Tag: chicken

Posted on » by Michael » Theme:

Copycat Cheesecake Factory Bang Bang Chicken and Shrimp

cheesecake-factory-bang-bang-chicken-and-shrimp-2

Serves: 4
Ingredients
Curry Coconut Sauce

  • 1 tsp olive oil
  • 1 tsp sesame oil
  • pinch of crushed red pepper flakes
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 small onion, chopped
  • 1 tsp ginger, minced
  • ½ cup water
  • ½ tsp ground cumin
  • ½ tsp ground coriander
  • 1 tsp paprika
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • ¼ tsp allspice
  • ¼ tsp turmeric
  • 1 can (14 fl oz, or 400 ml) coconut milk
  • 1 medium carrot, julienned
  • 1 small zucchini, julienned
  • ½ cup frozen peas

Peanut Sauce

  • ¼ cup creamy peanut butter
  • 2 tbsp water
  • 1 tbsp sugar
  • 1 tbsp soy sauce, reduced salt
  • 1 tsp rice vinegar
  • 1 tsp lime juice
  • pinch of crushed red pepper flakes

Chicken and Shrimp

  • 1 chicken breast, cut into bite size pieces
  • 10 medium shrimp, shelled
  • ¼ cup cornstarch
  • 2 tbsp vegetable oil
  • 2 cups cooked rice

Garnish

  • ½ cup flaked coconut, toasted
  • ¼ cup peanuts, chopped
  • 2 green onions, julienned or chopped
  • sesame seeds (optional)

Instructions
Chicken and Shrimp

  1. Heat the 2 tbsp of vegetable oil in a large skillet. Season chicken pieces and shrimp generously with salt and pepper. Sprinkle the cornstarch over chicken and shrimp and toss, making sure each piece is fully coated in cornstarch. Add the coated chicken to the skillet and cook for a couple minutes per side, until slightly golden. Remove from skillet and add shrimp. Cook shrimp for a couple minutes until slightly pink and remove from skillet. Set aside.
Peanut Sauce
  1. To make the peanut sauce add all ingredients in a small sauce pan and heat just until the mixture begins to bubble; cover and remove pan from heat.
Coconut Curry
  1. In a medium sauce pan heat the olive oil, sesame oil and crushed red pepper flakes over medium heat. Add chopped onion, garlic and ginger and cook just until onion is translucent. Add spices and water and stir well. Bring to a boil, then add coconut milk and bring the mixture back up to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for about 20 minutes or until sauce thickens. Add julienned carrots and zucchini, then peas. Cook for another 10 minutes or until carrots are tender.
Assemble plates
  1. Divide the rice into 4 plates. Add chicken and shrimp, dividing them equal among the 4 plates. Spoon the coconut curry over chicken and shrimp. Drizzle peanut sauce over the dice. Top with crushed peanuts, sesame seeds if desired, green onions and some of the flaked coconut.
Posted on » by Dana & Nancy » Theme:

Korean Fried Chicken Tacos with Sweet Slaw and Queso Fresco

Korean Fried Chicken Tacos

Check recipe link for the original recipe.  I have posted my adapted recipe.

Korean Fried Chicken Tacos with Sweet Slaw and Queso Fresco
Recipe adapted from Half Baked Harvest

Ingredients:

Korean Fried Chicken
2 cloves garlic, finely minced or grated
3 tablespoons soy sauce
3 tablespoons gojujang (Korean chile paste)
1 1/2 tablespoons rice vinegar
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1 tablespoon honey
2/3 cup flour
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 pound chicken breast or thighs, cut into bite size pieces

Sweet Crunchy Asian Slaw
bag cole slaw mix
1 jalapeno, seeded and diced
1 clove garlic, minced or grated
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1-2 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoon rice vinegar
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1 lime, juiced
black pepper, to taste

Topping
4-8 warmed corn or flour tortillas or hard shell tacos
queso fresco
fresh cilantro

Directions:

To make the slaw:
In a medium bowl mix together cole slaw mix, pepper, garlic, soy sauce, honey, rice vinegar, sesame oil, lime juice and black pepper. Toss well to combine and place in the fridge until ready to use, but no longer than a few hours or the cabbage will get soggy.

Make the Chicken:
In a large bowl mix together minced or grated garlic, soy sauce, gojujang, rice vinegar, sesame oil and honey. Set aside.

Heat a few inches of oil in a heavy bottom high sided skillet or pot to 350 degrees F.

Whisk flour, cornstarch, and 2/3 cup water in another bowl. Add chicken chunks and toss. Working in batches, fry chicken until golden, 6–8 minutes. Drain on paper towels. Return oil to 350 degrees F. Fry chicken a second time until crisp, 6–8 minutes more. Drain on paper towels. Add the chicken to the bowl with the sauce and toss well.

