Feral Cooks

Good food shouldn't be tame

Sri Lankan Black Curry Chicken

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This is an interesting recipe for a couple of reasons: 1) it’s a take of a take of a recipe originally by chef Alex Ong; reinterpreted by chef Andrea Nguyen for her Banh Mi Handbook; and last, slightly altered by me. 2) Nguyen’s major change was to add the chicken curry to a banh mi sandwich without making the bread soggy, so she shredded the chicken then recooked it in the curry sauce, reducing it to something similar to an Indonesian rendang. The result is essentially a chicken rendang with a highly concentrated spice paste. Nguyen was brilliant in her idea; it’s utterly delicious—one of the best curries I’ve had.

Think of cooking this in two main steps: 1) making the basic curry in a Dutch oven, then 2) cooling it for a bit before drastically reducing the curry sauce in a nonstick frypan and recooking the chicken until no sauce remains.

Don’t be put off by the long list of needed spices and herbs. You probably already have most of them in your kitchen.

What you’ll need

  • 0.25t ground cardamom
  • 0.25t ground black pepper
  • 0.5t ground cinnamon
  • 0.75t ground nutmeg
  • 1t ground coriander
  • 1t ground cloves
  • 1.5t ground coriander
  • 3 large cloves garlic, peeled and roughly chopped
  • 1-inch of thick ginger, peeled and roughly chopped
  • 1 stalk lemongrass, peeled, trimmed and coarsely sliced
  • 1 large Fresno or jalapeno chili, coarsely chopped (remove seeds for less heat)
  • 115g (3.5 oz or 0.75 cups) shallots, chopped
  • 2 lbs, boneless, skinless chicken thighs, trimmed of fat
  • 2T neutral oil
  • 1t brown mustard seeds
  • 6 – 7 curry leaves (optional, but recommended, if you can find them)
  • 0.75t table salt
  • 1.33 cups coconut cream or milk

What to do

Blend the dried spices (excluding the mustard seeds) in a small bowl. Set aside. In a small food processor, pulse the garlic, ginger, lemongrass, chile and shallot until finely chopped and like a paste. Ensure the chicken is trimmed of fat and ready to cook.

Set your mis en place.

In a 4- – 6-quart Dutch oven, heat the oil over high heat. When the oil reaches a temperature that sizzles a mustard seed (about 300 F) add all the mustard seeds and curry leaves, if using, and let them cook for 10 – 20 seconds. The seeds will pop a bit. Quickly add the shallot mixture and fry it for 3 – 5 minutes until it’s no longer raw.

Lower the heat somewhat and stir in the spice mixture, frying it for about 30 seconds until it turns chocolate-dark (this gives the dish its name). Add the chicken thighs with tongs and turn the thighs within the herbs and spices to coat them. Add the coconut milk and salt, again turning the chicken until it’s submerged. If it’s not submerged add a bit more coconut milk or water. Reduce the heat to a medium simmer and let the chicken cook, uncovered, for about 30 minutes. Stir every so often to prevent scorching. The curry sauce should be reduced by about half at the 30-minute mark. Remove from the heat and let it cool for about 15 minutes.

Remove the chicken thighs to a large plate and with two forks shred the chicken into about 0.5” – 0.75” wide strips. Pour the curry sauce still in the Dutch oven into a large nonstick frypan. Over high heat and at a fast simmer, cook the sauce until it’s reduced by about half and pools of coconut oil have separated from the rest of the sauce. The more sauce you have left at this point, the more the chicken will need to be recooked. The goal is to add the chicken and cook all the sauce off, leaving the chicken finishing in coconut oil.

When the sauce has reduced, reintroduce the chicken to the pan (and any sauce on the plate) and lower the heat a bit. Cook the chicken at a vigorous simmer until the sauce has cooked off. Stir often during this process so the chicken doesn’t scorch on the bottom. This process may take anywhere from 8 to 20 minutes, depending on how much sauce you have.

When the chicken is cooking in just oil, take the pan off the heat and let it cool. Taste and add a couple of pinches of salt, if needed.

Serve at room temperature if serving as part of a banh mi sandwich with a little mayo and some pickled shallots, or hot if serving with coconut rice, such as nasi lemak.

Gruyere, Parmesan and Onion Bite-size Biscuits

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These small savories are based on a recipe by Claudia Fleming. They’re super-easy to make and they’re perfect as part of an appetizer spread or just as a quick snack. Think spreading some chive cream-cheese on top or something along those lines.              

Some quick notes: you basically need to make a batch of caramelized onions for this recipe, and I don’t think the original recipe calls for enough of them. Next time I make these I’ll use a large onion instead of medium. Same with the cheese: you could increase the amount of cheese by 25 – 50% to make these taste even better. Also note that you need to use frozen, cubed butter, so adjust prep time, as needed.

