Balinese Chicken Satay Skewers – Repost from 2017

categories: Bali, Chicken, Travel

Okay, so I was planing on giving you the next instalment of The A-Z of Cooking this week. But, my plans went awry in much the same way as my life seems to be going awry. So Balinese Chicken Satay Skewers it is! Not that I’m complaining (and nor should you be) because I know what is coming up next from the A-Z and believe me, even though I haven’t made it yet? I strongly feel that we are onto a winner, winner chicken dinner with the Balinese Chicken Skewers.

I love chicken satay skewers and have been making these regularly since my return. The recipe provided below is based on the one we learned at Ketut’s Bali Cooking Class in Ubud. Sadly it is not as good. Possibly because it is not cooked in an open air kitchen overlooking rice paddies and cooked over coconut shells:

Nor were the spices hand ground in the traditional way:

Also, the Balinese have about forty types of ginger and here, we have one. However, whilst these won’t absolutely transport you to Bali, they are utterly delicious! How could it not be? I am a big fan of pretty much any meat on a stick. Here, the marinated chicken remains tender and juicy after grilling

And the spicy peanut sauce is a perfect accompaniment. I bought a tiny terracotta Balinese grill, however, I cooked these in the oven. I really like my terracotta friend though!

Here he is again!

Ketut suggested that you serve your chicken satay skewers with white or yellow rice. In the first photo above, I served mine the way my Malaysian friend Aiden serves his – with a very simple salad of cucumber and red onion. Simply stab the tip of the skewer into the cubes of cucumber and onion and then into the sauce. So good!

My favourite way of eating these is in a wrap (more traditionally a roti) with some tomato, cucumber, onion and coriander salad and sprinkled with extra peanuts!

Just looking at these photos is making me want to make them again, right now! So, here’s the recipe!

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Balinese Chicken Satay Skewers

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Perfectly grilled chicken and a spicy peanut sauce is a match made in heaven!

Author: Taryn Fryer

Ingredients

Scale

For The Skewers

500g chicken breast

For The Marinade

3 tbsp chopped shallots
2 tbsp chopped garlic
1 tbsp lime juice
4 tbsp sweet soy sauce
2 tbsp soy sauce
5 tbsp coconut oil
Salt and pepper to taste

For The Peanut Sauce

300g peanuts
3 cloves of garlic
4 shallot cloves
2 tbsp palm sugar
1 tbsp red chilli (more / less to taste)
1 tbsp fresh lime juice
1 tbsp sweet soy sauce
1 cup chicken stock
2 tbsp coconut milk
1 tbsp ginger

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Instructions

For The Chicken

Mix the marinade ingredients together.
If using wooden skewers, soak these in water to prevent them burning.
Cut the chicken into cubes and marinate 15 minutes.
Thread onto skewers.
Grill until browned and cooked through, basting with the leftover marinade.

For The Peanut Sauce

Fry the peanuts until golden brown. Remove from the pan and allow to cool. Drain off most but not all of the oil.
Grind the chillies, garlic, shallots, palm sugar and ginger in a food processor or mortar and pestle until they form a paste. Add the peanuts and grind to a paste again.
Place the peanut paste into a pan. Add the chicken stock and coconut milk.
Add the sweet soy to taste.
Bring to the boil.
Simmer until thick and season with salt and pepper.
Add the lime juice to taste.

Have a wonderful week! I’ll be back, next week possibly with something quixotic and quaint that hopefully will not leave me feeling too queasy!

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02
Nov
2016

Turning Japanese – 1989 Japanese Snack Plate

categories: Chicken & Poultry, Japan, Prawns, Radish, Snacks

Konichiwa dear people o’ the Internet.

Today we are exploring the first part of a two-part series taken from the pages of Vogue Entertaining October / November 1989 with a gorgeous Japanese snack plate.

On the plate today we have Japanese Fried Chicken, Prawn Canapé’s, Radish Canapés, edamame beans, wasabi and mayo! This is so pretty, perfect for a Spring brunch!

The magazine comes from a time when ingenious recipes and inventive ideas may have involved giving your guests a bowl of roses to munch on. Yummy!

