Black Chicken Soup

Black Chicken Soup
by Chef Chai Chaowasaree

1 silkie chicken (about 2 pounds), whole or halved
3 thumb-sized pieces ginseng root
6-1/4 cups water
1 thumb-sized piece ginger, smashed
2 large heads garlic, halved
1/2 tsp whole peppercorns
Salt or soy sauce to taste
5 dried figs
Sliced green onion for garnish

Cut chicken in half if necessary to fit pot; otherwise leave whole. Soak ginseng in water 1 hour.

Place ginseng and its soaking water in pot; add chicken, ginger, garlic, pepper and salt. Bring to a boil and skim impurities. Reduce heat to a very low simmer (no bubbling at all) and cook until chicken is fall-off-the-bone tender, 2 to 4 hours. Or cook in a crock pot on low heat, about 6 hours. In last hour of cooking, add figs.

Strain soup and de-bone chicken if desired, or serve with root pieces. Garnish with green onion.

Nutritional information unavailable.
From http://starbulletin.com/2002/08/28/features/story1.html the Honolulu Star Bulletin

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Kate's Stock and Meal Idea

Kate's Stock and Meal Idea

If you are going to make a gravy or a sauce you really should leave the bones in the meat. It adds the gelatin that helps thicken it and give it a lot of mouth feel with less fat, and the meat really tastes better cooked on the bone.

I like to do chicken under a brick if I want to speed up cooking, just split the chicken, olive oil and season the skin, heat up the iron skillet in the oven and put the chicken in another big skillet and the hot one on top. Make sure the bottom of it is clean, obviously.

Cooks fast in a fairly hot oven. I did it last night and made another batch of yukon gold mashed potatoes. You don't even have to peel them the skin is so thin and it's good fiber so you fill up before you've eaten them all. They reheat in a microwave very well.

Larger hot meals appeal in the winter when they do no other time, at least to me. I like cold weather, it's great for walking because my sinuses don't bother me. I love winter. My nose is always happier.

Kate
(1/20/12)

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Congee

Congee
Combined prep and cooking time ~2 hours 30 minutes.

Congee is not considered a gourmet food. It falls more into the category of comfort food for invalids as the rice is cooked to the point of destruction, and is easily digestible. There are few hard and fast rules, and probably as many congee recipes as cooks in Southeast Asia. While there are a number of regional variations, basically a congee is nothing more than a rice porridge made using a meat or fish stock as a base instead of water, perfumed with appropriate aromatics and a small amount of meat or fish for protein added back in after the cooking is complete.

Traditional recipes usually start with the preparation of the stock, which also yields the protein which will later be reincorporated at the end of cooking. It don't usually follow the traditional method for several reasons. Most call for simmering the meats for several hours, and boiling tends to change the flavor of meats, particularly chicken. Boiling also alters the texture of meat, and I don't think for the better. Also, the traditional approach turns the preparation, which already requires quite a bit of attention over the last half hour to forty-five minutes, into an all day multi-pot affair.

So, here is my quick and dirty recipe:

Bring six to eight cups of chicken stock, preferably your own homemade from the freezer, to a boil. When the stock reaches a boil, add three skinless half chicken breast fillets. Immediately reduce the heat and poach the chicken breasts for fifteen to twenty minutes regulating the temperature so that the poaching bath remains between 160°F and 180°F.

At the end of the poaching time remove and reserve the chicken. To the poaching stock add 1/2 tsp. salt. 3 or more Tbsp. rice wine. (left over saki is fine) 3 slices of fresh ginger cut 1/4" thick (or 3/4 tsp ground dried ginger) 3 to 4 green onions sliced in 1/8" rings, or 1/2 well washed leek. With either the onions or the leeks you can include the soft green tops. Finally add one cup of rinsed and well drained long grain white rice. Cover the pot and bring it slowly to the gentlest possible simmer allowing it to cook for 1-1/2 to 1-3/4 hours. DO NOT allow this to boil! During the last 1/2 hour to 45 minutes you will need to stir the pot fairly constantly or the rice will burn and stick on the bottom. We are not making nice fluffy rice here. We are making an aromatic porridge that should be the
consistency of oatmeal when finished.

While the rice is cooking, take one of the half breasts and cut it into 1/4 to 1/2" die. This will be blended back into the rice mixture once cooking is complete. Refrigerate and reserve the other two half breasts for chicken salad or other poached chicken recipes.

