Homemade Chicken Stock

One thing my family taught me was to never waste food. While other children were eating broccoli florets, I can remember eating thinly sliced broccoli stalk sauteed in garlic or chicken dumplings using the meat we pulled off chicken carcasses. Nothing ever went to waste in our kitchen if my mother had anything to do with it! Minimising what gets thrown in the trash just made good sense.

This is certainly one of the lessons I have tried to carry into my adult life - most of our vegetable scraps go to our guinea pigs or into the compost and our left over chicken bones go towards next few months' worth of stock.

The best thing about homemade chicken stock is that there is no exact quantity you have to follow. All you need are 4 basics - chicken carcasses, celery, carrot and onion. I don't even add that much salt because that depends highly on the type of dish in which you will add your stock. 

The ingredients I use for my chicken stock are slowly amassed over a a month or two, as a product of all the lunches and dinners in the Abraham household. Every time we have a roast chicken, the chicken carcass gets wrapped up in a plastic bag in the freezer. Every time an onion is diced, about one fifth of it goes into a freezer bag, along with carrot tops and raggedy celery bases (note: a lot of onion goes into the bag because I'm scared I'll cut my fingers off if I get too close to the end). 

My special trick is to pour all the finished stock into Glad Ice Cube Bags for storage. The flexibility means that I can fit them in any part of the freezer, around whatever else is already there.

I tend to use a lot of chicken stock in my cooking - as a base for soups and hotpots, extra flavour when making stir fries or even when cooking rice in lieu of water. Making your own stock is a great way to use up the left over veggies that aren't pretty enough for your other recipes, not to mention the feel good factor in knowing that you have minimised waste - my mother would approve.

Homemade Chicken Stock (Makes 3L)

Ingredients:

Left over bones from 2 cooked chicken carcass
Celery tops and bottoms
Carrot skins, tops and bottoms
Onions, with the brown skins removed
3 small bay leaves
1 tsp black peppercorns
2 tsp salt 

Method:

1. Place all the ingredients into a deep stock pot. Mine is about 5 litres. 
2. Add enough cold water to just cover all of the ingredients and bring the pot to a boil. 
3. Once the water has boiled, turn the heat down to keep it at a low simmer. Continue to simmer for at least 1 hour, skimming off any scum that rises to the surface. 
4. Using a slotted spoon, remove the chicken and vegetables and discard.
5. Pass the stock through a sieve to remove any remaining solids.
6. Allow the stock to cool for at least 30 minutes before storing. I like to pour the stock into Glad Ice Cube Bags for easier storage. 

Homemade chicken stock will keep in the fridge for 3-4 days or 2-3 months in the freezer.

Thomas Keller's Roast Chicken With Roast Vegetables

For the home cook, the best recipes must not only be tasty -they must also be simple and repeatable. These kinds of recipes are the ones that make it onto my dinner repertoire time and time again. Of these, Thomas Keller's Roast Chicken is my favourite -it is perfect for a small group of friends or a simple dinner for two with leftovers.

Contrary to many roast chicken recipes out there, a juicy chicken does not require butter, oil or running back and forth from the oven to baste. It also has the most delicious crispy skin! Thomas Keller's recipe calls for only 3 ingredients - salt, pepper, and a chicken. I also like to add a bit of lemon on the inside.

Salt, pepper, and a chicken. Optional extra: Lemon

The only equipment you need is a roasting pan and some kitchen twine to truss the bird. Trussing helps the chicken to cook evenly. The chicken must also be dry before going into the oven.

After this, you can just walk away and come back when your kitchen starts smelling wonderful.. 

Carrots, Potatoes, Parsnips, Beetroot, Garlic and Thyme

Or, to create a complete meal, you could chop up some vegetables to accompany the chicken. I put these in halfway through cooking the chicken so they are done at the same time. The veggies also help to create a little bit of moisture as I've found that the oven tends to smoke if the chicken is cooked by itself.

After that, I reduce the juices that have formed in the bottom of the tray to make a simple jus for the dish. 

This recipe is head and shoulders above any roast chicken recipe I have ever used. It is easy to make, easy to remember and oh so delicious! I dare you to find something simpler!

