Panang Curry is a popular Thai restaurant item: spicy, peanutty, and rich.  But often times, it can be served with bland, dried out meat. I’ve never been a fan of boiled chicken. I think it has absolutely no flavor or moisture. In this recipe, I roasted chicken until perfectly tender, then shredded the meat.

Simply season chicken breasts, on the bone, with olive oil, salt, and pepper. Then roast in the oven at 425 degrees for 35 minutes, turning the pan 180 degrees halfway through. Let chicken rest for five minutes before peeling away skin, then shredding with your fork.

Prepare garlic, ginger, and Thai chilies by mincing, and chopping. Leave some ginger pieces whole, cutting into long strips.

The base of this curry is Massamman curry paste, a spicy blend of galangal, lemongrass, Thai chilies, and peanuts. Peanut butter provides a rich, nutty flavor.

Fry ginger, garlic, and chilies with Massamman curry paste.

Add peanut butter, chicken stock, coconut milk, and let simmer. Then fold in chicken and fresh Thai Basil. Serve over jasmine rice.

Ingredients (Serves 4)

2 large chicken breasts on the bone

salt

freshly cracked black pepper

olive oil

4 cloves garlic (minced)

1 inch piece ginger (minced and chopped)

4-6 Thai chilies (finely chopped)

2 green peppers (julienned)

4 tablespoons Massamman curry paste–> see Cook’s Note.

3 tablespoons smooth peanut butter

2 cups chicken stock

2 cups coconut milk

1-2 tablespoons fish sauce (or to taste)—> see Cook’s Note.

Handful Thai Basil

Method

Begin by pre-heating oven to 425 degrees. Drizzle chicken breasts with olive oil and season liberally with salt and pepper. With your finger, find the loose flap of skin and spread some of the oil and seasonings underneath the skin to ensure chicken stays moist. Roast in oven for 30- 35 minutes, turning the pan 180 degrees halfway through for even browning.

Once chicken has cooked, let rest for five minutes before shredding meat. Simply peel away the skin, and with your fork, begin pulling the meat into whatever size pieces you desire. Season meat with a little salt and pepper, and a drizzle of olive oil to keep moist, and set aside.

Prepare sauce by mincing garlic, ginger, and chilies, reserving some ginger and slicing into thin strips. Set aside and reserve. Cut two green peppers into thin strips and reserve. Then heat up 2-3 tablespoons vegetable oil in a large pot or wok over medium heat. Once oil is hot, add ginger, chilies, and garlic, and fry for 30 seconds to a minute. Then add Massamman curry paste. Fry for about a minute before adding peanut butter. Mix together, then add chicken stock and green peppers. Let simmer for 2-3 minutes before adding half the coconut milk. Let simmer another two minutes, then reduce heat to low. Fold in chopped thai basil and remaining coconut milk. Then add fish sauce to taste, about one- two tablespoons or more if desired. Fold in chicken and heat through. Serve over jasmine rice and enjoy!

Cook’s Note: Massamman curry paste can be found in Asian Markets. You can try to make your own, but the store-bought pastes are just fine. If you can’t find Massamman curry paste you may substitute with red curry paste.

Fish sauce can also be found in Asian markets, but also at your local grocery store in the ethnic section. It’s essentially the “salt” in Thai dishes.

Banh Mi is rising to popularity: a French inspired Vietnamese sandwich that’s making an impact on the American street food scene. French colonization in Vietnam has led to a slew of interesting dishes. Banh Mi is a prime example. Typically made with french bread, Banh Mi sandwiches combine pickled carrots, daikon, cilantro, spicy mayonnaise, and some type of savory Vietnamese meat: lemongrass beef, spicy pork, Vietnamese sausage, etc.

Banh Mi Sliders are my own interpretation, perfect for parties. Same ingredients, same delicious combination of flavors, but in a small, party-friendly package. Ground pork patties are flavored with lemongrass, basil, and Thai chilies, then kissed on the grill. Served with pickled carrots, fresh cilantro, and a sriracha spiked mayo, this dish is the perfect way to introduce Vietnamese flavors to your friends!

