Spicy Siracha Chicken Wings

Spicy Siracha Chicken Wings

Ingredients:

5 pounds chicken wings, split
1/8 cup coriander seeds, crushed
1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds, crushed
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 tablespoons kosher salt
1/8 cup oil
1/2 cup Sriracha chile sauce
3/4 sticks (6 tablespoons) unsalted butter, melted
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
Finely grated zest and juice of 2 limes
vegetable oil, for frying

Method:

In a very large bowl, toss the wings with the coriander and cumin seeds, cinnamon, kosher salt and olive oil. Cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight.

Preheat the oven to 375°.

Spread the wings on 2 large rimmed baking sheets and roast for about 30 minutes, until firm but not cooked through. (At this point, if you don't want to fry the wings, you can roast them for 1 hour longer, until crispy and golden.)

Wash out the bowl. Add the Sriracha, butter, cilantro, lime zest and juice.

In a deep fryer or a very large saucepan, heat the vegetable oil to 375°.

Fry the wings in 4 or 5 batches until golden and crisp, about 5 minutes per batch; drain, shaking off the excess oil. As each batch is finished, add the wings to the sauce and toss well. Transfer the wings to a platter, leaving the sauce in the bowl for the remaining batches.

Serve hot.

Serves

Stuffed Chicken Wings

Ingredients:

10 chicken wings
Carrots - julienned
Spring onions - cut into 2 inch lengths
Ham - julienned
Dried Shitake Mushrooms - soaked and sliced into thin slices


1/4 cup chicken stock
1 tbsp garlic oil
1 tbsp oyster sauce
1 tbsp shaoxing wine
1 tsp ginger juice
a dash of pepper

1 tsp cornstarch/tapioca starch dilute with 2 tbsp water

Sesame oil

Method:

For deboning chicken wings - ---------------------.

First cut off the bone of the drumstick and continue scraping down to the second joint, pushing back the skin and meat as you go.

Then carefully cut off the two bones of the wing and discard them.

Be careful not to pierce the chicken skin.

Repeat this for all the wings.

Now the chicken wings are ready for stuffing.

Stuff each wing with a strip of carrot, spring onion, ham and mushroom.

Arrange the stuffed wings on to a plate for steaming.

Mix chicken stock, oil, oyster sauce, wine, ginger juice and pepper and pour over the chicken wings.

Steam the chicken wings for 30 minutes until cooked.

Drain soup/sauce from the plate into a bowl and add in the cornstarch/tapioca starch mixture. Stir.

Microwave for 3 minutes, stirring after every minute.

Pour thickened sauce over the cooked chicken wings and drizzle sesame oil before serving.

Serves

Hainanese Chicken Rice

This hainanese chicken rice meal was eaten awhile ago and everytime i sat to write about it, my mind was blank and finger's frozen, fingers are on the keyboard but they were not moving. It could be the cold that froze the fingers and i think the mind too. The fingers must have been saying - come on, i am ready but no text???????. Hope i am thinking better this morning.

Oh, i am supposed to write about Hainanese Chicken Rice - should i write about Hainanese, i think not cos this is a food blog and i am sure all would want to know about the chicken or the rice. What so special about having a chicken meal nowadays, it is served practically daily but not so when i was growing up. We only have chicken during festivals and a whole chicken would have to shared amongst our family of 3 adults and 7 children and festivals only come around 2 - 3 months apart. The day of the festival, in the early morning, my mom would go to the wet market to get the chicken. The chickens then were still very much alive and were housed in large bamboo baskets. Mom had a friend, his name is Ah Kau(cantonese for dog or the number nine - we finally found out that he was the ninth in his family)who owned the chicken stall, as soon my mom arrived, he would look into the baskets, looking for the fattest and most beautiful hen - no cockerel/rooster for the festivals. He would reach for one and the first thing Uncle Ah Kau did was to feel the breast and commented that this was fat and meaty. The next thing he would brush the feathers at the butt apart and showed to mom, i don't know what they were looking at but she nodded and seemed to agree with him. I have now found out what they were looking at, the butt of course. They were looking to see if the hen laid eggs before and that will show that it is too matured and the meat will not be as tender if it were to be prepared the one and only way/recipe - white steamed/poached. We might not be given the priviledge of looking at the butt now in the supermarket but make sure that the chicken is 4 lbs/2 kg, then you can be assured of producing a very velvety, meaty chicken for Hainanese Chicken Rice.

This chicken rice meal we had for dinner was sponsored by my dear friend Ting Ting, who have a chicken coop enough to house more than 20 chickens. She had reared them from chicks and now there are pullets, hens and roosters. It is the roosters that get to be our dinners cos Ting Ting does not want to have anymore unpleasant complaints from her neighbor, she told her sons Hunter and August to observe the roosters and as soon as they start to crow, the rooster will be Ting Ting's dinner or her friends.

