Tag: garlic

• 

  PK Makes Nagi’s ‘Chinese Restaurant’ Chicken Satay

  I love old school Anglicised ‘chinese restaurant’ chicken satay.

  Perth is very lucky now to have cafes and restaurants that serve all manner of global cuisines from the cultural traditional through to really clever fusion. However, growing up in Perth we were not spoilt for choice eating out, there was only Pizza Hut, Red Rooster and the local ‘Chinese Restaurant’.

  This dish is far from traditional chinese cuisine but it hits fond childhood food memories. It is quite frankly the best satay chicken I have ever had.

  There are 3 main preparation steps that look a little daunting at first but the recipe is actually really easy. With all credit to Nagi of www.recipetineats.com for the way she created and laid the recipe out.

  All I am trying to do is spread her amazing work :).

  Note:

  • I have converted the powdered ingredient quantities in the original recipe to use whole grains using my own crazy rule of thumb.
  • I have gone heavy on the onions and garlic as per my childhood memories.

  You will be:

  1. Prepping and tenderising the chicken
  2. Making the satay seasoning
  3. Making the satay cooking sauce
  4. Cooking the chicken
  5. Serving

  You will need:

  • Ingredients:
    • Chicken:
      • 2 chicken breasts (a little over 500g)
      • 2 tsp baking soda
    • Satay Seasoning:
      • 1.5 tsp coriander seeds
      • 1.5 tsp cumin seeds
      • 3/4 tsp white peppercorns
      • 0.5 tsp tumeric powder
      • 0.5 tsp chili powder (I used store bought Kashmiri chili powder but you can make your own with this FoodHack.)
      • 3 tsp curry powder (any will do and extra points for home-made)
      • 1 tsp table salt
    • Satay Sauce:
      • 3 – 4 Tbsp Peanut Butter (I used http://kraftnuts.com.au/range/2/peanut-butter-smooth just to increase the trip down memory lane)
      • 3 tsp raw sugar
      • 2 tsp soy sauce (light or normal but not thick like ketjip manis)
      • 3 tsp rice vinegar
      • 2 tsp hot sauce (I used Eaglobe piment sriracha)
      • 1 tsp fresh lemon grass (very finely diced)
      • 2/3 cups coconut milk
      • 1/2 cup water
    • For the wok:
      • A good slug of peanut oil
      • 1 – 2 large brown onions
      • 4 garlic cloves
  •  Equipment:
    • a chopping board
    • a long sharp knife
    • a bowl for the chicken to tenderise in
    • a mortar and pestle
    • a small bowl for the spices
    • a small whisk or fork
    • a small mixing bowl for the sauce
    • a wok or deep fry pan

   Steps:

  Prepping and tenderising the chicken

  1. Slice the breasts in a long-wise fashion and then cut the flat slices in half.
  2. Pop the slices into a bowl and sprinkle them with the 2 tsp baking soda (Nagi says this tenderises them and I can confirm that it really works).
  3. Pop them back into the fridge while you make the seasoning and sauce.

  Making the satay seasoning

  1. In a mortar and pestle grind the:
     • 1.5 tsp coriander seeds
     • 1.5 tsp cumin seeds
     • 3/4 tsp white peppercorns
  2. When you have the your desired amount of grind add the ground spices to a bowl with the:
     • 0.5 tsp tumeric powder
     • 0.5 tsp chili powder
     • 3 tsp curry powder
     • 1 tsp table salt
  3. Give everything a quick mix.

  

  Making the satay cooking sauce

  1. In a different mixing bowl mix until smooth the:
     • 3 – 4 Tbsp Peanut Butter
     • 3 tsp raw sugar
     • 2 tsp soy sauce
     • 3 tsp rice vinegar
     • 2 tsp hot sauce
     • 1 tsp fresh lemon grass (very finely diced)
     • 2/3 cups coconut milk
     • 1/2 cup water
  2. Add the satay seasoning and mix again.
  3. Refrigerate if you are not cooking the chicken until later in the day.

