This menu, which comes from an old issue of Bon Appétit, is one of my all-time favorites because the flavors are amazing and it couldn’t be easier.
By Karen Schulz
Five-Spice Roasted Chicken |
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Ingredients
Directions Ginger-Scented RiceIngredients
Directions Snow Peas with Toasted Almonds Ingredients Directions |
This menu, which comes from an old issue of Bon Appétit, is one of my all-time favorites because the flavors are amazing and it couldn’t be easier. Five Spice Roasted Chicken, Snow Peas with Toasted Almonds, and Ginger Scented Rice makes for a great family dinner, and is impressive enough for a dinner party. I even served it at a baby shower I was hosting. It always gets rave reviews.
When I came across this unique menu in one of my favorite magazines, I had never heard of five spice or scented rice. I had all the ingredients, except the five spice powder, and I love ginger, so I thought I’d give it a go.
My lesson learned with this menu was to not be put off by unfamiliar ingredients. Turns out, five spice, is just another spice easily found on the spice shelf at your local grocery store. It is generally a mix of star anise, cloves, cinnamon, Sichuan pepper, and fennel. There is a lot of depth to its flavor and the cinnamon strikes a familiar chord with the kids. It’s always great to introduce your family and children to new flavors, not only to broaden their taste buds but also to help them be great guests when they go to a friend’s house and are served something new.
The timesaving tip for this recipe is to use three or four squares of Dorot frozen chopped ginger for the rice. It’s a complete game changer. While I’m on the subject of timesaving tips, I have to plug rice cookers. My friend Yuko promised me I would not regret getting a rice cooker and not only do I not regret it, I don’t know how I lived without it. It doesn’t have to be fancy or expensive, but if you want perfect rice every time, easy clean up, and the automatic switch to “warm” when it’s done option, then you need a rice cooker.
Since the chicken marinates overnight, all that’s left to do for dinner is pop it in the oven an hour before you want to eat, sauté the snow peas, and boil water for the rice (or just push “start” if you have a rice maker). The good news is, once you buy five spice, you too, will have all the ingredients easily on hand to make this dish often, which I promise you will want to do.
