Junglefrog Cooking » Asian

Marinated chicken on a stick and living leaner

Simone (junglefrog) — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 17:00:32 +0000

Delicious meal

Now that the new year has started the term Living Leaner that Mona started on her blog Wisewords, takes on a bit of a double meaning for me. In fact, it takes on a triple meaning… I’m no different then anyone else around the world who wants to get fit and healthy in the new Year. Maybe with this difference being that I actually started right after Christmas (with just a short break at New Years) so this doesn’t count at all as a New Years resolution. I don’t do New Years resolutions so this just happens to be in the same period. And let’s face it, we’ve been here before now haven’t we? But in terms of living leaner; I could be a lot leaner myself and since Tom is still unemployed we have to live a lot leaner ourselves to. The budget has a limit!

And quite frankly, the way we were spending money before was – at some point – quite ridiculous. That’s the thing with having enough money; you tend to start living according to it. And that’s fine really but it also means that taking a step back is a bit harder. And it’s quite a big step back too. Finding a job in these days is hard. December is not the best month in any year to find a job but with the crisis everyone talks about, it is even harder. We’re still hopeful all will turn around soon but as of this month Tom is on unemployment benefit for the first time in his life (and I bet he also wishes it is going to be the last time too)

Skewered chicken with orange fennel salad

And the worst thing is that we do not know at this point how much money we will have left. I have an irregular income and Tom will only hear at the end of the month how much his benefit will be. So we’re preparing for the worst case scenario, just in case.. That means that we’re on a tight budget. I do realize there are loads of people out there that have a far worse situation then we do, so believe me, I’m not complaining. I’m merely stating the facts. So that means that we have to also become a bit more creative with what we eat. Once a week (on saturday) we get a crate of organically grown produce including meat, vegetables, cheese, eggs etc. If we use it wisely it would be enough to feed us for a week if we add some extra’s to it such as pasta, spices etc. It’s always seasonal and local too. Going to the supermarket would possibly be a tiny bit cheaper but then I wouldn’t know where it came from and I would like to still support the local farmers where we can. And for now, we still can, so no reason to get rid of that.

This particular meal does have a lot of ingredients but most of that we always have in house so there was no extra cost involved. The only thing I needed to buy was the chicken, the fennel, the salad and the oranges and the cost of those you see below. It was delicious, especially the marinade on the chicken gets high points. We had this with some plain rice as otherwise the meal would have been too light. And while I do want to lose weight, I want it to be sensible too!

And so you can all check how I’m doing I’ve added a little weight loss badge on the right in the sidebar… If it stays at the same number for too long, you can come and kick my butt!

Spicy skewered chicken with fennel-orange salad

Print recipe

Serves:	2
Prep time:	20 minutes
Cook time:	10 minutes
Total time:	30 minutes
Meal type:	Lunch, Main Dish, Salad
Region:	Chinese
From book:	Chinese food made easy

Ingredients

200g chicken breast
olive oil

Herb mix

1 teaspoon cumin powder
1 teaspoon fennel seeds
1 teaspoon chili flakes
1/2 teaspoon paprika powder
1 teaspoon light soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon seasalt
1 teaspoon arachid oil (nut oil)
1 teaspoon shaohsing ricewine or dry sherry

orange fennel salad

4 tablespoons olive oil
3 tablespoons orange juice
1/2 piece lime juice (juice from half a lime)
1 tablespoon light soy sauce
1 teaspoon roasted sesame oil (I used regular sesame oil)
200g mixed salad leaves (washed)
1 piece fennel bulb (sliced thinly, soaked in cold water for 30 seconds and drained)
2 pieces oranges (peeled, parts cut out from between the pith)
seasalt
pepper

Directions


Soak 8-10 bamboo skewers for 20 minutes in cold water

Mix all ingredients for the herb mix in a bowl. put the meat in and coat them with the mix before you put them on the skewers

Heat a griddle or grill pan on high and sprinkle the meat with a little olive oil. Put the skewers in and grill the meat until golden brown, turn and grill the other side too. take of the fire.

For the salad put olive oil, orange and limejuice, soysauce, sesame oil and salt and pepper in a bowl together and whisk. Put the salad leaves in another bowl and divide the fennel and orange parts; sprinkle the dressing over the salad.

Divide the salad over 2 plates and put the chicken skewers on top and serve immediately.

Note

The original recipe uses lambfillet but that is hard to find here so I went with chicken instead!

