Tag: main course
Tsukune
Tsukune
Tsukune are little chicken meatballs sautéed then finished in a sweet and savory sauce. These are sometimes grilled on skewers and served as an appetizer like yakitori. These are really easy to make and require very little prep and cooking time. If you can’t find potato starch, breadcrumbs are an acceptable substitute.
Ingredients
Meatballs
- 1 lb ground chicken thigh
- 1/4 cup sautéed onion cooked to golden brown
- 1 large egg beaten
- 2 tsp ginger minced
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 5 tbsp potato starch
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil
Sauce
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 2 tbsp rice cooking wine
- 3 tbsp water
- 1/2 tsp potato starch
Garnish
- green onion finely chopped
Instructions
- In a bowl, combine ground chicken, egg, onion, ginger, salt, and potato starch.
- Mix thoroughly.
- Heat up cooking oil in a sauté pan over medium high heat. Using a cookie dropper, drop scoops of the meatball mix into the oil. Make sure to not overcrowd. You might have to cook these in 2 batches. I yielded 20 meatballs out of this recipe.
- Cook the meatballs for 4-5 minutes a side. Take out of the pan and set aside.
- In a small bowl, mix together all of the sauce ingredients.
- In the same sauté pan, add the sauce over medium heat. Cook for 1 minute. Add in the meatballs.
- Cook for no more than 2 minutes, tossing the meatballs, making sure that they are evenly coated in the sauce.
- Serve over steamed rice. Garnish with green onions.
Caramelized Chicken
Caramelized Chicken
This is the ultimate sweet and salty Vietnamese dish. The chicken is marinated in fish sauce, thick soy sauce, sugar, ginger, and shallots; then braised for and hour in coconut water. You can use either a whole chicken or just bone in thighs. The secret to cutting bone in chicken without getting bone fragments in your dish is to chop it with a clever when it is still half frozen. Each of the chicken thighs I used were cut into 4 pieces.
Ingredients
- 3 lbs bone in chicken thighs cut into 3-4 pieces
- 2 inch ginger julienned
- 2 large shallots diced
- 1 tsp thick soy sauce
- 1 tbsp chicken stock powder
- 2 1/2 tbsp sugar
- 1 tsp cracked black pepper
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1/4 cup fish sauce
- 16 oz coconut water
Garnish
- chopped cilantro
- chopped green onion
Instructions
- Mix together the ginger, shallots, thick soy sauce, fish sauce, cracked black pepper, sugar, and chicken stock powder.
- Marinate the chicken thighs in the marinade for 4 hours, preferably overnight.
- Heat up cooking oil in a large sauté pan over medium high heat. Add in the chicken in a single layer. Cook for 5-6 minutes.
- Pour in the coconut water and remaining marinade juices. Simmer uncovered on medium low for 60 minutes.
- The last minute of cooking, add in cilantro and green onion.
- Serve with steamed rice.
Mexican style Chicken Livers and Onions
Mexican style Chicken Livers and Onions
What makes this delicious dish of livers and onions Mexican is that the chicken livers are not dredged in flour like every other liver and onion recipe. Beef or pork liver will also work well if you aren’t a fan of chicken livers. Make sure that the beef or pork liver is sliced to just under 1/2” thick. Regardless of what type of animal liver you use, the most important thing when making liver is to pat dry the outside as much as possible. Liver holds a lot of liquid. If you don’t want grease to spatter everywhere, you will be thorough in pat drying liver.
Ingredients
- 1 lb chicken livers
- 3 garlic cloves
- 1 tsp black peppercorns
- 1 tsp water
- 1 medium white onion sliced
- 1 serrano pepper halved
- 3 tbsp vegetable oil
- salt to taste
Instructions
- In a mortar and pestle, mash the garlic cloves and black pepper into a paste. Add 1 tsp of water if too dry.
- Wash your chicken livers and pat dry. Add the garlic peppercorn paste to the Livers and marinate for 10 minutes.
- Heat up cooking oil in a large sauté pan over medium high heat. Add the onions and Serrano pepper. Sauté for 2-3 minutes. Remove and set aside.
- Add in the chicken livers. Sauté for 5 minutes.
- Add the onions and Serrano pepper back in. Cook for another 5 minutes. Season with salt to taste.
- Serve with red rice.
