焗有機脆雞塊拌青瓜洋葱沙律 Baked Panko-crusted Organic Chicken with Cucumber and Onion Salad

每次朋友到我家中作客，我都會小心安排菜單，向他們推介一兩款特別的健康食材或菜式，讓他們在家亦容易做。最近一次飯聚，我為他們預備了「蕃茄牛蒡濃湯」，大家都非常喜歡。當然亦有惹味的菜式，我特別他們做了 Baked Panko-crusted Organic Chicken with Cucumber and Onion Salad (焗有機脆雞塊拌青瓜洋葱沙律) 作為其中一道菜。他們看着我把上好麵包糠的雞塊放入水波爐，談天說地之餘，亦不忘為我「跟進」雞件的烹調進度 :)

餐前我向他們簡述各道菜式，知道面前的「炸雞」是用健康的方法烹調，大家都放心開懷大嚼！

本食譜亦適用於其他焗爐，雖然未必每個品牌/型號都可以調至攝氐 300 度高温，一般都可達至 250度，只要預熱和稍為加長烹調時間，中途把焗盤前後對掉，也可做到類似效果。


材料 (A)：

• 有機放養去皮雞腿肉, 約 250 克，切成每塊約 1.5" x 1.5" 
• 鹽麴 18克，6-8% 雞腿肉的重量*
• 蒜茸，1 茶匙滿
• 高級初榨橄欖油，2 茶匙
• 鮮磨黑胡椒，適量

　* 網上搜尋鹽麴的使用方法，一般建議醃肉的用量為肉類重量 10% ，即 100克肉用上 10克鹽麴，個人覺得偏鹹，尤其今次我預備醃過夜，所以減少鹽麴的分量。

材料 (B)：

• 日式麵包糠約一杯
• 低筋麵粉適量
• 大蛋一隻

做法：

1. 把材料 (A) 放入大碗拌勻，放入冰箱醃最少半小時（我提早一晚醃）。
2. 把日式麵包糠倒入平底鑊，不停輕輕翻拌，以小火烘至金黃，放涼備用。
3. 在焗盤上舖上焗爐紙。
4. 用廚紙把雞肉上的醃料輕輕印乾，放入食物袋。加入適量低筋麵粉，扭緊袋口成一個氣球狀，搖食物袋令每件雞塊沾滿薄薄一層麵粉。
5. 在小碗打勻雞蛋。每件雞輕輕沾滿雞蛋，再沾上一層麵糠，排在焗盤上。
6. 把焗盤放入水波爐，無需預熱，調至 Convection 300C 焗 20 至 25 分鐘，視乎雞件大少厚薄。

今年春天最喜歡的涼拌菜：柚子醋甘筍木耳大豆芽

隨着天氣轉變，踏入春季已經又濕又熱，時而陽光普照，時而滂沱大雨，口味亦變得清淡。但「清淡」絕不等同乏味，甘筍和木耳是我家長年備有的食材，配上老闆喜歡的大豆芽和我偶爾在超巿踫上的日本柚子醋，成為一道快捷、健康又美味的涼拌菜！可以配米飯、麵條，甚至麵包。

作為款客的涼拌菜亦絶對不會失禮！

這道涼拌菜雖然簡單，但色彩豐富，口感和味道都相當有層次，我除了把它作為偷懶時的後備菜式，就是用來款客亦相當得體。我的朋友們對此道菜讚不絶口，believe it or not: 它比低溫慢煮和牛更受歡迎！^_^


