I first learnt of this Mongolian Chicken many years ago from my aunt although I have no idea how it is “Mongolian”. I don’t believe it came from Mongolia just like how Singapore Noodles didn’t originate from Singapore and German Cookies didn’t come from Germany. The husband said when he was a university student more than ten years ago, an uncle in his school canteen used to sell this at $3.50 a plate with rice. You might also have eaten “Mongolian Pork Ribs” at zichar stalls before. I know of a few places selling variations of this with a similar sauce, many with dark soy sauce added for colour and a lot more black pepper.

You’d be surprised at the ingredients because I was. Isn’t this something like butter prawns without butter and prawns? Or salted egg chicken without salted egg? It’s no surprise because all these dishes have similar base ingredients: garlic, chilli padi, curry leaves and evaporated milk, giving it that fragrance and creaminess distinct of many popular zichar dishes.

What “Mongolian” chicken has also is the addition of sliced yellow onions, grated ginger and a little bit of curry powder. You can substitute chilli padi for regular big red chilli like I have in this recipe.. because the aunt has a gastric problem and can’t take heat. But I think the spicy kick in chilli padi really makes a difference in this dish. This sauce will also be good for pork ribs or even sliced lean pork, better if deep fried beforehand. Have fun with this recipe! I had two bowls of rice today :)

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I hurt my back real bad the past week and haven’t been doing much cooking, except for (obsessively) baking mini cheese cakes, whipping up slow-cooker Chinese soups, and cooking this Butter Chicken dish. (Oh, and how did I hurt my back? I “flew” my 7-year-old nephew around the living room, forgetting that I am now 5 years older and him, 20kg heavier.)

Dancing Chef kindly passed me some packet paste to try out. I made Prawn Paste Chickento the delight of the husband, and since I can’t go marketing or spend too much time in the kitchen because of the “broken” back, I decided to try out the Butter Chicken paste this time.

I added fresh tomatoes to the dish as I like it tangy, and I tossed in some roasted almonds when the dish was done to add some crunch. Verdict? Aromatic with rich spices, quite awesome with rice. I would buy it myself when I crave some butter chicken!

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I grew up eating roast chicken. No, really. Ah-mm’s version which no one can beat, come with cubed potatoes, carrots, onions and yam stuffing, precooked slightly before being roasted together with the juicy chicken. Apart from stuffing the chicken with the root vegetables, she scatters alot of them all around her treasured Pyrex dish. 45 minutes later, the aroma of soy-sauce, crispy skin, and the sweetness of the vegetables permeate even the gaps of your locked door. You know, as a teenager, you always locked yourself in your room. I think this was her way of getting me to socialise with the rest of the world.

I never asked her how to make that roast chicken. Truthfully, I never really wanted to learn everything that she could cook, not even the family favourites. I guess in a way, I have some screwed up thinking of wanting to preserve her identity, ironically, because only Ah-mm could cook those dishes. I never stopped loving roast chicken though and am always looking for easy ways to prepare them. The second picture above was our dinner yesterday night when I only reached home at 7pm after accompanying 88 to the eye doctor. A chicken in 45 minutes including preparation of the chicken and vegetables, preheating the oven and actual roasting time. My job was made easier (and quicker!) with Seah’s Spices. I used Seah’s Salt Roasted Chicken Spices in both versions of roast chicken I made- the first pic was a version with chestnut stuffing.

I have to say that Seah’s Spices made the roast chicken more aromatic then my usual marinade of soy and oyster sauce, pepper, chicken seasoning and garlic powder. You know, being budgetpantry, I can’t possibly “happily-happily” go out and grab different bottles of spices just for one dish although I would like to. I think this spice packet was $1.50 and it contains 2 sachets. Works very well for me!

Makes 3-4 servings

What I used:

1 800g chicken
1 sachet of Seah’s Salt-Roasted Chicken Spices
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 carrot, cut into chucks
1 potato, cut into chucks
1 onion, cut into chucks
5 cloves smashed garlic
1 tbsp olive oil or a pat of butter
100ml chicken stock

Preheat oven to 240 degrees for 5-10 mins.

1. Clean chicken and rub soy sauce, oil/ butter and spices all over chicken.
2. Stuff half the onion/ carrots/ potatoes and all of the garlic into the chicken cavity.
3. Scatter remaining onion and carrots and potatoes into your baking dish, then place chicken on top of them.
4. Add in the chicken stock.
5. Roast for 15mins on one side, then flip around and roast for another 15 mins.

How much I spent:

$3.50 for chicken
$0.75 for 1 sachet Seah’s Spices
$0.30 for carrot
$0.40 for potato
Everything else from my pantry

Total cost per serving: $1.25

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This was how it turned out.. so fat and juicy with amazing colour and just-nice crispiness. I quartered the chicken and it was just right for the four of us because I also prepared Furong Egg and soup last night. For bigger eaters, I would say one spring chicken is good for 2-3 people, or for 1, if you’re any one of my brothers.

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