Thai-Style Chicken Satay and Peanut Dipping Sauce

My mom came to visit and I've been wanting to make her Indonesian/Malaysian food since I recently learned a couple recipes.  This one was from a trusted source (J. Kenji Lopez-Alt) and while the chicken was popular the Peanut Tamarind Dipping sauce was the star of the show that day.  It's easy to make and great on everything.

Thanks, Kenji!

Thai-Style Chicken Satay and Peanut Tamarind Dipping Sauce

INGREDIENTS

• 1 teaspoon (4g) coriander seed
• 1 teaspoon (4g) whole white peppercorns
• 1 tablespoon (12g) palm sugar, plus more to taste (see note above)
• 3 medium cloves garlic, roughly chopped (about 12g)
• 1 (1/4-inch) disk of ginger (about 12g), peeled and roughly chopped
• 1 small shallot, roughly chopped (about 1 ounce; 25g), plus more sliced shallot for garnish
• 1 (1-inch) knob fresh turmeric, peeled, or 1 teaspoon (4g) dried turmeric powder
• 1 stalk fresh lemongrass, bottom 4 inches only, finely sliced (remove dry outer leaves before slicing)
• 1 (15-ounce; 425g) can coconut milk, divided
• 2 tablespoons (30ml) Asian fish sauce
• Kosher salt
• 1 1/2 pounds (680g) boneless, skinless chicken thigh, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 1 recipe Peanut-Tamarind Dipping Sauce, for serving
• 1 small cucumber, cut into bite-size pieces

DIRECTIONS

1. 1.
   Toast coriander and white pepper in a small skillet over medium heat, shaking constantly, until fragrant, about 1 minute. Alternatively, place on a heatproof plate in the microwave and microwave at 15-second intervals until fragrant. Transfer to mortar and crush to a powder with pestle. Add palm sugar, garlic, ginger, shallot, turmeric, and lemongrass and crush to a paste. Transfer paste to a medium bowl and stir in half of coconut milk, all of fish sauce, and 1 teaspoon (4g) salt. Taste and add more salt or sugar as desired. The mixture should be quite sweet and salty.
2. 2.
   Add chicken and turn to coat. Transfer to a 1-gallon zipper-lock bag, remove as much air as possible (you can use the water displacement method for this) and refrigerate for at least 1 and up to 8 hours.
3. 3.
   Remove chicken from bag and thread onto bamboo or metal skewers, using an onion or potato to help you do so faster and more safely. Pack chicken in tightly on skewers as you go.
4. 4.
   Light 2/3 chimney full of charcoal. When all charcoal is lit and covered with gray ash, pour out and arrange coals on one side of charcoal grate. Set cooking grate in place, cover grill, and allow to preheat for 5 minutes. Alternatively, set half the burners on a gas grill to the medium-high heat setting, cover, and preheat for 10 minutes. Clean and oil grilling grate.
5. 5.
   Place chicken directly over hot side of grill and cook, turning occasionally and brushing with remaining coconut milk every minute, until chicken is cooked through, about 6 minutes total.
6. 6.
   Remove from grill and serve immediately with peanut-tamarind sauce, cucumber, and sliced shallot.

Taiwanese Three Cup Chicken

I made this for my in-laws and they liked it (or at least said they did!)  I thought it was pretty on par with Three Cup Chicken that we've eaten at Taiwanese restaurants in Boston.

Thanks to Cathy Erway from Serious Eats (my new favorite food website)!

Taiwanese Three Cup Chicken

Ingredients

• 2/3 cup Asian sesame oil
• One (1-inch) piece fresh ginger, peeled and thinly sliced into rounds
• 12-15 medium garlic cloves, peeled
• 1-2 fresh Thai red chilis, stemmed and halved
• 2 pounds skin-on chicken drumsticks, thighs, and/or wings, either chopped into 3-inch, bone-in pieces, or thighs halved along along the bone, wings split at the joint, and drumsticks left whole
• 2/3 cup rice wine
• 2/3 cup soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 2 cups fresh Thai basil leaves (from 1 large bunch)
• Steamed white rice, for serving

Procedures

1. 1
   Heat sesame oil in a large skillet or wok over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add ginger, garlic, and chilis and cook until very fragrant, about 1 minute.
2. 2
   Add chicken pieces to the skillet in a single layer and cook, tilting the pan if necessary to submerge all pieces in the oil, for 1 minute. Flip chicken pieces and cook for 1 minute longer.
3. 3
   Add rice wine, soy sauce, and sugar and bring to a boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Reduce heat to a simmer. Partially cover the skillet to prevent splashes of oil and cook, turning the chicken pieces every few minutes, until the chicken is cooked through, about 15 minutes. Stir in Thai basil and remove from heat. Serve immediately with rice.

Buffalo Chicken Dip

This dip is famous at work so I made it for Guy's Night at our house.   It was really addictive and went well with Tostitos Scoops or carrot and celery sticks.

