Tag Archives: Meat

BBQ Flattened Chicken

August 15, 2016 7:21 am , Leave a Comment ,
BBQ Flattened Chicken

When I first made this Memorable Dish, I cut out the back and rib bones as recommended by recipes I found online. When serving it to my mom and aunt, who both love sucking on meat and fish carcasses, they were disappointed that there were no bones to suck on from my flattened chicken. If you are a food lover, you know the tastiest part of the meat is close to the bone.

My boys used to love eating chicken and meat off the bone. As they’ve grown older, they just like eating the meat part (I think they’ve become lazy and just want to eat quickly so they can go off and play.) Now my oldest son is finally starting to eat the meat off the bones again. My daughter is still young and has the patience to eat the whole chicken drumstick right to the bone!

It is so easy to barbecue flattened chicken after doing the initial prep. I use seasoning from my Perfect Roast Chicken recipe but you can use any seasoning you want. Even simple salt, pepper and garlic powder taste great. Now I don’t dare to cut out the back and rib bones anymore in case my family pop by to eat my flattened chicken 😛 .BBQ Flattened Chicken

BBQ Flattened Chicken

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 45 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour

Serving Size: 4-6

Ingredients

  • 1 Chicken whole (approximately 4 pounds)
  • 1 tbsp Kosher Salt
  • ½ tsp Pepper
  • 1 tsp Garlic Powder
  • 1 tsp Poultry Seasoning

Preparation

  1. Mix salt, pepper, garlic powder and poultry seasoning in a small bowl. Set aside.
  2. Cut chicken in half and tuck the wings in. If desired, cut out the back and rib bone with kitchen shears.
  3. Sprinkle herb and salt mixture all over chicken.
  4. Heat your whole barbecue up to high heat.
  5. Once it’s heated, place chicken on the barbecue skin side down.
  6. Grill on high for 5-10 minutes until you get grill marks. Watch carefully so you don’t get flare ups.
  7. Turn heat off on the side where you have the chicken on and leave the other side of the barbecue on high. (You’ll be cooking by indirect heat.)
  8. Flip the chicken (skin side on top now) and barbecue on indirect heat for 30-45 minutes until chicken is done.
  9. Let the chicken rest for 10-15 minutes before cutting.
https://www.memorabledishes.com/bbq-flattened-chicken/

Posted in: Chicken, Main Course, Poultry , Tagged: , ,

Chinese Hot Pot

January 4, 2016 8:14 am , Leave a Comment ,
Chinese Hot Pot

Hot pot is something that I crave during the cold winter months. The boys also look forward to eating it every winter. Chinese hot pot consists of using broth to cook slices of meats, seafood, dumplings and vegetables in a boiling pot of broth. You set this up on the dining table and everyone cooks their own food. It’s like a fondue except you cook with boiling broth.

This is definitely a Memorable Dish for our whole family because we all look forward to it during the winter months. Thinking about eating hot pot always makes me hungry. The kids love picking their own pieces of meat and dumping them into the bubbling broth. They especially love the baby cuttlefish. My second son always forgets that the meat is piping hot after it’s just done cooking and usually ends up burning his tongue.

I remember my maternal grandmother used to have hot pot practically every evening during the winter months! In Hong Kong, there’s no central heating because it doesn’t snow and doesn’t get super cold. However, you need to wear thicker clothes inside the house or you might have a space heater if you’re really cold. To keep warm, my grandparents used to have hot pot in this mini pot that just serves one or two people.

We like using plain broth because of the kids. But you can spice it up by making your own spicy broth. If you dare, you can make a mala sauce which consists of Sichuan peppercorns, chilies and various spices. The Sichuan peppercorns create a numbing effect on your tongue – people either love it or hate it. But for now, we’ll stick to our regular broth hot pot.Chinese Hot Pot

Chinese Hot Pot

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Total Time: 30 minutes

Serving Size: Slice about 1/2 pound of meat per person.

