Search Results for: brown rice

“Crack” Chicken

When I was stationed in Korea a few years ago, my family and I used to frequent a fried chicken place that served the most delicious chicken wings.

The menu included spicy (mouth on fire) wings, plain, but our favorite had a garlic-soy glaze on it.  They were so good (and addicting) that my friends and kids nicknamed it “crack chicken”.  🙂

This is my version of those wings.  A word of warning — it’s HEAVY on the garlic (just the way I like it).

Give it a try.  I think you’ll like it!  🙂

“CRACK” CHICKEN

crack chicken

INGREDIENTS FOR THE FRIED CHICKEN:

  • 5 pounds chicken wings (I like drummettes)
  • 1 tablespoon salt
  • 2 teaspoons black pepper
  • 4 tablespoons garlic powder
  • 1 cup flour
  • 1 cup corn starch
  • 4 eggs, slightly beaten
  • 1/2 cup water
  • oil, for frying

INGREDIENTS FOR THE SAUCE:

  • 2 cups water
  • 1/3 cup soy sauce
  • 2 cups loosely packed brown sugar
  • 1/3 cup honey
  • 1/2 cup rice vinegar
  • 1 teaspoon ground ginger
  • 5 cloves garlic, chopped (use 10 cloves if you LOVE garlic like I do)
  • 4 tablespoons corn starch
  • Optional: Pepper flakes

Cooking Instructions:

Make the Sauce:

1. Place the sauce ingredients (except for the cornstarch and 1/2 cup of the water) into a medium sized sauce pan; whisk to combine. Optional: Add pepper flakes (omit if you do not want your sauce to be spicy).

2. Cook over medium high heat until the mixture begins to boil. Reduce the heat to low; continue to cook at a low simmer, about 15 minutes. Turn the heat off and set the sauce aside.

3. When the chicken wings are done, reheat the sauce, bringing it back up to a boil. Mix together the cornstarch and 1/2 cup water; whisk into the boiling sauce. Bring the sauce back up to a boil; the sauce should begin to thicken. Cook for an additional 2 minutes then pour over the fried chicken.

Batter the Chicken:

1. Rinse the chicken. Place in a large mixing bowl.

2. Into the mixing bowl, add the ingredients for the fried chicken: salt, black pepper, eggs, garlic powder, flour, corn starch, and water. Using your hands, mix the chicken and the rest of the ingredients together. After mixing, the chicken should be fully covered in a thick batter.

Fry the Chicken (1st Frying):

1. Place the oil in a large frying pan or wok. Heat the oil over medium high heat, to about 375 degrees.

2. Carefully drop the chicken into the hot oil. Do not overcrowd the pan (the chicken needs room to cook).

3. Let the chicken cook for about 5 minutes on each side.

4. For the first frying, fry for a total of 10 minutes. Remove from the oil and drain in a metal colander. Set aside and continue to fry the remaining chicken. After all the chicken pieces have been fried for the first time, it is time for the 2nd frying. The 2nd frying will make the wings extra crispy and golden brown.

Fry the Chicken (2nd Frying):

1. This step goes much quicker. For the second frying, it’s okay to overcrowd the pan. Place as many chicken wings into the hot oil as can fit. My pan fit about 12 wings for the first frying; for the second frying, I placed about 18 wings into the pan.

2. For the second frying, fry for about 8 minutes, or until golden brown. Remove from the oil and drain in a metal colander. *See the difference in coloring between the first and second frying in the photo attached to this recipe.

3. When all the wings have been fried for the second time, place in a large mixing bowl. Pour the prepared sticky sauce over the chicken.

Garnish and Serve:

1. After pouring the sauce over the chicken, gently stir to ensure each wing is generously coated with the sticky sauce.

2. Optional: sprinkle pepper flakes and toasted sesame seeds over the chicken.

3. Serve with hot rice and ENJOY! It’s so good, you’ll be addicted to it!

 

The photos below illustrate my step-by-step process.  I hope this makes it easier to understand.  Give it a try and let me know how you like it.  🙂

1 - Crack Chicken

2 - Fried Chicken Ingredients

3 - Sauce Ingredients

4 - Make the Sauce

5 - Batter the Chicken

6 - First Frying

Oops!  # 4 (above) should read, “fry for a total of 10 minutes” (not 8).

