Green Curry Chicken

For crying out loud, I'm screaming for hot curries in the summertime ! Somebody call the food fashion police ! I wonder if it has anything to do with the fact that in a couple of months time, I'll be taking a short trip home to Malaysia.. HURRAYY ! I seriously think I'm having one of those out-of-body experiences people talk about because my mind is already there savoring all the delicious curries while my body is still here impatiently counting the days.

Speaking of curries, I've come to realize that my ability to take the "heat" without breaking a sweat has waned me over the years *sigh*. I remember a time back in Malaysia when I could stomach a variety of level 10++ spicy food for breakfast, lunch and dinner, and still wake up the next day wanting for more. These days, when the "hot and spicy" craving kicks in, I've had to dial down a few notches to using fresh red chilis, jalapenos, anaheim chilis, and serranos in my recipes.

One of the milder curries that I had just the right ingredients for at the moment was the Thai Green Curry. I had adapted the recipe to a taste I preferred using milder chilis, plenty of refreshing herbs and a few of my favorite spices. The experiment was a success IMHO ! Before the green curry reached my mouth, I have already filled up on the aroma ..wickedly pleasing !:)

Some fresh herbs from Wandering Chopsticks

A couple of weeks back, I was invited to Wandering Chopsticks' home. She was so sweet to give me a tour to her beautiful plantation garden hehe..Believe it or not, girl's got the whole nine thousand yards. From sugar cane, persimmon, guavas, papayas, promeganate, dragon fruit, and longan trees to basil, lemongrass, and a dozen or so other plants/trees. I'll bring my memory cap (and some produce bags :P) next time but there's definitely has more than what is shown here. Immediately, I stumbled upon some of my favorite herbs : Laksa leaves aka Vietnamese mint, Mint leaves and a species of curry leaves that's new to me. In Malaysia, laksa leaves are used in cooking spicy seafood dish and most importantly, it plays an important part in the famous Malaysian Asam Laksa noodle soup. In the Vietnamese cuisine, laksa leaves are not cooked, instead, they are used mainly in salads and rice paper wraps / spring rolls. Thanks again WC for the wonderful fresh herbs. I've used them for my Green Curry Chicken recipe and enjoyed them immensely :)

So, before they disappear altogether, I'm going to share these pictures with everyone else and submit this to Weekend Herb Blogging at Kalyn's Kitchen.



Green Chili Paste Recipe

Ingredients :
1 Anaheim chili
2 cloves garlic
1 bunch basil leaves ( leaves only )

Method :
1) Blend all the above ingredients until a paste-like texture is formed.

My Green Curry Chicken Recipe

Ingredients :
4 chicken drumsticks ( each piece cut into 2 )
6 laksa leaves
1/4 branch curry leaves
10 mint leaves
3 bay leaves
3 dried chili pods ( seedless )
2 cardamon
2 cloves
8 coriander seeds
1/2 star anise seed
2 inch cinnamon stick
1/2 tsp minced ginger
1 tbsp minced shallots
1 medium sized Russet potato ( peeled and cut into wedges)
1 tomato ( cut into wedges)
1/2 red bell peppers ( cut into wedges)
3 tbsp green chili paste
1 tbsp curry powder
1 tsp turmeric powder
1/2-1 tbsp tamarind paste ( depending on how tangy you want it )
10 oz coconut milk
2 tbsp cooking oil
salt and sugar to taste
water to adjust level of curry thickness

Method :
1) Marinade potatoes with turmeric powder, curry powder, and 1 tbsp of the green chili paste. Set aside.
2) Marinade chicken with 2 tbsp of green chili paste.
3) In a wok/skillet, heat 1 tbsp cooking oil and pan-fry potatoes until brown. Cover and simmer on low heat for 5 minutes or until almost cooked. Remove and set aside.
4) Heat 1 tbsp cooking oil. Saute the curry leaves, bay leaves, minced shallots, ginger, and red bell peppers with all the spice ingredients until fragrant.
5) Add chicken and pan-fry for 5 minutes until lightly browned. Add 1 tbsp of cooking oil during pan-frying if the meat starts sticking to the pan.
6) Mix in coconut milk. Cover and let boil.
7) When boiling, add tomatoes, tamarind paste, salt and sugar to taste. Mix well, turn to medium-low heat and simmer for 10 minutes.
8) Remove cover, add dried chili pods with the laksa leaves and the mint leaves. Mix well and add potatoes. Cover and continue to cook at medium-low heat for 5-10 minutes or until meat is done. Add water to adjust level of curry thickness.

