oven roast chicken

Before I discovered the brining technique (& now use often) for pan-roasted brined chicken breast, I was doing a rather good oven roast chicken. 🙂

It is really easy to do & require very little preparation effort.

First, I cut away the head & feet, wash clean thoroughly  & fold in the wings.  I usually leave the chicken on a rack to airdry in the fridge but you can dry it with kitchen towels.

Then I prepare a rub comprising seasalt, coarse black pepper and a dry herb mix (rosemary, basil, parsley flake etc). Of course you can use fresh herbs if you have them. Next I rub all over the chicken & the inside cavity. I then lift the skin (carefully w/o tearing)  & rub below the skin. I also inserted peeled garlic cloves under the skin. You can skip this if you like a nice skin as the garlic will made dark patches on the skin after roast as in above picture. Finally I rub oyster sauce on the chicken & then drizzle/rub olive oil over the skin (olive oil helps the skin not to get burnt). 🙂

I place the chicken breast-side up on a aluminium foil-lined baking tray in a preheated 175degC oven using the grill function for 25minustes. I then turn over the chicken and grill for another 20minutes.

I have been able to consistently reproduce very moist, tender & sweet roast chicken. 🙂

c.h.e.f andy

Ingredients:

• 1.1kg chicken from Giant hypermarket (if you sue a 1.4kg chicken or other size you will have to try out the ove timing or I guess use a meat thermometer which I have not yet learned to use!)
• 2 tbsp oyster sauce
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 bulb of peeled garlic cloves

make a rub comprising:

• 1.5 tbsp seasalt
• 1 tbsp coarse black pepper
• 2 tsp rosemary flakes
• 2 tsp basil flakes
• 2 tsp parsley flakes

Directions:

1. Prepare the chicken – cut away the head & feet, wash clean thoroughly  & fold in the wings.   leave the chicken on a rack to airdry in the fridge  (or you can dry it with kitchen towels). Apply the rub all over the chicken skin & inside. lift the skin (careful not to tear) and rub under the skin. Insert the peeled garlic cloves under the skin (or you can skip this if you don’t want to have dark patches on the skin).
2. Cook the chicken – place the chicken breast-side up on a aluminium foil-lined baking tray in a preheated 175degC oven using the grill function for 25minustes. turn over the chicken and grill for another 20minutes. remove from oven & let the chicken rests, and then debone or carve & serve.

pan-seared Hokkaido scallops

Hokkaido scallops are plump, juicy & sweet.

I bought once from Isetan Orchard during a Japanese Fair and a 1kg box cost S$90 and they were really sweet.  I bought also from QB Food frozen USA scallops at S$17 for 500g but these were not so great. Recently I bought 1 box 900g from Sheng Shiong on promotion at S$24.80, and these were quite ok.

I previously had difficulty searing scallop because the technique was wrong. So again after I check out Foodwishes.com Chef John’s seared scallop recipe, I can now reproduce quite easily scallops with a nice sear (as in above picture).

As mentioned in the video, the trick is simply (1)a superhot pan & (2)bone dry scallops. Scallops, like fish, retain a lot of moisture and if they are not totally dry, the temperature of the pan will drop sharply and you will be boiling/poaching the scallop rather than searing it, and the burnt layer will come off & stick to the pan.

With the right technique then it is really simple. I dry the scallops on a rack in the fridge so that both top & bottom are dry & the water drip on to a bowl or tray below the rack. I bring out the scallops from the fridge for at least 1/2 hour to get it to room temperature. I lightly season the scallop with sea salt & coarse black pepper and place them in a superhot pan with olive oil & sear for 3minutes, watching the side cook to opaque white colour 1/3 to 1/2 way up & then flip the scallops. I cook for another 2-3minutes and then serve. It is that simple.

I have tried also Chef John’s orange supreme sauce, however I don’t really find much there as I don’t feel the sauce add anything to the scallop & maybe reduce the seared flavour & texture. I would rather have my seared scallops with rockets and cherry tomatoes dressed with olive oil, balsamic vinegar and sea salt.

c.h.e.f andy

oven grilled “sotong” (squid)

I always enjoyed ika sugatayaki (grilled whole squid) at Japanese Izakaya  – 居酒屋 (though since I do not drink much I seldom visit Izakaya c/w very many other styles of Japanese food which I love).

I was trying to find out how to do this as squid has lots of water & you end up steaming the squid instead of grilling. One way I can see is cutting the whole squid in 1/2 rings, then the water will be drained & the oven will grill & NOT just boil or bake the squid. I found a very nice Izakaya picture here.

