Style Archives • Mushroompride

Thai Style Crispy Chicken and Sponsorship by Le Creuset! – Delishar

I would like to start out this post by sharing with you an exciting announcement. Le Creuset is now an official sponsor of Delishar! That means more yummy creations using Le Creuset’s world renowned cast iron cookware and stoneware!

Le Creuset is known for it’s range of gorgeous cast iron cookware. And because they were made to last, they make perfect heirloom pieces. I have never own a cast iron, but I read enough to know the many benefits of owning one. From how the pan seasons to the even heating of cast iron. You can imagine my excitement when Le Creuset decided to collaborate with Delishar. Finally, I can put my many cast iron cookbooks to use!

First on my list, to put the cast iron skillet to good use is this crispy skin chicken dish. Because cast iron heats evenly, distributes heat, and retains heat so well, it is the perfect cookware to sear the skin on the chicken to produce a crispy golden crust. The satin black interior enamel was designed for higher surface temperature cooking. Just what I needed to achieve that crispy crackling skin.

I can’t wait for patina (a film that develops on the surface of the enamel as a result of natural oils and fats from cooking/baking) to build up. This film will protect the surface of the skillet, and help it to achieve and maintain a non-stick coating. Which will reduce the need for oiling the surface!

When I flipped through my cookbooks, I realised that almost all of recipes are non-Asian recipes. Le Creuset products are not only for western cooking but it works equally well for Asian cooking. This recipe will be one such example. Did I mentioned what I love the versatility of stovetop to oven cooking all in a single skillet.

Show Le Creuset some love by visiting their Facebook Page, and keep yourself informed on all the exciting promotions!

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Preheat oven to 190C.
Preheat your pan on medium low heat.

While your pan is preheating, pat dry chicken with paper towels.

Season both sides with turmeric, salt, and black pepper.

Check if pan is hot by sprinkling a couple drops of water.
If it sizzles and evaporate almost immediately, your pan is ready.
Add oil, swirl to coat pan, then add chicken thighs skin side down.
And listen to the melodic searing sound.
Allow to sear for 7 minutes or until the skin of the chicken is golden and crispy.

When chicken is searing, prepare the sauce.
Add chilli flakes, fish sauce, lime juice, coriander root, garlic, ginger, lemongrass, and brown sugar in a bowl.
Stir till brown sugar is dissolved.

When chicken is golden and crispy, remove pan from heat.
Set aside chicken pieces, and drain away the grease.
Go ahead, tap on the crispy skin of the chicken for that beautiful crackling sound.
You know you want to.

Return chicken back into pan, meat side down.
And pour in the sauce.
Bake in oven for 20-25 minutes or until chicken is done.
Allow chicken to rest in pan for 5 minutes for juices to redistribute.
Garnish with chopped coriander and serve immediately.

P.S. I hope you are enjoying the new and improved look of Delishar! I’m still trying to tie up some loose ends, so bear with me a little while more. 🙂

Thai Style Crispy Chicken

Sharon of Delishar.com

Prep Time 5 minutes

Cook Time 25 minutes

6 chicken thighs
1 tbsp oil
4 tbsp brown sugar
2 tbsp fish sauce
1 tsp sesame oil
2 cloves garlic pressed
1 tsp grated ginger
1 lemongrass minced
1 tsp chopped coriander roots & stems
Juice of 1/2 a lime
Chilli flakes to taste optional
Chopped coriander to taste

Preheat oven to 190C.
Preheat your pan on medium low heat.
While your pan is preheating, pat dry chicken with paper towels.
Season both sides with turmeric, salt, and black pepper.
Check if pan is hot by sprinkling a couple drops of water, if it sizzles and evaporate almost immediately, your pan is ready.
Add oil, swirl to coat pan, then add chicken thighs skin side down.
And listen to the melodic searing sound.
Allow to sear for 7 minutes or until the skin of the chicken is golden and crispy.
When chicken is searing, prepare the sauce.
Add chilli flakes, fish sauce, lime juice, coriander root, garlic, ginger, lemongrass, and brown sugar in a bowl.
Stir till brown sugar is dissolved.
When chicken is golden and crispy, remove pan from heat.
Set aside chicken pieces, and drain away the grease.
Go ahead, tap on the crispy skin of the chicken for that beautiful crackling sound.
You know you want to.
Return chicken back into pan, meat side down.
And pour in the sauce.
Bake in oven for 20-25 minutes or until chicken is done.
Allow chicken to rest in pan for 5 minutes for juices to redistribute.
Garnish with chopped coriander and serve immediately.

