New Ideas for Chicken - Cooking Light

Photo: Brian Woodcock

Kung Pao Chicken Tacos

Banishing all boring birds: Rev up dinner with tangy, smoky, or fiery flavors.

In our first recipe, kung pao has its tortilla moment.

The Idea | Mmmmm: sweet-salty-spicy kung pao chicken, an American Chinese restaurant classic. Here, taking inspiration from those hip Korean taco trucks, we took a mixture usually served over rice and stuffed it into blistered tortillas.

View Recipe: Kung Pao Chicken Tacos

Photo: Brian Woodcock

Champagne–Browned Butter Chicken

The Idea | This is a riff on coq au vin, the French standard of chicken and veggies simmered in red wine. The coq usually takes on a deep purplish-red cast from the vin, but our modern take cooks the chicken in broth: It tastes lighter and looks much brighter. After the chicken cooks, it's smothered with a delicious Champagne reduction sauce that's enriched with nutty brown butter.

View Recipe: Champagne-Browned Butter Chicken

Photo: Brian Woodcock

Crisp Chicken Marinara

The Idea | The trouble with chicken Parmesan, the dish that inspired this recipe, is that the chicken is breaded and fried before it's sauced, cheesed, and broiled, which often sogs out the crisp coating. We flipped the process, cooking the chicken in the tomato sauce, then breading and broiling.

View Recipe: Crisp Chicken Marinara

Photo: Brian Woodcock

Ramen Noodle Bowl

The Idea | Move over chicken noodle soup—ramen is the new bowl of comfort. Here, we offer a Japanese-style chicken soup twist, flavored with miso, soy sauce, chile paste, and porcini mushrooms.

View Recipe: Ramen Noodle Bowl

Photo: Brian Woodcock

Green Curry Fritters

The Idea | Thai green curry is a sauce of lemongrass, ginger, chiles, and herbs. It's spicy, fragrant, and wonderful, and turns pedestrian chicken patties into spicy powerhouses that are perfect with crunchy slaw. Serve these to a spicy-wing man: He'll be amazed.

View Recipe: Green Curry Fritters