  Cooking the chicken

  1. Bring the chicken and sauce out of the fridge.
  2. Chop up the 2 brown onions and mince the 4 garlic cloves.
  3. Add a slug of peanut oil to your pan and bring it to medium heat.
  4. Prepare any garnish (I went with some fresh sliced jalapenos and spring onions from my PK’s Working Garden).
  5. Add the onions and garlic to the hot oil and keep everything moving until they soften.
  6. Add the chicken slices and keep it moving until the chicken is beginning to brown.
  7. Add the satay sauce and stir fry until the sauce has reduced to your desired thickness (say a few minutes).

  Serving

  A bit of rice, some chilis, a side of asian greens in oyster sauce (e.g. Choy Sum) and I am in heaven.

  

  Enjoy,

  PK

  Related Links:

  • Recipes using chicken
  • More Chinese cuisine

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  Written by

  PK

  ·

  April 25, 2017

• 

  Bish’s Basil Pesto Experiment 1

  I have two large planter boxes at the edge of our patio that are where I grow my herbs, along with a long thin veggie patch against a fence.  Luckily this space is enough for me to play around with some different herbs and veggies.

  Giving the long thin veggie patch a bit of a spruce:

   

  Lately we’ve had a surfeit of basil in one of the planter boxes (the other is full of mint) and after some prompting we decided we’d have a go at making pesto.

  

   

  After picking and washing a heap (and returning a few little spiders back to the patch) we decided we’d try to make a couple of varieties.

  The first one we started with basil in a stick blender attachment, and poured in olive oil.  It mulched the basil more than anything else, but as we added pine nuts it started to blend down a bit more.  Adding some spring onions as a test didn’t help with the mulch-like consistency, though. That wasn’t a great experiment, especially when I didn’t close the blender attachment properly and got it all over myself, the kitchen bench and floor…

  The second batch started with four cloves of garlic, and some olive oil.  This went into a nice creamy paste quickly, and we added some more pine nuts and then started to add in some basil.  This created a much creamier pesto, which went a vibrant light green pretty quickly.  Unfortunately, 4 cloves of garlic is a bit much… it’s more like a garlic sauce.

  On an earlier trip out that day I’d bought a couple of flip-top seal jars, and after they’d been washed and dried out I loaded up the basil into one each.

  

  I was pretty chuffed with this, but anywhere where there is air (you can see the bubbles) went brown within minutes .  I had poured some oil on top to help seal it away from the air but didn’t think about these little air pockets.

  A week later we’ve been using the pesto in various dishes (pasta, mainly) but each time we have to scoop out the unsightly brown bits.  It’s a bit of a pain, but it doesn’t take away from the taste.  The next trick we will try is to blanche the basil and dry it before we turn it into pesto – this should help as the heat will destroy the enzymes that react with oxygen to cause the brown discolouration.

  It’s not like we don’t have heaps more basil to test it on, anyway…

  Bish

  Related Links:

  • see more of Bish’s posts here

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  Written by

  PK

  ·

  April 10, 2017

• 

  Home-made Creamy Aioli

  Last night we had my Baked Mashed Potato, Bacon and Cheese Balls again and I wanted to have something to dip them in. I did a quick Google and settled on this recipe.

  The result was amazing and got ticks of approval from my wife who is something of a connoisseur when it comes to this particular sauce.

  Notes:

  • I found the original recipe a bit runny so I reduced the amount of water
  • You will be whisking slowly for around 10 minutes in my experience
  • You can make it taste different every time by mixing up the seasoning
  • Contains raw egg

  You will be:

  1. Whisking and whisking some more.
  2. Seasoning the sauce.

  You will need:

  • Ingredients:
    • 1 egg yolk
    • 1 tsp water
    • 1/4 tsp table salt
    • 1 garlic clove (very finely diced)
    • 1/2 cup olive oil
    • lemon juice to taste
    • ground sea salt or table salt to taste
    • ground black peppercorns to taste
  •  Equipment:
    • a long sharp knife
    • a chopping board
    • a whisk
    • a small metal mixing bowl

  Whisking and whisking some more

  1. Pop the egg yolk into the metal mixing bowl.
  2. Add the:
     • 1/4 tsp table salt
     • 1 garlic clove (very finely diced)
     • 1 tsp water
     • A tiny amount of the oil.
  3. Start whisking slowly and don’t stop as you very very very slowly add the rest of the 1/2 cup olive oil.
  4. Keep whisking until you get a smooth creamy consistency.

