Author: PK
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PK’S Easy Oven Baked Potatoes
Perfectly crisp on the outside, fluffy in the middle, baked potatoes are perfect for a Perth winter night. This is a great meal for enjoying with friends and family. You can build your own topping as you go so it is very family/guest friendly. There is nothing better than eating with your hands as you chat away.
I suggest 1.5 medium potatoes per adult and a few more for tomorrow’s lunch.
Everyone has their favourite potato variety that you must use for baked potatoes. However, I have found that you can make perfect oven baked potatoes from most varieties.
STEPS:
- Prepare and cook the potatoes
- Prepare your toppings
- Serving
You will need:
- Ingredients:
- your favourite potatoes
- table salt
- ground black pepper
- your favourite toppings, sauces and condiments.
- Equipment
- paper towel
- a chopping board
- a long sharp knife
- an oven dish or oven rack
- several plates to serve the toppings
Prepare and cook the potatoes
Steps:
- Pre-heat your oven to 200 degrees Celsius.
- Scrub each potato to remove dirt, eyes and deeper imperfections.
- Dry them thoroughly using the paper towel, this is important for the crispy finish.
- Spray each potato with olive oil spray and dust them liberally with salt and pepper.
- Pop them on the oven rack (or oven dish) making sure there is space between them.
- Cook for about 1 hour (longer depending on your oven or if you are using really big potatoes). I test the largest potato at this stage. If it is ready the others are too.
Before:
After:
Prepare your toppings
Steps:
- Harvest, chop, slice and gather your favourite toppings
- Put them on plates in the middle of the table so your guests can build their own potato.
Here is what I used. Sour cream, cheese and coleslaw are must-haves in my family:
Serving
I can’t remember where I read this but it is the most important part of the process.
Just before serving the potatoes, you need to first cut them, then squeeze them with your thumbs and forefingers (to break up the insides) and then flatten them out a bit. This will let the steam out and stop the potato skin from going soggy. You will also have a great base to load the toppings onto.
Here is a video of me doing just that whilst trying not to burn my fingers:
Here are a few of my favourite combinations:
They don’t freeze well but they do make a great lunch the following day:
Enjoy,
PK
Here are more potato dishes and winter warmers:
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Day 6 Life Cykel Home Grown Mushroom Box
I was so ecstatic this morning when in a pre-coffee stupor I checked my Life Cykel Home Grown Mushroom Box. After 5 days of nothing I was rewarded with little baby mushrooms :).
Don’t forget our competition where you can win one of these boxes simply for submitting your favourite recipe that features mushrooms. See Want a free Life Cykel Home Grown Mushroom Box?
Can’t wait to grow more things in the kitchen with my two sons.
Thanks all,
PK
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Want a free Life Cykel Home Grown Mushroom Box?
Well of course you do!
Life Cykel and growitcatchitcookit.com have a Home Grown Mushroom Box to give away to one lucky Western Australian resident.
Submit your favourite mushroom recipe for your chance to win.
Special guest blogger ‘Welchy’ is going to choose the winner on 20th June 2016.
I know she will be looking for recipes that use the freshest ingredients (that you may even have grown or caught yourself) and share your tips and tricks with the rest of us.
Click this link to go our Facebook page and submit your recipe 🙂
or
Please share this competition and view my Life Cykel Home Grown Mushroom Box posts here.
PK
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PK Reviews: Life Cykel Home Grown Mushroom Box
Julian Mitchell and Ryan Creed are doing amazing things over at LifeCykel. Based in Fremantle, Western Australia and with an ethos of growing food in a sustainable way, they have created the world’s first urban mushroom farm. The amazing thing is that their growing medium is coffee grounds collected from local businesses. They even go one step further and compost the growing medium once it has served its purpose.
Now the lads have a product that allows you to grow your own mushrooms at home whilst leveraging their sustainability efforts. Yesterday my Home Grown Mushroom Box arrived and I got straight into it after work.
I am going to post my progress every few days 🙂
It couldn’t be easier to get going:
- Choose a location out of direct sunlight and heat sources. I chose the bathroom.
