Grilled Chicken Thigh With White Wine Mushroom Sauce

This is one of my top favourite pasta dishes that I have ever prepared.  The sauce is light and creamy.  The taste of white wine is so apparent and it goes so nicely with the sauce.  Also, the chicken is simply delish and savoury.  Even the pasta itself is cooked al dente.  To me, all the ingredients just 'marry' one another so perfectly.  The chicken loves the sage.  The sage loves the mushrooms.  The mushrooms love the  sauce.  The sauce loves the pasta.  And more importantly, I LOVE THEM ALL!

I made two big batches of this during the Chinese New Year in February.  One for a group of my ex-students and the other just solely for myself.  Until today, I still have some of the sauce stored in my freezer.  Whenever I crave for it, I just bring it out and microwave it.  Just a matter of minutes, my ravenous appetite is pampered and satisfied.

One thing that made me really fall for this recipe is its calling for sage, a kind of herb that is hardly used in Asian cooking as compared to the more common ones like thyme, oregano, rosemary and peppermint to name a few.  Frankly, this is my first time tasting sage.  To me, it is just something like peppermint but less pungent.  Relatively mild.  Nice!

Whatever it is, I must thank Anyonita of Anyonita Nibbles for sharing this recipe.  You may find her write-up of this yummilicious dish here.  Well, for those who like pasta dishes, do give this arrangement a shot.  To put it simply, this recipe is just SIMPLE to the hands n TANTALIZING to the palate!     

The ingredients

The Chicken

3 pcs Chichen Thigh, deboned

Salt

Pepper

Fresh Sage, about a palmful, finely chopped

The Sauce

1 cup button mushroom, thinly sliced

Fresh Sage, about a palmful, finely chopped

Salt 

Pepper

Butter

1 can cream of mushroom 

1/2 cup white wine

1/2 cup water

1/4 cup full cream milk

Fettucine
Streaky bacon

The Methods 

1.  Rub each chicken thigh on bothe sides with salt, pepper and sage.  Marinate if for 30 minutes.

2.  Heat two tablespoons of  butter in a pan and saute the mushrooms until golden and crisp around

     the edges, about three to five minutes.

3.  Season the mushrooms well with salt, pepper and sage.  Set aside, leaving leftover liquid in 

     the pan. 

4.  De-glaze the pan with the white wine, swirling the pan until all the bits of leftover mushrooms

     and sage become unstuck from the bottom.

5.  Add in the cream of mushroom soup and water. Bring to boil.  Allow to bubble away until the 

     soup has reduced by about 1/3.

6.  Stir in the full cream milk, taste and adjust seasoning and add the mushrooms back.  Cover and

     let it simmer but not boil until ready to serve. 

7.  Place the chicken on the grill until cooked through.

8.  Meanwhile, make the fettuccine by following the instructions on the packet. 

9.  Once the chicken is cooked through and while it is still hot, rub with butter to give a nice glaze.

     Then, set aside.

8.  Cut the bacon into slices and saute with the remaining oil. Set aside. 

10. Serve the fettuccine first, followed by the sauce, topped with the and grilled bacon and 

      chicken. 

BON APPETITE!

Grilled Chicken Thighs with Easy White Wine & Mushroom Sauce

1.  Rub each chicken thigh on both sides with salt, pepper and sage. Allow to marinate at least 30 minutes.
2. Heat two tablespoons of the butter in a large pan and saute the mushrooms until golden and crisp around the edges, about three to five minutes.
3. Season the mushrooms well with salt, pepper and sage. Set aside, leaving leftover liquid in the pan.
4. De-glaze the pan with the white wine, swirling the pan until all the bits of leftover mushroom and sage become unstuck from the bottom.
5. Add in the cream of mushroom soup and bring to the boil. Allow to bubble away until the soup has reduced by about 1/3.
6. Stir in the double cream, taste and adjust seasoning and add the mushrooms back. Cover and let simmer but not boil until ready to serve.
7. Place the chicken on the grill until cooked through.
8. Meanwhile, make the fettuccine by following the instructions on the packet.
9. Once the chicken is cooked through and while it is still hot, rub with butter.
10. Serve the fettuccine first, followed by the sauce, topped with the chicken.

- See more at: http://www.anyonita-nibbles.co.uk/2014/01/grilled-chicken-thighs-easy-white-wine-mushroom-sauce.html#sthash.eKAzgJO5.dpuf

Ondeh-ondeh

 This is another classic dessert in Malaysia and Indonesia and very popular among the Malays and Peranakans.  It is called ondeh-ondeh in Malaysia but klepon in Indonesia.  It is basically a boiled rice cake, shaped into balls, stuffed with gula melaka (palm sugar) and rolled in fresh grated coconut.  Eaten as morning or afternoon snacks, this traditional dessert is very much liked by many, both locals and tourists.

Eating a ball of ondeh-ondeh can be quite suspenseful but delightfully satisfying.  When the ball is stuffed into the mouth, one is already anticipating that it is going to literally burst in any seconds.  Upon bursting, the palm sugar liquid is explosively oozed out from the ball sending a pleasing sweet sensation to the whole palate. 

I made this at home a couple of weeks back, after my successful attempt getting my daycare students to make ondeh-ondeh during the school holiday.  Though it was our first trial making this dessert, the outcome turned out to be surprisingly good receiving lots of thumbs up from the students and teachers alike.  I got the recipe from Mrs Tan, the cook for my daycare centre who is married to a Baba and loves exploring Nyonya cuisine.  A big THANK YOU to you, Mrs Tan!

One thing I like about this simple recipe which made my students ooh and aah that day is it calls for sweet potato, the secret ingredients that made the balls so wonderfully soft and smooth.  So, if you want to give this classic indulgence a try, here you go.......scroll down!

