YESTERDAY I made the all-famous chicken green peppers (actually, mine were red) in blackbean sauce with rice and peas. Eggfried rice I try later today...
Here's how I did it.
Ingredients:
(SERVES ONE:~~)
1 lb (about 450g) boneless chicken breast
One red bellpepper
One jar Sainsbury's own blackbean sauce
One sachet Uncle Ben's boil in bag basmati rice (this actually serves 2 so if you are sad and lonely like me just save 2nd half in fridge for tomorrow)
Stork Margarine for frying (check that the marge you use has at least 60% fat content; otherwise you'll end up with a pan full of spitting oilwater which needs frying off first. Posh people with cooking oil already in their houses are better off using that...)
Handful frozen peas.
(I added peas to the rice as boiled is so boring...)
Originally I tried to have the rice boiling and the chicken frying simultaneously. However, after a brief burst of heat and ten minutes with neither pan coming to boil I realized my cooker fuse must have gone yet again!
Desperately I sought out a butterknife to undo plug.
Philips crew on plug too fine for my knife.
Eventually I used chicken-chopping knife to open out plug.
Removed fuse. Toyed briefly with idea of placing tinfoil in its place. Whole idea seemed too dangerous so I replaced fuse and tried again with just one electric ring on.
Yes. It worked. Boiled "in-bag" rice for ten minutes. Five minutes into this add a handful of frozen peas. Do this bit by bit over about a minute and their frozenness won't impair the boiling process.
Drain rice and peas pan.
Chicken:
Cut it into thin chopstick-manageable strips.
I was shocked how much like smoked salmon the raw chicken appeared, and how easily my characteristically blunt knife sliced on in! My hands were left really sticky from handling this meat. But I licked them clean soon enough (joke!) In fact I was so paranoid about having handled raw chicken everything that had been near it got treble washed with a brand new scrubber!
Bring oil to boil first and chuck chicken straight in.
Fry for a good ten minutes until browning very slightly. In the takeaway (and remember this is authentic takeaway food, not authentic food from China!) they never spice Chicken in the wok (or pan if you're me) because the flavouring's in the sauces which come on last.
When you're sure chicken's thoroughly cooked (test by cutting the biggest bit) add chopped bellpepper. One pepper per portion is required. Fry for two minutes.
Add enough blackbean sauce to totally cover entire contents of pan (about a quarter or third of a jar (if you're stingy you can add less and top up with water (would I do a thing like that?))) Cook in for about 2 mins.
~Arrk! Nearly forgot. Added tiny pinch chili at end of chicken/peppers cooking.
Eat.
Seriously I am not that easily impressed especially by my own "culinary" efforts but what I conjured last night was JUST THE SAME as the local Chinese for a THIRD of the price.
Wooooh!!
*
FRIED RICE: does anybody have a good recipe for this?
Do you fry straight-from-the-packet rice directly in oil?
Or do you cook rice first in water?
Here's a recipe for mixed vegetable fried rice but it states rice should be cooked first. The Chinese recipes I dug up yesterday (eg this one) seemed to imply raw rice should be fried... can you really do this?
SOMEONE PLEASE HELP!!!
14 comments:
I love your knife/screwdriver! My sort of DIY that is.
I'm glad your meal was such a success. You must keep us informed and tell us which sauces really taste like the takeaway. I bought a jar of chipshop curry sauce once and it didn't taste like chipshop curry sauce.
That's an amazing description of your OD. Keep battling, gleds. Life is good and precious and so are you.
I think I've worked out how to stop your blog freezing on me so I should be able to visit more often again.
Interesting Putin clip--can a Hillary one be far behind?
Happy New Year. Thanks for stopping by "Stuffed Animal Tales."
Not sure if this is how you're supposed to make egg fried rice but it works for us.
Boil your rice then drain and leave to dry.
Beat the egg(s) and stir fry quickly but don't overcook they should be still a bit sloppy.
Add the rice and heat through. I add a few frozen peas as well to give it a bit of colour.
Let me know if you try it but don't blame me if you don't like it will you? :)
I would watch videos of you cooking. It sounds most entertaining. Improvising is the only way to cook!
