Coffee Smoked Chicken Breast Recipe

Coffee Smoked Chicken Breast

This is a short cut method. Instead of smoking the chicken until it is cooked, I smoked for a short while and baked in the oven. Not only did this save time (and avoided smoking the whole house) but the smoke flavor was subtle. Chicken is a delicate meat so I think a subtle flavor works best, unlike other meats such as duck.

The smoking process was quite easy, and uses utensils readily available in most kitchen. If you don’t have a wok, you can use a pan that has a lid. You will need to make a rack in this case.

I stuffed the chicken breast with sun dried tomatoes, mozzarella cheese and garlic. It wasn't good. Sun dried tomatoes was overpowering, I used too much. I have not mentioned the stuffing in the recipe below. Its probably best to eat the chicken breast on its own, to fully appreciate the gentle smokiness.

Adopted from Ricardo Cuisine

Coffee Smoked Chicken Breast

Ingredients

5 chicken breasts, about 1 kg

1 tablespoon soy sauce

½ cup coffee beans, coarsely ground

1 tablespoon juniper berries, coarsely ground

3 star anise, coarsely ground

2 tablespoons packed dark brown sugar

Method

1.      Line the bottom of a wok with aluminum foil.

2.      Spread coffee, spices and sugar on the aluminum foil. Place a rack in the wok. It should be 1½ to 2 inches from the bottom of the wok.

3.      Brush the breasts with soy sauce. Place chicken breast, skin down, onto the rack.

4.      Heat wok, uncovered, over high heat, until you see smoke, about 3 to 5 minutes. Reduce heat to medium and cover the wok.

5.      Smoke chicken breast for 5 -8 minutes. The time depends on how strong you want the smoky flavor to be.

6.      Remove breast from the wok. Place skin side down on a lined baking tray and baked at 400°F/205°C for 10 minutes. Flip the breast and bake for further 5-8 minutes, until done. Internal temperate should be 165°F/75°C. Rest for 5 minutes before serving.

Jarret de Porc Pochée et Roti Recipe

Jarret de porc pochée et roti

Jarret de porc pochée et roti is poached and roasted pork knuckle, in English. The dish doesn’t sound that fancy now, does it!

However, it is very delicious. The meat and the skin are flavourful, tender and a bit gelatinous, in a good way.  The skin did not get crispy, even after spending some time in the oven. A few areas were marginally crispy, but only just. If you want a version with cracking, try Schweinshaxe. This is the German version.

I’ve tried both versions, I like them both but I am slightly more inclined towards Schweinshaxe, because of the crispy skin, and the dish is less ‘wet’.

Adopted from Cahier gourmand

Ingredients

1 pork hock, around 1.2 kg

2 onions, finely diced

1 carrot, finely diced

3 cloves garlic, minced

2 star anise

1 teaspoon whole black peppercorns

Bouquet garni

Pepper

120 grams butter (I used much less)

2 tablespoons of vegetable oil

1 litre veal stock

Method

1.      Place the hock in a saucepan, cover with cold water and bring to a boil. Remove from heat and drain.

2.      In an ovenproof casserole, add 50g of butter and oil and brown the hock on all sides. Add vegetables and sweat for a few minutes, then add the garlic cloves, veal stock, star anise, bouquet garni and pepper (do not salt). Cover the casserole and bake at 130°C/266°F for 3 hours, basting regularly.  Alternatively, instead of baking, you can simmer on the stovetop, on low heat for around 2 hours, or until the hock is tender.

3.      When cooked, remove the casserole from the oven and increase the temperature of the oven to 180°C/355°F

4.      Place the hock in another baking dish, drizzle the remaining melted butter and cook for about 15 minutes to get a nice golden brown.

5.      To make the sauce, strain poaching liquid and add to a large saucepan. Place over medium high until reduced by around two thirds, or until it reaches the desired consistency. Add salt to taste

Jarret de porc pochée et roti

Chicken Kelaguen Recipe

Chicken kelaguen

If you have not heard of chicken kelaguen, and cannot guess what it is and where it comes from, don’t be disappointed. I did not know also until I ‘ran into it’ by chance.