At the end of cooking, stir the diced chicken back into the congee. Chicken congee should be served hot, and may be garnished with one of more of the following: fresh grated ginger, sliced green onions, chopped cilantro or sesame oil.

Congees can also be made using leftover cooked beef, pork or even firm fleshed fish instead of poached chicken, and can also be a way to use up leftover vegetables. The cooking stock for the rice, and the aromatics added, though, should be selected to compliment the flavor of the meat or fish as it was originally prepared, as should the garnish. Proportions are not critical except for the rice to
stock. Too little rice and you wind up with gruel, too much rice, or too much heat, and the mass in the pot can solidify. 1 cup rice to 6 to 8 cups of stock is, however, a pretty safe ratio.

Randall
(3/10/09)

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Chicken Kubbeh or Cubba Thoomiye

Chicken Kubbeh or Cubba Thoomiye

This one landed in my inbox a minute ago at work. It's from my friend Hilda, who is of Syrian descent and originally from Manchester. She makes a chicken version of kubbeh, which is quite unusual. - Avital

Cubba Thoomiye

Sauce:
1 medium onion, chopped
2 tbsp oil
1 tbsp tomato puree
8 cloves of garlic, sliced in rings
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
Mint, chopped (not fine)
juice of 1 lemon
4 tbsp sugar

Cubba:
1/4 kilo minced chicken
1.5 cups semolina (solet)
Parsley (petrozilia), chopped
small onion, chopped fine
1/4 tsp salt
less than 1/4 tsp pepper

Prepare the sauce:
Fry the chopped onion in the oil.
Add pepper.
When golden brown add the tomato puree and 1/4 cup water.
Brown for a 3 minutes.
Add the garlic and salt and mix.
Add lemon juice and sugar and mix.
Add enough water to cook the cubba and bring to the boil.

Prepare the cubba:
Keep aside 1/2 tsp of the minced chicken.
Mix the minced chicken, chopped onion and parsley, salt and pepper.
Add the 1/2 tsp of minced chicken to the semolina.

Add water to the semolina until you get a dough.
Take a small ball of dough.
With your hand, thin it like the pastry of a tiny pizza.
Add a flat tsp of the chicken mix.
Cover with the dough and round.

IMPORTANT: Work with wet hands otherwise the dough has a tendency to stick.

Put the cubba into the boiling sauce and cook for 10-15 mins.

Make sure there is enough water. There should be a good amount of sauce but it should be of a thick consistency.

Add the mint, stir and cook for another 2-3 mins.

(2/11/09)

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Burrito Meat

Burrito Meat

1 whole Chicken or large Round Steak or 1 small Beef or Pork roast
Salt and Pepper, to taste
4+ cloves of Garlic, minced or 2 tsp Garlic powder
1/4 to 1/2 tsp Cumin
1 lb fresh or canned Tomatoes, chopped and undrained
1/2 to 1 tsp Red Pepper
2 to 4 Tbsp Chili Powder
1 large Green Bell Pepper, chopped
2 large Onions, chopped
Flour

Best method: Boil the meat with salt, pepper and one of the onions, quartered, in a covered pan with enough water to just cover the meat, for 2 hours, or until it falls apart. Drain or fish out the meat, saving the broth-like water, and shred.

(My friend's "quick and dirty" method: Cube meat in small pieces. Coat in flour and brown. Add spices and enough water to cover. (You can use the water you boiled the meat in if you go that route.) Cover and simmer 15 minutes. Add water as necessary.)

Add veggies, including juice from canned tomatoes if you use them. Add more water if necessary to cover. Cover and simmer until tender, about 30 minutes to an hour.

This is good in burritos, chimichungas, etc.

For chimichungas, put the meat and whatever else you like in a chimi, in a flour tortilla, roll partially, fold the ends over and finish rolling up tightly. Grease a baking pan in manteca/lard. Lay the chimis with the "flap" down in the pan. Brush lard over the chimis. Bake at 350° F until crisp. This is more flavorful than fried chimis and less mess.

Manteca/lard (pork fat) is what gives Mexican food the best flavor.

