Easy Asian Spicy Shrimp And (Or) Chicken

Do you have any picky eaters in your house? I do. Yep, it's my husband, Mark. While I adore fish and seafood, Mark's word would be abhor not adore when it comes to things that swim. Not a deal breaking difference for sure, but one that can make meal planning a little difficult sometimes.

A few weeks ago, I came up with a very simple glaze for shrimp on the grill I thought it would be amazing...'thought' being the operative word here. Turned out that the glaze burned off and didn't leave much of the sweetness and tartness of the lovely orange, hot pepper, rice vinegar, garlic and ginger flavors behind. As we used to say in the old days of the sixties, "bummer." 

The glaze/sauce was spot on, but I'd used the wrong cooking method. Fail. Except...what if instead of using it as a glaze, I used it as a sauce? What if I dredged great big beautiful shrimp in cornstarch and egg white and made an Asian Spicy Orange Shrimp dish? I'd love it! Mark wouldn't. 

But. Since the sauce was going on after frying, it could be poured over both shrimp AND crisp chunks of chicken for Asian Spicy Chicken to keep Mark a happy hubby.

Whoa...one sauce, TWO satisfied diners, one happy couple! That might just make it a win win WIN, happily ever after situation. And it was.

Easy Asian Spicy Shrimp And (Or) Chicken

• 1 t fresh orange zest - save the juice to thin your sauce if needed
• 1/4 C orange marmalade
• 1/4 C Frank's Red Hot Sweet Chile Sauce - LOVE this stuff!
• 1 t granulated garlic
• 1/4 t ginger
• 3 T rice wine vinegar
• 1/2 t red pepper flakes

• 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1" chunks
• 12 extra large shrimp - peeled, deveined, tails removed if you wish 
• 2 egg whites - feel free to use egg whites in a carton to make things even easier
• 1/3 C cornstarch
• 1/2 t Kosher salt
• canola oil - enough to come 1 1/2" up the side of a cast iron skillet (or other skillet if you don't own a cast iron one)

First, in a small saucepan, whisk the sauce ingredients together over low heat - orange zest through red pepper flakes - just until the mixture is smooth. Set aside.

In a deep bowl, make the batter by beating the egg whites until frothy, then beating in the cornstarch and salt until you have a smooth, lump free batter. Set aside

Start heating the oil in the skillet to about 350 degrees. When the oil is hot, start battering the chicken first.

Working quickly, add the chicken chunks to the batter. Give them a good stir and one by one take them from the batter, letting excess batter drop back into the batter bowl; carefully add each piece to the hot oil. Be sure allow enough room so each piece of chicken fries evenly. Turn over the pieces as they turn golden and cook on the other side. Remove with a slotted spoon or a spider to a paper towel lined platter.

Now do the same thing with the shrimp. Why do the chicken first? So the picky eater's chicken doesn't taste like shrimp! Not quite enough batter to do the shrimp, too? Make another batch of batter!

Once both proteins are fried to perfection, make a bed of cooked rice (brown in this case) and spoon the sauce over the shrimp and the chicken. 

NOTE: I served steamed red peppers and broccolini with the meal for lots of color and healthy vitamins!

Asian-ish Thai-ish Chicken Lettuce Wraps With Peanut Sauce

Crazy cravings for Thai food and/or Lettuce Wraps at P. F. Chang's...and NO time to get anywhere(!)...led to today's recipe. It's an Asian fusion kinda, Thai kinda...well, I don't know which actual kinda mish mash of Asian culture the rest of the wrap could be ascribed to - all I do know is that the wraps scratched every Asian itch we had. 
 
Despite the fact that there are several parts to this recipe, don't be intimidated by the length of the recipe. Each component is easy to do and can be whipped up ahead of time. When you're ready for dinner, warm the filling and dinner is ready for YOU! 