Ingredients (Makes 8-12 sliders…depending on thickness of patties)

8-12 slider buns

1 lb ground pork

3 cloves garlic (minced)

1 inch ginger (grated)

2 green onions (chopped)

1/4 cup chopped Thai Basil

1/4 cup chopped fresh mint

3 stalks lemongrass (inner bulb) (finely chopped)

3 thai chilies (chopped)

1 teaspoon crushed red chili flakes

2 tablespoons Thai fish sauce

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1 tablespoon dark brown sugar

1 cup fresh bread crumbs

Pickled Carrots

4 carrots (peeled and cut into thin strips)

1/2 cup white vinegar

1/4 cup white sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

4-6 black peppercorns

Spicy Mayo

1 cup mayonnaise

1 tablespoon sriracha sauce

Other Ingredients

1/2 red onion sliced

Bunch of Cilantro

Method

Start by peeling 8 carrots and cutting into thin strips (julienne). Combine carrots with vinegar, sugar, salt, and peppercorns and let sit for at least two hours. Mix 1 cup mayonnaise with 1 tablespoon sriracha sauce and reserve. Combine all ingredients for meat patties and divide into eight-twelve equal portions. Roll into balls and flatten with palm of your hand to form small patties. Heat a greased grill to high temperature and cook patties for about 3 minutes on each side, or until juices run clear. In the meantime, you may toast slider buns on upper rack in grill for about 2 minutes. To assemble sliders, place patty on bottom bun, then top with pickled carrots, sliced red onion, and fresh cilantro leaves. Spread a liberal amount of spicy may onto the other bun and top. Enjoy!

Chinese Firebomb Chicken

Firebomb Chicken is an explosion of flavor. Made with garlic- black bean sauce and fiery blackened dry chilies, this dish will definitely set your tongue ablaze. The beauty of Chinese cooking is that it can be executed relatively quickly. All you need is a wok, sauce, and some fresh ginger and garlic. Once the prep work is done the cooking happens in a flash. This dish uses black bean sauce in lieu of hoisin. Thin slices of chicken breast are marinated in a sweet soy sauce (kecap manis), giving it a deep caramel color, then wok-fried with ginger, garlic, and a spicy chili-infused oil. Serve over steaming jasmine rice and enjoy!

Ingredients (Serves 4)

1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breast (thinly sliced)

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon corn starch

1 1/2 tablespoons kecap manis (sweet soy sauce)

1 inch ginger (grated)

2 cloves garlic (chopped)

2 dried red chilies

1 teaspoon crushed red chilie flakes

1 red pepper (julienned)

2 green onions

handful cilantro (for garnish)

Ingredients for Sauce:

2 tablespoons garlic black bean sauce

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1 tablespoon rice vinegar

1 1/2 tablespoons honey

1-2 tablespoons water (for thinning)

Method

To slice breasts thinly, lay them flat on the board and make vertical cuts with a sharp knife. Season with salt and kecap manis (sweet soy sauce). Then add a tablespoon of corn starch and mix everything well with your hands. Let marinate for at least 20-30 minutes. Prepare ginger, garlic, and red peppers, cutting the peppers into thin strips. To prepare sauce, simply combine all ingredients except for water, and whisk well. Set aside and reserve. Heat up two tablespoons of vegetable oil in a large wok on medium-high, then add red chili flakes and dried red chilies. Fry until flakes have darkened and chilies have blackened. Then add ginger and garlic and fry for thirty seconds before adding chicken. Toss chicken and cook for a minute or two before adding red peppers. After about another minute, add the sauce and cook everything together, tossing well, until chicken is cooked through and tender (about 5 minutes). Add a little water to thin the sauce if necessary, check for seasonings, and finish with green onions and chopped cilantro. Serve over jasmine rice and enjoy!

*Note: Kecap Manis can be found in Asian Markets and sometimes in the Asian food section of your local grocery store.

Vietnamese Lemongrass Wings are the Asian response to all American hot wings.  Chicken wing drumettes are seasoned, dusted in flour, pan-fried, then brushed with a sticky sweet sauce consisting of chilies, ginger, garlic, and lemongrass. The drumettes are then baked off in the oven until caramelized and crisp. These wings provide a delicious balance of spicy, salty, and sweet. Lemongrass is a popular herb used in Thai and Vietnamese cooking; it can be found in almost any Asian market.

Ingredients  (makes about 12 mini-drumsticks) (3-4 people)

1.5 lbs chicken wing drumettes

3/4 teaspoon salt

black pepper

1/4 cup all purpose flour

3 stalks Lemongrass (inner bulb) (finely chopped)

2 cloves garlic (minced)

1 inch ginger (minced)

1 teaspoon crushed red chili flakes

3 Thai bird chilies (or two serrano) (chopped)

1/4 cup soy sauce

1/2 cup dark brown sugar

Cooking oil

Handful cilantro (for garnish)

Method

Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees. Rinse and dry chicken drumettes with paper towel. Then place into large mixing bowl.  Season with salt and pepper, and coat with 1/4 cup flour. Mix well and set aside.  For sauce: mince garlic, grate ginger, and chop chilies. Then, strip three stalks of lemongrass, chopping only the tender center. Set aside along with ginger, garlic, and chilies. In another mixing bowl, combine 1/4 cup soy sauce and 1/2 cup brown sugar and whisk until sugar has dissolved.  Heat about 1-2 tablespoons of oil in a small pot and toast 1 teaspoon of crushed red chili flakes until fragrant and slightly darkened. Then add chilies, ginger, garlic, and lemongrass. Fry for about 30 seconds before adding the sauce, then let simmer on medium-high heat for about 5-10 minutes until slightly reduced and thick. Set aside.

