Hakka Chicken

Re-wind to August 2012 - last year.

My brother-in-law was just a day or two away from moving to Spain. He had to go ahead of his family to procure a home, vehicle, and various other requirements that the government of that country needed to have met. Then the would grant visas to his wife and children.

He was in the city just for a few days - selling the van, tying up a few loose ends, and waiting for his flight.

Let's celebrate this momentous occasion.  Let's go out for dinner. Indian food? YES!!! Let's go to Taste of India.

We ordered rice, naan (pronounced 'naaaaaaaaaaan' - like when you say aaaaaaa for the doctor, not Nan - the name some people use for their Grandmother), and various delicious dishes with veggies and meat.

The "Hakka" portion of the menu caught our attention and I remembered a columnist on CBC talking about this delicious blend of Indian and Chinese cuisines. We were intrigued. We ordered the chicken.

It was amazing. Incredible. DE-Lish-OUS!!!

My newest favourite dish and something I craved from the moment I finished licking the sauce off the plate. I used naan, by the way, not my tongue.

I was instantly addicted.

I need to eat this again. Yes, need. Soon. Like... tomorrow. And the next day. And the next.

How can I make this at home? It is too good... and A Taste of India is too far away to make this a daily order.

RECIPE: Hakka Chicken

Ingredients:
chicken wings
oil
madras curry powder (the yellowish curry powder)
garlic
salt

sweet chilli sauce

Method:

> in a bowl large enough to accommodate all the wings, mix oil, garlic powder, and madras curry powder (I know I have not put quantities here - that is because some will like it more garlicky, others more curried, and the third lot will realize that cayenne is magic in this recipe)

> the idea is to thoroughly coat the chicken wings in the curry oil

> now line a rimmed cookie sheet with foil so the foil goes over all the edges and put parchment paper over that; this will save you from the wings sticking to the cookie sheet and makes clean-up super simple

> here us where a slight deviation occurs and you can do this one of two ways

A> bake the wings at 400°F or 205°C for about 40 minutes or until they are 84°C or 180°F internal temperature

A> pour the sweet chilli sauce into a clean bowl, then the chicken wings on top; I use about 1/2 to 1 cup

A> toss the wings in the sweet chilli sauce and enjoy 

OR

B> bake the wings for 30 minutes, toss them in the sweet chilli sauce, and finish baking them to sticky perfection

Jocón / Guatemalan Chicken in Tomatillo-Cilantro Sauce

RECIPE: Jocón / Guatemalan Chicken in Tomatillo-Cilantro Sauce

(serves 6)

Ingredients:

- 3 pounds chicken, cut into serving pieces

- 4 cups water

- 2 tsp salt

- 1/4 cup pumpkin seeds (pepitas)

- 1/4 cup sesame seeds

- 2 corn tortillas, chopped, soaked in water, drained

- 1 cup tomatillos, hulled and chopped

- 1 bunch cilantro, chopped

- 1 bunch scallions, chopped

- 1-5 jalapeño or serrano chile peppers, chopped

Method:

> place the chicken, water, and salt into a large pot over medium-high

> bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer for 30 minutes to 1 hour

> heat a dry skillet over medium; add the pumpkin and sesame seeds and toast, stirring, until lightly browned; remove to a coffee grinder or food processor and grind to a fine powder

> add the sesame and pumpkin seeds, tortillas, tomatillos, cilantro, scallions, and chile peppers to a food processor or blender; add 6 cups of the broth from the chicken and process until smooth; you may have to do this step in batches

> pour pureed sauce into the pot with the chicken pieces

> heat over medium-low and simmer for an additional 15-25 minutes; adjust seasoning and serve

For a full view of the menu served at the Guatemalan lunch, go here. 

Satay Chicken

RECIPE: Thai Satay Chicken

This is currently my favourite thing to eat!! I have also recently shared it with several groups of friends and family. This posting is for those who have been hounding me for the recipe and for those who want a super simple, incredible dish that is certain to impress every time.

