Daring Cooks' January 2010 Challenge: Satay!

Ehem...(clearing throat)

My last Daring Cooks' Challenge was July last year. (what a shame ssshhhh....)

Now to start the year, I want to be part of the Daring Kitchen's Daring Cooks' again. I haven't cooked/baked for quite sometime, well, you know, other than the usual dishes I make at home, but create something new, nada.

Satay? I have not tried this before. It's a Thai dish and I LOOOVVVEEED it!

Here it is: My take on Daring Cooks' January 2010 Challenge by the lovely Cuppy who chose a Thai-inspired recipe from the book -1000 Recipes by Martha Day.

Presenting, Satay Chicken!

Satay Chicken with Peanut Sauce

Satay Marinade

• 
  1/2 small onion minced
• 2 garlic cloves minced
• 1 T ginger root grated
• 2 T lemon juice (1 oz or 30 mls)----I used 5 calamansi/lemonsito
• 1 T soy sauce (0.5 oz or 15 mls)
• 1 tsp ground coriander (5 mls)
• 1 tsp ground cumin (5 mls)
• 1/2 tsp ground turmeric -----I don't have this, I used 1 tsp Achuete instead
• 2 T vegetable oil (or peanut or olive oil) (30 mls) 1/2 kilo/pound of meat cut in 1 inch strips ----I used chicken breast
• 1 tsp of salt ---not included in the original recipe, just added some, I feel like the soy didn't provide that much saltiness =) OK, fine I am a salt-y person! =)

The host of this challenge Cuppy of Cuppylicious suggested that if you want to make it more Thai, just add dragon chilli, extra tablespoon of ginger and 1 tbsp of fish sauce.

Directions:

1a. Cheater alert: If you have a food processor or blender, dump in everything except the meat and blend until smooth.

In a bowl, cover meat with marinade. I marinated the chicken strips in 10 minutes ONLY- then roll the chicken strips one by one and secure it with a skewer cut into short lengths or toothpick, in this way, it gets to hold the marinade+bits inside which makes it super flavorful, not to mention, juicy, perfect!

Put the chicken back into bowl, cover and marinate in the fridge for 30minutes to 1 hour. In the original recipe, you have to marinate the chicken for 2-12 hours, but I chose not to since the chicken breast is tender enough, and I don't want to overcook the meat with the acid from the lemon juice (it'll get super dry when cooked), as with the flavor, it's as flavorful as you would want it to be! =) Now on with the sauce!

Peanut Sauce

• 3/4 cup coconut milk (6 oz or 180 mls)
• 4 Tbsp peanut butter (2 oz or 60 mls)---I used Ladies Choice Sweet crunchy peanut butter- one with bits of peanuts for texture
• 1 Tbsp lemon juice (0.5 oz or 15 mls)
• 1 Tbsp soy sauce (0.5 oz or 15 mls)
• 1 tsp brown sugar (5 mls)---I didn't add this one as the peanut butter is sweet already but if you are going to use the peanut butter for cooking (without sugar) then add this.
• 1/2 tsp ground cumin (2.5 mls)
• 1/2 tsp ground coriander (2.5 mls)
• 1-2 dried red chilies, chopped (keep the seeds for heat)

Mix dry ingredients in a small bowl.

Add soy sauce and lemon, mix well.

Over low heat, combine coconut milk, peanut butter and your soy-lemon-seasoning mix. Stir often. When the peanut butter is melted, then it's done. Reheat if necessary.

Cooking Directions : 2 Methods

1. Pan fry on medium-high for 3minutes on each side until it turns golden brown. - I opted for this method.

Make sure that your oil is not so hot and take off the bits of spices outside the meat to prevent from burning since the spices tend to cook faster than the meat. Don't worry, you still have those bits inside the rolled chicken strips.

OR

1. Grill or Broil at 290C/550F--brush once with extra marinade when you flip the skewer.

Serve with the peanut sauce and have fun eating!

My sous chef was contantly bugging me the whole time, could not even concentrate on what I was doing. But obviously he is my sous chef/taste tester so I couldn't get rid of him and his verdict? He said "Lamia ani Mommie oi!" which means "This is yummy Mommie!" =)weeee

Visit The Daring Kitchen for the original recipe posted by Cuppy- you could also use some extra dip recipes for this dish!

ขอให้เจริญอาหาร! Mangaon ta! =)

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Chicken Tocino

Talk about comfort food..this is absolutely one of them! 100% pure Filipino food and an all-time breakfast regular..TOCINO!

