Sweet and Spicy Asian Chicken
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I was recently asked to grill up something fabulous to pair with some 14 Hands wine.
Well, sure, I said. I like grilling and I like wine.
Easy peasy.
No matter, I thought, that I have no idea what I’m doing when it comes to pairing food with wine. I’ll google it and I’ll learn!
You guys, I am so dumb. Apparently, pairing food with wine is hard. And you can’t learn it on the google. At least not in one week.
So, I just whipped up a delicious recipe and then I poured a glass of wine to wash away the failure and, lo, it was good. I enjoyed it. I’m not sure I did it right or scientifically or fancy or whatever it is that people with their superhero wine pairing abilities do, but I like grilled chicken with Asian barbecue and I liked it with 14 Hands Hot To Trot White Blend.
Don’t yell at me if I shouldn’t have paired them together. Instead, let’s start a nice, respectful conversation in the comments about how to pair wine. Yes? I think that would be helpful to everyone me.
14 Hands was nice enough to send over 10 bottles of their wine and, you guys, I have the best job ever. I received 10 bottles of wine. For work! I’m required to drink them. IT’S FOR MY JOB, QUIT LOOKING AT ME LIKE THAT, I’M SUPPOSED TO BE SLURRING MY WORDS AT 10AM, OKAY?
Wait, what? That didn’t happen. Or maybe it did. I’ll never tell.
(Let’s be serious for one minute here, so the 14 Hands people don’t roll their eyes at me [not that they would, they seem super friendly and nice and totally non-eye-rolly]. The wine I received was wonderful. I haven’t drank all 10 bottles yet, but I plan to. They’re priced around $12 a bottle, so they won’t break the bank, which is perfect for the type of wine drinker I am. (Think of a nice word for clueless and you’re close to describing my wine knowledge, but then throw in “enjoys things that taste yummy.” You’ve totally just described me!) If you haven’t given them a try yet, you really should. They’re quite good.)
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SaveSweet and Spicy Asian Chicken
Ingredients:
4 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons hoisin sauce
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 tablespoon ground ginger
2 tablespoons garlic powder
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon corn starch
1 teaspoon sriracha
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 pound chicken breasts or thighs, pounded thin or butterflied
Directions:
Add all of the sauce ingredients to a small sauce pan over low heat and whisk to combine. Cook over low heat, stirring often, for 10 minutes. The sauce will thicken up considerably. (You can thin it with a bit of water or soy sauce, as needed.)
Preheat a grill to 400 degrees.
Season the chicken with a bit of salt and pepper and place on the grill.
Brush the sauce on the top of each piece of chicken.
After 4 minutes, brush the chicken with more sauce and flip it over.
Brush more sauce on the chicken and cook for 4 more minutes, brushing on sauce again before removing from the grill.
Full disclosure: 14 Hands sent me 10 bottles of their delicious wines to sample and I also received monetary compensation for my time. This in no way affects my opinions shared in this post.
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ha, this made me laugh. I know nothing about wine, or about pairing it with food. But if you liked it, I’d say it was a success!
I want this chicken for dinner rightthissecond! And I wouldn’t mind some wine at 8am, either. I took a wine & spirits class when I was 19 at my college and while I wasn’t supposed to drink the wine we sampled, my teacher was an old, perpetually drunk French man who didn’t card or care, so I got to try some awesome stuff. While I don’t remember what goes well with what (uhhh, perhaps because we were DRINKING while LEARNING), I do remember fun facts about liquor! Did you unless Bourbon is made in Bourbon County, KT you can’t call it bourbon? Same with Champagne. Yay facts! Now let’s drink.
I don’t know what tastes good with wine since I don’t drink BUT I looooove Asian style anything. I do have a question though. How spicy would you say it is? Like ten being you’ll be in the hospital with 3rd degree tongue burns and 1 being, you can feed it to a baby.
Karly — August 25th, 2012 @ 3:30 pm
@Jenny Ramsey,
I’d say this is a 2. It’s really not very spicy at all, but you can certainly add more or less red pepper flakes and sriracha. I’d start slow and add more as you taste it. Keep in mind it’ll get a teensy bit spicier the longer it cooks.
Jenny Ramsey — August 25th, 2012 @ 3:35 pm
@Karly, thank you!!! if i look at a jalapeno or similar substance for too long my mouth starts burning. i’ll start VERY slowly.
Drinking at 10 AM is 100% acceptable when it’s part of the job! Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise
Im totally bummed…I went to the 14 hands website and they dont ship to the state im in.
Any idea whether or not they sell in stores?
Karly — August 25th, 2012 @ 3:33 pm
@Deanna F,
Yes, they sure do! Some states don’t allow the shipment of wine, but definitely check in stores. Their website has a store locator. http://www.14hands.com/purchase/find_our_wine
Andi — August 27th, 2012 @ 2:30 pm
@Deanna F, I’m pretty sure I’ve seen this wine in my local liquor store, so I’d say check out the liquor store or your grocery store wine department (not sure what it’s like where you are), and if they don’t have it you can always request that they start carrying it.
I know NOTHING about pairing food with wine! I’m clueless! haha. great recipe by the way
The only time I ever really “pair wine” is when I use 1/2 cup in a recipe and then finish the rest of the bottle with my meal. That seems appropriate, yes?
This looks delicious! Chicken can be so boring, so this looks like something fun and different!
I can’t have alcohol, so I’m a fantabulous friend who knows jack squat about wine pairing. Tell ya what…. I’ll let you drink all 10 bottles of that wine and then I’ll be your designated driver from the living room into the kitchen so that you can make me some of that awesome Asian chicken. Yes, you’ll be drunk as Julia Child during Beouf Bourgignon week, but that’s ok.. I loved her anyway, and I’m sure I won’t feel any differently about you… ya lush.
This sounds absolutely delicious!!!
I personally believe that “pairing” wine with food is a myth. Mostly because people seem to think I should drink red wine with Italian food, which clearly cannot be true because I LOVE Italian food and I HATE red wine. Clearly the two were not meant to be friends. (seriously. HATE hate. Like, I don’t EVEN finish the rest of the bottle when I open it to make something. I stopper it and try to find other recipes that use the same wine)
That said, I think I would drink that blended white with everything, so that counts as pairing, right?
Since I’m totally awful at planning side dishes for meals, what kind of rice goes with this really yummy sounding chicken?? lol (since I think I have everything to actually make the chicken and would then totally need to know how to make the rice!!! lol)
I recently discovered 14 Hands wine too! I haven’t had the Hot to Trot White Blend, but I’ve had it in the red blend which I love! I’ll have to try the white one soon. Also, I love the combination of flavors you’ve used for this chicken. It looks easy and fast to prepare, I’m going to save it so I can make it sometime soon! Thanks Karly!
Another winner winner chicken dinner Karly! This was so tasty that I had to post about it and, as usual, I linked back to you! Thank you for the yummy recipe! Cheers!