Trinidad Chicken from Grace Young and a Kung Pao Chicken Recipe

https://youtu.be/i2xbWZ58tE4

Posting this for my students who took the Chinese Takeout Food class on March 4th. We made Scallion Pancakes, Kung Pao Chicken, Beef with Broccoli, Soy Sauce Chicken, Stir-fried Bok Choy and Steamed Rice.
Here is the recipe for the Kung Pao Chicken.

All ingredients are prepared in advance. The cooking process is fairly quick and requires that the ingredients be ready. All Chinese food takes this approach: so it’s prep, prep, prep. Once you get into the swing of it a meal can be prepared and ready very quickly. Take out all the ingredients, start the rice, wash, peel, and chop with a sharp knife.

KUNG PAO CHICKEN

(adapted from Chinese Takeout Food, by Diane Kuan)

Marinade

1 tablespoon soy sauce

 2 teaspoons Shao Hsing rice wine or dry sherry

1-1/2 teaspoons cornstarch or arrowroot powder

1 pound boneless, skinless, chicken breast or thighs, cut into 1/2-inch cubes

Sauce

1 tablespoon Chinese black vinegar or good quality balsamic vinegar

1 teaspoon soy sauce

1 teaspoon hoisin sauce

1 teaspoon sesame oil

2 teaspoons sugar

1 teaspoon cornstarch or arrowroot powder

½ teaspoon ground Sichuan pepper

2 tablespoons peanut or grapeseed oil

8 to 10 dried long red chiles

3 scallions, white and green parts separated, thinly sliced on diagonal

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 teaspoon minced or grated fresh ginger

¼-1/2 cup unsalted dry-roasted peanuts

1-              In a bowl large enough to hold all the chicken, stir together the soy sauce, rice wine, and cornstarch to dissolve. Add the chicken cubes and stir to coat. Leave at room temperature about 10 minutes.

2-              In another bowl, combine the black vinegar, soy sauce, hoisin sauce, sesame oil, sugar, cornstarch and Sichuan pepper. Stir to dissolve the sugar and cornstarch.

3-              Heat a wok or large skillet over high heat until a bead of water sizzles and evaporates on contact. Add the oil and swirl to coat the base. Add the chilies to stir-fry about 30 seconds or until they begin to blacken. Leave them in.

4-              Add the chicken and stir-fry until no longer pink, 2 to 3 minutes.

5-              Add the scallion whites, garlic and ginger and stir-fry about 30 seconds. Pour in the sauce and mix to coat all the ingredients. Stir in the peanuts and cook another 1 to 2 minutes. (If it looks dry, add about 1/4 cup water).

                 

6 -             Transfer to a serving dish, sprinkle with the scallion greens and a slight drizzle of roasted sesame oil. Serve.

-->

CHICKEN DRUMSTICK RECIPE

There is something relieving about not having to decide about which part to eat. Just drumsticks (chicken leg) here from several unrelated chickens.

Contemplate the chicken. Go to visit some. Once a politician declared that there would be “a chicken in every pot” the chicken became to be bred to satisfy this desire. Then, and it wasn’t so very long ago, if you ate chicken, it was mostly on Sunday. All sorts of horrific living conditions for chickens have since been revealed. Think about this before you purchase.

CHICKEN DRUMSTICKS WITH A MAPLE-RUM GLAZE

Serves 4-6

1/2 - 1 cup maple syrup, Grade A or B, preferably B

1/2 - 1 cup apple cider vinegar

1/4-1/2 cup dark rum

1/4-1/2 cup soy sauce

2-4 teaspoons freshly grated ginger

2-4 teaspoons garlic, finely minced

sea salt to taste

8-10 chicken legs, preferably organic free-range

1 bunch scallions, chopped

Preheat oven to 400° F.

Wash the chicken legs in salty water then pat dry.

Mix together the maple syrup, apple cider vinegar, dark  rum, soy sauce, grated ginger and minced garlic. Boil together, while stirring, in a saucepan until slightly thickened. Add some sea salt and taste the mixture. This glaze can be used for roasted vegetables, beans and tofu products. I won’t hold it against you if you decide on chicken.

Bake the chicken in a pan large enough to hold the legs for about 20 minutes. Then pour the glaze over the top. Using tongs turn the legs to cover them with the glaze. Bake about another 20 minutes or until the glaze is browned and golden. Be careful to not let it burn. If you are in a hot and spicy mood, add some Tabasco or cayenne pepper to this recipe.

Garnish with the chopped scallions. Serve hot with lots of napkins. Great served with oven-baked sweet potato fries and a squeeze of lime juice.

