Pad Thai

Pad Thai....

I probably started helping out in the kitchen as 2nd or 3rd grader.  I'm sure my parents know when I started cooking on my own...because the kitchen was always a mess after I was through. I remember making oatmeal cookies one time and there was flour and cookie dough everywhere!  I think the recipe made about 4 dozen cookies...of which only a few were eaten...what Thai family eats oatmeal cookies?! Apparently, I was the only family member that did. 

Anyways, I digress.  The point is you would think I grew up making Pad Thai...the most basic Thai dish that is a staple of any Thai restaurant in America.  Quite frankly, I think the only time my mom made Pad Thai was for Heritage Day at school.  Growing up, the only time I really ate Pad Thai was at restaurants. 

 

However, recently, Pad Thai has been fully (re)introduced to my pallete thanks to my brother.  The past 3 summers I've enjoyed my brother's Pad Thai that he makes at his farmer's market booth. The complex flavors of tamarind (tangy), fish sauce (salty), lime, and sugar of the pad Thai sauce are soaked up by the rice noodles.

Even though my brother inspired my Pad Thai cravings, the recipe I follow isn't his recipe.  Mostly because I enjoy tasting the subtle differences in our styles of Pad Thai.  

The 3 main components to Pad Thai is the Sauce, the Proteins, the StirFry.

Many of these ingredients can be found at the local asian market (I go to Southeast Market here in SLC)

The very 1st step is to soak the Rice Stick Noodles (5 mm wide noodles) in a large bowl of water.

The Sauce:

1/4 c of Tamarind Sauce

1/4 c of warm water

2-3 tbsp of white sugar (or palm sugar if you want to be really authentic)

2 tbsp of fresh lime juice (about 3/4 of a lime)

2 tbsp of fish sauce

pinch of salt

1) Combine all the ingredients above and stir until sugar is completely dissolved.

2) Adjust to taste (I like it sweeter and add about a tsp more of sugar)

The Proteins:

1 Chicken Breast, thinly sliced

"Savory" Baked Tofu (its firm tofu soaked in five-spice), 1/8" thick slices

2 eggs

Shrimp (optional)

1) Prep your proteins and set aside for the Stir Fry.

Stir Fry!

2 tbsp of vegetable oil

4 cloves of garlic, minced

chicken

tofu

eggs

noodles

bean sprouts

green onion

1) Heat up 2 tbsp of oil in a wok-like pan.

2) Add minced garlic and cook until light yellow.

3) Add chicken breast and cook about 2 minutes on each side.

4) Add sliced tofu and continue cooking about 2 minutes.

5) Add 2 eggs and let sit to cook without stirring for about 2 minutes until egg whites start to cook.

6) Drain your rice noodles (that have been soaking this whole time you've been prepping) and add it on top of the proteins.
7) Don't stir too much. Rice noodles can become soggy if you move it around too much.
8) Let the noodles cook for about 2 minutes before stirring. At this point I'd switch to using tongs to toss the noddles.
9) Gently stir in the sauce.
10) Cover the pan and let sit for about 2 minutes so the rice noodles can absorb all the liquid.

11) Fold in the bean sprouts and green onion and let sit on low-medium heat for a few more minutes.

12) Garnish with cilantro (optional) and sriracha sauce (as spicy as you want it)

Hawaiian Haysticks

Hawaiian haysticks are my rendition of bbq chicken kabobs.  They aren't necessarily Hawaiian at all...it has pineapple and teriyaki sauce in it; but not an original Hawaiin recipe...that I know of.  The recipe was inspired by one of my friend's buddies who made these kabobs at a party one time. 

Hawaiian Haysticks & Steaks

The key to a good kabob is to marinate them overnight.  However, I crave these at the last minute and only get an hour or two of marination in.

