I love it spicy...

Sweet and Spicy Asian Pork

Whole boneless pork loins were on sale last week for $1.57 a pound, so of course I bought two.  A little home butchery and I have a freezer full of chops, cubes, and a couple of small "roasts,"  minus some that went right into my crockpot.  This dish is hard to beat for those hectic weekdays when there never seems to be enough time to get everything done.

There is no doubting that Ben and I like our food spicy, a love not shared by the children (at least not yet).  If you too are feeding tender palates, make the recipe as given and let those who like it hot drizzle additional siracha over their bowls like we did.

 Sweet and Spicy Asian Pork

2lbs. boneless pork loin, all visible fat removed, cubed

1/2 cup dark (or light) brown sugar

1/2 cup soy sauce

1 heaping T siracha

thumb size piece of ginger, peeled and chopped 

6 cloves garlic, chopped

1 large bok choy, chopped

1 large red bell pepper, diced

8oz. mung bean sprouts

In the bottom of a large crockpot, stir together the brown sugar, soy sauce, siracha, ginger, and garlic until the sugar dissolves.  Add the pork cubes and stir until all the cubes are coated with the sauce.  Cover and cook on high for 4 hours, or low for 6 or 7 hours. 

About 1/2 hour before serving remove the lid and break up the pork cubes a bit with a wooden spoon before stirring in the chopped bok choy and bell pepper and recover.  Just before serving stir in the bean sprouts.  Serve over brown or white rice.












WW PointsPlus Values:  This makes 8 servings with each heaping cup worth 7 points.  A cup of brown rice adds an additional 5 points.

Freezer treasures...

Thai Chicken with simple slaw

I have been on a bit of a mission to use up all the stuff I have tucked away in the freezers (way too much).  After doing a quick inventory of what was on hand, I noticed the May issue of Food and Wine magazine staring up at me from the coffee table.  Right there was the answer for the package of leg quarters in the basement freezer.  I had everything on hand to make this Thai chicken recipe except tamarind concentrate, so I just left that (and the sugar) out and subbed in the mango syrup that I did have.  The recipe said to marinate for 20 minutes but I did it overnight instead and am glad I did.  The flavors of this dish were great, especially with the sauce spooned over, but I generally don't like to eat chicken off the bone (too messy and not worth the effort), and this recipe did not change my mind.  I will definitely make this again, especially considering how much the boy liked it, but will use boneless, skinless breasts and thighs the next time around.  The only thing we had with this was a simple slaw, made even simpler by just being shredded cabbage marinated in a bit of seasoned rice vinegar.  Super simple and the cabbage stays crunchy, and the only way I can get the boy to eat cabbage.

Thai Chicken
adapted from Food and Wine

marinated chicken 
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
2 tablespoons Asian fish sauce 

1 1/2 teaspoons freshly ground pepper

 4 whole chicken legs, skinned 

  dipping sauce 
1/4 cup Asian fish sauce

2 tablespoons fresh lime juice 

1 small garlic clove, minced 

1 small Thai chile, seeded and minced 

2 tablespoons mango syrup

1 tablespoon water 

1/2 tablespoon vegetable oil 

1/2 cup chopped cilantro 

 In a mini food processor, process the cilantro, fish sauce and pepper to a coarse puree. Coat the chicken with the marinade. Let stand at room temperature for20 minutes, or refrigerate overnight  .In a bowl, combine the mango syrup with the fish sauce, lime, garlic, chile, sugar and water.    Preheat the oven to 400°. Light a grill. Rub the chicken with the oil and rub the grill with an oiled paper towel. Grill the chicken over moderately high heat, turning, until charred, 12 minutes. Transfer the chicken to a baking sheet and roast for 30 minutes, until cooked.  Just before serving, stir the cilantro into the dipping sauce and serve with the chicken.

This sauce is good on anything...

Grilled Chicken, Brown Basmati Rice, and Steamed Broccoli

with Thai Red Curry Peanut Sauce

This is the most amazing sauce and would taste good on any protein you may want slather it one...I was even dipping tortilla chips in the leftover sauce, it's that good.  If you make it with the 2 oz. of red curry paste, it will have a bit of heat, but not so over powering that non-lovers of the hot and spicy can't enjoy it too...if you do like things warm, add more curry, or do like Ben and I did and dribble on a bit of Sriracha.