What you’ll need

  • 2T extra-virgin olive oil
  • 4 anchovy fillets, minced (I think you could get away with not using these, with no ill effect)
  • 0.5t red pepper flakes
  • 1 large onion, peeled and thinly sliced
  • 0.5 cups + 1T heavy cream   
  • 226g (8 oz or 1.5 cups + 2T) all-purpose flour
  • 1T baking powder
  • 0.75t kosher salt
  • 85g (3 oz or 6T) unsalted butter, cut into 0.75-inch cubes and frozen
  • 0.5t ground pepper
  • 71g (2.5 oz or 0.75 cup) Gruyere cheese, finely grated
  • 30g (1 oz or 0.25 cups) Parmigiano, divided

What to do

Caramelize the onions by adding the oil, anchovies and red pepper flakes to a large frypan over medium-low heat. Add the sliced onions, letting them slowly cook for about 45 minutes; stir them every few minutes for even cooking. When they’re softened and darkened, let them cool before chopping them. Put the chopped onions into a small bowl, mixing in the cream before letting them cool for about 15 minutes.

For the dough, combine the flour, baking powder and salt in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse it a few times to mix everything up. Add the butter and pulse until the mixture has the texture of a coarse meal. Transfer the mixture to a large mixing bowl and stir in the cheeses, reserving half the Parmigiano for sprinkling on the biscuits before baking. Add the onion/cream mixture and gently mix until everything is evenly distributed and no dry flour remains.

When you’re ready to bake, begin heating your oven to 400 degrees F. Line a sheet-pan with parchment paper and set it aside. Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and form it into a flat 8” X 8” square. Cut the square into equal quarters with a bench scraper or large knife, then stack the quarters on top of each other.

Gently flatten the stack of dough and with a rolling pin gently roll it into as much of a square as possible about 0.5” to .075” thick. Trim off the jagged edges and collect them into a ball to roll out again. Cut the rolled dough into 1” to 1.5” squares and gently move them to the prepared sheet-pan. They don’t have to be spaced very far apart, as they will rise more than expand horizontally. Reroll any scraps and cut out squares till you’re out of dough.

Sprinkle the cut-out dough with the reserved Parmigiano and bake for 6 minutes before rotating the pan in the oven and baking for 7 or so more minutes. As the 7-minute mark approaches, check on the biscuits every minute or so until they’re golden on top.

Remove from the oven and let them cool a bit before serving. Can be served warm or room-temperature.

Guest Cook: Peter Makes Pork Adobo and Jasmine Sticky Rice

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Just by looking at this, you know it’s going to taste great.

Here’s a pair of simple but outstanding recipes cooked by my friend, Peter—this is his second post. He’s made this pork a number of times, using several variants of the recipe. This one, however, is an AI amalgamation of what you’ll find online, wisely double-checked against weird AI blunders.

The jasmine rice is their favorite rice recipe at the Peter condo, often served with a garnish of steamed bok choy, chives and heirloom jalapeños (as pictured).

What you’ll need for the pork

  • 3 lbs. pork shoulder, cut into 2” – 3” pieces
  • 0.66 cups rice vinegar
  • 0.33 cups soy sauce
  • 12 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
  • 6 bay leaves
  • 1T whole black peppercorns
  • 1T and 1t shaved palm sugar or brown sugar

 
What you’ll need for the rice

  • 2 cups jasmine rice, unwashed/un-rinsed
  • 2.75 cups water
  • 1 star anise pod (optional)
  • Small pinch of salt or sugar or both

What to do for the pork

Combine the vinegar, soy sauce, garlic, bay leaves and peppercorns in a small bowl. Add the pork pieces to a 1-gallon freezer bag and pour in the vinegar mixture. Push out the air and seal the bag, manipulating the pork to ensure it’s covered with marinade. Marinade in the refrigerator for at least an hour or up to overnight. Move the pork around every so often, to get good coverage.

When ready to cook, heat your oven to 275° F. Add the pork and all its marinade to a 5- – 7-quart Dutch oven, then cover it. Put it in the oven for 1.5 – 2 hours, until the meat is cooked and easily breaks apart with a fork.

When done, remove the meat from the oven and turn the oven to 425° F. When it reaches temperature, put the meat back in the oven, uncovered, and cook it for about 15 more minutes, turning over the pieces with tongs about halfway through the additional cooking time. After the 15 minutes, the pork should just become caramelized and slightly crisp. If not, cook for a few more minutes. Remove from the oven.

As the dish cools on the counter, remove the oil floating on the surface by whatever means you prefer. Another longer option is to let it cool to room temperature before refrigerating for a couple of hours, after which you can easily remove the solidified fat.

Serve hot with rice.

What to do for the rice

Add all the ingredients to saucepan (3 quarts with a cover), giving everything a quick swirl to mix, then bring to a boil. Upon boiling, immediately set the heat to low and cover, cooking for about 8 minutes. Do not remove the cover during cooking.

After the 8 minutes, take the pan off the heat and let it rest, covered, for 5 minutes. Remove the cover and the star anise. Fluff the rice with a fork or spoon before serving hot.

Adobo pork and jasmine rice dinner on the patio.