Recipe: Chicken Fricassée (Gordon Ramsay)

It definitely feels good to be back in my own kitchen and cooking for my family again. Since Gordon Ramsay month has not ended yet, I picked this chicken fricassée recipe to try. Fricassée is a French method of cooking whereby meat is cut up, sauteed and braised, then served with its sauce. 

Chicken Fricassée

Gordon Ramsay uses a whole chicken jointed into 8 pieces and cooks it with smoked bacon, garlic and mushrooms, but I decided to use 4 chicken marylands, cut up into 4 drumsticks and 4 thighs. The recipe calls for flambeing the chicken with brandy, but I skipped this step and just simmered it at high heat for a couple of minutes. Since I prefer crispy skin when I eat chicken thigh/drumsticks, I placed the cooked chicken under a hot grill for several minutes for the skin to crisp up (but this step is completely optional).

This was a huge hit with my kids - even before I finished snapping photos, they have already finished one drumstick each. Eaten with the sauce, I have to admit it's really delicious! The chicken is moist and flavorful. I would definitely make this again, seeing that it takes less than 45 minutes to prepare and results in an utterly satisfying dish.

Chicken Fricassée
Recipe by Baby Sumo, adapted from Gordon Ramsay's Ultimate Home Cooking
Preparation time: 5 minutes
Cooking time: 40 minutes
Serves 4


Ingredients
2 tbsp olive oil
4 chicken maryland, jointed into 4 drumsticks and 4 thighs
100g bacon lardons or streaky bacon, sliced
4 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
150g white button mushrooms, halved
1 bay leaf
2 rosemary sprigs
2 thyme sprigs, leaves only
50ml brandy
400ml chicken stock
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

To garnish
2 sprigs of thyme or chopped parsley


1. In a large heavy-based sauté pan or casserole over medium heat, add the olive oil. Season the chicken with salt and pepper, then add to the hot pan (put the thighs in skin side down) and sauté for 3-4 minutes on one side, until golden. (You may need to do it in two batches if your pan is small) Turn the chicken over, add the lardons, garlic and mushrooms and mix well.  Stir in the bay leaf, rosemary and thyme.

2. Add the brandy, and increase to medium high heat and simmer for 1 minute, then lower the heat back to medium and simmer gently for 2-3 minutes.

3. Pour in the chicken stock and bring to a gentle simmer. Cook uncovered, over medium low heat for 10 minutes, then cover and cook for a further 15 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through.

4. Transfer to a baking tray, and place under hot grill for 4-5 minutes for crispy skin (this is an additional step which I did to crisp up the skin).

5. In the meantime, increase the heat under the pan to medium high to reduce and slightly thicken the sauce.

6. Discard the garlic, rosemary and bay leaf. Spoon sauce with mushroom and bacon onto plate and top with chicken. Garnish with thyme (leaves only) or chopped parsley.


Note: Original recipe uses 1 large free range chicken jointed into 8 pieces. I used thin streaky bacon cut into strips as I couldn't get bacon lardons here. I also substituted chestnut mushrooms for white button mushroom. I also did not flambé the chicken after adding the brandy.

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* I am submitting this to the "Cook Like Gordon Ramsay" event which I am co-hosting with Zoe of Bake for Happy Kids and Mich of Piece of Cake. To join, simply cook or bake any recipe from any Gordon Ramsay websites or cookbooks for the whole month of August 2014. You can link your posts at one of the host's pages.

Your post must be a current post i.e. posted in August 2014 - please do not link older posts.Please mention Cook like a Star in your post and link back to Zoe of Bake for Happy Kids, Mich of Piece of Cake and Baby Sumo of Eat your heart out.

Happy cooking! Do check out the other bloggers recipe below:




* I am submitting this post to "Cook-Your-Books #15" hosted by Joyce.

If you enjoyed reading my posts, LIKE me on Facebook! You can also follow me on Instagram (@babysumo) for more photo updates. Thanks :)

Recipe: Braised beef short ribs with red wine, served with mashed potatoes, baby carrots and shallots

During a recent trip at the supermarket, I was browsing the meat department when I saw beef short ribs for sale. I think it was the first time I have seen it sold  in the supermarket and I liked how nicely marbled it was so I quickly grabbed it. 

