Showing posts with label Delicious Mains. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Delicious Mains. Show all posts
I confess I just made a real pig of myself. Seriously. I decided to update my old recipe for Simple Sesame Noodles. The photos on the original posting were not the best and I really wanted to make a better presentation.
This is such a simple dish, so quick and easy to make, plus it caters to my great love of pasta. I quite simply adore pasta and if it is as quick and easy to make as this dish is, I love it even more!!
Seriously, you have never met a quicker pasta dish to make and eat than this one. The timing depends on what type of noodles you decide to use. I used spaghettini today and they cooked to al dente in six minutes.
So this made for a really quick, ultra quick, super quick lunch indeed!
You can use whatever type of noodles you want to make this simple dish. The only requirement is that they be long, thin and rather fluid, ie. wiggly.
Anything like spaghetti, ramen, udon, spaghettini, linguine and the like works really well!
The strength of this dish lies in the deliciousness of the simple sauce/dressing which gets quickly mixed together to toss with the cooked noodles.
Its a little bit salty, a little bit sweet, a little bit spicy, a little bit tangy, and a whole lotta bit delicious!
WHAT YOU NEED TO MAKE SIMPLE SESAME NOODLES
For me this is just plain store cupboard ingredients, but then I have a whole section in my larder dedicated to oriental flavors.
- 1/2 pound (130g) long thinnish noodles, uncooked
- 2 1/2 TBS dark soy sauce
- 1 TBS sugar
- 2 fat cloves garlic, peeled and finely minced
- Hot chili oil to taste
- 1 TBS seasoned rice wine vinegar
- 1 1/2 TBS toasted sesame oil
- 2 TBS light sunflower oil
- 2 spring onions, trimmed and thinly sliced
As I said for the noodles, you want something which is long and thin. I used spaghettini, but any kind of long thin noodle works well.
Most of these ingredients can be found in the oriental section of the supermarket. They are very common ingredients. Make sure you use "toasted" sesame oil and not regular sesame oil. The toasted oil has a much richer flavor and color than the regular oil.
Rice wine vinegar is a mild flavored vinegar which is made from rice. It contains far less acid than other types of vinegars and I find that it has a somewhat sweet flavor, probably from the rice. It is also referred to as Rice Vinegar.
There is actually no alcohol in it. It is simply made from rice and is used extensively in Asian cooking. It is great in salad dressings. If you cannot find it a good substitute would be white wine vinegar or cider vinegar.
Don't confuse it with Japanese sushi rice vinegar, which is meant for use in making sushi and is highly sweetened in comparison.
Dark soy sauce is darker, thicker and a bit sweeter than regular or light soy sauce. It is used to flavor oriental dishes, but its dark color is also used to darken the color of oriental dishes.
It does contain more sodium than the light soy sauce, but it is a bit sweeter and that offsets any additional saltiness. Do bear this in mind when using it.
Toasted sesame oil is golden brown in color and the toasting helps it to develop a rich and nutty scent and flavor.
If you only have regular sesame oil, there is a great article on how to toast your own found here. Its not really that hard. I find it much more convenient to keep already toasted sesame oil in my larder rather than toast my own.
HOW TO MAKE SIMPLE SESAME NOODLES
Like I said, nothing could be quicker or easier than these simple tasty noodles! If you are like me, you won't be able to resist gobbling them up!
Place the soy sauce, sugar, garlic, rice wine vinegar, sesame oil, hot chili oil and sunflower oil in a jar with a tight light. Shake well together until amalgamated. Set aside.
Bring a large saucepan of salted water to the boil. Add the noodles and cook to al dente according to the package directions. Drain very well and return to the saucepan.
Shake the jar of sauce ingredients again really well and pour over the warm noodles. Toss to coat. Add the spring onions and toss again.
Serve immediately, or allow to chill and serve as a salad with your chosen protein additions. (shredded chicken, pork, cooked shrimps.) I like to reserve a bit of the spring onion to sprinkle over top of the finished noodles.
I am not sure what it is about these that makes them as moreish as they are. I can always make a huge pig of myself when these are on the menu! Perhaps it is the ease with which they go together?
I think more than likely it is just that they are impossibly delicious. I am not sure if this is called Unami or not. I can only say for sure that they are irresistible! Especially if you enjoy oriental flavors!
Simple Sesame Noodles
Yield: 4
Prep time: 5 MinCook time: 10 MinTotal time: 15 Min
Quite simply delicious. This goes together quickly and is very easy to make. Excellent served cold as a salad as well. Add some shredded cooked chicken or pork, or cooked baby shrimps.
