Soy chicken thighs and egg fried rice

Soy chicken and egg fried rice

Another recipe based on one from Nigel Slater, again from his book Eat.

I've yet to find the recipe online but when I do I'll include a link. In the meantime, here is my version.

Soy chicken thigh ingredients

• About 150ml oyster sauce
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• 1/2 teaspoon crushed dried chillies
• 1 tablespoon palm sugar
• 4 chicken thighs

 

How to make soy chicken thighs

1. Heat the oven to 200 degrees C
2. Mix all the ingredients except the chicken together in a shallow, ovenproof dish.
3. Add the chicken thighs and toss to coat.
4. Put in the oven for about 40 minutes, basting every 10 minutes or so. 

In the meantime, make the egg fried rice.
You need to use rice that has already been cooked and then cooled for egg fried rice, otherwise it will be soggy. I normally make double the quantity of rice for dinner the day before, then immediately cool the rice I don't use by running under a cold tap and leaving to drain, before storing in a tupperware container in the fridge till the next day.

As a rule, measure out dry rice by volume, not weight - about 75g per person will give you a greedy person's amount. 

Egg fried rice ingredients (enough for 2)

• 2 portions long-grain or Basmati rice
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten in a jug.
• 1 medium onion, finely chopped
• 2 rashers smoked back bacon, or 3 rashers smoked streaky bacon, cut into small pieces
• A large handful frozen peas
• 3 spring onions, finely chopped
• Soy sauce, to colour and taste

How to make egg fried rice

1. Heat some groundnut or other flavourless oil in a wok.
2. When it is very hot, add the chopped onion and cook till it starts to brown.
3. Add the chopped bacon and cook, tossing it around the wok.
4. Add the cooked rice and toss to coat with the oil and mix with the onion and bacon.
5. Once the rice has heated through, add the eggs to the pan with the spring onions.
6. Leave unstirred for about 10 seconds, then stir the eggs around with the other ingredients in the wok to coat.
7. Once the egg has cooked, remove from the heat.
8. Add a splash of soy sauce and stir again, so that all the rice turns brown.*

*For this recipe I didn't add any soy sauce as there was plenty of cooking sauce from the chicken which I used insterad.

Chicken noodle soup

Not leftover roast chicken risotto

I'm so bored with being told that you can make a roast chicken last 3 days by making risotto with some of the leftover chicken and homemade stock. For me, risotto is monotonous stodge on a plate.

Go for something light like this healthy soup instead. You'll still have plenty stock left to freeze or use for thick chicken soup, and leftover cold roast chicken is a fine addition to any salad. 

Chicken noodle soup ingredients

 

• 2 bowls homemade chicken stock
• A handful mange tout
• A handful kale leaves, roughly chopped
• 4 spring onions, diagonally sliced
• A splash dark soy sauce
• A tiny splash nam pla
• 1 bruised blade  lemongrass
• 1/2 lime
• 1/2 teaspoon chilli paste
• I nest dried thin noodles
• As much leftover roast chicken as you want to add

How to make chicken noodle soup

1. Bring the chicken stock to a rolling boil in a medium-sized pan.
2. Add the splashes of nam pla and dark soy sauce, together with the bruised lemongrass stalk and chilli paste.
3. Add the noodles then after 1 minute drop in the vegetables and the cooked chicken. 
4. Simmer for a minute or 2, until the chicken is warmed but the vegetables remain crunchy.
5. Remove from the heat and ladle into individual bowls, then squeeze 1/4 lime into each bowl.

Gingered rump steak salad

A variation on chilli beef salad. In this version I marinaded the steaks for about half an hour then served them whole with the salad on the side. 

 

The salad bit

  Asian marinade/dressing ingredients

• 1/2 JOT* grated ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon sambal oelek or 1 red chilli
• Sambal oelek is a hot Malaysian/Thai chilli sauce - I used a small amount of this as I didn't have a fresh red chilli. If you're using fresh chilli, chop it finely and remove the seeds.
• 1 1/2 tablespoons sweet chilli sauce
• 2 tablespoons fish sauce
• pinch sugar

*Jamie Oliver's Thumb: the official measurement used for root ginger.