材料：

• 大豆芽 12 兩 (450克)，洗淨瀝乾備用
• 甘筍（中型）1個，刨幼絲備用
• 木耳絲一把，預先浸發透
• 薑絲，適量

後加：

• 芫荽碎
• 炒香白芝麻

　以上食材分量可隨喜好加減。我亦喜歡加入其他食材，例如：韭菜花、紅椒絲、西芹絲、荷豆絲、豆乾絲等，非常百搭。

醬汁：（請按個人喜好調配）

• 日本芝麻油
• 高級初榨橄欖油
• 日本柚子醋 (Seasoned Citrus Flavored Vinegar)
• 醬油
• 原砂糖

方法：

1. 木耳絲汆水 2-3 分鐘，放入大隔篩瀝水。
2. 大豆芽汆水 2-3 分鐘，加入甘筍絲和薑絲略燙。撈起放入同一大隔篩瀝水。
3. 不時攪拌大隔篩內的蔬菜，讓蒸氣散發，放涼至室溫可放入食物盒，置冰箱內保存兩、三天。
4. 用一個有蓋瓶（例如果醬瓶），把醬汁材料加入搖勻，放入冰箱儲存。
5. 上菜前取出所需蔬菜的分量，拌入搖勻的醬汁、芫荽、白芝麻等便可上碟。

喜歡惹味一點，可以加入紅辣椒絲、七味粉或麻辣鮮露等。

以東芝水波爐烹調低溫慢煮和牛 Sous-vide Wagyu Steak using steam mode of Toshiba Microwave Oven

還記得多年前第一次煎和牛牛扒，是媽媽去日本旅行時特意買回家的。預先向媽媽備案我沒有把握煮得妥當，懷着戰戰兢兢的心情...煎得過熟了 >_< 後來又搬到有花園的單位，立即買了 gas grill，朋友們常常來飯聚，少不了燒烤牛、羊、豬、海鮮、蔬菜等，功多藝熟。

其實我認識水波爐前幾乎買了 sous vide，但考慮到不是常常用，一直未有決定。期間 search 到水波爐，仔細看過「使用說明書和食譜」，明白它的功能多樣化，打消了買 sous vide 的念頭。收到水波爐不久，己經根據 GD400HK「使用說明書和食譜」P 70「里肌牛扒」的方法，但未是我心中理想，所以再上網多「做功課」，配合其他現有器具希望做到心目中 sous vide 的效果。

上星期為飯聚做了 Slow-cooked Wagyu Steak with Tossed Mesclun Salad，連一位不愛吃牛的好友都多吃幾片，作為大廚當然興奮！早想完成這食譜與大家分享，奈何為朋友預備晚餐時未有拍攝任何做法的相片，抱歉要大家久等了！今次我用上「塔斯曼尼亞天然餵飼西冷牛扒」，頗瘦，非常適合測試「低溫慢煮」。

Slow-cooked Wagyu Steak with Tossed Mesclun Salad (慢煮和牛牛扒配生菜沙律)

這食譜亦適用於其他蒸爐/焗壚，只要蒸氣或爐溫可調至攝氏 55 度便可。

材料：

• 牛扒一件，厚切（急凍和牛大件，買了一件約 2 cm 厚；至於未經急凍的澳洲西冷，我請店員為我切一件 3 cm 厚）
• 海鹽（個人喜好岩鹽或 Maldon Sea Salt Flakes）
• 鮮磨黑胡椒

工具：

• 鍋，大少剛足夠放牛扒連食物袋（ 個人喜愛用 Staub）
• 可入微波爐食物袋
• 煮食用溫度計

可同時烹調多於一件牛扒，每件獨立用食物袋載好，配合大小合度的鍋具即可。

方法：

1. 把牛扒的水份印乾，無需任何調味。

2. 鍋中注入冷開水至大半。把載着牛扒的食物袋放入水中，水壓自會把空氣排出，封好袋口，取出備用。注意不要讓水流入袋中。

3.把水加熱至約攝氏 60 度。

4. 放入牛扒，整件牛扒必須完全浸在水中。把鍋放入水波爐，用適溫水蒸氣攝氐 55 度，烹調 90 分鐘 (25+25+25+15 分鐘)。取出待用。

步驟 1至4可預先完成，此時牛扒可放入冰箱冷凍 (fridge) 儲存，至起菜前取出完繼續完成其他步驟。

5. 大火燒熱平底鑊，加入適量油（如果牛扒肥，改出的肥膏可留開鑊用，更香），兩面略煎至焦香，放上碟上待數分鐘。注意煎的時間不可過長，否則牛扒會過熟和煎乾。

6. 把牛扒切厚片，撒上海鹽和鮮磨黑胡椒即可。

Slow-cooked Chilled Tasmanian Sirloin with Tossed Arugula Salad (低溫慢煮澳洲西冷配芝麻菜沙律)

