Lemon-Ginger Chicken on a Stick: Brochetas de Pollo

The pic predates my discovery of the macro-flash setting on my old camera but, still, it's not too bad at all.

Dead simple. A marinade, some meat, and a little bit of "technique" in the way it's cooked. Good for diets too (low-fat/calories). Scales well; double, triple or quadruple the recipe with no problem.

Ingredients

• ½ kg chicken breasts, boneless, skinless, cubes (for skewers) [1#]
• 2 onions, medium, cut in ¼s or 1/6ths (chicken-sized chunks)
• 3 lemons, juice of, & the pieces
• 5 cm ginger [2"]
• 2 T soy sauce
• 2 T vinegar (I used red wine type)
• 2 red chili peppers (spilt & deseeded)
  
• ½ t salt
• ½ t pepper, white, ground
• 12 brochettes [wooden skewers] (not really long ones)

Procedure

1. Cut chicken into cubes for the brochettes; about 1½cm [3/4"] on a side
2. Cut the onion in half the long way (top to root) then each half into sections that are about the same size as the chicken pieces. The onions will all flake apart and you end up with flat onion layers that are the same size as the chicken pieces.
3. Juice the lemons, ¼ the skins and toss into the juice
   
4. Slice the ginger (not super fine) toss into the juice (your mostly be removing this later)
   
5. Add the soy, vinegar and chili peppers to the juice (this is now officially a marinade)
6. Add salt & pepper to the mix
7. Put in the chicken pieces and the onion
• mix
• cover
• refrigerate for 2-6 hours (or a day)
  
• muck about the mixture a couple of times while marinating
  
8. Assemble the chicken brochettes [skewers]
1. slice or two of onion
2. chunk of chicken
3. onion
4. chicken
5. lather, rinse, repeat
6. end with onion pieces
7. Do not skewer the ginger, lemon peel or chilis
   
9. This can be pre-prepared up to this point up to a day in advance (even two days)
   
10. Fry the brochettes over high heat (for color), in batches - set aside when well colored (in a little tiny bit of oil)
    
11. Return the brochettes to a medium-low heat, cover, and cook them through (another 10 minutes probably). Don't overdo it.
    
12. == Done ==
    

Notes

1. Variants include using red and green pepper slices along with the onions
2. Use the chili peppers. It doesn't make things too hot and spicy but does a a touch of flavour
   
3. Brown/burn the chicken really well when coloring it up. You don't want the meat to be white and dry so use high heat. This is not to cook it; it's to add color and sweeten up the meat with a little carmelization.
   
4. You can finish the brochettes in a 175C [350F] oven instead of on top of the stove; that's what the professional kitchen usually does
5. Don't overcook the chicken so that it's dry. Chicken can be both flavorful and moist; yes, really it can.
6. No need to presoak the skewers because they're not going to be grilled