A Treasured Terengganu dish - Kay Hong

When I first come across this dish, it was at Mr W(then my boyfriend)'s sister's place. This is one of Mr W 's favourite Terengganu Nyonya dish. The name of this dish when I first got to know was "Hong". After 5 years, I got to learn that the name of this dish is Kay Hong. This is a very popular dish for the Nyonya to serve for prayers or Chinese New Year. It keeps well and needs no refrigeration. The more you reheat it, the better the dish becomes.

I am not crazy over this dish but I won't mind eating it. As for Mr W, I can say he is crazy over this dish. He can go for round two when I cook this. He loves having the sauce over his rice and the hard boiled eggs. One thing I have to admit is that this savoury sweet sauce tends to be pretty addictive.

By the way, Mr W said no one except his mom cooks the best dishes, even his sister can't replicate them. My mom-in-law ever told me that she would love to teach me all the dishes she used to cook and all the kueh kueh she used to prepare. But at her age of 94, she doesn't enter the kitchen anymore. Despite her age, she is still very alert and healthy. She will tell me the ingredients for the dish but the rest is all dependent on me. *Stress*

Yesterday was my first trial to cook this dish and I was very pressurized. I need to cook this dish to suit the very picky Mr W's taste. Before I prepare all the ingredients, I gave my mom-in-law a call to confirm the ingredients.

Now let's start with the Ingredients
4 chicken thighs
200g of pork belly
4 hardboiled eggs, peeled
1 pieces of gula melaka, to taste
2-3 tbsp preserved bean paste aka tau cheo
70g shallots
30g garlic
2 cups of water
1 tbsp dark soy sauce, depends on your colour preference
3 tbsp of kicap manis

Method
1. Pound the shallots and garlic. Set aside.
2. Parboil the whole piece of pork belly and chicken thighs. Remove the meat pieces and discard the water.
3. Heat 1 tbsp oil in wok. Fry the pounded shallots and garlic until fragrant.
4. Add in the gula melaka and tau cheo and stir fry for a few minutes.

5. Add the pork belly and chicken pieces and stir fry.

6. Pour in 2 cups of water and allow it to simmer.

7. Add the dark soy sauce and kicap manis, give it a stir. Put the hardboiled eggs in and let it simmer until the pork and chicken are cooked.
8. Dish up the pork belly and slice them into 1 cm thick. Put them back into the wok or you can dish up the chicken and egg with the delicious sauce and serve with a plate of steam white rice. Enjoy!

Do note that the sweetness of this sauce tends to overpower the saltiness, hence there is a need to balance both. Can't be too sweet, can't be too salty. Adjust the proportion to your taste. 

Improvised Oven Roast Crispy Chicken

I have been wanting to make my very own crispy on the outside, succulent in the inside chicken. And I think I have created one just the way I want it!

When I first serve the dish to my hubby (Mr W), he turned and looked at me, asked, "What did you use to season? It tastes good." Aww...the green light that I needed. 

It's easy to make this crispy chicken thighs. 

Ingredients 

8 pieces of chicken thighs skin on

Kosher salt

Olive oil

Spices

Ground black pepper

Garlic powder 

Cayenne pepper

Cinnamon powder

Direction

1. Wash the chicken and trim away excess fats.

2. Pat dry the chicken pieces. Sprinkle and run the kosher salt and black pepper on all sides of the chicken. Let it sit at room temperature for 15 minutes to take the chill off.

3. In a small bowl, mix all the spices. Set aside.

4. After 15 minutes, pat dry the chicken again. Sprinkle and pat the mixed spices on both sides of the chicken. 
5. Preheat the oven to 205°C. Drizzle olive oil on the baking pan. Arrange the chicken pieces skin side up. Remember not to crowd the pan, allow room between the chicken pieces.
6. Bake in the oven for 25 to 30 minutes at 205°c. This will brown the chicken. Then lower the heat to 170°c and bake for an additional 10 to 15 minutes until the juices run clear.
7. Remove from the oven and transfer the chicken pieces to a serving dish. Use an aluminium foil to tent the chicken and let it rest for 5 to 10 minutes before serving.

Note:
i) For those using a whole chicken, arrange the largest pieces (usually the breast) of the chicken at the centre of the pan.
ii) For those who has no intention of eating the chicken skin, leave the skin on for baking. This will help to keep the chicken pieces from drying out while they bake.

Give it a try! It's the simplest recipe so far for chicken. :) But be warned, the oven tends to get pretty oily afterwards.

Tori Yaki Udon (Chicken Stir Fry Udon noodles)

Tori Yaki Udon

Ingredients (6 servings)
3 chicken thighs (cut into bite sizes)
3 packets of pre-cooked udon noodles (approx. 200g per pack)
4 shiitake mushrooms (sliced)
1 cabbage (chopped)
1 green onion (thinly sliced)
1 carrot (thinly sliced)
Sliced fishcake (optional)
1 cup of Chicken stock
2 tbsp sesame oil
3 tbsp soy sauce
A dash of ground white pepper





Direction
1. Pour hot boiling water into a pot with the  frozen pre-cooked Udon in it. Allow it to soak for 5 minutes or so.
2. Heat up the wok with a tbsp of olive oil. Stir fry the chicken pieces with the green onions and mushrooms for 2 minutes.
3. Drain the pot of udon & toss the udon into the wok.
4. Add the carrots & cabbage into the wok and stir fry.
5. Pour the chicken stock, sesame oil and soy sauce into the wok and stir fry until heated through. A dash of ground white pepper and mix thoroughly 
6. Garnish it with scallions and drizzle sesame oil before serving.
Note: If you are a seafood lover, you can add shrimps and clams into this dish. However if you are a vegetarian, simply omit the meat and change the chicken stock to vegetable stock.

