Taiwanese Chicken Curry Rice 臺灣咖喱雞飯

All good times must come to an end and that must be what the British colonizers in Malaya were thinking exactly 55 years ago today - but that was after they took away a handsome chunk of the federation's wealth for over a century. On the other hand they must be credited for leaving behind a functioning system of governance, a (often) fair judiciary system and solid infrastructures that enable us to be a peaceful modern state that we are today. Selamat hari merdeka to all my fellow Malaysians and remember to join the virtual merdeka open house party at Babe in the city - KL  for some uniquely Malaysian dishes!

O.K ! Enough of history lesson and sentimentality and lets get to the more important business of food!

Before driving off to the bush, J asked for a curry meal knowing very well that we won't be eating anything except for instant noodles, instant porridge and hot chocolate for a few days. 

It can be a challenge trying to make most curries without coconut milk, yoghurt or a packet of Japanese curry block in the pantry, fortunately I remembered this recipe that I read just days before. The result is a surprisingly creamy and delicious curry that tastes remarkably similar to our beloved Japanese curry. If you have some coconut milk powder on hand, do add a tablespoon of that into the curry for the wonderful aroma of coconut milk without having to feel too guilty about it.

recipe adapted from 誰吃了老街好菜 (Who Has Eaten Good Food From The Old Street)

serves 3 as a one dish meal

you'll need;

2 large potatoes, peeled and cubed

1 medium size brown onion, peeled and cut into large chunks

300 g of chicken thighs, cut into cubes and marinated with ingredients marked*

1 tsp of grated ginger*

1 tsp of grated garlic*

1 tsp of light soy*

2 tbs of vegetable oil

4 tbs of curry powder (see notes)

2 tbs of light soy

1.5 tbs of sugar

1.5 l of stock

corn flour solution for thickening

steamed rice to serve

blanched snow peas to serve

notes - I used Malaysian meat curry powder, otherwise use a generic Madras curry powder instead.

Cut and marinate chicken with soy and ginger, prepare the vegetables.

Heat wok until smoking then saute onion until lightly charred, add chicken and continue to cook on high heat for a minute.

Add curry powder and potato cubes and stir fry for a further minute, make sure everything is well coated with curry powder.

Transfer the content from the wok to a clay pot, add stock, sugar and soy and simmer until potato is tender.

Finally thicken the curry with a little corn flour solution, check for seasonings before serving.

Ladle chicken curry over a bed of steaming hot rice and some blanched snow peas on the side.

I am submitting this to The Soup Kitchen @ Deb's blog The Spanish Wok

Hong Zao Dou Ru Ji 紅糟豆乳雞 Crispy Chicken Spareribs Marinated With Fermented Red Rice And Fermented Tofu

In order to make our diet a sustainable exercise, carb is allowed during the day and throughout the weekends.

This is a another popular Taiwanese street food that can be found all over the island. A recipe I bookmarked immediately when I was given the 2 Taiwanese cookbooks by my friends J and G.

Chicken breast is called for in the original recipe but I have substituted the breast with my favourite chicken spareribs instead. Don't be put off by the thought of using fermented tofu and rice; these crispy ribs are so delicious even one of the biggest tofu haters (aka the other tummy) is a great fan. I made a simple chili sauce to go with these crispy chicken ribs but they are just as delicious without. For other recipe using fermented bean tofu, check out stir fried kangkong with fermented tofu.

P.S Packing is such a slow and boring process and I start to wonder if I will ever get it done on time?

recipe adapted from 誰吃了老街好菜 (Who Has Eaten Good Food From The Old Street)

serves 4 as part of a Chinese meal or as a snack with drinks

you'll need;

500 g of chicken spareribs with skin on

3 pieces of fermented tofu (豆乳, 南乳)

1 tsp of fermented red rice (紅糟)

dash of sesame oil

dash of Chinese cooking wine

2 tbs of castor sugar

1 tsp of chicken powder

1/2 tsp of white pepper

coarse sweet potato flour (地瓜粉) for coating 

peanut oil for frying

for the chili sauce;

5 bird chillies, chopped

3 garlic cloves, chopped

2 tbs of sugar

1 tsp of salt

3 tbs of light soy

juice of half a lime or lemon

to make the chili sauce - pound chillies, garlic, sugar and salt into a rough paste then add in the soy and lime juice. Check for seasonings and adjust the taste to one's liking.

Marinate chicken with all the other ingredients (except the flour and oil) for at least an hour or overnight.

