MANGO CHUTNEY DRUMSTICKS

Leg or breast? Leg definitely. I am no fan of chicken breast. I know that the breast meat is the most popular though the most expensive part of the chicken. Even though the best chickens have tasty breast meat, I still do not usually cook chicken breast unless it is still attached to the rest of the chicken body.

CHICKEN CORDON BLEU

If you like ham and cheese and fried chicken then chicken cordon bleu is just the thing for you. It is not as fancy schmancy as the name suggests. It is simply ham and cheese filled crumbed chicken. Nevertheless, it is a dish that is universally likeable, simple yet delicious.

CHICKEN ADOBO (ADOBONG MANOK)

Say Filipino food and the word adobo comes to mind. It is the most known Filipino dish and to some, the only one they know.

PASTEL DE POLLO (CHICKEN POT PIE)

Pie is such a beauty to behold. It tempts you to break the crust and eat it yet restrains at the same time to look at it some more. Pie is not a Filipino thing and pastel is the only savoury pie that I know, not counting hand pies (empanada) and sweet pies.

EXTRA CRISPY POPCORN CHICKEN

I thought I had graduated from the school dinner menu. After a long stint of cooking crumbed food for dinner, I have moved on to a more mature menu (all seen on my blog posts) when my children grew up.

ORANGE CHICKEN WITH BACON

Orange and bacon may scream American breakfast but having it on top of rice with fried chicken pieces makes it Chinese food. American Chinese food that is. While my two children were excited to have a go at Shake Shack's burgers at JFK Airport on a recent trip, I chose to have Panda Express' orange chicken with bacon. I don't normally eat anything oily, if at all, before a flight, but I couldn't help myself. Yes, delicious. But as expected, oily too.

KOREAN STYLE HONEY CITRUS WINGS

It was love at first bite when I first had Bon Chon fried chicken. The thin crisp crust intrigued me so much. The glaze was delicious but I found that the hot and spicy flavourered wings burn and the soy garlic lacks excitement. The new honey citrus (this is not available in all Bon Chon outlets) is the one for me. The tangy and sweet glaze works perfectly with the crusty fried chicken.

CHICKEN AFRITADA

The question of why Philippine cuisine is not as popular as the other Southeast Asian cuisines still remain. There are funny, sometimes insulting answers. I choose not like to delve deep into the matter but I have a few ideas of my own.

PININYAHANG MANOK (FILIPINO CHICKEN STEW WITH PINEAPPLE)

The week's dinner menu in my hometown of Marikina is very predictable and limited. When asked about the dinner plans, a Mom would usually say, "something with do". Most of the dishes have the syllable do as in asado, mechado, adobo, menudo. Most Moms' randomly pick any of those dishes when planning what to cook for dinner.

CHICKEN MOJITO

It's happy hour. Cheers. Roll out the barrel. All these words ring hollow to me.

I can't join in the merrymaking. I can't enjoy a tipple. Instead of getting drunk, I itch. I am one of those who can't even drink on a social level. I fancy the hip cocktails with twirly picks or minute parasols and wish I could nurse one and feel in with the crowd. But I am not one of those. I am not hip, not fancy, am old and can't take alcoholic beverages. I'm a total geek.

POLLO CON GUISANTES (MANOK SA GUISANTES)

The Philippines culinary icon, Nora Daza, passed away peacefully on the of September 13. Millions will mourn her passing, yet also celebrate the wealth of her culinary contributions. Her valuable legacy is the knowledge and passion for cooking that she selflessly shared. 

Ms. Daza was a gourmet chef, restaurateur and a bestselling cookbook writer.
Her recipes are lifesavers for the newlyweds who need to know all the basics of cooking and baking. It is also for homemakers who are always in search of new recipes. It also caters to the avid party giver who likes entertaining with grace but with minimum effort.

She makes the recipes straightforward and easy to follow. I always turn to her cookbook first before anything else because I am confident that it is the first step to doing things right.

GENERAL TSO'S CHICKEN

General Tso's chicken is a Chinese dish that is probably more popular in Western countries than in China. It has been speculated that it is probably a Western invention as it is unknown in its supposed country of origin.

It was in fact introduced in New York City as an example of Hunan cuisine. The difference from the original dish is the addition of sugar to make it more appealing to the Western palate.

General Tso's chicken is very similar to a lot of Chinese dishes; it has the characteristic sweet and tangy taste that is so desired in Chinese cuisine. A slight twist, the addition of hoisin sauce, gives it a slightly different flavour. 

The most distinct feature of General Tso's chicken is the amount of heat in both spice and temperature. This gives it an exciting edge that makes one want more of it. Aside from chilli paste or oil, dried chillies are added to the glaze. The former gives a uniform heat to the dish while the dried chillies gives spurts of extra heat and spice. General Tso's chicken is very appetizing and only needs steamed rice to make a satisfying meal.

