Chicken with Sesame Seeds

It's time to cook Chinese now (but not the human, it's cannibalism and eeky), for I love Chinese food. Anyway, Chinese food have wonderful flavours that are very distinct and delicious. It is very common around the world, since wherever you go, there are Chinese People. This particular dish is absolutely wonderful because of the sesame seeds and oyster sauce giving it a sweet flavour. The procedure is very easy, you just mix all the ingredients and deep fry it, but to be honest, I really find it difficult frying because of the hot oil splashing all around. I'm such a chicken (no pun intended) when it comes to frying, my mother once told me to carefully put the ingredient that I am going to fry so that the oil won't splash, but I always find it scary and difficult. My uncle on the other hand is my hero, everytime he sees me that I am in distress because of the stupid oil, he comes to help me and what's more amazing, he touches the ingredient with his bare hands while frying it... amazing and cool, for me, it's scary. Though this food is absoulutley divine, nothing scary about it, well, if you have a heart condition, you might want to be scared because it is deep fried in oil, and it's not really good for you to eat oily food. Though, I'm sure there are alternative or healthy oils to use so that you won't feel left out and you will be able to enjoy this lovely food. Okay, I'm blabbering now, I'm blabbering... bye.

Ingredients:

6 Pieces of Fillet Chicken Thigh
2 Tbsp. Oyster Sauce
2 Tbsp. Soy Sauce
Toasted Sesame Seeds
3 Tbsp. Cornstarch
Salt and Pepper
1 Tbsp. Toasted Sesame Oil

Direction:

Mix the oyster sauce, soy sauce, cornstarch and toasted sesame oil, add the salt and pepper to taste, then marinade the chicken for one hour.

Mix the toasted sesame seeds to the chicken with the marinade and deep fry it. Take a picture before eating. Bon Appetit Mes Amis!

Roast Vegetables

I think, this is one of the easiest food you can prepare that is so tasty and delicious. You don't need effort, just cut the vegetables, toss in oil, add salt and pepper and put it in the oven, then that's it. Wonderful indeed! It was my uncle who did this, but because I liked it so much, I made this again. The first time we cooked this is during summer, and we ate it in the garden with my uncle and cousin. The funny thing is, my cousin passed red urine afterwards, and he was really worried about it, he thought he was ill, turned out it was just the beetroot's fault. My cousin is one of those people who passed bright red colour urine because the beetroot has a pigment called betacyanins which are unstable at extreme uine pH, and I'm guessing that because my cousin had... well, it's too tiring to explain, just refer to this site, http://www.medicine.ox.ac.uk/bandolier/band124/b124-7.html (lol). So, enjoy your food and if the red urine won't go away and your experiencing pain, honey, it's not the beetroots fault anymore, consult your doctor.

Ingredients:

Cherry Tomatoes
Red Bell Pepper
Green Bell Pepper

Orange Bell Pepper
Beetroot
Carrots
Onion

Olive Oil

Salt and Pepper

Direction:

Rinse and cut the vegetables, toss in oil, add salt and pepper, put in the oven for 10-15 minutes at 170 C. Take a picture before you eat. Bon Appetit Mes Amis : )

Sardine Pasta

I like the idea of garlic and oil pastas because its simple yet tasty. I added sardines on it to make it different... okay, that's a lie, to be honest, I tried cooking oil and garlic for a sauce, but it didn't turned out the way I like it, it's weird, it tasted like oil, I haven't perfected it yet, someday, I will. So for now, there are sardines on my pasta, and guess what, it's nice after all. It gave the pasta a wonderful, flavourful taste of the sea, though I know some people are not a fan of sardines because of the over-powering fishy taste, that is why, it's a good idea to put lemon juice to counter balance the fishiness.

Ingredients:

500 gm Pasta
1/2 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
4 cans of sardines in oil
1/2 cup of presered anchovies
10 garlic, chopped
salt and pepper
lemon juice
3/4 grated Parmigiano-Reggiano

Directions:

Boil the pasta as usual, with 2 tsp of salt or so. And at a separate pan, sautee garlic at extra virgin olive oil. Then add the 1/2 cup preserved anchovies plus 4 sardines in oil, add salt and pepper to taste. Squeeze lemon on the sauce. And add the sauce to the pasta and add the grated Parmigiano-Reggiano... Take a picture before you eat. Bon Appetit Mes Amis : )

Chicken with Cherries in Cherry Syrup

I first cooked this dish with my sister, this was our first attempt to cook 'internationally' or going out our boundary where our tastebuds are not acccustomed. When I first tasted it, it felt weird, but in a good way because before when we cook, we don't use rosemary, thyme or whatever herbs there is, we just use instant seasoning, in fact it's not me who cook at all, I just let someone cook the food for me. Now, I could say that I totally enjoy cooking. I repeated this dish when I saw a stall selling cherries during the market day in town. Before, my sister and I used canned cherries, this time, it's fresh, and I'm telling you, fresh is better because it's less sweet and the taste is more natural. Taking out the seed of the cherries is time consuming though, but it's worth it because of the wonderful end result.

