chicken

Spicy Chicken Stir Fry

- Alex 3 Comments

IMG_0196

Wow. That sounds like an exciting and different thing to cook and eat … but before you skip to the next recipe give me a chance to sell this one to you!

We eat Chinese food quite rarely (that’s my fault – I have found relatively few dishes that I actually like) but while in Sydney recently we both enjoyed a Szechuan dish which involved beef and a lot of chilli and cumin. Flicking through Ching He Huang’s Chinese Food Made Easy* in search of dinner inspiration we came across the wordily named “spiced beef stir-fry topped with spring onion and coriander” that sounded like it came very close to the Sydney original.

The recipe calls for beef fillet – which, at our butcher, was just $42 a kilo. Ouch. For a stir fry, laden with chilli? We quickly changed our minds and opted for one large chicken breast (around 200g) as a fiscally sound substitute. The only other things we needed to pick up on our shopping trip were some fresh coriander and a bunch of spring onions.

This super tasty dish is perfect for a quick supper because there’s no marinading required. When you’re ready to eat, beat the chicken breast flat and then slice very finely before coating with a mix of 1 tbsp of ground cumin, 1 tablespoon of chilli flakes (go gently here if you, or your guests, aren’t in to really spicy food), half a tsp of black pepper and a sprinkle of sea salt. Ensure the chicken is well coated. You can always do this in advance if you want but if you’re hungry, heat some oil in a wok and add the chicken. Have the oil hot and quickly stir fry the chicken (you’ve sliced it really finely, haven’t you?), so it starts to brown. Then add a splash of rice wine vinegar and a splash of soy sauce. This dish isn’t saucy – you’re just adding a bit of seasoning.

Take the wok off the heat and mix through 2 finely chopped spring onions and a very generous large handful of roughly chopped coriander.

We served with a generous portion of plain rice and a simple side of green beans, steamed and fried off with some onions, garlic, chilli, sesame oil and pepper. Also very simple and tasty. But it would work just as well in a tortilla or pita bread …

So often with cooking, I need to refer to a recipe to stop me from adding the entire contents of the spice drawer to a dish. This is a perfect example of this – it’s almost a store cupboard recipe but it has loads of flavour and, as you eat it, the chilli heat builds and builds.

One we’ll definitely be having again and again and we’d even be happy to share it with guests!  Absolutely delicious.

*Also available from Amazon UK, Amazon US or Fishpond Australia.

Chicken Schnitzel Parmagiana

- Alex 3 Comments

Nothing says ‘pub lunch’ (or ‘pub dinner’) like a schnitzel.  The whole time I was in the UK I tried to explain the idea of a ‘parmi’ and failed miserably.

It’s also a dish which is ridiculously easy to put together at home.  Invariably you can produce something tastier, not to mention healthier, than that for which you’ll pay the best of $20 for in a pub.  Pub parmis usually have a remarkably similar lifecycle – one that involves the freezer and the deep fat fryer.

For an ‘at home’ parmi you don’t need anything more exotic than a frying pan.

First, choose your meat.  A chicken breast is very easy – one will do two people and you just need to slice it in half horizontally. If you want to use pork or beef choose a cut which generally cooks quickly and flatten it out by wrapping in cling film and beating with a rolling pin (or meat mallet).

Dip your meat in egg followed by breadcrumbs and quickly fry it in a pan of hot oil (something like peanut oil, which has a high smoking point and is almost flavourless).  The meat needs to be thin enough so it cooks quickly and you want your breadcrumbs to turn golden but not burn!

Set the meat aside (on some kitchen towel to soak up any excess fat) and prepare your topping.  You’ll definitely need mozzarella cheese.  If you want to go the really simple route, then top your meat with a slice of ham followed by the cheese.  For Hawaiian then you’ll need thin slices of pineapple (if you’re using tinned make sure you use pineapple in its own juice, rather than in syrup … you’re not making a dessert!) in addition to your ham and cheese.  A simple tomato sauce will do your basic ‘parmagiana’ , or you can go all out and have a Bolognese style sauce.  Think of it in the same way you’d think of pizza toppings.

When you’re done, top with the mozzarella cheese and finish under a hot grill – the cheese should be melted, bubbling and going brown.  I think in this case I wasn’t quite generous enough with the cheese – make sure you don’t make the same mistake!

chicken parmigiana

Serve with a salad and you can pretend it’s healthy!