Cajun Chicken Skewers

It's been a while since my last post. I didn't have the time to post all my recipes but I will update this blog very soon. I had a trip to Puerto Galera in the Philippines and the food there was just  amazing. I had this very long chicken skewer with the conventional tomato and onion. The restaurant lays a spread of various meat and seafood ready for grill by the entrance. You can actually take your pick. Not only was the food fresh, but the meat was so tender. It's unlike other chicken skewers or BBQ Id had before.

I was inspired by my trip to put together a little something of my own. I made this for my hunny's lunchbox. It's size is perfect for cocktail parties, a little like finger food. I used cajun spice to marinade the chicken. Then just a little slice of caramelised orange to give that zingy taste that blends well with cajun (for me...). I put fresh cucumber and caramelised or grillled onion at the end.

Try this very simple and tasty treat.

Ingredients:

Meat:

2 chicken breast fillets

2 tbs mc cormick cajun seasoning mix

1 tbs veg oil

1tbs water

Orange slices (half an orange)

sugar

1 tbs water

cucumber

onion

red pepper

salt

olive oil

Method:

1. Mix the marinade ingredients with chicken and set aside for 30 min.
2. While your chicken is marinading, make the caramelised orange. Coat the orange slices in brown sugar. Put in a hot non stick fry pan. Wait until the sugar caramelises before turning over. Be careful not to burn the orange slices. Add a little water to avoid burning.
3. Preheat the grill. Grill red pepper and onion.
4. Grill chicken for 3-4 min on both sides or until juice is clear. Set aside for 10 min. Cut into 1" cubes.
5. Slice cucumber about quarter inch thick. If you are using a fat cucumber, cut into 4 crosswise and remove big seeds.
6. Assemble. Get small skewers. You can use bamboo, plastic, or metal skewers. Stick the red pepper, chicken, orange, chicken, cucumber, and onion.

You can use tomato and other kinds of sweet peppers.

#9. Chicken Miso Lunchbox

This is chicken marinated in miso. For best results, it's advisable to marinade overnight.  If you are pressed for time, you could marinade for 15 min. before grilling but it helps to poke the meat with fork to let the chicken absorbs the marinade more. I used a George Foreman Grill which eliminates excess fat when grilling (like this stuff). For the sides I have stirfried beans and broccoli, wombok in oyster sauce, potato salad, pickled radish, a tomato., and rice. ^_^

Breakfast Burrito

I made it this morning and Im eating it as I write this blog post. ^^

It's healthy and quite filling. 1 burrito will fill you up if you're a light eater. Of course, the filling and the sauce can vary. Use fresh vegetables as much as possible.

Try this very simple recipe and let me hear about it.

Ingredients:

• 4 medium tortillas
• 4 slices lean bacon
• 1 large egg
• 1 cucumber
• 1 medium tomato
• alfalfa sprouts
• cheese
• honey mustard

Method:

1. Make a scrambled egg. Crack 1 egg. Add a pinch of salt and pepper. Whisk until well blended. Put a little oil in a non stick fry pan. Wipe the pan with a tissue to coat with oil. When the pan is hot enough, add the egg. Stir as the bottom settles. Continue stirring until egg is cooked all through out. Set aside.
2. Cook the bacon on a nonstick pan. Do not add anymore oil. Let it cook on its own fat. Set aside.
3. Prepare the vegetables. Wash then peel cucumber. Cut into long strips. Wash tomato then cut and remove the seeds. Dice into tiny pieces. Wash the alfalfa sprouts and remove bad parts.
4. Slice cheese into quarter inch thick sticks.
5. Heat the burritos on a pan for a few seconds.
6. Assemble the burrito. Drizzle the burrito with honey mustard sauce/dressing. Cut the bacon strips into two if too long, then lay it on the burrito. Put the rest of the filling each on top of the other or as tight as you could. Drizzle a little more honey mustard on top of the filings. Roll the burrito carefully so the fillings wont fall out.
7. Cut diagonally .

#8. Chicken Barbecue



I had some leftover chicken from the night before so I heated it in the morning to pack in a lunchbox. For this meal set, I made chicken barbecue, tomato enchilada, and steamed broccoli. The chicken could dry out and harden though, especially if it's grilled. Then I chopped up some pineapples, a quarter apple, and rice.

Cajun Salmon

This is my first attempt cooking salmon. Maybe too safe but I've always wanted to grill a large piece of salmon fillet. Only, I live in a condo and there's no access to a grill. (I don't even have an oven here...) So for this, I used a stove top grill plate. A real grill would've enhanced the flavor though...

