Tag: Chicken
Sri Lankan Chicken Curry
Sri Lankan Chicken Curry
After eating this chicken curry for the first time, you’ll want to have this Sri Lankan comfort food on the regular. This is extremely good; like drink a cup of curry gravy good. And the best part is that it’s inexpensive and relatively easy to make. I always will recommend to use bone in chicken as opposed to boneless. The bone adds so much flavor to the curry that it would be completely silly to use anything but. With many Sri Lankan curries, there are 2 options for the consistency and flavor of the gravy. If you want this curry to be heavier and rich with slightly less spiciness, use coconut milk. If you want the curry to be less rich, but spicier in flavor, use chicken stock. There’s really no wrong.
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp coconut oil
- 1/2 medium red onion finely chopped
- 4 tbsp ginger garlic paste
- 8 curry leaves
- 2 1/2 tbsp Sri Lankan curry powder
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
- 1 tbsp paprika
- 2 lbs whole chicken legs drums and thighs cut in half
- 2 serrano peppers thinly sliced
- 3 roma tomatoes diced
- 2 tsp brown sugar
- 2 tsp cider vinegar
- 1/2 cup coconut milk or chicken stock
- 1/2 cup water
Garnish
- cilantro chopped
Instructions
- Heat up coconut oil in a large sauté pan over medium high heat. Add in the onion and ginger garlic paste. Sauté for 5 minutes.
- Stir in the curry powder, cayenne, paprika, cinnamon stick, and curry leaves. Cook for 2 minutes.
- Add in the chicken, serranos, tomatoes, and brown sugar. Season with salt. Brown the chicken on all sides for 10 minutes.
- Pour in the coconut milk, water, and cider vinegar. Bring to a boil. Cover. Reduce the heat to medium low and simmer for 30 minutes.
- Uncover and simmer for 10 more minutes.
Sri Lankan Roasted Curry Powder
Sri Lankan roasted curry powder is the base of so many Sri Lankan curries. It is specifically used in curries that contain proteins like beef, pork, lamb, and chicken. It can also used in vegetarian curries. If you want to use the curry powder for fish and seafood, don’t toast any of the spices. Dry toasted spices are too strong for aquatic protein and will overpower the flavor.
Equipment
- Spice grinder
Ingredients
- 4 tbsp coriander seeds
- 3 tbsp cumin seeds
- 2 tbsp black peppercorns
- 2 tbsp basmati rice
- 1 tbsp black mustard seeds
- 3 tsp whole cloves
- 2 tsp green cardamom seeds
- 1 tsp fennel seeds
Instructions
- Dry toast the rice in a nonstick pan over medium heat for 3 minutes.
- Add in the rest of the ingredients. Toast for 5 minutes; continuously moving the pan to keep the spices from burning. Let cool completely.
- Grind to a powder in a spice grinder.
Tasso Ham and Chicken Jambalaya
Tasso Ham and Chicken Jambalaya
This recipe is something special. Not only is it the best jambalaya you will ever eat, the recipe was created by the great chef, Paul Prudhomme, who popularized and introduced Cajun and Creole cuisine to the mainstream culinary world. If you don’t like spicy food, then this jambalaya might not be for you. It is fairly spicy. But you will have a hard time trying to stop eating it. Jambalaya itself is a Creole rice dish with West African, French, and Spanish influences. Jambalaya will always have some type of smoked sausage or ham, such as andouille or tasso, chicken, and sometimes shrimp or crawfish tails. The base of rice dish starts with the holy trinity: onion, celery, and bell pepper; the Cajun equivalent of the French mirepoix. All of that is sautéed, then mixed with rice and stock. The jambalaya is then baked in the oven, much like jollof rice, hence the West African influence.
