Healthy Eating at Camp – Recipe Share for Fried Crispy Popcorn Chicken served with Spiced Fragrant Rice, Cabbage Stir-fried with Smoked Duck and Malaysian Acar

My family and I went camping few weeks back and I’ve also brought my ‘kitchen’ (all you need is a portable gas cooker) to cook a healthy meal for the family. Who says we can’t eat healthy at camp? We just need to make advance preparations. While enjoying the beauty of nature, we can also have a healthy meal!

For lunch, I have cooked fried crispy popcorn chicken served with spiced fragrant rice, cabbage stir-fried with smoked duck and Malaysian acar. The acar was prepared from home.

Recipes and ingredient list shared below. Sun Nature products are available at www.sunnature.my

FRIED CRISPY POP CORN CHICKEN (Good for 3-4 people)

Ingredients:

• 1 kg – Diced boneless free range/organic chicken breast and maryland
• 1 pc – Free range egg
• 3 teaspoons – Sun Nature all natural Himalayan pink salt
• 1 teaspoon – Sun Nature organic black pepper powder
• 2 tablespoons – Non-GMO cornflour
• 2 cups – Japanese Panko crumbs
• 1 cup – Sun Nature organic cold pressed olive oil/sunflower oil

Method:

1. Mix the diced chicken with salt and black pepper powder with the beaten egg thoroughly and well mixed. Let it marinade for an hour in the refrigerator.
2. Stir in the cornflour into the marinade and mix it well.
3. Heat up a pan and pour in 1 cup of oil of your choice above – medium fire.
4. Use your palm and shape up the diced chicken to your liking size and dip it into the panko crumb evenly and then put it into the pan of oil.
5. When the chicken pieces are well browned and cooked on both sides, take it up.
6. Serve with spice fragrant rice and the rest of the dishes.

SPICED FRAGRANT RICE

Ingredients:

• 2 cups – Basmati Rice
• 1 small pc about 3 cm – Sun Nature organic cinnamon stick
• 6 pcs – Sun Nature organic whole clove
• 6 pcs – Sun Nature organic cardamon pod – crushed
• 2 pcs – Sun Nature organic bay leaf
• 1 teaspoon – Sun Nature all natural Himalayan pink salt
• Water – as per your own requirement to cook the rice

Method:

1. Wash and then soak rice for 30 minutes.
2. Cook the rice in a rice cooker and add in the water and all the listed ingredients. Stir the rice.
3. Cook the rice like you would cook normal white rice.
4. Serve hot.
   
   

MALAYSIAN ACAR (MIXED VEGETABLE PICKLE)

Ingredients:

• 300 gm – Japanese cucumber. Cut into quarter, seed removed and cut into 3cm length. Knead 1
• tablespoon Himalayan pink salt into the cucumber, leave aside to marinade for 1 hour. Squeeze out
• as much water and then dry with towel. Dry under sun for 1-2 hour.
• 200 gm – Cabbage – cut thick slice
• 100 gm – French bean – cut into 3cm length
• 100 gm – Long bean – cut into 3cm length
• 100 gm – Carrot – quarter and cut into 3cm length
• 100gm – Pineapple (preferred raw) – cut into small pieces
• For all the vegetables above, dry them separately under sun for 1-2 hour.

Scalding Vegetable Mixture:

• 600 ml – Water
• 500 ml – White vinegar
• 1 tablespoon – Sun Nature all natural Himalayan pink salt
• 5 tablespoons – Sun Nature organic brown sugar
• ½ cup – Sun Nature organic sunflower oil

Spice Paste (Ground):

• 30 gm – Dried red chili – soak in hot water till soft
• 10 pcs – Shallots – remove skin
• 4 buds – Garlic – remove skin
• 2 cm width, 2 cm length – Fresh turmeric – slice thinly
• 3 slices – Galangal
• 4 pcs – Candle nut – soak in water to soften
• 2 stalks – Lemongrass – slice thinly the young shoot only
• 2 tablespoons – Sun Nature organic coriander powder
• Ground all the spices above into fine paste and keep aside.

Ingredients to Add Into Spice Paste Upon Cooking:

• 8 tablespoons – Sun Nature organic brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons – White vinegar
• 1 tablespoon – Sun Nature all natural Himalayan pink salt
• Ingredients to Add Upon Serving:
• 150 gm – Roasted organic peanut – skinless and pounded
• 60 gm – Roasted organic white sesame seed

Method:

1. Bring the scalding mixture to boil in a deep pot.
2. Blanch the sun-dried vegetable one type at a time for 5 seconds. For cabbage blanch for 10 seconds.
3. Heat oil to stir fry the spice paste on slow fire till it is fragrant. Let it cool totally in a mixing pot.
4. Stir in the organic brown sugar, white vinegar and pink salt and mix thoroughly.
5. Add in all the blanched vegetables and mix well.
6. Upon serving – add in the pounded peanuts and roasted white sesame seed.

Note: The acar can be kept for 2-3 weeks if the peanuts and sesame seeds are not mixed into it. Best to serve the acar the next day after preparation as it will be more flavoursome.

STIR FRY CABBAGE WITH SMOKED DUCK MEAT

Ingredients:

• 300 gm – Organic cabbage – cut into medium chunk
• 6 pcs – Ginger – Slice thinly
• 4 tablespoons – Smoked duck boneless meat – Slice thinly
• 2 tablespoons – Sun Nature organic cold pressed sunflower oil
• ½ teaspoon – Sun Nature all natural Himalayan pink salt
• ¼ teaspoon – Sun Nature organic black pepper powder (Or grinded black pepper)

Method:

1. Heat up oil in a fry pan/ wok on medium fire, add in the sliced ginger and stir fry.
2. Add in the smoked duck meat and stir fry till it is fragrant.
3. Add in the cabbage and stir fry evenly till the cabbage is soften. Stir in salt and black pepper powder.
4. Add a tablespoon of water to stir it evenly till the cabbage is cooked or if you like it softer.
5. Serve with the crispy popcorn chicken, Malaysian acar and the spiced fragrant rice.