Stir-Fried Glutinous Rice : Cookbook Countdown #8

Cookbook Countdown is a monthly cooking/baking event, which I'm co-hosting with Emily's Cooking (Makan2) Foray.  Everyone is welcome to join us. How does it work? To summarize, you may select a cookbook from your own cookbook collection, to cook or bake from each month. That selected book shall be your cookbook of the month. You may cook any recipes and as many recipes as you want from your selected book of the month. This is a fabulous way of using your cookbooks at least once! For more information on how to join Cookbook Countdown, please click here. 

To link to Cookbook Countdown #8, click here
To link to Cookbook Countdown Specials : BAKE, click here

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My selected cookbook for this month at Cookbook Countdown #8 is My Grandmother's Chinese Kitchen by Eileen Yin Fei-Lo. 

I've made Stir-Fried Glutinous Rice, of which I've made a few times since I first tried it when I bought this book years ago. This dish is wonderful and is great for any meal of the day. Be it breakfast, lunch or even dinner.

The glutinous rice is cooked twice. It is first steamed over high heat for 30 to 35 minutes, then fried together with the rest of the ingredients. I have omitted the Chinese bacon, and use only the Chinese sausage (lap cheung). There's dried shrimps which adds a wonderful flavour to the rice, and seasoned with salt, light soy sauce, oyster sauce and dark soy sauce for colour. I've added some dried shiitake mushrooms which are soaked in warm water for several hours until soften, drain, squeezed out excess water, then sliced thinly. 

When the rice is done cooking, packed some cooked rice in small bowls, then turn the bowl over on a plate, so that the rice is served in little mounds. Scatter some crispy fried shallots and more spring onions over the top before serving.

This is delicious! Yum!

Stir-Fried Glutinous Rice
(adapted from "My Grandmother's Chinese Kitchen", By Eileen Yin-Fei Lo)
2 cups glutinous rice
2 cups cold water
8 cups boiling water
1/2 cup cured Chinese bacon, cut into 1/4-inch dice (omitted)
1/2 cup Chinese sausage (lop cheung), cut into 1/4-inch dice
2 tablespoons dried shrimp, soaked in hot water 30 minutes to soften
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon light soy sauce
1 teaspoon dark soy sauce
2 tablespoons oyster sauce
3 scallions, finely sliced
2 teaspoons sesame oil
6 dried shiitake mushrooms (my addition)
fried crisply shallots, for serving (my addition)

In a pot, wash, rinse the glutinous rice three times by rubbing between the palms, drain well. Place rice in a 9-inch cake pan and add 2 cups cold water. Place pan in a steamer, on a rack. Place rack in wok, turn heat to high, pour in 8 cups boiling water, cover and steam rice, 30 to 35 minutes, or until rice becomes translucent. Remove steamer from wok, set aside, drain wok and wash and dry.

Heat wok over high heat for 45 seconds. Put in bacon, stir-fry 30 seconds, push to one side. Add sausage (and shiitake mushroom), stir-fry 1 minute, then combine sausage and bacon. Add shrimp, stir-fry 15 seconds, add salt and stir another 15 seconds. Add steamed rice to wok and lower heat, mixing continually for 1 more minute. If rice sticks, add 1-1/2 tablespoons peanut oil. Add two soy sauces, mix thoroughly. Add oyster sauce, stir until rice acquires an even, pale brown colour and is thoroughly mixed. Add scallions, mix well. Turn off heat, add sesame oil and mix to combine well.

Pack the cooked rice into small bowls, then up-end them onto plates to create curved mounds of rice. Serve immediately.

I'm linking this post with Cookbook Countdown #8 hosted by 

Kitchen Flavours and Emily's Cooking (Makan2) Foray

Chicken Fried Rice with Egg and Buk Choy

This week's theme at I Heart Cooking Clubs (IHCC) is Local & Seasonal!, "Make any Curtis Stone recipe from his books or online that includes or features ingredients that are growing in your geographic area and/or are locally produced where you live." Well, I've used my homegrown pak choy to cook his simple fried rice for lunch. 

A quick and simple fried rice. I've used leftover cooked jasmine rice from the day before and have used frozen mix veggies (carrots, corn and peas) instead of canned corns. 

Pak Choy and fresh coriander leaves, both from my garden pot. Definitely one hundred per cent locally produced! :)

Chicken Fried Rice with Egg and Buk Choy
(adapted from coles, Curtis Stone)
1 cup long grain white rice, rinsed, drained
1/3 cup canola oil
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 medium brown onion, thinly sliced
1 large carrot, peeled and finely diced
1/2 x 400gm can corn kernels, drained (I've used frozen mixed veggies)
1/2 bunch buk choy
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp sesame oil
1/4 bunch coriander leaves, to serve
4 chicken thigh fillets, skin removed, cut into bite sized pieces
salt & pepper

1. Cook the rice in rice cooker or according to packet directions with approximately 1-1/2 cups water (375ml) until tender. Transfer to a baking paper lined tray, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until cold.
2. Heat 1 tbsp oil in a large wok over medium-high heat. Add the eggs and stir with a wooden spoon for about 30 seconds, or until just cooked. Remove fromthe wok and set aside on a plate.
3. Return the wok to the heat and add another tbsp of oil, season the chicken with salt and pepper and cook for 4-8 mins, or until golden and cooked through. Remove cooked chicken to a plate.
4. Heat the remaining oil in the wok over medium-high heat. Add the onion and carrot to the hot wok and stir-fry for 2-3 mins to soften. Add the cold rice and stir-fry for 2 mins or until heated through. Season with salt and pepper. Stir in the eggs, chicken, corn and buk choy.
5. Add the soy sauce and sesame oil and continue to stir-fry for 1 minute. Transfer the rice to a large serving platter ; sprinkle with the coriander.

