These days just about everything gives me heartburn. I kid you not I drink water and I get heartburn. Water. However, surprisingly, spicy food does not seem to bother me. I eat something slathered in sriracha and no heartburn what so ever.  As a result, I am going to continue adding it to as many things as possible, like this chicken salad, that also happens to be the perfect “man food” dish for football parties, and for tech support husbands.

You may or have may not noticed that the blog has been up and down, up and down, up and down the past couple of days. I thank you for your patience. I think we’ve got it handled now, but it sure does cause some stress on my part. I don’t like the idea of someone coming to visit looking for something for dinner and not being able to access the recipe. So when something happens like this, I turn to my web developer/designer/tech support/husband for help. Luckily he seems to know exactly what to do to get it fixed. As a show of appreciation, I decided to make him these spicy chicken salad sandwiches. He devoured them, as did I. How could we not with the tangy sriracha dressing, celery, shallots, cilantro and crispy wonton slices.

Makes 2 – 3 sandwiches

You will need:

• 1/3 cup mayonnaise
• 2 teaspoons sriracha
• 1 teaspoon rice vinegar
• 1 small shallot, finely sliced
• 1 rib celery, diced small
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• 2 cups cooked, shredded chicken
• pinch kosher salt
• 4 wonton wrappers, sliced into strips
• oil for frying
• 2 – 3 hoagie rolls

1. Combine mayonnaise, sriracha and rice vinegar in a bowl. Mix well.
2. Stir in shallot, celery, cilantro, chicken and salt. Toss until coated in the dressing. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
3. When you are ready to make the sandwiches, heat a 1/4 inch of oil in a skillet. Once hot fry wonton wrappers until golden brown, 30 seconds to 1 minute. Use a slotted spoon to transfer to a paper towel lined plate.
4. Slice the hoagie rolls down the middle lengthwise. Spoon the chicken salad into the hoagie rolls. Top with wonton wrappers and serve.

Enjoy!

I seem to be all about the quick and easy dishes lately. I think it’s because I’ve got a little spring fever and am ready for the light, quick dishes and sunny weather. Stir fries are great when I am feeling like this because they come together super quickly, are usually pretty good for you and not to mention, full of flavor. Take this dish for instance with sliced pork, broccoli and little Thai basil it is sure to be light enough for a flavorful spring supper that will leave you full and satisfied.

I was first introduced to Thai basil at a Thai restaurant when I ordered something called basil pork on the menu. It is popular in Thai cooking and if you’ve had Pho before it probably came with it. Thai basil is different then your traditional basil. It is not quite as sweet as regular basil. Instead it has a much more minty or anise flavor to it. I personally love it.

Serves 2 – 4

You will need:

• 3 tablespoons canola oil
• 1/2 medium yellow onion, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 4 cups fresh broccoli florets
• 1 pound pork loin thinly sliced
• 2 teaspoons soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon oyster sauce
• 1/4 teaspoon fish sauce
• 4 – 5 Thai basil leaves, chopped

1. Heat canola oil in a large skillet or wok over medium-high heat. Cook onions and garlic for 30 seconds or just until fragrant. Stir in broccoli. Cover and cook for 3 minutes. Add in thinly sliced pork.
2. In a bowl mix together soy sauce, oyster sauce and fish sauce. Pour over veggies and pork. Continue cooking on high heat until pork is cooked through. Stir in chopped basil. Serve immediately.

Enjoy!

One of my favorite things to get when Ryan and I go to a local sushi place is, no not the spicy tuna roll, although that is up on the list, but the salad. Funny huh? Well it’s because the salad comes with a tangy, sweet ginger dressing. It is beyond delicious. I find myself taking extra garnishes or even my finger and slurping up whatever is left over on the salad plate. It might not be the most lady like thing to do but oh well what’s a girl to do?

This dressing is so easy to make. I personally think that it tastes better if you let it set for a little while before serving to give the flavors a chance to mingle. It works well over any salad greens but I prefer it if the mixture of salad greens has a bit of cabbage in  it. And if you find a little left over after your salad is done, don’t be afraid to dip your finger. I won’t judge.