Asian-ish Thai-ish Chicken Lettuce Wraps 

                                  With Peanut Sauce

 

Filling:

• 2 chicken breasts, minced in the food processor - don't overprocess into a paste! (method: cube still slightly frozen chicken and process in short pulses until it's a coarse, nice sized mince)
• 2 green onions, sliced well into the green
• 1 carrot, peeled, julienned
• 3/4 ounce Mei Fun rice noodles, crushed
• 1/4 c. water
• 1/4 water chestnuts, finely chopped
• 2 T soy sauce - or wheat free tamari if gluten is an issue
• 1 T chili oil
• 2 t. sesame oil 

 

• 2 T. rice wine vinegar
• 2 T. sugar
• 2 large cloves garlic, minced
• 2 t. grated fresh ginger + the juice that accumulates under the grater
• 3 T. wheat free tamari
• 1 t. chili oil
• 1 t. dark sesame oil

• 1T peanut oil

Salad:

• 6 T. shredded carrot
• 4 T. thinly sliced green onion
• 4 T. finely diced seedless cucumber
• 2 very small cloves garlic, minced
• 2 T. thinly slivered red bell pepper
• 2 T. cilantro, minced
• reserved marinade from above
• 2 (or so - taste before adding more) T water

Sauce:

• 3 T. lime juice
• 2 t. fish sauce
• 2 t. soy sauce or wheat free tamari if gluten is an issue
• 1 t. sesame oil
• 2 t. sugar
• 2 t. water
• 3 cloves garlic
• 2 T peanut butter

Garnish:

• finely chopped dry roasted peanuts
• finely chopped cilantro

• Bibb, small Romaine or leaf lettuce leaves - you know, small and flexible lettuce!

Marinade: Make marinade for chicken of rice wine vinegar through dark sesame oil. Stir well. Set aside 2 T. of the marinade and add the minced chicken to the remaining marinade. Refrigerate a couple of hours or so - overnight even.
 
Filling: Heat peanut oil in skillet. When it's good and hot, chicken by batches and brown. Remove each batch to a plate as it's done. When all the chicken is done, return it - and ALL the juices - to the skillet and add water chestnuts, noodles, green onion and carrot. Add the rest of the filling ingredients, stir well and taste - adjust seasonings as necessary. 
 
Salad: In a medium bowl, toss together the shredded carrot, green onion, cucumber, garlic, red pepper and cilantro. Add reserved marinade mixed with water - taste the sauce and adjust as necessary. Set aside.
 
Sauce: Whisk the sauce ingredients well - taste & adjust. Set aside.
 
To serve: Plate a pile of lettuce leaves, a bowl of chicken, the shredded salad and the sauce. On a lettuce leaf, put a spoon of filling, a spoon of salad, drizzle with sauce and garnish with peanuts and cilantro. Roll and enjoy!

Plum Smoked Duck with Plum Wine Reduction

Duck...duck...duck...NOT goose! Duck. Smoked duck to be specific. Fine tuning it even more, duck marinated in Japanese plum wine (gekkheikan), garlic, Asian 5-spice, star anise, Szechuan peppercorns and tamari, then smoked over a combo of apple and cherry woods and served with a fresh plum and plum wine reduction. Drooling yet?

This was our very first venture into duck smoking so we kind of went into it blindly. (Just so you know, with great effort I'm resisting a duck blind joke. You're welcome.) I knew I didn't want to go the traditional orange route...so overdone, don't you think? But the classic combo of fruit and duck is a time-honored tradition for a reason. They were meant for one another!

The plan was to use sake as the marinade base, but when I found plum wine on the state store shelf, the rest of the flavors fell right in line. Plums are plentiful in the farm markets right now so Italian prune plums went on the list. The rest of the ingredients found their way from the pantry and spice rack into the solution and became one beautifully fragrant bath for our plump duck.

After hours of smoking the duck to a deep, rich brown lacquer, all that was needed was a simple sauce to highlight the the smoky, sweet flavor. You should have smelled the luscious, fruity, spicy aroma as it rose from the opened smoker! Heaven. 

Isn't he pretty?!

A simple reduction of the same plum wine mixed with crushed plums, organic orange blossom honey (ha! I did get the classic orange in there after all!), sharp Colman's mustard, ginger and garlic produced a gorgeous dark red sauce that accented the sweet, slightly game-y duck perfectly. You might even say dinner was plum delicious!    

