Asian Night

so, while i recognize that i am a pretty good cook, i can also recognize that i can really only cook like, 5 types of food.  they are as follows: American/Southern, French, Italian, Mexican-ish and Asian-ish.  this recipe obviously falls in the "Asian-ish" category and i probably make it about 3 times a month. 

it's a really good one for making a bunch and then keeping it because the chicken gets more flavorful the longer it sits.  it's also super easy for an after work meal because if you can get it together to marinate the chicken in the morning, there's really only about a half hour of actual cooking required.

Ginger Garlic Chicken with Asian Green Rice

Ginger Garlic Chicken
serves: 1
points plus value per serving: 6

1 chicken leg (with skin & bone)
fresh cilantro
garlic, 3 cloves
fresh ginger, 2 inches
1 dried red chile
1tsp olive oil
1 tsp soy sauce
juice of 1/2 a lime
1 tsp honey
kosher salt

several hours before cooking place chicken leg in a plastic bag with: cilantro (roughly chopped), 2 cloves of garlic (smashed), ginger (roughly chopped), red chile (crushed), lime juice, soy sauce, 1/2 teaspoon olive oil and salt. shake the bag around so the chicken is coated in the marinade.  let sit for at least an hour, overnight if possible.

preheat oven to 375 degrees.

heat a skillet (cast iron or stainless) over medium high heat.  remove chicken from marinade and pat dry with a paper towel making sure no pieces of garlic or ginger are left on the chicken, otherwise they will burn when you cook the chicken and you will be sad.

add remaining 1/2 teaspoon of olive oil to pan and brown chicken on both sides.  transfer chicken to a wire rack on a baking sheet and place in the oven for about 45 minutes.  while chicken is cooking grate remaining clove of garlic into 1 teaspoon of honey, add a few drops of water to thin out honey a bit.  about 15 minutes before chicken finishes cooking brush on honey-garlic glaze.

remove chicken from oven and let rest for about 10 minutes before eating.

Green Asian Rice
serves: 3
points plus value per serving: 4

1/2 cup brown rice
1/2 cup frozen edamame pods
1 cup broccoli florets
2 scallions, thinly sliced
1 jalapeno, seeds & ribs removed, very finely chopped
2 tbsp ginger, grated
1 tsp rice wine vinegar
1 tsp olive oil
kosher salt

bring about 6 cups of water to a boil in a large sauce pan, season heavily with salt.  add brown rice and cook for about 45 minutes, add edamame and cook for another 10 minutes,  add broccoli and cook for another 5 minutes.  drain rice, edamame & broccoli and return to pan, place lid on and let sit for about 10 minutes.

while rice mixture is steaming mix together olive oil, vinegar, scallions, jalapeno and ginger.  pour over rice mixture, season with salt and pepper and mix well.  serve.

so there it is, i suggest you try it soon, i bet it'll become a regular in your rotation too!

-V