Thai Red Curry Peanut Sauce


2 cups coconut milk (or 1 can)
2oz. Thai red curry paste (or more, to taste)
3/4 cup smooth peanut butter
1/2 cup sugar (you may need a bit more if using natural peanut butter)
3 cloves garlic, minced (1 tbs.)
2 tbs. Thai fish sauce
1 tsp. coarse salt

Combine the ingredients in a small sauce pan and simmer for 10 minutes to blend the flavors.

Hot and cold on a summer day...

Spicy Honey Ginger Salmon a bed of whole grain brown and wild rice, with a cooling side of Creamy Cucumber Salad

I was in the mood for salmon, but not just any salmon. I wanted some of the sweet and spicy Asian flavors that I love so well.  This would be easy enough to accomplish with a few ingredients and a quick trip under the broiler...perfect food in that it is simple, quick, and delicious.  But what to serve with it?  Earlier in the week I had been making the vinegar based cucumber salad that Christopher loves so much when Ben reminded me that he like sour cream based cucumber salads too.  This was it.  The cool creaminess would be the perfect foil to the sweet spiciness of the fish, and as cucumber becomes somewhat crisp when salted and drained, it would be a wonderful textural foil as well (and it was, on both counts :).

Spicy Honey Ginger Salmon

1 lb. skinless salmon fillets

2 tbs. honey

2 tbs. soy sauce

1 tbs. ground ginger (not powdered)

1 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes

large pinch of coarse salt

Mix the honey, soy sauce, ginger, pepper flakes, and salt in a small bowl.  If you have the time, prepare this earlier in the day and just let it sit on the counter to marry the flavors; you may also wish to use a smaller amount of pepper flakes if you don't like things quite so spicy.  About 1/2 hour before dining, line a heavy weight baking sheet with foil (easy cleanup).  Place the fillets on the foil and spoon some of the marinade over each, turning the fillets for even coverage on both sides; let marinate at room temperature for 20 minutes while you preheat the broiler.  Broil for 6-8 minutes, depending on thickness, until nicely browned and just cooked through- be careful not to overcook.  The honey in the marinade will burn on the foil, but not affect the salmon.  Serve the salmon, spooning over any marinade you may have left.

Creamy Cucumber Salad

2 large cucumbers

salt (table salt is good here)

1 small vidalia onion (or other sweet onion)

1 cup sour cream (I used low fat)

fresh ground black pepper

Peel the cucumbers if they have a thick or waxy skin, otherwise, don't bother.  Slice thinly and layer in a colander in the sink, salting the layers as you proceed; leave them here for 2 hours or so. 

Peel the onion and quarter lengthwise, slice thinly.  Combine the onion with the sour cream and a generous grinding of black pepper.  Take as handful of cucumber slices and squeeze as much liquid out as possible before dropping them in the bowl of sour cream.  proceed until all the cucumber has been squeezed dry and added to the sour cream.  Stir to combine well and taste to see if you want more pepper (I did); chill until ready to serve.  Any leftovers may accumulate some liquid on top during storage...just pour this off and enjoy your even crunchier cucumbers.

Restaurant Inspiration...

Dan Dan Noodles

Back on Mother's Day my guys had taken me to P.F. Chang's Chinese Bistro for lunch where I had the spicy Dan Dan Noodles.  I adored this spicy chicken dish adorned with fresh bean sprouts, julienned cucumbers, and peanuts.  I vowed to recreate this dish so I did a bit of internet research looking for a recipe.  Nothing I found seemed quite right, many even lacking much in the way of "spice," so I came up with my own variation, using common pantry items.  It's not a perfect recreation, but still very, very good...I will make this one again.

Dan Dan Noodles

4 tbs. soy sauce

3 tbs. lime juice

3 tbs. canola oil

3 tbs. tahini (sesame paste)

3 tbs. balsamic vinegar

1 1/2 tbs. dark sesame oil

1 tbs. crushed red pepper flakes

2 cloves garlic, minced (1 tbs.)

