Grilled Chicken with Broccoli and Carrot Puree

This was the dinner I cooked last night, except it is not grilled in the oven or barbeque. The chicken was cooked on a skillet, or is it called fry pan? The end result was that it tasted like it had been grilled on a barbeque – smoky and extremely tasty and juicy on the inside.

I used a free range chicken breast, and marinated overnight with Megachef’s Premium Oyster Sauce and Fish Sauce as the key ingredients. The two most exquisite bottles were given to me as my 50th birthday gift from a dear friend who is very passionate about food and a great cook herself. She will not disclose where she got the bottles until I have tried them and only if I like them.

I have tried many other brands of oyster sauce and fish sauce, which are more commonly found in an Asian supermarket. These two new bottles are definitely of a higher and superior grades than the other brands that I have ever used. The Megachef’s oyster sauce is deep, smooth with a silken texture. It is thick and is not too overpowering in flavour, giving the dish a more sophisticated flavour. It is a perfect match with the Megachef’s fish sauce, which is bracingly salty and yet finishes the chicken with a rounded and clean taste.

Preparation:

2 whole free range chicken breast. The breast that I bought was quite thick, so I butterfly the meat by slicing the thicker section in the middle to let the meat folds flat into a butterfly (heart) shaped

2 tablespoons Megachef’s premium fish sauce

1 tablespoon Megachef’s premium oyster sauce

1 tablespoon Chinese cooking wine

3 cloves purple garlic – crush and chop finely

Sprinkle of sea salt and cracked black pepper

1/2 teaspoon chili powder

Marinate the chicken with the above ingredients and leave in fridge overnight.

The chicken was accompanied by 3 types of vegetables – broccoli, carrot and bok choy.

I have decided to puree the broccoli and carrot, and blanched the bok choy and tossed in Megachef’s premium oyster sauce.

Broccoli Puree

Preparation:

1 broccoli head – cut the stem into small section and break the head into florets

Heat a saucepan with enough water to boil and soften the broccoli

Drain the water

Place the cooked broccoli in a food processor

Add unsalted butter, thick cream, extra virgin olive oil, cracked black pepper, sea salt (adjust to your own taste – I added each of the ingredient a bit at a time and taste each time until I am happy with the consistency of the puree and flavour)

Carrot Puree

Preparation:

3 carrots – cut into sections

1/4 teaspoon of fennel seeds – in a dry pan, toast the seeds

Heat a saucepan with enough water to boil and soften the carrots

Drain the water

Place the cooked carrots in a food processor

Add unsalted butter, thick cream, extra virgin olive oil, cracked black pepper, sea salt, toasted fennel seeds (adjust to your own taste – I added each of the ingredient a bit at a time and taste each time until I am happy with the consistency of the puree and flavour)

For the bok choy, I used 1/2 tablespoon Megachef’s premium oyster sauce, a sprinkle of white pepper, 1 tablespoon Chinese cooking wine and 2 drops of sesame oil. Blanch the bok choy, drain the water (but leave a bit of water in the saucepan). Mix in the sauce ingredients and toss the bok choy until all are well coated with the sauce mixture.

Plate the vegetables.

Next cook the marinated free range chicken breast, using the skillet. Another birthday gift from my dear friend who came from Sydney to celebrate my 50th.

Spray the pan with some canola oil. Heat the pan on a gas stove at high heat. Turn the flame down to medium heat before placing the marinated chicken breast. Cook one side for 5 minutes before turning to the next side and cook for another 5 minutes. How long it takes to cook the meat depends on the heat of the pan and the thickness of the meat. I have never use a time watch or look at the clock, only use my own judgement by looking at the meat and use the pointed edge of a small knife to lightly pierce through the thicker part of the meat to see if it is cooked.

If I may say, my chicken was cooked to perfection. It was very good. Very tasty, succulent and juicy – the meat.

Thanks to both my friends for a wonderful birthday gifts that I can use in my kitchen.

I must find out where she got the Megachef’s fish and oyster sauce. I guess they would be expensive compare to the normal bottles in the supermarket.