Swiss Style Chicken Wings

If you are beginning to wonder why this dish is called Swiss-style chicken wings, don't ask. I have no idea where the name originates from, however, as far as I am concern, this dish was really popular when I was young. Go to any "tai chow", Cantonese equivalent of roadside eateries cooking dishes to order back in the days, and the owner/cook will recommend this dish to his customers particularly if there are children in the group.

The wings are heavily coated in a mix of salty sweet soy concoction, seriously, who doesn't love salt and sugar. Since Memorial Day cookout is around the corner, I figure why not make this dish for the company. True, it doesn't involve cooking the wings on the grill which contradicts with the official Memorial Day choice of cooking method. Nevertheless, who doesn't love chicken wings. There is something inherently wrong with a person who doesn't like chicken wings, pretty much like people who doesn't like chicken, period.

I can't take credit for this recipe, after all, I did copy the recipe from a fellow food blogger who goes by the name wantanmien Funny, cos the name when translate from Cantonese to English means Chinese wanton noodle. I guess she really likes noodle. I have seen many adaptations of the recipe on the Internet but hers come closes to my memory of the Swiss-style chicken wings of yesteryear. OMG, that makes me sound so old.

Without further adieu, here's the recipe.

Swiss Style Chicken Wings (adapted from wantanmien)
Ingredients
8 whole wings, sectioned, tips discarded
1 Tbsp chopped ginger
1 Tbsp of oil
1/3 to 1/2 piece of Chinese cane sugar (substitute with 2-3 Tbsp of dark brown sugar)
1 Tbsp of canola oil
1/2 tsp salt
water enough to boil wings
1/2 Tbsp sesame oil
Chopped scallions for garnishing

For the spice pouch (you can use either cheesecloth or disposable tea bags)
2 scallions, white part only, lightly smashed
1 star anise
1/2 tsp of Szechuan peppercorn

Sauce Mix
1 Tbsp soy sauce
1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 Tbsp dark soy sauce
1 Tbsp rum
1 Tbsp oyster sauce
1 Tbsp Ketchup
1/3 tsp salt
50 ml water
100 ml water

Directions

1. Wash all the chicken wings, careful to remove any visible feathers. Drain in a colander.
2. In a pot, bring enough water to a boil. Place 1/2 tsp of salt into the water and all the wings into the pot.
3. Let water come back up to a boil. Cover and simmer for 2 mins. Turn off heat and let wings steamed for 3 mins.

4. Drained wings in a colander till dry.

5. Prepare the sauce mix. Combine all the ingredients, except for the 100ml water in a bowl. Stir till all ingredients melded.

6. Heat up a non-stick pan over medium heat. Place a tablespoon of canola oil into pan, the chopped ginger and the spice pouch. Saute for 1 minute.
7. Slowly, add in all the chicken wings and the cane sugar.

8. Pan fry the wings on both sides till lightly brown and sugar is all caramelized.

9. Add in the sauce mix and continue to pan fry wings till both sides are coated with the sauce. Cover and cook for 3 mins over medium low heat.
10. Add in the 100 ml water. Cover the pan and let it cook for 5 mins.
11. Flip the wings over gently, cover and continue cooking for 5 mins.
12. Check to see if all wings are coated with the sauce. Flip wings onto the other side to caramelize. Cover and cook for another 3 mins.
13. Once sauce has reduced to the desired consistency, turn off heat.
14. Let wings sit in the covered pan for 10 mins. 

15. Arrange wings on a platter. 

16. If u have leftover sauce in the pan, bring sauce up to a boil over medium heat.

17. Stir constantly till sauce reduces to a thick glaze.

18. Pour sauce over wings.

19. Drizzle 1/2 Tbsp of sesame oil over wings. Garnish with chopped scallions and serve.

Homemade Chinese Turkey Floss/ Turkey Rou Sung

If you have ever have a taste of the Chinese meat floss or any pastry item from a Chinese bakery using meat floss, then you will know how good this meat product is. For those who have not, the idea of a meat-based cotton candy type food can be off putting. In reality, think of pulled pork only dehydrated. Kinda like pulled pork jerky, if you will.

Now, you can usually buy this pre made at any decent Asian grocery store. Some better tasting ones will originate from manufacturers in Taiwan. However, if you are sick and tired of paying over $18 for a pound of pulled pork jerky like I do, and you are a fan of this, you should absolutely try making this at home.

