Yakitori Chicken Wings

Obviously not authentic barbecued yakitori chicken here but still delicious and rather moreish with the sticky sweet marinade.

I use Tamari or gluten free soy sauce but regular works too and you can cook these on the barbecue for a more authentic flavour.

Leftovers, if you have any, are great for lunch boxes.

Serves 4.

Ingredients

1.4kg chicken nibbles, tips removed and wings halved at the joint

60mls gluten free soy sauce or Tamari

60mls mirin

80mls maple syrup

2 spring onions, very finely sliced

Method

Combine all of the ingredients, except a few slices of onion, in a zip lock bag and allow to marinade for 2-8 hours.

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees Centigrade and line two baking trays with baking parchment.

Lay the chicken on the baking trays skin side up and scoop out the spring onion slices and spread them over the top.

Pop in the oven and bake for 45-50 minutes, basting regularly , first baste with the leftover marinade and the remaining bastes with the pan juices.

Keep and eye on the chicken, towards the end it will want to burn!

To serve, pile the wings on a plate and then sprinkle over the reserved spring onion.

 

Baked Salmon with Noodles and Bok Choy

We all love a stir fry but I don’t think that salmon is the best fish for it so instead I bake the salmon having marinaded it in stir fry flavours and then use the marinade to flavour the noodles.

The boys eat mountains of noodles, the quantity in the recipe is very high, regular appetites might be nearer the 450g mark!

For the gluten free option I use rice noodles.

Serves 5.

Ingredients

5 salmon fillets, boned

50mls gluten free soy sauce or Tamari

30mls dry sherry or Chinese rice wine

Large thumb sized piece of ginger, peeled and grated to give 25g

2 garlic cloves, grated

5 star anise

60mls sesame oil

300g Bok choy, leaves shredded, stalks cut in half lengthways

4 large spring onions, white part, finely sliced

550g dry noodles, cooked

Method

In a dish that will fit the fish snugly, grate the ginger and garlic, add the soy sauce and sherry.

Place the salmon fillets in the marinade and turn to coat, pop the star anise into the marinade.

Refrigerate for 4-6 hours.

Take a large piece of tin foil, lay it out and top with a slightly smaller piece of baking parchment.

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Centigrade.

Remove the salmon from the marinade, wipe off any excess ginger and garlic. Line the salmon fillets in the centre of the baking parchment and top with a star anise.

Bring the parchment up and over to enclose the salmon and then bring the foil up to help seal it, the fish is to bake in a mini tent.

Pop the package on a baking sheet and place in the oven, bake for 10mins, allow to sit while you finish the noodles.

Heat a large wok or frying pan over high heat, add the sesame oil, once smoking, add the marinade and cook until fragrant.

Next, add the bok choy stems and spring onions and stir fry for 1 minute.

Add the cooked noodles and bok choy leaves and stir fry for 3 mins.

Sesame Chicken Wings

Madly popular with the boys, these sticky wings are fantastic as nibbles, lunch box fillers and after school treat.

I chop the tips off the wings and then cut them also at the joint to form two pieces.

Ingredients

1kg chicken wings

2 tablespoons honey

1 tablespoon sesame oil

1 tablespoon gluten free soy sauce or tamari

5 cloves garlic, crushed

1 tablespoon sesame seeds

Method

Combine all of the ingredients, except sesame seeds, and leave in the fridge to marinade for at least four hours.

Preheat the oven to 200degrees Centigrade, line a baking tray with baking parchment.

Place the chicken on the baking tray, brush with the marinade and sprinkle over the sesame seeds.

Bake for 20mins and then brush again with the marinade and pop back in the oven for ten minutes.

Again, remove from the oven, brush with the marinade and return to the oven.

Bake for a final 10mins, remove and brush with marinade and serve.

Chinese Spiced Poached Chicken

I know that twenty minutes does not sound long enough to poach such a large chicken but trust me here, as you leave the chicken in the stock it continues to cook and absorb the lovely flavours.

By cooking the chicken this way, it is prepared long before you eat and the moistness of the meat is amazing although, it doesn’t look particularly attractive!

Once you have made this stock you have the bases for many meals to come, just sieve the stock to remove the lumpy bits and then freeze. When you need it again, defrost and add all of the ingredients again to re flavour the stock, it really does get better with every use!

Leftovers the next day? Cook some noodles, top with some baby spinach, leftover chicken and pour over some hot stock.

Ingredients

2.5kg chicken

250mls gluten free soy sauce or Tamari sauce

200mls Chinese rice wine

500mls chicken stock

1 orange, rind and juice

5 spring onions, topped and tailed, cut into 5cm lengths

4 star anise

2x5cm cinnamon sticks

1 tablespoon salt

Water

Method

Combine all of the ingredients, except chicken in a large stock pot.

Bring to the boil and simmer for 30 mins.

Fill and boil a kettle of water.

Wash the chicken and then gently loosen the skin from the breasts and legs.

Add 500 mls water to the stock pot and stir.

Gently lower the chicken into the pot, ensure the cavity is filled with the stock too.

Cover, you may need to add more water to fully immerse the chicken,  and bring the pot up to the boil, turn the heat down and simmer gently for twenty mins only. Do not remove the lid.

Turn the heat off after 20mins and leave covered with the lid for several hours.

Remove once cool enough to handle and chop into your desired serving pieces.

Easy Chicken Satay

Having lived in Indonesia for 6 years we all developed a taste for chicken satay.  Since then, I now have to make it gluten free so I use Tamari sauce or gluten free soy sauce.

As with any food served on sticks, the boys love it and could probably eat their body weight in satay if given the chance!

I serve this with a satay sauce, recipe to follow on the blog, again, not traditional but, quick, easy and very tasty. Other than that, some boiled rice and you have dinner.

Serves 4-6 depending on appetites.

Ingredients

1kg chicken breast, cut into 2cm cubes

2 tablespoons honey

125mls Tamari, gluten free or regular soy sauce

90 mls sesame oil

2 tablespoons ground coriander

1/2-1 teaspoon chilli powder

2 teaspoons ground turmeric

2 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed

35-40g fresh ginger, peeled and grated

Method

In a large bowl combine all of the ingredients, except chicken. Mix well.

Add chicken, mix well and set aside to marinade for 1-2hours.

Take 16 wooden skewers and soak in water for at least 30mins.

Heat a frying pan or BBQ to hot.

Take a skewer and slide on a handful of chicken, repeat with the remaining skewers.

Place in the frying pan or on the BBQ and cook, turning regularly until cooked through, around 10mins.

Serve hot or warm with satay sauce and rice.