Plum Smoked Duck With Plum Wine Reduction

• 1 5-pound (approximately) duck, thawed if necessary

• 3 BIG garlic cloves...or 6 smaller ones, smashed
• 1 star anise, crushed
• 3 slices fresh ginger root, about quarter sized
• 1 tablespoon Scechuan peppercorns, crushed
• 2 teaspoons five-spice powder
• 2 tablespoons tamari soy sauce, Gluten-free to make this GF
• 1 1/2 cups wine, Japanese Plum Wine - also known as Gekkeikan

• 1 cup wine, Japanese Plum Wine - yep, same as above
• 4 very ripe Italian prune plums, seeded and quartered
• 1 teaspoon honey, orange blossom...or your own favorite
• 1 teaspoon Colman's dry mustard
• 1 teaspoon granulated garlic
• a hefty pinch of powdered ginger

The night before you want to serve this, combine garlic, star anise, fresh ginger, Szechuan peppercorns, 5-spice, tamari and plum wine in a gallon size zip top plastic bag. Squeeze out all the air, seal tightly and put it into a bowl that holds it snugly. (If it leaks, it won't be all over your fridge if it's in a bowl!)
 
The next day, take the duck out of the marinade and discard the marinade. Dry the duck thoroughly with paper towels. Pour the soda out of a soda can, add about 1/2 cup of plum wine, a hefty shake of granulated garlic, 1/2 t. - 1 t. cayenne, 1/2 t. mustard powder and 1 t. ginger. Yes, this will cook beer can chicken style! Fit the duck over the spice and wine filled can and carefully set aside.
 
Soak a combination of half cherry/half applewood chips for at least an hour. Prepare the smoker according to whatever smoker you use. When the coals are hot, scatter the chips.
 
Put the duck on the smoker and smoke for at least 6 hours - more or less according to your smoker and/or your preference. You know I'm loose about smoking instructions...every smoker is different! Remove the duck and let sit while you make the reduction.
 
REDUCTION (reDUCKtion?): In a saucepan combine 1 c. plum wine, the quartered plums, honey and spices. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to medium. Let simmer until the liquid reduces by half. Strain the reduction through a small strainer, pressing the solids to extract all the liquid.
 
Slice the duck and serve with the beautiful sauce. This would also be wonderful with a chicken...and there's a LOT more meat on a chicken! (A turkey breast would work well, too!)

Bacon Pineapple Chicken Skewers with Asian Orange Glaze

Nothing like coming home from a long day at work...or a 7 hour road trip...and still having time to grill a good meal. Burgers? Nope. Almost just as easy, yet just a little more interesting was what I had in mind. 
 
I knew we already had the ingredients for a good shish-kabab. There was a fresh pineapple that had been intended for another dinner on the counter NEEDING to be used and there was bacon in the fridge (just between you and me, there is ALWAYS bacon in the fridge!). Eternally versatile and endlessly adaptable, boneless chicken breast was the third choice for a light and satisfying, threaded-onto-wooden-skewers summer evening dinner on the deck.

(Entertaining a few friends? You could whip these up on smaller skewers as an appetizer, too.)
 
Once the kabobs were cooked through on the grill, a quick baste of an orange marmalade, garlic, soy sauce and cayenne pepper mixture added a nice zippy accent that glazed them to picture perfection. 

All that was left was to plate the skewers on a bed of Romaine lettuce, add a drizzle of extra glaze whisked with a little champagne vinegar as a dressing and our Bacon Pineapple Chicken Skewers made a lovely and light meal for one weary traveler. 

Easy clean-up, too! At least it was easy when the hubby cleaned up the kitchen while I relaxed the miles off my weary-from-the-driver's-seat tush. Thanks!

 Bacon Pineapple Chicken Skewers 

with Asian Orange Glaze

Serves 4 as an entree, 6-8 as appetizers

• 3 boneless skinless chicken breast halves, cut into 1 1/2" cubes
• 1 fresh pineapple, peeled and cored, cut into 1 1/2" cubes
• 10 slices bacon, cooked slightly, don't let it crisp!

• 6 tablespoons orange marmalade
• 2 tablespoons tamari soy sauce (wheat-free tamari to make this GF or regular soy sauce if gluten isn't an issue for you)
• 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper, more or less to your taste - you know I like more!
• 2 teaspoons granulated garlic

Soak 10 wooden skewers for at least an hour in water - add salt to the water to help season the chicken and pineapple from the inside out! I used 4" appetizer size skewers.

Ready for the glaze, a close up view of the alternating assembly.         Easy...you can do it!

 

Skewers Assembly: When the skewers are ready, thread a chicken cube, then an end of the bacon, a pineapple cube, fold the bacon back and skewer again, then the chicken, fold the bacon over, the pineapple...you get the idea. Just keep alternating chicken and pineapple and weaving the bacon back and forth until the skewer is full. Set aside.
 

Glaze: Mix the marmalade, tamari, cayenne and granulated garlic well. Set aside.
 