2 tsp. granulated sugar

12oz. pkg. dried Chinese egg noodles

1 lb. ground chicken (I used turkey)

1/2 cup finely diced onion

1/2 cup finely diced carrots

chicken broth, to thin to desired consistency

To serve:  fresh mung bean sprouts, julienned cucumber (with the peel intact), chopped peanuts, sliced scallions

Combine the first nine ingredients in a bowl and set aside. In a large nonstick saute pan, cook the ground chicken (or turkey) with the onion and carrots until there is no pink left in the meat, breaking up any large clumps.  Pour in the sauce ingredients with 1/4 cup or so of chicken broth.  Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer while you prepare the cucumbers, peanuts, ans scallions, and cook the noodles according to package directions.  When ready to serve, place a handful each of the sprouts and cucumbers in the bottom of shallow serving bowls (I was actually out of cucumber at the time, so I doubled the sprouts).  Check the simmering chicken and add additional broth if necessary for a nice "saucy" consistency.  Top the sprouts and cukes with a portion of noodles, spoon over some of the chicken, and top with peanuts and scallions.

That's a darn good (turkey) burger...

 These don't even look like turkey burgers, do they?

The June issue of Food and Wine magazine is full of grilling recipes that I will be trying out this summer.  The first up was an Asian inspired chicken burger with a spicy peanut sauce...I had a pound of ground turkey on hand, and as I usually sub ground turkey for beef, it was a natural sub for chicken.  Ben is not usually a huge fan of turkey burgers, saying that they tend to be dry and tasteless, but this one was a hit and he wanted seconds!  The little guy raved as well and made me promise to make them again, and I most certainly will.  A natural with this was an Asain slaw inspired by one I saw not too long ago on Sandi's blog, A New York Foodie.  Give them both a try...

Asian Turkey Burger with Provolone on Ciabatta,

Asian Slaw, and Home Fries

Easy and delicious...

Ginger Chicken with Peanut Sauce

 One  of my first cookbooks was Simply Chinese by Margaret Leung.  Many cookbooks have come and gone in the ensuing years, but this one remains, and I have made this noodle dish many times over the years, using both chicken and pork.  When I was first learning to cook, I followed recipes exactly, for fear of producing something inedible (although that still seemed to happen sometimes).  Once I knew my way around the kitchen, I was comfortable to start adapting and improvising to meet my needs, or ingredients on hand.  The recipe that follows is my adaptation of the one I started making so long ago...

Ginger Chicken with Peanut Sauce

1 lb. boneless chicken (or pork)

3 cloves garlic, minced (1 tbs.)

1 tsp. dry ginger, or 1 tbs. fresh, minced ginger

1 tbs. canola oil

3 pkgs. ramen noodles, chicken or pork flavored

5 oz. pkg. baby spinach

1/2 cup peanut butter, your choice of variety

4 tbs. soy sauce

1 tsp. sesame oil

1 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes (more for serving)

4 scallions, thinly sliced

Cut the chicken into bite sized pieces and toss to coat in a bowl with the garlic and ginger; set aside to marinate on the counter while prepping the other ingredients.  Julienne the spinach and set aside in the bottom of a large serving bowl.  Mix the peanut butter, soy sauce, sesame oil, and pepper flakes in a bowl and set aside.  Cook the ramen according to package directions, being very careful to to overcook.  Before draining, ladle some of the cooking liquid into the peanut butter mixture, stir and add more as necessary to make a nice sauce consistency.  Drain the noodles and layer on top of the spinach; cover with a plate to keep warm.  Heat the oil in a large non-stick skillet over med-high heat.  Once the oil is hot, saute the chicken chunks until cooked through; place the chicken in the serving bowl.  Pour the peanut sauce into the pan and heat until bubbly.  Pour the hot sauce over the food in the serving bowl and toss to combine all the ingredients (the spinach will wilt with the heat of the other ingredients).  Serve sprinkled with scallions (i was, unfortunately, out of them this day) and additional pepper flakes if you like things spicy.

 Ben's plate all done.

"That was good," he says.

And this is why husbands should not be 

allowed to play with cameras 

at the dinner table ;-)

I love the New York Times...

