Yea! Chicken Thursday

photo by L. Gatto-White

Gluten-free recipe

Are you like the harried woman in the Old El Paso commercial who finds that even her family’s dog can’t get excited by another meal of the flavourless, factory chicken breasts most of us buy? Well, don’t despair; you needn’t revert to the fatty ground-beef, stale spice packet and brittle corn tortillas offered by that smug Old El Paso dude in the Panama hat (notice the dog doesn’t like him either).

We buy boneless, skinless chicken breasts for their convenience, versatility and low fat. But, they are often dry unless they are breaded and fried, which of course adds back the fat, especially if coated in breadcrumbs or batter which absorb a good deal of it. However, you can have your crispy chicken breast and eat it too, if you coat it in egg and cornstarch which doesn’t absorb as much oil, especially when the cooking oil is quite hot and the chicken is fried quickly in the Chinese stir-fry method.

Crispy Lemon Chicken is tasty and easy to prepare, requiring ingredients most already have in their cupboards and if it’s served over rice or rice noodles it is gluten-free. If serving young children simply substitute the hot chili peppers for sweet red ones, if you don’t have Chinese five-spice powder (President’s Choice makes it) use a pinch of cinnamon and ground cloves instead. To take the edge-off impatient hungry appetites, bake a few good quality frozen egg rolls, or begin with a small warming cup of Japanese miso soup, there are several excellent packaged brands available. Just don’t chicken-out and get stuck in the ground-beef rut, make this dish and your family will shout, “Yea! Chicken Thursday!”

Crispy Lemon Chicken

Serves four

Ingredients:

For the chicken:

• 4 halves, boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 1 egg beaten
• 2/3  cup cornstarch
• 4 tbsp. light vegetable oil (I use Becel)

For the sauce:

• 1 tbsp. sesame oil
• ½  cup low-sodium chicken stock
• 2 tsp. P.C. Chinese five-spice powder or pinch cinnamon and ground cloves
• juice and finely grated zest from 1 ½  lemons (reserve second half for garnish)
• 2 fresh hot chilies chopped finely
• 2” piece of  ginger root grated or finely minced
• 2 cloves garlic crushed
• 3 tbsp. soy sauce
• 3 tbsp. honey
• 1 ½ tsp cornstarch dissolved in 1 tbsp. water

To Serve:

• cooked Thai rice noodles or cooked rice for four
• 4 green onions thinly sliced on the diagonal
• two handfuls raw rinsed bean sprouts
• ½  lemon finely sliced (see above)
• 1 handful fresh coriander, coarsely chopped
• 1 tbsp. sesame seeds
• salt and pepper to taste

Method:

• cut chicken breasts lengthwise in long 1 ½”wide strips, then cut each strip across into 3 equal pieces
• in a low, wide bowl beat the egg until mixed, place half the cornstarch in a baggie
• place a few chicken pieces in the baggie, and shake to coat, then working one at a time, dip pieces in the egg then shake again in the baggie to coat, set each coated piece aside on a dish, add second half of cornstarch to baggie when needed
• line a baking tray with paper towels, pour half the oil in a wok or deep skillet and warm over medium-high heat until a small piece of bread browns easily
• carefully add a few coated chicken pieces to the hot oil, turning only once to lightly brown and crisp both sides, drain chicken on paper towels
• when oil becomes cloudy drain it off, wipe wok with paper towel and add reserved oil to finish frying

For Sauce:

• drain-off frying oil from wok and wipe out inside to remove any debris, add sesame oil to wok and warm over medium heat,  in a bowl add rest of the sauce ingredients and whisk well to combine
• add sauce to the heated oil and whisk to thicken , add fried chicken to the sauce, with a spatula, turn to coat well
• remove wok from heat and add noodles (omit this step if using rice, just add bean sprouts etc.), turn once to coat adding rest of serving ingredients – if  using rice, serve chicken and vegetables in sauce over it

What A Crock!

photo by L. Gatto-White

Every spring we fall for it, you know, the old adage “if March comes in like a lion it’ll go out like a lamb”; uh-huh, just don’t peel off those Stanfield’s any time soon my friend, there’s lots of roaring going on in the jungle and the lion isn’t yet asleep. But, we can still give Jack Frost the cold shoulder by firing-up our crock pots and Dutch ovens to make the quintessential Maritime comfort food, pork and baked beans; just thinking about them makes my kitchen’s windows mist-up.