Herbes de Provence

It sounds so yummy - so French - so... complicated and intimidating. But it is not complicated. It is simple and delicious. You read right; French, delicious, simple.

This is a chicken thigh over salad. Super easy, incredibly flavourful.

Turkey Mini Meatballs

The other day, I wanted something fun, yummy, and different. We are on quite the salad and fish kick right now, but the ground turkey in the fridge was begging for inspiration. What to do? Turkey Meatballs, of course!

Lazy Pizza

The other day, I decided on pizza for dinner. It was already nearly 5:00 pm and I was low on ideas.

The kids decided on ham, pineapple, and bell pepper pizza. For Chris and I, vegetarian. We picked up two pizza crusts (gasp) at the store and got to making it. I really did not want a tomato pizza sauce, so I made a "white" pizza sauce that worked quite well.

The Return Of Taste

After being sick for the last month, my sense of taste is finally returning. It disappeared among the orange juice, toast, soup, and cough syrup I have been living off.

I figured that posting recipes while I could not actually taste anything was not a wise choice. At one point I loaded something I was eating with Frank's Red Hot Sauce and still could not taste a thing. Now that I can taste, it's time to start posting again!

Saturday Night Wings

I love chicken wings. But I do not like going out for wings, paying at least $12 for a plate of them, and finding only 12 wings (or fewer) on the plate with two dry sticks each of celery and carrot, likely chopped sometime yesterday. Sometimes the proportion of sauce to wing is not right, the wings are not crisp, or something else taints the experience.

My solution? Wings at home. Crisp, excellent wings are totally attainable, with only the basic kitchen tools you already have.

Community Lunch Lasagne

When it comes to food and cooking for others, running out is NEVER an option. If there is a fault in this category, it is that we tend to over-do it. So, when we volunteered to help out with food for the Community Lunch after church this last week, we aimed high...

... top of this mountain of twenty loaves of garlic bread, high.

Comfort Food

The other night on our way home, I asked the boys what they would rather have for dinner: 1) leftover turkey, mashed potatoes, peas, gravy, and salad... OR 2) soup with coconut milk, peanut, curry, and rice noodles. My 7-year-old asked for the soup and my 5-year-old asked for the curry noodles.

Amazing how comfort food for me when I was little would have been option 1, but now I find the more comforting food to be option 2, as do the boys.

Simple & Classy

When I make dinner, my goal is usually to make one thing that is special and make everything else simple. This makes the meal feel classier and takes little effort.

A few weeks ago, dear friends of ours came to visit with their four children. We then had six children in the house, ages 8, 7, 6, 5, 5, & 5 as well as four adults.

What do you feed to an active bunch like this?

Prepare Ahead: buying larger quantities of meat to pre-marinate, spice, dice, and sauce them yourself!

About once every week or two I buy several larger packages of meat and end up spending about 20 or 30 minutes with them.

How do you know what is a good price for meat? Start by looking at the price per pound or the price per kilogram. The price per kilo for regular ground beef will usually be the cheapest; the price per kilo for boneless skinless chicken breasts will be the most. 

With beef, watch the prices per kilo and compare them to other cuts - when I bought these “marinating” steaks, they were $1.20 per kilo cheaper than cubed stewing beef!!

Another important thing to watch is the “best before" date or the “packed on” date. I always want to take home the freshest meat, so next to the price per pound, that is the next most important.

This week, I bought one package of marinating steaks and one package of chicken thighs with the bone in.

In our family, lunch is leftovers from dinner the night before, so when I am packing up meat, I am actually packaging one dinner and one lunch for four. 

This is a wonderful opportunity to plan ahead if you are cooking for one or two or if there are several nights of the week when you need to throw something in the slow cooker or the oven on low before you run out the door for a few hours. This pre-planning has saved us from eating dinner out and spending nearly $40 when the dinner in the oven costs less than $10 and will also feed us lunch tomorrow. 

