I hope you can take another chicken recipe! Yes we do eat a lot of chicken in this house. No surprise there, it is quite economical and very adaptable.
You could probably eat chicken every day of the week and have it prepared in a different and delicious way each and every time. You can never have too many chicken recipes to my way of thinking!
I dare say I could write a book filled with chicken recipes alone!
I am always pushing the boundaries with this wonderfully versatile protein and adapting it to new flavours!
Because there are only two of us, I do like to buy free-range organic corn-fed chicken. I think it tastes better.
Especially if you are going to use it on its own, where the taste of the chicken really matters. Today I just used free-range as the chicken was going to be taking on a lot of other flavours.
I don't remember ever really having chicken very often when I was a child. We mostly ate red meat. I think chicken was much more expensive than other meats.
We might have a roast chicken once in a blue moon and every now and than my mother would treat us to chicken breasts that she would cook in the "Maryland" style. Dipped in egg and cracker crumbs and fried until golden brown. We loved them!
Of course they were "bone in". I don't think I ever recall seeing boneless chicken, or at least it was not as readily available as it is to us in these modern times!
We are a lucky people.
In this recipes, I have pounded boneless skinless breasts to an even thickness and then coated them with a panko breaded coating before frying them until golden brown and crisp.
Its important to try to get your chicken breasts to as much of an even thickness as you can so that they cook pretty evenly.
You don't really want parts of it cooking through much faster than others. It is done when the juices run clear.
I always start by cooking it "Presentation" side down first. This is the side that you will want facing up when you go to serve it. It is just what I was taught to do when I was at culinary school.
While it doesn't make much of a difference flavour wise, the side that gets cooked first usually ends up looking much better.
This is because when you put it into the pan the meat/fish/poultry will still be raw and malleable. For this reason more of its surface area will be touching the pan.
As it cooks the meat/fish/poultry will shrink up a bit and draw into itself, so that when you flip it over it won't lay as flat in the pan.
Also it will pick up some of the brown bits left in the pan from cooking the top side, so it can appear somewhat spotty. Just a little trick of the trade here!
You will love the sauce for this. It gets drizzled over the hot crisp chicken when you go to serve it. Its a bit spicy, but not overwhelmingly so.
It is also a bit sweet from the use of ketjap manis (Indonesian sweet soy sauce) and liquid/runny honey. I could eat this sauce with a spoon!
*Crispy Chicken Katsu Curry*
Serves 4
Printable Recipe
Crisp chicken with a finger-lickingly tasty nicely spiced sweet sauce. Serve with steamed rice.
For the Chicken:
4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves, pounded to an even thickness
salt and freshly ground black pepper
45g plain flour (1/4 cup)
2 medium free range eggs
125g of Japanese Panko, or other fine dried bread crumbs (1 1/3 cups)
60ml of vegetable oil for frying (1/4 cup)
For the sauce:
1 TBS medium hot curry powder
1 1/2 TBS plain flour
1 TBS oil
480ml water (2 cups)
2 TBS Kejap Manis (see my recipe)
1 TBS liquid honey
To serve:
Fresh steamed white rice
4 spring onions, light green and white parts, thinly sliced
To make the sauce. Whisk together the curry powder, flour and oil
in a saucepan until you have a paste. Slowly whisk in the water. Heat,
whisking constantly, until the sauce bubbles and begins to thicken.
whisk in the Kejap Manis and the honey. Taste and adjust as required, to
your desired heat or sweetness. Set aside and keep warm.
Season the pounded chicken breasts with some salt and pepper.
Place the flour on a plate. Beat the eggs in a shallow bowl. Place
the Panko into another shallow bowl. One at a time, dredge the chicken
breasts into first the flour, then the eggs, and finally the Panko,
coating them evenly and pressing the crumbs on to adhere. Set aside on a
lined baking sheet while you heat the oil.
Heat
the oil in a large frying pan until very hot, but not smoking. Add
the chicken breasts and reduce the heat to medium. Cook, turning once,
until the crumbs are golden brown and the chicken feels firm when
pressed in the centres, about four minutes per side. Adjust the heat
as needed so that the crumbs don't burn. Transfer to a cutting board.
I always cook extra chicken when I am doing the chicken part of recipes like this. I then freeze them individually and then wrap them up individually and pop them into a freezer container, ready to bring out whenever I want to make a quick supper.
I find that they come in they come in very handy! Bon Appetit!
