Ah, if there’s one thing that’s bad about the holidays it’s going back to work after a 5-DAY weekend. Oh, that’s harsh. Okay, and so is doing all the dishes. That’s kind of bad too. But I made coffee press after dinner on Thanksgiving and jwa and I had no problem staying up that night and doing like 4 loads of dishes. I wonder why…

We had a very nice Thanksgiving and except for my super-dense, didn’t-seem-to-rise-too-much rolls, everything seemed to turn out pretty well. Kinda sucks I forgot to take any pictures of the food or the people.

::clever segue:: But anyway, this here is something that I like to make for lunches occasionally. It works really well to go right from the pan to a lunch container and then the next day, when you get hungry, you remember you have something good for lunch and it makes you all happy!

Chicken and Cashew Stir-Fry
Recipe adapted from Gourmet magazine
1 bunch scallions, white and green parts chopped
1 pound skinless boneless chicken thighs
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 bunch broccoli florets. chopped
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 1/2 tbsp finely chopped peeled fresh ginger
1/4 tsp dried hot red-pepper flakes
3/4 cup reduced-sodium chicken broth
1 1/2 tbsp soy sauce
1 1/2 tsp cornstarch
1 tsp sugar
1/2 cup salted roasted whole cashews
Garnish: Sesame Seeds

Pat any excess moisture off chicken, then cut into 3/4-inch pieces and toss with salt and pepper. Heat a wok or 12-inch heavy skillet over moderately high heat until a drop of water evaporates immediately.

Add oil, swirling to coat, then stir-fry chicken until golden in places and just cooked through, 4 to 5 minutes.

Transfer to a plate with a slotted spoon. Add bell pepper, garlic, broccoli, ginger, red-pepper flakes, and scallions to wok and stir-fry until peppers and broccoli are just tender, 5 to 6 minutes.

Stir together broth, soy sauce, cornstarch, and sugar, then stir into vegetables in wok. Reduce heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, until thickened, 1 to 2 minutes.

Stir in cashews and chicken, along with any juices accumulated on plate. Serve over rice. Garnish with sesame seeds and eat immediately or pack up for lunch the next day. Or both.

Went back to Uwajimaya again and got more wonderful things — like tons of Thai basil and coconut milk (2 cans for $1.50!), assorted frozen dumplings and some white miso paste. Soon we will steam all the dumplings in one sitting and have Janet Reno’s Dance Dumpling Dumpling Dance Party. But for now, there are Spicy Sesame Noodles with tons o’ Thai Basil.

Oh! Also I am entering this contest and I have (I think) perfected my recipe. jwa thinks I should make another test batch though…I think he just wants more chocolate!

Spicy Sesame Noodles with Thai Basil
Adapted from Bon Appétit Magazine
1 tbsp peanut oil
2 tbsp minced peeled fresh ginger
3 garlic cloves, minced
3 tbsp Asian sesame oil
2 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
11/2 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp hot chili oil
1 tsp salt
12 oz dried noodles (any Asian noodle is fine or even a linguine or spaghetti-type noodle will work)
8 green onions (white and pale green parts only), thinly sliced
1 orange bell pepper, sliced into small strips
1/2 cup coarsely chopped roasted peanuts
1/4 cup thinly sliced fresh Thai basil leaves
1 tbsp sesame seeds

Heat peanut oil in small skillet over medium heat. Add ginger and garlic; sauté 1 minute. Transfer to large bowl. Add next 6 ingredients; whisk to blend.

Cook noodles in boiling water. Drain thoroughly and toss with sauce. Add sliced green onions, bell pepper strips and toss to coat noodles.

Let stand at room temperature until noodles have absorbed dressing, tossing occasionally, about 1 hour.

Stir in peanuts and Thai basil; toss again.

Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve at room temperature.

Well, hell. It’s hot out again. And here I thought we were going to escape the Summer with sweet, sweet 70’s and sunny weather through the end. Nope. 101 103 degrees Friday and Saturday. Ick. Now’s the time for the chilled pea soup. But Saturday I will try a new gazpacho recipe — that’ll be fun.

