Tag: appetizer

Dakkochi (Korean Chicken on a Stick)

Dakkochi (Korean Chicken on a Stick)

Dakkochi (Korean Chicken on a Stick)

Dakkochi are a real popular street food in Korea. They are simply grilled chicken on a stick. They are traditionally brushed with layers of either a sweet or spicy sauce while being grilled. If you don’t have a grill, these can easily be broiled.
Prep Time20 minutes
Cook Time12 minutes
Course: Appetizer
Cuisine: Korean
Keyword: appetizer, Chicken, Korean
Author: Alex Gorgos

Ingredients

  • 1 lb boneless skinless chicken breast or thigh cut into 2” cubes
  • 8 green onions cut into 2” pieces
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1/4 tsp black pepper
  • 3 tbsp cooking wine
  • 1 tbsp garlic minced
  • 1 tsp ginger grated

Sweet Sauce

  • 1/2 cup soy sauce
  • 1/2 cup honey

Spicy Sauce

  • 1/2 cup sweet sauce
  • 1 tbsp gochugaru
  • 1 tbsp sriracha
  • 1/4 tsp black pepper

Instructions

  • Mix together the cooking wine, garlic, ginger, salt, and black pepper. Marinate the cubed chicken for 20 minutes.
    Korean, appetizer, chicken
  • Mix together the sweet sauce ingredients.
    Korean, appetizer, chicken
  • Mix together the spicy sauce ingredients.
    Korean, appetizer, chicken
  • Turn on your oven’s broiler. Place a rack on a baking sheet lined in foil. Skewer up the green onions and chicken. I used 8” skewers; allowing for 3 pieces of chicken per skewer. Place the skewers on the rack.
    Korean, appetizer, chicken
  • Broil for 2 minutes a side.
    Korean, appetizer, chicken
  • Brush the top side of the skewers with the sauce of your choice. Broil for 2 minutes. Flip the skewers. Brush with the sauce. Broil for another 2 minutes. Do this step 1 more time for each of the sides of the skewers. Each side should have 2 coatings of the sauce.
    Korean, appetizer, chicken
Korean, appetizer, chicken
Bang Bang Chicken

Bang Bang Chicken

Bang Bang Chicken

You may have seen bang bang chicken on Chinese restaurant menus. What they will bring you is chopped up chunks of chicken breast that been battered and deep fried covered in a chili sauce. This couldn’t be farther away from what real bang bang chicken is. Bang bang chicken gets it’s name from how the chicken was traditionally processed after being steamed: hammered with a wooden baton; creating a banging sound. You can use a mallet or a rolling pin the pound the chicken. Or you can completely skip this step and shredded the chicken with two forks.
The sauce used in this dish has many complex flavors: sweet, spicy, savory, nutty, with a slight sourness from the chianking vinegar. After the chicken has been bang banged and shredded, the sauce is poured over. The chicken is garnished with green onions and even more chili oil. This chicken is extremely tender with a lot of spice. It’s currently eating the lining of my stomach as I type this. It’s 100% worth the agony.
Prep Time10 minutes
Cook Time30 minutes
Course: Appetizer, Main Course
Cuisine: Chinese
Keyword: appetizer, Chicken, Chinese, main course
Author: Alex Gorgos

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 lbs boneless skinless chicken breast
  • 2 green onions
  • 1 tsp salt

Sauce

  • 4 tbsp light soy sauce
  • 2 tbsp Chinese sesame paste
  • 2 tbsp Sichuan chili oil
  • 1 1/2 tbsp Chianking vinegar
  • 1 tbsp sugar
  • 4 garlic cloves minced
  • 2 tsp ginger grated
  • 1/2 tsp Sichuan peppercorns ground