Ingredients
For the noodles:
- 1/2 pound (230g) uncooked thin noodles, such spaghettini, linguine, vermicelli, etc. (today I used spaghettini)
For the sauce:
- 2 1/2 TBS dark soy sauce
- 1 TBS caster sugar (finely granulated)
- 2 fat cloves garlic, peeled and finely minced
- 1 TBS seasoned rice wine vinegar
- 1 1/2 TBS toasted sesame oil
- hot chili oil to taste
- 2 TBS light sunflower oil
- 2 spring onions, thinly sliced
Instructions
- Place the soy sauce, sugar, garlic, rice wine vinegar, sesame oil, hot chili oil and sunflower oil in a jar with a tight light. Shake well together until amalgamated. Set aside.
- Bring a large saucepan of salted water to the boil. Add the noodles and cook to al dente according to the package directions. Drain very well and return to the saucepan.
- Shake the jar of sauce ingredients again really well and pour over the warm noodles. Toss to coat. Add the spring onions and toss again.
- Serve immediately, or allow to chill and serve as a salad with your chosen protein additions. (shredded chicken, pork, cooked shrimps.)
I don't think I have ever made any secret of the fact that I love Tex Mex flavors and Mexican food. When I was in the UK it was always somewhat of a challenge to cook this type of food. When I first arrived it was impossible actually.
There was no such thing there. I credit a cook on Master Chef, Tomasina Miers for bringing Tex Mex food into the UK. It was much easier to find the ingredients when I left and there was actually a dedicated Tex Mex Section in every grocery store, where new items were being added all the time.
Tex Mex was not something I had grown up with. There were no Taco Bells in our area. Pizza came in when I was a young teen, and we had a local Chinese place, but that was as foreign as it got here in the Valley.
There was no McDonalds, A&W or Dairy Queen. We had small mom and pop types of restaurants, which served regular every day food. I remember it being very exciting when our Metropolitan Dept. Store at the mall got a lunch counter!
There was a small shack on the end of the Dodge Road that sold the best fish and chips. Hand cut fried and hand battered fish. They were so good. You couldn't sit in to eat them. You had to eat them in your car.
We had a local Tasty Twirl/burger shack place where you could get ice creams and fries, burgers, etc. I remember a Sub Shop coming in when I was in my late teens. I guess people around here were not all that in to foreign food!
Mind, eating out at all was considered a great luxury back then. People just didn't do it unless it was a special occasion. It didn't happen.
We are terrifically spoiled today with all manner of choice when it comes to eating and different cuisines. We have developed more cosmopolitan tastes, as we have travelled more. It is not at all unusual for a family to travel to Mexico or Cuba now. (Well more-so pre-Covid, not so much at the moment.)
We used to have a Taco Bell right here in this area, but it shut down a number of years back. Now the closest one is in Stellarton, several hours away. My son always stops there with his family and loads up on Tacos wheen they are coming to the Valley for a visit or going back to PEI.
If we want Mexican/Tex Mex food here, we have to make it ourselves. Thankfully these days that is not a problem as the ingredients are quite readily available, or at least some of them are. I have not yet seen masa harina or corn husks to make tamales from scratch, but I could be looking in the wrong place.
I had a quantity of leftover cooked chicken left (surprise surprise) and wanted to make something Tex Mex with it. I decided to make these quick and easy baked Chicken Tacos.
They are so quick to throw together. You can have them made, baked and on the table in about 20 minutes, ready to enjoy. Not only are they quick and easy, but they are also very delicious!
WHAT YOU NEED TO MAKE QUICK AND EASY BAKED CHICKEN TACOS
Just a few simple ingredients and you are well on your way to enjoying these. I keep most of these things in my store cupboard. I even keep avocado cubed and frozen in my freezer.
I have given the quantities for feeding two people, but have added the quantities to feed six people in brackets.
For the filling:
- 1 largish boneless skinless chicken breast poached and shredded (4)
- 1/2 can chopped green chilies (1 full can)
- 1 TBS liquid honey (1/4 cup/85g)
- 1/4 cup (30g) sour cream (1 cup/120g)
- salt and black pepper to taste
- 4 hard stand and stuff taco shells (10)
- 4 spoonful's (about 1/3 can) of refried beans (3/4 can)
- 4 TBS grated Tex Mex Cheese blend (10 TBS)
I like to use the hard stand and stuff taco shells as they are much easier to fill, to bake and to eat.
To serve, you will also need a variety of your favorite taco toppings. I like to top with sour cream, chopped spring onions, chopped tomatoes and avocado, and green tabasco sauce, but black olives are nice, as are salsa, guacamole, etc.
Just top with whatever taco toppings you enjoy!
HOW TO MAKE QUICK & EASY BAKED CHICKEN TACOS
Shred the chicken in a bowl and season lightly with salt and black pepper. Combine with the honey and green chilies. (You can poach chicken specifically to use in these, or you can use leftover cooked chicken, shredded. I like to shred it as it has a much nicer texture.)