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

Local & Seasonal!

Roast Chicken, Herb and Asparagus Rice

"Mystery Box Madness : April 2015", the theme for this week at I Heart Cooking Clubs (IHCC). We are given ten ingredients and are required to select at least three out of the ten, to make a dish using the recipes from any of IHCC featured chefs, past or present.

The ten ingredients for this month are : Scallops, Tarragon, Sour Cream, Walnuts, Capers, Asparagus, White Beans, Gruyere, Yeast and Rice.

My selection for this week's challenge : Rice, Asparagus and Tarragon

Found the perfect recipe from The Kitchen Diaries II by Nigel Slater. I was going thru the recipe and happy to note that there is rice, asparagus and quite a number of different herbs used, but there's no tarragon, and was thinking of adding it in. Upon reading the notes by Nigel Slater at the top of the recipe, he did mention that ".....I would probably swap the gentle aniseed charms of chervil for the more punchy notes of the tarragon. This time I added small leaves of sorrel because I happened to have some, but they should be considered a treat rather than being essential to the recipe".  I was smiling with glee, as this week's MBM is quite challenging, as I am unable to find recipes which uses at least three out of the ten ingredients together in a recipe, except for one more, Donna Hay's "Tarragon Chicken and Ham Pasties", but the recipe uses Gruyere, which I am unable to find and even if I can find it, it will be very expensive!

I made this for our weekend simple dinner and it was delicious. Recipe uses leftover roasted chicken, but since I do not have that, I roasted a whole piece of chicken breast meat, seasoned with olive oil, salt and lots of black pepper. Then I tear it into chunks and used it the recipe. When I was at the supermarket getting the tarragon and thymes, I've forgotten to get some parsley and mint. So I have omitted them. 

This is a really easy rice meal to prepare. Firstly cook the rice ; heat up some butter, stir-fry the bay leaves, and thyme leaves until fragrant, add in the basmati rice. Stir for a minute, add in water to cover, close the pot, and simmer for 15-20 minutes until the rice is done. I cooked two cups of basmati rice using one cup of homemade chicken stock and the balance with water to make 3-1/4 cups of water/stock in total. After 20 minutes of cooking, turn off heat and leave rice undisturbed for 10-15 minutes. 

While the rice is cooking, prepare the asparagus. Cut up the asparagus to short lengths and steam for a few minutes just until tender, refresh in cold water immediately. I have however, microwave them on high for 2 minutes (easier, faster and less pots to wash!), and then refresh in cold water. Drain before use.

Fluff up rice and mix with the rest of the ingredients ; asparagus, chicken chunks and herbs. I've chopped the tarragon leaves and used about 2 tablespoons in total. Tarragon is quite strong in taste, so add accordingly to taste. Season with salt and pepper. Recipe uses lemon olive oil, which I do not have, but I do have olive oil infused with fig leaves, so I used that instead.

There's a yoghurt sauce in the recipe which is supposed to spoon over the rice pilau before serving, but I have omitted the yoghurt sauce.

This is a simple, easy, and delicious rice meal. I love the simplicity of preparing this meal. Any herbs can be added in. I will definitely make this again, and will make sure that I have some fresh corianders around, which I'm sure will add a more fragrant and wonderful taste to this rice meal. If you do not have any leftover roasted chicken, you can roast a large piece of chicken breast (like I did) or a few pieces of thigh meat, seasoned with salt and pepper, the day before, warm it in the oven for a short while before using it in the recipe.

Roast Chicken, Herb and Asparagus Rice
(adapted from "The Kitchen Diaries II", Nigel Slater)
250gm asparagus
120gm brown basmati rice (I use the regular white basmati)
30gm butter
2 bay leaves
whole black peppercorns (I omitted this)
leaves from a couple sprigs of thyme
250gm leftover roast chicken
4 spring onions
3 or 4 sprigs parsley
4 bushy sprigs mint leaves
4 o 5 leaves sorrel (optional)
a few sprigs of chervil (I used tarragon)
3 tablespoons lemon olive oil

Trim the asparagus and cut it into short lengths. Boil or steam for four or five minutes, till almost tender. Drain and cool quickly under running water. 

Wash the rice three times in cold water, moving the grains around in the water with your fingers. Warm the butter in a small-to-medium-sized saucepan, add the bay leaves, peppercorns and thyme leaves and stir them around in the butter for a minute or two, until the fragrance wafts up. Drain the rice and tip it into the warm herbs. Cover with a couple of centimetres' depth of water and bring to the boil. Season with salt, cover with a lid and turn the heat down to a simmer. Leave to cook till the rice is tender but has some bite left in it, about fifteen minutes or so. Set aside with the lid on but the heat off.

Tear the chicken into large, jagged pieces and put them into a large mixing bowl. Trim and finely slice the spring onions. Chop the parsley and mint. If you are using sorrel, shred it finely. Pick the leaves from the chervil and add to the chicken with all the other herbs. Fluff the rice up with a fork. Tip the warm rice into the herbs and chicken, add the steamed asparagus and toss gently with the lemon oil. Correct the seasoning to taste with salt and pepper. The mixture should be light, green and fresh.

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

"Mystery Box Madness : April 2015".

and 

Cook-Your-Books #22 @ kitchen flavours

Lemon Rice

This week is February Potluck Week at I Heart Cooking Clubs (IHCC), and we are free to cook from any of our previous featured chefs' recipes. And I've chosen to cook with Madhur Jaffrey.