Coat chicken with sweet potato flour and shake off the excess.

Fry chicken in batches until light golden (50 to 70% done) and drain well. Fry chicken a second time until golden and crispy.

Serve immediately with homemade chili sauce. I served this with just a simple stir fried greens and a bowl of rice each :)

Taiwanese Salted Crispy Chicken 鹽酥雞

My dear friends came over for dinner last week and I made this popular Taiwanese dish from one the cookbooks they brought back for me from Taiwan. This is an extremely easy dish to prepare but you do have to have some coarse sweet potato flour (地瓜粉)* on hand. You may serve this as part of a Chinese meal or as a snack to go with drinks. I especially love the fried Thai basil and the salt and pepper that accompanied these crunchy morsels. There are more delicious dishes from those cookbooks that I plan to cook in the near future so stay tuned.

* Sweet potato flour is available from good Asian grocers.

recipe adapted from 正宗126道台灣小吃 (126 Authentic Taiwanese Snacks)
serves 4 as part of a Chinese meal or as a snack with drinks
you'll need;
500 g of chicken thighs, cut into 2 ~ 3 cm pieces
1tbs Chinese cooking wine
3 tbs of soy
2 tsp of castor sugar
1 tsp of five spice powder
1 spring onion (white part only), minced
2 pieces of ginger, minced
1 tsp of sesame oil
a bunch of Thai basil, picked
coarse sweet potato flour for coating
peanut oil for frying

for the salt and pepper dip;
1 tbs of salt
1 tbs of white pepper
mix salt and pepper well and set aside

Marinate chicken pieces for at least half an hour with Chinese cooking wine, soy, sugar, five spice powder, ginger, spring onion and sesame oil.

Coat marinated chicken with sweet potato flour.

Picked Thai basil leaves.

Fry chicken in hot oil in batches til light golden (50 ~ 70% cooked) and drain well.

Fry chicken a second time til golden and crispy. Drain well.

Fry Thai basil leaves 10 ~ 15 seconds and drain well on absorbent paper.

Scatter fried basil around the chicken pieces and serve immediately with the salt and pepper dip.

Taiwanese Beef Noodles 臺灣牛肉麵

What is not to like about a bowl of Taiwanese beef noodles (臺灣牛肉麵)? The melt in your mouth beef pieces and the fragrant broth will have one coming back for more. Defeated Koumingtang soldier brought with them many treasure after the Chinese civil war, beef noodles and many other culinary gems among them. It has since become a de facto national dish in Taiwan with an annual Taipei Beef Noodles Festival to celebrate their love affairs with this dish. The festival kicks off on the 20th september this year, what a coincidence! A Taiwanese friend of mine made this delicious noodle dish for me many years ago. When I found her handwritten recipes amongst old photographs and newspaper clippings, dinner for the next evening was sorted. This hearty meal is perfect for the few remaining chilly nights here in Melbourne. Please come back for more mouthwatering Taiwanese dishes in the coming weeks so stay tuned!

P.S A photo of the finished dish was emailed to W.F and it has got her total approval.

serves 4 generously
you'll need;
1 kg of stewing/gravy beef, cut into chunks
1 medium size Chinese radish/daikon, cut into chunks
1 large carrot (optional), cut into chunks
2 packets of Shanghai noodles*
pickled mustard greens (酸菜), sliced
chopped spring onions
5 garlic cloves, chopped
5 tbs of hot bean paste (辣辨醬)
2 tbs of dried chili flakes (optional)
1 cassia bark or 1/2 a stick of cinnamon stick
2 star anise
3 slices of ginger
1/4 cup of soy
1/4 cup of dark soy
1/4 cup of Chinese cooking wine
2 tbs of sugar
2.5 L of homemade or low sodium chicken stock
salt and pepper to taste
*dried wheat noodles can be used

Shanghai noodles and pickled mustard greens.

Blanch beef to remove impurities then rinse with cold water.

 Saute chopped garlic, hot bean paste and chili flakes if using with 4 tbs of cooking oil for a few minutes. Add in the cassia bark and star anise and ginger.

Return the blanched beef to the pot and fry the meat in the fragrant sauce for a minute or two.

Next add stock and the rest of the seasonings and simmer for 1.5 to 2 hours or til the beef is very tender. half way thru the cooking add in the daikon chunks. Check for seasonings.

Cook noodles according to the packaging.

Pour hot broth together with some beef and daikon over the noodles, add some pickles mustard greens and chopped spring onions. Perfect for our chilly spring nights!