Sunday, February 24, 2013

Aspiring Bakers #28: Coca-Cola Chicken

I just realize that all maybe almost all children love soft drinks. At least I know my nephew and nieces do. I tried cooking coca-cola chicken once many years ago. Still remember how delicious it was, the chicken was nicely coated with sweetness that comes from coca-cola! As I don't drink coke nowadays, I hardly cook it again. Since now I know the children love to drink coke, I try to make them happy by telling them I will be adding coke to the chicken. :)


You know there are tonnes of coca-cola chicken recipes on the internet. You try to search you will know. I study a few recipes before attempting to cook again. People cook this in many ways, different marinades, and so on.

To make it simple for me, I come up with the most basic recipe. And then add some variations to the basic recipe.

Coca-Cola Chicken (basic recipe)
This basic recipe is the simplest, super-easy version of Coca-Cola Chicken. There are only 3 ingredients! The coke will tenderize and caramelize the chicken because of the sugar in it. So please used regular coke instead of sugar-free coke.

Ingredients (serves 2-3):

9 pc mid-joint chicken wings
1 can coca-cola (330ml)
1/4 tsp salt

Method:
1. Marinate the chicken wings with salt and leave in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.
2. Heat some oil in the frying pan. Pan-fry the chicken wings till both sides lightly brown.
3. Add in half a can of coca-cola (or enough to cover the chicken). Simmer the chicken wings for 20-30 minutes (turn the chicken wings halfway) until the sauce thickens, chicken becomes tender and caramelized. If the sauce dries up during cooking, add more coca-cola or water.

Cost of dish
9 pc mid-joint chicken wings - $3.10 (Fairprice)
1 can coca-cola (330ml) - $0.70 (Fairprice)
Total cost = $3.80+


Coca-Cola Chicken (other variations)
If you think that the basic recipe is too plain and lack of flavours, here are some of the variations that I read about. There are different types of marinades, more ingredients, and more flavours. You can also adjust the recipe yourself based on what you like. Feel-free to experiment!

Ingredients:

Possible marinade ingredients:
salt
pepper
light soy sauce
dark soy sauce
sesame oil
rice wine
ketchup
honey
coca-cola
(yes some marinate with coca-cola, I'm going to try that next time)

Possible main ingredients:
ginger
garlic
spring onion
any parts of chicken/pork ribs
vegetables, like onion, carrot, chilli (if you like it hot)
1 can coca-cola (330ml)

Garnish ingredients:
chilli
spring onion
toasted sesame seeds

Method:
1. Marinate the chicken/pork and leave in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.
2. Heat some oil in the frying pan.
3. Saute ginger, garlic and spring onion until fragrant.
4. Add in and pan-fry the chicken/pork till both sides lightly brown.
5. Add in any vegetables. Then add in half a can of coca-cola (or enough to cover the chicken) and marinade sauce. Simmer the chicken wings for 20-30 minutes (turn the chicken wings halfway) until the sauce thickens, chicken becomes tender and caramelized. If the sauce dries up during cooking, add more coca-cola or water.
5. Garnish the dish and serve!

***
Some recipes from my blogging friends:
http://www.noobcook.com/coca-cola-chicken-wings/
http://en.christinesrecipes.com/2010/04/coco-cola-chicken-wings.html
http://ellenaguan.blogspot.sg/2012/04/coke-pork-ribs-new-version.html

I am submitting this dish to Aspiring Bakers #28: Chicken Feast (February 2013) hosted by SSB of Small Small Baker.