Thomas Keller's Roast Chicken With Roast Vegetables
(Serves 4 - 6)

Roast Chicken Ingredients:

1 whole chicken (about 1 to 1.4 kg)
Salt
Pepper

Roast Vegetable Ingredients:

1 kg assorted root vegetables (see third photo for what I used)
1.5 Tbs olive oil 

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 220°C (425°F).
2. Pat the chicken dry with paper towels -inside and out.
3. Place the chicken in a large roasting pan and truss the bird, tying the legs close to the body so it cooks evenly.
4. Sprinkle salt and pepper all over the chicken (top and bottom).
5. Place the chicken in the oven and leave it alone for about 1 hour. 
6. Cut assorted vegetables into 2-3cm sized chunks and toss with olive oil (I like to oil beetroot separately so it doesn't stain the other veggies).
7. Place the vegetables in the oven when there is 30 minutes left to go.
8. Once 1 hour is up, test the temperature of the chicken with a meat thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh. It should reach 75°C (165°F).
9. Remove the chicken and the vegetables from the oven and let sit for 15 minutes before carving. 
10. While you're waiting, pour all the pan juices into a small saucepan and simmer for about 7-10 minutes or until the juices have reduced a little.
11. Serve.

Notes:

1. I don't rinse my chicken as it tends to splash raw chicken germs all over the sink area. Any dangerous germs will be killed if the meat reaches the correct temperature. Read more about it here.
2. A roasting rack isn't entirely necessary, but I find that the chicken cooks more evenly and there is no risk of the chicken sticking to the roasting pan.

Thai Green Curry - My souvenir from Phuket

For me, experiencing another culture through its food is a big part of travelling. Being able to taste the local foods provides great insights to each regions way of life. 

I love sight seeing and buying trinkets when I go overseas, but there is something incredibly special about buying local culinary specialties. In my pantry we have truffle oil from Rome, squid ink from Venice, chocolate from Osnabrück and noodles from Fuzhou. They remind me of the great adventures Jason and I had along our travels.

The best souvenir I've ever brought back, however, is some recipes from a cooking class Jason and I attended in Phuket. We were taken to a local market to taste the local food before being whisked away to the kitchens to try our hand at Chicken Green Curry, Basil Chicken and Tom Yum Goong.

Our favourite was the green curry, which I have since adapted to suit my tastes and what is available at the supermarket. I am lucky enough that my local Asian grocery stocks most of the essential Thai ingredients - there is sometimes even fresh lemongrass, kaffir lime leaves and Thai eggplant! 

The hardest thing about this recipe is collecting the ingredients which most good Asian groceries should be able to help you out with. The next step after that is to grind all the ingredients into a paste (which I find quite therapeutic actually). 

So, lovely readers, what do you like to take back from an overseas trip? Do you make your own curry paste or do you prefer the store bought variety?

Thai Green Curry with Chicken (Serves 4 to 6)
Inspired by recipe at Phuket Thai Cooking School

Ingredients:

Curry Paste*:
2 stalks lemongrass, chopped
8 kaffir lime leaves, roughly torn
3-6 birds eye chilies
2 shallots, chopped
5cm x 2cm x 2cm ginger, chopped
1 small bunch of fresh coriander (stalk and roots too!) 
1 lime -zested and juiced
1 Tbs coriander seeds
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp black peppercorns
2 tsp Thai fish sauce
2 Tbs olive oil
1 1/2 tsp brown sugar

Curry:
2 to 4 Tbs green curry paste (depending on how strong you like it. I like my VERY intense)
400ml can of coconut milk
300g boneless chicken thigh, cut into bite sized pieces

200g broccoli, cut into small florets
200g can of sliced bamboo shoots, drained
optional: 4 Thai eggplants, cut into bite sized pieces

Method:
1. Blitz all the curry paste ingredients in a food processor** until it forms a paste. Taste to see if it needs more heat (chili), sour (lime juice), sweet (sugar) or salt (fish sauce). Adjust as required and set aside.
2. Heat up a wok (or deep frying pan) and 1 cup of the coconut milk. Wait until it boils and the milk starts to separate.
3. Once the coconut milk begins to separate, stir through all of the curry paste. Fry until fragrant and when all the milk has been soaked up.
4. Stir in the remaining coconut milk.
5. Add the chicken, broccoli and bamboo shoots. Turn the heat down to a simmer and cook for about 7 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through.
6. Serve hot with fluffy rice.

