Hot and Spicy Food Recipes:
Chicken Main Dishes

Wasabi and Sesame Grilled Chicken
Sesame Marinade
Wasabi Sesame Dipping Sauce
Chipotle Marinated Chicken and Pine Nut Quesadilla
Tomatillo Sauce
Chef June Jacobs Chicken Flautas
Kelly Johnson’s Pollo Desinflado Asada with Pipian Rojo
Jim’s Chicken Mole

Wasabi and Sesame Grilled Chicken

Just a mouthful of flavors. Lemon, soy sauce, sesame and Wasabi combine to overwhelm your tastebuds and clear your sinuses.

Makes 4 servings

Ingredients:

4 boneless chicken breasts
Sesame Marinade (recipe follows)
3/4 cup Wasabi Sesame Dipping Sauce (recipe follows)

Preparation:

Prepare the marinade according to the recipe. Marinate the chicken for 45-60 minutes at room temperature. Once the chicken is in the marinade, begin the Wasabi sesame sauce. Grill the chicken for 4-5 minutes on each side, on your grill until browned and the meat is firm. Serve chicken on 4 warm plates with some steamed or fried white rice. Drizzle a little of the sauce over the chicken and serve some on small plates or in a small dipping bowl on the side of each.

Sesame Marinade

Makes 4 servings

Ingredients:

1/2 cup white wine
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup peanut oil
1/4 cup sesame oil
1 tablespoon Mirin, (sweet rice cooking wine)
3 tablespoons sesame seeds
1 tablespoon dry mustard
1 teaspoon cracked peppercorns
1 tablespoon fresh garlic, chopped
2 tablespoons fresh ginger root, grated
2 scallions, chopped

Preparation:

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and stir to incorporate. This marinade can be made ahead of time and stored in the refrigerator.

For whole birds, like chicken or pheasant, allow at least 3 hours marinating time. For red meat steaks, allow 45-60 minutes.

Use the marinade to baste meats on the grill for a moist, more flavorful product.

Wasabi Sesame Dipping Sauce

Makes 4 servings

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons Wasabi powder or Japanese horseradish powder
1/2 cup soy sauce
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1/2 lemon, juiced
1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds

Preparation:

Mix the Wasabi powder with enough cold water to make a stiff paste. Let it mature for 30 minutes to develop its heat. Whisk in the soy sauce, oil, and lemon juice. Add the sesame seeds just before serving. Serve the sauce on flat plates so your guests can roll their food in it, Japanese style.

Note: You can adjust the heat of this sauce simply by adding or subtracting the Wasabi paste.

Chipotle Marinated Chicken and Pine Nut Quesadilla

Makes 4 servings

Ingredients:

4 ounces Tabasco Chipotle Sauce
8 ounces raw chicken meat, boneless, small dice
1 tablespoon canola oil
8 flour tortillas
12 ounces Monterey Jack cheese, grated
1/3 cup pine nuts, toasted
1/2 Roma tomato, small dice
1 cup Tomatillo Sauce (recipe follows)

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Place the pieces of chicken into the Tabasco Chipotle Sauce for 30 minutes. While the chicken is marinating, toast the pine nuts in the preheated oven for about 10 minutes. Watch them closely as they have a high oil content and will burn quickly. Once lightly browned, remove the nuts from the oven and transfer them to a cool dish.

Sauté the chicken in a non-stick skillet for 4-5 minutes in the oil. Cook the chicken until just firm, being careful not to overcook. Allow the chicken to cool and cut it into small pieces.

To Assemble the Quesadillas:

Place 4 tortillas on a non-stick cookie sheet. Spread the grated cheese over each tortilla evenly about 1/3 of an inch high. Spread equal amounts of the chicken, pine nuts, and tomato on top of the cheese and place the four remaining tortillas on top.

Place the quesadillas into the 350°F oven for 7-8 minutes until the cheese has softened and just begins to bubble out the sides.

To serve, cut each quesadilla into 8 pieces with a large knife on a wooden cutting board. Slide the cut quesadilla onto a plate and top each slice with a dollop of the Tomatillo Sauce

Tomatillo Sauce

Makes 6 servings

Ingredients:

1/2 avocado
3 tablespoons sour cream
1-4 ounce can tomatillos, crushed

Preparation:

Remove the pit from the avocado and scoop the fruit out with a soup spoon. Place the avocado, the sour cream and the tomatillos in a food processor or blender and purée until smooth.

Store in a sealed plastic container in the refrigerator. Best used the same day as prepared, but will last for up to 4 days.