I also found a simple way of cutting the 1/2 rings. It is described here in Jamie Oliver’s recipe. You insert a knife flat into a large (250g) squid, then using another knife you cut the squid as if you are cutting it into rings. the knife stop at the surface flat of the inserted knife so you get your 1/2 rings. This way it is also easy to wash & remove the insides of the squid.

oven grilled “sotong” (squid)

I then line a baking tray with aluminium foil, place the dry squid & head (air-dry in fridge OR with kitchen towels) on it, sprinkle ground sea salt & coarse black pepper, & drizzle lime juice, olive oil & 1 teaspoon of light soy sauce. I place the baking tray in a preheated 210degC oven turned to the grill function for 10minutes, remove the squid and spooned out the sauce to a small bowl. I turn the squid over and return to the oven for another 8 minutes. Then I transfer to a serving board, and serve with the sauce as dip (as in the picture above).

c.h.e.f andy

pan-roasted brined duck breast with wingstick

My success in brining chicken & the pan-roasted brined chicken breast recipe did much to encourage me. 🙂 Also, one friend. in particular, has been egging me to make duck a l’orange but I was NOT excited over a nice orange sauce but not-so-great duck breast as the main fare!

So I thought I should at least try brining duck since it works so well on chicken. And my, my, did it work well! My daughter Su Lin just loves the duck breast. It is moist, tender and tasty from the brining and the slow cooking.

skin-on pan-roasted brined duck breast

First, I brine the duck breast & drumstick in 1 litre water with 3 tablespoon salt, 2 tablespoon sugar and 5 limes (squeezed) for 24 hrs. I then wash thoroughly in slow running water, and place them on a rack & air-dry for 24hrs in the fridge (you can just use a kitchen tower to dry them instead). Before cooking, I take the duck out of the fridge for at east 1/2hr to get it to room temperature. I then place them on a cold non-stick pan & turn on the fire to low, and leave w/o turning for 10 minutes. This will render out the fat & make the skin crispy (as in the 2 pictures above). 🙂 I then turn over the duck, spoon out the fat, and then turn off the fire.

skin-on pan-roasted brined duck drumstick

I was experimenting with 2 different cooking methods so I kept the duck breast in the oven-proof pan & removed the duck drumstick & put it is a separate baking dish.

1. For the duck drumstick, I tried the pan-roasted brined chicken recipe & place the duck skin-down on the baking dish and place it in the oven preheated to 250degC for 10minutes. I then remove it from the baking dish, let it rest on a serving board, and then carve & serve. It was very good BUT the slow-cooked duck breast which came after was even better!
2. For the duck breast, I tried Foodwishes.com chef John’s prime rib method (on the duck instead of prime rib). estimating my duck drumstick to be <400g, I did 4minutes on 250degC, left the duck in the oven w/o opening the oven door, and set the timer to 45minutes. there was no need to rest the duck as it had already been rested for 45minutes, and voila! this was easily 1 of the best duck breast I had, even when c/w good restaurants.

c.h.e.f andy

Ingredients:

• 2xduck breasts with wingstick (I use a 1.9kg to 2.1kg duck from Shop n Save or Giant Hyspermarket)
• 1 litre water
• 5% salt (about 50g)
• 3% sugar (about 30g)
• 5 limes (or about 30ml bottled lime juice)

Directions:

1. Preparing the duck breasts with wingstick – use kitchen scissors to cut chicken in 1/2, then cut around the drumstick into 1/4 (breast with wingstick & drumstick quarters) – use a heavy knife or chopper if required,  then cut away & remove the bones under the breast completely, then cut away the fat, wash & clean.
2. Brining – add 1 litre water in a large plastic container, mix in about 3 heap tablespoon salt & 2 heap tablespoon sugar & stir to dissolve, then pour in 30ml bottled lime juice or squeeze juice from about 5 limes. Put 2x cleaned duck breasts with wingstick into the container and place container in fridge for 24hours. Remove & wash duck breasts thoroughly in slow running water & place on a rack to air-dry in fridge for 24hrs (can also skip this step & dry with kitchen towels)
3. Cooking – Remove duck breasts from fridge & leave it at room temperature for at least 1/2hr. Place the duck breasts skin-down in a COLD oven-proof non-stick pan. turn the fire on and to low & fry for 10minutes to render out the fat and get a crispy skin. The oil will sputter a bit, turn to low heat after 1 minute. Preheat oven to 250degC. Place oven-proof pan in oven & let the duck cook for 4minutes. Leave the duck in the oven w/o opening the oven door and set the timer to 45minutes and let the duck slow-cook in the residual heat. Remove duck from oven & serve.