Chicken Fajitas

This week has been filled with a number of Tex-Mex dishes...all of which I had'nt got a chance to snap any proper photos for the blog purposes...they were running out so fast! It started with a chilli beef queso dip with tortilla chip, beef fajitas, buffalo wings, another batch of chilli beef queso with tortilla chips in the middle of the week and today we made a batch of buffalo wings and chicken fajitas in tortilla wraps. Seems that the whole family is into Tex-Mex food! They are so delicious, spicy and full of flavor. The flavor of all this food is based on what I have tasted in Chilli's restaurant.

Ingredients:
2 boneless skinned chicken breasts - sliced
1 yellow onion - thinly sliced
1 small red pepper - thinly sliced
1 small yellow pepper - thinly sliced
1 large portobello mushroom - sliced
1/2 pack of McCormick Fajitas spice
1 tbsp paprika
1 tbsp chilli flakes
1 medium sized tomato 
1 medium sized cucumber 
Green and red coral lettuce
Grated cheddar cheese
2 tbsp olive oil

Instructions:

1. In a large bowl, combine chicken, onion, peppers and mushroom. Add the fajitas spice, paprika and chilli flakes. Rub all the ingredients evenly and set aside to marinate for about 10 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, slice and dice the tomato and cucumber. Mix them together in a small bowl and put them in the refrigerator.
3. Preheat the grill pan on high and sprinkle the olive oil. Put the chicken mixture onto the hot pan and cook for about 5 minutes. Toss and turn the chicken in between to make sure they are all well cooked and the vegetables don't get burnt.

Serve with tortilla wrap with the diced tomato-cucumber mix, lettuce and grate some cheddar cheese on top. Wrap it nicely and enjoy.

Love the microplane...

Saffron Rice and Roasted Chicken

Saffron Rice

2 cups of basmathi rice
1 cup water
a good pinch of saffron threads - soak in 2 tbsp hot boiling water for 5 minutes - put aside

1 garlic - diced
2 shallots or 1 small yellow onion- diced
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
4 tbsp or 2 oz salted butter
2 cups chicken stock

1. Wash the rice thoroughly. Soak the rice with the saffron & a cup of water for about 10 minutes.
2. Heat the olive oil in a small saucepan. Saute the garlic and onion until translucent. Add the butter. Pour the chicken stock in and remove from heat.
3. Pour the rice together with saffron & water into the rice cooker. Add the chicken stock. Switch it on and let the rice cook nicely, make sure to stir the rice when the water in the pot has subsided.

 
Roasted Chicken

The recipe can be found here.

Bihun Sup/Soto Ayam

Rempah sup/soto:

3 sudu besar jintan manis

3 sudu besar jintan putih

3 sudu besar ketumbar

2 sudu besar lada hitam

Basuh kesemua bahan dengan air. Toast atau rendang sekejap dlm kuali tanpa minyak, just untuk keringkan dia. Atau boleh panaskan dlm oven dlm beberapa  minit sehingga kering. Sejukkan sebentar. Masukkan ke dalam dry mill /blender kering. Blend kesemuanya. Simpan dalam bekas kedap udara.

Kuah Soto:

2 sudu kecil rempah sup/soto - seperti di atas

2 biji bunga lawang

5 biji  buah pelaga

sedikit kulit kayu manis

5 biji bawang putih}

1 biji bawang besar}  3 bahan ini diblend

1 inci halia }

2 batang serai dititik

1/2 sudu teh serbuk kunyit

2 keping asam keping/asam gelugor

1/2 ekor ayam (half bird) - dipotong 4

Air secukupnya

Garam secukup rasa

Sedikit minyak untuk menumis

Panaskan sedikit minyak di dalam sebuah periuk besar. Masukkan rempah sup, bunga lawang, buah pelaga dan kayu manis, biarkan seketika hingga naik bau. Masukkan bahan blend, serai, serbuk kunyit dan asam. Kacau hingga masak. Masukkan ayam. Goreng sebentar hingga separuh masak. Masukkan air dan garam secukup rasa. Biarkan mendidih. Keluarkan ayam, dan lerai-leraikan isi ayam itu dan asingkan di dalam bekas lain. Masukkan lebihan tulang ayam itu ke dalam sup semula. Kecilkan api dan biarkan ia selama lebih kurang 1 jam. 