Debbi
(12/1/06)

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Enchiladas (the real ones from "el rancho")

Enchiladas (the real ones from "el rancho")

1 chile pasilla, stem and seeds removed (dried chile)
6 chiles california, stem and seeds removed (dried chile)
2 cloves
2 peppercorns
1 small clove of garlic
a piece of onion (how much do you like onions??)
salt
corn tortillas
shredded meat of your choice or cheese
queso cotija, queso fresco, or panela for garnish

Soak the chiles for an hour or 2, until they are the consistency of a fruit roll-up. Stick everything in the blender and pulverize to a thick liquid. Force it through a strainer or cheesecloth into a bowl.

Heat up some oil in a pan. Dip tortilla in sauce and fry it quickly, just until soft. Put filling on tortilla and roll up or, easier and more authentic, fold in half. Sprinkle queso cotija, queso fresco, or panela on top.

Eat.

Jen in Mexico
(11/28/06)

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Joy's Curried Chicken Salad

I had just read the tuna salad recipe and was thinking I should post my curry chicken salad recipe when Linda's post came in. The curry chicken salad was my attempt to reproduce one that Alice Waters came up with many many years ago for a mutual friend's wedding buffet. It was so good we nearly cried (so was the vinagrette on the asparagus which I've also tried to duplicate.) I went home and experimented until I had something close enough to get those kinds of reactions. Unfortunately, my measurements are approximate - this is one of those "to taste" recipes where you keep adding pinches until you like the balance:

Joy's Curried Chicken Salad

2 good-sized boneless and skinless chicken breast halves
     (avoid using frozen bulk chicken for this one)
1/2 cup peeled and diced apple - preferably something tart and firm
1/2 cup chopped pecans (walnuts will do in a pinch)
1/3 cup chopped celery
1/3 cup good quality mayonnaise (homemade is best, but any good brand will be okay)
1/3 cup unsweetened applesauce
1-3 tsp curry powder (a sweet type)
1/2 to 1 tsp ground cinnamon
pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
salt to taste

Braise the chicken breasts in as small an amount of water as possible until just done and still very moist. Set aside and chill while reducing the liquid from braising to a half cup or less. Chill the stock while you prep the rest of the ingredients.

Cube the chicken into approx 3/4" cubes. Mix mayo, applesauce and all spices except salt until creamy and then stir in pecans, celery and apple chunks until well coated. Add chicken meat and salt to taste and mix until just blended. Taste and add more applesauce or spices as needed. If mixture is too dry, add some of the chicken stock a tablespoon at a time until moistened to your liking. When adding ingredients, mix as lightly as possible so that chicken stays chunky rather than shredding or getting mushy. This shouldn't have enough mayo to actually appear creamy, but it should be moist. Serve well chilled on a bed of lettuce.

Joy
(8/01/04)

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Chicken and Green Veggie Curry

OK folks, here's what I made for dinner tonight. It was delish. (all quantities approximate)

Chicken and Green Veggie Curry

1.5 lbs boneless chicken, cubed (or if vegetarian some tofu or seitan or other non-meat stuff. Potatoes would be really good in this.)
1 large red onion, diced
6 cloves garlic, diced
1 green bell pepper, diced
1 cup green beans, diced
1 cup baby zucchini, diced
1/2 cup frozen peas
2 tsp Penzey's Maharajah curry powder
sesame oil
salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste

Saute the garlic, onion and bell pepper in the oil until the onion caramelizes. Add the spices and saute about a minute more. Add the chicken, brown on all sides.

Add some liquid -- water, bouillon, white wine, balsamic vinegar, your choice (I used water tonight) -- to deglaze the pan and provide a little steam for the veggies.

Add the veggies, stir well, cover and allow to simmer for about 15 - 20 minutes. Adjust seasoning if necessary.

Serve with rice or couscous.

Okra would be good. I got some baby zucchini in the supermarket, but full size ones would work just as well. As would broccoli or greens.

Enjoy.
J.
(1/24/04)

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Dave in Oz's Sauteed Chicken in a Mustardy Cream Sauce

Dave in Oz's Sauteed Chicken in a Mustardy Cream Sauce

It's a fairly basic honey mustard sauce and goes like this:
You'll need:

• 2 carrots
• 2 stalks of celery
• 1 large brown onion
• some butter (real salted butter, nothing else will suffice)
• a couple of cloves of garlic
• 2 chicken breast fillets (no skin)
• your favourite seeded mustard
• salt and pepper
• sherry or white wine
• cream, about 300ml
• rice

What you need to do:
Cook the rice (2 cups of rice to 3 cups of water in the microwave for 14 minutes on 70% usually does it - or use the rice setting if you've got it)

Dice the carrots, celery and onion into cubes of about equal size (about 3/16ths of an inch).

