The Best Chinese Garlic Chicken and Vegetable Stir Fy

 This title is so appropriate as this dish is seriously the best ever Garlic  Chicken and Vegetable Stir Fry that I have ever cooked; it is just so incredibly delicious and tender. 

There is a big bird, high up in the tree in our backyard.  A very big, loud, protesting, noisy, huge bird that is too high up to identify by sight.    It screeches all day long, squawk, squawk, squawk until two magpies come to sit in the same tree which causes this Big Bird to amplify its screeching so much more.

Some cries sound like "help" or "belp" occasionally "craw" is heard as well.

The strange thing is that whilst you'd think it was terroratorial there is no visible nest and this Big Brown Bird screeches from a great height in different trees.  The magpies inevitably follow it from tree to tree just to set off another round of squawking.    It must be a game of teasing for the Magpie pair. 

Big Bird nests in large trees such as Norfolk Island Hibiscus Trees or ancient Tea Trees that tower over our backyard.  Trees that gently stretch towards the clouds yet offer subtle shade during Summer time.

My friend Louise suggested that I should locate where Big Bird is before nightfall and then blast it with a spotlight to disturb its sleep to teach it a lesson.  

This weekend I am going to bring out the binoculars and identify our fine feathered friend; unless miraculously Big Bird has moved on .... fingers crossed. 

This is seriously the Best                              Chinese Garlic and Vegetable Stir Fry             That I have ever tasted; this is a very Big claim.  You can find the original recipe HERE

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Chinese Garlic Chicken and Vegetable Stirfry

Sauce

1 Tblspn soy sauce 

1 tspn sesame oil

1 tspn oyster sauce

1 Tblspn cornstarch

1 Tblspn cooking wine (shao hsing)

3/4 cup chicken stock

Pinch white pepper

Other Ingredients 

500g chicken breast thinly sliced

1 1/2 Tblspn baking soda

400g chopped vegetables such as broccoli, cauliflower, capsicum, beans, mushrooms or sliced carrots

1/2 cup water

Vegetable oil for frying

Sesame seeds and sliced green onions for garnish 

1.  Place chicken in a bowl and stir through baking soda.  Sit fir 15 minutes then rinse off and pat dry chicken with paper towel. 

2. Mix all sauce ingredients together.  

3.  Heat up your wok, add vegetables and toss for a few minutes then add the 1/2 cup water and place on lid, turn to low and cook for 3 minutes. 

4. Remove lid and add chicken pieces tossing until chicken is cooked through, then add the garlic. 

5. Toss for 1 minute then add the sauce ingredients until just combined.

6. Garnish and serve with steamed rice.

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              Buon appetito, enjoy Merryn xx

 

Fish Fillets with a Fresh Tomato Sauce

We are lucky to live in a seaside town with an amazing fresh fish store if you didn't manage to catch a few fish yourself during the last few days. One of my favourite fish is the local flathead but I also love blue eye cod or sweet barramundi from Darwin.  This recipe is so simple but looks quite impressive.

Hubby and I were fortunate to live in Bondi from early 1980 for over twenty years.  We loved to dine at some of memorable restaurants including Bilsons in Woollahra.  A notably fine French dining affair that offered a 14 course degustation menu.    Tony Bilson even trained Tetsuya Wakuda so the food served here was spectacular and innovative for the Sydney dining scene.

When the cookbook Fine Family Dining written by Tony Bilson was published in 2010 I had to get a copy and this fabulous fish recipe is from within these pages.  I'm reciting it from memory and with my slight variation that makes it a unique but delicious fish dish. 

You can have this amazing fish plated on your table in less than 10 minutes.  Just bring your fish to room temperature before cooking for approx 15 minutes.

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Fried Fish with a Fresh Tomato Sauce 🍅 

4 fillets of white fish e.g. flathead, barramundi, schnapper, cod or swordfish

1/2 cup Extra virgin Olive oil 2 tablespoons for frying

2 Tblspns red wine vinegar

1/2 big tomato, diced 

1 teaspoon dried marjoram 

Salt and pepper to taste

Wash and dry your fillets and lightly season with salt and pepper.

Heat a little olive oil in a non stick frypan and fry fillets for 2 - 3 minutes per side until just cooked.

Remove to a warm plate and cover to keep warm.   

Remove pan from heat and pour the red wine vinegar into the pan: swirl quickly to cover base.  Return to a medium heat and scrape any fish scraps to dislodge for 1 minute. 

Add 1/2 cup olive oil along with the diced tomato and marjoram.  Cook for 1 - 2 minutes until the tomato just starts to break down but is still in diced pieces.  Add salt and freshly cracked black pepper.

Pour over fish fillets and serve immediately immediately.

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                                                             Buon appetito, enjoy Merryn xx

Wonton Soup

 Today was a very busy day at work and all I could think of, in between customers, was a hearty bowl of fresh wonton soup.   Chicken broth, prawns, shitake mushroom, tofu, bok choy, choi sum, carrot, spring onion, Ramen noodle and home made pork and prawn wontons.  Hearty and satisfying, this washes today's busy day right away.

Plus I need my energy as tomorrow morning is Friday doubles tennis day with gorgeous ladies and a regular highlight of my week. 

Today my new racquet arrived as it was determined a few weeks ago that my 16 year old tennis racquet was doing more harm than good; resulting in a sore arm after 4 sets each week.

The last two weeks I have been arriving at 9am whereas assembly time is supposed to be at 8.45am.  Hence last week upon arrival I received a loud chorus of many female voices saying "it's a 9:45am start Merryn".   Tomorrow, I plan to be early; with new racquet in tow, wish me luck lovelies for a great day of play.

So filled up with delicious wonton and noodle soup I hope to win every set tomorrow.

I hope you are having a lovely week as well.

Buon appetito, enjoy Merryn xx

New Year Tomatoes and Dahlias

Wishing you all a Happy Healthy and wonderful New Year.  

It's been an exciting Christmas holiday with everyone home for the first time in 3 years. 

 Aged from 24 - 85 after an amazing Christmas lunch we spent the afternoon playing cards.  

Good, quality time together.

. 

So much that it was time for bottling passata  and also making yummy bruschetta for New Years Day. Bottling tomato passtata is enjoyable, it is a satisfying yet primordial task.  Luckily with a thermomix it is a quicker process than in days gone by when all tomatoes where churned through a mouli before cooking and bottling.  So far there have been 15 bottles of 750ml passata bottled for use through winter.

There were some tomatoes left over for delicious bruschetta with toasted, crusty bread 

and some much needed energy.

For bruschetta, toast slices of white, crusty bread under the grill for about 3 minutes per side at 180C

until they are dry but not browned.

Pour a little virgin olive oil over the bread and in a small bowl dice 2 tomatoes, 1 clove garlic, 1/2 red chilli, a few basil leaves, salt and pepper plus more extra virgin oil.

Place spoonfuls of tomato mixture on top of the crusty bread.  Serve immediately.

In the meantime my first Dahlia flowered from a dry bulb planted in September.  A welcome for the New Year ahead.  One of my New Years pledges is to blog consistently; a request from a few people who are inspired by my recipes.  

Wishing you and your family a wonderful New Year.  Did you make any New Year promises?

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Buon appetito, enjoy Merryn xx