Or in case, Thanksgiving was but a week ago and you found yourself left with over a pound of roasted turkey breast and no one in the family is willing to have another turkey sandwich or pot pie, you can try using the turkey breast for something that won't remind them of Thanksgiving dinner at all, hence, a great reason to make this.

I should warn you however, that this is no easy task. Takes about half an hour of non-stop stirring and spatula chopping action to get the turkey looks like cotton candy and get it to the desired crispiness. Fear not, because the reward is sweeter than you think.

Homemade Turkey Floss

1lb of cooked turkey breast (you can use cooked chicken breast, leftover roast pork, etc)
2 1/2 Tbsp of soy sauce
1 Tbsp of oil (use only if meat is dry, i.e. turkey breast, chicken breast, very lean pork)
5 Tbsp sugar or to taste
1/2 tsp chicken stock powder (optional)
1 tsp 5 spice powder
1 tsp chili powder (optional)

Directions

1) Slice leftover turkey, chicken or pork into thin strips. Place them inside a freezer bag.

2) This is the fun part. Using a meat mallet, pound the meat till it is completely flatten and then some. This step is important as it helps to loosen the meat, which will cut short the time you will require when stirring and cooking the meat later.

3) This step is completely optional. If you are anal about getting all pieces completely loosened up and cutting the cooking time to its shortest, use a rolling pin and run it over the bag for, say ten times, just to make sure that they are very close to falling apart.

4) To make your cooking and stirring time a lot shorter, shred the meat into even finer pieces with your fingers before placing them into the wok. This will take less than 5 minutes.

5) Turn the heat to medium. Start stirring the meat in the wok, pressing visible large strips into small bits. Remember, the goal is to get a cotton candy like texture. At this point, I hope you have all the seasoning ingredients mixed in a bowl. Continue to cook and stir the meat for the next 10 minutes before adding the seasoning. It burns easy after you have add the seasoning into the meat.

6) Add in the seasoning, stir, stir, and stir. It is important to toss the meat mixture around the wok and always scrape the bottom of the wok to ensure nothing sticks. Turn the heat down to medium low or low if you find the meat browning up too quick. After 30 minutes, your meat floss should look like the picture above. Now, if you don't want your meat floss to get crispy, you can pretty much stop at this point.

7) Another 5 minutes, and your pork floss will turn crispy. Let the mixture cool in the wok, off heat. You can eat as is, or store them in a jar for use later.

That is how it should look like. And yes, I stored mine in a jar because the next baking project I have in mine will require this meat floss as an important ingredient.

ATK's Perfect Chicken Cordon Bleu

Ever been frustrated with the cheese filling oozing out of your Chicken Cordon Bleu while baking in the oven? Well, I have and it is not a good sigh at all. Makes me wonder how the folks at Barber's Chicken processed their Chicken Cordon Bleu to bake into perfection without the cheese oozing out all over the place.
Then, I watched this episode on America's Test Kitchen where they were featuring chicken recipes and what do you know, they have a segment on making the perfect chicken Cordon Bleu and a technique I have not try using when making mine.
Smart people. Instead of pounding the chicken breast flat, they recommend cutting slits into the chicken breast and stuffed the roll up ham and cheese into the pockets itself. The result: AMAZING! Minimal cheese oozing out from those pockets. Will do better the next time. All in all, a really good recipe!

Chicken Cordon Bleu – America’s Test Kitchen Recipe

Ingredients

4 Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast

8 slices of ham

1 cup shredded Swiss Cheese

25 pieces Ritz Crackers

4 slices of hearty white bread

6 tablespoon of butter, melted

1 Tbsp of Dijon Mustard

3 eggs

¼ cup flour

Salt and pepper, to taste

Directions

   1) Slice pockets in chicken breast, about 1/3 way. Make deep slits inside pockets, leaving ¼ inch intact.

   2) Roll cheese inside of ham into cigar shaped.

   3) Place 2 cheese-ham cigars into each chicken breast pocket. Season breast with salt and pepper. Leave in fridge for 20 mins.

   4) For breadcrumbs, process Ritz crackers with bread. Add in the melted butter. Mix well.

   5) Preheat oven to 450F. Toast breadcrumbs mix for 3 mins till lightly golden.

   6) Prepare eggwash. Combine eggs with Dijon mustard. Set aside.

