Bastardized Hainan Chicken (Salad)

A Hainan chicken meal is usually a lot of rice, a lot of chicken, and maybe a little cucumber. And cilantro. I've been trying to shake things up at home a bit, so I turned this into a salad, even adding some rice vinegar to the ginger scallion oil (gasp!).

No bones, no rice. I would've added cucumber and cilantro if I had any on hand, but I didn't. And I'm okay with that because it was still delicious.

• 4 chicken thighs, trimmed of fat
• 1 knob ginger, crushed
• 1 bunch scallions, cut into 2" pieces
• salt

In a medium pot, fill halfway with water, add the ginger, scallions and salt. Bring to a boil.

Meanwhile, fill another medium pot halfway with water, bring to a boil and add the chicken. Boil for 1 minute and allow the frothy stuff to float to the top. Discard the frothy water, rinse the chicken, and then transfer to the first pot with the rest of the ingredients. Add fresh water so that there's at least 2 inches covering the chicken.

When it returns to a boil, cover the pot, turn off the heat and let the chicken poach undisturbed for 15 minutes. If the chicken isn't yet done, repeat this step.

Remove the chicken and allow it to cool and then pull it apart into strips. The basic stock can be strained and saved for another use.

And now for the ginger scallion sauce.

• 1 tbsp grated ginger
• 1/2 cup finely chopped scallions
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1 tbsp rice vinegar

Combine the ginger, scallions and salt in a heat proof bowl. Heat the oil in a saucepan until a single piece of chopped scallion dropped in the oil sizzles and bubbles violently. Carefully pour the oil over the ginger scallion mixture and stir. Add the vinegar and stir again.

At this point, the ginger scallion sauce is more of a dressing than merely an oil. I tossed the chicken in it and then plopped a bunch of that over some fresh green lettuce. I'm still getting through the sweet pickled chiles I made months ago, so I added a few of those as well.

Madhur Jaffrey's Spicy Indian Chicken

I loved this dish so much that I'm going to actually share a recipe! I don't normally cook Indian food at home because I don't like handling so many spices and oil over a stove, especially turmeric, but this one cooks in the oven. It's fast, and it's incredibly easy.

So much thanks to my friend Stephen for sharing. Here's the recipe as I have adapted it for my pantry. I would use more freshly ground spices if I had a grinder. Working on it!

• 1 tbsp ground cumin
• 1 tbsp smoked hot paprika
• 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1 tbsp ground turmeric
• 1 tsp ground pepper
• 2 tsp salt
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• juice of one very large juicy lemon
• 4 leg-thigh pieces of chicken, skinned and cut apart
• 3 tbsp vegetable oil

Combine cumin, paprika, cayenne, turmeric, pepper, salt, garlic and lemon juice and mix into a paste. Rub the paste all over the chicken pieces until they're well coated. Cover with plastic wrap and let sit in the fridge for several hours (I did this late at night and waited until the next day around lunchtime to cook).

Let the chicken temper for about half an hour before cooking.

Preheat the oven to 400degF. Place the chicken pieces on a baking dish and brush with the oil. Bake for 20 minutes, turn the pieces over and bake for about 20 minutes more or until done. Transfer to a serving platter and let rest for at least 5 minutes before serving with rice pilaf.

If you want to save all the tasty bits in the baking dish, add a little water and stir over high heat on the stove until the sauce comes together and is a bit reduced. If the dish isn't stove safe (like glass), add the water and place back in the oven, stirring occasionally until you reach the desired consistency of a sauce.

Pasta With Zucchini and Chicken Garnish

I often get blown away by what a meal costs in a restaurant, particularly if it's something easy to put together with cheap ingredients. This meal at home took 20 minutes to prepare and the cost per serving is somewhere less than a dollar. Zucchini squash is deliciously in season and dirt cheap. Pasta, red onion, garlic, olive oil, salt, pepper... nothing exotic, but the ensemble is mighty tasty. And I had some leftover chicken salad in the fridge so I sprinkled some of that on top. I love a little irony.

pasta with zucchini, chicken garnish

One Bird, Many Ways

Years ago, I took it upon myself to learn how to roast a whole chicken because it was a cheap and delicious way to prepare a week's worth of food on a Sunday. Dark meat goes great with pasta or rice dishes. White meat gets chopped up for salads. On the low end, a whole bird could cost $4 and on the high end, maybe $10. For the frugal, that's pretty damn awesome.