Thanks, Claire Robinson and LT, the nurse who brings it in for the nurses.  Perfect Game Day food!

Buffalo Chicken Dip

Ingredients
8 ounces cream cheese
1/2 cup finely chopped celery
1/2 cup hot sauce (recommended: Frank's)
1 rotisserie chicken, shredded
1 cup crumbled blue cheese
Crackers, bread or carrot sticks, for serving
Directions
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

In a medium saucepan over moderate heat, melt the cream cheese until smooth, about 3 minutes. Add the celery, hot sauce and chicken and mix well. Transfer the mixture to a 9-inch pie plate and sprinkle the crumbled blue cheese on top. Bake until hot and bubbly, about 25 minutes. Serve with crackers, bread or carrot sticks.

What Makes This Recipe Really Sing: This has all the great flavors of Buffalo chicken wings without all the fat of the chicken skin and oil. Want to make it lighter? Feel free to use light cream cheese.

Maple Mustard Chicken Thighs

During my pregnancy the weird thing I'd crave was mustard.  I added it to all of my sandwiches, and had I known about this recipe I probably would have made it multiple times.  Maple + mustard + chicken thighs = winner!  

Thanks to Ellie Krieger for trying to keep it healthy!  I left the chicken skins on because I was pressed for time but I didn't get any complaints.  No fancy French mustard, either, so I just went with a double-dose of dijon.  I was surprised that I got to use my marjoram!

Maple Mustard Chicken Thighs

Ingredients

• 4 large bone-in chicken thighs, skins removed (about 1 1/2 pounds)
• 2 tablespoons grainy French mustard
• 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
• 1 clove minced garlic
• 1/2 teaspoon dried marjoram
• 2 tablespoons maple syrup

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Rinse chicken and pat dry. Combine mustard, garlic, marjoram and maple syrup in a small bowl. Spread about 1 1/2 tablespoons mustard mixture evenly on top of each chicken thigh, being careful to cover as much of the surface as possible to form a "crust." Arrange chicken in a glass baking dish. Bake for 45 to 50 minutes, or until mustard mixture has formed a crust and is slightly hardened, and juices run clear when the chicken is pierced.

Chicken Stew

I mainly made this because I wanted something to eat with biscuits!  It's pretty much like the inside of a chicken pot pie.  It was a good way to get a lot of veggies without really thinking about it!

I used chicken thighs instead of chicken breast, omitted the onion (for a guest-otherwise I would have thrown more in there!), and used rosemary and thyme instead of sage (my sage was looking questionable.)  The result was yummy, but I bet it would have been good as written, too.  I made the rosemary buttermilk biscuits from my biscuits and gravy post to accompany the stew.

One last note- I never have any luck thickening things with flour!  I'm partial to a cornstarch slurry.

Another winner from allrecipes.com!  Thanks to Sal.

Potato Chicken Stew

• 4 cups cooked, cubed chicken breast meat
• 2/3 cup sliced fresh mushrooms
• 1 cup chopped onion, sauteed in butter
• 1 1/2 cups chopped carrots
• 6 cups chicken stock
• 1 teaspoon dried sage
• 1 teaspoon dried basil leaves
• 1 teaspoon garlic salt
• 1 teaspoon dried parsley
• 1 (10 ounce) package frozen mixed vegetables, thawed
• 3 cups cooked, diced red potatoes
• 1/2 cup chopped celery
• 1/8 cup all-purpose flour

Directions

1. Combine chicken, mushrooms, onion, carrots and stock in a large saucepan over medium heat. Simmer until carrots are tender, about 10 minutes.
2. Stir in sage, basil, garlic salt, parsley, mixed vegetables, potatoes and celery and cook until heated through. Stir in flour to thicken sauce, then serve.

Katsu

If I had my own iron chefs I would definitely designate my Hawaiian friend K as Iron Chef Japanese.  He would love to cook for us and with us in college, and one of my favorite meals with him was Chicken Katsu.  I asked him for the recipe and he graciously shared it with me. 

W and I love curry katsu (chicken or pork katsu with rice and Japanese curry) but katsu is good on its own.  Thanks, K!

Chicken Katsu
2 lbs boneless skinless chicken thighs
1/2 c flour
2 eggs, beaten
1 package panko Japanese bread crumbs
4c frying oil (vegetable, canola, peanut, whatever you normally use)
garlic salt & pepper

Heat your oil to 350 degrees or until a piece of panko sizzles vigorously when dropped in.

Sprinkle garlic salt and pepper over the chicken thighs.  Dredge them in flour, then egg, then panko.  Make sure to press the panko into the chicken as much as possible.

Drop the prepared chicken into the oil and fry for 3-4 mins per side until golden brown.  Don't add more than 2-3 pieces into the oil at once or the temperature will drop too rapidly and it won't be crispy.

Drain the finished katsu on a wire rack or paper towel and serve while hot.

Enjoy!