* This paste can be stored in a jar for up to 3 weeks in the fridge.
** If, you don't own a food processor, the curry paste can be made in a pestle and mortar. It takes a little longer, and you will probably need to process it in batches, but it makes the end result a lot more satisfying. Start by grinding down the lemongrass and lime leaves before adding the rest of the ingredients. 

Here's a sneaky photo of us standing in the sweltering heat, proudly displaying our dishes

Chicken and Sesame Cakes

So we're about halfway through the fit24 challenge at work and, I have to say, it's not as easy as I thought it would be. Just to recap, this is a well-being challenge my work has put out to all employees to complete the following tasks for 24 days this month:

1. At least 7 hours sleep
2. At least 10,000 steps
3. No sugar

As I expected, the sleeping was the easiest challenge for me as I rarely get less than 8 hours but was quite surprising to see that many of my co-workers struggled to get the required hours at the beginning! This challenge has forced them (well, some of them) to make small steps towards shaking the bad habit of working into the night and making sleep a priority in their lives.

Pictured: most of the ingredients

Getting 10,000 steps while working in the office was a little harder. Most of us were aware that office based jobs offer little in the way of physical activity, but never realised how inactive we were at work. 

Research shows that completing 10,000 steps a day dramatically reduces the risk of developing lifestyle illnesses such as obesity and cardiovascular disease.

During our trials with our pedometers, a group of us measured less than 3,000 steps each during work hours and I only managed 6,500 when I took an hour long site visit. On average, about 10 minutes of physical activity equates to 1,000 steps so fulfilling this challenge was great motivation to get out off our butts! I've also used this as an opportunity to explore cycle ways around Auckland with Jason.

At the office, we've been having lunches away from the office (which is a nice incentive to try new places), trialing walking meetings and using the stairs instead of the elevators. I'm also more keen to get up to change the channel instead of asking Jason to pass me the remote (yes.. I'm very lazy sometimes).

By far the hardest challenge for everyone is the sugar ban. We were given a list of foods that needed to go, which includes the obvious things like sugar, honey, desserts but also dried fruit, certain sauces and dressings, fruit juice and "low-fat" products which contain a surprising amount of sugar when you check out the nutritional information. Any item with more than 10g sugar per 100g must go.

Most people have had to rethink their workplace snacks as museli bars and chocolate biscuits are no longer viable. Instead, I have seen them replaced with mixed nuts, rice crackers and, my favourite, cheese and crackers. I've been eating mandarins and grapes when I feel like a sweet hit.

This, so far, has been working for me but I would be lying if I said I hadn't used any of the 6 cheat days we are allowed (I allow myself dessert once a week when we visit Jason's parents). One of my poor Japanese co-workers can no longer make teriyaki chicken at home because of the amount of sugar contained in the sauce :(

My favourite part about this challenge, so far, is how much great discussion it creates around the workplace. I love hearing new ways people have managed to complete their 10,000 steps and the woes of no longer being able to have dessert after dinner.

Coming at a close second, is cooking without sugar at home. This recipe is something I actually made at the beginning of this year and have only just gotten around to posting. These Chicken and Sesame Cakes make for an incredibly easy and light lunch or a very yummy party snack.

Has anyone else tried to go sugar free? What about taking on a difficult challenge?

Chicken and Sesame Cakes (makes 16 patties)

Ingredients:

500g chicken mince
1/2 cup fresh coriander (have some extra as garnish)
2 Tbs sesame seeds, lightly toasted
2 zucchini
1 red chili
2 eggs, beaten
3/4 cup breadcrumbs
zest of 1 lemon
1 1/2 Tbs soy sauce
1 Tbs sesame oil
1/2 Tbs white pepper (I used black pepper because I couldn't find white pepper..)
Oil for frying



Method:

1. Grate your zucchini and squeeze out as much moisture as you can. Discard the liquid.
2. Put grated zucchini into a bowl with all the other ingredients and mix together with your hands. If the mixture is a too wet, add some breadcrumbs.
3. Divide the mixture into 16 balls and flatten them slightly to get a disc shape.
4. Cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes to set the shape.
5. Heat some oil in a frying pan and add the patties, frying for about 5 minutes on each side until they are golden on the outside and completely cooked through.
6. Serve with rice and a cool salad.