  Starting off:

  

  A bit of effort but oh so worth it:

  

  Seasoning the sauce

  I just used my salt and pepper grinders and a splash of lemon juice until I got the taste I liked. Remember that you will get less of a garlic wallop when combining it with food vs testing it by itself so don’t panic. Unless you love a lot of garlic. In that case, add more next time.

  

  Enjoy,

  PK

  Here are some more ingredients you might like: 

  Written by

  PK

  ·

  March 19, 2017

• 

  DrippyStuff: Creamy Aioli

  Last night we had my Baked Mashed Potato, Bacon and Cheese Balls again and I wanted to have something to dip them in. I did a quick Google and settled on this recipe.

  The result was amazing and got ticks of approval from my wife who is something of an expert when it comes to this particular sauce.

  Notes:

  • I found the original recipe a bit runny so I reduced the amount of water
  • You will be whisking slowly for around 10 minutes in my experience
  • You can make it taste different every time by mixing up the seasoning
  • Contains raw egg

  You will be:

  1. Whisking and whisking some more.
  2. Seasoning the sauce.

  You will need:

  • Ingredients:
    • 1 egg yolk
    • 1 tsp water
    • 1/4 tsp table salt
    • 1 garlic clove (very finely diced)
    • 1/2 cup olive oil
    • lemon juice to taste
    • ground sea salt or table salt to tast
    • ground black peppercorns to taste
  •  Equipment:
    • a long sharp knife
    • a chopping board
    • a whisk
    • a small metal mixing bowl

  Whisking and whisking some more

  1. Pop the egg yolk into the metal mixing bowl.
  2. Add the:
     • 1/4 tsp table salt.
     • 1 garlic clove (very finely diced).
     • 1 tsp water.
     • a tiny amount of the oil.
  3. Start whisking slowly and don’t stop as you very very very slowly add the rest of the 1/2 cup olive oil.
  4. Keep whisking until you get a smooth creamy consistency.

  Starting off:

  

  A bit of effort but oh so worth it:

  

  Seasoning the sauce

  I just used my salt and pepper grinders and a splash of lemon juice until I got the taste I liked. Remember that you will get less of a garlic wallop when combining it with food vs testing it by itself so don’t panic. Unless you love a lot of garlic power and in this case add more next time.

  

  Enjoy,

  PK

  Written by

  PK

  ·

  March 19, 2017

• 

  Baked Cheesy Sticks

  The hardest part about making these easy peasy cheesy sticks is waiting for the dough to be ready. Oh and not eating them all before everyone else gets them :).

  I have adapted the recipe from http://www.homecookingadventure.com/recipes/homemade-cheese-sticks.

  Hot tip: Let your salted butter soften at room temperature for a while. It will make it more workable.

  You will be:

  1. Making the dough and letting it sit.
  2. Rolling and cutting the dough.
  3. Cooking the dough.
  4. Serving and storing.

  You will need:

  • Ingredients:
    • 1 egg (beaten) for the dough mix
    • 1 egg (beaten) for brushing the dough sticks
    • 4 Tbsp salted butter
    • 2 Tbsp of garlic infused olive oil (or plain)
    • 2 Tbsp cup of milk
    • half a small packet of bakers yeast
    • 1/2 cup grated cheese (I used cheddar)
    • 1.5 cups flour
    • 1/2 tsp raw sugar
    • 1/2 tsp table salt
    • Ground black peppercorns to taste
  •  Equipment:
    • 1 fork or whisk to beat the eggs
    • 1 fork for mixing the dough mix
    • 1 mixing bowl
    • A grater for the cheese
    • 1 rolling pin
    • 1 dough or pizza cutter
    • An oven tray lined with baking paper

  Making the dough and letting it chill

  1. Put the 1.5 cups flour into your mixing bowl and mix in the 1/2 tsp raw sugar and 1/2 tsp table salt.
  2. Drop in the 4 Tbsp salted butter into the bowl and mix in with your hands until you have a slightly crumbly feel.
  3. Mix in the 1/2 cup grated cheese.
  4. Beat one of the eggs with the 1/4 cup oil and 1/4 cup milk.
  5. Add in the yeast to the egg mix and give it a light mixing.
  6. Make a well in the dough mix and pour the egg mix into it.
  7. Mix with a fork and then give it a quick kneading (still in the bowl).
  8. Cover the bowl with a tea towel and pop it into the fridge for a few hours.

