Citrus Brazilian BBQ chicken

This was one of those impulse buys from the supermarket, I was in Aldi and they had in their middle aisle deals some sachets of Schwartz Citrus Brazilian BBQ seasoning.

I got some skinless and boneless chicken thighs, these I then cut in half, trying to make the halves equal in size and weight, so they cook evenly.

I added a splash of sunflower oil to the chicken pieces and coated them. I then added Schwartz Citrus Brazilian BBQ seasoning.

In a hot frying pan, add a little sunflower oil.

Then add the chicken pieces.

I add some greaseproof paper on top of the chicken as it is pan fried to ensure that the chicken is fully cooked.

Chargrilled lemon chicken

Chargrilled lemon chicken

I cook this recipe quite regularly in our house. It is a quick and easy method for tasty, tender, moist chicken.

I take some skinless and boneless chicken thighs, these I cut in half, trying to make the halves equal in size and weight.

I then add a splash of sunflower oil to the chicken pieces and coat them evenly.

I then add some Schwartz Pepper and Garlic Chargrilled Chicken Seasoning.

Schwartz Pepper and Garlic Chargrilled Chicken Seasoning is expertly blended with pepper, garlic and parsley to add a deep, rich and delicious flavour to your chicken dishes.

I then add the zest and juice of a lemon. Add salt if required.

The chicken is then cooked in my griddle plan.

I heat the pan, and when it is hot I then place the chicken into it.

I add some greaseproof paper on top of the chicken as it is chargrilled to ensure that the chicken is fully cooked.

Once the chicken is cooked on one side, I turn it over and cook from the other side.

Serve with salad.

Gluten Free Chicken Strips

This was an attempt to create crispy buttermilk chicken strips.

I took some skinless chicken thigh meat and cut it into chunky strips.

I then coated them in, well I wanted to use buttermlik, but I didn’t have any buttermilk, so I used some crème fraîche. The mix was then left for thirty minutes.

The chicken strips were then coated in a seasoned gluten free flour and deep fried.

Overall, thought they were tasty, I didn’t quite get the effect I was trying to achieve. I think next time I should actually use buttermilk.

Some more kebabless chicken

I had enjoyed the kebabless chicken I had cooked a few weeks back, that I decided to cook it again.

I took some chicken thighs and marinaded with some chicken seasoning, lemon zest, lemon juice, salt, pepper, some garlic olive oil and some freshly chopped flat parsley.

I then took my griddle and put it on a high heat. I then cooked the chicken on the griddle. I turned it over and cooked the other side.

I served it with salad and rice 

I am still not sure that kebabless is an actual word. 

Time for Tacos at Wahaca

The last time I went to Wahaca it was just before lockdown. In May 2022 I was up in London for an event with my son, and afterwards we decided to get something to eat. Our first choice was Bills in Victoria, but they were full. So, I suggested that we head to Oxford Circus and go to Wahaca. We caught a tube across London.

We arrived to find there was a bit of a wait for a table, well it was a Friday evening in London, not too surprising. We decided that we would wait. It wasn’t too long before a table was free, we sat down and looked over the menu.

We chose six dishes, the one we started with, was the Mexico City nachos which I discussed here and was the highlight of our meal.

We also had three plates of tacos.

We had the grilled chicken and avocado tacos with ancho rub, guacamole & green tomatillo salsa, served in two soft corn tortillas.

I have had these before, the chicken for me was slightly overcooked, but the flavours were excellent. I like the addition of the guacamole to the spicy chicken.

There was also the chargrilled steak & cheese tacos, chargrilled bavette steak with grilled cheese, chipotle and avocado salsas, in two soft corn tortillas.

Another dish I have had before, these were very tasty. Though I think I have had better ones before. The steak was nice and tender and the salsas added a contrast of flavours and textures. Never see the point of the grilled cheese, preferred it when it was an option and I could choose not to have it.

Our final choice of tacos were the buttermilk chicken tacos, this was crispy fried chicken, with pink pickled onions and spiced mayo, in two soft flour tortillas.

I have had these before also. The chicken was overcooked and dry, but I liked the pink pickled onions. 

Overall these were nice tacos, not the best I’ve had, but certainly they were tasty.

Back at Bills

I have really enjoyed my recent meals at Bills. Back in September 2021 I had a really nice meal at the (now closed) branch of Bills in Ealing. In May I was in Manchester and had a nice fish supper at Bills. Last month we had a delicious brunch in Bath, well everyone else had brunch, I had tacos.

