I’m featuring the Paella today because my sister’s friend was kind enough to cook this for my mom’s birthday lunch.

Flickr Image: avlxyz

(I have the photo, Tom, the previous editor of Noodles and Rice, had the recipe.)

I miss Paella! It’s a shame that Spanish is just as unpopular as Filipino cooking is, here in Christchurch.

Post from: Blisstree

Signature Saturdays: PAELLA

Ingredients:

5 tbsps vegetable or corn oil
4 tbsps minced garlic
1 2-inch piece ginger, cut crosswise into 1/2-inch thick slices
1 large onion, peeled and diced
1 1/2 cups uncooked rice
10 cups water
1 1/4 kg chicken, cut into bite-sized pieces
1 1/2 tsps fish sauce
1/4 cup finely chopped spring onions
1/4 tsp ground black pepper

Directions:

1. In a stockpot, heat 3 tablespoons of the oil and saute 2 tablespoons of the garlic, the ginger and the onion. The garlic is done when light brown and the onion translucent.
2. Add the rice and saute for 5 minutes then add water. Bring the mixture to a boil, stirring occasionally. Reduce the heat to a simmer, add the chicken, and continue cooking for another 30 minutes or until the rice is done.
3. While waiting for the rice to cook, heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil in a skillet and fry the remaining 2 tablespoons of garlic until golden brown. Set aside.
4. When the rice is finally cooked, add the fish sauce and continue cooking over low heat for another 3 to 5 minutes. Serve in a soup tureen or soup bowls. Sprinkle the fried garlic, chopped spring onions and pepper on top. Serves 4.

Happy cooking!

Source: The Food of the Philippines
by Periplus World Cookbooks

Post from: Blisstree

Chicken Tuesdays: Arroz Caldo

I am very pleased to have found this recipe as I am reminded of my college days when I used to order this dish at the local Japanese fastfood stall inside our campus. What makes it unique is that they’d serve it up with raw egg on top, yum! I didn’t do the same though as this was my first attempt at this recipe. Maybe next time. For now, I thought I’d go strictly by the book:

Ingredients:

2 tbsps oil
200g chicken breast fillet, cut into thin strips
2 medium onions, thinly sliced
4 tbsps water
4 tbsps Japanese soy sauce
2 tbsps mirin
1 tsp dashi granules
5 eggs, lightly beaten

Procedure:

1. Heat the oil in a frying pan over high heat, and stir-fry the chicken until golden and tender; set aside.
2. Reheat the pan, add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, for 3 minutes or until beginning to soften. Add the water, soy sauce, mirin and dashi granules. Stir to dissolve the dashi and bring the stock to the boil. Cook for 3 minutes or until onion is tender.
3. Return the chicken to the pan and pour in the eggs, stirring gently to just break up the eggs. Cover and simmer over very low heat for 2 to 3 minutes or until the eggs are just set. Serve over steamed rice.

If you’re into onions and eggs, like my husband, then this is the dish for you!

Happy cooking!

Post from: Blisstree

Chicken Domburi recipe

This is the finished product resulting from my box of Hyderabadi Biryani  mix.  It was way too good.  Unfortunately my photo looks terrible.  I think I missed out on all of the chicken and my family must have kept that quiet.

Chicken that was marinated in a curry paste and then cooked with a bunch of spices for a half hour.  Then all this was mixed in with cooked rice (I used Japanese rice) and then simmered for a few minutes.

If anyone can find this brand of mix I would recommend them.  This is the third I have tried (all purchased in India) and they have all been exceptional.  The brand is Kitchens of India and they are made in Kolkata but I am not sure if they are available elsewhere.

Post from: Blisstree

Hyderabadi Biryani

Whenever there is a Japanese celebration it is always safe to expect red rice.  It is quite easy to make.  Just soak and then cook the red beans (I think they are called sasage, cow pea or black eyed pea) until tender.  Then add them to some raw rinsed rice with a pinch of salt and cook the rice as you would normally using the bean boiling water as part of the rice water.  When it is cooked (in your pan or rice cooker) transfer it to your serving dish and sprinkle on some black sesame seeds or some sesame salt.  Then get down to your celebrating. 

Post from: Blisstree

Red rice

This is how sushi should be.  Simple, refined, beautiful to look at and served in modest quantities.  A far reach from the sushi train or the fast food vendor. This was another course at the wedding we attended last week.  One of many.

Post from: Blisstree

Japanese wedding food – sushi

Next time you make onigiri rice balls try this alternative.  Cook the rice as you normally would but substitute some sake, soy sauce, sugar and salt for part of the rice water and then wait till it is done.  Then shape the rice balls before grilling it under medium heat until it browns.  Wrap a bit of nori around it so it doesn’t stick too much to you and there you have it.

Post from: Blisstree

Yaki Onigiri

I couldn’t walk by this.  Omochi (cake made out of pounded rice) flavoured with Uni (sea urchin roe).  It has the colour and flavour of uni but the texture of soft chewy omochi.  Sort of a departure from sweet versions and still very delicious.  I am guessing that the options for flavouring omochi are endless.  Sweet, savoury salty or spicy all work well with it.  Is there anything you can’t do with omochi?

Post from: Blisstree

Uni Omochi

Imo Mochi is potato sticky rice cakes.  How the two work together I’m not sure.  There is definitely both together all covered in a sweet sticky sauce and a little patch of nori.  I guess from what it looked like it was a slice of potato with mochi all around it.  But it was pretty hard to tell since it was all white stickiness whether potato or mochi.  Although they look fairly tame just one or two are enough to stop any mortal man.  They are all stick and stodge and any more would probably be deadly.

Post from: Blisstree

Imo Mochi

“-ingredients ( for 2 people)

200 gr. rice (sushi rice will work, not long grain or basmati )

1 big squid

100 gr. clams

6 jumbo shrimps or 100 gr. small shrimps

fish stock made out of fish meat, heads etc.( not tuna dashi) measured this way : take your weighed rice and measure it by volume, let’s say it is 2 cups. then you’ll need 2 1/2 cups of stock. this is very important for the final result. you must know how much liquid the type of rice you are using is able to absorb until done and not overcooked. i believe sushi rice is very similar to Spanish rice for paella.

2 cloves of garlic

1 ripe red tomato or equivalent amount of tomato sauce

1 Tbsp. parsley

saffron or turmeric- about 1 tsp.

salt, pepper to taste

1/4 olive oil or sunflower or any mild one you can get ( not sesame oil!)

method:

wash well all your seafood, chop squid into rings.

heat oil in your pan and add the garlic cloves on medium heat until they brown and soften up. take them out and mash them. reserve for later.

add well chopped tomato or sauce to the pan and fry it on medium. when done, add squid pieces and stir a bit. add rice and stir again. then add hot fish stock, salt, pepper, chopped parsley, saffron or turmeric and the mashed, cooked garlic. set heat on high and when it starts boiling hard add clams, shrimps or similar shellfish. now you start counting down time. let cook in high for 5 minutes. low heat to medium-low for 10 minutes and then turn heat to the lowest for another 5 minutes. total time 18-20 minutes until rice is done and all stock has been absorbed. after this 18-20 minutes put heat off, cover the pan with a lid or a tea towel and let the rive rest for 5 minutes. serve and enjoy!

notice it is difficult to make paella and also it never involves green peppers or onions etc. the way many people think. all the taste comes from the shellfish and a good fish stock made the European way : lots of fish meats, spines, heads even shrimps etc. slowly boiled with onion, tomato and other vegetables and then stained.”

Post from: Blisstree

Genuine Paella