Category: International

Spicy Thai Peanut Sauce over Roasted Sweet Potatoes and Rice

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Our friend Sharon recently served us this incredibly delicious Vegeterian/Vegan dish and was kind enough to share the original recipe with me, from CookieandKate.com. I made it almost exactly as shown, and then a couple nights later used the leftover peanut sauce as a dipping sauce for oven-roasted sweet potatoes. It is so delicious and uses ingredients you probably have in your pantry already.

INGREDIENTS

Spicy Thai Peanut Sauce

½ cup creamy peanut butter
¼ cup soy sauce (Can use Tamari to be gluten-free)
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
2 and 1/2  Tbsp honey (or agave nectar, to taste)
1 tsp grated fresh ginger
2 cloves garlic, crushed
¼ tsp red pepper flakes
2 Tbsp water

Roasted vegetables

2 sweet potatoes, peeled and sliced into 1 inch long, ½ inch wide chunks
1 red bell pepper, cored, deseeded, and sliced into bite-sized strips
about 2 Tbsp olive oil (or coconut oil)
1/2 tsp cumin powder (I used more than original recipe.)
1 tsp Sea salt (to taste)

Rice and garnishes

1 1/2 cup jasmine rice (could use any rice, really)
3 green onions sliced into thin rounds (green and white parts)
Handful cilantro, chopped
Handful peanuts, crushed

Sriracha sauce on the side (optional)

INSTRUCTIONS

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.

In a medium bowl, mix 2 Tbsp of olive oil, salt and cumin. Put the sweet potatoes in a roasting pan and drizzle with about 2/3 of the oil. Drop the peppers in the remaining oil and toss them. You’ll add them to the pan a bit later.

Spread the sweet potatoes out, but leave about 1/4 of the pan empty. Bake for 15 minutes and toss. Then add the peppers in the empty space and continue roasting for another 20 minutes.  Check to be sure the potatoes are cooked and the peppers are soft and starting to caramelize.

In the meantime, cook the rice. Add 1 1/2 cups jasmine rice and 1 tsp kosher salt to a pot. Add a bit less than three cups of water and bring to the boil. Reduce heat to low and cover and cook for 25 minutes. Fluff with a fork.

Make the sauce: in a bowl, whisk together the sauce ingredients. If the sauce is too thick whisk in a little more water.

To serve: Spoon rice onto a large serving dish, and top with sweet potatoes, then peppers, a nice heavy drizzle of sauce, and sprinkle chopped green onions, cilantro and peanuts. Serve any extra sauce in a little pitcher.

To serve it as a dipping sauce for sweet potato fries, just gently stir in the onions, cilantro and peanuts. So good!

Thai Green Curry with Eggplant, Peppers and chicken

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Made this for Kumy’s birthday last week while we were away from home. We had kind of limited supplies, but I’d brought a couple of Tbsp of Thai Green Curry Paste, which made it crazy easy. We were all starved and this was the perfect dish!

2 Tbsp Olive Oil
1 Eggplant, not peeled – cut into 1″ cubes
1 green pepper, cut into bite-sized pieces
1 small onion, cut into fat slivers
1 carrot, julienned
1 lb. chicken tenders, cut into small bite-sized pieces
2 Tbsp Mae Ploy Green Curry Paste
1/2 cup coconut milk
1/2 cup water
1 Tbsp sugar
1 Tbsp Fish Sauce (optional – I didn’t have any and it was still good)
juice from 1/2 lime
pinch red pepper flakes (totally optional – the paste is already very spicy)
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup Thai Basil Leaves, julienned (optional – I didn’t have any and still good)

Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet until it’s quite hot. Add eggplant and cook, flipping the eggplant to sear it. Cook for 5 minutes or so, then add the onion, peppers and carrot and saute for another 3-4 minutes, or until the onion is transparent and the peppers are softened. Add the chicken and continue cooking 3-4 more minutes.

Shift veggies to the edges, and add a little more oil, and the green curry paste. Cook the green curry paste for a couple of minutes and add 1/2 cup water, the juice of 1/2 a lime and the salt and red pepper flakes. Stir everything together well and add the coconut milk. Cook for just another 30 seconds to warm the coconut milk and serve over rice.

Would probably be great with chopped peanuts, too.

Update:  Last night Maya and the gals made amazing vegan egg rolls, which Samir fried.  Since we had a lot of folks home for supper,  I made this dish without chicken, and realized it really doesn’t need the red pepper flakes!  Taylor made Sherry Trifle, so it was fine dining all around.

