All Entries in the "Meat" Category
Barley Chicken Stew
It’s Mona and my turn to demonstrate in the South Arm Community Kitchen. Mona made a German dish called Barley Chicken Stew for the main dish while I made Malaysian Fruit Rojak for dessert. I had blogged about the Fruit Rojak here.
The Fruit Rojak was accepted well even though it is a little too spicy for some of the members in the group despite I did not add Thai chili to the dish. The only problem is the confusion of the origin of the dish where I kept hearing people saying Thai or Indonesian when they mentioned about the rojak.
The Barley Chicken Stew is a very hearty meal and it’s very filing too. It’s a great dish for cold weather.
Another new member of the kitchen, Jane, brought some corn meal muffin to share with us. Jane was a school teacher for 25 years, teaching cooking in school. We hope she will share with us many of her culinary skills.
Ingredients
- 1 cup pearl barley, soak in water or broth overnight
- 1 small onion, chopped
- 2 cloves of garlic, minced
- 2 to 3 chicken drumsticks
- 1 litre chicken broth
- 150g cream cheese
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 tablespoons chopped chives or green onion and parley each
- a pinch of tumeric
- a pinch of chili flakes
- salt and pepper to taste
Mona made her own chicken broth with chicken bones and she added tumeric to the chicken broth for colour. Mona also bought organic pearl barley for about $5per kilo from Galloway which is just 30% more expensive than regular ones. She also brought her own frozen chopped green onion and parsley which she planted in her garden during summer.
Click on Read More for the instructions.
Beef Stew with Split Peas a la Lime (Gheimeh)
In the Gilmore Park Church Community Kitchen, we had a new member to demonstrate a Persian recipe. Azar is an Iranian and she enjoys the community kitchen as she can learn about food from other cultures and also practice her English. Azar is a beautician and I was told that she does a very good job in threading, an ancient method of hair removal which originated in India and gaining popularity in the Middle and Far East.
The Beef Stew has a very lemony flavour. The flavour comes from the dried lime which can be found in Persian stores and is relatively cheap. Minoo volunteers to get us some the next time she goes groceries shopping at a Persian store.
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 teaspoons tumeric powder
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 large onion, chopped
- 1 cup split peas
- 1 lb beef or lamb, cubed
- 3 dried lime
- 2 teaspoons lemon powder
- 3 cups water
- salt and cinnamon to taste
- 2 large potatoes, cut into sticks for making fries
Click on Read More for the instructions.
Thai Flavour Pork Cheek Salad
Heidi shared two recipes in the Gilmore Park Church Community Kitchen. Heidi made a salad and a dessert. It is always a pleasure to have Heidi demonstrates in the kitchen as her recipes are always very original.
The Pork Cheek came out very tasty and tender. Heidi used Mirin, a Japanese sweet cooking seasoning to marinate the pork cheek which gives the sweetness to the pork. The Thai flavour dressing gives a kick to the salad. The sour and spicy dressing certainly brings up ones appetite.
Ingredients
- 4 pieces of pork cheek
Marinate
- 2 tablespoons Mirin
- 1 teaspoon brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon lime juice
- 2 tablespoons light soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon dark soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon chopped shallot and garlic each
- 1 tablespoon mustard seeds
Dressing
- 3 tablespoons lime juice
- 2 tablespoons fish sauce (good quality)
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1/4 cup water
- 1 tablespoon chopped garlic, shallot and Thai chili each
Heidi emphasized on using a good quality fish sauce for the dressing as it makes a big difference in taste. Cheap fish sauce usually has too much salt in it and does not taste good. Fish sauce is usually used in small amount and a good quality bottle just cost from $7 to $10. A bottle goes a long way.
Click on Read More for the instructions.
Southern Apricot Chicken
The South Arm Community Kitchen for Seniors met again for another cooking session. This week, the seniors made three dishes, a chicken dish, a soup and a dessert. I love to watch the seniors at work. They are always working in teams and they worked in harmony. It is a great place where they get great company and make delicious food. They always have food to take home too. Some of the seniors are living by themselves and it’s very hard to cook for one or two people only.
The first dish is called Southern Apricot Chicken. This is such a simple dish that even a kid can make it. A great sweet and saucy chicken dish which is great with steam rice or noodle.
Minoo made a big platter of safflon flavoured basmati rice with wild rice to go with the Southern Apricot Chicken.
Ingredients
- 12 chicken thighs (remove skin if preferred)
- 1 cup apricot preserves
- 1 cup sour cream
- 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
- salt and pepper to taste
Click on Read More for the instructions.
Kidney Bean Casserole
Andrea made two German dishes in the South Arm Community Kitchen. It’s been a while since Andrea demonstrated after she gave birth to a beautiful girl. It is so amazing that we watched Andrea’s tummy grew and now watching her little girl grows. One good thing about the South Arm Community Kitchen is that it provides baby sitting facility. Mums with young toddlers can still participate in this kitchen.
Andrea first dish is called Kidney Bean Casserole. This casserole is great for potluck. You may serve this casserole with a salad and you’ve got a complete meal.
The top layer of potatoes has a glutinous texture. The Kidney Bean Casserole is very filing.
Ingredients
- 500g potatoes, peeled (or thoroughly scrubbed), grated
- 400g kidney bean in cans
- 500g onions, sliced
- 100g bacon, cubed
- 300g ground beef or pork
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1 tablespoon oil
- 1 egg
- bunch of parsley
- salt and pepper to taste
- fresh or dried rosemary, finely chopped
- butter to grease baking dish
Tuna Pie
Tanni made a simple pie which is great as a snack or for school lunch. It can be made with canned tuna or salmon. We made both in the kitchen. We found that the Tuna Pie taste better. Perhaps, the salmon flavour is slightly stronger.
The Tuna or Salmon Pie is filled with carrot, tomato and potato. It’s a good way to incorporate vegetables into a dish which kids will eat. This can be eaten warm or cold.
Ingredients
- 1 can tuna or salmon
- 4 oz butter
- 3 eggs
- 2 teaspoons mustard
- 3/4 cup bread crumbs
- 1 onion, finely chopped
- 1 tomato, diced
- 2 potatoes, boiled and mashed
- 1 medium carrot, boiled, peeled and diced
Click on the link below for the instructions.
Bamboo Fungus Chicken Roll
Peggy made Bamboo Fungus Chicken Rolls in Vermicelli Soup in the South Arm Community Kitchen. This is the first time Peggy demonstrated in the kitchen and she introduced us to a new ingredient which is the Bamboo Fungus.
Bamboo Fungus or Bamboo Pith is a fungus which grows among bamboo forests. It is called Zhu Sheng in Chinese and is commonly used in vegetarian dishes.
Bamboo Fungus has many common names based on its appearance, including long net stinkhorn, crinoline stinkhorn, basket stinkhorn, bridal veil fungus or veiled lady.
Those on the left in darker color are wild bamboo fungus which Peggy brought from Taiwan. The wild bamboo fungus has more intense flavour and smell. The lighter ones on the right are commonly found in Chinese groceries stores which sell dried seafood and other dried groceries. Those had been trimmed. Only the stem part is used in this recipe.
Ingredients
- 100g chicken breast
- 50g carrot, peeled and cut into match stick
- 50g asparagus, peel stem part if necessary can cut into 1.5″ length
- 50g dried bamboo fungus
- 1 teaspoon oyster sauce
- 1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
- 1/2 teaspoon soy sauce
- 1/2 teaspoon cornstarch
- 2 slices ginger
Click on the link below for the instructions.
