Chicken Katsu Curry with Firecracker Noodles

This is one of my first attempts at Japanese cooking and also an attempt to recreate one of my favourite dishes from YO! Sushi. I loosely based my curry recipe around this one by Simon Rimmer: http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/chicken_katsu_curry_48890. This was really tasty, it out quite differently from the one at YO! Sushi, but there was a similar taste in there and mine was spicier and more tomatoey! I guessed the recipe for the firecracker noodles. I think another nice addition to the curry would've been ground-up peanuts, or perhaps sesame seeds.

 

 

Ingredients (serves 2):

For the Katsu Curry:
2 Chicken Breasts
1 Egg (beaten)
Plate of seasoned Plain Flour
Plate of Breadcrubs
1 Onion, sliced
3/4 tube Tomato Puree
Small piece of fresh ginger, finely chopped
tsp Cumin Seeds
tbsp and 1/2 Turmeric
tsp ground Coriander
tsp dried Coriander
Cardamon Pods (if you have any, I'd ran out)
6-7 Garlic Cloves, chopped
(any other spices you think may go: pinch smoked Paprika, pinch Cayenne etc. I added some extras myself but can't quite remember which!)
300ml Chicken Stock (see basics or use 2 stock cubes)
Oil for shallow frying (Vegtable, sunflower, groundnut)
3-4 tbsp soy sauce
tsp honey (optional)
Splash Oil for frying Onions

For the firecracker noodles:
Pack of dried noodles (whichever you prefer: Udon, Vermicelli etc.)
1 Orange Pepper, finely chopped
1 Onion, finely chopped
3 Garlic Cloves, finely chopped
2 Hot Chillis, finely chopped (Birdseye or Scotch Bonnent perhaps)
Extra chilli flakes (optional, depending on how firey you like your firecracker!)
4-6 Spring Onions, sliced
Splash of Oil


Method:

1. Preheat oven to 200 degrees and oil for shallow-frying on the hob (BE CAREFUL), in a heavy based saucepan, on a med-high heat, prepare the chicken breasts by giving them a bash with a rolling pin between a sheet of cling film. Roll them individually in the flour, then egg and then bread crumbs and set to one side while you start the sauce. Fry for a 3-4 minutes on each side until golden  brown then place onto baking tray and set aside.
2. For the Katsu Curry sauce: in a frying pan/wok dry roast the spices for a couple of minutes then grind them together in a pestle and mortar. Next heat a little oil on a medium heat in the same pan, and fry the sliced onions and garlic until browned and softened. Now is the time to put the tray of breasts into the pre-heated oven (they'll take 20 minutes).
3. Add the ground spices, tomato puree and stock, bring to the boil then leave to simmer whilst you prepare the rest of the dish.
4. Boil the kettle and cook and drain noodles to pack instructions (this usually takes only 2-4 minutes). In a seperate/new frying pan add a splash of oil, pre-heat to a medium heat and fry garlic, onions, pepper, chilli and chilli flakes and fry until nearly softened (5-6 minutes). Add Spring Onions and drained noodles. Make sure the noodles are coated in oil and mixed well with all the other ingredients. Season to taste and these are done.
5. Add soy sauce and honey (if using) to curry sauce, mix well and make sure piping hot for service.
6. Remove breasts from oven. Serve how you would like on the plate. You could place noodles on first, then place breast on top then pour over sauce, but I served noodles then breast with sauce side by side. Enjoy!