I love rice! So I am always on the lookout for easy rice recipes that goes well with curries, especially basmati rice. And I like the simplicity and the fresh taste of this Lemon Rice. I have cooked a few of Madhur Jaffrey's rice recipes and I like all of them. For this Lemon Rice, the rice is cooked first, and then tempered spices and herbs, are added in. Tempering is a cooking technique used in Indian cuisines, which is a process where, whole spices are first sauteed in a little oil and the whole mixture is poured into the cooked dish, in this case, the cooked rice, then stir to combine before serving. This tempered process really brings out the maximum fragrance from the spices and herbs. The only spice used for this rice dish is brown mustard seeds, which I have replaced with black mustard seeds. And the herb used, is fresh curry leaves.

Lemon Rice ; simple and easy. Makes a lovely meal with any curries and side vegetables. I have used the rice cooker to cook the rice, and it helps to keep the rice warm until its time for dinner. We had the Lemon Rice with some fish and  relish, both recipes coming up next.

And I am really excited, as I got myself two new books of Madhur Jaffrey, World Vegetarian and Curry Nation from the book sale last weekend! In total, I have four of her books! Big smile!

Lemon Rice
(adapted from "100 Essential Curries", Madhur Jaffrey)
475ml (16fl oz) measure basmati rice, washed and drained
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 teaspoon brown mustard seeds
15 fresh curry leaves (use fresh basil or holy basil leaves as an interesting substitute)
2-3 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
2 teaspoons finely grated lemon rind

Step One :

Combine the rice, salt and 700ml (1-1/4 pints) of water in a medium saucepan and bring to the boil. Cover tightly, turn the heat to very low and cook for 25 minutes.

(I used 2 cups of rice, wash and soaked in clean water for 20 minutes, drain, transfer to the rice cooker, add in 3-1/4 cups of water with 1 tsp of salt and cook as per rice cooker instructions).

Step Two :

Put the oil into a large frying pan and set over medium-high heat. When hot, add the mustard seeds. As soon as the seeds begin to pop - a matter of seconds - put in the curry leaves. Stir once, then empty the contents of the frying pan over the rice. Add the lemon juice and rind. Mix gently with a fork or slotted spoon. Mix once again when turning into a serving dish.

I am linking this post to  :

I Heart Cooking Clubs (IHCC),  for February Potluck

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Little Thumbs Up, ingredient for this month is Lemons, an event organized by Zoe of Bake For Happy Kids and Doreen of My Little Favourite D.I.Y. and hosted by Grace of Life Can Be Simple.

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Cook-Your-Books #9 hosted by Kitchen Flavours

Tomato Rice

I came to learn about Tessa Kiros through I Heart Cooking Clubs. I have never heard of her before that. Even though I've only tried a few of her recipes, all those recipes are really good. Her pasta recipe, Daniele's Tomato Pasta, is my kids' most favourite spaghetti, the one that they often asked for, the most. I have made about a dozen times since then. They call this dish, "Fresh Pasta", simply because there's no cooking involved, other than cooking the spaghetti till al dente, and tossing the pasta with the prepared mixture (made a few hours in advance to mingle the flavours), of cherry tomatoes, olive oil, capers, garlic, fresh basil leaves, salt and pepper. My daughter has brought this spaghetti dish to school a couple of times, always with an extra container packed, to share with her friends, as they loved it too! 

During the last month of cooking with Tessa, I have bought one of her books, Piri Piri Starfish, as it was on sale, and I was so happy to take it home, as her books are rather expensive. It is a beautiful book with recipes and anecdotes from her travels to Portugal. So far, I have tried only one recipe from the book and many more are bookmarked, yet never did find the time to try them out. This Tomato Rice was one of them. When I made Yotam Ottolenghi's Roasted Chicken with Chili and Basil, I was looking for some rice recipe that I could make to go with the chicken. And this Tomato Rice is just the one!

According to Tessa, this is a kind of "everywhere" dish, served alongside grilled prawns, flattened chickens or grilled fish, not usually meant to be in the leading role, but it's very good all the same. And if you like, some veggies can be added in, such as celery, zucchini and carrots, and even some herbs like rosemary. One word of advise from Tessa is to use really ripe tomatoes, otherwise use the canned ones, better than not-quite-ripe-enough tomatoes.

I have used ripe tomatoes, peeled and chopped, but have omitted the red capsicum as I have forgotten to buy it. Medium-grain rice is used, and I have used Calrose rice. Chopped onions are firstly sauteed in oil till golden, add the capsicum (if using), garlic, parsley and bay leaf, stir for a minute until the garlic is fragrant, then add the tomatoes, paprika, butter, salt and pepper. Simmer for about 5 minutes, mashing the tomatoes with the spoon, leaving some visible chunks. Add the rice, stir to mix the flavours, and add 4 cups of water. I find that 4 cups is a little too much, I added in 3 cups at first and added in half a cup more during cooking when I feel that the rice needs it. Continue cooking as per the instructions in the recipe.

Just as Tessa describes, this Tomato Rice is not meant to be in the leading role, but it is good all the same. To me, it is very good! The family likes it. Perfect alongside the Roasted Chicken. Very tasty and I can see why ripe tomatoes are really important here. The caramelized onions are just so good, I can get bites of it in every spoonful. Next time I'll add on more chopped parsley. I could eat this Tomato Rice alone as a one-pot meal. Delicious. Another winner recipe from Tessa.