It happened in Hagåtña, the capital of Guam, in the Northern Pacific. I was on my way to see a famous monument called Latte of Freedom.

 

Source: The Guam Guide

The monument is in the shape of a very large cup. As you can see, you cannot really drink latte from it. Neither can you fill it up with latte and swim in it. But you can take pictures of it (which I didn't do). Anyway, on my way there I asked a girl for directions. She was not from the area so she did not know where the latte was. She was standing at the entrance to a building, selling local food. There were two piles of plastic containers, one contained chicken, the other contained shrimp. Both were finely diced, came with a tortilla and looked bland and boring. She was nice and friendly, so I bought the chicken version.

I then walked to Latte of Freedom but decided not to pay the entry fee required. Waste of money I thought since all you get is a view. I sat by the seawall to eat my chicken dish. To call it bland and boring would be an insult. It was the complete opposite, tasted fresh and packed with flavour. A really simple but delicious dish. The girl had left when I got back so I got this recipe from the internet.

Recipe source: http://www.usaguam.com/family-recipes.php

Ingredients

10 chicken thighs (boneless and skinless)

1 medium onion, chopped

1 green onion, finely chopped

5 hot pepper (donne' sali or thai peppers)

1 cup freshly grated coconut

Juice from six medium lemons

Lemon flavored powder (if you got it, I didn’t use it)

Salt and black pepper to taste

Method

1.   Cook the chicken (broil, pan fry, bake or cook any other way). No seasoning is needed.

2.   Once chicken is cooled, finely dice it.

3. Place in a bowl, add the rest of the ingredients and mix thoroughly. Add more seasoning, lemon or peppers if you want

Chicken kelaguen

Crispy Teriyaki Pork Belly Recipe

Crispy Teriyaki Pork Belly

I made Crispy Chinese Roasted Pork Belly about 2 months ago. The belly, and the cracking, was so good that I had to make it again. This time I used teriyaki marinade, hence moving from China to Japan. I liked both versions equally.

In case you are concerned about the fat content, consider the following:

·   The thick white bit that you think is fat is actually about half fat and half something else (I can’t remember the name)

·       Less than 40% of the total fat is saturated fat

·       If cooked  on a wire rack, part of the fat gets rendered

·  So the total fat content of the belly after cooking and after the fat has rendered may be comparable to the fat content of sausages

·     If you like to cook pork belly over a bed of greens, the greens will absorb the fat and you won’t notice it. So eating more of those ‘fat free’ greens will counter the guilty feeling from eating pork belly.

       Hope I have convinced you to try pork belly, in case you haven’t tried it yet.

Adopted from an earlier recipe I did for Crispy Chinese Roasted Pork Belly

Crispy Teriyaki Pork Belly

Ingredients

800g boneless pork belly, skin on and scored

500ml boiling water

1 tablespoon sesame oil

1 tablespoon salt flakes

Sauce

½ cup soy sauce

½ cup mirin

2 tablespoons sugar

1½ teaspoons minced garlic

1½ teaspoons minced ginger

Method

1.      Combine ingredients for the sauce in a saucepan and reduce on medium heat until the sauce thickens

2.      Place pork belly, skin-side up, on a wire rack over the sink. Pour over boiling water to scald the pork skin. If possible, try to avoid hot water getting on the meat as it will cook it slightly

3.      Dry the skin with kitchen paper and place pork, uncovered, in the refrigerator for two hours.

4.      Remove pork from fridge and place, skin-side up, on a chopping board. Using the tip of a sharp knife, stab the pork skin repeatedly until the surface is covered with holes, being careful not to go all the way through.

