We had Japanese for lunch today. This is so simple to cook. I once have a not-so-close Japanese friend told me Japanese cooking is all about its simplicity and using best fresh ingredients possible. This is so true. Oyako in Japan means 'Parent & Child' and Donburi means 'Rice Bowl Dish'. This dish usually consist of chicken and egg as the main ingredients because of its poetic reflection to 'Parent & Child' (Source: Wikipedia).

In fact this whole recipe is based on Wikipedia. I didn't really know what goes into an Oyako Donburi apart from chicken and egg. To be very honest, I don't cook Japanese often but I do love eating them. I quote Wikepedia as below:

It comes in different flavours but making Maggi Goreng with curry flavour ones is pretty famous and they are to me, the most delicious one too. I recreated this version by my years of watching how those Mamak fellows do it. My sisters and I used to really like Maggi Goreng and always buy them on a weekly basis. Among ingredients that goes into a typical Maggi Goreng includes tofu puffs, greens such as choy sum, tomato wedges and egg. Some also add meat pieces to it but I've made a vegetarian one today and I use cherry tomatoes because I don't have whole tomatoes.

Not long ago, I mentioned here Aaron and I will be hosting a lunch dinner for a handful of good people. Really good friends in Adelaide. I couldn't think of what else to cook up for them apart from something so classical, something that represents the country I came from.

So I made a Nasi Lemak, complete with all the garnishes or topping, whatever you want to call it, except for the peanut because we both hate peanuts in our Nasi Lemak. The recipe could be found here.

On top of that, I have also made a Chicken Curry Kapitan to go with the Nasi Lemak. I adapted it from Ellie of Almost Bourdain. She has a very good write up on the origin of this dish and Peranakan culture so do drop by and check it out. Aaron probably chop the chicken int too small pieces. They turn into mush due to the long cooking but it wasn't overpowering nor salty. It is just very full of the herbs flavour that was used to infused it. The lemongrass taste was very strong but yeah...no one hate lemongrass...

So yeah, anyone wanna be my guest? Come find me in Adelaide! I'll do you a 3-course meal! I'm not in an way a good cook but I like playing with flavours so be prepared to be my experimental guinea pig if I were to cook for you!

Ellie, thanks for the awesome recipe, it was great and all my guests love it. And to think I took all the praises, I felt I should just share them with you! Thanks!!!!

This one makes enough to serve 2 people for a simple lunch. It is quick and easy and full of flavour. Including preparation time, the noodle soup was done in under 30 minutes. I use store bought organic stock and ready made fried shallots or you can make them your own if you have time.

This is so lovely I regret I used very very lean minced pork. If you have the waistline to spare, buy pork belly and finely chop them. They taste so much better. Nonetheless, this is healthily good! I couldn't help but throw in some hard-boiled egg into the gravy and stew it for the whole duration! You can also use Tea Eggs if you like. I added in the mushroom later so it doesn't absorb all the saltiness from the gravy. Same goes to potatoes you know, they both absorb saltiness from you gravy.

I adapted this recipe from Chowtimes, probably a very famous site that needs no further introduction. I can safely tell you this taste so good. I've did it twice, once with minced pork belly and can pretty confirm the later one taste better. I like how the Loh Han Guo (Buddha's Fruit) gives it a very distinct sweetness compared to sugar. The recipe calls for half of the Buddha's Fruit. For the other other half, I place it in a pot with water and dried longan and simmer them for 30mins. Cool them down well and semi freeze them. Blend them and created a sort of Buddha's Fruit's Slushie. It was cold and delicious to down with the meal, which was rather heavy.

If you have a food processor, you can save yourself a lot of chopping and mincing. Place the shallots and ginger, both peeled in a processor and pulse until fine. Heat up the oil in a wok and when smoky, add in the ginger-shallot paste and sautee them until fragrant. Add in A and stir and cook, breaking up lumps until slightly brown. Add in the seasoning and 1 cup of water coat well. Let it simmer for 40 minutes or so. f you're using any hard-boiled egg, drop them in now.

Towards the last 10 mins of cooking, add in the sliced mushrooms and cook until time is up. Add in the dark soy sauce and when the colour is up to your liking and flavour. Check for seasoning and saltiness. Slice up the egg and pour over the minced pork and gravy and serve with hot steamed rice.

