I like to use chicken thigh meat because I think it stands up to this intensely-flavored sauce, but you can use chicken breasts, or pork. It's quicker to do this boneless version, but if you have bone-in meat, just brown it on the stove and finish it in the oven at 350 F. with the sauce. If I'm pressed for time, I do the sauce in a separate pan.
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 40 minutes
Ingredients:
- 1 to 1and 1/2 lbs boneless skinless chicken, thigh meat preferred
- 1/4 C minced onion
- 1 cup dry red wine
- 1 cup fresh or frozen cranberries
- 2 T grated fresh ginger
- 1 bay leaf
- 1/2 T Chinese Five Spice Powder (if you don't have it, use 1/2 t cinnamon and 1/2 t allspice)
- Sweetener to taste
- Salt and pepper
- 1 T butter
- 1 T olive oil
Preparation:
1) Heat large skillet on stove. Add oil. Put salt and pepper on chicken.
2) Brown chicken on both sides.
3) Remove chicken and cover to keep warm. Pour out excess oil if there's much more than you started with.
4) Saute' onion for 2-3 minutes.
5) Add ginger and cook another minute or so.
6) Add wine and bay leaf. Scrape to dissolve brown bits on pan. Bring mixture to a boil.
7) Add cranberries. Cook until cranberries are popped, 5 minute or so. Add some sweetener - start with 1/4 cup sweetening power - the exact amount is going to depend upon the acidity of the other ingredients. Ideally, you'll find a balance where the tartness is relieved just enough to be tasty, but before it goes over into "jammy". If it gets too thick, add some chicken stock or water.
8) Adjust seasonings, adding salt if necessary.
9) At the end, add one T cold butter - this will thicken it and "round out the corners" taste-wise.
10) Serve chicken with sauce poured over the top.
Warning: I once cut the chicken into bite-sized pieces and cooked it in the sauce. We had chicken that was entirely purple for dinner.
With 1.5 lbs chicken, this makes about 5 servings.
Nutritional Information: Each serving has 3.5 grams effective carbohydrate plus 1.5 grams fiber, 28 grams protein, and 250 calories.
2) Brown chicken on both sides.
3) Remove chicken and cover to keep warm. Pour out excess oil if there's much more than you started with.
4) Saute' onion for 2-3 minutes.
5) Add ginger and cook another minute or so.
6) Add wine and bay leaf. Scrape to dissolve brown bits on pan. Bring mixture to a boil.
7) Add cranberries. Cook until cranberries are popped, 5 minute or so. Add some sweetener - start with 1/4 cup sweetening power - the exact amount is going to depend upon the acidity of the other ingredients. Ideally, you'll find a balance where the tartness is relieved just enough to be tasty, but before it goes over into "jammy". If it gets too thick, add some chicken stock or water.
8) Adjust seasonings, adding salt if necessary.
9) At the end, add one T cold butter - this will thicken it and "round out the corners" taste-wise.
10) Serve chicken with sauce poured over the top.
Warning: I once cut the chicken into bite-sized pieces and cooked it in the sauce. We had chicken that was entirely purple for dinner.
With 1.5 lbs chicken, this makes about 5 servings.
Nutritional Information: Each serving has 3.5 grams effective carbohydrate plus 1.5 grams fiber, 28 grams protein, and 250 calories.
