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Delicious panko chicken thigh

Posted by Gary

I love fried chicken but I hate wasting oil. This delicious oven roasted panko chicken offers an alternative to deep frying the chicken in oil and coated in flour and eggs.

Tonight I had some leftover rice and chia which I enjoyed with salmon last night. I knew I wanted the rice to absorb the chicken flavour so I cooked the chicken directly above the rice to allow the chicken juices to flow into the rice.

Delicious panko chicken thigh
Recipe Type: Dinner
Cuisine: Australian
Author: Gary Lum
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 1
Ingredients
  • Chicken thigh
  • Panko
  • Chicken salt
  • Grape seed oil
  • Golden syrup
  • Leftover rice and chia
  • Chili flakes
  • Spinach leaves
  • Chard
  • Pepper
Instructions
  1. In a plastic bag add the chicken thigh, oil, chicken salt and panko crumbs. Make sure the chicken is well coated and massage it all in
  2. Butter/oil a metal sleeve and place on a tray lined with baking paper
  3. Add the leftover rice and chia
  4. Add some chili flakes and a little oil and pepper
  5. Lay the chicken thigh on top of the metal sleeve so its juices drizzle into the rice
  6. Drizzle a little golden syrup over the chicken thigh
  7. Cook in an oven at 150 °C for 1 hour
  8. At the end of the cooking allow the chicken to rest for a full 20 minutes
  9. Lay some spinach leaves and chard on a plate
  10. Place the chicken on the plate
  11. Try to get the rice and chia stack to remain as a stack but don’t lose sleep if it falls apart
  12. Shoot a photograph
  13. Eat the meal
  14. Wash the dishes
  15. Write the recipe
  16. Blog (verb)

 

Metal sleeve
Metal sleeve
Metal sleeve with rice and chia inside
Metal sleeve with rice and chia inside

I bought the metal sleeve from the Essential Ingredient in Kingston

A chicken thigh on top of the metal sleeve. The chicken has been coated in panko and chicken salt and had golden syrup drizzled over it.
A chicken thigh on top of the metal sleeve. The chicken has been coated in panko and chicken salt and had golden syrup drizzled over it.

Not the greatest photograph but the golden syrup is totally worth adding.

Roast chicken thigh
Roast chicken thigh

I reckon this panko chicken thigh looks fantastic.

Roast chicken thigh and leftover rice and chia with chicken salt
Roast chicken thigh and leftover rice and chia with chicken salt

The chicken was perfectly cooked. The muscle was juicy and tender. The panko crusted skin was crunchy and full of salty flavour.

Chicken salt
Chicken salt

I bought the chicken salt from the local Belconnen chicken shop in the Westfield mall.

This is what I had for lunch. Yep, more chicken. The Courtney 

The Courtney from The Tradies, Woden
The Courtney from The Tradies, Woden

Have you tried an alternative to fried chicken? How about panko chicken?

Delicious cauliflower soup

Posted by Gary

Last week I made a dynamite spicy pumpkin soup. At the time I was also thinking of making cauliflower soup and adding some jalapeño peppers to spice it up a bit. Of course I’d also add my secret ingredient, viz., SPAM®

Tonight I put together a cauliflower soup with a twist. In addition to the jalapeño pepper and SPAM® I added some celeriac. It was delicious.

Delicious cauliflower soup
Recipe Type: Dinner
Cuisine: Australian
Author: Gary Lum
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 1
Ingredients
  • Cauliflower
  • Celeriac
  • SPAM®
  • Jalapeño pepper
  • Lime juice
  • Cream
  • Fried shallots
  • White wine
  • Grapeseed oil
Instructions
  1. Add about 2 tablespoons of grapeseed oil to the saucepan and heat
  2. Dice the SPAM®
  3. Dice the cauliflower and celeriac
  4. Slice the jalapeño pepper
  5. Fry off the SPAM® until it has taken on some colour and is sticking to the bottom of the saucepan
  6. Add the jalapeño pepper slices and fry until softened
  7. Add the celeriac and fry off until softened
  8. Add the cauliflower
  9. Add a splash of white wine and some water to just cover the cauliflower
  10. Bring to a slow simmer and cook for 20 minutes
  11. When the cauliflower is soft blend with a stick blender
  12. Add some cream and blend until smooth
  13. Serve in a bowl and garnish with fried shallots
  14. Keep the leftover soup in another bowl, cover and freeze for another time
  15. Shoot a photograph
  16. Swallow the soup
  17. Clean the dishes
  18. Write the recipe
  19. Blog (verb)
Delicious cauliflower soup with celeriac, SPAM®, and jalapeño pepper
Delicious cauliflower soup with celeriac, SPAM®, and jalapeño pepper

I hope you enjoy this soup if you make it. I love cauliflower soup. It’s so comforting in winter. Tonight in Canberra is going to be 0 °C (32 °F)

Do you fart after cauliflower soup? I do 

Tonight I perfected the roast chicken Maryland dinner

Posted by Gary

Tonight I think I struck gold and made the perfect roast chicken dinner. My mouth is singing with happiness.

I’ve been thinking of tonight’s dinner nearly all day. I think everyone who reads this blog knows how much I love roast chicken and my favourite part of the chicken is the Maryland. That’s the thigh and drumstick. Everyone of late also knows I’ve taken to quinoa. Given we’re about to breach winter in Canberra, roasted vegetables are high on the comfort food scale. This is a combination dinner that just sung in my mouth.

