Rendang Chicken

This is my first proper curry from scratch.  I spent my Saturday evening making the curry paste, frying it in the pan, watching it reduce with the coconut milk and then leaving it to stew for two hours, stirring every now and then. And that was one of the best Saturday evenings I've had in a while.

Quail, Pea Purée, Carrots, Jus

I was seriously spoiled in culinary school.  We had kitchen porters and limitless pans that allowed us to make dishes with five different components in two hours.  Now at home when I try to be just slightly ambitious it takes me twice as long and I'm twice as stressed because I'm just washing the same two pans over and over again.

Quail, onion puree, hazelnut granola, peas, jus

 Oh man I'm so glad I can finally use some of my culinary school stuff for Happy Belly. It's two birds with one stone. This is actually an exam dish of mine, and I need to make two plates of this plus two plates of a main course dish that involves a dozen different elements in 4 hours.  With setting up and cleaning, I'm in the room for over 4 and a half hours.  An exam for four and a half hours.  You know what my main concern with these things are?  My bladder.  I've got a bladder of an 80-year-old and simply the idea of being restricted the bathroom for that long makes my bladder fill up with nerves.

Guinea Fowl, Sandwich, Charred Corn, Spiced Fennel Puree & Jus

Sometimes in class we get to do a bit of whatever we want.  We're given a list of ingredients and we're told to go wild, and this was that. 

 I can only imagine attempting this at home without 12 different pots and pans and all the equipment and porters washing after you.  Maybe you're luckier than I am, so maybe this is easily achievable at home under an hour. 

Jamie's Milk Braised Chicken

Next time, to continue with the theme, I'm going to infuse the milk with saffron. This was Jamie Oliver's recipe, and the chicken is essentially just seared and then cooked in milk and herbs and spices for an hour and a half.  Really is as easy as it sounds, and it's as delicious as it sounds.  As you can probably imagine, it's incredibly moist and sweet and tender and simply beautiful.

I had been wanting to make this for awhile.  I used to subscribe to Jamie Oliver's magazine, and this was in an issue in 2012.  I've kept them all -- it's funny, 4 years in university and I've accumulated more food magazines/cookbooks than I do academic books. And yes, it's exam season and I'm making things like this when I should just be eating ready-made sandwiches like everyone else.  It's better, it's healthier, but my lunch breaks become 3 hours long.

Indian-Spiced Chicken, Butternut Squash Purée & Lentils

Ok, new resolution:  I'm going to have something uplifting in each of my blog posts.  This may be a joke, a happy fact or a cute image/video.  It will make Happy Belly "happier".  Especially since I feel like I'm just whining most of the time here.

So.  It's a rough time as I am approaching the end of my four-year degree.  After almost four years of studying something that I have absolutely no interest in, I have one more month left, this one last hurdle, one last push is all I need and I just don't give a sh*t anymore.  It's counter intuitive but the closer I am to finishing this degree the less I want to finish it. 

Chicken Ballotine with Onion and Olives, Ras-el-hanout Sweet Potato Mash, Coriander & Pine Nuts

I once made a chicken ballotine stuffed with a mixture of nuts, honey and thyme for an ex- boyfriend, however, it was a bit on the pink side and it was not well received.  I had thought about recreating that dish, perhaps with a blue cheese sauce and some sauteed apples but then I had a craving for sweet potatoes.

This reminds me, some men are only attracted to my cooking abilities.  I was once on a date with a guy who in the middle of dinner said, "oh it's my last year of university, I really just want to settle down with a nice a girl who cooks".  Yup.  And then apparently he told our mutual friend that he was quite upset that I had not yet cooked for him like three days after our first date.  Don't worry, I didn't keep seeing him.  Maybe that's why I serve raw chicken to guys, as it forces them to explore my other lovely qualities  #singleforever

Thai Chicken Lettuce Cups (Larb Gai Salad)

I'm only experiencing my second episode of winter blues of the year so far, which isn't bad.  It hit yesterday afternoon and it went on until this evening, so it wasn't very long either, unlike the first one that lasted for two weeks.  It's funny how big of an influence a person can have on you.  A silly boy ruined my day yesterday, but a nicer boy made my day today.

