So I was chatting to Auntie Rene on the phone the other night; we were talking about this blog and she started revealing some culinary secrets and more to the point, sharing some of her recipes! I have a few lined up, but started with this one given to Rene years ago by a friend of hers.

It sounded good from the off, it was easy to make and it tastes absolutely delicious. There is one diced apple in the recipe and it adds such a different dimension to the flavour. There is no apple taste per se, just a rounded layer of flavour. It’s genius. Ian said it reminded him of a kashmir curry and he’s right. He experimented with the leftovers by putting a very mean drizzle of double cream in and stirring that round – it changed the dish again. So bear that in mind as an option if you like creamy curries; that taster was a bit rich for me, so keep it mean.

Start by melting 1oz butter in a saucepan with a drizzle of oil.
Add 1 chopped onion and 1 clove of crushed garlic.

Saute until softened.

Spices are so attractive. If I am reincarnated as an inanimate object, I shall be a spice.

So add the 2-3 tsp medium curry powder (or hot, if you prefer), ½tsp ground ginger and ½tsp ground cinnamon. Fry these spices off for a good 5 mins, but keep the heat low and keep stirring.

Add ½tbsp flour and stir that in.

Things need to cool a bit, so add 300ml (½ pint) water and stir that in.

To that, add 1tsp instant stock powder, 2 tbsp mango chutney, 400g chopped tomatoes and a peeled, cored and diced apple. You can add 1 tbsp sultanas if you like; I only like them in cakes, personally.

Slap the lid on, keep the heat really low and simmer for about 45 mins. Keep checking and stirring it, because it does thicken up and will catch in the blink of an eye. Add more water if it’s getting too thick for your liking.
Check the seasoning – it was a bit bitter at first, but some salt sorted that out nicely.

Add some meat/seafood or veggies to it. Rene’s listed examples were chicken, pork or lamb. We went for chicken, but my Mum tasted the sauce and thought that prawns would go very nicely with it – will certainly do that next time.
Fry the chicken pieces off in a frying pan to colour them,

then add the pieces to the sauce

Simmer for about 15 -20mins (with the lid off ) or until the chicken is cooked through.

Stir through a little cream if you wish – but do taste it first. Man, it’s good.
Serve with rice.

Fruity Curry

PRINT THIS RECIPE (opens in a new window)

1oz butter
drizzle of oil
1 onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, crushed
2 tsp medium curry powder
½ tsp ground ginger
½ tsp ground cinnamon
½ tbsp flour
1 tsp instant stock
2 tbsp mango chutney
400g chopped tomatoes
1 apple, peeled, cored and diced
300ml water
2 chicken breasts, chunked (or pork, lamb, beef or prawns)
drizzle of cream to stir in at the end (optional)

Melt the butter and oil in a saucepan.
Add the onion and garlic and saute until softened.
Add the spices and saute them for 5 mins, being very careful not to let them catch.
Add the flour, stir that in, then add the water and stir well to combine.
Add the mango chutney, stock powder, tomatoes and apple.
Put the lid on the saucepan and simmer on a low heat for 45 mins, stirring very frequently to avoid scorching.

In a frying pan, fry off the pieces of chicken in a little oil to brown them.
Add the chicken to the curry sauce.
Simmer for 15-20 mins with the lid off to cook the chicken through and keep the sauce nice and thick.

Serve with rice and/or green veg.

Chinese chicken and chestnuts is one of our favourites of my Dad’s dishes. It’s sweet, but savoury, fragrant with ginger and sherry but dark with soy, unctuous and delicious. I am talking about the meal, you understand – not my Dad, because frankly, that would be a bizarre description of someone.

He was born in Shanghai and is part Chinese, so has a wide range of dishes in his repertoire – do feel free to request recipes for any of your favourites. If he has a recipe for it, he will have to cook it for us in order that I can blog it. This means we will get to eat it, so please… request away!

As he was the star chef at Chez Jones last Sunday, I am immortalising him and his unctuous chicken on this blog. So here is the Fred Jones guide to this beautiful Chinese dish.

First the chicken. You need 11 thighs (I know, it does seem specific doesn’t it?). Remove the skin and cut the meat off the bones. Keep the skin and bones because you’ll make stock with them. Halve the meat so that you have 22 pieces.

Preparing the marinade, this is a large amount of meat to marinade (22 pieces, in fact), so get out 2 9×13″ glass dishes, or one enormous one. You want it to sit in one layer.

