I wanted to cook something “wholesome” for family dinner on Sunday – something which the whole family could enjoy and something I hadn’t cooked before — and something which would go with Focacia and brocolli soup – so I asked my AI helper and this was the result!!

It was really great and everyone enjoyed it so m uch, I just had to add it to my collection.

Ingredients:

• 225 g penne pasta
• 450 g chicken tenders
• 30 ml olive oil
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 240 ml heavy cream
• 120 ml chicken broth
• 50 g grated Parmesan cheese
• 5 ml (1 tsp) Italian seasoning (or mix 1 tsp each dried oregano, basil, thyme, ½ tsp each rosemary, parsley)
• 100 g fresh broccoli florets
• Salt, to taste
• Black pepper, to taste

Directions:

1. Cook 225 g penne pasta in a pot of boiling salted water until al dente, adding 100 g fresh broccoli florets in the last 2 minutes of cooking. Drain and set aside.
2. Season 450 g chicken tenders with salt and pepper. In a large skillet, heat 30 ml olive oil over medium heat. Cook tenders for 4 minutes per side until golden and internal temperature reaches 74°C. Remove, slice thinly, and set aside.
3. In the same skillet, sauté 1 minced garlic clove for 30 seconds until fragrant. Add 240 ml heavy cream, 120 ml chicken broth, 50 g grated Parmesan, and 5 ml Italian seasoning. Simmer for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the sauce thickens.
4. Add the cooked pasta, broccoli, and sliced chicken to the skillet. Toss to coat evenly in the sauce.
5. Taste and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper if needed.

Serves: Approximately 4 people (100-120 g cooked pasta and 100-120 g chicken per portion).

INGREDIENTS

For the chicken patties:
Chicken mince
1 egg
1/3 medium sized onion, chopped
Fresh coriander leaves, chopped
Cumin powder
Grated parmesan cheese
Salt and pepper to taste

Breadcrumbs
Canola oil for frying

For the sauce:
1 box of button mushrooms, sliced
2/3 medium onion, chopped
6 – 7 garlic, minced
Stems of coriander leaves, chopped
Fresh basil leaves
Balsamic vinegar
1 can stewed chopped tomatoes
Chicken cube
Water
Olive oil

DIRECTIONS

Beat the egg, add all the other ingredients except the chicken mince. Mix well and taste if desired. Add the chicken mince and mix well using your hands. Add a little flour if necessary.

Form into 40 gm rough balls then roll in breadcrumbs to form a round or square patty shape. Fry in shallow oil over medium heat until golden brown.

Prepare the sauce while the patties are cooking.

Heat olive oil and sauté the onions and garlic. When soft, add coriander stems then after a while add the mushrooms and cook till soft. Add the balsamic vinegar and cook through. Add the chopped tomatoes, basil, chicken cube  and the water. Cook until the liquid dries  and taste for salt. Add more water to get the desired amount of sauce, heat through and remove from heat.

To serve, pour sauce into a deep casserole dish, arrange patties on top. Great with a salad or some brown rice.

But when you’re thousands of miles away from home, you just have to cook it!  Not that people don’t cook these dishes at home in Malaysia, they do (well, maybe except for roti canai which is easily bought frozen) especially at the weekend.

Having lived away from home all these years, I’ve been on a mission to continually perfect my own rendition of chicken rice which had no recipe really ?. So I learned to cook it the way my mum did…And my mum’s chicken rice is  simply THE best! It is so good I can eat it on its own!” Sounds almost like the Malaysian radio commercial for Gardenia bread!

Hainanese chicken rice usually comes “steamed” or “roasted” and since I’m not at all fond of the steamed version, my recipe here is for the roasted chicken. 