Chicken Pilau Biryani

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Everyone has a dish that is their knock out dish, and Pilau Biryani is mine.  I’ve made it for graduations, parties and most recently for a wedding.  (5 catering trays worth!)  It’s a fairly simple dish, but so ridiculously tasty.  I use a spice mix called Shan Pilau Biryani mix, which is available online or in Indian grocery stores.

This makes a really nice big batch, but leftovers never last at our house.  I do make the recipe a little differently than on the box, but it’s still pretty close.  If you decide to make a half box/batch, try to make sure you get roughly half of the big spices as well. It is also traditional to leave big spices like cardamom, cloves, black peppers , pieces of cinnamon etc. in the dish that you simply pick out while you are eating.

There are basically three layers in this dish:  a chicken and gravy layer, a rice layer and an onion layer that all get gently tossed togther just before serving.  I often start the onion layer first, since it takes quite a while to get the rich, brown color and sweetness.

Ingredients

1 box Shan Pilau Biryani Mix
3 lbs. of boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into bite-sized pieces  (two portions from Costco)
1 1/2 Tbsp crushed Garlic
1 1/2  Tbsp crushed fresh Ginger (you can also grate the ginger on a ceramic grater, or a microplane)
1 cup water (may need more)
1/2 cup plain yogurt, stirred well plus more for serving
3 1/2 cups basmati rice, rinsed and drained
5 1/2 cups of water
1 Tbsp kosher salt
3-4 large onions, thinly sliced
1/2 cup olive oil

To make the chicken base:  In  large pot, mix the chicken, spice mix, garlic, ginger and 1 cup water. Bring to a boil, then turn down the heat, cover and simmer until chicken is cooked and soft.  (Probably about an hour.) The chicken will release some liquid, and you want to end up with about 2 cups of  gravy (in addition to the chicken of course).  So if you end up with too much more, cook it uncovered a little longer.  If you have less, add a little more water.

Remove from heat and pour the yogurt over it evenly.

To make the rice layer: In a separate pot, bring 5 1/2 cups water to a boil and add the rice and 1 Tbsp salt.  Stir, cover and reduce heat.  Cook until just about done,  roughly 15 minutes.  Layer it evenly over the chicken and gravy. The rice will finish cooking and absorbing moisture in the oven.

If you get a red powder packet in the biryani mix, sprinkle it on top of the rice for nice bits of yellow color. Sometimes it’s not in the box – which is a bummer, but not a fatal flaw.

To make the fried onions: Fry the thinly sliced onions in olive oil, stirring frequently until they are dark golden brown and caramelized. This does take quite a while. Keep the onions and the oil they were fried in.

Alternatively, you can bake the onions. Mix the oil and onions on a large baking sheet and bake them at  350 degrees for an hour or so. The onions will turn pinkish first, for some weird reason, but just give them a stir from time to time and let them continue cooking until they are a warm golden brown color.  For my nephew’s wedding, I baked two big bags of onions from Costco.  I think you could smell onions frying from two blocks away! 

Ladle the fried onions and the oil on top of the rice, and cover with foil.  Bake at 350 for 30 minutes.

Remove from the oven and gently mix up the chicken and rice portion with a big spoon or saucer, and serve on a big platter. Serve with plain yogurt or a simple raita (spiced yogurt and vegetables.)

For a vegan version, substitute 3 cans of rinsed garbanzo beans, one cup of shelled pistachios, and 1 cup of frozen peas for the meat, adding the peas on top at the end and recovering the dish with foil a few minutes before you mix the biryani.

To make ahead and freeze:  Make the chicken and gravy mixture and pour into a freezer-safe baking dish.  Make onions and freeze them and the oil you fried them in  in a ziploc bag, flattened as much as possible.  When you want to serve it,  take the chicken and gravy and the onions out and let them thaw.  Make the rice and layer the rice on top of the chicken, then the onions and oil.  Bake as usual. Works like a charm.

Asian Chicken Noodle Soup

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For this soup, you cook the noodles separately, then place them in the soup bowl and add the soup and other toppings right on top of them.  Rice noodles can get really mushy if you overcook them, so by adding them to the soup bowl, you never have to worry about mushy noodles!