Chop the garlic as finely as possible (I tend to slice it lengthwise in slivers, then rotate it 90 degrees along the axis of the cut, repeat the slivering process, then rotate it 90 degrees around the axis of the cuts and repeat again, thus ending up with really really really small cubes).

Add a generous chunk of butter to an electric frypan set at about 300° F. Add the diced vegetables. Stir around and reduce heat to simmer until the vegetables are softened (sometimes helps to put the lid on). Splash some sherry in every now and then to keep it all moist.

Dice the chicken into 1/2 inch cubes.

Set the vegetables aside in a bowl, increase the heat to 350°-400° F, put a little butter in to grease the pan, add the chicken (do not stir for 30 secs or so). Stir around and brown each side. Add about a tablespoon of mustard, and a splash of sherry. Reduce heat a little to avoid burning. Add cracked pepper to taste.

Once the chicken is fairly cooked through, add the vegetables and a little more sherry. When the sherry reduces off, add the cream and simmer for about 5 to 10 minutes, stirring frequently. The sauce should be a rich yellow colour (add more sherry if it looks to be reducing too much). Taste, if needed add some salt.

Voila! You're done, serve over a bed of rice.
Dave
(11/17/03)

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Chicken with a Mustardy Sauce

Chicken with a Mustardy Sauce

Dear Annie: I'm not Dave in Oz, but here's a mustardy sauce that I pour over chicken breasts and bake 'em in. All amounts are approximate:

For 4 chicken breasts, mix together
2 to 3 tbsp. Dijon mustard
2 tbsp dried tarragon leaf
1/2 cup lemon juice

I usually don't plan ahead enough to have the chick thawed, so put the frozen chick in dish, pour on the mix, cover and cook low (250° F or so) for 1/2 hour to thaw the chick a bit, then up to 350° F til done.

sandy cronequeenenabler
(11/17/03)

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Chicken with Anchovies and Olives

Chicken with Anchovies and Olives

A note to the anchovy-averse: you will not know that there are anchovies in this dish, but they impart a delectable savoriness that should not be missed. Be adventurous. Even the avowed Anchovy Hater Miss T enjoyed it. This is based on a Marcella Hazan recipe.

• 1 chicken (about 4 lbs) cut up into serving pieces
• flour for dusting
• olive oil for sauteing
• salt and pepper
• about a cup of the best imported green olives you can find
• (not the crap in the can, please), pitted and chopped
• 1 tin of anchovies, chopped fine
• garlic, and a lot of it, minced
• an onion, preferably large and red, sliced
• 1/3 cup balsamic vinegar
• Juice of one lemon
• handful of flat leaf Italian parsley (or regular fresh parsley, if flat is not available), chopped

In a large deep heavy skillet, dredge chicken pieces LIGHTLY (i.e. a dusting), in flour to which you have added salt and liberal amounts of pepper. Brown in a goodly amount of olive oil, in batches if necessary, remove to a plate. Drain all but 2 tbsp of olive oil.

In the remaining olive oil, add the garlic, the anchovies, and the onion. Sauté for about five minutes until the garlic is golden, scraping up any bits of browned chicken or flour from the pan. Add balsamic vinegar and lemon juice and return chicken to the pan. Cover (set cover slightly askew), and cook over med-low heat another 40 minutes or so. After about 30 minutes, add olives and parsley.

Serve with rice, pasta, or potatoes.

Carolyn
(3/1/03)

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Citrus and Cumin Roasted Chicken

Citrus and Cumin Roasted Chicken

Time: 2 hours

2 navel oranges, washed and cut into eighths
2 limes, washed and quartered
1 (3 lb) chicken, washed and patted dry
2 tbsp ground cumin
Kosher salt and ground black pepper
5 garlic cloves, crushed and peels removed
Several sprigs fresh oregano
3 tbsp canola oil
1 cup chicken stock or low sodium canned broth, more if needed.

