Posted July 20th, 2010 in Food | 4 Comments »
Somen Noodle + curry?? It sounds a little mismatch, but spicy tomato curry does go with simple somen noodle. Enjoy with lots of mushroom ♪
aa
<Somen Tomato Curry with Chicken and Mushroom> serves 4
aa
- 1 chicken breast fillet
- 2 baby eggplants
- 1 pack shimeji mushroom
- 2~3 cup mushrooms
- 1/2 medium onion
- 1 clove garlic
- 1 tsp minced ginger
- 2 tbs curry powder
- 100ml sake (cooking wine)
- 400g tomato tin, peeled
- 100~150ml chicken stock
- 1 bay leaf
- salt, sugar and pepper to taste
- 200g somen noodle
aaa
- Bring the large pot of water to the boil, and cook somen noodle. Drain and set aside.
- Peel a part of the skin on baby eggplants. Halve lengthwise, then cut each halves into 1 cm. Leave them in a bowl of cold water.
- Cut chicken into pieces. Chop onion and garlic. Slice cup mushrooms. Separate shimeji into small pieces.
- In a large frying pan, heat 1 tbs of olive oil and grill the chicken. When it’s coloured, add garlic, ginger and onion and saute.
- Add mushrooms, and saute for few minutes. Add curry powder, and cook for another few minutes.
- Drain the egg plants and add to the pan. Pour sake, chicken stock and tomato into the pan, and bring to the gentle boil. Reduce the heat, add a bay leaf and place the lid. Simmer for 10 minutes. Season to taste.
- Divide the somen noodle into the serving bowls, and pour the curry over. Serve while hot.
aa
Posted June 28th, 2010 in Food | 2 Comments »
The dish Chicken Nanban was originally created in Kyushu island in Japan about 50 years ago. Since then, this item has became very popular across Japan, and now you can find the dish in family restaurants, convenience stores, fast food chains and even pizza shops.
The original Chicken Nanban was a deep-fried chicken immersed in sweet/sour sauce. Nowadays Chichen Nanban is served with tartar sauce poured over the chicken, and it is still one of the popular menu for any age group.
This is again another easy dish to cook, and it goes with both rice and noodle.
aa
<Chicken Nanban with Somen Noodle> serves 4
aaa
- 2 chicken breast fillets (about 400g)
- 1 egg
- plain flour to coat
- 4 tbs soy sauce
- 6 tbs sugar
- 5 tbs vinegar (preferably rice vinegar)
- 1 tsp minced ginger
- 200g somen noodle
- 1 tbs sesame oil
- 1 clove garlic, sliced
- 1 capsicum
- roasted white sesame seeds
aaa
- Bring the large pot of water to the boil, and cook somen noodle. Drain and set aside.
- Halve each chicken fillets into even size. You should have 4 slices. Flatten the chicken meat by using the back of the knife.
- Place soy sauce, sugar and vinegar in a sauce pan, and bring to the gentle boil to dissolve the sugar. Transfer the sauce to the wide plate or pan. (or you can use wide pan to boil the sauce). Set aside.
- Coat the chicken with flour, and shake off any excess flour. Beat the egg, and place in a shallow plate.
- Heat oil in a deep frying pan. Dip the chicken fillets in the egg wash, and deep-fry both sides until golden.
- As soon as it’s removed from the oil, shake off any excess oil and immerse in the sauce. Leave it for 30 seconds ~ few minutes.
- Meanwhile, heat sesame oil and garlic slices in a frying pan. When it’s fragrant, add somen noodle and stir-fry. Sprinkle sesame seeds, and arrange on serving plates (divide into four potions).
- In the same pan, stir-fry sliced capsicum. Remove from the heat and arrange on each bed of somen noodle on the serving plates.
