One Pot Goodness: Pumpkin Chicken Rice

* sorry this pic was very badly taken because the lighting was bad in the kitchen and I was just too lazy

I love these one pot goodness because they are easy to make and very little washing up. Preparation and washing can be done under 30 mins - * I like :) This particular dish has been my comfort food since Brisbane days.

Ingredients:

Rice - (I used 1/2 short grain rice because I like it slightly sticky)

Chicken fillet (Breast or Thigh) - Sliced up into small pieces, marinate with soya sauce, dash of wine, pepper, sesame oil, and corn flour

Dried Shitake Mushrooms - Pre-soaked for 1-2 hrs

Dried Shrimps - A small handful

Garlic - chopped up

Pumpkin - Cubed

Soya Sauce light and dark

Method:

Put rice into rice cooker

While rice is being cooked,  I prepared the ingredients

- sliced up chicken

- marinate chicken

- chopped up garlic
- cubed the pumpkin

- used scissors to cut up the dried mushrooms

Cooking portion:
- heat up frying pan with oil (I used grapeseed oil)
- add garlic and let it sizzle (not burnt)
- add dried shrimp
- add in pumpkin (if you prefer, you can pre-steam the pumpkin a little to soften and quicken the process)
- add in chicken
- add a dash of dark soya sauce
Lightly stir fry for a minute or so (Pumpkin should more or less be softened and chicken almost fully cooked)

By then the rice in the rice cooker should be almost done (Water dried up when you open the rice cooker)
Add all the ingredients onto the rice and mix well
Let the rice cooker finish its job

Meanwhile, wash up and by then everything should be done.
Serve and garnish with Fried Shallots and sesame seeds (optional)

Today, I have sharks fin melon soup and purple cabbage salad to go with the rice.

Dips

Dips are yummy and you need them at any parties. They are so good for nibbling off carrot & celery sticks and water-thin crackers. A few friends have requested for some dips recipes. My take is that as long as there is garlic and lemon juice + herbs, it would taste good. But be sure to brush your teeth after eating, unless your partner doesn't mind your garlic breath. :)

Hommus
Ingredients:

• 2 cloves garlic
• 400g Chick peas
• Fresh lemon juice
• 2 tbsp tahini (I blended my own sesame seeds)
• Salt and pepper to taste

Blend everything together. 

Garlic and Herb Dip

Ingredients:

• Small bunch of parsley (Or chives)
• 1 clove garlic
• 2 Shallots/spring onions (actually 1 small onion also can) 
• 250g cream cheese
• 2 tbsp plain yoghurt or milk

Blend everything together. 

Salmon Chazuke

Kitchen is probably one of the most important part of the house to me. I like it when I organize it my way. I like it when I can whip up some simple healthy meals to feed the family. I have lots of dreams for my perfect kitchen but this humble one I have, for now is more than good enough :) 

My mom has been great over the past months, cooking for us (and slowly infusing her own kitchen items few pieces a time into the kitchen) One of the things I miss over the past few months, is cooking. I don't know if its more the control over the kitchen that I am missing or the actual cooking. (Haha I am that control freak when it comes to the kitchen, its my domain!) Regardless, I am glad that I have been able to be well enough of late to gain back some control (hiak!) and whip up some meals. (AND re-organise my pantry, fridge and kitchen table tops the way I like it) *Big Grins 

Anyway, back to Salmon Chazuke, the reason of this post. I think a few of you are interested in the recipe and maybe, I should compile some recipes. (or Vic can do it) This recipe is entirely from my own imagination. So you can take the risk and give it a go. My version is very easy I think. I was happy to see everyone (The husband, parents and Janice) slurping up their dinner tonight, perhaps they were being polite and encouraging but yah, I enjoyed it thoroughly and I have been cooking this since Brisbane time, and this has always been our comfort food. Here goes:

Ingredients:

• Fresh Salmon Fillet with or without skin (Belly) - Cut into large chunky strips, each enough for one person (as shown in pic)
• Japanese Rice
• Japanese green tea leaves (Sencha or Gyokuro)
• Japanese Rice Seasoning (Can get from supermarkets or Daiso. Get those with seaweed and/or plum)
• Toasted Sesame Seeds or Janice calls them Elmo seeds. I am sure you see the connection here (You can buy them straight or buy raw ones and toast a big batch in the oven or toaster oven and keep them in air tight jars)
• Wasabi

Method:

1. Wash and pat dry the salmon Chunks and marinate them with few pinches of salt (I use organic sea salt/himalayan salt nowadays.) Cover and refridgerate for about 15-20 mins
2. Cook the Japanese Rice as normal (No special method here)
3. Heat up pan with just a teeny weeny bit of oil (I use grapeseed oil) 
4. Once hot, gently put in the salmon chunks Pan fry them till half-3/4 cooked (turn the fillet once you see the sides getting cooked.You will still see the middle section of the salmon fillet still slightly raw) The salmon taste juicier and nicer this way. Once Salmon is fully cooked, it tends to get fishy and dry in my opinion. So buy fresh salmon to be safe, and eat them slightly rare. *unless you have to have cooked Salmon or you're pregnant. For Janice I cooked hers fully too, not overcooked. Salmon should be able to flake and detach pretty easily. 
5. Meanwhile, make your tea in a tea pot. You can use the instructions of whatever tea you have. I used rough a heapful tea leaves and about a cup of water per pax. Entirely agaration. Let it steep for about 10 mins. Do not use boiling water if you are using Japanese green tea leaves. I don't use a strainer either and let some tea leaves out when I pour them. I like the tea leaves and they are nice to be eaten ;)
6. Scoop rice into bowl, place a chunk of salmon over the rice, sprinkle over with rice seasoning and sesame seeds, add a dollop of wasabi (optional) and pour the green tea over them 

I served with cold organic silken tofu sprinkled with sesame seeds, seaweed, a couple drops of sesame oil and light sauce

For vege, I had a baby spinach, musculin mix leaves salad with grape tomatoes and purple onions drizzled with *home made dressing - forgot to take a picture of that

*I cut a couple slices of fresh lemon, added some toaster oven toasted olive oil garlic slices into an old glass jar. Poured extra virgin oil over them and cover and let it infuse for about an hour. Poured in a spoon full of balsamic vinegar, give it a good shake before drizzling over the salad.

Bon Apetit! 

Ok, I hope I haven't been too detailed here. But trust me, its a really quick recipe. I should learn to take some pictures in the process to save my words a little.  For the records, just in case I get dementia in future :)