Crispy Baked Chicken

Remember me saying I was going to try Just One Cookbook’s Crispy Baked Chicken recipe? I’ve tried Nami-san’s delicious Tonkatsu recipe and homemade tonkatsu recipe (here’s my post for it) and really loved it. However, I wanted a healthier version. I’m really glad that she has an oven baked version of it!
I served the crispy baked chicken with homemade chips, bacon wrapped asparagus and homemade Tonkatsu sauce. It was definitely healthier, less cleaning up and very crispy. It was also very easy to cook, so do give the recipe a try!

Thai Green Curry

The great thing about curries is they are so versatile. Unless you’re particular about what makes an authentic Thai curry, I reckon you’ll be happy to use whatever’s in your fridge to cook up a storm.

A mid week curry is a brilliant way to add a little fire to our tongues. The last time I made green curry was in my first trimester and I just couldn’t stand its pungent smell. Although I’m one of the few lucky ones to not suffer any morning sickness, I had a heightened sense of smell which meant plain rice/ Chinese porridge was all I could stomach. Therefore I’m really glad to be able to enjoy a curry now.

Here are the ingredients I used.

400g chicken breasts
400ml Coconut milk
2 tbsp Thai green curry paste
1 broccoli
1 garlic clove
Half an onion, sliced
Half a red pepper
Half a green pepper
Some coriander (to garnish at the end)
2 tbsp Fish sauce (optional)
2 tbsp sugar


Method

1. Heat a little oil in a wok and put in the garlic and onions. Cook till fragrant. Remember to toss the ingredients quickly to ensure they don’t burn.

2. Add the curry paste and fry it for 2-3 minutes.

3. Add the chicken and make sure that it is well coated by the paste and fry till light brown.

4. Add coconut milk and cook on medium heat for 15 minutes.

5. Throw in the broccoli, and half the peppers (both red and green). The remaining peppers will be added at the end to garnish the dish. Cook for 5-8 minutes till the vegetables soften.

6. Now, add the sugar and fish sauce. You can either add more or less sugar depending on how sweet you want your curry to be.

7. Take the pot off the stove.

8. Dish up and garnish with coriander and peppers.

I usually cook Thai curries with aubergines and carrots but I didn’t have any of those in the fridge. That didn’t stop me from making a mouth-watering, satisfying curry. Cooking isn’t set in stone so, just use your best judgment and have fun in the kitchen.

For those who prefer an alternative curry, do check out my Red Thai Curry recipe!

Chilli Chicken Sandwich with Avocado

I was craving for a sandwich for dinner. In fact, I crave for sandwiches a lot in a country that doesn’t know what a sandwich is. However, Germany does itself proud in many other ways so I shall compromise and make myself a homemade sandwich instead. I didn’t want anything too heavy after waking up at 2am last night with indigestion. That was a horrible pain and I don’t wish to go through that for two consecutive nights.

I wanted a zesty (and slightly spicy) sandwich so I marinated 400g of chicken breasts with lime juice (from 2 limes) and two tablespoons of chilli powder mixed with garlic for 2 hours.

As I’m currently addicted to avocados after reading its amazing health benefits, I added them to my sandwiches in addition to some green salad. They are surprisingly filling which is great if I’m only making a sandwich for Daniel at dinner time.

We don’t have a grill at home (unfortunately) so I pan fried the chicken breasts with olive oil and melted Chester cheese on them before serving with toasted muffin bread. Definitely sounds more complicated than slapping cold meat and cheese between slices of bread, but it was well worth the effort.

The lime juice gave the sandwich a citrusy taste which definitely did stimulate our taste buds. The chilli and garlic spice mixture wasn’t too spicy; it was just enough to give the chicken breasts some flavour. I reckon I’ll have to look for more chicken sandwich recipes!!!

Jamie Oliver's Roast Chicken Recipe (half-arsed)

Today I tried out a Jamie Oliver's recipe – Perfect roast chicken. I do find myself avoiding recipes from celebrity chefs because 99% of the time their recipes are just far too fancy and complicated for my liking. However, this recipe has proven otherwise.

 

I tweaked the recipe by spreading herb butter under the skin of the chicken and added some dried thyme with the bunch of fresh rosemary and lemon in the chicken’s cavity.

The result is a crispy-skinned chicken that’s really juicy on the insides. Jamie Oliver didn’t lie about that!

So why did I call it half-arsed?

I got tired in the evening from walking around the Christmas market and couldn’t be bothered to make roast potatoes. I would have put in the extra effort if I had mint sauce, the magic that makes roast potatoes taste heavenly, to go with them. Taking the easy way out, I threw some garlic bread in the oven to serve with the perfect chicken roast.

Seriously, this recipe is amazing! Give it a go if you have the time!