Braised beef short ribs with red wine

Beautiful piece of English-cut beef short ribs ;)

Beef short ribs are best slow-cooked, so I decided to braise it in the oven with red wine and beef stock. Ideally, it should be cooked for about 2 hours until the meat is fork tender and falling off the bone. I also threw in some fresh rosemary and thyme from the garden. Once the short rib is ready, remove it from the pan and then thicken the sauce. I also added in the baby carrots and shallots at this point as I like them with a little more bite. To finish off the dish nicely, I made some mashed potatoes to soak up all the lovely sauce.

Our verdict? This is extremely delicious - the beef short ribs is tender with a wonderful gelatinous melt-in-the-mouth texture. I am hoping to see this cut more often at the supermarket so I can make it again! :)

Braised beef short ribs with red wine, served with mashed potatoes, baby carrots and shallots
Recipe by Baby Sumo
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 2 1/2 hours
Serves 4


Ingredients
4 beef short ribs (about 350g each), fats trimmed
1 tbsp cooking oil
2 onions, sliced
3 cloves garlic, minced
3 sprigs fresh thyme
3 sprigs fresh rosemary
2 dried bay leaves

1 cup cooking red wine (or dry red wine)
1 cup beef stock
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1/2 tsp soft brown sugar
1 tbsp flour, mixed with 3 tbsp water to form paste

150g baby carrots (or 2 large carrots)
8 shallots or pearl onions, peeled
12 cherry tomatoes


For the mash
4 Russet potatoes, peeled and cut into thick chunks (about 1 kg)
3-4 tbsp of butter
1 tbsp milk
Salt and white pepper


1. Preheat oven to 170°C.

2. In a large casserole, heat oil over medium high heat. Brown the ribs, two at a time, caramelizing them well on all sides. Once browned, remove and set aside.

3. Add the onions and cook for about 5-6 minutes, or lightly browned. Add the garlic, thyme, rosemary, bay leaf, red wine and beef stock and bring to the boil. Add the ribs back to the pan and allow to simmer for about 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

4. Place in preheated oven, with lid on, and cook for 1 1/2 - 2 hours. The ribs are done when they're fork tender and falling off the bone.

5. Using a slotted spoon, remove the short ribs onto a plate. Skim off any excess oil and discard.

6. Next, we will want to reduce the sauce slightly to a thicker consistency. Place the casserole on the hob on medium low heat, then add the shallots and carrots. Add the balsamic vinegar, sugar and flour paste and cook until the sauce has thickened, about 20-25 minutes.

7. Place cherry tomatoes on a baking tray and drizzle with some olive oil, and place in a 200°C oven and roast for 5 minutes.

8. For the mash, boil the potatoes in a pan of boiling salted water, about 12-15 minutes until tender. Drain and mash with a potato press and mix the butter and milk in until smooth. Season with salt and pepper.

Hubby found a great new use for our Scrabble tags. ;)

I am linking this to Little Thumbs Up (July 2014: Potato) hosted by Jasline of Foodie Baker.

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Recipe: Kimchi Jjigae (김치찌개 Korean Kimchi Stew)

Say goodbye to hot sunny days and hello to cool, rainy days.

Now that the weather is cooler, we enjoy having hot soup or stew for dinner. We have loads of matured kimchi left in the fridge, so we made some kimchi jjigae aka Korean kimchi spicy stew for dinner.

When making kimchi jjigae, you can use a variety of different meats and seafood such as pork, chicken, canned tuna or prawns - our choice this time is prawn and chicken. Make sure to use matured kimchi as it gives the stew a stronger, more intense flavour. You can control the level of spiciness by how much gochujang (hot pepper paste) or gochugaru (chilli powder) you put in. We love to have lots of tofu in our jjigae.

Not only is it easy to make, it is so very comforting and delicious. Kimchi jjigae is wonderfully appetizing with a sourish tinge from the matured kimchi. It is a fantastic one-pot meal which you can enjoy in less than 30 minutes.

All we need is a bowl of rice and a big (or maybe two) bowl(s) of kimchi jjigae and we're happy campers :)

Kimchi jjigae 김치찌개 (Kimchi spicy stew)
Recipe by Baby Sumo, adapted from here
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 15 - 20 minutes
Serves 2-3 as main meal


Ingredients
2 tbsp vegetable oil
150g lean pork or chicken breast, sliced thinly

8 king prawns, peeled and deveined, with tails intact
1 onion, halved and sliced thinly
150g matured kimchi
1 clove garlic, crushed
100ml kimchi juice
500ml water
1 tbsp cooking wine (I used Shaoxing wine)
1 tbsp miso or doenjang
2 tbsp light soy sauce
1 1/2 tbsp gochujang (hot pepper paste)
1 piece beancurd, cubed
2 stalks spring onion, sliced
1 red chilli, sliced
1/2 tsp gochugaru (or chilli powder)


1. Marinate the pork/chicken with the Shaoxing wine.

2. Heat the oil in a small, deep pot and fry the pork/chicken, kimchi and garlic for 3-5 minutes. When the meat has browned, add the kimchi juice, onion, water, gochujang, miso/doenjang, and soy sauce, stirring everything together to combine.

