Asian Food Night

Green chicken curry (Thai)

The last few entries have been focused on traditional American comfort food.  I love my stews, potato salad, and big American-style breakfasts.  But I also love Indian, Thai, and Chinese food.  These cuisines are HUGE on flavor!  Countless spices, such as coriander, cumin, and cardamom, tantalize your taste buds.  Fresh garlic, ginger, lemongrass, cilantro, and Kaffir lime leaves add layers of complexity to the food.  And the pungency of fish sauce, bean paste, and oyster sauce give Asian cuisines the umami component missing in many Western dishes.

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I first fell in love with Thai food in Minneapolis, tasting my first coconut-based curries and Pad Thai at a local restaurant called Sawatdee (a common Thai salutation, meaning hello, goodbye, good day, etc.).  I was a little hesitant to try these very different foods (I was only 19, and eating an onion was a bold move).  My then girlfriend had brought home leftovers, specifically green curry chicken.  Finding it in the fridge the next day, I heated it in the microwave, and started eating it.  Wow!  In addition to the delicious flavor, the spiciness of the chilies was intense. 

Papaya salad

In addition to exploring Asian cuisine in restaurants, I began cooking Asian dishes a few years ago.  Most of my cooking focused on Thai and Vietnamese, which were my favorite cuisines at that time.  After a year or two of indulging in homemade curry pastes, papaya salads, and delicious stir-fries, I was craving something new.  

It was then that I had my first really good Indian feast.  Rachel’s friend from work invited us over for a dinner party.  Her friend had grown up in India, as did her husband.  For dinner, they made these delicious dishes, such as grilled paneer (an Indian cheese) with vinegared red onions, dals, and lamb.  I can’t recall all the exact foods they prepared.  I just remember leaving that night, stuffed, and very excited about Indian food!

Always prep your ingredients for Asian recipes (they move fast)

Indian food is one of the most challenging cuisines to cook at home.  First, you need dozens of spices.  Second, the prep time can require hours, especially if you’re making a few entrees and the common dipping sauces for naan (Indian flatbread).  Since I started cooking Indian in 2008, I have only had the time (or patience) to cook full Indian dinner parties a few times.  It’s just too exhausting!  It makes me really appreciate Indian food, whether at a restaurant or a friend’s house.

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Thai Basil Chicken, Szechuan Broccolini, and Stir-Fried Cabbage

Back to the present.  Rachel & I had a couple friends coming over for dinner, and we knew they liked to eat more vegetables than meat.  Asian food is great for this preference, and I wanted to find a couple new recipes to complement my Chicken Basil stir-fry dish (something I make every few weeks).  I found a delicious, spicy recipe for broccolini (not baby broccoli but actually a cross between broccoli and kai-lan).  And another recipe that turned out very well was a spicy stir-fried cabbage.  As with most Asian recipes, make sure to prep everything in advance, since most of the recipes move quickly.  My favorite tool in the kitchen is a well-crafted knife.  One of my good friends gave me a Global chef's knife a few years back, and I love it!  


Link: Global 8" Chef's Knife

For wine pairings, I recommend Gewurztraminer or Riesling.  The residual sugar in these wines handles the spice and intense flavor of the food.  I also love beer with spicy Asian food.

Enjoy!

Stir-fried Chicken with Basil

Ingredients:

5 cloves garlic, minced

2 Serrano chiles, minced

3 T. peanut oil

1 lb. chicken breast, cut into bite-sized pieces

½ medium red pepper, cut into bite-sized pieces

½ medium green pepper, cut into bite-sized pieces

20 leaves of Thai or regular basil

4 oz. button mushrooms or large white mushrooms, roughly chopped (optional)

4 oz. roasted, unsalted cashews (optional)

1 tsp cornstarch mixed with 1 T. water

Sauce: 4 T. fish sauce, 4 tsp soy sauce, 4 tsp sugar, 2/3 cup water

Directions:

1. Mix up the sauce

2. Heat wok or large frying pan to high heat, then add the oil

3. Add the garlic and chiles; stir & sauté for 30 seconds

4. Add chicken and lightly salt it; then stir & sauté for 2 minutes, or until it begins to turn white

5. Add onions, peppers, and mushrooms (if using), and light salt it; then stir & sauté for 3-4 minutes

6. Add sauce, mix well, and sauté for 30 seconds

7. Add cornstarch mixture, stir, and sauté for 30 seconds

8. Mix in basil and cashews

9. Taste for salt and spice level, and adjust accordingly

10. Serve over rice

Szechuan Broccolini

Ingredients:

1 T soy sauce

1 T rice wine vinegar

½ tsp sugar

1 T sesame seeds

2 tsp vegetable oil

½ tsp red pepper flakes

½ tsp grated ginger

1 garlic clove, crushed

1 T peanut oil

3 cups broccolini (baby broccoli)

Directions:

1. Mix soy sauce, vinegar, and sugar in bowl and set aside

2. Heat a wok or large skillet to high heat

3. Add oil

4. Add red pepper flakes, ginger, and garlic

5. Stir for 30 seconds

6. Add broccoli and stir for 1 minute

7. Add soy mixture and stir

8. Sprinkle with sesame seeds

9. Serve over rice

Stir-fried Cabbage with Chiles & Ginger

Ingredients:

