Syrian Chicken –w- Ginger Lemon & Saffron

Hi folks,  it has been a while since my last post, but you know how easy it is to get bogged down in life from time to time. This is a recipe originally published by Karen Martini & passed to me by my foodie friend Jan Smith. Of course I have dabbled with the original recipe, but hey, it's all about personal taste & food should be ever evolving, right? It has everything I love about food from the middle east – it is redolent with spices, ginger, honey, dried fruit, saffron & a touch of chilli. Please don’t be daunted by the long list of ingredients as your efforts will be greatly rewarded with a meal that your friends and family will love. This recipe will serve 4 people with rice or couscous.

Ingredients

2 tsp sea salt
2 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 tsp ground turmeric
8 organic/free range chicken drumsticks
100 mls olive oil
1 brown onion thickly sliced
2.5 cm fresh ginger, julienned
5 cloves garlic peeled and bruised with the back of a knife
2 small red chillies split or finely chopped if you prefer
2 tomatoes roughly chopped
2 pinches saffron
½ tsp cumin seeds
5 sprigs thyme
1 lemon juiced & zest finely grated
3 tbsp honey
100g currants
chicken stock
!/2 bunch coriander leaves
cooked couscous or rice, to serve

Method

Pre heat oven to 180c.

Combine salt, cumin, cinnamon, pepper and turmeric in a large plastic bag.  Add chicken pieces and shake to coat.

Heat olive oil in a large heavy-based pan over high heat. Add chicken and brown on all sides. Remove from pan and set aside. Add onions, ginger, garlic and chillies to pan and cook for 3 minutes, adding a little more oil, if necessary. Add tomatoes, saffron, cumin seeds and thyme and cook for 2 minutes.

Return chicken to pan and add lemon juice and zest, honey, currants & stock to just cover chicken. Cover with a lid and cook in oven for 30-40 mins until chicken is tender & cooked through. Remove from oven, take chicken out and boil sauce

Until it is slightly reduced. Return chicken to sauce & stir in coriander. Serve with couscous or rice.

Roti

I was first introduced to the delights of home made roti at a dinner party by my good friends, Annie & Franco from The Byron Bay Coffee Co.  On that occasion Annie made coconut roti to accompany a Thai style soup. I was so taken by them that I started to do a few experiments of my own & came up with the following recipe, which has now become a firm favourite in my household.  Once you make your own roti you too will become addicted, just like me.  I served these roti with a Beef Vindaloo, steamed Basmati Rice, Cucumber & Yoghurt Raita & Green Mango Chutney. This recipe will make 8 roti.

Ingredients

2 cups of plain or whole wheat flour
1 tsp sea salt
2 tbs sunflower/peanut oil
½ to ¾ cup of warm water
½ sachet of dried yeast (3.5gms)
extra flour for dusting

Method

Activate the yeast in the warm water until foaming. In a large mixing bowl add the salt & oil to the flour & rub through with your fingertips until incorporated. Make a well in the centre of the flour & gradually add the water/yeast mixture using your fingers & mix well until you have a soft & pliable dough. Knead the dough until it becomes smooth & elastic (5 to 10 mins). Cover with a slightly damp cloth and set aside in a warm place to prove for 1 hour.
Punch the dough down, lightly knead again then divide into 8 equal portions. Roll each portion into golf ball size rounds & place on a tray & cover with the damp cloth & let rest for another 20 minutes or so. Take 1 ball of dough at a time and flatten it into a round disk using your palms. Dust your work area and rolling pin with a little bit of flour to prevent sticking. Gently roll the flattened ball into a circle approximately 15cms in diameter, making sure the roti is thin & of even thickness.
Heat a large heavy based griddle/frying pan on medium heat, spray with cooking oil and carefully place a roti in the pan. After a minute or so bubbles will appear & the underside will be lightly golden, turn the roti & cook the other side. Repeat until all roti are cooked. Serve immediately with your favourite curry or dips. Enjoy!

Spicy Black Bean Prawn & Squid

Here's a quick & easy stir fry I would like to share with you.  It takes no time at all to pull together but has great depth of flavour & will be sure to impress your family & friends. I can't remember where I originally sourced the recipe but I believe it was inspired by the wonderful Neil Perry.  This quantity will serve four with plain steamed rice & some braised bok choy.

Ingredients

4 tablespoons vegetable oil
500g green king prawns, shelled, deveined and butterflied
6 small squid tubes halved & scored
1 tablespoon fermented black beans
1/2 a red onion, sliced
2 birdseye chillis, chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 knob ginger, finely sliced
3 tablespoons diced red capsicum
3 tablespoons diced green capsicum
4 long green shallots, in 3cm lengths
3 tablespoons light soy sauce
2 tablespoons shaoxing (Chinese cooking wine)
3 tablespoons oyster sauce
1 teaspoon caster sugar
coriander leaves for garnish

Method

Heat the oil in a wok until just smoking. Stir fry the prawns until they are just cooked, remove from the wok and set aside.
Add the black beans, onion, chilli, garlic, ginger and red and green capsicum and stir fry until fragrant. Add the shaoxing wine, soy, caster sugar and oyster sauce then add the squid, return the prawns to the wok and toss through being careful not to overcook the seafood.
Scatter with the coriander and finely sliced shallot. Serve with steamed jasmine rice.

Red Braised Pork

Chairman Mao’s Red-Braised Pork

Mao Shi Hong Shao Rou

From the book Revolutionary Chinese Cookbook by Fuchsia Dunlop

Red-braised pork is a dish that in Hunan is inseparably bound up with the memory of Chairman Mao: many restaurants call it “The Mao Family’s red-braised pork.” Mao Zedong loved it, and insisted his Hunanese chefs cook it for him in Beijing. It’s a robust concoction, best eaten with plain steamed rice and simple stir-fried vegetables; the sweet, aromatic chunks of meat are irresistible.
In Shaoshan, Mao’s home village, cooks traditionally leave the skin intact for maximum succulence, and cut the meat into rather large chunks, perhaps 1 1/2 inches long; I tend to make the pieces a little smaller. This recipe takes its color from caramelized sugar, which gives it a lovely reddish gloss, but many people just use dark soy sauce at home.
When I make this dish I up the spices because I love flavour – I use 3 star anise, about 6 dried red chiles, a whole cinnamon stick & I also garnish it with fresh coriander which is not traditional but for me makes the dish complete.

Ingredients
1lb (500gms) pork belly (skin optional)
2 Tbsp peanut oil
2 Tbsp white sugar
1 Tbsp Shaoxing wine
Fresh ginger (a ¾-inch piece), skin left on and sliced
1 star anise
2 dried red chiles
A small piece of cassia bark or a small cinnamon stick
Light soy sauce
Salt
Sugar
Scallion greens


Method
Plunge the pork belly into a pan of boiling water and simmer for 3 or 4 minutes, until partially cooked. Remove and, when cool enough to handle, cut into bite-sized chunks.
Heat the oil and white sugar in a wok over a gentle flame until the sugar melts, then raise the heat and stir until the melted sugar turns a rich caramel brown. Add the pork and splash in the Shaoxing wine.
Add enough water to just cover the pork, along with the ginger, star anise, chiles, and cassia. Bring to a boil, then turn down the heat and simmer for 40 to 50 minutes.
Toward the end of the cooking time, turn up the heat to reduce the sauce, and season with soy sauce, salt, and a little sugar to taste. Add the scallion greens just before serving.

Serves 4