3. Bring to boil and taste for spiciness. If you prefer your soup spicy, then add some gochugaru.

4. Allow the soup to simmer for 10-15 minutes, then add the tofu and cook for another 2 minutes. Add the prawns, and cook for a further 30 seconds, or until cooked.

5. Serve immediately with rice. Garnish with the spring onions and red chillies.

Note: If you do not have gochugaru, you can replace with chilli powder. See here on how to make your own kimchi.

*I am submitting this to Asian Food Fest #6 April 2014 :Korea hosted by Sharon of Feats of Feasts.


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Recipe: Vietnamese Bo Kho (Beef Stew) + WORLDFOODS giveaway #1

My family loves eating beef stew very much. Although beef stew takes a couple of hours to cook, it is in fact very simple as all you need to do is simply place all the ingredients into the pot and cook away until tender and flavorful.

For my beef stew this time, I made it using WORLDFOODS Vietnamese five spice bo kho sauce. This sauce can also be used for stir fries. Vietnamese beef stew, also known as bo kho is a popular Vietnamese dish which can be served with banh mi (baguette), steamed rice or noodles.

The WORLDFOODS sauce is a delicious tomato-based sauce combined with fragrant lemon grass, ginger and chillies with heady notes of spices. This is said to be medium heat, however for us this is quite mild tasting hence great for kids to enjoy too. I also added in some carrots, making this a great one-pot meal for dinner.

I am delighted to announce that I will be collaborating with WORLDFOODS for a few months to bring you some recipes created using WORLDFOODS products. WORLDFOODS products are convenient and with these available, I believe everyone can easily and quickly put a delicious meal on their table. What I like about WORLDFOODS products is that it is food allergens free, trans-fat free and gluten free with no artificial preservatives, coloring or flavouring, as well as being suitable for vegetarians, vegans, coeliacs and Muslims. In KL, WORLDFOODS products are available at Village Grocer (Bangsar Village 1, Sunway Giza, Mt Kiara), Jaya Grocers (Intermark, Empire Shopping, Plaza Jelutong) and Hock Choon @ Ampang.

GIVEAWAY!
Thanks to WORLDFOODS, I have 2 bottles of this Vietnamese Bo Kho sauce to giveaway. All you need to do is leave a comment below stating "I want to enter this giveaway" with your name and e-mail address. This giveaway is open to Malaysia only. 2 winners will be drawn (1 bottle each) at random on 12 February 2014 and notified via email.



Bo Kho (Vietnamese beef stew)
Recipe by Baby Sumo
Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 1 1/2 hours
Serves 4-5

Ingredients
400ml water
1 jar (200g) WORLDFOODS Vietnamese Bo Kho sauce
800g stewing beef
3 carrots, cut into chunks
1 large onion, cut into 1/8ths
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2-3 tbsp cooking oil
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp fish sauce

To garnish
Thai basil leaves
Red chillies, sliced (optional)


1. In a large pot or casserole, heat the oil over high heat. When the oil is hot, add half the beef to quickly sear, until the meat is browned.  Repeat for remaining beef.

2. Add the onions and garlic and saute for about 2 minutes.Then, add water and WORLDFOODS Vietnamese Bo Kho sauce, stirring well to mix and bring to the boil.

3. Once boiling, cover with lid, and cook for approximately 1 1/2 hours over low heat until meat is fork-tender. Add the carrots 30 minutes before the end of cooking time. Season with salt and fish sauce. Serve hot with banh mi (baguette), steamed rice or noodles. Garnish with Thai basil leaves and red chillies.

Fantastic one-pot meal

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Recipe: Thai Yellow Curry Chicken + PSA: Stop Hunger Now (WORLDFOODS)

I still had a jar of WORLDFOODS Thai Yellow Curry Paste, so it was put to good use on one of those busy days where I wanted to cook a quick yet nutritious dinner for my family. This curry paste is described as medium hot, fragrant yellow curry paste spiced with turmeric and various Thai spices and herbs.

