Tag: Healthy

Thai-Style Chicken and Rice

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This recipe is by no means authentic, and I’ve turned it into a sort of easy red curry-meets-larb situation but the results are delicious and healthy. All you need is 20 minutes and a skillet and you’re set.

Ingredients:
  • 1 red onion, thinly sliced
  • 1 3-inch piece ginger, peeled and cut into thin matchsticks
  • 2 cups cooked jasmine rice
  • 1 tablespoon Thai red curry paste
  • 3 tablespoons lime juice
  • 1 tablespoon plus 1 1/2 teaspoons fish sauce
  • 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon sugar
  • 2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons avocado oil
  • 1 pound ground chicken
  • 1 serrano chile, thinly sliced
  • 1 cup salted dry-roasted peanuts
  • 1 cup cilantro leaves
  • 1/2 cup mint leaves
  • Lettuce leaves and lime wedges, for serving
  1. Place red onion and ginger in a medium bowl of ice water and let soak while you prepare the chicken and rice.
  2. Using your hands, toss rice and half of curry paste in a medium bowl to roughly coat. Set aside.
  3. Stir lime juice, fish sauce, and sugar in a large bowl until sugar is dissolved.
  4. Heat 2 teaspoons oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high. Add chicken and spread into a thin, even layer; season with salt. Cook, undisturbed, until golden brown underneath, about 5 minutes. Add remaining curry paste and cook, stirring and breaking up into bite-size pieces, until chicken is cooked through, about 2 minutes. Transfer to bowl with dressing.
  5. Heat remaining 2 teaspoons oil in the same skillet. Add reserved rice mixture and cook, undisturbed, until slightly golden underneath, about 5 minutes. Continue to cook, stirring occasionally, 1-2 minutes. Remove from heat and add to bowl with dressing and chicken.
  6. Drain red onion and ginger; add to bowl with chicken and rice, along with chile, peanuts, cilantro, and mint. Mix to combine.
  7. Transfer rice mixture to a platter. Serve with lettuce for wrapping and lime wedges for squeezing over.

Chicken Laksa

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What’s more comforting than noodle soup? Nothing. A fragrant coconutty broth and sprinkling of bright toppings have made this my favorite laksa since the one I had in Singapore.

You can make the laksa paste, fry the crispy shallots, and cook the chicken ahead of time so that the final soup assembly is a breeze. Finally, good laksa at home.

Ingredients:

For the laksa paste:

  • 3 medium shallots, chopped (about 3/4 cup)
  • 4 lemongrass stalks, sliced (about 1/2 cup)
  • 1/4 cup avocado oil
  • 1 4-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and sliced (about 1/2 cup)
  • 4 small dried red chiles (deseeded if you like your laksa less spicy)
  • 3 large garlic cloves, smashed
  • 1 cup chicken stock, divided
  • 1/2 cup peanuts
  • 2 teaspoons minced anchovies
  • 2 teaspoons ground turmeric
  • 2 teaspoons ground coriander
  • 1 teaspoon coconut sugar or brown sugar

For the soup:

  • 2 tablespoons avocado oil
  • 4 cups chicken stock
  • 1 15-ounce can coconut milk
  • 2 tablespoons fish sauce, plus more to taste
  • 10 ounces dried rice noodles
  • 2 8-ounce cooked boneless, skinless chicken breasts, sliced
  • 1 cup fresh bean sprouts
  • 4 green onions, sliced (about 1/2 cup)
  • 1/2 cup loosely packed fresh mint leaves
  • 1/2 cup loosely packed fresh cilantro leaves
  • 1/4 cup fried shallots
  • 1 lime, cut into 4 wedges
  1. Make the laksa paste: combine shallots, lemongrass, oil, ginger, red chiles, garlic, and 1/2 cup stock in a blender; process until mixture forms a thick, smooth paste, about 30 seconds. Add peanuts, anchovies, turmeric, coriander, sugar, and remaining 1/2 cup stock to blender; process until smooth, about 30 seconds.
  2. Make the soup: heat oil in a large Dutch oven over medium. Add laksa paste, and cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant, 4 to 6 minutes. Whisk in stock and coconut milk; bring to a boil over high. Reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer, covered, 10 minutes. Remove from heat. Mix in fish sauce, and add more to taste, if desired.
  3. While stock mixture simmers, cook rice noodles according to package directions. Divide rice noodles evenly among 4 bowls. Arrange sliced chicken evenly on noodles. Ladle hot stock mixture evenly into bowls. Top evenly with bean sprouts, green onions, mint, cilantro, fried shallots, and lime wedges.

Beet Tartare

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Okay, I know the words “beet tartare” don’t exactly make your mouth water. But hear me out. This dip/side dish/whatever-you-want-it-to-be is a cacophony of textures and flavor. Try this if you’re sick of the same old winter roasted vegetables. It’s so good I eat it by the spoonful.

