Posts tagged ‘chicken’
Chicken with Bok Choy
Last night for dinner I made one of our household favorites, Chicken with Bok Choy. I originally found the recipe online several summers ago when we first received bok choy (also known as pac choi or “Chinese cabbage”) in our CSA share. I had never heard of the stuff, let alone cooked with it, so I turned to cooks.com, a fantastic recipe resource I discovered during my senior year of college when I was no longer on a student meal plan and had to fend for myself in the cooking realm. The database is made up of culinary creations – some excellent, others never to be repeated – from people all over the world, and one can simply enter in a few ingredients you’d like to use and all sorts of ideas pop up. Have some carrots, kohlrabi and cream, as I did? You might find this great recipe for “Kohlrabi and Carrots.” My husband will hate the Lynn Rossetto Kasper reference, but consider it an online solution to “Stump the Cook.”
So, this Chicken with Bok Choy recipe was one I came across and it seemed very simple. Few ingredients and a great use for a green completely foreign to me. I followed the original recipe the first time and have made some adaptations since then, namely rearranging the recipe to make it more readable. Here is my version:
Chicken with Bok Choy
- 8 oz boneless chicken
- 1 lb bok choy (pac choi)
- 1 slice ginger root (or substitute: ground ginger)
- 2-3 cloves garlic, sliced
- oil
- Marinade: 3/4 Tbsp soy sauce or tamari, 3/4 Tbsp cornstarch
- Sauce: 1½ Tbsp soy sauce or tamari, 1 tsp sugar, 1 tsp cornstarch, ¼ c water
Slice chicken and put in a bowl. Add Marinade and mix; set aside.
Chop bok choy into slightly larger than “bite-size” pieces, separating the stems and leaves. Heat wok (or large pan), then add 3 Tbsp oil. Add bok choy stems and ½ cup water and stir fry, approximately 7 minutes. Add leaves and cook until limp.
In a separate wok (or pan), heat 3 Tbsp oil. Stir fry ginger root and garlic until fragrant. Add chicken and stir fry until cooked. Add Sauce, turn heat to high and stir quickly to mix.
Remove and mix with bok choy.
MY NOTES: As I mentioned, this recipe is adapted from the original. One of the main things I did was the step about separating the bok choy stems and leaves. I found when I added them both at the same time, either the stems would not get cooked enough or the leaves would become mush. Separating them might take a little more time, but this recipe is so quick anyway, it is worth it. I also removed the salt from the recipe, as it seemed very unnecessary, especially when you have soy sauce or tamari. Personally, I only use tamari, as the sodium is much lower and it is 100% soy, where as “soy sauce” often contains wheat, so isn’t edible for gluten free folks out there. Additionally, while the original calls for thighs or legs, I usually use chicken breast, and I often add more garlic and ginger. In a pinch, if I forget to get fresh ginger, ground does work, though I usually don’t add it until I add the chicken. When selecting the oil you will cook with, be sure to choose an oil suitable for cooking on medium to high heat (higher smoke point), like refined canola.
This summer when I was home visiting my family, we made this recipe, but were a little short on bok choy, so we increased the veggie volume with a few peas and celery. This last time, I threw in a little cabbage left from another recipe. You can definitely experiment with adding additional veggies, though I would stay away from things that have really strong or contrasting flavor (like sweet bell peppers). The bok choy flavor is rather delicate, and you might lose some of what really makes this recipe enjoyable. Of course, this is all up to personal tastes.
I’ve shared this recipe with friends and family probably more than any other on my favorites list, and I hope you enjoy it too!
Grapefruit and Chicken Thai Style Salad
Salads are a popular dinner in our house. Usually it is a typical tossed salad – lettuce and whatever random veggies I have chopped or shredded as mix-ins, a sprinkle of cheese, seeds or nuts and topped with a light dressing often of oil and balsamic vinegar, or Italian for my husband. Lately, however, I’ve had an interest in mixing things up and bringing together new flavors in the salad bowl.
Last weekend we went to a restaurant in Minneapolis where we had never eaten before and ordered the spring roll. Unlike many I’ve had before with shrimp, this was a vegetarian one, and when it came out, it was about twice the size of most spring rolls I’ve had. Filled to the brim with lettuce and other veggies, my husband and I agreed it was almost more like a salad in a sheet of rice paper, not a bad idea actually. That got me thinking I’d really like to make some sort of Asian inspired salads, so when the greens start growing in the garden this summer, I’ll have a few salad options up my sleeve.
