recipe: Another Chicken Pie

I know, I love chicken pie and when I found this recipe I had to try it...and you should too!

Serves 6: 600g chicken breast, 4 tsp olive oil, 2 onions thinly sliced, 2 leeks thinly sliced, 1 garlic clove crushed, 1/4 tsp nutmeg, 1/4 tsp cinnamon, 1 tbsp currants, 1 tbsp oregano, 2 eggs, 1 tbsp black sesame seeds, 10 sheets filo pastry

1. Heat your oven grill, line a tray with some foil or baking paper and grill the chicken breast until golden and crispy. Remove from oven, let cool and cut into small pieces;
2. Pre heat oven to 180C. Line a ie tray with baking paper and place half of the filo pastry sheets on the bottom, brushing lightly with half of the olive oil in between sheets. Reserve;
3. Heat the remaining oil in a sauce pan. Cook onion, leek and garlic for about 6 minutes until soft and slightly golden;
4. Add nutmeg, cinnamon, currants and oregano, stir and remove from heat;
5. Place chicken in a large bowl, add onion mixture, and combine. Season with salt and pepper;
6. Lightly beat eggs and add to chicken mixture. (you can add cheese here if you like);
7. Place chicken mixture in lined pie tray. Cover with remaining filo pastry sheets, folding the bottom ones over. Brush with oil and sprinkle the sesame seeds on top;
8. Bake for 35-40 minutes or until golden;

Serve with a light green salad, and enjoy!

recipe: Pumpkin & Meatball Soup

This recipe came completely out of my creative side (eheh), I saw this photo for pumpkin & meatball soup on a magazine using canned pumpkin soup and thought...ergh, they have ruined this recipe...but the photo looked really yummy, so...ms Laura decided to make up one that looked like the photo...in the end, it looked close to the photo...but I'm sure it tasted much better...not to brag, but I made up a really delicious hybrid between boring pumpkin soup, chicken meatballs and Asian flavours. I hope you try it, don't be scared, really...it was very good!

Serves 4:
meatballs: 250g chicken mince, 2 garlic cloves crushed, 1/2 onion finely chopped,1 tsp grated ginger, salt & pepper, 1 1/2 tsp soy sauce, 1 tbsp chopped coriander

soup: 1.5 Kg pumpkin, 250 ml coconut milk, bunch fresh coriander chopped, 1 green chilli finely chopped, 1/2 onion finely chopped, 2 tsp olive oil, 200 g fresh noodles (I used thai flat noodles but hokkien or any other fresh noodles will be fine), 1 red capsicum finely sliced, 2 carrots cut into matchsticks, juice of 4 limes or about 2 large lemons, salt and pepper to taste,

1. Pre heat your oven to 190C. (I only roast the pumpkin because I hate cutting it when raw, and by doing this its really easy to cut, plus I like the smoky flavour - but you can use just raw pumpkin later on, letting it simmer until soft)
2. In a bowl mix chicken mince, garlic, ginger, onion and soy sauce, season with salt, pepper and coriander, mix again and set aside;
3. Place the pumpkin in a tray lined with foil and bake for half an hour or until soft. When ready, let cool for a while and then chop coarsely;
4. In a sauce pan heat olive oil, add chopped onion, chilli and cook for a couple of minutes;
5. Add coconut milk, chopped pumpkin and cook for another 5 minutes. Remove from heat, and blend the soup at this stage (if you used raw pumpkin you will have to cook for longer) until you have a creamy texture;
6. Add chopped carrot, capsicum and about 1 cup water- you might need more water to reach the correct consistency, you don't want a mash or a watery soup, so you have to test a bit at this stage - and chopped coriander. Simmer covered for about 15 minutes or until carrots are cooked through;
7. Using your hands, make 8 small meatballs and set aside;
8. Back to the soup, season with salt, pepper and lemon juice. Add noodles making sure they separate themselves . Finally place meatballs in the soup, cover and cook for another 5-10 minutes;
9. When meatballs are cooked, check seasoning one last time and add more lemon juice if necessary;

Serve soup while warm.
Enjoy.

recipe: Chicken Stew with Parsley Dumplings

This recipe is my own concoction of the hearty stews we have in Portugal and it varies depending on what veggies I have on the pantry. Usually it will take all of the ones below plus potatoes, but the variations are up to you. I made dumplings instead f using potatoes and reduced most of the fat used by my matriarchs back in Portugal to make it quite low-fat (a bit less tasty indeed, you do need some fat, so use more olive oil if you are comfortable with it and cuts of meat with fat in it will add flavour - I used lean chicken, takes less time to cook, but you could use some nice beef or even lamb or veal.)

