Christmas is coming as I see my calendar getting filled up with dinners and gatherings of family and friends. It is a festive season to remember Jesus and a time to rekindle ties with loved ones. Part of the joy for me every Christmas is the privilege to cook up a storm for family and friends to celebrate this wonderful time. A roasted turkey or a nice rack of lambs always sets everyone in the right mood for some Christmas carolling.
I am not a big fan of turkey as I find its meat too dry for my taste. Today, I am going to show you an adaption of the Julia Child's french slow roasted chicken. The original receipe calls for regular salting of the chicken during the basting process. I tried it and it was way too salty so this recipe is slightly modified to give you the perfect slow roasted chicken! It has a long roasting time with regular basting but the succulent meat at the end of the process is more than worth it! Wifey hates chicken breast meat as it is dry but she likens the breast meat on this chicken to be her favourite drumstick!
Do not worry, just follow the roasting and basting timing below and it will turn out to be the perfect Christmas roast chicken ready for festive feasting!
1. Season chicken thoroughly outside and inside with salt and pepper
2. Mix handful of fresh thyme with half a block of butter
3. Rub butter mixed with thyme thoroughly outside and inside of chicken
4. Stuff one big white onion and couple of bay leaves inside chicken
5. Pre-heat oven to 220C. Melt some butter in roasting pan
6. Shove the chicken with sliced carrots and onions as its base.
7. After 15mins, turn the chicken and baste
8. After 5mins, turn the chicken and baste (Do this 3 times).
9. Reduce oven to 190C
10. After 10mins, turn the chicken and baste (Do this 5 times)
11. Remove chicken after a total of 80mins of roasting time and let it rest.
12. Garnish with carrots and fresh broccoli and serve!
The turning and basting of the chicken is key to serving a juicy and succulent bird. Try it and have a blessed Christmas this festive season!
Prep time: 15mins Cook time: 80mins Level: Tok kong!
With the cooling weather this past week, I thought it is the perfect season for a pot of piping hot stew for dinner with wifey this evening. After a 4am morning run which seems to be quite an easy thing to do so early in the morning as I was still jet lagged, it was off to Cold Storage as dawn broke. It is such an experience to have the whole supermarket full of fresh produce all by yourself without having to navigate gingerly between isles among the sea of trolleys. In our little crowded island, this is becoming a true luxury.
This is a really simple and very delicious recipe from Gordon Ramsay which you know what; I had the pleasure of bumping into at Old Bond Street in London last Saturday. Chef Ramsay was wearing a pair of shades and dressed simply in polo tee and jeans as he stepped out from Hugo Boss with his purchase. It all happened too fast and before I realised it was actually him; he had already disappeared down the street. Anyway, here is the recipe which I have made a few modifications of adding carrots and a dash of french cognac which I just bought from London.
1. Season 4 chicken thighs with salt and pepper. Coat them lightly with flour
2. Pan fry chicken till golden brown in hot pan of olive oil. Set aside
3. Pan fry handful of bacon lardons in hot french oven (i.e. le creuset) of olive oil
4. Add chopped 1 white onion, 1 shallot, 4 carrots, 4 white button mushrooms & 1 tomato
5. Add bay leaves & thyme
6. Pour half bottle of red wine & simmer for 4-5mins
7. Add chicken into french oven & add 2 tablespoons of french cognac
8. Shove into hot oven set at 170C for 30mins
9. Add a dash of fresh cream & serve
The secret to doing this right is to make sure you pan seared the chicken thighs well. More colour equals more flavour. And make sure you sweat the vegetables down and coat them with all the flavours from the bacon lardons. Serve it with a nice glass of merlot and you have a piping hot stew for a tropical rainy day like today.
Prep time: 10mins Cook time: 40mins Level: Steady lah!
Though I just hit the seawater about 2 months ago in Maldives, I am beginning to miss diving again. The excitement in prepping the gear, riding the waves on the boat ride out and the first taste of crystal blue seawater is alway so alluring. To rekindle all these feelings again, I decided to cook us a simmering pot of "Moules Marinieres" which is probably the quintessential french summer dish made of fresh meaty mussels, white wine, garlic and parsley. These elements make it perfect for this classic and simply delicious seaside to be enjoyed on this super long weekend! A simple and fast dish to do with minimum effort and maximum taste!
1. Soak mussels in water & de-beard them
2. Add butter into pot with chopped spices; 2 shallot,4 cloves of garlic & 1 white onion
3. Add thyme & bay leaves
4. Splash a cup of white wine
5. Sautee for 3-4mins over medium heat. Do not brown
6. Add mussels & cover for 4-5mins
7. Add chopped italian parsley & dash of fresh cream
Serve with some garlic toasted french loaves to soak up all the juices from the mussels that have been infused with the spices. herbs and white wine and you have a simple french classic to share with your loved ones!
