Easy Chicken Stew

Didn't know what to cook for dinner tonight but I have some chicken thighs (10 pieces) in my fridge & a packet of fresh button mushrooms.

Decided to just put whatever I can find in my fridge & seasoning available for a chicken stew.  After 45 mins, a yummy pot of chicken stew! :p

Easy Chicken Stew Recipe

10 pieces of chicken thighs - I usually removed the skin because it takes me forever to remove the "hair" on the skin.

1 big brown onions - cut into 8

3 cloves of garlic with skin on & crushed 

1 packet of fresh button mushrooms - half if they are big. 

1 tbsp of light soya sauce 

1 tbsp Lea & Perrins Worcestershire sauce 

Salt to taste

1.5 tsp Herbes du Provence / mixed herbs

1 tbsp olive oil 

Water

Preparation Steps:

1. In the cast iron pot / any pot with a thick base is preferred, heat up the olive oil & add the onions & garlic. Brown the onions & garlic.

2. On high heat, add the chicken & brown a little, then add in all the seasoning. Fill up with water just enough to cover the chicken. Add in the mushrooms. Lid on & bring to boil.

3. Lower the heat to medium & let it simmer until the chicken meat is soft, takes about 30 to 45mins. 

Voilà ! 

Chin's notes: 

1. I did not pre-marinate the meat, with any seasoning, the meat will soak up the flavour during the cooking process. 

2. Herbes de Provence, a mixture of herbs. 

3. If you can't find the pre-mixed bottle, here is a link to make your own herbs. 

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/emeril-lagasse/herbs-de-provence-recipe.html

Fried Chicken Wings

I'm not sure exactly what ingredients to use for marinating the chicken wings. So I added a little of this & a little of that, marinated for a 4 hours then I deep fried them. They turned out yum! I supposed anything that is deep fried will be yummy! :)

Ingredients: 

Chicken wings cleaned & divided the sections. 

Cumin powder

Coriander powder

Salt 

Pepper 

Fish sauce 

Oil deep fying

Preparation steps:

1. In a big bowl, add all the ingredients & mix well. Leave it for at least 1 hour or overnight. 

2. In a pan, bring the oil to hot & ready for deep frying. Deep fried the chicken wings until golden brown. 

3. Dish out & drained the access oil. 

Bon appétit ! 

Simple Baked Chicken Wings

2 years ago we received a packet of home cooked chicken wings from my friend Tessa. Since then it has been our favourite dish. Yummy as a snack on it's own or as a dish with rice / noodles. 

Today, I tried to garnish each baked chicken wings with a pinch of sea salt. I like it with a salty touch! ;) 

These are easy to prepare & only requires 3 seasoning ingredients.

Simple Baked Chicken Wings 

Ingredients 

1 kg chicken wings - cleaned 

3 tbsp light soya sauce - I used Kikoman

Pepper to taste 

1 tsp sesame oil

Sea salt for garnishing ( optional ) 

Preparation Steps : 

1. In a big bowl, mix the chicken & the marinade well. 

2. Cover & set aside for at least 3 hours. Overnight is preferred.

3. Lay them neatly on a baking tray lined with aluminum foil / baking paper. 

4. Baked them in a preheated oven @ 180 degree C for 20 - 25 minutes until chicken is nicely browned & cooked. 

5. Transfer the chicken wings to a serving plate. 

Bon appétit ! 

Chin's notes:

1. I like to marinate my meat in a plastic bag & will turn/flip the bag occasionally to ensure all the meat are well marinated. 

Chicken Parcels ( 纸包鸡）

This a favourite family dish ( chi pao kai in Cantonese) with some juicy gravy. I have been busy with other recipes & totally forgot about this easy & yummy dish! 

Made some for dinner today... :p

This parcel was my first chicken parcel wrapped in August 2014. 

Chicken Parcels Recipe

Ingredients:

8 chicken thigh - cleaned, I removed the skin & keep the bone intact. 

3 stalks spring onions - cut about 3cm length.

4 baking paper / greaseproof paper - big enough to hold 2 chicken thighs. 

Marinade:

3 tbsp oyster sauce / mushroom sauce

1 tbsp light soya sauce 

1 tsp sugar 

1 tsp sesame oil 

2 tbsp Chinese cooking wine ( shaoxing/huatiow)

Pepper & salt to taste

4 clove of garlic - minced

Thumb size ginger - minced 

Preparation steps:

1. Clean chicken & leave in the big bowl. Add in the marinade & mix well. Marinate for at least 1 hour. Best if leave overnight.

