Thai Stir-Fried Chicken in Basil

I saw this recipe from Maeve O'Maera's Food Safari. I just love that program! Anyway, I thought this dish was very Thai in its selection of ingredients, yet quite easy to do - without compromising flavor of course!

I think this dish is one of the easiest and most versatile in Thai cooking. You can substitute any meat, even some seafood. And stir-frying ensures the veggies remain crisp!

You can find the orginal recipe here on the Food Safari page. I modifed it by adding two slices ginger. Instead of just soy sauce, I used a combination of soy sauce and oyster sauce. Also, I mixed the sauce ingredients beforehand on a bowl and tasted it before adding it to the stir-fry. this way, I did not have to make adjustments while cooking.

Also, I served it with regular fried egg, instead of the very oily puffed fried egg.

Chicken Inasal

I am not the type of doctor who will ever admit to eating grilled stuff, at least in public. I used to love them when I was a kid, so much so that our convoy to Baguio every summer would always stop two or three times during the journey just so we could buy barbecue. And yes, there was even that time when people thought grilling is *the healthiest way of cooking.* You do avoid adding oil (and burn whatever is contained in the meat), but the burnt bits are exactly what will give you cancer.

Well, I've been BBQ-free for almost two years now, so I thought one small meal washed down with copious amounts of freshly brewed tea won't hurt. Excuses, excuses, excuses...

I was inspired to make "inasal" because my parents bought some last Saturday from the Salcedo market. I had known for a long time that it is relatively easy to make, owing to the short list of ingredients. Also, I found inasal interesting in its use of achuete (anatto seeds) and vinegar. I thought it was similar to what the Mexicans call as 'adobo seasoning' which is a paste made of ground anatto seeds and vinegar. However, the Mexicans use it as a spice, and we only care for its color. Perhaps, chicken inasal is a product of the Mexican galleon trade that boomed during the Spanish colonial period.



To make the marinade, I started with a rounded tablespoon of anatto seeds. I wish I had a spice grinder so I could have turned them into powder but I only had a mortar and pestle. Anyway, I tried to grind the seeds as finely as I could.





Then, over low to medium-low flame, I steeped 1/4 cup of extra virgin olive oil with the ground anatto for 5 minutes.

I really think a more finely-ground anatto whould have given a stronger flavor.



There seems to be a consensus on the marinade for chicken inasal: search the web and you will find several recipes that are eerily alike in the proportion of ingredients! I found what seemed like a good recipe here.

However, I wanted to add my own touch. Besides, I did not have native vinegar and lemon grass. The inasal my parents bought tasted a bit vinegary - but closer to the taste of blasamic vinegar.

So I combined the colored oil with the following ingredients: one head of crushed garlic, one thumb-size piece of crushed ginger, one grated onion, half a teaspoon each of salt and pepper, one tablespoon brown sugar, 1/2 cup rice vinegar, 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar, and two tablespoons lemon juice. I substituted two Kaffir lime leaves from my mom's garden for the lemon grass.

I know all those recipes say that marination takes a maximum of one hour, but I wanted all the flavor to penetrate the deepest tissues of the chicken. Hence, I let the one kilo of chicken pieces marinate overnight in the refrigerator. (Besides, long marination in acid kills the meat tissue parasites)

The following day, I lay the chicken pieces on a rack and set it on a tray. I baked them for 25 minutes in a 325-degree oven, just until the thickest portions yield clear juice. Then I asked our housecook to grill them lightly for color. Baking avoids grilling them for too long that inevitably leads to burnt spots. Just compare the pics of my inasal with those from the net - they have much less black spots, which in my case are confined only to the skin.

My inasal came out perfect. Although for most of you, I think another half teaspoon of salt would need to be added.



Our housecook added some sliced pork belly to the marinade as well, and it tasted really good, too!

Leftover Turkey?

As usual, we had a whole turkey roasted and carved for Christmas Eve dinner. We usually have Butterball turkey but the supermarket only had Norbest in stock. This brand turned out to be better - it was easier to cook as it came with its own "thermometer," and the bird roasted just until the inside was cooked through but still juicy and tender.

