Chicken Satay

For appetizer:

Prep Time: 50 minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour, 5 minutes

Yield: SERVES 2-4 as a Main Entree

 

Ingredients:

• 8-12 skinless chicken thighs, cut into thin strips (For a vegetarian version, see my: Thai Vegetarian Satay)
• 1 package wooden skewers
• SATAY MARINADE:
• 1/4 cup minced lemongrass , fresh or frozen
• 2 shallots OR 1 small onion, sliced
• 3 cloves garlic
• 1-2 fresh red chilies, sliced, OR 1/2 tsp. to 1 tsp. cayenne pepper, to taste
• 1 thumb-size piece galangal OR ginger, thinly sliced
• 1 tsp. minced fresh turmeric OR 1/2 tsp. dried turmeric
• 2 Tbsp. ground coriander
• 2 tsp. cumin
• 3 Tbsp. dark soy sauce (available at Asian food stores)
• 4 Tbsp. fish sauce
• 5-6 Tbsp. brown sugar
• 2 Tbsp. vegetable oil
• Dipping Sauce: see Easy Satay Peanut Sauce 

1. If using wooden skewers, soak them in water while you prepare the meat (to prevent burning). The kitchen sink works well for this.
2. Cut chicken into thin strips and place in a bowl.
3. Place all marinade ingredients in a food processor or chopper. Process well.
4. Taste-test the marinade - you will taste sweet, spicy, and salty. The strongest tastes should be SWEET and SALTY in order for the finished satay to taste its best. Add more sugar or more fish sauce (in place of salt) to adjust the taste. You can also add more chili if you want it spicier.
5. Pour the marinade over the meat and stir well to combine. Allow at least 1 hour for marinating, or longer (up to 24 hours).
6. When ready to cook, thread meat onto the skewers. Tip: Fill up to 3/4 of the skewer, leaving the lower half empty so that the person grilling has a "handle" to easily turn the satay during cooking.
7. Grill the satay on your BBQ, OR on an indoor grill, basting the first time you time it with a little of the leftover marinade from the bottom of the bowl. OR you can broil in the oven on a broiling pan or baking sheet with the oven set to "broil" Place satay close beneath the heating element and turn the meat every 5 minutes until cooked (be sure to soak your wooden satay sticks in water before skewering). Depending on how thin your meat is, the satay should cook in 10 to 20 minutes.
8. Serve with Thai jasmine rice and my Easy Satay Peanut Sauce for dipping. ENJOY!

 Source: http://thaifood.about.com/od/thairecipes/r/thaichickensate.htm

Red Hot!

I like to follow YumSugar, becuase they have great beginner tips. So today I learned how to properly roast red peppers! We eat salmon pretty regulary, so roasted peppers is a great side to add!

Clean the bell peppers and remove any stickers. Pat the peppers dry. Preheat the oven to 450°F. Cover a cookie sheet with foil and drizzle olive oil over the red peppers.

Coat each side of the bell pepper in olive oil and place the peppers in the preheated oven.

Every 10 to 15 minutes, flip the bell peppers so each side of the pepper is charred.

All sides of the pepper should be charred after about 30 to 40 minutes.

Carefully place the peppers in a large bowl and cover with saran wrap. Alternately, place the peppers in a large Ziploc or brown paper bag and seal it shut. Allow them to sit for 15 to 20 minutes.

Allow the peppers to cool slightly and peel away any of the skin. It should come off pretty effortlessly

Cut the pepper in half and clean the seeds and rinse with cold water.

** I also will cut the peppers halfwise, then again, in order to get four thin long slices of pepper, and coat them with EVOO and garlic pepper and place them along side with my salmon, while I broil it for 5 mins on each side.. It comes out pretty soft and tasty! :) 



Source: http://www.yumsugar.com/How-Roast-Red-Peppers-11514927

Thai Thai

So I wanted to do an all american menu for our planned game night, but after our thai cooking lesson on saturday, we decided might as well put our lesson to use and make a thai menu!!

So to start, I think we might get some easy appetizers from Trader joe's, spring rolls and make chicken satay, with peanut sauce

then for dinner, I wanted to make three different curries, all with chicken and a bunch of veggies
(1) Massamum Curry -the one we learned in class
(2) Panang Curry
(3) Green Curry


Here is the recipe from the class but I will add my own veggies

Ingredients
• 1 lb. chicken
• 1 tbsp cooking oil (corn, safflower or peanut oil, not olive oil)
• 1-2 tbsp mussaman curry paste
• 1 part coconut milk
• 1/2 part water
• 10-15 diced potato
• 10-15 diced carrot
• 5-10 cut onion
• 1 tsp tamarind juice
• 1 1/2 tbsp fish sauce
• 1 1/2 tsp sugar
• 1/8 cup roasted peanut

Preparation

1. Sauté the mussamun curry paste in oil over medium heat in a wok or sauté pan until fragrant,
reduce the heat, gradually add 1 part of the coconut milk a little at a time, stir until a film of
mussaman oil surfaces.
2. Add 1/2 part water.
3. Add the diced potato, diced carrot, and cut onion. Cook until the potato is done.
4. Season with tamarind juice, sugar and fish sauce.
5. Add 1 lb. chicken.
7. Arrange on a serving dish and garnish red chilies before serving (optional).

then we will add sides of jasmine rice and fresh rice noodles

I will add some basil and red hot chili sauce on the side for taste

then for dessert, I want to make mango sticky rice!

