Chicken à la King

[Heba E. Husseyn]

 


A yummy, easy and light main course dish coming up folks.  Ya gonna like it, trust me.  It's Chicken à la King.  It's great for lunch or dinner, and also super taking for picnics.   

It's traditionally trumpeted as a British dish in some circles but in reality it's American in origin.  This recipe was the brainchild of William (or Bill) King, a cook at the Bellevue Hotel in Philadelphia in the late 1800s.  But it first appeared as a recipe in books and journals in 1900. 

Okay, so much for its history.  Now let's get down to making it.

Ingredients

 3 tablespoons margarine
 1/4 cup chopped green bell pepper
 1/4 cup chopped green onion
 1/4 cup flour
 1 tsp cornflour
 1 teaspoon salt
 1/8 teaspoon pepper
 2 cups evaporated milk or half-and-half
 3 cups cooked diced chicken
 Keep 2 cups chicken stock aside after chicken is cooked
 1/4 cup chopped red bell pepper


Preparation

Melt butter in a large saucepan.

Add green pepper, red pepper and green onion.  Cook for 5 minutes, until a bit crisp.

Blend flour and cornflour with 1/4 cup cold water and add to the green & red pepper.  Also add salt and pepper.  Stir.   

Then, gradually add milk or half-and-half and the chicken broth.  Stir constantly.  Continue cooking over low to medium-low heat, stirring, until mixture is hot and thick.   

Cook for a few more minutes; add chicken pieces and heat thoroughly.

Serve with or over fried toast, plain toast, fried rice, boiled rice or croissants.  It's better to have it over as it's supposed to be quite thick.

Should be enough for 4.

Variation:  You can also mix about 1 tea cup boiled frozen peas (drained and washed) if you like.

Below are the fabulous pics.


Thick sauced chicken ala king over croissant



Thick sauced chicken ala king over rice

[Zainab_M]

Oh!  I love this.  I've made it a few times, only I used large green chillies (removing the seeds) instead of bell pepper.  It's mesmerizing.  And yes, it's very light.