The first new dish that I cooked for 2014 is my own version of ‘loh kai pei’ (braised chicken thighs). This is SO easy to prepare and the taste was top notch, according to my monsters 🙂
Here’s what I used, based on what I could find in my fridge. The chicken need not be marinated.
INGREDIENTS (for 4 whole chicken thighs) :
1) Soy sauce.
2) 1 whole bulb of garlic
3)Â Star Anise and some tiny dried twigs. I found this in a bottle that my MIL kept the Star Anise. I used about 4-5 tablespoons
4) About 1-2 tablespoons of oyster sauce
5) About 1-2 teaspoons of dark soy sauce
6) About 1-2 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar (you can omit this if you do not like a tinge of sour and tarty taste)
7) Agave nectar – about 1/4 cup
8) Brown sugar – about 1 tablespoon
9) Filtered water
10) Black pepper – ground and unground
11) White pepper
12) About 1/2 cup of ginger wine. I remember my MIL uses rose wine but I could not find it, thus I replaced it with ginger wine.
METHOD:
I did not use any measurement cup or spoon – as usual, everything was done in a rush as I had to get this dish done before I went out to fetch Alycia and Sherilyn back from the tuition centre. Preparation time, including washing chicken and peeling garlic is about 40 minutes. About half-way through simmering the chicken, I tasted the sauce. You can adjust the taste to your liking by adding more of whatever sauces or spices that you fancy or add water if it is a tad salty. My sauce is mild in saltiness and sweetness – just right for kiddos 🙂
Add all the sauces into the pot of water, which was enough to cover the 4 chicken thighs. When it boils, add in the chicken thighs.
Let the sauces simmer with the chicken thighs in high flame for about 20 minutes, then lower flame to medium and let it simmer for another 10 minutes.
While the chicken are simmering in the pot, I quickly did some work on the computer while enjoying the aromatic smell of 5 Star Anise and garlic mixed with soy sauce wafting in the house, which made my tummy growl 😀
After 30 minutes, I turned off the flame and went out to fetch Alycia and Sherilyn back from the tuition centre.
Remember the Chicken Adobo that I cooked the other day? My girls loved that to bits. I asked them which they liked more – Chicken Adobo or mummy’s braised chicken and the answer was “BOTH also nice” and then they voted Mummy’s Braised Chicken first and Chicken Adobo second 😀
I have kept the remaining sauce in a pot in the fridge and am going to make another round of Mummy’s Braised Chicken on Friday. This dish is just perfect for busy days 🙂
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