Roses aside, we are putting some Spring flavours in full bloom on today’s Japanese snack plate. Just as an aside though, guess which day the J key on my laptop decided to break, meaning it had to be hit about four times harder than all the other keys. The sound track for the writing of this post was tap, tap, tap THUMP tap, tap, tap THUMP.

Minor typing difficulties aside, lets turn our attention to some hors d’œuvres for our Japanese snack plate.

Japanese Stuffed Radishes

Could not be simpler and the crunchy peppery radish is delicious with the salty punch of the caviar. Simply slice your radish down the middle of the stem, then scoop out a small hollow in your radish and fill with caviar. I think nowadays if you were making this you would use tobiko instead of normal caviar but maybe that was readily available in 1989. Come to think of it, I have no idea if it is readily available now!

Stuffed Prawns

Pardon me for having two things stuffed with caviar in this post but seeing as I had to buy it specially, I wanted to get some bang for my buck. Also, if it was good enough for Vogue Entertaining in 1989 its good enough for me!

This is also very tasty with this time a contrast between the sweet prawn meat and the salty caviar. Add a dob of pungent wasabi and some creamy mayo and you have perfection! The original recipe had the prawn heads left on. I took mine off. I just think it is easier to eat with head and shells gone.

It is important to skewer the prawns so they stay straight.

To make these you will need:

12 medium green king prawns
2 tsp salt
25g black caviar

Place a satay stick through the body of each prawn to keep it straight. Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil. Drop the prawns in and cook for 3-5 minutes. Remove from the water and leave to cool.

Remove the satay sticks and remove the heads and shells, leaving the tail. Split the prawns down the back with a sharp knife and remove the digestive tracts. Fill the tract cavity with a little caviar. Repeat.

Soy and Ginger Edamame (loosely adapted from A Moveable Feast by Katy Holder)

These are not from Vogue Entertaining Oct /November 1989 but make a tasty and colourful addition to the snack plate.

200g edamame in pods
1/2 tbsp Japanese rice vinegar
1/2 tbsp light olive oil
1/2 tbsp mirin
1 tsp soy sauce
1 tsp grated ginger
pinch of sugar

Cook the edamame in boiling water for 2 minutes. Drain and refresh under cold water. Pop the beans from their pods. Combine all the other ingredients in a bowl, stirring well to dissolve the sugar. Pour over the edamame and sit for at least an hour to let the flavours absorb. Strain and add to the plate.

Japanese Fried Chicken

I did not make this for the snack plate. We had it for dinner the night before but I made extra so we could have it on the plate. This is so good. Huh…it’s fried chicken, like it was ever going to be bad! This was great hot from the fryer in the evening and also super eaten cold the next day – it was not too greasy like a lot of fried chicken as leftovers and still quite crispy, although it is not a thick southern style coating.

Here’s the recipe!

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Japanese Fried Chicken

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A delicious Japanese take on fried chicken

Author: Taryn Fryer

Ingredients

Scale

500g chicken breast meat, skin on
3 tsp freshly grated ginger
1 clove garlic, chopped finely
1 spring onion chopped finely
2 tsp sesame oil
2 tsp Japanese soy sauce
1 tbsp mirin
1 tsp wasabi paste
1 small dried chilli, chopped
pinch of black pepper
1 egg white, lightly beaten
2/3 cup cornflour
vegetable oil for deep frying
Mayonnaise, wasabi to serve

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Instructions

Cut the chicken into bite sized pieces.
Make a marinade of the ginger, garlic, spring onion, sesame oil, soy sauce, mirin, pepper and chilli.
Marinate the chicken for at least 1 1/2 hours.
Mix eggwhite and cornflour well.
Add the chicken and marinate.
Heat the oil.
Deep-fry spoonfuls of the chicken mixture until golden brown.
Drain onto crushed kitchen paper and keep hot whilst the rest of the mixture is cooked.
To serve, spread on platter with dobs of mayo and wasabi

That’s it from me, have a great week!

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14
Aug
2016

REPOST – Future Classics – Australian Table – August 2001

categories: Australian Table, Berries, Cocktail, Desserts, Duck, Magazines, Rhubarb, Vodka

Remember how I said I had a fab idea for a whole new series of blog posts whilst on holiday? Here’s the thing, along with hundreds of cookbooks, I also have a huge collection of food magazines, most of which sit on shelves in my back room doing nothing. Once a year, I grab a handful of the oldest, take them on holiday and cut out the recipes I want, throw away the magazines, and cook the recipes over the next 12 months.

