Teriyaki Chicken Rice Burgers (Sliders)

 

There are people who don't like Vegemite, a minority of the population detest peas, and then there are those (like me, or is it just me?) who aren't particularly fond of beetroot. But I bet everyone (by that, I mean most people in general) loves teriyaki sauce. It's like a sweet soy-based barbecue sauce that goes with almost anything. The kids in particular enjoy having it with either grilled salmon or chicken, served with steamed rice. This time, I decided to make mini teriyaki chicken burgers (sliders) using round dinner rolls that I bought from the Vietnamese bakery. The size of these rolls are ideal for little hands and it makes me beam with joy when the kids ask for seconds (they love 'em!). These buns are actually really good, because they are similar to the ones used for Vietnamese pork rolls, which have a thin and flaky crust on the outside, with a light and fluffy interior.

I made two versions of these teriyaki chicken sliders - one using dinner rolls, and the other using rice cakes. The rice cakes are basically sushi rice (calrose or short-grained rice) which have been cooked and compressed into rice cakes. I used an egg ring to mould and compress them into shape, with the aid of cling wrap. They are similar to grilled onigiri (see Nami's recipe here) except that I've shaped them differently. Then I simply grilled them in a lightly greased skillet, followed with a light glaze of teriyaki sauce over the top which I grilled again until lightly charred.

The rice burgers are assembled by sandwiching it with grilled teriyaki chicken (see recipe here) which I then brushed with extra teriyaki sauce, and topped with lettuce, red onions and mayonnaise. It was delicious, regardless of the fact that it was a little fiddly and messy to eat because the chicken fillet kept sliding off the rice cake. Wrapping the burger in some greaseproof paper helped to hold it together a little. Next time, I would probably substitute the chicken thigh fillets with meat patties instead (click here for teriyaki meatball recipe which you can shape into meat patties to make these burgers). Otherwise, just serve the teriyaki chicken on classic dinner rolls (I grilled these buns in the pan to crisp and warm them up) - quick, simple and equally delicious!

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Crispy Polenta Chips with Parmesan and Rosemary Salt

Ever since Jamie's Italian opened a branch in Sydney, I've only been there once, with three other friends. I had the Buffalo Ricotta ravioli with lemon and mint, which in all honesty, I thought was a rather confusing dish because as I was eating it, I kept tasting Lemon Curd Tart, and wished it was served as a dessert instead. If it was intended to be a main-and-dessert all in one, it certainly achieved its purpose. I suppose we had higher expectations for the food, as we found that the other mains were either underseasoned or lacking in flavour (we must have caught the chef on a bad day). That explains why I never went back again. Well, not until Ms L told me that the crispy polenta chips at Jamie's Italian were very, very good. I did want to go back just to try them, but the rest of the girls weren't really keen on going back just to have a small bowl of overpriced chips.

 

So, I did a bit of research and stumbled upon quite a few recipes for polenta chips. It's basically polenta cakes that are sliced, coated in [raw] polenta and deep-fried. These are then sprinkled with rosemary salt and grated parmesan while they are still hot. My oh my, they were so crispy and delicious, especially with the umami flavours from the parmesan combined with the scent of rosemary. Addictive! These would make a great snack for movie nights, games nights, or simply with a pint of beer in one hand. You can even make the polenta cakes ahead of time and refrigerate them until you're ready to fry and serve them up. I bet they'll taste great with aioli too!

 

Click here to continue to the Recipe

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Kanitama-don (Crab Omelette on Rice)

Kanitama-don is basically a Japanese-style "egg fuyong", comprising an omelette of crab meat served on a bed of rice, and topped with a soy-based gravy. I first tried this dish in a Japanese restaurant a few years ago, and was taken by surprise by what was a huge mound of an omelette sitting in a pool of gravy on a large plate. I suppose I was expecting it to be a little more colourful and artistic in presentation, like typical Japanese cuisine. For a moment there, I thought they got my order wrong! Well, never mind that I was  having "egg fuyung" while my lunch partner enjoyed her steaming hot bowl of ramen. I LOVE eggs, and I do love a good omelette, especially when it comes with gravy, and so I was quite happy and contented with my meal that day and was already thinking of ordering it again next time. Well, except that I didn't see it on the menu anymore after that, and that meant only one thing - I have to make it if I want to eat it.

