A fairly simple recipe, pretty much a variant of this recipe here, with a few modifications of my own, particularly the spice-to-chicken ratio.

Ingredients:

• 2 chicken leg quarters
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 Tbsp oil
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 1 tsp Italian seasoning (oregano, basil, thyme, etc.)
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp cumin powder
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• 1 tsp soy sauce
• 1/8 cup water

Method:

• Mix chili powder, Italian seasoning, cumin, salt and pepper with oil.
• Add minced garlic and mix under it takes the form of a "paste".
• Using a knife, add shallow cuts/slits to the chicken quarters to improve the marination process.
• Rub the marinade onto the chicken quarters (I marinated the chicken about 2-3 hours before cooking).
• Preheat oven to 425°F. Line a baking tray with aluminum foil. Place the chicken quarters onto the tray.
• Mix the water and soy sauce and pour over the chicken quarters in the baking tray.
• Bake for about 30-40 minutes.

There are endless sides that could be chosen with the Garlic Roasted Chicken; for tonight's dinner, I chose baked potato, cherry tomatoes and assorted veggies.

Last weekend, I asked my Mom to share her recipe of Sweet & Sour Sauce, and decided to try my hand at it. The result was surprisingly similar to what I had in my memories...

I replaced the traditional fried chicken chunks in the original recipe with chicken chunks prepared in "Spicy Shake & Bake" - This was done in order to "parallelize" the cooking process...

Ingredients:

• 1/2 lb boneless chicken breast, chopped in chunks
• 1 pkg Spicy Shake & Bake (won't be using the entire pack, only enough for the amount of chicken used)
• 1 capsicum/green pepper, chopped
• 1 onion, chopped
• 250-300g frozen vegetables (carrots, lima beans, cauliflower) (optional)
• 3-4 cloves pressed garlic
• 1 Cup ketchup
• 1 Cup water
• 1 Tbsp Sambal Oelek (chili paste)
• 2 Tbsp soy sauce
• 2 Tbsp sugar
• 1 Tbsp cornflour
• 1 tsp black pepper

Method:

• Boil the frozen vegetables for about 2-3 minutes (over-boiling will make the vegies too soft). Heat one tablespoon of oil in a wok. Stir fry the vegetables for a few minutes. Remove from wok.
• Heat one tablespoon of oil in the wok. Add chopped onions and green peppers. Stir fry for a few minutes. Remove from wok.
• Mix ketchup, soy sauce, sugar, chili paste and black pepper in a bowl.
• Heat one tablespoon of oil in the wok. Add garlic and sauteed for a few minutes.
• Turn stove to medium heat, and add the ketchup mixture to the work. Mix thoroughly.
• After a few minutes of cooking, add a cup of water to the wok. Stir. Once bubbles appear, turn the heat to low, continue stirring every now and then.
• Prepare the chicken chunks by following instructions on the Shake & Bake package. For me, this involved coating the chicken in the Shake & Bake mixture, placing on an aluminum-foil-covered baking tray and baking for about 20-22 minutes.
• When the chicken is almost ready, turn up the heat on the wok with the sauce mixture. Add a tablespoon of cornflour to thicken it, and stir. Add the vegetables, onions and green peppers to the sauce.
• Remove chicken from oven and add to the sauce.

Voila! The Sweet & Sour Sauce is ready!

Serve with boiled or fried rice...

Chicken & Vegetables in Sweet & Sour Sauce with Boiled Brown Rice

Questions/Comments?

Nothing too fancy here, just a meat sauce I made today to have alongside pasta, although I believe it wouldn't be too bad with some form of bread or rice...

Ingredients:

• 1 pound (~ 500g) Ground Beef
• 500ml (about 2 cups) Pasta Sauce with Mushrooms
• 1 medium or large onion, chopped
• 4-5 cloves garlic, pressed
• 2 bell peppers (I used about 2/3 of each, green and orange), diced
• 2-3 Tbsp Sambal Oelek (chili paste)
• 1 Tbsp Italian Seasoning (oregano, basil, thyme, etc.)
• 1 Tbsp butter
• 1 tsp Chili Powder
• 1 tsp Coriander Powder
• Dried parsley flakes
• Salt
• Pepper
• Cooking oil

Method:

• In a wok, add butter and a bit of cooking oil. Turn stove on medium heat. Add chopped onions. Remove onions from wok when they start to brown.
• With wok on medium heat, add the ground beef and allow to cook.
• Once the beef starts losing its reddish color, add salt, pepper (to taste), garlic, chili powder, coriander powder and Italian seasoning.
• Once the meat starts to brown, add 2 Tbsp sambal oelek and mix thoroughly.
• Add the onions back into the wok. Add the bell peppers and allow to cook on low-medium heat.
• After the meat has lost all of its pinkish color, stir in the pasta sauce. (Optional: Add 1 Tbsp of sambal oelek and mix, if you, like me, think that the pasta sauce is way too sweet and should be spicier.)
• Allow the sauce to rise to a simmer. I allowed the meat sauce to cook on low heat for about 20-25 minutes (could have been more, time flies when you're in the kitchen...).
• Sprinkle parsley flakes before serving.

