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Posts Tagged ‘rice’

Quick Dinner: Portuguese-Style Chicken & Spicy Rice

Posted in Latin American Cuisine, Reducing Waste, tagged , , , on March 15, 2012 | Leave a Comment »

If you’ve never heard of Nando’s, you’re missing out. It’s a global restaurant chain that specialises in flame-grilled Peri-Peri chicken with a variety of sauces to go with it. With the introduction of the African bird’s eye chilli to the Portuguese, Peri-Peri was born. It’s a spice blend of African bird’s eye chilli, dried oregano, paprika, dried cardamom, ground ginger and onion powder. In the UK you can buy packets of the dry rub or you can make your own by combining a tsp of each dry ingredient except the chilli powder (only half tsp) and adding a half tsp salt. You can’t really go too wrong!

Heat the oven to about 450F/230C. Rub the spices over a few chicken legs and wings. Spread onto a baking tray (flat but with slight lip on edge to catch any juices) and drizzle a little oil all over.

While the oven heats up, get started on the rice and finely chop one red onion (yellow would be fine too) and 1-2 chilli peppers. On moderate heat, cook in a pot with a bit of oil and butter until soft.

The oven should be hot now, so add the chicken into the oven on the top shelf. With a fan assisted oven this should take about 25-30 minutes. Pierce a thick part of the leg to check if juices run clear.

Add about 2 cups of rice and coat with a bit more butter. Add a heaping tsp of cumin, large pinch of salt and a good couple tbsp of ketchup. Mix well and add about 3 to 3.5 cups of chicken stock (or just a bit more than 1.5 times volume of rice depending on how you like it). If you don’t have homemade, add a stock cube and hot water direct to rice. Let simmer on low/moderate heat covered. Stir occasionally so it won’t stick to the bottom. As the liquid is nearly evaporated, keep the lid on without peeking for a couple minutes so it can steam. Stir to fluff the rice and add a drained can of corn. Taste and season as necessary. This should take about 10-12 minutes (may vary on how high a heat you cook it!).

Once the chicken is done, plate them. While they’re resting take the baking tray and put on a very low heat. Add a small splash of stock or water and gently scrape up all the good bits. Pour into a small bowl for a bit of sauce on the side. Serve up your rice with a little bit of chopped coriander/cilantro and enjoy!

The chicken should be moist and full of flavor. If possible, marinate the chicken overnight or as long as possible. I used chicken legs and wings that I had carved from whole chickens earlier in the week. It really is such better value for money. I bought two medium sized chickens over the weekend and carved them into breasts, legs and wings. Just got it all done with plastic wrapped the different portions. I used the carcasses to make stock with 1 carrot, 1 celery, half onion, bay leaves, whole peppercorns and sprigs of thyme. And I just let it go on low simmer for about an hour and a half although it probably could’ve done with 45 minutes. So from 2 chickens, I made a dinner for 4, a dinner for 2, lunch for 2 and have enough stock to make soup for 8-10 people. All of that for £6! Add to that low cost ingredients like pasta, rice, canned corn, olive oil, onions and carrots! It’s such a great way to have several homemade meals and save money. Happy cooking!

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Quick Dinner : “Mexican” Rice Bake

Posted in Latin American Cuisine, tagged , , on February 27, 2012 | Leave a Comment »

Sometimes you just need a quick weeknight dinner! Here’s a great idea that’s low in cost and a perfect way to sneak in a vegetarian meal. But if you’re feeling carnivorous, just add some cooked chicken or chorizo. And if you like a bit of kick, add some chopped jalapeños or even better serve some pickled jalapeños on the side! The combination of the cold, spicy crunch and the warm, cheesy rice is a perfect winter comfort food!

INGREDIENTS

~2 cups of cooked rice or single package of cooked rice
~2 (bell) peppers
1 red onion
1 can of corn
1 can of taco beans
1 packet seasoning (either chilli, fajitas or tacos)
~3 eggs
~couple of spring/green onions
~large handful grated cheese

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 200C. Chop peppers into a dice and toss into hot frying pan with dash of oil. Meanwhile chop red onion. When the peppers start to soften, add the onion and cook for few more minutes. Add some of the seasoning packet. Add the rice and combine. Heat through a couple of minutes. Fold through the corn and beans.