Bergedil

1 biji bawang besar didadu

Sedikit isi ayam dari sup di atas atau boleh juga guna daging kisar (minced meat/chicken)

4 biji kentang Holland

Garam secukup rasa

Sedikit lada hitam - ditumbuk
Sedikit daun sup & daun bawang - potong halus

1 biji telur

Rebus kentang hingga empuk. Toskan airnya.

Tumis bawang bersama daging kisar sehingga masak. Ketepikan.

Lenyek-lenyekkan kentang, masukkan daging+bawang tadi dan masukkan garam, lada hitam dan daun. Gaulkan hingga rata. Bentukkan seperti bebola dan penyekkan sedikit.

Panaskan minyak untuk menggoreng.

Pukul telur sedikit.

Salutkan bergedil dengan telur sebelum menggoreng. Goreng hingga kuning keemasan.

Cili kicap secukup rasa - tumbuk 2 biji bawang putih & 6 biji cili api, masukkan ke dlm saucepan dan masak bersama 1/4 cawan stok ayam, 1/4 cawan kicap manis, 1 sudu besar kicap pekat, 1 sudu besar sos tomato & jus dari 2 biji limau kasturi.

Hidangan lengkap:

Sepeket bihun dicelur atau beberapa bungkus ketupat segera yg tlh direbus dan disejukkan

Secekak sawi dibersihkan dan dicelur air panas seketika atau taugeh - saya tak suka taugeh so guna sawi le

Isi ayam yg dicarik-carikkan

Bergedil

Cili kicap

Kalau rajin boleh goreng kacang tanah dan soohoon

Sup

Grilled Chicken Chop with Jacket Potatoes

I am very very tired tonight, my knees hurt! :(

Did some wet market purchases this morning, then went to Alamanda afterwards with the whole family to buy school stuff for the kids. We had brunch at the Food Court there.

For dinner, made some grilled chicken chops with jacket potatoes , Naim made Baked Pasta Bolognaise and  I also made some chocolate chips cookies for snacks. Now I'm blogging while elevating both feet...ouch!!

Grilled Chicken Chop
 
Ingredients:
4 pieces of deboned chicken thigh(get the butcher to cut for chicken chop)
Lots of black pepper
Salt
2 tbsp olive oil
4 tbsp of lemon juice

 Let's grill them!:

1. Generously rub the chicken with salt and pepper. Pour the oil and juice and rub them all over. Put them in a container and cover. Let them marinated for 2-4 hours.
2. Preheat the oven to 200 degree Celsius.
3. Heat a frying skillet and drizzle some olive oil. Put one piece of the chicken and cook one side on a medium heat for about 4 minutes. Turn it over and cook another side for 4 minutes. Do the same for the remaining.
4. Transfer all the chicken onto  a baking tray lined with baking sheet.
5. Bake for about 10 minutes, skin side up.
6. Serve warm with onion gravy.

Jacket Potatoes

Ingredients:
4 big russet potatoes
Garlic powder
Salt
Olive oil
4 knobs of butter
Cheddar cheese
Mozarella cheese

1. Preheat the oven to 200 degree Celsius
2. Soak the potatoes with hot water for about 3 minutes to get rid of the dirt. Wash under cold water.
3. Prick the potatoes with fork a few times. Rub the potatoes with garlic powder, salt and olive oil.
4. Put them on a baking tray lined with baking sheet
5. Bake for about 40 minutes
6. Using the tip of a knife, slit each potato in the center and stuff the butter and some cheese inside. Bake for another 5 minutes.
7. Serve with the chicken!

Okay..too tired to continue with the chocolate chip cookies....nitey nite!

Roasted Chicken with Onion Gravy

How about cutting off some fat? No cake or dessert this weekend ok...let's indulge into poultry and roast some birds..

