kitchen
Book shelf
with Melissa Leong
Comfort food as good as mum’s! There’s something to be said for comfort food. Whether it’s macaroni cheese, bangers and mash or good old spag’ bol, it’s highly likely that your comfort food of choice was first made by your mother or grandmother. In my case, the dish in question is classic Hainanese chicken rice. That famed Singaporean poached chicken dish, served with grainy rice and gingery shallot and garlic sauce. It’s a simple dish, but like anything good, takes a bit of practice to perfect. I’d been holding off trying to cook it for years because I was afraid that it would never be as good as Mum’s. Fortunately, her instructions are pretty spot on!
Hainanese Chicken Rice Serves 4
Ginger Shallot Sauce
You will need: • A pot big enough to fit a chicken with the lid on • A rice cooker • Sambal nasi lemak (as a condiment to serve with – available from most supermarkets and Asian grocers) • Sweet soy (kecap manis) to serve
2 stalks of shallots, chopped reasonably fine 1 thumb sized piece of ginger, coarsely grated (more if you like the ginger kick) 1 teaspoon of sesame oil 1 tablespoon of olive oil 1 pinch of chilli flakes 1 clove of garlic, crushed
Ingredients
salt and pepper to taste
1 medium sized organic chicken ½ a bunch of shallots 1 large piece of ginger, halved 2 cloves of garlic, squashed 2 cups of jasmine rice, washed 1 tsp of duck/chicken/goose fat, or olive oil 1 Lebanese cucumber 1 tomato
Method: The Chicken 1. Wash, pat dry and season chicken with salt, pepper and sesame oil. 2. Stuff a few stalks of shallots, a piece of ginger and garlic into the chicken cavity. 3. In a small saucepan, fill with enough water to cover the chicken, boil.
THE SALT BOOK
4. Once the water starts to boil, pop the chicken in, and allow to boil on high for 10 minutes. 5. After 10 minutes, turn the heat of, pop the lid on, and allow the chicken to sit in the water for 30 minutes. 6. While the chicken is sitting in the water: On a medium heat, fry a clove of garlic, a stalk of shallot and ginger in a teaspoon of duck fat (if you don’t have duck or goose fat, olive oil is fine). 7. Add the washed rice and stir-fry until the rice is coated in the aromatic oil. 8. Transfer the rice and aromatics into the rice cooker. 9. Take around 2 cups of water from the chicken pot and pour over the top of the rice - enough to ‘just’ cover the rice (you want the rice to be grainy, not fluffy with this dish). Season with salt, white pepper and let the rice cook. 10. After letting the chicken sit for 30 minutes, remove it from the hot water and refresh it in cold water to stop the cooking process. 11. Once the chicken has cooled a bit, remove it from the water, pat dry, rub with sesame oil and set aside (Hainanese chicken rice is supposed to be served warm, rather than piping hot). Ginger and Shallot Sauce On medium heat fry the crushed garlic, chopped shallots, grated ginger, chilli flakes and sesame oil. Add the olive oil slowly and plenty of salt and pepper, turn the heat down to low and stir until the whole mixture is soft and aromatic. Season to taste. Soup Reduce the remaining stock down by about a third and add salt and pepper to taste. Garnish with chopped shallots. Serving Suggestion:
Fritz Gubler & David Gylnn, with contributions by Dr Russell Keats, Arbon Publishing, $34.99 Salt. No, not the movie, but that wonderful stuff that makes pork crackling pop, magically balances sweet flavours, and can change a dish from insipid to inspired with the sprinkle of a few flakes. The Salt Book isn’t just an ode to the most crucial seasoning we have in our culinary arsenal, but explores the history and culture of salt, takes a look at the multitude of varieties found around the world (red, black or blue salt anyone?) and how to use salt smartly. Salt also contains a heap of recipes that cover everything from soups to pickling, curing and baking and like the seasoning itself, you’ll probably find this little tome quickly becomes a kitchen essential.
Serve the chicken cut into pieces (skin on) with sliced tomatoes and cucumber, sweet soy sauce, some sambal nasi lemak and the ginger shallot sauce. Enjoy!
â– ML
My favourite dish... shopping list Serves 4 400g good quality thin pasta or spaghettini 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice 1/4 cup olive oil 1 punnet cherry tomatoes TNBMM GSFTI SFE DIJMMJFT TFFEFE BOE mOFMZ chopped 12 slices prosciutto cut into strips 1 tablespoon grated lemon zest 250g rocket leaves, cleaned and chopped Available from Trim’s Fresh Fruit & Vegetables, located next to Aldi - Tel: 9572 6886 Fruiterer, Tony Trimboli of the award winning Trim’s Fresh Fruit & Vegetables says the key to his cooking is fresh and seasonal ingredients. Not only well known for his wide range of quality fruit and vegetables and fresh cut deli but also his PO mFME BOUJDT BHBJOTU (PSEFO 5BMMJT JO B SFDFOU DIBSJUZ 3VHCZ -FBHVF NBUDI UIBU SBJTFE NPOFZ GPS UIF 2VFFOTMBOE nPPE EJTBTUFS "GUFS XJOOJOH UIF A#FTU 'SVJU 7FHFUBCMF 4IPQ UJUMF JO UIF *OOFS 8FTU -PDBM #VTJOFTT "XBSET UIF UFBN IBWF BHBJO CFFO OBNFE mOBMJTUT BOE MPPL GPSXBSE UP UIF BOOPVODFNFOU PG UIF XJOOFST OFYU XFFL Spaghetti with Prosciutto, Tomato, Rocket, Lemon and Chilli Method 1. Bring a large saucepan of salted water to the boil. Cook spaghetti according to packet directions, until al dente. Drain. 2. Combine the hot pasta with the prosciutto, tomatoes, chilli and lemon rind in a large bowl. Set aside to cool slightly. 3. Prepare dressing by blending the lemon juice, chilli, olive oil, salt and pepper together in a bowl. 4. Pour the dressing over the pasta. Add the rocket leaves and stir until well combined. Serve. Buon appetito!
Trim’s Fresh offers quality fruit and vegetables as well as a fresh cut deli and a wide range of Italian grocery products. Trim’s Trading Hours Monday to Wednesday - 8am to 6pm Thursday - 8am to 9pm Friday - 8am to 7pm Saturday - 8am to 6pm Sunday - 10am to 4pm For more information on our fresh food retailers visit www.marketplaceleichhardt.com.au
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