Steamed Chicken with Scallion Ginger Sauce

From Mark Bittman of the New York Times:

This is a simple but powerful sauce, an Asian equivalent of salsa or pesto. It radically changes the character of anything it touches, whether it’s soup or a bowl of noodles with meat sauce. But also like salsa or pesto, this sauce is actually best reserved for the simplest, mildest dishes, those with little flavor of their own, like these steamed chicken breasts.

Steamed Chicken With Scallion-Ginger Sauce

Yield 4 servings

Time 20 minutes

Summary

I like to steam chicken breasts on the bone because they stay moist and a little more flavorful than boneless breasts, which cook about five minutes faster. I also like to leave the skin on, which insulates the meat, but you can use skinless breasts. If you don't have a steamer, just put a rack into a pot with a lid and add water to a level just shy of the bottom of the rack. The chicken can sit directly on the rack or on a plate placed on the rack.

Ingredients

• 4 chicken breast halves, bone in or out
• 1 tablespoon peeled and minced ginger
• 1/2 cup neutral oil, like canola or grape seed
• 1/4 cup trimmed scallions, white and green parts combined, chopped into 1/4-inch pieces
• Salt to taste
• 2 tablespoons good soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil

Method

• 1. Steam the chicken over simmering water: 6 to 10 minutes for boneless breasts, 10 to 15 for bone-in. The chicken is done when white and firm to the touch; cut into a piece if you want to be certain.
• 2. Meanwhile, stir together the ginger, oil, scallions and salt in a bowl. The mixture should be quite strong; you can add more ginger, scallions or salt if you like.
• 3. When the chicken is done, drizzle it with the soy sauce and sesame oil, and serve. Pass the scallion-ginger sauce at the table, or divide it into four small bowls for dipping.

Source: The New York Times

Corn and Tomato Salad

Tried this warm salad from epicurious - taking out some of the butter, of course - and was pleasantly surprised. Next time I'll cut back on the salt too.

Ingredients

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1 teaspoon cider vinegar

1 1/4 pounds tomatoes, cut into bite-size pieces

1 bunch scallions, finely chopped, keeping white parts and greens separate

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

4 cups corn kernels (from about 8 ears)

Whisk together oil, vinegar, 3/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Toss tomatoes with dressing.

While tomatoes marinate, cook white parts of scallions in butter with 3/4 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper in a 12-inch heavy skillet over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until golden, about 4 minutes. Add corn and sauté until just tender, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a bowl and cool.

Stir together corn, tomatoes, and scallion greens.

Lentil Salad - Lunch

INGREDIENTS

1 package trader joe's precooked lentils

1 english cucumber

1/2 cup crumbled feta

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 tablespoon red wine vinegar

sea salt (with dried shallot if possible)

pepper

Mix everything together and enjoy.

Pad See Ew - dinner Tuesday night

INGREDIENTS

300g or 11oz of fresh flat rice noodle, soaked in warm water

1 egg

9oz of Chinese broccoli

2 cloves garlic

sauces: oil, soy sauce, fish sauce, rice vinegar

firm tofu

For the tofu marinade: 1/2 tbsp fish sauce, 1tbsp oyster sauce, a splash of dark sesame oil.

RECIPE

Toss the tofu and all the sauces together until well mixed. Let marinate while you prep and cook.

Cut the broccoli into big pieces and stem chunks.

Heat the wok on the highest heat your stove can handle. When the pan is very hot, add a tiny splash of oil. Throw in the broccoli stems and toss quickly in the hot pan for just a few seconds. Add the leafy part and a splash of fish sauce. Toss quickly again until the leafs are wilted. Transfer the broccoli into a plate and set aside.

Set the wok back on the fire and let it heat up until smoking. Add another splash of oil – this time a biggish splash. Tilt the wok to coat it well with the hot oil, then throw in the noodles. Shake the wok a few times and toss the noodles to coat them with oil. You can do it with a twist of your wrist if you're good, use a spatula if you're not so sure. Add just a little less than a tablespoon of thick soy sauce, and a few splash of fish sauce. Toss the whole thing again quickly to evenly distribute the sauce. Spread the noodles around the wok a bit to maximize the contact with the heat. That's how you get a nice charred bits from the wok. Add more oil if the noodles stuck to the pan. Like Pad Thai, this aint no diet food. When the noodles are done, cooked through and nicely charred in parts, transfer them to a plate and set aside. Scrape the wok with a spatula to get all the burnt bits out and chuck them.

Set the pan back on the fire to reheat. Add another splash of oil, follow by garlic and the tofu. Spread the tofu around the wok and let it char, undisturbed, then flip to the other side. When the tofu is done, push it over to the side of the wok and crack one egg into the middle. Let the egg set for a few seconds and then stir everything together quickly.

Grab the plate with the broccoli you set aside and throw the veggies back into the pan. Stir quickly to mix, then grab the other plate with the cooked noodles and throw that in too . Toss again to mix everything well.

Taste it, you might need to add another splash of fish sauce or a bit more dark soy sauce to your taste. Add one tablespoon of rice vinegar and give it a toss. A turn or two of pepper, another quick toss, and you are done!

From http://www.chezpim.com/blogs/2008/01/pad-see-ew-for.html

Banana Bread

Preheat oven to 300F.  In medium bowl mix 1 stick butter, 1 c. sugar & 1 egg until creamy.  Mash in 3 large bananas and 1 tbsp lemon juice.  Mix in 2c. flour, 1 tsp baking soda & 1/2 tsp salt (mix the baking soda & salt into one of the cups of flour before you dump it in to make sure it gets mixed evenly in the batter).  Pour into an ungreased, unfloured pan (I've used 8x8, 9x9 & large loaf pans- all work well) and bake for 45 min - 1 hr.