Preheat the grill and grill the skewers over a slow heat turning occasionally until the chicken is cook through on all sides. Once they are done, baste the glaze on one side and turn. Let them grill until the glaze is set on the first side, turn again and set the glaze on the second side. Remove to a clean plate and serve.
 

NOTE: You can mix up another batch of the glaze, add a tablespoon of champagne or rice wine vinegar to it, stir and there you have a dipping sauce for the kebabs. Do NOT use the glaze leftover from basting the skewers because they will be contaminated with raw chicken from basting.

Fellow Food Bloggers and Cocktail Cohorts - The Brunch

Occasionally - not always - some of the best plans are hatched among friends around the bar. As I recall, the idea arose around a discussion of tiki drinks, which led to building the perfect pina colada, which led to the question, "Have you ever had a grilled pina colada?" Which naturally then led to the next question, "When are you going to have US over for brunch?!" Thus the plan AND the brunch was born.

Bloody Mary Bar - Just the beginning!                 Photo credit - Jenn Tkocs & Michael Scotto

 
Dessert was already set...grilled pina coladas, of course. And Bloody Marys because, in my humble opinion, there is no brunch without bloodies. Two kinds actually - a standard one for non-adventurers, and a not-for-the-faint-of-heart version kicked up with reconstituted dried guajillo peppers and chile de arbol peppers, fresh garlic and jalapenos, mesquite smoked salt and some other fun stuff thrown in for good measure. Okay...drinks and dessert are set, what else? (Imagine the thrumming of fingertips on tabletop while pondering the question....) 

Smoked Pork Belly on the left, Grilled Paiche on the right - both with ALL the fixings!                Photo credit - Jenn Tkocs & Michael Scotto

Photo credit - Jenn Tkocs & Michael Scotto

Breakfast tacos! (NO! I just realized I forgot to make dippy eggs! Drat.) Sans the dippy eggs, we managed to make do with roasted mojo pork, grilled paiche fish (the fishmongers behind the glass at Whole Foods assured me it was a mild, sweet and delicious pick - and it was on sale!) and smoked pork belly that I'd rubbed the night before. Mark got up early to get it on the smoker by 6:00 a.m.! 

With breakfast tacos, naturally there were black beans, jalapeno coleslaw, cilantro lime crema and pickled red onions as traditional accompaniments. A huge coconut rum fruit salad filled in the holes...oh, and a batch of key lime coconut bars, too.  
 

Sure food is important at a brunch, but with the cocktail geeks and bartenders in attendance, there must be fabulous cocktails! And there were. Each guest was requested to bring the requirements for his or her favorite or signature cocktail. Boy oh BOY, did they come through! 

Michael with Blackberry Mezcal Julep   Photo credit - Jenn Tkocs & Michael Scotto

Jenn and Michael (of the blog 101 Achievements fame) made a variation on a julep...made with mezcal (instead of bourbon) and blackberries along with the required julep ingredient, mint. Smoky, sweet and minty with a kick. Marvelous.

Tiki Max in the midst of the 1934 Zombie creative process!   
Photo credit - Jenn Tkocs & Michael Scotto

Max and Chip (of RhoMania) brought some amazing rums and homemade syrups they magically turned into classic tiki drinks. Max's authentic tiki mugs were the icing on the cake...or the lime in the coconut? Max made not just any old Zombie, but the original 1934 Zombie recipe using hand-cranked crushed ice, no less. Next up was the 151 Swizzle!

Dave and Gail discussing proper Mai Tai preparation.   Photo credit - Jenn Tkocs & Michael Scotto  

One beautifully garnished Mai Tai Photo credit - Jenn Tkocs & Michael Scotto

 


That wasn't the end of the tiki drinks, folks. Fellow former mixology classmates, Gail and Dave, created Mai Tais that were simply out of this world. The making of the tiki drink for them was just a warm up for their tropical themed wedding in LESS THAN A MONTH. Awwwwww. Mark and I already have our tropical attire ready to dance at their wedding.

Marie, Gail, Dave - Where was Brian?!
Photo credit - Jenn Tkocs & Michael Scotto

What did our Acacia bartender guests, Marie and Brian, make? Absolutely nothing. On their day off, we guaranteed them they wouldn't be making drinks for anyone, it was their turn to be served! Maybe the drinks made for them weren't as wonderful as what they normally make for us, but we tried our darndest. If nothing else, a good time was had by all in the sunshine and the breezes under the big umbrella with full bellies and drinks in each of our hands. 

