This was delicious. And I like the ratio of chicken to broccoli.

Chicken and Broccoli in White Sauce

Slightly adapted from Woks of Life

Ingredients

Chicken

• 1 large chicken breast (~300g), sliced
• 2 Tbsp. water
• 1 Tbsp. oyster sauce
• 2 tsp. cornstarch
• 1 tsp. oil

Broccoli and Sauce

• 1/4 tsp. sugar
• 1/2 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 1/2 tsp. sesame oil
• 1/8 tsp. ground white pepper
• 1 c. chicken stock
• 4 c. broccoli florets
• 2 tsp. oil
• 1/2 tsp. ginger paste
• 2 tsp. garlic paste
• 1 Tbsp. shaoxing wine
• 2 Tbsp. cornstarch + 3 Tbsp. water

Directions

1. Combine chicken, water, oyster sauce, cornstarch, and oil, mix well, and set aside for 30 minutes.
2. Combine the sugar, salt, sesame oil, white pepper, and chicken stock, mix well, and set aside.
3. Bring ~6 c. of water to a boil.
4. Add the broccoli and cook for 1-2 minutes.
5. Strain out the broccoli, but keep the water boiling in the wok.
6. Add the chicken to the boiling water and cook until no longer pink. Drain and set aside, this time discarding the water.
7. Clean the wok, then heat the oil over medium heat-high heat.
8. Add the ginger and garlic and stir-fry for 10-20 seconds.
9. Drizzle in the shaoxing wine around the edges of the wok.
10. Stir the sauce and drizzle that in as well.
11. Give the corn starch slurry a stir and slowly pour it into the wok.
12. Cook, stirring, until sauce thickens.
13. Add the broccoli and chicken and toss to combine.
14. Reduce heat to medium-low and cook until heated through.
15. Serve with rice.

I needed to use up a chicken breast and some mushrooms, so this was pretty much perfect. It probably ended up with a bit less chicken than called for, but I had a few extra mushrooms, so I think it all worked out in the wash. I also added some peas, just to have something green in there and make it a little more nutritionally complete.

Chicken Tetrazzini with Peas

Slightly adapted from Dish of the Day by Kate McMillan

Ingredients

• 2 Tbsp. olive oil
• 1 onion (or 2 shallots), halved and sliced
• 1 tsp. garlic paste (optional)
• 250-300g mushrooms, sliced
• 1/4 c. butter
• 1/3 c. flour
• 3 c. chicken stock
• 2 c. frozen peas (optional)
• 300-500g cooked chicken, shredded
• 225-300g dried pasta, cooked
• 3/4 c. grated Parmesan, divided
• 1 c. fresh breadcrumbs
• 1 Tbsp. margerine (or butter)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 200°C (400°F) and oil a 23x33cm (9x13") baking dish.
2. Heat the oil over medium-low heat.
3. Add the onion and cook until softened (3-5 minutes).
4. Add garlic (if using) and mushrooms, cover, and cook until they release their liquid.
5. Uncover and cook until most of the liquid is absorbed or boiled off.
6. Add butter.
7. Once butter is melted, add flour to make a roux and cook, stirring, until no longer raw-smelling.
8. Slowly stir in chicken stock and cook until thickened.
9. Stir in the peas (if using) and cook until heated through.
10. Mix in chicken, pasta, and 1/2 c. of the Parmesan.
11. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
12. Pour into prepared baking dish and top with breadcrumbs and remaining 1/4 c. of Parmesan.
13. Dot with margerine (or more butter).
14. Bake at 200°C (400°F) for 15 minutes.

This is a very rich stew served in a buttery mustard gravy. The beer in question was meant to be a porter, but I used stout. I also used ~250mL less liquid than the recipe called for. I also used less chicken than called for and a mix of drumsticks and thighs rather than just thighs. I doubled the onions and added a bit of garlic as well.

The resulting stew was excellent! That said, I think it could've used more vegetables. I think I'd put more carrots and potatoes next time and/or add a bit of turnip/swede or something.

Beer-Braised Chicken Stew

Adapted from Dish of the Day by Kate McMillan

Ingredients

• 1-2 Tbsp. oil
• 1.2-1.5kg chicken pieces
• salt and pepper
• 6 Tbsp. butter, divided
• 2 onions, halved and sliced
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1 bay leaf
• 400-500g carrots, peeled and cut into 2cm pieces
• 500-600g potatoes, cut into 4cm pieces
• 1 kumara, peeled and cut into 4cm pieces
• 1 rutabaga/swede, peeled and cut into 3cm pieces (optional)
• 500mL stout
• 500mL chicken broth
• 2 Tbsp. brown sugar
• 2 Tbsp. Dijon or Roman mustard
• 2-3 tsp. tomato paste
• 1/2 tsp. dried thyme
• 1/3 c. flour
• 1/2 c. hot water

Directions

1. Heat the oil over medium heat.
2. Season the chicken with salt and pepper and sear for a few minutes on each side.
3. Remove the chicken from the pot and set aside.
4. Melt 1 Tbsp. of the butter in the pot.
5. Add the onions and garlic and cook until softened and beginning to brown.
6. Add the bay leaf, carrots, potatoes, kumara, and rutabaga (if using).
7. Add the stout, chicken broth, brown sugar, mustard, tomato paste, and thyme.
8. Return chicken to pot and bring to a boil.
9. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer for 30 minutes.
10. Mash the remaining 5 Tbsp. of butter with the flour to form a paste.
11. Slowly add 2 c. of the cooking liquid to the flour paste while stirring until smooth.
12. Pour gravy back into pot.
13. Rinse out measuring cup the gravy was mixed in with the hot water and pour that into the pot as well.
14. Cover and simmer for another 10 minutes.
15. Check to make sure chicken is cooked through, season to taste, and serve.