Other Weekend Herb Blogging entries :
Edamame And Tiger Lily Stir-fry with Shrimps
Pesto Chicken

Pesto Chicken

More into some extra delicious finger licking good, chicken recipes..Pesto Chicken or simply, Basil Chicken !

I have got a little over half a bunch of wilted basil leaves and three wrinkly jalapenos, what do I do ? I am thinking homemade Pesto Sauce, my own version : basil leaves, jalapenos, garlic and another Weekend Herb Blogging at Kalyn's Kitchen ! Both greens complement each other, the light "fire up my taste buds" jalapeno chilli peppers balance out the sweet, fragrant basil leaves perfectly ! Too bad I don't have any pasta lying around, I guess six chicken drumsticks left over from making my sweet Honey Spicy Chicken will do.

In Malaysia, basil leafs are known as "kemangi" or "selaseh", the leaves are smaller and darker in color, and the stems and young ribbbony leaves are distinctly reddish-purple in color. They are used mainly in strong-flavored dishes like fish curries and chilli-flavored stir-fries like in shellfish or poultry dishes. In other parts of Asia, basil leaves are used to repel mosquitos with its strong odor. On a medicinal note, the basil leaves are claimed to aid in digestion, and leaf wine is regarded as a tonic and an aphrodisiac.. lol.

What makes the sauce so great is that you could simply diversify with your favorites : sun dried tomatoes, sweet soy sauce, sesame oil, and salsas. They simply add flavors to any quick stir-fry recipes, dips, leftover meats in a salad, or a Tex-Mex-Indian wrap like I did with with my Chayote Squash And Potato Stir-fry. For this basil-flavored chicken recipe, I have chosen to blend the Pesto sauce with ABC kicap manis ( ABC brand sweet thick soy sauce ). Chicken browned to a perfection with a touch of the caramalized sticky sweet soy sauce... yummy. You wouldn't think that these delicious looking drumsticks just came out from simple pan-searing and broiling, as opposed to a messy, not-so-easy-to-clean BBQ grill. Each bite of the finger licking good Pesto chicken drumsticks coupled with a crunch of chilled cold cucumber slice is undoubtedly perfect !

In the pot, now cooking my weekend herbalistic sweet dessert ( view at your own leisure ) :

Snow white fungus, gingko nuts, sweet red dates, coupled with dried longan fruit ( like the ones used for my watercress soup ), crystallised rock sugar and half a can of quail's eggs left ( from sticky rice with chestnuts, peanuts, and chicken ).

Pesto Sauce Recipe

Ingredients :
3 jalapenos ( deseeded )
1/2 a bunch basil leafs ( remove stalks, and use leaf parts only )
2 tsp chopped garlic
salt to taste
cooking oil

Method :
1) Put all the ingredients in the blender, blend until puree, paste-like form.

Pesto Chicken Recipe

Ingredients :
6 chicken drumsticks
2-3 tbsp Pesto Sauce
1-2 tbsp ABC Sweet Soy Sauce
salt, sugar and pepper to taste

Method :

1) Rub the chicken drumsticks with sweet soy sauce, salt and pepper to taste, pesto sauce, and refrigerate for 10 minutes. (Preferably overnight )

2) Heat the wok to a smoky point, quickly pan-fry the chicken drumsticks until browned on both sides, turn to medium heat, continue to flip the chicken to balance the browning ( if chicken gets bit dry sticking to pan, add cooking oil and/or more Pesto sauce and give it a quick-stir ), cover, and let broil at low heat for 10 minutes or until chicken is fully done.

