Tag: main course
Chicken Bicol Express
Chicken Bicol Express
Bicol Express is named from a passenger train that travels from Manila to the Northern Bicol region of the Philippines, known for its spicy cuisine. Traditionally, this dish uses pork shoulder. This recipe uses chicken thighs; cutting down on the calories and the cooking time. This chicken is sautéed with garlic and onions, then simmered in coconut milk and Thai chilies. Mild finger chilies are added at the last couple of minutes of cooking time. This dish reminds me a lot of chicken ala king, which I grew up on; just with lots of spice. Serve with steamed rice.
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 medium onion chopped
- 6 garlic cloves minced
- 2 lbs boneless skinless chicken thighs
- 1 tbsp shrimp paste
- 2 cups coconut milk
- 10 thai chilies finely chopped
- 2 cups finger chilies (or shishito peppers) diced
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Heat up cooking oil in a large sauté pan over medium high heat. Sauté the onions and garlic for 3 minutes.
- Add in the chicken. Cook for 8 minutes.
- Stir in the shrimp paste, making sure that all of the chicken gets coated in it. Sauté for 2 minutes.
- Pour in the coconut milk and Thai chilies. Bring to a simmer, cover, and cook for 30 minutes.
- Uncover. Stir in the ginger chilies. Cook for 2 minutes.
- Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Muamba de Galinha (Angolan Chicken Stew)
Muamba de Galinha (Angolan Chicken Stew)
Muamba de galinha is a very popular dish in Central Africa and is considered the national dish of Angola. The chicken is seared in palm oil then stewed in a rich sauce of onions, tomatoes, garlic, habanero, and chicken stock. Stewing with the chicken is butternut squash. You can substitute pumpkin or sweet potatoes if you aren’t a squash fan. Okra is added towards the end. If you’ve ever cooked with okra, it can get kind of snotty. This will help thicken the stew. Serve with steamed rice.
Ingredients
Chicken Dry Rub
- 6 bone in chicken thighs or 1 whole chicken cut into pieces
- 1/2 lemon juiced
- 1 tsp white pepper
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp thyme
- 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
- 1/2 tsp chicken bouillon
- 1 tsp salt
Angolan Chicken Stew
- 1/4 cup palm oil
- 1/4 cup vegetable oil
- 1 large onion diced
- 6 garlic cloves minced
- 2 Roma tomatoes seeded and diced
- 1 tsp white pepper
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- 1 habanero
- 1 small butternut squash cubed
- 2 cups chicken stock
- 12 okra diced
- salt to taste
Garnish
- parsley chopped
Instructions
- Season the chicken with all of the spices. Make sure to rub some of the seasoning under the skin.
- Heat up palm and vegetable oil in a large Dutch oven over medium high heat. Add in the chicken thighs skin side down.
- Brown the chicken thighs for 6-7 minutes a side. Remove and set aside.
- Add in the garlic and sauté for 1 minute.
- Stir in the onions, tomatoes, habanero, white pepper, and smoked paprika. Sauté for 4-5 minutes.
- Add the chicken thighs back into the pot, along with the butternut squash and chicken stock. Bring to a boil. Cover. Reduce the heat to medium low and simmer for 30 minutes.
- Uncover. Turn the heat back up to medium high. Add in the okra. Simmer for 10 minutes.
- Season with salt.
Senegalese Fried Fish Balls
Senegalese Fried Fish Balls
Senegalese cuisine has it‘s roots from it’s bordering West African countries as well as North Africa, Lebanon, France, and Portugal. Being on the western coastline, Senegalese eat a lot of fish as part of a dietary staple. Traditionally, emperor sea bream is used for the fish. Most likely you are going to have a hard time finding this fish, so tilapia, swai, cod, catfish, or any other firm white fleshed fish will work. The fish will need to be finely chopped in order to get the right consistency of the balls. You can do this with a sharp chefs knife or pulsed a couple of times in a food processor. Mix all of the ingredients together and let rest for 30 minutes before balling up. I like to use a cookie dropper to make uniform fish balls. Rolls the first ball in flour and fry for 4-5 minutes a side.For making the sauce, sauté onions, green bell peppers, and tomatoes down for 8-10 minutes. Add a cup of water and cayenne pepper(depending on how spicy you want the sauce) and simmer for 5 minutes. Add in the fish balls and simmer covered on low for 15 minutes. Serve the fish balls with steamed rice. Garnish with more chopped parsley.
Ingredients
Fried Fish Balls
- 1 lb white fish fillets (tilapia, swai, cod, catfish) finely chopped
- 4 slices bread ground into breadcrumbs
- 1 large egg
- 2 green onions finely chopped
- 4 garlic cloves minced
- 1 jalapeño finely chopped
- 1/4 cup parsley chopped
- 2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 1/2 cup flour
- vegetable oil for frying
Sauce
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1/2 medium onion finely chopped
- 1 green bell pepper chopped
- 3 roma tomatoes seeded and diced
- 1 cup water
- 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Mix together the minced fish, breadcrumbs, egg, jalapeño, garlic, parsle, green onion, salt, and pepper. Let the mix rest for a half an hour before using.
- Using a cookie dropper, scoop up a heap of the fish mix and roll into a ball.
- Roll each of the fish balls in flour.
- You should yield about 16 fish balls.
- Heat up 1” deep of cooking oil in a large sauté pan over medium high heat. Add in the fish balls.
- Fry for 4-5 minutes a side until they are brown and crispy.
- Drain on paper towel.
- Heat up 2 tbsp of cooking oil in a large sauce pan over medium high heat. Add in the onions, green pepper, and tomatoes. Season with salt. Sauté for 8-10 minutes.
- Add in the water and cayenne pepper. Cover. Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium and simmer for 5 minutes.
- Add in the fish balls. Cover. Reduce the heat to medium low and simmer for 15 minutes.
- The sauce will thicken slightly. Add a little more water if you want a thinner sauce.
