mulberryshoots

It’s Wednesday, January 2nd, 2019 and we’re having chicken for dinner. I like to buy two small chicken legs at Whole Foods and cook them Asian style. First, I make a marinade in a small saucepan on the stove: Ohsahwa soy sauce, mirin, cooking sherry and a little sugar which comes to a boil and rests on the stove until cool. Sometimes, I add a few ice cubes to the marinade to dilute and cool it off at the same time.

In a bowl large enough to hold the chicken legs, I sprinkle the legs with Lawry’s garlic salt and then pour the marinade over them. I turn them after about an hour. I marinate the chicken mid-afternoon and when it’s close to dinnertime, I heat up a grill pan (or a smooth skillet) with a little vegetable oil – not too much as it will spit and spatter. Turn on the exhaust fan over the stove and brown the legs in the skillet on both sides until golden. Let the chicken rest while you preheat the oven to 325 degrees.

Roast the par-grilled legs in the oven until cooked (about a half an hour or until it reads 165 degrees on an instant thermometer.) Meanwhile, start some jasmine rice in a rice cooker – 2 parts water to rice. Peel three yellow squashes and split in half, then slice thinly. In another skillet, brown some sliced bacon and onion, adding the squash pieces. Stir until the squash is cooked through, adding a little water during cooking. Drain any excess fat.

Serve the Jasmine rice, roast chicken legs and squash on a dinner plate. Bon Appetit! Tastes good with Miller Lite beer (very cold.) Happy 2nd day of 2019!