- Relocate to the kitchen when your wife says no to the bathroom 🙂
- Remove the recipe panel at the front of the box and cut a cross through the plastic.
- Open the box and remove the free misting bottle and the bag.
- Soak the bag, cut side face down, for 8 to 10 hours. I left mine overnight.
- Drain the excess water and place it back in the box.
- Wait patiently.
Please see the rest of the Home Grown Mushroom Box posts here. Follow the guys on Facebook, Instagram and at https://lifecykel.com.au/.
Enjoy,
PK
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Poh’s Nyonya Chicken Curry
What I like most about this dish is that you get to make your own curry paste (or in Nyonyan cuisine ‘a rempah’). Please see Malay for spice if you want more information.
When I cook this meal I reduce the sauce until it sticks to the chicken, the roof of your mouth and, of course, your fingers :).
I have tried it with boneless chicken breast but I have to say I prefer using chicken drumsticks. The bones make for a tastier sauce and the thighs for tenderer meat. If you don’t like the look of the bones at serving time use two forks to jerk the chicken.
My notes say that I originally got the recipe from Taste.com.au and that it was by Poh Ling Yeow. I can’t find that original post now but she wrote that it took her lots of trial and error to get that ‘authentic taste.’ She wrote “The first time I made this and it worked, I jumped around like a lunatic, I was so happy. I felt like I had conjured magic, to make a dish like this and have it hitting all those familiar notes of home”.
The ingredients list might look a bit daunting at first but trust me it is worth it. I have of course tweaked it a bit for my lazy cooking style and reduced the chili content for my family. Add your favourite whole chilis after the paste has been sautéed if you like it hot.
Oh, by the way, you can double the recipe as this meal freezes well. I recommend keeping any leftover rice in a separate container for a stress free microwave reheat though.
STEPS:
- Make the rempah
- Cook the spices and then mix everything in one pot
- One pot simmer
You will need:
- Rempah Ingredients:
- 1 tsp table salt
- 1 tsp brown sugar
- 3.5 Tbsp whole coriander seeds
- 1.5 tsp whole cumin seeds
- 1.5 tsp whole fennel seeds
- 1 tsp powdered kashmiri chili (at the minimum)
- 1 Tbsp dried belacan (shrimp paste)*
- 1 Tbsb powdered turmeric
- 3 cloves garlic
- 270g red shallots (sliced)
- 1/3 cup vegetable oil
- Note *: I sometimes use a treacle consistency type of belacan but find it too sticky and harder to blend than the dried version.
- Curry Ingredients
- 3 Tbsb coconut cream
- 10 sprigs of curry leaves
- 1 star anise
- 2 whole cloves
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 1.5kg chicken thigh fillets
- 500g potatoes
- 500ml coconut milk
- Rempah Equipment
- a chopping board
- a long sharp knife
- a medium sized bowl
- a small plate
- a wet blender with a very small bowl
- a dry spice mixer (or a mortar and pestle)
- Curry Equipment
- a chopping board
- a long sharp knife
- a measuring cup for the coconut milk
- 2 large plates
- a large deep frypan or stockpot
Make the rempah
I listed all the ingredients for the curry itself and the rempah for your shopping lists but I’ve actually posted the rempah recipe separately here – A Nyonya Rempah.
Cook the spices and then mix everything in one pot
In summary:
Steps:
- Peel, halve and parboil the 500g of potatoes in the saucepan. Rinse and then drain them.
- Bring the 3 Tbsp coconut cream, 1 star anise, 2 whole cloves and the 1 cinnamon stick together. Then chuck them in the pot.
- Bring your Nyonya curry paste out of the fridge and let it come up to room temperature somewhat. If you are using a frozen batch you should have defrosted it fully by now. Chuck the paste in the pot too.
- Sauté everything that is in the pot for about 10 minutes. Watch the colour of the Nyonya paste change and the oil start to separate out. See the image below showing the raw paste on the left and the cooked paste on the right. By now your kitchen is smelling amazing :).
- To the pot, add the 1.5kg chicken thigh fillets, pausing to mix them with the spice blend as you go.
- Add the now parboiled potatoes, 10 sprigs of curry leaves and 500ml of coconut milk to the pot and simmer until the potatoes and chicken legs are cooked through.