INGREDIENTS

For the chicken soup
Chicken bones from 1 chicken carcass
5cm chunk of ginger
2 cloves garlic
1.5 litres water

For the chicken rice
2 cups (rice cooker cup) jasmine rice
1/4 medium-sized onion or 4 shallots
2 cloves garlic
1.5 cm chunk of ginger
1 tbsp Canola oil
5cm long cinnamon stick
1 Maggi chicken cube

For the roast chicken
1 kg whole chicken
1 tbsp ginger juice
1 tbsp dark soya sauce
2 tsp honey
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp white pepper powder
1/2 tsp 5-spice powder (optional)
Canola spray oil

For the chilli sauce
6 red chillies
3 cm chunk of ginger
2 cloves garlic
1/2 tsp salt

Garnishing
A sprig of spring onions
A bunch of fresh coriander leaves
Cucumber
Lettuce

DIRECTIONS

Marinade the chicken
Remove excess skin at the neck and bottom of the chicken and cut into quarters. Wash well and drain. Prick with a fork all over, then dry with a paper towel. Place all the marinade ingredients in a bowl and mix well. Taste the marinade for salt then add the chicken quarters to the bowl and rub the marinade all over. Cover the bowl with cling film and set aside in the fridge to marinade for at least an hour.

Prepare the chicken soup
Wash the chicken bones and place in a pot with the water. Peel the ginger and garlic and smash with the sides of a large knife. Add to the pot of water and chicken bones. Bring to the boil on high heat, then let it simmer for 20 to 30 minutes. Remove from heat and let stand.

Prepare the chilli sauce
Wash the chillis, cut into 3 cm pieces and boil in 1 cup of water until chilli turns orangey. Drain and set aside. Peel the ginger and garlic and slice into small pieces. Place boiled chillis, ginger, garlic and salt into a container, add 1/2 cup of the chicken soup prepared earlier and blend using a hand blender until fine. Set aside.

Prepare the roast chicken
Preheat the oven at 180C. Spray Canola oil onto a baking dish. Remove chicken from the fridge and arrange the chicken quarters onto the dish spreading any marinade left in the bowl all over the chicken pieces. Spray the tops of the chicken with Canola oil. Roast in the oven for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, turn the chicken pieces around and roast for a further 15 – 20 minutes till brown and crispy but not burnt. Turn again and roast for a further 5 minutes. Remove from oven and let stand for 10 minutes covered in foil.

Prepare the chicken rice
While the chicken is in the oven, prepare the rice. Wash the rice under the tap to remove as much of the starch as possible. Drain and leave in colander to dry. Peel the onions or shallots, garlic and ginger. Slice the onion and garlic thinly lengthwise and julienne the ginger. Heat the oil in a non-stick pot. When hot, fry the cinnamon then add the sliced onions, garlic and ginger. Fry on medium heat till fragrant and the onions brown. Add the washed rice and fry till the rice is covered in the oil. At this point I usually just touch the edge of a knife in the Paella seasoning (basically saffron powder) then dip it in the rice to get a lovely light yellow colour. Add 3 cups (rice cooker cup) of the chicken soup prepared earlier and one Maggi chicken cube. Mix everything well and let the rice cook on medium heat. Taste for salt when most of the liquid is gone and add salt if necessary according to your taste. Turn the fire to low and insert a heat diffuser between the pot and and the gas fire to cook the rice slowly until all the liquid is dry without burning it.

TO SERVE
Cut each chicken quarter into two or three pieces and arrange on a bed of lettuce. Garnish on the side with sliced cucumbers and top with fresh coriander.

Add salt and pepper to the soup and serve with diagonal slices of spring onions.

Serve the rice, roast chicken and soup hot with chilli sauce on the side.

I knew I wanted to marinade quartered chicken pieces and grill them so I was very patient as I did my search. I didn’t have much time if I was going to make this for dinner.

This recipe from Kimba’s Kitchen was perfect. My chicken pieces were already defrosted and drained so I had enough time to marinade it for around 2 hours. The result was amazing – the chicken was crisp on the outside and succulent and tasty on the inside, not dry at all. Next time though, I will marinade it overnight and it should be much more sumptuous!

INGREDIENTS
1 kg whole chicken cut into quarters, with skin and bone
3 tsp minced garlic
2 tsp grated ginger
2 tsp chilli flakes
2 tbsp dried parsley
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Juice of 1/2 lemon
Salt to taste
1 tbsp Nando’s Hot Peri Peri Sauce (optional, for that extra “kick”)
Spray Canola

I also added 1 tbsp of the amazing Lea & Perrins’s garlic sauce.

