Khao Mun Gai (ข้าวมันไก่)

Jenny had a special request today, one of my favorite homestyle Thai dishes. I think it actually has chinese origins, but has some definite Thai flair.

I remember eating this stuff in outdoor restuarants in Thailand with my family on our vacations. With relatively few ingredients, it is one of those things taht is fabulous in its simplicity. Didn't have a recipe, so a phone call to my dad was in order. With the basic ingredients, I managed to make it tonight. Turned out pretty damn good! I'm looking forward to taking this in for lunch tomorrow.

Rice
2 cups of rice, rinsed. Place in a rice cooker with 1.5tbs canola oil, chopped cilantro, and several slivers of uncooked chicken skin. Cook as you would normally cook to regular doneness

Chicken
Take fresh skin-on chicken breasts, sprinkle with salt and coat with canola oil. Place with large slices of ginger and parsely in a steamer and steam slowly. Periodically brush with canola oil. When done, remove and rest before slicing into thin slices.

Sauce
Mix black bean soy paste and low sodium soy sauce in a 2:1 ratio. Add a dollop of red chili sauce, slivers of fresh ginger, a small clove of garlic, drizzle of sesame oil to taste.

Side
Slice some fresh, cold cucumbers in cross-section with skin on and serve with fresh cilantro.

Yum.

True, the real way of doing this involves boiling the chicken all day and making some super rich stocks, which ill try one day, but this was awesome as a quick substitute.

Pasta Primavera

Came across this recipe from Whole Foods (and their picture, not mine). Fresh, clean taste. Yummy!

Ingredients

1 pound Whole Foods Market Organic Fettuccine, cooked al dente, drained (reserving 3/4 cup liquid)
2 tablespoons 365 Everyday Value Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1/2 pound button mushrooms, sliced
3 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
2 large spring (or 4 green) onions, thinly sliced
1 1/2 cups fresh (or frozen and thawed) green peas
Salt and ground black pepper to taste
3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved
1/2 cup roughly chopped basil (optional)

Method

Heat oil in a large, deep skillet over medium-high heat. Add mushrooms and cook until just golden brown, 3 to 4 minutes. Add garlic and onions and cook 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in peas, salt and pepper. Immediately cover and cook until just tender, 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer to a large bowl and set aside.

In the same skillet over medium heat, toss the hot, drained pasta with reserved pasta water, cheese and lemon juice.

Gently toss mushroom mixture and tomatoes into the pasta. Season to taste, transfer to serving bowl(s), top with basil and serve.

Singapore Shrimp Stir-Fry

No pics on this one, but it was pretty good. Used a lot of the fresh veggies we picked up from the farmer's market today with some things supplemented by the local asian market. We used snap peas, carrots, onions, fresh water chestnuts. Love the coconut milk taste. I forgot to get chili oil, so it lacked kick.. next time.

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons Thai oil or other flavored cooking oil (used canola oil with a bit of chili paste)
  
• 10 ounces uncooked medium shrimp, peeled, deveined
• 1 8-ounce package mixed stir-fry vegetables (including snow peas, carrots, onion and celery; about 3 cups)
• 2/3 cup canned unsweetened coconut milk
• 2 tablespoons ginger-flavored or spicy soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon Thai red or green curry paste
• Chopped green onions

Preparation

Heat oil in heavy large skillet or wok over high heat. Add shrimp and stir-fry until just cooked through, about 2 minutes. Using slotted spoon, transfer shrimp to plate. Add vegetables to skillet and stir-fry 2 minutes. Add coconut milk, soy sauce and curry paste. Boil until sauce is slightly thickened, stirring frequently, about 2 minutes. Return shrimp and any accumulated juices to skillet. Stir 30 seconds; season with salt and pepper. Transfer to bowl; sprinkle with green onions.

We felt like seafood tonight, so we scoured the web for something fusion-ish. Came upon this recipe from Bon Apetit magazine this month.

Recipe here

Seared Sea Scallops on Sautéed Spinach with Hoisin Butter Sauce Bon Appétit | April 2009

by Molly Stevens The terms spring onions and green onions aren't synonymous, but the two vegetables are often interchangeable. Spring onions have a larger, rounder bulb end, and they’re slightly stronger in flavor. Look for them at farmers' markets and specialty foods stores. Yield: Makes 6 servings 1/4 cup hoisin sauce* 2 tablespoons unseasoned rice vinegar 1/4 teaspoon hot chili sesame oil* 6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) butter, divided 1/4 cup chopped shallot (about 1 large) 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon minced peeled fresh ginger 4 garlic cloves, minced, divided 1 serrano chile, seeded, minced, divided 4 5-ounce bags baby spinach Coarse kosher salt 2 pounds sea scallops, side muscles removed 1 tablespoon peanut oil or vegetable oil 3/4 cup finely chopped spring onions or green onions (white and pale green parts only) 1/4 cup mirin (sweet Japanese rice wine)* Whisk first 3 ingredients in small bowl to blend and reserve. Melt 2 tablespoons butter in heavy large skillet over medium heat. Add shallot,1 tablespoon ginger, 2 minced garlic cloves,and half of minced chile. Sauté until shallotis soft, about 2 minutes. Increase heat tomedium-high and add 1 bag spinach. Stiruntil beginning to wilt. Add remainingspinach, 1 bag at a time, stirring betweenadditions until just wilted. Season withcoarse salt and pepper. Keep warm. Sprinkle scallops with coarse salt and pepper. Melt 1 tablespoon butter withpeanut oil in heavy large nonstick skilletover medium-high heat. Cook scallops untilbrown on both sides and just opaque incenter, about 2 minutes per side. Transferscallops to plate; tent with foil.

pepper. Melt 1 tablespoon butter withpeanut oil in heavy large nonstick skilletover medium-high heat. Cook scallops untilbrown on both sides and just opaque incenter, about 2 minutes per side. Transferscallops to plate; tent with foil.

