Basil & Spinach Chicken Fettucini 罗勒鸡块菠菜意面

Bilingual | 中英对照

My organic basil is growing so well that it is turning into a small bush, so I have been using them for cooking more frequently than ever. The fresh basil leaves add a very delightful scent to the meal that is somehow lacking in the dried basil.

I have tried the 3 Cups Chicken (三杯鸡) in Taiwan, one of the spices used is the sweet basil leaves, so I decided to make a basil chicken fillet to go with the Fettucini, and they tasted so good! You really ought to give this a try if you or your little ones are pasta lovers like us. :) 

Just so you know, my little ones ate up every bits from their plates, including all the greens. 

Ingredients:

Serving size: for 2-4 person

Preparation time: 15 minutes

Cooking time: 25 minutes

For the Chicken Fillets:

• 8-10 chicken fillet, cleaned 

• a pinch of salt

• a dash of pepper

• 1 tablespoon of honey teriyaki sauce*

• 4-5 fresh basil leaves, roughly chopped (I used a scissors)

• 2 clove garlic, finely chopped 

• 2 tablespoon of corn flour

* can substitute with teriyaki sauce / soy sauce and add a tablespoon of honey.

 

For the Pasta:

• 1/2 packet or 250gm Fettucini pasta

• 12 stalks baby spinach, washed and roughly chopped

•  2 tablespoon of olive oil

• 1 carrot, cut into thin slices

• 2 shallots, chopped finely

• few drops of Worchester sauce

• 2-3 teaspoon of salt

• 2 egg, mixed

• 2 slices cheddar cheese

• few dash of mixed spices

• extra basil leaves for gardenia hung

*Optional: you can add some broccoli too. My kiddos love broccoli so I added them.

The Making:

1. Marinate the chicken fillets with ingredient A (except garlic and basil leaves), coat wih a thin layer of flour and keep refrigerated for at least 30 minutes.

2. Heat up 2 tablespoon of cooking oil in a pan, sauté the garlic till fragrance then pan fry the chicken fillet for about 2-3 minutes on each side until cook, add the basil leaves and stir to mix well. Once cooked, Set aside.

3. In a clean wok or deep pan, add the cooking oil and sautéed the shallots, carrots for about a minute, add salt, pepper, Worchester sauce and mixed herbs to taste.

4. Toss in the pasta. Add cold water or chicken stock into the pan (just enough to cover the pasta) then close the lid to let it simmer on medium heat for 12 minutes (or according to the recommended cooking time on the pasta packaging).

5. Add the baby spinach, eggs and cheese, stir to mix and let it simmer for another 2-3 minutes to soften. Add a bit more water if the pasta is too dry now.

6. Serve your pasta right away with the chicken fillet on top. 

Another easy least yet delicious meal for the whole family... Don't forget to add some basil leaves for garnishing! *smile*

Bon appetite! 

In case you wonder, this is how the sweet basil plant looks like. Photo was taken 2 weeks ago.

中文版

供2-4人份量

准备时间：约15分钟

烹饪时间：约25分钟

鸡柳材料：

•8-10片鸡柳，清洗

•少许盐

•胡椒粉少许

•1汤匙蜂蜜日式照烧酱*

•4-5鲜罗勒叶，切碎（我用剪刀）

•2瓣大蒜，切碎

•2汤匙粟米粉

*可以普通日式照烧酱或酱油代替，并添加一汤匙蜂蜜即可。

意面材料：

•半包或250克Fettucini意面

•12颗菠菜，洗净，切大片

•2汤匙橄榄油

•1根胡萝卜，切成幼条

•2小葱头，剁碎

•几滴Worchester伍斯特酱

•2-3茶匙盐

•2个鸡蛋，搅拌

•2片切 达干酪

•混合香料少几许

•额外的罗勒叶供装饰用

*您也可以添加一些西兰花。我的小瓜喜欢西兰花，所以我加入少许。

做法：

1.用材料A腌制鸡肉（除了大蒜，罗勒叶），再裹上一层薄薄的粟粉。保持冷藏至少30分钟备用。

2，在一个平底锅里，烧热2-3汤匙橄榄油，爆香大蒜后放入鸡柳，双面煎大约二分钟或直到熟透，加入罗勒叶搅拌均匀，取出备用。

3. 用一个锅子或深的平底锅，烧热橄榄油，加入小葱头，胡萝卜，盐，胡椒，伍斯特酱和混合香草翻炒约一分钟。

4.加入意面，灌入冷水或鸡汤（刚够覆盖面条即可），然后盖上盖子用中火煨约12分钟（或根据面条包装上的建议烹调时间）。

5.加入菠菜，鸡蛋和奶酪，搅拌均匀，再煨2-3分钟直到软化。如果面太干了可加入一点水。

好好吃的罗勒菠菜意大利面煮好咯，快上桌享用吧！别忘了放上罗勒叶来装饰！

Easy Homemade Meatball Spaghetti

My little ones are both meat lovers, although they like veggies in general but meat dishes are always better received. Onion is a big no-no for them, both will diligently picked up any onion sliced in their dish. So I thought to add some diced onions into the meatballs without them noticing.

