Slow Cooker Orange Chicken Thighs

INGREDIENTS

• 6 boneless skinless chicken thighs
• 1 tablespoon oil for browning
• salt and pepper to taste
• 2 teaspoons minced garlic
• 2 teaspoons minced ginger
• 1/2 cup ketchup
• 2 TBSP soy sauce
• 1/2 cup honey
• 2 TBSP orange juice
• 1 TBSP orange zest
• 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• 1 tablespoon sesame seeds and chopped cilantro for garnish
• 2 tablespoons green onions sliced

INSTRUCTIONS

• Heat the oil in a pan over high heat. Season the chicken thighs generously with salt and pepper on both sides. 
• Cook the chicken for 4-5 minutes on each side until deep golden brown. 
• Add the chicken to the slow cooker.
• NOTE: you can skip the browning process if you prefer and simply season the thighs with salt and pepper then add them to the slow cooker.
• In a small bowl, whisk together the garlic, ketchup, soy sauce, honey and sesame oil. Pour the sauce over the chicken thighs.
• Cover the slow cooker and cook on LOW for 6 hours or HIGH for 3 hours.
• In a small bowl, mix the cornstarch with 1/4 cup cold water. Add the cornstarch mixture to the slow cooker.
• Cook for 1 more hour or until sauce has just thickened. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and green onions, then serve.

Thai Chicken Rice

One of my favorite dishes to get from the hawker stalls when I visited my family in Penang! I don’t know why it has taken me so long to try it at home! The sauce is slightly different than what they make in Penang, but I sadly can’t remember what it taste like. This sauce is Thai-inspired. I had trouble finding the right soybean paste, but the thick Chinese version I found was pretty close. It just needed to be thinned out a bit.

Chicken and stock:

• 1/2 uncut chicken. Trim the fatty pockets and some skin to render for the rice
• 1/2 onion
• few springs of cilantro
• enough water to submerge the chicken, you may also use a bit of chicken broth
• salt

Place the chicken into the cold water, bring the water to a boil, then let simmer till the chicken is done (20 minutes). Remove the chicken and allow the broth to cool. Season to taste. Should be just lightly salted.

Sauce:

• 1 scoop of Chinese soybean paste or a few TBSPs of Thai soybean paste (Chinese version is more concentrated and saltier)
• small amounts of dark soy sauce and regular soy sauce
• sugar and vinegar to taste
• 3 cloves of garlic, minced and pounded
• 1″ knob of ginger, minced and pounded
• Red chilies, finely minced
• water to meet the right consistency

1. Start with the soybean paste and add water to create a thin sauce consistency (like soy sauce)
2. Gradually add the soy sauce and dark soy sauce. Use a light hand
3. Add sugar and vinegar to taste to get a good balance of both sweet and sour
4. Stir in the ginger and garlic and chileis

Rice

• 3 cups of Jasmine Rice, rinsed well. Could use a bit of Glutinous rice to improve the texture. The sweet rice needs to soak overnight)
• 2 TBSP minced garlic
• 2 TBSP minced ginger
• 3 TBSP rendered chicken fat (Take the fat and put in a cold pan with a little oil. Turn to medium low, careful not to burn or smoke the oil)
• Enough chicken stock for the rice cooker

1. In a wide bottomed skillet, fry the ginger and garlic in the chicken fat on medium. Do not brown. Cook for about 2 minutes.
2. Add the rice, turn up the heat and fry for about 2 minutes.
3. Pop the rice into the rice cooker and fill with chicken stock up till the line for 3 cups of rice.

Serving:

Plate a bit of rice on a plate. Top the rice with sliced chicken. Serve the sauce on the side. Te left over stock can be served with the dish as well.