DIRECTIONS
To make the marinade, combine the garlic, ginger, chilli flakes, parsley, olive oil and lemon juice. Stir to mix thoroughly. Add salt and taste.

Dry the chicken pieces using a couple of sheets of kitchen paper and place in a bowl. Prick them with a fork all over. Add the marinade and rub onto the chicken pieces generously. Cover the bowl and seal with glad wrap. Leave to marinate in the fridge for at least 2 hours, preferably overnight.

When the chicken is ready to be cooked, preheat oven to 200C or 180C fan forced. Spray the surface of a baking dish with spray cooking oil, place the chicken pieces onto the baking dish, and lightly brush the surface of the chicken skin with Nando’s Hot Peri Peri Sauce if desired. Spray the surface of the chicken skin lightly with the spray cooking oil.

Place baking dish into the oven and cook for approx. 35-40 minutes. The chicken is done when a metal prick inserted reveals clear liquid. If desired to get a more crispy skin, place under a the grill for around 5 minutes.

Serve hot with chips and salad, grilled or steamed vegetables or a rice pilaf.

I serve my chicken curry with anything – steaming hot white rice, roti canai (paratha) or roti jala (“lacey pancakes”). I love it as an everyday meal, during Eid or other special occasions when I have a gathering.

INGREDIENTS
Serves 6 – 8 

2 kg chicken, cut into pieces (we like it skin off)
1 medium-sized onion (140 gms)
6 cloves garlic
5 cm fresh ginger
3 tbsp curry powder
2 tsp chilli powder (optional)
2 – 3 large potatoes
1 piece tamarind
Thick “santan” (coconut milk) made with 45 gms coconut powder and 1 1/2 cups water
Thin “santan” made with 45 gms coconut powder and 2 1/4 cups water
1 tsp salt

5 cardamom
2 pieces cinnamon approx 2” long
2 star anise
6 cloves
2 sprigs curry leaves
Vegetable oil

DIRECTIONS

Wash the chicken and drain. Peel the potato and cut into 4 cm chunks. Soak in water.

Cube the onion and garlic and slice the ginger then use a blender to blend them. Add a tablespoon of water if necessary. Add the curry powder and chilli powder to the blended ingredients and mix well into a thick paste. Prepare the thin and thick “santan” and put aside.

Heat enough oil to cover the bottom of a non-stick pot and fry the dry spices and curry leaves. When fragrant add the curry powder and blended ingredients and mix well. Add a little water and mix as its frying.

When most of the liquid is gone, add one third of the thin santan and the chicken. Stir well to make sure the chicken pieces are well-coated with the curry mixture and let this cook till aromatic and “oily”. Add the rest of the thin santan, mix well and bring to the boil on medium heat. Lower the heat, add the salt and let it simmer till the chicken is tender.

In a separate pot, boil the potatoes until tender, drain and put it aside.

When chicken is tender, add the thick santan and tamarind and bring to the boil, then remove from heat. The curry should “pecah minyak” i.e. have a coating of oil on top – see photo above.

* This is where I use my little trick: instead of boiling on the hob, I transfer to a pyrex dish, cover and cook in microwave at high for 4 mins to get a perfect finish.

Add the cooked potatoes and let the curry stand for at least 15 minutes before serving. The longer the better.

I serve my chicken curry with anything – steaming hot white rice, roti canai (paratha) or roti jala (“lacey pancakes”). I love it as an everyday meal, during Eid or other special occasions when I have a gathering.

INGREDIENTS
Serves 2 – 3 

1 kg chicken, cut into pieces (we like it skin off)
1/2 medium-sized onion (70 gms)
3 cloves garlic
2 1/2 cm (1”) fresh ginger
1 1/2 tbsp curry powder
1 tsp chilli powder (optional)
1 large potato
1 piece tamarind
Thick “santan” (coconut milk) made with 25 gms coconut powder and 3/4 cup water
Thin “santan” made with 25 gms coconut powder and 1 1/4 cup water
1/2 tsp salt

3 cardamom
1 piece cinnamon approx 2” long
1 star anise
3 cloves
1 sprig curry leaves
Vegetable oil

DIRECTIONS

Wash the chicken and drain. Peel the potato and cut into 4 cm chunks. Soak in water.

