Asian BBQ Chicken

It doesn't seem (to me) that I cook chicken very often. I'm not sure why, since its probably my favorite meat. Maybe it's just boring, I don't know. But I got it in my head that not only did I need to make chicken, but it needed to be basted in a thick bbq-style sauce with Asian flavors. I had this picture in my head of a beautiful brown chicken leg, glistening with sauce. Just like in that photo above. Isn't it gorgeous?

Most chicken recipes direct cooks to make sure the meat reaches an internal temperature of 165°F. While that's fine for chicken breasts, I really prefer dark meat to be cooked to closer to 180°F. Dark meat is more moist, and at the lower temperature it still seems vaguely raw to me. It's fairly hard to overcook (unless you burn it), so I tend to leave the chicken on the heat for a bit longer than usual. Your mileage may vary, of course. If you like your dark meat less-cooked than I do, then by all means, cook it to 165°F.

If you're a regular Minxeats reader, you might have noticed that Mr Minx and I are absolutely in love with the rich, slightly-burnt, caramelly flavor and aroma of Chinese black vinegar. It's one ingredient that needs to be purchased in an Asian grocery, so if you don't want to make the trip, then use balsamic vinegar instead. It won't be exactly the same, but it will still taste good.

Asian BBQ Chicken

For sauce:
1 cup onion, chopped
Oil
3 cloves garlic, crushed
4 tablespoons dark brown sugar
3 tablespoons light soy sauce
3 tablespoons hoisin sauce
1 tablespoon black vinegar
1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger
1-2 teaspoons sambal oelek or sriracha
1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil

For chicken:
2 tablespoons black vinegar
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 cloves garlic, crushed
4 skin-on, bone-in chicken leg quarters, or 4 legs and 4 thighs
1 tablespoons canola oil
1 tablespoons unsalted butter
4 green onions, chopped

To make sauce: Saute onion in a bit of oil until translucent. Add the garlic and cook an additional minute or so. Add the soy, hoisin, brown sugar, vinegars, ginger, and sambal. Bring to a boil. Once boiled, remove from heat and puree mixture with a stick blender. Stir in toasted sesame oil.

To make chicken: Combine black vinegar, soy, and garlic in a large zip-top plastic bag. Prick the chicken all over with the tip of a knife and add to the bag. Press out the air, seal the bag, and shake to coat the chicken. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour and up to 4 hours.

Preheat the oven to 400°F. Add the oil to a large oven-safe skillet or casserole and heat over high heat. Add the butter, and once melted, add the chicken, skin side-down, and any juices from the marinade bag. Cook 3-4 minutes, until chicken is browned on skin side, then turn the chicken pieces skin side-up. Place pan in preheated oven and cook for 8 minutes. Remove pan from oven and brush tops of chicken with some of the bbq sauce. Return to oven for another 8 minutes. At that time, reapply the bbq sauce and return to oven. Roast for 30-40 minutes, until a thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh reads 165°F (or 180°F, if you're like me and want slightly drier meat). Apply another coating of sauce and sprinkle with green onions before serving.

Serves 4.



Posted on Minxeats.com.

American Masala Lemon Chicken

One of my Christmas gifts was a copy of Top Chef Masters competitor Suvir Saran's 2007 cookbook, American Masala. After a quick flip through the book, my eye caught on a recipe for Lemon Chicken Legs and Thighs that seemed quick, easy, and delicious. We already had a pack of bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs in the freezer - all we needed to pick up at the store was a couple of lemons.

While the dish - served with saffron basmati rice and a sauté of mushrooms and haricots verts with almonds - was overall pretty successful, there were some issues. I had used less than the called-for one tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon of salt, but it was still too much. I also thought that the amount of both butter and lemon were excessive for eight pieces of chicken and reduced them accordingly. What I did like about the recipe was the technique of browning the chicken in oil and melted butter before popping the pan into the oven; the melted butter provided a quick browning and lots of flavor. I also liked the idea of putting lemon sugar on the chicken before baking, but I think in the future that I'll save half of it to put on the chicken after it comes out of the oven, to retain some of the fresh zest flavor.

I'm looking forward to trying this one again, with my adjustments. And perhaps with a side of Saran's macaroni and cheese.

Note: the leftovers made an outstanding lunch when served with plenty of crusty bread to mop up the lemon brown butter goodness.

Posted by theminx on Minxeats.com.

Minxeats Best of 2011 part 2

In this part two of the Best of 2011, we're taking a look back at the yummy stuff we concocted at home. Sometimes (ok, most of the time), home cookin' is even better than restaurant food!