   7) Roll chicken in flour. Dust to remove excess.

   8) Dip chicken in egg wash and coat with breadcrumbs. Press to ensure an even layer of breadcrumbs all over chicken breast.

   9) Bake in the third rack of oven for 10 minutes.
10) Reduce heat to 400F. Move chicken onto the middle rack and bake for another 20 minutes.
11)   Remove from oven. Let rest for 10 minutes before serving.

Spicy Chicken Fajita

Finally......I found a recipe that works to make the real deal Chicken Fajita at home. They came out so delicious that I can't wait to share it on my blog. Scoot over Mexican restaurant and welcome homemade Chicken Fajita from now on.

Spicy Chicken Fajita
(Recipe adapted from Cottage Cookbook)

Ingredients

• 2 Large Onions - Chopped
• 3 Spring Onions - Derooted and chopped
• 1 Green Pepper - Deseeded and chopped
• 8 oz Mushrooms, Sliced
• 4 Organic Chicken Breasts - Cut into medium pieces (use kitchen scissors)
• Olive Oil
• 1 tbsp Double Cream
• 2 Cloves Garlic - Finely Chopped

Mexican Spice mix

• 2 tsp Chilli Powder
• 1 tsp Cayenne Pepper
• 2 tsp Sweet Paprika
• 2 tsp Ground Cumin
• 1 tsp Garlic powder
• 1 tsp Onion powder
• 2 tsp Dried Oregano
• 1 tsp Black Pepper
• 1/2 tsp Garlic Salt
• 1 tsp Ground Cumin

To Serve

• Tortilla (Corn or Flour)
• Salsa
• Guacamole
• Mexican Rice
• Sour Cream
• Grated Mature Cheddar Cheese

Method

1. In a bowl, combine Mexican spice mix.

2. Slice up chicken breast into 1-inch strips. Place half the seasoning mix and leave chicken to marinade in the fridge for an hour or more.

3. Preheat an oven to 375F. Meanwhile, heat up a cast iron skillet over high heat. Pour about 1 Tbsp of olive oil into the pan. Throw in the mushrooms and onions.

4. Once mushrooms and onions are caramelized, add in the bell pepper, green onions, and 2 Tbsp of Mexican seasoning mix. Stir well and let cook for another 2 mins.

5. Push vegetables to the side. Pour in a tablespoon of olive oil into pan. Add in the chicken and garlic. Let cook till golden brown. Throw in more Mexican seasoning till chicken is well coated. Place skillet into the oven. Bake for 20 minutes or till chicken is fully cooked.

6. Once chicken is cooked, pour in 1 Tbsp of cream and stir to coat well. It will help to de-glaze the pan.

7. Serve chicken fajita with Mexican rice, tortilla, sour cream, guacamole, salsa, and grated cheese.

Arroz Con Pollo

When the weather outside is frightful.......you start making dishes that warms you to the bone.

I have bought a box of Goya's Sazon seasoning with coriander and acchiote (annato) on impulse one day and have not do anything with it since. So I figure I will try to look for Spanish chicken and rice recipe....found one on the web which uses the Sazon seasoning. The flavor is really good which makes me wonder why it took me so long to use Sazon.

This is one of those one pot wonder meal that will make you go back for more and more. Everyone loves it and I am guessing it will be making plenty of appearance on the family's dinner table from now on.

Arroz Con Pollo
(My adaptation of Spanish Chicken with rice)


Ingredients
3lb chicken, bone-in (you can use a mix of white and dark meat or all white meat if you prefer)
2 cups of uncooked long grain rice
2 1/2 cup of chicken stock
1 Tbsp of Goya's Sazon seasoning with coriander and annato
1/2 Tbsp of ground cumin
1 tsp dried oregano
1 Tbsp tomato paste
2 squares of chicken bouillion
1 onion, chopped
1/2 large bell pepper, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
2 Tbsp olive oil

Seasoning for chicken
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 tsp hot paprika
1 tsp ground cumin
1/2 Tbsp Goya's Sazon seasoning with coriander and annato

Directions

1. Make the chicken stock. You can also use store bought chicken stock. I used the bones of a whole roaster plus a bag of wing tips we collected. Add in trimmings from an onion, one garlic cloves, 1/2 tsp whole black peppercorn, scallion, 1 bay leaf, 1/2 Tbsp cumin, 1 bay leaf, and 1/2 Tbsp of Goya's Sazon seasoning. Add enough water to cover. Bring to a boil and let simmer for 1 hour.