Weather aside*, here’s a really tasty dish we had last weekend, way back when it was reasonable out. Originally, it was shrimp and Chinese broccoli in the Gourmet Magazine version, but I sneakily changed that to chicken and green beans. Mahahahahahaha!, says Chef Evil.

Anywhoooo, I found what I am 99% sure is fermented black beans at Uwajimaya. Please, no one tell me this is something else, because they were really good in this. Oh well, if they are some other kind of black bean product, this dish will just become Chicken and Green Beans with Mystery Jarred Black Beans from Uwajimaya. No biggie. But for now:

Printable Recipe pdf!

Chicken and Green Beans with Fermented Black Beans
3/4 cup reduced sodium chicken broth
3 tbsp Chinese rice wine (preferably Shaoxing) or medium-dry Sherry (I went the sherry route)
3 tsp light soy sauce
2 tsp cornstarch
1 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1 lb-ish Green Beans, trimmed and cut into 2-inch pieces
1 lb-ish boneless, skinless chicken breasts, sliced into thin strips
1 tablespoon peanut or vegetable oil
1 (1-inch) piece fresh ginger, peeled and cut into very thin matchsticks
2 tbsp fermented black beans, rinsed
3 garlic cloves, minced and ready for trouble
1/2 fresh jalapeno chile (including seeds), or to taste, diced finely
1 tsp toasted sesame oil

Stir together broth, rice wine or sherry, soy sauce, cornstarch, sugar, and salt in a small bowl until cornstarch is dissolved.

Cook green beans in a large pot of boiling, salted water, uncovered, until crisp-tender, about 3 minutes. Remove to an ice bath and then drain. Set aside.

Heat wok or large skillet over high heat until a drop of water vaporizes instantly. Pour peanut oil around side of wok, then tilt wok to swirl oil, coating side. When oil just begins to smoke, add ginger and stir-fry 5 seconds. Add black beans, garlic, and jalapeno and stir-fry 1 minute. Working quickly, add chicken, spreading in 1 layer on bottom and side of wok. Cook, undisturbed, 2 minutes, then stir-fry 2-3 minutes more. Add green beans to wok to reheat.

Stir in broth mixture and bring to a boil. Boil, stirring, 2 minutes. Remove from heat and drizzle with sesame oil, then stir to combine. Serve over rice.

We had this with some experimental Green Onion Pancakes. I know my dough was rolled too thick. I think I also added too much flour while kneading.

The recipe is directly from Cooking.com and you can grab it there. Here are my pictures.

Adding green onions to dough

After making a spiral and rolling again — I’m pretty sure this should be thinner, but my dough was starting to tear

Cooking pancakes in peanut oil

Finished product was thick and a bit dense but pretty damn good dipped in a mixture of soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, ginger and chopped cilantro!

* Although, photoshop is on my mac upstairs. Which means I had to edit all the images up there. In the hot. Wah. That is why this post it up later than I had hoped. Damn you weather!!!

First off, this recipe had a lot of pressure on it. I was opening a package of pork tenderloin so that I could slice it up and marinate it all day while I was at work. Note to self — do not use knives at 7 AM. I sliced the hell out of my finger. So much so that I had to call work and leave the following message:

Hi this is Michelle. I cut my finger and right now I’m walking around the house with it wrapped up in paper towels and packing tape. I’m going to wait until it stops bleeding and probably be in around 9:00 AM. Okay, bye.

All day I was thinking, damn, that pork had better be really freakin’* good. Grrrrrr.

In case you were wondering, my finger is fine and I was actually able to just use a band-aid on it by 8:30 or so and I did make it in to work by 9 AM. So, that ended well.

Originally, I saw this recipe on Bobby Flay’s new show, which, meh, but he has a guest(s) on each week that grill with him. The guest griller that week was Judiaann Woo, who made awesome looking beef ribs. I don’t know why FN just doesn’t give her a show and stop airing all this Next Food Network Star crap. (Although, I must admit, I like Lisa). Anyway, I got to wondering how the marinade would work with the pork tenderloin I had in the fridge. Now, I no longer have to wonder…it’s great.

Printable recipe pdf!

