049 - Pan Fried Chicken Breast

Ever had one of those dreadful ‘Chicken Nightmare’?

It’s not cool is it? So you’re in this super nice new hot joint in town with your girlfriend/boyfriend, you ordered some fine wine, a soothing Jazz music playing in the background, and, oh, here comes your order. A pan fried Chicken Breast fillet. You grab your knife, make a slice, and in goes.

Boom.

As dry as Sa-f*cking-Hara desert.

Night’s ruined. You complaint. The booze can’t even help you forget the dreadful chicken experience.

No, you didn’t do anything wrong. It’s the Cook who forgot that Chicken….

Well they uh.., let’s just say they dry out easily.

Fear no more! I’m here to save you and your pride from embarrassment! I’m gonna show you how to make those lovely, killer, juicy chicken breast at home! It’s easy, it is so cheap, and it definitely, taste good!

PAN FRIED CHICKEN BREAST, it is.

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For 2 Servings, you will need

2 Large chicken breast

Salt to taste

Pepper to taste

For the Brine

600 ml of Water

1 ¼ Tbsp of Salt

1 Tsp of Whole Peppercorns

2 Cloves of Garlic

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Ready? Here We Go!

Step 1 – First things first, let’s make the Brine. Mix the Water, Salt, Peppercorns, and Garlic together. Stir until all of the salt has dissolved.

For those who don’t know, Brine is a salt-based solution that can make the driest chicken juicy. In short, it can make the muscle tissue hydrated with moisture. It’s totally customizable to your own taste bud. Like chili? Add ‘em. Cinnamon? Add ‘em. Star Anise? ADD ‘EM. There’s no limit.

Start with Water

Peppercorns

Salt and Garlic!

Stir until all salt has dissolve.

Step 2 – Put the Chicken into the brine and let sit for at least 4 hours. Preferably, overnight.

Here's some proof how brining changed the Chicken meat;

The left one is raw, the right one is brined. You can tell that the right one is hella juicy ain’t it?

Step 3 – Heat a non-stick pan on high. Pour some cooking oil, and let it smoke. Meanwhile, take your chicken out of the brine and dry it out with paper towels. As always, ensure it’s in room temperature!!

Before seasoning, give a nice bash with a meat tenderizer (or anything hard and blunt) to ensure even cooking. And season them with Salt and Pepper on both sides.

Bashing without worry; cover the chicken with plastic wrap before smashing it

Seasoning. Salt and Pepper.

Step 4 – Once the pan is hot, put the chicken in and DON’T, F*CKING, MOVE IT. Let it sear for a good 4-5 minutes. After that, give it a flip and cover. This will help cook the insides while still giving it a nice char marks. After another 5 minutes, it’s done!

Don't let this move. Seriously, don't give in to temptation!

Isn't she lovely?

Cover will help cook the insides!

Step 5 – Serve!

One can’t deny that Chicken Breast is the go-to meat for main course. With this trick I just taught you, people will be in awe. If there’s any other easy way to cook up juicy chicken breast in a relatively short time period, please let me know. Because at this moment, I don’t think there aren’t!

Please give this recipe a go. Tell your mum, your dad, your girlfriend/boyfriend, anyone you knew who might be interested in this daring recipe. Your support helps me keeping this blog up and running!

Cheers

xx

047 - LEFTOVER FRIED RICE!

Leftover rice is a curse. It is dry, grainy, and cold. Not exactly a conversation piece. Most people would just throw them out and forget about it. But dude, that is still food. Don’t waste it. 

REVIVE IT!

I’m gonna show you how to take all those leftovers lying around in your kitchen and turn it into an awesome dish by, why of course, turning it into 

LEFTOVER FRIED RICE!

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For 1 serving, you will need

200 grams of Leftover Rice.  Preferably medium/long grain rice. Cooked a day before.

70 grams of Frozen Mixed Vegetables. Let it thaw in room temperature, or leave it in boiling water for 1 minute to thaw.

1 Garlic

2 Shallots (Bawang Merah)

Any kind of leftover meat/protein

1 tsp Butter/Margarine

1 tsp Dried Chili Flakes

1 Eggs

Salt to taste

Pepper to taste

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Ready? Here We Go!

Step 1 – Mince both Garlic and Shallots finely. Chop your leftover protein into bite size pieces. I just happen to have leftover burger patty, so i'm chopping that into small pieces. Set aside for now

Tip: Bash the garlic to make the skin come off easily

Mince with a rocking motion.

Shallots are cut the same way too

Shame i had to cut this up, but remember, no sacrifice, no glory.

Step 2 – Crack an egg, add a bit of salt, give it a quick whisk. Heat a non-stick pan on medium heat and give it a bit of oil. Cook the egg quickly for about 1 minute. Set aside

Add caption

Gently swirl, until all the liquid turns solid

Slice the eggs with the spatula.

Step 3 – Turn the heat on the stove to high; add some oil on the pan. Once smoking hot, add Shallots and Dried Chili Flakes, stir until fragrant.

This is Canola Oil i'm using

Shallots and Chili Flakes!

Step 4 – Add the Vegetables in (make sure they’re dried prior to cooking!) and the Garlic too! Stir for about 45 seconds, and then add the Rice.

Lovely drop!

Garlic goes in

..so does the Rice!

Step 5 – While you keep the movement in the pan going, here’s a neat trick; ADD A SPLASH OF WATER TO THE PAN! This will help make the rice fluffy again, almost like Phoenix Down reviving Cloud Strife while he’s up against Jenova!. After that, add the Butter (or Margarine), and season with Salt and Pepper to taste. Stir!

Water was already in prior to this Margarine action.

Salt, Pepper.

Mix!

Step 6 – Add the Eggs and Protein in, stir gently. And guess what?

Step 7 – Serve!

The taste of this dish is awesome! It blows my mind what simple Garlic and Shallots can do to leftover Rice! Not to mention the steam action from the splash of water!

With prep work and cooking, it took me less than 10 minutes to cook this. Time saving? Yes. Money saving? DEFINITELY!

Serve this with a side of Shrimp Cracker and Chili Balado if you like!

Give this a go!

Cheers

xx