Pomelo is In Season Now - A Nice Addition to Seared Chicken Leg Rice

Chinese Moon Festival just passed a few days ago and many of us Asian people had quite a feast that night. Barbecue and moon cakes are two of the most common food associate with this holiday. A healthier but still tasty autumn related option is pomelo, a type of large citrus well known among Asian countries. 

A good pomelo carries a light citrusy aroma, sweet to a point without much sourness in the back note. Its taste can be a good addition to seared chicken and grilled fish. Thought it would be a good idea utilizing what's abundant now to brighten up this rice meal, and of course healthier option always follows after a big festive meal. 

Seared chicken leg rice with Chinese chive flowers stir fry and pomelo pulps -

Ingredients (for two portions)?

Side dish:

• 1 small onion
• 1 small bundle Chinese chives or chive flowers
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• Small pinch black pepper

Marinade:

• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon mirin
• 1 tablespoon black soy bean paste 醬油膏
• 3 garlic cloves (optional)

Others:

• 1 deboned chicken leg
• 2 bowls steamed white rice
• 2 sprigs cilantro
• 1/2 teaspoon granulated sugar
• Some Sriracha sauce
• Some fresh pomelo pulps

How?

Cook some white rice, at least enough for two people. 

Cut the deboned chicken leg into large bite size pieces. Mix all the marinade ingredients inside a bowl. Add in the chicken piece and massage the meat a little. Set aside while preparing other ingredients. The meat doesn't need to be marinated for long since we'll "cook in" the sauce afterwards. Add 3 peeled garlic cloves to the marinade if desired, but not necessary.

Peel away the thick skin from the pomelo and carefully pick out the flesh in between membranes. Store in a sealed container and transfer to the fridge first. This recipe only needs a small portion of the pomelo flesh, you can enjoy the rest maybe as a after meal treat.

Peel and slice the onion. Chop the Chinese chives or Chinese chive flowers in to shorter strips. 

Drizzle some oil to the pan and turn to medium high heat. Add in the onion slices along with some salt and pepper. Cook till the onion turns translucent then add in the chives. Cook till the chives reach desired texture, transfer onto a plate first. 

Wipe the pan with paper towel if needed. Use the same pan and turn to medium heat. Pour in the chicken along with the marinade. Don't stir too often, just once a while to prevent the sides from burning. Cook till no more marinade juice presents then add in 1/2 teaspoon of sugar. Quick mix and cook till the chicken appears medium/dark brown color.

Time to plate the dish, bravely splash some Sriracha sauce on a white plate. Do it at the kitchen sink if possible in case the red sauce flew everywhere -

Scoop steamed white rice to the center of the plate and add some stir fry chives over the over -

Place some chicken on top, don't let it fall onto the plate -

Sprinkle some chopped cilantro and pomelo pulps right before serving -

The best part about using chicken leg is that this part of the meat can withstand extended period of searing without turning into jerky-like texture. Pomelo and chopped cilantro add a refreshing note. If you can't find pomelo, a mixture of grapefruit and orange pulps should work as well.  

Happy belated Chinese Moon Festival!


Other rice bowl/donburi recipes:

• High quality beef trimmings - seared beef, kimchi, and egg yolk donburi
• Quick fix but still kind of self indulgence meal - simple Hawaiian poke bowl
• Self indulgence - SRF rib eye steak with daikon oroshi donburi
• Salmon donburi two ways - straight up sashimi and torched aburi style
• Festive Japanese food at home - colorful chirashi as easy as 1 2 3!