Tag Archives: Yellow

Spanish Style Chicken & Rice

Posted in Recipes by

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Last week I bought myself a chicken fully intending to make us a roast dinner. However when I woke up the sun was shining and it was a gloriously warm day. The idea of sweating away in hot kitchen making roast potatoes and stuffing suddenly lost its appeal. I decided that something a little bit different was in need. A quick rifle through the fridge and cupboards and I came up with this Spanish inspired meal. I bunged the chicken in the oven, the rice and veg in the rice cooker and went outside to enjoy the sunshine. When I returned the dinner was cooked and the house smelled delicious. Some may be put off by the appearance of the very dark brown chicken but the flavour is amazing. So I will certainly be making this again.

Ingredients 

chicken

1 whole chicken

2 tablespoons of mexican spice

A handful of coriander (cilantro)

2 tablespoons of olive oil

1 tablespoon of lemon or lime juice

Rice

450g of rice

800ml of chicken stock

1 red pepper

1 green pepper

1 onion

5 cloves of garlic

1/3 of a courgette

1 tablespoon of turmeric

1 1/2 tablespoons of paprika

1 tablespoon of mexican seasoning

A pinch of salt and pepper

Directions

To make the chicken marinade, put the coriander, (cilantro) lemon juice, Mexican seasoning, and olive oil into a blender and pulse until it resembles a dark green smooth paste. Rub your paste all over the chicken, you can even push some under the skin and all over the breasts as I did. Put the chicken on a tray, cover with foil and cook in the oven for about an hour on 185 degrees. After an hour take the chicken and out and stab the thickest past of the thigh with a knife. If the juices are running clear, it’s done, if there is still blood cover back over and cook for another 20-30 minutes, checking every 10 minutes or so. Once the chicken juices run clear, remove the foil and cook for another 15 minutes to crisp up the skin.

To make the rice, chop the onion, garlic, peppers, and courgettes into medium sized pieces. Measure out your rice, I used 450g which is equal to one the containers I have, then I put in twice as much chicken stock, so 2 containers worth. Add in the spices and the vegetables and mix. Then set the rice cooker to cook. The rice should be done when the rice cooker finishes its cycle. Serve on a large platter and sprinkle with freshly chopped coriander and top with the chicken. Voilà Spanish style chicken, the perfect summer alternative to a Sunday roast.

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Buddha’s Belly

Posted in Restaurant Reviews by

You may already be sick of me telling you about all the wonderful restaurants that I am lucky enough to live by, but I figure one more can’t hurt. As previously stated there are lots of dining options within my neighborhood. However I’m  not always in the mood to eat out, I just want to go home and eat my dinner whilst lying on the sofa and watching telly. This is usually on a Monday when I am still hideously hungover. Delivery food is quite plentiful in Korea (see my previous article) however it is generally plentiful of the Korean variety, which doesn’t really get my juices flowing. It’s that or pizza and as you may know if you’re an avid reader of this blog I always eat my pizza on Sundays (that’s why I call it pizza Sunday, hangover Sunday, or Sunday funday depending on my mood).

Back to the point of this blog, just by our bus stop on the way home is the  Buddha’s Belly which provides a lovely takeaway service if you pick it up. We have the number saved in our phones and the menu ingrained into our minds. One quick call on the bus home and its ready to pick up when we arrive. It’s a great option to have on those lazy nights. As you may have heard I miss Chinese takeaway more than anything in the world, it almost makes me want to live at home again. However Buddha’s Belly is luckily doing its bit to keep me in Korea.

By far and away our favorite dish on the menu (and we have tried quite a few) is the Pad See Eew - blackbean fried noodles 9,000. Before you go getting visions of jajangmeyeon this dish is nothing like its Korean counterpart. To be fair there’s hardly ever a blackbean in it. But either way it’s deliciously tasty. Large flat noodles, stir fried with egg, chicken and vegetables with a slightly sticky sauce coating.

We are also big fans of the Thai green curry 11,000. This is always a favorite dish of mine and this one’s pretty decent. The green Thai curry pastes available to buy in Korea are poor at best. Although it’s possible to source all the ingredients and make it yourself, it’s not always that easy or cost-effective and the one at Buddha’s Belly can certainly satisfy your cravings.

The springrolls are rather good too 2,000, a decent size with lots of good filling. I do like a good springroll. We also enjoy the fried rice 10,000.

Word of warning not everything on the menu is to my liking. The chicken cashew dish 9,000 was very disappointing, the sauce was just way too hot and not remotely sweet. I practically lived on this dish when I traveled in Thailand and this one tastes nothing like the one found there. If you enjoy your food hot you may like it. But even Niall wasn’t that keen and he likes food to blow his head off.

We also tried the sour and spicy chicken 9,000 which was very strange for want of a better word. It just tasted very very odd, kind of like feet, it must have an ingredient that makes it taste like that.

Whilst Buddha’s Belly does not make the best Thai food in the world, it’s fairly decent and a good choice if you’re looking for something different and you live in the area. They also have seating for about 6 people if you wish to dine inside.

Buddha’s belly take-away is located in Kyungnidan. Take a train to Noksapyeong station (Line 6) and come out of exit 2. Walk straight for about 200 yards until you come to an underpass. Go through the tunnel under the road and take the exit on the left. Bhuddas Belly will be right in front of you. If you already know the menu you can call them on 02-793-2173 to arrange a pickup. There are also two other restaurants in Itaewon. One is located just above Berlin and the other is on the street behind the Hamilton Hotel.