Photo credit - Jenn Tkocs & Michael Scotto

Grilled Pina Colada

Makes 4

• 1 fresh pineapple, outside removed, cored and cut into 3/4" slices
• 1 cup coconut flakes, toasted
• 1 cup caramel topping, good quality (I prefer Richardson's)
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1/4 cup rum, Meyers dark rum, coconut rum, whatever kind you prefer - I used Kraken spiced rum this time!
• 4 scoops ice cream, Talenti's coconut gelato
• fresh whipped cream

Melt together caramel topping, butter and rum in a small saucepan until well combined.  Set aside.
 
Grill pineapple slices on both sides until caramelized and have nice grill marks. 
 
On a pretty plate, place a slice of pineapple, scoop gelato into center of ring, top with whipped cream, drizzle with caramel and sprinkle with toasted coconut.  AWESOME!

Spicy Szechuan Smoked Pork Belly

• 1 1/2 tablespoons black peppercorns
• 1 teaspoon Szechuan peppercorns
• 2 small green cardamom pods - find these at Penzey's in the Strip District
•  1/3 cup brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon Kosher salt
• 3 pound VERY lean pork belly (yes, I know this is an oxymoron)

Put the black and Szechuan peppercorns and the cardamom pods in a small coffee or spice grinder - or just crush them with a mortar & pestle. Remove to a small bowl, add the salt & sugar and mix well. Set aside.

Score both sides of the pork belly in a diamond pattern. Rub the peppercorn mixture evenly onto both sides of the meat. Use ALL of the rub. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight. An hour before you're ready to smoke, take the meat out of the fridge to bring to room temp.

Prepare smoker as you normally would and soak smoker chips for at least an hour in water (wouldn't sake be nice instead of water?!) - I like hickory for this dish.

Once the smoker is ready to roll, unwrap the pork belly and place it on the smoker. We smoked this for about 4-5 hours - how long yours takes depends on you and your smoker.

Remove from heat when done, let rest 15 minutes and slice against the grain.

Serve on tacos or just by itself. Serve for breakfast or dinner. 
You will LOVE this one!

Thai Red Curry Coconut Cod - Gluten-Free!

Thai flavors thrill me! The exotic nuances of coconut milk, lemongrass, curry, hot peppers, kaffir lime leaves, Thai basil and even fish sauce tickles my palate like no other cuisine. The big bonus for we celiacs and others with gluten sensitivities is that many Thai foods are naturally gluten free.

Thank you Thailand for giving us rice noodles instead of wheat noodles, rice paper wrappers instead of wonton wrappers made with (what else?) wheat. There are some lovely soups and salads that fit the GF lifestyle to a "T" and even most of the curries are soy sauce and gluten-free. Be sure to check with the restaurant kitchen about hidden gluten or that there aren't cross contamination issues.

Of course, one SURE way to be certain your Thai meal is gluten-free is to make it at home yourself. Difficult? Well, that depends. If you're going to be all strict about authenticity, you might be in for more than I'm willing to deal with for a quick weeknight meal. Then again, if you're not looking for a quick meal or if you're trying to impress company, go whole hog and full on Thai. For me most times, I'm looking for a Thai(ish) treat in a hurry. 

Which brings me to today's recipe. Yep, another fish/seafood dish for Lent or just for your meatless arsenal. Thai Red Curry Coconut Cod came about as a result of watching friends enjoy Friday Fish Frys and missing out on being able to indulge myself. I LOVE Fish Frys! I MISS Fish Frys! I am tired of having a side salad (hold the croutons, please) while tablemates chow down of one of my favorite foods. So I fixed that problem at home.

Instead of wheat flour, I used rice flour for the dredge - you do know that Bobby Flay uses rice flour for his own crispy fried fish, don't you? He doesn't use it because it's gluten-free, he uses it because it makes a light, crispy and crunchy batter. If it's good enough for BF, it's good enough for me...and gluten-free to boot!

Here's what I did. I dipped the pieces of cod in coconut milk and then in coconut accented rice flour to really emphasize the coconut-iness of the finished dish. The sauce used even more coconut milk, Thai red curry paste, fish sauce and other items I had in the pantry along with green onions and red & yellow peppers for color and more crunch.  

