Cajun Spice Roast Chicken

Oven is another important gadget in my kitchen. I have 3 😂 for different purposes. Tonight simple oven roast half a small hen with Cajun Spice seasoning rubs. Smell so good. I just have to prepare an apple salad and dinner is served.  My apple salad consists of NZ Pink Lady apple, Japanese cucumber, carrots and raw red onions that has been pickled with Japanese vinegar. Salad dressing is the Kewpie Roasted Sesame Seed with Yuzu flavoured dressing.

Wings are my favourite part of the chicken

Rub Cajun Spice seasoning and salt onto the chicken and let it rest for 30 minutes. Place the chicken on a rack over a tray. Roast in preheated oven @200c for 40 mins. Increase to @250c  and roast for another 10 minutes. Once it is cooked and skin is crispy and browned. Take out and the roast chicken rest for 20mins before cutting them. Serve with salad of your choice.

Enjoy!

Seafood Soup

Today's menu

Brunch - Ramensari With Seafood Soup

Dinner - Rice With Seafood Broth

Just finished cooking a pot of seafood broth using the remnants of salmon belly and bones, threw in pickled mustard greens, leeks, tomato ,ginger . Last add in the baby octopus and a generous splash of Chinese cooking wine. A savoury tasty seafood soup for brunch and dinner.

ingredients used for cooking 

the Seafood Soup

Recipe:

Ingredients

Salmon Belly & Salmon Bones or you can use any types of fish head.

6 pieces Baby Octopus

A small knob of ginger - julienned

Pickled Mustard Greens (hum Choy)

2 Tomatoes- cut into wedges

1stalk leeks - sliced

1000 ml water

1/4cup Chinese cooking wine

Salt to taste

1tbsp olive oil

Method:

Heat up oil in soup pot, sautee the ginger till fragrant, add in the fish bone, and salmon belly or if using fish head and fry till cooked, add in pickled mustard greens and stir fry for another 20 mins ,add in water and simmer over medium low heat for another 20 mins. Once the soup boils, add in leeks and tomato wedges and continue to simmer for another 10 mins. Add in the baby octopus and once the octopus are cooked, add in salt to taste. Give it a quick boil....off heat and add in the Chinese cooking wine. This seafood soup can be a stand alone soup served with rice or as a soup base for any noodles. When serving,  garnish soup with  Sawtooth Coriander or Spring onions and Chinese Coriander

Enjoy!

Silky Tofu With Shimeji Mushroom

Simple and easy to whip up meatless dish. Just this one dish is good enough. So today we are off meat 😜 It is good to eat meatless at least once a week. A mini detox hehehe and slowly twice a week. This is a very easy to prepare dish. I used silky tofu and fresh Shimeji Mushroom. A tasty mushroom and oyster sauce poured over the bland steamed tofu. A keeper for sure.

Recipe:

1 block of silky tofu

1 bunch of Shimeji Mushrooms 

Sauce ingredients

1/2 tbsp Oyster sauce

A drop of thick soy sauce

1/8 tsp Maggi Chicken powder

1/2 tbsp chopped garlic

1tbsp olive oil

1 cup water

( Combined all sauce ingredients above in a bowl)

Thickening - 1/2 tsp corn starch + 1 tbsp water

Method:

Place silky tofu in a deep plate. Steam silky tofu in boiling steamer for 5 mins. Off heat. Take out the tofu and pour off excess water.

Heat up olive oil in a pan, saute chopped garlic till fragrant, add in the Shimeji Mushroom, stir fry till mushroom have soften. Add in sauce solution and simmer till sauce is boiling. Once boiled add in thickening. Once sauce has thicken, pour over the steamed tofu and served hot. 

Enjoy!

