Chicken Satay

Ingredients:

• 4 chicken legs and thighs (preferred) or 4 chicken breasts (boneless and skinless)
• 1 tsp coriander powder
• 2 stalks lemongrass, chopped
• 6 shallots, peeled and chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 4 Tbsp cooking oil
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 2 tsp turmeric powder
• 4 tsp of kecap manis (Indonesian sweet soy sauce)
• 1 tsp oyster sauce
• Bamboo skewers, soaked in water for 2 hours to avoid burning (optional)

Method:

1. Cut the chicken meat into small cubes. The recipe suggests to grind the spices in a food processor to create a paste however I just mixed everything. You can also pound it if you have mortar and pestle.
2. Marinate the chicken pieces with the spice paste for 10-12 hours.
3. Thread the meat onto the bamboo skewers and grill for 2-3 minutes on each side. Serve hot with the fresh cucumber pieces and onions.

For the dipping sauce, please follow the satay peanut sauce recipe.

After 8 hours of marination

Grilled to perfection

Peanut Sauce

Greek Style Lasagna

I have been reading the recipe book my SIL gave me. And one recipe I found was this Greek style of doing the lasagna. Think feta cheese, olives, and all the works! Since I have pitted olives sitting in my cupboard, I decided to give this a go.

Ingredients:

• 1 pack of no-cook lasagna sheets
• 250 g ground beef
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic chopped
• 1 big can of tomato sauce
• 1 small can tomato paste
• 1/2 cup water/dry red wine/stock
• 2 Tbsp white sugar
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 tsp Italian Seasoning
• 3/4 cup feta cheese, crumbled

For bechamel sauce:

• 3 Tbsp butter
• 5 Tbsp flour
• 1 1/4 cups milk
• 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese

Garlic, onion and green olives

Feta Cheese

Oohhh layers of goodness!

Directions:

1. In a large skillet, heat olive oil. Saute onion and garlic then add the beef once the onions are tender. Cook over medium-high heat until browned. Drain half the oil.. Add olives, tomato sauce and tomato paste.  Season with salt, pepper and Italian seasoning. Simmer for 10 minutes then add the stock.

2. Using a sauce pan, melt the butter then add the flour. Mix in the milk and stir continuously until there are no lumps. Add the cheese and let it melt. Remove from heat after 3 minutes.

3. To assemble: Arrange 4 cooked lasagna noodles in the bottom of a baking pan, overlapping if necessary. Spoon 1/4 of the meat sauce over the noodles. Pour 1/4 of the bechamel sauce and top with 1/4 of the feta cheese. Repeat, ending with bechamel and a bit of feta cheese on top. Sprinkle with extra parmesan cheese.

4. Bake for 20-30 minutes at 180 degrees Celsius. Cut and serve with focaccia bread.

Lumpiang Shanghai

I had a hard time deciding what to cook for lunch because I only had ground meat in the fridge. Then I remembered, I wasn't able to eat Lumpiang Shanghai in Davao last month. Darn that tight schedule. So today, we're having Lumpiang Shanghai for lunch! :)

Ingredients

• 200 grams ground lean pork 
• 1 tsp onion powder (can use fresh medium onion, chopped)
• 1 carrot, grated 
• 1 tbsp soy sauce 
• 1 tsp black pepper 
• 1 tsp garlic powder 
• 1 tsp salt 
• 1 pc medium sized egg
• 20-30 pcs spring roll wrappers 
• 1 1/2 cup canola oil for frying 

Directions:

In a bowl, combine ground pork and shredded carrot. You can opt to use fresh onions instead of onion powder.  I only used onion powder because I don't like fresh ones :) It's better to use your hands when mixing the meat.

Using a smaller bowl, combine all the seasonings (soy sauce, pepper, garlic/onion powder, and salt). Mix well before adding into the meat mixture.  Add the egg and combine thoroughly.  Just a tip, try to fry a tablespoon of the mixture to try the taste.

Use a flat plate and lay out the wrappers. Place a tablespoon or two in a line on the center of the wrapper. The filling should be about half an inch thick and leave about half an inch space on both sides of the wrapper. Roll from one side up to the top sealing the roll but leaving the sides open.  Cut the rolls into 4 or 5 pieces depending on your liking.

Heat the oil on a heavy skillet. Make sure the oil is really hot to cook the rolls thoroughly, not just the wrapper.  When the lumpia turns brown, you can turn it over and cook for another 4-5 minutes. Serve with sweet and sour sauce and lotsa rice!

shredded carrots

Thick spring roll wrappers

Rolled and cut into small pieces

Crunchy spring rolls