Three Cup Chicken

My husband and I have been living at our current apartment for over two years and not once has it occurred to me to start a herb garden. We don't have any land with our apartment but we do have a north facing balcony that gets plenty of sunshine.

While I was at the shops a few weeks ago I had a revelation: packaged parsley cost $2.99 while a potted plant was only $3.49. For 50 cents extra I could have my very own fresh plant and avoid buying a large amount in a package that would just get wasted anyways. What haven't I started a garden sooner???

So I've been slowly collecting various herbs and veggies and growing them on our balcony, and so far we have parsley, mint, thyme, basil, spring onion, rosemary, tomato, cos lettuce, and lavender. I've been having a blast gardening, and yesterday I went down to our local plant shop to pick up a few more pots. As I was leaving, the shop owner asked me if I'd like some free Thai basil, as he had too much and needed to get rid of it. I've never even heard of it before, but of course I took some home and immediately started looking up recipes.

Thai basil is completely different to basil, and it has a sweet licorice flavour to it. It's used quite often in Asian dishes, and after some searching I found one that looked super yummy and would use up a fair amount of my Thai basil.

This three cup chicken recipe is very simple and quick, and most importantly full of flavour. (It's called 'three cup chicken' because of the equal parts of soy, dark soy and wine.) The key to getting the chicken soft and tender is to use baking soda. After you have cut up the chicken thigh into bite size pieces, sprinkle a good amount of baking soda over the surface of the meat and place into the fridge for 15 minutes. This simple step makes the chicken so tender it will melt in your mouth! You can use this trick for pretty much any meat, just be sure to rinse all traces of baking soda off of the meat before cooking, otherwise it won't taste very nice.

Some of the other ingredients, such as the Chinese rice wine or the dark sesame oil may not be available at your local supermarket, but if you live in a city, try going to an Asian grocery store. Most will have all of these ingredients, or they will know where you can find them. Finally, do not substitute the Thai basil for regular Italian basil. It won't work and the taste will be completely off.



Three Cup Chicken
serves 4

Ingredients
500 grams or 1lb boneless skinless chicken thighs
5 slices of fresh peeled ginger
5 garlic cloves, peeled
2 tbs dark sesame oil
1 1/2 tbs soy sauce
1 1/2 tbs sweet dark soy sauce (also known as Kecap Manis)
1 1/2 tbs Shaoxing wine (also known as Chinese rice wine, or Chinese cooking wine)
1 tbs water
A large handful of Thai basil leaves
1 tbs baking soda (to tenderize chicken)
Cooked rice, to serve

Method
1. Cut up the chicken thighs into bite size pieces and rub generously with baking soda. Place into a bowl, cover, and put into the fridge for 15 minutes.
2. Remove chicken from the fridge and completely rinse off the baking soda with cold water. Pat chicken dry and set aside.
3. Heat a wok or deep frying pan on medium high heat and add the sesame oil. Add the garlic and ginger and cook, stirring, until fragrant (1-2 minutes).
4. Add the chicken and stir to coat with the oil.
5. Add the soy sauce, dark soy sauce, wine, and water and stir well to combine. Cover, and leave to simmer on a lower heat for 5-7 minutes.
6. Add fresh Thai basil leaves and stir for a further minute.
7. Serve immediately on a bed of steamed rice.

Chicken and Chorizo Paella

I first heard about paella (pronounced pah-A-yah) in my Spanish class in high school. I hadn't given it much thought since then, until recently when I rediscovered it while walking around my neighborhood. I could smell something delicious and rich, a complicated scent that left my mouth watering and my stomach growling. I soon came upon a Spanish tapas restaurant called Basque, and in their open entrance was a giant black pan of paella. It looked amazing. It was full of yellowish rice, oysters, calamari, and various vegetables. I wanted badly to stop and try some, however I went on my way and soon forgot about paella.

A Spanish cooking show came on TV a few nights ago and they made two different authentic paellas: a wild rabbit and snail dish, and a chicken and chorizo one. Of course I didn't write any of the recipes down, but I knew the basics and was now determined to make my own paella.

Do you think I could pay my college loan off with this?

A few tips I learned from the show:

• The rice should be soft but not creamy. Some pieces should still have a bite to them.
• Use the best possible ripe tomatoes you can get, preferably from a garden.
• NEVER ever stir a paella after the rice goes in (some don't stir at all).
• Saffron, which is essential in a paella, is EXPENSIVE. In fact, the most expensive spice in the world. 

So I scraped together some money for the saffron and my other ingredients and set to work creating my paella. It only took me approximately 1 hour from start to finish (not counting infusing the saffron) and surprisingly it is quite low in calories (only 400!). Also, it is one of the most amazing things I have ever made, EVER. Seriously, my husband and I ate the left overs soon after we finished our dinner, it was that good. The dish is perfect on its own and quite filling, however some nice fresh bread would go well if you are after a bigger meal. Enjoy!

Nutritional Info (per serve): 400 cals, 18.5g fat, 24.1g carbs, 24g protein, 600mg sodium

Chicken and Chorizo Paella

Serves 4

Ingredients

2 cups chicken stock (salt reduced if possible)
½ cup dry white wine (I used chardonnay)
1 pinch saffron threads
1 tbs extra virgin olive oil
2 small chorizo sausages, thinly sliced
4 boneless skinless chicken thighs, cut into chunks
1 brown onion, finely chopped
1 red capsicum (pepper), finely chopped
1 green capsicum (pepper), finely chopped
2 ripe juicy tomatoes, roughly chopped
8 small button mushrooms, sliced
3 cloves of garlic, crushed or finely diced
2 tsp sweet smoked paprika
1 cup bomba calasparra rice (arborio or risotto rice can be used)
1 extra cup chicken stock (see step 10)
cracked black pepper, to taste
Pinch of fresh parsley for garnish

Method

1. Heat ¼ cup chicken stock in microwave until boiling (about 30 seconds).
2. Snip the saffron threads in half with scissors and place into hot chicken stock. Cover and leave to infuse for 1 hour.
3. Pour saffron infused stock, chicken stock, and white wine into a saucepan and bring to a boil. Remove from heat and set aside.
4. Place a large frying pan or paella pan over high heat. Add the chorizo and cook 3 minutes or until golden. Remove from pan and set aside on a plate.
5. Add olive oil and chicken to the pan. Cook until browned, then transfer to plate with the chorizo.
6. Add onions and capsicum and cook, stirring, until onion softens.
7. Place tomato, mushrooms, and garlic in the pan. Add paprika, stir, and cook for 1 minute further.
8. Add chorizo and chicken back into the pan and stir to combine.
9. Sprinkle the rice evenly over everything, gently stir, then add the hot saffron wine stock. From this point onwards, do NOT stir the paella. This will help it to form the yummy soccarrada, or crust.
10. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and let simmer uncovered for 20 minutes. Add extra chicken stock every few minutes as needed for the rice to absorb.
11. Remove from heat. Season with cracked pepper and garnish with fresh parsley. Serve immediately with your favourite white wine.

Que delicioso!