Oven-baked Crispy Lemon Wings (Whole30/Paleo friendly)

crispy lemon wings

About two weeks ago, hubby and I started on the Whole30 diet. Basically, we eat real food for 30 days, and eliminate SUGAR, dairy, legumes, grains and alcohol, as well as MSG, Careenagans and Sulphites. What do we eat then? Well, things like these mouthwatering oven-baked crispy lemon wings! The wings are excellent on their own, but when paired with homemade ranch dressing, everything goes up by a notch! They are so good, that I’ve come out of my blogging hiatus to blog about this recipe!

I used a mish mash of techniques for this recipe. Before whole30, I used to bake oven crispy wings by mixing wings with a mix of salt and baking powder, drying them in the fridge, then baking them at a very low temperature in the oven to dry the wings up further before cranking the temperature up. Since baking powder is not whole30 compliant, I can’t use this method. However, I figured that drying the wings at low temperature in the oven would still aid in bringing out the crispiness of the wings. So the basic method is this: Marinate the chicken with a dry rub, keep it in the fridge for a couple of hours. Bake the wings at low temperature before cranking it up. Remove from oven, coat with a lemon “butter” marinade and bake them for a quick 5-10 minutes. Convinced that you should bake some up for dinner? Here’s the recipe!

Oven-baked Crispy Lemon Wings (Whole30/Paleo friendly)
 
Author:
Cuisine: Paleo
Ingredients
Chicken marinade
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 kg chicken mid-wings
  • 2½ tsp sea salt
  • ½ tsp black pepper
  • 1½ tsp garlic powder
  • 2 tsp onion powder
  • zest of 1 lemon
Lemon "butter"
  • 80ml of ghee (1/3 cup)
  • 60 ml olive oil (1/4 cup)
  • 3 garlic cloves, minced
  • juice of 1 lemon
Instructions
  1. Mix wings with olive oil.
  2. Combine salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder and lemon zest together.
  3. Mix the dry rub with coated wings and place them in a sealed ziplock bag. Refrigerate for 4-8 hours.
  4. Preheat oven to 120C. Place wings on a greased rack (with another tray below it) and bake for 30 minutes.
  5. Turn up the oven temperature to 230C. Bake for another 30 minutes.
  6. Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, combine ghee and olive oil over medium heat.
  7. Once the ghee has melted, add in the garlic and stir for a minute or so.
  8. Pour in lemon juice, stir to combine and remove from heat.
  9. When wings are done, remove from the oven and brush generously with the lemon "butter". Return to the oven for 5 minutes. Flip wings over and brush with more lemon "butter" and bake for another 5 minutes. Serve with homemade ranch dressing.
Notes
Ranch dressing recipe can be found on the Whole30 site:
https://whole30.com/2014/08/mayo-ghee-sauces/

 

 

Pan-roasted corn and peppers dip

roasted corn and peppers dip

Time flies and we are already into the second week of the new year! It has been a hectic and tiring December and the terrible me could not find any time to settle down to blog after the new blog layout was done. Hopefully now that things at home and at work are more settled, I can find more time to blog! For a change, I thought I’d share a recipe for my favourite dip today. I seldom make dips; I rarely have an occasion for them. My cell group had a post Christmas before New Year gathering though, and I finally found an opportunity to make my favourite dip. The first time I made this was for an office gathering and it received great reviews. This time, people loved it too, so it’s definitely a keeper.

Pan-roasted corn and peppers dip
 
Ingredients
  • 3 cups of corn (fresh or frozen)
  • 1 red pepper, cut into small cubes
  • 1 green pepper, cut into small cubes
  • ¾ cups of shredded cheddar
  • ¾ cups of shredded mozarella
  • 1 cup sour cream
  • 1 cup mayonnaise
  • ¾ cup chopped spring onions
  • salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
  1. Heat a non-stick pan over a medium flame.
  2. Pan roast corn till they char slightly.
  3. Remove from heat and allow it to cool.
  4. In the same pan, pan roast cubed peppers till they char slightly.
  5. Set aside to cool.
  6. In a large bowl, combine corn, peppers and the rest of the ingredient. Mix well and season to taste.
  7. Allow the dip to chill for at least an hour to allow the flavours to meld.
  8. Serve with corn chips.

 

Mee Hoon Kueh (Homemade Pulled Noodles)

mee hoon kueh

When does one crave for a bowl of piping hot mee hoon kueh? On cold days, I’d say, or when one is sick. The latter is what has been happening lately. The whole family has been down and out. I’ve had it really bad – I’m down with my second bout of flu in two weeks. I caught the first bout of flu from my little one, and the second bout from goodness knows where. Office perhaps. While my little one is up and bouncing even though she’s sick, I just want to bury myself under the covers and sleep (which is, by the way, what I’ve been doing almost the whole day.)

So one sickly day, I decided that I would definitely feel better if I had some mee hoon kueh. It would be easy enough to pop down to the coffee shop and buy a bowl, but since I had to feed the sick bub and the not-so-sick husband, I figured I might as well make some. Mee Hoon Kueh brings back memories from my childhood. When I was young, my grandma used to make mee hoon kueh. She made hers a little differently. She would make a thick floury mixture and drop spoons of batter into boiling soup. Saves one the hassle of pulling pieces of dough I guess. The texture of that mee hoon kueh is very different from what I made/is sold outside. The texture of that is somewhat fluffy on the outside and dense on the inside. Not all may like that version of mee hoon kueh.

