Stir fry Ginger Turmeric Chicken

Ginger and turmeric are well known of their goodness of promoting general good health. Ginger has many health benefits such as helping digestion, reducing nausea, minimize the symptoms of respiratory conditions, colds and allergies. I had made myself a cup of sweet ginger soup during the cold season to relieve my cold symptoms. It is a natural spice and is known world wide for its smell and pungent taste. Need not to say, we use ginger in various cuisine. No matter which cuisine or method of cooking, ginger has become a versatile ingredient in the kitchen.


Turmeric (Curcuma longa) is a member of the ginger family, it is a powerful antiseptic and anti oxidant. Turmeric has variety of health benefits too such as strengthen bones, inhibits cell damage, fights diarrhea and many more. It's bright yellow colour naturally makes the dishes more appealing without any artificial colouring needed. Hence, turmeric powder is often use for cooking rice or some Indian dishes which give a bright and appetizing natural colouring. Check out my Turmeric Butter Fragrant Rice and the picture of fresh turmeric here.

These two ingredients are my all time favourite, especially during the confinement period. Today's featured recipe is based on these two natural spices and also one of my favourite dish. If you prefer a strong smell and taste of ginger, you can either pound or blend it beforehand. By using these natural spices you can whip up a chicken dish full of natural goodness in it.

Reference on ginger & turmeric:
Benefits of ginger
Benefits of turmeric
WHFOODS - Turmeric
Check out on how to store Turmeric here

Ingredients: 10 pcs of chicken drumsticks, removed skin 4 inches long of fresh ginger, minced 1 inch long of fresh turmeric, minced 5 cloves of garlic, minced 3 tbsp of sunflower oil Seasoning (mix well): 1/2 tsp salt 1 tbsp light soya sauce (use premium brand) 1 tbsp Shio Xing rice wine Dash of white pepper Method: 1) Wash and pat dry chicken, chop chicken drumsticks into 2-3 portions. 2) Marinate with 5 tbsp of light soya sauce & dash of white pepper for 2 hours. 3) Heat up oil, saute garlic until fragrant but not brown. Immediately add in ginger and turmeric. 4) Saute the ingredients until fragrant in medium fire. 5) Add in chicken drumsticks, stir fry until chicken is cooked and tender in medium fire. (See note 2) 6) Finally, add in seasoning, stir fry until seasoning thicken. Adjust the seasoning according to your taste-bud. 7) Dish up and serve with hot steamed rice. Note: • You may sprinkle some water at Step No. 6 if you find the chicken is too dry. • Make sure to stir fry the chicken long enough until it absorb all the spices taste and liquid is almost dries up. • You may blend the fresh ginger and turmeric to get a smooth paste. • You may add more ginger or turmeric according to your taste. • Garnish or serve with chopped coriander leaves or mint leaves.

Weekend Herb Blogging is a great way of gathering and introducing readers on herbs/spices recipes & goodness.
I am submitting this recipe to Weekend Herb Blogging #261, which is housed by Haalo of Cook (almost) Anything at Least Once and hosted this week by Anh from A Food Lover's Journey

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Baked Portobello & Prawn Aglio Olio

Take a look at those fresh and big portobello... isn't it beautiful? I can't resist them! I have been eyeing for those portobello in the hypermarket for sometime and that's it I grabbed a packet of them and whipped up something cheesy for dinner! To me, the portobello is the "King" of the mushrooms. It is vibrant, big, strong, juicy, sophisticated and did I say, pricey? Nevertheless, it is pricey in Malaysia.


In general, mushrooms are low in calories, fat-free, cholesterol-free and very low in sodium, yet they provide several nutrients, including selenium, potassium, riboflavin, niacin, vitamin D and more. Mushrooms are the only fresh vegetable or fruit with vitamin D. It helps protect against some cancers, good source of B vitamins and it is a source of the essential antioxidant selenium in the produce aisle. Reference from here. Check out more info on portobello here.

