Recipe Ideas

Coca Cola Chicken

Posted on 24. Aug, 2009 by Guy Boulud.

Ignore what your mind is telling you, and give this crazy recipe a try – it really is good. The Coca Cole Chicken is a delicious but extremely easy recipe, and one that is impossible to mess up.

The coca cola disappears during cooking and the roasted chicken has a lovely sticky sweet taste that both children and adults love, and is best served with rice. If you enjoy Malaysian style cooking, with its strong sweetness in savoury dishes, you’ll love this recipe. The sweetness of our Coca Cola Chicken is balanced by the dark spices from the coke, the zing of the chilli and some lovely aromatic ginger.

Make sure you use full-fat coke, not the diet stuff. Diet cola won’t work as we want the sauce to thicken and caramelise. Det coke will also mean the flavour will not be sweet, as the aspartame will degrade and leave the chicken fit for the bin.

Ingredients

4 chicken thighs (or other chicken joints with the bone in and the skin still attached)
Coca Cola to cover
4 cloves garlic
1 piece of ginger, the size of your thumb
1 red chilli
4 tablespoons light soya sauce
2 tablespoons cider vinegar
Salt and pepper
Vegetable oil

Method

Pat the chicken dry with kitchen paper and sprinkle with a little salt and pepper. Leave to one side while you slice the garlic finely and cut the peeled ginger and the chilli into matchsticks.

Heat a little vegetable oil in a wok or a large pan over a high flame, and fry the chicken pieces until the skin is beginning to brown. Add the ginger, chilli and garlic, then stir fry for a minute. Pour over the cola so the chicken is covered, and add the soya sauce and the vinegar.

Put a lid partially over your wok or pan, making sure that you leave a gap at one side for plenty of steam to escape. Turn the heat down to a medium setting when the cola begins to simmer, and leave, turning the chicken occasionally, for about half an hour (depending on your pan), until the coke has reduced by more than two thirds and the liquid in the pan is syrupy.

Serve immediately with rice, a little chilli sauce and a sharply dressed salad.

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Kuih Serimuka-Glutinous Rice With Pandan Custard Layer

Posted on 13. Aug, 2009 by Guy Boulud.

Glutinous Rice with Pandan Custard Layer or better known as Kuih Serimuka is one of the popular kuih or cakes in Malaysia. The bottom layer of the cake is made from glutinous rice that has been steamed with coconut milk. The top layer of the cake is a custard base, made from eggs, coconut milk, flours, and most importantly the fresh Pandan juice. The cakes are delicious and have just the right sweetness level. If you have a sweet tooth, then I’d suggest increasing the sugar to about 20 grams. Well, do try my recipe and enjoy!

Kuih Serimuka – Glutinous Rice With Pandan Custard Layer

Ingredients

Glutinous Rice Layer
400 g Glutinous Rice, washed and soaked overnight
150 ml Coconut Milk
100 Water
1 tsp Sea Salt
3 Pandan Leaves, cleaned and tied into a knot

Pandan Custard Layer
150 ml Pandan Juice
5 Tbsp Corn Flour
3 Tbsp All-Purpose Flour
3 Large Eggs
200 ml Coconut Milk
140 g Sugar

9 inches round tray
A piece of Banana leaf or an aluminum foil

Method

To make the glutinous rice layer: Mix rice, coconut milk, water, salt and Pandan leaves in a baking tray.

Steam the rice mixture over a high heat for 25 minutes until cooked. Remove from the steamer and discard the Pandan leaves. Fluff the rice with a fork and use a banana leaf to press and compact the rice layer.

Return the rice layer to the steamer. Continue to steam for another 10 minutes.

To make the Pandan custard layer: Combine Pandan juice and all the flours and mix well. In another bowl, whisk eggs, coconut milk and sugar together and add in the Pandan mixture. Mix well and strain the mixture into a clean medium size bowl.

Prepare a water bath and stir continuously until the custard mixture begins to thicken. (About 15 minutes) Pour the mixture into the rice layer and continue to steam over a low heat for about 25 to 30 minutes.

Allow the kuih to cool completely and slice to serve.

Note: To make the Pandan Juice. Blend 10 Pandan leaves with 200 ml water.

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Black Glutinous Rice With Coconut Milk – Pulot Hitam

Posted on 09. Aug, 2009 by Guy Boulud.

Black glutinous rice with coconut milk is probably one of the easiest dessert to make. It’s popular in Malaysia and also in neighboring countries, namely, Singapore, Indonesia, and Thailand. The black glutinous rice is available at most Asian grocery stores. So, do try making this simple mouthwatering dessert.


Black Glutinous Rice With Coconut Milk – Pulot Hitam

Ingredients

1 Cup (200g) Black Glutinous Rice, washed
6 Cups Water
120 g Palm Sugar
2 Pandanus Leaves, knotted
100 ml Coconut Milk
A pinch of sea salt

Method

In a medium pot, add black glutinous rice, water and Pandanus leaves. Bring it to a boil and lower the heat. Simmer the mixtures for about 45 minutes.

Then add the palm sugar and continue to simmer for another 20 minutes.

In a small saucepan, mix the coconut milk with a pinch of salt. Let it simmer gently until slightly hot but not boil.

Serve the black glutinous rice with 2 to 3 Tbsp of coconut milk.

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Chinese Long Beans With Spicy Sambal

Posted on 07. Jul, 2009 by Guy Boulud.

Chinese long beans, or also known as Yard long beans, are easily available at England’s Chinatown market. To my knowledge, the color of the long beans varies from dark green in the winter to pale green during the summer. I prefer the summer variety because they are plump and tastier. I bought some last weekend and cook them with spicy sambal. Anyway, I should stress that this dish is very spicy. So, if you plan to make it, do adjust the amount of the sambal paste according to the level of spiciness that you prefer.


Chinese Long Beans With Spicy Sambal

Ingredients

400g Long Beans, cut into 1 inch in length
120g Prawns, shelled
15 to 20 Dried Chilies, cut into smaller pieces
6 small Shallots, coarsely chopped
1 1/2 tsp Shrimp Paste, toasted
2 Candlenuts
1 Tbsp Sugar
4 Tbsp Peanut Oil
3 cloves Garlic, coarsely chopped
1 1/2 Tbsp Lime Juice
1 Tbsp Water
Sea Salt to taste

Method

To make the sambal, soak the dried chili pieces with boiling water until they are soften. Drain the chilies and make sure to get rid of the seeds. Then combine it with shallots, candlenuts, shrimp paste and blend until they become a paste.

Heat 3 Tbsp of Peanut oil and cook the sambal paste in a low heat. Cook until the sambal is fragrant, add sugar and sea salt to taste. Dish out the sambal and set aside.

In a wok with high heat, add the remaining 1 Tbsp oil and garlic. Cook briefly and add in the prawns and cook until they are pinkish in color.

Toss in the long beans and give it a quick stir. Then mix in the sambal and continue to cook for about 1 minute and add in the water and lime juice. Give it a quick stir and serve immediately.

Note: Discard some of the oil from the cooked sambal or else, the dish may be a bit too oily.

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