Pont-l'Évêque and Broccoli stuffed Chicken Breast with a Spicy Mushroom Tomato Sauce

This is what I made last night. It's the second time I've made stuffed chicken breast and the only time I've wrapped it in bread crumbs. I was really worried that it would fall apart, as I stuffed it quite full, but magnificently it didn't (although one breast did leak some cheese in the oven!). I had a nice walk out yesterday in the first day of mediocre weather to the grocer's and butcher's to get my ingredients. I would recommend a butcher for the chicken breasts opposed to the supermarket as the breasts in the butcher's tend to be bigger and juicier. I served this with green beans, but any other green would be a fine accompaniment. As the breasts are stuffed quite full and the sauce is rather heavy I wouldn't recommend potatoes, however if you wished to make the sauce lighter and think you could eat that much you could do some tatties! I used Pont-l'Évêque cheese because that's what we had in the fridge, but this would be equally as lovely with Mozzarella, Camembert or other cheeses. I got the idea to do this from this James Martin Recipe, I used his instructions on how to cook the breast: http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/mozzarella-stuffed_90052.

 I served mine with the sauce over the breast, but Paddy prefers his sauce separate, so at least you can see the nicely browned bread crumbs!

Ingredients (serves 2):

Enough of Alice's Basic Tomato Sauce for two, with added mushrooms (I used brown closed cup) and peas (find this recipe on the basics page at the top right of the blog)
2 Juicy Breasts
1/2 Broccoli Floret, boiled/steamed and finely chopped
2 Generous Slices of Cheese
1 Beaten Egg
Plain flour (to coat) sifted onto a plate
Bread crumbs (I used wholemeal ones that I bought from the grocers, but panko or chip shop ones will do) also to coat, poured onto another plate
Oil for shallow frying (Vegetable, Sunflower etc.)
Salt and Pepper to taste

Method:

1. You can prepare the tomato sauce in advance, or cook it as you go along as I did, just make sure it's hot for service.
2. To make the stuffed breasts: preheat your oven to 200 degrees, season the cheese slices and the cooked broccoli and have them to hand. Heat the oil for shallow frying in a chip pan on a medium-high heat. Use a heavy based sauce pan BE VERY CAREFUL, do not leave this unattended as hot oil is dangerous and Fireman Sam says chip fires are the most common house fires.
3. Cut a slit in each breast and carefully cut around inside to create a 'pocket' (James Martin says this). Put in your slice of cheese then carefully pack in as much broccoli as you can.
4. Roll the breasts individually in the flour, then the egg, then the bread crumbs, making sure they are completely covered and coated in crumbs.
5. Next, gently lay each breast in the hot oil and cook for about two minutes on each side (the bread crumbs should be golden brown) then lift out with a slotted spatula and place onto a baking try and pop into the oven. This is the bit where I was worried they would fall apart, but the bread crumbs and frying seemed to bind the breasts well. You can deep fry them if you want like Martin's recipe suggests, but it just means using more oil, and they'll not need turning over.
6. Once the breasts have been in the oven for 20 minutes and are cooked through, but still juicy, make sure you have your accompaniments hot and ready (the sauce and green beans in my case) serve onto warmed plates in whatever fashion you wish. Enjoy your end product!  

 Inside the stuffed breast, aesthetically pleasing!

Cheese oozing out of the side.

Cod Loin poached in a White Wine Sauce on a bed of Tricolore Conchigliette, served with a Soft-Boiled Egg in a Spinach Timbale.

Cod Loin poached in a White Wine Sauce on a bed of  Tricolore Conchigliette, served with a Soft-Boiled Egg in a Spinach Timbale.

This is my first recipe of the blog, I cooked this last night for Paddy and I and it went down rather well, clean plates all round! I created this dish myself, I usually use a little help from cook books but this one's entirely my own. I love a soft egg yolk with fish so I decided to try and bake it in a spinach tower, I was apprehensive whether it would stand up or not, but it did, hoorah! The sauce around the edge of the plate was meant to look a lot neater, nevertheless, it tasted nice and added a nice sour tang to the dish!