Enter the Wedge Co-op and their handy “What’s for Supper?” recipe cards! A few weeks ago I had picked up one for a Grapefruit and Chicken Thai Style Salad and knowing I had most of the ingredients, I decided it was a good option for dinner last night.
With no further ado, here is the recipe:
- 1 tsp dried ground ginger
- 1 tsp dried ground coriander
- 1 tsp dried ground mustard
- ½ tsp salt
- 2 tsp Sucanat® or brown sugar, divided
- 1 lb boneless skinless chicken breast or thigh cut into strips
- 1 grapefruit
- 1/3 c peanut butter
- 3 Tbsp tamari (regular or wheat-free)
- ¼-½ tsp Sriracha or other hot sauce
- 1 head lettuce, chopped
- ¼ c roasted peanuts
- ¼ c finely sliced scallions
- OPTION: ½ c cilantro leaves
1. In a large bowl, combine the ginger, coriander, mustard, salt and ½ tsp. of the Sucanat® or sugar. Mix well. Add the chicken strips and toss well to coat.
2. Broil the spice-coated chicken strips for ~5 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through.
3. Section the grapefruit and set fruit aside. Squeeze the remainder into a small bowl until you have 3-4 Tbsp juice.
4. In a small mixing bowl, combine 3 Tbsp of the grapefruit juice with the peanut butter, tamari, 1½ tsp. Sucanat® or brown sugar and Sriracha or other hot sauce. Mix well until smooth.
5. Arrange lettuce on plates. Top with chicken, grapefruit sections, peanuts and scallions. Pour dressing over the salads and top with cilantro, if using.
MY NOTES: I LOVE peanut based dressings and sauces, so this was a winner in that category for sure. The chicken was perfectly flavored with these spices and it is super fast with the cooking (just five minutes, once the oven is heated of course). My husband was a taste tester for me and agreed the flavors blended really well together, save one – neither of us liked the pieces of grapefruit in the salad and I will definitely not include them in the future. If you didn’t want to get a grapefruit just for the juice, I think you could easily substitute lemon or lime juice in the sauce. Also, the dressing would probably be better with creamy, but I only had chunky peanut butter, and I probably could have skipped the roasted peanuts on top since it was kind of the same thing. For a vegetarian version, this would likely be very good with “mock duck,” though I would not recommend tofu, unless you’re very good at cooking with it.
Sticky Pomegranate Chicken Wings
Since the last two posts have been on the “heavy” side, this next edition is the first of MANY recipes. I absolutely love to cook – one of the main reasons I started this was several friends saying I should share my cooking photos on a blog – so mark this as a place you can check when you are not sure what the heck to do with another batch of beets.
Also, since the last post was mostly about meats I don’t eat, here’s a little treat for all the chicken lovers in the crowd. This one comes to us from Edible Twin Cities, a local edition of the Edible Communities magazines.
Sticky Pomegranate Chicken Wings
8 appetizer servings, or 4 main-dish servings
1⁄3 cup pomegranate molasses
1⁄4 cup soy sauce, preferably Japanese (such as Kikkoman’s)
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
3 tablespoons honey
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1⁄2 teaspoon finely minced garlic
2 to 3 pounds chicken wings/drumettes, excess skin trimmed
In a small saucepan, combine all ingredients except chicken wings. Heat just to boiling over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and set aside until completely cool. Place wings in large non-aluminum baking dish. Add half of the pomegranate mixture, turning wings to coat. Cover dish and refrigerate for 3 to 5 hours, turning wings occasionally; refrigerate remaining marinade separately. When you’re ready to cook, heat the oven to 375°F. Transfer wings to large, oiled broiler rack; the wings should not be crowded or they won’t cook properly. Discard marinade. Bake wings until tender and cooked through, 30 to 40 minutes, turning and brushing with reserved pomegranate mixture about every 5 minutes. For browner, crispier wings, turn on broiler at the end of cooking time, and broil the wings for 5 to 10 minutes, turning and brushing with pomegranate mixture once or twice. Serve hot, with plenty of napkins; they’re really sticky!
MY NOTES: I tried this once a while back using wings, as suggested. It was too much of a mess. So now, I use the sauce as a marinade for cut up chicken breast and cook it in a pan, not the oven. For a no-meat alternative, this is also excellent for veg stir fry. Whatever your preference, its delicious.
foodaccordingtoemily 