STRIPPIN DOWN, COOKING UP: PUMPKIN CHICKEN

It has been a while since I last stripped down to cook. However, recently I’ve decided to cook again especially for my dinners so I am able better to control my diet. I use to go to my in-laws for dinner but then I find myself stuffing myself more than I should – especially when she cooks sambal petai. So… trying to stick with my diet plan, I started cooking simple high protein low carbs meal for dinner when I get back from office.

This recipe here is already considered quite elaborate during working days as most days, I would just marinate a meat and stuff it into the oven to cook.

Ingredients:

         i.            Chicken breast – sliced and diced

       ii.            A slice of pumpkin dice

      iii.            Anchovies – handful

 

 

First fry the anchovies till it’s almost crispy

Then fry the pumpkin. Pumpkin takes a little longer to cook so let it simmer in some water.

Once the pumpkin is almost cooked, add in the sliced diced chicken breast. Add in more water if required.

The watery bits should begin to thicken at the end. A really good sign your pumpkin is now soft and ready.

 

And serve…

 

 

Simple…

 

STRIPPING DOWN, COOKING UP: CARBONARA SPAGHETTI

Ingredients:

             i.            Cooking cream (1 box)

            ii.            Butter

           iii.            Spaghetti

           iv.            Garlic (1 clove)

            v.            Fresh mushroom

           vi.            Cheese

          vii.            Ham/Bacon

         viii.            Egg (yellow) x 3

           ix.            Corn Flour

Between a Carbonara and a Bolognaise, I personally prefer a Carbonara as the cream texture of it gives a nice warm feeling to my every growing tummy.

Spaghetti Preparation:

First take a bunch of spaghetti and put them into a pot of hot water and bring to boil. Add olive oil and dried basil leave.

Once the spaghetti is not too soft and not too hard (“al dente” so says my wife), drain the water and WALA… you’ve got your plain spaghetti all done and ready to be eaten if so you so wish.

Carbonara Sauce Preparation:

First chop the garlic and mushroom into small cube sizes. Slice the bacon into small (not too small) 0.5cm by 0.5cm sizes.

Heat the pan up and melt the butter in the pan. Stir fry the garlic first, then the bacon and then the mushrooms in the pan. Pour in the cooking cream and add some water. Next, pour in the egg (yellow only) into the pan and bring to boil. Once boiled, add some corn flour (if necessary) to increase the thickness of the sauce.

Combo

Once you’ve done both of the above, combine both the spaghetti and sauce and you have yourself a delicious heart attack meal.

STRIPPING DOWN, COOKING UP: CREAMY MUSSELS

Ingredients:

            - Cooking cream (1 box)

            - Butter

            - Mussels (20 pcs)

            - Garlic (1 clove)

            - Onion (1 biji)

            - Cheese

            - Corn flour

Mussels are generally cooked via 2 methods; Baked or creamed. Having 2 boxes of cooking cream in the fridge, I decided to try out cooking the mussels through cream.

First of course wash the mussels and then steam them. Steaming preserved the sweetness and nutrient of the mussels (this is a wonderful tip from my wife who learned it from steaming our baby’s food). The steaming should be done quickly and should not go beyond 5 minutes.

While waiting, chop the garlic and onions (yellow onions) into small tinnie winnie sizes.

Heat the pan up and place a healthy chunk of butter into the pan as oil. Once the butter has melted and is hot, fry the onions and garlic. Before the garlic and onion turn brown, pour in the cooking cream and add a little water. You can also melt the cheese in the pan now.  

Next, transfer the steamed mussels from the steaming pot to the pan and stir fry for another 5 minutes. If the solution is too watery, mix corn flour and water in a small bowl and pour it very slowly into the pan while stirring it until it’s the sauce is thick enough.

Once that’s done, pour it onto a bowl/plate and bon appétit.

STRIPPIN DOWN, COOKING UP: PAN-FRIED LEMON CHICKEN

Ingredients:

i.            Chicken breast

ii.          Lemon

iii.         Garlic

iv.        Dried thyme leaves

v.          Soya Sauce

vi.        Oil

First of course clean the chicken, cut the lemon, squeeze the lemon, cut some of the lemon skin into thin strips, chop the garlic and go buy some thyme leaves.

Mix the garlic, lemon juice, lemon pieces and thyme leaves into a soya sauce + oil concoction. Marinate the chicken breast in the mixture. Best if chicken is marinated overnight.

When ready to cook, bring out the wok, pour some oil and place the chicken to fry. Duration of frying depends on the wellness you’ll like the chicken to be (rare, medium-rare, medium or well-done). I personally prefer well-done. To check for done-ness, take a fork and pork it through the thickest part of the chicken. If the fork goes through easily, the meat is well-done.

Nothing more to do but to enjoy your well-deserved chicken.