Grilled Honey Chicken

Grilled Honey Chicken

Recipe source :  The Star Newspaper :  Cook's Nook ( Amy Beh )

Given a choice, I would not choose chicken white meat as I had been "conditioned" to think white meat is tough and coarse, even though the health conscious would most certainly opt for white meat rather than drumsticks which are considered "fatty". However, during one of our office lunches, I asked my friends to order on my behalf as I would be joining them later. When my order arrived, I was served a plate of grilled white meat with an assortment of vegetables and fries. That platter looked very appetising and very soon I forgot all about my misconception about white meat because the chicken was not tough at all and very tasty.

Well, that platter of white meat certainly changed my view! So, when I browsed through my scrap book of recipes and came across this lovely recipe on grilled honey chicken, I wanted to try it out. 

This is great! Everything tastes wonderful!

Ingredients

350g chicken fillet
1 can pineapple rings
2 tomatoes, cut into halves

Marinade

1 1/2 tbsp honey
1/2 tbsp oyster sauce
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1/4 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp French mustard
1 tbsp olive oil

Method

1.  Combine all the marinade ingredients in a mixing bowl. Add chicken fillet in the marinade and set aside for several hours in the refrigerator.
2.  Brush a grill pan lightly with oil and grill the marinated chicken for 8 to 9 minutes on each side or until the meat is cooked. ( Alternatively, grill in a preheated oven at 220 degree C for about 10 minutes on each side or until the meat is cooked ).
3.  Grill the pineapple rings and tomatoes halves until just soft. ( I used the left-over marinade to brush the pineapples and tomatoes before grilling ).
4.  Serve the grilled chicken meat with grilled pineapple rings and tomatoes halves. 

Pork Adobo With Pineapple

Pork Adobo With Pineapple

Recipe source :  Filipino Style Recipe

I love pineapples and I love pork. So when I saw this pork adobo with pineapples I just had to try it out, especially when the cooking instructions are simple to follow. 

Ingredients

500g pork, cut into serving pieces
1 cup pineapple chunks
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup vinegar
1/2 cup pineapple juice
6 cloves garlic, crushed
1 onion, sliced into rings
1 tsp peppercorns
3 pieces bay leaves
2 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
2 cups water

Pork slices

Pineapple slices

Peppercorns

Garlic

Onion

Bay leaves

Instructions

1.  Combine pork, garlic, bay leaves, peppercorns, soy sauce and pineapple juice. Marinate for 30 minutes.
2.  Place the pork and spices into a pot. Add 2 cups water and simmer for 30 minutes or until the pork pieces are tender.
3.  Pour in vinegar, pineapples and onion rings and simmer for another 5 to 10 minutes.
4.  Add salt and sugar to taste.
5.  Remove from heat and transfer to serving bowl. 

I am submitting this post to Asian Food Fest  : Philippines

Hosted by Swee San of The Sweet Spot

Pineapple Cheese Pie 凤梨乳酪派

Pineapple Cheese Pie 凤梨乳酪派

Recipe source :  Y3K Issue No. 55 7/8 2010


The original recipe used store-bought pineapple jam. I have some pineapple jam leftover from making pineapple tarts, so I used it for making this pie. 

We like this cheese and pineapple jam pie. I think it is a great combination.

Thumbs up!

Ingredients

380g medium protein flour
200g butter
80g icing sugar
1/4 ts salt
1 egg yolk

Filling B

200g pineapple filling or home-made pineapple jam

Filling C

250g cream cheese
80g castor sugar
2 eggs, beaten
1/4 tsp salt
60ml fresh milk

Utensils

An 11 inch pie-dish

Home-made pineapple jam

Method

1.  Mix A to form dough. Keep chilled for 30 minutes. Remove from fridge. Fit into a pie-dish. Trim off excess pastry. Spread filling B on the surface.
2.  Beat ingredients C till smooth. Pour into No. 1
3.  Bake in a preheated oven at 150 degree C for 30 minutes or until golden. 

I used an 8 inch pie-dish instead of an 11 inch pie-dish. 
So I used the remaining ingredients to make another five small tarts

These are delicious!

I am linking this to Little Thumbs Up

The theme for January 2014 is Cheese, 
hosted by Alice of  I Love. I Cook. I Bake

This event is organised by Zoe of Bake For Happy Kids 
and Doreen of My Little Favourite DIY

I am also linking this to Cook-Your-Books #8
Organised by Joyce of  Kitchen Flavours

Cookies : Pineapple Rolls 黄梨卷

Cookies : Pineapple Rolls 黄梨卷

Recipe source :  Pineapple jam - Doris Choo

Pineapple tarts are ever popular with my children. No matter how much I made they would all disappear pretty fast. In fact these pineapple tarts seldom make it to the first day of the Chinese New Year! Sometimes I just have to resort to hiding a jar or two of these cookies just so that I have some pineapple tarts to serve to our guests during the Chinese New Year!

