(Canned) Sardine Sandwich

Sardine is the all too familiar to you, so are sandwich. But have you ever thought of the word "Sardine" and followed by "Sandwich"?

In most part of my life, I know only canned sardine in tomato sauce. Thinking that the fish isn't good enough to be eaten fresh hence, canned. But having lived in Greece, I learned that sardine is delicious when fresh and  amazingly delicious when charcoal. So, for many years, it never crossed my mind that Greeks canned their sardine as well. After living here for years, informed by my other half that I could easily find canned sardine (but why canned sardine?), I wanted to make sardine sandwich.

Believe me when I say that Greek canned sardine is far more superior in quality than any other canned sardine I have tried. Moreover, canned sardine is cheaper than canned tuna. In this economical climate, why pay more for something imported while you can make do with something else that is local and cheaper and better?

By far the best Sardine Sandwich I have made. Buy Greek!

You will need:

1 canned Sardine in tomato sauce (100g)
4 slices of sandwich bread
Margarine
1/2 red onion (medium)
1/2 red chili, thinly sliced (optional)
Lemon / lime juice

1. Thinly sliced the onion and mix it throughly with 1/2 lemon or lime juice. Leave for at least 10 minutes in the lemon juice or until you noticed the onion appear red in color;
2. Meanwhile, lightly spread the margarine over your sandwich bread. The margarine will prevent the bread from soaking up too much moisture thus, prevent the sandwich from getting too soggy;
3. Coarsely meshed the canned sardine and mix with the marinated sliced onion and sliced chili;
4. Season with salt and more lemon juice to taste. Let sit in the fridge for about 30 minutes;
5. Split the sardine filling into 2 portions. Spread evenly on the sandwich bread;
6. Cut the sandwich into half or diagonally to serve.

You could prepare a day ahead and only spread it out on your sandwich when you need it the next day. Great for snack.

Cold Chicken & Noodle Salad

There are versions of noodle salad here and there in cook shows and recipe books or blog. The basic ingredients are quite similar. Noodle, protein, various fresh herbs and salad; for seasoning, of course its the soy sauce and sesame oil.

Perfect for a warm day or as a quick light meal or serve as side. You could prepare a day ahead, just make sure that you keep the cooked and fresh ingredients in separate containers and bring everything together just before serving. Here is my version and it changes depending on what I can gather from my fridge.

Ingredients:

Noodle:
1 - 1 1/2 portion thin rice noodle, alternately instant noodle or glass noodle could work.

Protein:
1/2 Chicken breasts, cooked;
4-8 cooked shrimp;

Fresh Ingredients:
1/2 to 1 Red Chilli (spicy or sweet)
1 stalk Spring Onion
Cook Shiitek mushroom or black ear fungus
6 - 8 Mint leaves
1 handful of Basil leaves
1 handful of coriander
few leaves of Iceberg salad
1/2 Onion
1/2 stalk Lemon grass

Seasoning:
2 - 3 Tbsp Olive oil
1/2 tsp Sesame Oil
2 Tbsp Lemon or Lime Juice
Soy Sauce
Chilli Oil (optional)

Preparation:

• Cook Thin Rice Noodle as per the packaging instruction;
• Shred, sliced or cut the cooked chicken breast into long strips. You could use left over boiled or roast chicken;
• Sliced the cooked shrimp into half or quarter;
• Thinly sliced the red Chili, mushroom/black wood fungus, onion, spring onion, lemon grass and iceberg salad;
• Cut mint and basil leaves into long strips;
• Coarsely chopped the coriander leaves;
• Place the noodle, protein, fresh ingredient in a large salad bowl and toss to mix. Season with soy sauce, lemon juice, chilli oil, sesame oil to taste.

It is more likely to find shiitek mushroom here in Athens than black ear fungus. I have manage to buy both dry and fresh shiitek mushroom from the Supermarket across Kiffisias ISAP station. If you are using fresh shiitek mushroom, I would suggest to cook it in boiling water with a few slice of ginger to rid off the moldy taste. 

Banana Fritters (Kuih Kodok)

I have come across fried banana on the menu of Chinese restaurant in Greece under the category of desert and was asked countless time to what that is and why I don't make them. Unfortunately, I haven't a clue what desert that is!

As I explained to my other half, fried banana is a snack not a desert and I am not going to make him fried banana but if we have over ripe banana, I will make him Banana Fritters any day. So I did!

All you need are over ripe bananas (of course), flour, egg and sugar. Cooking is really not an exact science, just measure everything "με το ματι" as the Greek saying goes or as my grandmother would say "agak agak"; a little more sugar if you like it sweeter, or a little less flour if you like to have more banana, etc. In general, I loosely measure the following (yield about 12 small fritters):

3 Tbsp flour (heap)1 egg
2 large banana, coarsely meshed
3 tsp sugar (heap)
1 shot glass of water (approximately)
a pinch of salt

1. Mix flour, sugar and egg into a large bowl, gently add the water until everything comes together to resemble a thick batter;

2. Heat enough cooking oil in a wok for deep frying. Using a ladder or a large spoon, gently pour the batter into the hot oil, one spoon at a time. When the drop of batter start to get color, turning it occasionally until it is brown (or dark brown) overall;

3. When ready, transfer the banana fritters onto a plate covered with kitchen tower (to absorb the extra oil) and its ready to serve.

