HERBY POTATO AND CHICKEN PATTIES...


There are a number of recipes similar to this, from fish cakes to yam balls, but this i put together in my head at work while i was mentally going through my fridge. Left over fresh ingredients here and there, chicken breast too small to do anything much with, a few potatoes and a sprig of fresh parsley and some left over breadcrumbs...

5 Potatoes
1 Egg
100grms boneless chicken breast
Quarter cup of breadcrumbs
Garlic
Pepper and salt
2 Tablespoons olive oil
Half teaspoon dried oregano
Parsley

Peel and cook potatoes until soft and set aside with about half a cup of water left in the pot.

Cut chicken breast into small pieces and cook, seasoned with salt, pepper and garlic for 10 minutes.

Pour chicken and stock into food processor or even blender and blend with you have a smooth paste. Add water as needed but be careful not to put too much.

Pour chicken paste, potatoes with the water into a big bowl, break in an egg, add breadcrumbs, chopped parsley and oregano and mash all together with a potato masher. You can also do this in a mortar.

Mix properly with a spoon so that all the ingredients are properly incorporated. Taste for seasoning.

Add oil to pan and turn your heat up. Mould your patties and fry for 5 minutes on both sides. No need to bother pushing or prodding it when its frying or you will only end up breaking it apart and make it absorb excess oil.

It was yum and very filling, couldn't eat more than 2. So my mismatched left overs gave me a very satisfying new meal.
:)

CHOW MEIN...


Asian food is yummy, spicy and simple and this is no exception.

Rice Sticks
Boneless chicken breast
1 Egg
Sliced carrots
Chopped spring onions
1 Tablespoon honey
1 Oyster sauce
1 teaspoon curry powder
Shrimps and calamari
Sliced mushrooms
Ginger and garlic
Crushed dried chilli and salt
Olive oil
A dash of vinegar.

Boil waster and soak your rice sticks and set aside, do not cover the bowl and don't let it sit for more than 7 - 10 minutes then drain.

In a bowl, mix oyster sauce, honey, vinegar (wet mix) and a pinch of salt and set aside.

Add 2 tablespoons of olive oil to your wok and fry chopped onion with grated ginger and garlic until it is soft. Add cut chicken breast (strips or cubes) and fry until its brown on all sides. Crack in an egg and stir vigourously until the egg is cooked and has been broken up into pieces.

Add wet mix, shrimps and calamari in the pan with a teaspoon of curry and allow to cook together for 5 minutes.

Add vegetables and mushroom and cook for another 2 minutes.

Add rice sticks and mix. Taste for seasoning.

Serve.

LOCAL PALM OIL JOLLOF...

Another favorite in my kitchen, there's just something about this dish that does it for me even though i don't get to cook it as often as i'd like, it did make me a very happy bunny last night though. Cook it over firewood and i just might part with a prized possession or 2. :)

Rice

Beef or any kind of meat

Dried fish

Seafood mix of shrimp and calamari

Crayfish

Curry

Garlic

Half a cup of palm oil

Garlic

Onions

Scent leaf

Salt and Pepper

Parboil your rice, wash and set aside.

Chop your beef into little pieces, season with garlic, salt, pepper, curry and onions until tender.

Add your ground crayfish, dried fish, seafood mix and palm oil, stir and let it come to a boil.

Add your rice. Taste for seasoning. Allow rice to cook for 10 minutes, add some more chopped onions and turn down the heat.

In another 10 minutes rice should be cooked, add some washed and finely chopped scent leaf to bind the taste together.

Give it one last stir and take it off the heat.

It really is that simple.

Enjoy!

STIR FRIED CHICKEN WITH VEGGIES AND CRUSHED PEANUTS...


Easy peasy dinner or lunch recipe that preps and cooks in 20 minutes.

1kg Boneless chicken breast
Mixed vegetables - broccoli, red bell peppers, green pepper, runner beans - washed & sliced at home or out of a bag like mine (my excuse, i was on vacation :D)
3 Tablespoons olive oil
Curry
A dash of vinegar
2 tablespoons honey
1 tablespoon brown sugar
2 tablespoons worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon light soy sauce
2 tablespoons oyster sauce
100ml chicken stock
2 tablespoons flour
Onions
Salt and and pepper
Dried chili flakes
Ginger and garlic - crushed
Handful of crushed peanuts

Cut chicken into even sized pieces for even cooking time. Put in a bowl and spice with ginger, garlic, salt, pepper and onion. Coat the chicken with flour, cover bowl with cling film and set in the fridge for 30 minutes - 24hours.

