IFN: Japanese Food Night!

One time we pulled Japan. I am half Japanese, so I wanted to try some things that I don't typically make. Even though teriyaki chicken is pretty "standard" Japanese fare, I actually hadn't ever made it before. The menu: teriyaki chicken, Asian slaw (not really Japanese, but a good pairing for this meal), miso soup, and asparagus tempura.

It was really great! So here are the recipes...

Teriyaki Chicken
serves 4

1 T. cornstarch
1 T. cold water
1/2 c. white sugar
1/2 c. shoyu (soy sauce)
1/4 c. cider vinegar
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 t. ground ginger
Freshly ground black pepper
4 chicken breasts

Combine cornstarch and water in a saucepan. Mix together. Add all remaining ingredients except chicken. Simmer until sauce thickens and bubbles.  Set aside 1/8 c. of sauce.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

Place chicken in a lightly greased pan. Brush with sauce. Turn pieces and brush again. Bake for 30 minutes or until done and brush every 5-10 minutes with sauce.

Garnish with extra sauce, sesame seeds, and orange (if desired).


Asian Slaw

6 T. rice wine vinegar
6 T. vegetable oil
5 T. creamy peanut butter
3 T. soy sauce
3 T. brown sugar
2 T. ginger root
1 1/2 T. fresh garlic, minced
5 c. thinly sliced green cabbage
2 c. thinly sliced red cabbage
2 carrots julienned
6 green onions, chopped
1/2 c. chopped cilantro
(can also add napa cabbage and red bell peppers)

Whisk together rice vinegar, oil, peanut butter, soy sauce, sugar, ginger, and garlic.

Combine remaining ingredients in separate bowl. Toss with sauce mixture just before serving. Garnish with sesame seeds.


Tempura Batter

1/2 c. flour
1/2 c. cornstarch
1 t. baking soda
1 t. baking powder
1 t. sugar
1/2 t. salt
1 egg
2/3 c. ice water

Stir together dry ingredients and set aside.

In a medium bowl, beat egg slightly and mix with ice water.

Stir in the dry ingredients. Stir only until mixed. Will be slightly lumpy.

Dip whatever you would like (we used asparagus) into the batter and deep fry in hot oil until golden brown. Drain on paper towels.


Miso Soup

4 c. water
4 T. Miso
Green onions
Tofu

Mix together water and miso until miso is dissolved. Add green onions and tofu (firm), simmer until warmed through and ready to eat.

IFN: A Taste of Thai

Thai food is one of my favorites! These recipes are tried and true and two of my favorite Thai dishes! We had Pad Woon Sen and Gaeng Khiew Waan Gai (Green Curry). Both are awesome!

Plated and scrumptious!

Green Curry
Green Curry Paste (to taste) - I use a whole jar (about 4 tablespoons)
2 cans coconut milk
1 chicken breast
green bell pepper
red bell pepper
onion, sliced
2 red potatoes, or 1 russet potato, cubed
1 carrot
1/2 c. bamboo shoots
2 c. water
1 T. sugar/brown sugar
1 t. salt
fresh ground pepper
1/2 c. fresh basil (preferably Thai)

Cut the chicken in to 1/4" slices. Chop peppers, carrots, and bamboo shoots.

Put a little oil or butter in your pot and saute the chicken and veggies until crisp-tender.

Pour coconut milk into the pot and turn on the stove to medium. When it begins to boil, add the green curry paste. Stir together for 2 minutes. Add sugar, pepper, and salt. Simmer until chicken and potatoes are done. Add basil. Serve hot over rice.

Pad Woon Sen
9 oz. (1 pkg) cellophane noodles (rice)
1/2 c. sliced carrots
1/2 c. sliced cabbage
1/2 c. bean sprouts
1/2 c. green onions, thinly sliced
1 chicken breast, thinly sliced
1 egg
2 T. soy sauce
1 T. fish sauce
4 T. oyster sauce
1 T. minced garlic
2 T. oil
cilantro if desired

Soak noodles in water. Set aside. Scramble the eggs and set aside. Add oil to hot pan. Fry garlic until brown, be careful not to burn it. Add chicken to pan, stir fry until cooked. Add carrots, cabbage, and bean sprouts. Stir fry for  1 minute. Add egg. Cook until done. Add noodles to pan. Add soy sauce, fish sauce, and oyster sauce. Toss well and cook until heated. Add more sauce if needed to taste. Serve hot with cilantro if desired.

IFN: East Timor aka Timor-Leste

I've decided to start incorporating a little bit about the country for all of the interested parties out there...

East Timor or Timor-Leste, officially the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, is a country in Southeast Asia (by Indonesia). The capital is Dili and it uses the USD as currency. Official languages are Portuguese (because it was colonized by Portugal) and Tetun. It's been a little rough for them. In 1975 they declared independence from Portugal only to be invaded by Indonesia the same year. Finally, in 2002, the country became the first new sovereign state of the 21st century!

But things are still hard. Almost 40% of the population lives on less than $1.25 a day. Which is crazy. And about 50% are illiterate. But things are slowly improving and hopefully getting better!

If you want to learn more about this country, visit the Wikipedia page.

Originally I was going to make this involved soup, but if I felt like it used too many ingredients, I can only imagine that it's not really everyday fare for these islanders. So, I went with something that appeared a lot in my searches: Batar Da'an. It's essentially a corn, bean, and squash soup. Looking at all the recipes, if you wanted to be completely authentic, you would just have those three ingredients, salt, and pepper, and serve over rice. But I needed a little more flavor, so I just added some simple ingredients like garlic and onions to give it a little more flavor. Make it however you'd like!

