Chicken Porridge

So much has happened this week. Thankfully, we are all back in good health. But things have gotten really crazy. And in the midst of all the craziness, I have not been able to sit down at the computer long enough to post, or even to visit blogs. I have started going through my subscriptions, and I have started visiting blogs, and if I haven't gotten around to yours yet, you can be sure I will soon!

In other news, we got a bit of bad news this week. We need to find a new place to live. Our landlord wants to move in to his own apartment, and so we have just over 2 months to find a new place and move in there. We've been here more than 7 years. We moved in here right after we got married, and this place is full of memories. This is the only home our little girl has ever known, and I am sure she won't have too many memories of this place when she grows up. I don't know where to start with the packing. So I am going to just concentrate on finding a new home first. God is good. And I am sure He is going to give us a better home than what we have right now.

During times like this, I need comfort food.

I made this a couple of weeks ago, and this is perfect comfort food. I wish I had had some of this leftover for this stressful week. My husband and I were addicted to this dish when we lived in Singapore, and we often ate it for breakfast. It is great for dinner too, in my opinion. I have made this a few times after we moved back. I don't know how authentic my version is, and I apologize to anyone I might offend with my recipe! I can assure you it tastes really good. In Singapore, we used to eat it with this yummy fried bread, but I haven't tried making that yet. Anyone have a good recipe for you tiao?

Chicken Porridge
Ingredients
For the stock
1/2 kg (a little more than a pound) bone-in chicken, washed and cut into small pieces
1 large onion, roughly chopped
2 medium carrots, roughly chopped
1/4 cup chopped celery
1/4 cup chopped leeks
4 cloves of garlic, peeled and crushed
1 1" piece of ginger, peeled and crushed
2 bay leaves
1 2" piece of cinnamon
2 cloves
1 star anise
1 tablespoon pepper corns
2 1/2 litres water
Salt to taste

For the porridge
3/4 cup rice, washed and soaked for 1/2 hour
8-12 cups of chicken stock
Shredded, cooked chicken (from the stock)
2 tsp sesame oil
Salt, and pepper to taste

Garnishes
Caramelized onion
Chopped Spring onion
Chopped cilantro/coriander
Soy Sauce
Chili Vinegar Sauce

Method
1. Combine all the ingredients for the stock and cook for about 45 minutes. Strain and reserve all the stock. Shred the chicken from the bones, and discard the bones. You could leave the chicken shredded or chop it up. Discard all the vegetables and spices.
2. Bring 8 cups of stock to a boil, and add the washed, soaked rice.
3. Cook for 45 minutes to an hour on a medium flame until the rice is cooked and mushy. Add more stock if needed.
4. When the rice is cooked, and the porridge has the right consistency, add the chopped/shredded chicken and the sesame oil.
5. Check the seasoning and add more salt/pepper if needed.
6. For the caramelized onion garnish , deep fry 2-3 finely sliced red onions until golden brown. Stir some of the caramelized onion into the porridge, and reserve the remaining for garnish.
7. For the chili vinegar sauce, combine 1/4 cup of rice wine vinegar with 1/4 cup of sugar, and 2-3 chopped, fresh chillies (depending on how 'hot' you want it), and cook together until it is slightly syrupy. Allow to cool before serving.
8. Serve the porridge warm, garnished with chopped cilantro, spring onions, and caramelized onions. On the side, serve small bowls of soy sauce, and chili vinegar sauce.

This can be made with store-bought stock as well. That would make this even quicker, and more convenient. You would just need some rice, and some cooked chicken to throw into the porridge. And the garnishes, of course. This dish just isn't the same without the garnishes. The flavors of the porridge are really subtle and the garnishes add that extra bit of magic to this dish.

It is perfect for when you need a warm bowl of comfort. It is also perfect on rainy days, perfect to eat in bed and perfect for when you're sick and nursing a cold. I love this dish. My husband loves it. I just discovered my little girl loves it too. And so does my dog. We are a happy, chicken porridge-loving family.

Cauliflower Soup with Creme Fraiche

I thought that once camp was done, I would be able to slow down a little. But things have been getting more hectic than ever. Suddenly, all my clients have work for me. When it rains it pours! But hey - I guess too much work is better than no work at all. :)

Because I have been working so hard, I treated myself today. I went to a book store! I love book stores. I bought my husband a comic for his growing collection, I bought my daughter some pop-up books and most importantly, I bought myself the prettiest journal. It has beautiful, thick, creamy pages, a magnetic flap, and most importantly - the binding is grey raw silk with blue floral designs in velvet. It looks gorgeously antique and feels absolutely divine in my hands. Ever since I started this blog, I find I have been writing my recipes down more than ever. So, I thought this would be a nice book to write in. Maybe when it's full, I can buy a few more to fill and give them to my daughter when she's older.

