Quick & Easy – Unique Recepies

Korean fried chicken recipe

Unique Recepies — Fri, 14 Nov 2014 14:16:52 +0000

Ingredients (for 3-4 servings):
3 pounds (about 1.5 kg) of chicken chunks, salt, ground black pepper, potato starch powder, flour,sweet rice flour, egg, baking soda, canola oil (or vegetable oil), garlic, ketchup, hot pepper paste,rice syrup, vinegar.
See my site for pictures and descriptions of ingredients: http://www.maangchi.com/ingredients

Directions:
1. Rinse chunks of chicken in cold water. Drain.
*tip: You could use chicken wings, too. About 24 wings will be 3 pounds.
2. Add 1 tbs ground black pepper and 1 ts kosher salt.
3. Add ½ cup potato starch powder, ¼ cup all-purpose flour, ¼ cup sweet rice flour, 1 ts baking soda, and 1 egg.
4. Mix well by hand and completely coat the chicken.
5. Put 6-7 cups of canola oil in a wok or frying pan and heat it up.
6. After it’s heated for about 7-8 minutes, test if the oil is ready by dipping a sample chunk of chicken into the oil. If the oil bubbles, it’s the right temperature to start frying.

Fry them using the double-frying method:
1. Fry the chicken chunks for 10 minutes over high heat.
2. Take them out of the oil and shake them off in a strainer. Let them sit for a few minutes.
3. Fry them again for another 10 minutes until all pieces look golden brown and are crunchy outside.
*tip: If your skillet is not large enough to fry all the chicken at once, divide it into batches like I do in the video.

While you are frying, you can make the sauce:
1. Put 1 tbs canola oil and 4 cloves of minced garlic into a heated pan,
2. Add 1/3 cup tomato ketchup, 1/3 cup rice syrup, ¼ cup hot pepper paste, 1 tbs apple vinegar and simmer the mixture for about about 7 minutes. Keep your heat low and be sure not to burn the sauce.
3. Turn off the heat and wait until the chicken is done.

Chicken is done? Then coat your chicken with the sauce:
1. Reheat the sauce.
2. Put the freshly fried chicken into the sauce and gently mix it up with a wooden spoon.
3. Sprinkle some roasted sesame seeds over top and serve hot or warm.

Macronie And Cheese Recipe

Unique Recepies — Sat, 30 Aug 2014 12:58:23 +0000

Easy Stove-top Mac And Cheese Recipe

Yield 2 servings

Ingredients

5 ounces macaroni (140 g)
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 cup whole milk, at room temperature (240 ml)
1 cup extra sharp cheddar cheese (120 g)
Salt and pepper, to taste

Chocolate cookies

Unique Recepies — Wed, 27 Aug 2014 16:29:01 +0000

What can be better than a warm cup of coffee with some nice crunchy crispy cookies on a cold winter morning? Try these chocolate cookies because they are different in their own unique taste.

Ingredients:

140g plain flour
40g of good quality cocoa powder
1 tablespoon of instant espresso powder
1 teaspoon baking powder
A good pinch of sea salt
2 large eggs, at room temperature
100g of sugar
2 teaspoons of vanilla extract
60g of pistachio nuts, roughly chopped
100g of dark chocolate, roughly chopped

Method:
Start by preheating the oven to 180 degree Celsius. Make sure your baking tray is lined with parchment paper. Meanwhile, take a bowl. Pour in the flour, cocoa powder, instant espresso powder, sugar, baking powder and salt. Mix all these ingredients well. Then start adding the eggs and vanilla extract and mix until a nice soft dough is formed.

Now place the dough on a nice clean surface. Start adding the nuts and chocolate chips into it and mix it again. Then roll it to whatever shapes you like and place then on the baking train. Let it stay in the oven for 25-30 minutes. Take them out from the oven and let it cool. Or else you simply place the rolled dough in the oven for 25 minutes. After taking out, cut it shapes and then again place it in the oven for another 5-8 minutes. And then again, let it cool and there, you chocolate cookies are ready to eat!

Spicy cheesy bread

Unique Recepies — Wed, 06 Aug 2014 09:41:26 +0000

Having a barbecue lunch party? Make sure that this hot spicy yet creamy cheesy bread is there in the starters. It is extremely simple and will hardly take a couple of minutes of your precious time. But the result of this recipe is absolutely heaven. Don’t believe, try it for yourself.

Ingredients:

35cm-long ciabatta loaf
180g butter, softened
1/2 cup finely grated tasty cheese
1/2 cup finely grated parmesan cheese
1/2 teaspoon chili flakes

Method:
The time when your guests are about to arrive, its time to preheat your oven. Preheat it to 180 degree Celsius. While it is getting preheated, slice the loaf into thick slices. Make sure that the slices are not too thick, around 1.5cm thickness is good to go.