I have fond memories of Mom making chicken and broccoli casserole when I was a kid. I hadn't had it in years. But found myself suddenly craving it while pregnant, so I asked her for the recipe. Turns out it was chicken divan + rice! She pointed me at a recipe from the Cozy Cook as something that looked pretty close to her version. I tried it out and it was nice, but came out a bit stodgy. I think that was probably down to the rice that I used though. I only had jasmine rice on hand, so I went with that, but I think that basmati would probably give a better result. Or maybe even a long-grain brown rice. I also think that her version went heavier on the broccoli and maybe a bit lighter on the chicken. Not that this version wasn't good, but I did find myself missing the extra broccoli a bit. So I might try adjusting the proportions slightly next time. Otherwise, it was quite nice though.

Chicken and Broccoli Casserole

Adapted from The Cozy Cook

Ingredients

• 4 Tbsp. butter, divided
• 750g skinless boneless chicken breasts (or ~3 c. chopped cooked chicken)
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1-2 celery stalks, chopped
• 5 c. broccoli florets
• 1 can (~300mL) condensed cream of celery soup
• 2/3 c. sour cream or mayonnaise
• 1/2 c. milk
• 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp. onion powder
• 1/2 tsp. mustard seeds, ground
• 1/2 tsp. sweet paprika (optional)
• ~2 c. grated cheddar cheese, divided
• ~2 c. cooked rice
• 1/2 c. crushed Ritz crackers or panko breadcrumbs

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 180°C (350°F) and grease a large casserole dish.
2. Cut the chicken into bite-sized pieces and season with salt and pepper.
3. Melt 2 Tbsp. of butter over medium heat.
4. Add the chicken, onion, and celery and cook until chicken is about halfway done (~3 minutes).
5. Add the broccoli and cook for another 3-5 minutes.
6. Add the soup, sour cream/mayo, milk, garlic powder, onion powder, mustard, and paprika (if using).
7. Stir in half of the cheese.
8. Spread the rice in an even layer in the bottom of the prepared casserole dish and top with the chicken and broccoli mixture.
9. Top with remaining cheese, cover, and bake at 180°C (350°F) for 15-20 minutes.
10. Meanwhile, melt the remaining 2 Tbsp. butter over medium heat and add the crushed Ritz crackers/breadcrumbs and stir to coat.
11. Remove casserole from oven, increase heat to 200°C (400°F), uncover, and top with buttered crumbs.
12. Return to oven and bake for another 5-10 minutes.
13. Let stand for 5-10 minutes before serving.

Reiver found a soup recipe online the other day and we decided to give it a go. It's very simple, but did make a tasty soup. Although I'd be tempted to swap out the turmeric for ras el hanout next time.

While I tried to stick pretty close to the recipe for my first time making it, I did end up making a few small changes. I used whole (skin-on, bone-in) chicken thighs rather than skinless, boneless simply because that's what I had on hand. I used a much smaller quantity of dried herbs instead of the large quantity of fresh because, again, I was working with what was on hand. And I dumped in a bunch of frozen spinach toward the end of cooking, just to give it a vegetable and make it a little more nutritionally complete. I also left out most of the olive oil since I felt that there was sufficient fat from the chicken skin.

Red Lentil Soup with Chicken

Ingredients

• 600g chicken thighs
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 1 Tbsp. olive oil
• 2 onions, halved and sliced
• 6 cloves garlic, sliced (or 2 Tbsp. garlic paste)
• 2L water
• 1 chicken bouillon cube (optional)
• 1 1/2 c. skinned split brown lentils (red lentils/Egyptian lentils/masoor dal)
• 1 tsp. ground turmeric (and/or ral el hanout for a more complex flavour)
• 1 c. fresh mixed herbs (parsley, dill, mint, etc.)
• 1 c. chopped frozen spinach (optional)
• 1 c. plain yogurt
• 2 Tbsp. lemon juice

Directions

1. Pat the chicken dry and season to taste with salt and pepper to taste. (I recommend ~1/2 tsp. of each.)
2. Heat the oil over medium to medium-high heat.
3. Add the chicken, skin-side down, and sear until skin is crisp.
4. Flip the thighs over and sear briefly on the other side.
5. Remove the chicken from the pot and set aside.
6. Add the onions, reduce heat to medium-low, and cook until soft and caramelized (~30 minutes).
7. Add the garlic and cook for a few minutes.
8. Return the chicken to the pot and add the water and bouillon cube (if using).
9. Increase heat and bring to a boil.
10. Cover, reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer until chicken is cooked through (~15 minutes).
11. Shred the chicken and return it to the pot, discarding the skin and bones.
12. Rinse the lentils and add them to the pot along with the turmeric (and/or ras el hanout, if using).
13. Simmer until the lentils are just tender (~10 minutes).
14. Stir in the herbs and spinach (if using), adjust seasoning to taste, simmer for a minute or two, then remove from heat.
15. Stir the lemon juice into the yogurt and set aside.
16. Serve the soup topped with the lemony yogurt.

Thenga Paal Kozhi (Chicken with Red Chiles and Coconut Milk)

We were tragically out of cilantro when making this and had to do our best with parsley, which isn't really similar at all, but it was still delicious. It requires some lead time because of the marinade and long simmering time, but is pretty low-effort to actually make.