Spicy Honey Chicken

Well, from my Spicy Chili Chicken post, I guess it's no secret that I'm a big fan of spicy chicken recipes. Here's another one that I enjoy - "Ayam Masak Merah Madu" ( Malaysian Style Spicy Honey Chicken ). A special thanks to my good friend, PrincessJournals for reacquainting me with this truly finger licking good chicken recipe. This dish is widely popular in Malaysia and is known in the Malay language as "Ayam Masak Merah", which literally translates to "Red Cooked Chicken". The chicken is cooked in a spicy tomato sauce, hence it's colorful namesake. "Ayam Masak Merah" can be found in most hawker stalls in Malaysia and Singapore that serves "Nasi Campur" ( Rice served with a variety of meats and vegetables of your choice ) and also at "kenduri kahwin" ( Malay wedding receptions ).

Although it may look like any other Malaysian spicy meat curry, it is the sweetness of the honey and the sour taste of the tomato sauce that sets it apart from them. There are many versions of "Ayam Masak Merah" out there but the five simple ingredients to spice it up with are turmeric, cinnamon, cardamon, star anise, and cloves. You can enjoy this dish served over steamed basmati rice or simply as a finger licking good appetizer by itself.

Spicy Honey Chicken Recipe

Ingredients :
6 chicken drumsticks
1 tsp turmeric spice
salt to taste
10 tbsp tomato paste
2 tbsp ground chili paste ( dried red chilies OR fresh red chilies )
honey to taste
2 clove
1 cinnamon bark
1 star anise
2 cardamon pod
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground garlic
2 tsp ground shallots
cut onion rings

Method :

1) Marinate the chicken drumsticks with turmeric spice and salt, set aside.
2) Pan fry the marinated chicken drumsticks until the skin is slightly crispy, set aside. ( traditionally, the Ayam Masak Merah recipe requires deep frying until the chicken is done. )
3) In a wok, stir-fry the cardamon, clove, star anise, cinnamon bark until fragrant, add the ground ginger, shallots, garlic in, continue stir-frying until fragrant.
4) Add the tomato paste in, honey, ground chili paste, and simmer until thickened and boiling, toss in the fried chicken drumsticks, cut onion rings, and give it a quick stir-fry until all the sauce thickens and the chicken is done. Dish up and ready to serve.

Spicy Chili Chicken

Chinese New Year has come and gone, marking the end of my extravagant feasting forays which has been in overdrive ever since Thanksgiving last year. Settling back into my regular diet of good ol' steamed rice with a couple of simple dishes, the first thing that came to mind was something spicy, easy to prepare, and low fat ! Eenie, meenie, minie... Rendang ? Curry Chicken? Hot and Sour Fish? ...Nope. A simple Spicy Chili Chicken ? Yeah sure, why not ! The ingredients for this Chili Chicken recipe is actually quite versatile. A combination of spices and chilies ranging from cumin to turmeric and jalapeno to serrano can be used... Whatever floats your boat basically.

Preparing this dish always bring back fond memories of my carefree college days. It was the the beginning of the oriental buffet restaurant boom here in the states. Back then, those eat-till-u-drop-for-under-five-bucks joints were heaven for starving college students such as myself, who have been surviving on one too many packets of instant noodles for lunch and dinner... and breakfast... and supper. Well... you get the picture. One of the very few spicy dishes available at most of the buffets back then was the Spicy Chili Chicken. Come winter and early spring, a few buddies and myself would get together there once in a while and pile our plates high of that good stuff with extra glasses of iced water sitting on our tables just in case.

Okay, back to the present. As I was on the phone with mom, I decided to pick her brain for some spices to include in chili chicken. Oh boy, I ended up with a shopping list for like 101 spices, some of which I don't think I can even find in an encyclopedia! She must have forgotten that I'm not in Malaysia... hehe. Anyway, I've decided to narrow it down, mainly to whatever is available in my kitchen at the moment :P I am also going to pan-fry the chicken bone-in, which IMHO is tastier that way. So here it is, my simple version of the Spicy Chili Chicken.