用上澳洲天然餵飼的西冷，肉質不帶油花，肉嫩多汁，但仍有西冷的嚼勁。相對於和牛，只是少了一份油香。今次亦同時比較得到急凍牛扒低溫慢煮後袋中的汁液較多，西冷從未經急凍，留在袋中汁液極少。兩次我刻特意都配上味道較濃的沙律（沙律菜、basil、coriander、extra virgin olive oil、balsamic vinegar、炸乾葱等），完全不用再煮什麼燒汁，試過配 wholegrain mustard 都覺得劃蛇添足。

Just a friendly reminder:

多菜少肉：肉類配上各種沙律、蔬菜，色彩豐富，營養較均衡，利口又利腹！

以下是我昨天的晚餐：Slow-cooked Sirloin with Tossed Arugula Salad, Pan-fried Pimentos and Cherry Tomatoes.

新增說明文字

Steaming Live Clams and Boned Fish in Toshiba ER-GD400HK

We love seafood soooooooo much! Had been having seafood for dinner for a few days in a row but still want to have more. We went to the supermarket yesterday and bought some Patagonian Toothfish kirimi (aka Chilean Seabass) and US Manila clams.

新增說明文字

We had "Arugula Salad and Steamed Manila Clams" and "Steamed Seabass with Saffron Cream Sauce". I still need some time to organize the notes I jogged down for the dressing, sauce and topping, what I want to share today is steaming live clams and boned fish with Toshiba ER-GD400HK.

• I selected the steam mode at desired temperature and allow it to run for 5 minutes before putting the seafood into the oven.
• I put the seafood onto small stainless steel trays and steamed at different temperature and time for different ingredients:

                         - For the clams, they are medium sized, I steamed them at 95C for 6 minutes
                         - For the fish (100g x 2 pieces), I steamed it at 90C for 7 minutes

The clams were tender and succulent and the fish was just done, very tender and melts in the mouth with the saffron cream sauce.

Arugula Salad with Steamed Manila Clams

Steamed Seabass with Saffron Cream Sauce

Conclusion: Steaming food in stainless steel trays cooks a lot faster than in containers of other material.

Roasted Spring Chicken Stuffed with Chanterelles and Pearl Barley 焗雞油菌洋薏米釀春雞

As we expected to have a chilly rainy day today, we went to the supermarket to grab some grocery last night. I wanted to live vongole while my hubby wanted to have frozen cod and we could not compromise, so we decided to cook something we already had in the fridge: frozen French yellow spring chicken.

Ingredients: (for 2)

• Spring chicken
• Pearl barley (30g), cooked in vegetable stock until soft
• Chanterelles (5g), re-hydrated, rinsed and chopped
• Shallot, 1 clove, finely chopped
• Carrot, finely chopped, 2 tablespoons 
• Fresh thyme, 2 sprigs
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• Vegetable stock or water, as needed
• Extra virgin olive oil

From top left clockwise: cooked pearl barley, re-hydrated chanterelles, fresh thyme, chopped shallot, chopped carrot.

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 180C.
2. In a hot pan, drizzle with oil. Add the shallot and saute until softened.
3. Add the chaterelles and carrots, saute until the aroma released. 
4. Add the cooked pearl barley and thyme leaves, mix well. Add stock tablespoon by tablespoon until the mushrooms are tender.
5. Add salt and pepper to season.

   

   Should add more liquid to cook the stuffing.

