Recipe: SLR Fried Chicken Rice

cooked this for buka puasa at home last sunday. it's my own recipe, tried, altered & tested a few times before & here's the recipe to share.

Ingredients for Fried Chicken:

3 chicken breasts
2 cloves garlic, minced/ crushed
2 egg white
2tbs 'Mukmin' salsa sause (from Tesco)
1 tsp. chilli powder or chilli sauce
salt & pepper seasoned to taste
Seasoned flour for chicken coating which i used Puas brand (bought from Tesco) 

for Garnishing

cucumber, tomatoes & lettuce
2 Tbsp. fried shallots

Ingredients for Rice:

2 cups rice, washed and drained
1 small piece ginger
3 shallots
2 cloves garlic
(blend all 3 ingredients above)

2 tbsp. butter
2 pandan leaves
chicken broth & chicken stock

Ingredients for Chilli Sauce:

6 fresh red chillies
¼ cup lime juice / vinegar
1 tsp. sesame oil
salt and sugar to taste
2tbsp Mai pranhom ~ thai chili sauce

Ingredients for Garlic Soy Sauce
2 cloves garlic
soy sauce both light & dark
1 tabsp oil

Ingredients for Chicken Cucumber Soup

parts of chickens
3 shallots
2 cloves of garlic
a thumb of ginger
celery stalks
cloves, cinnamon & star anise
slices of cucumber
salt & pepper to taste

Method:

Step 1: sautee mixture of shallot, garlic & ginger in a pot with little oil, add parts of chicken that u would use to make chicken stock. put in celery stalks & slices of cucumber. not to forget throw in the cloves, cinnamon & star anise. season to taste.

step 2:  wash rice and drain the water, put aside. heat some butter in a pan and sautee  shallot, ginger and garlic mixture till fragrant. remove from heat and pour this mixture and pandan leaves into rice cooker pot,  add rice. add sufficient chicken broth & chicken stock if using to cook according to the rice cooker measurment. don't forget to add salt for taste.

step 3: blend or pound red chilies & mix all ingredients for the chilli sauce. season to taste with sugar and salt. heat up in a saucepan until thicken.


step 4: saute minced garlic in oil, add both light & dark soy sauce until it starts to bubble. 

step 5: mix the ingredients for chicken in a bowl. clean chicken and pat dry, prick with a fork to allow seasonings to penetrated. marinate chicken with seasonings for 1/2 day or leave overnight in refrigerator.

step 6: heat oil for frying. dip chicken in a bowl of beaten egg white & coat them in the seasoned chicken flour, &deep fry till golden brown. remove and cut into serving pieces when cool.

step 7: serve rice with chicken, sliced cucumbers, tomatoes & lettuce, chilli sauce and dark soy sauce. garnish rice with some fried shallots.

Tips: soak peeled shallots with a pinch of salt in water for about 5 minutes. Slice thinly and deep fry in hot oil till crisp and brown.drain on paper towel.

serves: 4

Happy cooking! ;D

Recipe: Chinese Lemon Chicken

every time i went to the supermarket for my monthly grocery trip, lemon is something i can't resist buying. thinking i'll make something (food) out of it but without fail it always ended up as lemonade drink! :P

so while browsing thru some recipe blogs for some ideas, i found this highly reviewed recipe from here. it sounds & looks simple enough so i tried.

here's the  original recipe & the writing in orange is my variation. *cooked this dish with my eager assistant cook~Laith. ;P

Ingredients:
 
2 1/2lbs boneless-skinless chicken breasts (cut into 1” cubes)
 
Marinade
 
2 tablespoons soy sauce
½ teaspoon salt
 
Batter
 
2 large eggs
¼ cup cornstarch
½ teaspoon baking powder
1 pinch white pepper
oil (for frying)
 
Sauce
 
1/3 cup sugar
1 cup chicken broth (i used chicken stock + water instead)
1 ½ tablespoons cornstarch
2 tablespoons lemon juice (half a lemon equals to 2 tablespoon)
¾ teaspoon salt
3 slices of lemon (peeled) (the remaining half of the lemon equals 3 slices)
2 tablespoons oil
yellow food coloring (optional)  (i went au naturel)

Cooking Instructions:

Step 1: Place cut chicken breast pieces into a bowl and mix with 2 tablespoons of soy sauce and ½ teaspoon of salt. Cover and marinate in the refrigerator for 30 minutes. (i had less than 1 hour to prepare the dish, half hour in the fridge was not a problem)

Step 2: To make the batter – beat 2 large eggs with ¼ cup of cornstarch, a pinch of white pepper and baking powder.  Coat the chicken with the batter.

