Indonesian Ginger Chicken

It’s India’s Independence Day and though I would have liked to post something Indian today, its also the reveal date for the Secret Recipe Club. And true to the Indian personality, I’ll give more importance to another country than ours. And I don’t mean it in a mocking way. I think that’s something about Indians, a testimony seen in their past: they have always welcomed foreigners, their ideas and their culture with open hearts, absorbing it in with our own. This has resulted in a great influence in every aspect of the Indian life- most predominantly our food. And that’s what makes India so unique.

As one of my friends PB (from the garlic noodles fame) put on as her FB status:

“Can’t imagine what would my life be without jalebi & doodh, butter chicken & garlic naan, being stuck in traffic for hours, cribbing about the infrastructure in this city, alloo tikki in chandini chawk, my 3 am friends spread around this country, my fav city delhi, over the top expression of love among family…list is endless!!would I wish were born elsewhere??…nah…can’t help but feel partiotic!! Independence day is around the corner:)”

I remember when we were in school, 15th August was marked by flag hoisting, patriotic plays and songs being performed by us school children, a thought provoking speech given by the chief guest and then distribution of sweets to all the students and an overall feeling of being a proud Indian citizen!

This day also makes me even more proud of being born and brought up in a defence environment- dad’s an air force fighter pilot, brother a Naval fighter pilot, father-in-law a retired air force officer, grandfather a retired police officer and several others of my family in the defence. I am the kind of person who appreciates the efforts of all these individuals and others who serve the country every day of the year, but on Independence Day seeing others appreciate the sacrifices of such individuals, makes me even more proud of my family and privileged to be part of them. Jai Hind!

Anyway, coming to the secret recipe club (the brain child of Amanda).

This month’s assigned blog was Bizzy Bakes. Chaya’s emphasis here is on what she calls QED – Quick, Easy and Delicious recipes. In her words,

I find cooking and baking to be comforting and I truly enjoy all aspects of the culinary arts including the clean-up.

Chaya also has another blog: My Sweet and Savory that focuses on Chaya’s growth as a cook, and includes a variety of recipes and techniques.

Chaya also features Ina’s Garden a popular biweekly linky, on her blog Bizzy B. Ina’s Garden is a place for “all things Ina”. And being a fellow Ina Garten fan, I had to pick up a recipe from Chaya’s Ina’s garden post. And I found just the recipe, Indonesian Ginger chicken.

INDONESIAN GINGER CHICKEN

Recipe adapted from here

The dish would have been great and I would have liked the recipe more than I actually did, if only the chicken had not been overcooked by me. The flavors were great, sweet and gingery and wish I had not faulted in the cooking time.

I had 2 pounds of chicken, so I quadrupled the original recipe and also added some pepper and red chilli powder for slight hint of spice! I just had about 1 cup of honey in my pantry, so that’s all I used and think the amount was good enough.

I baked first at 350 for 30 minutes. But, then realised I am cooking much more chicken than the original recipe. So increased to 375 and baked for another 30 minutes, after flipping the pieces over. I baked another 15 minutes but I feel it was almost done after 60 minutes.

Ingredients

• 1 cup honey
• 5 tablespoon soy sauce
• 4 garlic cloves
• 3 inch piece ginger
• 2 pounds chicken breast, cut into small pieces
• 1 tsp red chilli powder
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1. Cook the honey, soy sauce, garlic, and ginger root in a small saucepan over low heat until the honey is melted.
2. Arrange the chicken in 1 layer in a shallow baking pan, skin side down, and pour on the sauce.
3. Cover the pan tightly with aluminum foil. Marinade overnight in the refrigerator.
4. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
5. Place the baking pan in the oven and bake for 30 minutes. (See above notes for my changes in baking time)

Do see what others have come up with for this month’s secret recipe club!