  

  Rolling and cutting the dough

  1. Working with a bit of extra flour to stop everything sticking, roll out the dough and cut into strips using a pizza cutter.
  2. Put the strips onto an oven tray lined with baking paper (I put a little twist into each for effect).
  3. Brush a bit of the second beaten egg over all of the twists.
  4. Sprinkle with pepper, salt, more cheese, Jalapeno Chili Powder etc etc.

  Knead, roll and cut:

  

  Brush and garnish:

  

  Cooking the dough

  1. Pop the twists/sticks into a fan-forced oven (preheated to 180C) and cook for about 20 minutes or until golden.

  

  Serving and storing

  I just popped them on a cooling rack for a bit but you can serve them straight away. Perhaps with a bit of PK’s Coriander And Garlic Sauce or aioli :).

  They will store well in a Tupperware container or a paper bag for a few days.

  

  Enjoy,

  PK

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  Written by

  PK

  ·

  March 17, 2017

• 

  PK’s Cheesy Sticks

  The hardest part about making these easy peasy cheesy sticks is waiting for the dough to be ready. Oh and not eating them all before everyone else gets them :).

  I have adapted the recipe from http://www.homecookingadventure.com/recipes/homemade-cheese-sticks.

  Hot tip: Let your salted butter soften at room temperature for a while. It will make it more workable.

  You will be:

  1. Making the dough and letting it sit.
  2. Rolling and cutting the dough.
  3. Cooking the dough.
  4. Serving and storing.

  You will need:

  • Ingredients:
    • 1 egg (beaten) for the dough mix
    • 1 egg (beaten) for brushing the dough sticks
    • 4 Tbsp salted butter
    • 2 Tbsp of garlic infused olive oil (or plain)
    • 2 Tbsp cup of milk
    • half a small packet of bakers yeast
    • 1/2 cup grated cheese (I used cheddar)
    • 1.5 cups flour
    • 1/2 tsp raw sugar
    • 1/2 tsp table salt
    • ground black peppercorns to taste
  •  Equipment:
    • a fork or whisk to beat the eggs
    • a fork for mixing the dough mix
    • a mixing bowl
    • a grater for the cheese
    • a rolling pin
    • a dough or pizza cutter
    • an oven tray lined with baking paper

  Making the dough and letting it chill

  1. Put the 1.5 cups flour into your mixing bowl and mix in the 1/2 tsp raw sugar and 1/2 tsp table salt.
  2. Drop in the 4 Tbsp salted butter into the bowl and mix in with your hands until you have a slightly crumbly feel.
  3. Mix in the 1/2 cup grated cheese.
  4. Beat one of the eggs with the 1/4 cup oil and 1/4 cup milk.
  5. Add in the yeast to the egg mix and give it a light mixing.
  6. Make a well in the dough mix and pour the egg mix into it.
  7. Mix with a fork and then give it a quick kneading (still in the bowl).
  8. Cover the bowl with cling film and pop it into the fridge for a few hours.

  

  Rolling and cutting the dough

  1. Working with a bit of extra flour to stop everything sticking, roll out the dough and cut into strips using a pizza cutter.
  2. Put the strips onto an oven tray lined with baking paper (I put a little twist into each for effect).
  3. Brush a bit of the second beaten egg over all of the twists.
  4. Sprinkle with pepper, salt, more cheese, Jalapeno Chili Powder etc etc.

  Knead, roll and cut:

  

  Brush and garnish:

  

   

  Cooking the dough

  1. Pop the twists/sticks into a fan-forced oven (preheated to 180C) and cook for about 20 minutes or until golden.

  

  Serving and storing

  I just popped them on a cooling rack for a bit but you can serve them straight away. Perhaps with a bit of PK’s Coriander And Garlic Sauce or aioli :).