Spicy Chili Chicken Recipe

Ingredients:
1/2 a chicken ( cut up into serving portions )
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
1/2 tsp coriander seeds
2 tsp turmeric powder
1/2 tsp garam masala
3 tbsp red chili powder
chopped serrano chilies ( remove seeds, OR use red chilies for a milder taste )
1 tbsp minced shallots
1 tbsp minced yellow onions
dried red chili pods ( remove seeds )
water
salt and sugar to taste

Method :
1) Marinate chicken with red chili powder, turmeric powder, and garam masala spice. Set aside.
2) Stir-fry the minced shallots, yellow onions, coriander, mustard seeds, serrano chilies, and dried chili pods till fragrant. Add chicken and pan fry on both sides until nicely browned.
3) Add water, salt and sugar to taste. Cover and simmer on low heat for 10-15 minutes OR until fully cooked.

Chicken Lollipop

The votes are in! The "Bear"-ffalo Chicken Lollipops have a slight lead over the "Colt"-en Shrimp Fritters. However, due to popular request, it seems like I'll be going into overtime and fixing both of these delicious Super Bowl party treats. Okay, first to kick off is the Chicken Lollipop recipe. Remember when I made the Tea Eggs with Chicken Wings ? I only used the wing part and the drumettes I saved are perfect for this recipe. Anyway, someone was making fun of chinese cheese the other day and dared me to use some of that stinky yogurty chinese cheese to fry some chicken :P So, I did! I used the chinese red cheese, aka "nan roo" in mandarin, which means "fermented red beancurd". Yes, the westerners call it chinese cheese !!

"Chinese cheese" comes in different varieties. In the Cantonese Cuisine, the fermented red beancurd is used in braised pork recipes. My grandmother, who is of Hakka descent, used to marinate pork bellies with the fermented beancurd in a rich wine sauce to prepare her "wood ear fungi" pork recipe. I remember once or twice when I sneakily finished half a plate of the deep-fried pork before it even got braised, haha! In Taiwanese cuisine, the fermented white beancurd is commonly used in vegetable stir-fries. When the weather is cold, I occasionally like to curl up with a bowl of hot congee with some deep fried salted fish, a preserved century egg, and of course, a cube of the spicy version of the fermented white beancurd. A little nutritional fact i found out - fermented beancurd works just as well as yogurt or other forms of probiotic supplements to promote growth of friendly bacteria in the intestine.

So here it is, my Chicken Lollipops recipe with fermented red beancurd and a final touch of panko breading. I am sure this classic appetizer with a twist will be a welcomed guest to any party.


Chicken Lollipops Recipe

Ingredients :
5 chicken drumettes
1 tsp minced ginger
1 cube fermented red beancurd, mashed ( optional, all-purpose cajun seasoning is great too )
1 egg white
1 egg yolk
shaoxing wine ( OR other chinese cooking wine )
ground black pepper
salt and sugar to taste
cornflour
panko breadcrumbs

Method :

1) With a knife, pull and scrape the meat off the top to the bottom of the chicken drumette.
2) Marinate the chicken with minced ginger, mashed fermented red beancurd, egg white, black pepper, salt and sugar.
3) Set the chicken in the refrigerator and let it marinate for about 10 minutes.
4) Dip the chicken drumettes into the cornflour, then dip them into the egg yolk wash, and continue the same with the breadcrumbs.
( TIP : Quick chill in the freezer while the oil is heating up on the frying wok, to prevent breadcrumbs from falling off into the oil while frying )
5) Deep fry the chicken drumettes on medium-high heat until golden brown.

Tea Eggs With Chicken Wings

Cleansing tea, one of my night time rituals before bedtime is to brew a cup of water with green tea leaves, to detox all the fatty foods I consumed during the day. Besides, I love a good cup of tea :) However, yesterday night, I accidentally broke the tea bag, and did not want the leaves to squirm all over my cup, hence, I decided to use these flavorful tea leaves to cook some chinese tea eggs.