About 20 years ago now, I met a lovely lady named Jacquie. It was when I was being taught by the Missionaries of the church I belong to. She and her husband Tom used to come with them on occasion when they were teaching me, and actually we became pretty good friends through the process. I love Jacquie and her husband. They are pretty wonderful people. I don't know what I would have done without their love and support during my first year in the church. They really took me under their wings when my life fell apart and did everything they could to help me. I will always appreciate the love and the care that they gave to me.
Jacquie was an Iridologist, Herbalist and Reflexoligist. Her house always smelled so wonderful, all herby and delicious. She gave the best foot massages and she could tell what was ailing you just from looking into your eyes. She also made the most amazing Tofu Burgers. I used to love being invited over to hers when she was making them for dinner. At first I didn't know what to think when she said she was having Tofu Burgers, but with one taste I was hooked. Ab fab, as they say!!
I was recently asked by the people at Tofuture if I would like to try out their Tofu Press. I immediately thought of Jacquie and her Tofu Burgers. How could I say no!
Tofu is one of the most versatile, healthy and delicious foods around, but to get the most out of it, you really need to press it. The unique and stylish Tofuture Tofu Press removes the water from unpressed tofu simply and effectively. The gradual nature of pressing will give your unpressed tofu the perfect texture and consistency enabling it to absorb gorgeous marinades or the beautiful flavours of the dish you are preparing.
It consists of three pieces. A white base. A green inner tub with a perforated bottom which allows for the water to drain out, and a lid which acts as a press. It has really strong elastic bands which clip down beneath those little white bits you see sticking out on the base, to hold it on and press down on the tofu, with three different levels of pressure.
Its very easy to use and comes with very clear instructions on how to use it.
Here you see my package of Tofu and the Tofu Press.
Remove the tofu from the packaging, draining off and disposing of any liquid. Place the block into the inner tub with the perforations and place that tub into the base.
Clip on the lid, by pulling the elastic bands down around the hooks and push the handles down to impart a continuous pressure on the tofu.
Now leave the press in the fridge for the desired amount of time, you don’t need to return to the press to increase the pressure half-way through the pressing time. The longer you leave the tofu, the better it will be pressed.
We recommend the following guideline pressing times depending on what you are making.
Short press, 15-30 mins – for ‘cheese’ sauce, ‘chocolate’ mousse or ‘cheese’cake
Medium press, 1-2 hours – for pasties, quiches and pies
Long press, 4 hours to overnight – for stir-fries, kebabs and baked tofu
I used a medium press for these burgers.
*Jacquie's Tofu Burgers*
Makes 10 servings
This delicious recipe comes from my longstanding friend Jacquie. I have enjoyed many of these in her home. They are fabulous!
1 pound tofu (firm)
160g quick oats (2 cups)
4 spring onions chopped
1 TBS each tomato ketchup, mustard, and Bragg's All Purpose Seasoning (can use Soy Sauce)
1/2 tsp garlic granules
1 tsp oregano flakes
salt and black pepper to taste
Oil for frying
Crumble
the tofu into a bowl, along with some of the water from the pressing
(only as needed to give you the right consistency). Add the oats and
stir well together. Mix together the onions, garlic granules, oregano,
seasoning and the ketchup, mustard and Braggs. Mix this into the
tofu/oat mixture until well combined. Have ready a large sheet of plastic
cling film. Dump onto the cling film and form a log. Roll the cling
film around the log, twisting at either ends like a Christmas cracker.
Tuck the ends underneath. Place in the refrigerator and let chill
overnight.
When you are ready to cook, slice off as many burgers as you are wanting, about 1/2 to 3/4 inch thick.
The press is compact and easy to store. The outer tub can also be used as a bowl for marinating your pressed tofu. To find out more about this nifty piece of kit, or purchase one, do check out the Tofuture website. There are recipes and tips and everything you need to know about the Tofu Press. You can also buy this press via Amazon in the UK, the US, Canada, Germany, France, the Netherlands, Belgium, Spain and Italy.
Follow their feed on Instagram
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Check them out on Facebook
Many thanks to Tofuture for sending me this Tofu press for the purpose of review. Very much appreciated. I was very impressed with the results and I am looking forward to using it in the future for all sorts!
Note - although I did receive a press free of charge, I was not required to write a positive review in exchange.
I have a bit of a fun recipe to share with you today. Foil Packet Chili Cheese Fries. They are simple to make, dirty no dishes, are easily portable and children love them. Perfect for when you are camping, at home or away.
Camping is not something I have done a lot of in my life, but I do love to cook out of doors. Food always tastes better when its cooked and eaten outside. I am not sure why that is, only that it is!
Children just love fun meals like this. They are so simple to do, that the kids can even put them together themselves.