Serves 6:
dumplings: 1 cup self raising flour, 1/2 cup milk, 80g butter or margarine, 1 tbsp chopped parsley, plus flour to dust stew: 500g lean chicken breast cut into cubes, 1 onion diced, 1 bay leaf, 4 tsp olive oil, 1 green capsicum finely diced, 5 or 6 carrots cubed, 1 tomato diced, 1x400g can diced tomatoes, 3 cups of water (or stock if you prefer a thicker flavour - you can also add some white wine), 2 cups frozen peas, 2 handfuls green beans cut into 4 cm pieces, salt to taste

1. In a bowl mix flour with butter with your fingers. Add milk, 1 tsp salt and mix everything to form a moist dough. reserve;
2. In a large sauce pan, heat the oil. Add the bay leaf, diced onion and cook until the onion is golden. Add tomato, capsicum and cook for another 5 minutes; and bring everything to a boil
3. Add diced carrots, diced tomatoes and stir well. Add chicken and water (3 cups should be enough to cover chicken, if not use some more - the dumplings will soak some of the liquid later);
4. Add green beans, peas and season with salt. Reduce heat and simmer for a couple of minutes;
5. Meanwhile, add parsley to dumpling dough and form 12 small balls with your hands - use more flour to avoid the dough sticking to your hands. Place each ball in the simmering stew sauce, cover and cook everything for about 20 minutes; Serve and enjoy.

Its quite comforting and it reminds me of home a bit...minus dumplings.

recipe: Soy & Star Anise Braised Chicken

This is one of the best chicken recipes I know, and one of the easiest as well.

Serves 4: 4 lean chicken breasts, 1 tsp grated ginger, 1 tsp grated garlic, 1 tsp olive oil, 1 tsp black peppercorns lightly crushed, 1/4 cup soy sauce, 1/3 cup white wine (you can use sake, or red wine instead- red is better but i just used what I had at hand), 1 star anise, 1 tsp honey, basmati rice to serve

1. In a bowl mix soy, wine, honey, crushed peppercorns and star anise. Reserve;
2. In a frypan heat oil. Add garlic and ginger and cook for a couple of minutes;
3. Add chicken breasts to the pan and cook for about 5 minutes each side until slightly golden. Add soy mixture, cover and braise for about 20 minutes;
4. Cook basmati rice in boiling salted water.

That's it...honestly, it can't get much easier that that...and its a yumm dish you should try!

recipe: Grilled Chicken with Sautéed Silverbeet and Chickpea

This meal is one of the most filling meals I have made recently. And its full of healthy stuff: silverbeet, Chickpeas, pine nuts, balsamic vinegar..humm, believe me, you will love this dish!

Serves 4: 500g chicken breast, 1 tsp minced garlic, 1/2 tsp grated ginger, 1/2 tsp sumac, 1/2 tsp paprika, 1/2 tsp salt, 2 tbsp lemon juice, 1 bunch silverbeet stalks removed thinly sliced, 3 garlic cloves crushed, 1x 400g can chickpeas drained & rinsed, 2 tbsp lemon juice, 200g cherry tomatoes halved, 2 tbsp chopped chives, 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar, 1 tbsp pine nuts, 1 tsp olive oil

1. In a small bowl mix minced garlic, ginger, sumac, paprika, salt and lemon juice. Score your chicken breasts (halfway down the breast) and rub this mixture. Cover with some cling film and let marinate for at least half an hour.
2. Pre heat your oven grill and line a baking tray with baking paper. Grill the chicken breasts for about 10 minutes each side, or until cook and golden; Remove from oven and let cool;
3.Change the oven to 190C. In a baking dish brushed with a bit of olive oil, place your tomatoes, cut side up, season with salt, pepper and balsamic vinegar and and bake for about 15 minutes. Add pine nuts, and bake for another 5-10 minutes or until nuts are golden and tomatoes break. remove from oven, add chives and reserve;
4. In a shallow fry pan heat live oil. add silver beet and cook until wilted. Add chickpeas and stir to coat. Finally add lemon juice and season with salt;
5. Divide silver beet mixture among plates, top with chicken breast and cherry tomatoes. Serve.

