This Women’s Month, we’re inspired by the creativity and flair of our female MK foodies. We couldn’t resist these crispy buns by digital creator and mom of three Mubina Ajaz. You won’t stop at just one… 

These buns are inspired by the popular Shanghai street food called mantou. It’s worth the effort, and oil, to make them from scratch. My family and I love sharing these at a picnic lunch or kicking back and enjoying them for a movie night.  

Instagram: mubina_18_kitchen   

Crispy burger buns with fried chicken 

MAKES 20 • TOTAL TIME 1 HR 30 MIN 

Ingredients 

For the marinade

1 cup buttermilk  
1 tsp paprika  
1 tsp salt 
¼ cup hot sauce  
½ tsp garlic powder  
½ tsp white pepper  
½ tsp cayenne pepper 

For the crispy chicken

4 chicken breasts, sliced into nugget-sized pieces   

For the arabic dough

2 cups warm water  
5 Tbsp sugar  
2 Tbsp yeast  
2 cups flour 
¾ tsp salt  
2 Tbsp milk powder (optional) 
½ cup oil  
3 cups flour  
1 tsp baking powder  

For the bun coating

1 cup breadcrumbs 
¼ cup black sesame seeds 
Oil, for frying  

For the chicken coating

¼ cup milk  
1 ¾ cups flour  
2 tsp paprika  
1 tsp baking powder 
1 tsp oregano  
1 tsp salt  
½ tsp onion powder  
½ tsp garlic powder 
½ tsp cayenne pepper 
¼ tsp black pepper  

For the spicy mayo  

½ cup mayonnaise  
1 tbsp sriracha  
1 tbsp peri peri sauce 
1 tbsp tomato sauce   

For serving

Handful fresh lettuce leaves 
Quartered cherry tomatoes  
2-3 sliced radishes  
Chopped fresh herbs
Lime wedges  

Method 

1. Combine marinade ingredients in a large bowl. 
2. Add sliced chicken and mix to coat. Set aside for 2 hours. 
3. Combine water, sugar and yeast. Set aside for 5 minutes to bloom. 
4. Add remaining dough ingredients and mix together until soft. 
5. Tip out onto a floured work surface and knead until smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes. 6. Oil a bowl, add dough, cover and rest in a warm place for 30 minutes. 
6. Punch dough down and divide into 20-25 golf-sized balls.
7. Flatten each ball in your hand, creating a disc. 
   
8. Heat a deep pan of oil until hot enough to fry. 
9. Arrange two bowls on your work surface. Add milk to one and sesame seeds and breadcrumbs together in the second. 
10. Dip each flattened ball into milk, then into crumb mixture. 
11. Fry dough in batches for 2-3 minutes until puffed and golden, remove and drain on kitchen towel. 
12. Mix chicken coating ingredients in a large bowl. 
13. Dredge chicken in the coating to cover, then fry in batches for 3-4 minutes until crispy and tender. Drain on a kitchen towel. 
14. Combine ingredients for spicy mayo together in a serving bowl. Season well. 
15. To serve, slice open buns, layer with spicy mayo, lettuce, chicken, tomatoes, radishes and herbs with lime on the side. 

The post On Our Editor’s Radar This Month – Crispy burger buns with fried chicken  appeared first on MyKitchen.

In 2005, Pacific West became the first seafood brand in South East Asia to be awarded the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC)’s Chain of custody certification – a globally recognised, rigorous sustainable certification for wild-capture fisheries. Since then, MSC-certified products have been introduced to food-service and retail markets globally.

And it’s no surprise. Over the years, Pacific West has been implementing strict programs in quality control for all of its products. This is in line with its long-held tradition of producing fresh, untainted, premium quality seafood at all times. You will find that all of their operations are in full compliance with HACCP, IFS, BRC, MSC, Yum! and Halaal standards and requirements, while the health standards are in accordance with international EU and AQIS standards.

Besides this, and to play a part in reducing environmental impact, they have started to formalize the usage of sustainable palm oil in product processing, making Pacific West an RSPO-certified company since November 2014. The Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) is a global, multi-stakeholder initiative on sustainable palm oil. It seeks to promote the growth and use of sustainable palm oil in the palm value chain.

By purchasing Pacific West products, retailers, food-service operators and end consumers are playing a vital role in promoting the health of the world’s fish stocks and, at the same time, supporting a cleaner, eco-friendlier and healthier future for our generations.

Find out more at pacificwestfoods.com.

The post Delivering sustainability and excellence with Pacific West appeared first on MyKitchen.

Not sure what to cook up for Heritage Day tomorrow? Take some inspiration from our top 10 braai recipes and prepare for a feast of local flavour!

1. Apricot butter braaied snoek

2. Sticky hot wings

3. Bacony beans

4. Lamb and apricot sosaties

5. Charred baby cabbages

6. Sherry boerewors sliders

7. Gourmet mielies

8. Dukkah butternut steaks

9. Tomato bredie potjie with parsley pesto and potbrood

10. Cheesy stuffed roast onions

The post MK’s top 10 braai recipes to celebrate Heritage Day appeared first on MyKitchen.

Here is our @home haul for the month of May. Treat yourself or someone special who loves to cook this month.

SPICE OF LIFE
Spice storage set

With 16 perfectly sized jars, you will have enough space to display all of your most used herbs and seasonings.

MAKE MINE MINI
Textured ramekins

These are perfect for taking all sorts of single-serving mini bakes and savoury delights straight from the oven to the table.

COOK COOKBOOK
Lantern Cookery Classics: George Calombaris

Because who doesn’t love George from MasterChef? You can find out what he cooks at home, and then create your own Greek-influenced feast.

