My children are carnivores at heart. I know this, I accept this, so I do the best I can with this. Such as buying local, hormone & antibiotic free, free run birds. We usually buy whole birds that way we can make stocks and have different cuts, but my children have been showing a preference for the drumsticks. They're easy to hold, they can eat them directly of the leg and are convenient little servings of protein. So I bought a family pack of 12 drumsticks, figuring that I was going to divide them up.... but I didn't and had to cook them all in one go. As it turns out that was fine. Organic birds are usually a bit smaller than their industrially force fed counterparts. So really 2 or 3 legs is a reasonable serving size for two hungry toddlers. The remaining meat can be cleaned of the bone and used for leftovers.
Fermented Black Bean Drumsticks (or other chicken parts)
Adapted from Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything
- 1 1/2 tbsp peanut oil
- 12 drumsticks or about 3 lbs bone in chicken parts, rinsed and pat dry with paper towels
- 2 tbsp minced garlic
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- 2 tbsp fermented black beans, rehydrated in just enough water to cover and drained.
- 1 tbsp honey
- 1/2 cup water
- salt & pepper
- juice of one lemon
Turn skillet off and remove from the element. Remove the chicken parts and pour off all but a tablespoon of fat from the pan. Put the skillet back on the element and reheat to medium and add the garlic. Cook garlic until soft, about a minute. Add chicken back in, pour combined soy sauce, water mixture over the chicken. Salt and pepper to taste, turn to coat drumsticks and cover with lid. Reduce heat to medium-low and cook for 20-30 minutes, turning a couple times during the cooking process.
Make rice according to package instructions or your favourite method, this is mine (but I left out the onion and cumin seeds).
Serve over rice, drizzled with the black bean sauce and finish with lemon juice.
photos of carnage by me.
A great dish for toddlers and parents too. :-)
ReplyDeleteAs someone who is living on a tight food budget this recipe sounds right up my and my husbands alley. healthy and it would probably last for several feedings. quick question though...did you start with canned beans or dried black beans?
ReplyDelete@Velva, it was a hit with the toddlers and the husband!
ReplyDelete@Blair, I used fermented black beans. You can find them at most asian stores and or well stocked grocery stores. They are inexpensive, plentiful and last forever... Plus when you rehydrate them (only takes a few minutes) they pack quite a punch so you don't that much.
looks delish oh my lil one looks meat as well !
ReplyDeleteyummy, might have to make this over the weekend, great ideas, have cruised around your blog, now following with interest-- both of your sites.
ReplyDelete@Chow and Chatter, it smelled delicious (me I am a veg) and it was eaten with enthusiasm, a bonus with toddlers.
ReplyDelete@Housewife Bliss, as some one that has a pretty extraordinary blog herself and really knows what she is doing, thank you for the compliments.
This is a great recipe - we eat meat as well as a ton of Asian food, and it's always great to have a novel chicken recipe in the arsenal. Thanks!
ReplyDelete@Sarah, and it is pretty fast boot.
ReplyDeleteI use a very similar recipe to cook ribs and my kids go nuts for it - so I know this recipe would really rock! Thanks for sharing :)
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