Ingredients:

6 Chicken Pieces
Olive Oil

Cherries
Salt and Pepper
Rosemary

2 Tbsp Sugar
1 Cup of Water

Directions:

First, take out the seeds of the cherries (10-20 pieces) and put the cherries on a pan, add the water, rosemary, salt, pepper and sugar, bring into a boil or until the syrup becomes thickin consistency. Use the 1/4 of the syrup to marinade the chicken and set aside the remaining. Marinate the 6 chicken pieces into the cherry syrup, leave for 2 hours. Then after two hours, cook the chicken on the oven for 45 minutes on 170 C putting the olive oil, rosemary, 10 pieces of cherries (without seeds), salt and pepper.  When the chicken are now cooked add the cherry syrup, plate it, take a picture before you eat. Bon Appetit Mes Amis : )

Yakitori

Japan is my top two favorite destination, well, I haven't really been to Japan, but someday, I will. As of now, I cooked this dish called Yakitori, the closest thing I can have that is something Japanese. I always wanted to go to Japan because of the Anime, I love watching Yu Yu Hakusho or Ghost Fighter. That is my ultimate favourite anime, other than that, I always admire the fashion sense of the Japanese people, their care free outlook in fashion. Before Lady Gaga, Madonna, Elton John or whoever, there were Japanese who dressed crazily. Japanese food never came to my mind, but when I learned to eat sushi, that's when I developed a penchant to Japanese delicacy. Once, I went to this Japanese restaurant (Yo Sushi) where the dishes were like in a treadmill, and if you want it, you just grab it. I over endulged in sushi and other japanese dishes that I ended up with a £30 bill. That is why, I cooked Yakitori, because it's tasty and tender. Cooking Yakitori for me though is not simple, because of the procedure that I have done, maybe there are more simpler way to do it. I cooked the chicken on the oven instead of the grill. I have to brush the chicken every now and then to give the chicken a flavour, but because its in the oven, it's hot and I felt like I'm also in the oven being cooked while brushing the chicken, not a wise move. Maybe, if you do it on a grill, you will find it easier. Though the end product was absolutely wonderful, being burned is so worth it. I love how tasty and tender the meat had become, so try it for a change.

Ingredients:

1/2 Cup Sake

1/2 Cup Mirin
3/4 Cup Dark Soy Sauce
2 Tbsp. of Sugar
6-9 Chicken Thigh Fillet
Spring Onions
Skewer

Direction:

First, soak the skewers to the water for 20 minutes so that when you grill the chicken with the skewer, the skewer won't burn. Pierce the chicken pieces with a skewer alternating the chicken and the spring onions, set it aside. On a pan, mix the sake, mirin, soy sauce and sugar, heat it and bring into  boil. Put the chicken on a grill and cook it for 30 minutes or until the meat is tender and cooked, make sure to brush the meat once in a while with the prepared sauce. After grilling the chicken, put in on a plate and take a picture before you eat. Bon Appetit Mes Amis : )

Poulet Saute Basquaise (Chicken Sautee Basquaise)

This food is absolutely divine! I could give every French people a hug for being so magnifique in their dishes. I love cooking french cuisine because it takes long so more time in the kitchen, it also means that I will spend more time singing and dancing in the kitchen too. Though cooking is relatively long, the preparation and procedure is not hard, so don't be fooled with the fancy ingredients or the time consuming direction. All you really have to do is mix it up, correct the flavours and wait. It is only 1 to 1/2 hours of cooking, but thanks to Rachel Ray and Jamie Oliver, the trend now is cooking less than 30 minutes, I even saw a celebrity chef in Italy, cooking for less than 5 minutes. Though I can't blame them, we are living in a busy world, where everything must be quick. At least, it's home cook food rather than fast food. I do like fast food for once in awhile, but please, I want a proper meal, cooked with passion. And believe me, this dish is full of passion, the taste of the smokey bell peppers and tomato sauce, delightful. By the way, I wasn't dancing while cooking this because I was listening to the sountrack of Le Fabuleux Destin d'Amelie Poulain, so I could feel that I am back in France, cooking. 

Ingredients:

6 Pieces of Chicken
2 Redbell Peppers
5-10 Cherry Tomatoes
1-2 Cups of White Wine
Spiced Sausage
Ham
1 Onion
1 Garlic
50 g of Butter
Salt and Pepper
Dill (for garnish only)

Direction:

On a large casserole, add oil and butter, heat it up and fry the chicken on a moderate heat until it is slightly golden on all sides. Remove the chicken and set it aside.

