Super Food Notes: Chicken

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Chennai Chicken Wings – A Football Snack from the Land of Cricket

By JOKO Januari 05, 2018

I used to do a new chicken wing video every year before the Super Bowl, but that yearly ritual stopped when I sort of ran out of things to do with them. Being from Western New York State, where chicken wings are as much a religion, as they are a snack, I didn’t want these posts to become gratuitous and contrived.

However, this year I was inspired to reestablish the tradition after enjoying an appetizer called “Chennai Chicken,” served at Dosa, which is one of my favorite Indian restaurants in San Francisco. Their version features thin strips of breast coasted with a ton of spice, and deep-fried to a gorgeous brick red.

It’s one of those dishes you can’t stop eating, no matter how badly your mouth is burning, and I thought it would make a great approach for a batch of Buffalo wings. Since they’d never published the recipe, I did a lot of guessing here, but think I got pretty close. One of the key ingredients is an Indian spice blend called garam masala, which isn’t too hard to find, but if you can’t, here’s a link to a recipe for making your own.

As usual, feel free to alter the spice amounts as you see fit, but as I said in the video, do not skip the rice vinegar sauce. It really makes the dish. I’m not sure if these wings are too exotic for your Super Bowl party, or if your guests are not exotic enough for them, but I really hope you give them a try anyway. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

4 pounds split chicken wings

2 tablespoon cornstarch

2 tablespoon rice flour

4 teaspoons cayenne

4 teaspoons paprika

4 teaspoons cumin

4 teaspoons garam masala

1 teaspoon turmeric

2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper

4 teaspoons kosher salt

For the ginger oil:

1 tablespoon grated ginger

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

For the sauce:

1/2 cup seasoned rice vinegar

2 tablespoons thinly sliced red onion

1 tablespoon julienned or grated ginger root

2 teaspoons sambal (spicy ground chili sauce)

1/2 teaspoon chili flakes

Chicken Little – The Sky is Not Falling

By JOKO November 03, 2017

Armed with nothing more than a sharp boning knife, and some patience, pretty much anyone can make this visually impressive, “chicken little.” At least that’s what I’m calling it, for lack of a better name. In the business, this is sometimes referred to as an individual chicken ballotine, which really doesn’t have much of a ring to it.

I was thinking of going with “pear chicken,” but then I’d have to deal with all those “where’s the pear?” comments. Anyway, regardless of the name, this is a real showstopper, and easily adaptable when it comes to seasonings, and glazes. I did the simplest pan sauce possible, by deglazing the drippings with a splash of chicken stock, but you could use wine, and/or demiglace, to fancy it up even more.

I’m recommending that we cook this to an internal temp of 150 F., to ensure ultra-juicy meat, which will terrify some of you, “Henny Penny’s”. I still see recommendations online to roast chicken to 165 F., which is not only crazy, but completely unnecessary. Anything that would harm you is killed at 140 F., so please try to relax.

Since there is a bit of production involved, I do suggest making these ahead, and keeping them in the fridge until you’re ready to serve. Not only will they roast to an even more beautiful golden brown, but your flavored butter ingredients inside will have time to permeate the meat. So, whether you’re making these to impress guests at a dinner party, or just improve your knife skills, or both, I really hope you give them a try soon. Enjoy!

Ingredients for 2 portions:

one 1.5 pound game hen (this will work with any size bird, but roasting times will change)

salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

For the butter:

1 clove garlic, sliced

large pinch of salt and pepper

1 teaspoon minced thyme and rosemary

2 tablespoons butter

1/2 cup seasoned chicken broth to deglaze and reduce in roasting pan

- Roast at 450 F. for about 30 minutes, or until internal temp of 150 F.

Rice Crispy Wings – No Breakfast Cereal was Harmed in the Making of this Video

By JOKO Oktober 13, 2017

As promised, here is the rice-flour coated chicken wings recipe I teased in the mumbo sauce video. It’s hard to believe that this is the first fried wings video we’ve ever done, but that was the case, which is why I’m so glad these turned out as well as they did.

Besides being gluten-free, which is probably a big deal to a small, but enthusiastic part of my audience, this rice flour coating ended up being light, crispy, and extremely sauce friendly.

The original buffalo style chicken wings are fried without any type of coating, and while I do enjoy them that way, they aren’t the best at holding on to a sauce. This is why people started adding some kind of starch to the outside, which creates a less slick, rougher surface, that really grabs onto whatever you’re dipping, or tossing them in.