Currently I have a few mags from the late 1990’s but they are most from the early noughties onwards. So they are not quite but well on their way to becoming formally vintage. My thought on holiday was….”These are the things that will shortly become the vintage recipes of the future. So, instead of ripping them up, I’m going to start cooking from them. Once a month, I’ll revisit one of these magazines, cook a thing or two and decide if these are future vintage classics – or just junk taking up space in my backroom. Here are the early years to 2013:

And here are 2014 to the present day:

so, to start, we are stepping back in time 15 years to the August 2001 edition of Australian Table:

I also thought it might be fun to revisit some of the content of these magazine as well as the recipes, so without further ado, here are the:

Flavours of The Month – August 2001

This section spoke about what was in season. I thought I might give it a little Retro Food For Modern Times Twist!

Sweet Potatoes

Huh….my plan was to insert a recipe or two from the blog. However, apparently I have made nothing with sweet potatoes. I’ll link to some recipes below.

Baby Bok Choy

Or anything with Bok choky. What have I been cooking in for the last four years?

Cumquats

Hooray – Finally!

Click here for my Four Kumquat Canapés For Four Food Heroes recipes

Pineapples

Melbourne Cup Crab and Pineapple Appetizer and MC Cocktail

Pineapple soufflé

Movies of The Month

Oh man. August 2001 was a GOOD month for movies! I would quite happily watch Bridget Jones’s Diary or Along Came a Spider today. I don’t recall ever seeing Evolution but I am definitely putting that to rights, pronto. I know it’s probably a little late with the picky picky however, Australian Table, I would like to point out that the chocolate-voiced, sloe-eyed maverick investigator is actually called Alex Cross. The ACTOR is Morgan Freeman. And what a difference a letter makes. Slow-eyed which I typed at least a dozen times in the above paragraph makes you sound like you should be taking special classes. Sloe-eyed…hello sexy!

Music Of The Month

Well, I guess you can’t have it all. I listened to none of these at the time nor do i have any real desire to seek out any of these. Maybe the Elvis Costello.

The Food

I chose two recipes from an article on fool proof party food starting with:

Vodka with Crushed Limes

These are my flavours…this was so good! Tangy, sweet delicious!

Crispy Duck with Green Scallion Pancakes

No, these are my flavours! Spicy, seductive!

Berry and Rhubarb Crumble

This recipe came from an advertisement for a 3 in one hand blender. Crumble is pretty much already a classic but the addition of rhubarb instead of the more traditional apple? Genius!

Everything I made from this mag was SUPER! My view is that this is a definite future vintage classic!

I hope you’ve enjoyed this little walk down memory lane! I’ll be back in a couple of weeks with a mag from September 2001. I hope it’s as good as this one!

Have a great week!

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27
Feb
2016

REPOST from February 2016 The Dishiest Dish – Poulet Vallée D’Auge

categories: Apples, Books, Chicken & Poultry, Dish of The Week, Dishiest Dish, France

This week’s highlight came from France…from Normandy to be be precise. Or to be even more precise from the the Pays D’Auge. This is apple country and the chicken casserole that is the Poulet Vallée D’Auge contains both apples and Calvados, the apple brandy that is also a specialty of the region.

And if chicken, apples and Calvados aren’t enough for you how about we add a generous dollop of creme fraiche into the mix. Bon Appetit indeed.

We had a bit of a cold snap in the week so this hearty kind of meal was perfect. And for those of you in the Northern hemisphere who are still in the midst of winter, this will warm any, and all,the cockles you have.

The perfect drink to have with this would be a cider, one from Normandy would be perfect! Or maybe a wee glass of that Calvados.

This is a lovely dish and that sauce is divine!

I also made these prawn cakes from the Paleo book. They looked gorgeous but tasted only ok. I felt the restrictions of the Paleo diet really made themselves felt here. Thai food is meant to have that mix of sweet, salt, sour and heat. The recipe as it stood had no sweet in the dipping sauce. It vastly improved after I added some sugar. They do look pretty though!