This one is inspired from a recipe from Apples for Jam. From a Pot-Roasted Steak with Spinach and Omelette recipe, I changed it to a Bacon and Chicken Roll with Stuffing.The spinach and omelette stuffing is loosely adapted from Apples for Jam by Tessa Kiros. It consist of eggs, baby spinach, cheese and sundried tomatoes. I changed the beef to chicken and wrapped it with bacon.

The salad is a baby spinach and carrot salad tossed in a honey mustard vinaigrette. It's raw carrot so make sure you slice it thinly. A vegetable peeler produce thin and long strips beautifully. The roll is lightly browned in pan until the bacon fat is rendered before roasting in the oven until golden brown and cooked.

Bacon and Chicken Roll with Stuffing and Side Salad

The bacon and chicken:
6 slices middle rasher bacons
2 large chicken thigh fillets

Spread out 2 large chicken thigh fillets on a chopping board and slice them horizontally, stopping just before you cut all the way through so that the chicken fillets opens up like a book. Gently use the back of a knife and flatten the meat further so it flattens out, like making schnitzel.

Lay two large sheets of plastic wrap on a clean surface and arrange 3 bacons on each of the plastic wrap, overlapping slightly. Place the flattened chicken fillets on the bacons. Arrange stuffing evenly on both chicken surface and roll up tightly and neatly, guided with the plastic wrap. Chill it in the fridge for 30 minutes so that it holds its shape. Pan fry the roll lightly until brown and that the fat is rendered. Then roast it in the oven for 40 minutes in a moderately hot oven until it is golden brown and that the chicken is cooked through.

Spinach and Omelette Stuffing

1 tbsp oil
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
1 bag (300g) baby spinach leaves, washed and drained well
1 tbsp heaped butter
2 egg
2 tbsp Parmesan cheese
4 pcs sun-dried tomatoes, chopped to small bits

Tessa Kiros imparts easy and simple cooking. Even if you have no proper poultry in your freezer, you still can cook up easy and delicious meal, and they're relatively easy and quick to pull together. With just canned tomatoes, cheese and pasta in your pantry, you still can cook something.

Tessa uses prosciutto in her recipe but I reckon any other ham or pancetta works too. I've used bacon here because that is the only meat I have and because I am just cooking for myself, I wanted something quick and comforting.

Tessa uses dried oregano in her recipe but you could easily substitute it with any other herbs such as dried basil, mixed herbs or even dried parsley or thyme. The sauce will be flavoured differently. This is the second time I did this and yes, it is very tasty!


Pasta with Prosciutto, Tomato and Oregano
(serves 4)

5 tbsp EVOO
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 (14 ounce) can diced tomatoes
1 tsp dried oregano or any other dried herbs, crushed between your fingers salt
3/4 (16 ounce) package spaghetti or any other dried pasta
6 to 7 slices prosciutto crudo or just bacon or pancetta (raw prosciutto, cut into thin strips)
Grated parmesan cheese, to serve
Chopped fresh chile (optional)

Heat half the oil in a saucepan and saute the garlic over medium-low heat until you start to smell it. Add the tomatoes, oregano, and some salt, lower the heat a little and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes, crushing up the tomatoes with your wooden spoon every now and then as you stir so that it melts into a sauce.

Meanwhile, bring a large pan of salted water to a boil and cook the pasta. Add the prosciutto to the sauce and cook briefly to heat through. If you're using bacon, pan fry it until it is lightly browned on both sides. Do not overcrowd your pan if you want them to brown evenly.

Drain the pasta, return it to its pan, and add the sauce and the rest of the oil. Toss lightly to coat the pasta. Spoon into bowls and serve with grated Parmesan all round, and some chopped chile for those who like it.

I made roasted chicken rice for lunch. It's been a while since we last had something sinful.... I adapted the roasted chicken recipe from Angie of Seasaltwithfood. It's a little tedious, if you ask me because thee are so many sauces to make to accompany it. Aaron really likes the homemade dark soy sauce over his rice but I absolutely adore the ginger and spring onion dip. I ended up making the garlic chili sauce as well. So 3 types of condiments, cucumbers and corianders as garnishes.

And the rice...I cannot stress enough how important it is to get chicken with fats. Throw the fat trimmings into the rice and indulge....They say the yummiest food often is the most unhealthy one and I truly agree. I don't do this often so it is fine. We had an awesome lunch and saved some for dinner and we're still not sick of it.

