Slow Cooker Bang Bang Chicken with Lime, Lemongrass & Chilis

This is *not* the bang bang sauce from Cheesecake Factory -- a calorie-bomb of coconut curry and peanut sauce (I mean, it probably tastes amazing). 

This is the Laotian Bang Bang sauce -- a funky, fiery, sweet/tangy/spicy mix. Ie: a slow cooker friend.  

In my experience, the best slow cooker recipes are deeply, aggressively flavored (see also this miso ginger garlic chicken). Slow cookers get a bad reputation because they remind people of dull stewy mush. 

But that's why you fight against the murky "brown" flavor with brightness. In Laotian cuisine, bang bang is typically eaten with sticky rice (the way fries are eaten with ketchup). The same idea applies here: you want to match a tender, blank-slate food (slow-cooked chicken, sticky rice), with something that awakens the palate. Now you have the best of both worlds -- something soft and pillowy with something sharp and vibrant. 

My preparation includes two ingredients that aren't in classic bang bang sauce: gochujang and black bean sauce. I did this because slow-cooker sauces need to be thick. They'll get watered down a lot as the chicken cooks (such are modern chickens, very watery). Both sauces are thick, fermented and funky, and serve as the foundation for the more ephemeral top notes of this dish (ginger, lime, etc). 

So, to review: Laotian bang bang: wakes you up. Cheesecake Factory bang bag: knock you out. 

RECIPE: 
Skin an entire whole chicken (I do this because the fat doesn't have anywhere to go in a slow cooker. Since the slow-cooker is a pro at keeping meat tender, don't worry about going skinless!). 

In a small bowl, mix 2 tablespoons gochujang, 2 tablespoons of black bean sauce, 1 teaspoon chopped chili peppers (Thai chilis, piri-piri, whatever you have), 5 cloves of chopped garlic, 2 tablespoons chopped ginger, 1 tablespoon chili oil, 1 chopped lemongrass stalk (or 1/2 teaspoon of dried lemongrass), 1 tablespoon palm sugar, 1 teaspoon fish sauce, 1 pinch of dried ginger, 1 pinch of dried galangal (or just more ginger if you can't get this), 1 pinch of cardamom. Add enough water to mix, but not too much. 

Place chicken in slow cooker and pour sauce over chicken, making sure to get every crevice. Add one diced lime. Cover and cook on low for 7 hours. Serve with sticky rice and Thai basil. 

Friday Links | 5.8.15

Happy Friday! This weekend I'm seeing my family for Mother's Day so there will be a lot of cooking, eating, and perhaps a visit to the zoo or a garden (Tom family traditions). I'm also seeing Ex Machina tonight. I think it's funny that Ava, the AI woman, is a Natalie Portman lookalike (though isn't played by Natalie Portman). I have a theory that all sciencey guys are in love with Natalie Portman. 

Anyway, on to links! 

Mariah Carey starts her 2-year Caesar's Palace "residency". Jon Caraminica of the New York Times basically describes her show as a case of morbid rubber-necking: a train wreck you can't take your eyes off. Yikes. In college, I saw Celine during her Caesar's residency and it was magical. I hope Mariah can bring it! Surely she has it in her. 

A couple weeks ago, I wrote about my friend Andrea, the co-inventor of the LuminAID inflatable solar light. Well, now her former professor has a Kickstarter with a very similar product called the SolarPuff. WTF, right? I know a little about this, but I don't feel equipped to comment on this very serious intellectual property issue. Not to mention student-teacher ethics. So I'll just quote from the comment board, where people have not been shy about calling the project out: 

Like others in the comments below, I have given $1 only in order to help shed some light (pun intended) on the backstory of this project. I was once a student of Alice's, (and later a collaborator and co-teacher) and I was a student in the studio Alice taught in which she claims to have asked students to work with inflatable lights - this never happened. Anna and Andrea began to develop the LuminAid from their own independent research, LuminAid was completely their design and Alice started presenting the idea of the SolarPuff as her own only after Anna and Andrea made it clear that they would continue to develop LuminAid beyond their initial work in the studio. Its unfortunate to see that this misrepresentation has continued and the SolarPuff is being passed off as something it is not - there is certainly room in the world for many great designers to be working on behalf of the public good - but this seems like a good old fashioned case of intellectual theft and crafty marketing. It should be fine for a teacher to admit being inspired by their students without having to rewrite history to claim influence for the work of others. 

The other day, I posted my interpretation of April Bloomfield's whole-roasted cauliflower -- and she commented on it! I'm not one to get too starry-eyed when a "brand" engages with you (that's what they're supposed to do these days). But I had a major fangirl moment here (I also believe that April Bloomfield does her own social media, but I could be wrong). 

From McSweeney's: 13 Creative Writing Exercises for Women. "Write your greatest fear on a Post-it note. Place the Post-it at the corner of your eye before applying liquid liner, to create the perfect cat-eye." Ha! 

This article describes the lifestyle-office-crafting of Brad Sherman, who has designed offices/event spaces/Instagram stages for startups like Casper, Sakara Life, and Food52. I've been to the Food52 office -- it's basically like a Hamptons beach house meets a professional kitchen -- and I can see why he's in such high demand. 

And, related to the pic above. This goop-exclusive Spiralizer makes me laugh. It's very, very similar to the basic model, but 60% more. Why? Someone please enlighten me.

And, last, here's the recipe for the dish above. This is a true got-home-from-work-wanna-make-something-really-fast recipe. On days like that, I'm not making my own sauce and meatballs. This has a bunch of pre-made stuff, plus some stuff to round it out and make it fresher. 

RECIPE: 

Sautée 3 shallots, 4 garlic cloves, and 3 chopped carrots until sweating. Add 5 pieces of chopped turkey bacon. Add chicken meatballs. (I like Aidells Caramelized Onion. I also like to halve them because I like to spread out the meat more.) 

When everything is browned, add a can of crushed tomatoes and half a bottle of jarred sauce (I like Rao's). Add 3 glugs of soy sauce for extra umami. Simmer for 45 minutes. Add spiralized zucchini. Let them wilt, about 5 minutes or more, depending on how limp you like them. Serve.

Asian Chicken Slaw

I always want things like this, but they're frustratingly hard to find. What is "this"?

"This" is a great post-workout meal -- Fresh and crunchy and satisfying. "Hearty" salads tend to have cream or cheese, which slam the gut. The key is enough protein (here, chicken breast), the body of an aromatic oil (sesame oil in this case), and some support from some nuts (almonds and black sesame seeds, above). See, no sluggishness!

"This" is not a flimsy salad --I'll take slaw over salad any day. A great salad is a revelation -- gossamer lettuce as silken as rose petals, dressing of elegance and subtlety, toppings that play nice while still adding textural, visual, and flavor contrast.  But salads are hard to balance because the leaves are so delicate. Slaws are easy. Make it with cabbage, kohlrabi, broccoli, carrots -- anything with bite. They'll withstand anything you throw its way.

"This" is nostalgic -- Remember the "Oriental Chicken Salad"? Oh, it was a confusing piece of work -- canned mandarin oranges, fried chow mein noodles, and a honey mustard mayo-based dressing made "Asian" with rice vinegar and sesame oil. I loved this salad, but it could bear to be less gross.

RECIPE: Slice Napa cabbage and salt generously. Saute chicken in olive oil and let rest once done. Dice carrots, red bell pepper, and scallions and add to cabbage. Add chicken, then soy sauce, rice vinegar, and sesame oil. Before serving, toss with sliced almonds and sesame seeds.