Boneless Chicken with Cabbage in Sweet and Spicy Soy Sauce

I love fresh ingredients found all over Asia; aromatic and high in value to your physical and mental health. Fresh lemon grass, ginger, yellow ginger, screw-pines ( or 'Pandan' as it's called in Asia) all inspires me, as they bring benefits to your well being from curing depression to keeping you looking young and vibrant.

Chicken in Sweet Spicy Soy Sauce

It's a rather a moderate Sunday here in Singapore with no sun at all. So I decided to go for something light yet spicy for lunch.

Ingredients

• 2 Chicken Legs (deboned and cut into pieces)
• 3 pieces of screw-pine (tear it into pieces)
• Some Cabbage ( cut into large pieces )
• 1 - 2 tablespoon dark soya sauce
• 1 tablespoon light soya sauce
• Mix the dark and light soya sauce above with 1/4 cup water and set aside
• Salt to taste
• 2 to 3 tablespoon cooking oil 

To be pound in Mortar into a PASTE

• 5 clove garlic 
• 1/2 thumb size ginger 
• 1/4 cm yellow ginger 
• 15 green chillies ( pick your spice level)
• 5 red chillies ( pick your spice level)
• 1 lemon grass (slice it)
• 2 red shallots
• 1 teaspoon of roasted shrimp-paste (or 'Belacan', this is optional)

Directions

• Heat the pan with the oil and add the paste.
• Cook till translucent and fragrant.
• Add chicken pieces, stir to coat the chicken with paste and close the lid to cook for a minute or two.
• Open the lid and add the screw-pine pieces and leave to cook with lid on for 2 to 4 minutes (the chicken cooks fast so adjust according to your environment).
  
• When oil has separated, pour the soya mix, let it simmer for couple of minutes. 
• Add salt to taste, and finally turn off heat.
• Add the cabbage, stir (cabbage will cook with the heat of the dish) and plate it.

Best served with white or red rice and you have both meat and vegetable in the same dish. You can replace chicken with white squids if you prefer, just remove ginger from your paste.  This is a 30 minutes dish to prepare and cook. If you prepare the paste, you can ready this in under 15 minutes. 

Happy Cooking !