Yogurt-Marinated Chicken with Tzatziki

You know how I came up with the name Love in My Belly for my blog and Instagram handle? It came to me 8 years ago when I lived in Hong Kong and I was homesick and craving a homemade meal. Most people ate out almost everyday. It’s part of the culture. Plus, kitchens in the average Hong Kong apartments are really small. Street food was not only delicious but was also fairly inexpensive. I had one friend there who loved to cook and often invited me over for dinner. Whenever she did, it made me so happy. I would respond to her Blackberry messages (back when Blackberries were a thing) with a heart emoji followed by “in my belly.” And the phrase Love in My Belly stuck with me ever since.

One of the meals she first made me was yogurt-marinated chicken. She never gave me the exact recipe (because she never measured anything) but she did give me a general idea of the ingredients. I made it a couple times in Hong Kong but haven’t made it since. It has been 8 years and suddenly I felt the urge to make it again. I altered the recipe a little bit and this time, I wrote everything down so that I could share it with all of you! I’m not really sure how to categorize it. This yogurt-marinated chicken recipe has Moroccan and Middle Eastern influences. But my friend originally made this dish with garam masala, a blend of Indian spices. I chose to omit garam masala from the recipe simply because I did not have the spices, but I did keep the ginger paste and the chili from her version and also added lemon and paprika. The recipe is not perfect yet but I thought it was pretty good! The spices are so fragrant and the chicken is so moist and tender.

Yogurt-Marinated Chicken (serves about 2-3)

Ingredients:

• 1¼-1½ lb boneless skinless chicken thighs (you can use chicken breast but I prefer dark meat)

• 1 cup plain Greek yogurt

• ½ cup cilantro, chopped (and more for garnish)

• 6 small pearl tomatoes, cut into chunks (optional)

• 3 tbsp lemon juice

• 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

• 3 cloves of garlic, minced

• 1 tbsp grated ginger or ginger paste

• 2 tsp ground cumin

• 1 tsp paprika

• 1 tsp chili powder (½ tsp = mild, 1 tsp = a little spicy. I prefer 1 tsp)

• ½ tsp ground cinnamon

• 1½ tsp salt

• ½ tsp freshly ground black pepper

Tzatziki (optional)

Ingredients:

• 1 cup or small package of full fat Greek Yogurt

• ½ cup cucumber, minced (squeeze all the water out before mixing with the yogurt)

• 1 tbsp lemon juice

• ½ tsp extra virgin olive oil

• ½-¾ tsp salt

• 1 garlic, minced

• 2 tbsp chopped dill

Directions:

Mix all of the ingredients (except for the tomatoes) in a bowl. Score the meat and then smother it with the marinade. Cover bowl with plastic wrap. Let meat marinate in the fridge for several hours or overnight. I marinated mine for 6 hours.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Bake chicken for about 30-35 minutes or so. Half way through, add the chopped tomatoes. For the last 5 minutes, broil the chicken. Serve with rice and garnish with fresh cilantro. I served my chicken with garlic onion rice and a side of Tzatziki.

The Tzatziki is not necessary but it is definitely a nice addition if you end up finding the chicken to be a little too spicy for you. The yogurt in the Tzatziki helps tame down the spice. Plus, Tzatziki is a very refreshing and delicious side/sauce. If you choose to serve with Tzatziki, mix all the ingredients above and refrigerate for at least an hour before serving. When serving, drizzle a little extra virgin olive oil on top and some freshly chopped dill.

Roasted Eggplant Over Hummus

My favorite type of cuisine would have to be Asian food because it’s what I grew up eating. I know it’s also a very broad range but there are a lot of flavors that are similar across different Asian countries. My second favorite would have to be Italian, which I know is everyone’s favorite because who doesn’t like pasta? When I have cravings, it’s usually for an Asian noodle soup or pasta. Actually, that’s not true. I also LOVE street tacos (my favorite is the al pastor from Leo’s Taco truck). And I love seafood—oysters, Cajun crab legs, and lobster rolls. Oh wait… I also love fried chicken (Korean fried chicken, in particular). I love a lot of food. And I have a lot of cravings. However, I’ve been recently trying to branch out a little and explore more Mediterranean and Middle Eastern flavors.

Recently, I tried Jaffa on 3rd Street in LA with one of my friends, whose favorite food is Middle Eastern. We ordered lots of dishes to share and it was delicious! I really enjoyed the shawarma salad bowl with spiced chicken and toum. The chicken was so moist and succulent, and the yogurt dressing was creamy. The salad was very filling and flavorful with the toum (Lebanese garlic sauce). I like how Israeli salads incorporate lots of cucumber and tomatoes. I don’t like salads that consist mostly of lettuce. The other dish I had there that I loved was the charred eggplant with tahini. It was a perfect combination of creamy, sour, and sweet from the tahini, lemon juice, and honey. After having this dish, I knew I wanted to recreate it at home.

Although it is a lovely idea to make tahini from scratch, I don’t have the time or patience for that. I bought a container of eggplant hummus at Trader Joe’s instead. The dish at Jaffa also had an Israeli herb and nut. I used peanuts and parsley as a substitute. Here is a rough recipe below. This recipe is pretty simple so I didn’t measure anything when I was making it. Below measurements are to be used as a guide.

Roasted Eggplant Over Hummus (Serves 3-4)

Ingredients:

• 1 eggplant, sliced into 1-inch thick segments

• 1 container of any hummus of your preference, I used eggplant hummus

• 1/2 red onion, thinly sliced

• 1 cup of chopped parsley

• 2 cups of halved grape tomatoes

• 1/2 cup of crushed roasted peanuts

• 1 lemon

• honey

• olive oil

• salt

• pepper

Directions:

Preheat oven at 350 degrees. On a baking sheet, lay out eggplant slices. Season with olive oil, salt, and pepper. Bake for 30 minutes, flipping over half way through. I like to turn the oven to broil for the last few minutes. In a frying pan, lightly sautee the onions and tomatoes. Do not fully cook. I prefer it a little wilted and blistered. After it cools down, pour into a mixing bowl. Add parsley and then season with salt, pepper, olive oil, and about 2 tbsp of lemon juice. Mix and refrigerate. Before plating the baked eggplant, spoon out hummus onto a large plate and spread the hummus into 3-4 small intersecting circles. Place slices of eggplant onto the hummus, lining them up so that they overlap. Top the eggplant with the tomato, onion, parsley slaw. Sprinkle with crushed roasted peanuts. Drizzle plate with honey. And that’s it!