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Tuesday, March 8, 2011

Chicken Stroganoff



From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...When you travel with a group of strangers, you quickly learn about food preferences and the group's tolerance for new foods or flavors. Most people are adventurous, but I will never forget one traveler who quite unwittingly left me flabbergasted. I nearly choked when she complained, in tones far from sotto voce, that they served too much Chinese food in China. We were, of course, at a banquet in China, and whether your instinct is to laugh or cry, it was, pure and simple, one of life's "died and gone to heaven" moments. When we were in India, the people who planned our meals worked really hard to see that wouldn't happen. Western food was always included in the menu and the one dish that appeared every evening was Chicken Stroganoff. It apparently was viewed as a dish that would please both Eastern and Western sensibilities. Now, Beef Stroganoff was an enormously popular dish in the 60's and 70's, and most of us who cooked and entertained during that time had enough of it back then to last a lifetime. For that reason, I queued patiently for the exotic curries, daals and the gorgeous breads that are the hallmarks of the Indian table. There were, however, people who preferred the stroganoff and more Western fare. The Silver Fox liked the stroganoff, so once we were home I decided to make a version of it that we could both enjoy and that I could use in a pinch when had unexpected company. This is a 30 minute meal that is suitable for family, close friends and very informal gatherings. It won't make your reputation as a cook, neither will it break it. It is very easy to make and the only caution I have to share with you regards the sauce. If you make it with sour cream don't let it boil. It will curdle. I serve this dish with buttered parsley noodles or rice. Like all beige dishes, it cries for a side of bright green or red vegetables. This makes a nice meal. Those of you who try it will be pleased. Here's the recipe.

Chicken Stroganoff...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite

Ingredients:
1-1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut in 1-inch pieces
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, more if needed
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, more if needed
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
1/2 cup minced shallots
8 ounces sliced mushrooms
1/4 cup Marsala
1 (10.5-oz.) can condensed chicken broth, undiluted
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon minced fresh tarragon, plus 6-8 sprigs for garnish
1/4 cup creme fraiche or sour cream
Optional: 1 teaspoon cornstarch dissolved in 1 tablespoon water

Directions:
1) Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper. Heat oil and butter in large saucepan over medium heat until it shimmers. Add shallots and cook, stirring, until they're a light golden color, about 3 minutes. Add mushrooms and cook until softened. Turn heat to medium-high, add the chicken pieces, and cook, stirring, until golden on the outside and almost cooked through, about 5 minutes. Transfer mixture to a plate.
2) Return pan to burner. Turn heat to high and pour in Marsala, scraping brown bits from bottom of pan with a wooden spoon. Boil until liquid is reduced by half, about 1 minute. Add chicken stock, stir, boil until the liquid begins to look syrupy, about 2 minutes. Reduce the heat and pour any juices that have accumulated on the plate underneath the chicken back into the pan. Add mustard and minced tarragon and simmer for 3 minutes.
3) Turn off heat and whisk in creme fraiche or sour cream, stirring until smooth. Turn heat to low, taste and salt/pepper more if necessary. If you would like a thicker sauce add cornstarch mixture to pan and cook until thickened.
4) Add chicken mixture to pan and gently heat over low heat until the stroganoff is warmed through; do not let boil. Serve immediately over noodles or rice. Yield: 4 servings.

You might also enjoy these recipes:
Chicken Stroganoff - Chicho's Kitchen
Kickin' Chicken Stroganoff - Ma, What's for Dinner
Not Your Mother's Fattening Stroganoff - Mother Rimmy's Cooking Light Done Right
Crockpot Chicken Stroganoff - Angie's Big Love of Food
Chicken Stroganoff with Peas and Mashed Potatoes - The Food Pornographer
Chicken Stroganoff - The Seattle Times
Classic Chicken Stroganoff with a Twist - Skinny Kitchen
Chicken Stroganoff - Mr. Food
Smokey Chicken Stroganoff - Anne's Food
Easy Chicken Stroganoff - Blissfully Domestic

66 comments:

  1. Moments like the one at the Chinese banquet always make me think I might have slipped into a parallel universe!

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  2. Am also a big fan of stroganoff - if only spelling it wasn't such a pain! Tried making it for the first time last year.

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  3. i love beef stroganoff and i think a chicken version would be delicious.
    Its kinds strange when people travel to other countries but don't want to truly experience the cuisine.

