Best Things in Life

First of all, I'd like to welcome new folks visiting from Bob's Red Mill! And dear readers, make sure you check out the wonderful collection of gluten-free, casein free recipes they've compiled in honor of Autism Awareness Month.

Secondly (and I realize without a proper segue), I'd like to just get to business and say that the soup I made the other night (also gluten free, by the way), is the third best thing to have ever happened to me--it closely follows marrying my husband and birthing my perfectly perfect children.

No joking here....It is that good.

I imagine sipping it, beach-side in some fabulous Thai resort. It's hot and sultry...but I've got a beer in hand and the water is steps away. This soup will take you there (no sunscreen required). It's incredibly aromatic with the perfect hint of spice. The bright and zingy broth is tamed with the addition of coconut milk (light is fine) and it's finished off with a handful of fresh cilantro, Thai basil, and sliced red chiles.

I could eat it for lunch, eat it for dinner, eat it every single day. Phuket, here I come.





Thai Chicken Coconut Soup
Adapted from Epicurious
Printable Recipe

Don't let the length of the ingredient list scare you. It's a simple soup to make, with incredibly complex flavor.

Prep time: 20 minutes
Total time: 30 minutes
Yield: serves 4

Ingredients:

4 ounces Thai rice linguine noodles (for Pad Thai)
6 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1–2 red Thai (or jalapeño) peppers, seeded and finely chopped (plus slices for garnish)
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 tablespoon grated ginger
2 teaspoons grated lemon zest
1 teaspoon grated lime zest
Juice from one lime
4 tablespoons Thai fish sauce, divided
1/2 pound brown button mushrooms, sliced
1 red bell pepper, cored seeded and sliced
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 2 1/2-inch-long by 1/4-inch-wide strips
1 cup light coconut milk
2 cups baby spinach
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
1/4 cup chopped Thai basil (or regular basil) leaves

Preparation:

1. Place noodles in a bowl; add enough boiling water to cover and let sit until soft, about 8-10 minutes. Drain.

2. Combine broth, chile, garlic, ginger, lemon zest, lime zest, lime juice and 3 tablespoon fish sauce in a medium saucepan. Bring to a simmer.

3. Add mushrooms and bell pepper to broth, simmer 3 minutes more. Add chicken and coconut milk and simmer, stirring, until chicken is just cooked, about 3 minutes. Stir in spinach until it begins to wilt, about 1 minute.

4. Add chopped cilantro and season with remaining 1 tablespoon fish sauce. Using tongs, divide noodles among 4 bowls. Ladle soup into bowls and garnish with sprigs of cilantro, basil and slices of chile.

Scallops with Thai Coconut Sauce

So the other day a long-lost friend (thank you Facebook) made a special request for a blog post. I've never had one of those before, and thought it was hilarious and flattering at the same time. It seems that he is the cook of the house, and his lovely wife has decided that he needs to cook more of my recipes. Since he loves scallops (and his wife not so much) he requested some recipes that use this tender mollusk so that he might encourage her to give them a second chance. Boy, I hope I'm not getting him in trouble right now...

I personally love scallops. They remind me of my favorite fish, halibut. They are mild, tender and not very fishy-tasting at all. In fact, fresh ones should only have a slight briny perfume, and not an overwhelming odor. If they do, don't buy them. There is a season for the smaller of the two types called bay scallops. They are primarily harvested near the shore in fall and winter. The larger sea scallops are harvested year-round in deep Atlantic waters. Read more about them here. The scallops I bought were frozen New England scallops from Trader Joe's. I am a little reluctant to admit that because 1) it was Earth Day when we ate this meal and they have kind of a large carbon footprint coming from 3000 miles away and 2) I put so much emphasis on fresh. But seafood is flash-frozen, often out on the boats themselves, and can be a tasty alternative for when you cannot find them fresh. I have made these many times before and the quality is really quite good. I don't think you will be disappointed.

