Easy peasy chicken wings

By far the easiest sauce I've made, inspired by Jamie Oliver (he calls it the Gangnam style chicken wings, Gangnam is actually a place in South Korea, and I think these ingredients are more influenced by Chinese cooking).

All you need is:
chicken wings
honey
soy sauce
chilli sauce (if you don't fancy spice - use ketchup and fresh chilli - manly for decorative purposes)
garlic
ginger
spring onion
sesame oil
lemon juice
sesame seeds

I haven't put down amounts because, quite frankly, do it to your taste and how many wings you're cooking and the amount you want on your wings.

Preheat oven at 160 degrees. Give your wings a bit of a wash, and stretch each one so they are not so compact (this will help the wings cook evenly). 25-30mins should be enough but check the meat around the bony areas to double check. If you like your skin a bit crispy, turn the heat up in the oven for the last 5 mins.

Whilst that's cooking, chop garlic, ginger and chilli into tiny edible pieces. In a bowl, mix in all the rest of the ingredients, including your chopped goods - keep tasting to find your perfect match. Remember soy sauce is salty so don't add too much in all at once. I quite like the sweet taste on chicken wings, so I added more honey and chilli to mine.

Once happy, pour the sauce over your chicken wings making sure it goes into every nook and cranny of your wings. You can leave a bit to one side to serve as part of your dish if you want to dip your wings in. Put back into the oven for 5 mins, or until you are happy with the colour of your wings.

Serve with boiled rice and some pak choi.

And as they say at home "sek fan" (literally translated - "eat rice") and tuck in!

Chilli con Carne in 30 minutes

A tasty, juicy and lightly spiced chilli in under 30 minutes. Serve with rice, a jacket potato or in a fluffy bun for a classic 'sloppy joe'.

Serves 4
Ingredients:

• 500g beef mince
• A diced onion
• Spice mix 3 teaspoons of each unless stated (you can use a packet spice mix if you prefer): onion powder , paprika , 2 garlic cloves grated, sugar,  plain flour, cumin, oregano, chilli powder (or crushed, dried whole chilli peppers)
• Splash of white wine vinegar
• 400g tin of tomatoes
• 200g (1/2 a tin) of baked beans
• 400g tin of kidney beans
• A squirt of #5 umami paste (available from Waitrose)
• Soy sauce
• 50g grated mild cheddar (or another hard cheese of your choice)
• 1/4 pint of boiling water
• Tabasco sauce (optional, for extra heat)
• Salt and pepper to season
• Sour cream to serve.

Method: 

1. Brown the mince and onion in a saucepan. Drain off any excess fat. If you are making baked potatoes preheat your oven.
2. Blend your spice then mix with the water and stir into the mince, along with a splash of white wine vinegar and soy sauce. Also add the Tabasco sauce if you are using it.
3. Add the tomatoes, baked beans and kidney beans and a tablespoon of #5 umami paste.
4. Bring to the boil, stirring continuously. 
5. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 20 minutes until thoroughly cooked. 
6. While the chilli is simmering, prick your potatoes with a fork and microwave for 4 minutes (or until soft) then move them to the oven for a crispy skin. 
7. Remove the chilli from the heat and stir in the grated cheese until melted, this will add an extra creaminess to the chilli and serve immediately with baked potatoes or rice and lashings of sour cream.

This is an easy dinner that is sure to satisfy and great if you are having friends over. If you are eating alone or with a partner just freeze the leftovers or halve the ingredients.

Home-made Sweet Chilli Sauce Recipe

This recipe is taken from
http://thaifood.about.com/od/thaicurrypasterecipes/r/Easy-Thai-Sweet-Chili-Sauce-Recipe.htm

Prep Time: 2 minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes

Total Time: 17 minutes

Yield: Makes 1/2 Cup of Sauce

Ingredients:

1/2 cup rice vinegar (or substitute white vinegar)
1/2 cup + 2 Tbsp. white sugar
1/4 cup water
3 Tbsp. fish sauce
2 Tbsp. sherry (or cooking sherry)
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 to 1 Tbsp. dried crushed chili (1 Tbsp. makes spicy-hot sauce)
1+1/2 Tbsp. cornstarch dissolved in 3-4 Tbsp. cool water
Preparation:

Place all ingredients - except the cornstarch-water mixture - in a sauce pan or pot. Bring to a rolling boil.
Reduce heat to medium and let boil for 10 minutes, or until reduced by half. (Note that the vinegar will be quite pungent as it burns off. Generally, I find rice vinegar less strong than regular white vinegar).
Reduce heat to low and add the cornstarch-water mixture. Stir to incorporate and continue stirring occasionally until the sauce thickens (about 2 minutes).
Remove from heat and taste-test. You should taste "sweet" first, followed by sour, then spicy and salty notes. If the sauce isn't sweet enough, add a little more sugar. If not spicy enough, add more chili.
Pour sauce into a small bowl or jar and serve as a condiment or a sauce for
chicken and rice as I have done.

Review: Chico Bandito, Shoreditch

Serving Mexican food and Cuban Cocktails.

Chico Bandito (image courtesy of their website)

What Hayley ate: Spicy Beef Chimichanga

Hayley’s Friend 1 (HF1) ate: Chilli Con Carne

HF2 ate: BBQ Cheeseburger

HF3 ate: Hickory BBQ Ribs

Drinks had: Apple Mojito, Mojito and Sol beers. 

As fate would have it, we had originally booked a table for a European restaurant nearby, but after a mix up with the booking, someone in the group mentioned a Mexican place, and so we went.  Bearing in mind that this was a Friday night and quite a small venue, Chico Bandito was able to fit 5 of us (1 was running late and did not eat) straight away even though the place was already quite lively. 

Hayley had been here twice before and so tried a different dish on this occasion; the Spicy Beef Chimichanga was excellent.  The Mexican rice that came with the tortilla wrapped beef was delicious.  As a mild-spice eater, it was perfect, it was only the mixed bean salad which was ultimately mouth-burning (in my opinion), but the sour cream and guacamole helped soften the blow. 

HF2 has a ‘thing’ where he has to order the burger at every new restaurant he goes to, not because he is unadventurous, but he likes to test out the quality of the meat used.  At the end of his meal (and finishing off HF1’s Chilli), his verdict was that it was 'very good’. 

This place is hidden away from the main streets of Shoreditch, but almost every night there are always diners either having dinner, or sipping on one of their many authentic cocktails.  There is always music, friendly waiters and even a sombrero to make your meal a rather fun one.  To add to the experience, HF2 only realised the next day that she had left a cosmetics bag there, as we live close by, Hayley went back in search of it (they’re open from 11am).  The staff were all very welcoming and helpful, even better was that the bag had been found.

If you want a ‘proper meal’ and genuine fun service and no frills then this place is perfect.  There is so much to offer and value for money.  The only downside is that the lighting is quite dim and if you are lucky enough to be given a sombrero to wear, it can occasionally block out your view of your dish, however this is purely clutching at straws.  As Chico Bandito would say, “Don’t Siesta, Let’s Fiesta!”

Overall rating: 9 out of 10