  They will store well in a Tupperware container or a paper bag for a few days.

  

  Enjoy,

  PK

   

   

   

   

  Written by

  PK

  ·

  March 17, 2017

• 

  PK’s NoRecipe Greek Butterflied Chicken Roast

  This simple butterflied chicken marinaded with thyme, oregano, garlic, salt, pepper, lemon juice and olive oil smells amazing and will wow your family and friends.

  If you have time:

  • chuck several good slugs of the olive oil and lemon juice into a snap lock bag.
  • add the other ingredients (chopped).
  • close the bag, mix everything around.
  • add the chicken halves, close the bag and massage it for a bit to get the oil etc into every nook and cranny.
  • leave it overnight in the fridge or at least 2 hours.
  • preheat your oven to 160C and get the chicken out of the fridge.
  • cook the chicken in an non-stick oven tray for about 2 hours.

  If you don’t have time or forgot to marinade the chicken:

  • chuck several good slugs of garlic infused olive oil and lemon juice into a bowl.
  • add the other ingredients (chopped but leave out the garlic) and mix with a fork.
  • preheat your oven to 160C and get the chicken out of the fridge, season with salt and pepper.
  • cook the chicken in an oven tray for about 2 hours, turning and basting with the oil mixture every 15 minutes or so.

  Marinaded and already looking good:

  

  Two hours at 160C:

  

  A perfect summer’s day dinner, just add salad and friends:

  

  Enjoy,

  PK

  Written by

  PK

  ·

  February 23, 2017

• 

  A Simple Greek Chicken Roast

  This is a simple chicken roast, marinated in mix of thyme, oregano, garlic, salt, pepper, lemon juice and olive oil. It looks and smells amazing!

  Here I have halved a whole chicken by cutting right down the middle. You could also butterfly it using this method.

  

   

  If you have at least a 4.5 hours in advance:

  • chuck several good slugs of olive oil and lemon juice into a snap lock bag.
  • add into the bag a handful of chopped thyme and oregano and 1 -2 diced garlic cloves.
  • also add some salt and pepper.
  • close the bag and mix everything around.
  • add the chicken halves, close the bag again and massage it for a bit, getting the marinade into every nook and cranny.
  • leave it in the fridge for at least 2 hours (over night is better).
  • preheat your oven to 160C and get the chicken out of the fridge.
  • cook the chicken in an non-stick oven tray for about 2 hours.

  If you don’t have time, follow this shortcut:

  • chuck several good slugs of garlic infused olive oil and lemon juice into a bowl.
  • add the other ingredients as above and mix with a fork.
  • preheat your oven to 160C.
  • massage some of the marinade into the chicken.
  • cook the chicken in an oven tray for about 2 hours, turning and basting with the marinade every 30 minutes or so.

  Marinated and already looking good:

  

  Two hours at 160C:

  

  A perfect summer’s day meal, just add salad and friends:

  

  Enjoy,

  PK

  Here are some more chicken recipes and roasting posts: 

  Written by

  PK

  ·

  February 23, 2017

• 

  PK Makes River Cottage’s Citrus Braised Lamb Shanks

  Everyone has a dish that they feel slightly guilty about. Guilty because somehow it turns out exceptionally good every single time.  This is mine and it has magical powers :).

  It is originally from the hit Channel 4 series and books, ‘River Cottage’ and I merely adapted it to work in a slow cooker. I like dishes that are a bit different and I prefer this lighter white wine and citrus version over traditional red wine based lamb shank recipes.

  River Cottage’s Hugh Fearnly-Whittingstool can’t have known its romantic power when he added this dish to his cookbook though, surely not. It was the first meal I cooked for my wife to be and she fell madly in love with me. That’s the magical bit and might contradict her version of events :).

  You will be:

  1. Sweating the vegetables in the slow cooker.
  2. Browning the lamb shanks and deglazing the frypan.
  3. Cooking it slow.
  4. Serving.