All in 3 steps! Serve it as breakfast or afternoon snack.

Braise Peas & Potato

Last spring, my father-in-law cooked some fresh peas the Greek way (peas with onions and dill). To my surprise, it brings back memories of taste of my childhood, it reminds me of a dish my mother cooked when we were kids, with canned peas. The difference in taste between the two version is that my mother added minced meat to enrich the taste and of course, the indispensable soy sauce.

Since we came across some nice fresh peas last 2 weeks, I thought it would be worth a while to try re-create this dish, with fresh peas. Since I have never actually learn it from my mother, there were a lot of guessing game (but it an easy guess), it turn out just quiet the same. This is an easy dish, takes about 20 - 30 minutes cooking time (half of that time, I was doing something else!) and I am definitely going to cook this again on a working day and perhaps make it into a lunch box!

Braise Peas & Potatoes serve with toasted bread

Ingredients:
1 cup Fresh Peas
2 medium potatoes, diced
1 medium onions, diced
100 - 200g mince pork
1 small clove garlic, finely minced
2 cups water or stock, approx.
Soy sauce to taste
Salt and pepper


1) Marinate the minced pork with about 1 teaspoon of Soy Sauce (5-10 minutes is just fine);
2) Heat about 2 table spoon of olive oil in a large pot. Sauteed the minced garlic for about 10 seconds before adding in the marinated minced pork. Stir fry the mince pork, breaking it up into fine bits until almost cook.
3) Add in diced onion and mix. When the onion begin to soften, add in the diced potatoes and peas and mix
4) Add in just enough water or stock to almost cover the vegetables and turn down to medium or low heat. Cover the pot with the lid and simmer until the vegetable is cooked.
5) Uncover and reduce the sauce. Season with soy sauce, salt and pepper.
6) Serve it with bread or over steam rice.

Home Made Noodles with Mince Meat Sauce

When I was a student, this noodle dish was perhaps one of the most popular among us students. It is easily available from the hawker stall, doesn't involve hot soup (although the soup version is always available) which is ideal under the constant hot weather and more importantly, it will definitely keep hunger at bay for the next hours. Another thing I like about this dish is that every stall would make the noodle fresh (well not exactly, the dough is prepared ahead of time) and cut it into which ever thickness or shapes you like it. The choice was narrow or wide noodle or small hand tear (literally translated, we call it "flour pieces" and it requires you to just tear a rolled out dough into pieces).

Fresh noodle are not that hard to make. The easiest method to make fresh noodle is exactly the same way as making fresh pasta. All you need is flour and water or egg, some effort (think about it this way, you will replace the calories you lost later) and that is about it.

A nice bowl of comfort

The sauce for this noodle dish, I will say its the Asian version of Bolognese sauce. Here's my recipe, it is enough to feed 2 very hungry adult (but I often find that I could have make it a bit more).

To prepare mince meat sauce:

250g Mince Pork or Beef
1 Tbsp Soy Sauce
1/2 Tbsp Oil (add if your meat is very lean)
1 Tbsp water
Black Pepper to taste

The simplest way is to marinate the mince meat with soy sauce, oil, water and black pepper for 30 minutes. Alternately, first add the ingredient into the mince meat and then with a pair or 2 chop sticks, mix the marinates into the mince meat with a circular motion until the mince meat absorb in all the liquids. This will keep the mince meat juicy and more bite when cooked.

While you marinate the mince meat, work on the dough for the fresh noodle:

Preparing fresh noodle dough:

2 1/2 cup plain flour
1 tsp salt
About 1 cup of water (luke warm water on cold days and cold water* on hot days)

Mix the flour and salt in a large bowl. Make a hole in the middle. Slowly add in the water while you mix the flour with the water until you can form a large dough. Use just enough water to turn the flour into a workable dough. It may be less than 1 cup or more, depending on the weather condition and how dry is the flour.

On a floured surface, knead the dough until it is smooth. Rest the dough on a floured surface covered with a damp towel to let it rest (this is important, it will give your noodle a nice bite to it) for at least 5-10 minutes.

Knead the dough until smooth

While you rest the dough, prepare the mince meat sauce:

Cooking mince meat sauce:

1 large Spring Onion, chopped (including the green part)
1 tsp finely chopped garlic
2  - 3 Chinese dry mushroom, soaked until soft and julienne, keep the water. Alternately, you can use supermarket bought dried sliced Shi-take mushroom.
1 tsp finely chopped ginger (optional)
1 1/2 Tbsp Dark Soy Sauce
3 Tbsp Soy Sauce
1 cup stock or water from the soaked mushroom
2 tsp corn flour mix with 1 Tbsp water (if required)
2 - 3 Tbsp cooking oil
Chilie flakes (optional)

Dilute the dark soy together with the soy sauce in a small bowl. Coat a heated pan or wok with the cooking oil. Under a medium heat, add in chopped ginger and give it a few stir before adding in the chopped garlic and chillies flakes. Turn to high heat, add in the marinated mince meat and stir occasionally cooked.
Add in the mushroom and stir-fry for about half a minute before adding in dark soy sauce and soy sauce mixture and mix.
Add in stock, season with salt and black pepper before bringing it to a boil, reduce to medium heat and let simmer. When the sauce has been reduced to just covering the meat, add in chopped spring onion (keep aside about 1 table spoon for garnishing) and turn to high heat and bring to boil. Stir in the corn starch gradually until the sauce has slightly thicken (about the same consistency as Bolognese sauce). You can skip this step if the sauce is already thicken from the simmering or you don't mind a thin sauce.
Keep it warm over very low heat while you cook the noodles.