Then take a bowl. Add the butter, the creamy cheese, chili, salt to taste and some pepper. Mix them all well. Once that is done, spread this mixture on the sliced bread. Spread it on both the sides of the bread. Then wrap those slices in an aluminum foil.

Place those aluminum foil packed sliced breads to bake. See to it that it gets baked for about 25 minutes. If you keep it for long, the foil will get burnt and will ruin the taste of the bread. The reason we are baking the bread is that the butter and cheese gets nicely melted on the bread slices. And there, your guests have started arriving. Make sure you serve them these spicy cheesy bread hot.

Also you add mixed herbs, if you want, along with some garlic.

Make the best use of your blender

Unique Recepies — Tue, 29 Jul 2014 16:29:35 +0000

Blender has literally made life easier for us. Just throw in whatever you want into small bite and pieces and the blender will do it for you. Here are some really great food recipes that the blender will do for you.

Omelet: For a fluffy- crispy omelet, a blender is a must. To make nice hot soft omelet, you will be needing 2 eggs, 1 tablespoon of whole milk, salt to taste and some pepper. Throw these ingredients in the blender and blend it on high. Do it for a minute or until you see a nice egg froth. Once the blending is done, take frying pan. Let it heat on a low flame. Add a teaspoon of butter and then very carefully throw in the mixture from blender into the butted frying pan. Create an even circle of the mixture. If you want you can add some grated cheese and let the cheese melt. There your omelet is set to be served.

Whipped cream: For whipped cream, always use a blender than a beater. And the same applies to the omelet recipe. Here is the blender whipped cream recipe- pour in half a cup of heavy cream into the blender jar. On a medium blend, blend it for about 20-30 seconds. Or continue doing so until you see the white creamy froth. You can add a teaspoon of powdered sugar or granulated whatever you like. Also a tablespoon of vanilla extract if you like and make sure blend it one medium for about 20 seconds more. Pour it in a bowl and add a cherry at the top.

Ground coffee: It is always good to get whole coffee beans from the market and get it ground at home. The reason for this that when you grind the coffee beans at home, you get them fresh. And you will grind the amount you are needing. This way every time you need a coffee you will get fresh coffee. Whereas the market ground coffee, in the days to come, will slowly loose its smell. This is the time when you should use your blender. Throw in the coffee beans and grind them to the level of texture you like. You could add a corn of peppercorn to get a different flavor of coffee. Add 3 teaspoon of coriander, some cumin and fennel seeds and 1 tablespoon of peppercorn. And blend it for a minute on high speed. Grind it until you get the texture you want. This proportion will make half a cup of coffee and the remaining can be saved for another three months in an air tight container.

Tomato sauce: Cook some tomatoes, then add them in the blender and hit the start button. Let it blend for about 30 seconds. Then freeze it in an airtight container. It will last for about nice six long months.

Biggest blunders with blenders

Unique Recepies — Tue, 29 Jul 2014 16:23:12 +0000

You may think that you are technologically advanced and using a blender is no rocket science. But you are committing some really big blunders with your blenders. Right from grinding to whipping, you are committing some mistakes! Here is a list of basic mistakes that you are probably making while using a blender.

When you want to create a fusion of some solid and liquid stuff, here is what technically you should be doing. Pour in the liquid first in the blender jar and then the rest of the items that you want. This way the liquid will pull down the solid and the mixing will then be down rightly.

Also when you are blending any hot mixture make sure that you keep the filler cap off. Removing the filler cap will reduce the building up of steam inside the jar. Once there will be space for the steam to escape, there will be no spurting. And when you find some food stuck in between the blades or below the blades all you have to do is use the pulse button. This button can also prevent the over processing ingredients.

Many a times, things do not get mixed well. Ever though why? That’s because you just keep on hitting the start and stop button. You do not take the effort of opening the jar lid, mixing here and there. Do this and you will not find any more lumps in your mixture. All you have to do is stir occasionally.

Also many a times, food items get stuck beneath the blender blades. To get them out easily just half fill it with water and add some detergent to the water. Blend this mixture for a minute and then throw off the liquid. And wash it how you regularly wash. There, your blender is free from stuck-in-food.
Bet, you must have been committing at least two of the mistakes mentioned above. With these easy tips, you can make your blender work better and utilize it to the fullest.

Our Nippy Cooking Counsel

Unique Recepies — Thu, 30 Jan 2014 07:53:57 +0000

After the physics class on checking the baking soda’s aliveness, here are some more on the go quick and easy tips.

Worried about the soil and dirt not getting of the fruits and vegetables you just purchased? Let’s play with some more baking soda tricks. Rub the fruits and vegetables gently with some baking soda, scrub it and then rinse it well under running water. Make sure you have a final rinse under the running water before storing the fruits and vegetables.