Note: the mixture can be divided up into smaller balls as a party snack with sweet chili sauce for dipping

Chicken Pot Pie

Although winter is technically over, I can't help but feel that it hasn't fully given way to let summer take its place. Sure, there are times where the sunlight bursts through the windows and it genuinely looks like a decent day outside. However, this is almost always followed by heavy rain within the space of 10 minutes. It's OK though, the rain stops after about 15 minutes. Whereupon this process repeats itself till the evening.

The weather in Auckland doesn't know how to make up its mind. 

Oh, and it's still super cold.

Now that I've gotten my complaining out of the way, I can focus on the good things about this cold weather that has been dragging on for way too long (I'm still a little bitter though..).

The reason for my optimism is that the cold weather gives me an excuse to continue eating winter food such as soups, casseroles and, most importantly, pies! 

Nothing, and I mean Nothing, beats a good pie. Period.

I got the idea to make these when my colleague had a pie for lunch and, for that whole week, I couldn't get it off my mind. Something about pies just brings a smile to my face and great thing about home made ones is that you know exactly what has gone into it.

My recipe for Chicken Pot Pie is quite easy and incredibly delicious so I strongly suggest you give it a go before winter truly ends. It's a great way to pack vegetables into your meal and the fact that it only has one lid means you have the crunchy pastry without a lot of the fat!

The store bought pastry I had wasn't the best size for my pie tins so I spooned some of the filling onto the offcuts and baked for about 20 minutes. 

It was fantastic.

In fact, I think I'll make these as snacks next time.

Chicken Pot Pies (Makes 5 large or 10 small)

Ingredients:
1 Tablespoon olive oil
300g chicken, cut into 2cm cubes (I prefer thigh meat because it's juicier)
1 onion, finely diced
1 large potato, cut into 2cm cubes
200g bacon, roughly chopped
1 can peas, drained
2 Tablespoons dried parsley
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 litre chicken stock
50g butter 
1/3 cup plain flour
salt and pepper to taste
2 to 4 sheets of frozen puff pastry
1 egg, beaten

Method:
1. Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan over high heat. Add onion and bacon and cook, stirring frequently for about 5 minutes, until onion is translucent and bacon is crispy.
2. Reduce the pot to a low heat. Add potato and half of the stock until potato is tender.
3. In another pan, melt the butter over a medium heat. Whisk in the flour and cook, stirring constantly, until the flour has browned slightly. Gradually add the rest of the chicken stock and continue to stir.
4. Add the vegetable mixture, chicken, peas, parsley and thyme and season with salt and pepper to your liking.
5. Bring the pan back to a simmer and cook for another 7-8 minutes, stirring constantly.
6. Preheat the oven to 200°C.
7. Divide the filling between however many ramekins you have, leaving about 1cm to the top.
8. Cut out rounds 2cm larger than edge of your ramekins/pie tins. Put the lids on top of the filling and fold the sides to make a pretty edge. Cut some small lines in the centre of the lid for steam to escape.
9. Brush the tops with the beaten egg and bake in the oven for 30-40 minutes, until the pies are golden brown and bubbling.
10. Cool for 10 minutes before serving.

Note: If you have left over pastry and a little extra filling, you can always spoon some filling onto flaky pastry squares for a delicious snack like above. Just bake for 20 minutes and you're done!

Coca Cola Chicken Nibbles

The only thing better than cooking a yummy meal is cooking a yummy meal that doesn't take hours of preparation. Here's a yummy recipe that is delicious, and so incredibly easy that you will want to make these every night.

In our circle of family friends, my mother is somewhat famous for her marinated chicken and doesn't share it with anyone despite being asked dozens of times. Unfortunately, the recipe below is not her's as I have been sworn to secrecy but it's pretty damn good. Oh, and you only need 2 ingredients!

Pictured: 3/4 ingredients

 Well, 3 ingredients if you're counting the chicken nibbles themselves..
Oh, and 4 ingredients if you count the oil for frying..

After frying one side

..Ahh lets just say that the marinade requires only 3 ingredients.