People don't understand the influence their kindness can have on people.  It may be as simple as a bright smile and a "how are you" that can really make someone's day.

 Try to be nice to everyone.  To your friends, acquaintances or the sales people behind the counter -- stop and ask them how they are, and be genuinely interested.  Everyone wants to feel important and cared about, and they feel that way if people ask them about themselves.  And smile.  Make an effort to smile.  The whole world does smile with you if you smile. 

Chicken with Orange and Basil Sauce

It was orientation week of my first year in uni.  I had quickly made a group of friends, and one of them, Ross, was turning 18 that week. Now. That was before I really started cooking. I had gone to a couple of cooking classes that summer, and with those few recipes in my computer and a heart filled with enthusiasm, I so eagerly wanted to cook for Ross and my friends as part of a birthday present. Much of it was a blur. I don’t remember if I actually cooked the whole meal or not, I just remembered my attempt at this chicken with orange sauce. I had learned the recipe from one of the cooking classes in Rome. It was supposed to be easy and delicious – one of those sweet and savory dishes that I love. And since I witnessed the whole procedure and helped chopped onions and squeeze orange juice, I had stupidly thought that it would be a piece of cake to recreate the dish. Thinking back, perhaps my memory is deluding me to protect me, but I honestly don’t remember it being that bad. Yes, the chicken was on the raw side, but the sauce was alright. My friends remember it differently though – they said it was just orange juice poured over medium-rare chicken. All except for Ross, bless, he has never once criticized anything that I cooked, that’s why he’s my favorite. 

Grilled Chicken with Garden Pea Skordalia

I'm always slightly nervous when I cook chicken.  I never know when it's cooked through, and unlike beef, I can't just have it medium-rare.  There's a funny story involving chicken with orange sauce, but I'll get to that next time.  Let's just first say that I've served people raw chicken before.

Grilled Chicken with Tomato Salsa

I love chicken. It’s cheap, it’s versatile, it’s high in protein, low in fat – low cholesterol. My poor father just found out that he has high cholesterol so he’s been trying to stick to just chicken and fish. Poor guy loves cheese. Loves mozzarella. Every time we go back to China he’d pack three big blocks of parmesan cheese for his late night cravings when he comes home from work. No more. Anyway, here’s a nice light recipe for the summer if you have high cholesterol or if you simply want to keep slim for the beach. Takes 10 minutes. No, less.

Turkey Breast with Mushrooms and Leeks

I'm very much into plating nowadays -- it's got to look good if you want people to eat it. I find that anything stuffed or rolled just looks more elegant. Then you elevate your star by putting it on a pedestal, and finally you must drizzle it with a sauce. So here you have turkey rolled and stuffed with a mushroom and leek filling, sitting on top of the same mixture and drizzled with a mushroom and balsamic sauce.

I don't come from turkey-eating cultures, but we should really all eat turkey more, it's very healthy.

Serves 4

Ingredients
4 slices of turkey breasts
½ cup dried porcini mushrooms
1 cup wild mushrooms, sliced
1 large leek, sliced
1 garlic clove
2 stalks rosemary
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar

Method
Pour 1 ½ cup of boiling water over the dried porcini mushrooms and let them sit for 30 minutes. Strain the liquid and reserve. Fry the garlic in a pan until fragrant and add the leek, rosemary sprigs, mushrooms and half a cup of the mushroom liquid and cook for a good 10-15 minutes.
Pound the turkey breast until large and flat, season on both sides, and put a bit of the mushroom-leek filling onto the end and roll it up. Secure with a toothpick if you need. Do the same for all 4 slices, don’t worry if you’ve got leftover leeks and mushrooms. Place them in the pan together with the leftover mushroom mixture and fry all over until cooked. Remove the turkey rolls and make a reduction of the mushroom juice by putting the remaininy mushroom water into the pan with the balsamic vinegar and heat over medium-high heat until reduced by about 2/3. Season and serve with turkey.

Orange and Green Tea Poached Chicken Salad

I love salads.  There's so much more to salads than just some tossed lettuce with oil and vinegar.  It's a wide variety of dishes -- you can have your leafy greens and vinaigrette, or you can have legumes, grains, seafood, meat, roasted veg, fruits with an endless possibility of dressings and sauces from creamy blue cheese to zingy Thai dressings.   

