Sweet-and-Spicy Chicken

Ingredients:

• 2 scallions, chopped
• 3 tbsp. mirin
• 2 tbsp. rice vinegar
• 2 tbsp. granular sugar or honey
• 2 tbsp. reduced-sodium soy sauce
• 2 tsp. Asian (dark) sesame oil
• 1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes
• 4 (1/4-lb.) boneless, skinless chicken thighs
• 1/2 cup reduced-sodium chicken broth

Makes 4 Servings (1 chicken thigh per serving)

1. Combine the scallions, mirin, rice vinegar, honey, soy sauce, 1 teaspoon of the oil, and the pepper flakes in a zip-close plastic bag; add the chicken. Squeeze out the air and seal the bag; turn to coat the chicken. Refrigerate, turning the bag occasionally, for at lest 2 hours or up to overnight. 
2. Lift the chicken from the marinade and pat dry with paper towels. Discard the marinade. Heat the remaining 1 teaspoon oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the chicken and cook until lightly browned, about 2 minutes on each side. Add the broth; bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer, covered, turning once, until the chicken is cooked through and the liquid is syrupy, about 10 minutes. Turn the chicken to coat with the liquid. Cut the chicken into slices to serve. 

WW POINTS VALUE: 6 pts. 

Note: This recipe appears in the WW Ultimate Chicken Cookbook. Sweet and spicy chicken is quite delicious. Marinating the chicken takes a long process but the end result is delicious. The chicken is succulent and juicy. I highly recommend substituting honey in place of the sugar for a sweeter taste and a little lime juice and minced garlic to kick the flavor up a notch. I also highly recommend serving this chicken on a salad made of savoy cabbage, sliced carrots, thinly sliced radishes and a matchstick-cut Gala apple for a very filling dish. 

Kung Pao Chicken

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup reduced-sodium chicken broth
• 1/3 cup sake or mirin
• 3 tbsp. hoisin sauce
• 2 tbsp. reduced-sodium soy sauce
• 2 tbsp. cornstarch
• 2 tbsp. honey
• 3 tsp. Asian (dark) sesame oil
• 1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
• 2 scallions, chopped
• 1 tbsp. grated peeled fresh ginger
• 1/4  tsp. red pepper flakes
• 1 (8 oz.) can sliced water chestnuts, drained
• 1 1 /4 cups unsalted dry-roasted peanuts

Makes 8 Servings (3/4 cup per serving)

1. Combine the broth, sake, hoisin sauce, soy sauce, cornstarch, and honey in a bowl; mix well.
2. Heat a large skillet or wok over medium heat until a drop of water sizzles. Pour in 2 teaspoons of the oil and swirl to coat the pan, then add the chicken. Stir-fry until the chicken is cooked through, about 8 minutes. Transfer the chicken to the plate.
3. Add the remaining 1 teaspoon oil to the skillet and swirl to coat the pan. Add the scallions, ginger, and pepper flakes; stir-fry until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the water chestnuts and peanuts; stir-fry until heated through, about 1 minute. Add the broth mixture and cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture bubbles and thickens, about 1 minute. Add the chicken and cook until heated through, about 1 minutes longer.

WW POINTS VALUE: 8 pts.

 

Note: This recipe appears in the WW Ultimate Chicken Cookbook. Who does not love Chinese food once in a while? Kung Pao chicken is a Chinese takeout classic and can be made at home in less time it takes for you to call the restaurant and pick up your order. This version of the Chinese classic gets is bursting flavor from Sake (Japanese rice wine) hoisin sauce, ginger, and red pepper flakes. I highly recommend adding a touch of garlic because garlic ALWAYS makes every savory meal taste better. To make this meal even more authentically Chinese, serve on top of a 1/2 cup of cooked brown rice for an additional 2-3 points a serving. Once you learn to cook this takeout classic, you'll never order Chinese takeout again.