2. Prepare the paper & put 2 pieces of chicken thighs & garnish with spring onions. 

3. Wrap it up & seal it. 

4. Repeat until all the parcels are done. 

5. Bake in a preheated oven at 180 degree C for 20 minutes. 

6. Remove from oven & served immediately with steamed cooked rice! 

Bon appétit !! 

Chin's Notes:

1. Great to make for individual serving / one big parcels. For big parcel, best to use double layer of the baking paper. 

2. I just used normal baking papers. 

3. I did not remove the bone because more effort is required. I like to keep it simple. But will remove the skin ;) 

4. For sealing I will tie it up / seal it with a stainless steel pin. 

5. Alternatively you can also wrap it like below. ;) as long as the chicken is sealed properly! 

Easy Yakitori Chicken

In a cooking forum, many shared this easy recipe.  Refer to the link below to see how easy it was done.

http://youtu.be/lu0_RSJdq_s

We all had a great time cooking together & they were yummy! 

Chin's note: 

1. I halved the sauce ingredients so I don't have to deal with the left over sauce. ;) 

2. You can also prepared the marinade  ahead & used when needed. 

Baked chicken mid-wings

These are addictive!!! They are very easy to prepare with just a few ingredients. 

Baked Chicken Mid-Wings Recipe:

Ingredients :

20 pieces of chicken mid-wings - cleaned & pat dry. 

2 tbsp oyster sauce

2 tbsp soya sauce 

1/2 tsp pepper

Preparation Steps:

1. Marinate chicken in the above ingredients for 3 hrs or overnight in the fridge. 

2. Lay them neatly on the baking tray lined with aluminum foil / baking paper. 

3. Bake in preheated oven at 180 degree C for 20 minutes or untill fully cooked. 

4. Remove from oven. Serve as finger food or as a dish with steamed rice. 

Bon appétit !

Chin's notes:

1. Ensure chicken is at room temperature before bake. 

2. You can coat the chicken wings with some honey if you prefer them sweet, coat the wings after chicken are cooked, leave them in the oven for just a few mins before you remove them from the oven.

3. I like to pour the left over marinade on the wings before bake. 

4. My favourite oyster sauce. 

5. Cut the chicken in 3 sections. I normally throw away the tail end. But they are yummy if deep fried. 

Cut the wings into 3 sections. 

Chicken in Chinese Cooking Wine

A simple dish, chicken cooked in XiaoShing cooking wine (Chinese cooking wine) for today's dinner. 

Chicken in Chinese Cooking Wine Recipe: 

Ingredients : 

700g Chicken thigh cleaned, deboned & cut into bite sizes.

1 tbsp dark sweet soy sauce

3 clove garlic - smash 

2 tbsp vegetable oil 

Marinade: 

3 tbsp ShaoXing cooking wine 

1 tbsp oyster sauce 

1 tbsp soy sauce. 

Salt & pepper to taste 

1 thumb size ginger grated/chopped & juiced. 

Preparation steps : 

1. Marinate the chicken with the marinades for 30 minutes. 

2. Heat up the wok on high heat, add in the oil then garlic. Fry until fragrant then add in the marinated chicken.

3. Fry until chicken is partially cooked. Add in dark sweet soy sauce. Stir until the chicken is well coated for a few minutes. Cover with a lid turned the heat to medium & let the chicken smimmer until chicken is fully cooked. 

4. Dish out. Served with blanched broccoli & steamed rice. 

Bon appétit !! 

Chin's notes: 

1. There will be some gravy from the chicken. If more gravy is preferred, add some water & some soy sauce & adjust the taste accordily. 

2. These are also yummy to go with cooked egg noodles. 

3. Don't throw away the ginger after you taken the juice. Add them to the chicken as marinade. Best if they are fried with garlic before the chicken. 

4. Here is a picture of ShaoXing cooking wine. 

5. Alternatively HuaTiow Chinese cooking wine can used if ShaoXing is not available. 

Marmite chicken

An easy recipe with a twist!

Ingredients : 

4 chicken thighs , cut into chuncky bite size. ( deboned optional).  Marinate with 1 tbsp of soy sauce , 1 tbsp cornflour , salt & pepper to taste.
Ingredients:
4 chicken thighs, (remove the bone & cut into chuncky bite sizes & marinate for at least - 1hr with

Sauce: ( mix well in a bowl) 
1 very big tbsp of marmite 
1 tbsp maltose 
1 tbsp honey 
100ml warm water 

Method:
1. Deep fry chicken pieces in hot oil until golden brown & cooked. Dish out & set aside. Drain the oil. 
2. Leave a little oil in the wok. Heat up the wok & pour in the sauce mix, cook untill thicken. Add in the fried chicken & stir well. 
3. Dish up & serve with steamed rice! 