Oh and did I brag about my Mother's Day gifts yet? I got a beautiful box of chocolate, a luxurious towel (it's a very fun hot pink!), more chocolate, a trendy handbag, and just so can photograph my food in pretty crockery, some beautiful serving plates and bowls. I'm loving the love! :)

Speaking of love - I love soup! As for my husband, well, let's just say he can live without it. He doesn't mind it as one course in a meal, but he doesn't enjoy soup as a meal. Sigh. But every now and then, I manage to convince him that soup is good for the soul, and today was one of those days.

These were just ingredients I happened to have in my fridge, and I thought they made sense together. We ate it with some homemade bread and some crumb-fried chicken tenders on the side (for crunch and meat, my husband said).

Cauliflower Creme Fraiche Soup

Ingredients
1 large head of cauliflower, cut into medium florets (the smaller they're cut, the quicker they cook)
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tsbp butter
1 large onion, chopped
3 cloves of garlic, crushed
1 bay leaf
1 tsp salt (I used onion salt)
a pinch of nutmeg
4 cups vegetable stock
1/4 - 1/2 cup creme fraiche (to taste)
Pepper to taste

Method
1. In a large pot, heat the olive oil and butter.
2. Add the onion and garlic and cook until the onion has softened and turned translucent. Do not let the onions brown.
3. Add the bay leaf, salt and nutmeg and stir.
4. Add the 3 cups of stock and bring to a boil
5. Gently drop the cauliflower into the hot stock and cook until the cauliflower is very soft. 20-30 minutes depending on how small you've cut the cauliflower.
6. Allow the pot to cool before blending the soup in small batches until smooth and creamy.
7. Transfer back to the pot and add 1/4 cup of the creme fraiche. Stir until it is completely incorporated.
8. If you feel the soup is too thick, you could thin it with either more stock or even some milk.
9. Adjust the seasoning, add pepper and more creme fraiche if desired.
10. Serve hot or cold, topped with some creme fraiche and dill.

This soup is very smooth, rich and very, very filling. I know cauliflower is a winter vegetable, and I can just imagine sipping this in a cup on cold evening. But I ate the soup cold, and it worked just fine for me on this hot, summer day!

Technorati Tags: Cauliflower, Soup, Recipe, Creme, Fraiche

Pea & White Bean soup

Had a wonderfully busy weekend. I love my God, love my church & love my family!

I am so grateful that I am surrounded by generous family members. But lately, I seem to be getting a ton of peas! More than even I know what do with. See, my husband & I love our veggies & we have a veggie-loving 18 month old. But - SO MANY PEAS! I don't know why it took me so long to think about making soup. It kinda kills two birds with one stone, too. I don't feel like chewing much with all this dental work I've been having & soup was the perfect dinner for tonight.

I didn't follow a recipe. I know peas go with ham or bacon. I didn't have any available. So, this soup was just a hodge-podge of whatever was available.

Pea & White Bean Soup

Ingredients 

2 tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp butter

2 red onions, roughly chopped

2 small carrots, grated

3-4 stalks of celery, roughly chopped

4 large cloves of garlic, crushed

5 large handfuls of green peas

2 large handfuls of fresh white beans

1 pork sausage, cut into chunks

8-10 peppercorns

1 bay leaf

1/2 tsp thyme

Salt to taste

4-5 cups chicken stock

1 cup milk

Double cream, cheese & chopped chives to garnish

Method

1. Heat the oil & butter in a heavy-bottomed pan.
2. Sautee the onion, garlic, celery & carrot. Add a little salt so they don't brown too fast.
3. When the onion & celery are soft, add the sausage & peppercorns. Let the sausage brown a little & release some fat.
4. Add the peas, beans & stir well.
5. Add the stock, bayleaf, thyme & salt to taste.
6. Cover & cook until the beans and peas are very soft - 1-1.5 hours.
7. Cool the mixture & then puree.Pour back into a saucepan.
8. Add the milk & bring to a boil. Increase or decrease the amount of milk depending on how thick you want the soup to be.
9. Take off the heat & adjust the seasoning.
10. Garnish & serve hot.