Bihari Green Beans Masala over white rice, 

Tandoori Pork, and Grilled Naan

Every morning I read three "news papers" online, two local and one national, The New York Times.  I love the Times, not only does it sits well with my somewhat (okay, very) liberal tendencies, it employs some wonderful food writers; I particularly like Mark Bittman, aka The Minimalist, and Pete Wells, of Cooking with Dexter fame. I have a binder filled with recipes I have printed out, and am a daily reader of theDiner's Journal food blog, which is where I found this recipe for Indian green beans last week.  Unlike the Indian broccoli recipe I made a few months back, the family loved this one, and I can't wait to try this treatment with other veggies.  I served these saucy beans over white rice, with Tandoori Pork and grilled naan on the side.

Bihari Green Beans Masala

• 2 tablespoons canola oil
• 2 tablespoons slivered almonds
• 1/2 cup finely chopped onion
• 3 large cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1 teaspoon sweet paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon red chili pepper flakes
• 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 3/4 cup coconut milk
• 3/4 pound green beans, trimmed
• 1 lime wedges
• 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro

 Heat the oil in a large saute pan over medium heat.  Add the almonds and cook until golden.  transfer the almonds to a paper towel lined plate, reserving the oil in the pan, and set aside.  Add the onion and spices and saute until the onion is tender, about 5 minutes.  Add the coconut milk and green beans, mix well and bring to a boil.  Reduce the heat and cook, covered, until the beans are tender, about 6 minutes.  Serves the beans with lime wedges and sprinkled with the almonds.

Now back to business...

Hot Capicola and Spicy Asian Subs

Now that the excitement over my first award has subsided a bit, I can do the post that I intended for yesterday :)  This past weekend it was just Ben and I home, and while we did not get much accomplished (as planned), it was a relaxing weekend (despite, or maybe because of, the rain).  When it is just the two of us we like to eat all those spicy things that we adore, but the kids can't handle.  For lunch on Saturday I pulled out two 12-inch sweet Italian rolls and made subs (beat these Subway!!).

While the oven was preheating to 350, I split the rolls.  I layered the bottom of one with a generous amount of sliced red onion, the other with fresh jalapeno slices (they were HUGE chilies).

On top of the onion went 8 ounces of spicy capicola; on the jalapenos went the leftover Sesame Ginger Pork from a few nights before, complete with the leftover scallions and toasted sesame seeds.

About two tablespoons light mayo to one tablespoon siracha, although I could have safely done equal quantities (for us anyway).

The capicola was topped with pepperjack, and the pork with Swiss, before going into the oven for about 10-12 minutes.  The meat warmed through, the cheese melted, and the tops of the rolls crisped up nicely.  The capicola got a spread of regular light mayo, while the pork got the siracha and mayo mix.  I also sprinkled fresh cilantro leaves on the pork.

I cut these toasty babies and Ben and I took a half of each.  The verdict:  the capicola wasn't bad, but would have been better served by some sort of garlicky and buttery roll, rather than the sweet Italian.  For the pork, however, the slightly sweet roll was the perfect foil for the spiciness of the sandwich.  Ben declared that the sandwich rivaled any that he had had before, and thought that I should develop the recipe for entry to next season's Ultimate Recipe Showdown.  Interesting proposition. 

Not our regular cube steak...

Sesame Ginger Pork with Pickled Ginger and White Rice

I found pork cube steaks on sale at Kroger this week at such a great price that I couldn't pass them by.  I've never cooked with the pork steaks before, but with the beef cube steaks I really love to make a Cuban dish called Bistec de Palomilla made with lime juice and lots of sauteed onions (I promise I'll share that one some time), but with the pork I felt like going in an Asian flavor direction.  A few pantry staples later and we had a very tasty pork dish for dinner.  When Chris saw the jar of pickled ginger on the counter, he wanted to know where the sushi was...I assured him it would taste good with what we were having, and it did.  A romaine and cucumber salad dressed in a ginger vinaigrette was all we needed to complete this meal.

Working over spring break...

