Sauteed chicken and squash with fresh tarragon
June 20, 2008
Filed under School lunchbox
Before we get to the recipe, a few announcements.
First, the “Print This Post” function has finally been restored. I had to wait until a new version of the plugin, compatible with the latest version of Wordpress, was available before I could put it back.
Second, sometime next week, my family will be moving to a new house. I personally chose the lighting for the kitchen so that I wouldn’t need special lighting equipment to take videos. If you recall, I mentioned a couple of months ago about adding a video segment to Pinoy Cook. We did shoot videos except that the lighting in our kitchen right now did not yield good results. In fact, most of the videos were downright terrible. After the move, video shooting will commence in a better lighted kitchen.
Third, the new house has a larger garden which will allow me to plant more herbs and even a few vegetables. We’re replanting some of the herbs we have right now and adding more in the coming months. So, there will be a new sub-blog on fresh herbs. Instead of just mentioning herbs in the recipes, I might as well write about them. That might convince you better that herbs in cooking aren’t just for decoration. They improve dishes in so many ways. Moreover, I was recently tipped that most herbs can be brewed to make tea. Fresh herbal tea. Can anything be better?
Fourth, I don’t know how long it will take before our telephone line can be transferred to the new house. There might be a few days after the move when I won’t have broadband connection so I won’t be able to moderate and respond to comments and e-mails. However, I have started posting “future entries” so that new recipes will still get posted until things return to normal.
That said, on to the recipe.
I cooked this chicken and squash dish for my kids’ packed school lunch a couple of days ago. My original plan was to add coconut milk (my kids love anything with coconut milk) but the humid weather made me think twice. Coconut milk spoils fast so I decided it wasn’t the best time for a vegetable and coconut milk dish. To make an otherwise plain sauteed dish exciting, I added finely sliced fresh tarragon to the chicken and squash. Tarragon, after all, is a traditional accompaniment to chicken and fish dishes.
Serves 3 to 4.
Ingredients :
400 g. of chicken fillets (thighs or breasts)
600 to 700 g. of squash
half a head of garlic
1 large onion
a thumb-sized piece of ginger
patis (fish sauce)
freshly ground pepper
a small handful of fresh tarragon
2 tbsps. of vegetable cooking oil
Cut the chicken fillets into strips. Season with patis and pepper.
Cut off the skin of the squash, scoop out the seeds and cut into one-inch cubes.
Peel, crush and finely mince the garlic.
Peel and finely slice the onion.
Peel and cut the ginger into thin slices (grating the ginger works too).
Slice the tarragon — finely, if you prefer; coarsely if you want them to be really visible and add color to the cooked dish.
Heat the cooking oil in a pan. Add the chicken and cook until the edges start to brown (they’re almost done at this point). Add the ginger, onion and garlic, and saute until fragrant, about a minute. Add the cubed squash. Season with more patis and pepper. Stir well.
Pour in about a cup of water, add the tarragon, and stir once more. Bring to the boil, lower the heat, cover and simmer for about ten minutes or until the squash is done.
Serve hot with rice.
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from our experience, it’s better to have the phone line cut and apply a new one for the new home. faster and less expensive.
our provider is pldt.
Thanks, Nicquee. Will keep that in mind.
So excited about your move and the new kitchen/garden. My kitchen is, unfortunately, the darkest room in the house. If I ever get the chance to design another one, I’ll make an area next to a window for photography, higher ceilings (oh — I guess I’d have to design the whole house…), and the herb garden right outside the door, which is the one feature I do have now. Can’t imagine cooking any more without my own fresh herbs!
Lydia, re “Can’t imagine cooking any more without my own fresh herbs!” That is exactly how I feel after having my little herb garden for the past three or so years. The process of picking the leaves, savoring the aroma that clings to the hands, then adding them to the pan knowing it came from my garden… Ahhh… incomparable!
congratulations………………
Connie: you are so cute to show your future house. the bookcase is awesome!
that is a ton of money, although worth it.
the design is simple and can easily be
duplicated by local artisans, i’m sure.
Thanks, Noes.
LES, all the woodwork was done by local carpenters. We’re so NOT importing expensive furniture LOL.
looks good, my squash is almost ripe!
Do you think it matters what kind of squash?
Sean, now that I do not know. I only use the kind that is locally available and I’m not really sure what the name of that variety is.
hi connie,
this recipe reminds me of my mom’s cooking. she used to make a slightly different recipe with pork cutlets, baguio beans, red pepper and repolyo. hers is a soupy dish though. i just love the sweetness of the squash when cooked and tender. thanks for the idea. will definitely try this with the tarragon! god bless….
sean,
if you are in the US, i would suggest the acorn squash which i think is nearest to the variety that we have in the phils.
Hi Connie,
Where can i buy the tarragon?
Fresh tarragon? Veggies section of some supermarkets. Dried is easier to find. Or try potted tarragon from Manila Seedling Bank or Market! Market!