Fried Chicken with Watercress Apple Salad in Ginger Miso Dressing

 

Lately, I've been rediscovering the simplicity and beauty of flavoring meats by placing them in brine.  I remember my grandma never breaded her fried chicken.  She would brine chicken thighs for 2 hours then rinse them briefly.  After patting them dry, she fried the chicken in a skillet till they were golden brown and cooked through. They don't become soggy even a day later.  I tried her method but I let the chicken sit in the fridge overnight instead of 2 hours. When my son had a taste of the fried chicken, he declared that it was one of  the best fried chicken he's had! It was a first time for him-- fried chicken without any breading!  Paired with watercress apple salad, it's a keeper.

Here is grandma's easy fried chicken that I served with watercress salad with ginger miso dressing:

4 chicken thighs
1/3 cup kosher salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/3 cup water
canola oil for frying
1 bunch of watercress
1 apple, cut into wedges
1 tsp ginger (you can add more if you wish)
2-3 Tbsp seasoned rice vinegar
3 Tbsp miso
3 tablespoons sugar
1/4 cup chicken stock
soy sauce

Combine the salt, water, pepper and chicken in a bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and keep in the fridge overnight. Next day, rinse the chicken pieces briefly and pat dry.   Place canola oil in a cast iron skillet and set over medium heat.  When the oil is hot enough, add the chicken and cover the skillet.  Fry the chicken till cooked through.  Serve with watercress apple salad with ginger miso dressing and soy sauce on the side if you wish.

To prepare ginger miso dressing, combine ginger, miso, rice vinegar, sugar, and chicken stock. You can adjust the ratio of sugar to vinegar to suit your taste. Combine watercress and apple wedges and drizzle dressing over it.

Singaporean Hainanese Chicken

 

Hainanese Chicken is a Singapore classic made with fresh/ chilled whole chicken.  Copious amounts of salt is rubbed into the skin and in the body cavity to remove impurities.  It is then rinsed in water and the salting- rinsing process is repeated to ensure that the chicken is very clean. The chicken is blotted dry then gently poached several times in chicken stock to infuse the delicate ginger-scallion-sesame flavor.  The resulting poached chicken is very tender and delicate. It is served with three dipping sauces to complement the flavor of the chicken.  Often jasmine rice is added to the stock used for poaching then served as Chicken Rice.

For this dish, I adapted the Hainanese Chicken Rice recipe from The Food Of Singapore.  Since I did not prepare the Chinese chicken stock myself, I added ginger, sesame oil, scallions and salt to enhance the flavor. 

Here's the modified recipe:
1 fresh chicken/ 4 chicken breasts or thighs (deboned but skin on)
4 cups chicken stock
1 tsp sesame oil 
3 slices of ginger
2 scallions
1-2 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp light soy sauce
1 tsp sesame oil

For the Chicken Rice:
2 cups jasmine rice
2 cups chicken stock used to poach chicken
salt and white pepper to taste

Three kinds of dipping sauces:

Kecap manis (sweet soy sauce)

Sambal olek

Ginger scallion sauce (made by mixing finely minced ginger, scallions, salt, sesame oil, canola oil and chicken broth)

Clean and dry the chicken.  Boil chicken stock, sesame oil, ginger, scallions, salt then put in the chicken.  Cover the pot, let the stock come to a boil again for 1 minute then turn off the heat and let the chicken steep for 15 minutes. Remove chicken from the pot, plunge in iced water and drain.

Bring the stock back to a boil, add the chicken and repeat the steeping process.  Plunge chicken in iced water and drain.  Repeat the whole process twice so that the chicken has steeped in the chicken stock for a total of 60 minutes.  The chicken will be lightly cooked, not at all dried out and with no traces of blood.  Cut into serving pieces, sprinkle with soy sauce and sesame oil, and set aside. Make sure you adjust the amount of seasoning depending on the size of chicken you use.

Wash jasmine rice and cook it in a rice cooker.  Place the dipping sauce in separate dishes.  Serve Hainanese Chicken with hot Chicken Rice and the three dipping sauces. Enjoy!