Tomato Rice
(adapted from "Piri piri Starfish", by Tessa Kiros)
Serves 4-6
4 tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion, finely chopped
1 small red pepper (capsicum), seeded and finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, chopped
4 tablespoons chopped parsley
1 small fresh bay leaf
4 very ripe tomatoes, peeled and chopped (or 400 gm/14 oz tin chopped tomatoes)
1 teaspoon sweet paprika
20 gm (3/4 oz) butter
coarse salt
400 gm (2 cups) medium-grain rice (I use calrose rice)

Heat the oil in a large frying pan and saute the onion until sticky and golden. Add the pepper and cook until everything is jammy and turning golden. Add the garlic, parsley and bay leaf and, when you start to smell the garlic, add the tomatoes, paprika, butter, about 2 teaspoons of coarse salt and a little pepper. Simmer for about 5 minutes, mashing up the tomatoes a bit but still leaving a few chunks.

Add the rice and turn it through well to mix in the flavours. Add 1 litre (4 cups) (I use only 3-1/2 cups) of water, bring to the boil and then simmer for about 10 minutes, checking that nothing is sticking. Turn off the heat and fluff the rice, cover and leave for 10 minutes before you serve. Fluff it through again - it should have absorbed most of the liquid and be just right, in which case serve immediately. If it's too firm, leave it covered for a while longer. Best hot, but also good at room temperature.

#96/100

I'm linking this post with :

Cook-Your-Books #4 hosted by Kitchen Flavours

And I'm sharing this post with :

Full Plate Thursday @ Miz Helen's Country Cottage
See Ya In The Gumbo @ Ms. enPlace

Festive Couscous And Moonblush Tomatoes (Nigella)

From my previous post, we had a "Dinner with Nigella", African Drumsticks which I have served with Festive Couscous and Moonblush Tomatoes. I'm sharing today, the recipes for both the couscous and the tomatoes.

A Nigella Meal : African Drumstick served with Festive Couscous and Moonblush Tomatoes

Festive Couscous recipe is from Nigella Christmas. And in the book, she has included a roasted Cornish Hen recipe, where some of the roasting juices is mixed into the couscous. Since I did not make the roasted Cornish Hen, I have replaced the roasting juices with some lemon juice, to taste. I have made only 1-1/4 cup of couscous but kept the amount of the spices as per the full recipe. In place of the golden raisins, there's an option to use either dried cherries or dried cranberries and I have used the latter. I could not find any pomegranate and have omitted that, it would be lovely if the couscous is sprinkled with the ruby red pomegranate! Overall, a very nice couscous dish, just make sure you get the seasoning right, it makes a lovely side dish for roasted chicken, meat or fish.

Festive Couscous
(adapted from "Nigella Christmas", Nigella Lawson)
3 cups quick-cook couscous (I made only 1-1/4 cup)
1/2 cup golden raisins (replace with dried cranberries)
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
2 teaspoon kosher salt or 1 teaspoon table salt (salt to taste)
3-1/3 cups freshly boiled water, from a kettle (1-1/3 cup water)
lemon juice to taste
seeds from 1 pomegranate, or 1/2 cup seeds from a container ( did not use this)
handful fresh cilantro leaves, chopped

1. Put the couscous into a heat-proof bowl or a pan with a tight-fitting lid, add the golden raisins, spices and salt, and give everything a stir.
2. Pour the freshly boiled water over and cover with plastic wrap or the lid; let it sit for 10-15 minutes, by which time it should have absorbed the water.
3. Fluff the couscous through with a fork to separate the grains, then carefully pour in some of the juices that have collected in the roasting pan of Cornish hens. (There's a roasted Cornish Hens recipe that comes before this in the book, to replace the roasting juices, I just added some freshly squeezed lemon juice).
4. Fork through again and check the seasoning before transferring to a serving dish.
5. Drop half the pomegranate seeds over the mounded couscous, mixing them in gently with a fork.
6. Scatter the remaining pomegranate seeds over, sprinkle with some chopped cilantro and serve.

Moonblush Tomatoes : We love cherry tomatoes, almost in any roasted chicken that I made, there would surely be some cherry tomatoes around, used mostly in some salad. For this time, they are a star of their own. I like the name Moonblush Tomatoes, Nigella has named it as such, simply because she left the marinated tomato halves in a very hot turned off oven overnight, and the next day, you will be rewarded with lovely "moonblush tomatoes". I did not however left it in the oven overnight, as I've only decided to make this on the spur of the moment, a couple of hours before dinner time. So I have marinated the tomatoes, and baked them at 200C for 30 minutes. The next time, I would try Nigella's method of leaving them in the oven overnight. 

These Moonblush Tomatoes are delicious! They can be used in salad, with bread, in sandwiches, pasta and very good eaten as they are. I would definitely make these again.

Moonblush Tomatoes
(adapted from "Nigella Express", Nigella Lawson)
1 lb, about 24 in number, on-the-vine cherry or other baby tomatoes
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1/4 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon garlic powder (my addition)

1. Preheat the oven to 450F.
2. Cut the tomatoes in half and sit them cut side up in an ovenproof dish. Sprinkle over the olive oil, salt, thyme and sugar. 
3. Put them in the oven and immediately turn it off. Leave the tomatoes in the oven overnight or for a day without opening it.

#81/100
#82/100

I'm linking this post to Cook Like A Star, where the featured chef for this month is NIGELLA LAWSON. Cook Like A Star is an event organized by Zoe from Bake For Happy Kids, and the co-hosts for this month are Anuja from Simple Baking and me, Joyce from Kitchen Flavours. Cook or bake any of Nigella Lawson's recipes and link your posts to any of the hosts' linky which will stay open for the whole month of August. All submissions to this event must be current posts, published within the current month of this event, any older posts will be deleted. Please mention and link Cook Like A Star somewhere in your post. Do join us, everyone is welcome!

