cheat dish. But in order to keep it wholesome, you can start reading the ingredients list on the food packaging. Choose the one that has the least amount of ingredients that you don't recognise. XD

Point to take note will be, the paste is usually very concentrated. I only needed 1 teaspoon to make 1 dish. But different brands have different flavours and seasoning. So always taste your food and adjust the according to your taste.

My original recipe is much more simpler, which consist of only the chicken and the sauce. But I realised that if you add in a few selected vegetables, it makes a whole lot of difference! Best thing is that it is so quick and easy to make. The spicy and sour flavours will make you salivate! Another bowl of rice for me please!

6 pieces of chicken wings with drumlets

1 onion

1 tablespoon light soya sauce

1 teaspoon instant tom yum paste

1 teaspoon instant tom yum paste oil

1 stalk lemongrass (smacked and cut into sections)

1 teaspoon sugar

200g abalone mushrooms (can use straw mushrooms)

1 tomato

1. Separate the chicken wings with the drumlets and blanch them in boiling water for a few seconds. Drain and set aside. 
2. With a little oil, stir fry the chicken parts with soya sauce until the skin is a little brown. 
3. Add tom yum paste and the oil inside the paste, if available. Add in sugar and the lemongrass and stir fry until everything is mixed well. 
4. Add in the mushrooms and give it a good toss. 
5. Add just enough water to reach halfway of the food in the frying pan. Cover up and let it cook in high heat for about 10minutes, or until the liquid has been reduced by half. Cooking in high heat releases the gelatin in the chickenskin, making the sauce thick and sticky. 
6. Check seasoning. 
7. Add in a sliced and de-seeded tomato. Give it a few toss only before serving.

Simplified Chicken Curry With Potatoes

When it comes to making chicken curry, my hubby and I would always go for the instant curry paste. (video here) But my brother asked if I could make chicken curry like how Mom makes them. So I guess I go check it out anyway. So it turns out to be quite a time consuming "project".

After getting the recipe from my Mother, which was strangely simple, she insisted that we NEED to get the right curry powder, which HAS to be from the spice seller at Tekka Market. Tekka Market literally on the other side of the island! So we had to wait for a few days before she is free to go buy the curry powder.

photo source: CNN.com

If you are not familiar with the spice sellers at wet markets, they are like spice gurus. You just to tell them what you want to cook, your preferences, (how spicy you want it) and they will blend different spices for you. Anyway, we got the curry powder and I tried out Mom's recipe.

Strangely, it does not taste satisfying. Like... there's not enough depth in flavour.

So I did some research and tried focusing on the process rather than the ingredients.

1. STEP BY STEP

Instead of just throwing everything into the pot, I did it step by step. Slowly and steadily, I fry up the ingredients one at a time. And the results was amazingly different. Even though I did not use as many ingredients as a traditional Malaysian Curry, I compensate with my special custom mixed curry powder, which includes a wide variety of dried and grounded spices like tumeric, corriander, cumin, dried chilli, etc. So for my simplified curry, most of the ingredients are commonly used in my kitchen. Only need to buy 1 or 2 extra ingredients. Good.

2. LOW AND SLOW

Another hurdle was frying the spices. After making the 1st successful batch, I got cocky. So the 2nd time I cooked it, I up the fire when I was frying the spices, hoping to speed up the process. Unfortunately I got distracted and the spices got slightly burnt. It was just a little brown, so I continued cooking anyway. But the final curry looked strangely brown instead of the gorgeous red yellow. When I tasted it, there was a slight bitter taste to it. It was a definite fail. :( So please take your time when frying the spices. Don't be impatient like me!

Now let's look at the recipe.

Serves 2-3 persons

500g Chicken (I use thigh and wings)

3-4 waxy potatoes

1 large onion, diced (130g)

3 garlic cloves, diced

1 tablespoon grated ginger

1 birdseye chilli/chilli padi (optional)

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon sugar

1 stalk lemongrass (bruised)

1 stalk curry leaves

100ml coconut cream

2 tablespoon curry powder

cooking oil

1. Par-boil your potatoes in salted water for about 5 minutes. I'm using waxy potatoes because they hold their shape better.
2. Mix enough oil to the curry powder to make a thick paste. 
3. In low heat with a little oil, stir fry the onion, garlic, chilli and ginger until SLIGHTLY browned. Some may say that is not browned enough. That's because we are not done frying! If we continue to fry them after they have been browned, they will burn and turn bitter. So just ever so slightly browned will do. 
4. Add the curry leaves and curry paste in and continue to stir fry in low heat for another 2-3 minutes. Same thing, the spices in the curry powder needs heat in order for the fragrances to be released. But they also burn very easily. So LOW and SLOW please. 
5. When you start to smell the fragrance and see tiny bubbles sizzling on the curry paste, add in your chicken and boiled potatoes. Increase the heat and stir fry until all the chicken and potatoes are coated with the paste. 
6. Add enough water to cover about 3/4 of all the items in the frying pan. The thickness of the curry is subjective to personal preference. I like my curry thick, like a stew. Some like it more watery like soup. So add more water if you want.
7. Add salt and sugar. 
8. Bring to boil in high heat. When the curry is bubbling, lower the heat and simmer in medium heat for 15-20minutes.  
9. Check your seasoning and adjust accordingly. If too salty, add water or sugar. 
10. Add coconut cream. Mix well and simmer for another 5-10minutes. 
11. Serve with rice, noodles or bread.