Makes 3/4 cup

You will need

• 2 tablespoons minced fresh ginger
• 1 clove garlic minced
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1/4 cup rice vinegar
• 1/2 cup olive oil

1. Whisk first 4 ingredients together in a bowl. Slowly whisk in olive oil. Set at room temperature until ready to use.
2. If the dressing settles, whisk once more before serving. Refrigerate any unused portion and use within a few days.

Enjoy!

Ryan is a huge fan of meatball subs, but the meatball subs that he is used to are usually more of the Italian variety. You know, the ones loaded with mozzarella and marinara. While those are delicious, I decided to go with an Asian inspired sub for this recipe. Instead of using Italian sausage for these meatballs, I mixed pork with oyster sauce, sesame oil and ginger and then instead of marinara, I decided to make a spicy sriracha slaw to top it all off. Let’s just say after the look on Ryan’s face after one bite I’m pretty sure he’s a fan of the Asian variety of the meatball sub as well.

You might recognize the sriracha slaw that I used for this recipe. I’ve used it before. It’s just so good. So spicy and the dressing not only coats the broccoli slaw nicely but it wiggles its way into the crevasses of the hoagie rolls making each bite juicy and flavorful.

Makes 4 sandwiches

• 1/2 cup mayonnaise
• 2 teaspoons sriracha
• 1/2 teaspoon grated ginger
• 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
• 10 ounce broccoli slaw
• 1 pound ground pork
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1/3 cup plain bread crumbs
• 1 teaspoon oyster sauce
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil
• 1 teaspoon soy sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 -  2 serrano peppers
• 2 tablespoons peanut oil
• 4 hoagie rolls
• lettuce and cilantro if desired

1. In a bowl whisk together mayonnaise, sriracha, grated ginger and vinegar. Stir in the broccoli slaw. Mix well. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
3. In a bowl combine ground pork, egg, breadcrumbs, oyster sauce, sesame oil, soy sauce, ginger, salt and serrano peppers. Mix well and roll into about 2o meatballs.
4. Heat peanut oil in a skillet over medium heat. Brown on all sides, transfer to a baking dish and in preheated oven for  20 minutes or until cooked through.
5. When ready to assemble sandwiches,  place a couple sprigs of cilantro, 1 lettuce leaf and 5 meatballs per sandwich on the hoagie rolls, top with sriracha slaw and serve.

Enjoy!

Ryan and I went home to visit last weekend. And while I was there, my mom and I were talking about ahi and the different ways that she prepares it. I don’t make it all that often because I usually like to save tuna for when I go out for sushi. And frankly I’m always a little intimidated by it.  However, after talking with my mom curiosity got the better of me and I decided to make it last night. Let’s just say, I’m pretty sure I’ll be making it at home more often.

My mom gave me the recipe that she uses to make her seared tuna. I decided to use some of the flavors in that recipe and add a few that I thought might be good. The biggest difference is that in my mom’s recipe she includes wasabi in the marinade. For my recipe, I decided to omit the wasabi from the marinade and instead made a spicy cream dipping sauce for the tuna. It worked out very nicely. Heck, now I even have imagines of seared ahi tuna sandwiches with this cream sauce as the sandwich spread.

Serves 2

You will need:

• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons Aji-mirin wine (sweet cooking rice wine)
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil
• 2 ahí tuna steaks
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/4 cup sour cream
• 1 teaspoon wasabi paste
• 1 teaspoon rice vinegar

1. In a bowl combine soy sauce, mirin, ginger, garlic and sesame oil. Mix well. Place ahi steaks in the marinade and turn to coat. Cover and marinate for 1 hour.
2. Mix together sour cream, wasabi and vinegar. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.
3. Heat olive oil in a large heavy bottomed skillet over medium-high heat. Cook tuna 2 – 3 minutes per side.
4. Slice thinly and spoon wasabi cream sauce over the top. Serve.

Enjoy!