Scramble the eggs in small bowl with rest of seasoning packet. Chop the spring onion and mix through the rice. Fold the eggs through. Pour mixture into casserole dish. Sprinkle with cheese and bake for about 15 minutes. Enjoy!

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The Trick to Great Fried Rice

Posted in Asian Cuisine, Chinese Cuisine, Vietnamese Cuisine, tagged , on January 28, 2012 | 1 Comment »

After watching Ken Hom on BBC’s Saturday Kitchen, I had to chuckle a little.. He was showing James Martin his trick to making perfect rice and egg fried rice. Both tips were ones my mother taught me growing up!

The best way to make fluffy white rice is to put the rice in a pot or rice cooker and fill the water above the rice up to the first line on your index finger. Fill the water and sift it a bit to flatten it. Then put your finger into the middle and touch the rice. The water should come up to the first line. If using a pot, bring it to a boil and reduce the heat to a very low simmer (covered) for about 15 minutes. Take it off the heat, fluff the rice and leave it covered. If using a rice cooker, fluff it when the cook light changes to warm. Then put the lid back on and it’s done when it has stopped steaming.

So the trick that Ken Hom said was exactly what my mom has always taught me – use cold rice to make the best fried rice. (here’s a link to my fried rice post) His rice was a bit simpler than I normally make.. But what I prefer to do is soften chopped onion or shallot in butter and a bit of oil. Then add the rice in straight from the fridge or freezer. Add a knob of butter and heat the rice through. When it starts to warm up, add a few dashes of soy sauce and black pepper. If you want egg in it, I prefer to make a little well in the middle of the pan and add the lightly scrambled egg (seasoned s&p). Gently push the egg until it sets a little then mix it into the rice. OR you can serve it with a perfectly fried runny egg with some Maggi sauce!

Hope you find fried rice as easy as I do :-) I’m happy to answer any questions any time!

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MUSHROOM THREE WAYS

Posted in Italian Cuisine, Reducing Waste, Vietnamese Cuisine, tagged , , , , , , , , on August 8, 2010 | 1 Comment »

At my Chesham high street market, white button mushrooms are sold in abundance. However, when you buy a kilo you have to find creative ways to make meals for two. I absolutely love mushrooms. They’re so hearty and (I think) a great option for a vegetarian weeknight dinner. So when I have a lot of them, I usually prefer to make them the star. Plus it’s an affordable replacement for meat! All three ways are easy to make with minimal ingredients.

There are various tips when working with mushrooms. As you know they’re mostly water which is why it’s usually advised not to wash them with water. Rather, it’s better to brush them with a damp paper (kitchen) towel. If you’re making a simple side dish of sautéed mushrooms, then don’t add salt until after they’ve colored otherwise the salt will draw out the water and they’ll be soggy. But if you’re making duxelle (often made for beef wellington), then it’s okay to wash the mushrooms with water as you’ll be cooking them until the water is evaporated anyway.

Right, first up is mushroom stroganoff. It’s more economical than beef stroganoff and can still have loads of flavor if made with good beef stock. The dish was originally created by a French cook employed by a member of the Russian Stroganov family who was raised by Peter the Great. Although there are many recipes out there, according to the Larousse Gastronomique (2009 Edition), beef stroganoff is

“thin strips of beef, seasoned with salt, pepper and paprika…sautéed over a brisk heat, then coated with a sauce made by deglazing the pan juices with white wine, cream and thickened veal stock, to which onions sautéed in butter have been added. The dish is served with pilaf rice and sautéed mushrooms”

Here’s a good recipe for mushroom stroganoff on the British Good Food Channel. In this recipe, both onions and leeks are used. To make it completely vegetarian you can go with vegetable stock but if it’s not necessary I recommend beef stock instead. Some recipes call for crème fraiche but I personally prefer sour cream. Also, this recipe uses vodka instead of wine. Unfortunately I didn’t have either available in the kitchen, but it was still tasty! In the end it’s a super fast dish and great for leftovers as well.

Mushroom Stroganoff with Rice

(CLICK FOR MORE…)

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Couple Things I Miss About The States

Posted in Latin American Cuisine, Vietnamese Cuisine, tagged , , , , , on May 31, 2010 | Leave a Comment »

I am now back in the UK waiting for school to start, and I must confess I am missing a few things about home. However, for the past six months I’ve also been missing certain British foods but I’ll save that for another day. 

