what a great fortune ! what a great time in the kitchen !
In my house, we are blessed with a “Michelin” chef. My domestic helper, Rohimah has discovered her passion over the twenty years that she worked with us——cooking.
She is a born cook as she has all traits of a good chef; tons of patience, curiosity, adventure, humility to accept feedback and intelligence.
Every meal is a delightful experience. My husband who cooks well himself would exude extreme exuberance when sampling her cooking. It is quite hilarious to watch how food can make people so happy.
I cooked too but lack some of her traits. So I set out to watch her and the following are important habits to cultivate.
1 Get all ingredients ready. Rohimah would first prepare all ingredients like garlic, onions, parsley, etc all chopped and set aside in small dishes. Meat are properly marinated and timed so that when ready to cook, the sauce would have infiltrated the meat.
2 Frying pan is always hot first. This is important because if the oil is not hot, you cannot saute the garlic and onions well and they need to be fragrant before adding the rest.
3 No short cuts— If a certain vital ingredient is missing, she would never embark on that cuisine. For instance, you would never think of starting to cook if you run out of garlic or onions and that dish needs these essential elements, would you?
4 Prepare with the end in mind. When food is ready, they are always served hot and placed in a dish that enhances the appearance of the food. Garnishes such as parsley, spring onions, chillies and fried onions, etc are good options. Adding some of these colors to food will make them appear more vibrant and vivid and even more palatable.
To date, she has at least 50 dishes under her belt. I would like to share one of her delectable recipes here.
I called it “Rohimah’s Signature fried chicken”. It could give KFC a run for the money and I wish you could taste them.
Ingredients; chicken parts, salt and pepper, coriander powder, corn flour, tempura flour, egg white.
Note: After washing the chicken pieces with salt and water, dry well on paper towel if you want them to be crispy.
Mix the ingredients into the meat and set aside for 45 minutes in the refrigerator.
Heat up cooking oil ( if you drop some of the blend in the oil and it sizzles, it is ready. Cooking in oil that is not hot enough results in soggy fried chicken. Deep fry until golden brown then scoop up and drain on metal rack or thick paper towels.
To serve, you may garnish with dill, parsley or add cucumber and tomato slices at the side.
Voila ! Rohimah’s Signature fried chicken, crispy on the outside, tender on the inside. May you try cooking this dish and turn your family members and guests gaga ! Maybe you could embark on this business, next to KFC ?
“If more of us valued food and cheer and song above hoarded gold, it would be a merrier world “—–J.R.R. Tolkien
Watch this blog for the launch of Rohimah’s ebook on her cuisine, many of which are extremely easy to prepare……soon
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