Momiji's Chicken with Apples
* 2 tbsp freshly ground black pepper
* 2 tsp canola oil
* 4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts (in my take of it I used minced chicken meat instead of chicken breasts)
* 2 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and sliced
* 1 medium onion, sliced
* 1/4 cup (about 1/2 dl) apple cider vinegar
* 3/4 cup (about 2 dl) apple cider
These are quantities for about 4 servings.
This is how you do it according to Momiji: "First sprinkle pepper over chicken. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet, add chicken and sauté until browned, don't brown it too much so it won't be too dry, it will take you about 5 minutes per side. (Alternatively fry minced chicken meat until golden. I sorta' sprinkled the pepper over it as I was frying, although it's probably not the best way to do it.) Take it from your skillet. Then put onion on that skillet and cook it until softened, about 3-4 minutes. Do not brown it or burn it, your onion has to be white, soft and sort of transparent (I fried it until it had a sort of diluted milky color). To that add apple slices and cook for about 2 minutes, stirring the pieces constantly. Then return your chicken to pan, mix it all, oninos, apples and chicken, add cider vinegar and apple cider. Simmer until chicken is cooked completely and liquid has reduced - it will take about 5 minutes. And that's it. It is ready to be served."
To this beauty of a dish, I added 2 bundles of boiled somen noodles, tossed it all around and served it up. Having just a teeny kitchen with a teeny fridge (and living by myself) I am very fond of dishes where you can just use one pot or one skillet to mix everything up in. Furthermore, as Momiji herself said, you can serve this with virtually anything: Rice, pasta, noodles, (mashed) potatoes, or perhaps some couscous as well. Might try that next time! And maybe add some finely chopped carrots and/or Chinese cabbage as well. There's definitely room for variation with this dish, if that's what tickles your fancy!
It tasted gloriously! I think I might have reduced the liquid a little too much, though, as there was virtually no more liquid left when it was finished, but then again I have to say I wasn't following the recipe to each and every detail. I kinda like straying away a little from the recipe when it comes to making dinner. (Doing this when baking something is not so wise, however...) You don't need salt in this dish either! I mean, since you fry the chicken, the salt in it will be released anyway, so there's no need at all to add any to it. Besides, the tangy apple flavor from the vinegar, cider and apples is compensation enough! Absolutely scrumptious!
The presence of apples in a dish sorta' took me back to Spain, in a sense. The mother in my host family was very keen on adding apples and/or raisins to her dishes to give her dishes a little more pizazz. And she made some really tasty combos, I have to say! In fact, I should use more of fruits in my dinners. It goes to show that they aren't necessarily just for eating straight away or for sweets, cakes, desserts and pastries. Me likey!
On another note, my family's doing well at home in the Phils. They're experiencing some showers (go figure), but as they live in the southern half of the country they haven't really noticed much more than that. For them it's business as usual, which I'm very happy about. Still, they're busy raising funds for the people up north (and I encourage you all to do the same!) and preparing themselves with the essentials in case things worsen (which I don't believe will happen). So yeah, I'm feeling a little more at ease now, even though I sympathize greatly with the people around Manila and in the north in general.
Anyway, time to hit the books one last time to finish up for today before I make some hot chocolate and watch something fun on the telly. I'm thinking Sweeney Todd, but then again I kinda wanna watch Strictly Come Dancing as well... *sighs* Choices, choices. Oh, the agony of it all!
Signing off (*chomp*),
Elise