Cook Like A Star featuring Nigella Lawson, from 1st August to 31st August 2013

And I'm sharing this with :
Cook-Your-Books #3 hosted by Kitchen Flavours

Nigella Lawson's Georgian Stuffed Chicken

Nigella Lawson is one of my most favourite chef, even though she insists that she is not a chef, but in my opinion, she is very much a fantastic chef in my books! I like her fuss-free style and down to earth approach of preparing meals, quite unlike those michelin stars chefs who constantly craves for perfection down to the last detail! And some with very nasty temper too! haha! And she is one who is not afraid of showing her flaws in some of her food preparation. There was one cake recipe from one of her books that she made for photo taking and in the photo it shows that the cake is not perfectly smooth, as some of it got stuck to the baking pan. Nigella says that, she could make the bake again for the perfect photo but she did not want to, because these thing happens to all of us. She's right and it does not mean that you are any less a good baker!

When I think of Nigella, roasted chicken comes to mind, I don't know why, I guess the minute some chefs came to mind, a particular dish, maybe a specialty of the chef would follow, how about you? 

For me, when it is Nigella, it is roasted chicken!  What about you, when Nigella comes to mind, what dish or bake that you think of instantly? Very interesting....!!  I would really love to know!

A couple of months ago when I knew that I was going to co-host this month's event, with The Domestic Goddess as the featured chef, I wasted no time in searching for a roast chicken recipe. 

Found an interesting one from one of my cookbooks collection, "The New York Times Chicken Cookbook". There is a Nigella Lawson recipe for a roasted chicken stuffed with rice. Already sounds so delicious to me!

The roasted chicken is really very simple, it's the stuffing that is very tasty! Firstly you would need to cook the rice to be stuffed into the chicken cavity before roasting. Basmati rice is used here, washed and soaked for 20 minutes, drain before use. Firstly saute some onions and garlic until brown, add the rice, chopped dried cherries which I've replaced with dried cranberries, water and salt to taste. Use chicken stock if you have, it would definitely be more tasty. Bring it to a boil, cover, reduce heat to low and continue to cook for another 15 minutes until rice are cooked. Fluff up rice and season with salt and pepper to taste together with a generous amount of chopped fresh parsley. 

Spoon the rice into the cavity of chicken, secure with toothpicks, rub chicken with butter and some salt, and bake for 1-1/2 hours or until chicken is cooked, skin is crisp and golden.

While the chicken is quite simple and good as it is, I think it would be even better with some added herbs instead of just butter. Which I did, I baked this again about a month later, due to requests from my family, yes, they requested for this again, they love the rice. I rubbed the chicken with some fresh thymes, a squeeze of lemon, a generous sprinkling of coarse black pepper, salt and butter. And this time I cooked more rice, added more dried cranberries. Some of the rice goes to the cavity of the chicken before roasting, and the rest served at the dining table.

The rice is very tasty and delicious, we love the sweet sour bite of the dried cranberries in the rice, and the fragrant rice from the parsley. I served the chicken and rice with some greens, cherry tomatoes and a potato salad, another delicious salad from Nigella, which I shall be sharing in the coming posts. We really enjoyed our dinner, well, twice! 

Nigella Lawson's Georgian Stuffed Chicken
(adapted from "The New York Times Chicken Cookbook")
2 (5-pound) chickens
6 tablespoons butter
2 onions, peeled and finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 cup basmati rice
2 cups water
1/2 cup dried sour cherries, roughly chopped
salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup chopped parsley

1. Remove any fat from cavities of chickens, and place fat in a wide saucepan. Add 4 tablespoons of the butter and place over medium heat. When butter melts, add onions and garlic. Saute until onions soften and begin to brown, about 5 minutes.
2. Discard any remaining hard bits of chicken fat. Add rice and chopped cherries to pan. Stir well, and add 2 cups water and salt to taste. Bring to a boil, cover and reduce heat to as low as possible. Cook for 15 minutes. Meanwhile, heat oven to 425 degrees.
3. Season rice mixture with salt and pepper to taste and stir in parsley. Spoon rice into cavities of both chickens, and secure openings with toothpick.
4. Place chickens in a roasting pan and rub with remaining 2 tablespoons butter. Place in oven and roast until skin is crisp and golden and juices run clear when pierced near the thigh with a knife, 1-1/2 to 2 hours. Discard toothpicks and allow chicken to rest before carving. Serve each portion of chicken with some stuffing.

#67/100

I'm linking this post to Cook Like A Star, where the featured chef for this month is NIGELLA LAWSON. Cook Like A Star is an event organized by Zoe from Bake For Happy Kids, and the co-hosts for this month are Anuja from Simple Baking and me, Joyce from Kitchen Flavours. Cook or bake any of Nigella Lawson's recipes and link your posts to any of the hosts' linky which will stay open for the whole month of August. All submissions to this event must be current posts, published within the current month of this event, any older posts will be deleted. Please mention and link Cook Like A Star somewhere in your post. Do join us, everyone is welcome!

To view all the delicious entries at Cook Like A Star, July month, where the featured chef is Curtis Stone, head on over to Bake For Happy Kids, Eat Your Heart Out and Life Can Be Simple.

Cook Like A Star featuring Nigella Lawson, from 1st August to 31st August 2013

To submit your link for this event, please click here.

And I'm sharing this with Cook-Your-Books #3 hosted by Kitchen Flavours

Lemon and Curry Leaf Rice : IHCC

Click on the link to submit your post to : Cook-Your-Books #1

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"A Little Bit of Sunshine", is the theme for this week at I Heart Cooking Clubs (IHCC), where we are currently cooking from Yotam Ottolenghi's recipe until September. This theme is all about food or ingredients with the sunny colour of yellow and/or orange. There are quite a number of recipes that I've thought of making, especially the Roasted Sweet Potatoes Wedges, which sounds really good, but I cannot get any nice sweet potatoes, so that will have to wait. And since I'm craving for some Indian meal (again!), I've made YO's, Lemon And Curry Leaf Rice to go with some pork curry and a vegetable dish, both from Madhur Jaffrey's recipes which I will be sharing next week. 

