Sambal Roasted Chicken

It’s the last day for 2011!  What are you doing?  How are you spending it?  Over here it is much of the same, nothing fancy in the works, although lots of little and big joys are realized and enjoyed.  C is out biking up some mountain, as he has so happily been doing these holiday mornings.  I have gloriously slept in, as I haven’t in a very long time.  I am breakfasting on a simple cheddar cheese toastie slathered with my favorite guava jam, coffee ever present of course.  Little C is playing with her stuffed carabao (water buffalo) – a sighting of a live carabao yesterday has her suddenly in love with the animal.

It will be a relatively simple eve as well.  We are spending the evening with my mum, although C’s mum will be at a party nearby and may pop in for a drink after dinner.  Mum will be roasting a chicken, steaming some green beans, and putting together her prawns and feta pasta.  She also bought a few noise makers for little C (and us as well!).  I’ll be making another one of these cakes (yes, it is truly a favorite in my family) and bringing over some nibbles: chorizo, C’s cheese and spicy sardine dip, dulong (tiny local fish) in olive oil and chili…and I’m thinking of walking over to my neighborhood delicatessen to see what interesting cheeses I might still be able to pick up.  Bottles of wines and cava will soon be a-chilling.  And after midnight it will be time for a bowl of my mum’s potent sopa seca (with bread, not rice or noodles).

I was going to spend this morning, and this blog post, reflecting on the year that was, the humble list of ambitions I set out in January, and how I’ve been able to, more or less, plow through them.  This would have also been the time to put together a new list of, I won’t say resolutions, but directions, for the coming 2012.  But the sun is shining through my window, little C is smelling extra yummy, and there is food to be cooked and enjoyed!

So let me leave you instead, for now, with another roast chicken we enjoyed.

Sambal Roasted Chicken

• 1 whole chicken
• 1/3 cup sambal asli
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped garlic
• 2 teaspoons finely chopped ginger
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon chopped parsley
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 1 lemon
• 1small bunch lemongrass
• Canola oil (or any other vegetable oil)
• Sea salt

- Mix sambal asli, garlic, ginger, soy sauce, parsley, honey, and the juice from the lemon (keep the lemon halves) in a small bowl until thoroughly blended.  Set a couple of tablespoons of this aside for basting.

- Put a few spoonfuls of the sambal mix into the cavity of the chicken and rub throughout the cavity. Stuff the cavity with the lemongrass and the leftover lemon halves.  Rub the whole outside of the chicken with the sambal mix generously, getting some in between the skin.  Tie the drumsticks together with kitchen string.

- Place the chicken on a rack in a baking pan.  Pour some water onto the base of the pan, making sure it doesn’t touch the chicken.  Cover the whole thing with foil and place in a pre-heated 400F oven. 

- Roast the chicken for 40 minutes covered.  Remove the foil and baste the chicken with your reserved sambal mix and a little canola oil and a sprinkling of sea salt.  Roast for 40 minutes to 1 hour more, or until chicken is cooked (when the juices run clear when pierced in the meatiest part), basting with the sambal mix a few more times in between.

- When the chicken is done, let it rest about 10 minutes before carving.

This is another dish born of the lovely sambal asli gifted to us by my brother-in-law.  I am quite certain there will be a few more dishes in this same theme down the road so I hope you don’t mind.  We love all things spicy in general, and this sambal asli in particular.  Keep basting the chicken to develop a fierce red-golden crust on it.  I like to sprinkle salt at this point as well because intensely flavored, salty chicken skin is really a big part of the whole point of roast chicken in the first place, in my opinion at least.

I will leave the reflections and resolutions for January.  I will share one with you now though: Enjoy the show.  Whether it be a bone-melting hot shower, a devilishly rich cake, or the sweetest smelling bundle of energy in my life…I will enjoy every moment!  Hard times come, that is for sure, but there is beauty and joy all around for those who take the time to enjoy them.  So I will sign off now to do just that!

Wishing you all the best for the New Year!  See you in 2012!

Brown Butter Pineapple Upside-down Cake

This Christmas I decided to forgo homemade gifts and leave that to artisans more experienced than I.  Although I love turning out a homemade present, this December was just too fraught with work (and by work I mean my day job, not food or writing related at all) to do that.  It was frustrating at first, having to relinquish what you so want to do, for something you have to do, but I soon enjoyed the extra time this gave me.

