Thursday, June 15, 2006

Little fingers and little toes...

I am ashamed to admit I was watching Ham on the Street and borrowed the idea for these from George Duran. I'm not really ashamed about the borrowing, more the watching of that idiot show. That man is ten times more annoying than Emiril.

Anywho, he was making lighter versions of chicken fingers and I decided to give it my own twist.

1 lb of chicken breast cut into strips (fingers) or chunks (toes)
1 cup of mayonaisse
Stuff to make the mayo tasty (see below)
2 cups panko bread crumbs or regular bread crumbs or matzo meal
salt and pepper

In a medium sized bowl mix the mayonaisse with the flavoring of your choice

Asian
2 tsp soy sauce
1 tsp rice vinegar
1/2 inch piece of fresh ginger grated
1 clove garlic finely minced
1/2 tsp sesame oil
1/4 tsp black pepper
Dash of hot sauce

Curry
1/4 cup vindaloo curry paste
3 Tbl curry powder
1 tsp hot sauce

Lemon Garlic
2 cloves of garlic finely minced
zest and juice of 1 large lemon
1/2 tsp black pepper

Barbecue
1 Tbl brown sugar
2 Tbl cider vinegar
1/2 tsp each garlic powder, onion powder & chili powder
Dash of liquid smoke

Preheat oven to 400. Lightly grease a baking sheet with vegetable oil or pan spray.

Spread your crumb of choice on a large plate and season with salt and pepper. (If making the curry ones a bit of curry powder, barbecue a bit of chili powder) Dip your chicken pieces into your mayo mixture then into the crumbs, turning and pressing lightly to coat well. (Messy) Lay each chicken piece on your baking sheet until all pieces are coated. Bake for 15-20 minutes until chicken is done and coating is nicely crisped.

Alternatively you can leave the chicken naked. ie dip them in the mayo and leave off the crumbs. Absolutely yummo!!!

Delicious all by themselves but you can make dipping sauces for them or use commercial ones such as sweet and sour, hot mango chutney or barbecue sauce.

We like

Hoisin Barbecue
1/2 cup good quality barbecue sauce
2 Tbl Hoisin Sauce
1 tsp hot sauce
Couple of dashes liquid smoke

Garlic Tahini
1/2 cup sour cream
2 Tbl tahini
2 cloves garlic finely minced
1/4 cup lemon juice

Curried Mayo
1/2 cup mayonaisse
2 Tbl vindoloo curry paste
1 Tbl curry powder
1 tsp hot sauce

Horseradish Ranch
1/2 cup ranch dressing
1 Tbl prepared horseradish (not the creamy kind)

Monday, June 12, 2006

Mushu Burgers

Burgers
1 lb ground pork
1 egg
1 inch piece fresh ginger grated
2 cloves garlic finely minced
2 Tablespoons ponzu or 1 Tablespoon rice wine vinegar and 1 Tablespoon soy sauce
1 Tablespoon Kikkoman or Tamari Soy Sauce
1 tsp hot sauce
1/2 tsp black pepper

In a medium bowl mix together all ingredients except the pork until well combined. Add the pork and using your hands, mix thouroughly but lightly. Form meat into four even sized patties. Cook on medium high turning once until cooked through.

Veggie Mix
2 cups coleslaw mix or shredded cabbage
1 small onion sliced into thin strips
4 oz button mushrooms cut into slices
2 Tablespoons soy sauce
1 Tablespoon Honey
1 Tablespoon rice wine, red wine or sherry vinegar
Salt and Pepper
2 Tablespoons Vegetable oil

Heat 1 Tablespoon oil in a wok or large saute pan until hot. Add the mushrooms season with salt and pepper and cook untill golden brown and slightly crisp. Remove from pan add remaining vegetable oil and the onions cook for 1-2 minutes until onions are translucent add the coleslaw mix, toss and fry until veggies are slightly wilted. Add the soy sauce, vinegar, honey and mushrooms. Cook and stir one minute more.

To assemble
4 burrito size flour tortillas
Hoisin sauce to taste

Spread a dollop of hoisin in the center of the tortilla, top with a 1/4 of the sauteed veggies and one of the burgers. Wrap up as best as you can and shove in your face. Yum!

The meat mixture makes an incredible filling for potstickers. Alternatively you can form it into meatballs and bake them at 375 for about 15 minutes then add them to the veggies and serve over rice. I'm thinking about experimenting and skewering the meat mix with possibly pineapple, green pepper and some onion then grilling them, maybe brushing on a bit of hoisin at the end. Sounds promising.