Spicy Chicken Sandwiches

Spicy Chicken Sandwiches with Chili Garlic Mayo

(America)

serves 6

                                                                                                                Prep time:  20 minutes

                                                                                                                Cook time:  20 minutes

                                                                                                                Total time: 40 minutes

Ingredients

1 large boneless, skinless chicken breast, about 1 pound
1 cup AP flour
1 egg, beaten
1 cup Italian breadcrumbs
½ to 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper, or to taste
¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese
¼ cup vegetable oil

Chili Garlic Mayo:

6 tablespoons mayonnaise

4 teaspoons Asian Chili Garlic Sauce (Rooster sauce)

6 King’s Hawaiian Hamburger Buns

suggested toppings:

shredded lettuce
thinly sliced radishes
thinly sliced tomato

Preparation

prepare the chicken breast:

1.  Slice the chicken breast in half or thirds, depending on the thickness of the breast.

2. One at a time, place each breast in a 1 gallon resealable plastic bag and pound each slice to about ¼-inch thick scallopini.

3.  Cut the scallopini into 6 smaller, bun sized scallopini.

bread and fry the chicken scallopini:

1.  Place the breadcrumbs, cheese and cayenne onto a plate and mix together to evenly distribute all the ingredients.  Place the beaten egg into another and the flour in a third.

2.  Set up a breading station by place the plates in the following order; first the flour, then the egg, then the breadcrumb mixture.

3. Bread each scallopini by first dredging it in the flour, then into the egg, and finally into the breadcrumb mixture placing the breaded scallopini onto a holding plate.

4.  Place a large sauté pan over medium heat and, when the pan is hot, place the oil in it.  When the reaches the ripple state add two or three of the bread scallopini into the oil, do not over crowd, and fry until nicely browned on both sides, turning as necessary.

5.  As the scallopini brown, place onto a plate covered with a paper towel to drain off any excess oil.

prepare the Chili Garlic Mayo:

Place the mayonnaise and chili garlic sauce in a small container and mix together.

service: 

Place one scallopini on the lower half of each bun spread some of the Chili Garlic Mayo on each scallopini and top, if desired, with one of the suggested toppings or toppings of your choice.

Chicken Chow Mein

Chicken Chow Mein

serves 4 to 6

(Chinese-American)

Everyone's first experience with Chinese restaurant food was probably chicken or pork chow mein, this is a copy cat recipe to help you re-experience that first encounter at home.

                                                                                  Prep time:  30 minutes
                                                                                  Cook time:  15 minutes
                                                                                  Total time: 45 minutes

Ingredients

1 to 1 ½ pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into approximately ½- inch pieces
2 teaspoons plus ½ cup soy sauce, divided use
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
1 tablespoon sesame oil
12 ounces Chinese noodles
2 ½ tablespoons cornstarch
1/4 cold cup water
2 tablespoons peanut or vegetable oil
3 cups sliced celery, thinly sliced on the diagonal
½ cup shredded carrot
1 cup yellow onion, sliced thinly
2 bunches  green onions, green tops sliced diagonally into 1-inch lengths
1 cup sliced fresh mushrooms
1 can good chicken broth
2 tablespoon oyster sauce
¼ teaspoon grated fresh ginger
½ pound bean sprouts (rinsed & drained)
5 ounces of bamboo shoots, matchsticked
5 ounces can water chestnuts (drained & sliced)

Rice or dry Chow Mein noodles

Preparation

marinate the chicken:

After you slice the chicken, place it in a bowl with 2 tsp of soy sauce, the rice vinegar and sesame oil and set aside for at least 1 hour.

prepare the noodles:

Cook noodles according to package directions.  Rinse under cold water, drain and set aside.

create a thickener:

Create a thickening slurry by blending the cornstarch and cold water.

create the chow mein:

1.  In large skillet or wok over medium heat, cook chicken in oil until done, about 10 minutes. Remove from skillet.
2.  Raise heat to high and cook celery, yellow onion, scallions,  and sliced mushrooms in the oil until the celery and onions are crisp-tender; 2-3 minutes, stirring constantly.
3.  Add chicken broth, ginger, oyster sauce, and remaining soy sauce.
4.  Add the cooked chicken, bean sprouts, bamboo shoots and water chestnuts.
5.  Add the drained noodles to the pan, and continue to stir fry till the noodles are heated through, about 2 minutes.
6.  .  Bring the liquid to a boil.  Add the slurry and continue heating and stirring until the liquid thickens.

service:

Place the chow mein on a large serving platter and serve accompanied by rice or dry Chow Mein noodles.

Tikka Masala

Tikka Masala

serves 4

(India)

Tikka Masala is dish of roasted chicken chunks  in a spicy masala  sauce and one of those Indian restaurant specialties that is dead simple to prepare at home.

Ingredients

Tikka Masala marinade:

1 cup plain yogurt

1 tablespoon lemon juice

2 teaspoons ground cumin

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper

1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger

4 teaspoons Kosher or sea salt, or to taste

3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into bit-sized pieces

4 long skewers

Tikka Masala sauce:

1 tablespoon butter

1 clove garlic, minced

1 jalapeno pepper, finely chopped

2 teaspoons ground cumin

2 teaspoons paprika

3 teaspoons salt, or to taste

1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce

1 cup heavy cream

1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

accompaniment :

yellow rice prepared to package instructions

naan bread

Preparation

prepare the marinade:

In a large bowl combine the yogurt, the lemon juice, the cumin, the cinnamon, the cayenne, the black pepper, the ginger, and the salt.  Pour the mixture into a large, 1 gallon, resealable plastic bag, add the chicken and refrigerate for at least 1 hour to marinate.