Time to get all the work I had done without losing too much sleep.  More time to get together with friends and family.  More time with little C doing anything and nothing and just being.  Time for movie dates with C. More time to connect with people.  Time to dream about what I will be making next for next Christmas :)

Sometimes, when you consciously let go, instead of thinking that something is being taken away from you, it can make all the difference.

I did manage one homemade gift this year.  Made today, right before Christmas Eve, so it’s freshly baked.  Pineapple upside down cake for my dad.  It’s quite a throwback I know, always skirting the line between retro and all out kitsch, but it’s my dad’s favorite so I’ll keep making it for him for as long as he wants.

Brown Butter Pineapple Upside-down Cake

• 1/3 cup butter, softened not melted
• 1/3 cup brown sugar
• 6 pineapple rings
• 115 grams butter
• 150 grams sugar
• 2 eggs
• 70 grams flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder

- Spread the softened butter on the base of an 8-inch cake pan.  Sprinkle the brown sugar evenly over the butter.  Arrange the 6 rings of pineapple on top of the sugar.  I usually do 5 around and one in the middle, cutting the middle one a bit if it doesn’t fit.  Set aside and get on with your batter.

- Melt the butter in a skillet until browned (not burned!), with a warm nutty aroma. You can find a fantastic tutorial on browning butter over at Simply Recipes. Strain and set aside to cool.  I do this by placing the bowl of browned butter over another bowl with ice.  I let it cool until the butter gets a little bit thick again, like a golden syrup.  In this state it smells so good you may forget about the rest of your baking – fair warning.

- Whisk the sugar with the egg. In another bowl, whisk your flour and baking powder together, then add to the egg mixture. Add the (cooled) brown butter and whisk until just combined. Pour the batter over the prepared pineapples in the pan.  Place the cake pan on a cookie sheet to catch any over enthusiastic butter sputters.

- Bake in a 180C (350F) oven for 40-50 minutes or until a pick inserted in the middle of the cake comes out clean.

- Remove the pan from the oven and loosen the sides of the cake with a small sharp knife.  Place a plate over the cake pan and, using oven mitts or a kitchen town (hot sugar beware!), quickly and confidently flipped the pan over so you cake is now on the plate.  Keep the pan on the cake for a few minutes so all the buttery, sugary juices drip down onto your cake.  Remove pan and enjoy!

This isn’t the pineapple upside down cake of my childhood.  Instead of using the mild, slightly stodgy cake I usually use, I decided to try this brown butter cake recipe (adjusted slightly).  The resulting cake is wildly rich…almost like candy.  I wanted to depart from my old “caramelly top layer + plain jane white cake” combination that I had been making and this version does just that.  This is not for the sugar and butter shy, let me just forewarn!  It does not make for the prettiest cake either.  But if achingly sweet caramelized crusts and buttery moist cakes are up your alley, then you may just be up for this.

The cake is cooling on the dining room table as I type.  C and little C are napping.  The city, for now, is quiet and peaceful.  Our Christmas tree is small but sassy and presents are strewn all over.  The mess can wait until after New Year.  I’ll be presenting my dad with his cake at Christmas dinner tonight.  Life may not be perfect, it never is, but I am so very happy where I am.  I wish the same for all of you!  A very Merry Christmas to you and yours…may you be doing what you love with those you love this Christmas weekend!!

Faux Bulgogi

Fate.  Do you believe?  Chance occurrences that tug us this way and that, seemingly random and without objective, but ultimately with a purpose we could not have even guessed.  A tricky subject, fate.  Do we relinquish all control to it?  Or do we take our free will firmly in hand, never let go, and leave no room for fate in our life?

I think life is a little bit of both.  Happiness lies in finding the balance between going for what you want with determined intent and purpose, and allowing life to take you in its current with wonder still in your heart.  It’s believing in your own power and a higher power all at once, and seeing that it is not at all contradictory.

Choice and fate – they don’t have to be at opposite ends of the dance floor.  I choose to trust in fate the same way I can choose to change my fate.  I choose to pick myself up and look on the bright side.  These are things that I choose to do. 

And fate can help, if you let it.  It can lead you to happy accidents like meeting your husband, or a tiny seaside restaurant that serves the best cazuela de mariscos, or a recipe not followed that turns out even better that you expected.

