panko crusted chicken lollipops

eat me!

I made these for the christmas sweater party and they were a hit.  They are a bit of work but totally worth it - the bony lollipop part makes it easy for guests to pick up and eat with minimal mess.  You can marinate the chicken in whatever you like - here I've used some asian flavours.

what you need:

• about 15 chicken drumsticks
• panko (japanese bread crumbs)
• 3/4 cup light soy sauce
• 1/3 cup rice wine vinegar
• 1/3 cup brown sugar
• 4 garlic cloves, chopped
• 2 tbsp sriracha 
• 3/4 ketchup
• 2 tbsp Worcestershire
• a few pinches black pepper

what to do:

1. Combine all ingredients (except for panko and drumsticks) - set aside.
2. Clean chicken drums by cutting the bottom (skinny end) tendons with a paring knife, then use the knife to scrape down the skin to expose the bone to form the "stick" of the lollipop.  (Hint: this part is easier to handle if the chicken drums are a little frozen, it makes the tendons/skin easier to cut through).  Cut a diagonal vertical slit on the meaty part of the drum stick, then use your hands to push the meat down a little to make the "top" of the lollipop.                                                                                               
3. Put prepared chicken lollies in a large tupperware and pour marinade over.  Cover well and refrigerate for at least 4 hours, up to 24 hours.  
4. About 1 hour before you want to serve them, preheat oven to 425 F and prepare a baking sheet lined with aluminum foil.  Hold chicken by the stick part and roll the meaty part in panko bread crumbs. 

5.  Once you've crusted all the chicken, bake in the middle rack for about 40-45 minutes, until panko is golden brown and chicken is cooked.  Enjoy!

ginger chicken with snow peas

a saucy dish best served over rice

This dish was part of a Taiwanese family style dinner (alongside sticky rice meatballs). This is an easy main course with lots of sauce to accompany any starch - personally I think rice works best. The ginger and snow peas make it fresh and light. It refrigerates well so don't worry about making extra - it's a leftover you'll want. Ryan and I both packed it for lunch and it was just as good the next day.

what you need:

• 3 boneless skinless chicken breasts
• 3 cups or so of snow peas
• 5 round slices of fresh ginger root
• 2 tbsp finely diced ginger root
• 1/2 cup chicken stock
• 1 tbsp corn starch, dissolved in about 1/4 cup water
• 1 medium onion
• 3 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tbsp rice wine vinegar
• 1 tbsp brown sugar
• 3 dashes of Worcestershire sauce 
• 2 tbsp canola oil
• 1 tsp sesame oil
• *optional - 3 dried red chilies

what to do:

1. Slice raw chicken breast into about 1/3" thick strips, about 2-3" in length.  Marinate in a bowl with the soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, brown sugar, Worcestershire sauce and diced ginger.  Store in fridge, for at least 2 hours (up to 12 hours) and the chicken should soak up most of the marinade.
2. Slice onion roughly into long strips.  Remove rough ends of snow peas and wash thoroughly.
3. In a pan on medium, heat up canola oil and sesame oil.  Add the dried red chilies and cook until blackened.  Add the ginger slices and onions - cook until onions are softened but not browned.
4. Add sliced chicken and be sure not to overlap the strips.  Be sure to flip them to get even cooking on both sides, about 5 min each.
5. Once the chicken doesn't look raw on the outsides anymore, deglaze the pan by adding the chicken stock.  If it looks like you need more sauce, add a little more chicken stock.
6. Once the liquid comes to a gentle simmer, turn it down and add the snow peas.  Cook for about 2-3 more minutes then add the water with the cornstarch.  Stir to thicken the sauce.  Give your sauce and chicken a taste - add more soy sauce (1 tsp at a time) if it isn't salty enough.  
7. Serve hot on top of rice (or noodles, or any starch you like) - enjoy!

ginger chicken: bottom left corner, on a bed of white & wild rice

thai inspired chicken soup

Tonight I used the chicken middle bone (or back bone) from the organic whole chicken (see "a whole chicken, a whole week") to make a Thai inspired chicken noodle soup. The aroma was fresh and inviting, and it made a light & fulfilling dinner for two.  If you don't have chicken bones to make stock, use store bought chicken or vegetable stock.  

what you need:

• chicken bones for stock
• 10 cups cold water
• 4 kaffir lime leaves
• 1 small bunch Thai basil
• 2 small Thai chillies
• 1 lime
• 1 stalk of lemon grass
• 1 small onion 
• 1 celery stalk
• 3-4 slices fresh ginger
• 3 cloves garlic
• 5 dashes fish sauce
• 1 pinch salt
• 1 handful green beans
• 1 carrot
• 2 green onions
• 1 handful of fresh cilantro
• 2 portions of soft tofu
• 2 portions of brown rice vermicelli

what to do:

1. Trim excess fat off the chicken bones.  Add it to a pot with 4-5 cups cold water and bring to a boil, then turn it to medium and let it simmer with the lid on for 15 min.
2. Roughly chop the onion, celery, chillies and lemon grass.  Smash the garlic cloves.  Rip the kaffir lime and basil leaves/stems a little to release its flavour. Add all of these to simmering stock.  In about 15 minutes, remove the chicken bones.  (When the chicken bones are cool enough to handle, remove any meat and set aside, then return bones to soup)
3. Turn the burner to medium low and simmer for another 15-20 minutes.  Add a few dashes of fish sauce and a pinch of salt.  Taste the broth - add salt if required.
4. Chop the green beans and green onions lengthwise on a sharp angle.  Roughly chop the cilantro and grate the carrot.  Cut tofu into 1" pieces.  Set aside.
5. In another pot, bring 5 cups of cold water to boil.  Put the vermicelli into the water and then turn off heat.  Soak for about 2 min, or until noodles are cooked (be careful not to overcook because they will become soggy and fall apart), drain and put noodles into the bottom of two bowls.
6. Turn off the heat for the stock and sieve out the aromatics (bones, onions, celery, etc.), return stock to the pot and bring to a gentle boil.  Add the tofu and green beans, cook for about 2 minutes then turn off the heat.
7. Top the noodles with carrots, cilantro, green onion and chicken (removed early from the bone).  Ladle broth, tofu and green beans into bowl until noodles are well covered.  Serve with a slice of lime, chopsticks and a spoon.  Enjoy!

toppings ready for soup

removing aromatics once they have flavoured the stock