½ lb. Green or Red Cabbage, cut into strips

2 slices bacon cut into ½” pieces

1 clove garlic, minced

1 Serrano chile, minced (or to taste)

3-4 slices of fresh ginger, cut into ¼” slices

1 star anise

1/4 tsp salt

2 tsp soy sauce

1 T. peanut oil

Directions:

1. Heat wok or large frying pan to medium heat, then add oil

2. Add bacon to the oil before it gets too hot (you want the bacon fat to melt into the oil a little)

3. Sauté bacon for 1 minute, then add the garlic

4. Sauté for another 2 minutes, or until the garlic begins to brown slightly

5. Add the ginger, chiles, and anise; stir

6. Add the cabbage, stirring to coat the cabbage thoroughly

7. Sprinkle with the salt, and let sauté for 5-6 minutes, or until the cabbage has begun to wilt

8. Add the soy sauce, stir

9. Taste for salt and spice level, and adjust accordingly

10. Serve over rice

Cashew Chicken

One of my favorite American-style Chinese dishes is Cashew Chicken.  A quick sauté of fresh veggies, chunks of meaty chicken, salty cashews, and piercing chili spice makes this meal ideal for impressing your guests.

The best thing about Asian stir-fry recipes is that you can choose any vegetables you have in the kitchen.  Leftover onion?  Throw it in!  Toss in your half-used peppers, mushrooms, or even things such as carrots and celery to the wok.  It's perfect for cleaning out the fridge.

Looking at the origins of my recipe, it's most closely related to the Sichuan dish, Kung Pao chicken.  Based on my research, cashews and peanuts are commonly used in the more authentic recipes (I use cashews because they're a little more indulgent).  The only thing missing from mine is the Sichuan peppercorns (gōng bǎo jī dīng).  These citrus-tasting, mouth-numbing "peppercorns" are a unique fruit of a plant that is neither a chili nor a peppercorn.  Allegedly, these little red spices prepare your palate to better experience the heat of chili peppers.  True or not, you'll definitely notice them in the dish.  If you decide to use them, make sure to toast them slightly (1 to 2 minutes) and grind to a powder.  And only use a small amount.  They easily overpower a dish.

When cooking tantalizing Asian stir-fry dishes, the critical tools are a heavy, well-crafted wok and a gas stove.  Electric stoves will get the job done, but their inability to maintain their heat source (electric stoves typically have heating cycles, heating the surface to the desired temperature and then turning off, repeating as needed) can ruin the efficacy of your wok-style cooking.  The stir-fry is all about flash-frying ingredients for only a minute or two.  If you add your cold chicken to a wok that just went into an "off" cycle on your electric stove, you'll notice the sizzle of your wok stops and only continues once the heating cycle returns the wok to the original hot temperature.

Unfortunately, if you have an electric stove, there's not much you can do about it in the short-term.  While it's not ideal, these stoves are still plenty capable of cooking up a wonderful stir-fry.  I cooked on an electric stove for years.  So don't be too discouraged.  Just something to remember when buying your next stove or signing the lease of a future apartment.  Gas is always better!

Back to the cashew chicken dish.  After gathering your wok and ingredients, the next critical step is prepping EVERYTHING before you start cooking.  A stir-fry, as mentioned, is an incredibly fast recipe.  You won't have time to mince the garlic or chop your onion partway into it.  I like to place all the prepped ingredients in little bowls and dishes, which allows you to toss in what you need at each step of the process.  But you could also leave your diced veggies on a cutting board or place them on a plate.  Another tip is to combine ingredients into each step of the process.  So if you're adding the celery and onion to the wok at the same time, you can mix these two ingredients in the same bowl.

Okay...so you have everything ready to go.  Next, heat your wok to very hot.  When you add the peanut oil, it should be almost smoking.  A very hot wok is critical to a successful stir-fry.  Next, just follow the recipe below and serve with Jasmine rice.  White rice is traditional, but I have been using brown for a couple years now due to its health benefits.


Enjoy!


Cashew Chicken Recipe (serves 4 people)

Ingredients:

¼ cup Peanut Oil

1 ½ lbs chicken breast, cut into 1” pieces

12 dried red chilies

5 slices of fresh ginger, peeled

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 medium onion, sliced

2 stalks celery, chopped

1 can sliced water chestnuts

¼ cup cashews, roasted

3 scallions, cut into 1” pieces (green parts) and diced (white parts)

   Marinade: 1 T. corn starch, 2 tsp soy sauce, 1 T. sherry, 1 tsp peanut oil

   Sauce: 3 T. light soy sauce, 2 tsp black vinegar, 1 T. dark soy sauce, ½ cup water,

                           2 tsp sugar, 2 tsp corn starch

Prepared white or brown Jasmine rice

Directions:

1. Marinate chicken for 30 to 60 minutes in the refrigerator

2. Heat work, add 1 T. of vegetable oil until very hot

3. Add chicken, stir well, cook about 2/3 of the way through; remove from wok

4. Clean out wok, add 2 T. of vegetable oil, heat again until very hot

5. Add chilies, garlic, and ginger; sauté for 30 seconds

6. Add onion and celery; sauté for 3-5 minutes, until onions begin to soften

7. Return the chicken to the wok, stir.  Sauté for 1-2 minutes

8. Add cashews and chestnuts, stir

9. Add scallions and sauce, stir

10. Serve over steamed rice