Tag: salt

• 

  PK’s Chicken Baste #1

  This is the second in my posts on dry rubs and basting sauces for use when roasting meat, it works great regardless of whether you are using a BBQ or an oven. I used it recently on an oven roast chicken along with this dry rub as inspired by http://noblepig.com/.

  Again, I take my hat off to the people over at Noble Pig and our own Growchow, you are indeed doing amazing work :).

  You will need:

  • Ingredients:
    • 1/2 tsp ground rock salt
    • 1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
    • 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar (this stuff is amazing)
    • 1 Tbsp garlic infused olive oil
    • 1/4 tsp tumeric powder
    • 1/4 tsp beetroot powder (for colour, I make my own here)
    • 2 drops of liquid smoke (mostly because a second drop fell in accidently, yum)
  •  Equipment:
    • a small bowl for the sauce
    • a fork for mixing
    • a basting brush

  Steps:

  1. Bring all the ingredients together.
  2. Get distracted by how amazing it looks and smells.
  3. Mix everything together.
  4. Baste your chicken.

  

  Enjoy,

  PK

  Written by

  PK

  ·

  January 31, 2017

• 

  DryStuff: Chicken Dry Rub #1

  I think a natural progression from making dry masalas to make curry pastes is making dry rubs for roasting meat. This is the first one I have ever made and I used on an oven roast chicken along with this basting sauce as inspired by http://noblepig.com/.

  My hat off to the people over at noblepig.com you are doing amazing work :).

  You will need:

  • Ingredients:
    • 1 Tbsp ground rock salt
    • 1/4 tsp ground black peppercorns
    • 1 tsp ground paprika (I used smoked)
    • 1/4 tsp onion powder
    • 1/4 tsp kashmiri chili powder
    • 1/4 tsp tumeric powder
    • 1/4 tsp cumin powder
    • 1/4 tsp beetroot powder (for colour, I make my own here)
    • 1/8 tsp garlic powder
  •  Equipment:
    • a bowl for the dry rub
    • a fork for mixing

  Steps:

  1. Bring all the ingredients together.
  2. Get distracted by how amazing it looks and smells.
  3. Mix everything together.

  

  Enjoy,

  PK

  Written by

  PK

  ·

  January 29, 2017

• 

  Chicken Dry Rub #1

  This is the first attempt at a dry rub for roast chicken.

  I am pretty pleased with the taste and just look at the colours. 🙂

  Please see  PK’s Dry Rub Split Roast Chicken  where I tested it out for the first time.

  

  You will need:

  • Ingredients:
    • 1 Tbsp ground rock salt
    • 1/4 tsp ground black peppercorns
    • 1 tsp ground paprika (I used smoked)
    • 1/4 tsp onion powder
    • 1/4 tsp kashmiri chili powder
    • 1/4 tsp tumeric powder
    • 1/4 tsp cumin powder
    • 1/4 tsp beetroot powder (for colour, I make my own here)
    • 1/8 tsp garlic powder

  Steps:

  1. Bring all the ingredients together.
  2. Get distracted by how amazing it looks and smells.
  3. Mix everything together.
  4. Rub it all over the chicken including the cavity.

  

  Enjoy,

  PK

  Written by

  PK

  ·

  January 29, 2017

• 

  KT’s NoRecipe Chorizo, Chicken and Potato Roast

  KT found the original recipe for this on one of the best blogs on the internet, Baby Mac. It has become one of our staple meals and to this end she simplified it as much as possible.

  It scales really well because you simply whack your desired amounts of chicken thighs, chopped chorizo sausage and quartered potatoes into a non-stick pan. Season with some Italian herbs, pepper and maybe some sliced chilis.

  

  Whack them in the oven on say 200°C until they look like this.

  

  Then serve with a salad and even the kids will like it :).

  

  Yum, thanks KT!

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  Written by

  PK

  ·

  December 18, 2016

• 

  PK’s Fettuccine Chicken Alfredo

  Fettuccine Alfredo is a pasta dish made from freshly made fettuccine tossed only with Parmigiano-Reggiano and butter.

  This was my first attempt at making it and I wanted to make the sauce from scratch.  I chose this ‘food network’ recipe as a base to experiment from and the results were simply amazing. The addition of 2 cups of heavy cream might have had something to do with this :).

  

  I used an Australian made Parmesan rather than certified Parmigiano-Reggiano which is only made in one of several regions in northern France.  I certainly will be using it next time for a comparison. [ edit – I did 🙂 ]

  Similarly, although I used San Remo Brand’s Traditional Egg Fettuccine No 77 and thought it an excellent product, I am going to be making my own fettuccine next time. [ edit – I did 🙂 ]

  You will be:

  1. Boiling the pasta.
  2. Cooking the bacon and chicken.
  3. Making the alfredo sauce.
  4. Combining everything and serving hot.