Thenga Paal Kozhi

From 660 Curries by Raghavan Iyer (p. 139)

Ingredients

• ¼ C white vinegar
• 1 tsp salt
• ¼ tsp ground turmeric
• 1 small red onion, coarsely chopped
• 6 medium-sized cloves garlic
• 3 dried red Thai or cayenne chiles
• 1 whole chicken, skin removed, cut into eighths; or ~1.5kg bone-in chicken breasts and/or thighs
• 2 tbsp canola oil
• ¾ C coconut milk
• 1 ~400mL tin diced tomato
• ¼ C finely chopped fresh cilantro

Directions

1. Puree vinegar, salt, turmeric, onion, garlic, and chiles in a blender.
2. Coat the chicken pieces in the marinade and refrigerate, covered, for 30-120 minutes. Do not marinate overnight.
3. Once marinated, heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.
4. Add the chicken and marinade, meat side down. Cook until some of the marinade boils off and the meat is browned, 5-7 minutes.
5. Flip the chicken and brown the other side.
6. Pour in the coconut milk and tomatoes. Lift the chicken slightly to let it coat the underside and stir together.
7. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, covered, basting the chicken every 3-4 minutes, until cooked through.
8. Remove and buffer the chicken. Stir cilantro into the sauce and boil uncovered until it thickens to the desired consistency.
9. Serve the chicken bone-in or disassembled, as you prefer, covered or tossed with the sauce.

This was a really unusual recipe. The chicken (or capon, if you can find one) is essentially steamed over a bed of herbs and wine. So the skin doesn't crisp as all due to the moist environment, but it does come out incredibly tender.

Capons Stwed

Take parcelly, sauge, isoppe, rosemary, and tyme, and breke hit bitwen thi hondes, and stoppe the capon therewith; colour hym with safferon, and couche him in a erthen potte, or of brasse, and ley splentes underneth and al abouʒt the sides, that the capon touche no thinge of the potte. Strawe good herbes in þe potte, and put thereto a pottle of the best wyn that thou may gete, and none other licour; hele the potte with a close led and stoppe hit abouʒte with dogh or bater, that no eier come oute, and set hit on þe faire charcole, and lete it seeth easly and longe till hit be ynowe¹. And if hit be an erthen potte, þen set hit on þe fire whan þou takest hit downe, and lete hit not touche þe grounde for breking. And whan þ3 hete is over past, take out the capon with a prik; then make a sirippe of wyne, reysons of corance, sugar and safferon, and boile hit a litull; medel pouder of ginger with a litul of the same syn and do þereto; then do awey the fatte of the sewe of the capon, and do the siryppe to þe sewe, and powre hit on þe capon, and serve it forth.

Capons Stwed

Slightly adapted from Pleyn Delit: Medieval Cookery for Modern Cooks by Constance B. Hieatt, Brenda Hosington, and Sharon Butler

Ingredients

• 1 capon or roasting chicken
• 1 handful flat-leaf parsley
• 3-4 sprigs fresh sage
• 3-4 sprigs fresh thyme
• 3-4 sprigs fresh rosemary
• 3-4 sprigs fresh hyssop
• coarse sea salt²
• 1/2-3/4 tsp. saffron threads, divided
• 2 c. wine (red or white), divided
• 1/4 c. dried currants
• 1 tsp. sugar
• 1/2 tsp. ground ginger

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 230°C (450°F).
2. Crush the herbs in your hand.
3. Stuff half of the herbs into the chicken and place the rest in the bottom of a tagine or clay pot.
4. Crumble 1/4-1/2 tsp. of the saffron and rub it and the salt into the skin of the chicken.
5. Pour 1 c. of the wine into the bottom of the cooking vessel with the herbs.
6. Place a rack in the pot/tagine and place the chicken on top.
7. Cover very tightly.
8. Place covered pot/tagine in oven and reduce oven temperature to 180°C (350°F).
9. Bake at 180°C (350°F) until done. (20 minutes per pound + 20 minutes usually works well.)
10. Remove chicken from oven.
11. Strain the liquid from the bottom of the pot, chill, and skim the fat.
12. Meanwhile, combine 3/4 c. of the remaining wine, currants, and sugar and bring to a boil.
13. Simmer for 10-15 minutes.
14. Stir in the remaining wine, saffron, ginger, and strained juices and cook for another 5 minutes.
15. Serve the chicken with the sauce and sides of your choice.

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¹ I'm generally pretty good at figuring out the various middle and early modern English spellings, but I could not, for the life of me figure out what "ynowe" was supposed to be. Apparently it's an inflection of "ynogh", which is much more easily recognizable as an archaic version of "enough". I just didn't realize that it declined like that! ^Back
2 Neither the original recipe nor the modern interpretation of it called for any salt, but I really felt that it probably wanted some salt. My chicken was ~1.5kg, so I used 1/2 Tbsp. of salt. (I usually find that 1 tsp. of salt per kilo of meat is about right.) ^Back

This recipe was really meant to be done with skin-on, bone-in chicken pieces. You're supposed to start with a whole chicken and break it down into serving-sized pieces. And while I'm sure that would've been great, I didn't have a whole chicken to work with. What I did have was some skinless, boneless chicken breast pieces that I got on sale at the grocery store a few weeks back and stuck in the freezer for later use.

The lean, skinless pieces don't have quite as much flavour as you'd get if working with a whole chicken. But they were still very good. The sauce was quite flavourful. And making it with a nice lean, skinless cut does make it a bit healthier, at least.

Braised Chicken with Peppers, Capers, and Olives

Slightly adapted from Dish of the Day by Kate McMillan

Ingredients

• ~1kg skinless boneless chicken pieces
• 1 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 1/2 tsp. black peppercorns, ground
• 2 Tbsp. schmaltz (or olive oil)
• 2 sprigs fresh rosemary
• 2 red bell peppers, sliced
• 1 onion, halved and sliced
• 45g pancetta, chopped
• 1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes
• 1 small (~400mL) can diced tomatoes
• 1 c. white wine
• 1/3 c. Kalamata olives
• 2 Tbsp. capers

Directions

1. Season the chicken with the salt and pepper and set aside.
2. Melt the schmaltz over medium heat.
3. Add the rosemary, bell peppers, onion, pancetta, and pepper flakes.
4. Season with salt and pepper and cook until softened (~5 minutes).
5. Add the tomatoes and wine.
6. Add the chicken, olives, and capers.
7. Bring to a boil, cover, and reduce heat to medium-low.
8. Simmer until chicken is nearly cooked through (~15 minutes).
9. Uncover and simmer for another 5-10 minutes to thicken sauce up slightly.
10. Serve with rice and/or crusty bread.

