Chicken Archives ⋆ Budgetpantry | Singapore Mummy Blog on Food, Recipe & Baby

Creamy Garlic Pesto Chicken

Chris-budgetpantry — Wed, 02 Jun 2021 13:21:27 +0000

Still thankful for being able to work from home because this means I can cook more “fancy” dinners like this. Made this with the cooking cream that a kind neighbour blessed us (contactless blessing ok!) cos she doesn’t have the time to cook and doesn’t want to waste food.

I served this with chunky potatoes tonight. The best part? The roasted garlic and peppers! Soooooo good!! Crazy burst of flavours with every mouthful. Hope you’ve had a nice dinner too!

Creamy Garlic Pesto Chicken (budgetpantry.com)
Makes 2-3 servings

What you need:

2 pieces chicken breast, butterflied
15 cloves garlic, smashed
1 small red onion, minced
1 small red pepper, sliced lengthwise
1 small green pepper, sliced lengthwise
2-3 shitake mushrooms, sliced
200ml cooking cream (I use Bulla)
2 tablespoon green pesto
2 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon oil
Pinch of salt
Flour for dredging

Steps:

Clean and pat dry chicken breast. Dredge in flour and shake off excess.

Heat up 1 tablespoon butter and oil in a skillet. Brown chicken breast for 4 minutes, then turn over and cook for another 4 minutes till done. Remove and set aside.

In the same pan, add remaining butter and scrape the brown bits towards the center. On low heat, fry minced onion, smashed garlic, sliced peppers and mushrooms till wilted and soft.

Mix in the cooking cream and pesto. Stir everything together. Season with salt to taste.

Return the chicken breast to pan and simmer for a minute. Spoon cream over chicken repeatedly as you’re simmering. Serve with chunky potatoes.

ENJOY!!

Note: if you have an airfryer, you can save some time while prepping and extract more flavour out of the peppers and garlic this way: in the baking tray, toss garlic and peppers together with some olive oil. AF at 190C for 15 minutes. Add this mixture along with the oil to step 3.

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Kid-friendly chicken quinoa casserole with mashed potatoes

Chris-budgetpantry — Fri, 08 Dec 2017 13:44:57 +0000

Before we know it, we’re in the final month of the year! It’s crazy how fast the year has gone by. This year, I’m thankful for the chance to explore different recipes for cbb, and I feel really lucky that she welcomes my creations with her open ~~arms~~ mouth!

I’ve always believed that coming up with new recipes for kids aren’t really difficult – I mean, what can they eat right? Lai lai qu qu also those few things. The core ingredients are the same fish, meat, veg, rice.. it’s just the presentation and textures that are different.

I could easily use these ingredients to cook a chicken, broccoli and potato soup and serve them with rice… cbb loves her soups but it’s also nice to create something different for her. So instead of chunky potatoes I decided to blend them into a creamy mash, then add some quinoa cos she loves to chew, and of course we can’t leave out the protein (chicken) and vegetables (broccoli and cherry tomatoes).

I love cooking this dish in my CorningWare® casserole. Did you know that CorningWare® can go straight from the freezer to stovetop or oven? Yes, you don’t need to worry of the glass shattering due to a sudden change in temperature. Made of a revolutionary glass ceramic material called Pyroceram®, CorningWare® was developed by scientists to protect the nose cone of the space shuttle from incredible and extreme temperature changes. It comes with a 10-year warranty for the base vessel and 2-year for the lids against thermal breakage too.

CorningWare® has always been a large part of my childhood memory; my 82-year-old aunt is an ardent fan – her CorningWare® still cooks well for the past 50 years. CorningWare® proudly celebrates her 60th anniversary in 2018.

I served this dish in our Corelle® dinnerware, which is made through a unique patented hub lamination process that thermally bonds three layers of glass; core glass in the middle with top and bottom layers of very clear ‘skin’ glass. The lamination results in glass dinnerware that far exceeds the normal strength possible for any single glass composition. I love it that it’s super durable and non-porous, resistant to permanent staining, breaking and chipping – Corelle® is backed by a one-year warranty against chipping, crazing, and cracking.

The design featured here is called ‘Moonlight’. Take advantage of the year-end promotions now to fill up your kitchen!

