Coconut Archives • Mushroompride

Chicken in Coconut Milk – Delishar

This dish was inspired by Jamie Oliver’s Chicken in Milk. Basically, I used the same concept in searing the chicken then braising it in my 26cm Le Creuset French Oven. If you ask me, it’s pretty much a one pot chicken as both the searing and braising were done in the same pot. What was different was giving it a little Thai flair by using aromatic herbs like lemongrass, galangal, kaffir lime leaves, and substituting milk for coconut milk.

The result was nothing lack of awesome. I love the fragrance of all the blend of Thai spices marrying together with rich coconut milk. The chicken was slow braised till it was fall off the bone tender. The flavour of the gravy and chicken is kind of a cross between Thai green curry and Tom Kha Gai.

Chicken in Coconut Milk

I made this to bring to a pot luck party at a friend’s place. And because there were a lot of kids at the get together, I opted out on the chilli peppers. Personally, it would have been even better with hot chilli peppers, but it’s my own bias opinion. Simply because I love hot & spicy food! However, the feedback I got that day was very good. The chicken was very well received by everyone. Definitely something I’ll make again for another party. Most of the cooking was done by my oven, freeing me the time to do other stuff.

Chicken in Coconut Milk Process

Chicken in Coconut Milk

Delishar

1.5 kg Chicken cleaned
1/4 cup coconut oil
2 lemongrass bruised and cut into 2 inch pieces
5 slices galangal blue ginger
5 slices ginger
5 cloves garlic crushed
1 thai chilli make a slit length wise (optional, i omited for the kids)
2 lime leaves
zest of 2 limes
2 limes halved
3 coriander roots and stems
Handful of Thai basil
2 cups of coconut milk
Salt and pepper to taste
Fish sauce to taste

Preheat oven to 160C.
Season chicken inside and outside with salt and pepper.
Heat French oven, and add coconut oil.
Brown chicken on all sides (about 3-4 minutes each side).
Remove chicken from pot, and discard most of the oil in the pot.
Stuff chicken with the 2 limes.
Add the gingers, garlic, lemongrass, chilli in pot, and give it a saute.
Then add coconut milk, and bring to a simmer.
Add in lime leaves, and coriander roots.
Then return chicken into French oven breast side up, and sprinkle in lime zest.
Cover, and remove from heat, then transfer French oven to preheated oven.
Bake 60 minutes covered.
Then uncover and bake for 30 minutes, or until chicken is fall of the bone tender.
Gently lift chicken to serving platter.
Season sauce with fish sauce to taste.
Remove all the herbs before serving.
Spoon sauce around chicken.
Then garnish with fresh Thai basil leaves.

Chicken in Coconut Milk

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Pulut Hitam Rice Ball in Coconut Sauce – Delishar

I’m obsessed with Bubur Pulut Hitam, that sticky & gooey warm black glutinous rice porridge that’s sweetened with gula melaka and finished with a slight drizzle of rich fragrant coconut milk. If there is one Asian dessert I can have every single day without having to worry about weight gain, it has to be Pulut Hitam. Just writing this post is getting my mouth all watery, and tummy all rumbly.

The other thing I like next to bubur pulut hitam is tang yuan or glutinous rice balls. I prefer the plain ones with no filling/stuffing as compared to the ones with it, and I like to have mine with warm and thick almond paste. There’s something about the thick and rich consistency that I really enjoy. So when I chance upon this recipe, I was elated!

Putting the 2 top Asian dessert on my list together as one, and a darn easy one to make too! Although I prefer plain glutinous rice balls more than the ones with filling in it. It keeps ringing in my ear that it’ll be nice to wrap a little piece of gula melaka in it. Maybe next time, I might might just do that, for that ondeh ondeh effect. But for now, I’m really enjoying this lovely dessert.

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Bubur Hitam Rice Balls

Delishar

Rice Balls

125 g white glutinous rice flour
75 g black glutinous rice flour
40 g granulated coconut/palm sugar or fine sugar
1/4 tsp salt
150 ml luke warm water

To cook rice ball

1 pandan leaf knotted
Gula melaka/palm sugar to taste
Water

Coconut Sauce

400 ml coconut milk
1 pandan leaf knotted
2 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp salt

Coconut Sauce

In a saucepan, add coconut milk, pandan, salt, and sugar.
Bring to a simmer, stirring frequently until fragrant and thickened.
Remove from heat and set aside.

Rice ball

Combine all the rice ball ingredients into a bowl, and knead until dough comes together, and is smooth.
Roll dough into 1 inch size balls.

To cook rice ball

Bring water to boil, sweetened with gula melaka to taste. (this just adds a bit more flavour to the rice ball.)
Add pandan leaf.
Add rice balls, and cook until done. When it’s done, it will float to the surface.
Place cooked rice balls in a bowl of tap water to stop cooking process.

The glutinous rice ball isn’t very sweet, you can add more sugar to the mix if you like it a little sweeter.
Adapted from Daily Cooking Quest

Black Glutinous Rice Balls 4

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Thai-Style Poached Cod in Coconut Milk – Delishar

It’s no secret now that I’m a big fan of Thai food. Thai aromatics to be exact. The fragrance of lemongrass and galangal just sends me into a state of food trance. These herbs are a staple in my pantry, it’s almost a sin if it ever runs out at home. Even my room reed diffuser oil is lemongrass, and so is my massage oils. LOL. A bit obsessive, I know.

If you look at the ingredient list, you’d probably have guessed that this dish is Thai inspired. It’s an easy meal to prepare. You can use any meaty white fish for this recipe. Here I’m using Wild Alaskan Ling Cod from The Alaska Guy. I’d consider it as a one pot meal if I don’t consider the rice prepared with the rice cooker. The fish and vegetables takes no time at all to cook, but the aromatic lends such lovely flavours to the broth.

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Poach Cod in Lemongrass Coconut Milk

Delishar

4 160g boneless, skinless Alaskan Cod fillet (or any white fish)
1 package of nai bai cleaned
400 ml coconut milk
1 chilli padi smashed (optional)
4 cloves garlic minced
2 shallots minced
6 slices of galangal
2 lemongrass bruised and cut into 2 inch pieces
2 cilantro root
2 lime leaves crushed
Handful of fresh Thai basil
Juice of 1 lime
1 tbsp fish sauce
Salt and pepper to taste
1 tbsp coconut oil or cooking oil
Cilantro to garnish

Season cod with salt and pepper on both sides.
Heat oil in pan on medium high heat.
Saute chilli, garlic, and shallot for 1 minute.
Add lemongrass and galangal, saute for another minute.
Pour in coconut milk, lime leaves, basil leaves, cilantro roots, and fish sauce.
Add cod to pan. Fish doesn’t need to be fully submerged.
Bring coconut milk to boil, lower heat to a gentle simmer.
Cover and cook for about 5 minutes.
Remove cod from coconut broth, and add nai bai.
Cover and allow to cook until vegetable is wilted. About a minute.
Remove from heat and stir in lime juice.
Spoon nai bai and broth over fish, and garnish with cilantro leaves.