2011 is the year that theminx lost her fear of baking bread, and back in February, she made a loaf of brioche using the recipe in Artisan Baking in 5 Minutes a Day. She thinks it was the best brioche she's ever eaten, even if it wasn't the prettiest.

The receipt of a couple of soup cookbooks turned Mr Minx into a soup-making fool last winter. The best of the lot was this gorgeous dark pink red sweet and tangy cabbage soup that reminded me a lot of my beloved Grandma's barszcz (Polish beet soup).

Surprisingly tasty was a home made chicken liver paté inspired by the lovely variation we had recently eaten at Clementine.

One of the absolute tastiest and most unusual things theminx concocted all year was this recipe for saffron cupcakes with a curry buttercream frosting. While they didn't win the Scharffen Berger Chocolate Adventure contest, they certainly won hearts.

For the longest time, we didn't "get" chicken and waffles. That is, until we put them together with some maple bacon gravy. Perfection!

We love strawberry shortcake but have often been disappointed with the "shortcake" portion of the program. But then we found the perfect recipe, a variation on a scone, that was both substantial and light. For a more traditional version (preferred by Mr Minx), omit the cornmeal and add 1/2 cup more all-purpose flour.

Any version of Mediterrasian soup (squid, shrimp, etc.) is a big winner in this house, and is ridiculously easy to make. The spicy, garlicky flavors, courtesy of tons of Sriracha, are ones we like to explore over and over again. And it's good all year 'round: the dish is light enough for summer, but spicy enough to warm the body on a cold winter's day.

Last summer, we were rewarded with a plethora of fresh tomatoes from a friend's garden. Among the many things made from them was this tomato tart, which was summer on a crust. And easy, if one uses commercial puff pastry.

We made paella for the very first time in 2011, and it turned out amazingly well. Good thing, since we were serving a small crowd at the time!

We don't eat nearly enough bonafide Korean food, so we like to experiment with Korean flavors at home. We were especially pleased with the way these Korean flank-steak sandwiches turned out.

A recipe from Serious Eats - Merguez Ragout with Poached Eggs - turned out to be simple to make and delicious to eat, not to mention absolutely beautiful, especially when served in our Mikasa Royal Glimmer bowls.

We were really happy with our first attempt at making roast chicken in years. This version was spiced with Sriracha and served with fried rice made with the bird's gizzards 'n' stuff.

And, finally, we made what we think was the absolute best-ever batch of meatballs and red sauce for Christmas dinner. Seriously, amazingly good. But no photos...sorry. :)

Looking forward to cooking up a small storm in 2012! Won't you join us?

Posted by theminx on Minxeats.com.

Roast Chicken with Fried Dirty Rice

A couple weekends ago, even though we had just eaten roast turkey, I decided to roast a chicken. (When I told this to my dad, he asked if I was in a "fowl mood.") Not that I had a hankering for poultry, mind you, I was just annoyed by the 7-lb behemoth that was taking up precious space in my freezer. Space that could be better used to accommodate half gallons of ice cream and leftover pizza.

Some weeks ago, I had planned to make Judy Rogers' roast chicken recipe from the Zuni Café cookbook, but didn't remember to prep the chicken until it was too late. Plus I could only find humongous oven-stuffer roasters at Safeway, and the chicken I purchased was nearly twice as large as the recipe called for. So I put it in the freezer for a future use.

Or until it annoyed me.

That day came the day after Thanksgiving, when I took the beast out to thaw. It was still frozen on Sunday morning, so I gave it a few minutes in the microwave on "defrost" and then a few more in an ice bath in the sink. I wanted a non-traditional roast chicken flavoring, despite having both fresh thyme and tarragon at hand, so I mixed up some spicy Sriracha-flavored butter. Seemed like a good idea to inject the bird with this mixture, but the injector that I have has a hole so far up the shaft (that sounds dirty, doesn't it?) it's nearly impossible to draw liquids into it from a shallow container. After a few futile attempts, I used my fingers to separate the skin from the breast and tucked spoonfuls of the spicy goop between the two.

Worked like a charm. The skin was nice and spicy, and the breast was moist. I gotta tell you - it was delicious. I served it with some fried rice that I whipped up using the bird's innards. Kinda like dirty rice, but Chinese-esque.

Roast Sriracha Chicken

1 whole chicken, patted dry, giblets removed and reserved for another use
3 tablespoons butter, melted
1 tablespoon Sriracha
1 teaspoon powdered ginger
1/2 teaspoon salt

Stir together butter, Sriracha, ginger, and salt and allow to cool. Loosen skin on chicken breast and stuff mixture under skin. Refrigerate chicken, uncovered, until ready to cook.