The Marinade

kc masterpiece Honey Teriyaki

1/4 cup of pineapple juice (from the can of pineapples you will use later)

Siracha Sauce

4 cloves of garlic

1 lemon

1 red onion

salt

1) In a small blender or food processor,  add 1 cup of honey teriyaki sauce, 1/4 cup of pineapple juice, ~1 1/2 tablespoons of siracha sauce, 4 crushed cloves of garlic, a pinch of salt, and the juice of a lemon.

2) Blend for about 2 minutes.

3) Pour 2/3 of the mix into a 1 quart zip lock bag

4) Pour the other 1/3 into another 1 quart zip lock bag

Kabob Prep:

1) Soak 10" wood skewers in water.

2) Cut up 3 chicken breast into bite sized pieces.

3) Cut red onion into ~ 1 inch squares (I pick the more squat looking onions (seen in the background) as these tend to have a thicker skin that is great for grilling)

4) Add the can of pineapple chunks and red onion squares into ziploc bag of the smaller portion of marinade.

5) Add the chicken to the other ziploc bag of marinade.

6) Refrigerate for up to 24 hours

7) When ready to grill, skewer the kabobs...I usually do it in the following order:

onion-pineapple-onion-chicken-onion-pineapple-onion-chicken-onion-pineapple-onion-chicken

8) Grill on medium-high heat.

Basil Chicken Chicago-Style Pizza

It has been a while since my last blog.  August flew by while I was on my subinternship...time flies when your having fun!  Haven't had time to try a new recipe till this past week :) 

(Bought some new plates too :)

This recipe is inspired by Zachary's Pizza in Berkeley specifically their "Chicken Special" Pizza. The last time I had this pizza was probably five years ago; and I've been searching for it since (...I've moved to the SLC).  So, I decided to just make it in my new quiche pan.

I like to start off with the dough.  This dough recipe is just off the back of the package.   It is nice and quick and doesn't require an hour to rise or anything.  I just let it sit while I do the rest of the prep.

The Dough:

~ 1 3/4 c of flour (start with 1 cup then add 1/2 cups at a time till dough forms a soft ball)

1 packet of Fleischmann's Pizza Dough Yeast

1 1/2 tsp of sugar

3/4 tsp of salt

2/3 c warm/hot water

3 tbsp of olive oil

1) In a large bowl, combine 1 cup of flour, 1 packet of yeast, sugar, and salt.

2) Make a well in the middle of the dry mixture and add the warm water and olive oil.

3) Mix well and add rest of the flour 1/2 a cup at a time till it forms a somewhat sticky ball of dough.

4) Let it sit in bowl while you prepare the pizza sauce. Also, preheat the oven at 425 F (convection if you have it)

The Sauce:

1 tbsp of olive oil

1 medium onion, chopped

5 cloves of garlic, minced

Roma tomatoes, sliced and halved

1 small can of Tomato Paste (Italian style - with basil and oregano)

about 1 cup of water

big pinch of salt

small pinch of brown sugar

fresh Thyme (about 5 sprigs)

fresh Basil (a small handful)

chicken breast tenders

black pepper

garlic powder

1) On medium heat, add olive oil.  When heated, but not smoking, add onions and garlic and cook for about 8 minutes.

2) Add the tomatoes, paste, water, salt, brown sugar, thyme and basil and simmer for 15 minutes.  Salt to taste.

3) In a separate saute pan, add enough olive oil to barely coat the pan.

4) Season chicken with salt, pepper, and garlic powder and slice into bite size pieces.

5) Cook on medium heat till lightly browned on both sides.

Constructing the Deep Dish:

1) Divide your dough into 1:5 portions (as seen in the picture in "the dough" section)

2) Roll out the larger portion of dough and line your oiled quiche pan.

3) Cover with foil and then pie weights

4) Bake pie crust for 12 minutes in your preheated 425 F oven

5) Remove foil and pie weights

6) Add 3/4 of the sauce and add a layer of blend of pizza cheese or just mozzarella.

7) Roll out your smaller portion of dough very thin.

8) Layer it on top of your sauce and cheese.

9) Add the rest of the sauce and cheese on top of that thin layer of dough.

10) Bake for 15-20 minutes.