When I was a kid my aunt, my father's youngest sister, cooked me a dish of chicken liver which was so delicious but also bloody, literally. My mother almost fainted after she knew I ate that liver... In the area where she's from, true, people ate everything of a chicken or pig (except feather and hair of course). But there's a rule of thumb when came to cooking organs - no blood. So this time when I made this pate, I was struggling whether it should be overcooked (no blood at all) or just cooked (some blood)... Ingredients (2 persons as apetitizer)
- 3/4 pound chicken liver, cleaned, take out the membranes
- 1/2 tsp minced fresh ginger
- 1 clove of garlic, finely diced
- a pinch of each - 5 spice powder, chicken powder, white pepper, salt, sugar
- a dash of sesame oil
- 1 Tbp red wine
- cornstarch
- optional: chicken fat and chicken broth
- Cut the liver into small pieces, marinated with ginger, 5 spices, chicken powder, white pepper, sesame oil, salt, sugar and cornstarch for an hour.
- Heat 1 - 2 tbp(s) chicken fat in a frying pan, add garlic, add liver, stir-fry for a few minutes. Add wine. Cover with lid, keep the heat on medium/medium-low. You don't want all the liquid dry up, if it happens, add a bit of chicken broth.
- After the liver changes its color, still with little blood is okay, taste and season if necessary. Turn the heat off.
- After cooled off, you can blend the liver by food processor. But I like to use chopper to mince it, depends what consistency you like.
My version of pate won't be over pound with wine or spice, yes, I still want that liver's taste, that's why I cook it. You can simply serve it with crackers; or add chopped nut and fried wanton wrapper to give it snappy bite; Or add pineapple to get some zing.
Yes, in the end, I decided on not overcook the liver :D
nice blog Gattina, with a awesome pictures.
ReplyDeleteActually, I came to your blog th' Archana's "Chinese Banana Toffee" post
http://arcthomas.blogspot.com/ which linked me up to your post http://gattinamia.blogspot.com/2006/05/caramel-deep-fried-banana.html#links
By the way, today i prepared this desert, came out so good. Thanks Gattina for the wonderful post.
Hi lakshmi,
ReplyDeleteI'm glad your dessert turns out great. I just visited your blog, wow, so much great food! Although I don't know much about Indian ingredients, still very keen on trying somedays :)