Chicken Stew

It was raining cats & dogs. Something warm will be nice. So I decided to make chicken stew. 

It is so easy to prepare and tasty too.

Chicken Stew

Ingredients
1 yellow onion
3 boneless & skinless chicken thighs
6 baby potatoes

1 russet potato

½ carrot
A handful of snow peas (optional)

Sauce
1 1/2 tbsp oyster sauce
1 tsp soy sauce

1 tsp sesame oil

2 drops of dark soy sauce (for colouring)

150ml of chicken stock
1 bay leaf
Dash of pepper
Cornflour (for thickening)

Preparation
Cut the chicken thigh into bite size and marinade them with light soy sauce, sugar & cornflour. Leave it for 15 minutes. 

Slice the onions. Quarter the potatoes and chop the carrots into any size you prefer. 

Mix the sauce in a bowl and set aside. 

Cooking method
Heat the oil and sauté the onion until fragrant. Add in the chicken, potatoes & carrots and stir for 30 seconds. 

Pour in the sauce & stir well.

Simmer it at medium heat until all cooked. 

In order not overcook our snow peas, toss them in when the stew looks almost ready. You can choose to omit it.

And there you have it. A bowl of warm chicken stew to warm the tummy!

Comfort food - Chicken Stew

Note: I prefer to use a mixture of baby potatoes and russet potatoes. The baby potatoes are more difficult to peel but the potatoes keep their shape and size. 

Update: Can use water if u don't have chicken stock at home. I forgot to buy...so just use water. It still tastes good. 

Cheers!

Claypot Chicken with Mushroom & Black Fungus

My husband prefers chicken over pork and so most of the dishes I cook for him are chicken or beef. For this dish, chicken will taste much better than any other meat. 

This dish has meat, mushrooms and I have added black fungus. Everything in a pot! So one dish to conquer the meal!

Ingredients:

5 pieces of chicken thigh (bones & skin removed), cut into bite sized
6 dried shiitake mushrooms

A handful of black fungus
1/2 teaspoon cooking oil
1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
1-inch piece peeled ginger, cut into slices
1/2 cup water
2 stalks scallions, cut into 2-inch lengths
Salt to taste

Marinade:

1/2 tablespoon Shaoxing wine
1/2 tablespoon corn starch

Sauce:

1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon oyster sauce
2 tablespoons Shaoxing wine
1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
3 dashes white pepper
A few drops dark soy sauce, optional, for coloring purposes

Method:

Marinate the chicken with the Marinade for 15 minutes. 

Mix all the ingredients in the Sauce in a small bowl, set aside. 

Soak the mushrooms and black fungus separately in warm water for 30 minutes or until softened. Remove the stems and slice the mushrooms. If the black fungus are too big, cut into smaller pieces.  

Heat up the claypot with the sesame oil & cooking oil. Add in the ginger and stir-fry until aromatic. 

Add the chicken into the claypot and stir for 30 seconds. Add in the mushrooms and fungus, do a few quick stirs. 

Pour in the sauce, stir to combine well. Add the water and lower the heat to low. 

Cover the claypot and let cook and let it simmer for about 30 minutes, or until the sauce thickens. 

Add the scallions, give it a stir and this Claypot of Goodness is now ready to serve!

General Tso Chicken

I can consider myself as a meat lover. Chicken is one of the meat I love to cook with. It is easy to prepare.

After cooking this dish for dinner, I am sold. It is one of my favourite chicken dish. 

Try cooking them at home. Its alot cheaper than having it at a restaurant. Yes it may be fuss free to have at the restaurants but when you can cook at home, you can control the oil. I tend to use minimal oil when cooking, its healthier. And I get to choose the meat part I prefer, removing the skins, bones and fats before cooking them. 

This dish may be a little tedious because of the deep frying but its worthwhile. With the sticky tangy taste, it goes well with a steamed white rice. 

For those who prefer chicken breast, feel free to replace the chicken thighs. I am biased towards chicken thighs! So pardon me here. :P

For those who prefer spicier food, you can increase the number of dried chilies. Well, I have added chili padi (bird's eye chili). Hot & spicy!!!

Here is the recipe, General Tso Chicken

Ingredients

4 to 5 pieces of boneless chicken thigh, cut into bite size

1/2 tbsp hua tiao/shaoxing wine

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 cup cornstarch

1 tbsp oil

4 slices of peeled ginger (finely minced)

1 garlic clove (finely minced)

5 dried red chilies (rinsed and seeds removed)

2 stalks of scallion or spring onion for garnish

Sauce

3 tbsp of chinese rice vinegar

2 1/2 tbsp of soy sauce

1/2 tbsp of dark soy sauce (for colouring)

1 tsp of hoisin sauce

1/4 cup of water

2 1/2 tbsp of sugar

1/2 tbsp of chinese wine

1 tbsp of cornstarch (for thickening)

Method

Marinate the chicken meat with chinese wine and salt for 15 mins. Mix all the ingredients for the Sauce in a small bowl. Set aside.

Coat the chicken pieces generously with the 1/2 cup of cornstarch.

Heat up the oil for deep frying. Deep fry the chicken until they turn light golden brown.

Dish out with a strainer. To remove those excess oil, lay the chicken pieces on a dish lined with paper towels.

Heat up another work with 1 tbsp of oil. Add the minced ginger, garlic and dried chilies in and stir fry until there is a spicy fragrant.

Pour the Sauce into the wok. When the sauce boils and thickens, add in the chicken.

Stir and combine them well with the sauce.

Add in the scallion and stir a few times.

Dish out and serve immediately.