Tag: appetizer
Salt and Pepper Chicken
Salt and Pepper Chicken
Salt and pepper chicken is a very common appetizer found in Chinese restaurants. You may even see many other menu items with the salt and pepper name: shrimp, squid, chicken wings, and even tofu. The protein is marinated in a simple garlic/ginger/brown sugar marinade, then dredged in cornstarch. It is then fried then seasoned with a salt and pepper spice mix and garnished with fried basil leaves. That easy.
Ingredients
- 1 lb boneless skinless chicken thighs or breasts cut into 1 1/2” cubes
- 1 large egg beaten
- 1/2 cup cornstarch
- 1/3 cup vegetable oil
- 12 large basil leaves
Marinade
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil
- 3 garlic cloves minced
- 3 tsp ginger minced
- 2 tsp brown sugar
- 1/2 tsp salt
Spice Mix
- 1 tsp ground white pepper
- 1/2 tsp brown sugar
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/8 tsp five spice powder
Instructions
- Mix together the marinade ingredients. Add the chicken and marinate for 15 minutes.
- Add the ban egg to the chicken. Mix thoroughly. Then add in the cornstarch, making sure that all of the pieces are evenly coated.
- Add the cooking oil to a large sauté pan over medium high heat. Cook the chicken pieces for 4 minutes a side.
- When the chicken is done frying, remove any excess fried bits from the oil by scooping them out with a slotted spoon. Add in basil leaves and fry for 1 minute.
- Season the chicken with the spice mix. Toss with the fried basil leaves.
African Corn Tamales wrapped in Banana Leaves
African Corn Tamales wrapped in Banana Leaves
These corn tamales are indigenous to Centra African cuisine; specifically Cameroonian. They consist of corn, cornmeal, palm oil, and spinach wrapped and steamed in banana leaves. The main difference between wrapping your tamales in banana leaves as opposed to corn husks like the Mexican version is that the banana leaves give the tamales more of an earthy flavor while husks make it taste more corny. I have been putting off making these for the last month thinking that they were going to take longer than I thought. You can honestly make the corn mixture in less than 10 minutes. The banana leaves took less than 10 minutes to wash and heat up under the broiler. This step is very important and can’t be missed. Heating them up under a flame allows the leaves to be pliable. If you skip this step, the leaves will tare when you roll up the tamales. I’m extremely efficient in rolling up things; so it took me less than 5 minutes to make the entire batch of tamales. This recipe should yield you 10-12 tamales. So 25-30 minutes of assembly with 90 minutes of steaming. When they are finished, the tamales need to sit for 15-20 to firm up.These tamales can be eaten out of the leaves as is or are even better topped with cheese, sour cream, and hot sauce. Skip the cheese and sour cream if you want these to continue to be vegan.
Equipment
- Blender or food processor
- steamer pot and basket
Ingredients
- 6 cup corn
- 1 cup water
- 1 cup cornmeal
- 3 tbsp palm oil
- 2 tsp salt
- 2 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tbsp dehydrated onion
- 3 cups spinach chopped
- banana leaves
Instructions
- In a blender or food processor, pulse the corn with 1 cup of water until roughly chopped, but not puréed.
- Add the corn mixture to another bowl with cornmeal, salt, palm oil, garlic powder, and dehydrated onions. Mix thoroughly.
- Mix in the spinach.
- Tare the banana leaves into 10”x12” pieces. Wash thoroughly. Place them under your broiler for a minute. This helps them be pliable. Take 1 cup of the corn mixture and place it across the center of the banana leaf.
- Roll it up. Don’t smoke it.
- Line the bottom of a steamer basket with banana leaves. You don’t want any water touching the tamales while steaming.
- Place the tamales upright in the steamer basket. Cover and let steam for 90 minutes.
- When finished steaming, remove from the pot and let sit for 15-20 minutes to firm up.
- You can eat these asis right out of the banana leaf.
- Or you can top the tamales with sour cream and your favorite hot sauce.
African Scotch Eggs
African Scotch Eggs
This is an African version of the Scottish Scotch egg, just without the egg wrapped in sausage and breadcrumbs. Instead, the hard boiled eggs are wrapped in a dough then deep fried. The outside is very similar to a flakey crescent roll. Serve these with your favorite hot sauce.
Ingredients
- 8 hard boiled eggs
- 1/2 tsp yeast
- 1/4 cup warm water
- 1 1/2 tbsp sugar
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/3 cup whole milk
- 2 cups flour
- 1/2 tsp gatlic powder
- 1/2 tsp paprika
- 1/2 tsp cracked black pepper
- 2 oz melted butter
- oil for frying
Instructions
- Add the yeast to the warm water. Mix and let sit for 5 minutes. Then stir in the sugar, salt and whole milk.
- Mix in the flour, garlic powder, paprika, and black pepper. Then mix in the melted butter until the dough forms.
- On a lightly floured surface, need the dough to a couple of minutes. Roll the dough out to 1/2” thick. Using something circular, like a cup or a ramekin, cut out circles out of the dough.
- Take on of the dough circles and roll it a little thinner. Place one of the hard boiled eggs in the center.
- Fold over and crimp the edges. Then roll it into an egg shape.
- Let the dough sit and rise for 30 minutes.
- Fill a small pot with 2” of cooking oil over medium high heat. The temp should read 350 degrees. Add in 4 off the eggs.
- Fry for 5 minutes in total, flipping the eggs half way through the cooking time.
- Drain on paper towel.
- Serve with your favorite hot sauce.