Korean-Style Grilled Pork Tenderloin
Marinade recipe adapted from Judiaann Woo
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup water
3 tbsp mirin (rice wine)
2 shallots, peeled and minced
pinch red pepper flakes
1/2 small green apple, peeled and finely grated (or use an Asian pear if you can find one)
3 tbsp minced garlic
1 tbsp dark sesame oil
pinch black pepper
1 green onion, thinly sliced (optional)
1 pork tenderloin (1-2 pounds), sliced into 1 inch thick rounds

(lack of pictures due to irritation over wounded finger).

Combine the brown sugar through the black pepper. Whisk until sugar is mostly dissolved. Divide in half. Add tenderloin medallions to a large bowl or ziplock bag. Add half the marinade. Refrigerate two hours to overnight (overnight!) Add the other half of the marinade to the container of your choice and also park it in the fridge.

When ready to cook, get a large plate and cover with a couple of layers of paper towels. Place the pork slices down on it. Use some more paper towels to press down on the pork and dry it off. Discard the marinade that the pork was in.

Now, pour the other half of the reserved sauce in a small pot and add about 1/4 - 1/2 cup of chicken stock, bring to a boil and reduce for about 10 or so minutes.

Meanwhile, heat up a skillet and add a little canola oil. Cook the pork about 2-3 minutes per side until done. Remove to a plate and cover with foil for a few minutes.

We had this with some cooked brown rice and pan sauteed carrots and yellow bell pepper. I used toasted sesame oil to cook the veggies.

To serve, put the rice in a big bowl. Place the veggies around the edges of the bowl and the pork in the middle. Top with the green onions, maybe some toasted sesame seeds and serve the sauce on the side.

Leftovers are just as tasty. In fact, the next day at work, L. stopped by my cube and commented on how good my lunch smelled. Ha! Take that finger!

* In my head, it was not freakin’…that is just family blog-speak.

Edited to add –

How much do I love Dr. Horrible? Oh, so, so much. jwa and I have both been singing Freeze Ray all weekend and changing the lyrics to suit our own needs:

With my freeze ray I will stop…the world

with my freezeray
I will take
take the laundry
up the stairs
spread it on
on the bed
and put it all away?

First off, this was amazingly good. I mean I expected it to be tasty but it totally and completely surpassed my expectations. Especially the slaw. And it is finally almost Summer here in Portland. Woo!

Hey — I just realized that while I halved the steak and the slaw portions below, I made a full recipe of the marinade. Hmmm, I used some of that to brush on the meat while cooking, but I probably didn’t need as much marinade as I had, so I think the ratios below are just fine. And, I let the steak marinate in the fridge for about 5 hours. Reviews on epicurious.com also mentioned letting it go overnight. Good advice, I will probably do that next time.

New: Printable recipe pdf!

Grilled Asian Flank Steak with Sweet Slaw
Adapted from Bon Appétit
1/4 cup soy sauce
5 tbsp vegetable oil
5 tsp minced peeled fresh ginger, divided*
2 garlic cloves, pressed
1 1 1/2-pound flank steak
3 tbsp sugar
3 tbsp seasoned rice vinegar
1-2 red jalapeños, diced finely
1/2 tsp orange zest
2 tbsp chopped cilantro
10 ounces of shredded cabbage mix
1/2 cup chopped green onions, divided

Mix soy sauce, oil, 3 teaspoons ginger, and garlic in resealable plastic bag. Add flank steak and seal bag; turn to coat. Let stand at room temperature 30 minutes, turning occasionally. Or marinate up to overnight in the refrigerator.

Stir sugar and vinegar in small saucepan over medium heat until sugar dissolves; remove from heat. Add jalapeños and remaining 2 teaspoons ginger. Place cabbage, cilantro, orange zest and green onions in medium bowl. Pour vinegar mixture over and toss to coat. Season with salt and pepper. Let stand while grilling steak, tossing occasionally.

Prepare barbecue (medium heat) or a grill pan over medium-high heat. Grill steak until cooked to desired doneness, about 6 minutes per side for medium-rare. Transfer to work surface. Let rest 10 minutes.

Slice steak thinly against grain and serve with the slaw. Use extra cilantro as a garnish if desired.

* I keep my ginger peeled and in the freezer in 1-inch pieces. This works well for me and I always have usable ginger in the house. Here I used a microplane grater to deal with the ginger quickly, which is fast becoming my favorite way to mince ginger.