merlion in vancouver recipes

Daddy's "Pad Thai-style" baked chicken

2009-08-28T19:40:00.000-07:00

Fried chicken drumsticks, wings and even drummettes are a favourite of Singaporeans and Malaysians. There are many varieties of fried chicken abundantly available throughout the Malay Archipelago. I thought that I'd try something different for a change and bake chicken with the distinctive flavour of Thailand and try to give and impression that its fried. Children of all ages love this timeless recipe and adults just can't get enough of this.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 lbs of chicken (drumsticks, wings or even drummettes)
3 Tbspns of Fish Sauce
( Asian family is good quality, even Knorrs)
2 tspns of Chilli powder (increase according to taste)
1 whole lime (juice squeezed out and pitts removed)
1/2 tspn of salt (according to taste)
1 Tbspn of tabasco sauce
2 Tbspns of olive oil (or cooking oil)

**NOTE**
The olive oil or cooking oil in the mix, helps to prevent the chicken from sticking to the bottom of the pan or grill

Preparation:

In a large mixing bowl place the cleaned chicken and add the above seasonings. Mix well. The mixture should be bright red in colour but then again it depends on the type of chilli powder that you are using.
The chilli powder can be increased according to taste preferences.
Let sit for a minimum of 3 hours (overnight in the refrigerator is preferable)
Preheat oven at 400 C. I like to use conventional roast but on bake is fine as well.
Place the chicken in a baking tray and bake for 20 mins on one side.
Turn the chicken over on the other side and bake for another 20 mins.
At this point, the chicken is cooked and dark red in colour.
Turn the oven onto grill/or High for another 10 mins turning the chicken over at the 5 min mark or untill the chicken is bright and crispy.

**Serving Suggestion**
Place the chicken on a flat plate on a bed of lettuce.

Prawn (Chemeen) Masala Curry

2009-02-12T15:21:00.000-08:00

Ingredients

2 lb - Prawns, de-shell & de-vein
2 tbsp - Coriander powder
1 to 2 tsp - Red chili powder
1/2 tsp - Turmeric powder
2 to 3 pinches - Hing (asafaetida) powder
6 to 8 - Green chilies, slit in center
1 inch piece - Ginger, grated
4 big pips - Garlic, grated
4 big - Shallots, chopped
1/4 cup - Coconut, cut into small bits
2 sprigs - Curry leaves
1 piece - Kodampuli (the black pulli pieces), or ½ inch Tamarind paste soaked in water
1 cup - Thick coconut milk

Preparation:

Heat oil in a kada (wok), add curry leaves and coconut bits. Then add green chili, ginger, garlic and shallots. Stir and fry for a minute.
Meanwhile in 1/2 cup water, cook kodampuli for a minute in the microwave.
Now add all the powder one by one. Stir, fry and cook the masala for minute. Then add the cleaned prawns, stir and mix well with the masala. Pour in the kodampuli with water and cook the prawns till half done.
Pour in the coconut milk and cook the prawns till the gravy thickens up and the prawns is fully cooked
Garnish with cilantro

Serve with rice, chapati or appam. Can also be eaten with rice.

Grilled Tandoori Chicken

2009-01-25T14:41:00.000-08:00

Ingredients:

1 spring chciken cut into quarters
1 1/2 tbsp lime juice (fresh limes)
Salt to taste
1 cup whipped yoghurt
2 tsp garlic (ground)
2 tsp ginger (ground)
2 tsp coriander powder
2 tsp tomato sauce
2 tsp red chilli / paprika powder
1 tsp cumin powder
2 1/2 tsp tandoori masala powder (Superstore/Save-On Foods)
Oil/ghee(clarified butter) for brushing the bird

Preparation:

Make slanting gashes on the chicken on all sides.
Marinate the chicken in the combined masala for about 4 hours.
Prepare a baking dish and brush the bottom of the dish with a little oil.
Carefully place the chicken pieces in the center of the dish and brush with some ghee on top.
Pour any remaning marinade into the dish and bake in a moderate oven at 375 deg F till the chicken is done and becomes golden brown at the top.
You might have to turn the chicken over a couple of times to get a uniform browning effect.