1. Heat oven to 400°F. Remove zest from two orange wedges and two lime wedges, and reserve. Rub chicken with juice of those wedges. Season entire chicken, including cavity, with cumin and salt and pepper to taste. Inside cavity place the used orange and lime wedges, plus 3 orange wedges, 3 lime wedges, 3 cloves garlic, and 3 sprigs oregano.

2. Place a small roasting pan over high heat, and add oil. When oil smokes, place chicken breast-side down in pan. Sear, rolling slightly for even browning, until breast is golden brown, 4 to 5 minutes.

3. Remove chicken from pan, slip a flat rack on bottom of pan, then place chicken on rack, breast-side up. Add stock, remaining garlic cloves and a couple more sprigs of oregano to pan. Squeeze juice of seven orange wedges and remaining lime wedges into pan, adding spent wedges to pan. Roast until chicken juices run clear when leg is pierced near joint, about 1 hour 30 minutes. Check moisture in pan a few times while cooking, adding chicken broth if pan juices are drying up.

4. Transfer chicken to a warm platter, and allow to rest for 20 minutes before carving. Remove fruit wedges, oregano and garlic from pan, then place pan juices in a small saucepan. Bring to a simmer over medium heat, and adjust seasoning, adding more orange juice from remaining wedges if desired. Remove from heat, and add reserved zest. Carve chicken, and serve with sauce.

Yield: 2 servings.

Appeared January 15, 2003:
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/01/15/dining/151CREX.html?ex=1043730922&ei=1&en=5191963f1979539d

Posted by MOP QQQ
(1/16/03)

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Chicken Cardamom

Chicken Cardamom

I can't remember who asked for this to be sent to the list, and I know Mary is probably
busy with farm stuff, but my cookbook is still sitting here by the computer, so here it is:

Masala:
1 cup plain yogurt
1 tsp. cardamom seeds
2 tbsp. peeled and finely chopped fresh ginger
1 tbsp. finely chopped garlic
1 tsp. fennel seeds
1/2 tsp. ground hot red pepper

Chickens:
2 chickens, 2.5-3 lbs. each
4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. saffron threads
3 tbsp. boiling water
1/2 cup ghee
a 3"-piece of cinnamon stick
2 whole cloves
2 cups finely chopped onion
1/2 cup cold water

Put all Masala ingredients into a blender/processor and process until puree.

Pat the chickens dry and truss. Rub the salt into the skin. Spread each chicken with Masala. Marinate at room temp for 1 hour or in the fridge for 2 hours.

Put the saffron in a bowl and cover with the boiling water, let soak for atleast 10 minutes.

In a heavy casserole big enough for both chickens, heat the ghee. When hot add the cinnamon and cloves, stirring until they are coated. Add the onions and fry until golden.

Place the birds in the casserole, all the masala and the saffron with water. Turn the chickens frequently and cook for about 10 minutes or until the birds are lightly colored, but not browned. Stir in the 1/2 cup cold water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover the casserole and cook for 30-35 minutes until the chickens are tender but not falling apart. Remove from heat and let rest 15-20 minutes before serving.

From the TimeLife series Foods of the World "The Cooking of India"
Land of Oz
(1/15/03)

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Chicken with Onion, Garlic, and Lemon Pepper

Chicken with Onion, Garlic, and Lemon Pepper

The chicken crockpot report:

4 lb. frozen chicken
1 sliced onion
a head of garlic
some lemon pepper

Toss it all in the CP on low for 9 hours and you have one DELICIOUS meal with no effort.

I love Crockpots!
HG
(11/14/02)

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Baked Stuffed Chicken*

Baked Stuffed Chicken*

When I found this recipe I thought it was perfect for people, like me, who just are not sure how to tell when poultry is cooked thoroughly but not dried out. Give this a try.

6-7 lb. chicken
1 cup melted butter
1 cup stuffing
1 cup uncooked popcorn
salt/pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350° F. Brush chicken well with melted butter, salt and pepper. Fill cavity with stuffing and popcorn. Place in baking pan with the neck end toward the back of the oven. Listen for popping sounds....

When the chicken's butt blows the oven door open and the chicken flies across the room, it's done.

And, you thought I couldn't cook.

John N.
(6/10/02)

*This may be humorous and not intended to be done as stated. He maybe serious and has done this. We have no clue. Proceed with this recipe at your own risk. laughing...