The original recipe requires the rice to be baked in the oven. But I chose to cook the rice in the rice cooker, just because I'm cooking the rice earlier and it will be nice and warm when we have it for dinner later. This is really easy to cook. Wash the basmati rice and soak in water for about 20 minutes. Next, in a saucepan, put the cinnamon stick, cloves, lemon zest, curry leaves, salt and white pepper, together with some water and let it come to a boil. I have reduced the amount of salt, since I'm having it later with some curry. Drain the rice, put it in the rice cooker pot, pour the hot spice water into the rice cooker pot, cover and cook as usual. (For baking in the oven, please refer to the recipe below).

When the rice are done, melt some butter in a small saucepan, here I have added some curry leaves into the melting butter for some nice curry leaf fragrance since my curry leaf plant has lots of green lush leaves at the moment, better use them up! The original recipe does not call for these extra curry leaves, you may omit this step if you want to. When the butter has fully melted, swirl in one tablespoon of lemon juice, and pour this mixture onto the cooked rice, fluff them up with a fork and serve. Remember to remove the cinnamon stick and cloves before serving.

The lemon rice is really nice! It has a mild lemon flavour and just a hint of lemony taste which is just right. We had the lemon rice with some pork curry (so delicious!) and a vegetable dish. I have added some freshly grated lemon zest for more lemony fragrance just before serving, and for myself, some pickled lemon, which is really good eaten with the rice and curry. A satisfying meal!

Please do stop by I Heart Cooking Clubs (IHCC) to view what my friends have made for the theme of this week, "A Little Bit of Sunshine", and if you are interested to join us, please find out more details from IHCC.

Lemon and Curry Leaf Rice
(source from here)
serves 4
5 short cinnamon sticks (10gm)
10 whole cloves
1 lemon, zest shaved, pith removed
2 stems fresh curry leaves - about 25 leaves (or 35 dried leaves)
salt and white pepper
400gm basmati rice, rinsed, soaked in water for 15 minutes and drained
60gm unsalted butter
1 tbsp lemon juice

Heat the oven to 180C/350F/gas mark 4. In a saucepan put the cinnamon, cloves, lemon zest, curry leaves, a teaspoon and a half of salt, half a teaspoon of pepper and 650ml of cold water, and place on a high heat. As soon as it comes to a boil, remove from the heat.

Put the rice in a roughly 24cmx30cm ovenproof dish or roasting tray, pour over the hot spice water and stir. Lay a piece of greaseproof paper over the surface and cover the dish with foil. Bake for 25 minutes, then remove and leave, still covered, to sit for 8 to 10 minutes.

Just before serving, melt the butter in a small saucepan. Once it has melted and is very hot, carefully add the lemon juice and swirl to mix. Pour this over the hot rice and fluff it up with a fork. Taste for seasoning, transfer to a serving bowl and serve at once (if you prefer, remove the curry leaves and cinnamon sticks).

Chicken with Caramelized Onion & Cardamom Rice : IHCC

"Going With The Grains", the theme for this week at I Heart Cooking Clubs (IHCC), where we are currently cooking from Yotam Ottolenghi's recipes. I thought of "spreading my wings" by cooking other grains other than rice, but ended up with rice somehow! I'm "Going With The Grains" this week, in this delicious one pot meal, Chicken With Caramelized Onion & Cardamom Rice.

Hot and fluffy, straight from the cooking pot!

This is a lovely rice meal, the cardamoms, cinnamon sticks and cloves makes the rice so fragrant. The onions are sliced thinly and fried, until they turned brown and caramelized. I really love these onions, next time I'll add on an additional onion. Pieces of chicken are mixed with the spices, some salt and black pepper, then they are pan-fried together with the spices until they are brown on both sides, remove and kept aside. The basmati rice are then stirred into the chicken oil that remains in the pan, together with the caramelized onions, salt and pepper, fry for a short while until the rice are coated. Add in the raisins, which I have added a tablespoon more, as I love raisins in savoury rice. Hot boiling water is then added to the pan, cover and cook on low heat for 30 minutes. Remove pan from heat, take off the lid, place a tea-towel over the pot, replace the lid and let sit for 10 minutes. Stir in the chopped herbs and fluff with a fork. The recipe uses some fresh dill, parsley and coriander. Since I do not have both dill and parsley, but I do have a bunch of fresh coriander, so I have used chopped fresh coriander, about 1 cup.

Remember to remove the cinnamon sticks, cardamom pods and cloves before serving, they are not meant to be eaten.

A delicious, easy meal to prepare. The family loves it! 

There's a yoghurt sauce that goes with the rice, but I omitted that, we prefer to eat the rice as it is.

There were no leftovers!

Please do stop by I Heart Cooking Clubs (IHCC) to view what my friends have made for the theme of this week, "Going With The Grain" , and if you are interested to join us, please find out more details from IHCC.