5.      Turn the pork belly over and make cuts about 2cm apart and 1cm deep.

6.      Rub marinade evenly over the flesh side of the pork (not the skin) and massage well into the cuts.

7.      Place pork, skin-side up, on a wire rack (this same rack will be used for roasting the pork, so make sure it is ovenproof and fits inside a roasting tin) and place over a tray or large plate to catch any drips. Place in refrigerator and leave pork uncovered overnight

8.      The next day, bring pork to room temperature and heat oven to 150°C/300°F

9.      Transfer pork and wire rack to a roasting tin. Rub skin well with the sesame oil, then scatter salt all over. Roast for 1½–2 hours or until tender (to test, pierce the meat with a skewer – you should meet no resistance).

10.  Increase the oven temperature to 220°C/430°F and continue roasting for 15 minutes.

11.  Remove pork from oven and allow to rest, uncovered, in a warm place for 15 minutes.

Thai Pork Larb Recipe

Thai Pork Larb

I first heard of pork larb while watching My Kitchen Rules (New Zealand). The judges, two well known chefs, kept talking about how delicious it was. So I thought if they say its delicious, it must be delicious. 

For some unknown reason, larb does not appear on restaurant menu’s. I never saw it until I visited a Thai restaurant in Germany. I had to order it, and then I had to make it at home. Because it was delicious, and easy to prepare.

Adopted from BBC

Ingredients

200g/7oz lean pork mince

1 red pepper, seeds removed, thinly sliced

1 small bunch coriander, chopped

1 small handful mint leaves, chopped

6 spring onions, finely sliced

1 small red onion, thinly sliced

2 red chillies, finely chopped

2 limes, juice only

1 clove garlic, minced

4 tablespoon Thai fish sauce (nam pla)

1-2 tablespoon Thai sweet chilli sauce

Pinch palm sugar or caster sugar

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

20grams finely chopped roasted peanuts (optional)

Lettuce leaves

Method

1.      Heat the vegetable oil in a large pan over a medium-high heat. Fry the mince with the red pepper and half of the red onion for about five minutes or until the pork is cooked through and browned in places. Drain off any excess liquid and set aside.

2.      In a large bowl, combine all of the remaining ingredients, apart from the peanuts, then add the hot pork and stir to combine. Taste the mixture and add more fish sauce or palm sugar, to taste.

3.      Spoon the pork mixture among lettuce leaves and sprinkle with peanuts to serve.

Thai Pork Larb

Cheesy Filo Sausage Roll Recipe

Cheesy Filo Sausage Roll

Sausage rolls are generally made with puff pastry. This was my first time trying a filo sausage roll, and I am quite pleased with the result. I am not sure whether I prefer the puff or filo version, they are both good in their own special ways. Assembling the filo version takes a bit more effort. The sheets need to be brushed with butter, and rolled with care since these things are quite fragile. The filo version has lower fat content, which means you can eat more without feeling guilty.

The filling is quite versatile. You can add pretty much anything that makes sense. For a flavor boost, substitute some of the mince with bacon. To add some carrots or other veges to healthify it. I think you can also add some finely diced tofu and it won’t be noticable.

You can make extra and freeze it. Bake it from frozen, no need to defrost. 

Cheesy Filo Sausage Roll

Ingredients

300g beef or pork mince

½ cup dried breadcrumbs

½ cup milk

3 cloves garlic

½ small onion, finely diced

½ teaspoon mixed herbs

30 -40 grams cheese, ½ cm cubed (or shredded, but I prefer chunky bits of cheese)

Salt and pepper to taste

8 sheets filo pastry

Melted butter

Method

1.      Mix breadcrumbs and milk in a bowl and set aside for 2 minutes

2.      In a bowl, combine the rest of the ingredients except filo and butter.  Season with salt and pepper

3.      Lightly brush the filo pastry with butter and lay them on top of each other. Place the meat mixture in a log shape at one end of the filo pastry. Tightly roll the filo dough

4.      Baked on a lined baking tray at 200°C/390°F for about 20 minutes. The outer part should be golden brown and delicious. Rest for 5 minutes before eating, if possible!