Himalayan Cuisine Series: Bhutanese-Inspired Spicy Chicken Stew (Inspired by Jasha Maroo)

Christmas Eve 2017. It was a cold rainy winter night. Not only was it miserable outside, but we were equally miserable. Both Hubby and I were both sick with a bad cold. Not a happy household… I was recovering, but I gave the cold to my husband.

Fortunately, I was well enough to go to the store and get provisions. I was just thinking chicken noodle soup, but then I remembered the recipe for Bhutanese Chicken Stew. I saw that recipe when I was collecting recipes for Thanksgiving. The recipe was easy enough that I can prepare it for the night. Being a stew, I imagine the prep was not too bad, esp. for a recovering sick person.

We also still have onions, tomatoes, ginger and garlic – perhaps because Hubby made chicken soup the other day for me when I was at my worst. I just bought chicken, chilis, cilantro and more chicken stock to add to the dish. I believe this dish was not meant to be brothy, but hey… I need soup too.

Since I was more a dish that I prepared almost “on the fly” and when I was recovering, I really do not have much intro… I just wanted soup and had inspiration. So, here’s what I have for now. Let me know what you think.

Bhutanese-Inspired Spicy Chicken Stew

Inspired by Jasha Maroo

Based on https://whattocooktoday.com/bhutanese-spicy-chicken-stew-jasha-maroo.html

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 lb boneless skinless chicken thighs, cut into 1-inch cubes
• 1 medium-size leek, cut into slices
• 1 large tomato, diced
• 1/2 onion, peeled and chopped
• 4 cloves garlics, peeled finely minced
• 2 Tbsp of ginger, finely minced
• 4 chili peppers, seeded if you like and cut into small pieces
• Salt to taste
• 3 cups chicken stock (use less, if you don’t need that much broth)
• 2 Tbsp of oil
• 1 small bunch of cilantro leaves, for garnish
• lime or lemon slices (optional, for garnish)

Directions

1. Preheat pot and add in oil. Add in the garlic, ginger, onion, chili, and leeks. Stir-fry until the vegetables are soft (I add a bit salt and pepper at this point to sweat the vegetables).
2. Tip in the chicken and tomatoes and continue to stir-fry until the chicken started to turn opaque in color (I add a bit of seasoning here too).
3. Pour in the chicken stock and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and cover with the lid and let it gently simmer until the chicken is cooked through.
4. Serve warm with a bowl of steamed rice. Garnish the stew with cilantro leaves. Add a squeeze of lime or lemon for a touch of freshness.

Verdict

I love this dish, love the simplicity and spiciness of the stew. It is very characteristic of the cuisine of Bhutan.

I could not call it Jasha Maroo because Jasha Maroo usually uses red peppers (I found out after looking at Instagram – doh!). I used green because those red peppers looked threatening. I also made this stew extra brothy on purpose because of the cold night. Traditionally, the recipe only uses 1 cup of broth. I think I stopped myself from pouring the entire container.

In subsequent servings, I did my “thing” of adding lemon or lime during serving. This really adds a touch of freshness and citrus note to soups or stews, since they usually cook for a while (I think this took about an hour, maybe a touch more).  I think of it as the “Asian” gremolata (without the mincing). Adding lime did add some Southeast Asian notes to it… but hey, it’s one big world.

Our Himalayan-themed Holidays: Phaksha Paa

Well, we just got done with another Holiday season and another cooking adventure. Hubby and I usually take advantage of the holidays to enjoy time together and experiment on cooking.

This year, since we enjoyed a great trip to the Himalayas over the spring, we decided on a Bhutanese themed holiday. Our Thanksgiving menu was composed of dishes from Bhutan and India with influences from Nepal.

Since its Thanksgiving, I did want to add an American flair to some of the dishes. So, I decided to add some traditional Thanksgiving ingredients to these Himalayan dishes. I added butternut squash to the Kewa Dashi, a potato and cheese stew. I also wanted to find a turkey drumette or leg for the tandoori, but good luck with that around Thanksgiving. I ended up with homemade Tandoori Chicken... another first for me.