Bon appétit !

Satay Made Easy in the oven

Made satay for my son's school event - International Day. He wanted to tell his friends about the yummy food that Singapore has to offer... & I have to crack my head!! With the limited ingredients that I have with me, I "managed". Made 20 sticks for my classmates & teacher from French Class today. I think they love it!!

@12:30AM 19 Dec 2015, I just finished baking 100 sticks of satay (skewed in toothpick) for the International Day. 

Before bake: 

After baked & coated with peanuts sauce : 

Thanks to Esther Tho, who have shared with me a wonderful tip on the marinade for the chicken. 

Satay Chicken Recipe 

Satay peanut sauce

700g chicken thigh meat , cut into strips 

Marinade:

2 tbsp of curry powder

1 tbsp of turmeric power 

3 tbsp sugar - I used brown sugar 

Salt to taste 

2 tbsp of soya sauce 

2 lemon grass, smashed & cut thinly / chopped finely.

Bamboo sticks - soaked in water for 30minutes - I used toothpicks for mini size satay. 

Preparation method : 

1. In a bowl, mix the chicken meat with marinade ingredients. Mix well & set aside for at least 3 hrs or overnight is best. 

2. Skew the meat onto the skewer/bamboo sticks. Lined the baking tray with aluminum foil & lay chicken neatly on the baking tray. You may wish to oil on the foil with some oil to prevent the meat stuck on the foil after baked. 

3a. Bake in a preheated oven @ 180 degree C for 15 mins, take them out, coat each chicken meat with some peanut sauce. Pop them back into the oven for another 5 mins.

3b. Alternatively you can serve the peanut sauce separately in a bowl. If so, bake the chicken for 20mins at 180 degree C. 

4. Served with freshly cut cucumbers & red onions. 

Bon appétit !

Chin's notes : 

1. Coating of peanut sauce on meat is an option. You can served the peanut sauce separately.  

2. Homemade peanut sauce recipe : http://fromchinshome.blogspot.fr/2014/12/satay-peanut-sauce.html?m=1

3. Cut the chicken meat in strips not too thick abit 1 - 1.5cm wide & about 0.8cm thick. 

4. Alternatively you can try with different kind of meat, pork, beef or mutton. 

5. These are lovely finger food to prepare for parties. 

6. Chucky peanut sauce are difficult to coat on meat, if you intend to coat peanut sauce on satay, I'll suggest to purée/blend the peanut sauce to get a creamy texture. Too late for these satay I'll try next time! ;)

"Cheat" Pandan Wrap Chicken

Pandan wrap chicken was made easy with tomyum paste. I didn't bother to cut the chicken into small pieces & wrap them nicely in a little parcel. They turned out delicious!

Pandan wrap chicken with TomYum paste. 

Ingredients : 

8 Chicken thighs - cleaned. Debone & cut  them into smaller pieces if you like. 

2 lemon grass - only the white part

6 shallots 

2 big tbsp tomyum paste 

2 tsp sugar, add more if you like them sweeter. 

Chillie flakes ( optional ) 

Salt to taste

Some Pandan leaves / skrewpine leaves - cleaned & soften with hot water. 

Bamboo skewers ( soaked in water for 30 mins )  to hold the Pandan leaves 

Preparation methods : 

1. Clean  chicken & cut them into smaller pieces / remove the bones if you like.

2. Marinades : Pound shallows, lemon grass into paste. Add in the salt , sugar , chillie flakes & tomyum paste. Mix well. 

3. Marinate the chicken well with the marindes.

4. Wrap the chicken with pandan leaves & secured them with the bamboo skewer. 

5. Set aside for 3 hrs or best to marinate overnight. 

6. Pan fried the chicken with some oil to "seal" the meat & get the burnt looking pandan leaves. Transfer to a baking tray. 

7. Bake in a preheated oven at 180 degree C for 15 mins & turned to grill for 5-10 mins to get the cripy edges. 

Bon appétit ! 

