I know, who needs another roast chicken recipe?

Actually, you do! I love roasting chickens whole not because like what others say, the juices are better retained etc etc, but because I don’t have to chop the chicken into pieces.. very leh ceh (troublesome)! I like roasting chickens also because they’re cheaper than other meats. Griller chickens between 800g to 1.2kg usually cost less than $4 (I recently bought 3 for $7.90 from Giant) and can feed my family of 4. Jason gets the breast meat, I take one thigh, Ah-mm takes the other, any 88 loves the chicken wings!

So I was searching for chicken inspirations the other day and came across Jamie Oliver’s recipe: Chicken in Milk. Sounds yummy! Some bloggers who have tried the recipe went as far to comment that this was the best chicken they’ve ever tasted/in the world. The chicken is indeed pull-apart tender (look at the pics!), and the milk and lemon combi is creamy but not that creamy (I describe things so well, I swear!).. very fragrant and unlike any other chicken I’ve made.

I seasoned the chicken with butter, black pepper and rosemary, and browned it with my air fryer before placing it in a pyrex dish to be roasted in the oven. If you don’t have an air fryer, please get one/have someone get you one for Christmas. If that’s not possible or if you wish to wait for next year’s Christmas for I don’t know what reason, you can also brown it in a dutch oven or large pan. Next, you grate the zest of one lemon all over the chicken, place half a lemon inside the cavity, pour in the milk, scatter some garlic cloves, and basically, your job is done.

Although the recipe didn’t call for it, I covered the baking dish with aluminium foil before baking, so that the chicken would be moist and tender. I removed the foil in the last fifteen minutes for the skin to become slightly crispy. There are a few sides I can think of to serve this with: mushrooms, beans, cabbage, carrots, potatoes, asparagus.. even rice. I chose to saute some shitake mushrooms and french beans in garlic and spooned them over the chicken when the roasting was done.

One of the best chicken dish I’ve tried.. not THE WORLD’S BEST, but very good, although the combination of milk and lemon sounds weird. =) I varied the recipe as I didn’t have sage and cinnamon, but it was still delicious. Try it, quite fool-proof! See how tender the meat is.. you won’t go wrong!

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When I need ideas on what to cook, I do three things: 1) open my freezer and see what existing protein I have, 2) check my vegetable chiller to see what kind of vegetables are available and 3) combine protein and vegetable to make a meal. Do you do the same? Oh, and if I do 1) and see I have no protein, it’s PASTA NIGHT! *dances*

I remember when I just started cooking years ago, I would decide on a dish to make and then go right out and buy ALL the ingredients for that recipe. Not only did I spend alot of money, I also wasted alot of ingredients due to lack of planning. I could buy a bag of potatoes for ONE dish and forget about it the entire week. And when it was time for another potato dish, I would realise that the potatoes have all sprouted.

The other night I was in luck. I 1) opened my freezer and saw a griller chicken; and 2) checked my vegetable chiller and saw carrots and celery. I also had potatoes from making my light and fluffy Japanese Potato Salad a day ago. And I always have onions in my pantry. That was it.. I was going to make roast chicken!

Roasting is one of my favourite ways to cook chicken. It is supremely easy and quite idiot proof. This time, instead of making a regular roast chicken with vegetables scattered around the sides, I was going to stuff it with the vegetables and garlic sausages.

This is the stuffing of potatoes, carrots, onions, celery, garlic and sausages with bay leaves and a sprinkle of rosemary and paprika:

There’s been some debate on whether a chicken should be roasted breast side up or down, or covered with foil or not. I don’t proclaim to know the “best” way to roast chicken and “best” is subjective anyway, but this is what I do: Roast it breast side DOWN covered with foil for 45 minutes. After 45 minutes, remove foil, turn it breast side UP, and continue to roast for 20 minutes til skin is brown and crisp. This way, the toughest part of the chicken- the breast- gets all the juices from being roasted its side down before being given the crispy skin treatment. The timing is good for a 1.2kg griller and gives me moist, pull-off-the-bone meat every time. Try this, I hope you like it!

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Chicken wings are a favourite in my household, but I’ve not cooked them in quite a long time because of health concerns. I usually buy chicken fillet or breast as they are lower in fat. So when I decided to give my family a chicken-wing treat last week, I knew exactly what I was going to do with it: Make GINGER WINGS!

This marinade is great for BBQ-ing, baking or roasting too, so if you don’t have a Philips Airfryer, don’t fret! But being the Airfryer advocate, no other cooking method beats the convenience of cooking these in one. Just 15 minutes and no extra or splattering oil.. frying chicken wings doesn’t get easier than this.

These remind me of the grilled bbq wings we have in local hawker centers, only better! Using the airfryer means that the meat remains juicy while the skin turn out super crispy. I can’t imagine cooking crispy wings any other way. These ginger wings were finger-licking good and were cleaned out in minutes!

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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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I made this for dinner on Thursday- one for ah-mm, one for 88, one for me and two for Jason. Two portions of chicken thigh that is.

Makes 4-5 servings

What I used:

5 chicken thighs
1 packet Seah’s Spicy Fried Chicken Spices
2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tbsp brown sugar
1 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp water

Combine all ingredients except chicken
Coat chicken with mixture (remember under the skin too) and marinate overnight in fridge
Preheat oven to 190 degrees
Place chicken in pyrex/ glass dish skin side down and cover dish with foil
Bake for 35 mins, then remove foil
Flip the chicken over so that the skin faces up now
Bake uncovered for 10 mins or until skin is brown and crispy
Rest for 10 mins before serving

How much I spent:

$3.93 for chicken (i bought frozen chicken thighs 2 kg for $8.65)
$2.80 for Seah’s spices
All other seasonings from my pantry
$1.20 for fries (1/3 pack of farmland crinkle cut fries)
$1 for broccoli (half a head of broccoli)
$0.70 for Ayam Brand baked beans (1/2 can)

Total cost per serving: $1.93

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This recipe is super easy and I love to marinate meats overnight and just pop into the oven the next day. No mess, no excessive oil, no clean up and so delicious! For a full time cook like me, I know it will start to get dreary if the cooking process is complicated, takes up too much time for so-so results (my creamy mushroom risotto is another story! the time spent is so worth it!), and requires big-time wash up afterwards.

Since I am now cooking for the family on a limited budget, I choose to buy frozen meats which I defrost the night before. This meal just costs 1/3 or 1/4 of the price outside. I am such a budget cook- can you believe I am challenging myself on a $25 MAX weekly budget for Mon-Fri (sometimes Saturday) lunch AND dinner for 3-4 people? After two weeks at it, I just wanna say YES it can be done! One ingredient can be used many ways in a number of meals throughout the week, like I can buy a brinjal and use it to cook assam fish on Monday, then a brinjal and cheese gratin on Wednesday. Ah-mm and 88 are eating chicken, fish, pork, tofu, soups, and lots of vegetables- cooking at home helps your health and wallet!

I feel heart pain when I got to know people were throwing away the McDonald’s meals after buying Hello Kitty. Do you know that your 4 meals = my 1 week budget for my whole family lunch and dinner? Time to plan my meals for next week!

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