Tonight I perfected the roast chicken Maryland dinner
Recipe Type: Dinner
Cuisine: Australian
Author: Gary Lum
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 1
Ingredients
  • Chicken Maryland
  • Potato
  • Sweet potato
  • Capsicum
  • Jalapeño pepper
  • Grated cheese
  • Olive oil
  • Diced spam
  • Black peppercorns
  • Worcestershire sauce
  • Quinoa
  • Rice
Instructions
  1. Place about ⅓ cup of quinoa and rice into the bottom of the roasting tray
  2. Add ⅔ cup of water to the roasting tray
  3. Place a rack in the roasting tray and add the Chicken Maryland which has been rubbed with olive oil, salt and dried mixed herbs
  4. Place the chicken into an oven at 150 °C for 1 hour (use a meat thermometer to ensure food safety)
  5. Cut the potato, sweet potato and capsicum into wedges or batons
  6. Dice some classic SPAM®
  7. Finely dice some jalapeño pepper
  8. Put the jalapeño pepper, potato, sweet potato, capsicum and SPAM® into a large bowl and mix with some olive oil, grated cheese, cracked black peppercorns, and a dash of Worcestershire sauce
  9. Lay out the vegetables onto some baking paper on an oven tray
  10. Place the vegetables into the oven on another shelf with the chicken and cook for 1 hour
  11. Pull the chicken out of the oven and make sure the meat thermometer has achieved the correct cooking temperature to kill most vegetative bacteria (this is 75 °C according to chicken.org.au)
  12. Allow the chicken to rest for about 20 to 30 minutes (resting is really important, it helps ensure a succulent flesh)
  13. Scoop out the quinoa and rice from the baking tray and place half in a bowl in the refrigerator for lunch the next day with some salad leaves.
  14. Keep the rest of the quinoa and rice warm to serve with the chicken and vegetables
  15. Hopefully you’ve timed the cooking of the vegetables to coincide with the end of the resting period of the chicken
  16. When the chicken is rested plate up the vegetables onto a plate, then place the rice and quinoa next to the vegetables. Finally add the chicken.
  17. If you are French you probably made a sauce and lots of it to enjoy with the chicken, me, I’m an Australian. We don’t need sauce.
  18. Shoot a photograph
  19. Inhale the meal
  20. Wash the dishes
  21. Write the recipe
  22. Blog (verb)

The combination of jalapeño peppers in the vegetables made a huge difference. As the vegetables were roasting the volatile odours from the peppers were permeating my small apartment. The rice and quinoa in the baking tray had absorbed all the fatty juicy goodness from the chicken and they stuck together really well to form an old fashioned stack. The chicken was perfectly cooked. The meat was juicy and succulent. I cannot emphasise too much the value of resting roast chicken. Oh, I also added my secret ingredient, viz., SPAM®

If you make this or make a variation of this dish please let me know.

I hope you like roast chicken as much as I do 

Roast Chicken Maryland, Capsicum, Cheese, , Jalapeño pepper, Onion, Potato, Quinoa, Rice, Spam, and Sweet potato
Roast Chicken Maryland, Capsicum, Cheese, , Jalapeño pepper, Onion, Potato, Quinoa, Rice, Spam, and Sweet potato

Delicious spam and roast vegetables

Posted by Gary

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It’s been ages since I’ve eaten spam! Well at least a week. I thought some roast vegetables would be nice for dinner tonight and I pondered what meat to eat. I thought about no meat and then thought bacon. Then I realised I could have spam. The real question was would I use one of the cans I brought back from Hawaii and the recipe book I bought there. 

In the end I chose the classic SPAM® and made up the recipe. 

Delicious spam and roast vegetables
 
Recipe Type: Dinner
Cuisine: Australian
Author: Gary Lum
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 1
Ingredients
  • Potato
  • Sweet potato
  • Capsicum
  • Chili flakes
  • Pepper
  • Curry powder
  • Salt
  • Cheese
  • Olive oil
  • Sesame oil
Instructions
  1. Cut the potato and sweet potato into batons
  2. Slice the capsicum into batons as long as the potato and sweet potato
  3. Dice the Classic SPAM®
  4. Add everything to a large mixing bowl and then add in everything else
  5. Mix with your hands
  6. Pour into a baking tray and place into a preheated oven (150 °C) for 45 minutes
  7. Remove from the oven and allow to rest for 5 minutes
  8. Serve in a large bowl
  9. Shoot a photograph
  10. Eat while watching #MasterChefAU and tweeting
  11. Wash the dishes
  12. Write the recipe
  13. Blog (verb)
 

 

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How do you enhance your roast vegetables? 

Is it possible to make quinoa more manly?

Posted by Gary

Fellas have you ever thought, is it possible to make quinoa more manly?

I asked a mate at work who I respect a lot and he said no. Well, that is, he said no after I thought I had made a decent attempt to make quinoa more manly.

I should say up front I do like quinoa. It has an interesting taste and I like cooking it and seeing the bright ring form that shines nicely when I’m focusing my lens on it. I also like it’s taste when it’s mixed with lemon juice and cooked in beef or chicken stock.

The other thing I like about quinoa is the toilet brush effect it has on my bowels. Every morning after a bowl of quinoa I feel cleaned out. I feel like it helps my irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).

Oven baked salmon coated in panko and chilli flakes served with avocado on a bed of quinoa with brown onion gravy
Oven baked salmon coated in panko and chilli flakes served with avocado on a bed of quinoa with brown onion gravy | NIKON D7100 with 24.0-70.0 mm f/2.8 at 40mm and f/8, 1/80sec, ISO 400

So what did I do to try to make a man of my quinoa? I added some brown onion gravy. Doesn’t it look amazing? NOT!!! 

I was watching My Kitchen Rules while blogging and coincidentally the entrée from the blonde butchers was being referred to by a lot of tweeps as a turd on a plate. A tweep from Melbourne took a similar view on my meal and called it dog vomit. 

 

Fair enough, even I reckon it looks awful. It tasted good though.

It also reminded me of the Monty Python Cocktail Bar sketch.

Check out some of my quinoa handy work here