I know, I know, I know. It’s winter. Pumpkin recipes are usually best left for fall. But you see, this past fall, I stocked up on canned pumpkin and actually made a lot less pumpkin dishes than I anticipated making. So alas, here it is January and I find myself with a whole lotta pumpkin. So what’s a girl to do? I’ve had my fill of pumpkin pie, pumpkin cookies, pumpkin bread and pumpkin muffins so the next logical thing, in my mind anyway, was to make pumpkin soup. Velvety, luscious, pumpkin soup with a bit of spice from red curry and a touch of sweetness from coconut milk to be more exact.

I actually got this idea from a friend. She tried a curried pumpkin soup at a local restaurant and raved and raved about how good it was. I told her that I would try to make it and put it on the blog. This was a couple months ago, you know, back when pumpkin dishes were all the rage. But not one to go back on my word, I did make this soup and now after I’ve made it I am beginning to wish that I had bought even more pumpkin.

Serves 4

You will need:

• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/2 medium onion, diced small
• 2 tablespoons red curry paste
• 3 cups vegetable broth
• 1 (28 ounce) can pureed pumpkin
• 1 teaspoon soy sauce
• 1 (13.5 ounce) can coconut milk
• salt & pepper
• chopped fresh cilantro (optional)

1. In a soup pot add butter and olive oil. Cook over medium heat until butter has melted. Add in onions. Cook 3 – 5 minutes or until onions are softened. Stir in curry paste, cook 1 minute. Pour in vegetable broth. Stir in pumpkin and soy sauce. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 15 minutes.
2. Slowly pour in coconut milk. Allow to cook for another 15 – 20 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Ladle into warm soup bowls. Top with cilantro if desired. Serve.

Enjoy!

Someone sent me an email a while back raving over sezchuan green beans and finally, this past weekend I got to make them and all I have to say is: Thank you.  I mean really, thank you. I thought I loved green beans before but boy was I wrong. Sure sauteed green beans are good and so is green bean casserole but I mean green beans that are crispy and spicy? In the words of Uncle Jessie…have mercy.

Doing some research prior to making these I discovered that many recipes called for the green beans to be deep fried first. However, since i did just eat a plate of these a few days ago, I decided to do a quick pan fry instead of a deep fry. I was very pleased with the result. The beans were crisp and flavorful and I didn’t have to use much oil. It’s a win win really.

Chinese long beans are the traditional bean used in this recipe but alas, those can be hard to find unless you have an Asian grocery store in your area. If you don’t, or if you are too lazy to drive the 5 miles to the Asian grocery store like me,  your standard beans that you find in the grocery store will work just fine.

Serves 4 (as a side dish)

You will need:

• 2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon peanut oil
• 1 pound green beans trimmed and rinsed
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon sambal oelek chili paste
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 2 tablespoons mirin wine
• 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
• sesame seeds (optional)

1. Heat 2 tablespoons of peanut oil in a wok or other large skillet over medium high heat. Cook green beans 2 – 3 minutes or until the beans start to crisp slightly. Transfer to a plate.
2. In the same pan that you cooked the beans in stir in remaining ingredients including remaining peanut oil. Cook for 30 seconds. Be careful not to burn the garlic. Return beans to the pan and continue cooking 3 – 4 minutes or until the beans have softened slightly but are still crisp.
3. Transfer to a serving platter. Sprinkle with sesame seeds if desired and serve hot.

Enjoy!

Do you ever start cooking a meal with the intent to make one thing but the end result is something entirely different? This happens to me on occasion. This soup is the result of such an event. You see, it was inspired by a brothy noodle soup that Ryan had at a local Asian restaurant but when I started cooking one thing led to another and yada yada yada I ended up with this hearty, flavorful coconut curry soup.

Everything was going as planned when I started the soup but after I added the chicken broth and coconut milk it just wasn’t as thick as I wanted it to be so I thought what the heck lets add some potatoes. Curry and potatoes are good together right? The answer, in my opinion is yes. They worked wonders. They did exactly what I wanted them to do. The potatoes made the soup a whole lot heartier. A whole lot thicker. But one thing I wasn’t expecting was that they pretty much made the soup meal on its own that did not need the help of noodles. Oh well, I’ll use those noodles in another recipe later on. Meanwhile I’ll enjoy bowlful and bowlful of this soup.

Note: To make this vegetarian simply substitute vegetable broth for the chicken broth and omit the chicken.