The Six Week Challenges

No Alcohol

The six weeks of “no” alcohol are nearly over. I had a bit of a set back this week. A friend of mine resigned from work and we arranged to go for doughnuts so he could tell me all about it. And somehow on the way to the doughnut shop we got waylaid by the little bar on the corner. We were halfway through our glass of vino when we started getting messages. “Where are you? The fire alarms are going off. We need to evacuate the building”. I am the fire warden for our office. Can you believe it? I never leave my desk. NEVER. And the ONE time I go off for a sneaky ~~doughnut~~ pinot, the flipping fire alarms go off.

What could we do? They would have grounded the lifts, we weren’t getting back into the building in a hurry. Nothing for it but to have a second glass o’ wine.

Here is the scene of the crime – Dikstein’s Corner Bar,

We had a lovely New Zealand Pinot but ewwww…did I feel seedy afterwards. Totally lethargic, no motivation to do anything except flop on the couch and tune out in front of the telly for the entire evening. I will say more about this challenge when it is over – in just a couple of days. But after yesterday I am seriously evaluating my relationship with booze.

Meditation

Still struggling with this one. I thought this would be so much easier than giving up booze. Not so. I”ll try to lift my game for the last two weeks. And this one can go back on the list for a re-do later in the year.

Flexibility

I’m LOVING this. And after only a week or so in, I am already seeing the difference! I am mixing it up between two different routines – one has a morning routine and an evening routine so if I get up early enough I do that one. If not, there is another where you do one 10 minute workout for the day. Really happy with this one!

The March Challenge

I have not decided what will replace the no alcohol challenge come the first of March.

I am narrowing it down:

Journalling – I used to journal all the time and love it. And I think in some ways that was my meditation. I REALLY want to get back into it.

Candy Crush – MUST. STOP. PLAYING.

Food – I feel I should replace a “food” challenge with another food challenge – I was thinking maybe a month without bread, pasta potatoes. But Jenny has inspired me to do one around food waste.

I will do what I did last month and see what jumps out at me on the morning of the first! Eeeeekkk – can you believe it’s almost March?

Reading

I have given up on The Apologist for my audiobook. I could not get into it. I had previously started Bring Up The Bodies by Hilary Mantell and I have gone back to that.

You can keep your real Housewives…for real scandal and intrigue, give me the Tudors anyday!

But my major discovery this week was this:

Savage Lane by Jason Starr

Savage Lane = Jason Starr

The hot pink cover had me at hello. I like to read dark and this is pitch black! It is also pitch perfect. Nasty, nasty people doing nasty, nasty things. I’m loving it!

Here is the premise:

“Life is sublime in the idyllic suburbs of New York City. Recent divorcée Karen Daily and her two kids have, for the first time in years, found joy as they settle into the close-knit community of Savage Lane. Neighbours, Mark and Deb Berman have been so supportive as she moves on in life: teaching at the local school and even dating again.

But behind the pristine houses and perfect smiles lie dark motives far more sinister than Karen could have ever imagined. Unknown to her, Mark, trapped in his own unhappy marriage, has developed a rich fantasy life for the two of them. And, as rumours start to spread, it seems that he isn’t the only one targetting Karen”

This is the first book of his I have read but I am now keen to read more. And all of his covers from No Exit Press are equally arresting:

Plants

I am going through a phase where I want to fill my house with plants.

Have started following the jungalow. Her instagram is also amazing!

https://www.instagram.com/justinablakeney/

And have been trying to find a local version of these West Elm Planters.

West Elm Mid Century Planters

Now I just have to buy some plants!

That’s about it. I haven’t really done much else this week except work.

On The Menu

Saffron chicken from Persiana
Lamb Kebabs from the A-Z of Cooking with the tomato salad with pomegranate salad also from Persiana….and eeeekkkk. Sabrina has a new book coming out in May! I can hardly wait!
Honeycomb Cheesecake from A Moveable Feast
Sweet Potato cakes with Lemon Chickpeas

Sirocco

That’s about it for me for this week. Except for the recipe for the Poulet Vallée D’Auge – which you can find here.

What are you cooking, reading, doing this weekend? I am planning to take the dogs down to the dog beach for a play.

Have a wonderful weekend whatever you do.

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06
Jan
2016

REPOST – Two Ways With Leftover Chicken

categories: A Moveable Feast, Avocado, Chicken, Chipotle, Leftovers, Lunch, Starters, Vol Au Vent

Happy New Year!

