"Awww shucks...watch out now!" Pretty much sums up how I felt after conquering these recipes :)
I hadn't cooked anything new in a while, so I was excited to test these. They were so tasty!
I'll take a moment to vent about how ticked off I was that Safeway is selling boneless, skinless chicken thighs for $7 a pound. I may as well buy breasts for that price. Outrageous! I'm being forced to accept the fact that buying a whole chicken and cutting it up myself is best for my wallet--even if I absolutely hate doing it. Aside from that, this meal was near perfection.
*I hustled these recipes from Caribbeanpot.com. Yes, I might be becoming a bit obsessed with Caribbean cuisine...I need to visit other places :)
Chicken Fried Rice
Ingredients
2 cups cooked rice (see note below)
1 lb chicken (chicken thighs)
1 cup diced carrot
2 scallions (chopped finely)
1/2 cup diced yellow bell pepper
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
3 cloves of garlic crushed or grated
1 teaspoon grated ginger
3 tablespoon vegetable oil (divided)
3 tablespoon dark soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
1 large onion diced
1/2 cup diced celery
1 cup bean sprouts
1 tablespoon cilantro
1/4 teaspoon Chinese five spice powder
1/2 scotch bonnet pepper
Tips
I used brown rice, cooked in my rice cooker. It only has one setting and cooks brown rice until it's 90% done, which is actually perfect for this recipe. For best results, refrigerate the cooked rice overnight. This will give you a lovely grainy texture and allow to you avoid possible clumpy mushiness.
I couldn't find Chinese five spice powder, so I used my mortar and pestle to grind equal parts Star Anise, Cloves, Cinnamon, Sichuan Pepper, and Fennel.
Start off with 3 tablespoons of soy sauce, but depending on how dark you want the finished chicken fried rice, you may need to adjust.
Dice the scotch bonnet pepper very finely and don’t include any seeds. We simply don’t want the raw heat.
To get perfectly thin slices, use a sharp knife on slightly frozen chicken.
Method
Season the sliced chicken with 5 spice powder and black pepper. Mix well and let marinate for a few minutes. Heat your wok or a large non stick frying pan on med/high heat, add 2 tablespoons of the veg oil, then add the seasoned chicken. Since we’re working with fairly high heat, remember to stir constantly. It will cook in 3-4 minutes. Remove and set aside.
Add the remaining 1 tablespoon of veg oil to the wok, then add the diced onion. Grate in the garlic and ginger. Let that cook for a minute, then add the diced carrots, bell peppers and celery. Cook for 3-5 minutes. Add the diced scotch bonnet pepper and soy sauce, then add the pre-cooked chicken and sesame oil. It will go very dark but that will change soon.
Add the rice and stir well.
Add the bean sprouts and toss, then top with the finely chopped scallions and the cilantro. Stir and let cook for an additional minute or 2. Plate and enjoy!
Chinese Style Fried Chicken
Ingredients
1.5 cups light soy sauce
1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger
1 chicken (about 4 bs)
Vegetable oil for frying
1/2 tsp Chinese Five Spice
1 finely sliced Scotch Bonnet or Habanero Chile pepper
juice and zest of 1 lime
Method
Wash the chicken, and cut as desired. I removed the back and cut mine in half. Then place in a large zip lock bag, and place the bagged chicken in a bowl. In the event of a leaky bag, you won’t have a mess in your fridge. Pour in the soy sauce, lime juice/zest, sliced Chile pepper, and Chinese five spice. Grate the ginger directly into the bag. Squeeze out as much air as you can as you seal the bag. Massage the entire chicken and refrigerate overnight.
The next day, remove from the fridge and allow to come back to room temperature as you heat the oil for frying (get it to about 325F). Using paper towels, dry off the chicken so you don't get any painful splash-backs when you introduce it to the hot oil.
When the oil gets nice and hot (med/high flame), gently add the chicken. It should be fully cooked after about 25 minutes. Placed the fried chicken on a cooling rack over a baking pan so the excess oil will drain into the pan. Allow to cool for roughly 10 minutes. Plate and enjoy!
I hadn't cooked anything new in a while, so I was excited to test these. They were so tasty!
*I hustled these recipes from Caribbeanpot.com. Yes, I might be becoming a bit obsessed with Caribbean cuisine...I need to visit other places :)
Chicken Fried Rice
Ingredients
2 cups cooked rice (see note below)
1 lb chicken (chicken thighs)
1 cup diced carrot
2 scallions (chopped finely)
1/2 cup diced yellow bell pepper
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
3 cloves of garlic crushed or grated
1 teaspoon grated ginger
3 tablespoon vegetable oil (divided)
3 tablespoon dark soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
1 large onion diced
1/2 cup diced celery
1 cup bean sprouts
1 tablespoon cilantro
1/4 teaspoon Chinese five spice powder
1/2 scotch bonnet pepper
Tips
I used brown rice, cooked in my rice cooker. It only has one setting and cooks brown rice until it's 90% done, which is actually perfect for this recipe. For best results, refrigerate the cooked rice overnight. This will give you a lovely grainy texture and allow to you avoid possible clumpy mushiness.
I couldn't find Chinese five spice powder, so I used my mortar and pestle to grind equal parts Star Anise, Cloves, Cinnamon, Sichuan Pepper, and Fennel.
Start off with 3 tablespoons of soy sauce, but depending on how dark you want the finished chicken fried rice, you may need to adjust.
Dice the scotch bonnet pepper very finely and don’t include any seeds. We simply don’t want the raw heat.
To get perfectly thin slices, use a sharp knife on slightly frozen chicken.
Method
Season the sliced chicken with 5 spice powder and black pepper. Mix well and let marinate for a few minutes. Heat your wok or a large non stick frying pan on med/high heat, add 2 tablespoons of the veg oil, then add the seasoned chicken. Since we’re working with fairly high heat, remember to stir constantly. It will cook in 3-4 minutes. Remove and set aside.
Add the remaining 1 tablespoon of veg oil to the wok, then add the diced onion. Grate in the garlic and ginger. Let that cook for a minute, then add the diced carrots, bell peppers and celery. Cook for 3-5 minutes. Add the diced scotch bonnet pepper and soy sauce, then add the pre-cooked chicken and sesame oil. It will go very dark but that will change soon.
Add the rice and stir well.
Add the bean sprouts and toss, then top with the finely chopped scallions and the cilantro. Stir and let cook for an additional minute or 2. Plate and enjoy!
Chinese Style Fried Chicken
Ingredients
1.5 cups light soy sauce
1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger
1 chicken (about 4 bs)
Vegetable oil for frying
1/2 tsp Chinese Five Spice
1 finely sliced Scotch Bonnet or Habanero Chile pepper
juice and zest of 1 lime
Method
Wash the chicken, and cut as desired. I removed the back and cut mine in half. Then place in a large zip lock bag, and place the bagged chicken in a bowl. In the event of a leaky bag, you won’t have a mess in your fridge. Pour in the soy sauce, lime juice/zest, sliced Chile pepper, and Chinese five spice. Grate the ginger directly into the bag. Squeeze out as much air as you can as you seal the bag. Massage the entire chicken and refrigerate overnight.
The next day, remove from the fridge and allow to come back to room temperature as you heat the oil for frying (get it to about 325F). Using paper towels, dry off the chicken so you don't get any painful splash-backs when you introduce it to the hot oil.
When the oil gets nice and hot (med/high flame), gently add the chicken. It should be fully cooked after about 25 minutes. Placed the fried chicken on a cooling rack over a baking pan so the excess oil will drain into the pan. Allow to cool for roughly 10 minutes. Plate and enjoy!
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