Garnish

  • green onions chopped
  • Sichuan chili oil

Instructions

  • Mix together the sauce ingredients. Set aside.
    Chinese, appetizer, main course, chicken
  • Place a plate inside your steamer. Create a bed out of the green onions.
    Chinese, appetizer, main course, chicken
  • Place the chicken on top of the green onions. Season with salt.
    Chinese, appetizer, main course, chicken
  • Steam for 30 minutes. Cut into the thickest part of the chicken to check and see if it’s cooked all the way through.
    Chinese, appetizer, main course, chicken
  • Let the chicken cool. Using a mallet, hammer down the chicken.
    Chinese, appetizer, main course, chicken
  • Shred the chicken with 2 forks.
    Chinese, appetizer, main course, chicken
  • Plate the chicken. Pour the sauce over the chicken. Garnish with chopped green onions. If you want more spice, drizzle more chili oil over the chicken.
    Chinese, appetizer, main course, chicken

How to make Chili Oil in an Instant Pot

Ever eat at a Chinese restaurant and they have that chili oil at the table? Then you end up putting it on everything because it’s so damn good. Well now it’s time to learn how to make it for a fraction of the price of the store bought brands. 
Making this couldn’t be easier using the Instant Pot. The most important thing in making this chili oil is to not burn the ingredients. You want to keep the oil between 225 and 250 degrees. The Instant Pot has a custom temperature setting which makes making this street free. You can still make this on a stove top if you don’t have an Instant Pot. Just make sure to use a cane thermometer to make sure the oil doesn’t get too hot. If the ingredients burn, you will have to start over.
Most cultures have some sort of chili oil in their cuisine, all made very similarly. This recipe is for a Chinese style chili oil, so I used ingredients in Chinese cooking. If you were to make a chili oil for Italian cuisine, you would you’d Italian crushed chili flakes and maybe some garlic and dried herbs in the oil. So experiment with making different oils. The chili flake is always the main ingredient, followed by aromatics steeping in the oil.
Cook Time30 minutes
Course: condiment
Cuisine: Chinese
Keyword: Chinese, condiment, instant pot
Author: Alex Gorgos

Ingredients

  • 2 cups vegetable oil
  • 1 large cinnamon stick
  • 5 star anise
  • 3 tbsp Szechuan peppercorns
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 1 cup crushed Szechuan chili flakes

Instructions

  • Set your Instant Pot to the sauté function. Choose custom temp. Set to 230 degrees, Add your oil, cinnamon stick, star anise, peppercorns, and bay leaves to the Instant Pot. Cook for 30 minutes, giving an occasional stir. Let cool for 5 minutes.
    Chinese, condiment
  • Put the crushed chili flakes in a mason jar. Take a small piece of cheese cloth and put it over the jar, with a rubber band around it to hold in place.
    Chinese, condiment
  • Take out the cinnamon stick and bay leaves. Pour the oil into the mason jar. The cheese cloth will catch all of the peppercorns and star anise..
    Chinese, condiment
  • Screw on the cover and let cool to room temp. Refrigerate up to 6 months.
    Chinese, condiment
Kookoo Sib Zamini (Potato Patties)

Kookoo Sib Zamini (Potato Patties)

Kookoo Sib Zamini

In Persian cursine, kookoo refers any type of fried vegetable with egg. Kooko sib zamini are fried potato patties. These can be served as an appetizer or a side dish with any meal. When making the potato dough, incorporate up to, but not more, than 1/2 cup of flour if the dough is too wet.
Prep Time10 minutes
Cook Time10 minutes
Course: Appetizer, Side Dish
Cuisine: Iranian
Keyword: appetizer, Iranian, Middle Eastern, side dish
Author: Alex Gorgos

Ingredients

  • 5 medium potatoes cubed and boiled
  • 3 large eggs
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp black pepper
  • 1/2 tsp turmeric
  • 1/2 cup flour
  • vegetable oil for frying

Instructions

  • Mash the potatoes in a large bowl.
    Iranian, appetizer, side dish
  • Mix in the salt, pepper, turmeric, and eggs.
    Iranian, appetizer, side dish
  • Mix in the flour.
    Iranian, appetizer, side dish
  • Heat up cooking oil in a large sauté pan over medium high heat. Drop heaping tablespoops of the potato dough into the oil.
    Iranian, appetizer, side dish
  • Fry for 5 minutes a side until the patties are golden brown. Drain on paper towel.
    Iranian, appetizer, side dish
Iranian, appetizer, side dish