Now, To make your noodles:

Briefly knead the rested dough on a floured surface. Divide the dough into 2 - 3 portion. Roll out each small dough and fold. Repeat the for at least 6 times. Finally, roll out to about 1/3 cm thick flat dough. Cut into 1 cm stripes or thinner to your own preference. Dust the noodles generously with flour to prevent the strands from sticking with each other. Set aside and cover with a clean dry cloth. A pasta maker definitely make this task much more easier.  

Fresh noodle ready to cook and my trusty pasta maker

Cooking fresh noodles:

Just like cooking pasta, bring a large pot of water to a boil, drizzle some oil in the water before adding in the noodle. When the noodle floats, do a taste test before removing it straight into a serving boil. Serve the mince meat sauce on top the noodles and garnish with spring onion and chilies oil if you like it spicy. Serve immediately. Depending on the size of your pot, you may want to cook the noodle in batches.

Just a few tips:
1) Instead of fresh noodle, you can use store (supermarket) bought egg noodle w
2) Dark soy sauce may be available in large supermarket however, they could be sweet or salty. Which ever that you got, just have a taste test when you first use and adjust your seasoning accordingly. Add a teaspoon of sugar if the dark soy sauce you buy is on the salty side.
3) Cold water here means tap water. The tap water here is relatively cold even in summer unless it starts to pour out lukewarm water, you can just use tap water.

Chicken Curry

Chicken Curry or Curry Kapitan (as the Nyonya call it) is one of my favorite dish. I love it with bread, particularly white bread or rice. I like it saucy so I can soak my bread into it like a sponge or pour it over my rice until the rice drown in the sauce. I would drink the sauce like soup when we have emptied the potatoes and chicken and clean the pots and plates with bread. I can't have enough of it.
Where ever I go, when I am away from home for too long, if I miss any food back home, curry chicken is one of them.

The following serves 2 very hungry adults.

Onion Paste:
Blend the following into a smooth paste. Drizzle in some cooking oil and pulverize if you have difficulty getting a smooth paste. If you have a stone mortar, even better. Just work your arm until you get a smooth paste.

   A handful of shallots or 1 large red onion

   2 cloves garlic
   1 small piece of ginger* (no larger than a medium size olive, optional)
   dried chilli, soaked in hot water until soft or chilli powder (optional)

Curry paste
   1 packet of Miss Curry Kapitan powder
Mix the curry powder with 1 or 2 tablespoon of water, just enough for the curry power to combine into a thick paste.

Ingredients:

2 whole chicken thighs
4 potatoes
1/2 cup of vegetable oil or olive oil
1/2 cup coconut milk or 1/2 cup milk
1 cinnamon stick (about 2 - 3 inch)
1 star anise
few black pepper corn, crash
1 lemongrass (white part only), crashed 
1/2 liter of liquid, water or chicken stock
salt to season

Preparations:

1. Separate the drumstick from the thigh part. You can ask your butcher to do this for you.
2. Clean, peel and chopped the potatoes into large chunks.

Cooking:
Heat the cooking oil until pipping hot. Turn to medium heat, add in the onion paste and stir occasionally to prevent the onion paste from sticking to the pot. Saute until fragrance or soft, take care not to brown the paste. Add in the curry paste, cinnamon stick, star anise, crashed pepper corn, crashed lemon grass and continue to saute the mixture until you smell the fragrance of the spices. Another indicator is when the paste is just about to start sticking at the bottom of the pot.

Add in the chicken and coat it evenly with the curry paste. Gradually add in the liquid, mixing and diluting the curry paste into a sauce. Add in the potatoes and add more water or stock making sure that the chicken are well covered if required.

Bring the liquid to a boil before turning down to medium low heat, cover and simmer. Gently stirring the bottom occasionally (to make sure that the bottom does not stick), simmer until the chicken is thoroughly cooked and the potatoes are soft. Turn to high heat and bring to a boil before stirring in coconut milk and mixed evenly. Add salt to taste and bring the sauce to a boil and it is ready. Serve with cooked rice or bread.

Notes:
Miss Khoo's curry powder can be ordered online or simply use the generic chicken curry powder from the supermarket or Asian store. The curry powder I used here contains coriander, cardamon, cloves, turmeric, fennel, cumin, garlic, ginger, cinnamon, chilli (it is labeled as moderately spicy), white pepper, star anise seeds and salt. Alternately, any generic curry powder for meat.