Tuesday, September 14, 2010

#10:Blackened Chicken on Creamed Leafy Bed

I saw this on TV a few weeks ago but it required spinach. Hmmm... spinach may be affordable in POpeye's town but not here in the Philippines. So you know what I did? I substituted it with kangkong (water spinach) and  malunggay! It looked the same, tasted really good and is sure-fire to be very healthy. If you don't know yet, malunggay, when cooked right, it is the ultimate vegetable. You can practically live just eating malunggay leaves as your vegetable! Take this:


"Gram for gram, moringa leaves contain four times the calcium and two times the protein in milk. It also contains seven times the vitamin C in oranges, three times the potassium in bananas, and four times the vitamin A in carrots. "(Ernesto Ordoñez, IInquirer)


I thought that this is such a nice balanced meal that is perfect for lunch or baon for your kids. You just have to stock up on a number of spices first before you do this because this is spice-heavy. Meat and veggies, spicy and creamy, strong and mild. I love this because it is so simple yet when you serve this, it oozes with elegance, flavor, and wholesome goodness,  this should be part of every family's menu! 




Blackened Chicken on Creamed Water Spinach
or you can call it this, depending on what you got from your grocery, haha!
Blackened Chicken on Creamed Malunggay


Featured Ingredient: Kangkong and Malunggay
Sosy Level: 4
Pawis Level: 3
Serves 4


Ingredients:
For the Blackened Chicken
1/2 kilo chicken breast fillet
1/8 cup cornstarch
1/8 cup flour
1 tsp chili flakes (remember? you saved some from the last pizza delivery? ;-) ) 
(OR 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper if you have no chili flakes)
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp paprika
1 tsp garlic powder (or 2 tsps finley minced garlic)
1 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/8 tsp dried thyme
1/8 tsp ground black pepper
3/4 tsp salt
2 tbsps butter or margarine


For the Creamy Veggie Bed:
1 medium (white) onion
1 bunch of kangkong, which should yield 2 cups of chopped leaves when packed in the cup
1 bunch of malunggay leaves, which should yield about 1 cup of leaves
*note: you can combine or switch veggies so long as you get about 3 cups of leafy goodness.
1 1/2 tbsps flour
1 1/2 cup of strong milk (meaning you added more powdered milk than usual to your cup of milk) or evaporated milk
1 tsp sugar
1 1/2 tsps salt
a few dashes of pepper
2 tbsps cream (optional)


How to:
1. For the Blackened Chicken, place chicken breast between two sheets of cling-wrap (or any clean sandwich plastic) then pound until flattened. Season meat with salt and pepper on both sides. Set aside.

2. Combine all the spices together with the flour in a clean plastic bag. Pour onto a plate and dredge the chicken breasts generously with the flour mixture.

3. Heat pan until smoking hot. Then drizzle with a bit of cooking oil enough to cover the surface and then melt the butter or margarine. Place chicken breasts in pan then turn heat to medium high. Cook chicken for 3 mins on each side (given the chicken is not frozen). You'll know it is ready to turn when you can see the edgo of the meat getting white and firm. 
TIP: Remember, turn your chicken only ONCE to make sure it will be tender and not dry and tough. This also applies to pan-fried chicken.

4. When cooked, set chicken aside. Let it rest in your oven toaster to keep warm. 

5. For the Creamed Leafy Bed, using the same pan and oil left-over from searing your chicken, turn heat to high then saute the onions, stirring continuously.

6. When the onions are translucent, add the leafy vegetables and stir fry. 

7. When the vegetables have turned bright green, add flour and stir until it is combined thoroughly in the mixture. Cook for 1 minute.

8. Then add milk. Stir while cooking until the sauce is thick. Season with salt, sugar and pepper. When seasoning is perfect, add cream, give it a quick stir then turn off heat.

9. Place vegetable bed on a plate. Slice blackened chicken to 2-inch strips and place on top of the vegetable bed. Or you can do it the other way around! Place chicken first then smother it with the creamy vegetables.


Ahay! This is so yummy, na-excite ako. I feel like cooking this again. I hope your family will enjoy it too. :-D

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