Crispy Baked Honey Sriracha Chicken Drumstick

PREP TIME

5 mins

COOK TIME

50 mins

TOTAL TIME

55 mins

Serves: 3-4

INGREDIENTS

• 6 chicken drumsticks (about 1.75 lbs.)
• Pinch of salt and pepper 
• 2 Tbsp cornstarch 
• ¼ cup sriracha 
• 2 Tbsp butter 
• 2 Tbsp honey 

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Preheat the oven to 400ºF. Line a baking sheet with foil, then top it with wire cooling racks to hold the chicken up off the baking sheet. For easy cleaning, spritz the wire racks with non-stick spray.
2. Place the chicken drumsticks in a large bowl and season with a pinch of salt and pepper. Sprinkle the cornstarch over top, then stir until the drumsticks are evenly coated in cornstarch.
3. Place the coated chicken pieces on the prepared baking sheet. Bake the drumsticks for about 50 minutes, or until the surface is golden brown and crispy.
4. While the chicken is in the oven, combine the sriracha, butter, and honey in a small sauce pot. Heat over a low flame until the butter is melted and the sauce is smooth. Set the sauce aside.
5. When the chicken comes out of the oven, brush the sauce liberally over the surface of the chicken, then serve.

STEP BY STEP PHOTOS

Start by preheating the oven to 400ºF. Place six skin-on chicken drumsticks in a large bowl and season with a pinch of salt and pepper.

Sprinkle 2 Tbsp cornstarch over the chicken, then stir until the pieces are evenly coated.

Line a baking sheet with foil, then place two wire cooling racks on top. (For even easier cleanup, you can spritz the racks with non-stick spray.) Place the cornstarch coated chicken pieces on the racks.

Bake for about 50 minutes, or until they’re golden and crispy. They won’t get super dark, and some spots that had extra thick cornstarch may still be white.

While the chicken is in the oven, prepare the wing sauce. Simply place 1/4 cup sriracha, 2 Tbsp butter, and 2 Tbsp honey in a small sauce pot. Stir and heat over a low flame until the butter is melted and the sauce is smooth. This only takes about 5 minutes.

Back to those gorgeous drumsticks…

Slather that delicious honey sriracha sauce all over the wings. As I mentioned earlier, you could actually use any type of sauce that you want… BBQ is an easy choice.

And now your amazing Crispy Baked Honey Sriracha Chicken Drumsticks are ready to eat!

Source from CRISPY BAKED HONEY SRIRACHA CHICKEN DRUMSTICKS

THAI CURRY VEGETABLE SOUP

PREP TIME

10 mins

COOK TIME

20 mins

TOTAL TIME

30 mins

Serves: 4 (about 2 cups each)

INGREDIENTS

• 2 Tbsp neutral cooking oil* 
• 2 cloves garlic 
• 1 Tbsp grated fresh ginger 
• 2 Tbsp Thai red curry paste 
• 1 small sweet potato (about 1 lb.) 
• 1 bunch baby bok choy 
• 4 cups vegetable or chicken broth 
• 13oz. can coconut milk 
• ½ Tbsp fish sauce 
• ½ Tbsp brown sugar 
• 3.5oz. rice vermicelli noodles 

GARNISHES (optional)

• ½ red onion 
• 1 lime 
• Handful fresh cilantro 
• Sriracha to taste 

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Prepare the vegetables for the soup and garnishes first, so they're ready to go when needed. Mince the garlic and grate the ginger using a small-holed cheese grater. Peel and dice the sweet potato into one-inch cubes. Wash the bok choy well, then chop into one-inch strips, separating the fibrous stalks from the delicate green ends. Thinly slice the red onion and roughly chop the cilantro.
2. Add the cooking oil to a large soup pot along with the minced garlic, grated ginger, and Thai red curry paste. Sauté the garlic, ginger, and curry paste over medium heat for 1-2 minutes.
3. Add the diced sweet potato and chopped bok choy stalks to the pot (save the leafy green ends for later) along with the chicken or vegetable broth. Bring the pot to a boil over medium-high heat, then reduce the heat to low and let simmer for 5-7 minutes, or until the sweet potatoes are tender.
4. While the soup is simmering, bring a small pot of water to a boil for the vermicelli. Once boiling, add the vermicelli and boil for 2-3 minutes, or just until tender. Drain the rice noodles in a colander and set aside.
5. Once the sweet potatoes are tender, add the coconut milk, fish sauce, and brown sugar to the soup. Stir, taste, and adjust the fish sauce or brown sugar if needed. Finally, add the bok choy greens and let them wilt in the hot soup.
6. To serve, divide the rice vermicelli among four bowls. Ladle the soup and vegetables over the noodles, then top with red onion, cilantro, a wedge or two of lime, and a drizzle of sriracha.

