If you are anything like the average New Yorker, you have too many things to do and too few hours in the day. Finding a go-to healthy, delicious, and easy dinner recipe can be challenging. Especially one that pleases everyone in the family. Yes, chicken can get boring, but it’s a lean, versatile protein that can be found in nearly any type of cuisine. I’ve collected some of my favorite “not-your-average-chicken” recipes that will be sure to spice up your average weeknight dinner in a super healthful way!
Who can resist a recipe with the word “schmaltzy” in the title? And the kale is sure to please any health-conscious cook with its fiber and vitamins! Here’s Bon Appetit’s recipe for Chicken with Schmaltzy Rice and Kale.
Serves: 4
Recipe Ingredients:
- ¾ cup white jasmine or short-grain rice
- Kosher salt
- 4 chicken legs (thigh and drumstick)
- 2 tablespoons plus ¼ cup vegetable oil
- 1 bunch scallions (about 6), thinly slices
- 1 1” piece ginger, peeled, finely chopped
- 3 garlic cloves, thinly slices
- 2 bunches Tuscan kale, ribs and stems removed, leaves torn
- ½ cup low-sodium chicken broth or water
Recipe Instructions:
- Place rice in a strainer or sieve and rinse, swishing around with your hands, until water from rice runs clear; drain well. Bring rice, a pinch of salt, and 1 cup water in a small saucepan to a simmer over medium-high. Cover pan, reduce heat to low, and cook rice until tender, about 20 minutes. Remove pan from heat. Let rice sit 10 minutes, then fluff with a fork.
- Preheat oven to 425°. Season chicken legs generously with salt. Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a large cast-iron skillet over medium-high. Cook chicken, skin side down, until skin is golden brown and well on its way to being crispy (try weighing it down with another heavy skillet for maximum crispiness), 7–9 minutes. Transfer skillet to oven (leaving chicken legs skin side down and with weight on top if you’re using one) and roast chicken legs until deeply browned and very crispy, 8–10 minutes. Turn chicken skin side up (remove weight) and continue to roast until cooked through (an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of legs should register 165°), about 5 minutes longer. Transfer chicken to a wire rack, arranging skin side up. Reserve skillet (wrap a kitchen towel around the handle so you don’t forget it’s really hot and burn your hand).
- Bring scallions and remaining ¼ cup oil to an aggressive boil in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Add ginger and immediately transfer scallion oil to a small bowl; season with salt. Let cool.
- Heat reserved skillet over medium. Cook garlic, stirring occasionally, until beginning to turn golden around the edges, about 2 minutes. Add kale a handful at a time, letting it wilt before adding more. Add broth and cook, scraping up any browned bits from bottom of skillet, until kale is softened, about 3 minutes. Add rice and cook, stirring often, until liquid evaporates and rice is warm and beginning to crisp, about 3 minutes. Season with salt.
- Transfer rice mixture to a platter and arrange chicken on top. Serve scallion oil alongside.
Especially as of late, turmeric, a flowering plant of the ginger family, has been touted as a superfood. The craze stems from its countless health benefits. It has powerful anti-inflammatory effects and is a very strong antioxidant. Try the New York Times’ recipe for Turmeric Chicken.
Serves: 8 to 10
Recipe Ingredients:
- 1 1-inch piece fresh ginger, sliced thin
- 3 scallions, cut in 1-inch pieces and smashed
- ¾ cup rice wine
- 1 teaspoon mild curry powder
- 2 teaspoons ground turmeric
- 2 teaspoons sherry vinegar
- Salt
- 2 pounds chicken wings, separated at joints with tips discarded; or bone-in chicken thighs
- 1 ½ tablespoons cornstarch
- Crushed red chile flakes, to taste
Recipe Instructions:
- Place ginger, scallions, 1/2 cup rice wine, curry powder, turmeric, vinegar and salt to taste in a bowl. Mix. Place chicken wings in a heavy resealable plastic bag. Add sauce mixture, seal bag and refrigerate 8 hours.
- Heat oven to 400°. Remove chicken from the bag, reserving as much sauce as possible. Spread chicken on a baking sheet and bake, turning once and basting with marinade, until chicken is cooked and lightly browned, about 30 minutes. Remove from oven and wrap loosely in foil to keep warm.
- Strain leftover marinade into a small saucepan, add remaining rice wine and simmer about 10 minutes. Mix cornstarch with 2 tablespoons cold water and whisk in. Season to taste with salt and chile flakes. Baste the chicken with thickened sauce and serve, or set sauce aside for basting when the chicken is reheated for the fat rice.
The last is a take on southeast Asian cuisine. Asian food ingredients are easier to find than you think. There are countless markets throughout the city – Katagiri is one of my favorites. Here’s Food52’s recipe for Tamarind Chicken.
Serves: 4
Recipe Ingredients:
- 4 leg quarters
- ¾ cup tamarind cooking pulp
- ¼ cup low sodium soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons fish sauce
- 2 ½ tablespoons light brown sugar
- 1 onion, diced
- 3 cloves of garlic, sliced
- 1 lime, zested
- 2 teaspoons red pepper flakes
- 2 teaspoons Chinese five spice
Recipe Instructions:
- Place the ingredients in a large Ziploc or seal-able bowl. Mix until combined, add chicken, and marinate for 4 to 6 hours. Rotate the chicken in the marinade every so often.
- Set up the grill for direct/indirect heat. We do this by making a semi circle of charcoal. You’ll know when the grill is hot but not too hot when you can count to 3 with your hand over the fire.
- Remove the chicken from the marinade. Sear the chicken skin side down for about 4 to 5 minutes until crispy. You may pour the excess marinade over the legs at this point. Turn the legs over and cook skin side up for another 2 minutes over the high heat, then move them to the cooler side of the grill, but still near the coals for indirect heat, put the grill lid on and cook for about 25 minutes. They are done when the internal temperature reaches 160°F.
The last is a take on southeast Asian cuisine. The addition of tamarind is a real plus as yet another anti-inflammatory natural food. And, Asian food ingredients are easier to find than you think! There are countless markets throughout the city – Katagiri is one of my favorites. Here’s Food52’s recipe for Tamarind Chicken.
Serves: 4
Recipe Ingredients:
- 4 leg quarters
- ¾ cup tamarind cooking pulp
- ¼ cup low sodium soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons fish sauce
- 2 ½ tablespoons light brown sugar
- 1 onion, diced
- 3 cloves of garlic, sliced
- 1 lime, zested
- 2 teaspoons red pepper flakes
- 2 teaspoons Chinese five spice
Recipe Instructions:
- Place the ingredients in a large Ziploc or seal-able bowl. Mix until combined, add chicken, and marinate for 4 to 6 hours. Rotate the chicken in the marinade every so often.
- Set up the grill for direct/indirect heat. We do this by making a semi circle of charcoal. You’ll know when the grill is hot but not too hot when you can count to 3 with your hand over the fire.
- Remove the chicken from the marinade. Sear the chicken skin side down for about 4 to 5 minutes until crispy. You may pour the excess marinade over the legs at this point. Turn the legs over and cook skin side up for another 2 minutes over the high heat, then move them to the cooler side of the grill, but still near the coals for indirect heat, put the grill lid on and cook for about 25 minutes. They are done when the internal temperature reaches 160°F.
The Rabbi Arthur Schneier Park East Day School is a prestigious NYC Jewish Day School in the heart of New York City. Located in the Upper East Side, this Jewish Day School promotes academic growth through community and collaboration.