Hoi An Chicken Rice

The link to the original recipe was given to me by a friend who we call Chibura Hakkai.  This is a pseudonym and she has a proper name of course, but I'd have to ask her for permission before publishing it.  

There has been some discussion as to whether this is actually Hainanese Chicken or a derivative of it. However, a little research tells me that the Vietnamese do make Hainan Chicken (Com Ga Hai Nam), so let's assume that Hoi An Chicken is just a different recipe.

Hoi An Chicken

Serves 4 (?)  

Ingredients

1 Whole Chicken*

2 Cups Round Grain White Rice (I used Spanish round grain rice which is geared for making paella, which means it absorbs flavors and aroma well)

1 Red Onion 

1 Clove Garlic (Minced)

1 Lime

0.2 g Saffron (in powder format)

Mint 

Salt

Pepper

*Don't buy a chicken so big that you don't have a pot big enough for it to fit in. So go for small, rather than big.  You will also be sorry if there is too much chicken because how are you going to ever finish eating it?

Step 1: Buy a whole chicken and cover it with water and simmer it for 1.5 hours.  

Step 2:  While this is simmering, wash the rice for around 30 seconds, and set it aside.  I'm assuming you know how to wash rice, but you need to get rid of the first batch of water quickly so that the rice doesn't absorb any unpleasant smells or flavors.  Just keep using more water, drain and repeat.  The water should be pretty clear when you're finished.  It doesn't have to be crystal clear.  Set aside.

Step 3:  Make the sauces, if you can call them that.  There are 2 sauces:

Sauce 1.  Thinly slice a red onion and marinate this with 1 tsp brown sugar, 1 tsp fish sauce and 1 tsp lime juice.

Sauce 2.  1 tbsp brown sugar, 1 tbsp fish sauce and 1 tbsp lime juice, 1 green or red chili chopped up unseeded.

The sauces should be made and chilled in the refrigerator.

Step 4:  When the chicken is cooked, remove it from the water and set aside.  Let it drain a bit over the broth as you don't want to waste any of it. 

Step 5:  Measure as much broth as the rice.  In this case you need 2 cups of broth. Add this to the rice in either your rice cooker or pot.  Add 1 tsp sea salt.

Step 6:  If you're cooking it in a pot, put the lid on and set your stove top to high heat and wait for steam.  At the first signs of steam, lower the heat mark from 7 (maximum) to 3 (low heat).  Set your timer to 17 minutes.  Never remove the lid to see how the rice is doing as it will ruin it.  

Step 7:  When the timer rings, your rice will be ready.  Remove the lid and place a towel or cloth in between the lid and pot to regulate moisture levels, among other things.

Step 8:  Shred the chicken with your hands or in whatever way you want to.  If you are one of those people excessively afraid of bacteria or just disgusted by people who touch food with their hands, then well....do it in another way.  It's a free world.

Step 9:  Serve this on a dinner plate with rice on one side and the shredded chicken on the other.  The shredded chicken should be mixed with Sauce 1 and fresh mint leaves.  Then lace the chicken with the other sauce as well.  

Enjoy!

Sardinas Parrochas

Sardinas Parrochas

I've really become a lazy blogger.  I used to be dedicated to doing this, but I no longer am.  Today, I'm just sharing a photograph of my pan fried sardines.  These were delicious!

Pesto alla Genovese & Shrimp Pesto Pizza

I made shrimp pesto pizza with basil from my own balcony garden!

Pesto alla Genovese

1 Cup Basil 

2 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil

3 Tbsp Parmigiano Reggiano

1 Tbsp Pine Nuts

2 Cloves Garlic

Sea Salt

Pizza

2 Tsp Yeast

1 1/4 Cup Luke Warm Water

2 Tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil

3 1/2 Cup Flour (I mixed AP Flour & Bread Flour)

1 Tsp Coarse Sea Salt

Pesto alla Genovese:

Step 1:  I picked the leaves first thing in the morning, washed them and dried them on kitchen paper. 

Step 2:  I peeled the garlic cloves and put them in the food processor and pulverized them a bit before adding the basil, then oil, cheese, pine nuts, salt.  

Pizza Dough

This recipe is from May/June 1988 issue of 'COOK'S'.

1/2 Package Active Dry yeast (1/8 Ounce)  or 2 Tsp Dry Yeast (Mine was German)

1 1/4 Cup Lukewarm Water (296 ml)

2Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil

3 1/2 Cups Flour (I used a blend of AP and strong wheat flour)

Step 1: Activate the yeast in a large bowl with lukewarm water.  My yeast was old so it took 30 minutes, but this will differ depending on the quality of your yeast and the weather. 

Step 2:  Add the flour, oil and salt.  

Step 3: Stir with a wooden spoon until the dough just holds its shape.

Step 4:  Knead the dough on a floured surface for 10 minutes.  The dough should be soft and smooth.

