“My name is Annie. Food and I get along so well! Cooking and baking are more than a hobby for me – they’re a passion. I come from the beautiful island of Guam, U.S.A. The recipes you’ll find here are my creations, or those of my children, who are also budding foodies. I hope you like them. Drop me a comment or two to let me know how you like our island and other delicacies. Enjoy!”

Baked “Fried” Chicken

Healthy Fried Chicken — is there even such a thing? :)

My recipe below is healthy, or at least it’s a less unhealthy version, and it does not skimp on flavor. Despite being baked, you still get that crispness we equate to delicious fried chicken. How, you ask? Well, let me tell you.

Use chicken WITH the skin on. The fat from the skin will crisp the chicken as it bakes.

I also marinate the chicken for several hours — up to a day. My marinade is very similar to what you’d use to make Karaage Chicken. Don’t skip the marinade — it takes it to a whole other level, let me tell you!

This is also a gluten-free recipe since I dredge the chicken in corn starch instead of flour. Be sure to look on the corn starch label to ensure it’s gluten-free (not all brands are). I use Argo brand cornstarch, one of the few that is gluten-free.

Give my recipe a try. I think you’ll like it. :)

Ingredients

• 5 pounds chicken wings (or your favorite chicken pieces, skin on)

• 3 cups cornstarch, for dredging the chicken pieces in

• 1 tablespoon garlic powder

• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper

Marinade Ingredients

• 2-inch piece of ginger

• 3 tablespoons sherry cooking wine

• 3 tablespoons rice vinegar

• 3/4 cup soy sauce

• 2 tablespoons chopped garlic

• 4 tablespoons sugar

Directions:

1. Prepare the marinade. In a small bowl, mix all of the marinade ingredients together. Grate the ginger into the bowl. Add the sherry cooking wine, rice vinegar, and soy sauce. Add the garlic and sugar. Stir to combine. Set the marinade aside for now.

2. Marinate the chicken. Rinse and clean the chicken pieces. Place into a large ziplock bag. Pour the marinade into the bag. Make sure to get all the garlic and ginger out! Squeeze any excess air out of the bag before sealing. Marinate the chicken for a few hours or up to a day. Keep the bag refrigerated while the chicken marinates.

3. Bake the chicken. Pour the chicken out into a colander to drain out the marinade. Prepare the cornstarch mixture. Mix together the cornstarch, garlic powder and black pepper. Dredge the chicken pieces in the cornstarch mixture. Place the chicken (skin side up) onto a baking pan lined with parchment paper.

Note: In the photo, the pan is not lined with parchment paper (I forgot to do it). DO NOT forget like I did or the chicken skin will stick to the pan as it bakes…especially metal pans. I also baked half of the chicken on a stoneware pan; the chicken baked up better on the stoneware pan without being lined with parchment paper (most of the wings didn’t stick but some still did).

Bake the chicken at 400 degrees for a total of 45 minutes. After baking for 15 minutes, turn the chicken over. Bake for another 15 minutes, skin side down.

After 30 minutes of baking, turn the chicken over, making it skin side up again. Bake for the final 15 minutes.

Serve immediately and ENJOY! :)

This goes great with red rice. For my recipes for Red Rice, go to my website.

Annie's Chamorro Kitchen website

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