Garlic Chicken Stir-fry in Tamarind Sauce

Too tired of soy sauce based stir-fried chicken? Here's a dish that is hot, sweet, salty and tangy. The key ingredients are fish sauce and tamarind concentrate. Tamarind has a deep flavor both sour and sweet but leaning more on the sour side. It's robust and distinctive flavor melds well with the saltiness of fish sauce and the sweetness of brown sugar. I used tamarind sauce left over from my Thai Son-in-law Eggs recipe. This Chicken Stir-fry recipe is a keeper!


Garlic Chicken Stir-Fry in Tamarind Sauce


2 chicken breasts, cut up
1/4 tsp garlic salt
1/2 c tempura flour
1/2 c water
1/4 c celery
1/4 c yellow squash
1/4 c red bell pepper
1 Tbsp canola oil
1 garlic, minced
1 bird's eye chili, minced
1/4c-1/2 c tamarind sauce

Season chicken pieces with garlic salt. In a bowl, combine tempura flour and water. Stir till there are no lumps. Add chicken into the bowl. Deep-fry chicken in oil. Drain fried chicken on paper towel and set aside.

Heat canola oil in a wok. Add minced garlic and gently fry till golden brown. Over high heat, stir-fry yellow squash, celery and red peppers. Add chicken pieces, minced chili and half the tamarind sauce. Gently stir for 1 minute for the sauce to lightly coat chicken pieces. Chicken should still be crispy. Serve with steamed rice and extra tamarind sauce on the side. Delicious!

I am submitting this to Weekend Wokking: Tamarind, hosted this month by Palachinka. 

Asian-Inspired Thanksgiving Chicken

We will be spending Thanksgiving with my brother's family in Dallas so I decided to have a Mini Thanksgiving with an Asian-Inspired Thanksgiving Bird. I did not wish to mess with a whole turkey before the big day. That would spoil my appetite for the Fried Cajun Turkey feast. At first I wanted to use duck but we did not get the chance to go to the city this weekend. So, instead I used chicken. I made this delicious, super-moist Thanksgiving Chicken with Snow Peas, Carrots and Yellow Squash. Here's the recipe for both:

Asian-Inspired Thanksgiving Chicken
1/2 tsp Five-spice powder
1 Tbsp kosher salt
1 Tbsp soybean paste (optional)
1 tsp sesame oil
2 Tbsp honey
1/4 cup hot water (to help dissolve the honey)
1-1/2 Tbsp vinegar ( I used Chinese black vinegar)
1-1/2 Tbsp cooking wine/ sherry
1 3.5 lb whole chicken

Cut the bird in half lengthwise. Combine Five-spice powder, salt and soybean paste. If you don't have soybean paste substitute with 1/2 Tbsp kosher salt. Rub the chicken with the spice mix and set it aside for 20 minutes. Meanwhile, combine sesame oil, honey, water, vinegar and cooking wine. Make sure the honey is completely mixed in. Pour this over each chicken half (skin side up) and baste the chicken three times at 10 minute intervals. Set the chicken in the fridge (skin side up) uncovered overnight to let the skin dry out. This is important if you wish the skin to be extra crispy. Alternatively, you may cover the chicken but when you are about ready to bake it, baste chicken skin with the honey vinegar mix and let the skin dry out in front of an electric fan! Preheat oven to 350 C. Bake chicken till skin is crispy and browned. This will take about 40-60 minutes. Check for doneness. Enjoy this delightfully moist chicken! Next year, I plan to try this recipe on turkey!!!

P.S. If you want a stronger flavor, double the Five-spice, salt and soybean paste mixture.




Stir-fried Snow Peas, Carrots and Yellow Squash
1 Tbsp canola oil
1 tsp garlic minced
1/2 of a small onion minced
1 big pack snow peas (cut into half if they are too large)
2 cups carrot, sliced
2 cups yellow squash, sliced
1/2 Tbsp chicken powder
salt and pepper to taste
1 /4 cup water
1 tsp cornstarch

Mix water and cornstarch and set aside. Heat oil and saute garlic and onion. Add snow peas, carrots, yellow squash, chicken flavoring, salt and pepper. Stir-fry veggies then add cornstarch slurry. Cook till slurry thickens and serve right away. Enjoy!