This is meant to be made with fresh Chinese-style egg noodles. I didn't feel like making a special trip out to the shop though, so we just used dry spaghettini. It worked just fine and was delicious.

I also didn't bother trying to cook the chicken in a grill pan like the recipe called for. I just cooked it in a normal frying pan. No pretty grill marks on it that way. But it seemed just fine otherwise.

For the vegetables... It was meant to use edamame and carrots. I don't particularly like edamame, so I used frozen green peas instead. Honestly, I think it would've been good with even more veg. It was good as-is. But I might be tempted to add some thinly sliced bell pepper next time.

Sesame Noodles with Chicken

Slightly adapted from Dish of the Day by Kate McMillan

Ingredients

• 2 Tbsp. canola (or other neutral) oil
• 2 Tbsp. sesame oil
• 1/4 c. light soy sauce
• 1/4 c. rice vinegar
• 3 Tbsp. orange juice
• 2 Tbsp. brown sugar
• 1 1/2 Tbsp. garlic paste
• 1 tsp. Sriracha
• 2 skinless boneless chicken breasts
• pepper, to taste
• 1 c. frozen peas
• 300g dry spaghettini (or similar)
• 1 bell pepper, thinly sliced (optional)
• 2-3 carrots, grated
• 3 green onions, chopped
• 2 Tbsp. toasted sesame seeds

Directions

1. Combine the oils, soy sauce, vinegar, juice, sugar, garlic, and Sriracha and mix well.
2. Season the chicken breasts with pepper and brush with 2 Tbsp. of the sauce.
3. Heat a pan over medium heat and add the chicken. Cook until no longer pink inside (5-6 minutes per side).
4. Remove from pan and slice.
5. Meanwhile, place the frozen peas in a colander.
6. Bring a large pot of water to a boil, salt lightly, and add the pasta, cooking until al dente.
7. Drain the pasta by pouring it into the colander with the peas.
8. Toss the noodles and peas with the bell pepper (if using), carrots, chicken, remaining sauce, and green onions.
9. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and serve.

I've spent most of the last few months flying by the seat of my pants when it comes to scheduling and meal planning. Lots of "just-in-time" compiling of food. And lots of emergency takeaway as I realize that I've run out of either time, ingredients, or energy. (Or sometimes all three.) This stir-fry was very much in that vein. I needed something that I could throw together quickly with ingredients on hand. And this happened to fit the bill. And, bonus: It was even pretty tasty!

Spicy Basil and Chicken Stir-Fry

Slightly adapted from Dish of the Day by Kate McMillan

Ingredients

• 6 Tbsp. chicken stock
• 2 Tbsp. fish sauce
• 2 tsp. brown sugar
• 1 tsp. cornstarch (cornflour)
• 2 Tbsp. canola (or other neutral) oil
• 1 bell pepper, sliced
• 2 fresh Thai or finger chilies, thinly sliced
• 2-3 coves garlic, minced
• 450g skinless boneless chicken breases, sliced
• 3/4 c. fresh basil chiffonade (preferably Thai basil)
• 3 green onions, chopped
• cooked rice, to serve

Directions

1. Combine the stick, fish sauce, sugar, and cornstarch and mix well. Set aside.
2. Heat the oil over high heat.
3. Add the bell pepper and stir-fry for 1 minute.
4. Add the chiles and garlic and stir-fry for another 20-30 seconds.
5. Add the chicken and stir-fry until no longer pink (2-4 minutes).
6. Add the basil and green onions and stir-fry for one more minute.
7. Stir the sauce and then pour it into the wok.
8. Bring to a boil and cook for 30-60 seconds longer.
9. Remove from heat and serve over rice.

Grilled Chicken and Zucchini

So... I messed this one up a little bit. It was supposed to be grilled chicken and corn. And I even got the corn for it. But then I took a little too long getting to it and the corn had gone off by the time I was making this. Okay, that sucks. But, no worries, I'll just ask TF to run out and get some more. Except apparently no, no I won't. Because she hit up just about every grocery store in town and they were all out of corn. After making five unsuccessful attempts to purchase corn, I told her to just get me any grillable vegetable. So, in the end, we ended up having grilled zucchini, not corn with our chicken. It was still pretty good. But definitely not nearly as good as the corn would have been.

Also, I only belatedly realized that I completely forgot to add the lime zest and thyme after everything was cooked. Whoops!

Grilled Chicken and Zucchini (or Corn)

Slightly adapted from Dish of the Day by Kate McMillan

Ingredients

• 1 Tbsp. smoked paprika
• 1 Tbsp. cumin seeds¹, ground
• 3 Tbsp. lime juice
• 3 Tbsp. olive oil
• 1 tsp. coarse sea salt, ground
• 1/2 tsp. black peppercorns, ground
• 4-6 zucchini, halved lengthwise or ears of corn, husked
• 680g skinless boneless chicken breast
• 1 Tbsp. lime zest
• 1 Tbsp. fresh thyme

Directions

1. Set up a grill for direct heat cooking and allow to preheat.
2. Combine the paprika and cumin and stir to combine.
3. Mix in the lime juice, olive oil, and salt and pepper.
4. Brush the vegetables all over with the paprika mixture.
5. Toss the chicken with the remaining paprika mixture.
6. Add the vegetables to the grill and allow to partially cook (5-10) minutes.
7. Add the chicken and grill until cooked through (3-5 minutes per side).
8. Remove from heat and sprinkle everything with lime zest and thyme.