I hope the festivities were wonderful and the champagne was flowing freely!!! The only downside to all the partying is that invariably you end up with a fridge full of leftovers. This year we were inundated with leftover chicken so, if you ever find yourself in the same situation, here are two ways to use it up.

My first leftover chicken recipe uses one of my favourite retro ingredients, the vol au vent shell. (Sorry Glenda, still store-bought!)

And it’s simples – mix up a white sauce add some tarragon, stir in your chicken, fill your vol au vent cups, sprinkle on some cheese and in a couple of minutes you have a super cute little appetizer with which to kick off your next party!

My Chicken and Tarragon Vol Au Vents are based on a recipe I found in a Feast Magazine but can also be found here.

My next take on leftover chicken is a more modern Chicken, Avocado and Chipotle Tortilla which you can serve two ways.

I got this recipe from A Moveable Feast by Katy Holder where it was originally conceived of as a wrap. I made one of these and took it to work (yes, sadly I worked between Christmas and New Year). It was tasty but I am not a fan of the taste of cooked avocado and even putting the wrap into the sandwich press was enough to turn the taste from delicious to awful. If you like cooked avocado, or you want this all to yourself, this could be just the thing for you!

If however, like me you do not like the taste of cooked avocado, or you want to share the deliciousness, turn it into a “pizza”

Heat the tortilla until crispy, sprinkle the chicken, avocado and the chipotle salsa over the top, cut into slices and serve immediately to your guests as an appetizer. (Or eat it all by yourself! I won’t judge you.

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Chicken, Avocado & Chipotle Tortillas

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Two delicious ways with chicken tortillas

Author: Taryn Fryer
Yield: 1 1x

Ingredients

Scale

1 tortilla
1/4 cup chopped leftover chicken
1/4 avocado, roughly chopped
1 small tomato, chopped
1/4 red onion, finely chopped
1/4–1/2 chipotle chilli in adobo sauce (or to taste)
1 sprig of coriander (cilantro), finely chopped
1 tsp lime juice
Salt and Pepper
Toothpick

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Instructions

At least one hour before serving, make your salsa.
Discard the seeds from the tomato, mix with the onion, chilli, coriander and lime juice. Season to taste.
Set aside to allow the flavours to blend.
Just before serving, drain the salsa, neither of these recipes needs soggy tortilla!

For The Pizza

Heat the tortilla under the grill until it gets crispy.
Once the tortilla is crispy, take it out of the oven and top with the chicken, avocado and salsa.
Cut into slices and serve immediately.
Perfect with an ice cold beer!

For the Wrap

Warm the tortilla according to packet instructions, to soften.
Spread a line of chicken, a line of avocado and a line of salsa in the middle of the tortilla, leaving a 2 cm gap on all sides.
Fold in the bottom, rotate 90* and fold over one side then the other.
Tuck the remaining side of tortilla, securing with a toothpick.
Place into your sandwich press or under your grill and heat until the outside of the tortilla is golden and crispy.
Don’t forget to remove the toothpick before eating!

I wish you all the very best for 2016 and may it be the year all your dreams come true! Thank you for reading and commenting and being a part of my teeny corner of the internet. It’s a New Year – Let’s make it wonderful!

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Category: Chicken & Poultry

Balinese Chicken Satay Skewers

Ingredients

For The Skewers

For The Marinade

For The Peanut Sauce

Instructions

For The Chicken

For The Peanut Sauce

Japanese Stuffed Radishes

Stuffed Prawns

Soy and Ginger Edamame (loosely adapted from A Moveable Feast by Katy Holder)

Japanese Fried Chicken

Japanese Fried Chicken

Ingredients

Instructions

Flavours of The Month – August 2001

Sweet Potatoes

Baby Bok Choy

Cumquats

Pineapples

Movies of The Month

Music Of The Month

The Food

Vodka with Crushed Limes

Crispy Duck with Green Scallion Pancakes

Berry and Rhubarb Crumble

The Six Week Challenges

No Alcohol

Meditation

Flexibility

The March Challenge

Reading

Savage Lane by Jason Starr

Plants

On The Menu

Chicken, Avocado & Chipotle Tortillas

Ingredients

Instructions

For The Pizza

For the Wrap