*** NOTE: You can also bbq-grill the chicken for better effect. ***

Yoghurt and Tamarind Marinated Grilled Chicken

2009-01-24T12:43:00.000-08:00

Ingredients:

¾ cup plain yogurt, stirred
1 Tbsp tamarind paste (available at most Asian grocers)
3 Tbsp finely chopped garlic
¼ cup canola oil
1 ½ Tbsp salt
1 ¼ tsp ground chilli powder or cayenne pepper
1 Tbsp garam masala or ground cumin
2 ¼ lbs boneless chicken thighs (about 6 ounces per serving)
1 lemon, in 6 wedges (optional)

Preparation:

In a large mixing bowl, combine yogurt, tamarind paste, garlic, oil, salt, cayenne and garam masala.
Add chicken thighs and mix well.
Make sure chicken is well covered in the marinade.
Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 4 hours and up to 8 hours.
The longer the chicken marinates, the stronger the flavours will be.
Preheat a grill, barbeque or stovetop cast-iron grill to high heat.
Remember to turn on your exhaust fan if you are grilling on your stovetop, since the cooking process will be smoky.
Grill marinated chicken thighs on one side for about 2 minutes, and then turn over.
Grill the other side for 2 minutes and turn over again.
Grill each side again for 2 minutes, for a total of 4 minutes per side.
Poke the thighs with a knife to be sure they are cooked through.
If the meat is still pink, grill each side for 1 minute more.

*If your tamarind paste has the texture of a fruit smoothie rather than a thick jam, use 2 Tbsp instead of 1 Tbsp.

Egg and Potato Sambal

2009-01-24T12:20:00.000-08:00

Ingredients

Egg - 6
Potato- 2 big
Onion- 1 big
Garlic- 1 inch
Ginger- 1 inch
Turmeric powder- 1/2 tsp
Red Chili Powder- 2 Tspn
Cinnamon stick - 1 stick
Cloves- 4 pc
Cardamom- 2 pcs
Cooking Oil - 3 Tbspn

Instructions:

Boil the eggs and remove the shells. Give four cuts surrounding the eggs with a sharp knife. The cut should not be more then 1/2 cm deep. Mix 1/2 tsp turmeric powder and 1/4 tsp salt.
Cut the potatoes into small cubes (1/2 inch by 1/2 inch). Mix 1/2 tsp turmeric powder and 1/4 tsp salt.
Heat 1/4 cup cooking oil in a pan and deep fry the potatoes. Remove the potatoes when done and then fry the eggs in the same oil. When done keep it aside.
In a separate frying pan (kadai) heat the 3 tbsp oil. Fry the finely sliced onions, grated garlic and grated ginger till golden brown.
Add 1/2 tsp Turmeric powder, 2 tsp Red chili powder. Fry it low heat with adding little water frequently. Do not allow the spices to stick.
When the oil starts rising to the top, add the fried potatoes and eggs.
Then grind the cloves, cinnamon, and cardamom and add it to the eggs.
Add 1/2 cup water.
Bring it to boil and let it then simmer for 10 minutes.

Serve with hot rice, Naan or Paratha

Chilli Chicken Fry (Chicken Fry 55)

2009-01-12T13:03:00.000-08:00

Ingredients:

Boneless Chicken: 500g
1 Egg
1 Tbspn corn flour
2 Tbspn Chilli powder
½ tsp Turmeric powder
salt as needed
7-9 red chilli
1 Tbspn crushed ginger
Oil for frying
1 Tbspn Butter

Preparation:

Cut boneless chicken into small cubes.
Add chilli powder, turmeric powder and salt to chicken.
Mix corn flour and egg properly and add to chicken and mix.
Marinate for 30 minutes.
In a pan heat oil and deep fry chicken cubes until cooked.
Drain the oil and keep aside.
Slice red chillies into half.
Heat another skillet and melt butter and add sliced chillies and finely crushed ginger.
Fry for one minute.
Add fried chicken pieces and fry under medium flame for five minutes or until chicken pieces takes up the flavour of chilli and ginger.
Garnish with chopped cilantro and serve hot.

Tips:

Amount of chilli can be adjusted according to your taste.
Amount of corn flour can be adjusted to make a thin coating on the chicken pieces.If the coating is too thick ,it will not taste as nice.

Mango Pudding

2008-12-23T15:06:00.000-08:00

This is a fabulous recipe for mango pudding. I actually got it from one of my colleagues, Jerry Lum. Jerry always makes this for our office potluck get-togethers. Many have said that it is one of the better mango puddings that they have tasted. I finally managed to get his recipe and tried it (actually my wife did) and it is great. Thanks Jerry!!