By the way, before your wings get coated with the flour, you’re free to spice these anyway you want. Other than the salt, everything else is up for grabs. I went very simple, as I usually do, but the mind reels at the possibilities. Regardless of how you flavor yours, I really do hope you give them a try soon. Enjoy!

Ingredients for *one pound of rice crispy chicken wings:

1 pound chicken wing sections (flats and drums)

1 teaspoon kosher salt (or 1/2 teaspoon fine salt)

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 cup rice flour, preferably "stone-ground" (you can grind you own in a spice mill)

* This can be scaled up to however large a batch you need. I usually allow 1/2 pound of wings per person for a party.

- If you’re doing a larger batch, be sure to give the wings a toss or two during the refrigeration time. By the way, two hours would be a minimum, but if you want, you can leave these overnight with the seasoning.

Rice Crispy Wings – No Breakfast Cereal was Harmed in the Making of this Video

By JOKO Oktober 13, 2017

Ingredients for *one pound of rice crispy chicken wings:

1 pound chicken wing sections (flats and drums)

1 teaspoon kosher salt (or 1/2 teaspoon fine salt)

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 cup rice flour, preferably "stone-ground" (you can grind you own in a spice mill)

* This can be scaled up to however large a batch you need. I usually allow 1/2 pound of wings per person for a party.

Chicken Tinga – Torn Between Two Lovers

By JOKO September 11, 2017

Whenever I’m ordering something with chicken at a taqueria, I’m always presented with the same three choices. The grilled chicken, the green chicken, which is cooked in a tomatillo sauce, and the red chicken, also know as chicken tinga.

I usually forgo the grilled option, since whatever I’m ordering almost always benefits from sauce; which leaves me with the nearly impossible decision of choosing between the red and the green. I love both, so I’m always torn. By the way, in Mexican culinary lingo, tinga means, “torn.”

Anyway, now that the title makes sense, I can finish this post up by reiterating how great this came out. There are faster methods to make this, but taking the extra time to reduce the cooking liquid, as well as possibly the sauce, really pays off in the end.

The real challenge here is deciding how to use it. You can’t go wrong with tacos, but my favorite delivery system is tostados. Fry up a corn or flour tortilla nice and crisp; top with tinga, and garnish with the usual suspects. It doesn’t get any better than that…unless the tortilla is shaped into a bowl, which I’ll show you how to do quickly, and mess-free, in the next video. Until then, I really hope you give this a try soon. Enjoy!

Ingredients for 6 large portions:

3 pounds boneless skinless chicken thighs

3 cloves peeled whole garlic cloves

1 large yellow onion, halved

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

2 teaspoons kosher salt, plus more to taste

4 cups chicken broth

1 cup water

1 can (7-oz) chipotle peppers in adobo sauce

1 can (28-oz) peeled plum tomatoes (I recommend using San Marzano) or 3 1/2 cups of any fresh or canned tomato product

2 tablespoons olive oil or reserved chicken fat

1 large onion, diced

Cotija cheese and cilantro to garnish

Chicken Neza Kebab

By JOKO Agustus 11, 2017

So far I have made these kebabs 3 or 4 times and each time I made, they turned out delicious and were enjoyed by everyone in the family including the guests who happened to visit us. I found this recipe in the "Ashok's book of favourite indian recipes". I had been eyeing on these for a long time but the thought of trimming the drumsticks made me feel lazy and I kept putting it off. At last when I finally decided to make them it actually did not take me that long.

I did not modify the recipe much except for the fact that I rubbed lemon juice and salt prior to marinating with the gram flour masala. Also to add more flavour to it I fried the gram flour in ghee instead of just dry roasting it as given in the book. And of course I had to use a different roasting technique coz I do not have a tandoor (clay oven) at home.

"Neza" in urdu means spear or lance and the nawabs of lucknow relished these kebabs which were shaped like a spear. These kebabs just melt in the mouth and so flavourful that no wonder these were one of the yummiest delicacies of the Nawabs' kitchens. I would like to include this recipe in the lost recipes of indian cuisine as I have not seen this delicacy prepared in any households or even in any of the restaurants' menus in India or elsewhere as far as I know. If anybody does, then please do share with me.