Adding the coke. Your chicken should be cooked once the sauce becomes sticky

 Don't worry about the chicken tasting like coke as long as it just imparts a sweet flavour to offset the saltiness of the soy sauce. This is why it's so important that normal coke is used and not a diet version.

Or a bed of veggie noodles

This is by far the easiest thing to make and the ingredients are far more easily accessible than the dozens required in my mother's recipe. Coca Cola Chicken is perfect as a snack when you have people over or simply had with steamed rice.







Coca Cola Chicken Nibbles

Ingredients:
500g to 1kg chicken (nibbles work best)
2 Tablespoons soy sauce (light)
1/2 cup Coca Cola (Note: Don't use diet!)
Oil for shallow frying

Method:
1. Coat the chicken in the soy sauce and mix well. Leave to marinate for at least 15 minutes
2. Pour enough oil to just cover the bottom of your pan. Place your chicken in the pan once it has heated and fry for 5 minutes on each side. Watch out for splatters
3. Turn the heat down to medium, add coke and cover for another 5 minutes
4. The chicken should be ready once the sauce has gone sticky. To check, prick the chicken with a fork and the juice should run clear when cooked.
5. Enjoy

Chicken and Sweetcorn Soup

Not to blow my own trumpet, but this is the best chicken and sweetcorn soup I've ever had -probably because it's tailored exactly to my own tastes and I've had years to perfect it. It's also easy to make and very very comforting to have on a cold, winters day. Kids love this too. I almost always get requests for my chicken and sweetcorn soup when family friends with children come over.

Step 4: Mixing through the celery

This was also one of my favourite things to have at Chinese restaurants but, as I got older, I slowly caught on to how much of a rip off a bowl of this could be. Six WHOLE dollars for one little bowl of soup with only a few pieces of chicken?! I think not. Little Lucy had grown wise -it only cost her about $7 to make a whole pot (Sorry, I'm not entirely sure why I'm referring to myself in the third person)!

So you start off with some shredded chicken. Your deli will have some pre-shredded or pPerhaps you have some left over from the roast you had last night?

 The best thing about homemade soups is that you know exactly what's gone in it and each chunk you come across is no longer mysterious. At this point Jason reminds me that, growing up, he's never had soup with chunks in it and I conclude it must be a Chinese thing -puréeing soups is not done where I come from. It's much more satisfying having something to bite into. Anyone else with me on that one?

Pile on the celery. In case you haven't noticed, this is a few steps on from the previous picture

Well.. there's not much more for me to say except that winter is coming up (or is it here already?) and I highly recommend this recipe. It goes great with some garlicky bread and a warm fire of sorts. I can't promise you that it's authentic because, well.. What is authentic anyway? I can tell you that I've never seen this soup on a menu in China although I can promise you that it's delicious and your tastebuds (and your stomach) will thank you for it!

This was my lunch. I had another bowl an hour after that. I couldn't resist.

 Sorry, I have kept this post short because I've just come home from lunch and am currently suffering from a food coma. Perhaps I'll sleep it off..


Chicken and Sweetcorn Soup, Lucy style (serves about 6 but you can keep it for a few days in the fridge. I prefer to eat it all myself)

Ingredients:

1 Tbs oil
200g bacon, coarsely chopped
300g cooked chicken, shredded
2 cans creamed corn
4 cups cold water, added at different times
1/4 celery, chopped
2 eggs, beaten
2 Tbs cornflour (makes it nice and goopy)
Soy sauce to taste
Pepper to taste (I like to use both black and white pepper)
* Note: You can also use chicken stock in place of water in which case you won't need the soy sauce.

Method:

1. Heat oil in a large pot and add bacon until it starts to brown.
2. Throw in the shredded chicken and creamed corn and mix through.
3. Pour 1 cup of water and stir through and reduce the heat.
4. When the mixture starts to bubble, add celery and 2 more cups of water and stir through.
5. Dissolve the cornflour in the last cup of water and add to the pot when it starts to bubble. (Note: it is very important that you add it when the mixture is bubbling, otherwise it won't mix through your soup properly and you'll get lumps throughout)
6. Pour beaten eggs in a thin stream while stirring so it is distributed through the whole soup.
7. Add soy sauce, salt and pepper to taste. (I use soy sauce because I like the reddish hue it brings to the colour of my soup. Feel free to use salt instead).