Rice Noodles

Place rice noodles in a large, heat-proof bowl. Add boiling water to cover and let sit, gently moving them apart with a fork. Check for doneness by biting one to see if it is cooked through. Really thin noodles cook in 7 minutes or so and thicker ones may need 10. When done, drain and toss with a little sesame oil.

4 Tbsp Soy sauce
2 Tbsp Mirin (can use cider vinegar with a little sugar)
2 tsp dark Sesame Oil
1 clove garlic, minced
2 Tbsp fresh ginger, grated
1 Tbsp sugar
1 tsp Sambal Oelek (Can use Sriracha or any hot sauce you like)
8 cups chicken stock
1 lb. thinly sliced chicken breast
1 head chopped Napa cabbage

Add everything except chicken and cabbage to a large pot and bring to a boil. Turn down heat and let simmer for 15-20 minutes. Add the chicken and cabbage and cook until the chicken is done and the cabbage is slightly softened,7-8 more minutes.

1 bunch fresh cilantro, chopped
6 scallions, thinly sliced

To serve, place noodles in a large soup bowl. Ladle soup over the noodles, and top with cilantro and green onions. Serve with soy sauce and Sriracha to let each person season their soup.

Elote – Mexican Street Corn

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If you live in Omaha, you must go to the Farmer’s Market in Aksarben and pray that the sweet corn lady is there making Elote.  Kumy and I had gotten one, and quickly realized that there was no way we were willing to share.  (Okay, so there was no way I was willing to share, and I ran back to get another.)

There is nothing better than sweet corn that’s just been picked, quickly boiled and slathered with mayo, fresh lime, parmesan and Tajin Seasoning.  This is a version that I make at home.   Tajin seasoning is tart, salty, not super hot and easily available in Mexican markets and online.  You can make traditional Elote using ears of corn or  make a casserole using frozen sweet corn.  It’s delicious either way!

Ingredients

6 ears of corn, freshly shucked and washed (or 24 oz frozen sweet corn for a casserole)

Crema:

1/4 cup Mexican mayonnaise (or use regular mayonnaise with a good squeeze of lime in it.)
1/4 cup sour cream
1/2 cup Cotija cheese (or parmesan in a pinch)
1/2 tsp Tajin seasoning
1 clove garlic crushed, or 1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/4 cup Cilantro, chopped pretty fine
Juice of 1/2 lime

For traditional Elote corn on the cob:

Mix crema ingredients in a bowl.  

Cook corn by boiling in unsalted water or grilling. Slather the corn with the crema, and sprinkle with extra cotija and dust with tajin seasoning.

For Elote casserole:

Mix all ingredients except Cilantro in a bowl and pour out into a baking dish. Baked uncovered at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

Garnish with chopped Cilantro and an extra sprinkle of Tajin seasoning.

Thai Rice with Veggies

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Made this for the first time on Kumy’s birthday last year, with Sriracha-Glazed Salmon.  It was quick and very good.  Yellow curry paste is available in Asian Markets.  I use Mae Ploy Yellow Curry Paste – which is also available online.  You can use coconut milk or coconut cream – both are good, though the coconut cream is of course slightly heavier.  (Avoid using cream of coconut – which is sweetened and used in cocktails.  Ali made that fateful mistake once on what was otherwise a very promising curry!)

2 cups rice
3 7/8 cup water
1 tsp salt

1 Tbsp olive oil
1 package mushrooms, sliced (Add more if you like mushrooms.)
1 or 2 red bell peppers, cut into bit-sized pieces

1 1/2 Tbsp Yellow Curry Paste
1 cup coconut milk/cream

Make rice with salt and water. See recipe here.

In a large skillet, heat olive oil over medium heat. Saute peppers for a few minutes, then add mushrooms and saute a few minutes more. Add curry paste, and stir in well. Add coconut milk or cream and remove from heat. Gently blend in cooked rice. Season with a little salt if needed.

Chicken Fried Rice for a Crowd

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Maya and the gals were all at our house a year or so ago, and so were Sammy and Taylor when I suddenly realized it was supper time! Maya’s friend Madeline loves stir-fried rice and often makes it, so I thought I’d give it a go.

Once you understand the mechanics of it: use cold rice, cook meat, then veggies, then sauce, then add everything back together again, you can use whatever you have on hand. I like it with lots of veggies and meat so I add a lot. It’s pretty easy and it’s delicious – anyway, the gals and our family demolished it!