Step 5:  Leave dough in a wet bowl and cover loosely with a towel or plastic and leave it for around an hour.  The dough should have risen to 1.5 times its original volume.  If not poke it with your finger to see if it has risen.  I left mine for longer as it didn't seem to be rising and then finally poked it with my finger after 2 hours and it had supposedly risen.

Step 6:  Divide into two balls and cover and let rest for 20 minutes.  Preheat oven to 225C (450F)

Step 7:  Store half of it wrapped in plastic in the cold compartment of your refrigerator it not using immediately.

Step 8:  Roll out the dough to make your pizza.  If you can't do it manually, use a rolling pin.  

Step 9:  Brush extra virgin olive oil on your pizza and then cover it with pesto alla Genovese.  

Step 10:  Cover this with mozzarella cheese.

Step 11:  Place 20 peeled shrimp that have been marinated in garlic and extra virgin olive oil over this evenly.

Step 12:  Bake in oven for 15 - 20 minutes.  The pizza should be turned once or twice and you should start checking at around the 10 minute mark.  

Step 13:  The pizza is done when the edges have browned a bit and the cheese on top is turning golden brown.

Enjoy your pizza and make more pizza the following day or the day after.  Your leftover dough will rise a bit even in the cold compartment but it will be fine!

Torremolinos

Everyone hates this place and some British friends of mine frown and refuse to come to this city, preferring Marbella.

Well...Marbella is where the King of Saudi Arabia vacations and it's a glamorous place, but it's also the main hub of the underworld here.  I'm happy to stay in Torremolinos where the cost of living is lower and I can buy some fresh sardines for 0.68 euros and some fresh fruit and vegetables for 1.57 euros.

Have a nice weekend everyone!

Cinnamon Buns

Any kind of cinnamon bun has a special meaning for Ronny, because it's apparently a big part of a Swedish childhood.  A good Swedish mom is supposed to have these baking in the oven when the children come home from school and his mother apparently baked them a lot.

This is not a recipe for an authentic Swedish cinnamon bun, but me playing around with a poppy seed dinner roll recipe. I watched this video more than a few times and took some notes.  I think they forgot to mention how much water you should mix with the yeast in the beginning and some commentators thought it was maybe 1/4 cup so I went along with using as little water as I could.  In reality, I think it was 1 cup, if you follow this recipe to a tee.

I don't have the exact amounts calculated out yet as part of the dough still lies in my refrigerator (around 1/4 of it), so I will update this when I know.  However, in general, I think you could follow this recipe without mixing any poppy seeds into the dough, and putting a generous amount of cinnamon sugar between the layers.  Don't forget to brush the tops with butter and sprinkle them all with more cinnamon sugar after the second rise, right before they go into the oven!

Cinnamon Buns - Adapted from Poppy Seed Rolls

Ingredients

4 Tsp Yeast
1/4 Cup Luke Warm Water
1/4 Tsp Sugar
2/3 Cups Warm Milk
1/4 Cup Sunflower Oil
1 Medium Egg (room temperature is better)
1/3 Cup Granulated Sugar
Pinch of Salt (I forgot to put some but they turned out ok)
2 Sticks (226g) Unsalted Butter
4 Cups Flour (or more)
1 Cup Cinnamon Sugar (I made mine, but you can use the ready made type)



Step 1:  Mix the yeast, 1/4 tsp sugar and luke warm water in a bowl and let it sit until foamy.

Step 2:  While you are waiting for this to get frothy, cut into the 4 cups flour, all of the butter just as though you were making a pie crust of scones.  Use a cutter or your fingers.

Step 3:   By the time you have finshed Step 2, the yeast should be frothy.  Add 2/3 cups milk, 1/4 cup oil, 1 egg, 1/3 cup sugar, pinch of sea salt and mix well.

Step 3:  Then add the flour butter mixture into the yeast and stir with a dough hook until you have a pretty wet batter that does not stick too your fingers.  If you think the dough needs more flour, add a little more.  However, the dough will still look sticky.  It will not be a smooth looking dough.  Please see video for how it should look.

Step 4:  Cover this with a dish cloth and then let it rest until it is twice it's size.  Mine took a lot longer than 30 minutes.

Step 5:  Knead it until it is smooth and divide it into 4 portions for manageability.  You will end-up using most of it to fill-up the IKEA muffin pan which is used in the video and which I used as well.

Step 6:  Basically you will need to roll the dough out either using a rolling pin or your fingers to make the dough into a rectangle.

Step 7:  Cut them into strips with a dough cutter, and make six layers, brushing them with melted butter first and then putting a liberal dose of cinnamon sugar in between them.  Don't be afraid to pile the cinnamon sugar on.  It will taste better if you use a lot rather than less.

Step 8:  Once you have made six layers you can cut them to a size so that they fit your muffin tin and you lay them down cut side down.

Step 9:  Let them rise until they have expanded sufficiently and then preheat the oven to 350F/176C.

Step 10:  Brush them with melted butter and sprinkle more cinnamon sugar.  Don't be shy and pile it on!

Step 11:  Bake them in the oven for 25 minutes and enjoy!