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  4. Mary....am a big fan of beef stroganoff but now you have make me into a fan of chicken stroganoff too ....looking at your photos makes me drool and I am hungry at the same time :) Thanks for the recipe and I shall try this for our dinner :)

    Have a nice day,
    Elin

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  5. I have never made chicken stroganoff, what a good idea and I would not have though of serving it with pasta either! Take care Diane

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  6. Mary, this is delicious, making me so hungry now.

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  7. you give a good idea for my lunch. I don't eat it long time ago and it's so good. Your, as usual, looks delicious.

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  8. Dear Mary,
    your recipes are always interesting and well done!
    have a nice day; Barbara

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  9. My kids just adore strogonof...They would love yours!!!

    Have a nice day,

    Rita
    p.s- Here at Portugal today is woman's day....so 1 kiss to a great woman!!

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  10. Looks Awesome, Mary ..hope u have a lovely day!

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  11. Traveling Americans never cease to amaze me. During our brief visit to China we had a different style of cooking for each meal and I wanted more.

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  12. Looks marvelous! Love that you subbed chicken for what is usually beef!

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  13. I'll have to try this - it looks delicious. Given the period I grew up, it's not surprising that most of the stroganoff I ate was freeze dried and came out of a box. Time for a fresh revisiting of the dish!

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  14. Mary, it is very difficult to travel with people and then you add their food preferences....ouch, bumpy road ahead. Things can get difficult quickly. We've always loved beef Stroganoff, but haven't made it in years. Thanks for the chicken version.
    Sam

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  15. I know for a fact that I would prefer chicken over beef. I love this twist on a classic!

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  16. LOL! I love the China story, Mary! People amaze me. LOL! Last year I found a crock pot recipe for beef stroganoff that I have made several times... It brought back lots of old memories! LOL! I still remember the first time I made Beef Stroganoff and felt so sophisticated! LOL!

    I will give this chicken one a try, now that I am back on the stroganoff wagon! Blessings ~ Tanna

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  17. Too much chinese food in China... Really I almost never heard something so stupid... Some people complain for nothing. I like your chicken Stroganoff I'm sure it's worth the shot!

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  18. LOL... how DARE they serve so much Chinese food in China!! LOL
    The stroganoff looks beautiful, Mary! I am a big fan of stroganoff but rarely make it as Chris HATES mushrooms!

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  19. It looks delicious! I love new ways to make chicken, thanks!

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  20. Looks delicious! This is something that my children will really enjoy. Thanks for sharing. Your little anecdote on "too much Chinese food in China" is really amusing!

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  21. What a funny story! I have only had beef stroganoff, and not that often, but your chicken stroganoff looks delicious.

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  22. I can see why this dish is so universally accepted. i dont think i can find any faults with it. It looks very delicious!

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  23. Thank you for sharing this recipe Mary. I made Chicken Stroganoff a few months back (threw it together) and well...it was bad! NOT BLOGGABLE!

    This recipe looks spot on delicious!

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  24. I adore stroganoff!---and this recipe and presentation look sensational. Heck, I still remember the first time I ever ate stroganoff. Blessings.

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  25. Looks delicious. Love the addition of marsala which seems to be more commonly used these days instead of sherry. Am I dating myself?

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  26. Hello, my name is Irina, I'm Russian but I live in Italy for many years, I'm always looking for new friends and new recipes from around the world. A pleasure to meet you and your blog. I sign up as your following, and if you want to reciprocate and follow of my blog, I'd be happy! A hug, and the recipes look. . .

    Irina

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  27. This is something my mother made when I was little, quite often.

    Thanks for taking me back to that happy childhood memory :)

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  28. this sounds and looks delicious Mary. I have never had chicken...only beef! Thanks for the recipe!

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  29. Hi Mary,this recipe and presentation look delicious!
    Love it!
    Cheers.

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  30. I love chicken Stroganoff, take a look here ,it's my way:

    http://www.donnesulweb.it/il-blog-di-chiara-la-voglia-matta/pollo-alla-stroganoff.html

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  31. Funny commentary from your travel accomplice! I guess you could only really laugh. I didn't know Stroganoff was so popular in the 60s-70s! I have never made it, just had hamburger helper versions growing up in the 90s.

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  32. This is a rich and awesome recipe, you have explained well, Will try for sure!