Enjoy!

recipe: Curried Chicken Pot Pies

Honestly, after a month of eating mainly vegetables, these pies tasted like heaven...now you go and cook them, cause they were dead easy as well, and make your own decisions!

Serving 4:
2 sheets puff pastry just thawed, 500 g chicken breast, 1 onion finely chopped, 2 garlic cloves, 1 tomato chopped, 1x 400g can chopped tomatoes, 300g mixed frozen vegetables (like peas, corn, carrot mix), 2 cups baby spinach leaves, 3 tsp curry powder, 125 ml coconut milk, 1 tbs olive oil

1. Turn on your oven grill, line the tray with some baking paper and place your chicken breasts to grill for about 10 minutes each side, or until coked. Remove them and chop coarsely;
2. Heat the oil in a sauce pan, add onion, garlic and curry powder stirring often;
3. Add tomato, chicken, tomato sauce and coconut milk and bring to a boil;
4. Reduce heat, let simmer adding frozen vegetables and finally spinach. Correct flavours;
5. Grease four ramekins with a bit of oil, divide the chicken mixture amongst ramekins (you might end up with some extra - freeze.);
6. Cut your puff pastry into triangles and top the ramekins with the pastry.
7. Place in your oven at 200C and bake for about 20-25 minutes;

Serve with some nice tomato and cucumber salad, they are truly delicious. (maybe a bit tricky to eat off the ramekins, but...who cares, they were so pretty!)

Chicken, Mushroom & Leek Pie with Tomatoes and Tzatziki

I love this pie and usually make it when I have guests and can't remember anything else to make... This was the case yesterday. My brother in law and his girlfriend stayed with us and the old Chicken & Leek Pie was the only thing I could remember to put on the menu. It was gone fairly quickly so I guess it was a success. Besides its quite easy to make and doesn't take that long (less than an hour).


Serving 4 (hungry people):

1 pie plate of about 20 cm diameter, 4 sheets puff pastry, 3 chicken breasts marinated, grilled & chopped into small pieces, 1 leek thinly sliced, 5 large mushrooms thinly sliced, 2 tbs olive oil, thyme, 2 teaspoons of dijon mustard, milk or lukewarm water, 1 tbs plain flour, salt & pepper, 4 tomatoes thinly sliced, tzatziki (bought in the supermarket but can give you the recipe if needed)

1. Place the chicken in a bowl and marinate it to your liking ( I used 1 teaspoon chopped garlic, 1 teaspoon grated ginger, lemon juice, a bit of olive oil and some paprika). Heat the grill on your oven or a barbecue and grill the chicken breasts until they look golden. Chopp them in small pieces;
2. Line the pie plate with 2 sheets of puff pastry previously thawed and adjust them to the place;
3. In a bowl mix the mustard with about 1 cup luke warm water or milk and dissolve the flour in it;
4. Heat some oil in a fry pan and cook the mushrooms until they are soft;
5. Add the leek and cook for another 5 minutes in medium heat;
6. Add the chopped chicken, stir and pour the mustard mixture in; Stir it all together and add more water if necessary; (it shouldn't be very liquid)
7. Remove from the heat, add thyme, salt and pepper and place in the pie tray;
8. Cover with the remaining 2 pastry sheets and bake in a pre-heated oven for about 30/35 minutes (200C);
9. When ready, place some tomato slices in your plate, season with salt, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, add a dollop of tzatziki and a slice of your pie.















It will surely be a success!

recipe: "MY WAY" MEXICAN TORTILLAS

So, this is a concoction I made a while ago and like to call my own Mexican tortillas, I love them and the good thing is you can add whatever you want to them and make them your own. S0, I'll tell you the recipe for the chicken & red bean "frijoles" because the guacamole recipe was already given before *check recipe archive

This will make about 4 big tortilla wraps:

4 tortilla wraps, 1 chicken breast marinated in paprika, lemon, salt and olive oil grilled and shredded, 1 handful of green salad mixed leaves (spinach, rocket, lettuce, etc), 1 red capsicum chargrilled skinned and cut into stripes, 1 tomato, 1 can red kidney beans, 3 garlic cloves crushed, 2 tbs chopped red onion, olive oil, 1 tbs cumin powder, salt & pepper

