Rev: Thai Spiced Braised Chicken

[swquilts]

Being the Thai cooking virgin that we are we both really liked this! Interesting flavors mixed together, yet you could taste each of them. It was at the top of my spicy scale. Very easy to prepare also, gotta love that crockpot.

The only changes I made was using boneless thighs because I didn't read the recipe right.:rolleyes: and I had to use lemon zest since I couldn't find lemongrass to save my soul. DH said I could repeat it when the weather turns cold again.

A good 8 out of 10 in my book! Anyone else tried it yet?

[Peggy]

Susan,

Haven't tried it yet, but it's on my menu for tomorrow night. So glad to hear that you enjoyed it. Will post my reviews on this thread tomorrow.

Peggy

[valchemist]

interesting that there are 2 tsp black pepper in there. that's a lot of pepper. and I never really thought of black pepper as being a main ingredient in Thai food. then again, I have never really cooked Thai food.

also interesting...1/3 cup julienned ginger. quite a lot.

well, after reading the recipe again, I have decided that I would probably really enjoy this one! thanks for the review. :)

[donleyk]

I made this over the weekend I have to say - yummy. I did make some adjustments. I only used 4 thighs. I wish I would have used only half a bag of carrots, I wasn't thinking about it just being 2 of us when I followed the recipe. I thought the black pepper was excessive, I just grounded it until I thought it looked like enough.

I used a lot of fresh ginger but I wouldn't say it was a whole 1/3 of a cup. What I used wasn't too much flavor wise.(I know that probably won't help anyone- sorry!)

With the left over broth and carrots I am going to try throwing together some kind of soup or stew over rice or noodles.

[swquilts]

I might have slacked off on the ginger a bit, I just went by looks instead of measuring. And I also used Thai chili sauce instead of paste. I barely had leftovers of the chicken in the dish, but we had an extra body at dinner last night. The dish was spicy, but not overly so. I am taking what was left for lunch today....I'll report on the next day taste later. :)

[greysangel]

http://community.cookinglight.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=37335&highlight=thaispiced+braised+chicken

I had reviewed this so I stuck the link here :p

JeAnne

[valchemist]

thanks, JeAnne. I thought I might have seen a review somewhere. did you really double the black pepper? 4 tsp?!

[greysangel]

YUP! With the crockpot, you have to take in account all the liquid in the meal. I thought the spices doubled was tasty though some may not want that much. I definitely thought with all the liquid that the spices listed it would be blah.

JeAnne

[swquilts]

Oops! I did a search before posting, but didn't use the dash mark!
:(

[Peggy]

This was excellent!! The chicken was falling off the bones and the seasonings were perfect. The best past was that dinner was practically ready when I got home. I must start using my crockpot more often!

Peggy

[valchemist]

thanks for the review peggy!

did you keep the amount of spices the same or did you double them as JeAnne did? also, did you use chicken thighs, as directed?

can't wait to try this.

[greysangel]

now i'm thinking maybe i read the liquid wrong?? :confused: Did you have a lot of liquid in yours Peggy? I'm just going to have to do this one again :)

[swquilts]

I had lots of liquid in mine. I think of it more as a soup or stew. The leftovers at lunch were great! Very tasty, the pepper flavor came out even more the next day.

[Peggy]

Answers to the questions: I left the seasonings exactly the same (plenty of pepper flavor for us), I did use the chicken thighs and it was very liquidy. As Susan said it was more like a soup. I served it in flat bowls with the rice on the bottom, topped with chicken and vegetables and then ladled the broth over the top. Leftovers must wait until Thursday... (Ash Wednesday!!:) )

Peggy

[JHolcomb]

I have a question: the only Thai chili paste I could find was labelled "Roasted Red Chili Paste". Is this what I'm supposed to use???

[Beth]

That sounds like it to me. I have a little jar of that (still sealed in the pantry) and a big bottle of Thai Garlic Chili Sauce (open) that DH loves. I am trying to decide which to use to try this -- maybe some of each?

[valchemist]

mine is in the crockpot now. I couldn't find Thai chili paste so I am using Thai chili garlic puree.