 

Salad ingredients

• 5cm piece carrot
• 5cm piece courgette
• 5cm piece cucumber
• 1/2 red pepper
• 2 spring onions 
• 1 small little gem lettuce
• Small handful mint leaves
• 2 tablespoons sesame seeds, toasted 

 

How to make marinaded rump steak salad

1. Mix all the marinade ingredients together in a shallow dish.
2. Add the steaks to the dish and turn to coat both sides.
3. Cover with cling film and set aside for at least 30 minutes - don't, however, chill in the fridge as you want the steaks to be at room temperature when you cook them. 
4. While the steaks are marinading, cut the vegetables into julienne (ie thin strips).
5. Toast the sesame seeds for a minute or two until slightly coloured and there is a noticeable aroma coming from the.
6. When you are ready to cook the steaks, heat a griddle pan till it is very hot.
7. Remove the steaks from the marinade and place on the hot griddle.
8. Leave to cook for about 3 minutes, then turn over and cook the other side for the same time - this will give you medium-rare steaks. 
9. Remove the steaks from the pan and leave to rest for at least 5 minutes.
10. Let the remaining marinade bubble for a few minutes till it becomes syrupy. 
11. Tear the mint leaves and add to the vegetables.
12. Pour the thickened marinade over the salad and toss together.
13. Sprinkle the sesame seeds over the salad then sever with the steak.

 

The steak bit

A word on toasted seeds

Toasted seeds add taste and crunch to a salad, but sometimes seem like a bit of an unnecessary hassle to bother with. I normally toast a couple of tablespoons each of:

• linseeds
• sunflower seeds
• poppy seeds
• pumpkin seeds

then keep these in a small jar for sprinkling on salads. I also keep a jar in my drawer at work, but normally forget to add them to my lunch salads. 

Asian-poached chicken salad

Chicken noodle salad

 

Feeling utterly uninspired last night I decided to poach a whole chicken with Asian flavours. 

I had no idea how it was going to taste as the recipe was loosely based on several I found online, what sounded right to me and what I had in the fridge.  

Asian-poached chicken ingredients

• 1 large free range chicken
• 2 sticks celery, cut into batons
• 1 large carrot, cut into thick slices
• 2 spring onions, cut into long sticks
• 1 onion, peeled and cut into quarters
• 2 star anise
• 1 tablespoon black peppercorns
• I large piece root ginger, peeled and cut into rough chunks
• 5 tablespoons soy sauce
• 3 fat (or 5 normal) garlic cloves, crushed but not peeled
• 1 lime, halved
• 5 tablespoons Shaoxing rice wine

 

Method for making Asian-poached chicken

Poaching a chicken

1. Add all the ingredients to a stock pot
2. Cover with water 
3. Bring to the boil for 20 minutes
4. Reduce to a simmer and continue to cook for 40 minutes

A couple of recipes I found online gave instructions to switch off the heat after the 20 minutes boiling and leave the chicken in the poaching liquor for 3 hours. However this would have meant eating at about 10.30pm so I simmered it for 40 minutes instead.

After 40 minutes I switched off the heat and left the chicken to cool slightly in the poaching liquor for about half an hour.

Chicken and vegetable noodle salad

 

I pulled some of the meat from the poached chicken to add to a noodle salad. 

Chicken noodle salad ingredients

Meat pulled off the chicken

• 5cm carrot
• 5cm courgette
• 5cm cucumber
• 2 spring onions
• 1/2 red pepper
• A couple of slices of a small red cabbage
• 2 nests noodles (I used medium egg noodles, but feel free to use whatever type you have)
• 1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds 
• A handful mint leaves
• A handful coriander leaves
• As much chicken as you want to eat, torn into strips
• Chopped red chilli, to serve

Chicken noodle salad dressing ingredients

 

• 3 tablespoons sesame oil
• Juice of a lime
• 2 tablespoons peanut relish
• 1 teaspoon fish sauce

How to make the chicken noodle salad 

1. Combine the dressing ingredients in a screw-top jar and shake vigorously.
2. Cut all the vegetables into long strips.
3. Chop the mint and coriander finely.
4. Cook the noodles per the instructions and rinse under a cold tap.
5. Tip the noodles into a large serving bowl and pour over the dressing.
6. Add the herbs, vegetable and chicken strips and toss to coat with the dressing.
7. Sprinkle over the sesame seeds.  
8. Serve with the chopped chilli on the side for people to add as much as they like. 