My trick worked, my little E loved the meatball spaghetti so much that he kept telling the daddy "I like this, it's delicious!" and he actually finished everything on his plate, including 7 meatballs that he made. He had been a great little helper in the kitchen since he turned 5yo and his involvement in the process had helped him to appreciate the food a lot better. 

I cooked up this dish without any reference, as I wanted to cook a stewed version instead of the conventional tomato sauce meatballs. These meatballs are crunchy on the outside but soft on the inside, even big guy approved of them. :)

  

Here's the meatball loaded serving for him. 

Mini meatballs for my little ones.

For mine, is quite a big portion too. I must confess that I'm quite a big eater. :p

(Everyone has equal portion of the green Romanies)

My little helper busy rolling meatballs and coating them with flour. Wearing the pajamas and apron made by mommy :)

So, are you ready to make some? Here's the recipe. It may look complicated due to the many herbs and spices used, but the making is really pretty simple.

Preparation Time: 20 minutes

Cooking Time: 15 minutes

Serving for: 20-30 medium meatballs  

What you need:

The Ingredients:

For Meatballs

• 300gm of minced beef (lean meat)

• 1 small carrot, diced 

• 1/4 yellow onion, diced

• 2 clove garlic, diced 

• 2 tablespoon cheddar cheese, cut cubes

• 2 tablespoon bread crumbs 

• a dash of salt

• a dash of pepper

• a dash of rosemary

• a dash of black pepper or paprika powder

• 1 tablespoon light soy sauce

• 4 tablespoon all purpose flour

For Sauce

• 1 tablespoon light soy sauce

• 1 teaspoon dark soy sauce

• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

• 1 teaspoon brown sugar

• 2 tablespoon white wine (optional for little ones)

• 1 cub water or stock

The Making:

1. Place all the ingredients for meatball (except the flour) in a big bowl and mix well using a pair of chopsticks or a fork.

2. Roll the beef mixture into balls of your preferred size - we had some mini ones for the kids and medium size for the adults. 

3. Pour the flour in a clean plate, coat a layer of flour over the meatballs by rolling it over the flour. 

4. Heat up 3 table spoons or olive oil in a skillet, cook the meat ball for about 2 minutes on each side or until they turn brown. Set aside.

5. To prepare the sauce, just mix all the sauce ingredients together in a pan (sugar shall be the last), bring it to boil and toss in the cooked meatballs. Let them simmer on low heat for about 10 minutes or until the sauce thickened. 

Tips: When cooking for little ones, you may scope out the sauce and meatball before adding the wine.

6. While the saucing is cooking, prepare the spaghetti according to the instruction on the box. Should take only about 10 minutes. (I used the leftover stir fried spaghetti)

7. Pour the sauce over the spaghetti that you have prepared and serve immediately.

Bon appetite!

  

Spaghetti with Baby Spinach

My duo love spaghetti, noodles, vermicelli... Anything that is stringy and chewy. So again I'm cooking spaghetti for lunch today and I loaded it with baby spinach, the one leafy veggie that is perfect for little ones, and top it with some Teriyaki chicken strips. Simple and delicious lunch, ready in no time.

My little ones had 2 plateful each and their plates were all cleaned. They don't usually like leafy veggie due to the fiber, but this baby spinach was well accepted as it is easy to chew and blends well with the pasta.

So, if you have picky little one who does not like their greens, do give this a try. ;)

Preparation Time: 8 min
Cooking Time: 15 min
Serving for: 3-4 pax

Ingredients:
1/2 packets of spaghetti 

200gm chicken breast, cut into short strips

12 stalks of baby spinach, cut into chunks about 5cm long

1/2 medium carrot, thinly sliced

 2 clove of garlic, sliced
3 eggs, beaten and add a teaspoon of soy sauce & pepper

1 table spoon soy sauce

1 teaspoon of of salt

Chicken Marinate:

1 tablespoon of teriyaki sauce

1 teaspoon of salt

A few drops of sesame oil 

A dash of pepper

The Making:
1. Boil a pot of water, cook the spaghetti according to the time suggested on the packaging (about 12 minutes). Blanch and set aside, add few drops of olive oil to avoid the spaghetti from sticking together.

2. While the spaghetti is cooking, season the chicken breast. Heat a table spoon of olive oil, pan fry the egg liquid to make a large Omelette. Using the spatula, roughly cut the omelette and set aside. 

3. Heat up a tablespoon of olive oil, toss the chicken strips into the pan and pan fry each side for about 2 minutes until the meat is cooked. Set aside.

4. In the same pan, heat up 2 table spoons of olive oil, toss in the garlic and saute till golden brown. Add the carrot slices, stir fry for about 2 minutes then add the spaghetti and spinach. 

5. Add about a cup of water, a teaspoon of salt and a tablespoon of soy sauce into the pan, stir to mix well then close the lid and let it simmers for approximate 5 minutes. 

6. Toss the Omelete into the spaghetti and mix well. Let it cook for another 1-2 minutes, then turn off the heat and your spaghetti is ready to serve. Just don't forget to top the teriyaki chicken strips on top before serving. ;)