Disclaimer: Le Creuset sponsored Delishar with the 26cm cast iron skillet in flame, as seen in the pictures above.

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Thai Style Stewed Pork Belly – Delishar

I’ve probably made soy sauce stew pork a gazillion times when I was living in Aussie. That was my go-to recipe when I want comforting Asian food that reminds me of eating at home. I always thought that will forever remain my favourite stewed pork recipe. But all that changed when I went to bangkok with a friend, and she ordered a bowl of stewed pork belly to share.

Oh mah goodness! The spices made the stew sooooooo much better! So much warmer in terms of flavour, and so much more comforting.

My littlest one (Peighton) has claimed this to be her favourite pork dish. She can’t stop asking for more meat, and was slurping down her gravy. Our plates were clean that night, not a one piece of pork was left, and there I was hoping there will be leftovers for my lunch the next day! Lol!

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Thai Style Stewed Pork Belly

Delishar

500 g Pork Belly cut into 1/2 inch pieces
1 tbsp 5 spice powder
2 cinnamon sticks
2 coriander roots
5 cloves
1 tsp coriander seeds
1/2 tbsp white peppercorn lightly smashed
2 tbsp dark soy sauce
4 tbsp fish sauce or to taste
10 cloves old garlic smashed
2-3 tbsp palm or brown sugar or to taste
3.5 – 4 cups water
4 hard boiled eggs shells removed
Cilantro to garnish
Blanched xiao bai cai to serve

Bring 3.5 cups water to boil.
Put peppercorn, cinnamon sticks, cloves, and coriander seeds into herb bag
Add pork, garlic, corander roots, 5 spice, and spice bag into boiling water.
Bring to boil, cover and cook for 30 minutes on medium heat.
Skim off scum.
Season with fish sauce, dark soy sauce, and sugar.
Cover and cook for another 20 minutes.
Add some water if liquid evaporated too much.
Add hard boiled eggs and cook on low heat for 10 minutes.
Garnish with cilantro.
Serve with blanched xiao bai cai and steamed rice.

Use a sauce pan that fits all the ingredients snugly.
By using a wide pan or larger pan, the liquid will evaporate faster.
Adjust seasoning to taste. Always add less and adjust later.
Add some firm tofu for extra protein.

Stewed Pork Belly 2

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Hong Kong Style Steamed Cod – Delishar

Quick, simple, homely, and healthy. This is what this dish is about. A house favourite approved by both the young and old. Even my super picky elder daughter asked for 2nd serving after she reluctantly tasted it after some coaxing, although she didn’t want to admit to it. Our conversation went like a little something like this:

Mel: “Is this fish Mom? I don’t like it.”
Me: “Just try it, you just don’t remember if you like it or not.”
Mel: “Ooook. *took a bite* Ermmmm, mom. Can you please put more on my plate?! Like a bit piece. Because fish is really good for my brain, and I want my brain to grow. :D”
Me: “Riiiiiggghhhttt…”

What made this dish even tastier was that all the ingredients was delivered to me fresh from the wet market, while I ordered it from Market Fresh the night before. My personal shopper picked out the best and freshest ingredients at the wet market and delivered it right to my doorstep. Such a blessing because the next day, it was pouring! Imagine having to brave the rain, walk 15 minutes to the wet market, and then do over on the way back. Not to mention how crazy the markets can be when everyone is preparing for Chinese New Year!

The concept of Market Fresh is straight forward and simple. Order your fresh and dry produce their website, choose your delivery timing, and wait to receive your order. All fresh produce are kept chilled after the shopper purchased it from the market. You will get your order as given by the store vendor. I like it better this way as it means that my food is minimally handled to avoid contamination or damage.