[alicerh]

[QUOTE]Originally posted by valchemist
[B]interesting that there are 2 tsp black pepper in there. that's a lot of pepper. and I never really thought of black pepper as being a main ingredient in Thai food. then again, I have never really cooked Thai food.

Val - This is one of my complaints of CL ethnic recipes. I think they have been chased away from authenic seasonings by people complaining that they buy these, use once and never use agin. I wish they would just make them authenic and sugget subs for those who don't want to use the correct thing. It makes sooo much difference in the quality of the finished dish. Of my soap box now
Alice

[HeatherTx]

Is this from a recent issue? I can't find the recipe posted. If it is from March could someone post it? I have misplaced that one. I have J/F though. Thanks!

[valchemist]

Alice,
okay. glad I wasn't the only one to think it strange.

Heather,
here is the recipe.


* Exported from MasterCook *

Thai-Spiced Braised Chicken

Recipe By :
Serving Size : 4 Preparation Time :0:00
Categories : Main Dish Poultry


Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method
-------- ------------ --------------------------------
2 c water
1 c chopped onion
1/3 c julienne-cut ginger
1/4 c rice vinegar
2 tbsps Thai fish sauce
2 tsps freshly ground black pepper
2 tsps Thai chili paste
8 chicken thigh without skin -- about 3 pounds
1 lb baby carrots
14 1/2 ozs chicken broth
3 garlic clove -- halved
1 8-inch stalk of lemon grass -- cut in half lengthwise
1/2 c chopped cilantro
2 c cooked jasmine rice
1/2 c sliced green onions
4 lime wedges

Place first 12 ingredients in crockpot. Cover and cook on high 7 hours or until chicken is done. Discard lemongrass and stir in cilantro.

Place 1/2 cup rice and 2 chicken thighs into each of 4 large bowls. Ladle 1 3/4 cups broth mixture over each serving. Sprinkle with 2 tbsp green onions.

Source:
"Cooking Light, March 2003"



NOTES : 465 cal (18% fat), 9.5g fat, 4.4 g fiber

[JHolcomb]

OK, that is a weird amt of pepper. I'm going to sub white pepper for some of the black, since it's used a lot in Thai cooking.

[HeatherTx]

Thanks for posting the recipe Val. I figured it was in March. I tossed March since I "thought" we would be getting the download. I will hang on to April though. :D

[valchemist]

Originally posted by JHolcomb
OK, that is a weird amt of pepper. I'm going to sub white pepper for some of the black, since it's used a lot in Thai cooking.

you think that's a lot? JeAnne used 4 tsp!

I kept the amount of spices the same as called for in the recipe. I just snuck a taste and it is delicious and *quite* spicy.

[valchemist]

I never came back to post a full review, so I thought I would do that now. Here are my changes: I couldn't find lemon grass so I used the zest of one lemon. I used boneless skinless chicken thighs. And I used garlic chili sauce, not paste. I kept everything else the same.

The chicken was fall-apart tender. The stew (soup, whatever) was very tasty and spicy but not too spicy. I think the ginger was too overpowering but I may have used too much (since I didn't really measure :o ). Next time I would probably just use 1/4 cup.

Overall, a very good meal, but I don't think I will repeat it since I only repeat recipes if I think they are really great.

[Terrytx]

We thought this was good also, but not great. I'm with Val-even though it was good, and I will enjoy the leftovers, but wouldn't repeat. There are too many great recipes out there to repeat the ones like this.

[Kuvy]

How funny! This is a serious contender for our "Favorite Recipe from March 2003 CL".

It was SUPER easy. We gravitate towards "exotic" food anyway, but to find something with such complex, fun flavors that can be thrown together so quickly was really exciting. We're having it again next week and I can't wait!


(I don't measure black pepper - I have one of those super-long wooden restaurant pepper grinders and I just grind away over the pot until it looks right to me...)

[semmens]

I made this tonight.

I liked it but tend to agree with those who said that they probably would not make it again. My younger kids did not like it, and the older two were working, and DH was out of town for the day.

I added a couple of extra thighs since the pack (88 cents a pound woohoo) held 10. I, too, thought the pepper seemed excessive but it tasted fine.

So it looks like I'll be eating this for lunch all week. ;)

Laura