You can see my video for a clearer picture

Dak-bokkeumtang Korean Spicy Braised Chicken

Gochujang paste is such a versatile condiment! I know that this paste is widely used in Korean cuisine. So once again, I look to the master of online korean cooking, Miss Maangchi. I want something hearty and spicy this time, so Dak-bokkeumtang is perfect. It reminds me of our Asian chicken curry actually. Chicken and potatoes braised in spicy gravy? Sign me up! I didn't have any chicken wings or drumlets, so I used whole chicken drumsticks instead and it is still delicious!

The measurements of the recipe is quite straight forward so I didn't stray far from it. But I wasn't cooking for a party like she was,(see original recipe) so I just halved the recipe. We don't eat green chilli at home, but she said it's a crucial flavour, so I actually bought a whole packet, used ONE, and the rest just rotted away in the fridge. :( But she's right. You CAN taste the green chilli in the stew so try not to skip that.

500g chicken
2 onions (chopped)
2 tablespoons soya sauce
2 tablespoons minced garlic
2 tablespoons gochujang paste
2 tablespoons pepper flakes
1/2 tablespoon sugar
1 cup water

potatoes
1 big green chilli (cut)
Spring onions (for garnish)

1. Mix chicken, onions, seasoning and water together.
2. Boil without a lid on high heat for 20mins. 
3. Add potatoes and chilli and cook for another 20mins. This time with the lid on. 
4. Remove lid and cook for another 3-5 mins to thicken the gravy. 
5. Garnish with spring onions and serve!

Hassel Free rice cooker chicken rice 沙锅饭

As a stay home mum, I have to prepare 3 meals a day almost everyday. I love cooking, but sometimes you get sooo sick of it, but what to do? the kids still have to eat. Today was one of those days. I almost wanted to go to the nearby coffeshop to buy food until inspiration hit me at thye last minute. Rice cooker rice! It was so last minute, my chicken was barely defrosted when I put it into the rice cooker. But the outcome was still just as delicious. One pot meals, a stay at home mom's life saviour!

Ingredients
2 chicken drumsticks with thigh meat
4pcs of shitake mushroom
1/4 cup of pumpkin, skinned and cut into thin slices
1/2 pc Chinese waxed sausage (蜡肠) cut into small pieces
1.5 cups of rice

Seasoning
1 tablespoon oyster sauce
1 tsp sugar
1 dash of sesame oil
1 tablespoon shaoxing wine
1 pc of garlic minced

1. Cut the chicken into 2 pcs and marinate with seasoning. 
2. Wash rice and add the appropriate amount of water. (just like how you usually cook rice)
3. Add everything else into the rice and mix well. Pop into rice cooker and cook. 
4. When rice cooker indicates that it's cooked, do not open lid. Let the food steam in residual heat for another 15mins before opening.

5. Stir well and serve with freshly cut spring onions. (optional)

Enjoy!

Gochujang Chicken Stew

A few weeks ago I bought a tub of gochujang (Korean chilli paste) to make one of our favorite dish, kimchi soup. But I didn't know what to do with the remaining chilli paste, so I Googled gochujang recipe and discovered this dish. Sounds simple enough, and I have most of the ingredients, so that was dinner tonight.

I substituted or opted out some ingredients that I didn't have, but the end result was still quite delicious. Hubby preferred it to be more spicy, so next time would add more chilli! Me, I thought it tasted delicious, hearty and perfect with a steaming bowl of rice.

1/2 Portion of Chicken, about 500g
Your choice of vegetables, I chose potatoes, carrots, wong bok cabbage and some leftover brown button mushrooms.
2 Garlic Cloves, crushed
1 Tablespoon of Cooking Oil
1 Tablespoon of Sesame Oil
1 Spring Onion, finely chopped to garnish

Marinade:
1.5 Tablespoons chinese cooking wine
Salt and Pepper

Seasoning Sauce:
1/2 Tablespoon peanut butter
1/2 Tablespoon Light Soy Sauce
2 Tablespoons Gochujang Chilli Paste

1. Marinate chicken pieces in wine and seasoning. Brown meat with a little oil.
2. Set chicken aside and using the same pot, stir fry all the vegetables and garlic.
3. Put chicken back in and add water or chicken stock till it covers about 2/3 of the meat and vegetables. Add seasoning sauce and stir well.
4. Boil for 15-20mins or until the sauce has reduced near half.
5. Add in sesame oil and garnish with spring onions before serving.

I love the sweet after taste of the gochujang chilli paste, but next time would add some fresh chilli to give it more kick! Anyway, definitely a keeper!

For the original recipe, see here.

Steamed chicken wings with herbs 红枣枸杞子蒸鸡翅

I can't remember where I learnt this dish from, but it always reminded me of another Mom at my daughter's class. She commented that on rainy days, when all the laundry has to be hung indoors, she would opt for steamed dishes so that the laundry would not smell of her cooking! I thought that was a good idea. Besides, steamed dishes are always healthier.

Rain or shine, this dish has become my daughter's favourite dish! She may not be a meat lover, but she can easily polish off 3-4 pieces of this chicken wings! As a mom, it just makes my day. :)

300g chicken wings (8 pieces)
1 tbsp soya sauce
1 dash of sesame oil
1 tbsp hua tiao jiu (chinese cooking wine)
1/2 tsp sugar
6 pcs dried dates (红枣)
small handful of wolfberries (枸杞子)
5 tbsp warm water from rehydrating dates and wolfberries

1. Rehydrate red dates and wolfberries in warm water
2. Cut red dates into small pieces
3. Add all ingredients together and marinate in zip-lock bag for 30mins or more. (or skip marinate and cook immediately!)
4. Steam in medium-high heat for 10 mins