Serve with lots of your favourite rice. Mine is Basmarti and please don’t tell anyone I use the store bought packets you microwave for 90 seconds.
Poh is amazing,
PK
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PK Makes Poh’s Nyonya Chicken Curry
What I like most about this dish is that you get to make your own curry paste (or in Nyonyan cuisine ‘a rempah’). Please see Malay for spice if you want more information.
When I cook this meal I reduce the sauce until it sticks to the chicken, the roof of your mouth and, of course, your fingers :).
I have tried it with boneless chicken breast but I have to say I prefer using chicken drumsticks. The bones make for a tastier sauce and the thighs for tenderer meat. If you don’t like the look of the bones at serving time use two forks to jerk the chicken.
My notes say that I originally got the recipe from Taste.com.au and that it was by Poh Ling Yeow. I can’t find that original post now but she wrote that it took her lots of trial and error to get that ‘authentic taste.’ She wrote “The first time I made this and it worked, I jumped around like a lunatic, I was so happy. I felt like I had conjured magic, to make a dish like this and have it hitting all those familiar notes of home”.
The ingredients list might look a bit daunting at first but trust me it is worth it. I have of course tweaked it a bit for my lazy cooking style and reduced the chili content for my family. Add your favourite whole chilis after the paste has been sautéed if you like it hot.
Oh, by the way, you can double the recipe as this meal freezes well. I recommend keeping any leftover rice in a separate container for a stress free microwave reheat.
STEPS:
- Make the rempah
- Cook the spices and then mix everything in one pot
- One pot simmer
You will need:
- Rempah Ingredients:
- 1 tsp table salt
- 1 tsp brown sugar
- 3.5 Tbsp whole coriander seeds
- 1.5 tsp whole cumin seeds
- 1.5 tsp whole fennel seeds
- 1 tsp powdered kashmiri chili (at the minimum)
- 1 Tbsp dried belacan (shrimp paste)*
- 1 Tbsb powdered turmeric
- 3 cloves garlic
- 270g red shallots (sliced)
- 1/3 cup vegetable oil
- Note *: I sometimes use a treacle consistency type of belacan but find it too sticky and harder to blend than the dried version.
- Curry Ingredients
- 3 Tbsb coconut cream
- 10 sprigs of curry leaves
- 1 star anise
- 2 whole cloves
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 1.5kg chicken thigh fillets
- 500g potatoes
- 500ml coconut milk
- Rempah Equipment
- a chopping board
- a long sharp knife
- a medium sized bowl
- a small plate
- a wet blender with a very small bowl
- a dry spice mixer (or a mortar and pestle)
- Curry Equipment
- a chopping board
- a long sharp knife
- a measuring cup for the coconut milk
- 2 large plates
- a large deep frypan or stockpot
Make the rempah
I listed all the ingredients for the curry itself and the rempah for your shopping lists but I’ve actually posted the rempah recipe separately here – A Nyonya Rempah.
Cook the spices and then mix everything in one pot
In summary:
Steps:
- Peel, halve and parboil the 500g of potatoes in the saucepan. Rinse and then drain them.
- Bring the 3 Tbsp coconut cream, 1 star anise, 2 whole cloves and the 1 cinnamon stick together. Then chuck them in the pot.
- Bring your Nyonya curry paste out of the fridge and let it come up to room temperature somewhat. If you are using a frozen batch you should have defrosted it fully by now. Chuck the paste in the pot too.
- Sauté everything that is in the pot for about 10 minutes. Watch the colour of the Nyonya paste change and the oil start to separate out. See the image below showing the raw paste on the left and the cooked paste on the right. By now your kitchen is smelling amazing :).
- To the pot, add the 1.5kg chicken thigh fillets, pausing to mix them with the spice blend as you go.
- Add the now parboiled potatoes, 10 sprigs of curry leaves and 500ml of coconut milk to the pot and simmer until the potatoes and chicken legs are cooked through.
Serve with lots of your favourite rice. Mine is Basmarti and please don’t tell anyone I use the store bought packets you microwave for 90 seconds.
