Foodarrific» Poultry

Our Christmas dinner

Chili Queen — Wed, 28 Dec 2011 13:58:44 +0000

We had an amazing Christmas dinner this year, thanks to a fantastic tasting turkey lovingly roasted in our own kitchen. Seems like the last time I roasted a turkey was for Thanksgiving several years ago, and quite honestly, we love roast turkey in this household so everyone was really looking forward to it.

Fresh out of the oven, my roast turkey looking beautifully golden. Just looking at this picture alone is enough to get me drooling all over again. This tastes so so good you might even put off shopping for engagement rings just to join us for dinner. We also had mashed potatoes with brown gravy, cranberry sauce, salad and red wine. Yumms.

In fact, I’m going out this weekend to see if I can buy another turkey. We’ve simply got to have it again for New Year’s. I know that sounds crazy but if you love something, just indulge yourself. After all, it’s only once a year.

Noodles and duck

Chili Queen — Sun, 10 Jul 2011 12:07:45 +0000

Last night, we were at this little eatery that a friend recommended. They serve several types of fried noodles and one of my favorites is Cantonese fried ying-yang (flat noodles and vermicelli combo). We order about 5 types of fried noodles and half a roast duck.

It was pretty interesting since we hardly ever eat at “coffee shops” and this one was exceptionally busy. I didn’t take any pictures because it was really very crowded and I didn’t want my cell phone landing in the noodles. Well, everything tasted good because of the pork and lard but it was extremely high-sodium and high-fat.

My only thought as I was eating was that I will surely need diet pills that work after this meal .

Cajun chicken wings

Chili Queen — Thu, 30 Jun 2011 13:19:04 +0000

Last weekend, our friend called to say he would be coming over to drop off his golf shot gps we’d asked to borrow, and I asked him to bring his whole family over since I was making chicken wings. Everybody loves chicken wings, no doubt about that.

Here are my Cajun chicken wings with roast potatoes and carrots. I use a store-bought Cajun rub to marinate the chicken wings for a couple of hours before roasting. There are 3 sections to the wing and for me, nothing goes to waste. I even chomp up the wing tip.

Recipe: Roast chicken and vegetables

Chili Queen — Fri, 08 Apr 2011 07:45:52 +0000

One of our favorite go-to meals when we’re in a time crunch is roast chicken and vegetables. It’s a meal that all my kids love so I don’t even have to think about convincing anyone or having leftovers to deal with the next day.

All you need is:

chicken thighs (or a whole chicken)
potatoes, cut into large chunks
carrots, cut into large chunks
celery, cut into 3″ lengths
baby corn
your favorite rub or marinade
your favorite herbs
olive oil

Marinate the chicken with your favorite rub/marinade and set aside for 2-3 hours.

Place the chicken on one side of your roasting pan, and the vegetables on the other side. Drizzle some olive oil over everything and sprinkle on your favorite herbs. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Roast in a 25o degree F oven for about 45 minutes or till done.

That’s it. Done. So what if you have an information technology degree instead of one from a culinary school? You can do this. It’s simple, tasty and healthy.

Nautical food experience

Chili Queen — Sat, 26 Feb 2011 21:17:46 +0000

My girls and I went to all the way to The Ship for lunch. This is one of the few restaurants I would drive to just for their food and it’s always worth the trouble. Not only do I love their ship’s cabin furniture, I also love how their food still holds that signature English flavor after all these years.

While you can barely make out the seafood in the chowder served at other restaurants, The Ship’s seafood chowder features a giant green mussel, a jumbo shrimp and chunky pieces of fish and squid. Very yummy.

This is the first time I’m ordering the Grilled Chicken with Cola Sauce, mixed veggies and french fries. The sauce made with coke (cola) is interesting but a little bland.

The Chicken Maryland is definitely one of my kids’ all-time favorite. The portion is pretty big and we all jumped in to help lick the platter clean.

Recipe: Crispy Crunchy Chicken Fingers

Chili Queen — Sun, 11 Jul 2010 02:20:08 +0000

Chicken Fingers are a perennial favorite in our household. When all else fails, chicken fingers to the rescue! I’m really not much of a stickler for recipes. I generally just make up the recipes as I go along depending on what I can find in my pantry or my fridge.

I created this version here when my oven refused to work.

It’s really simple and crunchy. You just need some chicken breasts cut into long strips and seasoned lightly with salt and pepper. Leave to marinate for an hour or so. Heat up a good amount of cooking oil in a wok or deep skillet.

Beat up an egg (or two, depending on amount of chicken breasts you’re using). In a plate, combine 1 cup of flour and 2 cups of bread crumbs. Dip the chicken strips in the beaten egg. Dredge them through the flour and breadcrumb mixture to coat evenly. Deep fry till golden brown. Serve with your favorite dipping sauce.

You may also like to check out another recipe I posted earlier for Finger-Lickin’ Good Chicken Fingers. These are oven-baked and probably won’t have you running out to look for the most effective fat burners because they’re less fattening.

lunch @ Nyonya Colors

Chili Queen — Sat, 17 Apr 2010 07:46:59 +0000

Although there’s a whole spread of eateries at the Midvalley walkway to the Gardens, there’s only one or two restaurants that we’re tried that appeal to us. One of them is Nyonya Colors which serves fairly decent nasi lemak (or coconut rice with condiments) but we’ve never tried their nyonya kuih (or cakes). There are certain prices I won’t just pay for certain food, period, especially if I know how easy and cheap they can be made at home.