Lightly oil the grates of your grill and preheat it to high heat.

grill the chicken:

Distribute and thread the chicken pieces onto the skewers, discard the marinade.  Grill the chicken until juices run clear when a piece is pierced, about 5 minutes on each side.

prepare the masala sauce:

Melt the butter in a large, heavy sauté pan over medium heat.  Add the garlic and chopped jalapeno for 1 minute.  Add the cumin, paprika, garam masala and salt, stir in the tomato sauce and cream.   Reduce the heat to low and simmer until the sauce thickens, about 20 minutes.  Remove the chicken from the skewers and add the pieces to the thickened sauce and continue to simmer for 10 minutes.

service:

Transfer the Tikki Masala to a serving platter and serve immediately accompanied by yellow rice and naan bread.

Thai Peanut Chicken Breasts

Thai Peanut Chicken Breasts 

(Thailand)

serves 4

This spicy Thai chicken dish can be made with either boneless, skinless chicken breasts (my personal favourite) or with bone in, skin on chicken pieces.  You may want to consider increasing the sauce ingredients to insure plenty of sauce to serve as an accompaniment and if you like your Thai food really spicy, add the cayenne pepper.

Ingredients

4   skinless, boneless chicken breasts
8-ounces  of  cream  of coconut mixed with 8-ounces water

1/4  cup  creamy peanut butter

1/3  cup  chicken broth

2  tablespoons  soy sauce

2  tablespoons  rice vinegar

1  tablespoon  packed brown sugar

1  tablespoon  toasted sesame oil

1 or 2  teaspoons of Sambal Oelek (fresh  chili paste), depending  on  personal preference

1  teaspoon  fresh ginger, micro-planed

1  clove  garlic, micro-planed

1/8  to 1/4 teaspoon  cayenne pepper, optional if you like it really spicy

1/2  cup  all-purpose flour

1/2  teaspoon  salt

1/2  teaspoon  ground black pepper

2  tablespoons  vegetable oil

2  tablespoons  snipped fresh cilantro

2  cups  hot cooked rice

2 tablespoons of corn starch slurry (1 tablespoon corn starch thoroughly mixed with 1 tablespoon of COLD water)

Preparation

1.  Preheat your oven to 300° F.

2.  Combine flour, salt, and black pepper in a 1 gallon re-sealable plastic bag, add the chicken breasts, one at a time, to flour mixture, shaking to coat and remove to a plate.

3.  In a large skillet, cook chicken, half at a time, in hot oil until brown, turning occasionally. Transfer chicken to an ungreased 3-quart rectangular baking dish.

4.  Whisk together the thinned coconut cream and peanut butter  in a medium sauce pan over medium heat until smooth, add the broth, soy sauce, vinegar, brown sugar, sesame oil, chili  paste, ginger, garlic, and cayenne pepper and stir to combine.  To complete the sauce, raise the temperature under the sauce pan to medium-high and bring the mixture to a boil; reduce the heat to low simmer and simmer, uncovered, for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

5.  Pour peanut butter sauce over the breasts, cover loosely with foil and bake the breasts for 1 hour, basting occasionally with the sauce during the hour.  Uncover and continue baking, uncovered, for 20 to 30 minutes more or until the chicken is very tender.

6. Transfer chicken to a serving platter for a family style service or to individual service plates over a bed of rice for individual service.

7.  Prepare the sauce for service by transferring it to a medium sauce pan and bring  to a boil over high heat; when the gravy comes to a boil add the slurry while constantly stirring until the gravy forms  a thickened sauce.  Transfer the sauce to a gravy boat, spoon some of the sauce over the chicken breasts and sprinkle each breast with some of the cilantro. Serve accompanied by the  remaining sauce, hot cooked, white rice and additional chopped cilantro.

Blue Birds

Blue Birds

Serves 4

(America)

Ingredients

4 Skinless, boneless chicken breasts

4 tablespoons of butter

3 tablespoons of flour

1 1/2 cups of milk

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

1 tablespoon lemon zest

1/8 teaspoon Cayenne pepper

4 ounces of blue cheese

Preparation

1.  Lightly pound chicken breasts and dust with flour.

2.  Sauté the breasts in a heavy skillet in 1 tablespoon of butter until golden brown.

3.  In a sauce pan, over low heat melt the remaining 3 tablespoons of butter and add the 3 tablespoons of flour (make a roux).   Cook the butter and flour mixture about 2 minutes, add the milk and stir constantly until the sauce thickens.

4.  Crumble 2 ½ ounces of the blue cheese, the lemon juice, the lemon zest, and the cayenne pepper into the sauces and stir until blended.  Remove from the heat, taste and adjust seasoning.

5.   Place a chicken breast on each diner's plate, pour ¼ of the sauce over each breast or, for a fancier look, first pour ¼ of the sauce onto the plate then place the chicken breast on top of the sauce and sprinkle the breast with some chopped, fresh Italian flat leaved parsley as a garnish.  Crumble the remaining blue cheese and distribute evenly over each breast.

Next Week's Posting:  Linguine con Vongole Piccante Salsa  (Linguini with Spicy Clam Sauce)