- Remove the chicken from the sauce, and slice. Place on top of the noodle + capsicum. Drizzle over the sauce, and sprinkle sesame seeds. Repeat with other fillets.
aaa
* you can use steamed vegetables instead of capsicum.
aaa
Posted June 26th, 2010 in Food | 4 Comments »
Tazta-age (tatsuta-age) is a kind of Kara-age. Kara-age is a deep-fried chicken (usually chicken thigh) coated with katakuriko (a starch originally processed from the corm of katakuri) and plain flour after being marinated with garlic and some spices. On the other hand, tazta-age is a deep-fried chicken (usually chicken thigh) coated with only katakuriko after being marinated with soy sauce and sweet mirin. You can use corn starch (corn flour) instead of katakuriko.
The key to make juicy kara-age with crispy texture is the twice-deep-frying. You deep-fry the meat in low-temperatured oil first, then deep-fry again in very hot oil to shake off any excess fat and to make it crispy.
aa
<Tazta Age> serves 4
- 400g chicken thigh
- 20g soy sauce
- 20g raw sugar
- 15g sake (white wine)
- 5g ginger (grated or sliced)
- katakuriko (corn flour) to dust
aaa
- Cut chicken into pieces. Trim chicken thigh into even thickness.
- Marinade in the sauce for 30 minutes.
- Drain the chicken. Heat the oil in a pan to 160°.
- Coat the chicken with katakuriko, shake off any excess flour, and deep-fry both side until coloured. Set aside.
- Heat up the oil to 180°. Deep-fry the chicken pieces again both side until crispy.
a
The best way to eat tazta-age is with Japanese mayonnaise! You can’t stop eating steamed rice with it.
aaa
aaa
or you can make Tazta Burger! I remember MacDonalds’ Tazta Burger… one of my favorite
aaa
aaa
Posted May 4th, 2010 in Food | No Comments »
On your next bbq party, or whenever you feel like eating something on sticks, why not try this negima - Yakitori skewered with negi (spring onion). It is a very popular way of preparing yakitori and provides a great nutrition balance. We normally use white part of spring onion for this. White part of spring onion is sweeter than blue part and contains the flavorsome juice - umami.
You’d better soak bamboo skewers in water overnight to prevent them from burning. And also, you can prepare the sauce the day before, as it will develop the flavor in the sauce.
<Serves 4>
- 500g chicken thigh, cut into cubes
- 2 spring onion, white part (root), cut into 2cm length
- 1/4 cup soy sauce
- 1/4 cup sake (cooking wine)
- 6 tsp (30g) raw sugar
- 10 cm spring onion, white part, scored (for the sauce)
- Place soy sauce, sake, sugar and 10cm spring onion in a small sauce pan. Bring to the gentle simmer. Turn down the heat and simmer for 5 minutes, or until the sauce slightly thicken. Leave overnight to develop the flavor, if possible. (leave the spring onion in the sauce)
- Skewer chicken and onion alternately. Tuck the tip of the skewer with meat so it won’t burn.
- Heat and lightly grease a BBQ grill or a large grilling pan. Season the skewers with salt, then sear on the hot grill. Cook for 1~2 minutes, turning several times. Brush the meat with the sauce, then continue grilling, turning frequently. Repeat the process (brush and grill) for about 5 minutes.
- Serve while hot with steamed rice, or a glass of beer.
* If available, try grilling on naked flame or with charcoal. It gives smokey, more delicious taste
Posted February 11th, 2010 in Food | No Comments »
One of my favorite dinner dish. Full flavor of semi-dried tomato and cream cheese in a pocket of chicken breast fillet. The key is to season the meat well before grilling.
- 1 chicken breast fillet
- 100 g cream cheese
- 4 semi-dried tomato
- 1 cup baby spinach
- Chop semi-dried tomato, and combine with cream cheese.
- Halve the chicken breast in sideway to make two thin fillets. Cut the centre of each fillet to make a “pocket”.
- Season the inside of the pocket with salt, and then spread the cream cheese mixture inside. Arrange spinach on top and then close the hole by lightly pressing the top side of meat to the bottom. You can use toothpick if needed.
- Heat 1 tbs of olive oil, and grill top side first. When colored, flip it around and cook the other side over low heat.
- Once the meat is cooked through, remove from the pan and rest for a while before cutting. Garnish with cracked black pepper.
Recent Comments