{Recipe} Chicken with turmeric (ayam masak lemak)

This is the chili-free version of the popular Malay/Indo dish so feel free to add some if you'd like a bit of heat.

Ingredients:

1.5 kg chicken pieces
1 tbsp raw sugar
6 candlenuts*
3 garlic cloves
1 onion
2.5 cm galangal*
2 lemongrass stems*
1 cm cube belachan/shrimp paste
4 cm fresh turmeric or 1 tbsp ground turmeric
1 tbsp tamarind paste* dissolved in 1/4 cup water
4 tbsp oil*
400 ml coconut milk
Water
Salt and pepper to taste

*2 candlenuts can be substituted with 1 macadamia nut or 2 almonds; galangal may be substituted with ginger; I have found myself lemongrass-less before and substituted with about a tablespoon of lemon zest mixed in a tablespoon of lemon juice; tamarind juice can be substituted with lemon/lime juice; I used coconut oil but other oils may be used

1. I rub chicken with salt and rinse to get the chickeny taste off. Then rub sugar into chicken and set aside.
2. Blitz candlenuts, garlic, onion, galangal, lemongrass, belachan and turmeric.
3. Heat up oil in a pot and sautee the turmeric paste until aromatic without browning.
4. Add chicken pieces and coat with the paste.
5. Scoop the creamy bit off the top of coconut milk (set aside) and add the watery part. Add tamarind juice. Add enough water to just cover the chicken.
6. Cover the pot and cook for about 45 minutes until chicken is cooked.
7. Stir in the coconut cream, season with salt and pepper and serve.
8. Garnish with deep fried onions and freshly chopped coriander if desired. Enjoy!

Thank you for stopping by!

{Recipe} Jacket potatoes

A repost from my old blog

I wanted to post this recipe a few weeks ago (forgive me!) but I was caught up in so many projects that I just couldn’t sit down and spend half an hour writing this up. But here it is now! As with many of the recipes on the blog, It was a whatever-I-had-in-the-pantry-and-the-fridge recipe. And as usual you can substitute wherever you need to.

Jacket potatoes (serves 2 or 4 as a side dish)

Ingredients:

2 tbsp olive oil

4 potatoes

50 g Wensleydale cheese with cranberry

2 tbsp cream

Salt and pepper

1 spring onion (I only used the green part), chopped

1. Preheat the oven to 200°C (190 fan-forced).
2. Pierce the potatoes with a fork in six places.
3. Rub with olive oil and salt and pepper.
4. Place on a baking tray lined with aluminium foil and put in the oven. Bake for 30 minutes.
5. Turn down the oven to 180°C (170 fan-forced) and bake for a further hour.
6. Check if the potatoes are done (when the skin is golden and crisp), take out and place a potato on a clean tea towel. Cut a shallow cross on top and squeeze from underneath to ‘open’ the potato. Repeat with the rest.
7. Mix the cheese and cream and spoon 1 tbsp of the mixture onto the potatoes and top with spring onion (I don’t like raw spring onion that’s why I cooked it but you can leave this until after you take the potatoes out of the oven).
8. Place in the oven for 5 minutes or until cheese has melted.
9. Serve with your favourite main or enjoy it on its own!

Tip: You can use a softer cheese and omit the cream altogether or use whatever toppings you have on hand.

Sorry for the shadowy photo! Ta ra~

Photo sources for ingredients board:

http://www.newhealthguide.org

www.huffingtonpost.com

http://canadacheeseman.wordpress.com

http://www.vegetables.co.nz

http://a2milk.com.au