Put the taco shells into the baking dish. Place one spoonful of refried beans into the bottom of each taco shell. Top with 1/4 (1/10th) of the chicken mixture. Sprinkle a TBS of grated cheese over top of each.
Place into the preheated oven and bake for 10 minutes, until the refried beans and chicken is heated through and the cheese has melted.
Serve immediately with your desired toppings. Today I used sour cream, spring onions, tomatoes and avocados, with a splash of green Tabasco hot sauce.
Some of my other favorites when it comes to Tex Mex flavors are Stacked Turkey Mexi Melts (can use chicken), Green Chili Chicken Enchiladas, Granny's Beef Enchiladas, and Slow Cooker Beef Tacos just to name a few. There is no shortage of Tex Mex on here.
My absolute favorite Tex Mex recipe has to be Crispy Tortilla Eggs. I could eat them every night of the week, they are that good!
In any case I do hope that you will give these Baked Chicken Tacos a try and that you will enjoy them. They are also a great way to sneak in some chopped vegetables if you are so inclined. Just chop up some onion, peppers, broccoli, spinach, etc. soften them and add them in with the chicken. I can guarantee your family won't mind a bit!
Quick & Easy Baked Chicken Tacos
Yield: 2
Prep time: 10 MinCook time: 10 MinTotal time: 20 Min
Deliciously quick and easy to make these chicken tacos are a real favorite. I have downsized to feed two people, but have put quantities to feed 6 people in brackets.
Ingredients
- 1 largish boneless skinless chicken breast poached and shredded (4)
- 1/2 can chopped green chilies (1 full can)
- 1 TBS liquid honey (1/4 cup/85g)
- 1/4 cup (30g) sour cream (1 cup/120g)
- salt and black pepper to taste
- 4 hard stand and stuff taco shells (10)
- 4 spoonful's (about 1/3 can) of refried beans (3/4 can)
- 4 TBS grated Tex Mex Cheese blend (10 TBS)
To serve: ( any or all according to taste)
- Chopped fresh cherry tomatoes
- chopped spring onions
- sour cream
- chopped avocado
- chopped black olives
- green tabasco sauce
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350*F/180*C/ gas mark 4. Butter a 7 or 8 inch square baking dish.
- Shred the chicken in a bowl and season lightly with salt and black pepper. Combine with the honey and green chilies.
- Put the taco shells into the baking dish. Place one spoonful of refried beans into the bottom of each taco shell. Top with 1/4 (1/10th) of the chicken mixture. Sprinkle a TBS of grated cheese over top of each.
- Place into the preheated oven and bake for 10 minutes, until the refried beans and chicken is heated through and the cheese has melted.
- Serve immediately with your desired toppings. Today I used sour cream, spring onions, tomatoes and avocados, with a splash of green Tabasco hot sauce.
This content (written and photography) is the sole property of The English Kitchen. Any reposting or misuse is not permitted. If you are reading this elsewhere, please know that it is stolen content and you may report it to me at: mariealicejoan at aol dot com Thanks so much for visiting. Do come again!
One place I loved to go to eat when I lived in the UK was a restaurant which specialized in Portuguese style rotisserie chicken. Oh my, but the chicken was so delicious!
I didn't get to eat there very often, because it was a bit on the pricey side. But you could also buy bottles of the sauce and marinade to use at home in all of the grocery stores. It was called Peri Peri Chicken.
I preferred the milder version because I am not one much for really hot sauces. I don't like my food to bite me back.
I think my age and the fact that I have digestive problems has a lot to do with that because I know that when I was younger this was not an issue with me. I didn't mind overly spicy food at all then.
Now, at my age, I suffer for it.
I discovered a recipe for a Portuguese Style Roast Chicken online the other day and I was keen to try it out. I printed out the recipe and put it on my to do list.
Their recipe cooks two chickens however and so I adapted it to cook only one chicken. I did not need two. I will have enough of a challenge eating one!
Mine came out quite a bit darker than theirs. I am thinking maybe my hot sauce was a bit different. Mine said thick sauce on the outside of the jar. Perhaps theirs was thinner.
In any case it ended up a beautiful mahogany color which was quite appealing I thought!
I also chose to roast mine on a bed of root vegetables, which sort of acted as a trivet. Parsnips, carrots, celeriac, swede/rutabaga.
I peeled and cut them into 1 inch cubes and placed them into the bottom of the roasting dish. Poured a bit of chicken stock over them so they would not dry out, and then placed the chicken on top.
These became lovely, juicy, caramelized . . . having absorbed some of the juices from the chicken. They also served to flavor the chicken a bit as well.
In all I think it was a most delicious idea. I highly recommend it. You can use whatever vegetables you enjoy.
WHAT YOU NEED TO MAKE PORTUGUESE STYLE ROAST CHICKEN
Except for the hot sauce, everything else is pretty simple.
