Leeks and Chicken pie

Do you love leeks like I do? They look like fat spring onions, from which family they belong, together with garlic. I like the subtle onion taste of it without being too onion-y. The only set back for me is, they are only available in autumn. Well, at least in Finland. Of course I can find them frozen in the groceries all year. But its just not the same!
Here is my own Leeks and Chicken pie recipe. I hope you try it...

First, make the pastry. Mix together: 375 gms of flour, ½ tsp of salt and ½ tbsp. sugar. To this, you pinch in 250 gms. of cold, cubed butter, until it looks like small pebbles. Add 100 ml (or less) of cold milk. Incorporate until it forms a ball. Wrap in cling film and refrigerate.

* In a hot pan, medium heat, pour in 2 tbsp. olive oil, saute 1 tbsp. of chopped garlic and about 4 handfuls of chopped leeks. Give it at least 5 mins. or until the leeks have become a bit limp.
* Add 1 tsp. salt and about 800 gms. of cubed, raw chicken meat. (I used the boneless chicken legs) Saute this for at least 10 mins or until the chicken is cooked and the juices has dried out.
* While you wait on that, prepare the butter-flour mixture. You need 100 gms of very soft butter and 100 gms of flour. Mix these together to form a paste. Set aside.
* Back to your chicken; The bottom of your pan must have crusted by now. Pour in about 1/4 cup of white wine to the mixture plus 1 and ½ cups of chicken broth.
(If you are not using wine, just use 2 cups of hot chicken broth or hot water)
* Add 50 gms of cubed potatoes, 100 gms of green peas and 100 gms of cubed carrots and let the liquid boil.
* Add black pepper and adjust taste.
* Add the butter-flour mixture until the liquid thickens, then turn the heat off. Set aside.
* Turn on your oven to 200 degs. C.
* Roll out your dough thin enough for your pie crust, top and bottom. I used 2 pcs. of those deep dishes. 7 in. diameter and 2 inches thick. The dough is just enough. You could of course use a proper pie dish (12 in.) I just like it better when I can make the fillings thick and not get too much pastry from each bite.

* Line the dish with the pie dough and pour in the leek and chicken filling. Cover with the pie dough and seal it by pinching the edges together.

* Brush the top dough with beaten eggs. Bake the pie for 25 mins., middle rack, or until the crust is golden brown.
* Serve hot or cold, with chopped spring onions. Enjoy!

Not so Instant noodles...

 This recipe is for my gal, Pia L. A noodle lover.


*  For 2 pcs. of chicken breast, sliced into bite size pieces, marinate for at least 20 mins. in:

2 tbsp. Soy sauce
1 tbsp. Mirin
1 tbsp. rice wine
1 tbsp. Cornstarch
bit of salt and pepper


Of course you don't need to do this and just saute the chicken as is. But have you ever wondered why the chicken from the Chinese restaurants are so tender? This is why... :)









 
*  While waiting, fry up 2 scrambled eggs with just a bit of salt.
Cut this up in small pieces. 

 * Boil the instant noodles separately then drain.

  *  Saute the chicken in 2 tbsp. oil and chopped up garlic. (If you didn't marinate the chicken earlier, then you need to add soy sauce here)
  *  When chicken is ready, add the veggies. Fresh is always better. But if you have the frozen one, then its handy. You can have as much veggies as you want. Its veggies!
- carrots
- green beans
- broccoli
- cabbage
- Chinese cabbage
- bell pepper
- anything that is not juicy like tomatoes.

* When veggies are almost done, add 1/4 cup of water to dilute the cornstarch and have a bit of sauce. (Even if you didn't marinate the chicken)  Taste this and add more soy sauce and pepper to your liking. You can also add chili at this point if you want it hot.

 * Add in the noodles, turn off the heat and stir.

** Top with the scrambled eggs. Be creative. You can use sliced boiled eggs, chives (or spring onions), squirt of lemon, or coriander leaves.

