Clockwise from top : Stewed Chicken in Dark Soya Sauce,
the gravy and Stewed Beancurd in Dark Soya Sauce

This recipe is EASY. You should try it, if you have not. It is different from Tau Yu Bak (Stewed Pork in dark soya sauce) in taste but can be similar to Stewed Duck in Dark Soya Sauce save for some difference in spices used.

I used to cook this dish quite often during my university days in England and my British housemates loved it when eaten with steaming hot rice! If you make an extra effort and fry the rice ala Egg Fried Rice, you will have a truly satisfying meal. The beancurd is a complimentary item which I add to the dish. You can also add hard boiled eggs (shell removed, of course) into the dish during the simmering stage.

This is my recipe for Stewed Chicken in Dark Soya Sauce

Ingredients

• 2 chicken legs (whole)
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 2 whole bulbs garlic (remove skin)
• Approximately 15 - 20 white peppercorns
• Warm water
• 1 piece star-anise (optional)
• 2 pieces hard-type beancurd (optional)
• 2 large hard-boiled eggs (optional)

Seasoning

• 2 to 3 tablespoons dark soya sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon of salt

Method

Add sugar into a wok / saucepan which has been heated up. Let the sugar caramelise (turn liquid and brown).

Once sugar fully caramelised, add chicken legs and let it “sear” for 1 minute on each side. Add water to cover the chicken by 1 to 2 cm. Add the rest of the ingredients and seasoning. Once water begins to boil, reduce to medium low heat, cover lid and let it simmer for 30 minutes to an hour.

To serve, separate gravy from the rest of the ingredients. Chop the chicken to desired size, cut beancurd into quarters and half the eggs.

Linguine with Pan-Fried Chicken Breast and Siew Pak Choy

What do you do if you have linguine (a type of pasta), chicken and siew pak choy? Cook them into a dish, of course! It will be handy if you have a can of pasta sauce in your kitchen cabinet.

This dish takes me 1 hour to prepare and cook. I am still an amateur and take a longer time to prepare the ingredients and cook them. Briefly, what I have prepared is pan-fried chicken breast, blanched siew pak choy and pasta sauce. Each can be a dish by itself but this is sort of a fusion dish using western and eastern ingredients. In fact, this is the first time I cooked this dish and I was quite pleased! (I am usually quite fussy over the quality of food I cook. My wife will attest to that!)

Glorious Siew Pak Choy

I hope you will give this dish a try and having learnt it, experiment on your own with the ingredients.

This is my recipe for Linguine with Pan-Fried Chicken Breast and Siew Pak Choy.

Ingredients

• 250 grammes of linguine (you can use any type of pasta)
• 1 large chicken breast
• 200 grammes of siew pak choy (wash and clean)
• 1 can of button mushrooms (halved)
• 1 can of Campbells Pasta Sauce (tomato, garlic and basil sauce)
• 2 large onions (chopped)
• 5 tablespoons of olive oil
• 1 tablespoon of palm oil
• 1 pot of water

Marinade for chicken

• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon white pepper powder
• A dash of Lea & Perrins Worcestershire Sauce
• 1 tablespoon of HP BBQ Sauce
• A dash of black pepper powder
• 1 teaspoon of corn flour

Seasoning for tomato-based sauce

• Salt to taste
• Black pepper powder to taste

Method

Marinade chicken breast for at least 1 hour or more.

Bring water to boil in a large pot. Add 1 teaspoon of salt and 1 tablespoon of palm oil. Add in the siew pak choy and blanch till the leaves turn dark green / cooked. Remove the leaves and set aside.

Cook the linguine in the pot of water according to directions on packaging. Remove and drain. Set aside and drizzle 2 tablespoons of olive oil over it.

Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in frying pan and fry the chicken breast for at least 2 minutes on each side. Ensure chicken breast is thoroughly cooked by piercing the meat with a fork. Clear juice should flow when pierced. Remove from pan to cool. Slice the pan-fried chicken breast.

Heat up 1 tablespoon of olive oil on a sauce pan and saute the onions till translucent. Add button mushrooms and stir well for 2 minutes. Add the pasta sauce and seasoning and bring to boil. Add half-can of water. Cover with lid, reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes.