To plate it up, I used a base of brown rice (yep, I used the frozen Trader Joe's again - I told you I was doing a quick meal!), pieces of crispy coconut cod, a glaze of gorgeous red sauce and snappy veggies. 

My Fish Fry friends might even experience feelings of envy over this tantalizing Thai temptation! Fish sandwich? Nice, but run of the mill. Thai Red Curry Coconut Cod? One exotically beautiful, sweet, tangy, zippy, crunchy and absolutely delicious dish!

Thai Red Curry Coconut Cod

 Serves 4

• 2 nice cod fillets, cut across into 3-4" pieces
• 1/2 cup coconut milk, I like the lite version
• 1 cup rice flour
• 1/4 cup coconut flakes
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• canola oil, to a depth of about 1/2" in your skillet

• 6 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1/2 cup Thai red curry paste
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 2 tablespoons water
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon granulated garlic
• 1/4 cup coconut milk, lite again
• 1 teaspoon fish sauce, be sure it's gluten-free to make this GF
• 4 teaspoons cornstarch
• 2 tablespoons water

•  cooked brown or white rice

Prepare the sauce: In a saucepan, combine vinegar, honey, curry paste, ginger, water, salt, granulated garlic and coconut milk. Bring to a simmer and whisk until thoroughly combined. 

Mix the cornstarch and 2 T. water into a slurry. Whisk the slurry into the sauce, bring to a boil and reduce heat to a simmer again. Stir until the sauce becomes thickened.  Stir in the veggies, remove from heat and set aside while you make the fish.
 
Mix rice flour, coconut flakes and salt. Transfer the mixture to a plate; add coconut milk to another plate. Dredge the fish pieces first in coconut milk, then in the flour mixture, coating thoroughly over all sides and edges. Set aside.
 
Add the oil to a skillet to the depth of about 1/2". Bring oil to 375 degrees. Once the oil has come to temp, add the fish pieces carefully a few pieces at a time - do in several batches if necessary, just don't crowd the pieces. Brown on all sides and remove to a paper towel covered platter until all pieces are done.
 
To serve: Place the fish pieces on top of brown or regular rice - even rice noodles would be wonderful - then spoon the sauce over the fish being sure to get lots of veggies in each serving.

NOTE: Try using shrimp or scallops instead of cod...or your favorite fish fry variety. For your non-fish eating friends, try using strips of chicken! It's all good.

Szechuan Peppercorn Pepper Steak with Daikon

Radishes are those round-ish, red outside, white inside things at the salad bar, right? While you're elbowing your way along the sneeze guard, maybe you top your plate of lettuce and shredded carrots with them, maybe you bury them (if you choose them at all) under your mountain of cottage cheese and croutons. Except for salads, radishes are pretty forgettable.

Except those cold, scarlet red, icy white orbs of bite-y, crunchiness aren't the only radishes out there. There are long radishes, HUGE radishes, white, pink and even black radishes. 

Not only that, fresh from the fridge and in a salad isn't the only way to serve them. Radishes that aren't cold? Warm radishes? Even (dare I say it), cooked radishes? Yes.
 
The first time I encountered cooked radishes was at Volt Restaurant in Frederick, Maryland. You know, Volt? Of the Bryan Voltaggio, Top Chef fame? Kimber and I lunched there a while ago...you may remember that glowing account of our day in Frederick.

A beautifully plated entree of branzino included an artistically arranged smattering of roasted radishes along the edge. I was skeptical about roasted radishes, but soon found Chef Voltaggio (or his kitchen crew) knew his stuff. 

Taste? Somewhat like a potato with a little bit of a horseradish-y kick...the texture was potato-like as well. I filed that knowledge away in the back of my mind and promptly forgot about it. Until..... 

Strolling through the Whole Foods produce aisles looking for parsnips for a stew, I found what I was looking for on the bottom shelf of that glorious, colorful refrigerated produce section. They were the prettiest parsnips I'd ever seen. They were so clean, so smooth, so white, so BIG! Like no parsnip I'd ever seen before. 

I pondered...the sign SAID parsnips...must be a new variety. They went into the cart and upon reaching home, also went into my stew. Those parsnips were incredible! The best ever! 
 
You already know what's coming next...they weren't parsnips, they were daikon radishes. Whole Foods (once again) had mislabeled an item in the produce section. I didn't know any better, I'd never had daikon before. 