Step 3: Heat deep fryer to 350 degrees and deep-fry in batches until chicken is fully cooked. Drain on paper towels and set aside. You can also cook the chicken using a wok if you don’t have a deep fryer. (i didn't have a deep fryer, so wok was the answer) 


Step 4: Now, to make the lemon sauce – combine 1/3 cup of sugar, 2 tablespoons cornstarch, 1 cup chicken broth (chicken stock & water) , 2 tablespoons lemon juice, and ¾ teaspoon salt (if using food coloring you can add it now). Mix until well combined and add 3 slices of lemon to the sauce mixture.

Step 5: Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in your wok and stir in the lemon sauce mixture and heat until well mixed and sauce becomes clear. Remove lemon slices and pour the sauce over the chicken and mix. Best served with rice and broccoli. & dish ready to be served. unfortunately broccoli was not in the menus yesterday but it tasted good regardless.

well they don't look as presentable as the original recipe pix but it was yummy all the same & everyone loves it. 

this recipe is definitely a keeper.  

Happy cooking!!! :D

Bali: Sate Lilit & recipe~Cooking Mode ON.

the first time mehubby & i tried sate lilit was when we were in Bali where it's originated from. when we got home, i kept thinking about it & it kept on haunting me... last couple of weeks while flipping thru the cable channel (while mehubby was away, obviously ;P ) i saw Bobby Chin - Discovery Travel & Living, World Cafe Asia was making them sate lilit~. haish tak leh jadi nih, but since i missed the 1st part of the program i didn't get to see what he used ta make them & try to put it at the back of my mind, after all my cooking mode was still OFF then. last week plak, while flipping thru some old magazines at my FIL's... @ the recipe section...they showed the pics of  them glorious sate lilit & for some reasons they have the same recipes on two different categories~ if that's not enough hint to make me try it, i don't know what would lah...:P

however i don't really trust recipes in magazines cos they bound to omit certain things & the instructions would either be confusing or there would be some missing link somehow, somewhere...these sentences seem redundant don't they... oh well....;P
so i googled. found lots of postings on the recipe with lots of variation.so i used this recipe below as a main guide with several other recipes combined.to create my own version...hehehe...

yesterday after finalising the recipe with my cooking MODE went ON again, i left the office~ told mehubby & meFIL that i'm going to make them Sate Lilit for berbuka puasa....

so here's the recipe, the writing in orange is my variation;

Recipe: Sate Lilit Bali 
Ingredients:

250 grams shrimp (cleaned and deveined)
250 grams mackerel or any firm white flesh fillet
50 grams desiccated coconut -i used fresh shredded coconut.
65gm coconut milk
6 pieces kaffir lime leaves (thinly sliced)-i mixed it in the process ingredients
2 tablespoons palm sugar (gula jawa)-mixed it in process ingredients
Red capsicum (tiny cubes for sprinkles)-didn't have any.
Bamboo skewers or fresh lemongrass may be used-i used both

Processed Ingredients:
red chili- depending on ur taste, how mild or hot or super hot u like.
8 shallots
2 cloves garlic
2 cm galangal or blue ginger
2 cm kencur / cekur or lesser galangal- i love this but no one else at the house likes it so i skipped.
1 teaspoon coriander seeds-somehow i missed to use this one...oops!!:P
1 cm fresh turmeric- didn't have any so i used powdered turmeric instead.
3 kemiri-or buah keras- candle nut
1 stalk lemon grass / serai
some recipes use belacan/ terasi or shrimp paste but i didn't
Mince all ingredients until they turn into a smooth paste- some recipes say~do not fry / saute-
some say~ Saute.over medium heat. i prefer the later. let is cool then mixed in the fish & shrimp paste.

Method:

1. Mix both fish & shrimp in food processor until smooth. Mix in coconut. Add the coconut milk.
2. Add processed ingredients, mix well. Add salt & sugar to taste.
3. If the mixture is still too dry, you may add 1 egg white and a bit of olive oil.-with the coconut milk it should be ok.
4. Shape the mixture on sate sticks/lemongrass stalk, flatten slightly.- use a bit of  olive / cooking oil while shaping to help it stick to the lemongrass or skewer & that also make the uncooked sate not stick to each other.
5. Charcoal grill sate until light brown and cooked through.- i used bbq electric grill.

 the sates after i'ved shaped around the lemongrass

 

on the BBQ electric grill

please note that those serai that i used were taken from my FIL's back garden hence the various sizes. ;P

so here are my Sate Lilit Bali ala SLR ready to be tried & tasted during berbuka yesterday~ forgot to take the pic of the sambal matah (something like sambal belacan with a twist). sate lilit are usually eaten with nasi, pasal tulah ade sambal matah.

