Vietnamese-style Grilled Chili-Lime Wings

This is one of those dishes that try my patience.  Not because it's hard to make, but because it's easy.  Easy to prepare, easy to marinate, easy to ruin.  The high sugar content of this dish, due to both the honey and the brown sugar, lends itself to burning quite easily if you're not careful or impatient.  Therefore, don't try to force the chicken to be done right quickly, or you're liable to end up with charred skin on the outside and raw poultry on the inside.  The key to this is to cook it slowly, over indirect heat.  And to pack some patience in your back pocket, because this should be marinated overnight, and takes about an hour to cook.  But if you do it right, you will be in heaven.  ;)

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Ingredients:
Marinade --
1 C lime juice
2 C soy sauce
¼ C Thai chili sauce (NOT the same as Sriracha ... this is sweeter and not as hot)
½ C honey
1-2 Tbsp garlic (3-4 cloves), finely chopped
¾ C brown sugar
2 Tbsp fish sauce
2 Tbsp sesame oil
Approx. 20 wings, cut up into sections (can also use a whole fryer chicken)

Finishing/Dipping Sauce --
1½ C warm water
½ C sugar
2 Tbsp Thai chili sauce
2-3 Tbsp fish sauce

Directions:
Whisk all the ingredients for the dipping sauce together.  Pour into an air-tight container and set aside.

Whisk all the liquid ingredients for the marinade except the honey together.  Warm the honey in the microwave about 30 seconds, then add to the rest of the marinade and whisk well until fully incorporated.  Immerse wings (or chicken pieces) in the marinade overnight in an airtight container, turning over once after at least 6 hours and at least 4 hours before cooking time.

Preheat grill.  If using a gas grill, turn on all burners on high so that it gets nice and hot inside.  If using charcoal, use a large amount so that it gets really hot.  When grill is ready, move charcoal to one side, or turn off one set of burners on a gas grill.  Place wings on the side that no longer has direct heat.

Cover.  Let cook for 20 minutes, then flip and cook for another 25 minutes.  Be sure heat is an even temperature and does not cool off too much, or else it will take even longer to cook.  After the 45 minutes are up, wings (or chicken pieces) should be a nice caramel-brown color.  If there's still some pink in the chicken, flip and keep on the heat another 5-10 minutes. Place the wings over the side with the heat, 4-5 minutes, then flip and continue another 4-5 minutes.  Do not let the chicken burn, which is easy to do thanks to the high sugar content.

How a whole fryer looks after marinating and grilling.

Remove wings (or chicken) from heat and serve with the finishing sauce for dipping.  Ideal with grilled or roasted vegetables, plain rice or noodles.

Served with a side of roasted sweet potatoes with diced onions and bacon.

Mmm...mmm...tasty!

Serves 5-6 people (depending on how hungry they are!)  ;)

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GBAdams
06/05/2013

Pancit Sotanghon

This is a recipe I culled partly from my memory and partly from what's out there on Filipino recipe sites; liked a little here, a little there, etc. Put it all together and you have my take on one of the staple noodle dishes of my culture.

Several things to note:  Honestly, this recipe is NOT difficult.  It is, however, very time-consuming.  It takes time to boil the chicken, cool, shred, cut up all the veggies ahead of time, soak the noodles, etc.  So as long as you stick close to the steps, you should be OK.  As with any Asian stir-fry dish, the key is to have everything cut up ahead of time so you don't have to think about it as you're stirring away...all you have to do is dump in the ingredients as you go.  Also, 99% of these ingredients can likely be found in your local grocery store (yes, even the fish sauce nowadays); I have not always seen bean thread noodles there, and especially not the Chinese sausage, so for these items you will probably need to go to a specialty Asian market.  Rice sticks or thin rice noodles can be substituted, but growing up my mom always used bean thread noodles, also known as lungkow, so that's what I use because I like to carry on many of her traditions.  :)

Bean thread noodles, aka "lungkow"

Veggies can be interchanged, depending on your taste.  Other vegetable ideas include but are not limited to: sliced white button mushrooms, julienned red & green peppers, zucchini (not a personal favorite), pea pods, bean sprouts, etc.  Also, I take a shortcut by buying pre-packaged shredded carrots instead of doing them myself.  It's neater, faster, and heck, why not?

