Hey, remember how I told you to shake up a jar of All-Purpose Stir-Fry Sauce? Good, ’cause you’ll need it for today’s Whole30-friendly recipe: Paper Wrapped Chicken!
This is one of my favorite recipes from our latest New York Times bestselling cookbook, Ready or Not! 150+ Make-Ahead, Make-Over, and Make-Now Recipes by Nom Nom Paleo. If you haven’t grabbed a copy yet—DO IT! It’s packed with dishes that are perfect for your Whole30 and beyond, all presented in a deliriously fun comic book style with step-by-step photos. See?
Plus, our cookbook has four weeks of Whole30-friendly meal plans and shopping lists in it!
Anyway, back to the recipe! In the ’70s and ’80s, Henry grew up in his parents’ Chinese restaurant. There, he bussed tables, washed dishes, manned (boyed?) the deep fryer, and prepped food. (Henry must have overdosed on restaurant work, though, because these days, I seem to be the only one puttering around our kitchen.
One of the dishes on the menu was Paper-Wrapped Chicken. Working alongside his cousins, Henry would tuck marinated pieces of chicken into sheets of shiny foil, and then carefully fold them into three-sided pouches, origami-style. The packets would later be cooked to order.
My version doesn’t much resemble my in-laws’ restaurant dish, but it’s just as packed with umami-rich Asian flavors, and can be prepped up to 1 day in advance of cooking.
Here’s a fun cooking video to show you how to make both the sauce and the chicken:
Now, if only I could coax Henry back into the kitchen to help me make these packets for dinner…
Serves 4
Ingredients:
- ½ cup All-Purpose Stir-Fry Sauce
- 4 cups sliced bok choy
- Diamond Crystal brand kosher salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 4 (6-ounce) boneless, skinless chicken breasts or thighs (If I were you, I’d choose thighs because they’re tastier more forgiving if you leave the packets in too long!)
- 8 shiitake mushrooms, thinly sliced
- 2 large shallots, thinly sliced
Equipment:
- Cutting board
- Chef’s knife
- Measuring cup
- Measuring spoons
- Parchment paper
- Pencil
- Scissors
- Rimmed baking sheet
- Instant-read meat thermometer
Method:
Set the oven to 450°F with the rack in the middle position. Grab 4 large parchment sheets, and fold each in half. Draw half a heart on each sheet so that when you cut them out, you get full hearts. You know—like this:
Unfold the paper hearts and lay them flat.
Place a cup of sliced bok choy on one side of each heart. Sprinkle salt and pepper on the bok choy.
Salt and pepper the chicken, too. Then, place a piece of chicken atop each pile of bok choy.
Top with ¼ of the mushrooms and shallots. Spoon 2 tablespoons of All-Purpose Stir-Fry Sauce onto each mound.
Fold the other half of each heart over the top. Tightly crimp the edges together, starting at the top-center of each heart. At the pointed bottom end, twist the paper to seal well. Repeat steps for the three remaining chicken packets.
Place the parchment packets on a rimmed baking sheet.
Bake in the oven for 15 to 20 minutes or until the chicken is fully cooked. The breasts should register 150°F on an instant-read thermometer, and the thighs should register 165°F.
As soon as the packets are out of the oven, carefully cut them open. Serve immediately!
You can watch me assemble these tasty packets on my Facebook Live cooking demo, recorded on January 10, 2018:
A note to my Nomsters: This is one of a series of daily blog posts I’m writing in the month of January 2018 to help those doing a Whole30 to kick off the New Year. Not sure what the Whole30 is, or want info on how to get started? Read my Whole30 prep post—and then come back to Nom Nom Paleo every single day for recipes to inspire, delight, and sustain you on your Whole30!
And remember: Throughout January 2018, I’m partnering with Whole Foods Market nationwide! In all Whole Foods Market stores, you’ll find my personally curated Nom Nom Paleo Picks on the shelves, a rotating menu of ready-to-eat Nom Nom Paleo dishes in the hot bar, and even my famous Magic Mushroom Powder available for sale!
Looking for more recipe ideas? Head on over to my Recipe Index. You’ll also find exclusive recipes on my iPhone and iPad app, and in my cookbooks, Nom Nom Paleo: Food for Humans (Andrews McMeel Publishing 2013) and Ready or Not! (Andrews McMeel Publishing 2017)!
PRINTER-FRIENDLY RECIPE CARD
Paper-Wrapped Chicken
Ingredients
- ½ cup All-Purpose Stir-Fry Sauce
- 4 cups sliced bok choy
- Diamond Crystal brand kosher salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 4 6-ounce boneless, skinless chicken breasts or thighs (If I were you, I’d choose thighs because they’re tastier more forgiving if you leave the packets in too long!)
- 8 shiitake mushrooms thinly sliced
- 2 large shallots thinly sliced
Instructions
- Set the oven to 450°F with the rack in the middle position. Grab 4 large parchment sheets, and fold each in half. Draw half a heart on each sheet so that when you cut them out, you get full hearts. You know—like this:
- Unfold the paper hearts and lay them flat. Place a cup of sliced bok choy on one side of each heart. Sprinkle salt and pepper on the bok choy.
- Salt and pepper the chicken, too. Then, place a piece of chicken atop each pile of bok choy.
- Top with ¼ of the mushrooms and shallots. Spoon 2 tablespoons of All-Purpose Stir-Fry Sauceonto each mound.
- Fold the other half of each heart over the top. Tightly crimp the edges together, starting at the top-center of each heart. At the pointed bottom end, twist the paper to seal well. Repeat steps for the three remaining chicken packets.
- Place the parchment packets on a rimmed baking sheet. Bake in the oven for 15 to 20 minutes or until the chicken is fully cooked. The breasts should register 150°F on an instant-read thermometer, and the thighs should register 165°F.
- As soon as the packets are out of the oven, carefully cut them open. Serve immediately!
Video
Notes
