Brandy in the Morning
By Julie Cader
Don’t tell my boss, but I opened a bottle of brandy this morning! Okay, so it was for a brandy marinade that the chicken needed to bathe in for several hours; yet nonetheless, it seemed odd to be pouring brandy in the wee hours of the day!
This is a simple, tasty meal that is accompanied by fried brown rice. I used chicken breasts, but thighs would marinate nicely, as well.
Thai Style Fried Chicken with Garlic Fried Brown Rice
Soy Sauce Marinade
1/4 cup of brandy
1/4 cup of soy sauce
2 tablespoons ketchup
1 tablespoon of minced garlic
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 tablespoon dried habanero chile
Boneless chicken breasts and/or thighs
In a large bowl, blend all ingredients. Add chicken pieces, cover and refrigerate for 6-8 hours. Turn the chicken occasionally throughout the day.
Garlic Fried California Brown Rice
Since you are up so early, now’s a good time to cook the rice. You’ll want it cooled by the time you start dinner preparation.
1 cup of brown rice (I used Lundberg’s Eco-Farmed Short Grain Brown Rice)
2 cups of water
1 tablespoon garlic-infused grapeseed or olive oil
Combine rice, water and oil in a pot with a tight-fitting lid. Bring to a boil, stirring once. Cover pot with lid, and reduce heat to simmer and cook for 50 minutes. Remove from heat, let stand in covered pot for 10 minutes and then fluff with fork. Note the full-flavored, soft and creamy texture of the California short grain brown rice. Cool rice until ready to use.
Fried Rice Ingredients
4 tablespoons of garlic-infused grapeseed or olive oil
6-8 garlic cloves, minced
1 chicken bouillon cube
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
2 tablespoons soy sauce
3 eggs, lightly beaten
When ready to fry the rice, heat oil in a frying pan. Add minced garlic and fry until toasted. Stir in bouillon cube, rice vinegar and soy sauce. Add eggs and scramble until cooked. Add rice, salt and pepper and fry for a few minutes, until well blended.
Flour Mixture
1/2 cup of flour
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1⁄2 teaspoon salt
1⁄2 teaspoon pepper
When ready to fry the chicken, drain the chicken and discard the marinade. In a plastic bag, mix flour, garlic powder, salt and pepper. Shake drained chicken pieces in flour mixture until well coated.
In a saucepan with olive oil over medium-high heat, fry the chicken, undisturbed, for two to three minutes, then turn the chicken and cook until done.
Serve the chicken immediately with the fried rice on the side.
