September 4, 2011: Thai Red Curry Paste Recipe

I’ve been looking for Thai red curry paste at my local grocery store for some time now (it’s used in yummy curry sauces) – with no luck. I just happened to find this recipe online recently and I was ecstatic! I didn’t have exactly the ingredients as listed so I made some slight substitutions and this is what I came up with. Try it and see what you think.

Thai Red Curry Paste

3 T. red chili sauce

2 shallots, coarsely chopped

1 t. peppercorns

2 ½ t. cumin seeds

1 ½ T. coriander seeds

2 T. fresh or dehydrated cilantro

1 t. lemon balm

1 t. salt

2 t. paprika (for color)

1 t. curry powder

2 t. finely chopped lemon or lime peel

1 t. minced ginger

2 t. Asian fish sauce

1 T. vegetable oil

Using a mortar and pestle or coffee grinder, grind the whole spices to a fine powder. Combine all ingredients in a blender or food processor. Add more oil or a little bit of water, if necessary, to make a smooth paste.

Store in the refrigerator for up to two weeks. If desired, you can freeze any remaining paste in baggies or ice cube trays (when frozen pop the cubes into baggies or a plastic container).

August 16, 2011: Falafel Recipe

I don’t know about you, but I’m partial to Mediterranean cuisine. It uses so many fruits and vegetables and fresh fish that it is often touted as one of the best diets in the world. Two of my favorite foods are hummus and falafel. Here’s a recipe I found online for supposedly authentic falafel; it doesn’t quite taste like what I’ve bought in the store but it’s still good.

Falafel

1 15 oz. can garbanzo beans

½ large onion

2 cloves of garlic

3 tablespoons of fresh parsley, chopped

1 teaspoon coriander seeds, crushed

1 teaspoon cumin seeds, crushed

3 tablespoons flour

Salt and pepper to taste

Olive oil + a couple drops of sesame oil, for frying

Drain the garbanzo beans well. Add all ingredients to a food processor and pulse until smooth. The mixture should be very thick. Depending on how well you drained the garbanzo beans, you may have to add more flour.

Heat the oils in a saucepan. Add balls of the falafel mixture and deep dry until golden brown and crispy on the outside.

Tip: I put my falafel in a pita bread pocket, added a yogurt-cucumber sauce, feta cheese, and sunflower sprouts for a delicious lunch sandwich that is much more unique than the same old ham or turkey with cheddar. You can also make patties out of the falafel and serve them on a bun like a hamburger.

July 19, 2011: Grilled Asian Tuna Recipe

Here’s another way I came up with to make tuna steaks on the grill using a quickly concocted Asian seasoning blend similar to 5 spice powder. This tuna was a big hit with my picky husband! Hope you enjoy it as much as we did.

My husband has perfected his technique for grilling tuna - it should always be bright pink in the center when you serve tuna.

Grilled Asian Tuna

2 fresh tuna steaks, about 1/3 pound each
1 t. chopped ginger (jarred)
2 T. soy sauce

Asian Seasoning Blend
1 teaspoon each Coriander seeds, Fennel seeds, Sesame seeds, Black peppercorns
1/3 stick cinnamon
1 t. dehydrated garlic
½ t. cumin powder
1 t. citrus peel seasoning blend
1 t. kosher salt

Combine seeds, peppercorns and cinnamon in a small saucepan. Heat over medium and stir frequently, just until toasted and fragrant (5 – 10 minutes). Remove from heat and crush with a mortar and pestle or whirl in a coffee grinder.

Add remaining spices. You will have more than you need for this recipe; store the remainder in tightly sealed jar.

To prepare tuna:
Rub both sides of tuna steaks with ginger and pour soy sauce over. Sprinkle both sides of the steaks with a total of 2 teaspoons of the spice blend. Let the tuna marinate at room temperature for about 20 minutes. Grill over medium high heat for a few minutes per side.

Serve with pineapple salsa, if desired.

June 21, 2011: Asian Spiced Pork with Sugar Snap Peas Recipe

I was looking for something new to do with pork chops the other day… Yes, I enjoy grilling them in these hot summer months but that gets old, particularly when I’m feeding a very picky husband and niece. So I decided to take four pork chops and slice them to make a Chinese main dish. But I wanted something new so I consulted my Hot, Hotter, Hottest chile cookbook. I took the basics of a Thai-style sauce and gave it my Candy spin to come up with this recipe.

Asian Spiced Pork with Sugar Snap Peas

1 ½ lbs. pork chops, trimmed of fat and bones and thinly sliced
One 2” piece of cinnamon stick
1 t. fennel seeds
1 T. coriander seeds
1 T. black peppercorns
1 T. minced garlic
1 t. minced ginger
2 t. Hunan red chili sauce
2 T. rice wine vinegar
2 T. soy sauce
One 1 lb. package sugar snap peas

Sauce:
1 T. cornstarch
1 t. sesame oil
2 T. soy sauce
2/3 cups chicken stock

Combine the cinnamon stick, fennel seeds, coriander seeds and peppercorns in a small saucepan. Heat over medium heat to toast the spices until fragrant. Remove from heat and crush finely.

Combine one teaspoon of the crushed spice mixture (save the rest to use in place of Chinese five spice powder) with remaining ingredients up to soy sauce; add pork slices. Marinate for at least half an hour.

Heat a wok or large skillet to medium high heat. Coat the bottom with about one tablespoon of vegetable or peanut oil. Slowly add the pork, being careful not to splash oil on yourself. Stir constantly for about 5 minutes, until the pork is browned on all sides. Add the sugar snap peas, stirring constantly. Cook for a couple minutes, until the peas are bright but not soft.

Combine all sauce ingredients. Reduce skillet or wok heat to medium low and slowly pour in the sauce. Cook, stirring constantly, for a couple more minutes until sauce is thickened.

Serve over rice.

Serves four.

April 20, 2011: Brined Barbecued Chicken Recipe

It’s a good thing my husband really likes chicken as I’ve been cooking a lot of this month in order to take pictures for the recipes. But frankly, I’m getting just a bit tired of it. When he selected chicken as his choice for dinner last night and wanted to barbecue it, I wanted to try something a bit different.

The one thing about putting chicken on the barbecue grill is that if you use a sauce, it always burns. Always. It drips off and sparks a flame and before you know it, your chicken is charred beyond recognition.

In order to prevent that from happening, I decided to prepare our chicken much like I do for our Thanksgiving turkey – by brining it. I took one big breast and two thighs that were semi-frozen and added them to the brine solution for about an hour before cooking. Presto! Each piece came out perfectly moist with crispy skin and not a trace of blackness anywhere.

Brined Barbecued Chicken

3 – 4 pieces frozen chicken (you could also brine a whole roaster; just increase ingredients proportionately)
¼ cup kosher salt
1 bay leaf
2 cloves garlic, crushed
3 slices fresh lemon (the ends work great)
About 1 T. each of:
Black peppercorns
Coriander
3 cups water

Mix together the salt and all ingredients following in a bowl large enough to hold the chicken pieces. Add more water, if necessary, to cover the chicken. Let sit at room temperature for at least an hour or overnight.

Prepare grill. Take the chicken straight from the brine and place on the grill, away from direct heat. Cook for about 50 minutes, or until done, turning occasionally.