Cube the onion and garlic and slice the ginger then use a blender to blend them. Add a tablespoon of water if necessary. Add the curry powder and chilli powder to the blended ingredients and mix well into a thick paste. Prepare the thin and thick “santan” and put aside.

Heat enough oil to cover the bottom of a non-stick pot and fry the dry spices and curry leaves. When fragrant add the curry powder and blended ingredients and mix well. Add a little water and mix as its frying.

When most of the liquid is gone, add one third of the thin santan and the chicken. Stir well to make sure the chicken pieces are well-coated with the curry mixture and let this cook till aromatic and “oily”. Add the rest of the thin santan, mix well and bring to the boil on medium heat. Lower the heat, add the salt and let it simmer till the chicken is tender.

In a separate pot, boil the potatoes until tender, drain and put it aside.

When chicken is tender, add the thick santan and tamarind and bring to the boil, then remove from heat. The curry should “pecah minyak” i.e. have a coating of oil on top – see photo above.

* This is where I use my little trick: instead of boiling on the hob, I transfer to a pyrex dish, cover and cook in microwave at high for 4 mins to get a perfect finish.

Add the cooked potatoes and let the curry stand for at least 15 minutes before serving. The longer the better.

They are really nice as an appetiser or even as a main meal with a salad. Its also not a bad dish for a small party at home…although it can get messy with the bones and the messy fingers!

Its not a hard dish to make but you might find this a bit too spicy or too sour! Obviously once you have tried making it using this recipe, you can fine tune it by playing around with the hot sauce and vinegar to suit your own taste buds!

INGREDIENTS
20 pieces chicken wings
Celery sticks
Canola oil for frying

For the hot sauce:
30 gms butter
200 ml hot sauce
1 tbsp garlic sauce
1 tsp white vinegar
1/4 tsp paprika

For the dip:
10 gms blue cheese
100 gms mayonnaise

DIRECTIONS

Cut the wings into 2 segments at the joint and clean them thoroughly. Drain all the water and pat each wing segment dry. Lay them on paper towels on a plate and allow them to come to room temperature. Pat them dry again with more paper towels. The goal here is to get the wings as dry as possible.

In deep fryer or in small saucepan, preheat oil to 350 degrees F.

Fry the chicken wings covered for 10 to 15 minutes or until they are cooked through and golden brown. Remove from pan onto a plate covered with paper towels to drain the oil.

Discard the oil and wipe the pan clean. Heat the butter, and when melted add the hot sauce, garlic sauce and paprika. Mix well and cook on low heat for a while allowing the sauce to reduce. Then add the vinegar and mix well. Taste for salt and add if required.

Switch off the heat and add the wings back to the sauce. Mix them in the sauce ensuring they are well covered with the sauce. Turn onto serving dish.

To prepare the dip, place the blue cheese and mayonnaise in a small bowl and mix well.

Serve the buffalo wings with the dip and celery sticks.

Whatever it is, every one has her own way of preparing it so it does not really matter if its a Malaysian dish or an Indonesian dish.

Its a very adaptable dish..when I want to eat it carb free, I omit the potatoes in the meat patties and of course the rice cakes or noodles.

One of the ingredients in this dish is ketupat or nasi impit (compressed rice cubes), you must make these the night before and keep in the fridge.

INGREDIENTS

Chicken soup:
300 gms chicken bones
300 gms chicken breast
4 cm cinammon stick
1 star anise
2 cardamoms
10 black peppercorns
1 tsp coriander powder
3/4 tsp cumin powder
1/2 tsp fennel powder
5 cm ginger, peeled and crushed
4 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
1 Maggi chicken cube
1 litre water

Beef patties:
300 gms potatoes (optional for low-carb)
300 gms low-fat minced beef
Salt and pepper to taste
1 large egg
4 tbsp fried onions
Spray oil for frying