One last thing worth mentioning: Calamansi (cah-lah-mahn-SEE) is a small citrus fruit native to Southeast Asia, and definitely prevalent in Filipino cooking.  Usually they are halved and then squeezed over things like fish & pork so that the citrus juice accentuates whatever dish it's being added to.  If you don't live in an area that normally has access to calamansi (such as where I live in Colorado), small limes or even lime juice can be substituted and used instead.

Good luck...and if you make this dish, please write back and let me know how it turned out for you!  :)

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Ingredients:

Boiled Chicken -

1 half split chicken breast, boneless & skinless

2 chicken thighs, boneless & skinless

2 Tbsp garlic powder

2 Tbsp granulated chicken bouillon (or chicken broth and add kosher salt to taste)

6-8 C water

Noodle Mix - 

6 oz (½ a package, or 4-5 individual links) sliced Chinese sausage

6 oz chopped onions

3 cloves garlic, finely diced

½ head cabbage, roughly shredded (meaning not as finely shredded as for cole slaw or sauerkraut)

1-2 (about 5-6 oz) shredded carrots

1-2 C sliced green beans

2-3 Tbsp canola or vegetable oil

8-10 oz bean thread noodles (1 package, or several smaller packages, depending on the brand)

Sauce -

1 C chicken broth

1/3 C dark soy sauce (not low sodium)

2 Tbsp fish sauce

Garnish - 

2-3 stalks of green onions, thinly sliced

5-6 calamansi halves OR 3-4 small limes, sliced into segments

Directions:

Bring water with garlic powder and bouillon to a rolling boil.  Add chicken.  When water comes back to a boil, bring down heat to high simmer.  Skim off any chicken "foam" as necessary.  Cook 15 minutes or until all pieces are cooked thoroughly. Set aside and cool.  (This step can be done well ahead of time.  I sometimes boil large batches of chicken, freeze them in sets, and thaw them out as needed.) When chicken has cooled, roughly shread (pull apart) meat.  Not as finely as for things like BBQ sandwiches or tacos, but don't leave overly-large chunks.

Mix broth, soy sauce and fish sauce in a bowl or large measuring cup; set aside.

Chop up all the vegetables and sausage, striving for even, uniform pieces as much as possible.

Before you start cooking, soak bean thread noodles in warm water and set aside.  Heat up a wok or other large, high-sided pan to as high of heat as possible; add vegetable oil. Start by sautéeing onions, then add Chinese sausage and garlic. When onions have started to take on translucency, add cabbage and carrots.  While cabbage & carrots have started to cook, set soaked noodles in a colander to drain.  Stir veggies & sausage in the pan vigorously until cabbage has also started to become translucent and wilt; add the green beans.  Keep stirring constantly so that nothing sticks to the side or bottom of the pan.

Place drained noodles into pan, then pour broth over noodles, covering as evenly as possible.  Using 2 utensils (spaghetti ladle and/or flat spatula), toss noodle mixture well, like a salad, in order to evenly distribute veggies and sauce within the noodles.

Garnish with finely sliced green onions and serve with calamansi or lime wedges.

How the pancit looks when placed into a serving tray...

...and how it looks, ready for a potluck presentation. :)

Serves about 10 people

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GBAdams

11/16/2011

Basic Filipino Marinade (Germ's Style)

The finished product how we normally have it -- grilled, on a bed of lettuce & a warm pita.

After I was married and was seriously cooking for a household, I tried to replicate the marinade for the BBQ kebobs I loved so much from family picnics, but was never successful.  One time at a gathering at his family's house, my beloved late uncle, Papa Jess, told me the secret to the Filipino marinade: 7-Up.  I nearly fell over, I was so shocked.  I think I actually said to him, "Get OUTTA here!"  Sure enough, the next time I made the marinade, it was perfect. It was like the puzzle was finally complete.  So here is my version of the marinade, tweaked over the years til I got it how I liked it.  I hope you enjoy it, too.  :)

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Ingredients:
1 C Soy Sauce (full sodium works best because it will get diluted with the other liquids that are added)
3-4 Cloves minced garlic OR 2 Tbsp Garlic powder
½ C Brown sugar (packed)
1 tsp Ground ginger
½ C Rice vinegar
1 can 7-Up

Blend well before adding it to meats.  For best results, pour over the meat and refrigerate in an air-tight container for at least a day or more before grilling.  (I like to go 3-4 days to ensure the meat REALLY gets infused with the flavor.)

