Devil's Cornish Hens À la Aditya

Delicious, flavorful, and well balance baked cornish hen, it really wins our heart. We love how paprika and chipotle give smokiness, honey and lemon give the dish lightly sweet and tangy flavor, and of course the addition of mustard always delicious on any poultry. All of this ingredients that my son used to create  his baked hen not only complement each other, but also gave more depth to the dish without being overpowering. 

Devil's Cornish Hens à la Aditya

recipe by Aditya Davar

2 (about 3 pounds total) cornish hens

3 cloves garlic, minced

1½ tbs mustard

1/4 cup finely chopped parsley

1 tbs smoked mild paprika

1 tbs sweet paprika

2 tbs honey

1 tbs smoked chipotle flakes

1 meyer lemon, juiced

3 tbs olive oil

salt

freshly ground black pepper

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Clean and rinse the hens under cold running water, pat dry with paper towel. With a sharp kitchen scissors, butterfly the hen by cutting a long each side of the back bones to split open.You can discard the bone, or save it to make chicken stock. Using the palm of your hand, gently press the breast to  flatten it. Loosen the underneath skin a little bit, by running your finger under it, doing it gently so you won't tear up the skin. Place it on a roasting pan. Repeat this step with the other hen.

Please check the video here on how to butterfly a chicken, if you are unfamiliar on how to.

In a mall bowl, mix garlic, mustard, parsley, mild paprika and sweet paprika, honey, smoked chipotle flakes, lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper. Rub mixture all over the hens including under the skins. Bake for 45 minutes to an hour, until the hens is cooked.

Soto Daging. Indonesian Style Beef Soup With Turmeric, Ginger, Lemongrass, and Kaffir Lime Leaves.

The cold freezing weather is perfect for this Indonesian style beef soup. Serve this with a bowl of hot steaming jasmine rice like the Indonesian do. You will be rewarded with very satisfying and delicious meal of the day.

For some reason, I love to use beef shank for all of my stew and soup recipe, if unavailable at your grocery store, you can use precut beef stew instead.

Soto Daging

recipe adapted from Ratnasoe's

serve 6 to 8

3 pounds beef shanks

5 cloves garlic, roughly chopped

2 large shallots, roughly chopped

5 candlenuts, roughly chopped (available at Asian grocery store)

1 teaspoon roughly chopped fresh turmeric root (same amount if using powder)

1 tablespoon roughly chopped fresh ginger root

1 tablespoons lightly toasted coriander seeds

10 white peppercorns

3 - 5 fresh kaffir lime leaves

1 stalk fresh lemongrass

2 teaspoon fish sauce, to taste (optional)

canola oil or any vegetable oil

12 cups water

To serve

Steam jasmine rice

lime

tomato, cut into wedges

fresh bean sprouts

roughly chopped cilantro

roughly chopped scallions

fried shallots, optional

Make the spice paste: place garlic, shallots, candlenuts, turmeric, ginger, coriander seeds, and white peppercorn in food processor, process to make a smooth paste. You might want to add a little bit of water to keep the blade running. Alternately, use a large mortar and pestle if you own one.

Discard the green outer layer of the lemongrass, cut into 3 inch long, then lightly bruised with the back of knife.

Set a large soup pot over medium heat, when the pot is hot, add about 2 tablespoon canola or vegetable oil, throw in kaffir lime and lemongrass, fry for a few seconds to infused the oil. Now, add the paste, stirring often to prevent the paste from sticking to the bottom of the pan, which will happen to  any paste that contain candlenuts. So be patient, and stir often.  When the paste is fragrant and the raw smell disappear, add beef shanks, season with salt and fish sauce, give it couple of stir, then add water. Turn the heat to high, bring the soup to a boil. As soon as it boils, turn the heat to low, let it simmer for about  2  to 2 ½ hours, or until the beef is tender.