Steamboat Dipping Sauce

Every family has their own expectations of what steamboat should be, right down to the name.  Mom always called it steamboat, but most people I know call it hot pot.  This past month, we had four hot pot meals with different families, including my own.  I came to realize and appreciate how each family had their own 'recipe' and method for hot pot.  
For me, the way steamboat should go is to start with plain water, although many others start with seasoned broth.  Add the meats and seafood in to start seasoning the broth.  We coat many of the meats with raw egg or soy sauce to enhance the broth.  
In regards to ingredients, my mom always hand-sliced all the meats, and although very popular among most other hot pot tables, we did not have the assortment of fish/meat balls, probably because we lived far from an Asian market.  Nowadays, we get the meat pre-sliced shabu-shabu style, and our feast also includes meat/fish balls.  Vegetables were almost an after thought in our house, but it was always napa cabbage.  My friend, though, searched multiple stores to find a particular vegetable that she considered to be the quintessential green for the occasion.  My family saved noodles for last to enjoy with the broth we made; a stone soup of sorts.  I have yet to see another family do that.  I recall eating glass noodles as a kid, perfect for a delicate broth, but now I enjoy wheat noodles.  Udon noodles also seem to be popular in other families.
Another highly contended variation is the dipping sauce.  Many people I know go to the trusty Taiwanese BBQ sauce, something I had never tasted until having hot pot with my in-laws.  It's delicious, but I still prefer what I grew up with, of course.  It is a variations of a family friend. He was a friend of my paternal grandfather, who I've seen as a  kid while visiting Bangkok in the early 90's.  It was quite well known from what I remember my mom telling me at the time.

Must haves at steamboat: Egg and soy sauce coated Chicken and Beef, Shrimp, Squid, Sliced Fish, Glass noodles, Napa cabbage, Tofu

Dipping Sauce:

• Preserved tofu with chili
• Lemon or Lime juice
• Sugar
• Cilantro
• Garlic Oil (1 head of garlic, minced, then gently heated in about 3/4 cup of oil until golden brown. Be careful with the heat, it will continue cooking after the heat is removed)
• Chili or chili sauce
• Crushed peanuts

• In a small saucepan, heat the tofu and stir, mashing the tofu into a paste.
• Add sugar to taste.
• Take off the heat and squeeze in lemon juice.
• Add a little water to thin out the sauce.
• Stir in chopped cilantro and chili.
• Spoon on garlic oil. Top with crushed peanuts and more cilantro.

Wontons

I have memories of eating dozens of mom’s wontons for dinner as a kid. I would help wrap them at the kitchen table. Although not every year, we often made dumplings to celebrate the New Year, but as we made a tradition of making steamboat on New Year’s Eve, and a more elaborate dinner for New Year’s Day, it has been awhile since we’ve honored this New Year’s tradition.

Variations are endless with wontons. I prefer the thicker Northern Chinese style wrappers. One thing to keep in mind is to minimize moisture. Also, taste test for seasoning before wrapping by putting a sample of the filling in the microwave to cook.

Filling Options:

• Ground Chicken, Chopped Shrimp, Napa Cabbage (salted and squeezed of excess water), Cilantro, Shitake Mushrooms (rehydrated), Ginger, Garlic, Leeks, Soy Sauce, Sesame Oil
• Ground Pork, Chopped Shrimp, Napa Cabbage (squeezed of excess water), Ginger, Garlic, Green Onion, Soy Sauce, Sesame Oil

Wrap wontons by placing about 1 TBSP filling in each wrapper. Wet edges with a mixture of water and corn starch and crimp the ends.

Bring water to a boil and place wontons into the pot. Cook until they float, then add cold water to the pot and bring to a boil again. Repeat this proces two more times.

Wontons made ahead, then frozen (uncooked) individually on a tray. Store in plastic bags in the freezer

Soba Noodle Salad

Cold, light and refreshing.  A great mayo-free alternative to pasta salad.  The noodles drink up a lot of dressing and needs lots of seasoning.

• 12 ounces soba noodles, cooked and rinsed thoroughly under cold water to stop the cooking process
• sesame oil
• soy sauce
• honey
• rice wine vinegar
• grated ginger
• grated garlic
• chili sauce, optional
• chopped green onion
• salt, pepper
• red bell pepper, thinly sliced
• carrot, julienned
• sugar snaps thinly sliced
• sesame seeds

Make dressing (oil, vinegar, honey, garlic, ginger, chili sauce, salt, pepper) and make overly salty to ensure adequate seasoning of the noodles

Pour over the noodles and mix to ensure that the noodles are well-coated

Add veggies and mix

Top with more green onions and sprinkle sesame seeds

 

Asian Inspired Pork Loin

• 1 1/2 pound pork loin
• 5 spice powder
• garlic powder
• onion powder
• salt
• pepper
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tsp grated ginger
• 1 1/2 cups sliced mushrooms (I used the skinny Japanese mushrooms)
• Hoisin sauce
• Soy Sauce
• Dijon mustard
• Honey
• cilantro (optional)

Rub the pork loin with the dry spices, salt and pepper.  Sear in an oven safe pan until all sides are browned.  Pop in 425 degree oven will cooked through, about 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, prepare the sauce.  In a small frying pan, heat about 1 TBSP oil.  Add ginger and garlic and cook until fragrant.  Add mushrooms.  Once they start to exude some liquid, add a  splash of soy sauce and 1 1/2 heaping TBSP hoisin sauce, 2 tsp Dijon mustard.  Set aside.