  You will need:

  • Ingredients:
    • a couple slugs of olive oil
    • 225g fettuccine
    • 2 chicken breasts, skin off, cut into thin but wide slices (see photos below)
    • a handful of bacon rashers, finely chopped
    • 8 Tbsp butter
    • 2 cups heavy cream
    • ground rock salt and ground black peppercorns to taste
    • ground nutmeg to taste
    • a very small handful of oregano, chopped
    • 1.5 cups Parmigiano-Reggiano or Parmesan, finely grated
  •  Equipment:
    • a chopping board
    • a long sharp knife
    • a large saucepan for the pasta
    • a frypan
    • a bowl to put the cooked chicken and bacon in
    • a colander to drain the pasta

  Boiling the pasta

  1. You are going to need 15 minutes to get everything else ready so put the pasta into boiling water with a slug of olive oil and a generous amount of salt.
  2. Whilst doing the recipe’s other steps, cook the pasta until molto al dente (I chuck the odd bit onto the kitchen tiles to test it, if it sticks it is ready) and remember that the last step in this recipe is to mix everything together and serve quickly.

  

  Cooking the bacon and chicken

  1. Cook a good handful of chopped bacon in some olive oil until crispy, putting it aside and cleaning the frypan with paper towel. Return it to the heat.
  2. Melt 2 Tbsp of the butter in the frypan and cook the 2 chicken breasts worth of slices over medium heat. Remember that the slices won’t take long each side to cook through and the chicken will go chewy if you over cook it.
  3. Add the bacon back to the frypan and give everything a gentle toss.
  4. Put the chicken and bacon aside in a bowl and wipe clean the bottom of the frypan.

  Bacon goodness:

  Cook the chicken and combine the with the bacon:

   

  Making the alfredo sauce

  1. Bring the frypan back to the heat and melt 6 Tbsp of butter.
  2. Whisk the 2 cups of heavy cream into the butter.
  3. Add the very small handful of chopped oregano, salt, pepper and at least one pinch of ground nutmeg.
  4. Keep stirring gently for several minutes and then fold the 1.5 cups of finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano or Parmesan into the sauce.

  

   

  Combining everything and serving hot

  1. Chuck the drained pasta, the chicken and the bacon into the sauce and gently mix everything together.
  2. Add large portions to the serving bowls and serve with cracked black peppercorns and grated Parmigiano-Reggiano.

  

  Enjoy,

  PK

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  Written by

  PK

  ·

  November 27, 2016

• 

  KT’s Easy Mini Quiches

  Thankfully these are as easy to make as they are to eat. In our house, they have a habit of disappearing when my wife isn’t looking :).

  I didn’t even get to take a photo of the finished products cooling on the racks.

  

  You will be:

  1. Preparing the filling.
  2. Cutting and pressing puff pastry into baking tins to make the bases.
  3. Spooning the mixture to bases and cooking.

  You will need:

  • Ingredients:
    • 2 sheets of puff pastry
    • 125g cheddar cheese, grated (use your favourite hard cheese)
    • 125g ham slices, finely chopped
    • 3 Tbsp heavy cream (whipping cream)
    • 0.5 Tbsp whole grain mustard
    • 1 egg
    • ground black peppercorns to taste
    • ground rock salt to taste (I don’t use any as the cheese and bacon are salty enough)
  •   Equipment
    • a chopping board
    • a long sharp knife
    • a mixing bowl
    • 7cm diameter biscuit cutter
    • 2 shallow mini pie/bun trays (12 depressions per tray)

  Steps:

  Prepare the filling

  1. In a mixing bowl add the:
     • 125g grated cheddar cheese
     • 125g finely chopped ham
     • 3 Tbsp heavy cream
     • 0.5 Tbsp whole grain mustard
     • 1 egg
     • ground black peppercorns to taste
  2. Mix everything thoroughly but gently.

  

  Cutting and pressing puff pastry into baking tins to make the bases

  1. Lay the sheets of puff pastry out.
  2. Cut 24 circles out of them using the cookie cutter.
  3. Press the circles gently into the trays.

  

  Spooning the mixture to bases and cooking

  1. Spoon a small amount of the filling into each base.
  2. Cook for 15 minutes at 200°C in a fan forced oven.

  Serving

  Eat them hot or freeze them. Personally I like them cold and think they make a great lunch box snack.

  If they last that long :).

  Enjoy,

  PK for  KT

  Here are some more egg dishes and posts by KT:

  Written by

  PK

  ·

  November 21, 2016

• 

  KT’s NoFuss Mini Quiches

  Thankfully these are as easy to make as they are to eat. In our house they have a habit of disappearing when my wife isn’t looking :).

  I didn’t even get to take a photo of the finished products cooling on the racks.