Arrange cooked linguine on plate. Place sliced pan-fried chicken breast and siew pak choy to your liking. Pour an appropriate amount of the mushroom tomato pasta sauce over them and serve hot.

Chinese-Styled Chicken Chop

Chicken Chop is known to be a western dish and is commonly found in most western restaurants. In Malaysia, chicken chop is sometimes served in Chinese restaurants which serve western dishes and it is usually accompanied with a tomato based gravy.

Recently, I tried cooking chicken chop for a change from the usual dishes we have for dinner. I bought two chicken legs (which consists of the thigh and drumstick) which I had it deboned. Apart from the chicken legs, the only other ingredients I used were cherry tomatoes and onions, excluding the marinade and seasoning, of course. It is fairly simple and not an intimidating dish to cook. To make it more elaborate, you can even add in fried potatoes (diced).

This is my recipe for Chinese-Styled Chicken Chop.

Ingredients

• 2 chicken legs (deboned. I had the chicken skin removed as well)
• 10 cherry tomatoes (of whatever tomatoes you fancy)
• 1 large onion (quartered and separated)
• 1/2 cup warm water
• 2 tablespoons of cooking oil (preferably palm oil)

Marinade (for chicken)

• 1 1/2 tablespoons 0f HP BBQ Sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon of Lea & Perrins Worchestershire Sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon of salt
• A couple of dashes of white pepper powder
• 1 teaspoon of corn flour

Seasoning (gravy)

• 2 tablespoons of tomato ketchup
• Sugar to taste

Method

Marinade the chicken for more than 1 hour using the marinating ingredients above.

Heat a thin layer of oil in a frying-pan (I used a non-stick frying pan. If you don’t have one, add more oil for the frying process) and pan-fry the chicken on both sides till thoroughly cooked. Pierce meat with fork to test for thorough cooking (clear juice should ooze out if cooked). Remove chicken onto a plate leaving the juice in the frying pan.

Add the onions onto the frying pan and stir fry for 1 minute. Add cherry tomatoes and continue to stir fry for 15 seconds or so. Add tomato ketchup and water and bring sauce to boil and thicken whilst adding sugar to taste.

Pour sauce over the fried chicken and serve hot with potatoes or rice.

Chicken with Potatoes, Carrots and Mushrooms

I am back after the long festive holidays. I had the chance of cooking a couple of dishes and this is one of them. My mum cooks this dish quite often too. I guess it’s because it is quite easy and simple to cook. I usually remove the skin of the chicken prior to cooking this dish for health reasons. Furthermore, I don’t like the dish to turn out with a layer of oil. In the picture below, I have yet to remove the skin.

Once you have mastered this dish, you can experiment with the ingredients - eg. adding baby corn, different types of mushrooms, celery etc.

This is my recipe for Chicken with Potatoes, Carrots and Mushrooms.

Ingredients

• 2 chicken drumsticks & thigh (chop to desired size)
• 1 medium sized carrot (cut to wedges)
• 2 small sized potatoes (cut to wedges)
• 4 pieces dried chinese mushrooms (pre-soaked)
• 5 cloves garlic (chopped)
• 3 tablespoons cooking oil (preferably palm oil)
• 1 cup warm water

Marinade

• 3 teaspoons light soya sauce
• a couple of dashes of white pepper powder
• 1 teaspoon of corn flour

Seasoning

• 1 1/2 tablespoons oyster sauce
• 1 teaspoon dark soya sauce
• Salt to taste

Method

Marinade chicken for 30 - 60 minutes. Meanwhile, heat oil in wok and fry potatoes till golden brown. Remove fried potatoes from oil.

With remaining oil in wok and at medium heat, saute the chinese mushrooms for 1 minute. Increase to high heat and add chicken and garlic and stir fry for another minute till outer layer of chicken is cooked. Add fried potatoes and carrots and continue stir frying for another minute.

Add seasoning and water and close lid. Cook for another 3 minutes or until chicken is thoroughly cooked.