 

The only one close to the original is the recipe below: Phaksha Paa or Spicy Pork Stew. It’s actually the reason that I am starting with this one since the flavors are pretty good. The other dishes were good, but still in progress. The one ingredient that I had trouble with is dried pork. Since neither my Hubby nor I tasted Bhutanese dried pork in our travels, I’m not sure what it tastes like. Reason is (nfortunately or fortunately) I am primarily vegetarian when we travel, due to health reasons.

The only substitute to dried pork that I can think of is good ole jerky. With gourmet jerky now available, I have many options for meat. I can even can use tofu jerky. However, I decided to stick to pork jerky which I thought would be very appropriate. Also, since jerky can be considered native to the American continent, I think this would be a good American touch (Although I think it originated from the Quechans in South America where my other favorite cuisine comes from).

The Bhutanese are also known for using a lot of chilis in their cooking. I read that chilis are considered a spice and a vegetable. I have seen our driver have chilis and rice for lunch and he was enjoying it. If it were me, my tongue would be on fire at first bite.

Because I did not know what would best match Bhutanese chili, I used three different chilis on each dish for variety. For the pork stew, I opted for fresh serrano peppers. For the other dishes, I used the lovely Merken Spice (from Chile) for the Cheesy Potatoes to give it that smoky spicy feel and cayenne for the Tandoori Chicken.

Since Bhutan had the advantage of having an abundance of farms and the availability of fresh vegetables, I also used a lot of vegetables in my pork stew. I figured that this would be appropriate and could double as our veggie dish as well.

Lastly, I took advantage of fresh meat we get here. I realized that in Bhutan, they may not the same quality of meat like here in the US. Bhutan is a Buddhist country so they do not kill their meat, and meat is usually shipped from India or Nepal probably. Such distance would require good storage and possibly freezing and preservation. Perhaps that is why dried pork is a delicacy in Bhutan.

Here's the first installment. Give it a try and let me know what you think.

Phaksha Paa (Bhutani Pork with Radish and Bok Choy)

Based on recipe from http://ediblyasian.info/recipes/phaksha-pa
Recipe documented by Susanne Waugh from conversations with the Queen mother and the royal chef.

Makes 6 servings

Ingredients

• 1 pound boneless pork shoulder, cubed 1” by 1”
• 2 cups of chicken broth or water
• 4 T unsalted butter (1/2 stick)
• 1 medium onion (about 4 ounces), peeled and diced
• 1 medium daikon or white radish (about 3 1/2 ounces), peeled, sliced into disks.
• 1 1/2 serrano peppers, seeded and sliced
• 3 heads bok choy (about 3 pounds total), stems removed and leaves cut into 1/2-inch strips
• 6 ounces pork jerky, julliened (I used Krave)
• Fresh ginger, peeled and minced (or crushed in a pestle and mortar)
• 1 large fresh pepper, seeded and cut into julienne strips (original recipe called for green pepper, I selected red for color)

Directions

1. Season the pork with salt and pepper.
2. Melt the butter in a large saucepan. Brown the pork cubes. Set aside.
3. Sweat the onion, serrano pepper, and daikon.
4. Add pork, onions, serrano peppers and daikon in the slow cooker. Add chicken broth and simmer over low heat until the pork is just tender.
5. Add the red peppers and bok choy (You can add the peppers first, then the bok choy).
6. Add the ginger and dried pork to the stew and simmer over low heat until heated through, about 5 to 10 minutes.

Verdict

I love this dish. The flavors are excellent. I turned the spice level down a couple of notches, so my husband can enjoy the dish. He did say that I can turn it up a little bit (maybe add one more serrano or keep some of the seeds).

The author of the recipe, Susanne Waugh, was right. The addition of the pork jerky gave this dish an addicting sweetness. I even topped it with more jerky for texture. 

This dish is also easy enough to prepare that we can add it to our weekly rotation, especially when the slow cooker is used. I think this one will find its way into our menus this year. Yum!