---

¹ The recipe called for cumin. And that's what I used this time. But I think it might actually be quite good with dhania-jeera masala either instead or as well. I think I'd be tempted to try using 1/2 Tbsp. of masala + 1/2 Tbsp. of ground cumin next time. ^Back

I've been a little preoccupied lately and haven't felt up to doing much meal planning or cooking. This meant that I needed to find something quick and easy to do for dinner last night. Normally my go-to for that is curry. But I've been feeling kind of curried out lately, so I decided to hit up Aaron & Claire for some ideas instead.

I ended up settling on this spicy chicken stir-fry. We were all out of doubanjiang (豆瓣酱/Sichuan spicy bean paste), but we did have Laoganma (老干妈), so I just used that instead. It's not the same. Laoganma is much more oily and salty than doubanjiang. But it makes a tasty dish nonetheless. And some people¹ find they prefer the results of dishes made with Laoganma over doubanjiang anyway. Personally, I think I still prefer the doubanjiang flavour, but this certainly got the job done.

Spicy Ground Chicken Stir-Fry

Slightly adapted from Aaron & Claire

Ingredients

Sauce

• 2 Tbsp. doubanjiang (豆瓣酱/Sichuan spicy bean paste)
• 1 Tbsp. dark soy sauce
• 1 Tbsp. oyster sauce
• 1/2 Tbsp. sugar
• 2 Tbsp. mirin
• 1 tsp. chicken bouillon powder (or dasida)
• 1/8 tsp. black peppercorns, ground

Stir-Fry

• 1 Tbsp. oil
• 500g ground chicken
• 10 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tsp. minced ginger or ginger paste
• 200g garlic scapes, cut into bite-sized pieces (optional)
• 450g asparagus or green beans, cut into bite-sized pieces
• 1 small red bell pepper or mild chile, chopped
• 1/2 Tbsp. sesame oil
• 1 Tbsp. toasted sesame seeds
• cooked rice, to serve
• fried eggs, to serve

Directions

1. Combine the doubanjiang, soy sauce, oyster sauce, sugar, mirin, bouillon powder, and pepper. Mix well and set aside.
2. Heat a wok over high heat.
3. Drizzle in the oil and swirl to coat.
4. Add the chicken and cook until underside is browned.
5. Flip and continue to cook, breaking up as it sears, until chicken is cooked through and liquid has boiled off.
6. Add garlic, ginger, and garlic scapes (if using) and cook for 2-3 minutes.
7. Add the asparagus and bell pepper and cook for another minute or two.
8. Pour in the sauce and stir-fry for another 2-3 minutes.
9. Remove from heat and sprinkle with sesame oil and sesame seeds.
10. Serve on a bed of rice, topped with a fried egg.

---

¹ Looking at you, Reiver!

Kishmish Waale Murghi (Raisin Chicken)

Whole chickens were on sale at the grocery store again a couple of weeks ago. I was somewhat reluctant to get any since I was worried that I wouldn't have time to break them down before I left. But, after discussing it with Reiver, I decided to go for it anyway. I got the chickens broken down the next day and then ended up using one of them in this curry a few days later.

I ended up going with this recipe, specifically, both because it wasn't on the blog yet and because it let me incorporate some veggies into the meal without having to make an extra dish. The original recipe calls for making this with chunks of chicken breast, but I think it also works quite well with bone-in chicken pieces.

Photo goes here.

Kishmish Waale Murghi

Slightly adapted from 660 Curries by Raghavan Iyer

Ingredients

• 2 Tbsp. oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1/2 c. golden raisins
• 1/2 c. slivered almonds
• 1kg skinless boneless chicken breasts, cut into 2cm pieces
• 1 Tbsp. Punjabi garam masala
• 1 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 1/2 tsp. ground cayenne or Kashmiri chilies
• 1/2 tsp. ground turmeric
• 250g chopped frozen spinach
• 1/2 c. water

Directions

1. Heat oil over medium heat.
2. Add the onion, raisins, and almonds and cook until the onions soften and nuts brown (15-20 minutes).
3. Add the chicken and cook until it sears (~10 minutes).
4. Add the garam masala, salt, ground chilies, and turmeric and cook for a minute or so.
5. Add the spinach and water, bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and cook, stirring occasionally, until chicken is cooked through (~10 minutes).
6. Serve with rice and/or your favourite flatbread.

Pullum Parthicum (Parthian Chicken)

I quite enjoy a bit of historical cooking. Cooking in the Archives has been a lot of fun (even if I don't always agree with their interpretations). And I've quite liked some of the recipes from Shakespeare's Kitchen and Townsends as well.

Reiver was actually the one who originally put me onto Townsends. And now he's shared a few more of his favourite cooking channels. One of which is Max Miller's Tasting History. I'm not necessarily a huge fan of the videos I've watched on his channel, but Reiver has his cookbook and had pointed out that we had all the bits for this chicken recipe. And, unlike some of his other recipes, he actually seems to have a reasonable source for this one and hasn't been overly... "creative" in his interpretation of it.

This was quite a surprising recipe. It honestly didn't really grab me at first. It looked unusual, but not that exciting. But, I have to say, this turned out very nice in the end! I don't think it was quite a favourite for me, but it was nice.

I never would have thought of combining red wine and fish sauce, but the combination works surprisingly well! And the caraway, black pepper, celery, and asafetida is a somewhat bewildering -- but not unpleasant -- way to complete the flavours.