Pizza... Home Made Pizza

There is something so warm and comforting about the smell of baking bread when it is cold and dark outside. On those days, I find myself scouring cookbooks and food blogs looking for the recipe I will bake. Last night, it was home made pizza from a cookbook my mother-in-law made for Chris when he left home.

Making your own pizza dough is actually quite simple. It involves paying attention for small periods of time, lots of ignoring, a few minutes of baking, then - VOILA! - pizza!!

Yes, it is that simple. Okay, it might take a little longer the first time or two, but after that, it is simple AND quick.

Dinner Tonight: Curry

After school on Thursdays, the boys and I get home quickly and eat a snack that is more of a meal than a little bite. Then we load into the car with boxing gloves, shorts and tee-shirts and head off to their kick-boxing class in Calgary.

By the time we get home, it is nearly 7:00 and with bedtime FAST approaching, if dinner is not already ready, the wheels fall off and the kids end up going to bed way too late, cranky. 

Here is my solution for tonight’s dinner... curry! I will prep everything before I go help out in Kindergarten this afternoon and I will start the slow roasting before we leave at 4:20 pm for the 5:15 pm class.

RECIPE: Apple Curry

Ingredients:

2 lbs beef, sliced and diced (I chop up cheap steaks for this, but ground beef would also work or stewing beef cubes)

1 large onion, diced

2 large apples, cored and diced

1 can coconut milk

2 tbsp yellow curry paste (or curry powder if you don’t have the paste)

Method:

> mix it all together in an oven-proof casserole dish, clamp on the lid, and put it in the oven at 325*F for 2-2.5 hours; alternately, you could use a crock-pot


> rice, the amount and method you usually use (I will talk more on rice a little later)

Garnish:

fresh cilantro & green onions sprinkled over

I will post photos of this tomorrow as well as any sides I create to go with it! I have no idea what they will be, but I know my fridge is brimming with produce that begs to be eaten! 

* For an authentic experience, do not use any forks, spoons, or other utensils when eating.  Use only your fingers on your right hand and rip up a piece of Indian Naan Bread to scoop and sop the yumminess up!!

** Yes, I am seriously suggesting that you eat rice, small pieces of meat and veg, and sauce with your fingers. Think of how much fun your kids will have!


UPDATE: 
My 7-year-old decided that this was the VERY BEST curry he had EVER had and ate three large bowls before declaring that he was too full for a fourth. 


Here is a photo of the apples, vegetables, coconut milk, and curry paste before I added strips of cheap beef. And curry in the bowl served over brown basmati rice - with cilantro and kosher salt - yummy!

 

Chicken Soup for the Soul and Stomach

I love the smell of a pot of chicken broth bubbling away on the stove.  There is something so homey, warm, comforting about it.  It is a great way to use up the left-over meat, bones, and skin from a roasted chicken. Also, it is surprisingly little work.

CHICKEN SOUP

Ingredients:

Chicken bones, joints, skin, etc.

3-6 bay leaves 

10 pepper corns (or 1/2 tsp ground pepper)

1 onion, cut in half

garlic (1 or more cloves)

water to cover the contents of the pot

Method:

Cover and simmer over medium-low until it comes to a gentle boil. Allow to simmer for one to five hours before serving. Alternately, you can use pre-made chicken broth and simmer with the bay leaves, pepper, onion, and garlic for 20 minutes.

To Serve:

Pre-boil noodles until they are "al-dente" or still a bit firm. While the noodles are cooking, chop up a few fresh vegetables. Arrange the chopped veggies, cooked noodles, and leftover meat in each bowl.  Ladle strained broth over the contents of each bowl and serve.

Note: 

Store extra noodles and broth in separate containers in the fridge. If stored together, the noodles will continue to absorb broth and will become mushy.

Do you make chicken soup? What do you do to "personalize" it?