I've got a ginger chicken recipe floating around here somewhere. Need me to repost it?
Post it if you have got it.
I have a chicken here, and some charcoal so I will be grilling a chicken. And I am looking to do some chicken yakatori. Japanese style grilled chicken kebabs. Usually also grilled over charcoal. Maybe some Greek style souvlaki.
I did grate some ginger, boiled it, strained it through a coffee filter and added it to ginger ale. Worked out well, though I needed to use more ginger. I added some non-sugar sweetener. I am thinking about chicken baked with ginger, soy sauce and pineapple. Or maybe grated onion and garlic and teriyaki sauce.
This is more of a cook it in the pan recipe, although I suppose you can cook the sauce separately and baste it on yakitori skewers.
Ginger Chicken
Lightly roasted, lightly crushed sesame seeds are used as garnish in both the main and cucumber side dish. Just roast them by tossing them around in a dry hot skillet and turn the heat off the moment you get a strong sesame seed smell. Lightly crush them with a mortar and pestle or food processor. You just want to break/crack almost all of the sesame seeds, but leave relatively big pieces.
- Chicken cut into finger-sized strips
- Fresh Ginger cut into very thin medallions
- Soy Sauce
- Brown Sugar
- Sake (optional)
- Aji-Mirin (optional)
- Flour or rice flour (optional)
- Lightly roasted, lightly crushed sesame seeds (garnish)
- Very thin slices of green onion (garnish)
I like to go heavy on the ginger, making the pile of sliced ginger maybe 1/3 to 1/4 the size of the pile of chicken. Use less or more if you like. This recipe is very forgiving so the amounts don't have to be perfect.
If you use the flour, it is to help brown/sear the chicken and as a thickening agent. Coat the chicken pieces in flour, then tap off the excess. Sear the chicken in a hot skillet. You only need to sear it until the outside is brown. The inside will get cooked later.
Take the chicken out of the pan, then deglaze the pan with soy sauce. Add ginger, brown sugar, and if you're using any rice wine, add it here. Reduce the sauce at high heat to about half (go ahead and boil it). The flavor balance between soy sauce and sugar should slightly favor sweet over salty. Taste as you go. If you want to be extra luxurious, reduce it until it's a little thinner than syrup. This takes a lot more time, though. If you want to cheat the thickness, you can make a slurry from corn starch and cold water, mix thoroughly (I usually put it in a small baby food jar and shake it furiously), then add to sauce.
Once the sauce is to your liking, add the chicken back, heat and stir until the chicken is cooked through.
Plate and add garnishes.
Serve with white rice on the side. You gotta do that. It's a Japanese meal.
Recommended side:
Cucumber Salad
- Cucumbers sliced thinly
- Salt (sea salt recommended)
- Bonito flakes (katsuobushi) (garnish, required)
- Lightly roasted, lightly crushed sesame seeds (garnish)
Bonito is a specialty item, I know. It is basically shaved tuna bacon. If you have any Asian supermarkets near you, you can almost certainly buy this item there. If not, there are tons of places you can get it on the Internet, such as Amazon.com:
Amazon.com : Katsuobushi - Dried Shaved Bonito Flakes, 0.88oz : Grocery & Gourmet Food
Bonito flakes pack a big flavor punch, so use it very sparingly. If you absolutely can't get it, you can do this dish without the katsuobushi/bonito, but it's much better with.
Other than slicing the cucumber, this is a super easy side to make (it'll need about 20 minutes in the fridge), and it contrasts nicely with the other flavors.
Just toss the cucumbers with salt to taste in a bowl. Taste to check the salt content. You know what tastes good. Cover the bowl and stick it in the refrigerator until the cucumbers become translucent (about 20 minutes).
Add garnishes just before serving.
Serve with miso soup and a small variety of Japanese pickles.