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  33. Your chicken picadillo is in the crock pot right now. The aroma is tantalizing--better than a good perfume. I've never tried chicken in stroganoff but why not?

    Best,
    Bonnie

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  34. My nose is smelling the phantom yumminess from this post. The hubby and I love a nice strognoff. Usually we do the beef variety so this is a great way to mix it up.

    Thanks for sharing

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  35. Interesting ... Indians assumed Westerners would take to a dish of Russian origins. Crazy world we live in. And more evidence that the road to world peace goes through the kitchen. Cheers!

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  36. It's a comforting dish, I make it for my daughter when she is recovering from illness.

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  37. What a hilarious story! I sometimes wonder why some people bother to leave their home country because they seem so closed to local tradition and culture!

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  38. I did not grow up eating stroganoff in Canada, but I remember reading about it or seeing it on American movies and thinking it must be a wonderful dish. :-)

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  39. Mmmm. Stroganoff always means beef (thought I have made it with tempeh), but I have never tried chicken. Yum!

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  40. Beef Stroganoff is really good comfort food and I especially like eating it on a cold winter day. I'll have to try your chicken version, it sounds even better than with beef. Thanks for sharing your recipe! :-)

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  41. I love beef stroganoff, but this sounds wonderful!

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  42. What a great twist on a classic.

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  43. This looks delicious!! Yes, I cooked my share of beef stroganoff and hambeuger stroganoff in the 70's and 80's!

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  44. I LOVE CHICKEN STROGANOFF!

    It is amazing and your recipe looks no different!

    Thanks so much for sharing, I cannot wait to give it a try!

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  45. I love chicken stroganoff Mary, but I've never been able to find a recipe which tastes that good. Looks like I'm going to have to try this one out!
    All the best, Natasha.

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  46. Hi, Mary: Your post made me smile, took me back to my early cooking memories many years ago. One of the things I made often was Beef Stroganoff. I of course used sour cream and it curdled one time. At the time I just thought the sour cream was bad.

    This looks delicious. I've never tried a chicken version.

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  47. I love love chicken stroganoff and not pasta..mmmm perfection! Lovely post!!!

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  48. I've always wanted to make chicken stroganoff but my husband gives me a frowny face when I suggest it. This looks wonderful! Maybe one day I will convince him! Thanks for sharing!

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  49. haha, i remember going to ny a few years ago with company that only wanted to go to lunch at mcdonalds, here we were surrounded by amazing restaurants, sigh.

    this looks wonderful, i love the chicken in there!

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  50. Oh yumm! I've never thought to make it with chicken and how yummy does it look! You have the best recipes and pictures ;)

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  51. I've always wanted to make this recipe, but I'm not sure whether it's because of the creamy chicken or because of the noodles. Great post!

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  52. Such a funny episode! I guess we cannot understand non curious palates, so I won't blame the non adventurous eaters.

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  53. Absolutely love stroganoff yet it's been so long since I had some! I once ate a reindeer stroganoff cooked by a Norwegian friend - I can certainly recommend that!

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  54. I love chicken stroganoff and will making this on Saturday! thanks for the recipe Mary.

    Linda @ Lemon Drop

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  55. How funny! I don't believe I've ever made a chicken stroganoff!

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  56. I've never made chicken stroganoff and your picture looks so good that I just would love to dig into it! I think my son would love this too!

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  57. I say, when in India - eat Indian food! But I could see how some people might get tired of it. (Not really. Only if those people are my parents.) THe stroganoff does sound mighty comforting though!

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  58. I've never had it with chicken and I will confess that I get the urge to have stroganoff once a year. Your version looks heavenly - I have never made it with Marsala - liking that taste in it. Did smile at notion of too much Chinese food ... in China.

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  59. Love the story. Beef stroganoff is one of my favourites but I'm eager to try this version, too!

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  60. thanks for sharing the story.... 30min meal is always welcomed.

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  61. One of the best (and also sometimes frightening) parts of traveling is trying new food. Some people love the exotic flavors, some can't stand them! I usually fall into the first camp but I always love returning home to American classics like this. Thank you for sharing your words and recipe tonight. I'm drooling. I hope you have a beautiful day tomorrow. Happy Hump Day!

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  62. Oh my, this looks so delicious Mary...have a beautiful day!
    Blessings, Catherine

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  63. My mouth is watering just by looking at the sauce. Yumm....
    Kristy

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