WOODSTOCK DINNER PARTY

Here is the menu and a few photos, mostly of the preparation, of a dinner party in December 2016 at a rented house in Woodstock. The client was celebrating ten years of their lives together and invited friends to join them for the New Year's weekend. Everything was served in casseroles buffet style except the dessert which was plated.

Thank you sooooo much for making our celebration so special!!!! You Rock!!! xoxo....  from CL

Dinner Menu

December 30, 2016

Me at the stove and my assistant and server working away. 

Pre-dinner

Hot Artichoke &; Dill Dip

with crudités, breadsticks

Red Pepper Tapenade

with crostini

Dinner

Meat:

·      Prime Rib Roast

·      Horseradish Sauce

·      Roasted Chicken with BBQ sauce

The dishes staged but not yet ready to be presented.

Explaining what the various dishes are at the time they are served.

·      Sweet Potatoes with ginger, maple syrup & pecans

·      Macaroni & Four or more cheeses

·      Assorted Roasted Vegetables

with roasted garlic & crispy leeks

·      Roasted Beets with goat cheese & walnuts

·      Upside-down Onion Cornbread

Assorted Breads

Vegetarian:

·      Braised Eggplant: Imam Bayaldi

·      Stuffed Zucchini with couscous, pine nuts & raisins

The roasted potatoes and vegetables ready to return to the oven.

Dessert

·      Poached Bosc Pears stuffed with mascarpone

& drizzled with chocolate

-->

Pear Dessert

Here is the recipe for the BBQ Sauce that was used on the chicken:

½ onion

6 ounces orange juice

10 roasted garlic cloves

juice 1 lime

½ cup brown sugar

1 teaspoon dry mustard

1 teaspoon chile powder

1 tablespoon Tamarind paste

1 teaspoon black pepper

1 teaspoon salt

½ cup apple cider vinegar

½ up maple syrup

4 tablespoons tomato paste

1 teaspoon smoked paprika

1 teaspoon liquid smoke

1/8-1/4 cup bourbon

In a blender combine the onion and orange juice and puree. Stir well and pour into a saucepan then stir in the rest of the ingredients. Bring it to a boil and simmer gently for about 25 minutes until it is slightly thickened and reduced. Stir occasionally. Let cool.

POTATO PANCAKES - LATKES

POTATO PANCAKES - LATKES

makes about 60

5-7 pounds potatoes, combine Russets and Eastern, or all Russet

1 large Vidalia or yellow onion, washed and peeled

3 large eggs

½ cup cake matzo meal, matzo meal, or unbleached all-purpose flour

¼ cup potato starch

Salt

1 - 48 oz. bottle Grapeseed oil, and/or peanut, canola, olive oil

To drain the pancakes after they are fried, prepare a cookie or sheet pan,  with a couple of layers of paper towels and/or newspaper. Place a wire rack on top and let the pancakes drain. 

Wash and peel the potatoes taking out the ‘eyes’. You can leave the peel on, if you like. Cut the potatoes and the onion small enough to fit into the feeding tube of your processor. Reserve the potatoes in a bowl of cold water, or just cut as you go. 

Process the onions and potatoes with the grater blade. First put in a bit of onion then the potatoes until the processor bowl is filled. Remove to a bowl. Continue grating with the rest of the onions and potatoes. You might have to do this in batches.

After everything is grated remove the grater blade and put in the rotator blade.  Put the reserved grated potato/onion mixture back into the bowl of the processor, in batches, and pulse to medium grate. Then put the grated potatoes into a fine sieve over a bowl. Drain and push out as much liquid as possible. Reserve the white potato starch at the bottom and discard the rest of the liquid.

Put the drained, grated potatoes into a large bowl and mix in the matzo meal, additional potato starch, eggs and 1 teaspoon salt. Combine very well. Let rest about 30 minutes. It will get a little bit gray. Don’t worry it’s normal.

Pour the oil into two frying pans to at least 1-inch.  Use either all Grapeseed oil or a combination of peanut or canola. Heat the oil to very hot. Test by putting a small amount of the potato mixture into each pan. When it sizzles  it’s hot enough to start making the pancakes. Regulate the heat as necessary.

Put a heaping tablespoon of the potato mixture into the pan. Smooth and shape it gently but don’t press down. The pancakes should be about 2” x 3”, roughly. Turn with a spatula after you see the edges turn golden. When quite golden brown on both sides, remove and drain on the prepared draining sheets. Sprinkle some salt on the hot pancakes.

Either serve right away with selected condiments: sour cream, yogurt, sugar, or applesauce. Some people like them sweet, others not. If made a bit smaller they make a good base for serving smoked salmon and caviar.