When the soup is ready, take out the beef shanks, and separate the beef from the bone (save the bones for your pooch), return to the beef to the soup. If desire, you can strain the broth, and discard the rough paste, then return the broth to the pan. In general I can't be bother with this step, as I wouldn't mind to bite in few pieces of spices. It's what make this soup rustic and homey, I think. Taste and adjust seasoning as needed.

To serve:
scoop out about half a cup of steaming hot jasmin rice, place it in a deep soup bowl, top with handful of bean sprouts, Ladle some beef soup with generous amount of beef in it (don't be stingy), scatter some tomatoes, scallions, cilantro, and fried shallots, lastly squeeze a little bit of lime. Serve at once.

Skinless Chicken Thigh With Rosemary, Lemon, and Tomato

As simple as it sounds, this chicken dish that my son cooked for our dinner the other night was really delicious. This recipe will be perfect for my sister who live overseas, since she only like to cook simple and easy dish. Thank you for the recipe sayang!

Skinless Chicken Thigh With Rosemary, Lemon, and Tomato

Recipe by Aditya Davar

serve 2 to 4 

4 skinless chicken thigh

2 coves garlic, minced

1 sprig rosemary, finely chopped

2 small size Roma tomatoes, diced

1 large Meyer lemon

2 tbs olive oil

salt and pepper, to taste

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Rinse chicken thigh under cold running water, pat dry with paper towel, arrange nicely in a small roasting pan.

Cut lemon in half, squeeze the juice of half of  lemon, and slice the other half.

In a small bowl, combine minced garlic, finely chopped rosemary, diced tomatoes, lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper. Mix using a small whisk or a fork. Pour on top of chicken thigh, scatter lemon slices around chicken thighs. Bake for 45 to 55 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked.

Mee Siam. Singaporean Vermicelli Noodle With Tofu, Bean Sprouts, and Peanut Sauce

Mee Siam is tasty and easy to make, making it ideal to serve as a light lunch. I used red jalapeno in this recipe, as it is milder then the South East Asian chili, which is work very well as most of my friends can not handle the spiciness. The other thing I like about red jalapeno is the color it gives to the dish, it can achieves such a beautiful bright red/orange color especially for dish like curry or sambal. As any of my recipe, you can always reduce the amount of chili according to your own taste. Hope you like it. 

Mee Siam. Singaporean Vermicelli Noodle With Tofu, Bean Sprouts, and Peanut Sauce

serve 4

5 oz rice vermicelli noodle

2 cups bean sprouts, soaked in hot water for 5 - 10 minutes

1 package ( oz) extra firm tofu, cubed 

2 hard boiled eggs

1/4 cup chopped scallions for serving

The sauce:

4 cloves garlic

5 - 10 red jalapeno chili, seeded - roughly chopped

1/2 tbs - 1 tbs depending on your taste dried shrimps, soaked in hot water to soften

1/2 tsp toasted dry shrimp paste

1/2 cup fried peanuts, ground

1 tbs tau cheo (available at Asian grocery store)

1 tbs sugar

1 tbs tamarin pulp

1 lemongrass, white part only - cut into pieces, lightly bruised with the back of the knife 

3 cups (more or less) water

salt and ground white pepper to taste

canola oil for frying

Preheat a medium size frying pan over  medium high heat. Add about 3 tbs oil, add cubed tofu and fry until brown on all side. You might want to do this in batches. Set aside.

Meanwhile, make the chili paste. In a large mortar and pestle, pound together garlic, red jalapeno, soaked dried shrimps, and the shrimp paste until smooth. Alternatively, use a food processor instead of mortar and pestle, add a little bit of water to keep the blade running. 

Set a medium size sauce pan over medium heat, add about a tablespoon or two canola oil, and fry the paste gently until fragrant, about a minute or so. Add ground peanut, tau cheo, sugar, tamarin pulp, and lemongrass. Stir fry for one minute. Add 3 cups (more or less, depending how thick you want the sauce to be) of water, and bring to a gentle boil, turn the heat down to low, simmer the sauce for 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper, taste and adjust seasoning to your liking. Remove from the heat.