Faux Bulgogi

(adapted from the Bulgogi Recipe of Hyosun of Eating and Living as featured on Rasa Malaysia)

• 3 tablespoons Korean red chili pepper paste (gochujang)
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons rice wine (or mirin)
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 tablespoon sesame oil
• 1 tablespoon garlic, very finely minced
• 1 tablespoon grated ginger
• 1/8 teaspoon black pepper
• 400-500 grams “bacon-cut” pork belly (if you don’t see this cut, just ask the butcher to slice the pork belly thinly)
• 1/2 medium onion, thinly sliced
• 3-4 spring onions, sliced on the diagonal
• A drizzle of canola oil
• Optional: Korean red chili pepper flakes (gochugaru) or any dried chili flakes – the original recipe called for it but I didn’t have any so I went without.  You can go ahead and add chili flakes if you’d like it spicier.

- Place the gochujang, soy sauce, rice wine/mirin, sugar, sesame oil, garlic, ginger, pepper in a bowl and mix well.

- Cut the pork belly into pieces about 2 inches long.

- Mix the pork with the onions, spring onions, and marinade.  Mix well and marinate for at least an hour.

- Heat a skillet or wok over medium high heat.  Add a touch of oil just so the meat won’t stick.  Add the pork belly and marinade into the pan, scrape everything in there.  Cook, tossing frequently, until pork is cooked and the marinade has bubbled and reduced.  There won’t be much marinade left, it will be coating the meat thickly.

- Serve garnished with more spring onions atop a steaming pile of rice!

Alright.  First things first.  Why “faux bulgogi”?  Because in the original recipe you are supposed to grill the pork strips, or at the very least lay them on a skillet nicely and cook them one side at a time.  I’ll admit, I was not trying to achieve a better result by dumping the whole lot (pork, marinade, and all) in my skillet – I was, in fact, just lazy.  But what a fortuitous delight (happy accident!) that turned out to be.  The marinade turned thick and sticky and amazing, clinging and coating the pork while the onions softened and turned just a touch caramelized. 

This recipe also led me to the discovery of gochujang and I am smitten!  I need to go out and buy (much) more because I am most definitely making this again, and I am very excited to find other ways to use it.

Happy accidents – really, where would we be without them?  Let them happen!

Shrimps with Sambal

Our little C turns 2 today!  How these last two year managed to speed past me with such impetuous haste I will never know.  I have tried my best to hold on to every moment with hands and teeth, inhaling the sweet scent of it until I could no longer hold my breath, nuzzling my head deep into her curls, laughing and crying and trying not to worry about things like growth charts and future school selection.

So many times in these past two years I’ve found myself thinking, “I can’t wait until…”, and I always consciously stop myself.  Walking and talking and shopping dates could wait.  Every stage, every day, has its own special magic, that once passed, can’t be rewound.  The peaceful cooing before they start speaking their mind.  The blissful illusion of control when they still can’t run away from you.  And the priceless luxury of that brief period when they can’t tell the difference between piece of cardboard and a toy.

There are things I am looking forward to this year though.  Shellfish is one of them.  Yes, despite my seemingly fancy-free façade I am, in fact, a paranoid (regular) mum (!) and did not give little C any shellfish for her first two tender years.  Don’t laugh please!  I believe a mum is allowed a few paranoias once in a while (with a stiff drink on the side please).

So this year will be the year of shrimp and prawns and crabs, perhaps clams and mussels and scallops as well.  I’m still on the fence on oysters, even if I love oysters and would love to have her love them too.  Mums, please feel free to give me advice!

For now, we can start with shrimp…although not necessarily with sambal ;)

Shrimps with Sambal

• 500 grams shrimp, unpeeled
• 1/4 cup butter
• 1 inch piece of ginger, peeled and sliced
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped garlic
• 3 long green chilies (sili pangsigang)
• 4 young leeks/pencil leeks (not the fat western hemisphere leeks!)
• 3 – 4 tablespoons full of sambal asli
• Sea salt

- Heat a wok or pan over high heat.  When the wok is hot, bring heat down to medium and add the butter to the pan.  Let this melt and sizzle until most of the foam has subsided.

- Add the ginger, garlic, and chilies and fry until the garlic is just a touch toasty in parts, under a minute.  Add the leeks and mix in.

