Thai Style Butter Lemongrass Chicken & Apple Pie

Did you feel the earth moved? I did! I'm talking about the earthquake that happened around 6.15pm just recently. No no, not in Malaysia, in Sumatra. Confirmed it with the news online after I felt it. The quake has a magnitude of 7.6 to 8.0! Yikes! I was literally swaying sideways! For a moment, I thought I'm getting giddy or something. But when I spotted my hanging ceiling lamp swinging, I knew it's earthquake. This ain't the first time I felt an earthquake...,twice in California, once in Singapore(also from Indonesia) and now this. But it is not something I DO NOT want to get "acquainted" to!! All these cases are just minor scares for me, but I always count my luck after each incident and reminded that we human are really under the mercy of nature. Now I just pray that there won't be too many casualties in this disaster.

Okay, let's get back to food blogging. Last night I decided to try out yet another new recipe that I found in my new cookbook "大牌檔菜" Book 17. It's call Thai Style Butter Lemongrass Chicken. Hearing the name itself makes my mouth water, hahaha! Browsing through the ingredients required, it seems like a simple yet sophisticated in taste dish, a must try for me!
Ingredients for Thai Style Butter Lemongrass Chicken:
Set A:
2 chicken whole legs, chopped into small pieces
2 tbsp butter

Marinate:
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
Dash of sesame oil & pepper
1 egg beaten
1 tbsp corn flour
1 tbsp plain flour

Set B:
1 tbsp chopped lemongrass
1 tsp chilli padi, chopped
1/2 tsp chopped kaffir lime leaf
1 tbsp tom yam paste 100ml water

Method:

• Mix chicken with marinate and let it season for at least 30 minutes.
• Melt better, add chicken and pan fry until gold brown.
• Add in Set B and stir fry until aromatic. Add in 100ml water and continue to to cook until dry. Dish up and serve.
  

Another "A" star for dinner dish! It's very flavorful and aromatic, coming from the tom yam paste, lemongrass and kaffir lime leaves. Just smelling it makes me salivate! Serve it up with some steam white or basmati rice, and there you have a gourmet dinner for you and your family. The chicken is tender and not too spicy. You can add extra chili padi to spice it up further. Try it out and you will know what I mean. ;) Bon Appetite!!

Now for desert. Okay, let's go back to the basics. How about a good old apple pie for today. I guess every home baker will come upon this day that they will try baking this simple yet delicious traditional dessert. And since Autumn has come upon us, what better time then to enjoy a home baked apple pie? Almost sound like I'm back in California, haha...no seasons here in Malaysia, well perhaps rainy season. :D But with the abundance and wide variety of apples now, it's a excellent choice to make this desert.
Ingredients for Flaky Pie Crust (makes one 7"):
220g all purpose flour
1/4 tsp salt
75g cold unsalted butter, cut into small chunks
3 tbsp ghee / vegetable shortening
1 tbsp caster sugar
2 to 3 tbsp cold water

Method:

• In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, sugar and salt and stir to mix.
• Add cold butter and ghee/vegetable shortening into the flour mixture. Using either a pastry knife or just your fingers to knead the butter into the flour mixture till you get bread crumb consistency.
• Drizzle the cold water in the middle and continue to knead till the dough just comes together.
• Wrap it in plastic wrap and chill in fridge for at least 2hrs before use.

Ingredients for Old fashion Double Crust Apple Pie:

4 granny smith apples, peeled, cored and slice into wedges

1 tbsp fresh lemon juice

2 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
3 tbsp firmly packed brown sugar
3/4 tsp ground cinnamon
egg wash

Method:

• Take out the chilled pastry dough and let stand for some time to be pliable.
  
• In a large mixing bowl, add melted butter, brown sugar, lemon juice, apple wedges, cinnamon and mix well till all the apples are well coated.
• Preheat oven to 200°C.
• Divide the pastry dough into 2 equal portions. Roll out one option into a round flat disc enough to cover the whole circumference of the pie dish plus 1 " allowance on the sides.
• Line one pastry disk in the pie pan as the bottom crust. Gently tug in the edges but still leaving a little at the edge.
• Pour the apple filling into the crust and smooth into an even layer.
• Position the 2nd pastry disk over the pie pan and seal the edges nicely. Flute the surface top of the pie for venting the hot air while baking.
• Brush the whole pie with egg wash. Bake in the oven for 12 minutes. Then lower the temperature to 180°C to bake for another 25minutes till it's golden brown. Let cool completely before serving.
  
• Pie can be rewarmed, uncovered in a preheated oven of 135°C for 15minutes.

It's so good served with a scoop of cold vanilla ice cream or sweetened fresh whipped cream. Yummy! Sorry, no pictures of any cut out slice this time. Was in a hurry to meet up with some friends for dinner, so I left my domestic helper to cut the pie for my girls to try. And judging from my daughter's comment after she ate it tonight, I trust that it is good. :) The first thing she said was "Mummy, I ate 2 slices!", so it has to be good to go for seconds right? I pinch a small section of the crust to taste and it was buttery and flaky...plus the semi-crunch, semi soft sweetened apples inside, it was pretty good. :) It's too bad I'm all stuffed with all good food from the dinner gathering(look out for it in my next post) with my friends, else I will surely have a big slice! Guess I will rewarm it and have it for breakfast tomorrow. ;) Try it out and let me know how you like it. ;) Cheers!