Like the recent Whole Foods mislabeling of  Garnet/Japanese Sweet Potatoes, this too had a happy outcome as the parsnip/daikon was my favorite part of the stew.  

You know, I'm beginning to think Whole Foods has some kind of nefarious mislabeling scheme going on. If they label a new food as something known and familiar, maybe someone (me) will try it, get to like it and consequently BUY it. Again and again. Very clever, Whole Foods. Your scheme is working. Deliciously.
 
Here's a recipe I created JUST to have daikon again.

Szechuan Peppercorn Pepper Steak with Daikon

• 1 pound round steak, partially frozen, sliced thinly across the grain
• 1/2 cup beef broth, store bought is just fine
• 2 tablespoons water
• 2 tablespoons sherry, or white wine if you don't have sherry on hand
• 1/4 cup tamari soy sauce, be sure to use wheat free tamari to make this gluten-free!
• 2 tablespoons canola oil, or peanut oil

• 1 large daikon, peeled, quartered lengthwise and sliced across into quarter size pieces
• 1/2 large onion, large dice
• 1 large green bell pepper, seeded, large dice
• 1 large yellow bell pepper, seeded, large dice
• 4 large garlic cloves, minced
• 1/4 pound snow pea pods - fresh, whole, nice and small, tender ones, remove the strings
• 1/2 bag spinach, roughly chopped

• 1 tablespoon peppercorns, Szechuan, crushed with a mortar & pestle or in a sealed heavy plastic bag
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ginger, powdered
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch, check the label to be sure it's gluten-free is gluten is an issue

An hour before you start to cook, mix the broth, water, sherry & tamari in a sealable plastic bag & mix well.  Add the beef strips and let marinate for an hour (or more).
 
When you're ready to start dinner, heat a large skillet or wok - I use a big electric skillet.  Preheat the skillet to smoking hot. BE SURE YOU RESERVE THE MARINADE.  Gradually add half the beef and brown on both sides.  Remove this batch and do the next; add the first batch back into the skillet.
 
While the beef is cooking, add the crushed peppercorns, ginger, sugar and cornstarch to the marinade.  Stir well and set aside.
 
Add the daikon, onion and peppers.  Cook, stirring often, about 5 minutes.  Add the spinach and garlic and stir until the spinach wilts. Add the snow peas last and stir another minute.
 
Stir the marinade well again being sure the cornstarch is completely incorporated into the liquid. Pour the mixture over the beef and veggies in the skillet and continue stirring until the mixture comes together.
 
Pour the pepper steak into a bowl and serve over rice. My favorite is brown rice!

Teriyaki Burgers

 

For some odd and arbitrary reason, Tuesdays have always been burger night in our house. Sunshine, combined with traditional Tuesday burger night, had Mark and I craving Teriyaki Burgers - damn the snow! 

These burgers are one of our favorite Burger Night burgers in warm summer weather, so why should a little snow out in the back deter us from such delightfulness?  It shouldn't.  Even more importantly, it DIDN'T!

Although the recipe calls for ground beef, this is equally as delicious made with ground chicken or turkey or (probably my favorite of all) ground pork...or any combination of any of the foregoing. Crunchy water chestnuts, zingy green onions, (wheat-free) tamari and just a kiss of brown sugar turn ordinary ground meat into one very special burger.  

Sure, you could broil these inside, but then you'd miss the dreams of summer that go along with grilling in the cold.  What's a little shivering when the smoky aroma of fat hitting the flames fills your nostrils with enchantment and the resultant sizzle is staccato music to your ears?  

There might be snow on the ground, but just for a little while it is summer in your heart.  And tummy. 

 Teriyaki Burgers

• 2 pounds ground chuck
• 8 ounces waterchestnuts, canned, drained and chopped
• 1/2 cup tamari soy sauce, wheat-free (or regular soy sauce if you're not concerned about gluten)
• 4 green onions, sliced thinly
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons granulated garlic

Mix all ingredients together well, but do not overwork the mixture to keep it light.  

Make into 8 patties and grill carefully.  They may stick or fall apart if you're not careful with them.  I usually use a grill basket for easy handling and turning.


NOTE:  If we're not having company, I still make all 8 patties and freeze half of them to thaw and cook as the mood hits.  No fuss, made-ahead teriyaki burgers from the freezer are always nice to have on hand.

Instead of beef, try ground chicken, turkey or pork - or any combination.  I think my favorite is ground pork. Yum!