Sautee the onion and garlic on the same casserole, add the bell pepper, tomatoes and salt and pepper to taste. Cook for 10 minutes on a brisk heat by constantly stirring it. Add the wine afterwards and bring it to the boil. Lower the heat and add the chicken that was set aside earlier, cook it gently for 45 to 1 hour or until the chicken is tender.

Before the cooking time ends, on a separate pan, gently toss the ham and sausage over moderate heat until it became hot, but be careful not to overcook or toughen the meat. Adjust or correct the flavour of the dish, arrange the chicken with the sauce on a serving platter, garnish with the ham and sausage. Take a picture before eating. Bon Appetit Mes Amis : )

Pork with Peaches in Coconut Milk

One of my favorite meal is anything with coconut milk, and as I've mentioned before I like meats with fruits. Supposed to be, the real ingredient of this dish is pineapple instead of peaches, but because I want to be adventurous, I tried peaches (but not really, I just don't have pineapple stored, just canned peaches). Also, originally, the dish was chicken, not pork but because my uncle was taunting me for cooking chicken most of the time, that is why I used pork (but believe me, my uncle is one of the kindest person you'll ever find -though he once told me that flattery won't get me anywhere, still, Imma do it... or I'm just really mortified with him. Kidding. lol). So feel free to use chicken if you want. Anyway, I really like the end product, I liked it so much, the following day, I cooked it again.

Ingredients:

1 kilo Pork
1 Can of Coonut Milk
1 Canned Peaches
1 Cup of Pork Stock
Carrots
Beans

Onion

Garlic

Salt

Pepper

Oil

Direction:

On a casserole, sautee the onion and garlic on oil, then add the pork. Cook the pork until brownish, add salt and pepper to taste. After the pork became brown in color, add the 1 cup of pork stock. Leave for 30-45 minutes or until the pork is tender (I always read that line on cook books, now I'm using it! yey!). Add the coconut milk and let it boil, then put the carrots and beans, let it cook for 10 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste. Take a picture before eating : ) Bon Appetit Mes Amis!

Echine De Porc Au Raisin (Loin Pork with Grapes)

Let's start with the complicated first... I love French Cooking, I believe that, one cannot cook French Food without passion, because French cooking requires patience, intricacy and love...  I have a thing with meat and fruits mixing up on a dish, I love how the sweetness or tanginess of the fruit being mixed up with the juiciness and tenderness of the meat. So how did I do it, here's how...

Ingredients:

5-8 Loin Pork
2 Onion
3 Thyme Sprigs
Rosemary
1 Bay Leaf
Salt and Pepper
2 Tbsp Oil
1/4 Cup Marc or Brandy
2 Tbsp Butter
1 Cup White Wine
Grapes
1/2 Cup Heavy Cream

Direction:

On a large bowl, mix the garlic, onion, bay leaf, rosemary, thyme, salt and pepper, add the oil and the marc or brandy, lastly, put the pork in the bowl. Toss the pork for several time and marinade for 2-3 hours.

After marinading the pork, strain the marinade and pork, with setting and reserving the marinade aside for later use. Put the pork on a flameproof pan, dotting it with 50 g of butter and 1 tbsp oil, salt and pepper to taste, put inside the oven with 190 C for 1 hour, occassionally towing it. Drain the oil in the pan where you cooked your pork then put the marinade and the 1 cup white wine, let it cook for one more hour. Put the grapes 20 minutes before you fiished cooking. Separate the sauce with the pork, putting the sauce on a casserole and adding cream on it, let it simmer, add salt and pepper to taste. Take a picture before eating : )Bon Appetit Mes Amis!

Cooking and Blogging - The Beginning.

Here I am again, after a gazillion years of not blogging, I am on the blogosphere once more. I feel like I have missed so much (in term of writing), from the new President of United States of America to the Royal Wedding. Well, that's life, you either get it or you miss it... but let's not get too deep in here, after all, my blog is about cooking!

Believe me, I wasn't like this before when it comes to cooking, during the olden age, I remorse being in the kitchen. I couldn't even fry a sausage or even make a scrambled egg, that's how bad I am... I'm so bad, I messed up the instant noodle, I drained the soup thinking I'm cooking stir-fry noodles (or maybe it's just my stupidity). Either way, I have outgrowned myself, gone are the days that all I can cook are burnt hotdogs or half-cooked fried chickens. Though, with humility aside, I wouldn't learn how to cook without my parents who taught me the basics and my uncle for teaching me the complicated. Thank you very much for inspiring me how to cook. Now, I'm ready to cook and blog for everyone. Bon Appetit Mes Amis!