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Ginger Chicken Recipe

Ginger Chicken Recipe

I invented a chicken recipe Sunday that turned out so good I thought some of you might enjoy it. Three basic steps in it - making the marinade, cooking the chicken and making the sauce/gravy.

Marinade:
1 onion, finely minced
1 tsp salt
4-5 garlic cloves finely minced (or more to taste)
1 tbsp chopped Sushi Ginger
1/2 cup lemon juice
1-1/2 cup water

Mince the onion finely and put in a 9"x13" glass pan. Smoosh it out evenly and sprinkle the salt on top. Crush it a bit with a heavy glass or other appropriate tool. While that is sitting for about 15 minutes, finely mince the garlic and roughly chop the Sushi Ginger (this is the pickled, paper-thin, pink ginger). Add garlic and ginger to the pan and add the lemon juice and water. Stir it to mix and add the chicken. Refrigerate for 2 hours or so. I used skinned, boneless chicken breasts.

After sitting the marinade aside to keep, sauté the chicken in olive oil until lightly browned. Cover with lid and cook until done, which shouldn't take much more than 5 minutes or so. Remove from skillet. Pour off any extra olive oil.

Sauce
1 cup flour
1-1/2 cup water
Strain remainder of marinade (or not if your family will eat the ginger - mine won't)
3-4 cup chicken broth

While the chicken is cooking, mix the flour and water. Strain if needed. I put it in a 4-cup measuring glass. Add the remainder of the marinade and fill with chicken broth. After the chicken is removed, deglaze the pan with about 1 cup chicken broth. Add the flour/broth mixture and cook until thickened. Add chicken broth for the consistency of gravy/sauce that you prefer.

We ate this with rice and fresh mustard greens. It was delicious - light and tangy.

Chow down!

Jola Gayle
In Oak Ridge, Tennessee
(6/10/02)

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Whole Chicken Baked in Aluminum Foil (Indian Cooking)

Whole Chicken Baked in Aluminum Foil (Indian Cooking)
Serves 4-6 (or for us, 3 meals)

I wanted to share a dynamite Indian recipe from my now-favorite cookbook by Madhur Jaffrey "Indian Cooking" (reprinted 1995). We've never 'not' liked anything we've made from this book.
There is lots of sauce - I cleaned up the foil after the chicken was finished, by scooping up the remaining sauce with bread!

Marinade
1" cube (chunk) fresh ginger, peeled and coarsely chopped
2 large cloves garlic, peeled
6 tbsp yogurt
1/2 tsp ground turmeric
1-1/4 tsp salt (I usually use less)
1/4 - 1/2 tsp cayenne (to taste)
ground black pepper

Put all ingredients into blender or food processor, blend into paste (it's pretty thick). Empty into a large-ish bowl, but don't wash out the blender yet.

3-1/2 lb chicken, whole
8 oz. onions
4 cloves garlic, peeled
1-1/2" cube (chunk) fresh ginger, peeled and coarsely chopped
1 oz. almonds (recipe calls for blanched, slivered - I used whole and chopped them)
2 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp ground turmeric
1 tbsp paprika
1/4 tsp cayenne
1-1/2 tsp salt
8 tbsp vegetable oil (I used less)
2 tbsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1/2 tsp garam masala

Skin the entire chicken, rub inside and out with marinade and let sit for up to 2 hours. Meanwhile put the next 10 ingredients (onions through salt)in the blender (I added a little water now and then to make the blender work properly - this is really thick).

Put the oil in a large non-stick pan over medium-high heat, and when hot put in the paste. Fry, stirring for 8-9 minutes. Add the lemon juice, black pepper, and garam masala. Mix and turn off the heat to let the paste cool.

Preheat oven to 350° F (180° C).

Spread out a large piece of aluminum foil (large enough to enclose the chicken). Rub the chicken inside and out with the fried spice paste, then place in the middle of the foil. Wrap the foil up and around the chicken into a tight packet. Any 'seams' should be 2" above the bottom of the packet to keep the juices in.

Place wrapped chicken, seam-side up, on a baking tray and bake for 1-1/2 hours or until the chicken is tender.

Oh my - the sauce is absolutely wonderful and the chicken is remarkably tender and moist. Make sure you have lots of rice with this so you can spoon the sauce over the top.