So it was with a little anticipation myself and my son headed out to the Baker Street branch of Bills. We had booked, so, after a warm welcome, we were shown to our table. I do like the quirkiness of the decor in the different branches of Bills, and Baker Street was no exception.

I looked over the menu (or should I say menus) and decided what to eat. As you might expect I was somewhat tempted by the tuna tacos again, as I had enjoyed them on previous visits. I also liked the idea of the crab cakes. There were lots of nice choices on the mains section of the menu, the chargrilled lamb rump did appeal, as did the lobster and seafood linguine.

One of the things I have found with Bills is that the menu changes quite often, so even though you may think, well I have that next time I visit, sometimes those very things disappear. So it does make, making a choice that little bit harder.

In the end we went with the set menu, with two courses for £13.95 which seemed very reasonable.

For my starter I had the chicken and sesame dumplings with Bill’s spicy chutney.

I got six pan fried dumplings, though I wouldn’t have called it a chutney, it was much more a dipping sauce. The pastry was nice and crisp, though the filling was a little bland for me. However the dipping sauce enhanced the dumplings, so in the end I did enjoy the dish.

My son went with the crispy calamari served with roast garlic & basil aioli.

He let me try some, the squid was really nice, tender and there was a nice crunch to the crispy coating. There was quite a bit of sliced red chilli on the dish, which I did try to avoid. I couldn’t taste the basil, but the aioli was quite tasty.

For my main course I weren’t with the chargrilled chicken and grains. This was described as coming with spinach, lentil and ancient grain salad, flatbread and tzatziki.

The flatbread was warm and fresh, and the tzatziki was tasty and refreshing.

As you can see, the lentil and ancient grain salad was served with pea shoots and not spinach, but I didn’t mind that as I preferred the pea shoots over having the spinach.

The chicken was chargrilled, but I did feel it was a little dry and overcooked. Of course you have to cook chicken properly, but this was cooked a little too much properly for my liking.

My son had the chargrilled minute steak with rosemary fries and  dressed pea shoots. 

Well the pea shoots were missing. He let me try some, this was an excellent dish, the steak was cooked perfectly and the fries (were fries) and tasted of potato

We decided to forgo desert and paid the bill using the QR code, which is becoming the norm for many places these days. 

I am looking forward to my next visit to Bills.

Sweet Chilli Chicken

I wanted a quick meal at Paddington Station, but wasn’t really sure what I was in the mood for. Well I was hoping to get some tacos from Barburrito, which I had really enjoyed on a previous visit. However like Chilango, they’ve stopped selling tacos.

I’ve had the sushi quite a few times from Wasabi at Paddington and have enjoyed it. However I didn’t really want sushi. At the Holborn branch of Wasabi I once had the Sweet Chilli Chicken and didn’t really enjoy it.

I quite like sweet chilli chicken, but in this case the sauce was overpoweringly with sweetness and stickiness, even with the heat of the chilli.

 I did decide in the end to give it another go.

Yes the sauce was, again, overpowering, rather too sweet and had a lot of chilli. Yup, probably not the best choice in the end.

Grilled Chicken

I did grilled chicken thighs, roasted potatoes, and salad. The chicken was done with chicken seasoning and a little salt and pepper.

Kebabless Chicken Kebab

I am not sure that kebabless is an actual word. 

I was short on time, so rather than thread chicken cubes onto wooden skewers, I decided to miss that step.

I took some cubed chicken breast and marinaded with some chicken seasoning, salt, pepper and some olive oil.

I then took my griddle and put it on a high heat. I then cooked the chicken on the griddle. I turned it once, and then covered the chicken with some baking parchment. This ensures that the chicken is cooked through, by acting as a “lid”, but avoids steaming the chicken, so that there is still some crispness to the chicken from the griddle.

I served it with salad and rice with a homemade tomato sauce.

Grilled Chicken Bao Bun

I was up in Manchester looking for somewhere for lunch and Banh Mi Co Ba on the Oxford Road has been somewhere I have been meaning to try for a while. They have a wide ranging menu, but I ordered the Grilled Chicken Bao Bun.

The Bao was filled with salad, chicken dressed with sauce.

I will say I wasn’t impressed, I’ve had better and even made better myself. The Bao was a little cold, the chicken was reheated and I wouldn’t have said it was grilled. The salad was probably too much and I would have served it with less. The sauce was nice though.