Below is good read and good to know:

Chick: A hatchling


Capon: A castrated male used for meat. (How much could that yield?) Yeem Kai

Pullet: A female chicken under one year old.

Hen: A female chicken over one year of age

Rooster: A male chicken over one year of age

I will not write about the rice now of which the preparation is also very important cos i am into something which i promise you will be a good thing. Look for the good thing in my coming posts, pray that i don't get writer's block.

Ingredients:

Chicken - more than 4 lbs (if you are lucky, Ting Ting's rooster will crow)
Jasmine Rice
Sides - cucumber and tomatoes
Sauces - chopped garlic, special homemade chilly sauce, oyster sauce with fragrant oil or black sauce.

Serves

Country-Style Steamed Chicken

Ingredients:

2 chicken legs - chopped into bite-size

3 - 4 dried shitake mushrooms - wash, soak and cut into slices

1/2 cup dried cloud ear - wash, soak and drain

1/2 cup dried lily buds - wash, soak and tie into a knot

1 tbsp fragrant oil - shallots or garlic

Marinate:

2 tbsp soya sauce

1 tbsp shaoxing/hua tiau wine

1 tsp ginger juice

1 tbsp oyster sauce

1 tbsp tapioca starch/cornstarch

1/2 tsp sugar

1/2 tsp pepper

1 tsp sesame oil

Method:

Marinate the chopped chicken pieces with the marinate for 20 - 30 minutes in a deep dish that can fit into the rice cooker.

Mix the sliced mushrooms, cloud ear and lily buds into the marinated chicken and drizzle with fragrant oil.

Place the dish of chicken on top of rice in rice cooker, when big bubbles are no more visible on the rice surface. Close lid tight. The chicken will be cooked when the rice is ready for serving.

Serves

Chicken With Red Wine Residue

Ingredients:

2 lbs chicken - cut into bite size
1 - 2 ozs wood ear fungus - soak, woody parts removed and cut into bite size

3 heaped tbsp red wine residue(refer to Homebrewing - Glutinous Rice Wine

2 shallots - chopped

2 cloves garlic - chopped

1 tbsp chopped ginger

1 tbsp soya sauce

1/2 cup chicken stock

2 tbsp oil

Pepper and salt to taste

Sesame oil

Coriander or Spring onions as garnishings

Method:

Sprinkle salt and pepper to the chicken pieces.

Heat wok and add in 1/2 tbsp oil, just enough to coat the wok. Brown the chicken pieces by batches, do not crowd the wok. Remove and set aside.

Add in the rest of the oil and saute the chopped shallots, garlic and ginger until fragrant.

Add in the red wine residue and continue to saute until aromatic.

Add in the browned chicken pieces, wood ear fungus and chicken stock. Bring to the boil, add in the soya sauce and reduce heat to simmer. Cover the wok and simmer until the chicken pieces are cooked through.

Remove wok cover and cook down the sauce.

Adjust taste with salt and pepper.

Sprinkle with sesame oil and garnish with coriander and/or spring onions.

Enjoy

Serves

Chicken With Salted Lemon and Olives

Chicken With Salted Lemon and Olives

Ingredients:

Marinade:

4 cloves of garlic, minced

1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 tbsp oil

4 chicken thighs cut into serving sized pieces

Spices:

A pinch of saffron
1 tsp ground cumin (optional)
1/2 tsp ground turmeric (optional)
1 tsp ground coriander (optional)

one stick of cinnamon (optional)

Oil for pan-frying chicken
1 big onion, finely chopped
1 tsp grated ginger

1 cup unsalted chicken broth or stock (or water)
1/2 cup olives
1 preserved lemon, cut into slices or chopped

salt, to taste

Method:

Mix the garlic, black pepper, and a spoonful of oil. Rub the chicken with the mixture and set aside for a few hours or overnight.

Heat the oil in a tagine or skillet. Fry the chicken until all sides begin to brown. Remove and set aside.

Add onions, ginger and spices.. Stir-fry over high heat until fragrant.

Put browned chicken back to cook and add chicken broth/stock, or water.

Bring to a boil and reduce heat.

Cover, but leave a crack for steam to escape. (if using the large tagine, there should be a steam outlet).

Simmer over low heat until chicken is tender and cooked through.

Add olives and preserved lemons and taste first before adjusting taste with salt.

Continue to simmer until sauce has thickened.

Serve chicken, covered with sauce...