 

Ingredients:

(Serves 2)



2 Cod Loins
2 eggs
Bag of Spinach
Plain Flour (enough to coat fish)
Conchigliette (or pasta of your choice, rice would also be a nice alternative)
Fresh Basil and Parsley
5 Garlic Cloves, finely chopped (I use a lot of garlic so feel free to cut down)
1 Onion, finely chopped
1 Orange Pepper, finely chopped
Olive Oil (I used Parsley infused Olive Oil)
1 Small glass of dry White Wine (I know a lot of chefs say don't use cheap wine and only use wine that you would drink yourself, but I can't afford to always use my expensive bottles in cooking and am equally happy to drink the rest of a bottle of cheap Pinot Grigio!)
1 Stock Cube (Chicken, or Fish)

This dish was actually an easy one to make, the only tricky part was the timings, I could have done with another pair of hands when it came to serving! I will try to take you through the steps as best as I can.

1. Pre-heat the oven to a medium temperature (about 180 degrees) Firstly, steam the spinach and set to one side, then with a good glug of oil in a frying pan or wok (make sure you have a lid, or in my case another frying pan, that fits over the top for poaching the fish later on) stir fry the onion, pepper and most of the garlic until browned/softened. Whilst doing this cook the pasta to pack instructions.
2. Add onion, pepper, garlic and as much oil as possible to the pasta once drained and mix. Either keep this on a low heat until ready to serve, but to avoid pasta from sticking to the bottom of the pan I took it off the heat for a while and quickly warmed through before service.
3. Line two ramekins, bottom and sides with a finger of butter or oil the do the same with the drained spinach. Crack an egg into the well in the centre and place into the pre-heated oven. (You can put another covering of spinach over the egg so it is completely sealed in the spinach, but I didn't think of this at the time!) Keep an eye on this as the eggs don't take long. Alternatively cook them for longer if you prefer hard-boiled.
4. Using the same wok/pan as before add some more oil and the remainder of the garlic. Season the cod loins with salt and pepper and coat with a thin layer of flour. Fry in the oil on a medium to high heat for a minute then turn over. Add the fresh basil (saving some for garnish if you like) wine, stock cube and a small dash of milk. Mix the sauce around the fish and when the alcohol is mainly evaporated lower the heat, cover and simmer for a few minutes, until the fish is cooked through so that it is just flaky.
5. Remove the spinached eggs from the oven when they are cooked to your liking. Don't forget to gently push a knife around the sides of the ramekins before turning them out onto heated plates like I did the first time! Turn them out onto the plates, then add a circle of the pasta next to it, place the cooked fish on top then add the excess sauce however you like! Serve immediately, Bon appetit!



The moment of truth! This is the timbale that drooped!

Welcome!

Hello and welcome to my cooking blog!

Over the past couple of years I've been trying out all sorts of recipes from my collection of recipe books, the internet and a lot from my own creation as well. I have managed to (inexpensively) collect culinary equipment that I also like to try out. I am always keen to try new and difficult things and have now decided to share them!

I have a savoury tooth, and a spice tooth, and a garlic tooth. So on this page you will most likely find recipes and ideas with a bit of a kick. However, I do also try some sweets and non-spicy dishes - just anything I like the look of really!

My favourite chefs are Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, Antonio Carluccio, Madhur Jaffrey, Keith Floyd, Rick Stein, Levi Roots to name a few. But do please respect that this is a Jamie Olivers free-zone; the only tears in this blog will be ones from getting chilli in your eye.

I hope you enjoy my recipes and cooking and join me in trying some exciting things!

                                                Previous dishes, a taste of things to come:

(If you would like the recipe for any of these please do ask, and I'll post what I can remember!)



                                           Homemade Ravioli di Granchio (Crab Ravioli)

                                        Paddy's Caribbean Coconut and Lime Birthday Cake

                                                               Simple Fraisier Cake

                                         The start of a spicy Mediteranean Vegtable Lasange!

Spicy Mixed Fish Stew with Orange

 Homemade Mushroom Ravioli

 Homemade Fettucine

                               Summer Fish Pie topped with Lemon and Spring Onion Rosti

                            Caribbean Dark Chocolate Spiced Rum Hazelnut Mother's Day Cake

Prawn Malay Curry with Plantain Chips