Adapted from Apetite for China's recipe for General Tso's Chicken.

Ingredients for the chicken and marinade:

1 tbsp. light soy sauce
1 tbsp. Chinese rice wine or dry sherry
1 egg white
1 tsp. corn flour (corn starch)
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into 1 1/2 inch cubes
3/4 c. corn flour (corn starch)
cooking oil for frying

Instructions:

Mix the soy sauce, rice wine or sherry, egg white and 1 tsp. of corn flour in a mixing bowl. Add in the chicken pieces and mix well.


Leave aside for 10 minutes. Prepare the rest of the ingredients in the meantime.

Dredge the chicken pieces in the corn flour.

Heat up a frying pan and add oil for shallow frying (about 1 1/2inch deep). Fry the chicken pieces, a few at a time until crisp and golden, about 4-5 minutes. 

Ingredients for the sauce:

1/4 c. chicken stock or water
1 tbsp. tomato paste
1 1/2 tbsp. light soy sauce
1 tbsp. rice wine vinegar
1 tsp. of hoisin sauce
1/2 tsp. of chilli paste (or chilli oil)
1 tsp. sesame oil
3 tbsps. of honey
1 tsp. of corn flour (corn starch)

Instructions:

Mix all of the ingredients together and set aside.

Stir fry ingredients:

1 tbsp. chopped garlic
2-4 dried chillies, halved
1 tsp. toasted sesame seeds
2 tbsps. sliced spring onions (green parts only)

Instructions:

Heat up a clean wok and add in 1 tbsp. of oil (you may use the oil previously used for frying the chicken). When hot, add in the garlic, chillies and fry for a few seconds.

Add in the sauce mixture. Bring to a boil while stirring until thickened.

Add the fried chicken pieces and toss until all the pieces are coated with the sauce.

Transfer to a serving dish and sprinkle with spring onions and toasted sesame seeds.

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EASY OVEN FRIED BUTTERMILK CHICKEN

Colonel Sanders must be the most popular American, next to Uncle Sam. His name is a byword worldwide. His face is in every street corner. Millions of people are addicted to his world renowned fried chicken. 

FILIPINO BARBECUE CHICKEN

Filipinos love barbecue and are lucky enough that the weather allows them to barbecue all year round. The two most popular have very generic names: barbecue chicken and barbecue pork. Everywhere, they are seasoned similarly unless otherwise stated.

CAJUN JAMBALAYA

 

As a Filipino, I thoroughly connect to the taste of Jambalaya. Apart from the herbs and spices, it could have been a Filipino dish. We like all-in-one rice dishes like this because all the ingredients contribute to making the rice very flavourful.

QUINOA CON POLLO

Quinoa is a relatively new grain but is in everyone's shopping trolley and store cupboard. What's the deal in quinoa? 

The food and Agricultural Organization of the UN has declared 2013 as The International Year of the Quinoa. It is actually a seed rather than a grain, is low in carbs, high in protein, has neither fat nor cholesterol content and is gluten free. These tiny, tiny seeds are touted as the new superfood. The list is long and very scientific and I get muddled by that sort of thing so I'll just say that it is really good for you.

LUMPIANG SARIWA (FRESH SPRING ROLLS)

Of all the Filipino vegetable dishes, lumpia is probably the most popular one. The word lumpia simply means spring rolls. This particular one is called lumpiang sariwa which literally means fresh spring roll but refers to unfried spring rolls. The fried variety is called lumpiang prito, prito meaning fried. Lumpiang hubad (meaning naked spring roll) is the filling eaten without the wrapper.

SRIRACHA CHICKEN WITH PINEAPPLE AND CUCUMBER SALSA

Sriracha has become a condiment embraced by everyone and sits at the table top  aside ketchup and mustard. Do you remember your first encounter with sriracha? 

POT ROAST SOY SAUCE CHICKEN

During the two week Chinese New Year celebrations, food with auspicious meaning are eaten to beckon good tidings for the coming year. Whole chicken is served during Chinese New Year because it signifies rebirth, family togetherness and prosperity. Marbled eggs symbolize gold nuggets. In this dish, both are present to bestow good wishes to everyone partaking.

HONEY MUSTARD WINGS

If I eat any more chicken wings I will probably take off in flight. My children love them so much that I do not know how to wean them from it. Some people, a few, do not like wings but I know that a LOT do. Some of the most popular posts on this blog are chicken wings.

There was a time when chicken wings were so cheap because nobody wanted to eat them as they were fussy to eat. When the restaurants introduced them as a finger food, capitalizing on the fussiness of eating them as the plus factor, they became prized commodities.