Whilst those in the northern hemisphere may be lamenting the end of a short summer, I am lamenting the end of an equally short winter. Many moan about having 9 months of winter and 3 months of summer but not me. We have 9 months of summer and 3 months of winter.
Gone are the big casseroles. Out come the salads.
I can’t remember what I was looking for when this recipe jumped out at me. It’s a very me recipe. I knew, instantly, that I would like it. The sweet marinade for the chicken and the fresh colourful salad appealed. I have, actually, made the salad a few times. It is avocado season and we have a continual supply of avocados.
This recipe appeared in Cuisine Magazine, Issue 144. It is by Mark Limacher.
Ingredients:
- 1kg chicken pieces, preferably small thin cuts that cook quickly. (I used boned drumsticks.)
- ¼ cup soy sauce
- 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- 2 tbs* grated fresh ginger
- 1 tsp sugar
- 2 tbs* dry sherry
- 1 tbs* honey
- 2 tbs* hoisin sauce
- 1 tbs* chilli bean sauce (I had a bit of trouble getting this. Mark Limacher said he uses Lee Kum Kee and it is available at supermarkets. Well, it maybe in New Zealand but, to be honest, nothing much is available in Australian supermarkets, anymore. I, eventually, found it at a small corner store. It was well past its use by date. Lucky I don’t mind such things.)
*These are 15 ml tablespoons.
- Place all the ingredients in a large, resealable plastic bag and marinate in the fridge for, at least, 2 hours but preferably overnight. Give it a good shake-up every few hours.
- Preheat your oven to 180°C.
- Remove the chicken from the marinade and place in a baking dish.
- Bake for about 25 minutes.
Corn & avocado salad:
- 2 cups of sweetcorn kernels
- 1-2 avocados, cut into pieces
- 2-3 ripe tomatoes, cut into pieces
- ½ red onion, finely sliced
- 1 tbs* chopped parsley
- small handful torn basil leaves
(I didn’t have any parsely or basil so I used coriander and mint which tasted great.) - splash of extra virgin olive oil
- splash of balsamic vinegar
- salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
- Cook the corn kernels until just tender; set aside to cool.
- When cool, combine the corn with the remaining ingredients.
(Mark Limacher advised the exact quantities aren’t important.)
Passion Fruit Garden 
Hey, it just came to me! Since I hate winter here, we could exchange homes during that time, and you’d get a good dose of our gloomy winter – I think then you could better appreciate the rest of your summer.
Hey Doc that sounds like a great idea. You would have to water 7 acres in the country and our city house and look after 3 bichons. If you are on, we are on!! Do you have an open fire?? Of course, as an alternative, you could always visit, that way you get the summer without the watering:) You know, you would be most welcome.
You are too gracious. But there are severe restrictions to our movement these days – not the least of which is that to do something like that, we’d first have to declare bankruptcy. Besides, Sandee would insist on spending $$$/??? on the house and property before she’d let anyone spend serious time here – Really.
When we first married, we were seriously considering immigration to Australia – we’d even made our contacts with the appropriate govt agencies, which in those days (early 70s) were quite welcoming to new teachers w degrees – we often talk about that being one of our few serious life mistakes.
Believe me, life without the sun soon does things to your psyche – I think you’d soon regret it. But it’s a lovely thought, and much appreciated.
Doc, The invitation is always open …
Printed this off will try this week. I might try Kongs around the corner for the chilli bean sauce we have a few asian shops around this area. Did the supermarket have the boned drumsticks haven’t noticed them?
Hi Gail, Woolies does.