Lamb patties

When I dropped by a Tesco after work one day in March, I saw reduced price minced lamb and thought, aha, dinner.

Lamb Patties
Minced lamb
1 onion (very finely chopped)
1 potato (grated and squeezed dry to prevent sogginess)
A handful of parsley (chopped, could be substituted with mint or any herbs of your choice)
1 tbsp garam masala
1 tbsp ground coriander
1 egg
Salt and pepper to taste

1. Combine all the ingredients above and mix well with hands.
2. Form into patties (not too thick, to ensure even and quick cooking).
3. Pan fry with a bit of olive oil. You can griddle or grill on a George Foreman as healthier options.
4. Serve with yogurt and mint raita!

(I served it with Thai chilli sauce because it was at hand and *someone* thought it was weird to eat savoury yogurt)

Teriyaki Chicken

Get a bottle of Teriyaki sauce...

And a pack of chicken thighs (or any chicken parts, for that matter)...

Marinate for at least 2 hours (I defrosted the thighs over night in a bag, and when I transfer the chicken from freezer to fridge, I whacked in loads of teriyaki sauce so 2-in-1 action heh)...

Bake in oven a 200C for about 25-35 minutes (until juices run clear), and baste once with honey...

And yummeh results with minimal fuss!

Okay, as a journalism graduate sourcing and not crediting photos is not the best practice, so here are the links to them:
Honey
Freezer bag
Chicken
Teriyaki sauce

The different types...

Ham choy


Credit: masak-masak


Choy poh


Credit: Simple Life


Char choy


Credit: Very Sedap!!!


Tung choy


Credit: CT Food


Kiam chye (that comes with bak kut teh)


Credit: munkhea

This is for my own reference, due to my lousiness with the Chinese names of preserved vegs...I buy them by sight, not names :S

Sometimes the unlikely tastes nice together...

...such as this combination of breakfast and instant noodles.

In this case Indomee with chopped Chinese cabbage, and topped with bacon, sausage and egg.

Very satisfying Sunday lunch, that.

Wrapped stuffed chicken

Tim made this meal! Well, almost...
I made the gravy and baked the potatoes.

Ingredients
2 chicken breasts
Bacon slices
Philadelphia cheese with garlic and herbs
Peas
2 potatoes
1 onion, peeled and chopped
1 gravy granule
1 tsp cornstarch mixed with a little cold water
1/2 pint water

1. Wash and pierce the potatoes with fork, then chuck both into microwave for about 10 minutes, and bake in a pre-heated oven (about 200C for 30 minutes). I do find while microwaved potatoes cook quicker, their skin tend to be soggier, so it's an question of speed versus quality.
2. Slice breast in the middle, stuff with Philadelphia cheese and wrap with bacon. Place on a foil-lined tray and bake in oven along with potatoes for about 20 minutes, or until cooked.
3. Gently saute chopped onion in a little olive oil, then add the water, bring to a simmer. Add gravy granule and simmer gently for 5-10 minutes, or until onions are soft, before adding in cornstarch mixture.
4. Boil the peas briefly.
5. Assemble the meal into 2 plates, and serve.

The magic of Dulce de Leche

This is probably the easiest, the most divine, the most sinful sweet stuff one can make at home. Only three (3) ingredients needed.

Guaranteed to make anyone and everyone ask for another. And another. And another.

Ingredients
Dulce de leche*
Dessicated coconut
Malted milk biscuits

1. Pound malted milk biscuits until very fine.
2. Mix in dessicated coconut aplenty (amount depends on your preference).
3. Mix in dulce de leche a little bit at a time until very thick and sticky, add some milk if desired (I only added a splash).
4. Shape concoction into balls (could be a messy affair; we used spoons and an ice cream scooper), and roll it in more dessicated coconut.
5. Good to eat as-is, or chilled for a more solid bite.

Don't say I didn't warn you: This is very, very, very dangerously addictive.

*The recipe was shared by my housemate and friend Marcia, and dulce de leche can be substituted with condensed milk. It is also sold as Carnation Caramel 397G in cans for £1.78 in Tesco, but in my case was given by Marcia who just returned from Chile.

Blog challenge

So a friend of mine has sent me a challenge:
I blog about a Malaysian recipe that's simple to make with easy-to-get ingredients and he's going to make it and send me some feedback.

So after some thinking, this is what I came up with...