1. Make the Guacamole *see previous recipe
2. Grill the chicken, let it cool and shred it. Grill the capsicum until soft, let it cool, remove skin and cut into slices
3. Make the frijoles: heat the oil in a frypan, add the garlic and the onion and cook till they are soft, add the beans (previously rinsed) and stir. Add a bit of water and start mashing them in the pan in low heat until a paste starts to form. Add cumin, salt and keep mashing. Transfer to a mortar & pestle or a food processor ( I like it a bit coarser) and make the bean paste. Correct the flavours adding salt, cumin and olive oil as you go along.
4. Chop the tomato and arrange all the ingredients on a plate.
5. Place some frijoles on a tortilla wrap, add some chicken, green leaves, capsicum, tomato and top with the guacamole, *if you like cheese, go crazy now
6. Last but not least, enjoy them.
I am salivating as I write this, they were awesome!!

recipe: CHICKEN & BASIL STEW

This recipe is really easy, and it takes about 30 an hour total to get it ready to serve. Plus it was really comforting after a day's work in cold/windy Melbourne.

4 serves:

4 large chicken thigh fillets cut in half, flour to coat, 2 tbs olive oil, 8 baby potatoes halved, 2 red capsicums chopped in 3 cm pieces, 1/2 cup white wine, 1 cup water, 1 small chicken stock cube, 1/4 cup basil leaves, salt & pepper, sour dough bread to serve

1. Coat the chicken pieces in flour, remove excess and fry in a large sauce pan until golden.
2. Add the potatoes, capsicum and stir for a couple of minutes.
3. Stir in wine, water and stock cube, brin to a boil, reduce heat, cover and let it simmer for about 25 minutes.
4. When the time is up, throw the basil leaves in, remove from heat, season with salt.
5. Serve with toasted sour dough bread topped with crushed black pepper.

Really good comfort food.

recipe: CHICKEN & APRICOT STEW W/ COUSCOUS

This was a really good dish, the spices are quite mild and you have just a hint of the apricot nectar. 4 stars!

serves 4:

8 chicken drumsticks, 2 tbs olive oil, 2 garlic cloves crushed, 1 brown onion thinly chopped, 1 tbs moroccan spice mix, 2 carrots chopped in 2 cm pieces, 1 red capsicum chopped in 2 cm pieces, 2 zuchinnis chopped in 2 cm pieces, 1 1/2 cups apricot nectar, 1 1/2 cups water, 1 small chicken stock cube, 1 cup dried couscous, 1/4 cup flaked almonds toasted, chopped coriander to serve

1. Heat the oil in a large sauce pan. Fry the chicken until browned and reserved aside.
2. Add the onion, garlic and spice mix to the pan and cook for about 3 minutes.
3. Add the juice, water and chicken. Bring to the boil, reduce heat and let it simmer, covered for 20 minutes moving the chicken pieces halfway. Add the stock cube.
4. Add the carrots and capsicum and keep simmering for another 15 minutes.
5. Finally, add the zuchinnis, cook for another 5 minutes or until vegetables are cooked through. Season with salt and adjust flavours.
6. Add about a cup of boiling water to the couscous in a heat-proof bowl and let it stand fo a couple of minutes until the couscous is soft and fluffy.
7. Serve topped with the flaked roasted almonds and chopped coriander.
Wunderbar!!!

recipe: CUMIN SPICED CHICKEN & LENTIL/ORANGE SALAD

...getting late writing my posts, it has been a busy week, feeling like I'm dumb as hell in my new job... guess its like that whenever you start a new job at a new place where you cant speak your mother language...

so, getting to business, I was really excited about this dish and was a bit disappointed in the end, I think I used far too much orange in the chicken and not enough salt, so, if you try it on be careful with the seasoning and I am going to give you the recipe with 1 orange, rather than 2, so it should be better. the salad was great though!

Here it goes, for 4:

Skewers previously soaked, 4 chicken thigh pieces chopped, 1 orange (rind, peeled and cut into wedges), 1 tbs ground cumin, 2 tbs olive oil, salt & pepper, 2x 400g cans of lentils rinsed, 2 lebanese cucumbers thinly sliced, 1/2 cup firmly packed chopped parsley, 1 tbs chopped chives, salt & pepper, olive oil & vinegar, natural greek yoghurt

1. Pre-heat the grill at medium heat. Place the cumin, orange ring, olive oil in a bowl, mix and coat the chicken pieces. Rub them with salt and pepper and place about 4 pieces into each skewer. Grill it in your oven for about 10 minutes each side. (It really depends on your oven, so take a look eevry 5 minutes to see how they-re going)
2. Place lentils in a large bowl, add the cucumber, orange wedges, parsley, chives, and mix.
Season with salt, pepper a drizzle of olive oil and vinegar.
3. Place a portion of the salad on a place, top with the chicken skewers, serve it with a dollop of yoghurt topped with a pinch of cumin, ground pepper and a drop of olive oil (or lemon juice).

