Gluten Free Chili Teriyaki Chicken

I love Asian chicken wings. The issue with being celiac is I can no longer eat at most restaurants let alone Asian foods made in restaurants due to the soy sauce. With a variation of my Obāsan’s teriyaki recipe and swapping out regular wheat flour for rice flour, I’ve figured out how to make extra crispy chili teriyaki chicken wings.

Time to Prep: 30 minutes

Time to Cook: 1 hour

Yield: However many chicken legs or thighs 5lbs ends up being for you. Ended up being 16 chicken legs for me.

Ingredients:

• 5 lbs of chicken wings or chicken legs

• 2/3 cup rice flour

• 2 tsp baking powder (must be powder, not baking soda)

• Salt and pepper to taste

• 1 tbsp paprika

• 4 whole cloves garlic

• A bunch of cilantro

• 1/4 cup small dried chilies

• One whole lime

• Fresh ginger root

• 2 tsp Miso paste

• 1/3 cup Tamari Soy sauce

• 2 tbsp Sesame Oil

• 1 tbsp Rice Vinegar

• 2 tbsp honey

• 1-1/2 tbsp Sugar

• 1-1/2 cup water

• 1/2 cup corn starch

• Optional toppings: sesame seeds, chopped cilantro, or scallions.

Preheat your oven to 450° F.

Raw chicken on paper towel to dry.

Step 1. The Chicken. Start by laying your chicken out on a paper towel. Pat to dry, all excess liquid should be taken off. This is an important step and helps make your chicken crispy.

Rice flour, baking powder, and paprika with salt and pepper.

Step 2. In a bowl, add in 2/3 cup rice flour, 2 tsp baking powder, and salt and pepper to your liking. Mix thoroughly with a fork, breaking up any clumps.

Chicken in mixing bowl, or Tupperware, with flour mixture.

Step 3. Add your chicken to a good coating container. I use an extra large Tupperware container with a no-leak lid. This allows me to shake the ever-living crap out of it to evenly coat without flour going everywhere. Add in your rice flour mixture and shake the heavens out of it.

Coated chicken on roasting rack.

Fully cooked chicken with crispy edges.

Step 4. Once chicken is evenly coated in flour and spices, place a rack inside of a baking pan. spray with nonstick cooking spray or coat lightly with oil and place the chicken on top. It is important not to let the chicken touch the other chicken too much so air can flow between them. I place my chicken next to the other wings on top of a roasting rack. This way the chicken won’t be cooking in its own juices and comes out extra crispy. Place your chicken in the oven.

Cook for 30 minutes and make sure you don’t open the oven door to keep the steam in.

After 30 minutes, flip your chickies over and cook for an additional 20 minutes. The meat thermometer should read at least 165° F for safely cooked chicken.

Step 5. The sauce. I do this step while the chicken is cooking. I bought a brand new granite mortar and pestal set on Amazon so this sauce was my guinea-pig. (Metaphorical, please do not put guinea-pigs in your sauce!) Take your dried chilies and grind them up as fine as you can. Large pieces are still okay as they will become soft when cooked.

Step 6. Chop up your cilantro and add to the chilies. Peel and smash garlic cloves to activate and then cut into small slices. Add to the chili-cilantro mixture. Add 1 tbsp grated ginger and the zest of half a lime. Smash it all up until it is evenly mixed. Add in 1/3 cup of Tamari soy sauce and stir. Add in 2 tbsp Sesame Oil and 1 tbsp rice vinegar.

Tamari soy sauce is traditionally brewed Japanese soy sauce without the use of wheat, making it gluten free. Hard to find in stores it seems so I buy it in bulk on Amazon.

Step 7. Get a small sauce pan and add in 1-1/2 cups of water and 2 tsp of Miso paste. Stir until the miso paste dissolves.

Step 8. Add your chili, cilantro, spice mixture mash into the pot and bring to a light simmer. Add in the 2 tbsp honey and 1-1/2 tbsp sugar and stir until dissolved. Keep stirring while sauce is heating up, about 3-4 minutes.

Step 9. Add 1/2 cup corn starch into a sifter or screen and gradually add into sauce while continuing to stir. The corn starch will thicken up the sauce as it continues to cook. You may have to add more or less corn starch, but you want a nice gel consistency, like barbecue sauce. It’s important to add in your corn starch gradually so it doesn’t have the opportunity to clump up in the sauce.

Chicken tossed in glass bowl.

Step 10. Once Chicken is fully cooked, take out of the oven and let it cool for about 5-10 minutes or until you are able to safely touch it. Grab a glass bowl or a bowl that won’t be affected by heat. Add your cooked chicken to it and spoon your desired amount of sauce in. Toss your chicken thoroughly. Transfer to a plate and add your optional toppings: I used chopped cilantro and sesame seeds.

Homemade Corn Tortillas

If you’re anything like me, you could probably eat tacos every single day. I was used to getting the corn tortillas from Chicago’s El Milagro (the best ones around), but decided to give it a try myself. I’ve discovered that fresh homemade tortillas are like no other. I used to have to double up on tortillas to make sure it held my ingredients properly, but with homemade you really only need one. The tortillas come out thicker, more flavorful, and way more flexible than store bought.

For About 12 tortillas, you will need:

• 2 cups Masa (a very fine corn flour. I use Gluten Free Maseca brand)

• 1-1/4 cup very warm water

• 1 tsp granulated chicken stock (optional)

For hardware you will need:

• A good sized mixing bowl

• A tortilla press

• A zip-lock plastic bag, gallon size

Step 1. Place the masa in a mixing bowl and measure out your 1-1/4 cups of warm water. Mix in your tsp of granulated chicken stock and stir until dissolved.

