Tag Archives: chicken

Double Fakeout

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Ever since I broke out my vegetable spiraler, I’ve been kind of obsessed with zoodles. I’ve made it for lunch numerous times, all with red meat sauce. Buuuttt, I’m really not supposed to have tomato based sauces since, ya know, that acid reflux thing. I’d like to say I’m a “fuck it, I do what I want” kind of person, but in this case, heartburn is a real bitch and something I’d like to not experience frequently. So, of course I was super excited to find a healthy recipe on Instagram that would allow me to have my beloved zoodles without the burn!

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Creamy Chicken Zoodles

The sauce is just mashed avocado mixed with almond milk and pinch of salt and pepper. If you wanna kick things up a notch, add red pepper flakes and Sriracha.

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Tupperware Tuesday: Stir-Fried Lemongrass Chicken

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Tupperware Tuesday, a real look at the food I make each week. No fancy cameras, no lightbox contraption, no perfect angles. Just what’s for lunch.

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Adapted from Cooking Light, January 2013.

I substituted chicken breast for chicken thighs since I’m really not a big fan of dark meat. I don’t mind it so much if it was fried, but then again, practically anything is good fried! This was the first recipe I made with lemongrass that didn’t involve broth. I was kind of clueless about what to do with the lemongrass, but that’s what YouTube is for! amiright???

Unless you want a big block of rice noodles in your tupperware, I would recommend vermicelli noodles. However, if you’re making this recipe for dinner then I would serve with thicker noodles.

I make: Roasted Chicken Breast

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This recipe is one of my favorites and one that I make most often. It’s quick, easy and the chicken breasts always come out so flavorful and juicy. I’ve also used the marinade on chicken thighs and they’ve turned out just as delicious.

Adapted from The Fine Cooking, The Best of Chicken

(yields ~ 4/5 servings, 1 chicken breast each)
Ingredients:
1 pack of bone-in, skin-on split chicken breasts (the ones I buy come in 5)
6 tbsp dijon mustard (I like to substitute 1 or 2 tbsp of honey truffle mustard if I have it available)
6 tbsp olive oil (I use Stonehouse Roasted Garlic Olive Oil)
3 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper
(Additional kosher salt/pepper before baking)

Directions:
1. Whisk together mustard, olive oil, balsamic vinegar until smooth. Marinade chicken breasts for at least 6 hours – for me, it’s usually about 8.
2. Preheat oven to 400°.
3. Bake chicken in the middle rack for 20 minutes. Baste chicken with its own juices.
4. Continue to bake for 10 minutes. Baste again.
5. Continue to bake for 10 minutes. Baste again.
6. Continue to bake for 10 minutes.

THAT’S IT!

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Bon appetit!

I make: Chicken with Lemon-Chive Vinaigrette

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Yes, another chicken recipe. It’s necessary when you live with someone who is a lean, mean chicken eating machine.

Chicken can be so boring, especially when it’s all chicken breast, all the time. I actually prefer chicken breast over dark meat; I view eating thighs as a hassle because of the bones and extra fat. However, I don’t disagree with the general observation that chicken breast is more dry and less flavorful than dark meat. To prevent the chicken breast from becoming dry, I usually incorporate one of the following methods:

1. A marinade with some acidity helps tenderize the chicken breast (or any meat for that matter)
2. Coating the chicken breast in flour helps retain moisture

Works every time 🙂

(yields 2 servings)
Ingredients:
2 tbsp. lemon juice
1 and 1/2 tbsp. honey
1 tsp. Dijon mustard
2 tbsp. olive oil
1 tbsp. chopped fresh chives
1 tbsp. olive oil
2 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves (5 oz each)
Salt and pepper
2 tbsp. all-purpose flour

Directions:
1. A LOT of whisking: Whisk together lemon juice, Dijon mustard and honey until honey dissolves and sauce is smooth. Pour in olive oil slowly while whisking to create an emulsion. Add chives, whisk to incorporate into sauce.
2. Heat oil in skillet on medium/medium-high.
3. Sprinkle chicken breast with salt and pepper and coat in flour.
4. Cook chicken about 4 minutes per side, should be nice golden brown in color.
5. Drizzle sauce over chicken and serve.

