Snack – The Occasional Cook

Poutine

August 1, 2021 7shasha7

I’ve a cool game I am playing with the children now. Though they are older now, it doesn’t mean we can’t have some fun, especially in this trying pandemic era.

In the last post I shared that the game involves being blindfolded and picking a country at random. Whichever country the finger lands at, I will learn more about the country and cook dishes relevant or popular to that place.

Last week after picking Mali the previous week, the Boy’s finger landed smack on Victoria Island, Canada. Now, that’s like almost Arctic territory and I scoured the Net but there’s very limited information about Victoria Island. I even borrowed a book online on Canadian cuisine but nothing on Victoria Island. Disappointed, I decided then to make Canada’s national dish of sorts – poutine!

What is there not to like about fried potatoes! But what’s even better is that it’s served with homemade gravy! And what can make it even better? Adding cheese. Goodness. Loaded with all the good stuff, but yes, not a diet friendly dish at all!

The first thing I did was make the gravy. Authentic ones use a combination of beef and chicken stock but I never have ready made home-made beef stock so I used all chicken. It’s so simple to make. Make a roux of butter and plain flour and make sure the mixture darkens to a dark brown. Add black pepper here at this stage. This adds to the fragrance of the gravy. Once it’s a dark brown, slowly add chicken stock and stir furiously. After that, thicken with 1-2 tsp of cornflour that had been mixed with some water. And that’s it! You may choose to season with salt but for me, that’s just too much sodium because I used boxed chicken stock.

For the potatoes, I used Idaho russet potatoes. They were huge, and the perfect length. Twice fry the potatoes. The first at a lower temperature to cook the insides, and the second at a higher temperature to crisp them up.

I don’t have cheese curds. We don’t have a wide range of cheeses here so I read that the best substitute is mozzarella. Use the block kind and tear it up into chunks.

And that’s it. Poutine is delicious but must be eaten hot. I’m glad I am playing this game because seriously, sometimes I run out of ideas on what to make next for the family. This is spontaneous and educational. Travelling vicariously through food and books now since it’s been 1.5 years since we travelled out of our island. 😦

Poultry, Snack, Western

Quick and Easy Creamy Chicken Mini Pies

April 23, 2021 7shasha7

I’m a working mom. Yes, I do have a helper but that doesn’t mean the helper does everything so I do my bit too. So often, I find myself in the kitchen trying something new for the family to try.

Growing up, my mother used to make for us chicken pies. From scratch, mind you. She’ll make the pastry herself and the filling and voila! As little kids, all we had to do was pop one in the mouth. Ok, several mouthfuls. They were delicious and something my brother and I always looked forward to.

But, like I said, I’m working a full time job. But I do want to make pies. So I found an easy way and that’s to use ready rolled shortcrust pastries. Just cut them into rounds, place on a muffin tray, add the filling, brush the tops with and egg wash and then done! In the oven they go.

I like this brand because it’s vegan. And the slight
saltiness is perfect!

Spray muffin tray with olive oil spray can, add the pastry, filling and top it with a small disc of the pastry.

My filling is super easy. 500g of chicken breasts, cubed and seasoned with Korean seasoning of salt and pepper (I love to use theirs but regular salt and pepper will do), cubed potatoes and peas. I seasoned the mixture after frying garlic in olive oil and adding the chicken and potatoes with a teaspoon of curry powder and three teaspoons of sweet smoked paprika. Then add the peas and finally 200g of cooking cream. Then because I had a whole bunch of frozen basil, I chopped them up and put inside the mixture. Cook till reduced.

The cooked ready to be filled creamy chicken potato and peas filling.

Prick the tops with a fork and the. Brush with egg wash. Bake in oven at 190 degree Celsius till brown.

Yummy chicken pies!! They’re rustic looking!

Beautiful to look at and delicious eaten hot!

If a busy working mom can do this in less than an hour, so can you! 😆

Chinese, Sides, Singapore, Snack

Chicken and Crabstick Wontons

March 28, 2021 7shasha7

I think I’ve perfected in making wontons, my way. The kind where the family cannot stop eating and where everything will be gone in seconds!

I’ve learnt that the secret is really to make the filling moist and flavourful. In the supermarket, they’re selling these small ready cut crab sticks. Yes, I know it’s processed but they add so much flavour and softness contrast to the dense minced chicken. For the chicken, I used tender fillet cute and just blend them. But I think my secret ingredient that the family likes without knowing what it is – carrots! Not traditional Chinese, I know but it adds natural sweetness to the filling.

Seasoning: soy sauce, oyster sauce, sesame oil, white pepper, cornstarch.

Method: Deep fry is the only way to go, baby! There is no way you can get crispy juicy wontons by air frying them…

Mix minced or blended chicken tenders, small cubes of crab sticks (use fresh prawns is ok too, I’ve done it before), shredded carrots and then season with soy sauce, oyster sauce, white pepper and a tiny teaspoon of cornflour/cornstarch. I don’t add salt but if you want more flavour, you should add. For us, since we eat wontons with a mix of chilli sauce and Indonesian kecap manis, I see no need for salt.

Deep fry and enjoy hot! Warm is also ok. But seriously, who can wait.

Middle Eastern/Turkish, Salads and Vegetables, Sides, Snack

Borek pies

February 25, 2021March 3, 2021 7shasha7

My version of borek pies is so quick to make and delicious too! I usually make them into spring rolls but because I was too impatient with the dough and it broke, I just turned them into pies.

The filling simply consists of Turkish white cheese or just use feta cheese, a package of frozen spinach, Greek yogurt, one egg and spices (I just used smoked paprika, black pepper and salt). Lots of melted butter and nigella seeds on top.

I love the Turkish white cheese compare to feta because these white cheese is creamy!

…And then cover with more phyllo pastry. brush with olive oil and sprinkle nigella seeds.

Remove from pan, let it cool a bit and then cut.

Poultry, Snack

Chicken Bak Kwa – Chinese Style jerky

February 11, 2021 7shasha7

Today is the eve of the Lunar New Year. And inspired by my friend (who’s Chinese but living in Germany) chicken Bak kwa, I decided to try and make too.

I didn’t know it’s so easy to make. The Chinese here will spend hundreds of dollars buying this staple for the New Year. I decided to follow my friend’s recipe, which uses chicken.

In a bowl, mix 150g sugar, 2tbsp fish sauce, 2 tbsp soy sauce, 1/2 tsp five spice powder, 1/2 tsp salt, 1 tsp sesame oil. Add a few drops of red food colouring.

Add 600g of minced chicken place in a container and refrigerate overnight.

The next day, line an oven tray with baking greaseproof paper. And then spread the meat mixture thin.

Bake at 150 degrees Celcius for about an hour. Take it out and cut into pieces.

Happy Lunar New Year to all my Chinese friends! Gong Ci Fa Cai! Xin Nian Kuai Le!