Once the pork loin is cooked, move to a carving board to rest.  Over the stove, add the sauce to the pan, scraping of the browned bits.  Add honey.  Adjust seasonings to taste and add cilantro, if using.

Spoon sauce over sliced pork.

Rice Noodles with Gravy

• 6-8 dried mushrooms, rehydrated in 2 cups hot water
• 1 pound fresh rice noodles
• soy sauce
• 2 inch knob fresh ginger, peeled and minced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• sweet sauce sauce
• whole fermented bean sauce
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 4 ounces sliced pork (may also add shrimp)
• 2 fistfuls Chinese greens
• 1 1/2 TBSP cornstarch mixed in water to dissolve

In a wok, heat oil on high heat and add rice noodles, a few handfuls at a time, to the pan, adding soy sauce to achieve brown color.  Allow the noodles to brown or char a bit.  Pour noodles into the serving dish.

Add more oil and stir fry ginger and garlic until fragrant.  Add dried or fresh shiitake mushrooms (thinly sliced).  Once the mushrooms have let out their water, add dark soy sauce, sweet sauce sauce, whole fermented bean sauce, chicken broth and mushroom water (if dried mushrooms used, otherwise, add more plain water).  Once seasoning is at desired level, add pork slices and vegetables.  Add shrimp when veggies are almost done, if using).  Once cooked through, add a slurry of water and corn starch and bring sauce to a boil to thicken.  Pour over noodles and serve immediately.  Serve with pickle chilis or chili sambal.

Ginger scallion dipping sauce for chicken

Used to accompany steam chicken or chicken noodle soup (Asian style)

• 2 green onions, sliced
• 2 inch knob of ginger, finely minced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• salt to taste

In a small frying pan, add the ginger and garlic. Add oil to the cold pan and turn heat to low. Heat until ginger and garlic are cooked but not browned. Add a pinch of salt and green onions. Cook until onions are softened.

Mahi Mahi in Parchment

Minimal prep and cleanup to create this moist fish with  a healthy side of veggies.  Easier than steaming!

INGREDIENTS

• 2 Mahi Mahi fillets
• 1 large leaf of green chard, chiffonade
• 4 baby carrots, cut into 6 matchstick pieces each
• 1/3 zucchini, diced
• 4 dried shitake mushrooms, rehydrated and sliced
• 4 baby tomatoes, cut in halves
• 2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
• 1 inch knob peeled ginger, thinly sliced into matchsticks
• 1 green onion, sliced into 1 inch pieces
• 4 tsp soy sauce
• 4 tsp sesame oil
• 2 tsp agave

DIRECTIONS

1. Divide the green chard into 2 equal portions and place on 2 sheets of parchment paper
2. Place once mahi mahi fillet over each bed of chard. Pepper to taste.
3. Top fillets with carrots, tomatoes, mushrooms, zucchini ginger and garlic
4. Combine soy sauce, sesame oil and agave in a small town and spoon over the fillet and veggies
5. Top with green onion
6. Place a second sheet of parchment on top of each fillet.  Proceed to fold the sheets together to form a packet, with no gaps or holes
7. Place packets onto a baking sheet
8. Bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes
9. Once done, open the packets on a plate and spoon the sauce over the fish and veggies

Pork Satay and Peanut Sauce

SATAY MARINADE

• 2 pound country spareribs cut into  thin strips
• about 6 oz coconut milk
• 1 tablespoon red curry paste
• 1 tablespoon fish sauce
• few stalks lemongrass, smashed
• half bunch cilantro stems, smashed

1. Marinate for a few hours, then thread pork onto small bamboo skewers that have been soaked for at least 30 minutes
2. Grill over medium heat

 

 

SAUCE

• about 6 oz coconut milk
• 1 heaping tablespoonful red curry paste
• 1/4 cup natural peanut butter
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• fish sauce to taste
• 1 tablespoon white vinegar
• 1/4 cup water

1. Over a medium flame, stir the ingredients together in a small saucepan, cook until smooth.  Adjust seasoning to taste