Somen In A Clay Pot With Chicken And Eggplant Recipes

SOMEN IN A CLAY POT WITH CHICKEN AND EGGPLANT

Steps:

• Heat a grill or grill pan until hot. With the tip of a paring knife, poke several small holes on each side of the eggplants. Grill the eggplants, turning every 2 to 4 minutes, until the skin becomes charred and very soft, about 10 minutes total cooking time. Remove the eggplants from the grill and let them sit at room temperature until cool.
• Meanwhile, pour the vegetable oil into a pot that is just large enough to place the chicken in a single layer and set it over high heat. Season the chicken with the salt and pepper. When the oil just begins to smoke, add the chicken, skin side down, and cook until the skin turns golden brown, about 2 minutes. Turn the chicken over and cook for 1 minute longer, then flip again and decrease the heat to low.
• Carefully pour in the sake, then cover the pot with a lid. Cook over low heat for 2 minutes longer, then remove the pot from the burner and let sit, covered, for 2 minutes. Remove the cooked chicken from the pot and set on a plate or cutting board until cool, then use your hands to shred the chicken into small pieces.
• Once the eggplants have cooled, slice off the top and bottom ends and use your hands to peel off the skin, which you can discard. Slice the eggplants in half lengthwise, then into 1-inch-long pieces. Set aside.
• Prepare an ice bath and place a pot of water over high heat. When the water comes to a boil, add the pea pods and cook for 45 seconds. Remove the pea pods and submerge in the ice bath. Drain well. When chilled, slice each into 1/2-inch pieces. Set aside. (Note: Do not discard the boiling water; cover and keep warm until you're ready to cook the noodles.)
• Pour the hot broth into 4 clay pots, then set each pot over high heat.
• Add the somen noodles to the reserved boiling water and cook until al dente, about 1 minute. Rinse under cold running water until chilled, and drain well.
• Once the broth comes to a boil, divide the somen noodles equally among the clay pots and top each with one-fourth of the eggplant, mushrooms, and chicken. Cover and increase the heat to high until the liquid returns to a boil, about 30 seconds. Turn off the heat.
• Set a folded paper towel in the center of 2 heatproof plates and rest the clay pots on top of them. Briefly remove the lids to garnish with the pea pods and yuzu pepper. Replace the lids to serve.

CLAY POT CHICKEN AND VEGETABLES

Steps:

• Wash chicken under cold water. Pat dry with absorbent paper.
• Cut into small pieces. Place in a dish with the soy sauce and sherry, cover and marinate for 30 minutes in the refrigerator.
• Soak mushrooms in hot water to cover for 30 minutes. Drain, squeeze to remove excess liquid. Remove stems and chop caps into shreds.
• Wash leeks thoroughly to remove all grit; cut leeks and sweet potato/carrot into thin slices.
• Drain the chicken, reserving the marinade. Heat half the oil in a wok or heavy-based frying pan.
• Carefully add half the chicken pieces and stirfry briefly until seared on all sides. Transfer to a flameproof clay pot or casserole dish; stirfry the remaining chicken and add to the clay pot.
• Heat remaining oil in wok, add leek and ginger, stirfry for 1 minute. Add mushrooms, the remaining marinade, stock and sesame oil.
• Transfer to the clay pot, add sweet potato/carrot and cook, covered, on the top of the stove over a very low heat for about 20 minutes (I cooked in the oven 160 degrees celcius for 20 minutes).
• Dissolve cornflour with a little water and add to the pot. Cook, stirring, until the mixture boils and thickens.
• Serve the chicken and vegetables at once with rice or noodles.

MEDITERRANEAN CHICKEN WITH EGGPLANT

Steps:

• Place eggplant strips in a big pot of lightly salted water and soak for 30 minutes (this will improve the taste; they will leave a brown color in the pot).
• Remove eggplant from pot and brush lightly with olive oil. Saute or grill until lightly browned and place in a 9x13 inch baking dish. Set aside.
• Saute diced chicken and onion in a large skillet over medium heat. Stir in tomato paste and water, cover skillet, reduce heat to low and simmer for 10 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
• Pour chicken/tomato mixture over eggplant. Season with oregano, salt and pepper and cover with aluminum foil. Bake in the preheated oven for 20 minutes.

CHICKEN WITH EGGPLANT

Steps:

• Sprinkle chicken pieces with salt and pepper. Make slight gashes at thigh and wing joints to facilitate cooking. Set aside.
• Trim off ends of eggplants. Cut lengthwise in half and cut each half lengthwise into 3 long slices. Cut slices crosswise into inch pieces. There should be about 5 cups.
• Cut onion in half vertically. Cut each half crosswise into very thin slices. There should be about a cup.
• Cut cores from tomatoes. Cut tomatoes into inch cubes or slightly smaller. There should be about 1 1/2 cups.
• Heat oil in large skillet and add chicken pieces skin side down. Cook about 5 minutes on one side and turn, cooking 5 minutes more. Transfer chicken to platter.
• Add onions, garlic and eggplant to skillet. Cook, stirring, about a minute and add tomatoes. Stir.
• Add vinegar, wine and broth and bring to boil. Stir. Add bay leaf, thyme, salt, pepper and pepper flakes. Stir and return chicken to the skillet. Turn pieces in sauce.
• Cover closely and let cook, basting occasionally, about 20 minutes or until chicken is done. Remove bay leaf. Serve with sauce poured over and sprinkled with parsley.