For this curry, I used chicken breast which is cut into bite-sized chunks. We also just harvested some long beans from our garden, so this also went into the curry. Usually for Thai curries (kaeng), coconut milk is used but I substituted with regular cow's milk, something which I started doing in the UK as it was slightly harder to source for fresh coconut milk. In this instance, we were just too lazy to drive out to get some freshly grated coconut.

Thai Yellow Curry Chicken

Served with a bowl of rice, this was extremely good - creamy and mildly spicy. The kids surprised us when they asked for more after the first spoonful. I asked them if it was spicy, and they replied "A bit but it's yummy!".  Most of us ended up "tambah nasi" (having another bowl of rice) to soak up the lovely curry sauce.

Thai yellow curry chicken
Recipe by Baby Sumo
Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 10-12 minutes
Serves 4

Ingredients
1 jar (200g) WORLDFOODS Thai yellow curry paste
500g chicken breast, cut into small chunks
2 tbsp cooking oil
350-400ml milk
4-5 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
1 large onion, cut into 1/8ths
3 long beans, cut into 1 inch lengths
1 red chilli, sliced thinly


1. In a wok, heat the cooking oil over medium high heat. Add the garlic and cook for 1 1/2 minutes until lightly browned. Then, add the onion and stir fry for a further minute.

2. Add the chicken pieces and cook for 3-4 minutes, until the chicken pieces are almost (90%) cooked through. Add the Thai yellow curry paste and fry for 1-2 minutes until fragrant. Add the long beans, red chillies and milk, and simmer over medium heat until the milk is very hot. Once hot, taste and season with salt as necessary and add more milk if you find it too spicy. Serve immediately with white rice.

*I am submitting this to Cook-Your-Books #6 hosted by Joyce of Kitchen Flavours and to Asian Food Fest #2 Oct 2013 : Thailand hosted by Lena from Frozen Wings.


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For Christmas 2013 WORLDFOODS wishes to give something back to those in crisis.

Stop Hunger Now is a charity that aims to end world hunger in our lifetime, a cause which is close to WORLDFOODS Global Business Director May Foong’s heart. WORLDFOODS wishes to help feed the poor, who can’t feed themselves.

WORLDFOODS will be implementing a Christmas Charity campaign in which they look to match the first 5,000 “Likes” they receive on their Facebook page with a donation of $1 (per each new like) to Stop Hunger Now.

What will the money go towards? In 2005 Stop Hunger Now launched their meal packing programme perfecting an assembly process of small meal packets that contain essential vitamins and minerals and have a 2 year shelf life. These cost only 25 cents. This means that a $1 dollar donation from WORLDFOODS will feed four hungry mouths. 70% of their meals are provided to transformational development programs such as school feeding, vocational training, early childhood development and orphanages.

Stop Hunger Now has also provided 1.6 million Meals to the victims of Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines.

All you have to do is to go to the WORLDFOODS Facebook page and LIKE it. Remember, every 1 like will feed 4 hungry mouths. Thank you :)

Recipe: Braised pork ribs with radish, dried scallops and miso

This month, my friend Mich from Piece of Cake is hosting Little Thumbs Up with the theme "soy beans". At home, I rarely cook with soy beans in its raw form, but I do like soy products such as tofu as well as seasonings made from soy beans (miso paste, taucu paste and soy sauce).

Miso paste is something I always have in my fridge. It is a Japanese seasoning made from fermented soy beans. I often use it for miso soup, as my kids love it very much. There are a few types of miso available but the one that I usually use is awasemiso (mixed miso). 

Braised pork ribs with radish, dried scallops and miso

We usually have pork ribs once a week in our home, and for dinner one evening, I made braised pork ribs with radish, dried scallops and miso. This is a soupy version, for a dry version, you can check out my recipe for braised miso pork ribs here.

This is an easy one-pot stew, whereby the pork ribs is cooked for 2 hours, until tender and falling off the bone. The radish and dried scallops will add flavour and sweetness to the soup. A delicious, nourishing and comforting dish.

My kids always give big thumbs up for comforting stews like this!

Braised pork ribs with radish, dried scallops and miso
Recipe by Baby Sumo
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 2 hours
Serves 4



Ingredients
1/2 bulb garlic
2 onions, quartered
2 tbsp cooking oil
2 radish (1kg), cut into chunks
900g pork ribs
1.6l water
3 tbsp miso paste
20 small dried scallops, rinsed


1. In a large pot, heat the oil over medium high heat. Add garlic and fry for 1 1/2 minute until lightly browned. Add the pork ribs, and brown on all sides. Add water, onions and radish and bring to the boil. Once boiling, lower to low heat and cook for 1 hour.