6. Stuff the prepared stuffing into the chicken cavity until full. Tie the chicken.
7. Rub the chicken with extra virgin olive oil, salt and pepper.

   

   Never throw away the elastic tie that comes with the chicken, keep it to tie the bird to keep in good shape after roasting.

8. Roast in the oven for 45-60 minutes until cooked through. When the chicken is already golden brown, cover with foil to prevent over-browning.
9. Serve with blanched vegetables and salads.

Tomato Burdock Bisque 蕃茄牛蒡濃湯

Tomato and burdock are our staple and the flavors of these two ingredients complement each other perfectly. We had tomato burdock bisque in a restaurant and it was good and want to have a bowl of this on a chilly rainy day. I searched the internet and found nothing similar for reference...so I cooked it MY way!

The ingredients should be enough to feed 2-3 persons but it was too delicious and not enough to feed us both! XD

Served with homebaked wholewheat grissini, Italian breadsticks, topped with dried oregano and freshly grated pecorino.

Tomato Burdock Bisque (for 2-3)

Ingredients:

• Chopped canned tomatoes in juice, 1 can (400g)
• Burdock root, 50g, scrubbed and thinly sliced
• Shallot, 2 cloves, sliced
• Carrot, finely chopped (Optional. Just had leftover ingredient from another dish)
• Oregano, fresh, 1 sprig (or replace by dried herb) 
• Vegetarian stock, 1 cup (or replace with water)

Method:

1. In a hot pan, drizzle with oil, stir-fry the shallot until softened.
2. Add the carrot and burdock and saute for a few minutes until slightly browned.
3. Pour in the tomatoes and the stock and bring to a boil.
4. Add the oregano and simmer for 10 minutes.
5. Used a blender/food processor to blend the soup. (I used handheld blender today.)
6. Season with salt and pepper. Serve hot or cold.

Quinoa, Celery and Cucumber Salad with Canned Sardines

We had been dining out too much in the past two weeks, thus I decided to have "clean" meals at home during the holidays. I made Quinoa, Celery and Cucumber Salad with Canned Sardines for lunch today.

Quinoa can be a substitute for grains, very health even for diabetes because it has very low G.I. It is an excellent source of carbohydrates with high-quality protein, low fat and high fibre. Quinoa is easy to prepare and I always cook extra and keep some in the fridge for convenience.

Tri-color royal quinoa. Quinoa is a staple for ancient Incas. Although we always substitute quinoa for grains, it is in fact a vegetable seed.

How to prepare quinoa for salads?

1. Pour quinoa in a sieve and rinse in running water for a minute to remove the substance saponin on the seeds which gives a bitter taste.
2. Combine 1 part quinoa with 2 parts of tap water and bring to the boil. Simmer until the water is absorbed, which takes for 10 minutes or so.
3. Transfer the cooked seeds to a bowl and allow to steam.
4. Add lugs of extra virgin olive oil and fluff up with a fork.
5. Add finely chopped ginger root, garlic and onion to the seeds while still warm and mix thoroughly. Give a good splash of white wine vinegar or your favorite vinegar, mix well and allow to cool. It can then be stored in the fridge. Consume within 3-4 days.

This salad tastes best when chilled, so I always combine the ingredients and dressing 1-2 hours ahead and take it out from the fridge just before serving. 

Ingredients I used today:

From top left clockwise:

• Celery stalks, stringed and diced
• Cucumber, diced
• Pimiento in assorted colours, seeded and diced

  

  Pimientos, love the vivid colors and sweetness!

• Japanese scallions, chopped
• Cherry tomatoes, quartered

Other ingredients:

• Black olives, sliced
• pickled gherkins, diced
• Coriander, chopped
• Avocado, sliced
• Canned sardines

Dressing:

• Extra virgin ve oil
• Red wine vinegar
• Honey
• Freshly grated black pepper

Method: Mix everything in a large salad bowl and chill.