Fried chicken

Everybody just love fried chicken. I mean who wouldn't? Juicy and tender, warm and crunchy, dipped in gravy, served with coleslaw and mashed potatoes, or in my case and other Filipinos, with steamed rice. Now that is a winner meal!!

I have been cooking fried chicken for years, and every time I would try to cook it in a different way. But I also get fast food fried chicken, My daughter loves Popeye's Fried chicken. For more than a year, we would be eating at a Popeye's branch on Mannheim Rd every Sunday after work. So much that some workers there already know us. And recently, when Jollibee opened its branch here in Chicagoland, my daughter fell in love, naturally, with chicken joy. Who wouldn't, really?

And so, obviously, whenever my daughter loves to eat something, I would try to recreate it. Although I wasn't able to get the exact taste of chicken joy (my daughter says, almost, but not quite), I'm still proud of my new version of fried chicken.

Here is my version of home-made fried chicken

Ingredients

To marinate:
2         lbs             chicken legs and thighs
1/2      cup            iodized salt
3         tbsp           garlic powder
2         tbsp           paprika
2         L               water

For coating:
2         cups          flour
3         pcs            eggs, beaten
3        cups           corn flakes
1        tsp              pepper
1        tbsp            salt
1        tsp              paprika

Gravy
Oil from frying the chicken
2    tbsp    flour

1       cup              vegetable oil

Procedure

In a bowl, mix the chicken with the water, iodized salt, garlic powder and 1 tbsp paprika. Marinate overnight in the fridge.

The next day, drain the chicken and throw the marinate juice.
Dry the chicken with paper towel.
Mix the flour, salt, pepper and paprika. Set aside.
In a saucepan, heat up 1 cup of vegetable oil.
 Dip the chicken in flour mix, then egg, and finally coat with the cornflakes.
Fry the chicken until golden brown.

For the gravy, add flour on the oil used for frying the chicken. mix until the sauce thicken. you may add salt and pepper to taste.

Serve with mashed potatoes, coleslaw or steamed rice. Enjoy!!!

Fried Rice

Rice, as we all know is a staple food in Asia. We pair it with almost all dishes. And very often, you will see a leftover rice in the fridge at the end of the day, after dinner. Most likely, this leftover rice will be cooked in the morning for breakfast. Fried rice can be cooked in many different ways. It could be as simple as just putting garlic on it. Or make it a complete meal by adding meat, fried eggs and vegetables. I cook fried rice almost every week. We just love it. On a day when I'm busy, I will just add garlic on it. But when I have plenty of time, I make my own version of fried rice, which became a favorite of some of my friends.

Fried rice is most commonly ordered in Chinese restaurant. Filipino fried rice is somewhat similar. It also has the same ingredients. And most likely tastes the same. Cooking it is very simple, and done in less than 20 minutes, depending on how many ingredients you want to add on it.

Here is my own version of fried rice.

Ingredients

3        cups            cooked jasmine rice

3        pcs              eggs, fried and roughly chopped

1/2    cup               beans, cut into small pieces

1/2    cup               carrots, cut into small squares

1       can               Vienna sausage, fried and cut into small pieces

1       pcs               red bell pepper, chopped into small pieces

1       pc                onion, chopped

2      cloves           garlic, minced

3       tbsp             vegetable oil

1/2    cup               soy sauce

1       tsp                pepper       

Procedure

1.  In a saucepan, cook the egg like in omelette. Roughly chooped after. Set aside.

2.  In the same pan, fry the Vienna sausage, cut it first into small pieces before cooking. Set aside.

3.  Sautee garlic and onion. Then add all the vegetables. After 10 minutes, add the rice, soy sauce, pepper. Mix until soy sauce is evenly spread in the rice. Cook for another 5 minutes. Add the cooked eggs and Vienna sausage.

4. Serve while hot.

You can also add cooked bacon, cooked fried chicken, ham, salami or whatever cold cuts you have in the fridge. As for the vegetable, you can also add corn, peas, bean sprouts and water chestnuts. Have fun cooking!!!