When cooking with tea leaves, this leads me to one favorite recipe, eggs cooked in crockpot with chicken wings. I am not sure about the origin of this tea egg recipe, but mom had used tea leaves in her meat stews many times during my childhood, to coax us in consuming something cleansing by adding pieces of meat.

Tea eggs, one of the many flavors in chinese cuisine, is particularly famous in many Taiwananese cafes/ restaurants here in the US. This chinese tea egg recipe is prepared by slow cooking the eggs in their shell with tea leaves, some light spices, chinese cooking wine, and some soy. They are then peeled, and you can enjoy them over breakfast, as a snack or appetizer, OR eat them with hot steamed rice OR tossed in your leftover egg noodles with the stewed sauce.

This tea egg recipe cooked with chicken wings makes a great one-pot-meal, pungent flavors, refreshing and simply irresistable. Another great welcome dish that compliments the friendly weather here in Southern California.

Guys and gals, time to dig up your crockpot or claypot. First thing tomorrow morning, enjoy the aroma of tea leaves, sit back and relax, tea eggs for breakfast, and tea flavored soy chicken for dinner. Sounds good to me, how about you ?

Tea Eggs With Chicken Wings Recipe

Ingredients :
4 eggs
5 chicken wings
1 star anise seed
2 cloves
sliced ginger
1/4 a cinnamon bark ( optional )
5 tbsp low-sodium soy sauce
1 tbsp thick sweet soy sauce
1 tbsp chinese rice wine
2 tsp green tea leaves ( OR Black tea leaves )
2 pc rock sugar ( OR small crystalised sugar )
1/4 cup water
salt to taste

Method :
1) Put all the ingredients in the crockpot.
2) Set crockpot temperature to high, and slow cook for 2-4 hours, OR if crockpot settings on low, slow cook for 4-6 hours.

Hainan Chicken Rice

For those who are attached to their rice dishes, I have yet another candidate that will not only satisfy your carbs cravings, it will take care of your protein cravings, all in one. The Hainan Chicken Rice is a chicken rice made popular in the Malaysia cuisine and Singapore cuisine, and it was brought in by the Hainanese immigrants of China. This chicken rice meal immediately evolved into the locals taste buds and became a pop-culture. The Hainan Chicken Rice recipe even made popular by the hawker stalls, street vendors, coffee shops, all the way to 5-star hotels.

There's a known notion that in the Malaysia and Singapore cuisine, rice dishes are mostly confined to their rich coconut rice and intense spicy dishes, but the Hainan Chicken Rice is one of the few recognised rice dishes that made headlines. A simple chicken rice recipe that is delicious when eaten with pieces of boiled OR roast chicken. If you like El Pollo Loco, Lucille's BBQ, or your favorite chicken griller/broiler, you will definitely love this, I guarantee !

The conventional way in preparing the Hainan Chicken recipe is to boil the chicken, and the broth is used to cooked the rice, with a few added aromatic ingredients. Some would prefer the Roast Hainan Chicken, which is just roasted on a slow fire. I was craving for this chicken rice meal so badly that I went ahead and make a quick and easy Hainan Chicken Rice. Instead of the the conventional method, this broiled chicken recipe is plain, simple and easy. You ever wonder what's the best chicken rice recipe besides chicken fried rice when you've got leftover cooked white rice ? A few pieces of delicious broiled chicken and a couple bowls of scrumptious chicken-flavored rice, my Hainan Chicken recipe made happen on the open pan. I am a happy-chicken-lover !

A) Hainan Chicken

Ingredients :
1 whole chicken cut into 4 parts
3 oz. minced ginger
3 oz. minced shallots
1 oz. minced garlic
1 tsp chinese Five spice powder
4 oz. shaoxing hua tiao cooking wine ( OR other chinese cooking wine )
1 tbsp thick sweet soy sauce
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp honey OR maltose
sugar and salt to taste

Method :
1) Marinade the chicken with all the ingredients for 20 minutes, preferably 2 hours.
2) Pan fry the pre-marinated chicken pieces skin down until nicely browned, flip over and pan fry an additional 5 minutes.
3) Cover and broil chicken for 10 minutes OR until cooked.
4) Remove cover, do a taste-test for the juices on the pan, add salt and sugar to taste if necessary.
4) Set chicken aside, let cool and cut the chicken into desired pieces.
5) Keep the sauce on the pan for later use.