It's not Malaysian strictly speaking, but more of home slash comfort food that my mom made me as a kid, a dish my brother loved and a recipe I mastered easily.

The ingredients you need, as in all home cooking, is adjustable to the amounts you want and personal tastes. Remember though oyster sauce is quite salty but I like the taste of it, so I add in a spoonful at a time until I achieve the taste/saltiness I wanted.

Potatoes braised with minced pork

1-2 large baking potatoes, peeled and sliced thinly
1/2 lb minced pork (also adjustable, can be as much or as little as you want)
1 onion, halved and sliced
3 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
2 tbsp vegetable oil
Sesame oil
Light soy sauce
Oyster sauce
1 cup water
Salt and pepper

1. Marinate minced pork with about 1 tbsp sesame oil, 1 tbsp light soy sauce and pepper before preparing and slicing the potatoes, onion and garlic.
2. Heat wok or large saucepan with oil, saute garlic until fragrant and add in minced pork. Stir-fry until minced pork is no longer red, and add in onions. Stir-fry til onions turn soft.
3. Stir in potatoes, and add about 1 tbsp sesame oil, 2 tbsp light soy sauce and 2 tbsp oyster sauce, mix and add in water. It should be enough to cover most of the potatoes. Bring to a boil, simmer on high heat for a few minutes before turning heat down. Simmer on low for 20-30 minutes, or until potatoes are soft and the liquid reduced into a thick, full-bodied gravy. Remember to taste the liquid and add in more oyster sauce/soy sauce as needed. Season with some pepper, and serve with rice and some stir-fried greens.

Good luck! (And I want photos!)

Merry Christmas!

A very belated entry indeed, but better late than never eh!

For Christmas, Tim insisted on doing it the traditional way (except for Christmas Cake and Christmas pudding, which he conveniently passed over because he hates raisins and sultanas).

So, turkey, and roasted potatoes and veg, and a joint of pork it was! It was one hell of a stressful day, mainly because I've never roasted a chicken before, let alone a turkey, and there's a lot to do.

We started by going to Castle Market the week before Christmas to buy some taters and a economy turkey. Which meant said turkey had a risk of not having limbs intact. It was a gamble, and for £8 for a 3.8kg bird, a risk well taken. When we open the bloody (literally!) bag on Christmas day, the bird was lopsided and had its wings missing. We couldn't tell the head end from the back end at first sight. But hey-ho, all good, we managed to stuff butter under its skin and eschewing stuffing, whacked some herbs and sliced oranges (in substitute for clementines as called for by Jamie Oliver's roast turkey recipe).

I was pretty happy with the results, but had no idea how to carve a turkey, hence:

But the accompaniments were pretty good.

There's the roast potatoes, also by way of Jamie's recipe, we played it on 4oD over slow-mo so that we can do the step-to-step, and it was really worth it. It was tasty, crunchy, fluffy and just, well, good.

The roasted parsnips and sweet potato was a little...well...burnt because we left them in longer after realising in horror that we're supposed to parboil the babies. Still delicious. Oh well, next year I'll remember to par-boil!

The broccoli and Brussels sprouts were just there to counter the sinful spread, and thus nothing exciting about them.

Please don't tell me you don't want this.

I mean, he looked so happy, so it must be dead good, right!?

We made an amazing soup and a turkey and leek pie (also Jamie's recipe!) and after that storm of a cooking, I don't want to have anything to do with turkey for a long, long time!

Yummy chicken wings

For less than two quid, I couldn't resist picking up a box of chicken wings from Sainsbury.

Good thing too, cos it was just so good!

Baked chicken wings two ways

10-12 wings, washed and patted dry
Teriyaki sauce
2 tbsp curry powder
2 tbsp turmeric powder
1 tsp garam masala
1 tsp coriander powder
Pinch of cumin seeds
Pinch of salt
2 tbsp honey

1. Divide wings equally into two containers or food bags, marinade half with teriyaki sauce making sure all surfaces are covered.
2. Mix the curry powder, turmeric powder, garam masala, coriander powder, cumin and salt together before spreading equally onto the other container of wings. Marinade both for at least an hour.
3. Pre-heat oven to 200C, bake on a foil-lined tray for 20 minutes before turning it over and basting it with honey. Bake for a further 10-15 minutes or until wings turn golden brown.

Christmas Log

This is a credit to Tim Chuter, my housemate who is baker-extraordinaire.

He made this Chocolate Yule Log, and must say it was really rich and sinfully yummy!