Add 1 tablespoon butter, spring onions,

remaining 1 teaspoon minced ginger, 2minced garlic cloves, and remaining half ofminced chile to skillet. Sauté until onionsbegin to soften, 1 to 2 minutes. Add mirinand simmer until reduced to glaze, 1 to 2minutes. Whisk in hoisin mixture. Reduceheat to medium-low. Whisk in 2 tablespoonsbutter. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Divide spinach among plates. Top

with scallops, dividing equally. Spoonsauce over and serve.

* Available in the Asian foods section of

some supermarkets and at Asian markets.

Add 1 tablespoon butter, spring onions, remaining 1 teaspoon minced ginger, 2minced garlic cloves, and remaining half ofminced chile to skillet. Sauté until onionsbegin to soften, 1 to 2 minutes. Add mirinand simmer until reduced to glaze, 1 to 2minutes. Whisk in hoisin mixture. Reduceheat to medium-low. Whisk in 2 tablespoonsbutter. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Divide spinach among plates. Top with scallops, dividing equally. Spoonsauce over and serve.

All-Clad!

So, since I'm starting to be more serious with cooking food, I've been salivating after some hard-core cookware. Lo and behold, I got a pair of All-Clad pieces in the last two weeks. The first is a saute pan I picked up on sale online. Even better deal though was the new CopRChef 12" fry pan I found at a local store on clearance today. Sweet!!

Ratatouille

Jenny made a special request for Ratatouille the other day, a dish we've enjoyed since watching the movie a couple years back. It was good stuff! I don't have a ring yet, so i made one with aluminum foil, and it turned out quite well!

(Recipe from epicurious.com)

yield: Makes 8 to 10 side-dish servings

active time: 50 minutes

total time: 2 hours

• 2 1/2 lb tomatoes (4 large)
• 8 large garlic cloves, thinly sliced
• 1 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
• 20 fresh basil leaves, torn in half
• 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 lb eggplant, cut into 1-inch cubes
• 2 1/4 teaspoons salt
• 2 large onions (1 1/2 lb total), quartered lengthwise and thinly sliced crosswise
• 3 assorted bell peppers (green, red, and/or yellow; 1 1/2 lb total), cut into 1-inch pieces
• 4 medium zucchini (2 lb), quartered lengthwise and cut crosswise into 3/4-inch-thick pieces
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper

• Garnish: Parmigiano-Reggiano shavings and fresh basil

Cut an X in bottom of each tomato with a sharp paring knife and blanch together in a 4-quart pot of boiling water 1 minute. Transfer tomatoes with a slotted spoon to a cutting board and, when cool enough to handle, peel off skin, beginning from scored end, with paring knife.

Coarsely chop tomatoes and transfer to a 5-quart heavy pot with garlic, parsley, basil, and 1/3 cup oil. Simmer, partially covered, stirring occasionally, until tomatoes break down and sauce is slightly thickened, about 30 minutes.

While sauce is simmering, toss eggplant with 1/2 teaspoon salt in a large colander and let stand in sink 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, cook onions in 3 tablespoons oil with 1/4 teaspoon salt in a 12-inch heavy skillet over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until softened, 10 to 12 minutes. Transfer onions with a slotted spoon to a large bowl, then add 3 tablespoons oil to skillet and cook bell peppers with 1/4 teaspoon salt over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 10 minutes. Transfer peppers with slotted spoon to bowl with onions. Add 3 tablespoons oil to skillet and cook zucchini with 1/4 teaspoon salt over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until just tender, 6 to 8 minutes. Transfer zucchini with slotted spoon to bowl with other vegetables.

While zucchini are cooking, pat eggplant dry with paper towels. Add remaining oil (about 1/4 cup) to skillet and cook eggplant over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until softened, 10 to12 minutes.

Add vegetables, remaining teaspoon salt, and black pepper to tomato sauce and simmer, covered, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are very tender, about 1 hour. Cool, uncovered, and serve warm or at room temperature.

The Sunday Stack

Having missed out on free pancakes at IHOP this week for National Pancake Day, we decided to celebrate ourselves this weekend by doing pancakes right. Jenny found the recipe below.

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

3 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon white sugar

1 1/4 cups milk

1 egg

3 tablespoons butter, melted

In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar. Make a well in the center and pour in the milk, egg and melted butter; mix until smooth.
Heat a lightly oiled griddle or frying pan over medium high heat. Pour or scoop the batter onto the griddle, using approximately 1/4 cup for each pancake. Brown on both sides and serve hot.

While I decided to go the old-fashioned butter and maple syrup route, Jenny wanted to do a Strawberry topping, so we used this recipe from Cooks.com

3 c. fresh strawberries
1/3 c. sugar
1/4 c. water
1 tbsp. cornstarch

Wash and hull strawberries. Crush 1 cup slice remainder and set aside. Combine crushed berries, sugar, water and cornstarch. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until mixture thickens. Boil and stir 1 minute.

Fold in sliced berries. Yield 2 cups.

Verdict: Awesome. Much better than that store-bought mix crap, and better than IHOP too. Excellent texture, good flavor.

(Update) For lighter/healthier pancakes:

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon white sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup milk
• 1 egg
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil

(Update) Buttermilk version
(From Serious Eats)

1 cup all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 large egg
1 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup whole milk
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted, plus more for cooking
1 cup blueberries (optional)