Combine the 5 tbsp light and 5 tbsp dark soy, the 5 slices (coin thickness) ginger and 3 of the whole spring onions and split them between the two dishes. Yes, you will have 1 spring onion in one dish and 2 in the other one. Don’t worry, it’s fine. Dad said it’s fine. I did ask.
Add the chicken to the marinade and leave for 1.5 hours – turning occasionally.

Meanwhile, make the stock. It’s easy!
Put the chicken skin and bones in a saucepan. Break the remaining spring onion up and add that.
Add 500ml (2 cups) water and bring to the boil. Simmer for 30 mins.
Remove the skin, bones and spring onion. (Give the skin to the local fox – this, I assume, is optional)
Strain the stock into a jug and leave to cool.
Once cooled, skim the floating fat off with a spoon.

Heat about 3 inches of oil in a wok, or whatever you use to deep-fry.
Deep fry the chicken in batches just for a few minutes to colour the outside.

Put the cooked chicken in a big pan/pot as you’ve fried it off.

Add the cream Sherry ( I think he was going for wistful, yet pious in this pic – can’t be sure)

(Dad told me it was 2 tbsp, but watching his generous over-spilling, it was most definitely 3 tbsp – look at that smirk)

also add the 3 tbsp  sugar, then the remaining marinade, including the spring onions and ginger.

Add the stock – use it to swill out the marinading dishes so that no flavour is left behind.

Cover and bring to the boil then simmer for 20 mins.

Now add 500g defrosted Chestnuts.

Dad uses these:

So, clatter those in and remove the collapsed spring onions and slices of ginger

Cover and simmer again for another 20 minutes. Remove the lid for the last 10 mins so that it can begin to reduce a little.
Taste it to check that the soy and sugar balance is good.

In a small dish, mix the cornflour and water together.
Add to the pot and stir well.

When thickened, it is ready to serve.

Serve with boiled rice and a green veg or noodles. Hey, serve it on a piece of bread if you must – just make it!

Incidently, that is an oxygen supply on Dad’s face and yes, we do take adequate precautions around the kitchen, including complete avoidance of activities that involve dangling over a gas hob. He has not yet exploded, thank goodness. Can you imagine the mess?

Just wanted to put that out there in case anyone from any kind of health and/or safety field was looking at this and panicking.

Fred’s Chicken and Chestnuts

PRINT THIS RECIPE (opens in a new window)

11 Chicken thighs, skinned, boned and halved (keep the skin and bones to make stock)

marinade:
5 tbsp light soy sauce
5 tbsp  dark soy sauce
5 slices ginger (coin thickness)
4 spring onions (scallions), trimmed but left whole

add:
3 tbsp cream Sherry
3 tbsp sugar

500g frozen sweet chestnuts, defrosted

at the end:
3 tsp cornflour
3 tsp cold water

This is a large amount of meat to marinade (22 pieces, in fact), so get out 2 9×13″ glass dishes, or one enormous one. You want it to sit in one layer.

Combine the light and dark soy, the ginger and 3 of the spring onions and split between the two dishes. Yes, you will have 1 spring onion in one dish and 2 in the other one. Don’t worry, it’s fine.
Add the chicken to the marinade and leave for 1.5 hours – turning occasionally.

Meanwhile, make the stock. It’s easy!
Put the chicken skin and bones in a saucepan. Break the remaining spring onion up and add that.
Add 500ml (2 cups) water and bring to the boil. Simmer for 30 mins.
Remove the skin, bones and spring onion.
Strain the stock into a jug and leave to cool.
Once cooled, skim the floating fat off with a spoon.

Heat about 3 inches of oil in a wok, or whatever you use to deep-fry.
Deep fry the chicken in batches just for a few minutes to colour the outside. Put the cooked chicken in a big pan/pot as you’ve fried it off.
Add the cream Sherry and sugar then the remaining marinade, including the spring onions and ginger.
Add the stock – use it to swill out the marinading dishes so that no flavour is left behind.

Cover and bring to the boil then simmer for 20 mins.

Remove the now floppy spring onion and slices of ginger; add the Chestnuts.
Cover and simmer again for another 20 minutes. Remove the lid for the last 10 mins so that it can begin to reduce a little.
Taste it to check that the soy and sugar balance is good.

In a small dish, mix the cornflour and water together.
Add to the pot and stir well. When thickened, it is ready to serve.

Serve with boiled rice and a green veg.