Chin's notes: 

1. If you like more spicy, can add 1 - 2 tbsp of curry power. 

2. If you do not wish to "seal" the chicken, skip step 6 & bake them in the oven for a longer period. 

3. Or you can continue to pan fried (step 6) until the chicken is fully cooked. 

Curry Chicken with Kaffir Lime Leaves

Curry pastes are easily available in Singapore / Malaysia. When you stay far away from home, the curry pastes are not easily available.  Finally curry chicken some basic ingredients ( most of them I bought from Singapore eg dried chillies, belacan & candle nuts ) without the curry paste!!!

Curry Chicken with Kaffir Lime Leaves Recipe:

Ingredients : 

1 kg of chicken, I used drumlets

2 lemon grass 

20 dried chillies - soaked 

10 shallots 

1 thumb size galangal 

1 small piece of Belacan - lightly toasted

3 candle nuts / buah keras 

5 - 6 pieces of kaffir lime leaves - slightly bruised / crushed. 

Salt to taste 

6 tbsp of oil 

250 ml coconut cream / milk 

250 ml water ( or lesser ) 

Preparation steps :

1. Clean chicken & cut into bite sizes. Marinate with 2 tbsp of curry power & set aside for 30 minutes. 

2. Pound / blend the following ingredients  until you get a fine chillie paste. Lemon grass, dried chillies, shallots, galangal & belacan. 

3. In a pan / wok, add oil & heat up the oil then add in the chillie paste. Fry until you get a nice redish color.

4. Add in the chicken pieces, fry until the chicken is well coated with the chilie paste. 

5. Add in the coconut cream, bring to boil & add in the kaffir lime leaves & salt. 

6. Simmer for 30mins or until chicken is fully cooked.

7. Served hot with steamed rice. 

Bon appétit !!

Chin's notes: 

1. Chillie paste can be prepared ahead & use when needed. 

2. Removed the dried chilies seeds if you prefer less spicy curry. 

3. Coconut milk / fresh milk can be used to replace coconut cream but I find that cream gives a more creamy taste.

Baked Chicken Breast Meat

Learnt that I can use ham to wrap meat without skin & decided to explore. Baked chicken breast wrapped with Serrano ham. The ham gave lthe breast meat a "coat" to prevent the meat from drying out.   l

Baked Chicken Breast Meat wrapped in Serrano Ham Recipe.

Ingredients :

3 chicken breast meat

1 packet of Serrano Ham about 10 sheets

1 tomato - diced

Salt & pepper to taste 

Olive oil

Mixed herbs - I used Herbes de Provence

Preparation methods : 

1. Lay the ham about 3 sheets per meat, depending on the size of your meat.

2. Lay the chicken breast on the ham.

3. Give the chicken meat some cuts with a sharp knife so it will can spread out the meat. 

4. Rub with some olive oil, sprinkle some salt, pepper & mixed herbs on meat. Then lay the diced tomatoes on the meat. 

5. Try to wrap/seal the meat with toothpicks / strings to hold the meat together with the ham. 

6. Baked in a preheated oven at 180 degree C for 30mins. 

7. Slice into pieces before serving. 

Bon appétit !

Chin's notes : 

1. Alternatively you can use bacon. 

2. I used Serrano Ham.  Serrano ham is a type of dry-cured Spanish ham.

3. You can purchase Herbes de Provance or make ur own. Here is a link to the recipe. http://m.allrecipes.com/recipe/223272/herbs-de-provence/

4. The meat is slightly salty, a perfect dish to go with Rice Cooker Tomato Rice.  

5. This is ideal for a quick meal and it can be prepared the night before and bake on the next day.

Deep Fried Tomyum Chicken

Trying out a new dish today, surprisingly the combination turned out quite well. I marinated the chicken overnight. Deep fried them the next day.

The chicken taste yummy!!! They were tender & has a tangy tomyum spices. It is not very spicy but I will try to add some chili flakes / powder in the future. 

Deep fried tomyum chicken recipe :

Ingredients :

4 chicken drumsticks

1 tbsp of tomyum paste. I used HollyFarms Original Tomyum Koong

2 pieces kafir lime leaves - finely sliced 

1 lemongrass - thinly chopped 

1 egg 

Chili powder / flakes to taste ( optional )

1 tbsp corn flour

Oil for deep frying 

Methods :

1. Clean chicken & pat dry.

2. Marinate chicken with tomyum paste, kafir lime leaves, lemongrass, egg & chilli flakes.  Best to marinate them overnight or at least 3 hours.

3. Coat chicken with corn flour before frying. 

4. Heat up oil & deep fried chicken until cook. 

Bon appétit !! 

A picture of the tomyam paste that I used.