NOTES

*Use any neutral (low flavor) cooking oil, like vegetable, corn, canola, sunflower, grapeseed, or peanut.

STEP BY STEP PHOTOS

Start by preparing your vegetables, so they’re ready to use when you need them. I just happened to go to an Asian market the day before, so I picked up this Japanese yam, baby bok choy, limes, cilantro, and a red onion. Read through the intro if you need ideas for alternate vegetables.

Peel and dice the yam (or sweet potato, either will work), thinly slice the red onion, cut the limes into wedges, and cut the bok choy into strips. Try to keep the stalk end and the leafy green ends separate, as you’ll add them to the soup at different times.

You’ll also want to mince two cloves of garlic and grate about 1 Tbsp fresh ginger. It’s important to note that Thai red curry paste is VERY different from the curry powder that is used in Indian cuisine. This one is basically a mix of red chiles, garlic, galangal (similar to ginger), lemongrass, and a few other spices. If you want to make this soup EXTRA easy, skip the garlic and ginger, and just add more of the Thai red curry paste. ;)

Add a couple tablespoons of any neutral cooking oil (like canola, vegetable, peanut, sunflower, grapeseed), the minced garlic, grated ginger, and 2 Tbsp of the Thai red curry paste to a large pot. Sauté the garlic, ginger, and curry paste over medium heat for 1-2 minutes.

Next add the hard vegetables, in this case the yam (or sweet potato) and stalks of the bok choy, so they can simmer in the soup and soften.

Add four cups of vegetable or chicken broth, place a lid on top, turn the heat up to medium-high, and bring to a boil. Once it reaches a boil, reduce the heat to low and simmer for 5-7 minutes, or until the sweet potato is soft.

While the soup is simmering, I cooked the rice vermicelli separately (this package is 3.5oz). The reason I cooked the noodles separately is because they cook super fast and I didn’t want them to over cook in the soup. I might, at some point in the future, add them to the soup at the end and let them soften that way, but today I wanted to be extra sure, so I just cooked them separately. They only take about 2-3 minutes to soften in boiling water, then drain the noodles in a colander and set aside.

Back to the soup pot. Once the sweet potato cubes are soft, add a 13oz. can of coconut milk, which transforms the soup into this creamy goodness.

Also add 1/2 Tbsp fish sauce and 1/2 Tbsp brown sugar. Now, if you’ve never used fish sauce let me just tell you that it is very potent and doesn’t smell good, but because it’s used in such small quantities, that doesn’t really transfer to the dish you’re adding it to. It just adds a subtle umami flavor and a bit of saltiness. If you can’t get fish sauce or want this dish to be vegetarian, you can leave it out. It still tastes good, but IMHO will be missing that je ne sais quoi or authentic flavor that fish sauce gives. Also, if you skip the fish sauce, you can probably also skip the brown sugar.

After adding the fish sauce and brown sugar, give the broth a taste and adjust the flavors if needed. Finally, add the leafy green ends of the bok choy and let them wilt in the hot soup (the pot should still be over low heat).

To serve the Thai Curry Vegetable Soup, place some of the rice vermicelli in the bottom of a bowl…

Ladle the soup and vegetables over the noodles…

Then add your garnishes: thinly sliced red onion, lime wedges, chopped cilantro, and a drizzle of sriracha.

Source from THAI CURRY VEGETABLE SOUP

BLACKENED SHRIMP PASTA

PREP TIME

10 mins

COOK TIME

20 mins

TOTAL TIME

30 mins

Serves: 4

INGREDIENTS

BLACKENING SEASONING

• 1 Tbsp smoked paprika 
• 1 tsp thyme 
• 1 tsp oregano 
• ½ tsp cumin 
• ¼ tsp cayenne pepper 
• ¼ tsp garlic powder 
• ¼ tsp onion powder 
• ¼ tsp salt 
• Freshly cracked pepper 

SHRIMP PASTA

• ½ lb. peeled and deveigned shrimp 
• 2 Tbsp butter 
• 2 cloves garlic 
• 15oz. can petite diced tomatoes 
• ¼ tsp salt 
• ½ lb. pasta 
• 2-3 green onions 
• Handful fresh parsley 
• 1 lemon 

