Serendipitous Cajun Chicken
Last night I had some chicken pieces to cook but I didn't feel like baking them, so I made the following up as I went along. I'm not...
http://about-diabetic.blogspot.com/2010/07/serendipitous-cajun-chicken_11.html
Last night I had some chicken pieces to cook but I didn't feel like baking them, so I made the following up as I went along. I'm not sure this could really be called a recipe because the quantities and directions are not exactly quantified or normal, but the result was delicious.
I started with a chicken maryland (drumstick and thigh) and two wings. I jointed all those and ended up with eight small bits of chook, to be cooked for two.
I browned all those in a wok in a decent splash of peanut oil. When they were browned but not fully cooked I removed them to be returned later.
I sliced or chopped one red onion, a stalk of celery and a medium carrot and sautéed those in the chicken-flavoured oil; adding a minced clove of garlic when they were nearly cooked. Then I added a half teaspoon of cayenne, a half-teaspoon of turmeric, a half-teaspoon of paprika, a half-teaspoon of salt and a grating of pepper. The measurements were by calibrated eyeball. I also added just a few flakes of my ultra-hot dried birds-eye chili from the garden and some dried oregano, also from my garden.
I returned the chicken to the veges in the wok, gave it a good stir, then covered it all with chicken stock. I brought that to the boil and then reduced it to simmer and went off to upload some movies to my travel blog. That turned out to be an essential and serendipitous part of the cooking technique.
The up-loading took a little longer than I expected. Some time later (probably about a half-hour) I returned to find the wok had boiled almost dry and the veges on the bottom were starting to stick to the pan and going rather black. On tasting, the flavour had developed a slightly charred characteristic (hence the cajun tag) but still seemed edible.
I added a little water and gave it a good stir to de-glaze the wok and to mix the black flecks into the mass of veges; just enough water to result in a nice gravy consistency. I did not use any thickener in the recipe; no flour or guar gum. Then I returned it to the simmer for about ten minutes; this time under supervision.
I served it with some trepidation. The tasting judge, my better half, thought it was wonderful. She claimed it was the best chicken she had eaten for a long time. Surprisingly, so did I. Of course, she may have just been trying to ensure that the cook continues to cook for her...
I'm not quite sure how to write that down as a recipe technique: "cook until just charred but not burnt".
I haven't worked out a nutrition count but the only significant carbs would have been the carrot. It hardly caused a blip on my peak post-meal BGs.
Bon appetit,
Alan
Everything in Moderation - Except Laughter
I started with a chicken maryland (drumstick and thigh) and two wings. I jointed all those and ended up with eight small bits of chook, to be cooked for two.
I browned all those in a wok in a decent splash of peanut oil. When they were browned but not fully cooked I removed them to be returned later.
I sliced or chopped one red onion, a stalk of celery and a medium carrot and sautéed those in the chicken-flavoured oil; adding a minced clove of garlic when they were nearly cooked. Then I added a half teaspoon of cayenne, a half-teaspoon of turmeric, a half-teaspoon of paprika, a half-teaspoon of salt and a grating of pepper. The measurements were by calibrated eyeball. I also added just a few flakes of my ultra-hot dried birds-eye chili from the garden and some dried oregano, also from my garden.
I returned the chicken to the veges in the wok, gave it a good stir, then covered it all with chicken stock. I brought that to the boil and then reduced it to simmer and went off to upload some movies to my travel blog. That turned out to be an essential and serendipitous part of the cooking technique.
The up-loading took a little longer than I expected. Some time later (probably about a half-hour) I returned to find the wok had boiled almost dry and the veges on the bottom were starting to stick to the pan and going rather black. On tasting, the flavour had developed a slightly charred characteristic (hence the cajun tag) but still seemed edible.
I added a little water and gave it a good stir to de-glaze the wok and to mix the black flecks into the mass of veges; just enough water to result in a nice gravy consistency. I did not use any thickener in the recipe; no flour or guar gum. Then I returned it to the simmer for about ten minutes; this time under supervision.
I served it with some trepidation. The tasting judge, my better half, thought it was wonderful. She claimed it was the best chicken she had eaten for a long time. Surprisingly, so did I. Of course, she may have just been trying to ensure that the cook continues to cook for her...
I'm not quite sure how to write that down as a recipe technique: "cook until just charred but not burnt".
I haven't worked out a nutrition count but the only significant carbs would have been the carrot. It hardly caused a blip on my peak post-meal BGs.
Bon appetit,
Alan
Everything in Moderation - Except Laughter
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