I tried to be creative and 'chefy' in the plating of this dish, but it was by no means a difficult endeavor. First I created a rice timbale, where I packed hot rice into a ramekin and then turned it out onto the plate, and then I drizzled a coconut sauce moat around it, in which the succulent golden scallops were floated. Then each scallop and the rice were topped with a dollop of my tomato chili jam (which you can buy at many stores by the way-not my tomato chili jam, but tomato chili jam all the same) and a roughly chopped handful of cilantro and basil. It was salty, sour, spicy and sweet...everything good Asian food should be.

Thai Coconut Scallops

serves 4

1 pound of sea scallops with muscle removed

1 handful of cilantro, stems and leaves separated

3 cloves garlic, chopped

1 T fish sauce

zest and juice from 2 limes

1 T sesame oil

2 t chili garlic paste

1 thumb of fresh ginger, chopped

1 can coconut milk

1/2 t tamarind paste (optional)

1/2 C chicken stock

1 bunch of bok choy, thinly sliced

fresh basil leaves

hot cooked rice

Put rice on to cook.

Into a small food processor place cilantro stems, garlic, fish sauce, zest and juice from limes, sesame oil, chili garlic paste and ginger. Whiz until completely smooth. Heat a medium saucepan over medium high heat. Drizzle in a bit of olive oil and then pour in the cilantro paste. Stir for one minute then add the coconut milk, chicken stock and tamarind paste if using. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer for about 5-10 minutes, or until mixture thickens slightly. Add the slivered bok choy and leave on heat just until bok choy wilts. Cover, and remove from heat.

Heat a large skillet over high heat and drizzle with a bit of olive oil. Pat scallops dry and season both sides well with salt and pepper. Score lightly in a cross-hatch (tic-tac-toe) pattern. Place in the skillet, taking care not to crowd (you might need to do two batches). Cook on each side for about 2 minutes. Scallops should be golden brown, but be careful not to overcook them or they will become tough.

Pack hot rice into 4 oz. ramekins and turn out onto plates. Spoon coconut sauce over rice and around it. Place 4 scallops on each plate and top with tomato chili jam (or chutney of some sort). Sprinkle on chopped cilantro and basil leaves. See? That wasn't so hard.

Something's Fishy

It has been so darn warm here that I am in the mood for summer food, and to me that means grilling. But that poses a bit of a problem, because even though it is still 70 degrees outside at dinner time, it is really very dark. Since my husband, let's call him the grill master, is not a fan of grilling in the dark (I'm not sure I know of anyone who is), my plan is to bake a chicken dish that usually I grill in the summer. Cooking the chicken in a really hot oven should crisp the skin nicely, without the grill, saving the grill master from holding tongs in one hand and a flashlight in the other. And my yen for grilled chicken should be satisfied as well. The marinade is adapted from that Quick and Easy Thai cookbook I told you about not too long ago. It loaded with cilantro, which is so fresh and grassy tasting, garlic, soy sauce, and fish sauce.

I had never cooked anything with fish sauce until a few years ago and I must say that it is quite an interesting ingredient, though a very common one in Asian cuisine. I can't imagine the thought process of the person who initially made fish into a sauce, because to me the concepts of "fish" and "sauce" just do not go together (unless it is a sauce to put on a fish). However it lends a saltiness and depth of flavor that soy sauce alone cannot. The smell kind of reminds me of that awful fish emulsion that my parents were forever spreading around the yard when I was a child. It is pretty horrid, even for a fish lover. But when blended into a marinade it loses it's fishiness and becomes this hint of a flavor in the background that is hard to put a finger on. It doesn't take much fish sauce at all to enhance a dish, so I always try to buy a small bottle. If you do not have any fish sauce, or do not wish to buy any, don't substitute it with extra soy, instead just toss in a pinch more salt, and it should be fine. But do I encourage you to at least try it once.