Chicken Satay with Grilled Scallions, Red pepper, and Naan

With it being spring break and no kids at home, Ben and I have been busy turning the kids bathroom into a spa-like oasis...Chris so graciously told me last week that he thought he was old enough to give up the bright colors and his lion towel.  So gone now are the bright yellow walls, replaced with a nice calming oceany bluey green, frameless shower doors to replace he shower curtain (amazing how much larger the room seems), and all new fittings and accessories, including big, fluffy white towels.  Now we are just waiting for liquid nails and caulk to set up before we finish up...I'll see about posting a photo once it's all done.

Last night's dinner could not have been any easier...a had a jar of A Taste of Thai Peanut Satay Sauce, and a package of naan, a flatbread you may be familiar with if you have ever eaten at an Indian restaurant.  Add a package of boneless chicken breasts, a large red bell pepper, and a bunch of scallions and dinner would be complete.  I cut the chicken into strips and marinated them a while in about 1/2 of the jar of sauce before threading them on wooden skewers (soak these at least 1/2 hour before using).  I trimmed the onions, cut the pepper into large slices, and halved the naan, making everything ready to go on the grill.  The chicken and veg took no more than ten minutes over high heat on the gas grill, plus a couple more for the naan.  I served this with the rest of the sauce (I did add some salt and crushed red pepper flake to this) and lime wedges.  This was delicious and easy, but I think next time I will make my own sauce, I found this one just a tad too sweet with no heat, although it would certainly be kid friendly left as is.

What I've been cooking lately...

 Festive Spinach Rice with roasted Dijon Turkey Tenderloin.

Not much going on this weekend.  I had planned to start clearing the beds outside in preparation for spring, but the continuing rain makes that impossible today (maybe tomorrow).  Chris and I are the only ones home this weekend- I think we will grab a video and pizza for the evening and just enjoy the laziness.   I'll take this relaxed weekend as a chance to get some of my recent creations up and in the index, and then I'll snuggle up with a good book.  These will all fall firmly in the easy and quick category, good to remember for those busy days. that inevitably outnumber the lazy ones.  Enjoy :)

A whole weekend of nothing...

One of a set of small plates my sister in law brought me from a trip to Japan.

Here it is, already Monday...the trend of not cooking continued through the weekend, but not by busy schedules or happy events. I woke up Saturday with a feeling of unwellness, a feeling that only increased as the day progressed. We were supposed to entertain friends Saturday night- canceled- and I was supposed to have lunch with a few of the girls on Sunday- canceled- what a bummer. This morning I have put some frozen meatballs and sauce in the crockpot so I can at least feed my family tonight. By adding some beef broth, canned tomatoes, and barley to some bags of frozen goodies from the freezer, Ben made a wonderful soup in Saturday, and soup is exactly what I needed (thank goodness again for both crockpots and well-stocked freezers). Still not well today, so off to the doc with me this afternoon- can't risk being ill for our trip to Florida in less than two weeks.

The sushi on Friday night turned out surprisingly well. I cheated for this first time and used imitation crab sticks (I know, shame on me), and paired them with strips of avocado and red bell pepper. I followed the directions on the back of the nori package and spread the first sheet with two cups of the prepared rice. This resulted in huge a huge roll with TOO much rice. I made two more rolls, using half the rice, and these turned out quite nicely (a helpful tip is to cut the roll with a serrated knife). The pieces looked very nice, and tasted pretty good too, but the nori seemed very tough, almost like it was too thick (I did check to ensure that I was only using one sheet). I made the mistake of not purchasing a good quality soy sauce for dipping- the Kroger brand sauce is much too salty and shall only be used for cooking. The wasabi was hotter than any we had had before and I thought Christopher was going to fall off his chair, he was laughing so hard at our reactions (I swear, it made my ears hurt and Ben's eyebrows were sweating). Overall, not bad, but I think we will stick to eating our sushi out...

We finished dinner with noodle bowls made from leftover roast. The wonderful thing about noodle bowls is that you can put just about anything in them and they turn out good. I brought some chicken broth to a simmer and added to it some minced garlic and ginger, along with the leftover sauce from the pork. Once it was simmering I added the pork, cut into matchsticks, and some thinly sliced bok choy. When we were ready to eat I ladled the "soup" over some prepared ramen noodles (Meijer had been out of both udon and soba noodles). Chris declared this delicious (the ramen was a plus in his mind) and went back for seconds (and thirds on just plain noodles).