Easy Thai Red Curry

For this Weekend Herb Blogging WHB#180 - April 20th to April 26th hosted by The Crispy Cook, I'm submitting one of my favorite curry recipes. I learned it from two Thai doctoral students (An and Arnuson) when I visited Hokkaido, Japan a couple of years ago. They made green curry (Taste of Thai brand) and served it with flat noodles. When in a pinch, they said it's fine to use red curry paste and serve it on steamed rice instead. Chaowana, another Thai friend receives a regular supply of curry paste and Tom Yum Soup mix (both Lobo Brand) from her mom in Thailand. The curry paste already contains lemon grass, red chillis, garlic, galangal ginger and kaffir lime). Super easy and it works!

Here's the recipe:
1 Tbsp red curry paste
1 tsp canola oil
1 can coconut milk
1/2 cup sliced yellow squash
1/2 cup sliced eggplant
1/4 cup red bell pepper, sliced thin
1 chicken breast, sliced thin across the grain
1 bunch Thai basil leaves (optional-can sub with green onions)

In a small pot, heat canola oil and stir fry red curry paste for 1 minute. Stir in coconut milk and let the mixture simmer. Add yellow squash, eggplant and bell pepper. When the eggplant has cooked, increase heat so that the mixture boils. Add chicken slices and basil leaves. Let the chicken cook through, remove curry from heat and adjust seasoning (with fish paste/ salt) according to your taste before serving. Yum!

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Hibachi Style/ Teppanyaki Dinner at Tokyo Garden

After church we decided to go out with friends to Tokyo Garden for a hibachi style (grilled)/ teppanyaki dinner. We go there at least once a year. This time there were 17 of us. Entertainment is part of the dinner so it's a fun experience specially if there are kids around. When we got settled, the waitress took our orders for drinks and entrees then passed around hot, steaming white towels using a pair of tongs. We used this to clean and refresh our hands. In Japan, some guests would use the towels to refresh their faces as well after an exhausting day at work.

We were served a dark, rich onion soup along with cold lettuce salad topped with a ginger-mayo dressing. The soup was delicious, the salad was amazingly refreshing and the dressing was spot on! The dressing is supposed to be a secret recipe...maybe someone out there can show me how to make that dressing...



Our chef then rolled his cart full of sauces and ingredients for our dinner. First, chef made sure he got all our entree orders right. He asked us to choose our dipping sauces--garlic butter, mustard or ginger. But of course, I asked for two portions of garlic butter!! The food performance began with chef displaying his juggling skills with cooking utensils. The fun part was about to come.... before each teppanyaki dinner ("teppan" refers to the griddle or hot plate; "yaki" means to grill), the chef would typically flame up the table-sized aluminum hotplate. Chef squirted clear liquid (probably vodka or some kind of alcohol) on the teppan/ hotplate and lit it...bursting into a spectacular flame! I believe the flame adds not only drama but also "wok hai" flavor to teppanyaki cooking. It was so hot, sometimes I wonder if chef's eyebrows sometimes get singed at least once each evening!!

"Japanese spaghetti" was the first thing chef prepared on the teppan. Butter was slathered on cooked spaghetti then "Japanese ketchup" (soy sauce) and "Japanese tinker bell" (pepper) were added. It was served to everyone with a liberal sprinkling of sesame seeds. Then, it was time for egg acrobatics-- egg was rolled on the teppan, flipped several times into the air with a metal spatula and finally a whack in midair to break it. Broken egg shells were pushed to the side and chef added butter to cook the egg for the Japanese fried rice.

For individual entrees, chef laid out meats on the teppan to cook - chicken, then salmon and steaks. Entertainment came in the form of an erupting onion volcano. Onion rings were stacked in the middle of the teppan to resemble Mt. Fuji. After a generous squirt of alcohol, chef lit it and doused ketchup, teriyaki sauce and pepper for the bubbling lava and fireworks effect---very exciting and a hit even for us grown-up kids!! I strongly suspect one of the first criteria to become a teppanyaki chef is to be a pyromaniac! Our fire bug chef later cut up the onion volcano for the veggie stir-fry and served it with meat entrees.


Finally, I must say my salmon and steak combo was excellent-- succulent and perfectly cooked!!