Meanwhile, in another pan, boil some water. Add vermicelli rice and cook according to package direction. When it is done, immediately plunge into a cold water to prevent from cooking it further. 

Divide vermicelli among 4 individual bowls,  top with each bean sprouts, fried tofu, and halved egg. Pour the sauce on top, sprinkle in some chopped scallions. Serve immediately. 

Singaporean Chilli CRAB

I went to Chinese market and planned to buy some red snapper, but I changed my mind when I saw a young lady next to me bought quite a large amount of alive crabs. I asked her what was she going to do with it, she said she would  make "Chili Crab". I thought it was a good idea, so I bought 3 alive crabs and excited about making my own Chili Crab. Here it is, hope you like it.

Singaporean Chili Crab
serve 6

3 fresh  crabs (about 6 pounds)
2 tbs minced garlic
1 - 2 tbs minced ginger
10 red jalapeno, seeded - roughly chopped
1/2 cup roughly chopped shallots
3 large very ripe tomatoes, roughly chopped
1 tsp toasted shrimp paste
2 tbs tomato paste
1 tbs sugar
1 tbs reduced sodium tamari or soy sauce
1 tbs seedless tamarin  (soak with 1/4 cup hot water, squeeze out the pulp)
2 cup water
2 - 3 tbs oil
salt and pepper

Additional ingredients:

2 tsp corn starch + 3 tbs water, mix
1 egg lightly beaten
1/4 cup chopped scallions

Discard the main shell of the crabs including the grey gills and the soft insides. Cut the body into quarter, then crack the claws and the legs lightly with the back of a knife. Set aside. You can also check this article on how to prepare your crab before cooking.

Put shallots, red jalapeno, tomatoes, and shrimp paste in a food processor process to make a smooth paste. You can also pound them in a large mortar and pestle, I personally think, it tastes better this way.

Heat oil in a large wok set over medium heat, add garlic and ginger, saute for a few seconds until fragrant. Add the paste, and saute until all liquid has evaporated, and the raw smell is disappear, add tomato paste, sugar, tamari or soy sauce, and tamarin. Pour the  water, season with salt and pepper. Turn the heat to medium high, bring to a boil, then add crab pieces, continue to cook, stirring often  to make sure that the crab pieces absorb the sauce, about 7 - 10 minutes. Add chopped scallions, cornstarch-water mix, and the lightly beaten egg, stirring constantly a few seconds until the sauce is thicken, taste and adjust seasoning as needed. Serve immediately.

Beef Boregi With Fresh Herb and Pine Nuts

You can serve this delicious pastry as a main dish with simple salad, or as an appetizer. It is also can be made into individual size, which is perfect if you are planning to have a large crowd to feed. I love how the  cinnamon and spearmint give the pastry slightly sweet and fragrant flavor. Although, I just found out that pine nuts is becoming more and more pricy here, it is always become a nice addition to any Middle Eastern pastry. Use as much or as little as you can afford to buy, it is worth it, even if you add only couple of tablespoons. In the past, I have made boregi using lamb filling instead of beef, which I must admit that my family and friends quite fond of it. Having said that, meat is not the only filling that goes into this pastry, any kind of vegetable filling will be equally delicious as well. If you want to make a vegetarian version,  you can check one recipe that this girl made couple days ago. If you want this pastry to be kosher, omit the yogurt for brushing, use combination of couple of eggs and olive oil instead. 