Ingredients:
  • 1 pound baby beets, trimmed, scrubbed
  • 8 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
  • 1 2-ounce jar capers, drained
  • 1/4 cup olive oil
  • 1 small shallot, finely chopped
  • 2 tablespoons finely chopped pickled cherry peppers (or similar)
  • 1 tablespoon mayonnaise
  • 1 tablespoon white vinegar
  • 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
  • 3/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1 heaping tablespoon finely chopped parsley, plus more for garnish
  1. Place a rack in the middle of the oven; preheat to 400F degrees. Wrap beets in a few layers of foil, place on rimmed baking sheet, and roast until tender, about 1 hour. Let cool. Using paper towels, rub skins to remove and cut beets into 1/4-inch pieces.
  2. Heat garlic, capers, and oil in a small skillet over medium, adjusting heat as needed to keep oil at a simmer, until garlic is golden and capers have burst, about 8-12 minutes. Strain mixture through a fine-mesh sieve set over a small heatproof bowl. Turn garlic and capers out onto paper towels; set oil aside.
  3. Mix beets, shallot, cherry peppers, mayonnaise, vinegar, mustard, salt, and 2 teaspoons reserved oil in a medium bowl to combine. Cover and let sit 45 minutes to marinate.
  4. Just before serving, stir chopped parsley and half of fried garlic and capers into beet mixture. Scoop beet mixture onto a platter or bowl and top with remaining fried garlic and capers, and additional parsley.

Broccoli with Black Garlic Vinaigrette

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Remember when black garlic was all the health food rage? I loved the trend because black garlic tastes just like seer torshi (Iranian pickled garlic), except it doesn’t take a literal decade to make. It’s a little harder to find black garlic these days but it’s worth it, especially for this broccoli salad that you’ll want to eat straight out of the bowl.

The vinaigrette makes more than you’ll need, but that’s okay, because you’ll want to put it on everything. Think of it as a seer torshi dressing.

Ingredients:

For the black garlic vinaigrette:

  • 2/3 cup rice vinegar
  • 1/3 cup water
  • 4 dried shiitake mushrooms 
  • 1/4 cup black garlic cloves
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons brown sugar
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons grated garlic 
  • 3/4 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste
  • 1/4 cup olive oil

For the broccoli:

  • 4 cups fresh broccoli florets
  • 1/4 cup avocado oil, divided
  • Labneh (optional)
  • 2 tablespoons salted roasted sunflower seeds
  1. Make the vinaigrette: combine vinegar, 1/3 cup boiling water, and mushrooms in a small heatproof bowl; cover. Let stand, covered, at room temperature until mushrooms are soft, about 10 minutes. Transfer to a blender; add black garlic, brown sugar, grated garlic, and salt. Process until finely chopped, about 30 seconds. Add the olive oil and process until smooth, about 1 minute, stopping to scrape down sides as needed.
  2. Make the broccoli: Bring a large saucepan of salted water to a boil over high. Fill a large bowl with ice water. Add broccoli to boiling water, and cook until bright green and crisp-tender, about 2 minutes. Transfer broccoli to ice water, and let stand until cool, about 1 minute. Drain well. Place broccoli on a clean kitchen towel; let stand until ready to use.
  3. Heat 2 tablespoons grapeseed oil in a large cast-iron skillet over medium-high. Place half of broccoli in skillet, and cook, without stirring, until very caramelized and deeply charred on one side, 2 to 3 minutes. Flip florets over, and cook until charred, 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer to a large bowl. Repeat procedure with remaining 2 tablespoons oil and remaining broccoli florets.
  4. Toss broccoli with 1/3 cup black garlic vinaigrette and season with additional salt to taste. Spread labneh, if using, on a serving platter, and top with broccoli. Sprinkle with sunflower seeds.

Korean Chicken Stew with Sweet Potato Noodles

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This spicy stew is a riff on dakjjim, a one-pot Korean braised chicken dish that’s cooked with danmyeon, or sweet potato noodles. I love these noodles’ chewy texture and they’re perfect for soaking up the sweet and savory braising liquid. Make this on a rainy day and serve with rice and kimchi for the ultimate comfort meal.

Ingredients:

  • 1 (3.5 ounce) package of sweet potato nooldes (dangmyeon), also called glass noodles
  • 1/4 cup gochujang
  • 1/2 cup soy sauce
  • 1 1/2 to 2 teaspoons gochugaru
  • 2 tablespoons oyster sauce
  • 2 tablespoons honey
  • 4 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1 tablespoon minced peeled ginger
  • 1 tablespoon sesame oil
  • 1 tablespoon avocado oil
  • 1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs, quartered
  • 4 cups low-sodium chicken broth or bone broth
  • 1 palm-size piece kombu seaweed
  • 1 large russet potato (1 pound) peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks
  • 1 carrot, cut into 1-inch chunks
  • 1/2 onion, cut into thin wedges
  • Chopped green onions, for garnish
  • Toasted sesame seeds, for garnish
  • White rice, for serving
  • Kimchi, for serving
  1. Place the noodles in a large bowl, add warm water to cover, and set aside to soak until you need them.
  2. In a small bowl, stir together the gochujang, soy sauce, gochugaru, oyster sauce, honey, garlic, ginger, and sesame oil until blended.
  3. Heat a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. When hot, add the avocado oil, then the chicken, and cook the chicken until it is evenly cooked on the outside, 8 to 10 minutes, turning when it releases easily from the pan. Add the soy sauce mixture, chicken broth, kombu, and 2 cups water. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove the kombu.
  4. Add the potato, carrot, and onion to the pot. Increase the heat to medium, cover, and simmer until the carrots are tender, another 15 minutes or so.
  5. Drain and add the noodles to the pot and let them cook until translucent and soft, another minute or so. Serve the stew garnished with green onions and toasted sesame seeds, with a side of kimchi. (To make this dish ahead of time, cook through step 4, then when reheating soak and add the noodles to the soup as you reheat it the next day.)