2. Strain the chicken stock and set aside.

3. Meanwhile, chopped the onion, bell pepper, and garlic.

4. Brine the chicken for an hour or so. Pat them dry. Sprinkle seasoning mix onto chicken.

5. In a large pot, heat 2 Tbsp of olive oil. Add in chicken pieces in batches. Cook till brown, about 3-5 minutes per side.

6. Set the chicken pieces aside and finish browning the other chicken pieces.
7. In the same pot, add in onion, bell pepper, and garlic. Saute till onion is translucent. Add in rice, seasoning, oregano, cumin, and tomato paste. Stir to coat and toast rice till lightly brown.
8. Add in the chicken stock and chicken bouillon. Place chicken pieces on top of the rice mixture. Bring mixture to a boil. Cover pot and turn heat down to low. Let cook for another 25 minutes.

9. Once liquid is fully absorbed, you can add in the peas and carrots, if using. Cover pot and let it cook on low for another 5 minutes. Stir to mix all the ingredients together. Serve warm.

Shoyu Chicken - Hawaiian Version of Chicken Teriyaki

Been a while since I blog. Too busy with work. Speaking of which, any easy to make recipe is good for weekday dinner these days and Shoyu Chicken is one of them. This chicken came out tasting so Oishii. A close friend of mine, Taka, is originally from Hawaii. He told me that this is the Hawaiian version of teriyaki chicken. There are of course plenty of variations out there on how to make the delicious Shoyu Chicken. However, I love Taka's recipe cos it is simple and so good. Make sure you cook plenty of rice with it. The teriyaki sauce is amazingly good with rice and vegetables.

Shoyu Chicken (Recipe courtesy of Taka)

Ingredients
8 pieces of chicken thighs with bone, or 3 large split chicken breast (about 2.5lb)


Marinade
1/2 cup Shoyu (Japanese soy sauce or just use light soy sauce)
1/2 cup of brown sugar
1/2 cup of water (I use mirin, Japanese cooking wine just because of I have it in the fridge)
1/2 large onion sliced thin or one whole small onion
2 cloves of garlic minced
1 1/2 teaspoon of ginger, grated

Sliced green onion and toasted sesame seed for garnish


Method
1) Brine the chicken for 2 hours. Remove from brine and pat dry.
2) In a large bowl, combine all marinade ingredients. Immerse chicken into the marinade and leave in the fridge for at least 3 hours. (Overnight is fine)
3) Preheat the oven to 350F. In a large baking pan, place the chicken, skin side up. Bake for 25 mins, basting with marinade occasionally.
4) In a small pot, pour remainder of marinade and heat to boil. Let simmer until sauce has thickened. (Note: I added another 1/4 cup of sugar to the sauce). Reserve for glaze and extra sauce for serving.
5) Glaze chicken by brushing teriyaki sauce over the chicken every 5 mins or so.
6) When the 25 minutes has passed, turn on the convection oven function. Let chicken cooked for another 8-10 minutes till skin crisp up a little and teriyaki sauce is caramelized.
7) Garnish with sliced green onion. Serve with rice and vegetable. Drizzle with more teriyaki sauce if desire.

Variation: Layer the pan with sliced onion and bell pepper. Place chicken on top of vegetables. You will have  teriyaki chicken with vegetables all ready for your meal.

Mum's Stuffed Roasted Chicken

We love mum's stuffing. Not just on Thanksgiving day. Her stuffing recipe is so versatile that we used it in chicken, of course, pork and steak. I have written a post on her stuffing when dad was making his super delicious stuffed flank steak a few months ago. When the craving hits, once again, I recruited mum to make her stuffing. The end result was a delicious golden roasted chicken with mum's stuffing.

Mum's Stuffed Roasted Chicken
(Serves 8-10)
Ingredients

7- 8lb whole chicken, preferably a roaster
Salt to taste






Mum's New England Style Bread Stuffing
1 loaf of white bread (24oz)
1 1/2 tsp of Bell's seasoning
2 tsp of rubbed sage
1 stick of butter
1 rib of celery,  finely chopped
1 onion, finely chopped
salt & black pepper, to taste

Directions

 Step 1: Prepare stuffing. Diced bread into small cubes.