I think I might put somewhat less wine next time. I do feel like using a full cup was a bit heavy-handed and possibly excessive for a recipe that calls for "seasoning" with wine. But otherwise, I really can't complain or suggest any changes or alterations. This was actually quite lovely!

We served our Parthian chicken over a bit of saffron rice with a slice of buttered rye bread and some silverbeet gratin on the side. This turns out to have been an excellent (and fairly thematically appropriate) combination. Would definitely recommend!

Parthian Chicken: Open the chicken and quarter. Pound pepper, lovage, a little caraway, moisten with garum, season with wine. Arrange the chicken in an earthen dish and put the seasoning on top. Dissolve silpuium in warm water, and put it with the chicken and cook. Sprinkle with pepper and serve.
-- Apicus, De re coquinaria

Pullum Parthicum

Slightly adapted from Tasting History by Max Miller

Ingredients

• 1 whole chicken (~1.5kg)¹
• 3 Tbsp. fish sauce
• 2 Tbsp. fresh lovage or 1/4 c. celery leaves²
• 1/2 Tbsp. black peppercorns, ground
• 1/2 Tbsp. caraway seeds, ground
• 1/2-3/4 c. dry red wine
• 3/4 tsp. ground asafetida
• 1/4 c. warm water

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 230°C (450°F).
2. Quarter the chicken and place the pieces, skin-side-up, in a baking dish.
3. Combine the fish sauce, lovage (or celery), pepper, and caraway and mix well.
4. Stir in the wine.
5. Pour this mixture over the chicken. Try to distribute the spices as evenly as possible and press them into the chicken skin a little.
6. Stir the asafetia into the water and pour it over the chicken as well.
7. Roast at 230°C (450°F) until chicken is cooked through and meat registers ~74°C/165°F (~45 minutes).
8. Remove from oven and allow to rest for 10-15 minutes.
9. Serve drizzled with the sauce and extra black pepper.

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¹ Honestly, any skin-on, bone-in chicken pieces should work reasonably well for this. I actually ended up using a bunch of thighs for my rendition. ^Back
2 I used both the leaves and the ribs of the celery for my rendition and liked that quite a lot. I only used one rib this time around, but Reiver and I agreed that a bit more would have been even better. Personally, I would recommend 1/4 c. of leaves + 2 ribs of celery if going that route. ^Back

Mushrooms are on sale again, we had half a rotisserie chicken in the fridge, and there was silverbeet (Swiss chard) ready to harvest in the garden, so this recipe was a natural choice for dinner. Sadly, it didn't work out quite right. For whatever reason, the barley refused to cook. I gave it an extra half an hour of simmering and it was still somewhat al dente and more soupy than creamy. It was delicious anyway, but I was somewhat disappointed with the delays and final appearance, even if the flavour was still excellent.

Barley Risotto with Chicken and Mushrooms

Slightly adapted from Dish of the Day by Kate McMillan

Ingredients

• 6 c. chicken stock
• 1 Tbsp. olive oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 200g mushrooms, sliced
• freshly ground pepper, to taste
• 1/2 c. dry white wine
• 1 c. pearl barley
• 150g Swiss chard (silverbeet), chopped
• 350g cooked chicken, shredded
• 1/2 c. grated Parmesan

Directions

1. Bring the stock to a boil, cover, and set aside.
2. Heat oil over medium heat.
3. Add onion and garlic and cook until softened (~5 minutes).
4. Add mushrooms, cover, and cook until they have released their liquid.
5. Season to taste with pepper, add the wine, and cook for another minute or two.
6. Add the barley and 5 c. of the stock and bring to a boil.
7. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, stirring occasionally, until most of the liquid has been absorbed.
8. Add 1/4 c. of the remaining stock and cook, stirring often, until it has been absorbed.
9. Repeat process with remaining stock.
10. Add the chard along with the last portion of stock.
11. Stir in the chicken and Parmesan and cook until heated through (3-5 minutes).
12. Serve topped with additional Parmesan.

We had a bunch of leftover pumpkin tagine for dinner tonight, but not much in the way of protein. Luckily, we still had a chicken in the freezer, so I was able to roast that up and combine it with some bread and veggies to make this "salad". It is a salad without lettuce or leafy greens. But I guess the inclusion of a vinaigrette makes it a salad nonetheless? Either way, it was tasty and rounded out the meal nicely.

Roast Chicken and Bread Salad with Green Beans

Slightly adapted from Dish of the Day by Kate McMillan

Ingredients

• 1 chicken (~1kg), cut into pieces¹
• 1 tsp. coarse sea salt, ground
• 1/2 tsp. black peppercorns, ground
• 3 thick slices of bread, cubed
• 250g green beans, trimmed
• 3 Tbsp. olive oil, divided
• 1 shallot (or small red onion), minced
• 2 Tbsp. red wine or cider vinegar
• 1 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar
• 1/2 tsp. grainy mustard
• 2 Tbsp. dried currants
• 250g strawberries², hulled and quartered

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 200°C (400°F).
2. Season chicken with most of the salt and pepper (reserving a little for the beans).
3. Roast at 200°C (400°F) until chicken is done (45-60 minutes).
4. Remove from oven and reduce oven temperature to 180°C (350°F).
5. Toss the bread cubes with 2 Tbsp. of the oil and spread out on the (now empty) baking sheet.
6. Bake at 180°C (350°F) until lightly browned and crisp on the outside (~15 minutes), turning once or twice during cooking.
7. Meanwhile, blanch the beans in some water seasoned with some of the reserved salt and pepper. Cook until just barely tender (2-3 minutes).
8. Shock the beans in cold water, drain, and set aside.
9. Whisk the winegars with the mustard, currants, and red onion.
10. Drizzle in the remaining 1 Tbsp. of oil while whisking vigorously.
11. Season to taste with salt and pepper. (I used a bit of the reserved salt and pepper from above.)
12. Add the beans and toss to combine.
13. Top with chicken, strawberries, and croutons and serve.