Servings: 4
Equipment
- 6 quart oven-safe saucepan or baking dish
Ingredients
Spice Mix
- 1 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp white pepper
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
- 1/2 tsp thyme
- 1/4 tsp ground sage
- 2 bay leaves
Jambalaya
- 2 tbsp butter
- 1/2 lb tasso ham diced into small cubes
- 4 boneless skinless chicken thighs cubed
- 1 cup onion diced
- 1 cup celery diced
- 1 cup bell pepper red or green; diced
- 1 tbsp garlic minced
- 1/2 cup tomato sauce
- 14 oz canned diced tomatoes
- 3 cups chicken stock
- 1 1/2 cups basmati rice
Instructions
- Mix together the spice blend. Set aside.
- Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium high heat. Sauté the tasso ham for 3 minutes.
- Add in the chicken. Sauté for 5 minutes.
- Add the spice mix and half of the onion, celery, and bell pepper. Continue to sauté for 5 minutes.
- Stir in the garlic and cook for 2 minutes. Add in the tomatoes, tomato sauce, and the remaining onion, celery, and bell peppers.
- Mix in the rice. Pour in the chicken stock. Place the pan in a preheated 350 degree oven, uncovered. If your saucepan isn’t oven safe, transfer to a 6 quart baking dish.
- Bake for 50-60 minutes.
Tasso Ham
Tasso ham is a Louisiana specialty. Instead of using a pork leg, pork shoulder is cured, dry rubbed with what is pretty much andouille sausage seasoning, and smoked. The result is a spicy, fatty, ham shoulder that is used in numerous cajun recipes such as jambalaya, gumbo, etouffee, beans and rice, and many more.
Equipment
- Electric Smoker
Ingredients
- 5 lbs boneless pork shoulder cut into 1” thick steaks
- 8 oz sea salt
- 4 oz sugar
- 2 tbsp pink curing salt
- 1/4 cup white pepper
- 1/4 cup cayenne pepper
- 2 tbsp marjoram
- 2 tbsp allspice
- 2 tbsp garlic powder
- 2 tbsp thyme
Wood Chips
- hickory wood chips
Instructions
- Mix together the salt, sugar, and curing salt.
- Dredge each of the pork steaks in the curing mixture.
- Place the pork steaks on a baking pan. Wrap in foil and let cure in the refrigerator for 4 hours.
- After 4 hours, rinse off the cure on each of the pork steaks. Pat dry with paper towels.
- Mix together the white pepper, cayenne, thyme, garlic powder, allspice, and marjoram.
- Season both sides of the pork steaks.
- Preheat your smoker to 225 degrees. Place the pork steaks into the smoker. Smoke for 2 hours until the internal temp reaches 150 degrees.
- Let the tasso cool completely before use.
Laotian-Style Chicken Wings
Laotian-Style Chicken Wings
I’m not a fan of heavily sauce covered chicken wings. The combination of buffalo sauced wings being dipped in ranch dressing is an abomination to the culinary world as far as I’m concerned. These chicken wings are the exact opposite. The wings are marinated in an oyster sauce/garlic/cilantro base with a few seasonings and a bit of sugar to add a hint of sweetness. You can either grill or broil the chicken wings for about 20 minutes, flipping half way through. The other option would be to bake them in the oven at 400 degrees for 45-50 minutes. The wings turn out crispy, moist, and highly flavorful without any deep frying and drowning in sauce.
Equipment
- food processor
Ingredients
- 3 lbs chicken wings drumette and wingette separated; tips removed
- 4 garlic cloves minced
- 1/3 cup cilantro
- 3 tbsp oyster sauce
- 1 tbsp light soy sauce
- 1/2 tsp white pepper
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp sugar
- 1/2 tsp salt
Instructions
- Place all of the marinade ingredients in a food processor.
- Blend until smooth.
- Place the wings and the marinade in a gallon sized storage bag. Marinate the wings for 8 hours.
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Place the wings on a rack on a baking sheet lined in foil.
- Bake the wings for 45-50 minutes, flipping half way through. Let rest for 15 minutes before serving.
