Sunday, May 5, 2013

Basmati Coconut Rice with Fried Chicken and Fish Flakes



My love affair with South East Asian cuisine dates back to summer 2003; the day I had my very first taste of the almighty Malaysian Rendang Curry. Remember that scene in Ratatouille when Remy was trying to enhance his brother's palette by using music and fireworks to explain food? Well mine was just like that! Only instead of Remy, it was a fussy Malay chef going "Makan! Makan! You're going to love it!" 

Since then Malaysian, Indonesian and sometimes Thai food have cemented a place in my heart and most importantly in my diet. I hardly go a week without my favourite recipes and if i had my way, i'll totally open a Malay style restaurant in Abuja. Wouldn't that be amazing? It'll be an earthy style, dimly lit space and we'd serve proper Malay curries, Exotic recipes from Ipoh and Melacca. And even Pasar Malam style street food, satays and all the different type of Roti! My fave is Roti Tissue and I have promised myself that one day, I, UmmiBee of Daura, will master the art of Roti Tissue making.

I came up with this recipe when i was craving Nasi Lemak so badly and I wanted something a bit more exciting and filling... so why not take it to the next level? Used Basmati rice and I incorporated the fried chicken into the rice instead of serving separately... In the absence of ikan bilis (fried anchovies) i made fish flakes. Though deep down in my heart, I know nothing can ever replace ikan bilis... *sigh*
Enjoy this straight forward and spicy coconut rice recipe :)

Coconut Rice with Chicken and fish flakes






What goes in!

2 cups of basmati rice
250ml coconut milk
½ kg uncooked chicken
1 medium onion, chopped
1 chilli (atarugu), chopped
½ tsp of cumin
2 cloves of garlic
¼ cup of oil
1 tablespoon crayfish, ground
½ tsp thyme or Rosemary
3 cubes maggi seasoning
Salt and pepper

Fish Flakes (optional)
3 small tilapia fish, beheaded, cleaned
1 cube maggi seasoning
½ tsp chilli powder
A pinch of salt


Here’s how it goes!
                   Wash the basmati rice and soak in water for at least 30 minutes.

                   Place the chicken, maggi seasoning, thyme and some salt into a pot. Add half a litre of water and boil for 30 minutes. Remove the chicken from the pot and reserve the stock.
                   Separately, boil the fish in a pot of 250ml water with the salt and one maggi cube for 10 minutes. Remove and leave the fish to cool.
                   Heat oil in a large pot and fry the pieces of chicken until browned. Remove the chicken and set aside.
                   Add the onions to the oil and stir for abut 3 minutes. Add in the garlic, chilli, cumin and crayfish and stir fry for two minutes.
                   Strain the rice and add it to the pot. Stir fry for 3 minutes until the kitchen is filled with fragrance.
                   Add the coconut milk to the pot. Stir and cover for 2 minutes.
                   Then add the fried chicken and the chicken stock to the pot and cover. Taste, and adjust the seasoning if necessary. Check on it every 5 minutes until the basmati rice is well cooked (in my experience this usually takes 8 – 15 minutes max!). If the water gets used up before the rice is cooked, feel free to add more water, half a cup at a time.
                   Meanwhile, remove all the bones from the fish and shred into tiny pieces with a fork. Heat up 1 tablespoon of oil to a frying pan. When it’s hot enough, add the fish and season with the chilli powder and salt. Stir until it is dry and crispy.
                   Serve the rice and chicken warm and sprinkle the fish flakes generously on each plate. You’re done! Bon appetit.



Wednesday, May 1, 2013

Strawberry Pancakes!

Who doesn’t love good old diner style pancakes, smothered in honey syrup and served up with fresh fruits in season?  Follow this super easy recipe to recreate this warm, timeless favourite!



Before marriage, my relationship with Mr. H was long, long, long distance for like 9 years! So in order to keep the fire alive, we tried as much as possible to include each other in our daily lives for as many hours a day as we could. We’d even try to eat the same meals as much as possible J. One faithful day, I had just had pancake for Iftar and of course, he wanted some too. So I invented this super easy, fail-proof, bachelor-friendly pancake recipe and we’ve been using it since then…
I call it the “Rule of one” 




What goes in
For the pancake base
-          1 large egg
-          1 cup of flour
-          1 cup of milk
-          1 tsp baking powder
-           
-          I call it the “Rule of one”

This is all you need for your fluffy pancake batter. Of course you need to add lots of extras to make it special

Other ingredients
-          3 – 4 tbsp of sugar or splenda
-          ½ tsp of mixed spice or cinnamon powder
-          2 tbsp of Desiccated coconut
-          A tiny drop of butterscotch flavor
-          A pinch of salt


Here’s how it goes

-          Sift the flour, salt, baking powder and cinnamon powder into a big wide bowl
-          Make a well in the middle and crack the egg in
-          In a separate container, dissolve the sugar in the milk
-          Add the butterscotch
-          Combine until a thick runny batter is formed
-          Leave batter to sit for about 5 – 10 minutes
-          With oil or butter, lightly grease a non-stick frying pan and place on medium heat
-          Spoon pancake batter unto frying pan with a ladle
-          After about 1-2 minutes or when bubbles start forming on the back, flip the pancake. The fried side should be a nice brown colour. Fry the bubble side briefly for 30 seconds to 1 minute.
-          Repeat until all the batter is finished




Setting up
-          By now you should have a short stack of hot pancakes. Set aside
-          Wash your strawberries thoroughly and remove the leaves and blemishes (If any).


-          Serve pancakes in stacks. Top with fresh strawberries and a drizzle of syrup or honey.

You can also serve it as a dessert with a scoop of ice cream or a dollop of whipped cream…mmmmmm! #yummz



P.S: How amazing do those strawberries look? My brother bought a whole stash for me from Jos. They are all super fresh and home grown and they are sold in recycled indomie boxes on the highway between Jos and Abuja. Got about 800grams for 500 naira! That’s a bargain considering I get 250 grams of unripe, sour fake ones for 1200naira from Shoprite! Grrrr!
Anyways, enjoy your strawberry pancakes.
Lots of love!
UmmiBee

P.P.S: Have your own special pancake recipe? OR want to try this at home? Please send in your recipes with photos! We all love to share