Ingredients:

4 pkgs Knox gelatin (each pkg 7 g)
4 cups water (boiled then cooled)
1 and 1/2 cups sugar
1 can 30 oz (750 ml) mango pulp (Alfonso brand, can be bought at Ambika at Victoria Drive or at any SuperStore anywhere)
1 ctn whip cream (500 ml)

Preparation:

Melt 4 pkgs gelatin in 2 cups of water and bring to boil at low heat, stirring constantly.
Add sugar to the gelatin mixture and stir until sugar has melted.
Add the 4 cups of cooled water to the above mixture, then the mango pulp, whip cream and mix well. (Do not whip the whip cream.)
Pour into pan or tupperware.
Let it cool and refrigerate for 8 hours before serving.

**Note**
Our variation included substituting some of the water for coconut milk and also adding jelly squares and pearls at the bottom of the pan before pouring the mixture in.

Chicken Adobo - a Filipino dish

2008-12-13T13:23:00.000-08:00

Ingredients:

3lbs chicken thighs
3/4c white vinegar
1/4c light soya sauce
3 Tbspn dark soya sauce
1/4 tspn peppercorns (crushed)
1/4 tspn salt
3 garlic cloves (chopped or crushed)
½ inch ginger (grated or crushed)
2 bay leaves
1/4 of a medium onion (chopped)

Preparation:

Chop the onion and garlic.
Get out your dark and light soya sauce and vinegar and add the soya sauces and vinegar to the chicken.
Go ahead and toss in those onions and garlic, ginger too.
Next step is to take your salt, ground peppercorns, and bay leaves.
Add the 1/4 tspn peppercorns (crushed), 1/4ts salt and 2 bay leaves to the pot.
Mix it all up very well.
Cover it. We need to let this marinate for 1-3 hours.
When cooking add the mixture into a pot (medium heat) and bring it up to a boil
Reduce the heat to low and let it all simmer for about 40 minutes (or until the chicken is thoroughly cooked.)
Serve in a bowl with some of the sauce.

Ideal sidedishes are steamed rice, and veggies. That's all there is to making chicken adobo. I hope you all enjoy this simple Filipino dish.

Butter Chicken - Quick n' Easy

2008-11-30T16:23:00.000-08:00

OK, here it is. Something that all of you have been asking for.
The best quick and easy way to make butter chicken and you will be surprised at how good it tastes as well. Let me know what you think...

Ingredients:

4 chicken breasts (boneless)- cubed into small pieces
1 medium sized shallot (minced or sliced thin and small)
6 pips of garlic (minced or sliced thin and small)
1 inch of ginger (minced or sliced thin and small)
1 can of tomato paste (Hunts)
500 ml of cream (I use half and half so its less fatty)
4 tablespoons yoghurt (plain)
3 tablespoons ketchup
3 tablespoons Tandoori Masala (you can add more if you want-makes it more spicy) – (Save on Foods)
1 tablespoon Garam Malasa (optional as this is spicy) – (Save On Foods)
2-3 tablespoons of cooking oil
Salt/Pepper to taste

Method:

Take the 4 chicken breasts (boneless)- cubed into small pieces and mix well with the yoghurt, ketchup, Tandoori Masala ,the Garam Masala (optional) and some pepper and salt.
Let this sit for an hour ( the longer it is kept aside, the better it will taste later)
Bake for about 20 minutes at 350 degrees F.
While the chicken is being baked, add a couple tablespoons of oil to a flat saucepan or pot and fry the shallots, garlic and ginger until light brown.
Add the can of Tomato Paste to the pot and mix well.
Once it is all mixed, add the cream and stir well untill thoroughly mixed.
Once chicken breasts are cooked (above)...add to the cream paste mixture and let it simmer about 20 minutes
Add more salt, pepper etc... if needed.
If you want it thicker, let it simmer longer...or add water to thin it down.
Garnish with cilantro leaves (optional)

Tip:

This is best with chapatis, naan or even Toasted French Bread baguette slices. Of course eaten with rice is the way to go. Enjoy.