This is often made using thinly cut pork loin, cured for days and the outcome is that tart, sweet and delicious soft meat that will totally make you fall in love with (excuse, for vegetarians).

Big thanks to Manang Kim of At my Tabletop for the recipe. I am so excited as I have never been able to make home-made tocino. I have a few tocino mix packs but never made this delicious breakfast goody from scratch. So here it is..=)

Chicken Tocino

2 chicken breast meat thinly sliced

3 cloves garlic minced

2 tsp iodized salt

1 tsp ground pepper

1/2 c 7 Up/Sprite

2 tbsp. lemon juice

1/2 tsp. lemon rind
1 tbsp brown sugar

Mixed the ingredients together and marinate for 4 days in the fridge (not the freezer) in a ziplock bag.

Tilt the bag each day so as to keep the meat evenly coated with the marinade.

Heat a little bit of oil and fry each side until brown and caramelized.

Ate this topped with chilli oil sauce with soy sauce and served with rice and sun-dried tomatoes.

Breakfast po tayo! (Let's have breakfast!)

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Coconut Chilli Thai Chicken

It was ate beth's late birthday celebration. She bought 2 packs of chicken wings and she wanted me to do something out of it. Adobo isn't part of the option so, I browsed my 1 Million Cookbook for any idea. I found a chicken recipe that calls for coconut. The final dish was a dry-looking sauteed chicken strips but I wanted a creamy colorful dish. Red hot chilli was the first thing that popped in my mind. I had it when I went to Salisbury farmer's market last tuesday. I also added red sweet peppers and chopped chives for added color and taste. =)

Coconut Chilli Thai Chicken

1 tbsp olive oil
half clove garlic minced
1 big onion minced
1 big red tomato diced
1/2 kilo of chicken wings or any part you like (i don't prefer chicken breasts coz i find it bland)
3 red hot chillis (espada or siling labuyo)
2.5 cups thin coconut milk
dash of salt and pepper to taste
1/2 tsp MSG or 1 tsp Ginisa Mix
1/4 cup red or green sweet bell pepper diced
1 tbsp chopped chives/sibuyas dahon


Heat oil in wok. Saute garlic and onion, tomato until translucent. Add chicken wings, salt and pepper, MSG and stir-fry for 3 minutes. Add coconut milk and chilli, cover and let it simmer until chicken is tender and the stock has thickened. Turn the heat off then add the sweet bell pepper and chives. Stir well.

Serve with rice. Happy Cookin'

Caution: Very Hot ! =)

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Orange- Rosemary Roast Chicken

My husband has somehow learned to hate chicken. For almost three years, chicken has been a constant sight on his plate since he is working in a pork-prohibited country that even "piglet" in Pooh and Friends is not allowed. He doesn't whine when it comes to food, he eats anything edible, and i mean anything, he is the type that doesn't choose what he puts in his mouth as long as it is edible. He is the type that is so "appreciative" that sometimes i think there's a problem with his tastebuds. hehehe..So, when he told me to cook anything except chicken, I was surprised. He doesn't usually mind what I cook, he would love everything i make for him but this time, he says "NO MORE" to chicken, for just even a month!

This dish I made is for him crossing my fingers that he would change his mind over chicken. :)

Orange- Rosemary Roast Chicken

Ingredients

3 Pieces Chicken Leg
2 tbsp olive oil
1/2 cup orange juice
rosemary leaves (dried or fresh) for this dish i used dried
2 cloves grated garlic
1 tbsp soy sauce
salt and pepper
2 tbsp plain yogurt/sour cream
orange slices for garnish

Marinate the chicken in olive oil, orange juice, rosemary leaves,garlic, soy sauce, sour cream/yogurt, salt and pepper for 2o-30 minutes. Halfway through the marinating process, preheat the oven to 220 degrees.

Arrange chicken in your roasting/baking dish lined with *foil. Bake in 220 degrees for 20 minutes to seal off the juices and to achieve that yummy crisp chicken skin. Reduce the heat to 190 and continue baking the chicken until golden brown (+20 minutes) while basting it with its juices. Five minutes before the time, add the orange slices, enough to caramelize the fruit.

Serve with mixed vegetables in butter.

Happy eating! Cheers!


* Lining your baking dish with foil makes easy clean-up after. Saves you from scrubing you baking tray. ;)

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