 

7 - Second Frying

8 - Garnish and Serve

DSC_0098

Japchae (or Chapchae), Korean Stir-fried Noodles with Vegetables

I love Korean food.  Japchae is one of my favorites because it has noodles, beef, and a lot of my favorite vegetables like mushrooms, onions, carrots and spinach leaves.

During my first tour to Korea (I served there twice), I remember ordering Japchae and rice from the Korean place on base.  About 15 minutes after placing my telephone order, I’d listen intently for the revving of the Adashi’s moped as he tried to climb the hill to my BOQ (Bachelor Officer’s Quarters).  The sound of the overworked moped meant dinner was about to be served!

This is a quick dish to make, but as my former Korean nanny told me, there is an art to putting it together.  The ingredients must be layered, then gently mixed (by hand) to evenly distribute them without mashing anything.  This is how I make my japchae all the time–cooking each type of ingredient separately (the meat is cooked separate from the vegetables) then layered and mixed.  It is, after all, how Ajima did it, and that’s how it shall be done.

The japchae pictured below was actually cooked by my teenaged daughter.  She whipped it up so quickly that she forgot to take photos of the step-by-step process.

We WILL make this again, however.  When we do, I’ll be sure to take photos of each step and update this recipe.

Don’t let that stop you from making this dish.  It’s so easy–if my teenager can do it, so can you.  Give it a try.  I know you’ll like it.

ENJOY!

JAPCHAE

Japchae

Japchae

 

INGREDIENTS:
  • 2 pounds beef, sliced thinly
  • 2 tablespoons minced garlic
  • 1/4 cup soy sauce
  • 1/8 cup sugar
  • 6 tablespoons sesame oil
  • 1 small bag of carrots, pre-cut into strips (or 1 large carrot, julienned)
  • 1 medium onion, sliced
  • 1 package button mushrooms, sliced
  • 1 package shitake mushrooms, sliced (see note below)
  • 1 bag of fresh spinach leaves
  • 10 stalks green onions, cut into 2-inch pieces
  • 1 bag Korean vermicelli (sometimes called starch noodles, glass noodles or sweet potato noodles), called Dangmyun in Korean

This is what one brand of Dangmyun looks like:

dangmyung

I also use this brand a lot:

dangmyung 2

 

NOTE:  If you’re using dried shitake mushrooms, soak them in a bowl of warm water until soft.  Squeeze all the water out of the rehydrated mushrooms then slice thinly.

 

DIRECTIONS:

1.  Fill a large pot half-full with water and bring to a boil.  Add the bag of vermicelli noodles.  Cook for 4 minutes or until the noodles are soft. Drain then place in a large mixing bowl.

2.  In a large pan or wok, place the beef, sugar, soy sauce and 2 tablespoons sesame oil.  Stir fry over medium heat until the meat is done.  Stir often to prevent scorching.  Remove the meat from the pan when it’s cooked through; place it in the large mixing bowl, on top of the noodles.  Leave any sauce or drippings in the pan.

3.  Add 2 tablespoons of sesame oil to the pan.  Add the carrots and onions.  Stir fry over medium heat until the carrots are slightly wilted and the onions have begun to caramelize.  Once done, remove from the pan and add to the mixing bowl, on top of the cooked meat.

4.  Add the remaining 2 tablespoons of sesame oil to the pan along with both types of mushrooms.  Stir fry for a couple of minutes until the mushrooms have wilted and browned.  Add in the spinach leaves and green onions.  Cook for another couple of minutes, just until the spinach leaves have wilted slightly.  Remove from the pan and add to the mixing bowl, on top of everything else.

5.  Using your impeccably clean hands (I wear cooking gloves–you can buy this in any drug store; they’re the thin, plastic, disposable kind), mix all of the ingredients together.

6.  Do a taste test — if you think it needs more soy sauce or needs a little more sugar, add it in at this time, then mix some more.

7.  Serve as a meal, or alongside Korean BBQ Short ribs (or Galbi, in Korean).  Enjoy!

Japchae

Grilled Eggplant with Coconut Milk

I just love eggplants — stir fried with beef or chicken, sautéed with onions and scrambled with eggs, eggplant parmesan, and a favorite — grilled eggplant with coconut milk, lemon juice, green onions and hot pepper.  DELICIOUS!