Can be used on pork, chicken or beef.  I prefer marinating srips of pork with some slight marbling within; if you choose meats that are extremely lean, they will come out tough and chewy.  I recently experimented with strips of chuck steak and they were INCREDIBLE.

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Strips of beef in the marinade, Day One:

This is what the same meat looks like right out of the fridge, 4 days later:

Grilling on a screen designed for small meats & veggies.  Keeps 'em from falling through the grates.  :)

...and some grilled onions:

Normally I put the meat & veggies on a pita bread, but saw the flatbread package in the store and decided to try that.  MUCH better - it's thinner than a pita, so it doesn't fill you up as easily.

The finished product.  (Meat can also be skewered onto wooden sticks for kebabs/yakitori-type grilling.  That's how they're usually presented, FIlipino-style.)  Yum!  :)

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GBAdams
09/14/11

Mexican-Asian Fusion Shredded Pork Tacos

Ingredients:
1-2 lbs pork tenderloin or shoulder
1 C hot water
1 C brown sugar
2 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 C soy sauce
⅓ C rice vinegar
¼ C lime juice
1 Tbsp garlic powder
1 Tbsp onion powder
1 tsp Chinese Five Spice
1 tsp white pepper
1 Tbsp coarse ground black pepper
1 Tbsp ground cumin
1 tsp chili powder (or more if you like spicy foods)
1 Tbsp  crushed red pepper flakes
1 Tbsp chopped or sliced fresh garlic (optional)
Medium flour tortillas
Shredded lettuce
Sour Cream (optional)
chopped green onions (optional)
diced tomatoes (also optional)

Marinade:
Combine hot water with brown sugar and stir until dissolved. Add Worcestershire and soy sauces, rice vinegar, lime juice and stir. Add dry ingredients (and fresh garlic, if desired) and stir until mixed well.  In an airtight container, pour over pork, seal and refrigerate minimum of 3 hours. For best results, marinate pork overnight, turning at least once so all of the pork has a chance to be submerged in the marinade at some point.

Braise:
Pre-heat oven to 350. In a deep casserole or other baking dish with high sides, place pork.  Add enough marinade so that the liquid is about 1 inch deep...this will be the liquid the pork will braise in.  Cover dish with foil and place in oven.  Bake for a minimum of 2 hours, up to 3 for larger cuts of meat.

Take dish out of the oven; meat should be fork-tender, or fall-off-the-bone tender. Let pork rest for 10 minutes.  Place pork on chopping board, and with 2 forks, pull apart the meat so that it becomes "shredded."  Place in a serving dish or bowl. Take some of the marinade/braising liquid, about 1/4-1/3 cup, and add to the shredded pork so it doesn't dry out.  Cover and set aside.

Assemble:
Place a damp cloth or paper towel on top of a few tortillas on a plate and microwave for about 30-60 seconds or until warm. Take a tortilla, add lettuce, some of the shredded pork, green onions, sour cream and tomatoes.  Enjoy!

Makes about 8-12 tacos; serves approximately 4-6 people.

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GBAdams
05/18/11

Chicken Adobo (Adobong Manok)

This is by no means the only way to cook The Philippines' national dish.  There are so many varieties based on region and preference.  This is just the way I prepare it.  :)

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Ingredients:
1  whole fryer chicken, cut up (about 8-10 pieces, depending if you cut up the split chicken breasts)
4-5  cloves garlic, chopped
2-3  white or yellow onions, roughly chopped - larger slices
1 Tbsp peppercorns
3-4  Bay leaves
2 Tbsp sesame oil (or enough to barely coat bottom of pan or pot)
1 C  soy sauce
1 C apple cider vinegar
1 C sugar
1 C warm water
White sticky rice

Directions:
In mixing bowl or large measuring cup, combine soy sauce, vinegar, sugar and water. Set aside.  In stock pot or dutch oven, heat to medium high, add sesame oil, then add chicken.  Brown one side.  Flip, then add garlic and continue to brown other side.  Add onions, soy sauce mixture, peppercorns and bay leaves.  Bring liquid to a boil, then reduce heat to simmer for about 10-15 minutes, or until onions begin to turn translucent.  Serve with rice.


Serves 6-8.

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GBAdams
03/08/2010