Ingredients

  • Slices of Chicken
  • Slices of Beef
  • Slices of Pork
  • Slices of Fish
  • Cuttlefish
  • Shrimp
  • Oysters
  • Tofu
  • Frozen Dumplings
  • Udon Noodles
  • Leafy Vegetables (Spinach, Bak Choy, etc.)
  • Chicken Broth
  • For dipping sauces:
  • Scallions, julienned
  • Ginger, julienned
  • Vegetable Oil
  • Soy Sauce
  • Satay Sauce
  • Hot Sauce

Preparation

  1. Slice up all your meats if you’re not using frozen pre-sliced ones.
  2. For your dipping sauce, put your ginger and scallions in a bowl.
  3. Heat up the oil until it sizzles. You can check by putting a small piece of ginger in it.
  4. Once the oil is heated, pour the hot oil onto the ginger and scallions. Then pour in soy sauce.
  5. You can mix in satay sauce or use the satay sauce on the side.
  6. Set your butane burner on your dining table. (We also have an electric one.)
  7. Heat up your broth in a pot used for hot pot cooking on the stove.
  8. Once the broth is boiled, carefully transfer it onto your butane burner.
  9. Cook your meats in the broth and enjoy.
  10. You can make steamed rice to go with it if you want.
  11. As you cook, the broth will evaporate. Add boiling water to the pot so you’ll have enough liquid to cook the food.

Notes

Note #1: You can find butane burners and hot pot cooking pots at an Asian grocery store. The hot pot cooking pots are usually thinner and may have a divider in the middle so that you can split between a plain or spicy broth.

Note #2: You can purchase thin slices of meat in the frozen section at large Chinese grocery stores.

https://www.memorabledishes.com/chinese-hot-pot/

Chinese Hot Pot Ingredients

Posted in: Main Course , Tagged: , , ,

Spam Fried Rice

April 6, 2015 9:30 am , Leave a Comment ,
Spam Fried Rice

Spam – what can I say about it? For some, it is a deceptively tasty can of meat. For others, it is the antichrist of meat products. Whether you love it or loathe it, Spam is a Memorable Dish for everyone because everyone has an opinion about it.

I never knew that Spam was a food to be made fun of until I moved to North America. In Hong Kong, we consider Spam a meat staple. There are Spam and egg sandwiches, Spam in macaroni soup, Spam on top of ramen noodles, and Spam fried rice. The list of food made from Spam is endless.

Even though Spam is the butt of many jokes in North America (except in Hawaii where they LOVE Spam), I think most people secretly enjoy eating it. Some of my friends always bring Spam when they go camping. They insist they only eat it when camping because it’s easy to pack and doesn’t need refrigeration. Perhaps they use camping as an excuse to indulge in their innermost desires of Spam eating without the guilt? 😉

What makes this a Memorable Dish for me is that my mom used to make us Spam Fried Rice as kids. North Americans have their macaroni and cheese and we have our Spam Fried Rice, or any fried rice for that matter. But I fondly remember her Spam Fried Rice. Now that we are more health conscious, she hasn’t used Spam for fried rice as much. She uses ham or chicken or whatever leftover meats she has on hand.

I am continuing the family tradition of making fried rice for the kiddies. Most of the time, I use real meat (not that Spam is not “real” meat…haha). But sometimes when I feel nostalgic and want to live life on the edge, I make Spam Fried Rice.

Just like me, the kids can’t stop eating just one bowl of fried rice. If you end up making this recipe, please enjoy and indulge! I don’t pig out on Spam all the time (pun intended). So, no guilt is allowed when eating Spam Fried Rice, ok? 🙂 On that note, here’s my recipe for Spam Fried Rice. Now that Spam Lite is available, I’m using that instead. Healthier Spam – how ironic!

img_Spam_Fried_Rice

Spam Fried Rice

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes

Total Time: 30 minutes

Serving Size: 4

Ingredients

  • 5 cups of day-old Cooked Rice (2 cups of uncooked rice)
  • 1 can of diced Spam (I use the low-fat version.)
  • 2 cups of frozen Peas, Carrots, Corn (thawed)
  • 3 large beaten Eggs
  • Vegetable Oil (1 tsp for eggs, 3 tsp for rice)
  • ½ tsp Salt
  • 1 tsp Garlic Powder
  • ¼ cup low sodium Soy Sauce
  • 1 sliced Green Onion for garnish

Preparation

  1. Heat 1 tsp of oil in a non-stick wok or large frying pan.
  2. Scramble the eggs and set aside.
  3. Using the same wok, fry up the Spam until lightly brown and crispy on the outside. (You don’t need to use oil because there’s enough fat in the Spam.) Drain out the oil and set aside.
  4. Heat 3 tsp of oil and stir fry the rice until it’s heated through.
  5. When the rice turns a bit crispy, add the salt, garlic powder, and soy sauce.
  6. Stir fry the rice a bit more until the soy sauce is mixed in the rice.
  7. Put the Spam, eggs, and vegetables with the rice.
  8. Stir fry all the ingredients until they are evenly mixed.
  9. Garnish with sliced green onions.

