Comfort Food

There are some days when all you want to eat is greasy fake-chinese food. I'm talking gloopy sweet and sour with battered pork - calorie central! So, for when those days strike, here is a slightly less artery-clogging option!

Salt-and-Pepper Chicken with Egg-Fried Rice
Serves 1-2
For the chicken:
1 skinless boneless chicken breast
1/4 cup flour
salt and pepper

For the Rice
1 tablespoon oyster sauce
2 teaspoons soy sauce
2 cloves garlic, minced
vegetables of your choice, chopped finely
2 eggs, beaten
2 cups of cooked rice (I used brown)
1/2 cup frozen peas

oil for frying

First off, the chicken

in a tupperware or large sandwich bag, put the flour, some salt, and lots and lots of pepper (I used about 20 turns of a pepper grinder). Seal it, then shake it about a bit

cut the chicken into bitesized chunks, and put them in with the flour mixture

then put the lid on and shake until all the pieces of chicken are covered with the flour mixture.
Then heat some oil in a pan and start to fry the chicken.

While the chicken is cooking, it is time to start the rice.

Mix together the oyster and soy sauces in advance

Heat some oil in a wok or high-sided frying pan, then mince the garlic and cook for a minute or so.

Then add your chopped vegetables. I used cabbage because it's what I had on hand, but carrots would also be good.

Push the veggies to one side of the pan, then pour in the egg on the other.
Scramble the egg and break it up, then add in the rice and the oyster and soy sauce and stir fry.  When the rice is heated through, add the peas and stir fry some more until the peas are cooked.
Now you are ready to serve!

Recipe: Teriyaki Salmon With Soy-Braised Vegetables

I made this for dinner tonight, and it actually turned out pretty well.  I also remembered to take some step-by-step photos, although I have to apologise for the lighting - it was light when I started, but just when I was about to start cooking the veg the fire alarm went off and we all had to evacuate the building and sit around in the commonsblock for ages.  By the time I got back the sun was setting and the light was terrible.
Anyway, here we go!

Teriyaki Salmon With Soy-Braised Vegetables


Start off with a nice fillet of salmon, and some store-bought teriyaki sauce.  Put the salmon in a dish and slather the top and sides with around a tablespoon of the sauce.

then cover the dish with cling film and put it in the fridge to marinate while you prepare the veggies!

Chop up some veggies of your choice - I used cabbage, courgettes and curly kale, but next time I think I won't have the courgette because it goes mushy in the time it takes to cook the cabbage and kale.  However, if you like mushy courgettes, go for it! Also, peel two cloves of garlic and grate about a teaspoon of ginger root (I use the ready-grated stuff you can buy in jars, it's way easier).

Next, heat some vegetable oil in a deep frying pan or wok (one with a lid would be best), mince the garlic and throw it in with the ginger.

Cook for a minute, then add the vegetables, along with 2 tablespoons of soy sauce and half a cup of water - this is the "soy-braised" part.  Mix it all together, then cover and leave it all to cook while you do the salmon.

Heat some oil in a pan - there is probably a bit too much here.

Put the salmon in, skin side down, then leave it alone for a few minutes.  Don't even think about touching it - I mean it! The idea here is to crisp up the skin and render the fat underneath it.  Salmon is a fatty fish and can be too rich and greasy if you don't let the fat render out of it.

When it looks a bit like this, you can turn it over...

Then cook it for a few more minutes until it looks more like this!

Plonk it on a plate, then add your veggies, which should be cooked by now...

and there you have it! Teriyaki salmon with soy-braised veggies!
If you want to change it up a bit, I think the addition of some sesame oil or seeds to the veggies would be nice.  It would also be good served with rice or plain noodles.  You could probably substitute the salmon for a chicken breast too if you don't want fish.

here's the ingredient list again:
Fillet of salmon
1 tbsp teriyaki sauce
veggies of your choice
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 teaspoon minced ginger
2 tbsp soy sauce