I'm glad to report that my attempt at replicating this dish was successful, certified by the nods of approval given by Mr G and Miss H, my two "gourmets" at home. This is really just like egg fuyung that you get at Chinese restaurants (or better, perhaps!) covered with a delicious gravy to which I added baby peas and straw mushrooms. The omelette is packed with crab meat (I used tinned crab meat), scallions and bamboo shoots which are absolutely essential for providing the needed textural contrast.  You may also choose to add sliced shiitake mushrooms to the omelette if you like. This is my new go-to recipe for comfort food and will be something I'll be cooking more of especially on busy weekends.

Kanitama-don (Crab Omelette on Rice)

 

Ingredients

 

Omelette:

3 large eggs, well-beaten

1/4 cup crab meat

1/4 cup diced ham

1/4 cup canned bamboo shoots (rinsed with water, drained and julienned)

1/4 cup scallions/spring onions, chopped

1/4 tsp chicken stock powder/granules (optional)

1 tbsp water

1/4 tsp salt (or to taste)

Pepper

2-3 tbsp vegetable oil for frying

 

Sauce:

1 1/2 tbsp soy sauce

1 tbsp sake

1/2 tbsp sugar

1/2 cup water

1/4 tsp chicken stock powder/granules

1 tsp potato starch (or cornstarch) mixed with 2 tbsp water

 

Garnish:

3 tbsp baby peas

A handful of straw mushrooms

 

Method

 

Prepare the sauce first. Combine all ingredients for the sauce (except the potato starch solution) in a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Let it simmer for 1-2 minutes. Add the straw mushrooms and peas and simmer for 1 minute until mushrooms are cooked. Stir in the potato starch solution and bring to a boil again. Once it's thickened, turn off the heat, cover with a lid and keep warm.

 

Combine ingredients for the omelette in a bowl. Heat vegetable oil in a wok/pan on high heat. Pour in the egg mixture to make a round omelette. Let it cook on medium-high heat for 3-5 minutes until the bottom is browned and crispy. Then flip it over and cook the other side for 1 minute.

 

Scoop a bowl of rice onto a serving plate. Carefully slide the omelette from the wok/pan onto the rice. Pour the sauce over and serve immediately.

 

 

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Deep-fried Snapper with 3 Flavour Sauce (Thai-style)

 

 

If you've been following my recent posts, you'll know that I've been coming up with "copycat" recipes for some of dishes served at Sailors Thai. This time, I attempted to prepare the deep-fried snapper with three flavour sauce that everyone at our table of ten was raving about. As we ordered only one of each item from the menu, by the time it was passed down to our end of the table, the fish was almost mangled beyond recognition. Okay, perhaps that's an overstatement. Fortunately though, the fish head appeared to be intact, and surprisingly, nobody took the best part - the cheek! If I was having fish with my family (or relatives), the cheek would definitely be the first thing to disappear.

This is actually quite simple and easy to prepare, given that there aren't many ingredients required. The sweet, sour and spicy sauce is briefly simmered in a pan and then poured over the deep-fried fish. I've used a whole snapper here, although you could always substitute with pan-fried fish fillets if preferred. If you're using fresh long red chillies, depending on how hot they are, you may want to consider throwing in a few bird's eye chillies for some extra kick.