Making bacon is not a joke. It is one of the messiest and chaotic dishes of all time. Dust some flour on the bacon before frying. Not to mention that it prevents the splashing and shrinking of meat. Try roasting chicken or any meat on top of long slices of carrot sticks or celery sticks. These vegetables act like a roasting rack plus and also add flavour to the meat. Not only can this but you also eat the vegetable later.

Want to thicken the consistency of your soup? Just add some dried instant potato flakes to your homemade soups. Don’t worry, this wouldn’t harm the taste of your soup, but it is just the trick you need when your soup is super watery. To maintain the flavours of the herbs and spices store them in air tight containers. See to it that they are stored away from sunlight and absent from heat. Also the keep the containers in a cupboard or your pantry; never keep them on tables. Storing the herbs in cute small glass jars on the top shelves is quite a trend, but it negatively affects the flavours of your little spice collection.

Instead of cutting off the leafy tops of celery, turn them into your own celery flakes. Wash them first and completely dry the leaves. Once it is dried well, place them in the oven for about 180^o until they are crispy dried. Let them cool down. Then crumble them and store in an air tight container. You could use these celery flakes in soups, stews or as stuffing.

Usually in winter, the honey gets crystallised. To get the sweet flow back, place the crystallised honey bottle in a bowl full of hot water. Let it sit quietly for half an hour or until the honey has melted. Shake the honey bottle well before use. Want to soften your marshmallows? Here’s the trick. Slit the top of the marshmallow bag and place them in a large zip lock freezer bag. Freeze them in the freezer. Now remove the required amount of frozen marshmallows. They are soft as cushion! And they will simply melt in your mouth. Try it out. If you already have a solid marshmallow in your cupboard, toss a piece or 2 of bread into the solid marshmallow container. Seal it well and check it out after few days. The marshmallow is supposed to be soft again. Here is another trick to keep you cookies soft. Toss in some slices of apples in your cookie jar. This makes your cookies soft and moist. Play with this trick only if you like your cookies soft!

Cooking with a Sleight-of-Hands

Unique Recepies — Thu, 30 Jan 2014 07:48:37 +0000

The tricks and tips of cookbook continues! Is the dough getting stuck to hand? How to slice the meat thin as a needle? I know how much these questions must be haunting you. Leave the worry to us. You just follow us with magic of your hands.

Whenever there is a chance of the dough getting stuck to your hand, always be prepared with a bowl of cornmeal. Whenever you have to get rid of the dough on hand, in cases like answering the phone or running behind a toddler, rub the cornmeal on your hands. It is the fastest and easiest way to liberate your hands from the sticky dough, than the washing with soap and water.

Try preparing the mashed potatoes an hour or 2 before the meal. While you prepare the meal, store the mashed potatoes in a cooker on a low flame. When you serve the crushed up potatoes with the meal, they taste hot and great. To get the fluffiness into your mashed potatoes, add a touch of baking powder when mashing them. Also try using an electric mixer, it adds up to the air in the mixture.

Want to try a buttery juicy cheesy grilled sandwich? Here’s what to do; try tossing some mayonnaise on the outside of the bread instead of using butter. It makes the grilled sandwich even crisper and tasty. Try adding some finely chopped green onions in the sandwich nearby the cheese. The cheesy green onions turn out just fine.

Here is a fascinating tip for griddle cake. When you are set to make a griddle cake, grease the pan for the first cake. Then, massage the hot griddle with a raw potato instead of greasing. This way the cake will turn nice brown too.

To have thin slicing of meat, freeze the meat for a while in the refrigerator. This partial freezing of the meat helps in cutting of the meat in thin slices. The freezing of the meat avoids uneven cuts and gives you a grip to hold the meat while cut. Many a time, steaks or frying pork chops turn curvy on their edges. This results into non flat cuts in the pan. To avoid curling of the edges, cut the openings in the fat along the edges of the pieces, around an inch.

Did you know baking soda can be a good meat tenderiser? Just sprinkle some baking soda all over the meat. Then rub it gently all over the meat and let it sit for a while. Also you can make a baking soda and water paste. You could simply spread this paste on the meat. Don’t forget to let it marinate. Once that is done, have it rinse well in order to remove all of the baking soda and then you are ready with your softy meat for cooking.

Want to know about the-when-I-got-the-baking-soda still fresh and useable or not? Try adding a teaspoon of baking soda into a small cup half full with vinegar. If the solution starts fizzing, congratulations, the age old baking soda of your pantry is still alive like a dolphin.

My Cookbook on Tips and Tricks

Unique Recepies — Thu, 30 Jan 2014 07:42:07 +0000

Every woman at some point gets obsessed with her kitchen and tries here level best in having a clean and hygienic place to cook for her family. But the problem she faces the most is of not having ample of time in hand to do the daily chores along with making her kitchen sparkle like diamond. Not only this, but thanks to our super busy life, she expects some easier methods or some tricks just to make work simple and utilise the extra time by spending it with her kids. For all the busy ladies, here are some tricks to sustain your full of activity schedule.

