26 february 2017
i feeeeeeel so sick
and all because a boy kissed me on the cheek at a poetry reading on friday and i stayed out in the cold because I missed a bus home so ¯_(ツ)_/¯
i'm actually not at all that sick though, just kinda scratchy in the throat
i had bodybuilding boot camp on saturday, so i really wasn't here all that much. great being with my dudes again lifting shit, but i learned a hard lesson: panda express will kill your diet for sure
ok so i had a great idea for chicken mozambique: 1 lb chicken breast, cubed1 cup flour 1/2 cup of cornstarchsalt pepper (I like the fancy Goan kind you get from the Indian market), crackedgarlic powder onion powder1 cup of diced green and red bell pepper 1 jalapenho pepper, membranes removed and sliced into rings (you can also use a chile ancho, reconstituted in hot water, seeds and membranes removed)1/2 Spanish onion, finely diced 2 cloves of garlic, peeled, smashed and diced1/4 cup of chunky peanut better 2 tbsp of curry (but not Madras curry powder)3 eggs, beaten
You will need a large shallow pan lined with paper towels, and enough oil to deep fry.
Assemble a workstation: 1) Season the cubed chicken with enough salt and pepper. Reserve in a ceramic bowl and keep in the fridge until you're ready to coat it. 2) Combine the flours in a large mixing bowl and mix well. 3) Crack the eggs and mix them in a medium bowl. Reserve. 4) Remove the chicken and season with garlic powder, mixing well. The chicken, when properly seasoned, should have the texture of sand, with salt, pepper and garlic powder covering all sides.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Have ready by the stove the shallow pan lined with paper towels.
Heat about 2 cups of oil (or thereabouts) in a large, deep nonstick skillet. The oil is hot when you place a wooden spoon in the oil and small bubbles rise to the top of the oil. The oil should never be so hot that it smokes. If it does, lower the heat to medium.
Bread the chicken: 1) Add some garlic powder to the flours if you like (you don't have to). 2) Dredge a small portion of the chicken in the flours. 3) Shake off the excess, then dip into the egg mixture. Allow the egg to coat all sides of the chicken.
Fry the chicken: 1) Working in small batches, gently place the chicken in the hot oil. Do not get aggressive in stirring. Gently turn over the chicken so that the breading fries to a medium, but not thoroughly done, brown. 2) Fry all of the chicken, lifting and reserving the chicken in the shallow pan, until all of the chicken has been thoroughly fried.
Bake the chicken: 1) Remove the paper towel and discard. 2) Immediately place the pan into the oven. 3) Bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes, or until the chicken is uniformly brown all over and crispy.
Clean up your workstation. Wash the dishes and remove the oil from the fire. ALlow it to cool, and reserve all but 2 tablespoons of cooking oil.
Make the sauce: 1) Saute the garlic, onions, bell pepper in the oil. Be careful in not burning the garlic. Reduce the flame once the garlic has thoroughly browned, and continue cooking until the bell pepper is soft and pliable and the onions are very nearly carmelized. 2) To this add the curry powder, making sure the powder covers the vegetables. Stir. 3) Add about 1/4 to 1/3 of water, along with the jalapenho pepper. 4) Add the peanut butter. The peanut butter will be thick, so make sure to take the time to stir it into the water so that it dissolves completely. 5) Raise the heat so a medium rollicking simmer. When the sauce has reached a consistency that resembles a stew broth, lower the heat to a mild simmer. 6) Simmer for 15 minutes. 7) About 5-10 minutes before serving, add the chicken to the sauce. Coat the chicken entirely by turning over the chicken pieces with a broad wooden spoon. 8) Serve immediately with naan bread with coriander leaves and hot rice or noodles.
(This recipe is a modification of a Portuguese recipe that was taught to me by Mrs Joanne Ko, a teacher in Macau).