  Oh wait here is one from last time she made them:

  

  You will be:

  1. Preparing the filling.
  2. Cutting and pressing puff pastry into baking tins to make the bases.
  3. Spooning the mixture to bases and cooking.

  You will need:

  • Ingredients:
    • 2 sheets of puff pastry
    • 125g cheddar cheese, grated (use your favourite hard cheese)
    • 125g ham slices, finely chopped
    • 3 Tbsp heavy cream (whipping cream)
    • 0.5 Tbsp whole grain mustard
    • 1 egg
    • ground black peppercorns to taste
    • ground rock salt to taste (I don’t use any as the cheese and bacon are salty enough)
  •   Equipment
    • a chopping board
    • a long sharp knife
    • a mixing bowl
    • 7cm diameter biscuit cutter
    • 2 shallow mini pie/bun trays (12 depressions per tray)

  Steps:

  Prepare the filling

  1. In a mixing bowl add the:
     • 125g grated cheddar cheese
     • 125g finely chopped ham
     • 3 Tbsp heavy cream
     • 0.5 Tbsp whole grain mustard
     • 1 egg
     • ground black peppercorns to taste
  2. Mix everything thoroughly but gently.

  

  Cutting and pressing puff pastry into baking tins to make the bases

  1. Lay the sheets of puff pastry out.
  2. Cut 24 circles out of them using the cookie cutter and press these into the trays.

  

  Spooning the mixture to bases and cooking

  1. Spoon a small amount of the filling into each base.
  2. Cook for 15 minutes at 200°C in a fan forced oven.

  Eat them hot or freeze them. Personally I like them cold and think they make a great lunch box snack.

  If they last that long :).

  Enjoy,

  PK

   

   

   

   

  Written by

  PK

  ·

  November 21, 2016

• 

  PK Makes Ching He Huang’s Beef in Oyster Sauce

  My hat off to the BBC chef Ching He Huang and her simple but flavoursome Beef in Oyster Sauce recipe.

  This dish caught my eye because it calls for tenderising, with a mallet or rolling pin, beef eye fillet (tenderlion) steaks. I can see you shaking your head but trust me it is a transformational part of the recipe. The meat literally melts in your mouth!

  

  Ching’s “… approach is to demystify the notion that Chinese cooking is complicated and time consuming by demonstrating traditional recipes that can be easily adapted for the home cook…”.

  Mission accomplished!

  You will be

  1. Bashing and flash seasoning the beef.
  2. Stir frying the vegetables
  3. Stir frying the beef
  4. Serving

  You will need

  • Ingredients (as the only main it served 2 adults and a hungry toddler very well):
    • 350g beef eye fillet steaks
    • 1 tsp light soy sauce
    • 1.5 Tbsp oyster sauce
    • a pinch of raw sugar
    • ground rock salt and ground black peppercorns
    • 2 slugs of peanut oil
    • 3 cloves garlic, finely diced
    • 300g baby spinach leaves
    • 1 carrot, chopped into matchsticks
    • a handful of snow peas, sliced or whole
    • 1 Tbsp dry Sherry
    • 1 cup of your favourite rice (mine is basmati)
  •   Equipment
    • a chopping board
    • a long sharp knife
    • several sheets of baking paper
    • a bowl for marinading the meat
    • a tenderising mallet or a rolling pin
    • a wok or deep fry pan
    • a serving dish

  Steps:

  Bashing and flash seasoning the beef

  1.  Place the eye fillet steaks in between two sheets of baking paper and bash the stuffing out of it with a rolling pin or tenderising mallet. I know right :).
  2. Thinly slice the bashed beef and place into a bowl.
  3. Season with the:
     • 1 tsp light soy sauce
     • 1.5 Tbsp oyster sauce
     • a pinch of raw sugar
     • ground rock salt and black peppercorns to taste.

  

  

  

  

  Stir frying your vegetables

  1. Chop and slice all of the vegetables.
  2. Add a slug of peanut oil to the frypan and get it nice and hot.
  3. Add the 3 cloves garlic (finely diced) and chopped chili to taste if you like it hot.
  4. Add the 1 carrot (sliced into sticks).
  5. Add the handful of snow peas.
  6. Keep everything moving all the time and then when you think it is time chuck in the 300g baby spinach leaves.
  7. As soon as the spinach leaves wilt and become warm put the whole lot into a serving dish. I sometimes cover them to keep everything piping hot.

  

  

  

  Stir frying the beef

  1. Add another slug of peanut oil to the frypan and get it nice and hot again.
  2. Add the now seasoned beef slices and stir fry for a few minutes at most, remember that they will continue to cook after you take them out of the pan. We don’t want them to be chewy.
  3. Pour the 1 Tbsp dry Sherry over the meat and quickly toss everything.
  4. Add the now cooked beef to the cooked vegetables waiting in the serving dish.

