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Love, Melvin

Hainanese Chicken Rice

Chicken rice is to regular rice what a Ghiradelli hot chocolate made with cream and milk is to hot cocoa. It takes regular rice to a whole new level of deliciousness! Basically, it is rice that is lightly toasted/fried in a wok and then made with chicken broth instead of water. Why have rice, when you can have CHICKEN RICE! And furthermore, why have chicken rice, when you can have chicken rice with Hainanese chicken and ginger chili dipping sauce? I can't imagine any instance where I would ever turn down this meal. We love chicken rice so much, we took advantage of cooking this meal and made a whopping 6 cups of rice so that we would have enough to eat for dinners the rest of the week. If you steam the rice to reheat it, it tastes just like fresh.

Hainanese chicken rice is a great dish made of a few simple components: poached chicken, sliced cucumbers, ginger chili sauce and chicken rice. It's also an extremely useful dish to make, as it generates a large quantity of divine chicken stock which can be frozen and used for a multitude of other dishes later; such as: wonton noodle soup, egg drop soup, use a little when stir frying veggies, and the impromptu batch of chicken rice. Cooking the chicken and making this stock will fill your apartment with one of the best smells on earth!

I, for one, am a huge devotee of the chili ginger sauce, and have been known, on occasion, to try and scoop as much sauce as I can onto each piece of chicken, and then drain the last of the sauce dish into my rice so not a drop goes to waste. It is spicy, gingery and addictive. Don't say I didn't warn you!

We have made Hainanese chicken rice several times, and we think that this version is the best (from the Steamy Kitchen blog- http://www.steamykitchen.com/- a great site!). It is the addition of the aromatics in the rice that takes it up to the next level.

Hainanese Chicken Rice
adapted from: http://steamykitchen.com/5068-hainanese-chicken-rice.html

1 whole chicken (3.5 lbs)
Salt
4 inch section of fresh ginger, in 1/4 inch slices
2 green onions, cut into 1″ sections (both the green and white parts)
1 teaspoon sesame oil

RICE
3 tbsp vegetable oil
3 cloves garlic, finely minced
1 inch section of ginger, finely minced
6 cups uncooked jasmine rice, rinsed
6 ½ cups reserved chicken poaching broth
½ teaspoon sesame oil
1 teaspoon salt

CHILI SAUCE
1 tablespoon lime juice
2 tablespoon reserved chicken poaching broth
2 teaspoon sugar
4 tablespoon chili garlic sauce (we used Lee Kum Kee brand)
4 cloves garlic
1 inch
a generous pinch of salt, to taste

1 cucumber, sliced

Directions

1. To clean the chicken, with a small handful of salt, rub the chicken all over, getting rid of any loose skin and dirt. Wash and pat very dry inside and outside. Season generously with salt inside and outside.

2. Stuff the chicken with the ginger slices and the green onion. Place the chicken in a large stockpot and fill with cold water to cover by 1 inch. Bring the pot to a boil over high heat, then immediately turn the heat to low to keep a simmer. Cook for about 30 minutes more (less if you’re using a smaller chicken). Check for doneness by sticking a chopstick into the flesh under the leg and see if the juices run clear or insert a thermometer into the thickest part of the thigh not touching bone. It should read 170F.

3. When the chicken is cooked through, turn off the heat and remove the pot from the burner. Immediately transfer the chicken into a bath of ice water to cool. Don’t forget to reserve the poaching broth for your rice and your sauce. The quick cooling will stop the cooking process, keeping the meat soft and tender, and giving the skin a lovely firm texture.

4. To cook the rice: Drain the rice. In a wok or sauce pan (use a medium sauce pan if you plan on cooking the rice on the stove top), heat 3 tablespoons of cooking oil over medium-high heat. When hot, add the ginger and the garlic and fry until your kitchen smells like heaven. Be careful not to burn the aromatics! Add in your drained rice and stir to coat, cook for 2 minutes. Add the sesame oil, mix well. Pour aromatics and rice (after frying) into your rice cooker, add 6 ½ cups of your reserved poaching broth and salt.

5. While your rice is cooking, remove the chicken from the ice bath and rub the outside of the chicken with the sesame oil. Carve the chicken for serving.

6. To make the chili sauce: Mix your chili sauce ingredients in a bowl

Serve the chicken rice with chili sauce and cucumber slices. Sometimes, this dish is served with some of the chicken broth on the side as a soup.

Mamma Mia, that's a tasty pizza!