Everyone was completely satisfied and enjoyed the dinner....that is.... until the bill came!!!

NTBMO dinner

I was doing some spring cleaning, going through the kitchen cabinets, fridge, etc that I have not been able to post at all. Finally got it all done on Monday then I got to baking pizzelles, whole wheat crackers and almond crisps. Due to the holy days, Hubby's on the road almost 6 hours a day this week so we decided to have a NTBMO dinner at our place. We invited our friend Ron who lives about 40 miles away to join us. Despite my full schedule, it was not really difficult as I decided to prepare entrees I can just bake in the oven overnight or leave in the crockpot till the morning. We had slow-roasted brisket, Hungarian goulash, chicken salad, mixed salad greens, buttered corn and green beans, fruits and ice cream for dessert. I planned on making a delicious mango cream pie I prepared two weeks ago but I did not find the fresh mangoes at the store so I just stopped by Braums and got Vanilla and Pistachio Almond Ice Cream. We had Steinberg Red Wine and Sparkling White Grape Juice we've been saving since October after a delightful wine tasting at Stone Hill Winery in Branson, MO. It was a no fuss dinner, surprisingly simple and easy to prepare. Maybe we'll host one again next year.

P.S. As I started posting pictures, I realized I forgot to take a picture of the goulash! It's our new favorite beef dish and I will be making it again soon. Hubby got it from his colleagues at work during their cultural orientation. More on that later...

Almond Orange Chicken and Veggies

Orange Chicken is popular in many Chinese restaurants but my family does not really care for the sticky, overwhelmingly sweet or pungent flavor of orange chicken sauce. My Almond Orange Chicken and Veggies is a milder version, more salty than sweet with a gentle almond flavor. For added crunch and flavor, the chicken is has a light coating of flour and chopped almonds and is paired with broccoli and carrots. The sauce is loosely adapted from a copycat orange chicken recipe. If you're in a rush, you may also use store-bought chicken nuggets and just make the sauce.

Here's the recipe I'm submitting to Weekend Wokking, created by Wandering Chopsticks. The host this month is Blazing Hot Wok. The secret ingredient for March is Almonds.

For the chicken:
4 chicken breast fillets, cut into chunks
salt and pepper
1 egg white (beaten)
1 Tbsp flour + 3 tsp finely chopped almonds
oil for frying

For the veggies:
1 cup broccoli
1/2 cup carrot slices
1 cup water

For the sauce:
1 Tbsp canola oil
2 tsp garlic
2 tsp ginger
1 tbsp green onions
1 tbsp Shaoshing rice wine
1/3 cup orange juice
1 1/2 tbsp soy sauce
4 Tbsp seasoned rice wine vinegar
4 Tbsp brown sugar
1 tsp cornstarch
a few drops of sesame oil
Siracha (hot sauce) to taste
8 orange slices
2 tsp almond slices

Season chicken chunks with salt and pepper. Dip chicken in beaten egg white and roll lightly in flour-almond mixture. If you prefer, you can also use store-bought chicken nuggets and fry them till golden brown.

In a wok, heat canola oil to 350 F. When oil is hot enough, add chicken a few at a time and cook till lightly golden brown. Since the chicken is lightly coated, be very careful not to overcook the chicken as it will get tough. Remove chicken from oil and drain on paper towels.

In a small saucepan, bring 1 cup water to boil then blanch broccoli and carrots for about 3 minutes and quickly transfer veggies to ice cold water.

Clean wok and add 1 tbsp canola oil. Stir-fry garlic and ginger, then the green onions. Add orange juice, rice wine, soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, brown sugar and cornstarch. Let the sauce thicken then remove wok from the stove. Stir in sesame oil, Siracha hot sauce, chicken, broccoli and carrots, orange slices, and almond slices. Serve immediately with steamed rice.

