I selected 2 items today for our recipes – Chicken and Cabbage with a few recipes to follow.

For the children i offer a simple biscuit recipe that yields around 30 biscuits – depending on how much mixture is left in the bowl before baking 🙂

 

HOW TO POACH A CHICKEN

  • Buy a decent size chicken or two
  • 1 onion
  • 1 clove garlic
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 1 sprig thyme

Or

  • 1 Chicken
  • 1/2 bunch celery – sliced
  • 2 carrots – cut up
  • parsley
  • 2 onions

Or

  • 1 Chicken
  • 1 cup Chinese cooking wine – Shaoxing
  • 1/2 bunch spring onions
  • 2 cloves garlic, peeled and sliced
  • 1 20 cm piece ginger, sliced
  1. Place your choice of ingredients in large pot – add water and bring to the boil
  2. Gently place the chicken in the pot and make sure its covered with water
  3. Bring to gentle simmer and cook for 30 mins
  4. I sometime cover my chicken with a piece of baking paper while it is cooking as it stops the water from overflowing as it sometimes does with a lid on
  5. When the 30 mins is over – turn off the heat and cover with a lid and leave in the pot for another 30 minds
  6. Carefully remove the chicken from the water and cool – you can plunge the chicken into a bowl of icy water for 15 mins for a more succulent chicken Or you can rub the hot chicken with a small amount of light soy sauce and sesame oil
  7. Keep the water in the pot – if you are going to break down the chicken place the bones back in the stock and cook for a further 20 mins – makes the stock much richer
  8. When finished – cool slightly and drain – keeping all the wonderful stock for soups, risottos, sauce bases, congee, chicken rice  and more.
  9. Label and freeze your stock if you are not using in the next 2 days.

NOW for the Cabbage

Japanese Style Cabbage Salad

  • 1/2 head Wombok cabbage, finely sliced
  • 1 carrot, peeled and finely julienned
  • 1 shallot, green part only, finely sliced

Dressing

  • 1 tsp castor sugar
  • 1/4 tsp sesame oil
  • 1 tbsp light soy sauce
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 2 tbsp rice wine vinegar

Toppings

  • 2 tbsp toasted sesame seeds
  • 2.5 grams bonita flakes (not easy to get but they make a big difference – looks in Asian section of supermarket)
  1. Very simple salad that sits well with fish or chicken or just by itself for lunch
  2. Toss all ingredients together in a bowl
  3. Combine the dressing in a small saucepan – pour over salad – dress and enjoy
  4. I sometimes heat the dressing and then pour over the salad – Simple and delicious!

Vietnamese Chicken and Cabbage Salad

  • 2 cups shredded chicken
  • 2 1/2 cups shredded cabbage
  • 3 spring onions, sliced
  • 2 medium carrots, grated

Dressing

  • 3 tbsp lime juice
  • 2 tbsp fish sauce
  • 1 tbsp castor sugar
  • 2 tbsp rice wine vinegar

Topping

  • 3 tbsp chopped roasted peanuts or cashews
  • 1/4 cup chopped mint leaves – i usually add more as i love mint
  • 1/4 cup chopped coriander leaves – ditto as above
  1. Toss the chicken, cabbage, onions and carrots in a bowl together
  2. Whisk the dressing in a bowl until sugar is dissolved
  3. Pour over the salad and toss well to coat
  4. Fold in nuts , coriander and mint

IDEAS!!

If you make extra salad and leave the dressing for dipping use for making rice paper rolls

If you add vermicelli noodles to the salad make spring rolls and use sauce for dipping or make a soy based dressing

 

NOW FOR THE BISCUIT RECIPE

  • 80 grams butter, melted
  • 1/2 cup castor sugar
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 1/2 cup plain flour
  • 1/2 cup SR flour
  • 1/2 tsp bicarb of soda
  1. Preheat oven to moderate 180
  2. Line 2 baking trays with paper
  3. Combine butter and sugars
  4. Add egg
  5. Sift the flours and soda into the mixture – stir to combine
  6. Set aside for 15 minutes to firm up
  7. NOW GET CREATIVE – roll and shape, add choc bits, fruits, make jam drops
  8. Bake for 12 to 15 mins
  9. Cool on trays for 10 minutes
  10. Enjoy.

 

More recipes next week on Community Kitchen