Serves 4

You will need:

• 1 pound chicken breasts, diced
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/2 medium onion, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 cups chicken broth
• 1 (14 ounce can) coconut milk
• 1 tablespoon green curry paste
• 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
• 2 small russet potatoes, peeled and diced
• 3 green onions, chopped

1. Season chicken breasts with salt and pepper.
2. Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Cook chicken, onions and garlic just until chicken is browned, 5- 7 minutes.
3. Stir in chicken broth, coconut milk, curry paste, turmeric and potatoes. Cook potatoes until soft about 10 minutes. Use a potato masher to mash potatoes slightly. This will thicken the soup. Reduce heat to low and let simmer for 30 minutes. Stir in green onions.
4. Serve.

Enjoy!

I have mentioned before that I plan out my menus so that way I know what I’m going to make during the week. Its great. It takes a lot of the guess work out of making dinner. That is until I decide that I don’t want to make what I had planned. That is what happened to me yesterday, I originally planned to make some kind of turkey burgers but they just didn’t sound good yesterday. I was in more of a meatball kind of mood. A spicy meatball mood to be more exact.

Ever go to a Thai restaurant and have the server ask you how spicy you want your Pad Thai on a scale of 1 – 4? Well is it just me or are these rarely accurate? If you give me a scale of 1 – 4  and I order 4 I am thinking 4 is “I can’t feel my face hot” not “oooh this has a nice kick to it hot” which is what I tend to get. Then again I like spicy. With that in mind, on my scale of 1 – 4 I give these a 3 as in “my tongue is a little tingly and my throat is a little hot but I can’t stop eating”. If that sounds too hot for you cut back the sriracha to a tablespoon.

Makes about 20 meatballs

You will need:

• 1 pound ground turkey
• 1 egg beaten
• 1/3 cup dry plain bread crumbs
• 1/2 yellow onion, minced
• 2 green onions, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 2 teaspoons sesame seeds
• 2 tablespoons sriracha
• 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 2 tablespoons peanut oil

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Combine all ingredients except peanut oil in a bowl. Mix well to combine. Roll into 20 meatballs.
3. Heat peanut oil in a skillet over medium high heat. Cook meatballs until browned. Transfer to a baking dish.
4. Bake in the preheated oven for 20 more minutes or until cooked through.
5. Transfer to a serving platter sprinkle with more sesame seeds and chopped green onions if desired.
6. Serve

Enjoy!

Ryan and I are still pretty busy with our house which means that I haven’t been cooking much lately. It’s really kinda sad, but then again, I’ll have my new kitchens (yep that is plural I now have 2!) to cook in soon enough. I do have a few recipes saved up for times like this when I just can’t get into the kitchen and this recipe for Asian Grilled Chicken just happens to be one of them. And guess what? It also happens to be perfect for summer. To be honest,  I am not quite sure why it took me so long to share this.  It really made some of the best, juciest grilled chicken I’ve had in a while and the Asian-inspired twist is a nice change from traditional BBQ sauce.

Someone once told me that she refused to eat the dark meat of chicken. She says “Ohh its not good for you, the chicken breast is so much better”. My response to her “Blah blah blah. Everything is fine in moderation. Especially juicy, succulent, fall of the bone, melt in your mouth chicken legs.” Too this day I stand by that comment, but alas, if you prefer chicken breast go ahead and substitute a couple of bone-in skin on breasts for the chicken legs. Note that the cooking time will be a tad bit longer.

You will need:

• 6 chicken legs
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 2 teaspoons minced fresh ginger
• 1 teaspoon chili oil
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil
• 1 tablespoon rice vinegar

1. Rinse and pat dry the chicken. Place in a bowl.
2. Whisk soy sauce, garlic, ginger, chili, sesame oil and rice vinegar together in a bowl. Pour over chicken. Cover chicken and refrigerate for 2 hours.
3. Preheat grill to medium- high heat.
4. Cook chicken on the grill for 25 – 30 minutes depending on the size of the chicken legs. Chicken is done when it is punctured and juices run clear.
5. Transfer to a serving platter and serve hot.

Enjoy!