Celebrate with chicken

BY JAN BILTON

Julia Child might not approve, but these recipes are cooked in a microwave, slow-cooker, frypan and wok.

I recently viewed the movie Julie & Julia. The story is based on the life of American cookbook author and TV chef, Julia Child, intertwined with blogger Julie Powell's 2002 self-set challenge to cook all the recipes in Child's first book within a year.

Mastering the Art of French Cooking was written in conjunction with French cooks Simone Beck and Louisette Bertholle and anyone interested in cooking has probably been influenced by one of Julia Child's widely published recipes. Her enthusiasm for teaching Americans to cook was boundless.

Having met Child on several occasions, I must say my memories of her are mixed but there is no doubt her book taught me to cook the perfect roast chicken.

Few cookbooks today are written with the same passion and commitment. For example. "You can always judge the quality of a cook or a restaurant by roast chicken. While it does not require years of training to produce a juicy, brown, buttery, crisp-skinned heavenly bird, it does entail such a greed for perfection that one is under compulsion to hover over the bird, listen to it, above all see it is continually basted, and that it is done just to the proper turn."

Child would probably not approve of my chicken recipes this week they include flavours from around the world and are cooked using non-Child methods in the microwave, the slow-cooker, the electric frypan and the wok. Enjoy!

JUNGLE CURRY WITH MANGO

1 medium onion, diced

2-3 teaspoons curry powder

3/4 cup light-coconut cream

8 (1.1kg) chicken drumsticks

425g can mangoes, drained

4 cups hot cooked rice

1/2- 3/4 cup craisin trail mix or chopped toasted nuts

coriander stalks to garnish

Place the onion in a microwave-proof bowl and cover. Cook for 1 minute on high (100 per cent) power. Combine with the curry powder and coconut cream.

Pull the skin off the chicken drumsticks. Place in a round casserole or deep flan dish suitable for the microwave with the meaty ends to the outside.

Pour the coconut cream mixture over the top. Cover. Microwave on half (50 per cent) power for 10 minutes. Turn the drums over so the tops are now in the coconut cream mixture. Keep the meaty ends to the outside. Cover and cook for a further 10 minutes on half (50 per cent) power. Add the mango slices evenly between the drums. Cover and heat through for 1 minute.

Stand covered for 5 minutes before serving on the hot rice. Garnish with the trail mix and coriander.

Serves 4.

SLOW-COOKER ORANGE TERIYAKI CHICKEN

500g frozen oriental vegetable mix

1kg skinned and boned chicken, cubed

1/2 cup chicken stock

2 tablespoons each: teriyaki sauce, orange marmalade

1/4 cup orange juice

1 tablespoon each: brown sugar, grated root ginger

chopped parsley to garnish

Pour the vegetables into the base of the slow cooker. Top with the chicken.

Combine the remaining ingredients except the parsley and pour over the chicken. Cover and cook on low for 4-5 hours.

The juices may be thickened with a paste of 2 tablespoons each of cornflour and water. Great served over a kumara mash or brown rice. Garnish with the parsley.

Serves 4-5.

CHICKEN WITH MUSHROOMS AND BACON

4 rashers bacon, chopped

1 large onion, chopped

250g Swiss brown mushrooms, stemmed and finely sliced

1 tablespoon canola oil, optional

3 cloves garlic, crushed

3-4 tablespoons flour

salt and pepper to taste

8-10 skinned and boned chicken thighs

3/4 cup each: dry red wine, good chicken stock

1 teaspoon each: dried oregano, basil

Cook bacon in a large, non-stick electric frypan or similar, until crisp. Drain on paper towels.

Add onion and mushrooms to pan. Add a little canola oil, if required. Saute until onion is tender and golden, about 10 minutes.

Using slotted spoon, transfer vegetables to a bowl together with garlic.

Combine flour, salt and pepper and place in a plastic bag. Add chicken in batches and shake to coat with flour.

Saute in the pan until brown on both sides, about 10 minutes.

Return the bacon and vegetables to the pan. Add the wine, stock, oregano and basil.

Cover and simmer until the chicken is cooked through, about 25 minutes.

Great served with mashed potatoes.

Serves 4.

WOK-FRIED CHICKEN WITHLEMON AND GINGER SAUCE

5g dried shiitake or porcini mushrooms

1/2 cup hot water

Sauce

3 tablespoons lemon juice

2 tablespoons each: dark soy sauce, sherry or white wine, finely grated root ginger

2 teaspoons each: finely grated lemon peel, sugar, cornflour

Chicken

1 tablespoon rice bran oil

400g skinned and boned chicken breasts, thinly sliced

2 red peppers (capsicums), seeded and thinly sliced

3 cloves garlic, crushed

250g spinach, washed and sliced

Soak the mushrooms in the hot water for 30 minutes.

Combine all the ingredients for the sauce in a bowl. Mix well.

Heat the oil in a non-stick wok. Stir-fry the chicken for 2 minutes, in batches if required. Remove to a plate. Drain the mushrooms and squeeze dry.

Add the peppers, mushrooms and garlic to the pan and stir-fry for 1-2 minutes. Return the chicken to the pan with the spinach. Mix the sauce again, then stir into the wok. Cook, stirring constantly, until thickened.

Great served over udon noodles.

Serves 4.

Copyright Jan Bilton

- The Marlborough Express