Thanks Poh,
PK
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The Easiest Coriander And Garlic Sauce
Coriander based sauces provide a real flavour boost to your dishes. I love drizzling them in everthing from salads to steaks and potato side dishes, If you give the ingredients below a whizz in a blender (rather than a fine chopping) you will get an amazing dipping sauce for spring rolls and the like.
I used this recipe originally from http://www.tarladalal.com (this site is amazing FYI) and I am going to experiment a bit with the amount of garlic and sugar.
You will need:
- Ingredients:
- 1 Tbsp brown sugar
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 Tbsp coriander leaves (cilantro)
- 1 Tbsp fresh green chilis
- 0.5 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
- 2 tsp white vinegar
- 2 Tbsp water
- Equipment
- a chopping board
- a long sharp knife
- a medium sized bowl
- a serving bowl
- optional: a wet blender with a very small bowl
Making the sauce
Steps:
- Rough chop the 1 Tbsp of coriander leaves.
- Peel and finely chop the 2 garlic cloves. I use the knife to gently smash the garlic clove first to make it easier to peel.
- Finely chop the 1 Tbsp worth of green chilis.
- Pop those ingredients to a bowl.
- Squeeze about 0.5 Tbsp of lemon juice and add this to the bowl along with:
- 1 Tbsp brown sugar
- 2 tsp white vinegar
- 2 Tbsp water
Now you can either mix the sauce with a fork for a a crunchier sauce or blend it in the wet mixer for a few pulses.
Enjoy,
PK
Here are some more sauces, condiments and dips along with other cooking staples:
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- Ingredients:
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PK’s Coriander And Garlic Sauce
I first had this sauce (store bought) when I was in Darwin 2016.
It is simple to make but it packs a real astringent wallop. I used this recipe originally from http://www.tarladalal.com/ (this site is amazing FYI) and I am going to experiment a bit with the amount of garlic and sugar . I also blended it the first time and I think that made it too potent :).
It goes great drizzled on a green or your Asian salad of choice. You can even use it as a dipping sauce for spring rolls and the like.
You will need:
- Ingredients:
- 1 Tbsp brown sugar
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 Tbsp coriander leaves (cilantro)
- 1 Tbsp fresh green chilis
- 0.5 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
- 2 tsp white vinegar
- 2 Tbsp water
- Equipment
- a chopping board
- a long sharp knife
- a medium sized bowl
- a serving bowl
- optional: a wet blender with a very small bowl
Make the sauce
Steps:
- Rough chop the 1 Tbsp worth of coriander leaves and add them to a bowl.
- Peel and finely chop the 2 garlic cloves. I use the knife to gently smash the garlic clove first to make it easier to peel. Chuck this in the bowl.
- Finely chop the 1 Tbsp worth of green chilis and (you guessed it) add it to the bowl.
- Squeeze about 0.5 Tbsp of lemon juice and add this to the bowl along with:
- 1 Tbsp brown sugar
- 2 tsp white vinegar
- 2 Tbsp water
- Now you can either mix the sauce with a fork or optionally blend it in the wet mixer for a few pulses.
Enjoy,
PK
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- Ingredients:
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How To Make A Nyonya Rempah Paste
This Malaysian curry paste looks hard to make on first glance. After a few goes though you will be able to make it blindfolded and I hope like me you find it an enjoyable process :).
I make it well ahead of time for my favourite south-east Asian curry, a sticky Nyonyan Chicken Curry (see the post here). Please give this paste recipe a try, you won’t be disappointed. The only drawback is that you might not look at store bought pastes in the same light ever again.
Look at the colourful ingredients:
Note:
- All my recipes have their chili quota curbed at my family’s request. I am slowly increasing the amount on the sly so don’t tell them :). Add extra chili for that authentic taste if you can get away with it.
- The paste freezes well.
You will need:
- Ingredients:
- 1 tsp table salt
- 1 tsp brown sugar
- 3.5 Tbsp whole coriander seeds
- 1.5 tsp whole cumin seeds
- 1.5 tsp whole fennel seeds
- 1 tsp powdered kashmiri chili (at the minimum)
- 1 Tbsp dried belacan (shrimp paste)*
- 1 Tbsb powdered turmeric
- 3 cloves garlic
- 270g red shallots (sliced)
- 1/3 cup olive oil
- Note *: I sometimes use a treacle consistency type of belacan but it is so sticky and harder to blend than the dried version.