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¹ The original recipe called for the chicken skin to be left on, but I chose to skin my chicken and just baste it with a little of the rendered schmaltz instead. ^Back
2 I wasn't impressed by the strawberries this week, so I gave them a miss and just tossed some leftover peach salsa onto this salad instead. I think it worked quite well! ^Back

I adjusted the ratios somewhat for this one. We had twice as much chicken as the recipe called for, so I doubled the marinade and bumped up the rice slightly¹. However, we were a bit light on mushrooms, so they were scaled back a bit. And we'd just harvested a bunch of silverbeet (chard) out of the garden a couple of days ago, so I didn't want to try to take any more yet. This left me trying to swap in frozen chopped spinach. Which was fine, but I didn't want to overdo it, so I just put in a relatively small amount.

The final result was tasty, but I do think that it would have been better with more mushrooms and greens (and a bit more salt). All of these changes are reflected in the write-up below.

Ginger Rice with Chicken and Mushrooms

Slightly adapted from Dish of the Day by Kate McMillan

Ingredients

• 4 skinless boneless chicken thighs, cut into bite-sized pieces
• 1 Tbsp. ginger paste
• 2 Tbsp. oyster sauce
• 2 Tbsp. dark soy sauce²
• 2 Tbsp. Shaoxing wine (绍兴酒)
• 2 tsp. sesame oil
• 1/4 tsp. Chinese five-spice powder
• 1 Tbsp. oil (optional)
• 1 onion, chopped (optional)
• 1-2 cloves garlic, minced (optional)
• 2 c. jasmine rice
• 4 c. water
• 400-500g Swiss chard (silverbeet) and/or kale, chopped
• 250g mushrooms (preferably a mix of shiitake and cremini), sliced
• 2-3 green onions, sliced

Directions

1. Combine chicken, ginger, oyster sauce, soy sauce, wine, sesame oil, and five-spice powder and mix well. Set aside for 10-20 minutes.
2. If using onion and garlic, heat the oil over medium heat and sauté until softened (3-5 minutes).³
3. Add the rice, water, greens, mushrooms, and chicken (along with all of its marinade) to the pot and bring to a boil over medium-high heat.
4. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and cook until rice is tender (15-20 minutes).
5. Remove from heat, fluff rice, and allow to stand, covered, for 10 minutes.
6. Sprinkle with green onions and serve.

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¹ Not double. I just nudged the rice up by 1/3. But, honestly, for the amount of everything else that I had in the pot, it might've been better not to scale the rice up after all. It was tasty this way, but definitely could've used more mushrooms and greens. Which the recipe write-up reflects. ^Back
2 I used light soy here because the recipe didn't specify and it was what I had easily to hand but, having tasted it, I think that dark soy (or a blend of dark and light) would work better than light alone. ^Back
3 The original recipe didn't call for any onion or garlic and I didn't use any this time. But, having tasted it, I think some more aromatics would go nicely, so I've added them to the recipe as an optional extra. ^Back

This is billed as "Asian-style chicken soup" in the cookbook. But, looking at it, it's basically a simplified pho. You start with chicken stock and enrich it with green onions, ginger, fish sauce, cloves, star anise, and chile and then poach a couple of chicken breasts and some bok choy in it. The chicken then gets sliced and placed in a bowl with some rice noodles which the broth then gets ladeled over. Cilantro, green onions, basil, bean sprouts, chopped peanuts, sliced chilies¹, hoisin sauce, and lime wedges are passed at the table for people to adjust their soup to their taste.

I had a chicken carcass on hand, so I just made my chicken stock from scratch. I didn't measure my stock. I just added enough water to cover the carcass and added some carrots, onion, garlic, bay leaf, peppercorns, dried mushrooms, a dried chile, and a splash of soy sauce. I would have put some celery if we'd had any, but we didn't so I just rolled without it. Because I was making my own stock from scratch and without any added salt (except what was in the soy sauce) I didn't add the water called for in the recipe. (Besides, I think I probably had more than the requisite 8 c. of stock anyway.) If you're using commercial stock though, you'll probably want to add the water to avoid an excessively salty final broth.

Chicken Pho

Slightly adapted from Dish of the Day by Kate McMillan

Ingredients

• 8 c. chicken stock
• 2 c. water
• 1 bunch green onions, divided
• 5cm fresh ginger (or 1 Tbsp. ginger paste)
• 2 Tbsp. fish sauce
• 1 Tbsp. sugar
• 6 whole cloves
• 2 whole star anise
• ~500g skinless boneless chicken breasts
• 4 heads baby bok choy, chopped
• ~200g dry rice noodles
• fresh Thai chilies, thinly sliced
• fresh cilantro
• Thai basil
• bean sprouts
• peanuts, toasted and chopped
• lime wedges
• hoisin sauce

Directions

1. Combine the stock and water and bring to a boil over medium heat.
2. Reserve one of the green onions and set aside for later. Cut the remaining green onions into thirds and add them to the pot.
3. Add the ginger, fish sauce, sugar, cloves, and star anise to the pot as well.
4. Add the chicken, reduce to medium-low, and simmer until chicken is cooked through.
5. Strain the broth and return to the pot.
6. Return to a simmer, add the bok choy, and cook until tender.
7. Meanwhile, slice the chicken breasts and cook the rice noodles according to package directions.
8. Place some noodles in each bowl and put a few slices of chicken breast on top.
9. Ladel some broth and bok choy over the noodles.
10. Chop the reserved green onion.
11. Put the chilies, cilantro, basil, bean sprouts, peanuts, and lime wedges on a plate and pass at the table for people to dress their soup as they see fit.
12. Drizzle with hoisin if desired.

