Lay The Table

Chicken satay

These make a great party snack or even a tasty supper when served with rice! Good quality chicken is a must, and don’t forget, the longer you marinate these the better they’ll taste! So if you have time to prepare these the day before, even better.

Tip: Add 1tbsp curry powder when adding the peanut butter and brown sugar to the pan for a spiced up version

{Serves 3 people when served with rice as a dinner}

Ingredients

For the marinade

• 3 chicken breasts
• 2 cloves garlic
• 2 tbsp fresh coriander
• 2 tbsp oil

For the satay sauce

• 200ml coconut milk
• 2 heaped tbsp peanut butter (I find smooth works better but if you prefer crunchy, go ahead)
• 2 tbsp brown sugar
• 1 tbsp oil
• Dash of pepper

Instructions

• Crush the garlic, roughly chop and coriander and mix with the oil in a large bowl/tray.
• Using a meat tenderiser, gently bash the chicken between cling film. This stops it moving about and ensures even tenderising! Then cut into small 2cm wide slices.
• Mix the chicken with the marinade, cover and place in the fridge for at least one hour, preferably overnight.
• Soak wooden skewers for 30 minutes in a bowl of water, this stops them burning. Then gently push the chicken onto the skewers. We used approximately 10 skewers, using about ⅔ of each skewer.
• Cook the chicken for around 12-15 minutes, turning halfway to ensure even cooking.
• To make the sauce: Put the oil in the pan and warm slightly over a medium heat before adding the peanut butter and brown sugar. Allow the sugar to dissolve and the peanut butter to become runnier before mixing in the coconut milk bit my bit. Bring to the boil then leave to simmer gently for 5 minutes.

Feb 15, 2010 | Quick & Easy, Snacks | 1 Comment »

Chicken Rice

A recipe that sure does what it says on the tin. Yes, it looks like the world’s dullest meal, but I’ve been brought up on this traditional Malaysian food and the recipe I’m telling you has been passed down through 3 generations of my family (my Grandma was Singaporian and my mother spent some of her childhood there too). If there was one food I had to live on for the rest of my life (apart from Dim Sum), it’d be this. It’s a reasonably cheap eat, I ate a lot of this whilst I was in my final year of university, because it was quick and nutritious.

{Serves 1 person}

Ingredients

• 1 chicken breast
• 200g rice (I use Basmati)
• 3 spring onions
• A couple of slices of cucumber
• 2 chicken stock cubes (I always use Knorr)
• 1 tbsp butter
• 2 tbsp sesame oil

Instructions

1. Wash the rice in a sieve, under a warm tap, allowing the starch to run out. Wait until the water becomes reasonably clear (it’s never 100% clear), then remove from sieve and allow to dry naturally on a plate.
2. Top and tail the spring onions and add into a pan with the cucumber, chicken breast, 1 1/2 stock cubes and enough water to cover the chicken comfortably. Don’t use too big a pan as the stock you create will be too weak.
3. Boil the chicken for 5 minutes, then remove from the heat, cover with a lid and leave for 25 minutes allowing the chicken to poach.
4. Measure 1/2 pint of the stock into a jug and add the other 1/2 stock cube in and dissolve.
5. In a clean pan over a medium heat, add the butter and allow it to melt and gently fry the rice, turning continuous for a couple of minutes. Add the stock from the jug and bring to the boil, then turn down to a gentle simmer. Cover with a lid and cook for 10 minutes, or until all the stock has evaporated.
6. Whilst the rice is cooking, take two forks and gently pull the chicken apart on a plate and then cover with sesame oil.
7. Serve with beansprouts and baby sweetcorn and lashings of soy sauce!

Jan 27, 2010 | Quick & Easy | 2 Comments »

Stilton, bacon and red onion tartlets

We’ve packed away the decorations and laid the Christmas songs to rest for another year, but what’s left in your fridge? Admittedly, I didn’t have the stilton left in the fridge, it was on the clearance shelf at the supermarket and I do so love blue cheese!

27mins – Prep time: 15mins – Cooking time: 12mins

{Makes: 12}

Ingredients

• 1 pack ready rolled puff pastry (375g)
• 180g bacon lardons
• 60g stilton
• 1/2 red onion

Instructions

1. Grease 12 hole bun tin and cut out circles just larger than the holes in the tin. Gently push the circles into the holes using your knuckles.
2. Gently fry off the bacon and onions in a pan over a medium heat. The onions will cook in the lardon fat and will soften. Don’t overcook the bacon, the oven will finish the job!
3. Divide the bacon and onions evenly between the 12 holes.
4. Crumble the stilton over the tops of the tartlets.
5. Bake in the oven for 12 minutes, until the pastry starts to brown a little and the stilton has melted down.

Jan 04, 2010 | Quick & Easy, Snacks | Leave A Comment »

Wholesome chicken & vegetable soup

On Sundays we’re usually recovering and can’t be bothered to do much except mooch around on the sofas and drink a lot of cups of tea. But we always want something to eat that’s healthy and doesn’t require a lot of effort. Enter: soup. This recipe is an adaptation of my family’s “Grandad soup”.

30mins – Prep time: 10mins – Cooking time: 20 mins

Serves 4

Ingredients

• 1 leek
• 2 carrots
• 1 large white potato
• 1 medium onion
• 2 chicken breasts
• 1 chicken stock cube
• 1 vegetable stock cube
• 1 tbsp butter
• 4 tbsp single cream
• Boiling Water
• Salt & Pepper to taste

Instructions

1. Peel and roughly chop all the vegetables.
2. In a large saucepan heat the butter until melted and add the onions.
3. Sweat the onions for 2 minutes and then add the leeks. Cook for a futher 1 minute.
4. Add the carrots and potatoes and stir for 1 minute.
5. Pour in the boiling water until it just covers the vegetables and stir in the stock cubes.
6. Bring to the boil and simmer for 5 minutes.
7. Add the chicken breasts and ensure they are pushed down into the mixture.
8. Cover and leave to simmer for 15 minutes.
9. Remove the chicken breasts and shred into small pieces using two forks.
10. Using a blender, blend all the vegetables until smooth.
11. Add the chicken back into the soup and mix well. Add salt and pepper to season.
12. Serve with fresh crusty roll and a tablespoon of cream dribbled onto the top of the soup.

Sep 08, 2009 | Quick & Easy | 3 Comments »