I like mashing potatoes... The secret to a smooth mashed potatoes is to add more milk. Here I used butter, milk and salt. I skipped the herbs since the rub is tasty enough. Then I grilled some red peppers, eggplant, and green beans.

I'm happy how the dish turned out considering what I have to work with. ^^V

#7. Chicken Nanban

It's my first time to make Chicken Nanban so I'm glad it turned out really well. It's basically fried chicken soaked in a sweet sour sauce. The down side of packing a crispy fried chicken is that it surely will get soggy by lunch time. This however, doesn't get soggy and it tastes good at room temperature so no need to heat.

Ingredients:

• 2 chicken breast fillets
• salt and pepper
• cornstarch
• egg
• oil

Sauce:

• 1/2 cup rice vinegar
• 1/2 cup mirin
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 4 tbs sugar
• 1 pc kelp
• 1/2 tsp salt

Method:

1. Cut the breast fillet into bite size pieces. Add a pinch of salt and pepper. Set aside
2. Whisk 1 egg. Add a pich of salt.
3. Mix all the sauce ingredients in a sauce pan. Heat until it boils, stirring from time to time. Turn off the heat. Set aside.
4. Put oil in a hot fry pan. Get a piece of chicken and dip in egg and then in cornstarch.
5. Fry in medium high until one side is golden brown then turn over and cook the other side.
6. Once it's cooked, put directly in the sauce and soak for a minute or until it's cooled down.
7. Remove excess liquid before packing in your lunchbox.

#6. Japchae Bap (잡채 밥)

I made Japchae the night before so I packed some of the leftover for my hunny's lunch. When you heat food for packing, it's always best to heat it in a pan on a stove to kill bacteria growth more efficiently. Of course remember to pack your meals with clean hands and well washed containers.. 

Japchae (잡채 )

Japchae is stir fried glass noodle with plenty of vegetables. It's a lot similar to Filipino pancit gisado... I usually eat this  one with rice. It might be weird for some people because it kind of is redundant to eat noodles and rice but it actually is a good combination. The noodles is quite filling on its own so rice isnt actually necessary...

This recipe really does take a while but it's sooo worth it. :)

Ingredients:

• 200g beef sliced thinly (breakfast steak cut works well)
• crabsticks
• glass noodles
• 1 med onion sliced
• 3 cloves garlic, crushed
• bunch of spinach
• 1 cup dried black ear mushroom
• 1 med carrot cut into matchsticks
• 1 cup worth green onions cut into 2" long
• soy sauce
• sesame oil
• canola oil (cooking oil)
• sesame seeds
• egg, salt and pepper

Method:

1. Boil water and cook the noodles according to package instructions.
2. Soak the mushrooms in warm water.When it grows, slice thinly.
3. Wash the spinach and remove the dead parts. No need to cut it at this point.
4. Make a thin egg omelet. Crack one egg and whisk it. Add salt and pepper. Put oil in a hot nonstick fry pan. Once the oil is hot, put in the egg.Stir a little before it settles. Spread thinly and evenly over the pan. Transfer on a plate once cooked and cool it down.
5. Once the noodles are cooked, remove from the water. Do not throw the water because you can use it to cook your spinach.Put the noodles in a strainer to remove excess water then transfer to a large bowl or container where you can easily work with it. While hot add 1 tbs soy sauce and 1 tbs sesame oil. Mix to prevent the nooodles from sticking together.
6. Put the spinach in the boiling water and cook for 30-40 sec. Remove from the water and rinse in cold water or running water until cool. This is called blanching or shocking. It stops the cooking process and retains the color of your veggies. Squeeze out excess water. Cut the base part and then into 2" long pieces. Add a dash of soy sauce and set aside.
7. In the same pan where you made the omelet, add a little more oil and saute carrots for a minute. Add to the noodles. Do this same procedure for onions and green onions. add everything to the noodles.
8. Saute beef until it changes color. Add the garlic and saute until aromatic. Add 4 tbs soy sauce, 2 tbs sugar, and 2 tbs water. When the mixture boils, simmer for another minute.
9. Add the mushrooms and bring to boil. Cook for 1 minute.
10. Pour the mixture onto the noodles.
11. Cut the egg into thin strips. Add to the noodles.
12. Shred 6pcs of a 3" long crabsticks and add to the noodles.
13. Finally throw in the spinach and mix everything by hand. Adjust the taste.
14. Sprinkle sesame seeds and mix again.

#5. Basic Sides Lunchbox

This is my lazy morning bento. Thankfully, I had side dishes available. All I did in the morning was make the omelet. Here we have kimchi, soybean sprouts, stir-fried fishcake, egg omelet, crab stick salad, and rice. That about everything...