Thermomix Mashed Potatoes

Ingredients:

1. 1000gm Russet potatoes (peeled and cut into pieces)
2. Approximately 800gm water
3. Sea-salt
4. Black pepper (optional)
5. 100gm Sunflower oil

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1. Place all ingredients inside TMX jug.

2. Set 30mins/100C/Speed 2.

3. Once the temperature reaches 100C, allow to cook for another 5 minutes before turning it down to 90C.

4. Once the mashed potatoes are done, set 5seconds/speed 3 to puree it.

5. Pour onto serving bowl and serve hot.

Bon appetit!

Baked Saffron Chicken Breast Strips

Ingredients:

1. 3 chicken breasts (cut into small pieces)
2. Sea-salt
3. A few strands of saffron
4. Black pepper (optional)
5. Oil

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1. Mix all the above in a mixing bowl and leave it to marinade in the fridge overnight.

2. Line a baking tray with baking paper.

3. Preheat oven at 230C.

4. Spread the marinated chicken onto the tray evenly.

5. Bake for 40 minutes or until golden brown.

6. Allow to slightly cool before serving.

Bon appetit!

Baked Saffron & Garlic Chicken

Ingredients:

1. 4 chicken chop (chicken thigh/drumstick deboned)
2. 6 cloves of garlic (outer layer removed and chopped into very fine)
3. A few strands of saffron
4. Juice of 1 lemon (you can omit this if you're on a low-salicylate diet)
5. Sea-salt
6. Pepper

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1. Mix all ingredients and marinate chicken with it.

2. Place in fridge for a few hours.

3. Preheat oven at 230C.

4. Line baking tray with baking paper.

5. Place the chicken chops on the baking tray (skins facing down).

6. Bake for 25 minutes.

7. Turn the chicken chops over (with skins now facing upwards).

8. Continue baking for another 25 minutes.

9. Serve with hot rice.

Bon appetit!

Baked Salted Butter Prawns

Ingredients:

1. 2kg of giant sized prawns
2. Sea-salt
3. 30gm butter (melted)
4. Black pepper (*optional)

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1. About a week before this meal is to be cooked, buy 2kg giant prawns fresh from the market.

2. Wash them throughly and then dry them.

3. Place them in a large bowl and season with sea-salt and melted butter. (If you are able to tolerate pepper, then add grounded pepper at this stage.)

4. Mix the prawns thoroughly with the seasonings.

5. Place them in a freezer bag and place in the freezer.

6. One day before you are to cook the prawns, take them out from the freezer and defrost them in the fridge.

7. Preheat oven at 180C.

8. Line a baking tray with baking paper.

9. Arrange the prawns on the baking tray.

10. Cook for approximately 15 minutes or until the prawns turn orange-red and thoroughly cooked.

11. Scoop onto serving dish and serve hot!

Bon appétit!

Christmas 2014 (Part Three): Empress Chicken

Ingredients:

1. 1 whole free-range chicken (with skin) - rubbed thoroughly with salt (and grounded pepper IF you can tolerate)
2. Sea-salt
3. Black pepper (*Optional)

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1. 2 to 3 weeks prior to the Christmas, buy a whole free-range chicken, fresh from the market.

2. Wash it thoroughly upon reaching home.

3. Then rub salt (and pepper if you are able to consume it). Use the salt liberally.

4. Then wrap it up and keep it in the freezer.

5. Two days or a day prior to the time you want to cook it, take it out from the freezer and defrost it in the fridge.

6. Fill a large pot with enough water to soak the chicken in it.

7. Boil the whole chicken for about 40 minutes.

8. Take the whole chicken out and drain the water from the chicken.

9. Line a baking tray with baking paper.

10. Preheat oven at 230C.

11. Bake the whole chicken for approximately 50 minutes.

12. Place the whole chicken on a serving dish.

Bon appétit!

Homemade Char Siew

Char Siew is also known as Chinese flavored BBQ pork. The parts that are used to make this dish are the pork loin, the butt (shoulder) or the pork belly. 

I usually ate this whenever I had Chinese chicken rice or wantan noodles from the restaurants or hawker stalls. After almost 6 years of not having this, I think I died and went to the heaven of char siew when I made this and ate it about 2 months ago. HAHA!

The char siew which is sold outside uses chinese wine, fermented red bean curd and some use the Chinese five-spice powder. All which I am unable to eat.

So here is my low-salicylate, gluten-free version.

Ingredients:

1. 1kg of pork belly (skin removed)

2. 1/4 cup of sunflower oil 

3. 1/2 cup of brown sugar

4. Tamari (wheat free soya sauce)

5. Sea-salt

6. *Sesame oil

7. *Grounded black pepper

*Ingredients 6 and 7 are high in salicylates. Omit them if you cannot tolerate them.

The amount of marination ingredients is up to you. Some like it sweet. Some don't. So experiment with the amounts until you are comfortable with the taste and flavour. 

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1. In a freezer bag, place the washed pork belly inside.

2. Pour all the ingredients onto the pork.

3. Seal the bag and mix all the ingredients until the pork is well coated. 

4. Place in freezer for about 2 weeks.

5. On the day or even the day before, take it out from the freezer and allow it to defrost in the fridge.

6. Line baking tray with baking paper.

7. Preheat over to 220C.

8. Place the well seasoned pork onto baking tray and bake for approximately 40 minutes or until golden brown.

9. Allow to cool before serving.

Bon appétit!

The Perfect Baked Not Deep Fried French Fries

I got this recipe from Gordon Ramsay's recipe book. I did not follow it 100%. He par-boiled the potatoes until they were just tender. My potatoes were still hard. But they tasted just like FRIES! *DROOL!*

Ingredients:

1. 10 large potatoes (washed, peeled and cut into thick french fries shapes)
2. Sea-salt
3. Black pepper (optional)
4. Sunflower oil

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1. Fill up a large pot and boil the water.

2. Once it is boiling, add the cut potatoes and boil for about 5 minutes.

3. Drain and pat dry the potatoes.

4. Preheat oven at 250C.

5. Line a baking tray with baking paper.

6. Lay a single layer of potatoes.

7. Drizzle some oil and sea-salt over the potatoes.

8. Mix the seasonings thoroughly with the potatoes.

9. Bake for approximately 40 minutes or until golden brown and crisp. Turn them a few times while baking.

10. Allow to cool before serving.

Bon appétit!

I re-baked it again and it was crispier. I had forgotten to take that picture as I was just too hungry!