Recipe: Sambal Matah


INGREDIENTS:
15 shallots, peeled, cut in half and finely sliced
4 cloves garlic, cut in half & sliced
15 small sliced chilies
1 tsp roasted shrimp paste (terasi)
1 tsp salt
2 tbsp freshly squeezed lime juice-i used limau kasturi

2 tsp palm sugar

PREPARATION:
1. Combine all ingredients & blend.
2. Season to taste with salt

sauté mixture for two minutes over medium heat to enhance the flavor.

the verdict: mehubby said, it tasted like the ones that we tried in Bali..hehe( kembang jap), laith said it tasted like otak-otak~ he loves otak-otak & the rest simply loved it...including my picky eater nephew mike whom hardly touches anything he is not familiar with. so i guess either it was actually good or it simply different from the normal food that we always have...hahaha...:D

happy fasting & happy trying  the recipe sate lilit Bali ala SunnyLovesRain.:D

Magic Middle Peanut Butter Cookies recipe

i was searching for a totally different recipe when i accidentally bumped into this particular recipe.  the pic looks good so whenever my cooking /baking mode is back on again i will probably try this recipe. only problem is.... i seriously do not enjoy baking things that require me shaping 'em with my hands. ;(

this recipe however received outstanding comments from the readers who have actually tried... so maybe they are really good then...alahhhhhh!!!

Ingredients:                                                                      

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar-packed
1/2 cup unsalted butter-softened
1/4 cup peanut butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 egg
3/4 cup confectioners sugar
3/4 cup peanut butter

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

2. In a small  bowl, blend flour, cocoa, and baking soda.

3. In a large bowl beat white sugar, brown sugar, butter and 1/4 cup peanut butter, until light and fluffy.  Add vanilla and egg, beat until blended.  Stir in flour mixture until blended.  Set aside.

4. Make the filling by combining the confectioners sugar and 3/4 cup peanut butter.  Beat well with electric mixer until mixture comes together.

5. Roll filling into 30 1 inch balls. Form exterior part of cookie by sectioning dough into approximately 1 tablespoon pieces.  Form exterior part of cookie around filling and cover completely.  Place 2 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet.  Flatten with a glass dipped in sugar.

6. Bake at 375 degrees for 7-9 minutes. ( I baked mine for 7 minutes )  Allow to cool on cookie sheet for 10 minutes then remove to a cooling rack and cool completely.

 to those in the mood to try, be my guest but please lemme know if it's really good as claimed~cheers!

Royal Pudding Raja....

first time i set eyes on this pudding, i seriously thought it's an exotic aphrodisiac oyster of some kind. what's more, it's been served during my BIL's wedding as dessert...hmmmmm..;P

this one was made by kak Ji for the wedding.

but of course Mak Yan was quick to hear my comment & told me what it was...hehehe...
accordingly, Puding Raja ("Royal Pudding")~  is one of the Sultan of Pahang's favourite dessert hence it's name.

it is a traditional Pahang Malay dish prepared as appetizer !?...err did i hear that correctly? or dessert (more likely). a favorite by local folks taken with their evening tea, this colorful cuisine is also normally served during weddings and festivals.
anyway here's the recipe...no idea how to make the jala mas though but one can always go to Kelantan/ Trengganu  & Pahang to get those jala mas to complete the recipe...hehehe;P

Ingredients
5 – 10 pieces of (not too ripe) bananas (pisang lemak manis preferable)
pisang emas can also be used.
5 or more pieces of prunes
5 or more pieces of red cherries
5 or more pieces of green cherries
cashew nuts(optional)

Sauce (Gravy)
1 liter of milk
2 tablespoons of condensed milk
1 teaspoon cornflour /can also use custard powder
1 egg (beaten softly)
125 ml water

Method
~ fry the bananas in cooking oil (just a short while in low heat) until they turn a little dark yellowish (not fried). then take them out and put aside on a plate. if available, spread the "jala mas" on top of the bananas.
~ the sauce or gravy ingredients are blended and mixed together and then boiled in a pot. Stir them well while cooking until the sauce becomes a little thick.

