There’s nothing more fulfilling than cooking from scratch and it gives me the sense of achievement that makes the whole cooking experience more enjoyable. I’ve always wanted to home-make my most-frequently-used sauces – ketchup and barbecue sauce, for some time now. Although having said that, laziness has been the reason I’ve been procrastinating and resorting to the readily available store-bought alternatives.
Ok, I’ not insinuating that there’s anything wrong in doing so, but once in a blue moon, it’s nice to relive the tradition of sauce-making at home.
{My first homemade barbecue sauce}
After reading blog posts on summer grilling escapades by fellow bloggers, I began to miss the joy of barbecuing and the smokiness of char-grilled meat and vegetables.
I know, I know, it’s winter now and despite the temptation, I prefer to stay warm indoor rather than barbecuing in the cold. Hence, oven grilling makes perfect sense this time of year.
Since oven grilling requires little effort, I feel the need to try my hand at making barbecue sauce (uhm, well not completely from scratch as I’ve used store-bought ketchup for a start). And I must say after the success of my first batch of the sauce, I’m pretty sure ketchup will be my next sauce-making project.
Homemade Tangy Barbecue Sauce
(adapted from The Australian Women’s Weekly – Back to Basics)
Emily’s note: I’ve made the sauce using whatever is available in my pantry. You may notice I’ve used dijon mustard instead of american-style mustard; As the cider vinegar that I’ve used contains honey, I’ve reduced the portion of brown sugar to about 100g; I have also switched from fresh chilli to 1 teaspoon of sambal oelek (Indonesian crushed chilles) since I have always have the latter in the fridge instead of the former.
Makes 2 Cups
Ingredients:
1 cup (250ml) tomato ketchup
1/2 cup (125ml) cider vinegar
1/4 (60ml) worcestershire sauce
2/3 cup (150g) firmly packed light brown sugar
2 tbsps american-style mustard
1 fresh small red thai chilli, chopped finely
1 clove garlic, crushed/grated
1 tbsp lemon juice
Method:
1. Combine ingredients in medium saucepan; bring to the boil then reduce heat.
2. Simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally for 20 minutes.
Grilled Chicken Nibbles
Serves 2 people as appetizers
Ingredients:
500g chicken nibbles
1/2 cup homemade barbecue sauce for marinate; 1/2 cup to coat the cooked chicken nibbles
A pinch of salt and some freshly ground black pepper
Method:
1. Combine all the ingredients above and let it marinate for 30 minutes or longer.
2. Before cooking, remember to preheat griller/oven at 180 degrees celsius (356 degrees fahrenheit).
3. Lightly scrape the marinate from the chicken to prevent from excess burning. Then arrange the chicken in a single layer on a baking tray and cook under the griller/oven for about 15- 20 minutes, turning once.
4. Place the cooked chicken in a large bowl, pour 1/2 cup of the sauce, using a plate wide enough to cover the bowl and toss until the sauce is well combined with the chicken.