Chicken with Caramelized Onion & Cardamom Rice
(adapted from "Jerusalem" by Yotam Ottolenghi and Sammi Tamimi)
3 tablespoons of sugar
3 tablespoons of water
2-1/2 tablespoons of barberries (you can sub currants)
4 tablespoons of olive oil
2 onions, thinly sliced
1 whole chicken, quartered, or 2-1/4 pounds of chicken thighs
10 green cardamom pods
rounded 1/4 teaspoon of whole cloves
4 cinnamon sticks (or 2 long, broken in half)
1-2/3 cup of basmati rice
2-1/4 cups boiling water
1-1/2 tablespoons of flat-leaf parsley leaves, finely chopped
1/2 cup of dill, finely chopped
1/4 cup of cilantro leaves, finely chopped
kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the yogurt sauce :
1/2 cup of Greek yoghurt
2 tablespoons of olive oil

1. If you are using currant, skip this step. Combine the sugar and water in a small saucepan and heat over medium heat until the sugar has dissolved. Remove the saucepan from the heat and add the barberries. Allow the barberries to soak while you prepare the rest of the recipe.
2. Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a saute pan. Add the onion and cook for 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until it is golden and caramelized. Transfer onion to a small bowl.
3. Combine the chicken with salt, pepper, 2 tablespoons of olive oil, cardamom pods, cloves and cinnamon. Mix everything together with your hands.
4. Heat a large dutch oven over medium-high. Add the chicken, along with the spices, to the pot and cook for 5 minutes on each side. You want to it to get golden, and for the skin to crisp up a bit. Use a pair of tongs to remove the chicken from the pot and set aside.
5. Add the rice, caramelized onion, salt, and pepper to the dutch oven. Stir until the rice is coated in the oil/leftover chicken fat. Drain the barberries and add them to the pot. If you are using currants, add them in at this stage. Stir and then re-add the chicken to the pot, tucking it into the rice.
6. Add the boiling water, cover, and dial down the heat to low. Continue cooking, over very low heat, for 30 minutes.
7. After 30 minutes, remove the pan from the heat, take off the lid and place a tea towel over the pot. Replace the lid and let sit for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, use a spoon to stir the olive oil into the yogurt and set aside.
8. Stir in the herbs and use a fork to fluff the rice. Season with more salt and pepper, if desired. Transfer to a serving bowl. Enjoy this dish hot or warm, with a few dollops of yogurt sauce.

kitchen flavour's note :

I washed the basmati rice, then soak in water for about 20-30 minutes. Drain before use.

Shiitake Fried Rice

I've made a Chinese fried rice recipe from Martha Stewart. I've used the leftover plain basmati rice which I cooked from my previous post here, well, I have cooked more rice as I've already plan to have the leftovers for this fried rice. I have been out the whole day, and came back late in the evening, since there are only the two of us, hubby and me, I've cooked this simple Shiitake Fried Rice, which is meat-free, and suitable for vegetarians. 

Very simple and easy.  At first it was a little bland, but a seasoning of salt to taste and lots of white pepper powder really makes a difference. Told my hubby that we are having vegetarian fried rice tonight, no meat! After a couple of spoonfuls, he says that it is very nice!  We like the crunch of the snow peas!

Simple and healthy!

I'm linking this post to Cook Like A Star, where the featured chef for this month is Martha Stewart, an event organized by Zoe of Bake from Happy Kids and co-hosted together with Baby Sumo from Eat Your Heart Out and Riceball from Riceball Eats.


I'm also sharing this with :
Recipe Box hosted by Bizzy Bakes
Full Plate Thursday hosted by Miz Helen's Country Cottage

Shiitake Fried Rice
(source from marthastewart.com)
1 teaspoon plus 1 tablespoon olive oil
2 large eggs, lighly beaten
1 small onion, chopped
2 carrots, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced diagonally
10 ounces shiitake mushrooms, stemmed, caps thinly sliced
1 garlic clove, minced
1 teaspoon minced fresh ginger
6 ounces snow peas, strings removed and halved crosswise
2 cups cooked basmati rice
2 to 3 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
salt and pepper to taste

1. In a large nonstick skillet over medium heat, warm 1 teaspoon oil. Add eggs; swirl to coat bottom of pan. Cook until set, 1 to 2 minutes. Transfer to a cutting board. When cool enough to handle, thinly slice.
2. Add remaining oil and onion to pan, cook, stirring, until translucent, 2 to 4 minutes. Add carrots, cook, stirring until they begin to brown, 4 to 6 minutes.
3. Add mushrooms, cook, stirring until tender, 2 to 5 minutes. Add garlic, ginger and snow peas, cook, stirring, until snow peas are vibrant green, 2 to 3 minutes.
4. Add rice, soy sauce, and vinegar, toss to coat. Season with salt and pepper. Fold in sliced egg.

(I browned the garlic and the onions first)

Rice Is Nice : IHCC

"Rice Is Nice", the theme for this week at I Heart Cooking Clubs, where we are cooking from Madhur Jaffrey's recipes. There are a few rice recipes of MJ's  that looks very good, but I wanted something simple to go with a spicy pork curry that I've planned to cook. I've bought myself a book of MJ during a book sale, with wonderful recipes that I can't wait to try, some I have already tried in my previous posts which I initially got the recipes from online. Now that I have the book and after browsing it thru, I just got to try the pork curry. And this simple rice recipe is from this book too, perfect pairing!

This rice is just plain, simple basmati rice. As usual, the rice is washed and soaked in water for 30 minutes, drained and ready for cooking. Melt some butter in a saucepan and stir in the drained rice. I have omitted the salt since I'm eating the rice with some pork curry and the salt is not necessary.  The recipe do not call for pandanus leaf, but I added in one fresh pandanus leaf from my garden, cut into 3" sections and added in together with the rice. Stir-fry both the rice and pandanus leaf in the melted butter for 2-3 minutes, it smells wonderfully fragrant at this point, scoop everything into the rice cooker pot, add some water and continue on with the cooking in the rice cooker. It smells incredibly nice while the rice is cooking, really fragrant from the pandanus leaf. 

Pandanus leaf from my garden.