Can you imagine having juicy baked portobello stuffed with plenty of ingredients and melting cheese in your mouth? *simply heaven!* Serve them with the prawn aglio olio is such a prefect match made in heaven! It is a nutritious, sophisticated and tantalizing combination for a perfect dinner. Next time, if you want to impress your partner or friends, throw them a perfect make over party with these dishes. They will definitely give you a round of applause! Moreover, it is home cook! *wink*

Mushrooms before baked Ingredients: 10 pcs Portobello mushroom 20 pcs medium-sized prawns 1/4 red bell pepper, diced 1/4 yellow bell pepper, diced Mozzarella/cheddar cheese Salt to taste Dried oregano, basil & coriander leaves Paprika Freshly ground black pepper Extra virgin olive oil Method: 1. Rinse portobello mushrooms briefly, pat dry and set aside. 2. Grease a baking tray or dish with some olive oil. 3. Arrange portobello mushrooms bottom up on the baking tray. Sprinkle some salt & cheese on each mushrooms. 4. Pre-heat oven to 350ºF. Heat up 2 tablespoons of olive oil, saute bell peppers briefly. 5. Add in prawns and saute briefly. Off fire. 5. Sprinkle salt, black pepper, dried oregano, basil, coriander leaves & paprika. Mix well 6. Spoon mixture onto each mushrooms. Top up with more cheese. 7. Sprinkle extra olive oil. Bake at 350ºF until cheese melted (approx. 10-15 mins depending on the size of your mushroom). 8. Serve with prawn fusilli aglio olio. Note: 1. Choose fresh and big portobello. Do not soak fresh mushroom, wash briefly. 2. Baking time may vary depending on the size of the mushrooms. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Recipe for Prawn Fusilli Aglio Alio Ingredients: 3 cups fusilli 20 pcs large prawns, remove shells 1/4 yellow bell pepper, slice thinly 1/4 red bell pepper, slice thinly 3 cloves garlic, minced Extra virgin olive oil Seasoning: Salt to taste Paprika/chilli flakes, dash Dried oregano, dash Dried basil, dash Parmesan cheese, grated Method: 1. Cook fusilli according to the pack instruction. Drained. (see note 1) 2. Heat up olive oil, saute garlic. Add in bell peppers. Stir fry for 1 min. 3. Add in prawns, stir fry until prawns turn pink. 4. Pour in fusilli. Stir fry for another minute. Off fire. 5. Add seasoning, except parmesan cheese. Toss well. 6. Dish up. Add parmesan cheese just before serving. Note: 1. Prepare a pot of water with pinch of salt and dash olive oil. Add in fusilli and cook until al-dente. 2. You may use spaghetti, penne, linguine or farfalle to replace fusilli. 3. The serving size is vary depending to the amount of people.

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Fish ball Vegetable Soup

This fish ball vegetable soup is one of the most simple and quick recipe I made when I am running out of time to whip up a meal for the family. As a working mum, I intend to opt for quick and easy recipe which do not require much preparation and cooking time during weekdays. At times, I am running out of idea on what to cook for dinner during the weekdays. I guess this is a norm for the working mom out there too? Simple soup did safe my day especially during the cold season.

To make this soup more nutritious, you may also buy those fresh homemade fish balls selling in the market or make the fish paste from scratch at home and keep them for rainy days! Sound great isn't it? If you are looking for a good recipe on how to make homemade fish paste/ball, hop on to my good friend's foodblog on how she masters her mother-in-laws homemade fish paste recipe. Proudly presenting to you Food4tots on How to make smooth springy fish paste. I would indeed try her recipe when I have more time and keep them for rainy days in the future.

Back to this quick and simple soup. It is not only quick to cook and prepare, it is also a nutritious soup to coax your little ones to consume vegetables. My son loves to eat those tomatoes in the soup together with the rice, and need not to say he is a fish ball lover too. You may substitute the chicken stock with vegetable stock or fish stock. This recipe is simply versatile according to your taste-bud. Since, this recipe is so versatile, you can prepare the stock beforehand and freeze it for quick use. Another helpful and simple recipe for those working mum, hope you enjoy it.

Ingredients: 10 pcs fresh fish balls 2 tomatoes, quartered - remove seeds 1 bunch green vegetable (I used Chinese green lettuce -yau mak) 1 cloves garlic, minced Sunflower oil Seasoning: 600ml chicken stock Salt & pepper to taste Method: 1. Wash and rinse the green vegetable stalk by stalk. Drain and set aside. 2. Rinse fish balls, make a cross mark on the fish balls. Set aside. 3. Heat up 2 tablespoons of oil, saute garlic till fragrant, but don't brown it. 4. Pour in chicken stock. Bring to the boil. Reduce to medium fire. 5. Add in tomatoes, simmer until tomato is half soften. 6. Add in fish balls and green vegetable. Simmer for 5 mins. 7. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve warm. Note: • The cross mark makes on the fish ball is only for beautifying purpose. • Choose good quality fresh fish balls from the market or homemade fish paste for better taste. • You may use fish stock or vegetable stock besides chicken stock. • You may substitute other vegetables such as, carrot, bean sprout, spinach, cauliflower, broccoli or asparagus. • Some other vegetable like carrot, cauliflower, broccoli or asparagus need blanching before use.

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