This Nasi Lemak Pandan with Chicken Rendang is quite a decent portion of rice (the greenish color comes from the screwpine leaves used), fried anchovies and peanuts, half a hard-boiled egg, sliced cucumber and chicken rendang (dried curry sauce).

Another one of our favorites is Nasi Kunyit with Chicken Curry. The nasi kunyit, or turmeric rice, shaped like giant gold coins, may not look like a lot but eaten with the thick, coconuty chicken curry, this glutinous rice is very filling.

And if I’m not very hungry, I’ll order this basic, no-frills nasi lemak in a small portion that I can finish in a few scoops.

recipe: sesame chicken

chili queen — Fri, 26 Mar 2010 05:54:18 +0000

Whenever we eat out, the kids always seem to order Sesame Chicken, if it’s on the menu, that is. As is usually the case, when we order one plate, it’s not enough for my Sesame Chicken lovers. If we order two plates, I’ll start thinking how many plates of it I can cook at home for the same price !

So the next best thing is to cook this at home where I can make a big enough portion without worrying about the bill. I mean, this is so simple and inexpensive to make at home.

I usually use boneless chicken fillet or deboned drumsticks for this, just like the restaurant. The pieces should be cut fairly large, then drenched in a mixture of flour, pepper and salt.

There’s two steps to cooking this. First I deepfry the chicken pieces on high heat till lightly brown. I know what you’re thinking. That we probably have to jump on our ellipticals and peddle like crazy afterwards to work off the weight gain .

Remove chicken and pour away the oil from the wok. I add some hoisin, or sweet and sour plum sauce and a little water and let it come to a boil. Then return the chicken to the wok and mix to coat with the sauce. Just before serving, sprinkle sesame seeds on top and garnish with fresh cilantro. And you’re ready to dig in.

My Sesame Chicken is a bit saucy because the kids like to spoon it over their rice. It’s the perfect wholesome and yummy dish if you have young kids because the chicken is boneless and the sauce is sweet with a light tang and kids are fascinated by the speckled look of the sesame seeds. Try it !

Chinese New Year reunion dinner

chili queen — Sat, 13 Feb 2010 13:41:49 +0000

This year, for our CNY reunion dinner, I decided to slave in the kitchen this year instead of subjecting ourselves to those rip-off festive restaurant prices. My dishes are very simple so it’s not too hard to whip up something pretty quickly.

Stirfried Kailan with Crispy Scallop Bits

Stir-fried Kai-lan (Chinese kale) is a common everyday dish. I merely funky-ed it up with a topping of crispy dried scallop bits. Surprisingly my say-no-to-veggie brood loved this .

Claypot Pork Ribs and Tofu

We’re big fans of Claypot Tofu (recipe here) and I cook this quite often for regular meals. Here I used pork ribs with carrot flowers and wolfberries and turned it into something special.

Spicy Thai-style Crispy Chicken

I topped my easy-peasy and very popular Thai-style Crispy Chicken (recipe here) with shredded carrots, cucumbers and onions.

Braised Mushrooms with Phoenix Claws

Don’t jump now. Phoenix claws are actually just plain old chicken feet.

Lotus Root Soup with Japanese Baby Scallops

This turned out so sweet and flavorful I surprised even myself .

You’ll agree there’s nothing very fattening here so no need for us to start reading phentermine reviews ! In fact, I cooked everything here with fresh ingredients and very little sodium, practically no sugar or added MSG.

Thai-style crispy chicken

chili queen — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 14:12:04 +0000

Nothing perks up the appetite like a totally spicy dish. Like my Thai-style crispy chicken. When I tell my teens that’s one of the dishes I’m cooking for dinner, they jump for joy. It’s one of our favorite dishes to order at Chinese restaurants. It’s also a dish that’s so easy to prepare at home.

You need:

4 chicken thighs, chopped into chunky pieces
1 large cucumber, thinly shredded
1 large carrot, thinly shredded
1 medium onion, thinly shredded
1 cup cornflour
I cup cooking oil
3 tablespoons Thai chilly sauce (I usually use Kimball)
salt and sugar to taste

First I coat the chicken with cornflour, a drizzle of oil and a pinch of salt, and leave aside to sit while I shred the veggies. Meantime, I heat up some oil in my wok. I’m not deepfrying the chicken here. There’s not enough oil to do that. I’m just shallow frying the chicken till it’s cooked and browned. Remove from oil and repeat with the next batch of chicken.

That done, it’s time to prepare the sauce. Drain the wok and pour in the Thai chilly sauce. I use 3 tablespoons or more. You decide how spicy you want yours to be. Add an equal amount of water, and salt and sugar to taste. Then I add the shredded veggies and stir. I add a bit of flour to thicken the sauce a little so it’ll stick to the chicken.

And that’s it. So easy. Cooked and ready to serve, faster than you can say “best prenatal multivitamins” (well, almost ). Try it this weekend.