Chef June Jacobs Chicken Flautas

Makes 4-6 servings

Ingredients:

3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/4 cup all purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1 cup chicken stock
1 tablespoon chopped parsley
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon grated onion
dash of paprika
dash of nutmeg
1 1/2 cups diced cooked chicken
12 tortillas

Preparation:

Melt butter and blend in flour to make a light roux. (Be sure to cook the flour for a couple of minutes.) Add salt and stock. Cook, stirring until thick.

Add parsley, lemon juice, onion, paprika, nutmeg and a dash of freshly ground pepper. Stir in chicken. Cool slightly.

To Assemble Flautas:

Place a heaping tablespoon of mixture on tortilla. Roll tightly, and fasten with a toothpick.

Fry in deep hot fat for 1 or 2 minutes until tortilla is crisp and brown. Serve with the following sauce:

Sauce:

Ingredients:

2 ripe avocados
1/4 teaspoon onion salt
1/2 cup sour cream or plain yogurt
1 teaspoon fresh lime juice
10 drops Tabasco Sauce.

Preparation:

Peel, seed and smash avocados. Add all the other ingredients. Mix until smooth. Spoon sauce over the cooked Flautas.

You could also make this dish with leftover Thanksgiving Turkey. No one would ever guess it was "leftovers."

Kelly Johnson’s Pollo Desinflado Asada with Pipian Rojo
Translation: Uninflated Grilled Chicken with Red Seed Sauce

Makes 4 servings

Ingredients:

For the Chicken:

4 chicken legs and thighs
3 cloves garlic
4 tablespoons chopped cilantro
zest and juice of 2 limes
4 ounce vegetable oil
2 jalapeños or poblanos (depending on how spicy you want it)
salt and pepper

For the Pipian Rojo:

1 medium onion, diced
1 jalapeño
2 cloves garlic
1/2 cup pumpkin seeds
2 Ancho chilies
2 tablespoons chopped cilantro
3 cups chicken stock
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
3 limes, juice only

Preparation:

For the Chicken:

With a boning knife remove the leg and thigh bone leaving the meat and skin intact and gently pound to even it out (hence "uninflated")

Mix all the rest of the ingredients in a blender and marinate chicken for 15-20 minutes.

Grill skin side down till skin is crisp and turn. Cook for 8-12 minutes or until chicken is just done.

For the Pipian Rojo:

In a medium pot add the oil until hot and add the onion, jalapeño, garlic and pumpkin seeds. Sauté until seeds and onion are just starting to brown and add the Ancho chiles and chicken stock.

Simmer 1/2 hour or so, then add cilantro and lime juice.

Put the sauce in a blender and purée until very fine (add more stock if too thick). Season with salt and pepper and keep warm, not hot.

When the chicken is done on the grill, plate up and ladle Pipian Rojo over top.

Serve with Spanish rice and a margarita.

Jim’s Chicken Mole

Makes 8 servings

Ingredients:

1/4 cup sesame seeds
1/2 cup slivered almonds
1 dried New Mexico or California chile
1 large onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1/3 cup raisins
2 tablespoons chile powder
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon anise seeds, crushed
1 cinnamon stick
4 pounds chicken thighs
1 14-ounce can diced tomatoes (unflavored!)
2 cups water
1/4 cup tomato paste
1/4 cup tequila
1 ounce unsweetened chocolate, chopped up

Preparation:

Toast the sesame seeds in a small, hot frying pan until golden brown, watch them closely. Remove from pan. Put almonds in pan and toast them to a golden brown. Don't cheat on these steps, the golden brown color imparts a lot of flavor. Remove from pan. Put the chili in the pan and heat until it is softened well. Remove from pan.

In a six quart oven proof pot, with lid, combine onion, garlic, raisins, chile powder, coriander, cloves, anise seeds, cinnamon, chile, almonds and sesame seeds.

Rinse the chicken, pat dry, and place on top of the mix. Pour in tomatoes. Pour in 2 cups water. Mix tomato paste and tequila, pour over the chicken. Cover and cook at 325°F for 2 hours. Check every 20 minutes to make sure there is still liquid in the pot.

When chicken is tender, remove it to a plate. Remove cinnamon stick and the stem of the chile. Put the rest of the mix in a food processor and chop it up until it is smooth. Add the chocolate and pulse it twice. Wait a few minutes for the chocolate to melt from the heat of the mix. Then whirl the mixture a few more times until well blended.

Remove the skin and shred the chicken into a large serving dish. Pour the mole sauce over it. Prepare to enter heaven.

Serve with corn tortillas and more tequila. Cooked chayote squash makes a nice accompaniment.