To Assemble:
Divide the chicken among the warmed taco shells. Top with slaw. Add the cilantro and queso fresco.

 

 

 

Posted on » by Michael » Theme:

Grilled Chicken Kabob

Gas-Grilled Barbecued Chicken Kebabs

Published May 1, 2011. From Cook’s Illustrated.

Why this recipe works:

We grilled each side of the kebabs until the meat was almost fully cooked and then brushed our prepared barbecue sauce recipe onto the kebabs, leaving them on the grill until the sauce had a chance to caramelize.

To ensure that the meat in our barbecued chicken kebabs recipe stayed moist, we started by tossing the chicken pieces with salt. After allowing the salt to penetrate the meat, we coated it in sugar, spices, and pureed bacon, which kept the chicken kebabs moist and flavorful as they cooked. We grilled each side of the kebabs until the meat was almost fully cooked and then brushed our prepared barbecue sauce recipe onto the kebabs, leaving them on the grill until the sauce had a chance to caramelized.

Stripped of protective fatty skin, barbecued chicken kebabs don’t stand a chance on a fiery grill. But what if the chicken gets a little help from a pig?

Serves 6

We prefer flavorful thigh meat for these kebabs, but you can use white meat. Whichever you choose, don’t mix white and dark meat on the same skewer since they cook at different rates. If you have thin pieces of chicken, cut them larger than 1 inch and roll or fold them into approximately 1-inch cubes. Use the large holes on a box grater to grate the onion.

Ingredients

  • Sauce
  • 1/2 cup ketchup
  • 1/4 cup light or mild molasses
  • 2 tablespoons grated onion (see note)
  • 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
  • 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
  • 2 tablespoons cider vinegar
  • 1 tablespoon light brown sugar
  • Kebabs
  • 2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs or breasts, trimmed of excess fat and cut into 1-inch cubes (see note)
  • 2 teaspoons kosher salt
  • 2 tablespoons sweet paprika
  • 4 teaspoons sugar
  • 2 teaspoons smoked paprika
  • 2 slices bacon, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
  • 4 12-inch metal skewers

Instructions

  1. FOR THE SAUCE: Bring all ingredients to simmer in small saucepan over medium heat; cook, stirring occasionally, until sauce reaches ketchup-like consistency and is reduced to about 1 cup, 5 to 7 minutes. Transfer 1/2 cup sauce to small bowl and set aside remaining sauce to serve with cooked chicken.
  2. FOR THE KEBABS: Toss chicken and salt in large bowl; cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes and up to 1 hour.
  3. Turn all burners to high, close lid, and heat grill until hot, about 15 minutes. Scrape cooking grate clean with grill brush. Leave primary burner on high and turn off other burner(s).
  4. While grill heats, pat chicken dry with paper towels. Combine sweet paprika, sugar, and smoked paprika in small bowl. Process bacon in food processor until smooth paste forms, 30 to 45 seconds, scraping down bowl twice during processing. Add bacon paste and spice mixture to chicken; mix with hands or rubber spatula until ingredients are thoroughly blended and chicken is completely coated. Thread meat onto skewers, rolling or folding meat as necessary to maintain 1-inch cubes.
  5. Place kebabs over primary burner and grill, covered, turning one-quarter turn every 2 to 2 1/2 minutes until well browned and slightly charred, 8 minutes for breasts or 10 minutes for thighs. (If flare-ups occur, slide kebabs to cool side of grill until fire dies down.) Brush top surface of kebabs with ¼ cup sauce; flip and cook until sauce is brown in spots, about 1 minute. Brush second side with remaining ¼ cup sauce; flip and continue to cook until brown in spots and instant-read thermometer inserted in center of meat registers 160 degrees for breasts and 175 degrees for thighs, about 1 minute longer. Remove kebabs from grill and let rest for 5 minutes. Serve, passing reserved barbecue sauce separately.

Making Bacon Play Nice

In an effort to give lean chicken a little protective fat and smokier flavor, we played around with bacon until we hit upon an approach that worked.

TOO FLABBY Bacon pieces wedged between the chicken chunks never fully cooked.

TOO BACON-Y Whole strips of bacon wrapped around the chicken overpowered the chicken flavor.

TORCHED Basting the chicken with bacon drippings led to flare-ups.

WINNING SOLUTION Coating the chicken in a paste made of finely processed bacon did the trick.

Technique

Bacon Paste: Weird—But it Works

To create a protective coating that keeps the chicken moist on the grill, we chop two slices of bacon, pulse them in a food processor until smooth, and then toss the resulting paste (along with sugar and spices) with the raw chicken chunks.