Chicken Yakitori

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken breast cut into 1-inch pieces
• 10 scallions, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 1 large red bell pepper, cut into 1-inch squares
• 1/3 cup low-sodium soy sauce
• 3 tbsp mirin or rice wine
• 2 tsp dark sesame oil
• 2 tbsp grated fresh ginger
• 2 garlic cloves, minced

Special Equipment:

• 8 (8-inch) skewers (if wooden, soak inwater for 30 minutes)

Makes 4 Servings

1. Heat oven to broil
2. Thread chicen, scallions and pepper onto skewers; place in a large shallow dish. Whisk together soy sauce, mirin, oil, ginger and garlic. Cover skewers with 1/2 cup of the mixture and marinate at room temperature for 10 minutes; set aside remaining soy sauce mixture for dressed cooked skewers.
3. Lightly coat a broiler pan with cooking spray. Place skewers on the pan, reserving marinade. Broil, turning skewers and basting occasionally wth reserved marinade, unti lchicken is no longer pink, about 10 minutes.
4. Serve hot with reserved soy sauce mixture.

WW POINTS VALUE: 5 pts.

Note: This recipe appears in the South Beach Diet Quick & Easy Cookbook. If you ever saw the photo in the cookbook, you would want to  cook and eat these skewers. The weather was beautiful and I wanted to cook and delicious chicken dish. Plus, I saw Bobby Flay make Tuna Yakitori on his show, 'Bobby's BBQ Addiction' and he made it look so easy to make. The flavors of ginger, sesame, and garlic leaves a heavenly scent and taste in your mouth. Yakitori is a common Japanese type of skwered chicken and can also refer to skewered food in general. You can find mirin or rice wine in the Asian section of the grocery store or health food store or you can substitute 1/3 cup dry white wine + 2 tsp granulated sugar. This dish alone was heavenly delicious without rice, veggies or any other side dish. The chicken, red peppers and scallions will quickly fill you up. I highly recommend serving this dish at a BBQ or during your favorite ballgame, whether it be football, basketball, baseball or hockey and this dish will be a hit. Iron Chefs Morimoto and Bobby Flay and Super Chef Ming Tsai will be very proud of you for making it as well.



Grilled Chicken with Savory Asian Plum Sauce

Ingredients:

• 4 (6 oz.) boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 1 tbsp fresh lime juice
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 tsp extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 tsp toasted sesame oil
• 6 medium plums, cut into eighths
• 2 tbsp mirin
• 2 tsp finely grated lime zest
• 1 tsp grated fresh ginger
• 1/4 tsp salt
• freshly ground black pepper
• fresh herbs, greens, or sprouts for garnish

Makes 4 Servings

1. In a resealable plastic bag, combine chicken, lime juice, garlic and olive oil; turn to coat. Marinate chicken at room temperature for 15 minutes or overnight.
2. In a medium nonstick skillet, heat sesame oil over medium heat.Add plums, mirin, lime zest, ginger, salt and pepper to taste. Cook, stirring gently, until plums are softened, 10-15 minutes, depending on ripeness (do not allow plums to completely loose their shape). Remove the pan from the heat, cover, and keep warm.
3. Lightly coat a grill or grill pan with cooking spray and heat to medium-high. Remove chicken from marinade and grill until cooked through, 5-7 minutes per side. Discard any remaining marinade. Divide chicken among 4 plates and serve warm, topped with plum sauce. Garnish as desired.

WW POINTS VALUE: 6 Pts.

Note: This recipe appears in the South Beach Diet Taste of Summer Cookbook. It's officially summer and what better way to kick off summer with chicken as the star with an Asian flare and fruits and vegetables adding flavor and filling your stomach. This is the first chicken recipe in the cookbook and if you saw the photo for this dish, you'll be inspired to cook this dish too. Now my dish did not turn out like photo in the cookbook but it was still very delicious. I am now a huge fan of cooked fruit regardless of what kind of fruit it is. If you don't have mirin, substitute rice vinegar instead. Rice vinegar is commonly used in Asian cooking. I also highly recommend serving Sesame-Ginger Asparagus as a side dish to keep that Asian theme going. Iron Chef Morimoto and chef Ming Tsai will be very proud if you cook this dish, trust me.