Preheat oven to 450F. Roast chicken for 30 minutes, uncovered, then lower temperature to 350F and cover the breast with foil. Cook for 1 hour for a 4 lb chicken and about 8 minutes per pound over 4 lbs, or until thigh temperature reaches 175F. Remove from oven and allow to rest for 15 minutes, then carve and enjoy.

Fried Dirty Rice

Neck and giblets from one chicken
8 scallions, white and green parts, chopped
1/2 cup chopped onion
salt
2 Chinese sausages, sliced into coins
10 radishes, cut into quarters if small, sixths or eighths if larger
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1/2 teaspoon five spice powder
1 tablespoon honey (optional, but it brings out the sweetness in the sausage and works well with the five spice)
2 cups cooled, cooked rice
salt to taste
peanuts for garnish

In a large sauté pan, place neck and giblets and 3/4 cup water. Cover and cook about 20 minutes, removing the liver after 8 minutes, until most of the water has evaporated. Remove giblets and neck, let cool. Chop giblets and shred meat from neck; discard skin.

Place about 3/4 of the scallions and onion into the same sauté pan, which should have some fat in it from the cooked giblets. Add a dribble of olive oil if it doesn't seem like enough to cook the onions, and a pinch of salt. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring frequently, until onion begins to brown. Turn heat down to medium and add sausage, radishes, and reserved giblet and neck meat. Season with garlic, five spice, and honey (if using). Cook for about 10 minutes, until radishes are tender. Add rice, breaking up any clumps with a wooden spoon. Stir well to combine rice and other ingredients. Rice should look a bit "dirty" at the end.

Heat through, taste for seasoning, and add more salt, if needed. Serve garnished with peanuts.

I served the chicken and rice with some lightly marinated cucumbers (splash of rice wine vinegar, pinches of salt and sugar) and steamed haricot verts (frozen - Trader Joe's sells some nice ones). I didn't serve a sauce, because the meat was moist and didn't need one, but I did reserve the juices left in the roasting pan for a later use. However, if you want a sauce, just skim off the fat and use the jus as is - it's plenty flavorful, needing maybe only a pinch of salt.

Posted by theminx on Minxeats.com.

Memorial Day Eats 2010

As usual, when we get out the grill, we go a little crazy with the amount of meat that gets cooked. The way I see it, why waste hot coals? Plus, there are usually between 2-4 hungry men in the house on any given holiday, so it's not like the food won't get eaten. And what doesn't get eaten on the day of cooking  means a respite from meal planning for at least a few days. In this case, it was a whole week!

Mr Minx wanted to give "beer can chicken" another go. He'd tried it once before but it just didn't work out, due to temperature, coal placement, and other grilling voodoo. This time, the grill was all about the chicken - hot coals on the sides, an empty drip pan in the center. We marinated the fowl overnight in a combination of Mexican Molé spice mix, paprika, brown sugar, salt, garlic, and onion powder. The next day, more of the molé seasoning went into a can of beer which got unceremoniously shoved into the bird's...cavity. It roasted for about an hour in a covered grill which reached an internal temperature of 350F or so. The result was a mahogany bird with crisp, spicy/sweet skin and succulent flesh. Oh, and I forgot to take a picture. Sorry! You'll just have to content yourselves with the sound of my lips smacking at the sweet memory.

We also marinated two big sirloin steaks, one in my favorite Steak Continental marinade, the other in some Cambodian Lemongrass Curry seasoning, grated lemongrass, garlic, and soy.

And there was a pound of shrimp in the freezer, so those went in a marinade of garlic, soy, and canola oil before being threaded onto skewers.

(Both steaks were cut into chunks for easy serving. The lighter meat at center bottom of the platter is the lemongrass marinated version.)

Can't forget the burgers and dogs! Mr Minx likes to put burgers on the grill first so their dripping fats can get the coals burning hot - so much better than using tons of lighter fluid. And the dogs were actually Buffalo Chicken-flavored chicken sausages that we picked up at Wegman's (that place is soooo dangerous!).

In addition to the meaty goodness, we also grilled portobello mushrooms and made two kinds of slaw (Quick-and-Dirty Kimchee and a version with honey mustard mayo), potato salad with Romesco sauce, and a grilled Caesar salad with creamy Caesar dressing and home-made croutons.

Either it was too much food or our guests were just plain too polite to eat much. Probably the former. It certainly wasn't because the flavor was lacking - I have to admit that everything turned out extremely well, and I was happy to eat various leftovers during the week.

What did you cook for the holiday, if anything?