Here's the recipe and picture from the book:

Ingredients:
10 Chicken Drumsticks (medium size)
5 Tbs Besan (gram flour)
2 Tbs Ghee
1 Tbs Ginger Garlic Paste
1 Tsp Red Kashmiri Chilli Powder
1/2 Tsp Turmeric
4 Green Chillies deseeded
1/4 Cup Cilantro
1 Tsp Garam Masala Powder
1 Tsp Green Cardamom Powder
1/2 Cup Greek or hung yoghurt
2 tbs Lemon juice

For Basting:

2 Tbs Olive oil
1 Tbs Cream Cheese
1 Tbs Whipping Cream
1 Tbs Gouda Cheese

Method:

1. Peel the skin up to the ankle and slit the drumstick flesh from the top end to the ankle and cut around neatly with a pair of scissors to remove the tendon and ligaments as shown in the pics above.

2. Now scrape the drumstick with a knife to clean and with the scissors remove the tendon with the skin sticking to it. It snips and comes off easily with the scissors.

3.Trim the top end a bit and flatten the flesh with the back of a knife and pound with a kitchen hammer. Handle them gently as the flesh breaks and comes off.

4. Wash, drain, towel dry, then rub salt and lemon juice to the flattened/pounded drumsticks and set aside. Meanwhile prepare the marinade. Heat ghee in a small kadai or sauce pan. Add the gram flour and fry it in the melted ghee till the raw smell disappears and a nutty aroma emanates into the air.

5. At this stage switch off the stove and add the ginger garlic paste, turmeric and kashmiri chilli, stir quickly to mix smoothly, let it cool a bit then add the hung yoghurt, whisk well then finally add the green cardamom and garam masala powders. Adjust the salt, mix well, then rub it on the flattened chicken drumsticks one by one so that they are all smeared well with the marinade. Leave aside for up to 4 hours or over night.

6. Add the deseeded and chopped green chillies and cilantro to the marinated chicken drumsticks just an hour before roasting them so as to retain their flavour.

7. Pre heat the oven to 375 degrees on convection roast, place them on a grill in a cookie sheet in the centre of the oven, baste them with olive oil and roast for 35 minutes. For larger drumsticks it might take a little longer. You need to turn them over to roast well on both the sides 10 mins before the cooking time. And finally when they are almost done baste them with the cheese mixture, leave for 2 more minutes and remove when the cheese gets absorbed and they turn golden brown. Do not over cook.

8. Enjoy with onion, tomato, lemon or pineapple kachumbar salad. So yummy and delicious!

Chicken Foccaccia

By JOKO Juli 04, 2017

Ingredients:

For the dough:

3 cups All Purpose Flour

1tbs Active Dry Yeast
1 tsp Salt
1 tbs Olive Oil
1cup Water

Toppings:
1/4 Cup Green Olives
1 Cup Shredded Chicken
1 Sliced Onion
1 Diced Tomato
1 TSP Dried Basil
1 TSP Dried Oregano
Red Cayenne Pepper flakes (optional)

Yield: Makes two 12 inch Focaccias or one big Focaccia.

Method:

1. Heat 1 cup of water for 35 seconds in the microwave. It should feel lukewarm on your wrist. Mix 1 tbs active dry yeast and 1 tsp granulated sugar. If the yeast is active within 3 - 4 minutes it would become frothy and begin to rise to the surface, otherwise it will be flat which means it is stale so should not be used for baking.

2. In a food processor pulse to combine 3 cups of sifted all purpose flour and salt. Pour the yeast solution through the feed tube and pulse 3 or 4 times until well incorporated and the whole mixture forms a ball. Add 1 tbs olive oil and pulse for 2 - 3 seconds till the dough becomes springy and starts to spin which means it is kneaded enough.

3. Remove the dough from the food processor bowl and with greased hands shape it into a ball by gathering towards the bottom and pinching to close, then place it in a greased bowl, cover with a lid or plastic wrap and leave it in a warm dry place on the counter to rise - 45 minutes to an hour till it is double in size. But yes, you have to check to see if your dough passed the window pane test. Donna Currie in her article on Serious Eats describes how to test "if the gluten has developed well enough for it to hold the bubbles while it rises, and stretch even more as the gases expand from the heat."

4. Place the puffed up dough in the centre of a greased pizza pan and slowly start spreading the dough outward by pressing gently and evenly with the tip of your fingers greased with olive oil till it covers the entire circumference of the pizza pan and is shaped into a 12 - 14 inch circle as big as the pizza pan. Alternatively you could just press the dough on a lightly floured surface and start working on it with your fingers using the same technique till you stretch it to form a 12 - 14 inch circle. Transfer to a pizza pan or stone.

5. Drizzle olive oil generously on the surface of the crust, then with the help of a fork prick everywhere. Alternatively you could use your fingers to make depressions all over. This is done to prevent the bubbles from popping up while baking.