Chicken Stew and Baked Rice

I've made two more recipes for Potluck Week at I Heart Cooking Clubs, with recipes from two of IHCC's past featured chefs, Jamie Oliver and Mark Bittman.

Jamie Oliver's Chicken Stew is delicious. Taken from his book Jamie's Food Revolution, he has given  the basic stew ingredients with four options to select from, with different meat and booze, to make four different stews. I've made Chicken Stew, using chicken thigh meat and white wine. I've followed everything in the recipe but I have used a fresh sprig of rosemary from the garden pot instead of fresh thyme and added an extra stalk of celery. This stew can either be cooked on the stove or in the oven. I cooked mine on the stove, for about 1 hour 15 minutes. It was easy and very flavourful.

Wanted to serve the stew with rice, I've made Mark Bittman's Simpler-Than-Pilaf Baked Rice, basmati rice cooked with cinnamon stick, cloves and cardamom pods. The spices are sauteed with a little butter and oil, then the rice is stirred in with some salt and pepper. Add the water, let it come to a boil, cover the pot and place it in the preheated oven to bake for 10 minutes. I actually baked the rice for 30 minutes, as I have always cooked my rice in the oven this way. Once the rice is done, leave it for 15 minutes, fluff with a pair of chopsticks. Since I've cooked the rice much earlier, I simply transferred the cooked fluffy rice to the rice cooker, switched on with the "Keep Warm" function. Rice will be kept fluffy and hot until serving time.

Jamie Oliver's Chicken Stew and Mark Bittman's Baked Rice.

We had the Chicken Stew and Baked Rice with Diana Henry's Slow-Cooked Garlic Courgettes for dinner. Delicious!

Chicken Stew
(adapted from Jamie's Food Revolution by Jamie Oliver)
3 sprigs of fresh thyme
1 pound diced, boneless, skinless chicken thighs
2 cups white wine
2 stalks celery
2 medium onions
2 carrots
olive oil 1 heaped tablespoon all-purpose flour
1x14-ounce can of diced tomatoes
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

If using the oven to cook your stew, preheat it to 350F. Trim the ends of your celery and roughly chop the stalks. Peel the carrots, slice lengthways, and roughly chop.

Put a Dutch oven on a medium heat. Put all the vegetables and your chosen herb into the pan with 2 lugs of olive oil and fry for 10 minutes.

Add your meat and flour. Pour in the booze and canned tomatoes. Give it a good stir, then season with a teaspoon of sea salt (less if using table salt) and a few grinds of pepper.

Bring to a a  boil put the lid on, and either simmer slowly on your cooktop or cook in an oven for 1-1/2 hours. Remove the lid for the final half hour of simmering or cooking and add a splash of water if it looks a bit dry. When done, your meat should be tender and delicious. Remove any herb stalks before serving, and taste it to see if it needs a bit more salt and pepper.

Baked Rice
(adapted from How To Cook Everything by Mark Bittman)
2 tablespoons butter or 1 tablespoon neutral oil, like grapeseed or corn
One 3-inch cinnamon stick
2 cloves
1 teaspoon cumin seeds or 5 white cardamom pods (optional)
1-1/2 cups long grain rice, preferable basmati
salt and freshly ground black pepper

Heat the oven to 350F. Put half the butter or all of the oil in an ovenproof pot with a lid over medium heat. When the butter is melted or the oil is hot, add the spices and cook for about a minute. Add the rice and some salt and pepper and cook, stirring for about a minute.

Add 2-1/2 cups water, bring to a boil, cover, put in the oven, and bake for 10 minutes. Remove the rice from the oven, but do not uncover; let it rest in a warm place for another 10 minutes. Remove the cinnamon and cloves (the cardamom pods are good to eat); taste and adjust the seasoning if necessary, stir in the remaining butter if you are using it, and serve immediately.

I'm linking this post with I Heart Cooking Clubs IHCC), theme for this week

October 2017 Potluck

and

 I'm linking this post with Cookbook Countdown #22 hosted by 

Kitchen Flavours and Emily's Cooking (Makan2) Foray

Broad Rice Noodles with Chiles, Pork and Basil

"Monthly Featured Chef Event : Mark Bittman", the theme for this week at I Heart Cooking Clubs (IHCC). I've made Mark Bittman's Broad Rice Noodles with Chiles, Pork and Basil for our afternoon lunch, and it was very tasty.

I have added fresh crunchy bean sprouts to the noodle dish, as I do like some kind of vegetables in my stir-fry noodles, and bean sprouts are always great in a stir-fry noodle dish. However, do not overcook the bean sprouts, you would want them to be cook but still crunchy. I've used crushed red pepper flakes instead of small dried hot red chillies, and have omitted the sugar. And I've added a few drops of black soy sauce.

Fresh broad rice noodles

Recipe uses dried broad rice noodles which needed to be pre-soaked in warm water before draining off and used for cooking. I have however, used fresh broad rice noodles from the market, so there's no need to pre-soak them before cooking. Fresh broad rice noodles is a common ingredient over here, and can be found in any morning wet market or even from any supermarkets.

Thai Basil plant from my garden pot. 

I've used Thai basil leaves from my garden pot. The plant is setting out flowers and I have to trim down the plant so that they would continue to grow lush green leaves instead of more flowers . Found this noodle recipe from Mark Bittman that uses Thai basil leaves, just perfect for a weekday lunch.

