I love cooking ……. wait actually I love planning, the stage where I plan what to cook, shop, cut, marinate and get everything ready. I do not like rushing and last minute stuff but I suppose at a push if I need to I can rustle up a simple meal. However I prefer a well planned and executed meal where I have time to shower and be presentable. As a lovely couple is popping to mine for lunch I decided one of the dish will be this easy Salt & Pepper chicken.

My mother is the type that bought me 3inches high heels and made me walk a straight line when young. She believes that a ‘wife’ must not only be able to cook but also look presentable.

This dish is just so simple. The night before I washed and gave my chicken a massage and marinate the inside with salt, pepper and 5 spice powder. Nothing else. Wrap and keep in the fridge all ready for the oven tomorrow. So I highly recommend this dish as you have a nice juicy chicken as one dish without much stress.

In my rush to serve I have not taken much pics. I totally blame my guests for telling me they are arriving earlier than expected for lunch. Only remembered to take a pic of the roasted chicken after I sliced the first piece! The next time I roast another I must remember to take some more pics.

TIP – Buy a good corn fed chicken and make sure your pepper is freshly ground Sarawak’s. Good ingredients are very important if your dish is simple. There is no where to hide.

NOTE – If you like to serve with a sauce, after removing the chicken you will find there are some juice. Add a lump of butter and mix. You won’t regret it. However if you pan to do so do NOT use sesame oil. It taste a lot better with just chicken juice and butter.

Last week I bought a packet of yam, yes frozen as I have been bitten many a times before buying fresh yam and when peeled only to find half was bad aka shades of brownish, which I dare not eat. These frozen ones are quite good and most times very floury denoting good yam taste. I happily use them – please refer to pic. Cooking our Asian dishes is sometimes a challenge in UK but it is so satisfying when a good cook come to fruition.

Actually, my family loves yam a lot especially the husband if I make my signature yam cake for him https://www.julieolive.co.uk/2019/08/10/fried-yam-cake/ but daughter requested for rice today as the weather has gone a lot colder. So, Yam rice it is. Today I made a special yam rice with abalone added. It is optional but mostly after Chinese New Year my family will use up the tins of abalone with this dish too.

Last night before bedtime I washed and soaked my flower shitake mushrooms. Then I soaked them in clean water as the water will be used to boil my rice. These beautiful flower mushrooms are easily bought in the UK and most Chinese supermarket sells them.

I often spent my nights thinking what to cook the next day and if there’s anything I need to prepare the night before. My husband thinks it is a Virgo thing. I do hate things not in proper places or lying about not tidied. However, I just like to cook with as complete an ingredient list as I could else, I rather not cook that dish or change the menu. I am fine with a bit of fusion, but some dishes needed to be true to the original. I know, I am weird. I especially hate it, really hate it, when people declare their dish ‘authentic’ when it is obviously not! One day the cooks of our future generation would not know what’s authentic and what’s not anymore and I feel very passionate and sad about this.

Note – A good bowl of Fragrant Yam Rice must have just tender yam pieces, not mushy, taste of lap cheong (Chinese sausages), Taste of heabea (dried shrimps), taste of mushrooms and leave you craving for a second bowl.

The spring onions are a must for that bit of freshness because Fragrant Yam Rice is so rich.

This recipe have been on the pipeline for yonks. It was in my old blog which I have lost and I meant to put into this new blog but the opportunity did not present itself until today. I have developed this over 22 years to suit my taste. Please use this recipe as a guide and adjust to suits your taste.

I have marinated my char siu for 2 days, praying for a not too hot and not too chilly weather to set up the BBQ. I wanted to BBQ it. To me one can cook char siu (Chinese BBQ pork) absorption way, or in oven just do not give that BBQ flavour that can only be obtained if you do it over a charcoal fire.

I have made extra sauce today because I have more plans for my char siu – kekekekekekeke However I like to plan my daily cook/bakes etc as I am too old and tired to do everything in one day. besides which I am only 70% recovered from my left side frozen neck, shoulder and elbow.

In my char siu I used fermented red beancurd for the ‘saltiness’ and the red colouring. If you can get maltose that will also help in giving your char siu that extra shining glaze. Failing that after you make your sauce if you want it shining add sesame oil a touch.

TIP – Western sauces use butter eastern sauces use oil for the shine. Though I would not mind adding butter to char siu sauce for myself as I love love love butter.

Note : if you do not want to use red fermented beancurd you can use 2 tbsp oyster sauce instead for the ‘saltiness’. I like to use red fermented beancurd for the colouring.