Done, easy easy...

recipe: "MOROCCAN" CHICKEN RICE

Serves 4: 2 large chicken breasts barbecue & shredded, 1 1/4 cup white rice (long grain), 1 small red onion chopped, 1 tbs olive oil, 1 1/2 tbs moroccan spice mix, 1/3 cup flaked almonds roasted, 1/4 cup sultanas, 2 celery sticks chopped, 1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes chopped, 1/3 cup chopped mint, 2 tbs chopped parsley, lemon juice, red vinegar, salt

1. Cook the rice, drain and wash it. Place it in a large bowl.
2. Heat the olive oil, cook the onions until they are golden, add the spice mix, chicken, almonds and sultanas.
3. Add the chicken mixture to the rice. Stir in the celery, tomatoes and herbs.
4. Correct the flavours adding salt and finishing with the lemon juice, red wine vinegar and a bit more of olive oil if you like.

recipe; CHICKEN & LEEK POTATO BAKE

For 4 serves:

2 chicken breasts, 1 garlic clove thinly sliced, 1/2 lemon juice, pich of oregano, salt & pepper, 5 potatoes thinly sliced, 1/2 cup milk, 1 cup water, 1 tbp flour, 1 tbs mustard, salt & pepper, 1 leek, thinly sliced, 1 tbs chopped thyme, 3 garlic cloves crushed, olive oil

1. Pre heat the oven to 180C. Cut some slits on the chicken breast and place the garlic clove slices on them, rub the chicken with oregano, salt, pepper and the lemon juice. Marinate for half an hour.
2. Place the chicken in some aluminium foil and bake in the oven until cooked.
3. Heat some olive oil in a sauce pan, add the crushed garlic cloves, leek and cook until soft.
4. Shredd the chicken and add to the leek mixture.
5. Mix 1/4 of milk with the flour. In a sauce pan, bring the remaining water and milk to the boil, add the flour mixture, mustard, salt and pepper and stir until the sauce has thickned.
6. Rub some olive oil in the bottom of an oven dish and add 1/3 of the potatoes to the bottom forming the first layer. Add half of the chicken mixture and 1/3 of the sauce. Repeat with a layer of potatoes, the remaining half of the chicken, 1/3 sauce, final potato layer and remaining sauce.
*If you are a cheese lover, feel free to change the recipe and add some in between the layers. also i added salt to every potato layer, and black pepper to the final one.
7. Bake covered in foil for 50 minutes. Remove foil, increase the temperature of the oven to 180C, 200 C and bake uncovered for another 15 minutes.
8. remove from the oven, rest for about 10 minutes and serve with a green salad.
Perfect for Sunday dinner.

recipe: LEMON & OREGANO CHICKEN WITH TOMATO RICE

This recipe is worth it for the rice! Yes, I wasn't that impressed with the chicken, although it was good, but the rice was SWEEEEEET!! ( I mean good, not really sweet...)

So, for 4 serves you will need:

4 pieces of chicken (I used chicken thighs, but you can use whatever you want, even the whole chicken that you will have to bake for longer.), 1 tbs dried oregano, 50 g soft butter, 2 tbs finely grated lemon rind, half a lemon's juice, 1 tbs olive oil, salt & pepper, 1 cup rice (I used normal long grain rice, but risotto rice would be good too), 1 tbs olive oil, 1 small onion chopped, 2 small tomatoes chopped, 1/3 cup tomato & basil pasta sauce, salt and basil leaves.