Cost:

Fennel € 1,30
Oranges € 0,50
Chickenbreast € 1,50
Mixed Salad leaves € 1,50
TOTAL 4,80

Obviously the salad leaves could have been cheaper had I used regular salad but these were bought for a photoshoot so I figured I might as well use them!

Griddled courgette carpaccio with chickpea salsa

Simone (junglefrog) — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 11:18:04 +0000

Delicious with Indian spices; courgette with chickpea salsa

If ever there is a season which lends itself particularly well to Indian flavors then to me that would be autumn. I love the spices used in the Indian kitchen, I love the hot curries (well, not too hot!), the garam masala mixes and I don’t think I’ve ever tasted an Indian dish that I did not like. It has such a high level of comfort food! Granted, there is still a lot to be discovered in that area by me, but I’m trying. One thing that strikes me about the Indian flavors that it is fairly difficult to recreate the same at home. I’ve tasted many gorgeous Indian dishes but when I tried to make it at home, it was not at all the same. This delicious chickpea dish is a recipe by Anjum Anand. And this home version is so worth it!

pistachio and coriander

During our foodblogger connect in London she showed us a recipe of her new book (yet to come out) and I fell in love with the recipe immediately. Anjum was kind enough to share the recipe with us on her facebook page so that we could attempt to make it at home. From previous experiences I have learned (the hard way) that one of THE most important things in Indian cuisine is to use fresh spices. It will definitely make or break your dish, so be sure to use fresh cumin seeds in this recipe. The recipe has quite a few ingredients but it is actually very simple. The biggest amount of work is the grilling of the courgette. I think I could have sliced it a little better (thinner) but it was still delicious.

Don’t leave out the pistachio dressing as that is a big flavor component in this dish and will make it extra delicious. Now the big news is… it contains feta and I had Tom taste a bite and he actually liked it!! Now that’s a first when it comes to cheese, so I’m quite pleased with that. Maybe – just maybe – he’s getting used to cheesy flavors a bit more.

Griddled courgette carpaccio with chickpea salsa

Print recipe

Serves:	4
Prep time:	15 minutes
Cook time:	15 minutes
Total time:	30 minutes
Dietary:	Vegetarian
Meal type:	Lunch, Main Dish, Side Dish
Region:	Indian
By author:	Anjum Anand

Ingredients

5 courgette (large ones, you can use a mix of green and yellow)
fresh coriander
salt (to taste)

Pistachio dressing

2 teaspoons white wine vinegar
1 clove garlic (small one, peeled)
15 pieces pistachio nuts (skinned if possible)
2,5 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
good pinchsugar
2 teaspoons water

Chickpea salsa

300g chickpeas (1 can, well rinsed and drained)
100g feta
1/2 red onion (finely chopped)
1 large handful fresh coriander (leaves and roots)
1 teaspoon lemon juice
3/4 teaspoons cumin powder
2 teaspoons cumin seeds (dry-roasted and powdered)
1 tomato (medium large, finely chopped)
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

Directions


Heat the griddle pan until quite hot. Slice the courgettes on the diagonal into thin slices, no more than 1/2cm thick. Place on the griddle in a single layer and cook, undisturbed for 2-3 minutes or until the base has well-charred lines. Turn over and repeat on the other side. Repeat with the remaining courgettes.

As you stand over the griddle, prepare and stir together all the ingredients for the salsa. Taste, add salt to taste and set aside.

Blend together all the ingredients for the dressing until smooth, I use a good stick blender but a good pestle and mortar will also work. Adjust seasoning and keep aside.

To assemble, place the courgettes on plates, slightly overlapping at the edges. You can do this in lines or in a circular fashion. Drizzle over the dressing to mirror the pattern. Mound the salsa onto the middle of the plate or scatter across, as you prefer and serve.

Indian salad – Chana chat

Simone (junglefrog) — Sun, 11 Sep 2011 11:52:52 +0000

Spicy and delicious; this Indian salad with garam masala

Ten years ago on this very date, the world was a different place. In a way I guess we were all ignorant of the evil that is hidding beneath the surface of certain individuals. It’s becoming a cliche but a lot of people know exactly what they were doing the moment they found out that the first plane hit the twin towers. And yes, I can still remember what I was doing. I had – in fact – just returned from the US the day before. Arriving on Dutch soil again on September 10th, flying home from Portland. I distinctly remember being in the office when one of my colleagues mentioned that a plane had hit the twin towers in New York. We all laughed about it; thinking it was a really bad joke. Until – more moments later – the 2nd plane went in and we all gathered in the tv room in the design area to watch with shock the drama that unfolded.