Six very hungry persons weren't able to devour the whole bird. So what did I do with the leftovers?

Sandwich

I flaked some of the leftover meat, tossed it with some gravy just to moisten them up, then stuffed them into crusty baguettes with some veggies.

I also made some Turkey Pie

I basically made a white sauce, folded in the flaked turkey with some sauteed mushrooms, carrots, potatoes and peas.

Then I experimented with some crusts, sort of. I used a basic flaky pie-crust for my first pie.

Then I ran across a recipe for a cream-cheese pastry which was easy to make, but unbelievably flaky!

I always experiment with turkey leftovers! After all, this bird only comes to our house once a year!

Garlic Chicken Wings

(this dish has tons of garlic! but also with an Asian twist.)



Garlic lover’s Buffalo wings – that is the best I could describe this dish. This is an Asian take on that spicy chicken dish, especially for people who cannot tolerate that much heat. This dish however, is not really that mild – the flavors are strong with all that garlic and coriander stems and leaves. You can even had hoisin sauce for a stonger Asian flavor. But the combination of garlic and oyster sauce works best for me.

You can leave out the coriander if you happen not to like that herb. The sauce can be stored in the refrigerator or freezer. It keeps in the ref for around a week, but the coriander flavor overpowers the garlic towards the end of several days.

Chicken
You can marinate one kilogram chicken wings or parts in a marinade similar to that for the buffalo wings, or leave it seasoned with salt and pepper.

Dredge the chicken pieces lightly in some cornstarch and fry until cooked through. Drain on a paper towel.

Sauce
Combine together the following ingredients: one tablespoon minced fresh garlic, one tablespoon chopped fresh coriander/ cilantro, two tablespoons good quality oyster sauce, one teaspoon sugar, one teaspoon lemon juice, one teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper. You may also add about one tablespoon of hoisin sauce.

Mix sauce ingredients thoroughly. Toss the hot wings or chicken parts into the sauce to coat evenly.


(season and fry the chicken parts however way you want, but leaving it a bit on the bland side is probably best so that the garlic sauce has no other flavor to compete with.)

(I made the sauce a few days ahead when i had an abundant supply of coriander/ cilantro, hence the stems and leaves have lost their bright green color, but not their flavor.)

(toss the fried chicken with the sauce to coat evenly, then serve.)

Buffalo Chicken Wings

(I served it with a blue cheese dip.)

How American can you get? Traditionally, these are chicken wings fried straight from the grocery, then dipped in mixture of pure fat (butter) and an instant seasoning sauce (Tabasco). It is quick, simple and indulgent.

Of course, I decided it needed a twist, so I seasoned the meat prior to frying, added some other stuff to the sauce to make the flavors more interesting.

For one kilogram of chicken, I seasoned it with some salt, pepper, juice of one lemon, two cloves of chopped garlic and a teaspoon of fresh thyme. You don’t need to flavor the chicken. We only want enough flavoring to mask the “off” meat flavor. Set this aside for a day or two in the refrigerator.

(I marinated the chicken the left it in a freezer bag in the ref for a day.)

Heat up some oil, then fry the wings after dredging them in a small amount of cornstarch. The cornstarch (or flour) will form a coating that will absorb our sauce. Drain on a paper towel.

(Drain the chicken well, but make sure they are still warm when you toss them with the sauce so they absorb much of it.)

Mix the sauce: one teaspoon chopped garlic, ½ teaspoon seasoning sauce/ soy sauce, three tablespoons chili catsup/ tomato catsup, ½ cup melted butter, one teaspoon maple syrup and 30 mL chili sauce (Tabasco, Sriracha, sambal, etc).

(Toss the chicken with the sauce to evenly coat all peices.)

Trust me, the combination of maple syrup, tomato catsup and chili gives a smoky- sweet and sour flavor!

I made a dipping sauce of cream cheese (1/2 cup) and blue cheese (two tablespoons).