"Cooking With Gleds"
This is the recipe I use but it feeds four or more depending on appetites. You can adjust it for smaller portions easily enough.
Fried Rice
4 cups cold cooked rice
2 slices ginger
4 eggs
1/2 cup frozen peas
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 green onions
4 tablespoons oil
Heat oil and sweeten with the ginger. Scramble eggs in oil and add the rice. Stir fry until the grains separate; add peas, salt, and soy sauce. Stir fry meat, shrimps and onion and add to other mixture. Stir fry until combined and serve.
You cooking exploits are becoming daring and sound quite tasty!!
Loved the 'baby' pictures - they are adorable!
Happy New Year!!!
Wow! That looks wonderful! You wouldn't have had too much rice if you'd invited me over!!!!
Great job on the photo!
Liz: Can you explain what you did to get my blog back properly? Or is it one of those things you have to show someone if so I wouldn't blame you for not being able to explain. I remember not knowing what a "toolbar" was...
Re sauces that Sainsbury's one was AS GOOD as the Chinese takeaways. Also had the distinctive slightly burnt flavour. Really good and cheap. 71p for about half a litre.
Hobbes: IF Hills gets into power she will become a global icon. Of comedy, entertainment everything. That much is for sure. After all she is the most prominent 1st lady of the 20th century along with Nancy Reagan. The Bush women barely registered over here
Akelamalu: Do you know what I think that IS what those crap recipes meant but didn't explain. I fried up the remnants of that boiled rice from last night this morning and it was perfect. Also I added rice LAST, AFTER the vegetables stir-fry so it came out nice
Jim: I might start youtubing them once I get out of that craphole and can live somewhere with properly locking doors, broadband, satellite TV etc... hmmm that seems a distant fantasy yet to most people it is normality
Kahshe: I am going to try that eggscrambling thing tonight! thanks
Real Live: aha! I have an admission: that was a stock internet illustration got from googling "chicken black bean" on images...sorry. mine was far better than THAT I can assure you haha!
I am so thrilled to see you are cooking Asian food now! Well done! You can make "fried rice" with any vegetables you've got. Basically, it's a dish that was made with left-over rice and stuff people had lying around. You can add small shrimp, or shredded left-over roasted meat too if you like. Spring onions go well, peas, bean sprouts... really, anything. It's easy because the concept is always the same. Fry your vegetables in the wok first, add the seasoning and rice and heat through.
I like Kahshe Cottager's recipe a lot.
Nicole: yes it is a good recipe. I bought Chinese 5-spice (only thing I could find containing Star Anise; but 5-spice is v heavy on ginger)... also I far prefer the American "cups" system I am going to try and find some they are far more practical than shoving everything on scales (I think)... spring onions v good idea (more exotic, yeah!)...
I haven't tackled that old wok yet but... you know people say about woks you should NEVER put detergent on them and ALWAYS coat in oil... if I start bicarbing it/or soaking it won't it go rusty?
Glad it worked for you but you do know you have to be careful about reheating rice don't you. I'm not sure you're supposed to leave it overnight! :(
Anyway you're still here writing so it must have been OK. :)
I've heard you have to be careful leaving rice too long in the fridge as it can grow a fungus... which is uniquely "rice" food poisoning, you really have to be careful. But overnight refrigerated is OK. (Well that's what I've found...) (personally...) (hmmm...)
:->
Good stuff mate. That fuse-bit was funny, made me laugh, sorry ;-)
Btw: NEVER replace a fuse with foil, alright? The fuse is there for a VERY good reason.
i know I have been told you can put a nail in...
a stupid old junkie told me about the foil
i honestly couldn't see how it would stay in, whispy silver foil without half poking out into the other part of the plug and blowing everything sky high...
then I realized they probably meant "roll the foil into a fuse-shaped barrel and replace with that
still i wouldn't have the bottle, let alone the stupidity for that
a junkie once dropped a cigarette lighter into my toaster (which was lying on the floor next to a seat, in a very drop-in-able position)... anyway I started making toast when BANG! at 4am. I nearly cried. the lighter thankfully was a mini Clipper & nearly empty but got a huge hole in it
NEVER AGAIN
and don't worry nothing but fuses (of the RIGHT amperage) are going in MY plugs
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