Malaysian Chicken Curry (Gulai Ayam)

It's been a while....

I am no longer able to cook boring meals without the great world wide web knowing, due to my absence in posting an exciting meal.

But, fortunately for you, I stepped beyond the mundane easy meals and attempted something new last night. Well, not exactly new. But worthy of a post at least.

So here we go.....today I bring you: CURRY (from scratch!).

Before you decide it sounds much too hard, I would like to say, it really isn't that hard. Does take about 45 minutes to get everything going but once you do, it just cooks itself.

Recipe:

-Cut chicken pieces (2 large) into bite sized pieces.

-Blend 5 Tbsp curry powder into 1 cup water

-Pound 6 shallots, 4 cloves of garlic, and 3 cm piece of ginger (or if you don't have a mortar and pestle, like myself, you can chop/grate them; also, I used ground ginger because I didn't have a piece of it)

-Heat 1/2 cup oil and fry the pounded ingredients until fragrant. (optional: add in chopped chili pepper if you want it to be spicy). Add in the curry powder and fry further until fragrant.

-Add the chicken with a little bit of water.

-Add star anise, cloves and cinnamon stick.

-Stir slowly and add the coconut milk (2 cans), potatoes (5 chopped), and salt.

-Simmer until potatoes are cooked.

(I also added in chopped squash, which I added in once potatoes were slightly tender).

-Serve with rice and steamed green beans.

-Selakan makan!

Turns out I forgot to take a picture of the end product, but let me assure you that it is a delicious curry, not spicy (unless you add in a lot of chili peppers). Feeds about 10 people. Lots of leftovers.

Curried Chicken Salad

Here is the recipe this is based on: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/curried-chicken-salad-recipe/index.html

I essentially followed all of their directions except I used plain yoghurt instead of mayo (much healthier).

Place 4 chicken breasts on a sheet pan. Rub olive oil on the top of them, then sprinkle on salt and pepper. Bake at 350 F for ~40 minutes (until done). Remove, let cool. Slice into chunks 1 inch long (approx.).

Meanwhile, combine dressing in blender: 1 cup plain yoghurt, 1/3 cup white wine (optional since yoghurt is quite moist as is), 1/4 cup mango chutney (you can find it at Trader Joes), 3 Tbsp curry powder, and 1 tsp salt (optional). Blend until smooth.

Combine the chicken with enough dressing to moisten well. Add in chopped celery, raisins, and chopped green onions. Let refrigerate for a few hours so the flavors can get to know each other well. Then add some cashews and serve at room temp. Ta-da! Delisioso. :-)

We served this at our open house and it was quite a hit. Not spicy but very yummy.

Bubur Ayam (chicken porridge)

This is reminiscent of my childhood...definitely one of the better breakfasts out there in the world. The recipe is pretty good too. For the chicken and broth, I used leftovers from my whole chicken (see the recipe a few days ago)--awesome.

Directions:

Make rice (boil in water: 2 parts water to 1 part rice). Once rice is done, add in chicken broth (~as much broth as water you already used). Simmer on low until it is ready (no separation of liquid from rice). Add salt and pepper.

Garnish with sliced spring onions, fried onions, pieces of shredded cooked chicken, and sambal (spicy sauce). Optional: add drops of soy sauce. Enjoy!

Whole Chicken

Okay this is my first: cooking a whole chicken. This recipe is from my aunt Joelle, who never measures anything, so the measurements are just guesses and should really be completely disregarded.

Make marinade:

-2 lemons (sliced and juiced)

-2 Tbsp Paprika

-1 Tbsp Olive Oil

-salt and pepper

Pour over the chicken. Put in a ziploc bag, place in refrigerator. After a few hours of marinating, cook in oven at 350 F for 90 minutes (time depends on the weight of the chicken....google it for precise time). Viola, c'est finis.

We had it for dinner tonight and it was pretty good! I think next time I will use more salt and pepper...definitely not an adventurous meal for the taste buds, but a yummy staple. And hey, now I've cooked a whole chicken!