The best part is no washing up afterwards, in fact you can even eat them right out of the foil packet.
You basically only need three ingredients, four if you count the spring onion garnish. Frozen chips (french fries) is the basic ingredient.
I like to use the thinner ones as they cook better in the foil. I buy the ones with the skin still on them, I think they are called "rustic" chips.
A can of Chili Con Carne. I use the Stagg Classic one. It is what I like. It has some meat in it and beans and is not too, too spicy.
You could also use leftover home-made chili, or a vegetarian one. Whatever floats your boat.
The third ingredient is cheese. I like the flavour of strong cheddar, but you could use jack cheese if you wanted to, or a milder cheddar. Just use whichever cheese you and your family enjoy!
Make sure you use a LARGE square of foil for each person. You will have to fit a fair amount into it and you will also want there to be enough room for the air to circulate around the food.
Spray it first with some non-stick cooking spray.
The chips go into these and then the foil is folded up around them. Pop them into the oven, onto the campfire or onto the BBQ grill and cook until golden.
Open the packets up, divide the chili amongst them, cover them again and pop them into/on for another short period of time, just to heat the chili.
Once the chili is all heated through (it won't take too long) open them up again and pile on the cheese. It should melt pretty quickly.
If not, pop back into the oven/onto the grill/campfire just long enough for the cheese to melt.
Scatter on some sliced spring onion and dinner is served. No fuss, no muss. Fun for everyone! One of my favourite memories from my childhood is from going on a Girl Guide Hike and cooking something very similar to this over an open fire.
I think it was called Hobo Dinner. It was so good!
You could add sliced hot dogs and make these chili cheese dog fries if you wanted to. The kids would really love that.
I would too, as far as that goes. I love hot dogs myself.
Now that the children are on summer holidays they will be really looking forward to spending time outdoors and these make the perfect dish to take with you to the campground or even just into the backyard.
Fun for everyone! Grilling out of doors is one of the many pleasures that families can enjoy together. Food from a hot outdoor grill and eaten out of doors always tastes better. You can find a really fabulous comprehensive list of the ten best camping grills here. https://www.globosurfer.com/best-camping-grills/ Do check them out!
*Foil Packet Chili Cheese Fries*
Serves 4
These
can be done in the oven or on top of the BBQ. Easy and delicious,
children love these. Who doesn't like their own little packet of food!
1 4-serving size bag of frozen chips (french fries)
1 (400g) tin of Chili Con Carne (1 pound)
(Your favourite kind)
120g grated strong cheddar cheese (1 cup)
3 or 4 spring onions, trimmed and finely sliced 
Take four large squares of heavy duty
aluminium foil. Spray them with non-stick cooking spray. Divide the
frozen chips between the squares of foil. Bring the foil up to enclose
the chips, on top and sides, leaving room for the air to circulate.
If
doing in the oven preheat the oven to 220*C/425*F/ gas mark 7. If
using the BBQ, warm it until it is moderately hot. If using the oven
place the foil packets on a baking tray and pop them into the oven.
Bake for 15 to 25 minutes until cooked. If using the BBQ grill, pop
them onto the grill and cook for 15 to 20 minutes until cooked.
These are sure to become a summertime/anytime favourite with the family. Almost reminiscent of the portable tacos in a bag that people make using chili and a bag of tortilla chips. I love summer/fun foods, don't you? Bon Appetit!
In the summer months, my mother always cooked extra potatoes so that she could make us a delicious potato salad to enjoy on hot summer days. I can remember her patiently standing at the counter peeling the potatoes, cutting them into small cubes. They would go into a bowl along with some cubed cucumber, chopped celery, chopped onions and chopped hard boiled egg . . . and some seasoning of course. She folded in a creamy dressing, made using Kraft Salad Dressing, and sprinkled the top with paprika. We loved it. We thought it was just perfect.
Today I am going to teach you how to make perfect meringues. Making meringues is probably one of the things that can strike fear into even the most seasoned of cooks.
Yes, they can be a bit tricky and a bit temperamental, but if you follow my tips and guidelines there is no reason why you can't be a great meringue maker. Crisp on the outside and as light as air!
Making meringues is not a process that can be rushed. Slow and steady always wins the race here. A few of my tips to help you get perfect meringues is to always use room temperature egg whites. Also use older eggs.
Older, room temperature egg whites give you a lot more volume. Fresh egg whites just won't beat up the way you want them to. Make sure your eggs are at least a week old.
You also always want to make sure your beaters and bowls are
scrupulously clean and grease free. That's why I always use a glass
bowl.
