Chicken A la King

Description:
This is one of my comfort foods in college. In one of the office birthdays we used to celebrate at work, I was asked to bring in a different dish since everyone's already 'umay' with the usual menu of pancit and litson manok.I was missing UP then and I thought i'll try if I can whip out the same chicken ala king that I used to enjoy when I was still a student.

I got the original recipe from http://homecookingrocks.com/chicken-a-la-king/. I tweaked it a bit to include my fave sweet corn and carrots (because the one at JD had them). JD served it with toast but my family loves to partner it with a hot steaming bowl of rice.

Ingredients:
1/4 c. of butter
1 med white onion, chopped
2 to 3 pcs chicken breast, boiled and diced
1 can button mushrooms, diced (or fresh mushrooms if available about 200g)
2 medium bell peppers (red and green, preferably)
1 can sweetcorn kernel
1 med sized carrots, diced
1 small can pimientos (sweet bell peppers)
½ c. of all-purpose (single) cream
3 c. of chicken broth (from the boiled chicken) (or combination of chicken broth and liquid from canned mushrooms)
around 6 tbsps. of flour

salt and pepper, to adjust taste


Directions:
Boil chicken in approximately 3 ½ cups of water till tender. Add half of the chopped onion. Add a pinch of salt to taste. Save the broth for later.

Melt the butter in a thick-bottomed pan. Cook all the vegetables in hot butter for about two minutes. Remove from the butter and set aside. If using fresh mushrooms, cook them in hot butter as well for about a minute, then remove and set aside.

Reheat the butter. Add the flour, stirring to prevent lumps from forming. Cook over medium heat for about a minute — DO NOT allow to brown. Pour in the chicken broth little by little, stirring as you pour (I use a wire whisk to prevent lumps). Add the cooked chicken and vegetables. Season with salt and pepper. Cover and simmer for about 5 minutes. Pour in the cream, stir and simmer for another minute.

Serve hot with rice or toasted bread. May also be served cold with buttered toast.