Homemade Chicken Stock

Today was raining, so I decided to be at home and started my cooking project. In the morning, I made potato pancakes or latkes for breakfast. Then I made minestrone or bean and pasta soup for our lunch. But first I needed to make the chicken stock to add into the soup. There were a few main ingredients including whole chicken, onion, celery, and carrot. 

Ingredients

3 pounds whole chicken 

1 onion, peeled and quartered 

3 stalks celery with leaves, sliced 

1 carrot, peeled, sliced 

5 cloves garlic, peeled, smashed 

fresh thyme 
fresh dill 

salt and black pepper to taste 

water 

Directions 

Pour water into the stockpot and place the chicken. Bring to a boil over medium heat.  Add onion, carrot, celery, garlic, and thyme into the pot. Simmer until chicken and vegetables are tender and cooked through. Season with salt and ground black pepper to taste. Skim the scum from the stock with a spoon or fine mesh strainer. Strain the stock through a colander or fine strainer and discard the solids. Remove solidified fat from surface of liquid and store in a glass container with lid in refrigerator. Use as a base soups and sauces. Today I was making a Minestrone or an Italian soup with whole bunch of veggies, bean and pasta. This homemade chicken stock made my soup more delicious. Enjoy ka!

Potato Pancakes (Latkes) Recipe

Happy Hanukkah! Our family will celebrate a holiday, which is also known as a festival of lights and the feast of dedication. There is a custom of eating foods fried or baked in oil and the traditional foods include potato pancakes, known as latkes. 

Potato pancakes are associated with cuisines of many European and Middle Eastern century-old traditions including Belarusian as Draniki or Ukrainian as Deruny. There are many versions of potato pancake recipes but my version uses grated russet potatoes, grated onion, egg, all-purpose flour, baking powder, salt, and pepper. The secret ingredients are onion and garlic powder that make the taste of latkes to the next level. Let's get started ka. 

      

Ingredients: 

3 russet potatoes, peeled, grated  
1 small onion, grated  
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour 
1 egg, beaten 
1/2 teaspoon baking powder 
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder 
1/2 teaspoon onion powder 
salt ground black pepper to taste 
cooking oil, I used vegetable oil 
sour cream or applesauce for serving 

Instructions 

Peel and grate potatoes and onion by using star shape grater. 

Drain grated potato. 

In a mixing bowl, add grated potato, grated onion, all-purpose flour, egg, salt, pepper, baking powder, onion and garlic powder and mix well. 

Heat oil in a skillet over medium high heat, I used ice cream scoop or 1/4 cup, drop three or four mounds into the hot oil and flatten to make 1/2 inch thick pancakes. Fry, turning once, until golden brown. Transfer to paper towel lined plates to drain. Then sprinkle some salt to each pancake. Repeat until all the mixture is used and I made 10 pancakes. Serve hot with sour cream or applesauce. Enjoy ka. 

Enjoy ka! 

Chicken Curry with Rice Noodle Soup (เกี๋ยวเตี๋ยวแกง)

This Chicken coconut curry with rice noodles is one of the most famous dishes among Thai Muslim food including Thai Curry Peanut Salad Dressing or สลัดแขก, and Thai Chicken Biryani or Kao Mok Gai. These delicious dishes were reminding me about my childhood meal. I also like the combination of soft boiled rice noodles, boiled eggs, tofu, and crunchy fried shallots that make this curry bowl even more interesting. Are you hungry? Let's me show you how I made it! 

