"The duty of a good Cuisinier is to transmit to the next generation everything he has learned and experienced."~Fernand Point

"A cookbook must have recipes, but it shouldn't be a blueprint. It should be more inspirational; it should be a guide." ~Thomas Keller

Friday, June 19, 2009

Hot Chicken-Rice Pot






At home, we call this Arroz Caldo. I Anglicised the name to make it sound appealing to my children's picky taste. I cook this when they have problem with colds, sore throat and when they are plainly sick. I cook this in winter for body sustenance.

Ingredients:

6-8 pieces chicken drumsticks, remove joint bones
3 cloves of garlic
1/2 of onion bulb, finely sliced, lengthwise
2 x 1 inch length fresh lemon grass, cut into half
1 tsp finely sliced, cubed or diced fresh ginger
1 cup broccoli, cut
3 tsps finely diced capsicum (red, green and yellow or any of the two)
3 pieces of shallots, finely chopped
1 tbsp of cooking oil (I used either olive or rice bran oil)
a dash of annato powder or paprika powder for colouring
salt to season, soy sauce
1 cup of half-boiled rice. (I do this for quick cooking).
2-3 cups rice stock.

Stock: Reserve the second and third washing of rice. Meanwhile boil the rice in a rice cooker. I use a cup of half-boiled rice to add to the recipe.

Method of Preparation:

Clean drumsticks with white vinegar; rub them with salt; wash under running cold water, and drain.

Place cleaned drumsticks in a saucepan, fresh lemon grass, and ginger. Cover and boil to extract its natural juice. Occasionally stir and turn over and adjust heat to moderate.

In a frying pan, saute garlic and onion with oil till brown; pour into the saucepan and stir. Cover with lid and continue boiling in moderate heat for 5 minutes. Add rice stock gradually, boil, then add more stock to cover the mixture and simmer. Occasionally give it a stir to avoid sticking in the bottom.

Add half-boiled rice, stock and add annato or paprika powder. Add soy sauce sparingly and salt to enhance flavour. Then continue to simmer till tender. Add broccoli. Cook for about 3 minutes. Add capsicum last.

Sprinkle finely chopped shallots. On serving, you may squeeze fresh kumquat, lemon or lime as you like.

Makes a nice healthy hot soup to ward off winter chills.

Bon appetit!

Tuesday, June 2, 2009

Diced Steak Stew

It's Wintertime again, time for those hot stuff on the table...

Ingredients:

500 g diced (beef)steak
1/2 cup diced carrot
1/2 cup diced potato
Onion, finely chopped
1 small green capsicum, diced
1 small red capsicum, diced
3 cloves garlic
2 teaspoons gravy
salt to taste
olive oil or rice bran oil

Method:

Rub diced meat with olive oil to seal its flavour. In a hot deep pan, saute garlic and onion and add meat, stir, cover to bring out its natural juice for 3 minutes and reduce the heat. Add 1 and 1/2 cup of beef stock or water and simmer till the meat is tender. Add carrots and potato. Moisten gravy with the meat juice and stir into the stew then add capsicums altogether. Cover with lid and take out of the stove.

Season salt to taste as required.

Serve with boiled rice or toast bread.

Note: I am not much of a salty person. My salt intake is under control, ditto with sugar intake.