Minus all the condiments, this is rather easy to make. You marinade the chicken and bake it and cook the rice with chicken broth and fat trimmings. You can chop up some cucumbers and coriander and also tomatoes if you like while the rice is cooking and the chicken is roasting. Use store bought Kecap Manis and Chili Sauce and just make the ginger spring onion dip if you wish to. Bu I'm just more into making things from scratch because I'm pretty picky. So is Aaron. They're often too sweet or not spicy enough or not garlicky enough. And they could easily be made using cheap stuffs, why bother buying really. If you're cooking for plenty, this is really, very worth making!

I do have habits of making chicken broth and storing them in my freezer because they come in so handy when I wanna make Soto Ayam or just simple chicken noodle soup. Like what Angie said, I sometimes add tofu cubes and Wakame seadweed to the soup. Else if left plain, a handful of fried shallots, finely shredded lettuce and a shake of pepper is good enough. All in all, there is many ways you can eat these. Thanks Angie for sharing such wonderfully roasted chicken recipe. They're so easy and your friends would have thought you've slaved over the BBQ pit for hours!


Roasted Chicken (serves 4 to 5)
Heavily adapted from Angie and Choesf

4 large whole marylands or use one whole chicken, trimmed off fat
1 tbsp Honey
2 tbsp ginger juice
1 tsp 5-spice powder
1 tsp ground white pepper
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp light soy sauce

Marinate the chicken all the ingredients for 30 minutes. Keep in fridge while you preheat the oven to 200˚C. Drain the chicken and roast in the oven for about 45 minutes or until the chicken is fully cooked and evenly browned all over.


Chicken stock:
2 whole chicken carcass
6 cups of water
1 spring onion, chopped to 3cm length pieces
Salt

Bring all the above to boil and simmer, covered for approximately an hour to 90mins. Skim the surface at the beginning until no foams are visible, only clear liquid stock.

Set aside and use it to cook the rice and the following sauces.

Chicken Rice:
2.5 cups of rice, washed and drained well
4 cloves of garlic, minced
1 shallot, finely sliced
3 slices of thick age old ginger, smashed to release aroma
2 pandan leaves, washed, knotted
1 tsp salt
Enough chicken stock to cook 2 cups of rice
All the chicken fat trimmings from the marylands
EVOO

Depending on how much fat trimmings you obtain, add a little oil if necessary into a pan and heat it up. Add in the the chicken fat and when they are rendering, toss in the ginger, garlic and shallots. Stir fry them until fragrant and garlic start turning a light brown colour. Toss in the drained rice and salt and stir to coat well and stir fry for a while to let flavour mingle a bit. Pour everything back into the rice cooker and add enough chicken stock to cook it. Throw in the pandan leaves and let the rice cooker do the cooking whilst you get along and do the condiments.


Garlic- Chili Sauce:
2 large red chilies, seeds removed
5 slices of thick aged old ginger, scraped with the back of spoon to peel it
6 cloves of garlic, peeled
3 tbsp of lime juice
1/4 cup of chicken stock
1 tbsp sugar or more
1/2 tsp salt or to taste

Process everything above until smooth and set aside. If you have a mortar and pestle, pound it first before processing and adding all the liquids. Pour them out on a dipping dish and set aside. Rinse your food processor and get ready for the next dipping sauce!

Ginger-Spring Onion Dipping Sauce:

2 spring onion, green part only, roughly chopped
Large thumb size piece of peeled age old ginger, roughly chopped
2 tbsp sesame oil
2 tbsp peanut oil

Process the ginger and spring onion until very fine. Tip them out into a heat resistant dipping saucer. Heat up the oil and when they are smoking, pour them into the ginger mixture. It will sizzle so step back. Stir to coat around. The oil will turn to a light shade of greenish like. Set aside.

Thick Black Sauce or Kecap Manis Dip:

1/2 tbsp oil or chicken fats if you have a lot to spare an are not worry about the cholesterol!
1/2 tbsp minced garlic
3/4 cup chicken stock
1/2 tbsp sugar
Thickener: 1 tbsp cornstarch + 3 tbsp cold water, stir to dissolve

Heat the oil or chicken fats in a pan and add in the minced garlic. Saute for a while and add in the chicken stock. Bring to boil and boil it for 2 minutes or so. Add in the sugar and stir to dissolve. Thicken with the thickener. Depending on how thick you want them to be, you might not necessarily use all of them. Pour them out into a dipping dish and set aside.

Enjoy!