Making pizza for dinner is an all day process, but the results are well worth it. Plus, pizza is fun- you can eat it with your hands, and who doesn't love that? We hadn't had a pizza in a while (even take-out pizza from Papa Johns or something), so a few weekends ago (January 3rd), we decided it was high time for a pizza weekend.

The recipe we use is originally from allrecipies.com, but it is tweaked a little bit based on our tastes/preferences. This recipe does not require a long rising time for the dough, but in the multiple times we've made it, we've realized that the pizza turns out better if you let the dough rise- it's easier to roll out to a larger size, and the crust is lighter and more airy (note: the end result without the rise time is not bad- the alternative is just better). We have also tried different cooking methods regarding the pizza stone. I know that in 'real' pizza making, you are supposed to heat up the pizza stone first and then put the pizza on the searing hot stone to achieve a really crispy crust, etc, but without a pizza peel, it is extremely difficult (in my opinion/experience) to slide a pizza, complete with toppings, from a baking sheet or other surface onto a hot pizza stone in your low to the ground oven. In the times that I tried, the pizza inevitably had at least one gaping hole torn in it, and the toppings clumped together in different sections of the pizza, ruining my carefully arranged pizza. DRAT! The end result was not bad eating, but was ugly as sin. DRAT DRAT! And I didn't even think that the crust was crispier or better than when I just roll the pizza out and put it and the stone into the preheated oven all at once. The only difference is that perhaps the crust gets a little bit better color on it. Not worth the hassle, in my opinion. Maybe a pizza peel would make it easier, but I can't imagine any scenario where I can take a pizza, weighted down with sauce and toppings, and easily transfer it to the oven without destroying it- there is always at least one part of the dough that insists on sticking to the surface it's resting on.

Pepperoni used to be our go to meat topping, but lately, we've realized that cut up sausage (breakfast style or italian) are also delicious! Green peppers make a regular appearance. What I really like about this pizza are the herbs in the crust itself- it tastes great, and makes it smell even better. The chunks of tomatoes in the sauce, rather than a completely pureed texture sauce, is also a plus in my book. And of course- don't ever skimp on the cheese!!

The sauce recipe makes enough for two pizzas, so we usually make a complete batch, and then freeze half for the next time we make pizza. In a true display of our love for getting our money's worth out of everything, we have also found that you can freeze cheese quite nicely. For instance, we purchase the pre-shredded cheese packages (usually about 2 1/2 cups per package). Our typical pizza (~10 inches), maybe uses 1/3 of this package. Since we're not avid cheese easters, the leftover cheese usually goes to waste- perhaps making it into a toasted cheese sandwich or two. So freezing it really comes in handy! You might also be intrigued to learn that tomato paste also freezes well.

Pizza Crust (adapted from http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Quick-and-Easy-Pizza-Crust/Detail.aspx)

Ingredients

• 1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast
• 1 teaspoon white sugar
• 1 cup warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
• 2 1/2 cups bread flour (don't use AP)
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 tsp basil, 1/2 tsp oregano, 1/4 tsp onion powder (or 1/2 tsp dried minced onion), 1/2 tsp garlic powder

Directions

• In a medium bowl, dissolve yeast and sugar in warm water. Let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes.
• Stir in flour, salt, herbs and oil. Beat until smooth.
• Place in a large bowl, cover with a towel and let rise in a warm place for a few hours (I typically make the dough mid-morning, and bake the pizza around 6pm). Alternatively, you can make the dough and immediately roll into a round and bake, if desired.

Pizza Sauce (adapated from
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Pizza-Sauce-and-Dough/Detail.aspx)

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/4 cup chopped onion
• 1 tablespoons chopped garlic
• 1 (14 ounce) can roma tomatoes, with juice
• 1 (6 ounce) cans tomato paste
• 1/2 tablespoon basil
• 1/2 tablespoon parsley
• 1/2 teaspoon oregano
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Directions

• Heat olive oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Saute onions until tender.
• Stir in garlic, and cook for 1 minute. Crush tomatoes into saucepan.
• Add tomato paste, basil, parsley and oregano. Simmer for 10 minutes.

To Make the Pizza:

• Preheat oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C).
• Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface, knead for a few minutes, and pat or roll into a round. Transfer crust to a pizza stone dusted with cornmeal.
• Spread with desired toppings and bake in preheated oven for 15 to 20 minutes, or until golden brown. Let baked pizza cool for 5 minutes before serving.