  You will need:

  • Ingredients:
    • 4 lamb shanks
    • 2 carrots
    • 1 large brown onion
    • 2 celery sticks
    • 2 bay leaves
    • 2 garlic cloves, peeled
    • a few sprigs of fresh thyme or lemon thyme
    • a small handful of parsley or celery leaves, chopped
    • 1 large orange
    • 1 large lemon
    • half a bottle of white wine (I used a Sauvignon blanc)
    • 1 cup of home made stock (I used chicken stock as that was all I had) or 1 cup water
    • several slugs of olive oil
    • a good slug of tomato paste
    • ground rock salt to taste
    • cracked black peppercorns to taste
    • 0.5 Tbsp whole black peppercorns (optional)
    • A handful of small or chopped mushrooms (optional)
  •  Equipment:
    • a chopping board
    • a long sharp knife
    • kitchen tongs
    • a wooden spoon
    • a citrus zester
    • a citrus juicer
    • a large frypan
    • a slow cooker

  Steps:

  Sweating the vegetables in the slow cooker

  1. Put a slug of olive oil into your slow cooker and turn it on high, lid on.
  2. Rough chop the:
     • 2 carrots.
     • 2 celery sticks.
     • handful of parsley or celery leaves.
  3. Finely slice the 1 large brown onion.
  4. Finely chop the 2 garlic cloves.
  5. Add the above to your slow cooker to start them softening up, lid on (mix everything around occasionally).
  6. Once the onions have started to soften, throw in the 2 bay leaves and the sprigs of thyme.
  7. If you like a bit of peppery kick, chuck 0.5 Tbsp of black peppercorns in too.
  8. Juice and then zest the lemon and the orange and add to the slow cooker (retain some of the mixed juice and zest for serving time).
  9. Add the 1 cup of stock or 1 cup of water and mix gently.
  10. Add a good slug of tomato paste.
  11. Add a handful of small mushrooms now if you are using them.

  I love seeing ingredients together like this:

  

  Nice and soft:

  

   

  Browning the lamb shanks and deglazing the frypan

  1. Season the 4 lamb shanks with salt and pepper.
  2. Chuck another slug of olive oil into the pan and bring to medium heat.
  3. Slightly brown every surface of the shanks. Yep, even the ends with a bit of creative meat stacking :).
  4. Then add them to the slow cooker.
  5. I now deglaze the frypan with half a bottle of white wine. When boiling I then add it to the slow cooker.
  6. If the slow cooker looks a bit full don’t panic. Everything will shrink down as it cooks :).

  

  Cooking it slow

  1. Turn your slow cooker to medium and cook for at least 2 hours using kitchen tongs to periodically move the shanks around.
  2. Now you can keep the slow cooker on medium for speed or turn it down to low for a slower cook (my preference).
  3. When the meat is literally falling of the bone, when you are giving it a gentle mix with the kitchen tongs, it is ready.

   Serving

  I generally serve the shanks on a bed of mashed potato with some steamed green vegetables alongside. This time though I cooked my PK’s NoRecipe Oven Baked Potatoes and served the shanks on the bone with some greens.

  Remember how we set aside some mixed zest and juice? Sprinkle a bit of the zest and then drizzle some juice over each serve to freshen the citrus flavours and aromas.

  On or off the bone this dish is visually appealing:

  

  

  Make this dish for someone you love,

  PK

  Written by

  PK

  ·

  February 17, 2017

• 

  FoodHacks: Karina’s ‘Quick Pickle’ Onion Salad

  My little family does a tasting plate meal night every week, they are so easy and quick to whip up. What is on offer varies but often involves cold meats, multiple salads, pate, cheese etc. I love watching my kids ‘build’ their own meal and there is lots of laughter round the table.

  I was telling my telling my good friend Karina about this recently and this was one of her suggestions for something new.

  You simply:

  • soak onion rings in vinegar (I used white wine vinegar) for about 15 minutes.
  • drain them.
  • top with sliced tomatoes, salt, garlic, pepper and olive oil.

  The result is amazing and I am never buying store bought pickled onions again 🙂

   

  Thanks Karina,

  PK

  Related Links:

  • see more salads here
  • see more NoRecipe goodness here

  Written by

  PK

  ·

  February 9, 2017