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Bon appetit!

I make: Vietnamese Caramelized Chicken

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I’m not Vietnamese, but I do love me some Vietnamese food. When I came across this recipe, I thought, “What the hell is Vietnamese Caramel Chicken”???? Convinced that this recipe was just made up by the Cuisine for Two Magazine editors, I proceeded to do some research online. Surprise surprise, it does exist and there are many people out there who love this dish.

Anyway, the concept is simple: melt sugar to caramelize chicken. However, if you’ve never made caramel (which is basically melted sugar) before, then simple may not be the right word to describe this recipe. The first time I made caramel, it was to drizzle over my homemade sticky toffee pudding, and I failed miserably! The key is to melt the sugar on medium (or lower heat if the sugar starts looking lumpy) and wait for the sugar to slowly turn into the color of ice tea. This process takes about 5-7 minutes. I usually don’t like to stir my caramel until the very end; I swirl my pot instead. You can stir the caramel if you like, but make sure you don’t over stir, otherwise the sugar particles will just lump together instead of melting and liquifying.

Adapted from Cuisine for Two Magazine

(yields 2 servings)
Ingredients:
3/4 cup dry jasmine rice
3/4 cup water
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup low-sodium chicken broth
2 tbsp. fish sauce
2 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves (5oz each)
2 tbsp. canola oil, divided
1 tbsp. minced fresh ginger
1 tbsp. minced shallots
1 tbsp. minced garlic
1/4 cup bias-sliced scallions
2 tbsp. torn basil leaves

Directions:
1. Cook rice as instructed (I use a rice cooker)
2. Melt sugar in a saucepan on medium heat.
3. Combine fish sauce and chicken broth. After caramel forms (turns ice tea color), pour broth mixture and whisk, whisk, whisk! **When liquid is added to caramel, it will bubble furiously. Take off heat and set aside.
4. Heat 1 tbsp. of canola oil in skillet/fry-pan on medium/medium-high heat. Sear chicken about 3 minutes per side. You just want a nice golden brown color to develop on the chicken – you are NOT cooking the chicken all the way through. Remove from pan.
5. Heat remaining tbsp. of canola oil. Add ginger, shallots and garlic into pan and saute for about a minute or two, or until shallots turn translucent.
6. Return chicken to the pan and pour in caramel sauce. Reduce to medium-low heat and simmer until chicken is cooked through and sauce thickens.
7. Plate rice with chicken on top. Scatter scallions and basil on top of chicken and spoon sauce over chicken.

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At first I was worried about the sauce being too sweet, but it came out just right. Having the chicken simmer in the sauce made the chicken incredibly flavorful! Now I know why so many people love this dish.

Bon appetit!

I make: Chicken Katsu

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We wanted to make something quick and easy since we figured we would be tired from a long drive home from Mammoth. I remembered that we had some chicken in the ‘fridge and a box of panko in the pantry, so it was a no-brainer to make chicken katsu. Who doesn’t love a breaded piece of chicken? And btw, panko is far superior than regular bread crumbs since it’s much more crispier.

(yields about 8 servings + rice)
Ingredients:
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (each halved to 8 thin pieces)
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
2 eggs, beaten
1 1/2 cups panko bread crumbs
1 cup canola oil, or as needed

Directions:
1. Place flour, eggs, and panko in 3 separate shallow dishes.
2. Heat 2 tablespoons of oil (per piece of chicken) in frying pan on medium-high heat.
3. Season chicken breasts with salt and pepper on both sides. Dip in flour, then egg, then coat thoroughly with panko bread crumbs.
4. Cook chicken about 4 minutes each side, or until golden brown.
5. Remove chicken and place on paper towel to soak up excess oil.

Serve over rice with katsu/tonkatsu sauce (available in most markets)

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Bon appetit!