Bring Out the Rice Zesty Chicken

Mark Bittman's gigantic cookbook How to Cook Everything is a kitchen essential. While I think some recipes are a bit off (ex. his pizza crust is way too salty - perhaps a printing error?), there are some absolutely sumptuous dishes.  This chicken dish is one of those I'm-glad-I-gave-you-a-try recipes. Plus it's an enjoyable book to flip to a random page to read and learn techniques and technical details about a food stuff or two. Mark Bittman knows food and he writes about it well. I liked this chicken recipe so much I scribbled "WINNER! Love the sauce." right beside it. 

1 T oil

2 lbs bone in chicken thighs, rinsed and patted dry

1 t minced garlic

1 T grated lemon zest

¼ t cayenne (I have actually never tried it with cayenne but if you like a little kick, you should!)

2 T soy sauce

1 t sugar

⅓ cup water

Juice of one lemon

Heat a skillet. Add oil, swirl, then add the chicken. Brown quickly on both sides. Remove the chicken but keep the oils. Add the garlic and cook until soft. Add the rest of the ingredients except the lemon juice. Stir. Return the chicken and settle it in the liquid in the skillet. Cover, reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, turning once or twice until chicken is done, about 20-30 minutes. 

Put chicken in serving platter and stir in the lemon juice. Pour some broth over the chicken and pass the rest at the table. Everyone will be looking for rice to enjoy this delicious sauce with.

I-Don't-Like-Potatoes Potato Dango

A friend from the forest kindergarten the kids used to go to had a son who didn't like potatoes but her father grew a lot of them. She looked for a recipe that jazzed them up and modified their potato-ness and found a recipe for potato dango. Her son loves these. The first time I tried them, I was surprised by how chewy and tasty they were. She brought them to our  potluck event and they were not piping hot when served but were still exceptionally good and in fact were one of the first things gone at the buffet. This recipe makes about 10 pieces of potato dango (about 4 cm diameter). Double or triple the recipe as needed - you'll probably need to!

5 pieces small potatoes
2 T katakuriko or cornstarch (the more you put, the chewier they become)
2 T milk or soy milk
1 T mirin
2 T soy sauce
1 T sugar (optional)
Oil for pan frying

Mix the mirin, soy sauce and sugar in a bowl and set aside. Peel the potatoes and boil them until soft enough for a fork to go through. Drain the water and pat dry. Mash the potatoes with a fork (I like to do it by hand). Add the katakuriko and the milk. Mix and mash well. Form them into round flat cakes about 4 cm in diameter and about 1 cm thick. Pan fry them in oil until slightly brown. When done, add the mirin-soy sauce-sugar mix and toss the potato dango in the sauce until nicely coated. Serve.