Chicken Picatta/Piccata

Chicken Picatta/Piccata

The word 'piccata' or 'picatta' (wish i know which is the correct spelling cos both should sound the same) is generally associated with veal. but the chicken piccata recipe is more popular. Deliciously rich, lemony flavored and it is even made better by the fact it's so simple to prepare. The term 'chicken piccata' is quite a generic one and it gives the gourmets among us a great chance of creative experimenting. Add a little twist to the traditional capers by adding some mushrooms

Ingredients:

4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
2 tbsp all-purpose flour season with salt and pepper
4 tbsp oil preferably olive
1/2 cup chopped onions
1/2 cup white wine
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup chicken stock
2 tbsp capers
2 tsp minced fresh garlic
3 tbsp cold butter
salt and freshly ground black pepper for seasoning the chicken breasts
8 ozs spaghetti - cooked till al-dente and kept warm
2 tbsp chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

Method:

Trim all visible fat and tendons from the chicken breasts. Cut each one in half to make two pieces about the same size. One at a time, place each breast between 2 sheets of heavy-duty plastic wrap; pound to 1/4-inch thickness using a meat mallet. Season chicken with salt and pepper. Dredge chicken in flour and shake off excess.

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken, and cook for 3 minutes on each side or until browned. Remove chicken from pan; keep warm.

Add chopped onions, white wine, chicken stock, lemon juice, half of the capers, and garlic , scrape pan to loosen browned bits. Cook until stock is reduced by half.

Turn off heat and add cold butter, stirring until butter is melted. Return the chicken to the pan and add the other half of capers and parsley.

Serve chicken over pasta.


Note:

When a recipe calls for wine as an ingredient, it's nice to find a bottle that is delicious enough to drink but affordable enough to toss a little in the skillet. I used Beringer 2004 pinot grigio as i found this in the pantry. It also has the necessary acidity to greet the potent acid of the capers.

Rice Cooker Chicken

Rice Cooker Chicken Rice Cooking Steps

Should you wish to prepare Claypot chicken rice at home, it could be easy to done with a electronic rice cooker. In order to enhance the fragrance, you can add the Hua Diao Jiu (Chinese Wine) or salted fish.

Rice Cooker Chicken Rice

Rice Cooker Chicken

Ingredients:
1 Spring Chicken
Generous amounts of green onions, ginger and shallots
A dash of 5 spices
A dash of Pepper and salt
A bit of Sesame Oil
Shaoxing cooking wine

Method:
Mince some ginger finely. Mix the 5 spices, pepper, minced ginger and salt together.
Apply this mixture as a dry rub on the chicken thoroughly. Then set it aside for 30 minutes.
Chop some green onions and ginger into rough strips. Then stuff them into the belly of the chicken.
Chop some green onions, ginger and dried shallots into coarse chunks and add them to the bottom of your rice cooker. Then place the chicken into the cooker.
Put the lid on and cook the chicken for 20 minutes.
Open the lid and add some Shaoxing cooking wine. Put the lid back on and start the cooker again.
Turn the cooker off when the aroma of the wine starts to emanate from the cooker, leave the lid on for a few more minutes.
Then soak the chicken in ice water for a while.
Remove the chicken from the water, sprinkle some sesame oil on it, and slice the chicken before serving..

Rice Noodles with Chicken Recipe

Rice Noodles with Chicken

Rice Noodles with Chicken

Rice Noodles with Chicken

This easy rice noodle recipe starts with very thin rice noodles (called vermicelli "rice stick" at Asian stores). Added to the rice noodles are shiitake mushrooms, red pepper, bean sprouts, and your choice of chicken or tofu (vegetarian). Add a special Thai sauce and you have a terrific noodle recipe that's great for any occasion, from everyday meals to a party-worthy dish. As a bonus, these rice noodles are healthy, low-fat, and gluten-free.
Prep Time: 12 minutes
Cook Time: 6 minutes
Ingredients:
approx. 1 cup fresh chicken pieces/strips for stir-frying, OR 1 cup cubed tofu
2 tsp. cornstarch dissolved in 3 Tbsp. soy sauce (marinade for chicken or tofu)
3 cloves garlic
1 thumb-size piece galangal or ginger, sliced thinly or cut into matchstick-like pieces
1 cup or more fresh shiitake mushrooms, sliced
1 red bell pepper, sliced
2-3 cups fresh bean sprouts
8 oz. very thin dried rice noodles ("vermicelli" OR "vermicelli rice stick")
1/2 cup chicken stock (or simulated chicken stock for vegetarians)
handful of fresh coriander
wedges of lime for garnish, and Nam Prik Pao Chili Sauce served on the side
2 1/2 Tbsp. oil
STIR-FRY SAUCE:
1 Tbsp. soy sauce
1 tsp. dark soy sauce
1 Tbsp. fish sauce (or add an extra 1.5 Tbsp. soy sauce)
1 tsp. sugar
1 Tbsp. lime juice
1/4 cup chicken stock (or simulated chicken stock)
1-2 tsp. chilli sauce (adjust according to how spicy you want your noodles)