#marinades

My prep routine has been changed forever!

So, each week, I marinate pounds and pounds of meat in a variety of different flavors. My number one go to is the Grill Mates line. I use their Wine, Garlic & Herb, Bourbon Brown Sugar, Mojito Lime, Baja Citrus, and Mesquite marinades a few times a month. It’s helpful to have the meat marinated beforehand so that I can pull the meat and the put it right on the heat. 

Inflation

Currently, the marinade packets are $0.99 at my closest grocer- they were $2+ a few months back. The store I shop at the most doesn’t sell these packets for under $3. The stores I frequent for pickups don’t carry these items at all. One day while checking out it hit me, I should begin making my own marinades. The packets aren’t necessarily fresh, I have no control over the ingredients, the cost of EACH packet adds additional costs to EACH meal but didn’t know where to start.

Coconut Aminos to the rescue!

Typically, MOST things require soy as an ingredient, and I cannot have soy. So, I needed to research for a replacement ingredient and was able to find a product that is used as a soy substitute called Coconut Aminos. For some reason the name sounds familiar, but I’d thought I came across it in a hair conditioning recipe- or maybe I’m just thinking about silk aminos LOL. So away with the packets and onto these coconut aminos! 

My marinade faves

I usually like a wine marinade, being from the South I love a smoky marinade, and herby/zesty flavors as well. After researching what I needed for marinades: Acids- I usually use Balsamic, white, and apple cider vinegars. Oil which is basically the fat- I always use Olive oil, and the herbs or spices I’d settled on. For the mesquite I used my dry rub recipe and added it to water and oil since I didn’t need acid for that flavor. Some individuals do add an acid to their BBQ marinades- I didn’t for this particular batch.

The results!

I made the 4 following marinades:

1. An everyday marinade- to be used as my quick go to as I have ALL of these ingredients 100% of the time.

2. Zesty herb marinade- to be used on meats to top salads.

3. Citrus marinade- to be used on meat for “bowl” night.

4. Teriyaki marinade- to be used in stir-fry since I hadn’t been able to have it in so long in an attempt to avoid soy. 

Lazy Oyakodon

Oyakodon, or ‘parent and child’ donburi is a homey Japanese rice bowl dish of chicken, egg, and onions are simmered together in a fragrant stock of dashi and is clung together with softly cooked egg. It’s a comforting meal packed with umami. The traditional recipe calls for dashi, soy, mirin, and sugar to flavor the dish, but today I’m going to show you the cheater’s way to satisfy your Oyakodon craving with ingredients you can find at TJ’s or already in your kitchen. This is by no means supposed to try to be a classic Oyakodon; rather an alternative for weeknight dinners just in case you don’t have the classic ingredients on hand. Enjoy :)

What You Need (Serves 2):

6 boneless, skinless chicken thighs

Trader Joe’s Island Soyaki marinade

1/2 sweet yellow onion

your favorite rice (I dream about TJ’s brown rice!)

3-4 eggs

salt and pepper

scallions for garnish

sesame seeds for garnish

What To Do:

Chop up the chicken thighs into 1/2” chunks, placing them into a ziploc bag and cover with marinade. Marinade for at least 30 minutes.

Chop the onions into 1/2” pieces. Heat a large pan over medium heat. Saute the onions in olive oil, seasoning with salt and pepper until almost translucent. Remove from the pan and place aside.

Crack and scramble the eggs in a bowl, place aside.

Heat the same large pan that you cooked the onions in over medium-high heat. Add a bit of olive oil to the pan, and just as the oil begins to sizzle and pop, dump in all the marinaded chicken.

Spread the chicken out into a single layer and sear the chicken. Don’t touch it for about 5 minutes! The chicken will brown and gain some nice crisp edges.

After the chicken starts to cook halfway thru, flip the chicken and add the onions back in. Pour in a few tbsp more of Island Soyaki. Season with black pepper. Lower the heat to medium, and the chicken will be gently simmering.

The chicken should be cooked thru in about 12-14 minutes depending on the thickness of your chicken pieces. You can always cut a piece open to check on its progress. (If you’re making TJ’s Brown Rice, microwave it now)

Make a hole in the center of the pan, and pour in the scrambled egg. Once the egg hits the pan, let it bubble and cook a bit, then gently move the chicken around to allow the egg to hit the hot pan. Turn off the heat once the eggs are the desired doneness. I like the eggs super soft, so it doesn’t take more than a minute for the egg to cook.