It's springtime, salads are a must to accompany the great weather.  The chicken has delicate flavors with hints of smokiness coming from the tea leaves, accompanied by sweet and tangy notes from the orange juice, and then you get the contrast of zingy sharpness from the zest and ginger. Please do toss it with some julienned vegetables/serve on top of a cold noodle salad/with some legumes.  I had nothing else in the kitchen so it was just pure protein for me.

Ballotine of Chicken with Onions & Raisins, Root Veg Puree

I have this friend that's an amazing cook.  If anybody's got a talent for cooking, it's him.  Last time at a dinner party he made ballotine of  chicken with nuts and honey, accompanied by fresh fruits, a blue cheese sauce, and roasted root veg.  So this is an amateur attempt of that.

It was fun/such a pain stuffing the chicken.  It's basically like rolling a maki.  The key is just to roll it as tightly as possible,  and making sure that the chicken breast is intact.  When you flatten it sometimes it can..fall apart, and you don't want that.  Anything stuffed is impressive. Stuffed vegetables, stuffed roasts, stuffed chicken breasts -- never fail to impress at dinner parties.

White Cut Chicken (白斩鸡）

There’s this misconception that Chinese food is “unhealthy”, “oily” and “full of MSG”.  I remember my first experience with Western Chinese food in Italy.  I was horrified by the glistening dishes of vegetables and meats, smothered in rich, thick sauces. The thick, chewy spring rolls that have been fried and refried with a burst of oil in every bite.  The egg fried rice, oh the egg fried rice.  How do you make the egg fried rice so unhealthy?  How do you make it so frighteningly sticky and shiny? 

Look at the Chinese people that surround you.  No, we don’t have faster metabolism (I wish), nor do we have smaller appetites (my stomach’s a bottomless pit).  When it comes to obesity it really comes down to what you eat and the real Chinese diet is actually healthy and low in fat, that is why not many of us are overweight. I grew up in Beijing with a Chinese mother who’s very much of a health freak and so I got the essence of Chinese health foods.  So here I offer you a recipe of a dish I grew up with, hoping to break your falsified belief about Chinese cuisine.  A simple, healthy and economical appetizer, that would, contrary to Chinese restaurants’ beliefs, suit your Western tastebuds’ needs.   Oh and the best bit – you can find all the ingredients in your local supermarket without having to go to an Asian supermarket!

Mediterranean Chicken with Onions and Leeks

I feel like a big ball of positive energy today.  You know those days where you just wake up happy? Today was one of those days for me.  And I realized, this is a positive cycle.  Me being happy will lead to higher productivity and people liking me better, which will in turn result in better outcomes, better essays, work, relations with other people, which would make me happier.  It's like a big multiplier effect of happiness.  And happy people make better food!

So ok, happy food resulting from a happy state of mind.  Chicken and leeks.  I've been eating more meat, it's been difficult to fight the carnivorous urge lately.  I like chicken, it's one of those meats that everyone likes.  It is healthy and it is cheap.  Chicken thighs - very cheap.  All about the budget and the diet lately as a college student.  

Prep time: 20 min        Cook time: 40 min         Serves: 2            Suitable for: a happy, healthy lunch

Ingredients
1 large onion, thinly sliced
6 cloves of garlic, peeled and crushed
1/2 large leek, thinly sliced
4 chicken thighs
1 tsp herbes de provence
3 bay leaves
2 tbsp crumbled feta cheese
1 small handful of basil leaves

Method
Fry the onions and garlic in a pan until translucent and add the leeks and the bay leaves.  Season the chicken thighs with salt, pepper and herbes de provence, and place it on top of the leek and onion mixture.  Cover with lid, turn the heat down and let it simmer for about 40 minutes until cooked.  Add the crumbled cheese and torn basil leaves and serve :)

Moroccan Spiced Roast Chicken with Couscous Stuffing

I love an excuse to cook a roast.  I love roasts, but I can't always justify making a roast just for myself.  The easiest/cheapest would be chicken.  And everyone loves chicken so it's always a safe choice.  So my friends came over last night and I made a Moroccan spiced roast chicken with couscous stuffing.  Oh it's as good as it sounds.  It's got honey, dates, nuts, spices, cinnamon.  All things good.