Notes

If you don’t have any day-old rice, cook the rice and cool it in the fridge before making the fried rice for best results. Basically, the rice has to be a bit on the dryer side.

https://www.memorabledishes.com/spam-fried-rice/

Posted in: Main Course, Pork, Rice , Tagged: , , , , ,

Perfect Roast Chicken

March 29, 2015 10:48 pm , Leave a Comment ,
Perfect Roast Chicken

Roast chicken, I’m sure, is a Memorable Dish for a lot of people. Grandma’s or mother’s roast chicken certainly evokes the childhood memories of simpler days. In today’s busy world, this simple dish has reserved itself as a weekend meal, perhaps as a Sunday family dinner.

It’s such a simple dish, but there are so many little tricks needed to cook it perfectly. I’ve made roast chicken dozens of times. Sometimes I undercook it and other times I overcook it. I’ve followed recipes from reputable cookbooks to no avail. One recipe said to cook the chicken for 425 degrees for 1 ½ hours. I did it a few times and the results were not always favourable.

However, I think I have finally uncovered the secrets of cooking the perfect roast chicken! One cold winter’s day I was looking for fresh thyme to use for my roast chicken. I couldn’t find it at this particular local grocery store but I didn’t bother going to another store. I ended up perusing the herb aisle to see what I could use – poultry seasoning! I always hear TV chefs talk about poultry seasoning but have never used it. Since there was no fresh thyme available, I gave poultry seasoning a try. When I got home, I was a little skeptical about using it. It smelled like Chinese herbal medicine – not very appetizing 😛 I gave it a try anyways. TV chefs can’t be wrong, right? After the chicken was cooked, the herbal seasoning mellowed out and permeated into the meat of the chicken. It was mighty tasty! Don’t forget I also put butter beneath the skin and on top to make it crunchy and tasty. If you don’t have poultry seasoning, you can always just use salt, pepper and garlic powder.

My whole family devoured the chicken and I even got a “I love you” from my little one for making the chicken. I hope you give my roast chicken recipe a try and build your own family food memories. If you have any new tips and tricks after trying out my recipe, feel free to comment and share. I would love to hear how your roast chicken turns out 🙂

Perfect Roast Chicken

Perfect Roast Chicken

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 2 hours, 15 minutes

Total Time: 2 hours, 30 minutes

Serving Size: 4-6

Ingredients

  • 1 Chicken whole (approximately 4 pounds)
  • 1 Onion quartered
  • 2 Carrots cut into thick slices
  • ½ cup dry White Wine or Chicken Stock
  • 1 tbsp softened Butter
  • 1 tbsp melted Butter
  • 1 tbsp Kosher Salt
  • ½ tsp Pepper
  • 1 tsp Garlic Powder
  • 1 tsp Poultry Seasoning
  • For Gravy
  • 2 tbsp Chicken Fat or Butter
  • 2 tbsp Flour
  • 1 ½ to 2 cups Chicken Stock (depends on how thick you like your gravy)

Preparation

  1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
  2. Put carrots, onions, and wine/chicken stock in roasting pan/glass baking dish.
  3. Rinse and pat dry chicken with paper towels.
  4. Mix salt, pepper, garlic powder and poultry seasoning in a small bowl. Set aside.
  5. Spread softened butter underneath the skin of chicken breast and brush melted butter all over chicken.
  6. Sprinkle herb and salt mixture inside cavity and all over chicken.
  7. Place chicken in roasting pan, breast side up.
  8. Roast chicken for approximately 2 hours.
  9. The chicken is done when its internal temperature reaches 165°F. Check by inserting an instant food thermometer to the thickest part of the chicken, the thigh, without touching the bone. When the juice runs clear, it’s done.
  10. Rest the chicken by covering it with foil while you make the gravy.
  11. For Gravy Preparation
  12. Make a roux by cooking the chicken fat/butter with flour in a small pot over medium heat.
  13. Once it’s mixed into a thick paste and the flour smell is gone, slowly add the chicken stock.
  14. Stir and mix with a whisk to avoid lumps.
  15. Bring it to a simmer until it thickens.
  16. If desired, add drippings from roasted chicken.

Notes

Note #1: My package of poultry seasoning is made up of thyme, sage, marjoram, rosemary, black pepper, and nutmeg. If you don’t have poultry seasoning, you can use the herbs you have on hand.

