Pinatisang Manok(Chicken with Fermented Fish Sauce)

Perfect with a huge bowl of steamed rice, the Thai fish sauce makes this chicken superbly savory.

You may do this with a dry version or soup version. I did the dry version.


Serves 5 Prep Time 5 minutes Cooking Time 20 minutes

1 small white onion, brunoise (julienned then diced further)
1/4 cup sliced ginger
6 cloves of garlic, minced
3 tablespoons Thai fish sauce
1 kilo chicken thighs
1 tablespoon black peppercorns
2 bay leaves
1/4 cup pork lard
cilantro leaves for garnish

1 Combine the onion, ginger, garlic, fish sauce, chicken thighs, peppercorns, and bay leaves in a bowl.
2 In a heavy frying pan, heat the pork oil over high heat. Sauté the chicken thigh, 4 minutes per side.
3 Add the marinade and reduce completely over medium heat.
4 Serve warm and garnish with cilantro leaves.

Cajun-spiced salmon with couscous & minted yogurt

* Ingredients
* 100g chargrilled capsicum or chargrilled peppers in oil
* 500g skinless salmon fillets, cut into 4cm pieces
* 3 tsp Cajun spice mix
* 375ml (1 1/2 cups) chicken stock
* 290g (1 1/2 cups) couscous
* 1/4 cup chopped fresh mint
* 1/4 cup chopped fresh coriander
* 130g (1/2 cup) Greek-style natural yoghurt
* 2 tbs water
* 2 bunches broccolini, ends trimmed
* Lemon wedges, to serve
* Fresh coriander sprigs, to serve


1. Drain the capsicum, reserving 2 tablespoons of oil. Coarsely chop. Combine the salmon, 1 tablespoon of reserved oil and 2 teaspoons of spice mix in a bowl. Place the stock and remaining spice mix in a saucepan over medium heat. Bring to the boil. Add the couscous. Cover and set aside for 3 minutes or until the liquid is absorbed. Add the chopped capsicum and remaining reserved oil. Season with salt and pepper. Use a fork to separate the grains.

2.Meanwhile, combine the mint, chopped coriander, yogurt and water in a small bowl. Season with salt and pepper. Heat a large non-stick frying pan on medium-high heat. Add the salmon. Cook for 3-4 minutes each side or until golden and almost cooked through.

3.Cook the broccolini in a saucepan of boiling water for 2 minutes or until bright green and tender crisp. Drain. Divide the couscous mixture and broccolini among serving dishes. Top with the salmon and yoghurt mixture. Serve with lemon wedges and coriander sprigs.

Chicken Couscous

Ingredients list for chicken couscous recipe

One whole chicken

Smen or ghee

Onions

Coriander cilantro

Spices and water

How to make the chicken couscous recipe

Mix salt pepper turmeric ginger mace nutmeg cinnamon cardamon pods


To make smen get unsalted butter, warm it to room temperature, wash it with cold water to drain off excess milk, add one teaspoon of salt to every cup of butter, store in clean glass containers and let set in a dark cool place, not the fridge, for at last 2 months or more.

Chop the onion and cilantro

Mix the spices together with the coriander and pour over the chicken to marinade for three hours or overnight.

You need a steamer or cousocousier, or use a sieve over a saucepan with a lid on top of the sieve. You might need to put a cloth over the holes if they are too big for the couscous grain.

Mix water with 2 tbs of salt and pour over the raw couscous. Let it soak in for half an hour then fluff it up with your hands.

Slice two onions, add cinnamon, sugar and orange blossom water. Add raisons and cook until tender, around 25 minutes.

Fluff up the cooled couscous using smen and hands, then steam it again, 2 or 3 times until done.

To serve, place the couscous on a dish, make a hole in the middle and place the chicken and onions in the middle.

Hainanese Chiken Rice

While your chicken is cooking, it helps to prepare the ingredients for your chili sauce and rice. Both of these are usually assembled after the chicken is done because they require the chicken broth, but you can get started washing and soaking the rice, chopping the garlic and ginger before then. In this recipe, all of the poaching broth is reserved — some is used in the rice, a small amount is used in the chili sauce, and the remainder is saved to be heated and served as a simple soup to accompany the chicken.

1 whole chicken (3.5 lbs, 1.8kg), preferably organic
kosher salt
4” section of fresh ginger, in 1/4” slices
2 stalks green onions, cut into 1″ sections (both the green and white parts)
1 teaspoon sesame oil

FOR THE RICE
2 tablespoon chicken fat or 2 tbsp vegetable oil
3 cloves garlic, finely minced
1” section of ginger, finely minced
2 cups long-grain uncooked rice, washed and soaked in cool water for 10 min or longer
2 cups reserved chicken poaching broth
1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
1 teaspoon kosher salt

FOR THE CHILI SAUCE
1 tablespoon lime juice
2 tablespoon reserved chicken poaching broth
2 teaspoon sugar
4 tablespoon sriracha chili sauce
4 cloves garlic
1” ginger
a generous pinch of salt, to taste

FOR THE TABLE
1/4 cup dark soy sauce
Few sprigs cilantro
1 cucumber, thinly sliced or cut into bite-sized chunks
1. To clean the chicken, with a small handful of kosher salt, rub the chicken all over, getting rid of any loose skin and dirt. Wash and pat very dry inside and outside. Season generously with salt inside and outside.  Stuff the chicken with the ginger slices and the green onion. Place the chicken in a large stockpot and fill with cold water to cover by 1 inch. Bring the pot to a boil over high heat, then immediately turn the heat to low to keep a simmer. Cook for about 30 minutes more (less if you’re using a smaller chicken). Check if the chicken is cooked already  by sticking a chopstick into the flesh under the leg and see if the juices run clear or insert a thermometer into the thickest part of the thigh not touching bone. It should read 170F.

2. When the chicken is cooked through, turn off the heat and remove the pot from the burner. Immediately transfer the chicken into a bath of ice water to cool. Don’t forget to reserve the poaching broth for your rice, your sauce, and the accompanying soup. The quick cooling will stop the cooking process, keeping the meat soft and tender, and giving the skin a lovely firm texture.

3. To cook the rice: Drain the rice. In a wok or sauce pan (use a medium sauce pan if you plan on cooking the rice on the stove top), heat 2 tablespoons of cooking oil over medium-high heat. When hot, add the ginger and the garlic and fry until your kitchen smells like heaven. Be careful not to burn the aromatics! Add in your drained rice and stir to coat, cook for 2 minutes. Add the sesame oil, mix well.To make the rice on the stove: In the same sauce pan, add 2 cups of your reserved poaching broth, add salt and bring to a boil. Immediately turn the heat down to low, cover the pot and cook for 15 minutes. Remove from heat and let sit (with lid still on) for 5-10 minutes more.To cook rice in a rice cooker: Pour aromatics and rice (after frying) into your rice cooker, add 2 1/2 cups of your reserved poaching broth and salt. Follow the instructions for your model (usually this will just mean “turn it on!”)

4. While your rice is cooking, remove the chicken from the ice bath and rub the outside of the chicken with the sesame oil. Carve the chicken for serving.

5. To make the chili sauce: Blend your chili sauce ingredients in a blender until smooth and bright red.

6. To make the soup: You should have six or seven cups of the reserved poaching broth left over to serve as soup. Just before serving, heat up the soup, taste and season with salt as necessary.
Serve the chicken rice with chili sauce, dark soy sauce, cucumber slices, and a bowl of hot broth garnished with cilantro or scallions.