Crispy Yam Chicken

I got this recipe from a Taiwan Cooking show call "食全食美" that airs every weekday late afternoon. I love that show, most of the recipes they teach are home cook dishes, so stay home moms like me can try them out. Furthermore I love yam (or they call it taro in America), whether it's in desert or savory dishes.

Ingredients:
1 big Chicken drum (including thigh)
120g of yam, peeled and sliced to 0.5inch thick
2 tbsp of dried shrimp, soaked and minced
2 slices of ham, dice small (or bacon, but need to reduce the salt when seasoning)
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 small shallot, minded
3 tbsp of fresh milk
1 tsp of cornflour
Salt, pepper and sugar to taste

Method:

• Steam the sliced yam for 10 minutes until it's cooked and mash easily with a fork.
• Heat up some oil in a wok at medium heat and stir fry the garlic and shallot until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the minced dried shrimp and diced ham, stir fry for another 2 minutes and remove from wok and set aside.
• Add the stir fried ham and dried shrimp mixture to the mashed yam and 3 tbsp of milk . Also add 3/4 tsp salt, a dash of pepper and 1/2 tsp of sugar and mix well.
• De-bone the chicken drumstick leaving only only the tip (it's ankle), for easy handling.
• The drumstick should look like below. Season the chicken with 1/4 tsp of salt.
• Pat the yam mixture on to the drumstick on the meat side, not skin side. Sprinkle the cornflour over the yam surface for a crispier finish (see below). You can remove the chicken skin for healthier option, but I much prefer the crispy skin after frying it.
• Add enough frying oil in the wok to fry the chicken at medium low fire, so the yam does not burn before the chicken drumstick is cooked through. Fry for 8 to 10 minutes before flipping and fry for another 8 to 10 minutes until golden and crispy before removing from oil.

After removing the chicken from the wok, leave on plate for 10 minutes before cutting it to smaller slices. Doing this will keep the juice of the chicken in, hence more moist . Serve warm with a bowl of steamy white rice. :) Yummy!!

Banana Chocolate Chip Pancakes

What's better then waking up to the smell of yummy, fluffy homemade pancakes and a cup of "jo". ;) Decided to make these this morning for my 2 little ones, since it's one of their favorite breakfast....also there's this very ripe banana hanging there, haha. ;)
I used to make pancakes with sliced bananas, but I decided to mash the banana into the pancake batter this time, but you can still bite into tiny bits of banana in the pancake.
The trick to not burning your chocolate chips when you scatter them on top of the pancake is to use a spoon and gently fold it into the batter, so it does not contact the hot pan directly after you flipped. :)

Ingredients:
1 ripe banana, mashed
110g plain flour
1/2 cup of milk
1 egg
3 tsp of sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 cup of mini chocolate chips (optional)
(Recipe makes 5, 8 cm size pancakes, recipe can be doubled if needed)

Method:

1. In a mixing bowl, lightly beat the egg, then add the milk and mix well. Add sugar, salt, mashed banana and stir well until the banana is not clump together.
   
2. Sift the flour and baking powder into the banana mixture. Stir to form a slightly thick batter (milk shake like and not lumpy, add more flour or milk to adjust)
3. Heat up the pan @ medium fire, add some cooking oil, then spoon 1/4 cup of the batter into the pan and spread it to form a disc. Sprinkle the chocolate chip on top if desired. Remember to cover up the chips with the batter as mentioned above.
4. About 1.5 minutes, flip the pancake and wait for 1 more minute for the other side to cook. Repeat with the rest of the batter. Serve hot with some maple syrup if desired.

Enjoy!