This is optional, you can use just warm water but I find the chicken stock gives your tortillas a nice flavor.

Step 2. Mix the water and dough together completely. The dough will be sticky but will be able to form a solid ball with ease. Let your dough sit for about 10 minutes. This helps the corn to fully soak in the water and the dough will be less gritty.

Step 3. Take the zip lock plastic bag and cut it to size with your tortilla press. You should have two separate pieces of plastic.

Step 4. Form 2” balls of dough. Place one sheet of plastic on your press, the ball of dough, and then your second sheet of plastic. Press until flat.

Step 5. Heat up a hot pan or griddle on medium heat. Gently peel the first layer of plastic off and then your raw tortilla. Gently place the tortilla on the hot pan from one side while slowly laying the rest of it down. Tip: Don’t flop it on the pan as bubbles or ripples will form.

Step 6. Cook tortilla until golden brown on both sides. Place cooked tortilla in paper towels or tortilla holder to stay warm.

Gluten Free Drunken Shredded Beef Slowcooker 15 hr Taco Meat

Prep Time: 40 minutes

Wait Time: 15 hrs

Cook Time: 15 hrs

Yields: A metric crapton

Ingredients:

• 3lbs of Beef Roast (I used chuck roast)

• 5-10 large dried Chile Pods

• 1/4 cup Distilled Vinegar

• 4 cups of water for boiling

• 4 tbsp of Cooking Oil (olive or vegetable)

• 1/3 cup Potato Starch or Corn Starch (Potato starch comes out crispier)

• 2/3 cup Tequila

• 1 whole lime (plus more if you want a garnish/condiments)

• 1 small can of Chipotle Peppers (I use San Marcos Chipotle Peppers in Adobo Sauce)

• 1 small can of Tomato Paste

• 1 can of diced tomatoes and chiles (Rotel or Generic brand)

• Spices:

  • 1 tbsp Oregano

  • 2 Bay leaves

  • 1 tsp Paprika

  • 2 tsp Turmeric

  • 1 tbsp granulated Chicken Stock

  • 3 tbsp Cumin

  • 1 tbsp garlic powder

  • Salt and Pepper to taste

  • Extra garlic powder for sprinkling

• 1 whole Poblano Pepper

• A bunch of fresh Cilantro

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Instructions:

1. Chop your meat up into chunks. These do not need to be very small, but don’t leave them too big. About 2” cubes is ideal. Sprinkle meat with salt, pepper, and garlic powder.

2. Find a large bowl with a lid that won’t leak. I use an extra large Tupperware™ container. Add the 1/4 cup potato or corn starch to the bowl. Add in the chopped meat. Place lid firmly on the container and shake vigorously for 2-3 minutes or until all the meat is evenly coated.

3. Heat up a large frying pan on medium-high heat. Add 2 tbsp of cooking oil drizzled over the pan. Sear the meat chunks until starch coating is brown and crispy. Be sure not to fill up the pan too much at a time so the meat has room to breathe. When finished, transfer the meat to the slow cooker. Make sure your slow-cooker is on and set to high. Once the meat is done, keep the pan on the flame.

4. While waiting for the meat to brown, fill up a medium sauce pot with 4 cups of water, 1/4 cup distilled vinegar, and 2 tbsp cooking oil. Remove the stems from the chile pods. Crack each pod in half over the pot of water, making sure the seeds go in the water as well. Boil the chiles for 10-15 minutes until very soft. Remove from heat and let cool.

5. Once all the meat is done and transferred to the slow cooker, add in 1 can of diced tomatos with chiles and 1 can of tomato paste. Fill the empty can of tomato paste with water and swirl around with a spoon to get the remaining paste. Add paste and water mixture to pot.

6. Once the meat is done and transferred, the pan on the flame should be left with a layer of charred meat, juices, and fat. This is the yummy stuff. Add 2/3 cup of Tequila and the 1 small can of chipotle peppers to the pan and let simmer on medium heat while stirring to de-glaze the bottom of the pan. Keep stirring until the bottom of the pan is clear from char. Once clear, remove from heat and pour contents of pan into slow-cooker. Add in the dried seasonings to the slow cooker.

7. Once your boiled chile pods are cooled down in the sauce pot, remove the chiles from the water and place into food processor or blender. Make sure some liquid goes with the chiles to the blender. Pour the remaining water, vinegar, and oil solution from the pot into the slow cooker.

8. Chop up a generous amount of fresh cilantro. Juice one whole lime. Add the cilantro and lime juice to the food processor or blender. (I add the remaining lime rinds to the slow cooker.) Blend on high until a paste forms. Add the paste to the slow cooker.

9. Slice up one whole poblano pepper and add to the slow cooker. Mix all of the contents of the slow cooker up. Cook on high for 3 hours. Mix and then switch to low heat for 12 hours. I add a little water here and there if needed, but my slow cooker is pretty good at keeping moisture in.

10. Come back hours later to tender, spicy, shredded beef. Shred the beef additionally if preferred with two forks. I find the beef pretty much shreds itself.

Use the meat to make tacos, quesadillas, tamales, taquitos, tostadas, nachos, and more. If you wanna get real nasty you can mix it in with some gluten free mac-n-cheese for a great hangover meal. 😏