 

The Recipe:
(yields about 40 to 50 pcs)

350g glutinous rice flour
250g sweet potatoes
3 tbsp pandan juice (screwpine leaf juice)
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cup plain water

200g gula Melaka (palm sugar), finely chopped
1 fresh grated coconut


Method:


1.  In a heavey saucepan, boil the sweet potato until soft and tender. Then, mashed and set aside.

2.  In a large bowl, combine the glutinous rice flour with Pandan juice and water.
     Then, knead lightly.

3.  Combine the dough with the mashed sweet potato and knead.

4.  Bring a pot of water to boil. Pinch a small piece of dough (about 15 g each) and flatten lightly.
     Fill the center of the dough with palm sugar.

5.  Roll them in your palm to form a smooth ball and cook the glutinous rice balls in the
     boiling water. When the rice balls float to the surface, remove them with a slotted spoon
     and shake off the excess water.

6.  Mix the grated coconut with a pinch of salt and steam for about 2 – 3 minutes and let it
     cool completely.

7.  Coat the rice balls with grated coconut and serve immediately.


HAPPY TRYING!

Apom Bokwa With Banana Gravy

This is indeed a typical Baba-Nyonya (Straits-born Chinese a.k.a the Peranakans) dessert that is stepping into 'extinction'.  I only got to eat this whenever my septuagenarian aunt (tua ee) makes it.  I reckon that to many, especially those born in the 80s and below, this dessert is a childhood food that is bound to take you stroll down memory lane.

As a matter of fact, not many nyonyas now know how to make this classic cake (and pardon me, I am referring to today's young modern nyonyas, k!).  So, this accounts for the fact that this traditional kueh (cake) is so hard to come by nowadays.  As a Baba who currently lives in Malacca and loves cooking, I feel called to revive this dying classic.

Well, it all started when I was browsing through my Facebook News Feed a couple of days ago and suddenly someone posted a photo of this dessert.  It caught my eyes almost instantly.  Scrolling down on the comments made me realize that there were so many, both Malaysians and Singaporeans still craving for this dessert.  At the drop of a hat, I googled for the recipe.  Surprisingly, not many I could find except for Amy Beh's, an iconic figure where nyonya food is concerned.

I could have asked my tua ee or even my mummy for the recipe but I doubted they have it written down.  One thing for sure, they will confuse me with their 'agak-agak' (roughly) statement.  Whatever it is, come to think of it, my hats off to these elder nyonyas, anyway.  They just have all their recipes stored in their head without having to refer to any cook books. Just imagine how many of them and if you are a Straits-born, you will agree with me that Peranakan dishes are relatively complicated to prepare incorporating varieties of ingredients and spices.  Even their methods are not that straightforward.  And yet, all these are cleverly stored in their grey matter. RESPECT! RESPECT!

So, how's the verdict of Auntie Beh's recipe and my labour of love?  Generally, I'm very satisfied with what came out.  Though a little complicated with lots of steps to follow, I am indeed pleased with the outcome.  What I heard and gathered from my aunt and a few other elders was that to know as to whether you have succeeded in making the apom (pancake) or not was to look at the the tiny punctures on the surface of the apom.  The more the holes, the better the pancake.

And taste wise? Well, it was surprisingly close, though not exactly the same to that of my auntie's apom.  There is a slight tinge of sourish in the apom.  It could be from the yeast (I guess so, maybe someone can shed some light here!).  From my observation, the longer the rice batter is fermented, the sourer the pancake turns out to be, and the more the holes will form!  Anyway, not to worry, when the apom is dipped and blended together with the sweet banana gravy, it neutralizes everything and the result............HEAVENLY!

So, here I come, bringing you Amy Beh in the house, virtually......
 
Ingredients
By Amy Beh

I) The Cake/Apom
    (A)  Mix these ingredients together and leave aside to soak for 10 minutes:
            - 500g rice flour (I reduced it to 300g.  500g is just too much making it impossible to soak)
            - 25g glutinous rice flour

This is EBU

            - 300ml coconut water

     (B) Mix these ingredients, leave aside for 15 minutes.  Cook over 
           low flame until it turns gluey to make "Ebu":
           - 50g rice flour
           - 150ml water

     (C) Mix these ingredients and leave aside to froth:
            - 1/4 cup lukewarm water
            - 1/4 tsp sugar
            - 1 tbsp instant yeast
    
      (D) - 160ml pati santan (thick coconut milk)

II) The Sauce: 

      (A) Prepare the syrup

             - 75g brown sugar

             - 50g gula melaka

             - 175ml water

             - 3 pandan (screwpine) leaves 

       (B) Mix these ingredients together and allow the rice to expand:

             - 2 tbsp glutinous rice flour

             - 25ml water

       (C) - 50ml pati santan

             - 1/4 tsp salt

         

       (D) - 3 rippen bananas

     

  Method:

Blend ingredients (a) and (b) together. Mixin 1/2 tsp salt and stir well with a hand whisk. Add in (c) and set aside for 30 minutes. Cover with a damp cloth for it to rise to double its size. 

Blend in (d) and proof for another 50 minutes. Heat a brass apom mould and grease lightly with corn oil.
 

Pour in enough batter to fill the mould three-quarters full and cook over medium heat. Cook till bubbles appear. Cover mould with a lid till the top part of the apom is cooked. Touch centre of apom with finger - if it is firm and not sticky, the apom is ready.
 

To make sauce: Bring (a) to a boil, strain the hot syrup into (b). Stir well and transfer to a saucepan and cook over medium low flame. Add in (c) and (d) and stir well till sauce thickens. Pour sauce into a small bowl and serve with apom bokwa.

HAPPY TRYING!