Turmeric Leaf Wrapped Chicken

I was inspired by Sonia of Nasi Lemak Lover when her insta stories pops up with her using turmeric leaves to wrap her chicken pieces and deep frying them. I knew I had to try it out and being the lazy me, of course I used the oven instead. I wrapped the marinated chicken pieces with four big turmeric leaves from my lil space 🤣. Roasted the parcel  for 40 mins. The aroma from the leaves wafting out of the oven is truly wonderful. Took away the daily depressing news of increasing Covid deaths for a while, we just wanna inhale in the wonderful aroma while we can. Stay safe and eat healthy. 

this is one way to wrap meat and roast them ...turmeric leaves gives a distinctive aroma to the meat as it is roasting in the oven

I used bamboo skewers to hold the leaves together

Oiled the bottom and top leaves before placing the marinated pieces of meat on it,to crisp up the meat further while it is roasting in the oven.

Recipe

Ingredients

1/2 chicken cut into small pieces

4 large turmeric leaves

Olive oil to grease the leaves

Marinade ingredients

1/2 tbsp Turmeric powder

1tbspSugar

2 tsp Salt

4 shallots chopped

2 Kaffir lime leaves - sliced thinly

Method:

Marinate chicken pieces with marinade ingredients for at least 2 hours. Greased 4 large turmeric leaves with olive oil. Arrange the leaves horizontal and vertical like a cross on roasting rack placed over a tray. Arrange the marinated chicken pieces on the greased leaves. Wrapped the chicken pieces with the leaves using bamboo skewers to hold the leaves together as shown in the pic above. Preheat oven to @200c , roast the wrapped parcel for 40 mins. Serve hot .

Enjoy!

Korean Fluffy Homemade Bread

Yay, I managed pull this off... Korean fluffy bread using Maangchi's recipe. Maangchi called it Pandemic Bread 🤣 I halved the recipe and baked in Pullman tin. The aroma of freshly baked bread is so addictive and good for my soul. I love homemade bread. No preservatives and no softener. My #stayhomeandstaysafe 2nd project is accomplished.  Soft fluffy bread which the hubby approves.

I like the texture, soft and fluffy

Easy to slice once it has cooled down

I use this Bali bought food basket to cool all my bread after baking, has a slide net cover

I used a Pullman tin so that

we can have sandwich bread

I find these webbing patterns of gluten strands very appealing

Recipe link click here

Homebaked Walnut Raisin Rolls

I love baking bread buns and I will prepare a day before hand these mouthwatering and easy to make bread rolls , so that they will be in time for our breakfast the next day. Packed with toasted walnuts and raisins. Buttery soft texture. Every bite there are walnuts and sweet raisins. I used the same recipe as the hot cross buns I made in April for Easter Sunday.

I top the roll with a walnut

Roll dough into a rectangular shape, brush softened butter on surface, sprinkle walnuts and raisins evenly on surface and roll into a Swiss roll, pinch edges

make sure the nuts and raisins are evenly spread out

Use a finger to make a dent in the center 

and if the dent remains ,then the dough is ready for use

Recipe for walnut and raisin roll is same as the hot cross buns I made for Easter Sunday except I added toasted walnut and raisins and shaping is as Swiss roll.

Dough Recipe

280 gm Japanese High Protein Flour

150 ml fresh milk

1egg (55gm)

100 gm black raisins

30gm castor sugar

1/4tsp salt

5gm instant yeast

1/8 tsp cinnamon powder

1/8 tsp nutmeg powder

30gm unsalted butter

Fillings

Softened butter for spreading on

Toasted walnuts

raisins

Method:

Using an electric mixer with dough hook, mix all the ingredients together except butter till well combined. Add in butter and continue to knead till dough leave the side of bowl. Take out and knead manually for another 5 mins. Place dough in a mixing bowl and leave it to proof for 60 mins.

Knock down dough and roll out flat into a 1/4 inch thick rectangular size. Brush on softened butter and sprinkle toasted walnuts and raisin evenly on surface. Roll from the longest side exactly like making a Swiss roll . Pinch end edges. Cut into 6 equal parts. Place on a greased tray. Top the surface with walnut for deco purposes. Bake in a preheated oven for 25 mins to 30 mins  @180C

Once it golden brown, take out and brush on maple syrup for a glossy look.