For drumettes, pour about a 1/4 inch of oil into a large fry pan and heat at medium temperature. Once oil is hot, place drumettes on pan and cook for about 3-5 minutes on each side, or until golden brown and crisp. Then remove from pan and place onto large plate lined with paper towel. Transfer drummettes to a greased baking sheet, take sauce and brush evenly over each drumsticks, turning over and repeating. If sauce is too thick, loosen it with a little water. Once chicken is evenly coated, slide into oven and bake at 375 degrees for about 15 minutes, turning halfway between, or until juices run clear.  Garnish with chopped cilantro, crushed peanuts, and serve. Enjoy!

Meatloaf is a controversial staple: either you love it, or you don’t. Having been raised on Indian food, I’d never come across it at my own dinner table. But I had often heard about it. Meatloaf was that uninspired dish, met with collective sighs and sudden changes of plans: unscheduled soccer practices, important exams, trips to the museum for extra credit. Children feared its dry texture and lack of seasoning. Perhaps this is because, in spite of its simplicity, meatloaf is often times poorly executed. The American tendency to under-season and overcook meat has sullied its reputation. My first experience with meatloaf wasn’t until two years ago, at a restaurant in the city. And I was stunned. How could something so flavorful and moist carry such a stigma? It was like eating a juicy, over-sized hamburger without the bun.  Recently, I decided to come up with my own take on meatloaf, something that would be more palatable to people who are used to bold, global flavors. The results were a success.  This Asian interpretation uses ground pork in lieu of beef, and is flavored with ginger, garlic, and soy. A standard ketchup topping is intensified with a little hoisin sauce, rice vinegar, brown sugar, and soy. Wasabi mashed potatoes are an Asian interpretation of a classic dish.

Ingredients  (Serves 2)
2 cloves garlic (minced)

1 inch ginger (grated or minced)

3 green onions (chopped)

handful cilantro (stems included) (chopped)

1 teaspoon crushed red chili flakes

1 tablespoon soy sauce

3 tablespoons fish sauce

1 tablespoon lite brown sugar

1 lb ground pork

1 cup plain breadcrumbs (about two slices)

1 egg (optional) or 1/4 cup water (depending on how loose or firm meat is)

Ingredients for Sauce

1/4 cup ketchup

1/8 cup hoisin sauce

1/8 cup rice vinegar

1/8 cup brown sugar

1 tablespoon soy sauce

Ingredients for Wasabi Mashed Potatoes

1lb red potatoes

2 cloves garlic (smashed)

salt

1/2 cup milk or cream

2 tablespoons butter

2 teaspoons wasabi paste

Method

Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees. For meatloaf, combine garlic, ginger, green onions, cilantro, red chili flakes, soy sauce, fish sauce, and brown sugar in a large, non-reactive mixing bowl. Whisk together until sugar has dissolved and all ingredients are well mixed. Fold in ground pork, breadcrumbs, and optional egg or water, and mix with hands. Don’t over-mix, as this can toughen the meat. Just fold everything together until all ingredients are incorporated. Line a large baking sheet or roasting pan with foil, and grease. Then, mold meat into a 5-6 inch loaf and place into pan.

To prepare sauce, simply combine ketchup, hoisin sauce, rice vinegar, brown sugar, and soy sauce, and spread evenly over meatloaf. Bake in oven at 375 degrees for about 35-40 minutes until meat has cooked through.

For potatoes, wash and scrub potatoes and cut into equal sized chunks. Smash two cloves of garlic with blunt side of knife. Bring water to boil in a large pot and season LIBERALLY with salt. Then, toss in garlic cloves and potatoes and boil until potatoes are fork tender. About 25 minutes. Drain potatoes in colander, return to pot, and begin adding in warm milk and pads of butter. Smash with a potato masher, adding 1 teaspoon of wasabi paste, until mixture is moist and creamy. Check for seasoning before serving. Enjoy!