Note #2: If you have time and want to cook the chicken more evenly, baste the chicken with drippings from the pan every 30 minutes. (If you don’t have a baster, use a silicone pastry brush to baste.) After basting, rotate roasting pan 180 degrees and continue roasting.

https://www.memorabledishes.com/perfect-roast-chicken/

Posted in: Chicken, Main Course, Poultry , Tagged: , , ,

Chicken With Rice
(Kokoshka Sou Oris)

March 23, 2015 8:06 am , 2 Comments ,

Chicken (Kokoshka) With (Sou) Rice (Oris) is one of my favourite Memorable Dishes from my husband’s family. When we first started dating, this is one of the dishes I had at my in-laws. It’s not a fancy dish by any means but I really enjoyed eating it every time. Even though we are from totally different backgrounds (me being Chinese and him being Macedonian), we find that lots of our values are very similar. Our family’s love of food is definitely one of them. Yes – I consider that a value! I always say to my husband, “Thank goodness you like to eat and try new foods as much as I do!” I believe our relationship has lasted because we share the same value for food 😉

When we got married, my mother-in-law bought me the “official” Macedonian recipe book. It’s a plastic-coiled bound book with a red cover that says, “Traditional Macedonian Recipes.” Mine is a revised edition with 40 additional recipes. It seems like everyone in the Macedonian community has one version or another. The book also includes a bit of Macedonian history and a map, which is very interesting to me. I also love that in each section, there’s a little anecdote that talks about the recipes and the importance of them to the Macedonian community.

The first time I cooked this dish from the recipe book, it didn’t turn out the same as my mother-in-law’s. When I told her about my blunder, she looked at the recipe and said that it wasn’t the same way she cooked this dish. This reiterated the line that I read from the cookbook, “In collecting the recipes, we did not find two women who made the same dish in exactly the same manner.” Go figure!

I find it very comforting when cooking this recipe. The smell of chopped onions, celery and carrots permeates my nose and into my mind. Even though I have never been to my husband’s Macedonian village before, I could picture hardworking mothers taking care of their families and cooking up a nice meal after a hard day’s work at the farm.

I used the Macedonian cookbook’s recipe as a base and adjusted the way I cook it for my family. The kids gobble up this dish every time I make it. Lovingly, they really enjoy this Macedonian dish made by their Chinese mother 🙂

Chicken With Rice (Kokoshka Sou Oris)

Chicken With Rice
(Kokoshka Sou Oris)

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour, 10 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour, 30 minutes

Serving Size: 4

Ingredients

  • (For Chicken Broth)
  • 1 Chicken whole (approximately 4 pounds)
  • 1 Celery stalk with leaves, halved
  • 1 Onion, halved
  • 1 Bay Leaf
  • 1 tsp Salt
  • 10 cups of Water for boiling
  • (For Chicken Rice Dish)
  • 3 tsp Olive Oil
  • 1 medium diced Onion
  • 2 diced Celery stalks
  • 2 diced Carrots
  • 2 cups of long grain Rice
  • 1 tsp Salt
  • ½ tsp Pepper
  • 4 cups Chicken Broth (from the boiled chicken)
  • Chopped Parsley for garnish

Preparation

  1. Cut the chicken into serving size pieces and trim any excess fat.
  2. Place chicken, celery, onion, bay leaf and 1 tsp salt in large pot and cover with water.
  3. Bring the water to a boil and skim any scum and fat floating on top.
  4. Turn down to medium low heat and simmer for 45 minutes.
  5. Once it’s done, set chicken aside from broth.
  6. For Rice Preparation
  7. Preheat oven to 375°F.
  8. Heat olive oil in large frying pan.
  9. Sauté onions, celery and carrots over medium heat until soft (about 5-10 minutes).
  10. Add rice, chicken broth, salt, and pepper into the vegetables and mix.
  11. Bring liquid back to a boil and turn off heat.
  12. Put rice mixture in a baking dish and place chicken on top.
  13. Bake at 375°F for 15 minutes.
  14. Cover with foil or lid and let it stand until all liquid is absorbed.
  15. Garnish with parsley.

Notes

Note #1: You can blanch the chicken pieces before boiling them to eliminate most of the scum.