INSTRUCTIONS

1. In a small bowl, combine the herbs and spices for the blackening seasoning. Rinse the shrimp under cool water, drain, and then pat dry with a paper towel. Sprinkle the blackening seasoning over the shrimp and stir to coat.
2. Bring a large pot of water to a boil for the pasta. Once boiling, add the pasta and cook until tender (7-10 minutes). Reserve about 1 cup of the starchy pasta water, then drain the pasta in a colander.
3. While the pasta is cooking, mince the garlic and add it to a large skillet with the butter. Heat the butter and garlic over a medium flame until the butter starts to foam and sizzle. Continue to sauté the garlic in the sizzling butter for about one minute. Add the shrimp and sauté until they are opaque and slightly firm (3-5 minutes), then remove them from the skillet.
4. Add the diced tomatoes (with juices) and about ½ cup of the pasta water to the skillet. Stir and cook over medium heat, dissolving the browned bits from the bottom of the skillet. Let the sauce simmer for 5-10 minutes, or until thickened slightly. Taste the sauce and add salt if needed (I added ¼ tsp salt).
5. Add the cooked and drained pasta to the skillet and toss with the sauce (add some of the remaining reserved pasta water, if needed, to loosen the pasta). Return the shrimp to the skillet and stir to combine.
6. Slice the green onions and chop the parsley leaves. Sprinkle both over top. Serve with sliced lemon to squeeze over top.

NOTES

For a less spicy pasta, use ⅛ tsp or no cayenne pepper.

STEP BY STEP PHOTOS

Begin by preparing the blackening seasoning – In a small bowl stir together 1 Tbsp smoked paprika, 1 tsp thyme, 1 tsp oregano, 1/2 tsp cumin, 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper, 1/4 tsp garlic powder, 1/4 tsp onion powder, 1/4 tsp salt, and some freshly cracked pepper (about 20 cranks of a pepper mill).

Rinse 1/2 lb. peeled and deveined shrimp under cool water, let them drain, then pat dry with a paper towel (that helps the seasoning stick). I used 25/35 size shrimp, but I think a 31/45 might have been even better. Smaller pieces means more pieces throughout the pasta.

Pour the prepared seasoning over the shrimp and stir until they’re well coated.

Bring a pot of water to a boil for the pasta. Once boiling, add 1/2 lb. pasta and cook until tender. Reserve about one cup of the starchy water before draining the pasta in a colander. I used angel hair pasta, but you could use just about any shape for this dish. When using a long pasta, like spaghetti or angel hair, I find it helps to break it in half before cooking. It makes stirring in large pieces, like shrimp or diced tomatoes, a LOT easier.

While the pasta is cooking, get started on the shrimp and sauce. Mince two cloves of garlic and add them to a large skillet with 2 Tbsp butter. You really do need to use butter for this recipe to get that authentic “blackened” flavor. Heat the butter and garlic over medium heat until it starts to foam and sizzle, then continue to sauté for about a minute to cook out the raw garlic flavor.

Next, add the seasoned shrimp and continue to sauté until the shrimp are opaque and slightly firm. Shrimp cook very fast, so this should only take about 3-5 minutes depending on the size of your shrimp. It’s important not to over cook the shrimp because the longer you let shrimp sit on the heat, the more the proteins contract, and the more firm and rubbery they become. So, remove them from the skillet as soon as they turn opaque and firm up.

Now you’ve got all these fantastic browned butter and seasoning drippings stuck to the skillet. We NEED that flavor, so we’ll be deglazing the skillet…

Add a 15oz. can of petite diced tomatoes (with the juices) and about 1/2 cup of that starchy pasta cooking water. Stir to dissolve that good stuff off the skillet. Fire roasted diced tomatoes would also be awesome with this, but I don’t think anyone makes them in a petite dice, so you’ll have larger tomato pieces.

Let the sauce simmer for a few minutes to reduce and thicken. Taste the sauce and add a little salt if needed (I added 1/4 tsp salt).

Add the cooked and drained pasta to the skillet and toss until it’s coated with the sauce. Add a little bit more of the reserved pasta water, if needed, to help loosen the pasta (but don’t add a lot or you’ll thin out the sauce too much).

Finally, return the cooked shrimp to the skillet and stir to combine with the pasta and sauce.

Slice a couple green onions, chop a handful of parsley leaves, and slice a lemon.

Sprinkle the parsley and green onions over the pasta and serve with the lemon slices. 

I didn’t think of it at the time, but I’ve been adding a little grated Parmesan to my leftovers and it’s AH-MAZ-ING.

Source from BLACKENED SHRIMP PASTA