Mee Hoon Kueh

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Salmon and Corn Chowder

Salmon and Corn Chowder | Delicacious

Are there days where you just crave a bowl of hot soup for dinner? I do so occasionally, especially on cold, rainy days. Or sometimes, it’s just me being lazy and trying to figure out a quick fix for dinner. Whatever your reason for wanting soup for dinner, this salmon and corn chowder is sure to satisfy.  It is hearty, healthy (I use low fat milk instead of cream), and tasty, and goes perfectly with biscuits or soft dinner rolls. Serve this with my bacon, parmesan and scallion scones and you will definitely have very happy people at the dinner table.

My little one came into the room while I was typing this post, saw the photo and exclaimed, “Oh I remember this soup! It’s full of corn, mushrooms and fish. It’s yummy! I like it.” There you go. Even two and a half year olds like it. I am sure you would too.

Salmon and Corn Chowder
 
Serves: 4
Ingredients
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 stalks celery, cut into ½-inch slices
  • 1 medium potato, cut into 1-inch cubes
  • ¼ cup of chopped scallions
  • 1½ cups corn kernels
  • 4 cups chicken stock
  • 1 cup low fat milk
  • Zest of 1 lemon
  • ½ tsp dried dill
  • 500g boneless salmon fillets, cut into 2-inch pieces
  • 1 tbsp lemon juice
  • salt and pepper
  • cornstarch and water for thickening (optional)
Instructions
  1. Heat the olive oil in a soup pot or dutch oven over a medium flame.
  2. Sauteed celery and potato for about five minutes.
  3. Stir in corn, scallions and stock.
  4. Bring to a boil, then reduce flame to low and simmer covered for 12 - 15 minutes.
  5. Stir in milk and lemon zest.
  6. Add salmon and simmer for 3 - 5 minutes.
  7. Stir in lemon juice.
  8. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
  9. Thicken with cornstarch water if preferred.
  10. Serve hot.
Notes
Adapted from Epicurious

I’m sharing this post at some of these blogs here.

Korean Army Stew (Budae Jjigae)

Korean Army Stew | Delicacious

This week has been a week of gastric flu and common flu for the family. My little girl was down with a terrible bout of gastric flu and had been vomiting and having diarrhea since Tuesday. Then on Friday, my dear husband started complaining of sore throat. Not good at all. I was tired from the lack of sleep and did not feel really feel like cooking dinner. Then I recalled the delicious pictures of Korean Army Stew that a friend had posted on Facebook recently. And the whole discussion of Spam that followed those pictures – the stew contains Spam. (Are you a secret fan of Spam?) Dinner was decided – Korean Army Stew it shall be.

Korean Army Stew | Delicacious

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Pork and Prawn Gyoza

Pork and Prawn Gyoza

How many gyoza fans do we have here? Me! I’m definitely one. It is one of those items that I frequently order at ramen shops to accompany my ramen. There are typically two ways of cooking gyoza – pan fried then steamed or fully fried. I prefer the pan fried then steamed version as I feel the steaming process keeps the filling juicy. I also like my gyoza made with more filling. Sadly, most store bought ones don’t quite make the cut – most ramen places that I frequent scrimp on the gyoza filling. SO…. I decided to make my own! Packed with more filling (oh so yummy), pan fried, then steamed.Continue Reading

Salmon Potato Cakes

salmon potato cakes I didn’t use to make salmon potato cakes. I like salmon oven-baked or pan-grilled, but my daughter changed that recently. You see, a couple months ago, my 2-year old daughter developed an adverse taste towards fish. Any kind of fish. So these fish cakes were my attempt to sneakily introduce fish into her meal with something that does not look too “fish-like”. Besides, they are really tasty and the adults loved them too. Salmon and potato – what’s not to like?

Verdict? She liked them. Success!! If you have a picky eater, try them. I make a larger batch and flash freeze them in a baking tray. Once frozen, I pack them in ziplock bags. Easy!

Salmon Potato Cakes

Serves 4
A tasty and flavourful salmon potato cake recipe.

Ingredients

  • 300g Salmon fillet (bones removed)
  • 1 teaspoon Olive oil
  • pinch sea salt
  • pinch ground black pepper
  • 4 Russet potatoes
  • 2 Eggs
  • 1 tablespoon Dijon Mustard
  • 3 stalks Scallions (thinly sliced)
  • 3/4 cups Japanese breadcrumbs
  • 1 tablespoon Butter
  • 1 tablespoon Olive Oil

Optional

  • 1/2 cup Green peas

Note

Salmon potato cakes can be frozen before the pan-frying step. Make a larger batch of these and serve them up for a quick dinner another day! Recipe is adapted from here.

Directions

Step 1
Season salmon with salt and pepper and brush with olive oil. Grill in a pan or in an oven until they are golden brown. Flake salmon into smaller pieces.
Step 2
Boil and mash potatoes. Add salmon, dijon mustard, scallions, beaten eggs and peas and combine. Season with more salt and pepper.
Step 3
Shape into patties and coat evenly with Japanese breadcrumbs.
Step 4
Preheat a skillet over medium heat and add olive oil and butter. Pan-fry salmon potato cakes until they are golden brown on both sides.