Deb
paca_mama
(3/9/02)

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Coriander Chicken

I made this today and it is quite good. I used probably a third more spices than called for because I know I like things savory.

Here's another to make the cilantro haters quiver (from the Times) I suppose you can substitute 2-3 bay leaves if you live somewhere where you can't get curry leaves, but the flavor will be different.

Coriander Chicken

1/4 cup vegetable oil
2 cups thinly sliced onion
2 tsp minced garlic
2 tsp minced ginger
1 tsp minced serrano or Thai chili
10 - 12 fresh curry leaves
2 tbsp ground coriander
1 tsp black pepper
1/2 teaspoon cayenne
1/4 teaspoon turmeric
1/8 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp ground cloves
1/8 tsp ground cardamom
1-1/2 tsp salt
2 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts in 1" cubes
1/2 coconut milk
1/4 cup chopped cilantro with additional leaves for garnish.

1. In a large, deep pot, heat oil over medium high heat. Saute onions until edges are nicely browned. Add garlic, ginger, chili, and curry leaves and fry for 1 minute.

2. Stir in coriander, pepper, cayenne, turmeric, cinnamon, clove, cardamom, salt, and a few teaspoons of water to prevent spices from sticking. Fry for 2 min. stirring constantly.

3. Add chicken pieces and continue stirring over med-high heat until no longer pink. Add 1/4 cup coconut milk and 1/2 cup water and bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer, covered, 20 minutes.

4. Add remaining coconut milk and chopped cilantro, bring just to a boil and remove from heat. Check salt. Garnish with cilantro leaves and serve immediately.

Lani
(2/24/02)

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Chicken Soup (basic version)

Chicken Soup (basic version)

Was it chicken soup? I thought it was matzah balls (kneidlach). BTW, I've got a new, improved version of that matzah ball recipe and it's great.

1 chicken
4 onions, peeled and cut into chunks
4 large carrots, peeled and cut into chunks
few pepper corns
bay leaf
salt (if the chicken's not kosher)
2 tsp thyme
Opt: celery, dill, parsley
Water to cover

Bring to a boil and skim off the scum. Simmer for 3 hours. Haul the bird out of the soup and let it cool. Tear the meat into small pieces and add to the soup.

Avital
(2/10/02)

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Helen's Curried Chicken Salad and Cheese Blintz Muffins

Helen's Curried Chicken Salad

3 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken breasts,  poached just until tender and cooled to room temp.
3 ribs celery, coarsely chopped
2 Granny Smith apples, cored and cut into chunks
3/4 cup golden raisins
1 cup dry white wine
2 tbsp. fresh lime juice
2 tbsp. ground ginger
2-1/2 to 3 tbsp. good quality curry powder I use Penzey's sweet curry powder)
1-1/2 cup Hellmann's mayo
salt to taste

Cut chicken breasts into 3/4" to 1" chunks, removing and discarding any tough tendons as you go along. Toss the chicken, celery and apples together in a large bowl.

Place the raisins and wine in a small saucepan. Heat to boiling over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat and simmer for 3 to 4 minutes. Add the raisins and liquid to the chicken and toss to combine.

Add the lime juice, ginger and curry powder and toss again. Bind the salad with the mayo and season to taste with salt.

Refrigerate at least 1 hour before serving. Makes 6 to 8 servings.

Cheese Blintz Muffins

Preheat oven to 350°F.

1 lb. ricotta cheese
3 eggs
2 tbsp. sour cream
1/2 stick butter, melted
1/2 cup Bisquick
2/3 cup sugar (divided)
1 tbsp. cornstarch
1/3 cup warm water
2 tbsp. lemon juice
2 cups blueberries, fresh or frozen

In a large mixing bowl, mix together the ricotta, eggs, sour cream, melted butter, Bisquick and 1/3 cup sugar.

Pour batter into greased muffin tins and bake for 30 minutes or until lightly browned.

Prepare the blueberry sauce by combining the cornstarch with warm water to dissolve lumps. Add 1/3 cup sugar, lemon juice and blueberries. Cook over medium, heat, stirring until mixture has thickened. This will yield about 2 cups of blueberry sauce.

To serve, place two muffins on each plate, and spoon warm blueberry sauce over them. Top each muffin with a dollop of sour cream.

Helen
(2/5/02)

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