Crispy chicken squares

For mom's like me, who gives importance to serving home cooked meals, we have an ongoing battle with burger joints. Though I have proven my home made burgers to my 9 yr. old, the chicken nugget is still something I have not even tried my hands on.
So after long months of promising to make it, I finally did! I hope you enjoy this too.

I mixed:

400 gms ground chicken
1 tsp. salt
½ tsp. garlic powder
½ tsp. onion powder
1/8 tsp. nutmeg
1/4 tsp. Italian seasoning
1 egg
2 tbsp. fresh milk
1 tbsp. cornstarch

Using 2 spoons, I scooped about 2 cm. thick patties and rolled it in about 100 gms. of Panko (chunky bread crumbs) then fried it hot oil until golden brown.
Makes at least 20 pcs.

That easy! Throw in some vegetable sticks and salad dressing in small dipping bowls. 

Tips: 
* If you want this to be adult-friendly, then add 1 tsp. of cayenne pepper to the mixture. 
* Fry it halfway, let it cool, and freeze them until ready to eat. You can then just put the thawed pieces in the oven until golden brown. 180 degs. C.
* Panko can be found in Asian shops. Used for Japanese cooking.      

Chicken and Chicken Liver adobo in yogurt

1. Clean 500 gms of chicken drumsticks/wings and marinate together with 500 gms. chicken liver in juice of 1 lemon, 1/2 cup soy sauce, 1 tsp. salt, 1 tbsp. sugar, 1 tsp. dried oregano and ½ tsp. ground black pepper for a minimum of 1 hour. (score the chicken meat if using drumstick.
2. Heat up a wok and add 1/4 cup oil. Fry 1/4 cup of chopped garlic until golden brown. Set aside.
3. In the same oil, fry the chicken pcs until caramel in color. Even if its not cooked yet in the inside. Set aside.(To cook faster, you can leave the chicken in a hot oven while cooking the liver)
4. In the same wok add 2 tbsp. butter. Fry the liver on both sides. (do not over cook ) then set aside.
5. In the same wok, fry 2 medium onions, sliced, until texture becomes soft
6. Add the rest of the marinade and simmer until bubbling. Add 1 cup of plain yogurt plus 1 tbsp. sugar and stir.
7. Put back the chicken pieces, add a couple pcs of dried bay leaves and a few pieces of cloves. Let simmer for 10 mins.
8. Add the fried liver, simmer until its cooked inside (about 5 to 10 mins). Garnish with fried garlic. Serve with steamed rice.  Enjoy!

Turning Japanese

Choosing everyday meals for the family is turning out to be a job! Especially when you have made a couple of good meals in a row, members of the family, big and small, expects that you will top the previous meals. 

Having said that, I strongly believe that Japanese food is the simplest way of wowing anyone who would sit at your dining table. Clean flavours, uncomplicated processes, fresh and its up to you if you want to get filled or not.

So one night, I made Chicken katsu. It basically means 'cutlets'. This is an original Portuguese dish, brought to Japan, and twisted (in this case pounded) to cater to the Japanese palate.

* Chicken breasts, sliced thinly, wrapped in cling film, pounded.
* Dabbed with cornstarch (I added garlic powder in mine), dipped in whisked egg, then breaded with panko and sesame seeds mixture.
* Pan fried, no need to deep fry.

Served with heated soy sauce, mirin and teriyaki sauce mixture.

Eaten with steamed rice and a bowl of miso soup.

On another night, as I was busy working from home, I didn't really have time to cook. So I asked my lovely husband to grab fresh salmon (caught the same day) and chicken pieces.
Salmon was served as sashimi. 

* Sliced thinly, dipped in Japanese soy sauce with wasabi and a squirt of lemon. - from Wikipedia:  A reputed motivation for serving wasabi with sashimi (and also gari, pickled ginger), besides its flavor, is killing harmful bacteria and parasites that could be present in raw seafood.^[1]


Chicken pieces, marinated in yakitori soy sauce and and then fried in oil.

 

Result? A happy girl!