First and foremost, the food I have a really difficult time accessing here in the UK is Vietnamese food. According to Wikipedia, the largest Vietnamese community is in Lewisham which is more south-east of London and I’m more north-west. Fortunately there is one Vietnamese restaurant (2 locations) in London that I can access pretty easily that’s pretty decent – Pho Cafe. Nonetheless, nothing beats homemade Vietnamese food. I just look at the photo below and I can smell the cha gio (egg rolls) fresh from the fryer… traditionally made with rice paper and filled with ground pork, glass noodles, shrimp, carrots and more. They take longer to cook, but when my Mom takes the time you are in for a treat. The proper way to eat them is with lots of fresh herbs. Take a piece of lettuce (Romaine is fine), add some cilantro/coriander and maybe some mint, place the egg roll in the middle, wrap it all up and dip in some nuoc cham (a salty-sweet dipping sauce made with fish sauce, vinegar, sugar, lemon/lime juice and chilli). In that bite, you’ll get an explosion of flavors and textures. First the refreshing lettuce and herbs, then the crisp of the fried rice paper, the warm meat filling and the salty/sweet/spiciness of the sauce. For some additional crunch or freshness, you might have a slice of cucumber on the side. These are seriously addicting. I went a little overboard last Vietnamese New Year and ate at least a dozen or more :-)  

Cha Gio (Vietnamese egg rolls)

 

Another cuisine that isn’t that popular over here (but a bit more accessible) is Mexican food. Being a California girl, I really loooove Mexican food. Also having studied in Venezuela and having Colombian friends, I just really love all Latin food period! Excluding central London, everyday Latin food isn’t the easiest thing to get in the UK. There is the odd Mexican restaurant, but it just doesn’t seem to be as main stream as it is in the US. What IS popular though is making Mexican food at home. And by that I mean buying a fajita or taco kit (usually the Old El Paso brand) which comes with taco shells or tortillas, seasoning for the meat and packaged salsa. Basically the view of Mexican food is pretty commercial here, at least that’s been my experience. But that’s not to say that other dishes like tamales, mole or chilaquiles wouldn’t be popular here. Even less well known are empanadas, arepas or even the idea of a breakfast burrito (which I find a little funny since even McDonald’s sells a breakfast burrito in the US). 

Anywho, the good news is that you can find pretty much all the spices you need to make Latin food. So I do my best to make what I know which isn’t really rocket science. I just do the basics – various salsas (pico de gallo, corn, bean or mango), guac, fajitas/tacos, etc. I do have to share a funny story about my first experience at a British supermarket a couple years ago. I was in the chip aisle (known as “crisps” here) and a lady who works there was showing a man where the tor-TILL-lah crisps were (meaning she did not pronounce it tor-tee-ya). Haha oh I nearly died… 

Yas, Ana and I in '08 @ El Compadre

 

Right so the point is, I can make some basic stuff to feed my Mexican/Latin food cravings, but nothings beats properly made rice and beans (or chicharron, or empanadas, or cachapas, or arepas, or pan de yuca, or sancocho….sigh). A couple weeks ago, I flew out of LA for London and before I left I made sure to make a visit to one of THE best Mexican places in Hollywood – El Compadre. Well, correction, my Colombian friend Ana made me go :-) She came to visit me when I was living in LA two years ago, and it’s right around the corner from my old place. Needless to say we ate there three times in a few days. So a return trip was a must. And, as always, El Compadre did not disappoint. The place is one of those hole-in-the-wall restaurants that’s really dark inside. It has these great, old-Hollywood style brown leather booths. And occasionally there’s an actual mariachi band playing. They come around with their famous flaming margaritas too. It’s definitely a strange setting, but you know it’s good Mexican when the tortilla chips are warm and fresh. Even though it was dinner time, I had to get my favorite dish since it’d be our only chance to go there – huevos rancheros with carne asada. This may not look like the sexiest plate of food in the world, but I tell you – if only you could smell it! It’s the combination of earthy, creamy beans, moist rice, ranchero sauce, corn tortillas, fresh salsa, cool sour cream.. Mmmm.. I’m getting very hungry remembering this dish… Sigh, it’s too sad to reminisce any longer. Must try to re-create some day, but feel like it’s impossible without a Mexican grandmother or aunt to teach me secret family recipes. 

Huevos Rancheros with Carne Asada

 

Now that I’ve made myself properly hungry, it’s time to go and cook dinner! But more to come soon about my British favorites and my a Michelin-starred lunch!

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