Roasted Chicken

Ingredients:

1 medium chicken

Salt & coarse black pepper

1 whole bulb of garlic

1/4 tsp cumin seeds (jintan putih)

1/4 tsp fennel seeds (jintan manis)

1 tsp coriander seeds (biji ketumbar)

4-5 big sized washed potatoes - each cut into 8 equal sizes

1 lemon

a handful of fresh thyme & rosemary

olive oil

Let's roast the bird!:

1. Using a pestle and mortar, pound half of the garlic bulb with the seeds until it becomes a paste. Generously rub the chicken with the paste and a lot of salt and pepper. Put it in a big container, cover and leave it in the fridge for about 4-6 hours. I normally marinate it overnight because the meat will become really tasty.
2. When you're ready to cook, preheat the oven to 190 degrees Celsius.
3. Bring a large pan of salted water to a boiling point,  put the potatoes together with the whole lemon and the other half of the garlic bulb into it and cook for 12 minutes.
4. Drain and allow to steam dry for 1 minutes, take out the lemon & garlic and put aside. Toss the potatoes back in the pan while they are still hot. Put aside.
5. Stab the hot lemon for about 10 times. Take the chicken from the fridge, pat dry with kitchen tower and rub it all over with olive oil. Push the lemon, hot garlic cloves and thyme into the cavity. Put the chicken into a roasting tray, cover with aluminum foil and bake for 45 minutes.
6. Take off the foil and remove the chicken into a plate, toss the potatoes into the roasting tray together with the rosemary leave and shake the tray around. Push all the potatoes to the sides of the tray and put back the chicken in the center. Bake for another 40 minutes.
7. Remove the lemon and garlic from inside the chicken and it is ready to serve with onion gravy.

Onion Gravy 

Ingredients:

4 medium yellow onion, peeled and finely sliced

olive oil

5 tbsp balsamic vinegar

2 tbsp of butter

3 cups of chicken or beef stock - or just use 2 chicken stock cubes with 3 cups of water

2 tbsp cornflour

1. Fry the onion in a little oil under a really low heat, covered, for about 15 minutes until soft and translucent.
2. Remove the lid, turn the heat up and once the onions become golden brown, pour in the vinegar, stir and let it boil. 
3. Turn the heat down and put in the butter, pour the stock and stir. Let it simmer. Turn off the heat and sift the liquid into a bowl and discard the onion. 
4. Put back the liquid into the pan and let it boil. Add the cornflour and stir until you reach your preferred consistency.

adapted from JO's Jamie's Dinners book - modified to suit my taste

Honey Orange Chicken with Rosemary

Ingredients (for marinate):
Cutlets from half a chicken
Generous amount of salt and black pepper
1 tbsp garlic powder or 3 cloves of fresh garlic - finely ground
1 tbsp paprika
2 tsp cayenne pepper
2 tbsp honey
Juice from 1 large orange
Olive oil
3-4 sprigs of fresh rosemary

Method:

1. Generously rub the chicken with salt and pepper
2. In a small bowl, combine garlic, paprika, pepper, honey and orange juice. Mix well and pour it into a container or ziplock bag along with the chicken. Make sure the chicken well coated with the marinate ingredients.
3. Marinate in the morning if you want to have it for lunch or you can also marinate it overnight to get more intense flavoring.
4. Preheat the oven to 200 degree Celsius. Grease a deep baking pan or a Dutch oven.
5. Lay the rosemary sprigs at the bottom of the pan, put the chicken on top, sprinkle with a dash of black pepper and drizzle with some olive oil. Cover the top with aluminum foil
6. Bake for 30 minutes. 
7. After 30 minutes take off the foil, reduce the temperature to 175 degree C and bake for another 20-30 minutes or until golden.

Orange goes well with Salmon but this is the first time I am using it on chicken. I normally use lemon on my roasted chicken, well orange also does wonder..

Chicken Shish Kebab

Ingredients:
For Marinade
3 portions of boneless chicken breasts - cut into 2 by 2 inches cubes
3 cloves of garlic
1 tsp coriander seeds
1 tsp Hungarian sweet paprika
1 tsp cayenne pepper
1/4 cup honey
3 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp italian herbs
Salt & pepper to taste

For grilling:
10-12 bamboo sticks or skewers or rosemary sticks
1 green capsicum/green pepper
1 yellow onion - quatered


1. Using pestle & mortar, pound garlic and coriander seed
2. Put the chicken in a mixing bowl and rub them with the garlic paste together with all the other marinade ingredients 
3. Marinade for at least one hour
4. Thread the chicken alternately with the capsicum and onion onto the skewers
5. Spray your grill with vegetable oil and put the skewers on it. Lightly brush your kebabs with the leftover marinade and some olive oil. Cook for 15 min until tender and chicken juices run clear.