Mojito Chicken Revisited

A while back, I was sent a sample of black garlic from Marx Foods.  Since I knew nothing about black garlic previously, the information I found on their website about it was helpful:

Black garlic is a unique ingredient that has been used in Korean, Thai, and Japanese food for some time... it is essentially conventional garlic that has been carefully high-heat fermented for a month, until the cloves soften and turn dark black... it is sweet (but not cloying) with a more mild garlic aftertaste, but there are nuances that people describe as molasses, balsamic, licorice or tamarind-like flavors. It is considered to be a high umami ingredient. Black garlic is considered healthier than plain garlic because it contains twice as many antioxidants.

I wracked my brain for weeks, trying to figure out what dish to try this black garlic in.  I finally settled upon this Mojito Chicken that I made a while back.  I'll be honest with you... I was a little hesitant to taste this dish after I made it! You see, I'm not always the most adventurous eater and when I hear about something like black garlic that is fermented, I have no idea what it's going to taste like and that's a little scary!

You know what? I had no reason to be scared... the black garlic was an excellent addition to this dish.  I do not think that anyone eating this would ask what was in it (as if they tasted something funny).  Rather, it enhanced all the existing flavors.  It really is a difficult flavor profile to describe - slightly sweet but also a bit savory at the same time.  I think it's one of those foods that you just have to taste for yourself.

A big thanks to Marx Foods for the black garlic! You should check out their store - they used to market to professional chefs, but now they are selling the same quality ingredients that were previously only available to professional chefs to home cooks like you and me!