Chicken with Chipotle-Mulberry Sauce

Dave DeWitt Recipes Leave a Comment

Thanks to Patrick Hancock, executive chef at El Pinto Restaurant for the concept for the sauce recipe. For the chicken, I used The Old Spice Shack’s Country French Rub, and it was delicious. Note that the sauce can be pureed or not, and that it is the most brilliant purple color that you will ever see.

Ingredients

  • 2 chicken legs with thighs attached

  • Favorite rub of choice

  • 1/4 cup red raspberry vinegar

  • 1 large clove garlic, minced

  • 1 cup crushed mulberries

  • 1 chipotle in adobo, minced

Instructions

Place the chicken on a plate and sprinkle the rub over it. All to marinate for at least ½ hour, preferably longer.

In a sauce pan, combine the vinegar, garlic, mulberries, and chipotle and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and cook, uncovered, for 15 minutes. Remove from the heat and puree if you want a smoother sauce.

Grill the chicken over medium heat for about 12 minutes per side, turning often.

Serve the chicken covered with the sauce.

 

Sweet-Hot Mulberry Jam

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Spicy jams are all the rage today, with one of them winning the Grand Prize at the 2003 Scovie Awards. The recipe below is great on biscuits, toast and pancakes, and you can even use it as a glaze on grilled meats or as a topping for vanilla ice cream.

Ingredients

  • 3 cups mulberries

  • 2 cups water

  • 1 package powdered fruit pectin

  • 1 tablespoon red chile powder

  • 1 cup sugar (or more to taste)

Instructions

Crush the berries thoroughly in a bowl and then transfer to a saucepan.. Add the water and fruit pectin. Stir until the pectin is dissolved. Add the chile powder and stir. Heat to boiling. Boil 5 to 10 minutes. Add the sugar and stir until dissolved. Boil 3 to 5 minutes, stirring frequently, or until thick. Allow to cool, place in sterile jars, and refrigerate.

Fired Beef (Pulgogi)

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Ingredients

  • 2 pounds lean beef tenderloin roast, eye of round, or sirloin

For the Marinade:

  • 3 tablespoons soy sauce

  • 1/2 cup rice wine or vermouth

  • 1 Korean or Asian pear, peeled and grated (or 4 tablespoons fresh lemon juice)

  • 2 green onions, white and pale green part, finely minced

  • 3 garlic cloves, crushed and finely chopped

  • 4 walnut halves, finely chopped

  • 2 tablespoons corn syrup

  • 1 tablespoon sugar

  • 1 tablespoon sesame oil

  • 1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds

  • 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

  • Pinch of salt

  • Vegetable oil (for grilling rack)   

For serving:

  • Cabbage hearts or lettuce leaves

  • 1 tablespoon coarsely chopped pine nuts

  • 12 tablespoon hot red pepper threads or hot red pepper flakes

Instructions

For the Beef:

Slice the beef across the grain into large pieces, 1/8-inch thick.

 

For the Marinade:

Combine the marinade ingredients in a large bowl, mixing well with a spoon. Add the beef and, with your fingers, massage the marinade into the meat. Wrap the bowl tightly with plastic wrap and marinate in the refrigerator for 1 hour.

For grilling the beef, start the coals 30 minutes before cooking, or preheat a gas grill. Lightly brush the grilling rack with vegetable oil and set it 4 inches from the heat source. Add the beef, in batches or all at once, and grill for 5 to 6 minutes per side, or until caramel brown and crusty and to the desired doneness. Repeat if necessary with the remaining beef.

On a cutting board, slice the beef into bite-size pieces. Make a bed of cabbage or lettuce leaves on individual plates and place the beef on top of each. Garnish with pine nuts and hot red pepper.

 

Pan-Fried Crab Cakes

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Korean crab cakes are similar to their American cousins in appearance but have a distinctively different flavor.

