Chinese style sweet and spicy chicken

I always like characteristic shiny dishes straight from Chinese cuisine! There is something beautiful in golden-red Peeking duck, don’t you think?
Homely way - faster than traditional marinating – I prepared chicken drumsticks in a sweet and spicy glaze.
Meet stewed this method is really soft and juicy. Next time I will prepare ribs this way . Just can’t wait for it!

Ingredients
750g chicken
1 can coca-cola
3 garlic cloves
¼ cup soy sauce
5 grains pimento
2 bay leaves
½ teaspoon “five flavours” seasoning
¼ teaspoon ground ginger
chilli (fresh or dried) – the dish has to be hot
2 tbsp oil


Method
Put a couple small cuts into the meat of each drumstick, for the marinade to penetrate the meat. Heat a pan, add oil and fry drumsticks until the skin is golden. Put the chicken on a plate and keep it on a side. Pour all the sauce ingredients in a pan, add drumsticks. Bring it up to a simmer and turn the heat down just to keep the simmer going for about 2 hours, keep moving drumsticks. The amount of sauce should evaporate and the sauce itself should become sticky (remember when cold is more sticky). Be careful not to burn the sauce!

Butter chicken with sage and apple sauce

I think that if you would ask my neighbours you would find out that on Saturday they ate chicken and 80% of them ate roasted chicken! This week I was also in this group. I was brave enough to use the rest of herbs I found on my balcony (slightly frozen) and roast the chicken. Three additions, perfect taste (and those lovely herbs leaves)...

Ingredients
for each chicken portion (drumstick)
1-2 teaspoons butter
2 big or 4 small sage leaves
pinch salt
freshly ground pepper
sauce
5 fl oz (150 ml) meat sauce left after baking
7 fl oz (200 ml) apple beer (i.e. cider)
5 fl oz (150 ml) sweet cream
1 teaspoon mustard (i.e. Dijon)
optional: salt, pepper to taste


Method
Wash and dry the chicken. Gently cut the skin from each drumstick but only as much as to allow you to put your hand under. In such a ‘pocket’ place the butter, sage leaves and salt. Rub the whole drumstick with butter, season with salt and pepper. Place them in a baking dish. Bake at 360F/ 180 oC, the time depends on the chicken size: i.e. for about 1,5 hour (until the skin is golden brown), pour the juices from the baking dish over the chicken.

When chicken is baked, transfer the juice from the baking dish into a pan, heat it up, add chopped sage leaves, mustard, sweet cream and beer. Boil on a low heat until the sauce gets thick. Season with salt and pepper.

Thai style chicken with rice noodles

My recent visit in Warsaw and a Thai style noodles with basil I had with my Friend make me feel like cooking similar dish right away! The great advantage of the Asian cuisine is that every dish can be make in just seconds, just like those noodles!

Ingredients
7 oz (200 g) rice noodles
22 oz (600 g) chicken boneless breast
7 oz (200 g) green beans (frozen)
1 +1 tbsp dark soy sauce
1 tbsp fish sauce
1 tbsp ground galangal (or ginger)
1 tbsp tom yum past
1 tbsp potato starch
2 garlic cloves
½ onion
chilli to taste
oil for frying

Method
Wash and clean chicken breast, dry and dice. In a cup mix potato starch with water, galangal, soy sauce and fish sauce. Pout this mixture over the chicken breast, in such a marinate put a meat aside for about 1 hour. Make the noodles according to the original instructions on the package ( for 5 min. keep in a boiling water). In a wok (pan) heat up oil, add chicken, crushed garlic and thinly sliced onion. Fry until golden. Season with tom yum past and 1 tbsp soy sauce, Pour in ½ cup water, add frozen beans. Simmer for a few minutes. Add noodles, stir everything. Decorate with basil leaves.

Indian tikka masala chicken

Heston Blumentahl, for those who didn’t read about him, is a chef in a 3 Michelin star restaurant. In his TV programme he made tikka masal for three days: he even build a special fire place to reach 400 oC temperature. I made it much easier! Marinating the chicken lasted 1 night and the rest I made in 30 min. In this express tempo I made a dish with a full, spicy taste, coco aroma and beautiful orange colour. Heston van be the jealous one now!

Ingredients
22 oz (600 g) chicken boneless breast
marinade:
7 fl oz (200 ml) Greek yoghurt
1 teaspoon ground pepper (I used sweet pepper)
2 teaspoons cumin (crushed in mortar)
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon ground ginger
salt
sauce:
1 onion
1 teaspoon curry
½ teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 can chopped tomatoes
3 garlic cloves
7 fl oz (200 ml) coco milk


Method
Clean and dice the chicken breast. Mix yoghurt and spices making the marinade. Coat the chicken breast in marinade, leave in a fridge for a night. Next day fry the meat on grill frying pan. In another pan sauté chopped onion, garlic, curry and coriander, add meat, tomatoes and coco milk. Season with cayenne pepper or chilli – to add more spiciness. Bring to boil and cook on a low heat for a few minutes, so the flavours mingle. Serve with rice, sprinkled with roasted pumpkin seeds.

Serbian style roasted chicken

This dish I had eaten not that long ago for the first time in my life. From than on it will be in my menu as I just love it! The recipe gave me my aunt and she got it from Serbian woman. I don’t know if this is a typical Yugoslavian cuisine, but I know one thing: it’s delicious! Quick and easy to make. As the meat is beaked at the same time with rice the chicken is moist and aromatic – simply delicious!

Ingredients
3 chicken tights or 6 chicken drumsticks
1 pepper
1 tomato
chilli
1 cup rice
handful black olives
about 18 fl oz (½ l) bullion
few slings thymes and oregano
olive, lemon juice, salt, herbs – to make the meat marinate


Method
Make the marinate: mix olive, lemon juice, garlic (or other favourite spices), coat the chicken with the marinate, leave in a bowl in a fridge (for a night). Preheat the oven to 360 F/ 180 oC. Rinsed rice put inside the baking dish, add chopped pepper and tomato, mix all ingredients. Season with chilli, oregano leaves and small pinch of salt. Put the chicken on top of the rice mixture, cover them with thyme. Pour the bullion over the meat (it should cover the rice with vegetables, not meat). Decorate with olives. During baking time add some bullion, if the rice seems to be dry add more fluids. Bake about 1 hour (the time depends on the chicken size) until golden brown.

Tomato and Mascarpone cheese chicken

I don’t really know if I have found this recipe in cookbooks or on the Internet or maybe it was my invention...

One is certain: this dish is quick to make (chicken can be fried a day before and then only baked with the sauce), filling and so...comfort. Meat in a thick sauce can be served with potatoes or with baguette. The Winter times comfort food.

Ingredients
1 double boneless chicken breasts
18 fl oz (500 ml) tomato puree
1 medium onion
1 garlic glove
3 tbsp Mascarpone cheese
½ cup frozen green peas – or other favourite vegetables
2 diced carrots
1 tbsp wheat flour
oil
salt, pepper to taste

Method
Cut the chicken breast in cubes (2 cm thick). Season with salt, pepper a flour – fry until golden. Place the meat on a plate. In the same pan sauté onion and garlic. In a baking dish mix chicken with onion, tomatoes, Mascarpone cheese and vegetables (I added carrots and green peas). Bake in preheated oven to 360 F/ 180 oC, for about 40 min. Slightly cool down before serving. Serve with potatoes, rice or baguette