2. Dissolve the miso paste in some of the broth, and add it to the pot with the dried scallops. Cook for another 1 hour, until the meat is tender and falls off the bone easily. Taste and season with more miso paste as necessary. Serve with rice.

*I am submitting this to the Little Thumbs Up "Soy Beans" event organized by Bake for Happy Kids, my little favourite DIY and hosted by Mich of Piece of Cake. You can link your soy beans recipes here.


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Recipe: Beef Stew with Beer and Paprika (Ree Drummond)

Hello September! This month, I will be hosting "Cook Like a Star" along with Zoe and Mich, and we will be cooking Ree Drummond's recipes. Ree Drummond, also known as The Pioneer Woman is an award-winning American blogger, No. 1 New York Times best-selling author, food writer, photographer and TV personality who lives on a working ranch outside of Pawhuska, Oklahoma. In the cooking section of her blog, she posts step-by-step photos of the cowboy-friendly dishes that she has taught herself to cook through the years. Her recipes are straight-forward, often rustic and simple.

I spent quite a long time browsing her recipes and the first one I picked to cook is her Beef Stew with Beer and Paprika. Even if it's not winter time here in KL, my family always welcomes a good stew for dinner.

Beef Stew with Beer and Paprika

So does beef stew in beer taste like beer at all? Initially in the first 30 minutes after pouring in the beer, the sauce tastes slightly bitter and beer-like, but after 2 long hours of slow cooking, the alcohol has evaporated and you are left with rich and flavorful sauce as the beer adds depth to it. You can use any beer for this, I just raided Hubby's supply and used Tiger Beer.

As always for beef stews, I used O'Connor Black Angus oyster blade. Love how tender the meat is after being slow-cooked for 2 hours.

Any beer will do!

I made a few changes to the original recipe, such as reducing the beef stock used (from 4 cups to 3 1/2 cups) as I prefer a thicker sauce as well as adding sugar snap peas right at the end of cooking. I served this stew with a hot herb and garlic loaf and they went really well together. Imagine mopping up all that delicious sauce with the bread.

Made a batch for 6 servings but we managed to finish it all up! No more leftovers for tomorrow, I guess ;P

Beef Stew with Beer and Paprika
Recipe adapted from Ree Drummond
Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 2 - 2 1/4 hours
Serves 4

Ingredients

2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1 tbsp butter

800g stewing beef (I used Black Angus oyster blade), cut into thick chunks

1 whole medium onion, diced

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 (12oz) can beer

3 1/2 cups beef stock (or 3 1/2 cups water + 3 beef bouillon cubes)

1 tbsp Worcestershire Sauce

2 tbsp tomato paste

1/2 teaspoon paprika

1/4 teaspoon sea salt

Freshly ground black pepper

1 1/4 tsp Sugar

500g carrots, peeled and cut into thick chunks

500g boiling potatoes, quartered

12-15 sugar snap peas, ends trimmed

To garnish

Minced parsley (optional)

1. Heat oil and butter in a large pot over medium-high heat. Brown meat in two batches, setting aside on a plate when brown.

2. Add diced onions to the pot. Stir and cook for two or three minutes until softened, then add garlic for another minute. Pour in beer and beef stock, then add Worcestershire, tomato paste, paprika, salt, pepper, and sugar. Add beef back into the pot. Stir to combine. Cover and simmer for 1 1/2 hours.

3. Add carrots and potatoes, then cover and cook for an additional 30-45 minutes. (If stew gets dry, just add a little water at a time to replenish the liquid.) Taste and adjust seasonings as needed. Just before serving, add the sugar snap peas and cook for 1 minute.

4. Serve in bowls with some garlic bread. Garnish with fresh parsley.

Gorgeous, hearty stew

So tender!

Here are some other beef stew recipes you can try: beef stew with mushrooms, simple beef stew (oven-cooking), Sarawak braised beef soup, beef and beans, and beef bourguignon.


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I am submitting this to the "Cook Like Ree Drummond" event which I am co-hosting with Zoe of Bake for Happy Kids and Mich of Piece of Cake. To join, simply cook or bake any recipe from any Ree Drummond websites or cookbooks for the whole month of September 2013. You can link your posts at one of the host's pages.

Your post must be a current post i.e. posted in September 2013 - please do not link older posts.Please mention Cook like a Star in your post and link back to Zoe of Bake for Happy Kids, Mich of Piece of Cake and Baby Sumo of Eat your heart out.

Happy cooking! Do check out the other bloggers recipe below: