PAELLA (CHICKEN and SEAFOOD)

                      

                       Ahh... this is an all time favourite especially on occasions.

     

Ingredients: 

3 pcs. chicken cuts (2 thigh, 1 drumstick part)

100g clams

  150g medium prawns

1 chorizo sausage (approx. 90g), 

800ml chicken or seafood stock

           handful of fresh or frozen peas            

1 medium size bell pepper, diced

1 onion, chopped

2 pips garlic, chopped

6 pcs cherry tomatoes

pinch of saffron

2 tbsp. olive oil

1 tbsp. tomato paste

4 cups of rice

salt and pepper to taste

lemon, cut into wedges

                                              
                          Method:

             
               Wash all the meat and seafood thoroughly in a cold water, wash the rice and prepare all the ingredients that you need near you. Preheat the oven to 160 degrees.

Heat the oil in the pan (paella pan), sauté the chicken in medium high heat, sprinkle with a bit of salt and pepper, until brown, then take it out and set aside. In the same pan, add in the onion, garlic, bell pepper and chorizo. Sauté for a minute, add in the tomato paste and stir, add in the rice and pour the stock. Let it boil, sprinkle the saffron if using, salt and pepper to taste and stir gently. Lower the heat to medium, and leave it simmer uncovered for 10 minutes. Stir gently or give the pan a little shake. Return the chicken, along with the peas and prawns and clams(assemble nicely). Cover the pan with foil and continue cooking it in the oven for another 20 to 30 minutes. take it out and serve with lemon wedges.
           

                           

LAMB ADOBO with Potatoes

I cook lamb at least once a week, mostly I simply roast it for dinner. It depends what parts of lamb I could buy but I often buy shoulder part, it's good for slow roasting or stews. My little one loves eating it with rice so I keep trying to cook something that would go with it. This time I tried a Filipino style cooking. At first I wasn't sure if it's going to come out good, but it's so great. I served it with sliced cucumbers on the side and my little one loves it.

Ingredients:

600g Lamb shoulders

1 head of garlic

Thumb size fresh ginger

2 pcs. Bay leaves

1 tbsp. Vegetable oil

2 medium size potatoes

1 tsp. Coarsely ground black pepper

Half a Cup light soya sauce

Half cup white wine vinegar

1 and half cup water

1 tsp. Sugar

Salt to taste

Wash and drain then cut the meat on your desired serving sizes. Bash the ginger and chop the garlic coarsely.  Heat the pan and pour the oil, pan fry all the meat in medium high heat, until slightly brown (not necessary cooked through) then off the heat. In a pressure cooker, pour in soya sauce and vinegar, water and all the remaining ingredients, including the fried lamb, except the salt. Cook for 30 minutes, when the pressure cooker cool down and ready to open, transfer the cooked meat back to a pan and cook it until all the remaining gravy thickens. Serve with rice and sliced cucumbers. 

Bon appetit!

GREEN BEANS OMELLETTE (tortang sitaw)

Since this is our lunch today, I thought I could share the  recipe. Very easy, convenient and quick to make, nutritiously good and not calorific at all. My little one loves this to eat with rice or in a sandwich.  Serve as as a side dish or part of tapas dinner would do as well.

Ingredients: 

250g Green beans/ string beans

3 large eggs.           

2 tbsp. of vegetable oil 

1 tsp. Garlic powder 

1 tsp. Onion powder 

Seasoning (salt and pepper)

Chop the beans finely (as seen on photos). Beat the eggs. Heat the frying pan, pour cooking oil and add in the beans, pour a tablespoon of tap water and cover to allow the beans to cook for at least 1 minute in medium heat. Open, Stir fry it for a minute then toss the onion and garlic powder. Stir fry evenly and then pour over the beaten eggs. Flatten evenly and leave for a moment until it's ready to flip over to cook the other side. Cook for another minute or so, make sure you cooked it through.

Serve as you like, you can garnish with little Parmesan on top as well😃. 

    

Filipino-style Spaghetti (Sweet)

      This version of spaghetti is quite different from the well-known Italian recipe. It's a mixture of sweet and sour and bit creamy from the ketchup. It's a little bit odd but it is, a ketchup in a spaghetti. I  add some grated carrots and bell pepper too for tastier and healthier options. You can add mince meat of your choice also but in this recipe I only used chicken hotdogs. Kids surely love this.

                          Ingredients:

                               500g pack spaghetti
                               250g hotdogs or frankfurters
                               half a cup of ketchup
                               half cup of tomato sauce
                               2 tbsp of tomato paste
                                Half cup of water
                               1 medium size carrot (grated)
                               1 medium size bell pepper (grated)
                               1 onion finely chopped
                               3 pips of garlic finely chopped
                               1 tbsp sugar
                               Salt and pepper to taste

                               Grated cheese for garnish

In pot, cook spaghetti in boiling water according to package's direction for about 7 to 9 minutes or until al dente. In a saucepan, heat oil. Add chopped onions and garlic, sliced hotdogs and cook, stirring occasionally until the onion is translucent. Add carrots and bell pepper, stir in nicely. Pour all the tomato sauce, ketchup and paste.  Stir, then add the water.  Cover and let it boil for few minutes until it thickens a bit, stirring occasionally. Lastly add in all the sugar and season to taste, then stir in the pasta and incorporate nicely. Let it rest for 5 to 10 minutes, allowing the pasta to absorb the sauce. Serve, topped with grated Parmesan ( any cheese you like)..


     
Enjoy 😊

CLEAN EATING AND A LITTLE HOME GARDENING

Today, I want to share with you my own opinion of how I feel about "clean eating" . Meaning that eating food that is not been exposed to any chemicals like fertilisers, insecticides and of any sorts. I am not an expert on this kind of topic but as a mother, I want to give my little one a little healthier than the shop bought fruits and vegetables. And it's good to show kids how thier food has grown, actually, it's enjoyable bonding with my little 5 years old cultivating the soil in our little backyard. Planting, watering and watching the plants grow is very interesting for her, and she asks a lot of things too which I find some of her questions bit silly sometimes.

This one here is what we call pechay or choi sum. It's good to add in your choice of noodles recipes, both soup or stir fry. 

This is my artichoke plant, I cook it in the oven with butter and herbs (but be careful cleaning it before cooking, there's a reason why they called arti-'choke'). This is a perennial type of plant, so every year is blooming with flowers.

This is my aubergines 🙂, they're a little wonky but it's alright.

                           

                                 Plum tomatoes are really good on producing fruit. I only got four tomato vines and harvested buckets of tomatoes. I made tomato sauce, dried some of it and made some green tomato chutney as well. 

                                      
 Actually, it doesn't matter if we haven't got a lot of space to plant. All you need is just a small flower pot or any recycled bottles and a few seeds (herbs for example), little compost soil and little digging. The result is so rewarding and healthy!

CHEWY CHOCOLATE CHIPS COOKIES

• 
  
• Ingredients:
• 3 cups all-purpose flour 
• 1 teaspoon baking soda 
• 225g unsalted butter, room temperature 
• 1 cup granulated sugar 
• 1 cup packed light-brown sugar 
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 tbsp.  pure vanilla extract
• 3 large eggs
• 2 cups milk chocolate chips

Method:

Preheat oven to 350F/180 degrees. In a small bowl, whisk together the flour and baking soda; set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the butter with both sugars; beat on medium speed until light and fluffy. Reduce speed to low; add the salt, vanilla, and eggs. Beat until well mixed, about 1 minute. Add flour mixture; mix until just combined. Stir in the chocolate chips. Drop heaping tablespoon-size balls of dough about 2 inches apart on baking sheets lined with parchment paper. Bake until cookies are golden around the edges, but still soft in the center, 8 to 10 minutes. Remove from oven, and let cool on baking sheet 1 to 2 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack, and let cool completely. Store cookies in an airtight container at room temperature up to 1 week.

POACHED PEARS

     Hi everyone, I want to share with you my version of poached pears. It's one of my favourite actually, I think it's a healthy choice to finish a good meal especially on occasions or just a simple friends or family gatherings. Pair with your choice of ice cream or pudding, garnish it with mint or just serve just like that. Very easy to cook and rewarding result, everyone in the family will surely like.

         Poached Pears...
Best for Christmas dinner dessert! ....🎄👍🏼

                                          Ingredients:

                                           Pears 1.5 kg. (I used conference pears 🍐)
                                           1 C sugar
                                           1 quill of Cinnamon stick/ 4" approx.
                                            5 pcs. Cloves
                                           1 pc. Star Anise
                                            Orange or lemon peel
                                            1 bottle of red wine of your choice (I used Italian)

Peel the pears, wash and arrange in a pot. Pour the wine and add all the spices. Add a bit of water just enough to cover the pears and cover with baking paper on top before putting the lid on. Boil in medium to low fire for an hour or until soft. Cool it down before taking out of the pot. You can boil the red wine sauce to reduce it until it thickens.

MARAG DIJAJ (KUWAITI CHICKEN STEW)

1.               I have tasted this for the first time in Kuwait when I was working there, a decade ago. My boss use to cook this almost everyday, just a different meat(lamb or camel?) and different types of vegetables every time  as well. I like the thick sauce that it's so good to smother on top of the rice. It is not so spicy or hot for the children to like it, my little one loves this. You can eat it with chilli sauce on the side if you want a bit of a kick to it.

                                                  Ingredients:

                                                            half a kilo chicken(I used thighs)
                                                            2 pcs. medium sized (waxy) potatoes
                                                            2 medium carrots
                                                            6 pcs. okra
                                                            1  large bell pepper or banana chillies
                                                            2 medium onions
                                                            3 cloves garlic
                                                            half teaspoon ginger powder
                                                             Half teaspoon turmeric
                                                            1 teaspoon Ras el Hanout(ready mix Lebanese spice)
                                                            3 pcs. black lime or juice of 1 lemon
                                                            handful french beans
                                                           1 cup chopped tomatoes
                                                            2 tbsp. Tomato paste
                                                            2 tbsp. olive oil
                                                            1 litre of chicken stock
                                                             Handful of coriander leaves
                                                            salt and pepper to taste



                            Here's how to cook:

               

Heat a pot, and pour the oil and sweat the onion and garlic. Add in the chicken and stir for a minute in medium to high heat. Put the spices in (ginger powder, turmeric, ras el hanout) and stir continuously until fragrant. Put a tablespoon of tomato paste and chopped tomatoes, stir, add the chicken stock and cover. Let it boil, skim the scum, stir a little, then add in the potatoes and carrots. Crack the black lime and throw in the pot and add another tablespoon of tomato paste. Cover and let it cook for 20-30 minutes in medium heat, stirring occasionally. Add in the remaining vegetables and season with salt and pepper according to your taste. Cook for another 10 minutes, lastly, spread the chopped coriander leaves on top of the stew and off the heat. Ready to serve.

Boiled basmati rice would be a nice accompanim
                                                           

                                              


              

SEAFOOD PASTA with CRAB MEAT SAUCE

                                        SEAFOOD PASTA WITH CRAB MEAT SAUCE

          
     An ideal family dinner to share. My little girl love this a lot, she is only 4 years old and she'll say ''save some for her lunch tomorrow;))''. I want to share this to all especially to all mums like me, who loves to feed their kids with a nutritious meal in one dish. This is very easy and convenient. I used crab meat in this recipe but you can use a canned tuna(I tried this before) depends on what you want best and for those allergic on shellfish.


                                                  INGREDIENTS:


                                                        100g of tiger prawns, de-veined
                                                        1 de-shelled crabs
                                                        few pieces of frozen mussels
                                                        1 cup tomato passata
                                                        1 teaspoon tomato paste
                                                        3 tablespoon olive oil
                                                        1 packet of spinach leaves(or depends how much you want)
                                                        3 cloves of garlic
                                                        1 medium sized onion
                                                        10 pcs. green or black olives
                                                        1 fresh tomato roughly sliced
                                                        1 lemon
                                                        350g spaghetti
                                                         salt and pepper to taste
                                                        wild rocket leaves for garnishing


          Here's how to cook:

                    1.) Prepare all the ingredients, chop the garlic and onions, slice the olives and tomato. Boil some water to cook the spaghetti according to the packet direction. Save about half a cup of the spaghetti water. Drain and set aside.
                     
                    2.) Heat a large pot or frying pan, pour olive oil, sauté garlic and onion until translucent then add in the chopped tomato. Stir nicely then add in the prawns, stir fry in medium fire for about 3 minutes or till the prawns are cooked. Lower the fire and take the prawns out, then add in the crab meat, season with salt and pepper according to your taste.  Stir.
           
                    3.) Pour in the tomato passatta and paste, and olives, stir nicely in medium heat. Leave it covered for 2 minutes then pour in the spaghetti water(from boiling the spaghetti, I mean). Let it boil, then add in the mussels. Once it's boiling, mix in the spaghetti, leave in very low heat. Then once it's totally incorporated to the sauce, add in the spinach on top, cover immediately and off the fire. After 5 minutes it should be ready, squeeze half of the lemon and stir nicely. Now it's ready to eat.
 
                    4.)  Serve it with lemon wedges and rocket leaves, or with parmesan cheese if you desire.

CHILLI SAMBAL

                         This is one of my favourite dipping sauce in Malaysia. It is a mixture of taste of sour, hot, sweet and tangy. It's a perfect dipping for fried fish or simply steamed veggies of your choice(okra,beans,eggplant etc.). I love it in my fried rice, it adds a bit of an oomph for it.