Pandanus leaves are pretty common over here in Malaysia and are used frequently in rice cooking. It imparts a lovely distinct fragrance. Sometimes it is used in spicy dishes for that added aroma. It is also used in making our many varieties of local sweet desserts. The leaves can be pounded, with juice extracted for usage in making cakes and other sweet desserts, which will give a wonderful pandan taste, fragrance and lovely colour of green. 

 The main star of this meal is of course, the curry, but simple plain rice like this, which complements well with the curry, that makes a simple dinner into a delicious one! I've  made some salad to go with the rice and curry.  December is a really busy month, I'm out of the house most of the days, so I have covered my next two posts for IHCC, in one dinner meal! Recipes for the curry and salad will be for the coming posts with IHCC!

Please do stop by IHCC to view all the different rice yummies the others made!

Plain Basmati Rice
(adapted from "100 Essential Curries", Madhur Jaffrey)
Serves 6
350gm (12oz) basmati rice
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon butter
1 fresh pandanus leave (cut to 3" sections) (my addition)

1. Wash the rice well in cold water. Soak it in a bowl with 1.2 litres (2 pints) of water and 1/2 teaspoon salt for 30 minutes. Then drain.
2. Melt the butter in a heavy-bottomed pot over medium heat. Pour in the drained rice (and pandanus leaf, if using) and stir for a minute. Add 500ml (18fl oz) water and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Bring to the boil, cover, lower heat to very low, and cook for 20 minutes. Lift lid. Mix rice gently with fork. Cover again and cook for another 10 minutes or until the rice is tender.

** the pandanus leaf are not meant to be eaten, simply remove the leaves before serving.

kitchen flavour's notes :

~ I use 2 cups basmati rice, cooked with 3-1/4 cups water

~ omit the salt.

~ added in 1 fresh pandanus leave, cut to 3" sections

~ In step 2, after adding in the rice and the pandanus leaf, stir for a couple of minutes, I transferred all the rice to the rice cooker pot, add in the 3-1/4 cups water and proceed with the cooking in the rice cooker until done.

Turmeric Rice : IHCC

Welcome Madhur Jaffrey! I Heart Cooking Club (IHCC) is starting with a new chef, Madhur Jaffrey this month, and we are going to cook from her recipes for the next six months. I was pretty excited when Madhur Jaffrey was selected as our new featured chef. Indian cuisine is one of my very favourite.  Since I cook Indian cuisine in my house from time to time, I have most of the spices stocked up. Though I have tried various recipes from other Indian chefs, I have never attempted any of Madhur Jaffrey's recipes before. 

Madhur Jaffrey, our featured chef for the next six months

To start off our delicious months of cooking from her recipes, IHCC's theme for this week is "Welcome Madhur Jaffrey!". Any of her recipes can be used, and I think that it is appropriate for me to start off with a plate of rice! 

Being Asian, rice is a staple food at mealtimes, and usually when we have guests over for dinner, rice is always on the menu. So I have decided to cook one of Madhur Jaffrey's rice recipe, Turmeric Rice to start off my next six months of cooking adventure with her! Even though I have one of her books, (am eyeing two more!), this recipe is taken from Foodnetwork's site. 

This is a lovely rice dish! It is simple yet so tasty and my family really enjoyed eating this Turmeric Rice. I did increased the spices as I wanted it to be more fragrant, and I'm glad I did. I have always used 3-1/4 cups of water for 2 cups of basmati rice, which cooked to a perfect texture for me, so I used my own measurement. Different grades of rice requires different amount of water, so adjust accordingly. I cooked the rice in a large heavy saucepan with a lid. The spices and garlic are fried till fragrant, the rice is added in along with the water, turmeric and salt. Bring to a boil, cover and let it simmer over the lowest heat for about 20-25 minutes until cooked and puffed. Turn off heat and leave undisturbed for about 15 minutes. The rice cooked up fluffy and perfect! Fluff the rice with a pair of chopsticks or fork, then I transfer the rice to a rice cooker, switch to "keep warm", it will be all nice and warm until serving time.

I served the rice with another two of Madhur Jaffrey's recipes, a chicken korma dish and a cauliflower stir-fried, just perfect! Recipes for both the chicken korma and cauliflower will be coming up next week! Everything is delicious, I am really looking forward to try her other recipes!

Don't underestimate this simple rice, it is very good! This rice would be great eaten with any curry. I will most definitely be cooking this Turmeric Rice again.

To see my friends at IHCC welcome dish, you may visit them here. If you would like to join us, you may get the full details at IHCC's Welcome! page.

I'm sharing this with :

Recipe Box hosted by Bizzy Bakes

Turmeric Rice

(source from : Foodnetwork, Madhur Jaffrey)
450gm basmati rice (long grain) (I use 2 cups)
3 tbsp vegetable oil
3 cloves (I use about 6-7)
1 bay leaf (I use 2)
4 cardamom pod (I use about 7-8)
2-1/2 inch, piece cinnamon
2 garlic clove (peeled and finely chopped)
1/4 tsp ground tumeric (I use 1/2 tsp)
1 tsp salt (to taste)
22 oz water (I use 3-1/4 cup)
chives (chopped, garnish)

1. Put the rice in a bowl and wash in several changes of water. (I soaked the rice in water for about 30 minutes).
2. Drain and leave in a strainer set over a bowl.
3. Put the oil in a heavy based saucepan and set over a medium high heat. When the oil is hot and beginning to bubble, put in the cloves, bay leaf, cardamom pod and cinnamon. Stir once or twice and put in the garlic. As soon as the garlic turn medium brown put in the rice, turmeric and salt. Stir gently for a minute. 
4. Now add the water and bring to the boil. Cover tightly, turn the heat down to very, very low and cook for 20 minutes. Stir the rice with a fork to separate the grain and serve garnished with chive or spring onions.