Chicken and Broccoli Stir Fry

When it comes to food, golden brown is my favorite color. Spring rolls , french fries, chips, bread, fried chicken, roast,  pies, cookies are just few foods the come with this color. This month, I make sure to add more hues into my plate. You know what? Colors come with flavours. Duh! After three weeks of consuming bright, zesty, flavorful foods ,plus a daily half an hour rendezvous with rusty-no- more home trainer,  I manage to shred THREE freaking kilograms-ses! I'm one happy loser! The best part is, I never really feel like I'm on ''Diet''. Oh I hate that word!

Oh I still eat my carbs, and my ice creams, and my chocolates, all right. But, I have been so full from eating my veges and fruits, I don't really have the cravings to eat the whole bag of chocolate or 5 scoops of ice cream or empty the entire contents of my rice cooker anymore. Yup, I am full, feeling not a bit deprive of anything. This recipe is just one of the things I've tried. It's delicious and it's green. It says it all, don't you think?

Ingredients:

350  g Chicken, boneless, skinless, cut into strips or cubed

Marinade: 1 tbsp. light soy sauce, 1/2 tsp . white pepper, 1 tsp. sesame oil, 2 tbsp. cornstarch, 1/2 tsp. baking soda, 1 tsp. white sugar

Sauce : 2 tbsp. light sauce sauce, 2 tbsp. oyster sauce, , 1 tbsp. corn starch,  3 tbsp. sugar dissolved in 1 cup of water.

1 Broccoli head, cut into bite sizes, blanched
1 bell pepper, sliced
3 tbsp. Olive oil for sautéing, 
3 cloves of garlic, crushed
1 onion, diced

Cooking instructions:

1. Heat 2 tsp of olive oil in a pan. Brown chicken pieces, once chicken is almost done, stir in crushed garlic. Stir until garlic is aromatic. Take out of the pan.

2.Add 1 tbsp. of olive oil in the pan, toss chopped onion. Stir in blanched broccoli, stir fry for 3 minutes . Stir in  bell pepper. Add in chicken and garlic back into the pan. Toss until well combined. 

 3:Stir in sauce. Simmer for a minute or two  or until sauce thickens. Test taste. Season with salt.

4. Serve hot and  with white fluffy rice. Done!

Crunchy veges, melt in the mouth tender chicken pieces and savoury sauce. Beat any Chinese take out, any day. Give it a try!

Sights and Eats: Langkawi Day 1

It took us almost 24 hours to get here. Don't ask how, there  are sored bottoms involved and yes, they hated the spotlight.  Anyway, finding a cab from Langkawi airport to the hotel was a brisk . For one, taxi voucher is available next to airport exit. Prizes depend on the location of your hotel  . I find that great. As a tourist, there's nothing more annoying than an unnecessary island/city tour with taxi  meters ticking like cash registers . We bought a voucher and we were whisk efficiently into a comfortable cab, then , off we way go. The streets and the road condition in Langkawi is amazing. It's even  better than most streets in the posh neighbourhood of Baden Baden, Germany. Traffic could not get any better. The absence of public transportation is evident.  It took us less than 20 minutes to reach Meritus Pelangi Beach Resort and Spa. It boast a Malaysian village or Kampung -like accommodations  with garden, pool, lake or beach views sprawled across its 35-acre beach property . I sigh tiredly but happily. Alas, Malaysia!

The lobby made a good impression. The high ceiling is adorned with gigantic chandeliers,  open aired with structure predominately made of dark woods. We were guided to one of the plush lounges while waiting for check in. A cold and refreshing drink was brought to our table which we gratefully tip off our dry throats   Few minutes later, I scrap my signature on a piece of paper, making us few hundreds of  euro poorer. We were transferred to our accommodation,    which resembles a Malaysian House. I like our room! It's spacious, looks traditional with wood flooring and furniture , painting adorned walls and white washed ceilings . It has a huge, comfortable bed , clean and modern bathroom and veranda or terrace so wide, you could practically waltz on it. Yup, I like it a lot.

I jump into the shower, grateful of the warm water that washes sweat and fatigue off my body. Jet lag? What jet lag?! There's this  place , beautiful place that needs exploring and tummies that need filling.

View from Cba Restaurant and Bar

Cba  Restaurant and Bar

 Top left: Chicken satay with peanut sauce. Top right: Prawns in  sweet ,light spicy sauce. 

Bottom left: Soppy banana split. Bottom right.  Cheesecake .

Lunch was mediocre and overpriced, however, the beachfront restaurant offers an amazing view of the pristine, white sanded beach and inviting, calm  sea. Meritus Pelangi Resort has one of  the best beaches in  Pentai Cenang. Powdery sand, clean shore and for some reasons,  vendors offering souvenir items, island tours, aqua sports  and  adventure rides ,  stay off the resort's ground, giving this area a sense of exclusiveness.

We spent the rest of the afternoon exploring the resort's property and its wonderful beach . We explore the whole place until exhaustion and heat took its toll. We went back to our room with our freshly washed garment and undergarments  clinging uncomfortably to our backs and armpits. The  cool , air-conditioned room provided a welcoming relief. The supposedly 30 minute nap became a 3 hour coma-like sleep . We felt alive and  hungry after that. So, we scour the area for some noms. Just a few minute walk along the Pentai Cenang street  are smorgasbord of restaurants , cafes and food stalls. Chinese, Indian, Mediterranean , Malay, Italian . You name it. Pentai Cenang has it. This is truly a foodie street.

Orkid Ria Restaurant in Pentai Cenang

Dinner was at Orkid Ria . Fish and seafoods are less abundant and ridiculously expensive in our place in Germany. So we gorged ourselves silly with those while in Langkawi. The bill was not as cheap as I though it would be, but then again, the lobster was big and still pinching its claw and swinging its antennas   when we bid our last goodbye. We had a feast!

Fresh , juicy and plump scallops stir fried in mild spicy sambal sauce.

12 Ringgit for a dozen. Cheap and tasty chicken satay with peanut sauce. Tasted way than the satay we had at lunch.

 The star of the night. The Butter Lobster. Succulent, fresh and served with this delicious if not mysterious thread/fine noodle like ''substance''. I can't really say if its a vegetable, dried herbs or pasta. It was pretty damn tasty so I asked what it was. ''Oh, it's egg and butter!'', says the friendly , attentive but lying through his teeth waiter. Oh well, I understand why they want to keep it a secret. It's their best seller after all. It sill hunt me in my sleep though.

For extra 20 ringgit, The Lobster's head was stir fried in scallion and ginger, making it a completely different dish. It was a huge portion and I thoroughly enjoy picking up the tasty meat off its shell using my fingers. FF, less so.Well, more for me then. Hah!

2 bottles of ice cold Bintang beers for my happy guy and fresh fruit juice for me.  As I pleasure may grateful palate and fill my appreciating guts, my behind's throbbing tribulation is  long forgotten. Aaahh Malaysia, you are worth the long flight, the cramped space and the tender bottom indeed...