  

  Serving

  Serve from a central dish and let everyone take what they need. Make sure there is plenty of rice and good conversation. 🙂

  

  

  Thanks again to Ching,

  PK

  Here are some more Chinese and asian fusion posts: 

  Written by

  PK

  ·

  November 17, 2016

• 

  PK Makes Beef in Oyster Sauce

  This was simply the best stir fry I have ever cooked. I literally sighed when I first tasted it and you couldn’t wipe the smile of my face.

  I knew it was good because everyone came back for seconds, even my toddler :).

  This dish caught my eye because it calls for tenderising, with a mallet or rolling pin, beef eye fillet (tenderlion) steaks. I can see you shaking your head but trust me it is a transformational part of the recipe. The meat literally melts in your mouth!

  My hat off to the BBC chef Ching He Huang and her simple but flavoursome recipe. I modified it slightly by leaving out the chili (at my family’s request), adding a lot more vegetable variety and served it with basmati rice rather than sautéed mushrooms.

  Ching’s “… approach is to demystify the notion that Chinese cooking is complicated and time consuming by demonstrating traditional recipes that can be easily adapted for the home cook…”.

  Mission accomplished mate!

  As per my normal practice, I marinaded the beef first thing in the day. In this case I did it to make it easier, having everything ready to go, when I cooked the meal in the evening. That said, this dish will blow you away even if you just flash marinade the meat for a few minutes.

  You will be:

  1. Bashing and flash seasoning the beef.
  2. Prepping, quickly stir frying the vegetables and putting them aside.
  3. Quickly stir frying the beef and combing everything as you serve.

  You will need:

  • Ingredients (as the only main it served 2 adults and a hungry toddler very well):
    • 350g beef eye fillet steaks
    • 1 tsp light soy sauce
    • 1.5 Tbsp oyster sauce
    • a pinch of raw sugar
    • ground rock salt and ground black peppercorns to taste
    • 2 slugs of peanut oil
    • 3 cloves garlic, finely diced
    • 300g baby spinach leaves
    • 1 carrot, chopped into matchsticks
    • a handful of snow peas, sliced or whole
    • 1 Tbsp dry Sherry
    • 1 cup of your favourite rice (mine is basmati)
  •   Equipment
    • a chopping board
    • a long sharp knife
    • several sheets of baking paper
    • a bowl for marinading the meat
    • a tenderising mallet or a rolling pin
    • a wok or deep fry pan
    • a serving dish

  Steps:

  Prepare the beef

  1.  Place the eye fillet steaks in between two sheets of baking paper and bash the stuffing out of it with a rolling pin or tenderising mallet. I know right :).
  2. Very thinly slice the bashed beef and place into a bowl.
  3. Season with the:
     • 1 tsp light soy sauce
     • 1.5 Tbsp oyster sauce
     • a pinch of raw sugar
     • ground rock salt and black peppercorns to taste.

  

  

  

  

  Prep and stir fry your vegetables

  1. Add a slug of peanut oil to the frypan and get it nice and hot.
  2. Chop and slice all of the vegetables.
  3. Add the 3 cloves garlic (finely diced) and chopped chili to taste if you like it hot.
  4. Add the 1 carrot (sliced into sticks).
  5. Add the handful of snow peas.
  6. Keep everything moving all the time and then when you think it is time chuck in the 300g baby spinach leaves.
  7. As soon as the spinach leaves wilt and become warm put the whole lot into a serving dish. I sometimes cover them to keep everything piping hot.

  

  

  Stir fry the beef:

  1. Add another slug of peanut oil to the frypan and get it nice and hot again.
  2. Add the now seasoned beef slices and stir fry for a few minutes at most, remember that they will continue to cook after you take them out of the pan. We don’t want them to be chewy.
  3. Pour the 1 Tbsp dry Sherry over the meat and quickly toss everything.
  4. Add the now cooked beef to the cooked vegetables waiting in the serving dish.

  

  Serving:

  Serve immediately  :).

  

  Thanks again to Ching,

  PK

  Written by

  PK

  ·

  November 17, 2016

• 

  Easy Sesame and Cumin Lamb Chops

  This lamb chop recipe is so easy to prepare. All you need are sesame and cumin seeds, a splash of oil and your choice of lamb cut.

  Simply take your lamb chops (I like to use forequarter chops) and rub with olive oil. Peanut oil works a treat too.

  Then on each side, coat in ground pepper, salt and an equal ratio of sesame seeds and cumin seeds.

  Pop them in the fridge the day before if you can.

  

  Then bake, grill or barbeque them.

  

  Enjoy,

  PK

  Here are some more lamb posts  and other simple to prepare meals: 

  Written by

  PK

  ·

  November 12, 2016