Singapore-style Sambal Chicken

2008-11-25T15:37:00.000-08:00

Ingredients:

10 chicken drumsticks (with or w/o skin)
Dry red chillies - 10 pcs
Tomato - 1 large
Onion(large)/yellow cooking onions - 2 (chopped into fine slices)
Small onion/shallots - 2
Garlic pods - 2 pips
Salt - As reqd
Curry leaves - A few
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
Chilly powder - 3 tbspns or as reqd
Cooking oil - 5 tsp
Oil for frying

Preparation:

Marinate chicken with chilli powder, turmeric powder and salt.
Soak dry red chillies in water for sometime so that it will be easy to grind.
Grind together tomato, shallots, garlic and soaked dry red chillies.
Heat oil in a pan.
Fry chicken, till golden brown on a medium heat. Keep it aside.
Heat up the remaining oil in the pan.
Add onion, till it becomes translucent.
Add curry leaves.
Add the ground ingredients along with very little water.
Allow the contents to boil.
When it boils and when the gravy is about to thicken lightly, add the fried chicken and let it simmer.

***NOTE***

You can also bake (instead of frying) the chicken if you are health conscious
Add more salt if required.

Sambal long beans

2008-11-21T14:57:00.000-08:00

Ingredients:

dried shrimps
dry/fresh red chilis
shallots
garlic
sambal belacan
Long beans
Salt to taste
Sugar to taste (optional – Malay style)

Preparation:

Pounded above ingredients till coarse paste formed
Snap/cut the long beans into 1 inch length
Fry the pounded ingredients with the sambal belacan till dark mixture is formed
Add the long beans and sautee till mixed with pound ingredients
Add salt to taste.

***Serve with white steamed jasmine rice***

Chicken - Pepper style

2008-11-20T15:54:00.000-08:00

Ingredients:

Chicken- 500 gms small pieces with bones
Black pepper freshly ground- a bit coarse
Onion - 1 chopped finely
Tomato-1 soft and ripe one
Chopped coriander leaves
Curry leaves
Ginger and garlic paste-1 1/2 tspn smooth paste
Salt to taste
Turmeric a pinch
Cooking Oil
a little vinegar for a tangy taste.

Method:

Heat oil and when hot, add the onions and fry well till golden brown
Then add in the ginger and garlic paste
Sprinkle water to avoid burning
Then add in tomatoes, and curry leaves
Add turmeric powder, and pepper powder as per your taste( if you desire it very hot then you can be liberal with the pepper powder)
Then add in salt and mix well
The tomatoes should become soft and smashed
You should see the oil come to the surface and it should look dark in colour, not too black
Add the chicken pieces and very little water just sufficient to cook the chicken
At the end when the chicken is done, add little vinegar if you desire a tangy taste
Add in the coriander leaves and stir well
You can remove the pepper chicken masala with a little gravy or let it get a bit dry
Serve it hot and enjoy.

Tip:
If you require more gravy then increase the onions and tomatoes and add in a little paste of cashewnuts finely ground, when the masala is frying.

Stir-fried Bok Choy

2008-11-20T15:35:00.000-08:00

Ingredients:

1 lb bok choy
1 Tbs. peanut oil
1 small onion (shallot) minced
2 garlic cloves, minced (more if you like)
2 jalapeno chilies, minced, or 2 tsp. dried red pepper flakes (optional)
1 Tbs. grated fresh ginger
3/4 cup roasted cashews
3 Tbs. hoisin sauce (optional)
2 tsp. Asian dark sesame oil

Preparation:

Cut off the stems off the bok choy (white part only)
Separate the bok choy branches and cut away.
Wash the stems and leaves and dry them.
Heat the peanut oil in a wide skillet or wok over medium heat and stir in the onion, garlic, and chilies or pepper flakes.
Stir for 5 minutes or until the onion starts to turn translucent.
Stir in the ginger and the cashews, turn the heat up to high, and add the bok choy stems.
Stir or toss over high heat for 5 minutes.
Stir in the hoisin sauce (optional), sesame oil, and soy sauce and cook for 1 minute more.

Note:
If the bok choy is swimming around in a lot of liquid this sometimes happens if your stove isn't hot enough to quickly boil down the liquids to a glaze- take the bok choy out of the pan with a slotted spoon and boil down the liquids in the pan until there are only about 2 Tbs of thick glaze remaining. Put the bok choy back in the pan, stir for a minute to coat it, serve immediately.