Step 2: In a microwave safe bowl, nuke butter with onion and celery till butter is fully melted for about 2 minutes. Check after a minute, stirred.

Step 3: Combined butter-celery-onion mix with bread.

Step 4: Add in Bell's seasoning and rubbed sage. Toss to mix well. Set aside until ready to use. Meanwhile, preheat an oven to 350F or 176C.

Step 5: Pat chicken dry with a paper towel once removed from its packaging. Place chicken on top of a baking pan lined with wire rack. Sprinkle the chicken lightly with salt.

Step 6: Stuffed the chicken with stuffing by making a small snowball of stuffing and placed it inside the cavity. Press lightly to fit. You do not want the stuffing to compress tightly.

Step 7: Using metal skewer, pull the flaps of skin at the cavity's opening together and secure tightly. You may need to use 2 or more metal skewer to seal it properly.

Step 8: Do not worry about the unused stuffing. Just place it in a baking dish or wrapped it in foil. Bake for 15-20 minutes in the oven prior to serving.

Step 9: Bake chicken, breast side down first. It will take between 20 and 25 minutes per lb to cook the bird. Turn the bird halfway, breast side up to ensure even browning. Serve with mashed potato, chicken gravy, cranberry jelly and salad/steamed greens.

Indonesian Style Spicy Grilled Chicken - Ayam Panggang Padang

Padang style cooking in Indonesia refers to the Minangkabau tribe who hails from Sumatra, the island northwest of Jakarta. Why will I be interested in making Minangkabau food? Cos of rendang, their thick creamy coconut curry. I love making rendang in the winter months as it is the perfect time to make a stew like dish. However, in the summer when the outdoor grill beckons, the Padang-style grilled chicken calls my name.

The perfect accompaniment to the spicy grilled chicken will of course be coconut rice. The family loves this dish so much so that I have already been given the green light to make it a staple on dinner table as often as I want to. Nice!


Indonesian Style Spicy Grilled Chicken with Coconut Rice- Ayam Panggang Padang
Ingredients
3.5-4lb chicken, cut into quarters or 3 split chicken breast, cut in half
1 stick of cinnamon
3 pieces cloves
3 pieces kafir lime leaves
1 piece turmeric leaf

2 cups coconut milk
3 Tbsp cooking oil


Spices to grind
4 pieces chilli peppers
3 cloves garlic
4 shallots
3 pieces candlenut or walnuts
1/2 tsp whole peppercorn
1 tsp whole coriander
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp fennel
1-inch ginger
1.5 inch turmeric

Coconut Rice
1 cup uncooked rice, washed and drained
2/3 cup coconut milk
3/4 cup water
1 screwpine leaf/pandan leaf, tied in a knot
1/4 tsp salt 

Directions

Step 1: Brine chicken in water-salt-sugar mix for 2 hours. Drained and pat dry with a paper towel. Set aside.

Step 2: In a grinder, ground black pepper, coriander, fennel, cumin and walnuts to till fine.

Step 3: In a food processor, combine ground spices with chillies, garlic and shallots. Blend well and set aside.

Step 4: In a pan over low heat, combine chilli mix with cloves and cinnamon stick. Stir and let cook for 10 minutes till spices is cooked and oil is separated from the spice mix.

Step 5: Add in chicken pieces and stir to mix well. Turn heat up to medium. Cook for 20 minutes.

Step 6: Add in coconut milk. Stir to mix well.

Step 7: Cook till gravy is reduced by 1/3, about 25 minutes. Stir constantly.

Step 8: Transfer chicken and gravy to a baking pan lined with foil. Heat a grill to 450F. Turn off the center burner. Place baking pan at the center of grill. Cook till gravy has all dried up. Remove chicken from pan and place on grate directly. Grill chicken till it is lightly charred.

Step 9: Spoon remainder gravy over grilled chicken.

Step 10: To make coconut rice, combine 2/3 cup coconut milk, 3/4 cup water, salt, 1 cup uncooked rice and a pandan leaf in a pot. Bring water to a boil over medium low heat, stir occasionally to avoid burnt. Once it starts boiling, reduce heat to low. Cook over low heat for 25 minutes.

Step 11: Remove pandan leaf. Let rice sit for 10 minutes before serving. Fluff coconut rice with a fork.

Step 12: Serve chicken with coconut rice and fresh salad.