Last year, my pineapple tarts were made into pineapple shapes using a cookie cutter. The pastry for last year's pineapple tarts was not as pliable and I cannot use that recipe to make the dough into rolls. Today I shall make pineapple rolls using a brand new pump which I bought recently. And this pump comes complete with a recipe at the back of the package. So this saves me time to google for more recipes. 

Pineapple rolls are comparatively easier to make because I do not have to shape the pineapple jam into rounds and then decorate strips of dough atop the pineapple jam. I remember this process took up much of my time.  With this pump, All I need to do is to just squeeze out the dough into strips and placed some pineapple jam in the centre and just roll it up. It's so much more convenient!

The pump for making tart rolls. 
This comes with a recipe at the back of the package!

Last year's pineapple tarts cut into shapes of pineapples 

Ingredients for pastry (recipe source : back of this package of pump that I bought)

250g butter
450g plain flour
60g icing sugar
2 egg yolks

Mix all the ingredients together to form a soft dough. Add a little bit of pineapple juice or water if the dough cannot bind.

Ingredients for Pineapple Jam

250g  homemade pineapple jam

For glazing

1 egg yolk lightly beaten

Method

1.  Place the soft dough into the pump and press out strips of dough about 3 to 4 inches long.
2.  Place half a teaspoon of pineapple jam in the center of the strip. Fold up both ends to make a roll.
3.  Brush with beaten egg yolk. 
4.  Place on a baking tray and bake at 180 degree C for 15 minutes or until golden brown.

Before glazing with egg wash

 

I am submitting this post to Bake Along - Chinese New Year Cookies

hosted by Zoe of Bake For Happy Kids, Lena from Frozen Wings and Joyce of Kitchen Flavours

Pork & Pineapple Red Curry (Gang Mu Tay Po) 泰国猪肉黄梨咖哩

Pork & Pineapple Red Curry (Gang Mu Tay Po) 泰国猪肉黄梨咖哩

Recipe source :  Adapted from Appon's Thai Food

November is going to be a spicy month for my family! I have bookmarked many more Thai dishes to try out. I believe my family is looking forward to them as well, as we love hot and spicy food. 

I have always love pineapples, either eaten fresh as a fruit, or made into sweet desserts or cooked into savoury dishes. One of my friends once commented that having pineapples in a savoury dish, makes the dish "exotic". I tend to agree as I think this pork and pineapple red curry look rather exotic. 

It sure looks exotic and tastes scrumptious! What a wonderful dish!

Ingredients

500g pork shoulder, cut into thick pieces
300g pineapples, cut into thick slices
450g snake beans, cut into sections of 4 cm
2 limes, extract the juice
250ml coconut milk
4 pieces kaffir lime leaves
700ml water
2 tbsp sugar
100g Thai red curry paste
1 tsp soya sauce

 

 Kaffir lime leaves and limes

Snake beans

 Pineapple cut into slices

Thai red curry paste

Instructions

1.  Heat wok and fry the Thai red curry paste for 1 minute.
2.  Add coconut milk, water and kaffir lime leaves. Bring to a boil.
3.  Add pork pieces, pineapple slices and snake beans.
4.  Add in the lime juice, sugar and soy sauce.
5.  Continue to boil until the meat is tender, about 20 minutes.

I am submitting this post to Asian Food Fest  (Thailand) - November Month
hosted by Lena of Frozen Wings

Cherry Tomato & Pineapple Salsa 番茄黄梨沙律

Cherry Tomato & Pineapple Salsa 番茄黄梨沙律

A great combination of sweet, sour and more 

This may not be the traditional fare to serve during the Chinese New Year open houses. However, if you have multi-racial guests and visitors coming to join in the celebration, you may want to reconsider your options.This is light and very refreshing. The plus point is, no cooking is involved! Something different from the norm.

Ingredients

 

150g ripe pineapple ( about 1 cup ), cut into small cubes
225g cherry tomato ( about 1 1/2 cups ), cut into small cubes
1/3 of a large Bombay onion, finely chopped
3 -4  chilli padi, remove the seeds and finely chopped
2 stalk coriander leaves, finely chopped
4 small limes, squeeze out the juice
2 tbsp olive oil
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp sugar
a dash of black pepper

Some crackers or potato chips

Instructions

 

1. Combine all the ingredients in a large bowl and mix well. Set aside for at least 5 minutes to allow the flavours to blend and develop.
2. Stir and place into serving bowl surrounded by crackers of your choice or potato chips.
3. Serve immediately. Enjoy ! 

Pineapple 黄梨

Pineapple 黄梨

There are a few varieties of pineapples grown locally in Malaysia. I like this variety the best because of its sweet, juicy and succulent flesh. The flesh can be eaten raw or made into juice or even cooked with meat, seafood and even curry. I always stick to this variety and nothing else.