The Chamorro name for this dish is Padu’ Lalu’.  It’s what my dad (in his 80’s) calls it, but since I don’t hear it called by this name anymore, I’m assuming it’s an antigu name.  Nowadays, you hear this dish called Eggplant Fina’denne’, or it’s named by what it is–eggplant with coconut milk.  Whatever you call it, it’s delicious.  Add it to your fiesta table menu.   🙂

Grilled Eggplant with Coconut Milk (Padu’ Lalu’)

DSC_0359

Ingredients:
  • 6 eggplants (see note 1 below)
  • 1 can coconut milk or cream
  • 1 tablespoon lemon powder (see note 2 below)
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • Hot pepper, to taste
  • 4 stalks green onions
Directions:

1.  Prepare the eggplants for grilling by pricking them all over with a fork.  This is so it won’t burst during the grilling process as the natural water in it heats up.

DSC_0329

2.  Grill the eggplants, turning them over frequently to ensure even cooking.  Grill until the skins are dark brown, even black and the eggplant is soft to when you touch it.

DSC_0346

DSC_0342

3.  Soak the grilled eggplant in a bowl of water to cool it down.  Peel the skin off the eggplant.  Place the whole eggplants in a shallow dish (my mom actually cuts the eggplant into small, bite-sized pieces).

DSC_0353

 4.  In a small mixing bowl, mix together the coconut milk or cream, lemon powder, salt and hot pepper.  Mix until the lemon powder and salt dissolve.  Taste, then adjust the amount of lemon powder, salt and hot pepper to your liking.  Pour the mixture over the eggplant.  Sprinkle the green onions over the eggplant and coconut milk.  Stir gently to combine.  Serve and ENJOY!

DSC_0358

DSC_0359

 

Note 1:  I like to use the long, skinny Japanese eggplants for this dish.  Buy eggplants that are still firm and not too fat, with very little to no blemishes on the skin.  You can use the large, oval eggplants common in grocery stores, only use 1 or 2 smaller ones.  You’ll need to grill or broil these longer as they are thicker and will take longer for the middle to cook through.

DSC_0325

 

Note 2:  If you don’t have lemon powder (on Guam, a favorite is Yours Brand lemon powder), you can use unsweetened Kool-Aid lemonade mix.

lemon powder

 

 

Grilled Eggplant with Coconut Milk, served with BBQ ribs, White Rice and Fina’denne’

 

Beef Stir Fry with Eggplant, Mushrooms and Bean Sprouts

Beef…it’s what’s for dinner.  🙂  I love that commercialized tag line.

Beef stir fry is another one of those versatile dishes that you can change by adding different vegetables.  I like using whatever looks freshest at the grocery store.  Use whatever vegetables you like, or modify this further by substituting the beef with chicken, pork, or even shrimp!  You can even make this a vegetarian dish by stir frying firm tofu in place of the beef.  The options are virtually endless.

Beef Stir Fry

Ingredients:

  • 3 pounds thinly sliced beef
  • 3 tablespoons sesame oil
  • 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
  • 1 teaspoon accent (or aji), optional
  • 8 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 medium onion, sliced
  • 1 head broccoli, cut into small pieces
  • 2 medium Japanese eggplants, sliced
  • 1 package sliced mushrooms, about 2 cups
  • 1/2 cup soy sauce
  • 1 tablespoon hoisin sauce
  • 4 tablespoons Korean seasoned soybean paste (see note)
  • 1 bag fresh bean sprouts

Directions:

1.  In a large pan or wok, brown the beef over high heat along with the sesame oil, black pepper, accent and garlic.

DSC_0057

DSC_0060

2.  When the beef is browned, add the onions, broccoli, eggplant and mushrooms. Cook over medium high heat until the eggplant and mushrooms have wilted slightly.

DSC_0061

DSC_0067

DSC_0068

DSC_0069

3.  In a small bowl, mix the soy sauce, hoisin sauce, and Korean seasoned soy bean paste. NOTE: If you can’t find the soybean paste, substitute with like amounts of hoisin sauce. Add the soy sauce mixture to the pot; stir to combine all the ingredients.

4.  Add the bean sprouts. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for about 5 minutes until the bean sprouts have wilted only slightly.

DSC_0070

5.  Serve with hot rice and enjoy!

This makes enough for about 8-10 servings.

  DSC_0081

Recent Entries »