Beef Stroganoff - home made style

2008-11-15T14:31:00.000-08:00

Origin of Beef Stroganoff:
Beef Stroganoff debuted in Saint Petersburg, Russia. A chef, Charles Briére in the employ of the rich and powerful Stroganoff family entered his recipe for beef stroganoff in a competition, 'L'Art Culinaire' in 1891 and won first prize. This original recipe had beef, mushrooms and sour cream, just as in today's version. Legend has it that his patron Count Pavel Alexandrovich Stroganoff had lost all his teeth and his chef had designed this recipe to overcome the Count's handicap.

Ingredients:

1½ pounds (600 gm) lean sirloin beef steak
6 - 8 white button mushrooms, sliced
3 medium onions chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups (500 ml) beef stock
5½ ounce (156 ml) can of tomato paste
1½ cups (375 ml) sour cream
3/4 tsp Worcestershire sauce
2 tbsp (30 ml) flour
3 tbsp (45 ml) olive oil
salt & pepper to taste
1 handful parsley, chopped
Hot cooked fettuccine noodles

Preparation:

Trim excess fat from the beef and cut into 1/2" x 2" ( 1 cm x 5 cm) strips across the grain of the meat.
Coat the beef strips with the flour and worcestershire sauce and let sit.
Season with salt and pepper.
Heat a large frying pan until very hot, add the oil and cook the beef strips quickly - cooking in about three batches so that it fries and doesn't start to stew (you want to cook the beef quickly, browning on each side, so the pot needs to be hot).
Add the onion and continue to cook a few minutes more, then add the garlic and mushrooms.
Add the tomato paste and the beef stock and , mix well, bring to a boil and continue to simmer.
Pour the sour cream to the pan, stirring well.
Do not allow to boil but maintain the temperature until pasta and side dishes are ready.
When serving, sprinkle with the parsley.

Kerala Style - Coconut Chicken Curry

2008-10-18T15:10:00.000-07:00

Have you ever tasted this coconut chicken curry? This special dish is typically from Kerala - God’s Own country. So you can feel the variety while having this Curry

Ingredients:

1/4 cup whole unsalted cashews
1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch pieces
Salt To Taste
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/4 tsp black mustard seeds
1/4 tsp cumin seeds
1/4 tsp ground coriander
1 tbsp curry powder
1 medium onion, thinly sliced
1 tsp finely grated fresh ginger
1 garlic clove, minced
1 (14 ounce) can unsweetened coconut milk
1/4 cup frozen peas
2 tbsp chopped cilantro

Method:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Spread the cashews in a pie plate and bake for 5 minutes, or until fragrant and lightly toasted.
Transfer to a plate to cool.
Lightly season the chicken with salt. In a large, deep skillet, heat 3 tablespoons of the oil until smoking.
Add the chicken and cook over moderately high heat until golden brown, about 1 1/2 minutes per side.
Transfer the chicken to a plate and reduce the heat to moderate.
Add the remaining 1 tablespoon of oil to the skillet and heat until smoking.
Add the mustard seeds and cook for about 1 minute, or until they stop popping. Add the cumin seeds, coriander and curry powder, and cook, stirring occasionally, until fragrant, about 1 minute.
Add the onion, ginger and garlic, and cook until the onion softens, about 10 minutes; if the mixture seems dry, add up to 1/4 cup of water to prevent sticking.
Stir in the coconut milk and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low.
Return the chicken to the skillet and simmer until cooked through, about 5 minutes.
Stir in the peas and cook for 1 minute.

Transfer the coconut chicken curry to a bowl, sprinkle with the cilantro and cashews and serve.

Korean Bulgoki (with beef short ribs)

2008-09-06T13:10:00.000-07:00

Ingredients:

3 lbs Beef short ribs
2 – 3 bulbs shallots (finely chopped)
½ cup cilantro (finely chopped)
3 cloves garlic (finely ground)
1 inch ginger (finely ground )
1 Tbspn ground black pepper
light soya sauce to taste
brown sugar to taste
1 Tbspn rice wine (not the vinegar!!!)
2 tspn sesame oil
sprinkling of sesame seeds

Preparation:

Marinate the beef short ribs with the above mixture for a minimum of 4-6 hours (preferably overnight) and then barbeque over low heat untill done to your liking.