Although this salad was good, it did lack a little oomph. I'd used the last of my root ginger poaching the chicken, but think a teaspoon or so would have been a welcome addition to the dressing. Personally, I would have added the chilli to the dressing too, but put this on the side because I was cooking for someone with a very low heat threshold. 

Chicken stock for soup

 

Today I made chicken stock to use in chicken or noodle soups.

1. Heat the oven to 180⁰C.
2. Strip the remaining meat from the carcass.
3. Strain the poaching liquid through a sieve then return to the stock pot.
4. Put the bones and carcass in a roasting tin and roast for 25 minutes.
5. Add the bones to the strained liquid.
6. Bring everything to the boil.
7. Reduce the heat to a simmer and continue simmering for 1 hour.
8. Strain the liquid through a sieve again. 

Crunchy salad

Crunchy salad

Tonight I made teriyaki salmon with rice and a crunchy salad from the very few fresh vegetables I had lying around in my fridge. I wanted a tangy dressing to go with it, but since I didn't even have a lime I made this dressing out of store cupboard ingredients. While it didn't have the same zinginess that fresh herbs and lime would give, I think it worked really well.

Ginger and sesame salad dressing ingredients

• 1cm piece root ginger, grated to a pulp, which will give you about 1 teaspoon ginger pulp
• 3 tablespoons rapeseed oil
• 2 tablespoons sesame oil
• 1/2 teaspoon hot chilli blend (from a tube)
• 1 teaspoon coriander blend (from a tube)
• 1 tablespoon plum seasoning
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice 
• A few drops light soy sauce

How to make ginger and sesame dressing

• Grate the ginger finely. You wll end up with about 1 teaspoon grated ginger pulp.
• Add all the ingredients to a screw-cap jar and shake vigorously to combine.

I hate chopping chillies so always have one of those tubes of chilli blend and jars of chilli sauce in the fridge. While some recipes really do need fresh chillies, if you just want a little kick of heat, these work surprisingly well. 

Coriander blend in a tube, however, really is a last resort, and nothing like the fresh stuff. But its a handy thing to have in the fridge for coriander-related emergencies. 

I used plum seasoning (not sauce) to give a sharpness to the dressing. If you don't have any (and I suspect you won't, as I'm not entirely sure why I do) then use extra lemon juice, or, even better, lime juice. 

You don't have to use rapeseed oil either, but if you use olive oil use a light one that doesn't have a strong flavour. The sesame oil, however, is essential. 

Ingredients for crunchy salad

• 3 water chestnuts
• 2 spring onions
• a 5cm piece carrot
• a 5cm piece cucumber
• 1/4 iceberg lettuce
• 1/2 teaspoon each of white and black sesame seeds (or just use 1/2 teaspoon 1 type if that's what you have) 

How to make crunchy salad 

1. Slice each water chestnut into about 5 or 6 slices.
2. Slice the spring onions into 5cm lengths. Split each piece horizontally into thin slithers.
3. Slice the cucumber and carrot into thin strips (julienne).
4. Shred the lettuce into thin slices, about the same length as the rest of the vegetables.
5. Mix all the vegetables together in a bowl. 
6. Add a couple of tablespoons of the dressing and toss to coat the vegetables.
7. Lightly toast the sesame seeds in a frying pan over a low heat.
   If you are using white sesame seeds, they will turn golden brown so you know when they are done. If you are only using black seeds, just keep moving them around in the pan for about 2 minutes; they will start to smell toasted when they are done. In either case, do not attempt to multitask - you need to watch them all the time or they will burn. 
8. Scatter the seeds over the salad.