Inchi Cabin

It's been years since I had inchi cabin, the crunchy fragrant nonya style fried chicken. So for a simple lunch with a friend, I decided to fry up some chicken wings, and the recipe for inchi cabin caught my attention. It uses a simple marinade of curry powder and coconut milk, the secret is in the frying, it's fried twice over very high heat to achieve the crunch!

 

Corn cakes.

I've never had corn cakes before and these are my first so I really can't say if they taste right. What I can say though is that this is a great way to get my toddler to eat vegetables that have not been mashed into an unrecognisable form. In this version, I had chicken, red pepper and corn and as I write this I also realised that I had forgotten to add in basil when I cooked it! Nevertheless, the corn cakes still tasted fab!

 

Individual chicken pie

Individual chicken pie...this is my cheat recipe for days when I'm too tired to cook from scratch. Simply get hold of ready made puff pastry, a tin of cream of mushroom, frozen peas, carrots and chicken breast. With a quick flash in the pan to stir fry the chicken, leave to cool. While waiting, roll out the puff pastry and then add a little of each ingredient followed by 15 minutes in the oven...serve with a salad and you will end up with a simple meal cooked in no time and very little washing up..yay!

The cut open pie...

 

Belacan fried chicken

It's our last pilates class and we planned to have a potluck lunch after the class, so once again my head is spinning trying to think of something to cook. Since this group is not keen on spicy food as well as there will be kids, it had to be something without chilli. The day before the potluck, I was at the supermarket, wandering the aisles for inspiration. I ended up with chicken wings and some odds and ends and no ideas! 

There's a saying that when you are stuck for answers to sleep on it. Sleep on it I did, and I got up half an hour before the alarm clock wnet off with belacan chicken in my head! Problem solved, I had chicken wings and the other ingredients were staples in my storecupboard...err, I did have to do a run to the shops for oil though..but to cut a long story short, I happily contributed my belacan fried chicken wings to the potluck and even the 5 year old girl loved it, and I was then christened the 'fried chicken wing auntie'!



Padprik Ayam

This is another that has been a long time coming and finally the search is over, I've found the recipe that is close to the ones made by the malay stalls. The unfortunate thing is that I have no idea where I got the recipe from, all I have is just a piece of paper with the recipe written on it so I can't go back and try other recipes from the same cook :-(
Nevertheless, I will definately cook this again. Now, I wonder how daging masak merah is cooked??!!

Chicken Tagine with Olives and Preserved Lemon

This is from Jamie Oliver's latest book, Jamie Does. Flavoured with preserved lemon and olives and then stewed till the meat falls off the bone, a very hearty meal served with lightly seasoned couscous.

Ayam masak masam manis

This is malay style sweet and sour chicken. The chicken is first marinated in tumeric and salt and then pan fried instead of being battered the chinese sweet and sour style. Next the sweet, sour and (because its a malay dish) spicy sauce is made and mixed with the fried chicken. Serve with steamed rice.

Sweet and Sour Chicken

Crispy battered chicken with crunchy vegetables served with a sweet and sour sauce, this makes a one dish meal when served with steamed rice. Though very common in the UK takeways (ehmm, they are not quite like the ones we have at home as below), this dish is not a common dish during mealtimes at home when I was a kid, it is usually ordered in the 'chu char' restaurant when we have a special occasion and get to eat out.

Kung Po Chicken

The trick to this stir-fry dish is speed and a very big fire under your wok! So have everything prepared and ready to hand before you start. I like the vegetables to be crunchy when done hence the requirement for speed and the big fire. Also, try not to breathe too deep when frying the dried chillies or you will have a choking fit!

Chicken Briyani

This is a malay style all in one rice dish, usually accompanied with lightly pickled vegetables. The last time I made this was with lamb, this time I used chicked which turned out just as good. The beauty of this dish is that the meat is buried in the almost cooked rice and baked in the oven to finish. Yumms but be careful not to eat too often else the spare tyres will grow!!

Harissa Chicken with Couscous

Harissa paste is a North African red sauce or paste used to flavour meat for grilling or used simply as a dip. It's ingredients are not unlike the usual Malaysian sambal, just a little more sophisticated with added spices like coriander and fennel. I usually buy it ready made from the supermarket and didn't think it was anything special until I tried making my own. My version of course had a lot more oomphh due to the extra chilli added! Below, the homemade paste used to grill chicken breasts served with simple couscous.