Here's the leftover noodles and soup (I again forgot to take as photo while serving).

Well, before I managed to get this posted today, I not only made my visit to the doctor, but Ben made it home bearing not only my prescriptions, but also a box of Kroger fried chicken (gotta love him for trying to take care of things), so the spaghetti and meatballs shall have to be tomorrow's dinner...

That's a spicy meatbal!

Brown basmati rice salad with baby cucumber, scallion, red and yellow bell pepper, and fresh cilantro, tossed with a ginger sesame dressing.

I love Latin American food, Mexican in particular, and my favorite meat for Mexican is puerco, or pork...I sometimes dream about carnitas and al pastor (not really, but you get the point). I also love Asian flavors, not Chinese so much as the spicy flavors of Thai and Vietnamese food, and after all, so many of the ingredients are similar, just used in different ways. Over the last week I mixed things up a bit and cooked pork with an Asian twist, rather than the Mexican inspired manner that I do so often.

There is no doubt that Ben and I like a little heat in our food, and the Vietnamese meatball sandwiches I made last week were certainly spicy. The recipe for these was one of my Recipe of the Day entries on my Yahoo page last week, and came from Epicurious.com, a very good site you should check out if you are not familiar. And if you have ever put spicy food away for another day, you know that it gets even spicier, as were the remains we had over the weekend. I served these sandwiches with a salad made of brown basmati rice tossed with a bottled sesame ginger dressing and veggies, a very nice cooling counterpoint. For dinner tonight I made the Sweet and Spicy Asian Pork Shoulder that I found in this month's issue of Real Simple magazine, and was it ever so easy. Since it is an easy crockpot recipe, it would be good for a busy day. The boys loved this one, and Chris even asked for more broth to finish his rice with. I made minor adaptations to both recipes (but, of course) and are giving them to you how I made them.

Pork Meatball Banh Mi

Hot Chili Mayo:
2/3 cup light mayo
2 scallions, finely sliced
1 tbs. Siracha
Meatballs:
1 lb. ground pork
4 garlic cloves, minced (about 4 tsp)
3 scallions, finely sliced
1 tbs. fish sauce
1 tbs, Siracha
1 tbs. sugar
1 tbs. cornstarch
coarse salt & fresh ground black pepper
Sandwiches:
1 lb. pkg. shredded slaw mix
1/4 cup rice vinegar
1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp. coarse salt
1 tbs. sesame oil
4 10" individual baguettes
thinly sliced fresh jalapenos
16 large sprigs fresh cilantro

Hot Chili Mayo: Combine ingredients in a small bowl, cover and chill until needed. Meatballs: Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil. Mix the ingredients and using moistened hands, roll scant tablespoons of the mixture into 1-inch meatballs (I got 30). Bake at 350 for 30 minutes. Sandwiches: One hour before serving (you want it to stay crisp), toss the first 5 ingredients together. Let stand at room temperature, stirring occasionally. Slice each baguette in half horizontally and pull a little bread from the inside of each half, leaving a 1/2 inch shell. (I forgot to do this the first time and the meatballs kept falling out). Spread the mayo over each half then arrange jalapenos and cilantro on the bottom halves. Fill each with 1/4 of the meatballs and top generously with the slaw. Press on the top halves and enjoy.


Sweet & Spicy Asian Pork Shoulder

2 & 1/2 lbs. boneless pork shoulder, trimmed of excess fat and cut into 1-inch cubes
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tbs. Siracha (love this stuff :)
1 tbs. finely minced garlic
1 tbs. grated fresh ginger (I used it from a jar)
coarse salt & fresh ground black pepper
1 fairly large head of bok choy, sliced
1 bunch scallions, thinly sliced
cooked white or brown rice to serve (I used brown basmati)
crushed red pepper flakes and/or thinly sliced fresh jalapeno (optional)

Combine the ingredients through salt and pepper in a crockpot, cook on low 7 or 8 hours (mine only takes 6). A half hour before serving, stir in the bok choy. Serve over rice and sprinkle with the sliced scallions. Ben and I added both the crushed pepper flakes and jalapeno slices to ours. Be sure to serve in shallow bowls as this ends up with a very nice broth and you don't want to miss any of it.