B) Chicken Rice

Ingredients :
3 cups cooked white rice
1 tbsp minced ginger
1 tbsp minced shallots
2 tsp minced garlic
1 tsp chicken base powder ( optional )
1/4 portion of the sauce from the broiled chicken
1 tbp sesame oil ( OR butter )
1 pc. screwpine leaf ( optional )
1 tbsp shaoxing hua tiao cooking wine ( OR other cooking wine )
4 oz water
salt to taste

Method :
1) Saute the ingredients until fragrant.
2) Add the cooked rice in, stir fry for 5 minutes.
3) Add water in, mix well, and cover wok or skillet.
4) Set to low heat and cook for an additional 5-10 minutes or until serving time.


C) Chicken Rice Sauce

The sauce you kept aside after broiling the chicken.

D) Chili Sauce

Ingredients :
5 fresh red chilis
2 oz. garlic
salt and sugar to taste
lime juice ( 1/2 a lime )

Method :
1) Blend all the ingredients, then squeeze the lime juice in and mix well.

E) Garnishing

cucumber OR tomato slice
chopped cilantros

Using chinese five spice powder : Also good for marinating ribs and best in any chinese meat braising recipes.

Deep Fried Belacan Chicken Wings

My second post is long overdue. Has everyone survived their Xmas and New year's bloatings from all the food, booze, or something much more interesting ? *grins* I fired up the kitchen for some fried chicken just before all that, and ended up with a whole long week of fever, flu & everything else in between. *sob*

Major seasoning : Toasted shrimp paste made of fermented krills, also known as Belacan in Malaysia and Singapore, and Terasi Bakar to the Indonesians, where krills are mashed, buried for sometime, fried, toasted and pressed into squarish shaped block of cake. They are also sold in powdered form in jars.

Fried chicken inspires some heated debates. So, you'll likely have quite a few different approaches. We got the Spicy Cajuns, the Old fashioned Colonel's Chicken and much more. Bring them on ! I'll start with a confession, this recipe was born out of ethnic preference. Yes, my recipe is seasoned with some wonderfully-stinky Belacan. This recipe has became popular over the years after I left for the States and is much talked about until recently when I called home. Almost all fried food is associated with Belacan seasonings. Although I've to admit that I still need to learn the manner of frying to 100% crispyness and juicy in perfection. I'm quite ready now, I think, to make this recipe do justice to almost perfection - easy on the flouring, crispy on the outside, tender, juicy and tasty on the inside - bye bye to Popeyes, KFC, and say hello to my Jumbo Belacan Chicken Wings, Yayy !! :)

So, how do you like yours fried ?

Deep Fried Belacan Chicken Wings Recipe

Ingredients :
5 jumbo chicken wings ( cut into drumettes & wings )
2 tbsp oyster sauce
1 tbsp belacan powder
1 tbsp ground dried shrimps
1 tbsp black pepper
salt & sugar to taste
1 egg white

Seasoned flour ( in a Zip-lock bag ) :
Cornflour
1 tbsp rice flour
1 tbsp belacan powder
1/2 tsp black pepper
salt & sugar

Method :
1) Pre-marinade the wings with all the "ingredients", except the egg white. (for at least 2 hours to overnight preferably.)
2) Place the wings in egg whites, set aside.
3) Place them in the pre-seasoned flour, shake and ready to fry.
4) Heat oil, fry wings in medium heat for 10-15 minutes OR until nicely browned.

Other Belacan recipes : Vegetable stir fry with belacan and seafood of your choice, Tomyum Soup broth using belacan, and marinating chicken with belacan for BBQ, deep frying or roasting.