Because wet markets are open in the day only, there is a cut off ordering time. 11.59pm the night before, for next day morning delivery. And 11.59am on the day itself, for same day evening delivery. Great if you want to cook dinner but don’t have time to go to be market in the morning!

Ordering from the website was easy. Click on the categories on the menu bar or use the search box on the top left corner to search for what you need. I clicked on seafood, and immediately found what I needed.

I really like that the website clearly shows what I’m getting and inform me of the weight of the product. There’s an option for me to fill in customised instructions as well. It’ll come in very handy when I need meat to be prepped a certain way by the store vendor. For example, I like my chicken breast boneless and skinless but will usually ask the vendor to pack the bones in a separate bag for me to make stock.

If any of your item is out of stock, your personal shopper will call you for alternative. Of course, you can also list it down in the instruction when you order as well.

One of the category caught my eye, and when I clicked on it I was impressed to see fresh noodles on the list of items! They have dried octopus, dried scallops, salted fish, etc… Umami, umami, umami!

At the shopping cart, I get to choose my delivery timing. 10am-12pm is perfect for lunch time prep, and 5pm-7pm is a good timing for dinner prep. Payment process was quick and simple. Orders below $99 will incur a fixed $7 delivery fee. BUT!!! Delishar’s readers get to enjoy free delivery regardless of order amount for your first order!! Use code ‘DELISHAR‘ during check out to enjoy free delivery.

Plus!! Market Fresh is giving away $88 store voucher to 2 Delishar readers! Details at the end of this post.

As I was browsing Market Fresh website, I saw this current CNY promotion that is on-going. Not a bad deal for all that’s included in the set! Good amount of quality ingredients that’s good for 4 pax and great for a hassle-free reunion dinner.

Although I did detour a little during my online wet market experience. I probably took about 10 minutes to complete my order, including window shopping time. That’s even faster than me going to the actual wet market, and I was on the bed in my PJs the whole time. Lol!

At about 11am the next day, my order arrived in a couple of plastic bags. It actually felt like I just got back from the wet market when I was carrying the bags into the kitchen! The items was still chilled when I took them out from the bag.

The greens are crisp and fresh, and the fish was packed with a bag of ice and wrapped up in news paper. This is a very good virtual ‘wet market’ experience! Me likey, and I know you will really enjoy it too! Let’s get to the amazing dish that will literally melt in your mouth and leave you yearning for more!

Hong Kong Style Steamed Cod

Delishar

Fish marinade

275 g cod fish steak
1 tbsp shaoxing wine
1/8 tsp salt
3 slices old ginger
green onion 6 2-inch pieces
dash of white pepper

Garnish

1 stalk green onion thinly sliced
1 tbsp thinly juilenned old ginger
Coriander leaves
Red chilli thinly julienned (optional)

Crispy Ginger

2 tbsp thinly juilenned old ginger
2 tbsp cooking oil

Sauce

1 tbsp light soy sauce
1 tsp fish sauce
1 tsp shaoxing wine
1 tsp sugar

Hot oil drizzle

1 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp canola oil

Rinse and pat dry fish steak, then place on heat safe dish/plate.
Pour shaoxing wine and salt on fish.
Place ginger and spring onion on top of the fish, and gently rub everything together.
Then place the spring onion and ginger to rest under the fish, and allow to marinate for 5 minutes.
Bring a steamer to boil on high heat.
Steam fish for 8 minutes on high heat.
Mix all the ingredients for sauce in a small bowl. Stir until sugar dissolve.
Heat 2 tbsp of cooking oil on medium high, and fry julienned ginger until golden and crispy.
When fish is done, pour sauce mixture over fish. Do not drain away the liquid from the fish, that makes the sauce as well.
Then garnish with fresh ginger, coriander, spring onion, chilli, and crispy ginger.
Heat 1 tsp sesame and cooking oil together.
Drizzle hot oil over garnish and fish. You should hear it sizzling.

Market Fresh is giving away $88 store voucher to 2 lucky Delishar reader! Just in time for you to use it for CNY preparations! Simply complete the giveaway widget below.

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