I always use an electric hand whisk. Its easier to control the speed with an electric hand whisk. I always start off at a low speed and then increase it incrementally . . .
So here you have my egg whites, in a clean bowl, at room temperature. I start on low and slowly beat, until they start to look opaque, and only then do I advance to a medium speed.
Egg white contains chains of proteins that need to stretch slowly so they trap optimum air. If you beat them too fast, you risk snapping some of the chains permanently, making an unstable foam that’s likely to collapse when you add the sugar.
Continue to whisk at medium speed, until they double in volume and resemble a white fluffy cloud. You don't want them to look dry.
Only after they reach this stage do you start to add the sugar. Again slow and steady wins the race. I use caster sugar, which is a fine grained granulated sugar.
It makes for a much stabler mixture and creates crisp on the outside, soft on the inside meringues. If you don't have caster sugar, you can whirr regular granulated sugar in a food processor until it is finer.
Add the sugar a bit at a time while you continue to beat the egg whites. I add it a spoonful at a time, which gives it a chance to melt into the egg whites.
Once you have all the sugar in you will have a white glossy billowy mixture like what you see in the above photo. Thick and glossy, but again, not dry.
The general rule of thumb is that you will use an equivalent weight of egg white and sugar. I like to use half caster and half icing/confectioners sugar. (Powdered sugar)
I fold the confectioners sugar into the whites, in thirds, making sure its well incorporated also. It should look roughly like this, with no lumps or bumps.
Its ready now to spoon onto a baking tray. Line your tray with baking parchment. The chemistry in meringues, which is means they are high in sugar, means that they want to stick to things.
I find that using a silicone baking sheet liner or baking parchment works the best. Make sure you leave plenty of space between them as they will puff up as they bake and you don't want them to end up touching each other.
You want the air to be able to move freely around them. This is also when I sprinkle on any nuts if I am using them.
Bake them again, long and slow. At a low temperature. This allows the meringues to bake without over-colouring.
They should be mostly white or at the very least a very light tan colour when they are done. Baking them at a higher temperature means that they will darken in colour and you won't get that nice crisp exterior with that soft mallow-like centre.
When done they will be as light and fluffy as air, with a beautifully crisp exterior. They might crack a bit, but that's okay. Its only when you make larger ones that they really crack.
The smaller ones might not crack at all. If you tap them on the bottom they will sound hollow. They will be barely coloured at all.
Perfect meringues are beautifully light and crisp and wonderful on their own, but are especially lovely when served with fresh fruit and cream.
Today I served them with some fresh Scottish raspberries and some of the clotted cream I had left from the other day . . .
These make a beautiful dessert, simple and very light . . . especially after a heavy meal. You are eating crisp sweet air . . .
You don't need to sweeten your berries or your cream, The meringues are sweet enough and will go beautifully with the tartness of the fruit and the creamy richness of the cream.
This is pure and simple . . . a dessert confection created in heaven. Bliss, pure and utter bliss . . .
*Perfect Meringues*
Makes 16
These are perfect. Billowy and sweet.
4 large free range egg whites, at room temperature
115g caster sugar (9 1/2 TBS)
115g icing sugar, sifted (14 TBS)
Preheat your oven to 100*C/200*F/gas mark 1/4. Line several baking sheets with baking parchment paper. Set aside.
Put
the egg whites into a large scrupulously clean GLASS bowl. Beat on
medium speed with an electric whisk until the mixture resembles a
fluffy cloud. Increase the temperature and start adding the caster
sugar 1 spoonful at a time, beating 3 to 4 seconds after each addition.
The mixture should be thick and glossy when done. (Note, if you don't
add the sugar slowly, your meringue will weep later on, and we don't
want that.)
Sift 1/3 of the icing sugar over
top and fold in with a metal spoon. Repeat until all of the icing sugar
has been folded in. You should have a thick smooth, billowy almost
snow-drift type of mixture now.
Using two spoons dollop the mixture onto the prepared baking sheets in oval shapes, or simply just dollop into rounds.
Bake
in the preheated oven for 1 1/2 to 1 3/4 hours. They should sound crisp
when tapped on the bottom, and will be a very pale tan colour. Cool on
wire racks. You can store these in an airtight tin for up to two weeks,
or freeze for up to a month.
Beautiful put together in pairs with whipped cream.
I really hope you will try making some meringues soon. I am fairly confident that if you use my hints tips and method, you are sure to have success with them! If you do, be sure to come back and let me know. Even if you don't. Perhaps I can help. In any case, Bon Appetit!
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!
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