                                                  Ingredients:

                                                     5 pieces dried chillies, deseeded
                                                     5 pieces fresh finger chillies
                                                      2 pcs. Shallots, peeled
                                                      2 pcs. garlic cloves
                                                      1 inch of ginger, peeled
                                                      5 pcs of calamansi juice or 1 lime
                                                      1 kaffir lime leaf (optional)
                                                      inch by inch piece of belachan or shimp paste
                                                       1 medium ripe tomato
                                                       1 tsp. palm sugar(brown sugar will do)

              Here's how to make it:

                    1.)    Soak the dried cillies in a hot water for at least half an hour before you start preparing..

                    2.)     Prepare the remaining ingredients. Wrap the belachan or shimp paste in an aluminum foil and roast it in the stove (direct fire) for 3 minutes.

                    3.)     Slice the chilli, shallots, garlic, ginger and tomato. Strain the soaked dried chilli. Put all the prepared ingredients in a blender, including the belachan or shrimp paste, fresh kaffir lime leaf( if using) and the juice of the lime or calamansi and sugar. Blitz it altogether and voila! Serve with your lunch or dinner.

SOUR PRAWN SOUP

                                                          Filipino Sour Prawn Soup
                                              
                                                         (SINIGANG NA HIPON)

This soup is one of my favourite, specially on chilly winter days. Sour and tasty with a little oomph of a jalapeño chilli. Eat it with rice or on it's own, so refreshing and mood lifter. So simple and easy to prepare. Fresh prawns are recommended with this recipe.

                                    Ingredients:

                                               500g Tiger Prawns (I used thumb sized ones)
                                               2 medium tomatoes
                                               3 stalks spring onions
                                               an inch by inch fresh ginger
                                               3 finger chillies
                                               handful of beans or okra
                                               handful of napa cabbage or kangkong if you have
                                               2 tbsp. of Tamarind paste concentrate(or juice of 1 lemon)
                                               3 cups fish or chicken stock (I used 1 chicken stock cube diluted in
                                                      3cups of water)
                                               pepper and salt to taste


      Here's how to cook:

                  Clean the prawns and prepare all the vegetables, cut in the sizes you desire.In a saucepan, pour in the stock, cover and let it boil. Once it's boiling, add in the beans or okra, tomatoes, onions, ginger (or any similar vegetable you are using) (leave the leafy veggies and chillies last to cook). Leave to cook for about 7 minutes then pour in the tamarind paste or lemon juice. Add in the prawns and napa cabbage or kangkong leaves. Simmer for another 10 minutes or till the prawns cooked. Season well with salt and pepper. Serve with steam rice and enjoy.

Chicken Rice (Malaysian style)

Chicken Rice 

(Malaysian style) 

This is my version of Malaysian chicken rice. I used to eat this often in KL back when I was working there. I wasn't aware that it is quite easy to cook it on your own kitchen as long as you got all the ingredients on hand, which is not hard to find wherever you are in Europe now. 

Ingredients:                                                               

One whole medium chicken

3 lemongrass stalks             

1 pandan leaf                        

3 sprigs of spring onions      

thumb sized ginger               

1 clove of garlic                    

3 cherry tomatoes                 

              2 dried chillies soaked in hot water   

2 red finger chillies             

         2 tsp light soya sauce                   

1 tsp sesame oil                  

2 liters of water                   

 1 chicken stock cubes           

salt and pepper to taste         

                                    sliced cucumber and coriander leaves for garnishing

How to cook:                                                                                                         

1.) In a big stock pot, pour in the 2 liters of water. Smash the ginger, 2 spring onions, 2 stalk lemongrass, add all in together in the pot with a teaspoon of salt and chicken stock cubes. Bring to boil.

2.) Rub the chicken with salt until the skin looks very clean and then rinse nicely in running water. Pat dry with kitchen towels. Then once the stock boils, put the chicken in and put back the lid on. Leave for at least another 5 minutes on medium fire then off the stove. DO NOT OPEN the lid of the pot to allow the remaining heat to cook the chicken through. Leave it for 45 minutes (this is according to the 1.5 kg chicken I cooked).

3.) While the chicken is on the pot, you can prepare the sauce. Slice the remaining ginger, garlic, tomatoes and chilies and blend them altogether (I used pessel and mortar). Then season it with soya sauce, set aside. Add some chicken stock later to thin a bit and add some taste too.

4.) After 45 minutes, Prepare the rice, wash nicely in a pot, smash the lemongrass and fold the pandan leaf and add into the rice. Take some stock on the pot where you cooked the chicken and use it to cook the rice(about 4 cups of it). Cook it as usual.  (Take some half a cup and add to your sauce too.)

5.) When your rice is nearly done take your chicken out and let it rest for few minutes before cutting to serve. Slice some cucumber on the side. Use the remaining stock as a side soup by seasoning with salt and pepper, bring it to boil, then garnish with chopped coriander. Serve it as pictured, enjoy!