Sweet and Sour Chicken

Taking photos of the food to post here, is not easy for me. I took many photos but I'm still not too satisfied with them. I did my homework by reading the photography blogs. It was very helpful and great tips. I really love how their photos turned out but I do not know why my photos did not turn out great! So my dear readers, please bear with me, if the photos are not so clear or blurry. I'm still trying to improve on my photography skills. Many thanks..

Anyhoo, this is my hubby's favorite. Sweet and Sour Chicken served with plain white rice. He used to order the same food from the Chinese restaurant here. Their sweet and sour chicken is just the sauce and deep fried chicken and no vegetables in the sauce at all. Totally different from the sweet and sour dish I get in Singapore.  So whenever, I cook his favorite dish, I always cook it the way I like.. with vegetables.. He just want more and simply couldn't resist it. He don't even want to order Sweet and Sour Chicken from the restaurant anymore.

Next time, I am gonna try Sweet Sour Fish and Sweet Sour Shrimps and Sweet and Sour Chicken with Lemon.. :)

Ingredients

1 pound of boneless and skinless chicken thighs or breasts

Marinade

2 tablespoons oyster sauce

Salt and pepper, to taste  

Batter

3 tbsp all purpose flour

3 tbsp corn flour

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 to 1/2 cups water, or as needed 

Vegetables

1/2 green bell pepper

1/2 cup pineapple chunks (reserve the juice from can)

1 teaspoon finely diced green onion 

Sweet and Sour Sauce:

1/4 cup ketchup

1/2 cup pineapple juice (reserved juice from canned pineapple)

1/4 cup rice vinegar

1/2 tsp oyster sauce

2-3 tbsp brown sugar

1 tbsp cornstarch mixed with 4 tbsp water

Oil for deep-frying, or as needed

Cut the meat into bite-sized pieces. Add the marinade ingredients to the chicken. Marinate the chicken for 20 minutes in the refrigerator. While the chicken is marinating, prepare the vegetables and batter. Cut the onions and green bell pepper into chunks. Drain the pineapple and reserve 3/4 cup of juice.

 

To prepare the batter, mix all the dry ingredients together. Add water to make slightly thick batter. Add chicken in the batter until it is well coated. When all are ready, deep fry in pre-heated oil. Place the deep-fried chicken pieces on a tray lined with paper towels to drain.

 

In a bowl, mix reserved pineapple juice, rice vinegar, ketchup and oyster sauce. Heat the saucepan with a little oil and stir-fry the onions and green pepper for about 2-3 minutes. Add the mixed sauce and brown sugar together and keep stirring to dissolve the sugar. Then add the pineapple chunks. Bring to a boil and add the cornstarch mixture, stirring quickly to thicken. Taste and adjust seasonings, adding salt, or more sugar or vinegar if desired. Pour the sauce over the chicken. and garnish with diced green onions. Serve hot.

Notes:

• Deep frying the chicken - The process is quick but the chicken should not turn brown immediately. If it does the oil is too hot. The temperature of the oil should be around 360 to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
• Do not cover the chicken after you have deep fried.

Fried Rice (Nasi Goreng)

Fried Rice (Nasi Goreng) is a popular dish among Asians. Malays and Indonesians fried rice often accompanied by fried egg, keropok (prawn crackers), fried chicken or satay. Chinese fried rice is serve as a main dish or as a side dish. You will definitely see fried rice in Chinese or Malay/Indonesian Restaurant in their menu. In the photo, my fried rice was accompanied by strips omelet, bergedil, keropok and salad. Yummy!!!!

The  simplest and the easiest fried rice that my mom taught me was Egg and Black Pepper fried rice; using sliced onions, sliced green chilli, scrambled eggs, black pepper, salt to taste and pre-cooked rice.  That was my first fried rice. Before I knew the tricks of cooking fried rice, my fried rice was terrible. I had soggy fried rice before; vegetables were still hard, etc... it was funny! I learn as I go and always tell myself, that it will be better the next time.. :)

Ingredients

2 cups pre-cooked rice

1/2 onion, sliced thinly

60 gm long beans, sliced thin

50 gm carrot, cut into small cubes

50 gm green capsicum, cut into small cubes

30 gm dry shrimps, soaked and pounded

1-2 tsp chilli paste

2 tbsp vegetable oil

salt to taste

Heat oil in a wok or frying pan. Stir fry onions and chili paste and mix well. Add the pounded dry shrimps, carrots and green capsicum. Stir fry for about 3 minutes then add the long beans and salt to taste. Lastly add the cooked cold rice, mix well for 2 minutes before turning off the heat. Serve the fried rice with strips omelet on top. 

Notes:

When cooking fried rice, the main key is using previously cooked rice. I usually keep the pre-cooked rice in the freezer for one or two days. Then when I want to cook fried rice, I gently rub the rice between my fingers to get rid of any clumps before cooking. By using previously cooked rice it reduces the chances of ending up with a wet and soggy dish.

For cooking the egg in fried rice, you can do two different ways; scramble the egg and mix it in with the rice or cook scrambled egg separately, then add to the rice in the final stages of cooking. Some also prefer to fry the beaten egg and cut it into strips to use as a garnish.

