Star anise is a pungent, strong liquorice-like spice; Chinese star anise is pretty easy to find in grocery stores. Don't try to substitute other spices for it.
- 1 star of star anise
- 1/2 a butternut pumpkin, chopped into 1.5cm cubes
- 2 potatoes, chopped into 1.5cm cubes
- 2 small carrots, chopped into 1.5cm cubes
- 1 onion roughly chopped
- 200g chicken (or subtitute fried firm tofu), chopped into 2cm cubes
- 1 clove garlic
- 1 cm of ginger (finely sliced)
- Dark soy sauce
- Sugar
- 1 tablesppon of oyster sauce
- 1 tablespoon of flour
Marinate the chicken using 1 tsp of dark soy, 1/2 tsp of sugar, pepper and the flour. Heat the onion, garlic and ginger in a saucepan at medium heat, and add the star anise. Stir until well-mixed. When the onions are slightly brown, add the chicken and stir-fry until it is nicely browned. Combine 1 tsp of dark soy, 1/2 tsp of sugar, oyster sauce and 100ml of water in a small bowl. Add sauce mixture to chicken, and stir until the mixed well. Add the potato, pumpkin and carrot and stir well, then wait until it starts to simmer. Cover and reduce to low, leaving the braise to cook for at least 20 minutes. Braise is done when the potatos are soft enough to cut with a spoon. Serve over rice.
Serves four.
Errr, so I didn't have any sambal oelek, strawberries, sweet potato or tofu. BUT, I was able to make a delicious braise?