Super Bowl Buffalo Wings

Part 2 of my Super Bowl Menu is Buffalo Wings. The first time I had Buffalo Wings was in Buffalo, New York. I had just returned from a visit to the U.S. side of Niagara Falls. With only a few hours left before I was to cross the Rainbow Bridge on my way to Toronto, Canada, the lady at the hotel concierge recommended a visit to the home of the Original Buffalo Wings. So, I headed to The Anchor Bar where Teressa Bellissimo served the first Buffalo Wings in 1964. You can read the story here. I opted for the original version of the famous wings and got hooked. Of course I bought bottles of "Hotter" Wing Sauce to bring home to hubby and son. The sauce was a hit with my hot & spicy food loving family. Here is the Anchor Bar recipe for their wings.

Our local stores don't carry the Original Anchor Bar Wing Sauce so I use Texas Pete or Louisiana Hot sauce when I make the hot wings at home.

Here's the basic recipe I use but feel free to add more hot sauce if you wish:

5 lbs chicken wings (drummette and winglet)
oil for frying
1/2 cup butter
1 cup Texas Pete or Louisiana Hot sauce
1 small pack of celery sticks
your favorite Blue Cheese Dressing

Deep-fry chicken wings at 375 F for 10-12 minutes or until the wings are crispy. If you prefer, you could also spread the wings in a single layer on a sheet pan and bake at 450 F for about 35 minutes.

In a microwave-safe dish, stir together hot sauce and butter. Microwave till the butter melts and mix well.

Place cooked wings and butter-hot sauce mixture in a large covered bowl. Shake gently to evenly coat the wings. Serve immediately with a side of celery sticks and Blue Cheese Dressing.

Lime Chipotle Grilled Chicken

It is unusually cold today. I checked the weather channel and the wind is 21 mph so it's -2 F outside. Fortunately, even when it's freezing outdoors, I have my dependable smokeless, electirc grill that lets me grill steak, chicken, or salmon indoors. So, I guess dinner will be Lime Chipotle Grilled Chicken!

One of my favorite kitchen appliance is my electric grill. It's made by Rival and is relatively inexpensive. It's so practical and easy to clean that I use it at lease once a week. Personally, I would like to try a Sanyo electric grill but until my current grill breaks down, I don't think I will replace it. For long while I was using a Foreman grill. I liked it because I could grill chicken breast fillet or chicken sate in under 10 minutes but my son tactfully complained that this was steaming the chicken rather than cooking it with dry heat. I'm so glad I shifted to an electric grill!
.

Here's the recipe:

Lime Chipotle Grilled Chicken

3 chicken thighs, 3 wings and 3 drumsticks

1/2 lime

1 Tbsp canola oil

2 tsp chipotle powder

1 tsp Kosher salt

1/2 tsp pepper

Mix lime, canola oil, chipotle seasoning, salt and pepper. Rub all over the chicken parts. Do this about 30 minutes before you plan to grill so the seasonings can really flavor the chicken. Grill the chicken till fully cooked but still juicy. Make sure the skin is crispy! Yummy!!

Fried Chicken in Caramel Marinade

For my fried chicken dish, I was looking for that distinctive sweet and salty flavor found in Vietnamese caramel sauce. This sauce is made from sugar, fish sauce, shallots and black pepper. Marinading chicken thighs with this gives the chicken a unique taste!

Here's the recipe:

Fried Chicken in Caramel Marinade

4 boneless, skinless chicken thighs
caramel sauce marinade
1/2 lime
3 cilantro sprigs
oil for frying

Caramel sauce marinade:
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup fish sauce
1/8 cup water
freshly ground black pepper
3 shallots, sliced thinly

Place the sugar in a cast iron skillet over low heat and cook it until sugar turns light brown in color. Remove skillet from the heat and stir in the water and fish sauce. Return skillet over low heat and keep stirring until sugar crystals are completely dissolved. Add shallots and black pepper and let the sauce gently simmer for 2 minutes. Immediately take out the sauce from the heat and allow to cool completely.

Marinade chicken thighs in the caramel sauce for at least 30 minutes (if marinating longer, do this in the fridge). When ready to fry the chicken, make sure your oil is hot enough by dropping a piece of bread into the hot oil. If it sizzles upon contact, the oil is ready. Fry the chicken thighs till fully cooked but still juicy. Sprinkle lime juice over cooked fried chicken and serve immediately with freshly steamed rice and cilantro sprigs. If you make extra caramel sauce (not used as marinade!!) you can drizzle some of this over the fried chicken. Yummy!