Note #2: If rice is too dry for your liking, add some extra broth and then cover for a few more minutes.

https://www.memorabledishes.com/chicken-with-rice/

Posted in: Chicken, Main Course, Poultry, Rice , Tagged: , , , ,

Chicken Crunchy Chow Mein

March 2, 2015 8:04 am , Leave a Comment ,
Chicken Crunchy Chow Mein

Who doesn’t love crunchy chow mein that you order from Chinese take out restaurants? It’s deceiving how fattening those skinny crunchy noodles are. Believe it or not, they are deep fried. I know – shocking isn’t it?

I for one, LOVE the crunchy chow mein that I order from Chinese restaurants. The meat and sauce on top of those crunchy noodles – It’s a perfect sensation in your mouth when biting into the saucy part of the noodles combined with the crunchy part.

This Chicken Crunchy Chow Mein is definitely one of my favourite memorable go-to dishes. Super-easy, super-delicious, and super-impressive! I’ve made it for my own parties and brought it as a potluck dish to friends’ houses.

I wanted to create super crunchy noodles without the added fat. So I figured out baking the noodles with a little bit of oil can create the same effect. Here, I will show you how I make it. This is my secret passed onto you 😉 Your friends and family will be impressed that you can create restaurant-quality Crunchy Chow Mein from home.

I think this dish could be one of my friends’ most Memorable Dishes of mine. They are always shocked that it’s not bought from a Chinese restaurant. Yes, it’s that good!

Chicken Crunchy Chow Mein

Chicken Crunchy Chow Mein

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Total Time: 60 minutes

Serving Size: 4-6

Ingredients

  • 2 boneless, skinless sliced Chicken Breasts (approximately 8 oz. each)
  • 1 tbsp of low sodium Soy Sauce
  • 1 tsp Sugar
  • 1 tsp Cornstarch
  • 1 tsp Chinese Cooking Wine (optional)
  • 2 cloves minced Garlic
  • 1 tsp of minced Ginger
  • 2 tbsp of Oyster Sauce
  • ½ cup of Chicken Broth or Water
  • 1 lb Bean Sprouts
  • 1 ½ cup of julienned Carrots
  • 1 ½ cup of julienned Snow Peas or Sugar Snap Peas (trimmed)
  • ½ tsp of Salt
  • 1 Package Egg Noodles
  • Vegetable Oil (2 tbsp for noodles, 2 tsp for vegetables, 2 tsp for chicken)
  • 2 tsp Cornstarch
  • 2 tbsp Water

Preparation

  1. Marinate chicken with soy sauce, sugar, cornstarch, and cooking wine for at least 30 minutes in refrigerator.
  2. For Noodles Preparation
  3. Preheat oven to 400°F.
  4. Put egg noodles in a large stainless steel bowl.
  5. Boil enough water to cover the noodles in the bowl.
  6. Once the water is boiled, pour it on the noodles.
  7. Loosen the noodles with a fork and let them sit for 1 minute.
  8. Drain noodles out thoroughly with a colander and pat dry with paper towel.
  9. Line baking sheet with parchment paper.
  10. Spread 1 tbsp of vegetable oil on the bottom of the lined baking sheet.
  11. Put noodles on oiled baking sheet.
  12. Then pour another 1 tbsp of vegetable oil on top of the noodles and mix.
  13. Bake for 10-15 minutes then flip the noodles over and bake it for another 10-15 minutes. (It depends on how crunchy you want them. I like them extra crunchy 🙂
  14. Set aside.
  15. For Vegetables and Chicken Preparation
  16. Heat 2 tsp of oil in wok or large frying pan.
  17. Fry up carrots and cook for a few minutes, then add snow peas and lastly the bean sprouts.
  18. Cook vegetables until tender but still have their crunch.
  19. Set vegetables aside.
  20. Using the same wok/frying pan, heat 2 tsp of oil and sauté the minced garlic and ginger.
  21. Add marinated chicken to the wok and cook until chicken is done.
  22. Add chicken broth/water and oyster sauce.
  23. Add vegetables back into the wok/frying pan and cook until everything is mixed in.
  24. Scoop chicken and vegetable mixture onto the crunchy noodles and leave liquid in the wok/frying pan.
  25. Mix 2 tsp of cornstarch with 2 tbsp of water into a small bowl.
  26. Then pour cornstarch mixture into sauce until thickens.
  27. Pour the rest of the sauce onto noodles & meat mixture.
https://www.memorabledishes.com/chicken-crunchy-chow-mein/
Chicken Crunchy Chow Mein - 3 pix

Posted in: Chicken, Main Course, Noodles, Poultry , Tagged: , , ,
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