DISH IT UP
Stackable casserole dish

Replace that old chipped dish with one that’s pretty enough to grace the table. Bonus: it can easily be stacked, making the most of precious cupboard space.

ON THE EDGE
Baccarat iD3 3-step knife sharpener

Get an ultra-sharp kitchen knife in 3 easy steps. It boasts an ergonomically designed handle and rubber feet to keep it still while sharpening.

CAFFEINE MACHINE
Stove top espresso maker

A perfect espresso isn’t reserved for eating out. With this sturdy little guy, you can make proper coffee
the Italian way, right on your stove.

All homeware available at www.home.co.za and @home stores.

The post Spoilt for choice appeared first on MyKitchen.

By Mikaela Kagan &Roxy Greeff

They’re all about creating a better lifestyle, both in terms of having more time to yourself and getting a wholesome, balanced meal. They are here to make dinner exciting, sociable, manageable, organic, fresh and budget-friendly.

They have three menus available: Classic, Low Carb and Veggie, and each box includes three meals for either 2 or 4 people, and they will even let you mix and match meals from the different boxes!

Each recipe is devised by a professional chef to be not only delicious, but also easy to cook. And they add a bit of fun to each one by including a new cooking method for you to learn, taking the boring feeling of routine out of the task at hand. Their ingredients are pre-portioned (so no prep for you!) and they are organically sourced from only the best suppliers. These boxes are then delivered to your home every week, so you can enjoy restaurant-style dinners without leaving the house.

Each week you will receive an email where you will be asked to select your menu for the next week. This meal box service is also available as a flexible subscription where you can pause or cancel your account whenever you choose. And it’s as easy as that. You will receive your box with all your ingredients, packed with temperature in mind, and delivery is free!

GIVEAWAY TIME!

Gutsy Green are giving away one free dinner box to the value of R530 (that’s three meals!) to two lucky winners. All you have to do is like and share this post and tag a friend in the comments below. Good luck!

THE DETAILS

Website: gutsygreen.co.za
Facebook: Gutsy Green
Twitter: @GutsyGreenSA
Instagram: @gutsygreen

The post The low-down on Gutsy Green, PLUS an amazing giveaway appeared first on MyKitchen.

Okay, I’ll admit, I can be lazy in the week when it comes to making supper. Technically, it’s not really laziness that’s my biggest problem – my imagination is lazy. Sometimes, just sometimes, after a long day at work, the last thing I am capable of doing is making decisions between chicken or beef; roast or spag bol. We’ve all been there. So when Gutsy Green called me to tell me all about the new start-up, I was all ears.

By Heather Ingarfield

With a strong focus on home cooking and convenience, Gutsy Green delivers all the ingredients for three delicious suppers, plus their recipes, to your work or home, so you don’t have to worry about digging deep into the trenches of your mind to think of something to cook up for dinner, nor do you have to worry about shopping or wastage (the ingredients come pre-portioned). Oh, bonus, they only use organic vegetables and free-range meat.

The convenience of knowing what was for supper, and that I absolutely, most definitely, had all the ingredients, was nothing short of miraculous for me.

First of all, before I go any further, there are options. For all the indecisive folk out there, you get to personally select your menu from the 9 options that will be presented in your inbox. I spent a few minutes drooling over the options, before choosing – in no particular order – these 3 winning dishes: Spicy hoisin chicken meatballs; Salmon and aioli burgers; and Earthy biltong and Parmesan risotto.      

SPICY HOISIN CHICKEN MEATBALLS

The prep was pretty easy for this one: a bit of chopping, bit of dicing, bit of mixing, bit of rolling and some frying. The recipe suggested you serve this with rice, which was sent in the pretty brown box, but the sauce wasn’t plentiful enough to coat the rice, so I’d suggest either bumping up the sauce a little, or serving the balls with a juicy veg. But then again, rice is literally my last choice of starch, so I may be slightly prejudiced.

Speaking of quantities, this meal was the only one where the pre-portioned servings of ingredients were not quite enough to make the recommended number of servings (I only managed to roll out 6 meatballs, as opposed to 12), but owner Kyle Moore says they are working on being as generous as possible to allow customers to have lunch for the next day. Aaaah, someone who understands the leftover lunch game.    

SALMON AND AIOLI BURGERS

I was probably the most excited for these – and my excitement sky-rocketed when I pulled out the massive hunk of pinky salmon. It was to be chopped up and mashed together with some garlic chives, garlic, shallots, breadcrumbs, salt and pepper, then formed into two sizeable burger patties and fried for 4 minutes per side. I know the delicate flavour should not be overwhelmed by big flavours, but I was sceptical about the lack of additions to the patties… However, when smashed on to the bun with some of the lemon and garlic aioli, everything comes together to form a fresh, zesty and rich burger that I thoroughly enjoyed.

The beauty of this concept is that I now have the recipes, printed on handy little colourful recipe cards, for when I get my hands on another hunk of salmon.     

EARTHY BILTONG AND PARMESAN RISOTTO

When I first chose this one, I did so with some trepidation. I love risotto, but making it on an ordinary Wednesday night after a day in the office and then a heavy gym session didn’t sound like my idea of fun. But, I chose it anyway because, well, I do love risotto! And I’m glad I did… Maybe it’s my mind playing tricks on me, or maybe I’ve only ever made the fussiest, faffiest risottos before, but this one was incredibly easy and quick. I didn’t feel the need to pitch a tent next to the stove, I didn’t grow a bicep stirring for hours – actually, my biggest problem was trying not to drink the wine meant for the risotto. Kidding.

The end result was very close to its description: earthy flavours, with the biltong and Peppadews taking centre stage among a cast of creamy Arborio rice, tomatoes and Parmesan. If anything, it could have done with more Parmesan, but then I am a bit of a cheese glutton…    

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