This meal is one of those that is nothing to write home about, but it is cheap and incredibly filling. And it doesn't taste bad by any stretch, it's just very... normal. It's definitely something that you could eat for days and be okay with. We liked it.

Batar Da'an

1 small butternut squash, peeled and diced (pumpkin was also a popular ingredient)
1 can red kidney beans (or mung beans... but I wasn't going there today)
1 large onion, diced
3 cups stock
Garlic, minced (to taste - I use about 4 cloves)
1 can or 2 cups corn
salt and pepper 
Ai-manas to serve on the side (see below) OR sub:
     red pepper flakes
     basil (or 1 sprig fresh which is best, but I used dried)
     dash ginger (or fresh)
     lemon juice
     OR use pre-made chili sauce or other spicy sauce like Tabasco

Rice for serving

Method:
Saute onions and garlic until tender.

Add stock and squash and increase heat until simmering. Reduce heat to medium and add remaining ingredients. Cook until squash is tender (15-20 minutes).

Serve over rice.

If you are feeling ambitious (and I wasn't), you can make your own chili paste. Untested recipe here, so use at your own risk. :)

Ai-manas

Recipe found here.

Chili peppers 1/4 lbs fresh and pulverized (use Thai peppers or long hot peppers for best result)
2 Shallots, sliced
4 cloves garlic, minced
Basil (Thai is close to the type they have there), one big sprig
Ginger fresh and grated or sliced one medium sized root (about the size of your index finger)
Lemon juice 3 tbls
Lemon skin with outer layer sliced off leaving white flesh sliced
Salt

Mix together.

Enjoy your eating adventure. :)

IFN: Malaysia, Benin, and Switzerland

To kick things off in the recipe department (excuse the poor lighting on photos, it's usually dark when I get dinner on the table) I am going to post three awesome sets of international recipes! In our family, we try to do international food night (ifn) 2-3 times a month. This involves picking a random country out of a plastic bag (where we have all the countries in the world) and making food from that country! We try to be as authentic as possible (and that we can find surfing the internet), but sometimes ingredients just aren't easily accessible. At any rate, here are three fantastic tastes!

Malaysia

Rendang
4 shallots
2 cloves garlic
1 cm ginger
1/2 t. salt
1 t. chili paste or 3 fresh chilies
1/2 t. tumeric
1-2 lb. stewing beef, cubed
1 c. coconut milk
2 bay leaves
1/4 c. oil

Blend onion, garlic, ginger, salt, turmeric and chili paste until smooth. Heat oil in wok and add blended mixture. Stir fry for 2 minutes or until paste separates from the oil.

Add beef and stir fry for 5 minutes. Add bay leaves and allow to simmer for about 45 minutes or until meat is tender, adding water as necessary to keep sauce from drying. When beef is tender, add coconut milk. Bring to a boil and remove from heat. Serve with rice.

Mango Avocado Salsa
1 mango, peeled and chopped
1 red pepper, diced
1 tomato, diced
2 avocados, peeled and chopped
¼ red onion, diced
garlic salt
ginger
lime juice
jalapenos

Benin

Poulet Béninois (Beninese Chicken)
1 chicken
1 hot chili, chopped
3 garlic cloves, chopped
2 onions, chopped
1 chicken bouillon cubes
3 T tomato puree
2 bay leaves
1 t. dried thyme
Salt and pepper

Dissolve chicken stock cube in warm water (according to directions); add thyme and bay leaves and season to taste. Pour the stock into a large casserole dish, add chicken. Bring to a boil, cover and cook for 20 mins on high. Remove chicken and set aside. Add onions, garlic, and chili to the stock and whisk in the tomato puree. Continue to boil, uncovered, until sauce thickens (30 mins). Cut chicken into pieces and add to sauce, lower heat, cover the dish and continue to cook until chicken is tender. Stir frequently.

Serve hot, accompanied by rice, yams, or sweet potatoes.

Beninese Peanut Sauce
3 T oil
2 T tomato puree
2 habaneros, paste
½ t salt
1 bouillon cube
¾ c peanut butter
2/3 c. onion, diced

Add oil to pan, heat and fry paste, onion, tomato, and bouillon. Add peanut butter and 1 c. water. Mix and bring to a boil. Simmer, cover, and cook for 15 minutes.

Switzerland

Aelpermagronen
serves 4-6

3 large potatoes, scrubbed, and cut into small cubes
½ lb. macaroni (tubes preferred)
1 c. heavy cream
Pepper, sale, nutmeg (1/4 t)
2 ½ c. mountain cheese (Gruyere and/or Emmentaler) – (1/2 lb)

Preheat oven to 250. Boil 4+ cups of water with salt. Add potatoes and boil for 5 minutes until almost tender. Add pasta and cook al dente. Dump out excess water. Stir in cream, nutmeg, salt, and pepper. (This dish needs more salt than less).

In a 9x13 pan, layer half the macaroni, followed by half the cheese. Layer remaining macaroni mixture, top with remaining cheese. Bake for 10 minutes until cheese is melted and bubbling, but not burned.

Top with onion rings (French’s or make your own). Serve with applesauce (bought or make your own).

Onion Rings
Unsalted butter for frying
2 large onions, chopped into rings
Flour

Melt butter. Combine onion and flour, shake off excess. When butter is hot, fry onion rings for about 4 minutes until crispy, set aside to drain on paper towel.