This easy recipe uses the undervalued pork hock, a cut which is inexpensive, succulent and flavourful, if you want real gusto buy smoked ones, but purge them first to get rid of excess salt. Slow-cooking them in Nova Scotia hard cider, either Tide View or Stutz and a pouch of pickling spice, brown sugar and aromatic vegetables renders them savoury, sweet and delicious, just falling from the bone and bathed in a lovely cider glaze.

 For the beans try something other than the standard white navy beans; I find yellow-eyed peas (actually beans) a great choice as they have nice creamy texture and subtle smoky flavour, and seem to take less time to cook than the tougher navy bean. To add more depth of flavour, add some dark rum, a piece of cinnamon stick and a pinch of piquant cayenne pepper. No matter which way you choose to cook them, they’ll fill your crock with warm delicious comfort, and then perhaps the lion of winter may finally be put to rest.

                                                                   Bon Appetit!

                                                       Cider-glazed Pork Hocks

                                                                   Serves four  

Ingredients: 

• 4 large pork hocks 
• 1 leek, trimmed up to light green part and chopped
• 1 celery stalk, finely chopped
• 1 carrot peeled and diced 
• 2 branched stems fresh thyme
• 1 tsp. each: salt and pepper
• 3 ½ cups hard cider: Stutz or Tide View
• 2 tbsps. cider vinegar 
• 4 tbsps. maple syrup  
• 2 tbsps. brown sugar
• 2 tbsp. Worcester sauce 
• ½ tsp. allspice
• 1” piece fresh ginger 
• 1 tbsp. pickling spice tied in cheesecloth or a coffee filter with cotton string

Method: 

• Score skins on hocks in a criss-cross pattern, then place pork hocks in a deep skillet over med-high heat to crisp skin and render fat
• Preheat oven to 375, remove hocks from skillet and place in a large casserole or Dutch oven, adding next 5 ingredients,

•  add 1 ½ cups of the cider, Worcester sauce, brown sugar, allspice, pickling spice and ginger
• Cover the casserole and bake on middle rack for approx. 2 hrs. then remove cover and cook until meat is tender and just falling from the bone. Turn 2-3 times during baking.
• Remove casserole from oven, transfer hocks to a covered serving dish, and spoon-off fat from sauce
•  scrape sauce into a sauté pan, add reserved ½ cup cider and maple syrup,
• Simmer for 3-4 mins until a medium- thick glaze forms, taste, adjust seasonings and pour over cooked pork hocks to serve  

                                                            Rum- Baked Beans

                                                             Serves four

• 2 cups dried navy beans or yellow-eyed peas
• 4 strips smoked bacon, fat trimmed and finely diced
• 1 large onion  coarsely diced
• 2 cloves garlic crushed
• ½ cinnamon stick
• 1 tsp. ground cayenne pepper or smoked paprika
• 1 tbsp. prepared mustard
• 1 cup molasses
• 1 tsp. each: salt and pepper
• One 19oz. can of stewed tomatoes  
• 4 ozs. dark rum

Method:

• Soak beans in 5 cups cold water overnight, then drain
• Preheat oven to 375
• In a medium casserole, place all ingredients, including beans, stir well
• Add enough water to cover top of beans, cover casserole and place in oven
• Cook for 3 hours, stirring occasionally (adding water if too dry or thick), remove lid and season with salt and pepper. Cook a further hour or until beans are soft and a golden crust has formed.