We all know what happened next. I cannot believe it has already been ten years ago that this world changing drama took place. There is not a lot I can say that hasn’t already been said but I couldn’t possibly write a post today and not mention this ‘anniversary’ that led to the death of so many people. I’ve been to New York afterwards, have seen ‘Ground Zero’, one year after the attack happened and even though you’ve seen it on tv many times. Going there in person and seeing the enormous hole that was once the twin towers is shocking and humbling in a way. My heart goes out to everyone who has lost a loved one in that tragedy as I am sure this date will always have a big stain on it. No matter how much time has passed.

Delicious with chickpeas and yogurt

You might have seen this chana chat salad before when it was featured on the blog of my Dutch blogger friend Kay, from Kayotic Kitchen. I thought this was a fitting dish to share with you on this day, as it embraces other cultures through food.

It’s a quick salad and works perfect with this homemade Garam Masala that I shared with you earlier.

Chana chat

Print recipe

Serves:	4
Prep time:	None
Cook time:	None
Total time:	None
Dietary:	Vegetarian
Meal type:	Lunch, Main Dish, Salad
Region:	Indian

Ingredients

1 piece onion (small, halved and sliced)
2 cms ginger (finely grated)
1 red chili (deseeded and chopped)
2 tablespoons hazelnut oil
300g chickpeas (rinsed and drained)
1/2 teaspoon chili powder (mild)
1 teaspoon garam masala
1/2 piece cucumber (peeled, deseeded and diced)
1 bunch cherry tomatoes (quartered)
1 squeeze lemon juice
1 bunch fresh coriander (roughly chopped, plus extra to serve)
4 heaped tablespoons greek yogurt
1 cup pomegranate seeds
2 poppadoms (roughly crushed)

Directions


Fry the onion, ginger and chili in the oil for 5 minutes or until the onions begins to soften. Add the chickpeas and cook for another 5 minutes until golden. Add the chili powder and the garam masala and continue cooking for an additional 2 minutes. Remove from the heat, season if needed and set aside to cool.

Combine the cucumber, tomatoes, lemon juice and chopped coriander in a mixing bowl. Divide among 4 plates and top with the chickpea mixture, yogurt, pomegranate seeds and crushed poppadums. Sprinkle with the coriander leaves and serve before the poppadums start to soften

Thai dinner for two; We Feed Back

Simone (junglefrog) — Mon, 29 Aug 2011 07:00:22 +0000

Delicious spicy beef dish at Thai restaurant

When I met Ishay for the very first time during our Plate to Page adventure in Germany it became immediately apparent that she is a very socially engaged person. She is originally from South Africa where she lives with her Dutch husband (who came with her to Germany since they were on a vacation too and had just come from Barcelona (or they were just going to barcelona after Germany… sort of forgot the details) and she writes the fabulous blog Food and the Fabulous.

Now just before we left for home after that wonderful weekend in Weimar Ishay asked us all to think about contributing to WeFeedBack, an organization where she is rather active. I was initially a little confused as to what it was that was required of me, but after having checked out their website I became enthusiastic about participating in this great cause. WeFeedBack is all about fighting world hunger and then in a very simple way. Let’s say you organize a dinner for your friends and you decide to have a BBQ. What does a typical BBQ cost? Let’s say a low budget one would be € 10,= per person. If you have 10 friends over that would be a total of 100 euro.

The idea around WeFeedBack is that you basically give that amount back to kids around the world that are suffering from lack of food. For a 100 euro you could feed 500 kids! An if each of your friends brings 10 euro to the table it’s not a lot of money for a cause as good as this.

Wefeedback is an initiative of the World Food Programme as a means to use social media and social platforms to build a community. A community that can give back by donating the value of their meals and with that feed kids.

It doesn’t have to be 100 euro. Any little contribution is welcome; even your ham and cheese sandwich could already help 1 or 2 kids! The explanation on the site is much better then what I can do here, so I will let you check out the site and see for yourself how easy it is to contribute.

I kept it small and went for dinner with my good friend Hermin (who is featured in the little video above) She made a video of me too, but chicken that I am… she looks much better then me, so I thought I show her video instead of mine.. ‘m also rubbish at editing it, but well…. you can hear what she had to say!

For starters we had some lovely Thai snacks

We had a great Thai meal with lovely starters, pad thai noodles and spicy beef with spring beans. It was – for a change – a dry day so we could eat outside on a terrace (we were in Amsterdam).

