Asian-inspired Chicken Marsala (sans Marsala)

It's been a busy month here at FBC HQ. In the beginning of the summer I had starry eyes (similar I guess to having eyes bigger than your stomach) and laid out a fairly aggressive plan for finishing a string of diverse "athletic feats" ... at least for a guy who previously just said "no" to running. (I took Nancy's message a little too far and applied it to everything. Frustrating as hell for my parents I'm sure. I wonder if they didn't vote for him for just that reason.)

Well I'm in the heart of that schedule and I'll write more about the various adventures (along with another big announcement) in a future post. So stay tuned. But in addition to the running, swimming, and biking (a much better addition if you ask me) is that I've been holding family conventions at my apartment for the past couple of weekends. And it has been great!

My parents were here on labor day weekend and we did just about as much stuff as you can think of in a stretch of only three days: road trips to Salem and Rockport, tours of Fenway and Harpoon Brewery, and history education at Adams Historical Site and JFK's birthplace and library were among some of the stops. Then there were all the exceptional culinary that included Central Kitchen and the Summer Shack. (More on Central Kitchen in an upcoming post.)

Although their visit ended several weeks ago, we are still talking about how much fun it was. One of the highlights for me was sharing the FBC HQ (e.g. my kitchen) with my parents. I've written on this blog about how they've influenced this hobby of mine (here and here) so it was exciting to share with them behind the scenes at the FBC (not that there is anything magical going on here). But more importantly cooking with my mom and dad in the kitchen while having a drink brings a certain air of comfort that pervades my apartment, as if certifying it "home" for me.

The menu was assembled off the top of our heads after the Harpoon Brewery tour, so there is a reason it may seem a bit out of the ordinary. The idea was to take chicken Marsala and put an Asian twist on it. The flour for the chicken has Chinese Five Spice powder in it, shiitake and oyster mushrooms replace criminis, and Soba noodles are used instead of typical flour-based pasta. The result is a flavorful dish that my mom and dad said they enjoyed (but don't they have to say that as my parents?). I'm a harsh critic of my cooking but I found the dish to satisfy my desire for something different. But really I could have made Kraft mac 'n' cheese that night for dinner - it was just nice having them there to share it with me.

Thanks for a memorable weekend Mom and Dad! Let's do it again soon!

Asian Chicken Marsala (sans Marsala)

1 cup all purpose flour
1 tbsp. Chinese Five Spice powder
4-6 chicken breasts (thin cuts or pounded into thin pieces)
1 tbsp. butter
3 tbsp. olive oil (divided)
6 oz. shiitake mushrooms sliced
6 oz. oyster mushrooms sliced
1 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup white wine
1 tbsp. rice wine vinegar
Soba (or rice) noodles

Step 1: Combine 1 cup all purpose flour with 1 tbsp. Chinese Five Spice powder in a large dish or plate. Chinese Five Spice powder can be found in most large chain grocery markets.

Dredge each chicken breast through flour mixture, coating each side thoroughly. Remove from pan/plate and shake gently to remove excess flour. DO NOT DISCARD REMAINING FLOUR!

Boil water for noodles.

Step 2: In a large pan, heat 1-2 tbsp. olive oil over medium-high heat. Cook chicken breasts until cooked through. Because these are thin pieces, this should only take 3-4 minutes per side. Once done, remove chicken from pan and set aside. Tent them with aluminum foil to keep them warm while you prepare sauce.

Step 3: To hot pan, add 1 tbsp. each butter and olive oil. Saute 6 oz. each sliced shiitake and oyster mushrooms until tender - approximately 5 minutes. Remove mushrooms from pan and set aside temporarily.

Step 4: To hot pan, add 1/2 cup white wine and reduce to half. Add 1 cup chicken broth and again reduce by half. Add 1 tbsp. rice wine vinegar. Whisk in 1 tbsp. (or more, depending if you like your sauce thicker) reserved flour mixture until sauce thickens. Re-incorporate mushroom mixture and heat through.

While preparing sauce, noodles can be cooking.

Step 5: Plate the chicken on top of the noodles and cover with sauce. I served this with an edamame salad I have posted about earlier.