Pad Thai

One of my favorite Thai dishes is Pad Thai.  The combination of spices and fresh flavors will cause you to become addicted to this dish.  You can make it with anything from chicken, beef, tofu, to seafood.  My favorite is chicken.

This was Roger’s first time eating Pad Thai.  He is not exactly the biggest fan of noodles and didn’t like it very much – which is surprising to me because The Boys couldn’t get enough of it.  Roger was a good sport and ate most of it.  I’ll have to make him something extra special this weekend.  Something Korean…

Ingredients:

½ lime

1 egg

4 tsp fish sauce

4 garlic cloves, minced

½ tsp ground dried chili

1 shallot, minced

2 tbsp sugar

2 tbsp tamarind

½ package Thai rice noodles (I prefer the thin noodles)

3 tbsp oil

1 lb chicken breast, cut into bite sized pieces (you can use beef, seafood, etc.)

2 green onions, sliced (scallions)

1 cup bean sprouts

½ cup crushed, dry roasted peanuts

Directions:

1. Soak noodles in warm (almost hot) water while preparing other ingredients.
2. Heat 1 tbsp oil and 1 minced garlic clove on high heat in wok.
3. Add chicken and fry until cooked, set aside.
4. Add remaining oil, shallots, and garlic to wok, sauté until lightly browned.
5. Drain noodles and add to wok.
6. Stir quickly to keep ingredients from sticking.
7. Add tamarind, sugar, fish sauce, and chili pepper.  Continuously toss and keep wok on high heat.  If your wok is not hot enough you will see a lot of liquid at the bottom of the pan.  If this happens, turn up the heat.
8. Make room for the egg by pushing the noodles to the sides of the wok, crack the egg and scramble it until it is almost cooked.
9. Fold the egg into the noodles; add the cooked chicken, bean sprouts and green onions.
10. Toss a few more times - the noodles should be soft and tangled.
11. Pour onto serving plate and sprinkle with crushed peanuts.  Serve noodles hot with slices of lime and a sprinkling of raw bean sprouts on top.

It is traditional to have extra condiments at a Thai table.  The additional condiments could include, sugar, chili pepper, vinegar, and fish sauce.   This allows your guests to add any extras that they really enjoy.  I like to add extra chili pepper to my Pad Thai – extra spicy!

Grilled Asian Chicken Wings

I had been craving Thai Cucumber Salad for about a week now.  I thought that these grilled chicken wings would go perfectly with the salad and a nice bowl of steamed Jasmine rice.  The glaze has a beautiful sweet and savory flavor that goes perfectly with the smokey flavor of grilled chicken. 

The wings were so good that when my eldest son Donald came home from being at a friend's cookout he ate a half dozen of these little guys. 

Ingredients:

3-4 lbs chicken wings

salt and pepper

1 tbsp garlic powder

1/4 cup oil

1/2 cup teriyaki sauce

1/2 cup black soy sauce (if you don't have any on hand you may use regular)

1/2 cup mirin (sweet Japanese wine)

1/4 cup honey

Directions:

1. In a large bowl coat the chicken with salt, pepper, and garlic powder
2. Once well seasoned, toss in oil (prevents chicken from sticking to grill grate)
3. In saucepan mix, teriyaki sauce, black soy sauce, mirin, and honey
4. Heat until rolling boil, remove from heat
5. Grill seasoned chicken
6. In the last 10 minutes of grilling chicken, brush chicken with glaze - about every 2 min
7. Remove chicken, place in bowl, and toss with remaining glaze

Filipino Chicken Adobo

I am an Air Force Brat.  I have had the opportunity to experience many cultures and live in different places.  I have to say that the time we spent at Clark Air Force Base in the Philippines were some of the best years of my life.  My 7th grade Philippine Culture Teacher made this for us in class towards the end of the school year.  It is one of my favorite dishes, and easy to make.  This dish reminds me of my home away from home.  I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!

Ingredients:

Chicken Legs and Thighs (or half and half chicken and pork mix)
1 head garlic, minced
1/2 yellow onion, diced
1/2 cup soy sauce
1 cup vinegar
2 cups of water
1 tsp paprika
5 bay leaves
4 tbsp of cooking oil or olive oil
2 tbsp cornstarch mixed with 3 tbsp water
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. In a large sauce pan or wok, heat 2 tbsp of oil and sauté the minced garlic and onions.
2. Add the chicken (and pork) to pan. Add 2 cups of water, 1/4 cup of soy sauce, vinegar, paprika and bay leaves. Bring to a boil. Cover and simmer for 30 minutes or when meat is tender.
3. Remove the chicken (and pork) from the sauce pan and in another pan, heat cooking oil and brown the pork and chicken for a few minutes.
4. Mix the browned Chicken (and pork) back into sauce pan or wok, add cornstarch dissolved in water to thicken.
5. Add salt and/or pepper if desired
6. Bring to a boil then simmer for an additional 5 minutes.
7. Serve hot with the adobo gravy and rice.

MMM MMM MMM - SARAP!!

Bacon Wrapped Chicken

Tuesday nights are usually Taco Tuesdays - we opted for something a little different.  Bacon Wrapped Chicken with a Spicy Teriyaki Honey Glaze. 

Ingredients:

Chicken:
Boneless skinless chicken breast, cut in 1 inch thick strips
Center cut bacon
Salt and Pepper
Glaze:
1/2 cup teriyaki sauce
1/2 cup honey
1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 375F
2. Wrap bacon around chicken breast strips
3. Sprinkle with salt and pepper
4. Place bacon wrapped chicken on large cookie sheet 1/2 inch apart
5. Bake for approximately 35-45 min (depending on thickness of bacon and chicken)
6. In saucepan combine glaze ingredients and bring to boil, remove from heat
7. In the last 5 min of cooking brush chicken with glaze
8. Cook for additional 5 min

I served this with a cabbage, broccoli, and carrot salad - topped with Asian Sesame dressing and crispy Chow Mein Noodles.

I'm off to help my eldest son with his Typhoid Fever Project (fun huh?)- so let me know what you think!