I bought this pineapple for RM2-50 at the wet market two days ago. It hadn't fully ripen and I  have decided to keep it for two more days before eating it and it turned out beautifully.

One look at the pineapple I know it was harvested less than 24 hours ago. The crown looked firm and the leaves green and fresh. The stem at the bottom was firm and the base of the stem where it was cut remained white and fresh. I pressed the pineapple to see if any part was dented and it felt firm all over. As you can see only the bottom section has ripen to a dark orange hue. The farmers won't wait until the whole fruit has ripen before harvesting because the pineapple has got a short storage period of about 7 days.

A newly harvested pineapple

See how fresh and firm it is

With some of the eyes removed

With all the eyes removed

Cut in cross section

 

Is is extremely sweet and juicy

Cookies : Pineapple Jam Melting Moments 黄梨曲奇

Cookies : Pineapple Jam Melting Moments 黄梨曲奇

 

A plate of pretty golden rosettes topped with pineapple jam

I was searching for cookie recipes which use pineapple jam when I came across this recipe which mentioned about using 'bake-stable' jam. I suppose that meant the jam will not melt and can retain its shape at high temperatures during baking.

Ingredients

250g butter, softened at room temperature
50g icing sugar
250g  plain flour
60g cornflour

Filling 

 

150g pineapple jam

You can read up my previous post on making  pineapple jam

Instructions

 

1.  Preheat oven at 160C.
2.  Beat butter and icing sugar until creamy.
3.  Add in the sifted flour until well combined. Do not over mix the dough.
4.  Spoon the mixture into a piping bag with a fluted nozzle or use a cookie press to pipe rosettes into tiny patty cases until the patty cases are three-quarter full. Arrange the patty cases onto a baking tray.
5.  Pinch a small amount of pineapple jam and roll into a small ball about the size of a green pea.
6.  Put the ball of pineapple jam onto of the rosette/dough. 
7.  Repeat the process until all the dough and pineapple jam are used up.
8.  Place the baking tray into a preheated oven and bake at 160C for 20 to 25 minutes, or until golden.

 Beat the butter and icing sugar by hand using a large mixing bowl and a long wooden spoon

Using a cookie press to pipe rosettes into patty cases

Looks pretty and tasty too!

Cookies : Pineapple Tart 黄梨逹

Cookies : Pineapple Tart 黄梨逹

 Great tasting pineapple tarts

It's hard work cutting and grating the pineapples and then cooking it over a slow fire to turn it into  jam but it is well worth the effort you have put into its making when you finally get to eat it. It's truly different from the pineapple tarts sold commercially. My children love home-made pineapple tarts. Even SK, who isn't a fan of cookies and biscuits in general enjoys eating home-made pineapple tarts or any other home-made cookies.

Ingredients For Pineapple Jam

1.2 kg pineapples (net weight, after removing the skin, the crown and the eyes )
120g sugar ( adjust the amount of sugar to suit your preference )
1 tbsp butter
1 piece cinnamon bark  ( about 4 cm )
6 cloves
1/8 tsp salt

Instructions For making Pineapple Jam

1.  Cut the pineapple into thick slices. Use a grater to grate the pineapples into a mushy pulp
2.  Put the grated pineapple into an enamel pot and add in the spices, sugar, salt and butter
3.  Cook over a slow fire and stir constantly to prevent burning 
4.  Cook until the pineapple becomes dry and has turn into a dry jam-like mass.
5.  Cool completely before use 

Note 1 :  If the pineapple is ripe, you do not have to add too much sugar. On the other hand, if the pineapple is half-ripe, you have to add more sugar, otherwise the jam will turn out sour
Note 2  : You can prepare the pineapple jam a few days in advance and store it in a covered container in the refrigerator.

A grater with interchangeable multiple grating surfaces

The pineapple jam is dry and golden brown

Ingredients For the Tarts

500g butter (softened)

1000g multi-purpose flour

2 tsp salt

2 eggs (beaten)

8 tbsp water (you can use pineapple juice instead of water)

Making The Pineapple Tarts

1.  Sieve the flour into a large mixing bowl

2.  Sprinkle the salt into the flour and mix well

3.  Add in the butter, beaten eggs and knead to form a dough. After that add in the pineapple juice or water one spoonful at a time and knead to make a softer dough. You may not require all the 8 tbsp of pineapple juice if the consistency of the dough is soft and smooth. Make sure the dough is not too wet and sticky.

4.  Take a portion of the dough and roll out into a large rectangle about 4 mm thick

5.  Use a cookie cutter to cut into the desired shapes

6.  Top up with pineapple jam
7.  Brush the bottom of a baking tray with butter and place the cookies on it to be baked.

8. Bake at 180 degrees C for about 15 to 20 minutes or until golden brown.

My collection of cookie cutters

 Home-made pineapple tarts in a container