- 1 whole roasting chicken (3 1/2 pounds/1.2 kg)
- 3 fat cloves of garlic, grated/minced
- 1 TBS paprika
- 1/4 cup (60ml) olive oil
- 1/4 cup (60ml) Frank's Red Hot sauce
- 1/4 cup (60ml) freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 2 TBS room temperature butter
- 1 1/2 tsp salt
- a variety of peeled and cubed root vegetables (about 2 cups)
- 1/4 cup (60ml) chicken stock
You want to buy the best roasting chicken that you can afford to buy. If you can afford to spend a bit more and get a free range, or an organic one, it really does make a difference.
I used celeriac (because I had some left from the other day), Swede (rutabaga), parsnips and carrots for my root vegetables. You could also throw an onion in there if you wanted to.
I just used salted butter because basically all I have in my house is salted butter. If a recipe calls for unsalted butter, I just leave the salt out that it calls for. I can't be bothered to, or afford to keep both.
HOW TO MAKE PORTUGUESE STYLE ROAST CHICKEN
In an ideal world we would all have rotisseries to cook our chickens on. We don't and so the oven had to do!
Preheat the oven to 425*F/ 220*C/ gas mark 7. Have ready a roasting pan large enough to hold your chicken and vegetables. Place the vegetables in the bottom of the roasting pan. Pour over the chicken stock.
Whisk together the garlic, paprika, olive oil, red hot sauce and lemon juice. Set aside.
Sprinkle 3/4 tsp of salt into the cavity of the chicken. Pour bout 1/4 cup of the sauce mixture inside the chicken, and then rub it all into the insides of the chicken. (Now you need to wash your hands to get rid of all that toxic chicken bacteria.)
Sprinkle the remaining salt on the outside of the chicken. Rub it in and then rub the surface of the chicken with the soft butter, taking care to cover every inch. Place the chicken on top of the vegetables.
Tie the chicken legs together and then rub/brush the remainder of the sauce all over the chicken to coat.
Roast for one hour. Loosely cover the top of the chicken with a sheet of foil. Return to the oven and roast for a further 20 minutes.
Remove from the oven and leave to rest for 15 minutes. Carve and serve with some of the roasted vegetables and some of the pan juices spooned over top.
I served it with some boiled baby potatoes and steamed brussels sprouts. You can't really make a gravy with this but the pan juices are really tasty. If you really need to have gravy I highly recommend my gravy recipe that you can find here. You don't need pan drippings for this version of gravy.
All in all this was really delicious. I can't wait to use the leftover chicken for some sandwiches, etc. It has a lovely flavor, not too spicy and very reminiscent of the chicken from that place in the UK. In short, I think you'll really enjoy it!
Portugese Style Roast Chicken
Yield: 4
Prep time: 20 MinCook time: 1 H & 20 MTotal time: 1 H & 40 M
A delicious homemade roast chicken similar to the style of Portuguese style roast chicken. Easy to make, tender, juicy and flavorful. This isn't too spicy. If you like more of a heat and spice kick you can add more hot sauce if you like.
Ingredients
- 1 whole roasting chicken (3 1/2 pounds/1.2 kg)
- 3 fat cloves of garlic, grated/minced
- 1 TBS paprika
- 1/4 cup (60ml) olive oil
- 1/4 cup (60ml) Frank's Red Hot sauce
- 1/4 cup (60ml) freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 2 TBS room temperature butter
- 1 1/2 tsp salt
- a variety of peeled and cubed root vegetables (about 2 cups)
- 1/4 cup (60ml) chicken stock
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425*F/ 220*C/ gas mark 7. Have ready a roasting pan large enough to hold your chicken and vegetables. Place the vegetables in the bottom of the roasting pan. Pour over the chicken stock.
- Whisk together the garlic, paprika, olive oil, red hot sauce and lemon juice. Set aside.
- Sprinkle 3/4 tsp of salt into the cavity of the chicken. Pour bout 1/4 cup of the sauce mixture inside the chicken, and then rub it all into the insides of the chicken. (Now you need to wash your hands.)
- Sprinkle the remaining salt on the outside of the chicken. Rub it in and then rub the surface of the chicken with the soft butter, taking care to cover every inch. Place the chicken on top of the vegetables.
- Tie the chicken legs together and then rub/brush the remainder of the sauce all over the chicken to coat.
- Roast for one hour. Loosely cover the top of the chicken with a sheet of foil. Return to the oven and roast for a further 20 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and leave to rest for 15 minutes.
- Carve and serve with some of the roasted vegetables and some of the pan juices spooned over top.
All of the content you see here on this page, both photography and written, are the sole property of The English Kitchen, Marie Rayner. Any reposting or misuse is not permitted. If you are reading this elsewhere, please know that it is stolen content and you may report it to me at mariealicejoan at aol dot com.
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