Ingredients

  • 1 pound medium-firm bean curd

  • 1 pound king crab legs (about 1 cup crab meat), or 1 cup lump or backfin crabmeat

  • 3 eggs (divided use)

  • 1 tablespoon rice wine (or vermouth)

  • 1 green onion, white and pale green part only, finely minced

  • 2 cloves garlic, crushed and finely chopped

  • 1 tablespoon sesame oil

  • Pinch of salt

  • Pinch of freshly ground black pepper

  • 1 cup all-purpose flour

  • 2 tablespoons vegetable oil (divided use)

  • 1 lemon, quartered (garnish)

  • Pinch of hot red pepper threads, snipped into small pieces (garnish)

  • Parsley sprigs (garnish)

  • Vinegar Soy Sauce (see recipe below)

Instructions

Wrap the bean curd in a paper towel and squeeze out as much liquid as possible. Combine bean curd in a large mixing bowl with crab meat, 1 egg, rice wine (or vermouth), green onion, garlic, sesame oil, salt, and pepper. Lightly mix together with a wooden spoon. Do not over mix. Divide mixture into 8 balls and flatten into small cakes, each about 3 inches in diameter.

Spread flour on a small plate. Lightly beat remaining eggs in a shallow bowl with a few drops of water.

Heat 1 tablespoon vegetable oil in a large non-stick skillet over medium high heat until oil is very hot but not smoking. Meanwhile, working with 4 crab cakes, dredge each one in flour and coat with the egg. Quickly add the crab cakes to the skillet and cook for 2 minutes, or until the coating is golden yet moist. Flip the cakes and cook for 2 minutes longer. Transfer the finished crab cakes to a tray, and cook the remaining 4 crab cakes in the same way.

To serve, arrange crab cakes on a large platter or on 4 individual plates (2 crab cakes each). Garnish with lemon, pieces of hot pepper threads, and parsley. Serve as an entree or side dish, accompanied by Vinegar Soy Sauce, in small individual bowls, as a dipping sauce.

Vinegar Soy Sauce: In a bowl combine 2 tablespoons soy sauce, 2 tablespoons rice wine (or vermouth), 2 tablespoons rice vinegar (or apple cider vinegar), 1 tablespoon sesame oil, 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, and a pinch of salt. Just before serving, sprinkle the top with 1 tablespoon coarsely chopped pine nuts or toasted sesame seeds and a pinch of freshly ground black pepper. Store leftovers in a tightly sealed container in the refrigerator. The sauce will stay fresh for at least 1 week.

Kimchi with Steamed Rice

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This is a uniquely Korean dish. It has a robust, feisty flavor thanks to the happy marriage of tastes between the nutty rice and fresh, well-pickled cabbage kimchi. This recipe calls for whole cabbage kimchi, either homemade or store-bought. Only the stem part of the cabbage is used, not the stuffing. With its robust kimchi flavor, this rustic one-dish meal does not need to be accompanied by any other sauce.

Ingredients

  • 2 cups raw short-grain rice

  • 1 tablespoon vegetable oil

  • 1 clove garlic, crushed and finely chopped

  • 1 tablespoon finely chopped green onion

  • 4 ounces lean ground pork or ground chicken breast

  • 2 cups finely diced whole cabbage kimchi, stem part only and without stuffing

  • 1 tablespoon sesame oil

  • Pinch of salt

  • Pinch of freshly ground black pepper

  • 2 cups hot water

  • 1/2 cup fresh or frozen green peas

Instructions

Soak the rice in lukewarm water in a bowl for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, heat vegetable oil in a skillet over medium heat until hot. Add the garlic and green onion and sauté for one-and-a-half minutes, until fragrant. Add the pork or chicken and sauté for 5 minutes. Add the kimchi and sauté for another 5 minutes. Add sesame oil, salt, and pepper and immediately remove the skillet from the heat.

Drain the rice. Combine the rice and 2 cups of hot water in a heavy 3-quart pot with a tight-fitting lid. Cover and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Add the kimchi mixture to the rice and stir well. Cover, decrease heat to medium, and cook gently for 15 minutes, or until the rice has absorbed all the liquid, occasionally stirring and scraping the bottom with a wooden spoon. Decrease heat to low and sprinkle the green peas on top of the rice. Cover and cook for 10 minutes more. Decrease heat to very low and let rest, covered, for 15 minutes.

Fluff the rice with a wooden spoon and serve piping hot in individual bowls.