Basic Roasted Chicken, Garlic Roasted Asparagus

In my previous post, Bourdain's quote is referring to chefs/restaurants and not the home cook. I'm inclined to agree with him. When I go out to a nice restaurant for the first time with friends, I'll often opt for whatever roasted chicken they have on the menu. First, for economy (it's usually a cheaper option) and second, to see what the chef is all about. If a good restaurant can't roast a chicken, something is terribly wrong.

But despite Bourdain's objections, a brined bird can get away with a preparation as simple as salt and pepper with some olive oil. Garlic goes a long way and a melange of chopped herbs is an upgrade. Dijon mustard makes it majestic. If the bird is butterflied prior to roasting, the backbone can be saved in the freezer for making homemade chicken stock.

At the end of the day, we're talking about how resourceful we can be in the kitchen. What are we eating, what are we re-using, what are we throwing away? We're a little more independent when we can control those processes at home. I'm not trying to suggest that we have to carry this over into how we consume all animals, but a chicken is manageable.

RECIPE: Star Anise Chicken

I invited my friend Pam over to catch up on life and throw back a few beers after a long exam week. It's also been a long time since I've really cooked a meal. Figured I'd default to one of my favorite homemade comfort foods- chicken braised in a sweet and garlicky star anise soy. It's really easy (my definition), I never make it the same way twice, and it's always delicious.

star anise pods

If you've never seen star anise before, it's a dried spice that translates a lot of anise flavor to any sauce it's cooked in. It's very strong, so you don't need much. When combined with soy, garlic, a little ginger and sugar, the resulting flavor is remarkably bright and floral. If cooked long enough, whole garlic cloves will literally melt in your mouth and impart an impossibly sweet and savory flavor.

star anise chicken, summer squash and carrots

The chicken is obviously the best part, and I've been tweaking the recipe each time to try and find ways to make it even better. Usually, I'll start cooking the chicken from the very beginning so that it absorbs as much flavor as possible from the braising liquid, but I found that by the time I finally found the sauce to be suitable, the chicken would be overcooked. This time, in order to fix this, after de-boning the chicken thighs, I used the bones first in the braising liquid. After letting that simmer away for about 45 minutes, I added the chunks of meat and let that go for another 30 or so minutes. The meat didn't absorb as much sauce as usual, but it tasted more like chicken... and with that sauce... omg heaven.

• 2-3 lbs chicken thighs, with skin and bones
• 10 cloves garlic, slightly smashed and peeled
• 1 sweet onion, roughly chopped
• 1 inch piece ginger, smashed
• 1 whole star anise
• 2 tbsp mushroom soy sauce
• 1/2 cup soy sauce
• 1/2 cup xiaoshing wine or dry sherry
• 1 tbsp sesame oil
• 1/3 cup sugar

Trim the fat from the chicken thighs, leaving some skin. De-bone, reserving the bones. Cut the remaining meat into six pieces.

In a medium pan on high heat, add some cooking oil. When it begins to shimmer, add the garlic and onions. When the onions begin to sweat, add all of the remaining ingredients except for the meat (yes the bones at this point). Top off with chicken stock or water to one inch above the bones. Let simmer low for 45 minutes.

Remove the star anise and ginger. Add the thigh meat and continue to simmer low for one half hour. Taste and adjust with sugar, salt or soy depending on your preferences. Serve over steamed rice with veggies sauteed with ginger and garlic. Top with a little hot sauce to contrast with the sweetness.

Chicken Bouillabaisse

On Friday, a bunch of us got together to attempt Ina Garten's recipe for Chicken Bouillabaisse. What a fucking pain in the butt. We were already off to a late start making the damn thing, but the recipe takes another 2h20min to make. It may have taken closer to 3 hours. By the time it was done, we were all full from snacking on bread, cheese, hummus, desserts...

And then there was the issue of making the rouille, which is essentially a mayo. I'm bad at this and without Rob to fix it, there wouldn't have been a rouille. Sigh. All in all, it did taste quite good. Especially with some crusty bread to sop up the sauces. And it's also good to know that Pernod is good for something in the kitchen.

Chicken Bouillabaisse

Tip: The recipe says to halve the potatoes, but it may be more appropriate to slice them in half inch slices to expedite the cooking time.