Serving
~ let the sauce or gravy cool before pouring them on the bananas and other fruits. ready to serve.

please note: this dessert is sweet, so do not over eat or u'll end up a diabetic!

left over lamb stew

no idea what to do with the left over lamb from bbq party... turn them into a delicious stew! this is my version of stew after my BIL's wedding couple of weeks back.

ingredients:
leftover lamb/ can also work on beef or chicken.
lime/ lemon
potatoes
carrot
onians
garlic
ginger
tomatoes
green apple
leek (optional)
black pepper sauce
chicken/ beef stock
flour (thickening purposes)
salt to taste
lea & perrins
water

note: size & quantity of the ingredients above are all depending on the quantity & size of the leftover lamb.

mixed everything (except for the flour)in a pot (if not using oven) or in oven dish and cook until tender, then mix the flour with water & pour over the gravy to thicken it....Wallah!!!
serves with garlic bread or rice.
Bon apetite!

yellow curry tripe with mango aka masak lemak perut & mangga

it's recipe time!!!

this was my first try at cooking perut ( tripe) ever. mehubby is not a big fan of masak lemak cili api ( yellow curry) but yesterday he asked if i could cook this dish for him~ must be craving or something.... so i tried & even though i used unripened mango instead of belimbing buluh (averrhoa bilimbi) it was a success~ Good Jolly!!

so here's the simple recipe to share;

ingredients: serves 2; 500gm of tripe- get the precooked packet @the supermarket. ( i bought them from Tesco)
3 cups of fresh coconut milk
2-3 pcs of lemongrass
a bit of chili padi ( use more if u like it hot)
1/2 inch of fresh turmeric
1-2 pcs of asam keping/ asam gelugor ( dried slices of ( a kind of) tamarind fruit- only use this if not using mango or belimbing buluh, or else the gravy will be too sour)
a choice of unripened mango, belimbing buluh, or bamboo shoot.
seasoning to taste.

*no onions, garlic or oil needed for this recipe.

Method:
to boil: perut/tripe ( but if u get the precooked one, just cut them into small pieces)
to blend: chili padi & turmeric
to cut: lemongrass

mix all the ingredients above in a pot including the tripe & coconut milk & put onto stove & keep stirring until the sauce thickens, add in the unripened mango/belimbing buluh/ bamboo shoot.
served with rice.

Cake in a Mug~chocolate cake lovers...wanna quickie?

i wasn't all that interested when i first saw this in my inbox~ The most dangerous chocolate cake recipe in the world- didn't even bother to open it. then i received another one that says- Chocolate cake in a mug in 5 minutes...oh well since i was doing yet another inbox spring cleaning i opened it just so that i can get on & delete it.

i was very skeptical when i saw the recipe...

4 tablespoons flour
4 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons cocoa
1 egg
3 tablespoons milk
3 tablespoons oil
3 tablespoons chocolate chips (optional)
A small splash of vanilla extract and your favorite tipple
1 large coffee mug

ok it sounds simple enough & i do have all the ingredients at home, feeling rather adventurous i tried the recipe last nite.


Add dry ingredients to your largest mug and mix well. make sure it's those starbuck type of mug or the mixture will drip when rise.


Add the egg and mix thoroughly.


Pour in the milk and oil and mix well.

Add the chocolate chips (if using), vanilla extract and a drop or two of your favorite tipple, then mix again.

Put your mug in the microwave and cook for 3 minutes at 1000 watts (high).
( there is suppose to be a picture of the mug in the microwave oven~ however, since my domestic cleaner- kak mis forgot to clean it up the last time she came around... i had to leave the picture outlah...;P)


if u think cupcake is too small, try mugcake instead..
The cake will rise over the top of the mug, but don't be alarmed!


Allow to cool a little, and tip out onto a plate if desired.


If you're feeling very very naughty, cover liberally in Bailey's Irish Cream.

variation to the above, i covered the cake with peanut butter+ chocolate topping, or if u like~ have em with vanilla sauce or even a scoop or two of ice creams of ur own choice.

And why is this the most dangerous cake recipe in the world?

Because now you are only 5 minutes away from chocolate cake at any time of the day or night! &..
here's an evil suggestion~ it's so quick & easy u can now make it at the pantry & enjoy ur mugcake at the office too...hehehe >;P....

note:
try it, it only takes 2 minutes of preparation & 3 minutess to cook in the microwave oven...
it's particularly brilliant as an instant after dinner dessert or when u have an unexpected guest over..
oh it doesn't really have to be in a mug, any microwave oven proof dish will do too..

~end~