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¹ Omitted this time since Reiver can't eat them. ^Back

I wasn't a huge fan of this salad. I find glass noodles can be pretty hit-or-miss for me. And I think this preparation was more miss than hit. I mean, they were okay they just weren't great. I think I probably prefer my bean noodles in soups rather than as a salad in general.

That said, the Kidlet liked these. And they weren't bad, just not my favourite.

Glass Noodle Salad with Chicken and Shrimp

Slightly adapted from Dish of the Day by Kate McMillan

Ingredients

• 150g bean thread noodles
• 1/2 c. chicken stock
• 200g ground chicken
• 2 green onions³, greens and whites separated and chopped
• 150g shrimp, peeled and deveined
• juice of 2 limes
• 3 Tbsp. fish sauce
• 2 tsp. sugar
• 1 Tbsp. nam prik pao (Thai roasted chile paste)¹
• 2 large red Fresno chilies², seeded and minced
• 1/4 c. chopped fresh cilantro
• 1 Tbsp. chopped fresh mint
• 2-3 Tbsp. fried shallots (or onions)
• red or green leaf lettuce, to serve
• 老干妈 (Laoganma/spicy chili crisp), to serve (optional)

Directions

1. Soak the noodles in cold water for 10 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, bring the broth to a boil and add the chicken and white parts of the green onions.
3. Cook, breaking up the chicken, until meat is cooked through.
4. Remove the chicken and green onions with a slotted spoon and set aside.
5. Add the shrimp and simmer until cooked through (~1 minute).
6. Remove with slotted spoon and set aside.
7. Add water to the pot with the broth until the pot is at least half full and bring to a boil.
8. Drain the noodles and add to the boiling water.
9. Boil until tender (1-2 minutes).
10. Drain noodles and rise thoroughly with cold water.
11. Combine the lime juice, fish sauce, sugar, nam prik pao, and chilies in a large bowl and mix well.
12. Add the chicken and shrimp and toss to combine.
13. Add the noodles and toss to coat.
14. Add the cilantro, mint, and green parts of the green onions and toss to combine.
15. Top with fried shallots (or onions).
16. Serve on a bed of lettuce and top with Laoganma (if using).

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¹ The original recipe just called for "roasted chile paste" and didn't specify what kind. That could plausibly be any number of things! 辣豆瓣酱 (là dòubàn jiàng/Sichuan spicy bean paste), gochujiang (Korean red chile paste)... possibly even red curry paste or chipotle chile paste. Based on the rest of the recipe and the other ingredients, I'm pretty confident that they wanted nam prik pao for this, but I wish they'd been explicit about that in the instructions! Also, I didn't have any nam prik pao on hand, so I ended up substituting gochujang instead. ^Back
2 I couldn't find any Fresno chiles, so I just minced a jalapeño and tossed it in instead. I used only one, since jalapeños tend to be a bit hotter than Fresnos. That said, the overall dish was still pretty mild, so I think it would have been fine to use two. Maybe I'll add another jalapeño and/or a bell pepper to the leftovers... ^Back
3 The original recipe only calls for 1 green onion and that's all I used, but, having tasted it, I really think it would be better with more. Acutally... Now that I think of it, I think putting one in with the chicken and the rest at the end would be excellent! Or maybe, put the whites with the chicken and save the greens as a garnish for the end... Yes! Brb, updating recipe. ^Back

This recipe claimed to be for stew, but it's definitely more of a soup. I even cut the broth by 1/3 and it was still more of a soup than a stew. A delicious soup, to be sure, but still a soup.

I ended up using chicken sausage instead of the turkey called for because I found some on sale and used spinach instead of kale (which I doubled, since the 125g called for didn't seem like nearly enough). I also went with a mix of pot barley and pearled wheat because I got wheat instead of barley by accident when I was at the grocery store restocking. Whoops! That said, both grains seemed to work just fine, so I wouldn't hesitate to use either (or both) again in the future.

It was interesting that the recipe called for cooking the barley separately and then adding it to the soup later. I'm used to just adding the uncooked grains to the soup and letting them cook in the broth. I think I'd be tempted to try it that way next time, just to see if doing it that way makes a noticeable difference.

Spinach, Chicken Sausage, and Barley Soup

Slightly adapted from Dish of the Day by Kate McMillan

Ingredients

• 2 c. water
• 1 c. pearl barley (and/or pearled wheat)
• 500g chicken (or turkey) sausage
• up to 4 c. chicken stock
• 1 Tbsp. olive oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 4-5 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 small (~400mL) can diced tomatoes
• 250g frozen chopped spinach (or kale)
• salt and pepper, to taste

Directions

1. Bring water to a boil.
2. Add the barley and cook until tender¹.
3. Drain the barley and set aside. (I reserved the cooking liquid and used it to poach the sausages rather than pan-frying them.)
4. Either pan-fry the sausages in a little oil until well-browned on all sides or poach them in some water (or the residual barley cooking liquid until cooked through. Set aside.
5. Measure out the residual cooking liquid (if you reserved it) and add enough stock to bring the total volume up to 4 c. Set aside.
6. Heat the oil over medium heat.
7. Add the onion and garlic and cook until softened (4-5 minutes).
8. Slice the sausages and return to pot. Cook for another 5 minutes.
9. Add the tomatoes and chicken stock and bring to a boil.
10. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 10 minutes.
11. Add the barley and spinach and cook until heated through (4-5 minutes).
12. Season to taste with salt and pepper and serve.

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¹ This took ~25 minutes for my mix of pot barley and pearled wheat. Pearl barley may cook somewhat faster, I'm not sure. ^Back