Let's Start the Year with a Simple No Fuss Recipe - Baked Chicken Leg with Chinese Red Yeast Rice and Cumin

Happy 2016! 

You might be tired from all the partying and cleaning up afterwards. Instead of a fancy meal, let's start the year with a no fuss cooking recipe. How about an easy and hassle free baked chicken legs? All you need to do is pull out some seasonings and marinate the chicken overnight. Simply pop the deboned chicken into the oven and you'll have a healthy yet flavorful main dish after 30 minutes.

Baked chicken leg with Chinese red yeast rice and a hint of cumin -

Ingredients?

• 1 large or 2 small deboned chicken legs
• Some toasted white sesame seeds
• Some chopped scallion

Marinade:

• 4 garlic cloves
• 1 stalk scallion
• 2 tablespoons red yeast rice 紅糟
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• Some cumin powder

How?

Cut the deboned chicken leg into large bite size pieces -

Peel the garlic cloves and halve them. Discard the scallion stem and cut the remaining into shorter strips. Mix together all the marinade ingredients then use it to massage the chicken. Cover the container with a lid and into the fridge for at least 4 hours, preferably overnight. You can mix and rotate the chicken half way through to ensure the flavors are absorbed by every piece -

A few dashes of cumin powder should be enough. Its purpose is to add a light note instead of overtaking the red yeast rice aroma.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and remove the marinated chicken from the fridge. Line a baking dish with aluminum foil for easy cleaning purpose. 

Pick out and discard the garlic and scallion pieces. Transfer the chicken along with any leftover marinade into the baking dish. Bake for 30 minutes or till the skin turns browned but not burnt. 

Transfer the chicken onto a serving plate. Drizzle leftover juice, if any, directly onto chicken but preferably onto the rice or noodles instead. Sprinkle some chopped scallion and toasted white sesame seeds before digging in.

This baked chicken also holds well as a lunchbox/bento dish. You can also use it in salad paired with Asian flavored dressings. 


Other no fuss cooking recipes:

• A little gift from Kyoto, Japan - senmaizuke (千枚漬) with sushi grade tuna and shiso
• Potato salad - one good way to utilize leftover ingredients
• Baby arugula salad with store bought marinated octopus
• Scallop salad with simple shiso dressing
• Creamy broccoli bake using Cheddar and cream of mushroom
• Quick fix meal - instant udon with mentaiko, panko, and grated Parmigiano Reggiano
• A totally doable fancy appetizer  - scallops sashimi with kumquat juice, shiso, and fleur de sel
• Lettuce and prosciutto salad with poached egg