Macaroni Goreng Taucu ( Fried macaroni with salted fermented soy beans)

I bought a bottle of taucu at the Asian store, wanting to cook Mee Siam the other time and I did. Initially, I do not know how much taucu I have to use for the mee siam so I just bought the big bottle (450g, 15.09oz). When I called my mom, asking her how to cook her mee siam, she told me that I do not have to use a lot of taucu. Ahhh!!! Well, the thing is, I don't use taucu except for cooking mee siam and now I have plenty of taucu left in the refrigerator..

What is Taucu?? Taucu is actually soy beans that have been salted and fermented. I know it is commonly used in Malay and Chinese food. I am not sure if Indians use taucu a lot in their cookings.. ( anyone knows, maybe you could tell me..). So I looked up in my Malay recipes book and found Macaroni Goreng Taucu and Ikan Masak Taucu. Yay!! I will whip up some Ikan Masak Taucu soon..

 

Macaroni Goreng Taucu (Fried macaroni with salted fermented soy beans)

* my fried macaroni dish is only consist of mushroom and carrot, but you can add raw shrimps in this dish

Ingredients

200 gm macaroni, cooked and drained

3 cloves garlic, thinly sliced

1.5 cm ginger,  thinly sliced

4 mushroom, sliced

1 carrot, sliced

1 tbsp taucu (salted fermented soy beans)

2 stalks scallions, chopped

1 tbsp sambal (chilli paste)

1/2 tsp dark soy sauce

Salt for taste - if required

Heat some oil in the wok. Fry garlic and ginger until the fragrant. (if you using raw shrimps, this is the time to add). Add mushroom, carrot, chilli paste, taucu, scallions and dark soy sauce. Sprinkle some water if its too dry. Stir for about 1-2 minutes then add the macaroni. Add salt to taste (if required). Stir well and remove from heat. Serve with chopped scallions for garnishing.

Layered Mac & Cheese Taco

A lot of people like to eat Macaroni & Cheese.  At the store, they  sell mac & cheese in a box, easy, does not require too many ingredients and its fast. Cook it over the stove or just microwave; even faster. I have one box of mac & cheese left in the pantry and I thought what should I do with this mac & cheese. My hubby prefers his way of making mac & cheese, and I prefers mine... I have to think of something so that both will really enjoy... :)

So, I prepared the mac & cheese as indicated in the box. Then I prepared the taco meat as indicated in the taco seasoning mix package. (Click here). I added 1/2 cup sour cream in the prepared mac & cheese dinner. and spoon about 1/2 of the dinner mixture into 8-inch square baking dish. Spread the meat mixture and shredded cheddar cheese. Repeat for another layer; cover with foil. Bake for 15 minute. Then top with chopped tomatoes and shredded cabbage (or you can use salsa) and spread more shredded cheese and bake again for another 5 mins uncovered.

Serve with toasted tortillas or tortillas chips. Yummy!!! :)

Triple-Layer Chocolate Bars

The Triple-Layer Chocolate Bars sounds like difficult but it is easy to make and use just a few ingredients. I made these last night. Since it just takes 2 hours to set in the refrigerator, I wanted to wait to try these bars.  After cleaning the kitchen, my eyes and body just couldn't wait any longer. I went to bed early last night. So, we had one bar each as desserts for lunch today. Its just funny because, I was hesitated to take a bite. Chocolates are  my favorites and its the reason why I made these but I dunno why there was a hesitation.. LMAO!!! Well, hubby tried first then me. He said its delicious, chocolaty and very rich... One bar is good enough since my bars were a little too big.. I overlooked and had 15 big bars instead.... should have cut it a little smaller to get 24 bars as said in the recipe.... hehe..

 

Triple-Layer Chocolate Bars from Kraft Foods 

Ingredients

1 pkg (8 squares) BAKER'S Semi-Sweet Chocolate, divided

10 tbsp butter, divided

1-1/2 cups HONEY MAID Graham Cracker Crumbs

1 pkg.  (4-serving size) JELL-O White Chocolate Flavor Instant Pudding, or any flavor (I used french vanilla flavor instead) 

2 cups powdered sugar

1/2 cup heavy whipping cream 

 

LINE 9-inch square pan with foil extending over edges to form handles. Microwave 4 of the chocolate squares and 5 Tbsp. of the butter in large microwavable bowl on HIGH 2 minutes or until butter is melted. Stir until chocolate is completely melted. Add crumbs; mix well. Press firmly onto bottom of prepared pan. Refrigerate 10 minutes. 

MICROWAVE 1/3 cup water and remaining 5 Tbsp. butter in large microwavable bowl on HIGH 1 minute or until butter is melted. Add dry pudding mix; stir 2 minutes or until completely dissolved. Gradually add powdered sugar, stirring until well blended after each addition. Spread over crust. Refrigerate 15 minutes or until firm. 

MICROWAVE remaining 4 chocolate squares and cream in medium microwavable bowl on HIGH 2 minutes. Stir until chocolate is completely melted and mixture is well blended. Spread over pudding layer. Refrigerate 2 hours or until set. Lift out of pan onto cutting board. Cut into 24 bars to serve.

Notes:

• It's best to use plastic bowl when mixing the pudding and use rubber or silicone spatula to spread over the crust.
  
• For perfectly clean-cut, dip the sharp knife in warm water, wipe it dry between cuts.
  
• Store leftovers in an airtight container in refrigerator.
• It is not necessary to use the indicated brands, you can use the local brands, they are just as good. :)