Frugal Foodie Friday - Honey-Glazed Chinese Chicken

 

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From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...This lovely sticky chicken is the result of combining  honey with a mixture of teriyaki and hoisin sauces. The drumsticks have enormous flavor and, as you can see, the glaze gives them a wonderful burnished mahogany glow. Recipes are rarely simpler than this three ingredient wonder, and,  cost-wise, the dish certainly fits the criteria for a Frugal Friday meal. While I found the recipe on Allrecipes.com, I was able to backtrace it to the Kikkoman website which is where I believe the recipe first appeared.  Many will argue that the cost of teriyaki and hoisin sauces make this a less than frugal choice for our Friday feature, but when the sauces are made in the home kitchen, cost barriers are blown away.  Links at the bottom of this post will direct you to sites where you can find recipes for both sauces. I like this dish on many levels. The drumsticks have enormous eye appeal, they are very easy to make and they are inexpensive. I bake mine on a cookie cooling rack that is suspended over a half-sheet pan. This exposes all surfaces of the chicken to an even heat and results in glorious color. I serve these drumsticks with  Asian-style sesame noodles and, depending on mood, humor and time, either Thai cucumber relish or a Chinese-style bean sprout salad. Here's how these wonderfully simple drumsticks are made.

Honey-Glazed Chinese Chicken...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite courtesy of Allrecipes.com

Ingredients:
1/2 cup teriyaki sauce sauce
1/4 cup hoisin sauce
1/4 cup honey
2-1/2 pounds chicken drumsticks
1 green onion, thinly sliced

Directions:
1) Combine teriyaki and hoisin sauce with honey. Place chicken in a large resealable bag. Pour sauce over chicken. Press air out of bag and close top securely. Turn bag over several times to coat all pieces of chicken well. Refrigerate 2 hours or overnight, turning bag over occasionally.
2) Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Bake chicken for 1 hour, turning pieces over and basting with pan juices halfway through baking.
3) Sprinkle on green onion before serving. Yield: 6 servings.

Homemade Hoisin Sauce, here

Homemade Teriyaki Sauce, here









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Moroccan Chicken

Our final dish utilizing chicken drumsticks is inspired by the flavors of Morocco. It's relatively inexpensive and easy to prepare, though the chicken requires time to marinate. The folks who took this class split the cost of turmeric, cardamom, apricots and coconut; these items were purchased from bulk bins at a local market and they bought just what they needed for the exercise. They also used a chicken stock base instead of canned broth and shared a knob of ginger. This was their favorite dish. It cost about six dollars to make.

Moroccan Chicken

Ingredients:
8 large chicken drumsticks
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground cardamom
Finely grated zest of 1 lemon
Flour for dusting
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 sliced onion
2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
8 dried apricots, quartered
1/2 cup shredded coconut

Directions:
1) Remove and discard chicken skin. Combine garlic, ginger, turmeric,cumin, cardamom and lemon zest in a small bowl. Rub into drumsticks. Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours.
2) Dust chicken with flour. Heat oil in a large heavy saute pan over medium heat. Add drumsticks and cook until brown. Drain chicken on paper toweling. Transfer to an ovenproof casserole dish. Set aside.
3) Add onions to saute pan; cook until softened. Spoon over chicken. Add chicken broth to casserole. Top with apricots and coconut. Cover casserole and bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes, or until chicken is tender. Yield: 4 servings.

Chicken with Lemon and Rosemary

This is the second in my series of recipes that utilize chicken drumsticks. Again, I'm using ingredients that are found in most homes. It helps to keep costs low. This dish was prepared for less than five dollars.

Chicken with Lemon and Rosemary

Ingredients:
8 large chicken drumsticks
2 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon chopped fresh garlic
Grated zest of 1 lemon
2 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary (2 teaspoons dried may be substituted)
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1-1/2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
Juice of 1 lemon

Directions:
1) Using a knife, make two diagonal cut in each chicken drumstick. Pat dry. Season legs with salt and pepper.
2) Place butter and oil in a large saute pan over medium heat. When hot add drumsticks and cook until all sides are brown. Add garlic, lemon zest and rosemary.
3) Combine flour, chicken broth, mustard and lemon juice in a small bowl. Whisk until smooth. Add to saute pan. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, covered, until drumsticks are tender, about 25 minutes. Transfer drumsticks to a serving platter. Season sauce with salt and pepper to taste. Pour sauce over drumsticks. Yield: 4 servings.

Chicken Mole

Chicken legs were on sale several weeks ago. I decided to use them in a series of recipes I was preparing for a group of frugal housewives. I was really pleased with the results. The first recipe takes us south of the border for a mild, but very pleasant chicken mole. The sauce(mole) uses a standard chili powder but any dried, ground chili may be substituted if you'd like more heat. To keep costs low, I've substituted cocoa powder for the dark chocolate typically used in this dish. This is really easy to do.

Chicken Mole

Ingredients:
8 chicken drumsticks
1/4 cup all-purpose flour for dusting
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 cup finely chopped yellow onion
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh garlic
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon chili powder
2 teaspoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cracked black pepper
1/4 cup water
1 (14.5-oz.) can diced tomatoes
1 (14.5-oz.) can tomatoe puree
1 cup low-sodium chicken broth
Garnish:
2 tablespoons toasted almond slices
1 tablespoon chopped parsley

Directions:
1) Remove and discard chicken skin. Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper. Dust with flour.
2) Heat oil in a large saute pan over medium-high heat. Add chicken and cook until golden brown on all sides, about 8 minutes. Remove to a platter.
3) Add onion, garlic, cumin, chili powder, cocoa, salt and pepper to pan. Stir to combine. Add water and cook until onion softens, about 5 minuutes.
4) Stir in tomatoes, tomato puree and chicken broth. Bring sauce to a boil. Add chicken, cover, and simmer until tender, about 45 minutes. Uncover and cook until sauce thickens, about 5 minutes. Transfer to serving platter. Sprinkle with almonds and chopped parsley. Yield: 4 servings.