This Mango Sticky Rice Dessert (Khao Niaow Ma Muang) is a classic Thai dessert and SO very scrumptious. Be sure to get the right rice for this dessert - regular (savory) rice will not work; you need sweet rice (see link in ingredients list). The sticky rice can either be steamed, as they do in Thailand (a colander can be used for this), or you can make it in a pot on your stove (instructions included). Place some fresh mango slices over the sicky rice, then smother with the easy coconut sauce - pure heaven! If you like mangos and/or sticky rice, you're going to love this very simple but exotic Thai dessert.

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 25 minutes

Total Time: 35 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1 cup Thai Sweet Rice (also called 'sticky rice' OR 'glutinous rice', available at Asian food stores
• 1-2 ripe mangos, cut into bite-size pieces (for more on mangos, see below)
• 4-5 Tbsp. palm sugar OR brown sugar
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1 can good-quality (thick) coconut milk
• water (for boiling or steaming the rice)

Preparation:

For tips on buying and preparing fresh mango, see my: All About Mangoes.

1. Soak the rice in 1 cup water for 20-30 minutes, OR up to 4 hours.
2. Do not drain the rice. Simply add 3/4 cup (more) water, plus 1/4 can coconut milk, 1/4 tsp. salt, and 1 Tbsp. brown sugar. Stir this into the rice.
3. Bring to a gentle boil, then partially cover with a lid (leaving some room for steam to escape). Reduce heat to medium-low (#2.5 on the dial).
4. Simmer in this way for 20 minutes, or until the coconut-water has been absorbed by the rice. Turn off the heat, but leave the pot on the burner with the lid on tight. Allow to sit for 5-10 minutes. (For step-by-step instructions (with pictures) on how to do this, see my: How to Cook Sticky Rice.)
5. To make the sauce, warm (do not boil) the rest of the can of coconut milk over medium-low heat (5 minutes). Add 3 Tbsp. sugar, stirring to dissolve.
6. Taste-test the sauce for sweetness, adding more sugar if desired. (note that it will taste less sweet when added to the rice).
7. To assemble, place a few 'mounds' of sticky rice in each serving bowl. Top with slices of teh mango, then pour sauce over. It should look like an English pudding with custard sauce, with the mounds of rice swimming in sauce.
   OR, here's another method that results in even more coconut-ty flavor (optional): Add scoops of rice (portion out 1 scoop per person) directly to the sauce pot and stir over low heat, gently breaking apart large lumps, but leaving smaller lumps/chunks). Now add the mango pieces and gently stir until everything is warmed through. Portion out into serving bowls, making sure everyone has equal amounts of rice, mango, and plenty of sauce. ENJOY!

Trying to go vegetarian....

I realized that when I got married, I started to eat a lot more meat. My husband likes to eat some sort of meat during each dinner, and I would just cook for the both of us and not realized that I was eating steak/lamb/chicken everyday! My body got used to this amount of protein and so did my tummy! I want to try to cook more vegetarian meals and limit my red meat intake to three times a week and see if this helps me drop a couple of pounds.

This dish reminds me of a breakfast special at one of my favorite brunch spots in NYC, Cafe Mogador.
http://www.cafemogador.com/

Baked Eggs in Spiced Tomato Sauce

From Susannah Chen, YumSugar

Source:  http://www.yumsugar.com/Baked-Eggs-Spiced-Tomato-Sauce-21475170

Ingredients
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, diced small
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 28-ounce can whole tomatoes in juice, drained (reserving juice) and finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon sugar
Coarse salt and ground pepper
8 large eggs
12 long shavings (about 1 1/2 ounces) pecorino Romano cheese
Slices of crusty bread, for serving

Directions
This recipe can also be made for a crowd using a large shallow baking dish instead of individual-sized cazuelas.

1. Preheat oven to 400º F. In a large pot, heat olive oil over medium heat; stir in onions and sauté until translucent, about 10 minutes.
2. Add garlic and cook until fragrant, several minutes.
3. Stir in tomatoes; add red pepper flakes, ground cinnamon, allspice, cloves, and sugar. Turn heat down to low, then simmer until tomatoes have further broken down, about 15 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
4. Using a ladle, transfer sauce to four 6-inch shallow gratin dishes or cazuelas. Crack 2 eggs into each dish. Bake until whites are set, about 25 minutes, rotating halfway through (yolks will still be runny).
5. Top each dish with three long pecorino shavings; serve immediately with grilled bread.