We often ask waiters for their recommendations when we’re torn between two dishes on the menu. The other night, we were at Pl-zen, a new favorite of ours, and the choice came down to a short rib burger with jalapeño jam on a pretzel bun or half a roasted chicken with fingerling potatoes, braised kale and a tamarind-guajillo sauce. Without hesitation, our server said the burger.
It wasn’t that he thought the chicken was less than wonderful—he confessed that he just ate enough chicken at home, so he never orders it out. We succumbed and both ordered the burger, which was indeed delicious. So is everything else we’ve eaten at Pl-zen, so I know we’ll be ordering the chicken soon. But that got me thinking how much we love chicken, and that led to this week’s post.
Tea-smoked Grilled Chicken with Star Anise & Orange
With grilling season upon us (more or less—it was colder in Chicago today than in Alaska), chicken is a no brainer for the grill. Versatile and forgiving, especially if you choose thighs and legs, it is a blank canvas for many flavorings. Here, a simple foil smoking pouch filled with black tea, orange zest and a host of aromatics including Chinese five-spice powder, star anise and brown sugar produced the beautiful, wonderfully complex dish you see above. You’ll find the recipe and the surprisingly easy tea smoking technique here.
Vinegar Chicken with Mushrooms
Last week, Marion livened up pot roast with balsamic vinegar. Here, balsamic vinegar offers a subtle and surprisingly mild twist on cooking chicken in wine. Mushrooms, butter and chicken broth help tame it. Here’s the recipe.
Grilled Sriracha Apricot Chicken
As I write this post, it’s suddenly occurring to me that I use a lot of Asian seasonings when grilling. Here, a basting sauce of Sriracha, apricot preserves, hot chili sauce, rice vinegar and fish sauce gives this grilled chicken a tangy, slightly spicy kick.
Chicken Salad with Toasted Coconut and Roasted Cashews
Served over a bed of mixed greens, Marion’s Chicken Salad with Toasted Coconut and Roasted Cashews is light, lively and mayonnaise-free—a modern Chinese take on a summer classic. It’s a huge hit every time she makes it.
Chicken Piccata
This weeknight-quick dish is based on the classic Italian dish veal piccata. Chicken breast fillets, pounded thin and sautéed in butter and oil, are topped with a piquant sauce of butter, wine, lemons, capers and parsley. Remembering it now, my mouth is actually watering. Delicious recipe here, he said modestly.
Grilled Hoisin Chicken
One of the secrets to keeping grilled chicken juicy and tender is indirect grilling. For Grilled Hoisin Chicken, a mix of hoisin sauce, fresh ginger, soy sauce, sesame oil and other flavorings create great flavor and a rich lacquered-skin appearance.
I can never resist jalapeño jam, so it’d have been the burger for me, too. And I’m somewhat in the same boat as the waiter — we prepare so many chicken dishes, I rarely order them when dining out. Although soon after we were married, I had a job that required an awful lot of travel, and would spend most weeks on the road. So when I got home on Friday, we’d often head to a favorite restaurant — and order chicken piccata. A dish I love, and yours looks terrific. Need to make that, and soon. As well as everything else in this nice collection of recipes. Thanks!
John, I’m guilty of usually going for a red meat option on the menu—especially if lamb or maybe a hanger steak is involved. But when restaurants like Pl-zen do everything so well, you just know their roasted chicken will be stellar. As I said, we really have to try it soon.