Chicken Cacciatore...Simple and Delicious!

Another Great Dish from Jean's Cookbook
Hawaii Style

I've been going thru Jean Watanabe Hee's cookbook "Hawaii's Best Local Dishes" and have been trying out the different dishes. I have found that all her recipes are Terrific and EZ to make. She's our local version of Ina Garten of Barefoot Contessa. Jean's cookbook has loads of good comfort food recipes. You'll find something in there to satisfy yourself and your family.

I had bought a LARGE can of whole tomatoes from Costco.
I used a good chunk for this recipe, bagged the rest which site in my fridge
to make pasta and other dishes for later. Yesterday, I made Puttanesca Pasta...yummy!

Tobey watching her dad prepare the chicken for
frying from one of her many favorite perches...an open drawer.

The chicken thighs first need to be fried.

Now how can fried chicken in a dish be bad?

These thighs turned out a yummy golden brown!

This is a VERY simple recipe...pretty much everything just gets
thrown into the pot and you just let it simmer. Miracously, you get
tender delicious chicken and a thick yummy sauce.

Jimmy and I took this dish over to my BFF aka big sister Laurie's house.
We all enjoyed this dish! Yummy! You have to try it.
Super simple and super comfort food.


Chicken Cacciatore

2 pounds chicken thighs, skinless and boneless (you can add other chicken pieces or whole chicken...whatever you have in the fridge/freezer)
1 cup flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon paprika
olive oil for frying
1 onion, thinly sliced in rings or half circles
1 large can tomato sauce (15 oz.)
1 large can whole tomatoes (28 oz.)
1 to 2 green peppers, wedged
2 bay leaves
2 teaspoon oregano
**I added salt, pepper, garlic power, Italian spices to the pot to taste.
***Add-ins: you can try adding carrots, mushrooms, potatoes, etc....like a stew.

Combine flour, salt, pepper and paprika in a bowl. Coat the chicken in flour mixture. In a large deep skillet, add enough olive oil to brown onions, remove onions. Add more oil as needed and cook floured chicken until golden brown and cooked through. Return onions to the pan. Add rest of the ingredients. Simmer covered for 1 to 2 hours. Serve over hot linguini or hot rice.

Try it, you'll like it. This has been tested and meets the Yummy Two Thumbs Up rating!

Gotta Try This Recipe---Hawaii Local Favorite---Chicken Katsu

Chicken Katsu Meal

Recently, I've been on a kick where I LoVe super fast, super easy, and super delish dishes. Recently, I found a fab local Hawaii cook book author that I LoVe as much as I LoVe the Barefoot Contessa herself...for those who know me, that means a LOT! My newest cookbook find is Jean Watanabe Hee and her bestest book----Hawai'i's Best Local Dishes.

I was even contemplating doing every single recipe in her cookbook. Sorta like that gal who did every recipe in Julia Child's cookbook...except Local Style.

Anyhoo, you gotta try this recipe. This is the first time I made Chicken Katsu b/c I always thought it was some complicated recipe. But, I was WRONG! This is so easy and sooooooo good!

Here it is:

Chicken Katsu

The chicken:

2 pounds chicken breasts, boneless and skinless (I used the thighs b/c that's what I had)
garlic salt to season
1/2 cup flour
2 eggs, beaten
2 cups panko flakes (find in your Asian section---looks like fake snow in a bag---it's Japanese flour meal for breading)
oil for frying

The Katsu Sauce: (gotta make this and eat with the katsu for that authentic experience!)
1/3 cup catsup
1/4 cup shoyu...otherwise known as soy sauce
1/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
pinch of ground red pepper (think this is the Japanese one...didn't use b/c didn't have on hand)

Combine all Katsu sauce ingredients; mix well. Set aside.

Season chicken generously with garlic salt (I used a LOT--front and back--warning: remember it's salt...too much is not too good) and let stand for 15 to 30 minutes. Heat about 1/2 inch of oil in a skillet. Dredge chicken in flour, dip in eggs, and coat with panko...in that order (see photo). Fry chicken until golden brown on both sides; drain on paper towels. Cut into 1 inch slices. Serve with Katsu Sauce. YUMMY!

Try it b/c it's sooo simple and soooo tasty. I love eating it with canned corn and my hot yellow peppers. My mouth is salivating now...like Pavlov's dog (from Psych 100 class). ;)

the katsu work station set up

getting my hands "dirty"

breaded fingers...eek!

jimmy...the fry cook

frying goodness
golden brown
one word...Yummy!

Try it you and your family will LoVe it...promise! ;)