Stewed chicken with chestnuts

I like eating chestnuts especially those roasted/fried with sugar.  It is one of my favorite snacks in the winter. When I was young, it was very common to find food carts on the streets.  After I finished school, I always bought a pack of roasted/fried chestnuts.  The traditional way to roast or fry chestnuts is in a big wok. They are stir-fried with sugar and black sand.   

Last Sunday I found there are cooked chestnuts sold in the supermarket.  People here like eating chestnuts with salad.  Before I live here, it is easy for me to buy raw chestnuts in the market.  But it takes more time to cook this dish by using raw chestnuts.  

Preparation time: 10 minutes

Cooking time: 20 minutes

Serve: 2

Ingredients:

l  480g chicken legs (cut in pieces)

l  200g chestnuts (cooked)

l  2 garlic cloves (sliced)

l  ½ tbsp vegetable oil

l  ½ cup water

l  1 spring onion (chopped)

Seasoning:

l  4g ginger (sliced)

l  1 tsp wine

l  1 tbsp soy sauce

l  1 tbsp dark soy sauce

l  1 tsp corn flour

Sauce:

l  1 tsp soy sauce

l  ½tsp sugar

l  1 tsp corn flour

l  2 tsp oyster sauce

l  1/8 tsp ground black pepper

l  1/8 tsp sesame oil

Method:

1.	Marinate the chicken with wine, ginger, soy sauce, dark soy sauce and corn flour for 20 minutes.
2.	Heat the wok with medium heat and add oil.  Add garlic and chicken into the wok and stir-fry for 2 minutes.
3.	Then reduce to low-medium heat, add water in the wok, stir and cover for 4 minutes.
4.	Add the chestnuts and mix with the chicken.  Cover for another 5 minutes.
5.	Mix the soy sauce, corn flour, sugar, oyster sauce, sesame oil and ground black pepper well in a bowl.  Add the sauce in the wok and stir well until the sauce is thickened.
6.	Garnish with spring onion.  Serve with rice.

啤酒炆牛腩 (Stew beef with beer)

啤酒炆牛腩 (Stew beef with beer)

準備時間：15分鐘

烹調時間：1-1.5小時

份量：2人

材料：

Ø  320克牛坑腩 (切2.5厘米一塊)

Ø  洋葱1個 (約150克，去皮切片)

Ø  薯仔2個 (約250克，去皮切粒)

Ø  紅蘿蔔2條 (約220克，去皮切粒)

Ø  蒜頭2瓣 (切片)

Ø  黑胡椒粉1茶匙

Ø  啤酒1量杯

Ø  冰糖25克

Ø  牛肉湯塊1塊

Ø  香葉1片

Ø  棕醬1湯匙

Ø  豉油1茶匙

Ø  老抽1茶匙

Ø  生油1茶匙

Ø  牛油20克

Ø  粟粉2湯匙 (用1湯匙清水拌勻)

Ø  清水1.5 量杯

Ø  百里香1茶匙

做法：

1.	先用百里香、黑胡椒粉、豉油醃牛坑腩。
2.	用煎鍋開中火下生油和蒜片將牛坑腩略煎，每面煎30秒，熄火待用。
3.	用炆燉鍋中開小火，加入牛油/植物油、紅蘿蔔、薯仔、洋葱略炒。
4.	將已略煎的牛坑腩、蒜片加入炆燉鍋中，放入冰糖、香葉、啤酒、清水、老抽、棕醬和牛肉湯塊後，拌勻。用小火炆燉1 - 1.5小時至牛坑腩霖。
5.	加入粟粉水於已炆霖牛坑腩鍋內，拌勻煮約2分鐘，即可。可拌飯或意大利粉。
	備註: 炆燉時間長短要視乎牛坑腩的質素和新鮮度。

My husband loves beer and beef.  This morning I bought a piece of high quality beef skirt from Tesco. It is juiciness and tenderness. I cooked this dish with spaghetti for our dinner.  Yummy!

Stew beef with beer

Preparation time: 15 minutes

Cook time: 1-1.5 hour(s)

Serve: 2 persons

Ingredients:

Ø  320g quality Beef skirt/stewing steak (cut into 2-2.5 cm pieces)

Ø  1 onion (150g, chopped in slices)

Ø  2 potatoes (250g, peeled and cut in cubes)

Ø  2 carrots (220g, peeled and cut in cubes)

Ø  2 garlic cloves (peeled and cut in slices)

Ø  ½ tsp black pepper

Ø  1 cup beer

Ø  25g rock sugar

Ø  1 beef stock cube (crumbled)

Ø  1 bay leaf

Ø  1 tbsp brown sauce

Ø  1 tsp soy sauce

Ø  1 tsp dark soy sauce

Ø  1 tsp vegetable oil

Ø  20g margarine or butter

Ø  2 tbsp corn flour (mix with 1tbsp water)

Ø  1.5 cup water

Ø  1 tsp dried thyme

Method:

1.	Season the meat generously with thyme, soy sauce and black pepper.
2.	Add vegetable oil in a pan over a medium heat and add garlic.
3.	Place the meat in batches in the pan and fry each side for 30 seconds.  Set aside.
4.	Add margarine or butter into the casserole over a low heat.  Add the bay leaf, onions, potatoes and carrots inside the casserole.
5.	Then toss the beef and garlic back into the casserole.
6.	Add the rock sugar, brown sauce and dark soy sauce.
7.	Pour the beer, beef stock and water over the meat. Stir well and then cover with a lid and braise over a low heat for one hour until the beef soft.
8.	Add corn flour sauce into the casserole.  Stir and mix them well.  Put it inside the casserole; stir thoroughly until the sauce is thickened.
9.	Serve with spaghetti or rice.

Tips C: Sometimes this takes 1 hour, sometimes 1.5 hours.  It depends on what cut of meat you use and how fresh it is. The only way to test is to mash up a piece of meat.  If it falls apart easily, it is ready.