Having trouble with stemming out the strawberries? Wash the strawberries first. Take a wide plastic straw and insert it right at the bottom centre of the berry and push it upwards. Many a time, when we use a measuring cup for some syrup or for oils or sauces, they tend to stick to the cup. Not anymore! Rinse the measuring cup in hot water before throwing in the liquidy matter.

Prevent your sugary fruit pies from boiling over. Instead of dusting some sugar on the pie, try spraying the sugar under the fruit. Here’s another trick to avoid the running of your pie in your precious little oven. Cut 4 small openings on the top of the pie crust. Place in one piece of tube pasta into each slits. Make sure that the pasta is at least 2-3 inches long. The juices will bubble up the pasta pipes and back down into the pie instead of the oven. Take off the pasta once the pie has baked. Many a times, the pie dough sticks to the table. For this, roll the pie dough between sheets of waxed paper. Once the dough is of desired softness and thickness, peel off the waxing paper and place the dough directly into the pie pan.

If you want to make a bigger cake of the same mix you have, just add ½ cup of flour, ½ cup of sugar, 1 egg and a teaspoon of baking powder. When icing a one layered cake, turn it upside down. This way the upper part of the cake gets flat and even which helps in icing evenly. When icing 2 layered cakes, be it round shape or square shape; add frosting to the top of both the layers of the cake. The reason is that you will get a flat surface on the final cake. Sometimes the cakes rises high or low and very uneven, in that case, chop off the cake layers in such a way that they appear even and flat.

Want some soft creamy butter immediately after tossing it from the refrigerator? Here’s a trick to speed up the process. Just shredder the butter into a bowl; or microwave the brick hard butter just for a couple of minutes with a watchful eye. Or chop the slab of butter into squares and toss them in a bowl. Now insert this bowl in a pan containing warm water for a couple of minutes.

Spick and Span Your Kitchen

Unique Recepies — Thu, 30 Jan 2014 07:41:42 +0000

We have learned everything from our parents, haven’t we? But did your mom teach you how to get rid of the dirt and germs in your house? Well, she must have taught you a couple of things here and there, which are quite indeed helpful. But I bet you still want your house spotless, don’t you? Wanting a spotless house without much spending time on cleaning? Worry not! Here are some quick and easy tips to make the chores easier in much less time than you can think of. You are just a few tips away from having a tidy, sparkling and germ free house. This is most certainly one thing that you and your mom will agree on.

Always remember to circle your way around in the kitchen when it comes to cleaning. Start beginning on the right side of your gas stove, moving clockwise through the entire room. If you will see, your gas stove is the dirtiest part of the kitchen. There could be chances that it may spread germs and unhygienic bacteria. Remember to first soak drip pans into soapy bubbly water. By the time you work clockwise in the kitchen, the soapy water will make your work easier in cleaning the pans.

You may not believe this, but your kitchen sink contains more harmful bacteria than the ones on your toilet seat. Use a disinfectant to clean the sink. But before that clean the sink with soap and water, then spray some vinegar followed by a dusting some hydrogen peroxide and let it stand to dry. And never mix vinegar and hydrogen peroxide together. They should be sprayed one after the other. In case, your sink is stainless steel one, you could sparkle it by tossing few drops of mineral oil on a soft cloth and rub the sink with it.

Once a week, spray some baking soda on a damp sponge or a damp cloth and swab the dishwasher’s edges. This helps in removing the stuck up food or stains. To clean it from the inside, run an empty round with some dishwasher cleansers that you easily get in the market. Also during the flu or cold season, add a quarter cup of bleach while running the regular dishes. This helps in sanitizing the dishes.

We all love your oven. It is the soul of the kitchen. Keep your kitchen’s soul clean by lining its bottom with a non stick oven-liner. These non stick oven- liners can be easily wiped or thrown into dishwashers and can be used over and over again.

We all want an odour free kitchen. Just drop in a cut up lemon, some ice cubes with a dust of salt. No, I’m not preparing you for a tequila shot. The lemon helps in deodorising and the salt and ice helps in cleaning away the residue.

Use the latest microfiber made cloths instead of the crumple paper towels for cleaning. The microfibers when wet, they tend to sanitize the floor, counters, glass and tiles. You also don’t require any cleansers to add to them. They are more like a one man army. And also not forget that they are very cheap, some 5$ for a 2 pack and they can be reused over and over until the microfibers turn dry as a bone.

Remember to never let the sauce, ketchup, oil, spices or gravy sit. Wipe them off immediately. Also bear in mind that sponges can be a great source of carrying bacteria. Every night before going to sleep, wash and squeeze it well. Then, microwave it on high just for a minute. Always throw away the shredded and smelly ones.