Serve with spaghetti (just a suggestion!).



Questions/comments are welcome!

Notes: Possible addition of shredded cheese to make the sauce richer (and heavier, for the calorie conscious folks!).

Update: Leftover meat sauce folded inside an omelette makes for an awesome meal!

Yesterday, I decided to experiment a bit with salmon, something I hadn't cooked myself before. Fairly quick to prepare and cook. Turned out pretty well, even if I say so myself...

Ingredients:

• 1/3-1/2 lbs salmon
• 2 Tbsp chopped cilantro (alternative: parsley)
• 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped (or pressed)
• 2 Tbsp lemon juice
• Lemon slice (optional)
• 1 Tbsp butter
• 1 Tbsp cooking oil (olive oil will probably be better, I just used whatever I had on hand)
• Salt and Pepper to taste

Method:

• Prepare a marinade by mixing the cilantro, lemon juice, salt, pepper, butter and oil.
• Cut the salmon however you like. I had 3 smallish slices.
• Preheat oven to 450 °F.
• Place the salmon on a foil lined baking tray, skin-side down (the foil prevents the fish from sticking to the tray, and consequently, helps you avoid the intense scrubbing required to clean the baking tray).
• Pour and spread the marinade over the salmon. Make sure to also apply it on the sides of the salmon pieces. Place the lemon slice on top of the salmon
• Place in oven for about 10-15 minutes. Do not over-cook - salmon is awesome even if slightly under-cooked.

Enjoy with a side of veggies, mashed potatoes, boiled rice, or even on its own!

Tonight, I'm going test it out with a spicier marinade. May make a new post, or just add to this one...

Update: The spicier marinade was a lot more interesting. Made the following modifications:

• Replaced 1 Tbsp oil with a bit of extra butter and 1 Tbsp of Sambal Oelek (chili paste).
• Sprinkled a bit of paprika powder just before baking.

Here's the modified version, with a side of couscous:

Prologue

Once upon a time, not so long ago, in a land not so far away, there lived a boy. The boy had a Compact, and was extremely happy together. The boy's Compact was often subject to friendly envy.

One day, the boy got a Camera-Phone. Previously, the boy had not been interested in camera-phones. But this Camera-Phone was different. As the days went by, the Camera-Phone took over the boy's attention; the Compact slowly retreated into a dark, dusty corner, amidst other forgotten possessions. Every now and then, the Compact would called upon to offer its unique services, but for the most part, the Camera-Phone has taken its place.

The journey of the boy, the Compact and the Camera-Phone continues in this fashion to this day.

---

Check this page for the remainder of the story, hopefully some time next week.

Over the past year, I've made few variations of fried rice, using whatever was available to me. Made some this weekend. Allow your creativity to take over...

Note: This recipe is devoid of any "proper" measurements, since I cannot attribute a measurable quantity to the rice (I was basically emptying my bag of rice...) - the boiled rice by itself would amount to about 1 serving. Adjust other ingredients based on your amount of rice.

Ingredients:

• Boiled Rice (1-2 days old cooked rice will do just fine)
• 2 Eggs
• Vegetable Oil
• Frozen Vegetables (mix of peas, carrots, corn, green beans and lima beans) (slightly less than the amount of rice, in terms of volume...)
• 2-3 cloves garlic, chopped/minced
• 2-3 Tbsp Soy Sauce (feel free to increase or decrease the quantity)
• Paprika powder
• Mustard paste
• Salt
• Pepper

Possible additions/modifications: chopped spring onion, cooked tuna.

Method:

• In a bowl, crack the eggs. Add mustard paste, salt and pepper. Whisk the eggs. Add 1 tablespoon of oil into a pan. Add the egg mixture to the pan and cook over medium heat. "Scramble" the eggs and remove from pan once a creamy consistency is reached. tl;dr: Make scrambled eggs.
• Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Add the frozen vegetables. Remove and strain the vegetables after about 6 minutes.
• Add about 2 tablespoons of oil to the pan. Set stove to medium-high. Add garlic and sauteed for about 2-3 minutes.
• Add the vegetables to the pan. Sauteed for about 1-2 minutes and then move the vegetables to a side of the pan.
• Add the boiled rice to the pan. Stir in the scrambled eggs and soy sauce and mix with the rice.

• Mix the rice and the vegetables.
• Sprinkle a bit of paprika powder on top of the rice (optional).

Enjoy!