Tip: Click here to see my other baby food recipes. Will be adding more soon :)

Kid-friendly chicken quinoa casserole with mashed potatoes (budgetpantry.com)
Serves 3 adults and 1 baby

What you need:
5 russet potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks
2 boneless chicken thigh or breast, each about palm sized
2 handfuls of cooked broccoli florets, either blanched or steamed
1 cup cooked quinoa (cook half cup raw quinoa according to package instructions)
100g shredded cheddar cheese

Seasonings for mashed potatoes
25g butter
1 tablespoon mayonnaise
1 tablespoon sour cream
1 tablespoon snipped spring onions
Half tablespoon salt (can omit for kids)

Marinade for chicken
1 tablespoon sesame oil
2 tablespoons low sodium soy sauce
Half tablespoon sugar (can omit for kids)

Steps:

Make the mashed potatoes: In a large oven-proof casserole, cook peeled potatoes in boiling water till tender, about 20 minutes. If you can push a fork through the potato, it’s done. Drain the water and return casserole to stove for about a minute to cook off the excess water. Mash in the same pot with a hand-held blender till creamy and smooth (or simply use a fork, whisk or masher), then add all seasonings for the mashed potatoes (above).

Cook the chicken: Marinate chicken with sesame oil, low sodium soy sauce and sugar for half an hour. Air fry for 12 minutes at 180C, or pan fry till done. Allow to cool and cut into bite-size pieces.

Assemble and bake: In the casserole with mashed potatoes, top with cooked quinoa, broccoli and chicken pieces. Add shredded cheese and bake for 15 minutes at 200C till cheese melts.

TIP: You can substitute chicken with other meats, or use meat balls! If cooking quinoa in a rice cooker (I use half cup raw quinoa to 1.5 cups water), add in the broccoli in the last five minutes to cook together.

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Stewed chicken wings in dark sauce and ginger 姜丝酱油鸡

Chris-budgetpantry — Tue, 20 Jun 2017 08:59:56 +0000

This is an old-school dish that my whole family enjoys!

There are many ways to cook chicken wings. One of the easiest ways to cook them is by stewing. And it’s no surprise why I like them: just combine everything in a pot and go!

Jason loves my ginger wings recipe, but I didn’t have time to marinate the chicken last night. So I decided to cook him this dish 姜丝酱油鸡, which he lapped up happily. I don’t think I have ever cooked this for him before!

I’m sure after looking at the ingredient list, you will be asking, ‘Can I skip the star anise?’ Don’t do it. Star anise gives the gravy (卤水) the unique taste that you’re looking for. You can get little packets for $0.50 or so at provision stores or supermarkets like Sheng Siong.

The chicken turned out soooo tender… I can eat them all! Minimal ingredients needed, try this!

Stewed chicken wings in dark sauce and ginger 姜丝酱油鸡 (budgetpantry.com)
Serves 2
What you need:

10 pieces midjoint wings or mixture of wings + drummettes
1 heaped tablespoon ginger shreds/strips
3 stalks spring onions, white part only
2 tablespoons light soy sauce
1 tablespoon dark soy sauce
6-8 pieces rock sugar, about 1cm x 1cm square each
2 pieces star anise
Water to cover the chicken
3 tablespoons olive oil

Steps:

Heat the oil in a pan and fry ginger and spring onions till fragrant.

Add the chicken wings and coat with the oil. Keep tossing till the skin is browned, about 2-3 minutes.

Add water till it just covers the wings, then add light and dark soy sauce, followed by star anise and rock sugar. Stir everything together to combine. Bring to boil and reduce heat to a small simmer.

Cover and cook for 25 minutes till wings are tender. Then remove lid and reduce slightly. Serve hot with rice.

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Baby & family menu: Moroccan-inspired minced meat over rice

Chris-budgetpantry — Thu, 18 May 2017 08:22:34 +0000

I love cooking this dish because it’s an all-in-one. Cbb can have it for dinner and so can we! The best thing: everything goes in one pan so there’s minimal washing up to do.

When preparing food for the family, I increasingly find myself looking for quick-fixes. I mean, you can’t blame me – I’m really pressed for time after work. So it’s best that whatever I cook can be eaten by the whole world, you know. Like if I cook crab or prawns, then it’s damn leh-ceh to feed cbb with so on those days I heat up the frozen food cubes I prepared for her at the start of the week.

