Salad Bowl, Melting Pot, whatever, American culture and cuisine is a special mixture, a fusion of various flavors and cultural inspirations. Think Tex-Mex, think Cajun, think even seemingly ordinary styles like Barbecue or Soul Food...
For me, someone who appreciates complements and contrasts in food, Honey-Jalapeño Chicken hits all the bases. Spicy, sweet,light and yet rib-stickingly satisfying thanks to the soba noodles, this dish is a family favorite and almost a weekly meal in my house. And to add to its praises, it's also pretty damn easy to make.
You can buy Soba (buckwheat) noodles at any Korean/Asian market.
Honey-Jalapeño Chicken- 1 rotisserie chicken, meat pulled
- 1 bunch cilantro, trimmed
- 2 jalapenos, seeded and halved
- dash each of Ginger, Curry Powder
- 1/4 to 1/3 c honey
- 1/3 c vegetable broth
- 1 vidalia onion, sliced thin
- 4 scallions, sliced thin
- 2 tbsp pickled ginger, minced
- splash of soy sauce
- soba (buckwheat) noodles
Pull meat from chicken, saving the skin, and set aside. In a skillet, saute onions with Jalapeño halves until the peppers are just soft. Remove peppers and place them in a blender with Cilantro, vegetable broth and honey and puree. Add sliced chicken skin to onions and cook until crispy, then add chicken and then the cilantro/jalapeño puree. Season with ginger powder and a little bit of curry and let simmer until hot.
In another pot, boil water and cook the soba noodles. Drain and return noodles to pot and toss with soy sauce, then portion into bowls. Top noodles with the chicken and sauce and, garnish with pickled ginger and scallions, and enjoy with healthy doses of Sri Racha chili sauce.
variations: I make a veggie version of this with Quorn cutlets. Steam cutlets in microwave for 2 minutes with 2 tbsp Mirin (sweet sake) and a shake of powdered ginger. Pan-fry on each side, then cut into pieces and stir into sauce before serving
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