My favorite part of this dish is the flavorful sweet, pungent and spicy dipping sauce that I make to go along with it. It is so easy to make and so delicious that I could eat it with a spoon right out of the bowl. It uses pureed chili garlic sauce, which can usually be found in the Asian section of the supermarket, and it turns the sauce the most lovely shade of glistening coral pink. The sauce perfectly compliments this chicken, but it would also be wonderful with grilled vegetables, over shrimp or other seafood, with spring rolls or as a salad dressing.

Grilled Thai Garlic Chicken

1 whole chicken, cut into 8 pieces

large handful of cilantro leaves and stems, coarsely chopped (or cilantro roots)

3 T garlic, coarsely chopped

2 T soy sauce

1 T fish sauce

1 t salt

1 t ground pepper

3 T water

Blend the cilantro through the water in a small mini-prep food processor or in the blender until smooth. Place the chicken in a large zip top bag and pour the marinade over. Seal and marinate in the refrigerator for an hour or overnight. Remove chicken from marinade and place in a large roasting pan. Heat the oven to 450 degrees and bake the chicken until it is cooked through, about 30-45 minutes. Serve with chili dipping sauce.

Sweet Chili Dipping Sauce

1 C sugar

1/2 C white vinegar

1/2 C water

3 cloves of finely chopped garlic

1 t salt

1 T chili garlic sauce (sambal oelek or siracha sauce...or minced fresh chilis or dried chili flakes)

In a medium saucepan bring the first 5 ingredients to a gentle boil over medium heat. Boil for 10 minutes or until the mixture is a thin syrup. Remove from heat and stir in the chili garlic sauce. It keeps for about a week in the fridge when sealed in a glass jar. If you are using dried red chili flakes or fresh chilis instead, use sparingly as they can be quite spicy.

Warming Thai Curry Noodles

My belly hurts...well actually all of me hurts. I didn't sleep well last night because every time I rolled over, I was in pain. I went to my first yoga class yesterday at the newly christened YogaWorks and it would be safe to say that I have really let my very consistent yoga practice slide over the month of December. It feels as if I have been punched in the ribs, and the back, and my shoulders evidently contain muscles that I have never noticed until now. But this is all for the best, right...for my health or something? My husband suggested that if something that is supposed good for me puts me out of commission for two days straight, perhaps it is not so good...

I did finally manage to make a dinner after reclining (painfully) near the fire all afternoon. It was a warming Thai noodle dish, with chicken, coconut milk, and red curry, perfect for a cold winter's night. The recipe is adapted from a book that I bought on Cape Cod this summer at Nantucket Wild Gourmet and Smokehouse. It is called Quick and Easy Thai by Nancie McDermott, and every recipe I have tried has been both quick and easy and delicious as well.

Chiang Mai Curry Noodles

Chicken with Red Curry

2 T vegetable oil

1 T finely chopped garlic

2 T red curry paste (I found it at World Market, but they also have it at Whole Foods and Bristol Farms or Asian markets)

3/4 pound boneless chicken, cut in big chunks

2 C unsweetened coconut milk (I used light)

1 3/4 C chicken broth

2 t turmeric or curry powder

2 T dark soy sauce

1 t sugar

1 t salt

2 T freshly squeezed lime juice

1 pound Chinese-style egg noodles, angel hair pasta or spaghetti, cooked according to package directions

Chinese rice style noodles (the very thin kind) (for garnish)

chopped fresh cilantro

chopped green onion

slices of jalapeno

Heat oil and saute garlic for one minute. Add curry paste and saute for two minutes more. Add chicken and stir until coated with paste and beginning to brown, about 2 minutes. Add coconut milk, chicken broth, turmeric, soy sauce, sugar and salt and stir well. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a brisk simmer. Simmer for about 10 minutes or until cooked through. Stir in lime juice then ladle over hot, cooked noodles. Garnish with cilantro, green onion and jalapeno slices.

To fry rice noodles for garnish simply heat about 1/2 inch of vegetable oil in a heavy sauce pan. Carefully drop in noodles and stand back because the oil will spatter a bit. Separate noodles with a fork and watch them rise up. When they are puffy and lightly toasted, remove from pan and drain on paper towels.