Sesame Ginger Grilled Chicken

Periplus Mini Cookbook Korean Favorites by Yu-kyoung Moon and Jonathan Hopfner is another one of my favorite Korean cookbooks containing 36 simple recipes from condiments & pickles, to snacks & appetizers, to soups & stews, to meat & poultry dishes, to seafood dishes, to rice & noodles, and to desserts.

Picking out a dish under the poultry section this week is, 'Sesame Ginger Grilled Chicken'. The simple marinade used in this dish leaves the meat deliciously tender, as it is infused with the flavor of fresh garlic, ginger and sesame.

What You'll Need:

8 chicken legs or wings

Marinade

1 spring onion, chopped

4 cloves garlic, minced

1/3 cup (90ml) light soy sauce

4 tbsp rice wine

4 tsp fresh ginger juice, squeezed from grated fresh ginger root

2 tbsp sesame oil

2 tbsp sesame seeds

2 tbsp sugar

Method:

1. Using a sharp knife, make 4 - 5 shallow incisions in the sides of each chicken leg. Set aside.

2. Prepare the Marinade by mixing the ingredients in a bowl until the sugar is dissolved. Pour the Marinade over the chicken, and rub the Marinade into all sides of the chicken until well coated. Cover and marinate overnight in the refrigerator.

3. Preheat a pan grill or broiler over medium heat until hot. Grill the marinated chicken in batches, basting with the Marinade, until crispy and cooked, 5 - 10 mins on each side. Serve immediately.

Good Luck & have fun!

Poached Chicken with Warm Fragrant Ginger Sauce

If you think Chicken Rice is a little too oily for you, try this mouth-watering, no oil/fat required yet succulent, flavorful low-fat Poached Chicken with warm fragrant Ginger Sauce recipe. It's definitely one of the easiest recipes I've cooked.

(Adapted from Neeble Neeble)
What You'll Need: Chicken

1 Chicken (approx. 1.5kg)

2 stalk of spring onions
4 slices of ginger

12 cloves of garlic, with skin on

1 tsp salt

1 tsp sugar

What You'll Need: Ginger Sauce
1 tbsp oil
100g ginger, peeled and grated
1-2 stalk spring onion, minced
1 tbsp sesame oil
1 tbsp Chinese cooking wine (Hua Tiao)
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp sugar

1/2 cup chicken stock

Method:

1. Rinse chicken and drain well.

2. Bring a large pot of water to boil over medium heat and add the ginger, spring onion, garlic, salt and sugar. Add the chicken and cook for 10 minutes over medium heat. Reduce heat to low and let chicken cook for 10 minutes.

3. Lift chicken up to drain the water from the chicken back to the pot. Return the chicken to the pot and continue cooking over low heat for another 15 minutes.

4. Remove the chicken and drain it. Soak the whole chicken in cold water for 20 minutes until it is cooled. Drain the chicken, debone, chop it up and set aside.

5. While waiting for the chicken to cool, cook rice using the water from cooking the chicken. This imparts a nice subtle fragrance to the rice and is not oily like the regular chicken rice.

6. At the same time, prepare the ginger sauce. Heat 1 tsp of oil in wok over low heat. Add spring onion and ginger and stir fly till fragrant. Add remaining ingredients and mix well.

7. Ladle warm ginger sauce over chicken and serve.

Don't forget to dip it in some kick-ass chili sauce.

Have fun!