Happy National Day and Majulah Singapura!
Prep time: 10mins Cook time: 10mins Level: Confirm can!
As I continue my series of recipes that fuses the best of East and West, I cannot thank my wifey enough who has been my faithful guinea pig as I experimented with different versions of these recipes to get the balance of taste just right. Her feedback and plattte have been a great help to me! This recipe combines two of my favourite food; the all too famous Singaporean chilli crab and my favourite pasta, linguine! It is spicy, slurperlicious and brings out the best in Singaporean cuisine! it is very fast to make and takes about less than 30mins to spring out this dish.
1. Cook linguine in pot of salted boiling water & olive oil for 10mins till al dente. Set aside
2. Add chopped shallots & white onions into hot pan of olive oil. Stir fry for 2-3mins
3. Add 1.5 spoonful of chilli crab paste & stir fry till fragrant for 2-3 mins
4. Add handful of crab meat and stir fry
5. Crack an egg to finish up the sauce & let it thicken to boil
6. Add pasta in and serve!
When stir frying the chilli crab paste, make sure you stir fry it till it makes you cough and tear a bit. This means that the spices in the paste are cooked properly and it is releasing it aromatic fragrance! Garnish the pasta with some sliced red chillis and spring onions and viola, you have a delicious dish that is perfect for a weekend lunch! Enjoy your weekend and TGIF!
Prep time: 10mins Cook time: 20mins Level: Confirm can!
Being too poor to afford any form of alcohol during school days, I only started drinking when I was working in London. Back then, there was a very kind project manager who showed me the dark side of alcohol consumption; to a reasonable amount of course. He is till today, a great friend and a sound mentor. Choosing between red and white wine to pair with red or white meat respectively was easy enough as most movies will show the gentlemen choosing the right selection to go with the main course of the meal. But choosing between a cabernet sauvignon or pinot noir and semillon or Chardonnay took quite a bit of experimenting. To save us all the trouble, here is a quick idiots' guide to it from Wine Folly, subject to all our individual preferences of course. Enjoy and salud!
This is one signature recipe which I have cooked for many of my family and friends. It is one of my favourite because it is easy to make and perfect for potluck parties. It was notably featured in quite a few Christmas gatherings in 2010, 2011 and 2012. It has been tweaked to get the right balance of flavours that will be brought out best from the carmelisation process. For those who have tasted it, you know who you are, so please leave me your comments on how to make it even better! As beginners in cooking, we are sometimes overly fixated on the precise portions and mixtures of seasoning (i.e. tablespoons, teaspoons etc.) but this is one recipe that I will encourage you to go with your feel as it is hard to go wrong. Go with your instincts and enjoy the cooking process as much as you enjoy the fruits of your labour.
Friday is special for me and wifey but I have a couple of late calls to do till midnight so I decided to make her favourite wings instead of going out on date night. Wings were marinated overnight and all I had to do was to chuck them into the oven while doing my calls.
1. Marinate wings overnight with the following
- Splash of thick teriyaki sauce
- Splash of oyster sauce
- Splash of tomato sauce
- Splash of natural honey
- Dash of dark soy sauce
- Dash of hua tiao jiu (i.e. chinese rice wine)
- Dash of sesame oil
- Dash of good dry gin
Here is what is used for the marinate.
Brofeifei XO wings cannot be complete without vintage XO cognac. Just 1 tablespoon of this premium liquid adds a sophisticated smokey flavour to your wings. Marinate the wings overnight in the fridge and let the wings soak in all the goodness.
2. Heat oven to 200C and shove in the wings for 20mins
3. Baste the wings with excess sauce every 10mins
4. Turn the wings over & roast other side for another 20mins
5. Continue to baste every 10mins
6. Turn the wings over again & finish the caramelisation for another 5mins
Prep time: 10mins Cook time: 45mins Level: Confirm can!
Risotto or some Singaporeans may call it as "ang moh mui fun" is an Italian classic that you are sure to find on the menu of any decent Italian restaurant. I have decided to put an Asian spin to it and create my own Abalone Risotto. Using a salvaged can of good quality whole abalone from the chinese new year festivities, I cooked this for wifey and myself as dinner. After this successful attempt of fusing the best of east and west, I think I shall continue my series of new recipes of the local take on western classics! Who wants to be my guinea pigs?!
1. Stir fry 2 shallots in hot pan of olive oil
2. Add handful of chopped white button mushrooms and cook till soft
3. Add 1 cup of short grain rice and stir for 2mins
4. Add 1 glass of white wine, abalone sauce from can and reduce
5. Add ladle after ladle of fish stock into rice slowly for the next 30mins
6. Allow rice to absorb stock before adding the next ladle
7. Cook till al dente and add sliced abalone
8. Serve with chopped chives and a fine glass of sauvignon blanc
Prep time: 10mins Cook time: 40mins Level: Steady lah!
