BRUNEIAN CHICKEN

Brunei is a Southeast Asian sovereign state on the island of Borneo. It shares Borneo with Indonesia and Malaysia. Brunei is predominantly Muslim. This, and it neighboring countries gives Brunei an interesting cuisine. I have learned that they can do crazy things with a chicken and coconut milk.

I went with a Bruneian chicken recipe, based on a dish called "Beriani". I started with a pound of chicken thighs. I ground together a clove of garlic, a 2 inch piece of ginger, 2 Serrano peppers, seeds included, a tablespoon of poppy seeds, 10 cashew nuts and 10 almonds. In a skillet, I heated some ghee. You can find ghee at an Indian market. You can also use olive oil, or vegetable oil. When the oil is hot, fry up 5 cloves, a 2 inch piece of Cinnamon and a cup of sliced shallots. In goes the chicken, a little salt, and a teaspoon of curry powder. Stir this up, cover, and cook for about 10 minutes.

Here comes the fun part...I put a can of coconut milk in a pot, and added a little more than a cup of basmati rice. Add in a little salt. I can't describe how good rice is when it cooked in coconut milk. Heat until the rice absorbs the coconut milk. After a little bit, I added just a little bit of water. The coconut milk is a little thick, and needed to be thinned out a bit. Then, I put the rice in the skillet with the chicken, and simmered it for about fifteen minutes.

This is a very tasty meal. To make it VERY tasty, add larger amounts of the spices.

BRAZILIAN SHRIMP STEW

The dish I prepared to represent Brazil is shrimp stew. I upped the cayenne and coconut milk factors, creating a dish that, after a little cilantro was added, could have just as easily been found on a Thai menu.

I have finally come to the point where I view recipes as suggestions, as opposed to strict instructions. This view would not work with baking...which may be why baking has never appealed to me. This particular recipe was not my first attempt at making a Brazilian dish. The others were rather bland; so, I decided to take a Brazilian dish, and pop up the volume by adding three times the cayenne.

I thawed out a pound of raw shrimp and removed the tails. In a bowl, I mixed some black pepper, salt, garlic and lemon juice. I rolled the shrimp around in this, and let it set while I prepared the rest of the ingredients. In olive oil,I sauteed one medium onion chopped and a green bell pepper chopped, for about eight minutes. I then poured in the cayenne...about a teaspoon and a half...maybe a little bit more. A little chopped cilantro followed. Stir this up and cook for a minute or two. Then, I added a can of diced tomatoes, juice and all. I let this simmer for about ten minutes. I added a can of coconut milk and boiled; then, added the shrimp. This was alowed to boil for about five minutes. On the side, I was preparing some basmati rice. After the rice came to a boil, I added some cayenne, and a little coconut milk. I have found that it is a good idea to introduce a little of the spices you use in a dish to the rice. Put a little garlic in there too. Now, get a bowl, put in some rice, and spoon some of the shrimp stew on top of the rice. The result is pure wonderfulness!

This recipe belongs on my personal list of favorite dishes. It is both hot, and a little sweet. It could work equally well as a Spanish dish; or, as an Asian side, served with a broiled whole fish, spiced up.