Reports from le Week-end

It's been a few days since the last post, but that's because it was a rather busy weekend (minus Sunday).  And a delicious one, at that.  My friend Kavitha and I had a little dinner and catching up Friday evening over some Chicken Adobo.  Sam Sifton of The New York Times had posted an enticing recipe.  The result is nothing short of fucking amazing... one thing, though- I took one look at the recipe and decided that it needed onions. I'd like to think I was right because it tasted fucking amazing, but I haven't tried it without them for comparison.

chicken adobo, steamed broccolini with ginger, steamed rice

To start, Kavitha had also made this really tasty warmed goat cheese rolled in chives and topped with fennel cooked in truffle oil and honey. Spread over crackers, this was a rather welcome attack on the taste buds.  Totally have to try to make this.

warm goat cheese, chives, fennel in truffle oil and honey

And to finish, flambeed crepes suzenne! I had never made crepes before, so she let me do the honors with the actual cooking part. My dexterous wrist action is apparently renowned. All this needed was a dollop of whipped cream...

crepes suzenne

And of course, I couldn't help but show off my crepe-making skills and made about 45 of them the next day for a GTKayak party.

i am a crepe master!

Sunday was a lazy day with a minor hangover. Good leftovers to be had, though.  There was still some of the braised beef ribs remaining in the fridge.  Added a chopped onion omelet, steamed some broccoli with miso paste and ate it all over a bed of rice noodles and ramen stock. Lazy Sundays are good.

leftover braised beef ribs,  onion omelet, miso steamed broccoli over rice noodles and ramen stock

RECIPE: Poached Whole Chicken

I honestly don't know where I first got the idea for this. I may have read it somewhere, but I definitely don't remember my mother or anyone in my family preparing a chicken this way. The basic concept is to take a cold or near room temperature chicken and place it in near boiling water (off the heat) and let them reach equilibrium. If you "tease" the chicken, so to say, towards doneness, it's a more gentle way of cooking the meat and won't overcook the outer layers of protein before the inside gets done. The result is a perfectly done chicken in all respects. The thighs and legs are juicy, the breasts are almost impossibly moist and the entire ensemble carries an intense chicken flavor.

Note that the larger the pot you use for this, the longer it will take to get the water to boil, but the massive volume of the water will mean less iterations as equilibrium is reached.

• 1 whole chicken
• 1 inch piece of ginger, crushed
• salt

Place chicken in large pot or stockpot and fill with just enough water to cover the chicken. Bring water to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer for 5 minutes. Take off heat, drain, and refill with water 1 inch below rim of pot. Add ginger and salt generously. Bring to boil, cover, then take off heat and let sit for 1/2 hour.

Check with meat thermometer to see if the internal temperature has reached 165 (note that this is lower than recommended by FDA, but I'm still alive). A knife can also be used to cut a slit in the thigh and if blood emerges, it's not done. If done, remove from pot and serve immediately or chill. If not, bring the water back to a boil, cover, remove from heat and let it reach equilibrium again, about another 1/2 hour or however long you think it might take to reach the temperature for doneness.

It's definitely a process that involves several tries and some intuition, but once you have it down, it's really quite easy and the result is incomparable. I recommend serving with a ginger/scallion oil or a ginger vinegar soy.

Poached Chicken with Ginger/Scallion Oil and Sauteed Leeks

Please tell me this isn't a frightening sight?  I went to the Midtown/GT Publix after work and the place still hasn't recovered completely from the blizzard that hit us on Sunday night.  It's now Friday!  Produce seems to have been slightly replenished, cereal is bleak and while beef and pork seem to be in stock, chicken is practically GONE.  Luckily, I know a thing or two about how to prepare a whole bird.

no chicken at the Midtown/GT Publix

Looking for the easiest tasty way to get the bird in my belly, I opted for poaching.  It takes some time, but it's extremely carefree.  The results are ridiculously juicy, perhaps the best way to keep a chicken breast moist.  I topped it with some ginger/scallion oil (magic sauce) and paired it with some leeks sauteed in garlic with mini dried shrimp.

poached chicken with ginger/scallion oil, sauteed leeks

Noodle Bowls Made With Leftovers

Here's an improvised variation on what to do with that ramen stock.  I had some leftover chicken thighs in the fridge that I had braised in a fermented black bean and rice wine sauce.  In addition to the noodles I have pre-cooked in the fridge, I sliced up the meat, cooked the sauce with the stock, poached an egg in it, and voila, breakfast (yes, breakfast).

improvised noodle bowl breakfast