- Immediately add the sambal and shrimps to the pan and toss well.  Cover your wok and wait a couple of minutes, uncover, and toss again.  Try to flip the shrimp so the uncooked parts are underneath and the bright orange cooked parts are on top.  Cover again for a minute or less and repeat until all the shrimps are just cooked.  You don't want to overcook them so be vigilant!

- Taste and season with salt as you like.  Remove from the hot pan and serve immediately.

This was a quick lunch I threw together for C and I.  I have to give credit where it’s due and let you know that the idea for this dish came totally from C…I was merely the executor.  It turned out so well though that I knew I had to share it with you.  How much or how little sambal you put will depend on your taste and the brand of sambal you use (some may be spicier than others).  We use our absolute favorite sambal asli that C’s bother, who lives in Jakarta, hand carries here for us every time he visits.  We have tried it, and loved it, on many things, but as part of the sauce for these shrimps it is amazing. 

We are so looking forward to sharing our favorite shellfish dishes with little C.  We will certainly create a version of this for her that is a little less spicy.  As always, the adventure of food is one of my favorites within this grander adventure of parenthood.  I’m eager to see what this third year has to bring…but I’m also going to enjoy it a bite and a morsel at a time.

Happy 2nd birthday little cherry bomb! :)

Breakfast #52: Christmas Oatmeal

It’s December!  For many of you, that means that Christmas is in the air.  In the Philippines however, Christmas season officially start when the months end in “-ber”.  That means, for us, Christmas starts in September, when the shopping malls and their ilk let the first decorations out and the first strains of carols can be heard over their PA systems.  By December, the season is in full-throttle, steam-rollering its way over us, both guns blazing.

Before you throw eggnog and Scrooge McDuck at me, hear me out.  In truth, I DO like Christmas!  It’s the hyper-consumerist roller-coaster ride it has become over here that I am not too fond of.  And all the over-bright wrapping and trappings that, more often now, overshadow everything else.  Plus the growing number of people that seem to be more stressed then celebratory.  Is something stressing you about Christmas?  Take a good and honest look at what that thing is and perhaps (I’ll bet) you can skip it this year.  Or at least part of it.  Really.  Do what you want!  It’s Christmas! ;)

December is, in actuality, my absolute most stressful month at work with year-end reports, transitions, and trying to keep business going while everyone else is rushing off to holidays.  Scurrying to buy Christmas presents?  Choosing between holiday parties?  Cooking up a storm?  Christmas cocktail hangovers?  Oh, how I would much rather be doing all that!  Christmas is my respite, my reward.

It is also the season when you can buy freshly roasted castañas (chestnuts)…so it can’t be all that bad ;)

Christmas Oatmeal

• 1 cup milk
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/2 cup steel cut oats
• 1 apple, chopped into small dice
• 1/2 cup peeled roasted castañas/chestnuts, roughly chopped
• 3 tablespoons raisins
• A couple of dashes cinnamon
• A pinch of nutmeg
• A pinch of ground cloves

- Heat the milk and water in a pan until tiny bubble appear on the side and the milk is hot but does not come to a boil.  Add the oats and stir.  Cover and cook for 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

- After 10-15 minutes add the apple, castañas/chestnuts, raisins, and spices.  Stir and cover.  Cook for another 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until oatmeal is to your preferred consistency.  Add more water if it becomes to dry.

- Serve warm.

One of the things I love about this time of year is when the castañas vendors come out, stirring their huge vats of nuts.  A warm, freshly roasted chestnut is true bliss – and, at this time of year, bliss that is easily had.  I’ve infused this oatmeal with what I think of as Christmas flavors***.  This is perfect to have on a cool December morning, although the weather does not seem to be cooperating these days. 

Christmas does not have to mean a trillion lights and over-organized parties, and spending until your wallet whines (unless, of course, you want to…that’s fine too).  It can be about your own traditions, your own ways of celebrating, with the people you want to celebrate.  It can be the time of year when you give everyone an extra hug, or tip the waiters more than usual, or enforce pajama weekends and air guitar competitions, or just add a little spice in your morning oatmeal.  It’s really up to you.  Just do it with joy in your heart and everyone around you will be better for being in the presence of a joyful person.  Happy December everyone!

***I've used some of the same Christmas flavors, like the castañas and the apples, in my column in the December issue of Yummy magazine which is out in newsstands now.  If you are hereabouts, you can pick up a copy!