Ingredients: serves 4 
Red curry paste
5 large red chilies, seeded 
5 shallots, diced 
7 garlic cloves 
1 stalk lemongrass, thinly sliced 
1/2 teaspoon salt 

Chicken curry with rice noodles 
2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into bite-size pieces 
1 can of coconut milk
1/4 cup red curry paste 
1 teaspoon ground turmeric 
1 teaspoon ground coriander 
2 teaspoons ground curry powder 
1 tablespoon fish sauce 
1 tablespoon soy sauce 
2 tablespoons palm sugar
2 cups water or chicken stock 
salt to taste 
1 pack of rice noodles 
bean sprouts  

Garnishes 
1 pack of firm tofu, cut into small cubes
hard-boiled eggs, cut in half  
4 shallots, thinly sliced and fried 
chopped cilantro and scallions 
pickled & preserved cabbage 

Instructions:

Make the red curry paste 

Cut red chilies with scissor and remove the seeds. Grind into a powder in a coffee grinder or sock in a warm water until soften. In a mortar and pestle or a blender, pound or blend together chilies, garlics, shallots, and lemongrass into a paste. 

Pour coconut milk into a wok or a large saucepan. Stir over medium heat until the coconut begins to curdle, then add the red curry paste, ground turmeric, cumin, and curry powder. Stir to make a rich sauce and reduce the heat. 
Add chicken and stir until well coasted. Pour in remaining coconut milk, chicken stock or water, fish sauce, soy sauce, and salt to taste. Simmer over medium heat until the chicken is tender and cooked through. Adjust the seasoning as needed. 

Make fried shallots 
In a pan, heat the oil over a medium heat. Add sliced shallots and stir until golden brown. Transfer on the paper towel lined plate to drain.

Make hard boiled eggs 
In a saucepan, add water and eggs and bring to a boil over medium heat. Boil eggs about 10 minutes. 

Make the rice noodles and bean sprouts 
In a large container, add cold water and sock the rice noodles about 15-20 minutes and drain. In a soup pot, bring water to a boil and add noodles and cook for a few minutes or until soften and drain well. Then add bean sprouts into the boiling water for a few seconds and drain. 

Place bean sprouts and noodles in a bowl and pour chicken curry on it. Top with boiled egg, tofu, fried shallots, pickle cabbage and chopped cilantro and scallions. Enjoy ka! 

Enjoy ka! 

  

Thai Curry Peanut Salad Dressing - Salad Kaeg (สลัดแขก)

There are a variety of delicious Thai salad dishes, but one of my most favorites is a rich peanut salad dressing. This salad is also one of the most popular Muslim Thai cuisine including Thai Chicken Biryani-Kao-Mok-Gai (ข้าวหมกไก่), and Chicken Curry with Rice Noodle Soup เกี๋ยวเตี๋ยวแกง. There are several ingredients to add into the salad beside fresh vegetables such as hard-boiled eggs, fried firm tofu, and sweet potato chips. This salad dressing can be used as a dipping sauce and the taste is similar to a peanut satay sauce. So let's get started ka. 

Ingredients:

Red curry paste:

5 large dried chilies, seeds removed

5 whole shallots, diced 

7 whole garlic cloves 

1 stalk lemongrass, thinly sliced 

Peanut dressing:

1/2 cup roasted peanut, grounded 

1 can of coconut milk

3 tablespoons tamarind juice 

3 tablespoons palm sugar 

salt to taste 

water 

fish sauce (optional)

Veggies and other components:

lettuce 

cucumber 

tomato

carrot 

hard boiled eggs 

fried firm tofu 

fried shallot 

sweet potato chips  

Instructions:

Make red curry paste 

Cut red chilies with scissor and remove the seeds. Grind into a powder in a coffee grinder or sock in a warm water until soften. In a mortar and pestle or a blender, pound or blend together chilies, garlics, shallots, and lemongrass into a paste. 

Make the peanut dressing

In a saucepan add 1/2 cup of coconut milk and bring to a boil over medium heat until is reduced. Add 3 tablespoons of the red curry paste and constantly stir until thicken. Then add the least of coconut milk, ground roasted peanuts and mix well. Stir in tamarind juice, salt, and sugar. Add water as needed. Simmer the dressing about 25 minutes over low heat, stirring frequently to prevent from scorching. Adjust the seasoning. Serve the peanut dressing with your favorites veggies alongside with sliced fried tofu, sliced eggs, and top with crunchy sweet potato chips. Enjoy ka! 

Love it!