300 gms bean sprouts
2-3 sprigs spring onions
2-3 springs flat celery if desired
Crispy fried onions
5-6 bird chillies
1 tbsp thick soya sauce
2 tbsp water

DIRECTIONS

1. Prepare the soup:
   Clean the chicken bones, remove any skin or fat. In a heavy pan, place all the ingredients and the chicken bones (not the chicken breast) and bring to a slow boil. Continue cooking for 30 minutes until the soup tastes of all the flavours of the spices and the chicken. Add the chicken breast and cook again on the slow fire until the soup is clear again and the chicken breast is cooked. Remove chicken breast and let cool.
2. Prepare the beef patties (“pegedil”):
   If using potatoes in the beef patties, clean and boil them. When cool, peel and mash them in a bowl. Add the minced beef, fried shallots, salt and pepper and mix well. Lightly beat the egg in another bowl, add to the mixture and mix well. Heat a pan, spray with a little oil. Form small balls with about 2 tbsp of the mixture and then flatten to look like a burger. Cook on medium fire until both sides are well-done. Place in a serving dish.
3. Shred the cooked chicken breast following the natural grain of the chicken. Place in serving dish.
4. Cut the ketupat / nasi impit into cubes.
5. Wash the bean sprouts and tail them if necessary and blanch in boiling water. Drain and place in serving dish.
6. To prepare the hot chilli condiment, use a pestle and mortar to crush the bird chillies. Place in a small bowl and add the soya sauce and water.

To serve Aoto Ayam:

In a bowl, place a few pieces of ketupat, some beansprouts, beef patties and shredded chicken. Pour hot chicken soup over it generously, sprinkle some fried onions, spring onions and celery and top off with the spicy chilly condiment.

Anyhow, the chicken cooked this way not only smells good, it tastes really good. Now I need to figure out how to keep the chicken from getting dry. There must be a way…

By the way, the best Caesar Salad of all time is at the Terrace Grill in the Marriott Hotel in Kuwait. They make it right in front of you and it is simply sumptuous!

INGREDIENTS
Serves 4 

400 gms Romaine lettuce, cleaned and cut
4 skinless boneless chicken breast halves
Fresh Parmesan cheese, sliced

Cajun Chicken Marinade:
1 teaspoon Cajun seasoning
1 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon oregano
Juice of 1/2 lemon
Drizzle olive oil
Salt to taste

Combine everything in a bowl and taste for salt. Make some cuts across the chicken breasts so the marinade penetrates. Mix chicken breasts with the marinade and place in an airtight bag overnight for extra spicy flavour. Otherwise at least an hour will be fine.

Grill 15 minutes each side then remove to cool. Slice and put aside.

Caesar Dressing:

4 tbsp light mayonnaise
1 tbsp white vinegar
1 clove garlic, minced
2 tbsp grated Parmesan cheese
1 tsp anchovy paste (comes in a tube) or 4 – 5 anchovies without the oil
Salt to taste

To prepare the dressing, mix everything using a fork. Taste for salt. Add 2 – 3 tbsp water and mix well.

To serve the salad:

Mix the salad with dressing and put in individual plates. Arrange Parmesan and chicken slices. And serve!

This is a great way to fry chicken. The longer you marinade, the better the taste. And its great with white rice, beriyani rice or tomato rice. Even nasi lemak.

The best part of the chicken is the crispy stuff that made up the marinade…mmm so crunchy!

INGREDIENTS

1 chicken, skin off

1/2 medium sized onion

3 cloves garlic

2” ginger

4 lemon grass

2 tbsp curry powder

2 tbsp thick soya sauce

2 tbsp honey (optional)

Salt to taste

Oil for frying

DIRECTIONS

Cut the chicken into small pieces (like you would make a curry), wash well and drain.

Cut the onion, garlic, ginger, and lemon grass into cubes and blend everything. Do not use any water. Add the curry powder, soya sauce and honey (if using) and mix well. Add salt to taste.

Mix well with the chicken pieces, place in a bowl and leave in refrigerator to marinade overnight.

To fry, heat oil (not as much as for deep frying) and pour everything into the pan and let it fry on medium heat till chicken is cooked and the marinade crispy.