3 cups rice
5 7/8 cup water
2 tsp salt

Make rice and spread out on a tray or any dish that will fit in your freezer. The rice needs to be cooled down.

olive oil
3 eggs

2 lbs. boneless skinless chicken, cut into bite-sized pieces (thighs and/or breast)
6 Tbsp soy sauce, divided
1/4 tsp Black Pepper
1 1/2 cup chicken broth
2 Tbsp brown sugar
1 Tbsp Sambal Oelek (a great hot sauce – or you could use Sriracha, or Tabasco)
8 cloves of garlic, crushed, or 1 tsp garlic powder

1 cup diced carrots
1 1/2 cup peas
1 1/2 cup diced onion
1 cup bell pepper

Heat a Tbsp of oil in a wok or large, wide skillet. Scramble eggs with a few drops of soy sauce. Remove and cut into chunks.

Mix chicken with 1 Tbsp of the soy sauce, and 1/4 tsp black pepper. Fry the meat, stirring frequently until it looks cooked. Remove from the heat.

Add another Tbsp oil to the pan. Dump in carrots and onions and saute for a few minutes. Add peas and bell peppers and saute for a minute more. Push veggies to the outer edges.

Mix garlic, soy sauce, brown sugar, chicken broth and Sambal Oelek in a bowl and pour into the middle of the veggies. Cook for a few minutes.

Add eggs and chicken back in. Stir veggies, sauce and meat together until everything is nice and saucy.

Add rice back in and cook,stirring to toss the rice with the meat and veggies. Check seasonings, and add red pepper and soy sauce as needed.

Zuppa Italiano with Sausage, Potato & Kale

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4 slices, turkey bacon or real bacon, chopped
1 lb. hot Italian sausage
1 onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, crushed
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
6 cups of chicken broth
2 big potatoes, cut into thin, bite-sized pieces
1 tsp salt
1 cup half n half
2 cups kale, chopped

Saute turkey bacon in a little olive oil. (Real bacon won’t need oil.)

Add sausage, garlic and red pepper. Brown well. Remove sausage from pan, and cut into bite-sized pieces.

Add back to pan, and add broth potatoes and salt. Cook 20 minutes. Add Kale and cook 2 more minutes. Add half & half and check seasoning.

Roasted Eggplant with Tahini Sauce

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From the Wall Street Journal – though simplified. Eggplant and tahini are so good together! The original recipe called for fresh herbs on top, but we like it just like this.

6 small eggplants, halved, skin and stem intact
olive oil
kosher salt

Put eggplants on a baking pan, drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt. Roast at 425 for 20 minutes.

1/4 cup tahini paste
2 Tbsp lemon juice
sprinkle of garlic powder
1/2 to 1 tsp salt
1/4 cup water

Mix all together and drizzle over eggplant just before serving. Trader Joe’s also sells a Tahini sauce which you can substitute for the tahini paste and water. Just use 1/2 cup of the sauce instead.

You can use larger eggplants – just cut them in slices about 1″ thick.

Fish Tacos

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This is so good and if you use frozen panko-breaded tilapia, it’s crazy quick.

4-5 piece of panko-breaded tilalpa from Costco. (Sorry – can’t remember the brand)
cumin powder
cayenne powder

Sprinkle a pinch of cumin and cayenne on the fish and bake as directed. When you remove them from the oven, slice them into 1/2″ slices.

Meanwhile, put together the avocado relish and yoghurt sauce, and warm the tortillas.

Avocado relish:

1/2 cup diced tomato
1/4 cup jalapenos
1 Tbsp cilantro, chopped
1/4 cup onion
1/2 cup diced avocado (can add more if you like)
1 lime, juiced
1/2 tsp salt salt
1/8 tsp black pepper

Mix all gently.

Mayo sauce:

1 1/2 Tbsp plain yogurt
1 1/2 Tbsp mayonnaise
1 lime, juiced
dash hot sauce (can use Tabasco or Sriracha)

Mix together.

corn tortillas
diced cabbage
1 bunch cilantro, diced
Mexican cheese (not taco cheese)

While fish is baking, wrap tortillas in foil, pop them in the oven for 5-6 minutes and assemble avocado relish and mayo sauce.

On a plate, place a warm tortilla, and fan out one fish fillet on each tortilla. Top with a spoonful of Avocado relish. Add a spoonful of cabbage, a sprinkling of cilantro and cheese. Drizzle with mayo sauce and serve. Sooo good.