- Equipment
- a chopping board
- a long sharp knife
- a small bowl
- a small plate
- a wet blender with a very small bowl
- a dry spice mixer or a mortar and pestle
Make the rempah
Steps:
- Bring all of the rempah ingredients together (see What Does Mise en Place Mean?.
- Dry fry the whole spices (3.5 Tbsp whole coriander seeds, 1.5 tsp whole cumin seeds and 1.5 tsp whole fennel seeds).
- Let them cool and add to your spice mill. Mill them in bursts to avoid cooking the spices further in the heat caused by the blades. Keep going until you get a fine powder. Add this powder to your wet mixer and enjoy the aroma.
- Roughly chop the 270g red shallots and 3 garlic cloves and add to the wet mixer.
- I use Sim Seng Lee brand dried belacan (1 Tbsp worth), it stores really well and doesn’t smell out the house! Add it to the wet mixer.
- Add the rest of the ingredients to the wet blender (1/3 cup olive oil, 1 tsp salt, 1 tsp sugar, 1 tsp kashmiri chili and 1 Tbsb powdered turmeric).
- Blend to a smooth paste, spoon it into a bowl and place in the fridge.
Better than a store bought paste by a long shot:
Enjoy,
PK
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PK’s Nyonya Rempah
This Malaysian curry paste looks hard to make on first glance. After a few goes though you will be able to make it blindfolded and I hope like me you find it an enjoyable process :).
I make it well ahead of time for my favourite south-east Asian curry, a sticky Nyonyan Chicken Curry (see the post here). Please give this paste recipe a try, you won’t be disappointed. The only drawback is that you might not look at store bought pastes in the same light ever again.
Note: All my recipes have their chili quota curbed at my family’s request. I am slowly increasing the amount on the sly so don’t tell them :). Add extra chili for that authentic taste if you can get away with it.
You will need:
- Ingredients:
- 1 tsp table salt
- 1 tsp brown sugar
- 3.5 Tbsp whole coriander seeds
- 1.5 tsp whole cumin seeds
- 1.5 tsp whole fennel seeds
- 1 tsp powdered kashmiri chili (at the minimum)
- 1 Tbsp dried belacan (shrimp paste)*
- 1 Tbsb powdered turmeric
- 3 cloves garlic
- 270g red shallots (sliced)
- 1/3 cup olive oil
- Note *: I sometimes use a treacle consistency type of belacan but it is so sticky and harder to blend than the dried version.
- Equipment
- a chopping board
- a long sharp knife
- a small bowl
- a small plate
- a wet blender with a very small bowl
- a dry spice mixer or a mortar and pestle
Make the rempah
Steps:
- Have a quick read of my PK’s Curry Paste Kit post if it has been a while.
- Bring all of the rempah ingredients together. I use a small plate to make it easier to add the ingredients to the frypan or blender.
- Dry fry the whole spices (3.5 Tbsp whole coriander seeds, 1.5 tsp whole cumin seeds and 1.5 tsp whole fennel seeds).
- Let them cool and add to your spice mill. Mill them in bursts to avoid cooking the spices further in the heat caused by the blades. Keep going until you get a fine powder. Add this powder to your wet mixer and enjoy the aroma.
- Roughly chop the 270g red shallots and 3 garlic cloves and add to the wet mixer.
- I use Sim Seng Lee brand dried belacan (1 Tbsp worth) and it stores really well and doesn’t smell out the house! Add it to the wet mixer.
- Add the rest of the ingredients to the wet blender (1/3 cup olive oil, 1 tsp salt, 1 tsp sugar, 1 tsp kashmiri chili and 1 Tbsb powdered turmeric).
- Blend to a smooth paste, add to a bowl and place in the fridge for short-term use or the freezer otherwise.
Better than a store bought paste by a long shot:
Enjoy,
PK
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- Ingredients: