Cumin, Sichuan Peppercorn, and Five Spice Chicken

This has been my go-to recipe for a while. The Missus and Her ever changing eating habits....chia seeds, hemp seeds, sprouted raw almonds, no red meat, no cooked red meat, no chicken or turkey, but duck, coconut oil, agave syrup........I'll never know what might appear when I open that refrigerator door. So on those nights when the Missus has Her meals set.....right now it's tons of salmon and having me perfect smoked fish, I'll often go to this pseudo-recipe, inspired by Yang Rou Chuan, those grilled skewers of lamb you'll find on street corners in China.

I'm lucky to have my own stash to go to........ground cumin from Xinjiang, soon to be replaced by the good stuff from Penzey's, smoked salt, sea salt, Sichuan Peppercorn from Chengdu, Five Spice from QingDao, Korean ground chilies, good quality granulated garlic.......

I get my chicken skin on and dust the skin side with some potato starch before first searing, skin side down in my cast iron pan with some grapeseed oil. I found that you can get grapeseed oil for pretty reasonable prices at places like North Park Produce. For some reason a smear of Hoisin Sauce just brings everything together.

Of course, it's not for everybody....the flowery-anise-armpit smells can be a bit strong for some. For me, it's my go to chicken dish....for now.

This past weekend the Missus wanted some Grilled Tamarind Shrimp to eat in lettuce cups....oh, right now, carbs are persona non grata as well.

So I bought a couple of boned chicken legs from Nijiya and decided to see if these would really taste good over charcoal.

I seasoned these more heavily, especially with salt. I tried to keep the skin facing all one way......so I could start over the hot coals skin side down.....perhaps crisp them up a bit.

In spite of thinking that I had seasoned these pretty heavily; I think I could have used even more salt. Still, there was a nice savory-buzz(from the Sichuan peppercorns), with a touch of heat.

The Missus even went ahead and made the little lettuce and herb garnish for my plate....cute, huh?

I think I'll do these again.......

Comments

[Dennis]

I had those lamb skewers when I visited my friend at college in Shanghai many years ago. Grilled over coal it was fantastic (and a total bargain). I only asked my friend to ask the vendor to cook it well done, haha. Anyway those spices sounds great with chicken too.

[Carol]

Looks delicious, Kirk!

[kat]

looks great!

[Kirk]

Hi Dennis - It does work pretty well with chicken...not as good as lamb....but of course, you got chicken skin, so I guess that evens things up.

Hi Carol - This is pretty much my go-to right now.

Hi Kat - I've been enjoying it!

[David]

What do you do after you sear the chicken?

[Kirk]

Hi David - You turn the heat down and finish cooking up the chicken. Top with hoisin.....not much, really.....

[Lynnea]

Lettuce cups are wonderful during the summer months. We've been enjoying them filled with all sorts of goodies during this unusually hot spell.

[Kirk]

Hi Lynnea - The Missus would definitely agree with you!