 Pour oil in a pan/pot/wok and turn the heat on and fry the chicken for until golden brown then add vegetables, turn down the heat and allow to cook for another 2 minutes.

Mix the worcestershire sauce, soy sauce, oyster sauce, honey, sugar, vinegar thoroughly and add the chicken stock. OR go out and buy a stir fry mix in the shops.

Pour this mixture over the chicken and allow to cook for another 5 minutes. The flour that the chicken was coated with will bind everything together so don't worry if it appears a bit thin. If it happens to me too thin though, mix 1 tablespoon of flour with a little water or the sauce from the pot to make a paste and pour back into the pot.

Just before you take it off the heat, add your peanuts.

Serve with rice, noodles or potatoes.

 Cheers!
:)

AFANG SOUP; OBODO OYIBO STYLE...

What can i say? Afang soup is the best soup in the world, don't argue! Ok, at least i think mine is. I was out of the country for a bit but was still able to get all my ingredients and substitute ingredients to knock out a decent pot of afang, only thing is missed here was my darling mfi (periwinkle) still in the shell... Sigh!

Ok, here goes;
Assorted meat
Dried fish
Stock fish
Snails
Afang (okazi)
Spinach - fresh or a bag of chopped frozen one (waterleaf)
Palm oil
Onions
Crayfish
Salt
Pepper
Seasoning cubes

Wash your meat and stock fish (especially) thoroughly, spice your meat and stock fish together with salt, pepper and chopped onions and cook till tender.

Add your snail, dried fish and crayfish and palm oil, allow to cook for another 10 minutes till it comes together and looks like a thick broth.

While the meat is cooking, use the dry mill part of your blender and blend your already sliced afang and set aside. This is a bit tedious especially if your cooking a large quantity because you have to do it in little batches but relatively easier and faster if your okazi has been dried properly (like mine was), if not you can add a bit of crayfish to the mill to help absorb some of the moisture from the okazi and help the blending along. Or, you can just pound it in a mortar the good ol' way our mothers did.

If you're using chopped, frozen spinach like i did instead of water leaf, you should have it defrosted and ready to go into the pot at this point.

If you are using water leaf, the leaves should be cut off the stem and the flowers and seeds removed. wash thoroughly and then cut as finely as u can. Add it to a bowl and sprinkle some salt in it (to help it get rid of most of its excess water), then proceed to wash it as you would a pair of jeans.

Wash and rinse with the help of a strainer until the water is no longer frothy. Not washing the water leaf properly is responsible for some peoples slimy afang. Add to the meaty broth and taste for seasoning.

Note that i haven't added any extra water to my soup, that's because the water leaf/spinach will still water down th soup and if you have too much water in you pot, you'll be left with a watery mess.

 Allow the soup to cook for no more than five minutes, we don't want our water leaf/afang over cooking and turning brown. 5 minutes is all the time it needs to render all of its liquid content. Add your afang to the pot, stir properly and let it cook on low heat for just another minute.

Take off the heat and serve your afang, glorious afang!

EGUSI SOUP WITH ASSORTED MEAT...


Egusi is one of the few soups i eat (don't think i like more that 5 soups) and this is my very simple recipe. I have seen a number of variations but this works best for me.

1 Cup ground egusi (pumpkin seed)
Half cup crayfish
Pepper
Onions
Assorted meats
Dried fish
Stock fish
Snail
Palm oil
Onions
2 Seasoning cubes
Water leaf or spinach

Spice and cook meat together for 20 minutes (could be longer depending on the type/cut of meat) with stock fish seasoned with salt, some pepper and sliced onions.

When it is cooked and the meat stock is about half way between the meat and the bottom of the pot, add dried fish and crayfish and allow to cook for another 5 minutes.

Put your egusi in a bowl and run warm water into it making a light smooth paste. Pour into pot, over your meat, rinse off any left in the bowl with a little water and add to pot. Cover and cook for 10 minutes, turning and mixing properly every 3 minutes or so to avoid burning.

Taste for seasoning. If the egusi still has a tangy taste to it, allow it cook for another 5 minutes.
Add palm oil, mix properly and allow cook for another 7 minutes then add waterleaf/spinach.

You can end this soup here (i ended mine with spinach) or add chopped ugu or bitter leaf.

Enjoy!
:)