Making that little video was sort of hilarious… I mean; I am not sure how many takes we did before we ended up with a video without a fit of giggles in between but it was great fun and all for a good cause too.
If you want to join wefeedback too, please use the link here

Thai chicken, cucumber and coconut salad; healthy food…

Simone (junglefrog) — Sat, 30 Jul 2011 16:38:26 +0000

Healthy and delicious

We all know those moments…. those moments when you realize those lovehandles can no longer be called ‘love’ handles, but are more going towards “terrible-fat” handles. That moment when your favorite pair of jeans all of a sudden feels like it has shrunk dramatically in the wash, or that moment when you look in the mirror and get a sinking feeling… Please tell me we all have those moments! I know I’ve bored you with my weightloss struggles many times before, but well… I guess I am like a lot of people; I have the best of intentions and then slowly but surely life gets in the way. But truth be told; I really DO need to lose weight as I’m not feeling comfortable the way I am right now and that just has got to get better. So… prepare to be bored (once again) with tales of ongoing weight battles. If you’ve read my blog for a while you probably also know that I am a firm believer in a “no-diet”-diet meaning I think we should be able to lose weight by following sensible rules, exercise and eat healthy. I do eat fairly healthy but it doesn’t help that I have to bake for my job at the moment. Even though I bring most of the cupcakes and pies and whatever to family and friends there is still enough tasting involved (how can you not taste, right??)

You did NOT see that bottle of wine did you?

My first goal is to get my butt moving again. I used to go to spinning classes three days a week, but because I’ve been busy (and those classes are in the morning) I’ve had to cancel to many of them. You know… you get to the point where it’s going from missing one week, to one month and before you know it, you’ve missed half a year… Ofcourse I know that it’s just an excuse. (I’m very good in selfreflecting..lol) I could have done any other kind of exercise if spinning was not an option, but instead I chickened out and left it all together. Hmmm, that’s gonna be a hard one. I would love to go running, but I can’t due to an ongoing Achilles problem. Not an option. I like biking but it’s not exactly been fabulous weather lately plus living in this fairly flat area makes the wind killing, but still… if it’s not raining that is a good option. Spinning when I can… (although I am dreading the moment that I will first step into the gym again… I know my spinning mates… )

And then ofcourse food… It’s need to be more regular… I sometimes forget to eat when I’m busy only to make up for that later in the day and I know that’s just the wrong way to do it. So more fruit and veggie snacks in between and better meals in the evening. One such delicious and healthy meal is this Thai salad. I made it together with Charlotte when we were cooking together one friday afternoon and it was a delicious surprise! The recipe comes from Olive and really worth trying out!

Thai chicken, cucumber and coconut salad; healthy food…

5.0 from 1 reviews

Recipe type: Lunch or light main

Author: Olive magazine

Prep time: 10 mins

Cook time: 30 mins

Total time: 40 mins

Serves: 4

Loved, loved that chicken poached in the coconut. Brilliant idea and incredibly tasty!

Ingredients

400 gr skinless chicken fillets
165 ml coconut milk
40 gr palm sugar
3 tbsp fish sauce
1 large cucumber
2 long red chillies, thinly sliced
small bunch of coriander, leaves picked
thai shallot or regular shalot, finely sliced
roasted peanuts, 50 gr crushed

Instructions

Put the chicken between two sheets of cling film and bash it flat with a rolling pin or heavy pan. Make sure it is all equal thickness.
Put the coconut milk, palm sugar and fishsauce in a wide shallow pan. Add the chicken to the cold liquid. Gently bring to a simmer. Cook for 15 minutes, take off the heat and leave to cool in the liquid.
Using a vegetable peeler, cut the cucumber into long thin ribbons
Take the chicken from the poaching liquid and slice as thinly as possible, them mix all the ingredients except the roasted peanuts. Serve drizzled with some of the poaching liquid and sprinkle with the peanuts

Notes

Be sure to taste your chillies before you add them to your salad. We used it in liberal amounts as our red chillies are usually rather mild. Not this time! It was blazing hot! So we should’ve checked but forgot…

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Junglefrog Cooking » Asian

Marinated chicken on a stick and living leaner

Spicy skewered chicken with fennel-orange salad

Ingredients

Herb mix

orange fennel salad

Directions

Note

Related Posts:

Griddled courgette carpaccio with chickpea salsa

Griddled courgette carpaccio with chickpea salsa

Ingredients

Pistachio dressing

Chickpea salsa

Directions

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Indian salad – Chana chat

Chana chat

Ingredients

Directions

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Thai dinner for two; We Feed Back

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Thai chicken, cucumber and coconut salad; healthy food…

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