Beef Boregi With Fresh Heb and Pine Nuts

make one 13-inch boregi

1 pound lean ground beef

1 large onion, peeled, cut in half, sliced

2 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp ginger

freshly grated black pepper

salt, to taste

1/2 cup chopped parsley

1/2 cup chopped scallion

1/4 cup chopped spearmint

1 - 2 tbs olive oil

handful or two pine nuts

1 package phyllo dough (18 sheets - 13 x 17 inch), thaw according to package direction

For brushing the phyllo

1 cup yogurt

1/4 cup olive oil

pinch of salt

Heat 1 to 2 tablespoon of olive oil in a medium pan set over medium heat, add onion and cook until brown, add ground beef, using a large fork, crushing and stirring the meat to  break up the lumps. Keep stirring back and forth until the meat is no longer pink. Add cinnamon, ginger, freshly ground black pepper, and salt, stir for a few second, and continue to cook for another 5 minutes. Lastly add parsley, scallion, and the mint, stir to mix. Taste and adjust seasoning as needed. Remove from the heat and let cool before adding the  pine nuts.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. 

Brush a 13-inch in diameter round baking pan with oil. Set aside

In a small bowl, mix yogurt, olive oil and salt. Set aside. 

Take out the phyllo pastry from the package, place it close to you, cover phyllo with clean kitchen towel to prevent them from drying. You might not use the whole package, but always nice to have extra just in case you tear some. 

Take a sheet of filo dough, brush with yogurt mixture, cover with another sheet of filo, brush it again with yogurt mixture. Take about a few tablespoon of meat and scatter it on top of filo dough. Starting at then end closest to you, roll into a log, carefully  lift up the log with both hand and place it in the middle of the pan. Very gently, curve the log into a snail like shape. Repeat the process of brushing the filo dough, scatter the meat, rolling, and curving, until all filling is used up.

Brush the top with remaining yogurt mixture. Bake for 40 minutes until golden.

Cheese, Sucuk, and Olive Pide

For YeastSpotting.

Sucuk is spicy Turkish sausage normally made from ground meat, spices and red hot pepper. I was pretty thrill when I found sucuk (sujouk) in the Iranian store close by neighborhood. If  finding sucuk in your area is no avail, I suppose you  could substitute it with spicy Calabresse sausage, or  Spanish chorizo.  I hope you like it.

Cheese, Sucuk and Olive Pide Pies

Recipe adapted from Greg and Lucy Malouf,  "Torqouise"

makes 6

1 quantity Pide dough, recipe follows

9 oz Haloumi, washed - finely sliced

5 oz mozarrella, finely sliced

18 pitted Kalamata olives

1 long green pepper, seeded - chopped (I didn't use any)

2 tbs extra virgin olive oil

sea salt

freshly ground black pepper

4 ounces sucuk, sliced 

1 egg yolk

3 tbs milk

Cut the dough into 6 equal portions, cover, let rest for 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 450 F, place the pizza stone at the lowest rack.

Mix cheeses, olives, and green pepper in a bowl, season with salt and pepper. 

Roll each dough into long 14 x 4  inches rectangle. Scatter 1/6 of the topping down the Pide, leaving about 1 inch border around the edge. Lay some Sucuk down the center, then fold up the two long sides of the dough, bringing them up and over the topping, but without meeting in the middle. Squeeze the side together at each end, twisting them together slightly to make a long  "canoe" shape. Repeat with the rest of the dough.

To make an egg wash, mix together the yolk and the milk. brush each Pide with egg wash. 

Bake 2 Pides at a time for 7 minutes. Serve right hot from the oven, sprinkle with a little sea salt if you wish.

Pide - Turkish Flat Bread

1 tbs dry yeast

pinch of superfine sugar

1 1/2 cup warm water

15 oz bread flour

1 tsp salt

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

In a medium bowl, dissolve yeast, sugar in 1/2 cup of warm water, set aside in warm place for 10 minutes. Sprinkle in 3 oz of flour, work with your hand to make a paste. Cover the bowl with a clean kitchen towel, let rest for 30 minutes in a warm place. 

Place the remaining flour, and salt in a mixer bowl, make a well in the center, add the sponge in the middle. Add the remaining 1 cup water, and olive oil. Using a dough hook attachment, knead on low speed until very smooth and springy, about  for 10 to 15 minutes. Transfer to lightly oiled bowl, cover with plastic, and let rest until double in size, about 1 to 2 hours.