Deep-fried Snapper with 3 Flavour Sauce
(Serves 2-3)

Ingredients

800g whole snapper (or other firm white fish)
Cornflour
100g (3oz) fresh long red chillies, seeded and finely ground *
1-2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 sprig coriander leaves
1/2 cup Thai basil leaves

Sauce:
3 tbsp tamarind pulp concentrate (bottled kind or equivalent)
3 tbsp palm sugar
1 tbsp fish sauce
1 tbsp vinegar *
1/2 tsp chicken stock granules (optional)

Method

Heat up sufficient oil in a wok and deep fry the basil leaves for 10 seconds or until translucent and crispy. Remove and drain on kitchen paper. Set aside.

Make two or three diagonal slashes across both sides of the fish. Season with salt and pepper. Coat with cornflour and shake off excess. Deep fry in hot oil until crispy and golden. Remove and drain off excess oil, and place the fish on a serving plate.

In a clean pan, heat up 1 tbsp vegetable oil and fry the garlic, followed by the ground chillies and sauce ingredients. Bring to a boil and simmer briefly (about half a minute). Pour the sauce over the fish, garnish with crispy basil and coriander leaves. Serve immediately with steamed jasmine rice.

* Note: Instead of using fresh chillies and vinegar for the sauce, you may choose to substitute with Thai sambal oelek instead, which are sold in jars. Sambal oelek can be rather hot though, which is perfect if you like it hot!



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Snow Peas and Asparagus in Oyster Sauce

In my previous post (Grilled Beef with Charred Tomato and Chilli Sauce), I wrote about my visit to Sailors Thai where I had the luxury of savouring an array of creative and exotic Thai dishes and was simply enamoured by the overall gastronomic experience. I attempted to make a mental note of how each dish tasted so that I could recreate the same at home if I ever had a craving for it. And so, this post features a very simple recipe for delicious stir-fried vegetables in oyster sauce. In the menu, it was actually stated as "stir fried broccolini and sugar snap peas with oyster sauce", but they looked more like asparagus than broccolini, and so I've used asparagus in my recipe here. How timely it was that Ms AC received a bag of snow peas from her neighbour who just harvested them from the backyard, and she brought some to the office for me!

 

 

I decided to ramp up this dish by garnishing it with some crispy garlic chips and crispy dried baby anchovies. Not only do they add texture (crispy on anything is always a good thing!), but also flavour and saltiness from the baby anchovies. You can buy these dried baby anchovies from the Asian supermarket (the one I bought comes from Korea), but they are entirely optional, so feel free to omit them. This is a versatile dish where you can add or substitute with other ingredients like carrots, broccoli, mushrooms, seafood, meat and so on. From there, you can also add kaffir lime leaves, sliced chillies, or perhaps a splash of lemon juice for a little zing. The sauce makes a great base for any stir-fry, and I've kept it simple here, as it was when I tried it at Sailors Thai.

 

For best results, do use good quality ingredients especially when it comes to the oyster sauce (I used Lee Kum Kee premium oyster sauce - great umami flavours!) and fish sauce (Squid Brand). Also, take care not to overcook or undercook the vegetables, particularly the asparagus.

 

Snow Peas and Asparagus in Oyster Sauce

Ingredients

3 tbsp dried baby anchovies (optional)

1-2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced

Vegetable/peanut oil

1 bunch asparagus, woody ends removed, cut into 3 inch lengths

1 1/2 cups snow peas, topped and tailed, strings removed

Sauce (combined in a bowl):

1 tbsp Lee Kum Kee oyster sauce

1 tbsp Squid brand fish sauce

1 tbsp brown sugar

1/2 tbsp palm sugar

1/4 tsp black pepper

1/4 tsp sesame oil

1/4 cup water

1/4 tsp Maggi seasoning (optional)

Method

Heat 1 tbsp oil in a wok and fry the anchovies on medium heat for about 3-5 minutes until crispy. Discard the oil and transfer the anchovies to a plate.

Heat 1 tbsp oil in a wok and fry the garlic on medium-high heat until lightly golden and crispy. Remove the garlic chips and set aside together with the anchovies above. Leave the oil in the wok.