But it’s nice to cook dishes like this cos cbb gets to eat fresh too. It’s like bolognese! I just start off everything together but hold the seasoning. Onions, meat, garlic, carrots, peppers, tomatoes, cumin, cinnamon… all these cbb can eat so I simmer the meat in these, and when it’s done, I scoop up whatever I need for her and THEN season our portion. Since the vegetables are chunky, I cut them up into smaller pieces for her with food scissors.

I like ours with lots of paprika flakes! I think this will taste good with a bit of curry powder actually so next time I will add it and let cbb try. You can use chicken, pork or beef for this so it’s a really versatile dish packed full of nutritious, yummy vegetables too.

Try it for your baby… cbb loves this over noodles and pasta! (sorry for the lousy pics. I hate them too)

Moroccan-inspired minced meat over rice (budgetpantry.com)
Serves 2 adults and 1 baby What you need:

300g minced meat (either chicken, pork or beef)
1 can peeled or diced tomatoes
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
2 teaspoon minced garlic
1 medium carrot, chopped into cubes
1 green pepper, chopped into strips
1 tablespoon light soy sauce
Half tablespoon dark soy sauce
1 teaspoon paprika or chilli powder
Half teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon cinnamon powder or 2 cinnamon sticks
1 teaspoon brown sugar
2 tablespoons olive oil

Steps:

Heat the oil in a pan and add chopped onions. Fry for 3-4 minutes until soft.

Add the minced meat and break it up with your spatula. Follow with the garlic. Stir fry for 2 minutes, then add the carrots, green pepper and canned tomatoes (with juice). Mix well and add the cinnamon and cumin.

Simmer under medium-low flame until carrots are soft, about 15 minutes. Add some water if necessary.

At this point, scoop out what you need for your baby, then proceed to season the rest with light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, brown sugar and paprika.

Cook for a few more minutes till reduced. Scoop over rice and serve with a sunny side up.

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Cheaterbug chicken katsu don

Chris-budgetpantry — Thu, 13 Apr 2017 08:22:58 +0000

Ok I confess! I made these with ready-cooked frozen chicken katsu/cutlet:) I got mine from Song Fish. They have this brand called Tasty Farm (it’s their exclusive) and I think it tastes better than the Bibik brand. You can of course make your own with chicken thigh or breast, flour, egg and panko. Recipe below! This is how the frozen chicken katsu looks like:

Always wondered what goes into the subtly sweet and moist egg mixture of chicken katsu don? It’s a combination of onions, dashi (Japanese broth usually made of dried seaweed and bonito fish flakes – plus other dried ingredients sometimes), mirin, sake (I omitted), soy sauce and sugar. Of course I didn’t cook it from scratch. I used this brand of dashi powder which you can get from Japanese supermarkets or the Japanese section of supermarkets such as Fairprice Finest or Extra:

Just mix the powder with water for instant dashi stock which can be used as a base for many types of Japanese cooking. I add dashi powder to my one-pot mushroom rice too.

The chicken can be made from scratch with either chicken thigh or breast. I don’t do deep frying at home so the steps below are for the airfried version. Of course, if you buy ready-made katsu don like I have, simply airfry for 15-18 minutes at 180C, or deepfry according to package instructions. Have a bowl of soft fluffy rice ready and dinner is on the table!

Cheaterbug chicken katsu don (budgetpantry.com)
Serves 2 What you need:

For the chicken:
2 pieces chicken thigh or breast (about palm sized)
Plain flour
1 egg
Panko
Salt and pepper
Oil for frying

For the egg/gravy:
200ml dashi (mix powder + water according to package instructions)
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon mirin
1 teaspoon sugar
1 tablespoon sake (I omitted)
2 eggs, beaten
1 onion, sliced
2 tablespoons olive oil

Steps:

Flatten the chicken by pounding with the back of your knife. Season with salt and pepper. Dredge in plain flour, shake off excess, dip in egg, then coat with panko. Set aside for a few minutes. Spray on some oil and airfry for 15 minutes at 180C in a preheated airfryer. Otherwise, deep fry till golden. Slice and set aside.

In a pan big enough to fit the chicken, heat the olive oil and fry sliced onions for 1 minute. Add the dashi, mirin, soy sauce, sugar and sake (if using). Bring to boil then lower flame and cook until onions are soft.

Place the cooked chicken pieces in the broth. Pour beaten egg and distribute evenly. Switch off the flame when eggs have slightly set.

Scoop on top of Japanese rice and serve immediately.

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