A simple, stir-fry noodle dish that makes a good meal anytime of the day. Very tasty! With homegrown basil leaves, even better! As with stir-fry dishes, this is quick, simple and easy to cook. For added spiciness, I've added more crushed red pepper flakes on my plate!

Broad Rice Noodles with Chiles, Pork, and Basil
(adapted from "Easy Weekend Cooking", Mark Bittman)
Makes about 4 servings
12 ounces rice noodles (fettuccine-width)
2 tablespoons peanut (preferred) or other oil
1 tablespoon minced garlic
5 small dried hot red chiles, or to taste (I've used crushed red pepper flakes)
1/3 to 1/2 pound ground pork (preferred) or other ground meat, such as beef or turkey
1 tablespoon soy sauce and 2 tablespoons fish sauce (nam pla or nuoc mam), or a combination of either
1 tablespoon sugar (omitted)
2 tablespoons rice (preferred) or other vinegar
1 cup shredded fresh basil leaves
salt, if necessary
crushed red pepper flakes (optional)
about 2 cups of bean sprouts (my addition)
a few drops of black soy sauce (my addition)

1. Soak the noodles in warm water to cover until soft; this will take from 15 to 30 minutes. You can change the water once or twice to hasten the process slightly, or you can simply cook the noodles as you would any other, taking care not to overcook. Drain thoroughly, then toss with half of the oil.
2. Heat the remaining oil over medium-high heat in a wok or large, deep non-stick skillet for a minute or so, until the first wisp of smoke appears. Add the garlic and chiles and cook, stirring, for a minute. Add the meat and turn the heat to medium. Cook, stirring and mashing with a wooden spoon to break up clumps.
3. When almost all traces of red or pink disappear, add the soy and/or fish sauces and sugar; stir to mix. Add the drained noodles (black soy sauce and bean sprouts if using) and toss and stir to combine. Add the vinegar and most of the basil. Stir and taste; add salt if necessary. Serve, garnished with the remaining basil and passing the crushed pepper on the side.

I'm linking this post to I Heart Cooking Clubs (IHCC), theme for this week,

Monthly Featured Chef Event : Mark Bittman

and 

Cook-Your-Books #28 @ Kitchen Flavours

Mark Bittman's Cinnamon Scented Fried Chicken

"January Potluck", the theme for this week at I Heart Cooking Clubs (IHCC). This is our first potluck at IHCC for 2015 and we can cook from any of our previous and current featured chefs. I've made Mark Bittman's Cinnamon Scented Fried Chicken, first recipe that I've tried from Mark Bittman. 

Do you like fried chicken? Most probably the answer is a YES! What's not to love about fried chicken. Juicy, tasty meat with crispy delicious skin, (don't think about all that calories!). Mark Bittman's fried chicken is just that. His recipe is just like any other basic fried chicken, only difference is, he added a generous 2 tablespoons of ground cinnamon, for that lovely cinnamon fragrance. All the dry ingredients are mixed in a plastic bag, toss in a couple of chicken pieces at a time until well coated, and fry in oil until cooked and crispy. I've added another teaspoon of ground cinnamon after I test-fried a piece of chicken wing and tried it, I felt that it needed a little bit more cinnamon, and more salt, adjust accordingly to your taste. Serve these fried chicken while still hot, but do not expect it to be so crispy crunchy, as there's only flour and seasoning that coats the chicken, but they do have a light, skin crispiness, and the meat is juicy, moist and tasty. They will lose their crispiness when they are no longer hot, but tastes still good.

Mark Bittman's Cinnamon-Scented Fried Chicken
(adapted from "The New York Times Chicken Cookbook")
lard and butter combined, or vegetable oil
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon coarse salt
2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 good chicken, cut into serving pieces, or use 8 to 10 leg pieces (drumsticks and thighs), trimmed of excess fat

1. Choose a skillet or casserole at least 12 inches in diameter that can be covered. Add enough fat to come to a depth of about 1/2 inch, and turn heat to medium-high. If you are using butter, skim any foam as it rises to the surface.
2. While fat heats, mix together the flour and seasonings in a plastic bag. Toss chicken in bag, 2 or 3 pieces at a time, until well coated. Put pieces on a rack as you finish.
3. When oil is hot (a pinch of flour will sizzle) raise heat to high. Slowly add chicken pieces to skillet (if you add them all at once, temeperature will plummet). Cover skillet, reduce heat to medium-high, and cook for 7 minutes.
4. Uncover skillet, turn chicken and continue to cook, uncovered, for another 7 minutes. Turn chicken again and cook for about 5 minutes more, turning as necessary to ensure that both sides are golden brown.
5. Remove chicken from skillet and drain on paper towels. Serve hot, warm or at room temperature.

I'm linking this post to I Heart Cooking Clubs (IHCC), theme for this week "January Potluck"

and

Cook-Your-Books #20 @ kitchen flavours

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And I'm sharing this cookbook "The New York Times Chicken Cookbook, edited by Linda Amster" with Cookbook Wednesday hosted by Louise of Months of Edible Celebrations. It's a collection of chicken recipes from different chefs (some very impressive names: Jacques Peppin, Patricia Wells, Nigella Lawson, Mark Bittman, Daniel Boulud, Craig Claiborne and others) and with various methods of cooking chicken ; roast, steam, poach, bake, fried, slow-cooked, grill. A book for chicken lovers!