1. Prepare the filling. Mix the most of the oregano, lemon rind, chopped garlic and butter and make a paste. Divide this paste amongs the chicken thighs, fold the meat and use skewers to keep them in place.
2. In a bowl mix the olive oil, lemon juice, salt, pepper and a pinch of oregano and rub this mixture over the chicken.
3. Place the chicken in a baking tray and bake for half an hour in high heat (220C) for 15 minutes and then medium heat (180C or 160C) for another 15 minutes.
4. Meanwhile, heat the oil in a saucepan, add the chopped onion and fry it until it becomes golden.
5. Add the chopped tomatoes and stir for about 5 minutes.
6. Add the rice and fry for a couple of minutes before pouring in the water.
7. Pour the water and the tomato/basil paste and stir.
8. Keep stirring and adding water if needed until the rice is cooked.
9. Serve the rice and sprinkle with basil leaves. Top with one chicken fillet, pour some more basil, and you're ready to go.
Yummmmmmmm!!!

recipe: PORTUGUESE CHICKEN PIE

This was the first time I made this and I was soo proud of it. It tasted almost exactly to the ones you get in Portugal, only....better! cause I made it and they were a huge success. Now, I will give you the recipe for the filling, which you can use however you like, in a big pie, several small ones or for rissois (the previous recipe: I made some and they were great too).

You will need:
1 chicken cut into pieces, 1/2 onion chopped, 2 tbp olive oil, 1 bay leaf, 1 cup of diced tomatoes, 1 chicken stock cube, 100 ml white wine and 750 ml water, 1/2 onion chopped, 30 g butter, plain flour, chopped parsley, nutmeg, salt/pepper, 3 egg yolks and a squezze of lemon juice. (rissois dough or puff pastry sheets)

1. Heat the olive oil in a sauce pan with the onion and bay leaf. Let the onion become golden.
2. Add the chopped tomatoes, cook for a couple of minutes and add the chicken pieces.
3. Let the chicken cook for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally and when the skin starts to turn golden add the wine, stock cube and water.
4. Cover and let it simmer in medium/low heat for half an hour.
5. Remove the chicken pieces to cool and reserve the stock.
6. When cold, remove skin and bones and shred the chicken.
7. Heat the butter in another sauce pan in low heat and add the chopped onion.
8. Add the flour (about a cup)and stir constantly. Start to add the previously reserved stock and stir. You need to get a creamy consistency so if you need more flour, add it now.
9. When you've added the stock and achieved a creamy consistency, add the chicken and stir for a couple of minutes.
10. Add the chopped parsley, a good pinch of nutmeg, salt and pepper and adjust the flavours.
11. Add the egg yolks and mix them gently to the chicken, remove from the heat and let it cool for a while.
12. Now you have the filling ready, use your imagination.

recipe: CHICKEN & SOBA NOODLE SALAD

I discovered this recipe recently on a magazine and became an instant fan. I want to have it all the time.

For 2:
2x 270g soba noodles, green beans & or asparagus trimmed and sliced, 4cm piece of ginger, 2 chicken thigh pieces or 1 large chicken breast, 6 spring onions, 1 garlic clove crushed, 1 tbs soy sauce, 1 1/2 tbs rice vinegar, 1 1/2 tbs mirin, 2 tbs sesame oil

1. Place water the chicken in a sauce pan, cover with water, add the ginger and 4 spring onions sliced. Poach the chicken and when its done shredded with 2 forks.
2. Prepare the noodles according to the package instructions. Rinse and coat with the sesame oil.
3. Meanwhile boil or steam the greens.
4. Mix the garlic, soy sauce, vinegar and mirin in a bowl and let the flavours sink in (I did it the day before)
5. Add the shredded chicken and the green beans to the noodles, mix everything and season with the sauce.

Its great by itself on warmer days and a really healthy choice.

















p.s. I saved the liquid used to poach the chicken and used it as stock in other dishes later

recipe: CHICKEN & RICE STIR FRY

First recipe on the blog, here it goes:

You will need (for about 3 people):
300g chicken cut into strips, 2/3 cup rice, 6 spring onions chopped, 2 carrots thinly sliced, 1 handful of snow peas trimmed, 1 handful english spinach, 1 garlic clove chopped, 1 teaspoon grated ginger, 1 tbs olive oil, 2 teaspoons sesame oil, 1 tbs soy sauce, 1 tbs mirin, 1 tbs rice wine vinegar, salt & pepper


1. Boil the rice and season with salt (You can boil it in water or stock, as you like);
2. Heat the olive oil and half the sesame oil in a wok or large frying pan, add the garlic, ginger and cook the chicken until browned. Reserve the chicken.
3. Add the carrots and most of the spring onions to the wok and cook for about 5 minutes. Add soy sauce, mirin, vinegar and stir. When the carrots are soft, add the chicken, snow peas, spinach and stir for about 3 minutes. Add the cooked rice (make sure its dry of any water) and mix all the ingredients.
4. Season with salt and the rest of the sesame oil to taste. Serve, topped with black pepper and the remaining spring onions.