Heat the wok with the garlic oil on high and fry the asparagus for half a minute. Then add the snow peas and fry for another half minute. Push the vegetables to the side of the wok and pour the sauce in the centre. Bring to a boil and reduce slightly and toss the vegetables in the sauce briefly to coat. Turn off the heat and transfer everything to a serving dish. Garnish with fried garlic chips and crispy baby anchovies. Serve hot with steamed jasmine rice.



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Thai-style Grilled Beef with Charred Tomato and Chilli Dipping Sauce

The inspiration for this dish came from the fabulous dinner I enjoyed at Sailors Thai a few nights ago. There were ten of us and we must have ordered about half of the entire menu. Everyone was ooh-ing and aah-ing over the myriad of dishes that were a fusion of contemporary cuisine with traditional Thai-style flavours, served in a fine dining setting. I loved every single dish we ordered, with the exception of the dessert platter which was quite a let-down considering that there are so many other Thai desserts I can think of that should have made the menu. Anyway, that was soon forgotten by everyone after a few glasses (and bottles) of dessert wine (we had the Botrytis Semillon which was wonderfully sweet and intense with a pleasant finish).

One of the entrees we enjoyed was the grilled tajima wagyu beef with charred tomato, chilli and fresh prawn sauce. Now, I'm not sure what "prawn" refers to but I'm guessing that perhaps it's referring to shrimp paste, but I may be wrong. Anyway, I was more interested in the "charred tomato" which gave the sauce a subtle smoky flavour. So, I decided to recreate this same dish (with considerable guesstimates and adaptations, using plain rump steak (MSA graded from Woolies) and no fancy wagyu of any sort here) and it turned out fantastic! The beef was tender, juicy and flavoursome, and when dipped into the charred tomato and chilli sauce and eaten with the mint leaves, tasted sensational. And it's incredibly quick and easy to prepare too, as you will see in the recipe below. Feel free to adjust the balance of hot, sweet, sour and salty according to your tastebuds and preference.

Thai-style Grilled Beef with Charred Tomato and Chilli Dipping Sauce

Ingredients

500g (1 lb) rump steak (trimmed of excess fat)
Olive oil
Salt and black pepper
1-2 roma tomatoes
Vietnamese mint leaves
Cucumber, sliced

Sauce:
1 tbsp chopped coriander stems and root
1 tsp chopped garlic
1 1/2 tbsp grated palm sugar
1/4 tsp black pepper
1-2 bird's eye chillies
1/2 eshallot, thinly sliced
1 tbsp fish sauce
1/2 tbsp soy sauce
2-3 tbsp lime juice (or to taste)
2 tbsp charred tomatoes, chopped
1/2 tsp Maggi seasoning (optional)
1 tbsp tamarind pulp concentrate (optional)

Method

To make the charred tomato, cut the tomato in half crosswise. Drizzle the cut side with a little olive oil. Heat a small cast iron skillet or pan on high heat and place the tomatoes in it cut-side down. Cook for 3-5 minutes until charred. Transfer to a plate and set aside to cool. Scoop out the flesh and chop roughly.

Using a mortar and pestle, pound the coriander, garlic, palm sugar and black pepper to a smooth paste. Add the chillies and pound briefly to release some of the juices. Add the rest of the sauce ingredients and mix well. If necessary, adjust the quantities used to desired taste. Transfer to a small bowl.

Rub some olive oil over the beef, followed by salt and black pepper. Heat a grill pan on high heat, and add the beef, cooking it for 3-4 minutes each side, turning once only. The meat should be medium rare. Transfer the steak to a plate, cover with aluminium foil and set aside for 3-5 minutes to rest. Reserve the juices that may flow from the beef while resting and use some of that in the sauce if desired.

Slice the beef on the diagonal into thin strips. Arrange on a serving plate with mint leaves and cucumber, and serve with the charred tomato dipping sauce.

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