Chicken, Carrot, and Bok Choy Coconut Curry

This recipe came about when I wanted to use a bunch of fresh, young carrots that I picked up at the farmers’ market. It goes together quickly, uses easy-to-find ingredients, and it’s loaded with vitamins, minerals, and crunch. Depending on the chiles you use, this can be made hot or mild. Give this recipe a try when you have limited cooking time but want to create something healthy.


Chicken, Carrot, and Bok Choy Coconut Curry

1 T. coconut oil
2 chicken breasts, cut into bite-sized pieces
1 bunch young carrots, sliced into thin rounds
1-3 chiles, chopped*
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 15-oz can coconut milk
1 T. freshly grated ginger
1 T. coriander seeds, toasted and ground
1 t. cumin seeds, toasted and ground
2 t. coarsely ground black pepper
1 bunch bok choy, chopped
Sea salt to taste
Sesame oil

Heat the coconut oil over high heat in a large pan. Once it has melted, add the chicken pieces and begin to cook, stirring occasionally. When the chicken pieces are barely showing any pink, add the carrots and chiles. Keep stirring until no more pink shows in the chicken.

Next, add the coconut milk, ginger, coriander, cumin, and black pepper. Reduce heat to medium-low and cook for 8-12 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the chicken is cooked through and the carrots have lost their crunch but are still firm.

Add the bok choy. Cover and cook until the green tops are barely wilted. Add sea salt to taste and blend, then serve over cooked rice with a drizzle of sesame oil.


* You can make this as mild or as hot as you prefer. If you like it mild, use chiles such as cubanelles or poblanos; if you prefer hot, use a cayenne, Serrano, or even a habanero or scotch bonnet.

Salmon with Ginger Chutney & Blueberries

This recipe was born from Things Whole Foods Had On Sale This Week. No restaurant replica, no convoluted tale of inspiration, just a girl trying to save a few bucks on sustainable seafood and produce that wasn’t sprayed with Big Ag’s latest science fair project.

Salmon with Ginger Chutney & Blueberries

¼ c. ginger chutney
1 cup water
4 4-oz portions wild salmon fillet
1 cup organic blueberries

Cooked basmati rice, to serve
Braised Escarole, to serve (recipe below)
Nigella seeds, for garnish

Blend the ginger chutney and the water together in a shallow baking dish, whisking with a fork to remove any lumps from the chutney. Place the salmon fillets in the baking dish, skin side up, and marinate for 30 minutes up to 4 hours. 

Preheat the oven’s broiler to high. Line another large, shallow baking dish with foil and place the salmon fillets skin side up, with plenty of room between each fillet and room between the salmon and the edges of the dish. Pour the ginger chutney marinade into the dish alongside the salmon. Add the blueberries.

Broil for 4-6 minutes, or until the salmon skin starts becomes crispy and develops a slight char. Remove from heat.

Place about ½ c. cooked basmati rice in the center of a dinner plate, creating a round bed. Place braised escarole around the rice like a ring, and place one of the cooked salmon fillets, skin side down, on top of the basmati rice. Spoon some of the cooking liquid and the blueberries on top of the salmon, and sprinkle with the nigella seeds. Prepare three additional plates in the same manner and serve piping hot.


Braised Escarole

2 heads escarole, chopped
1 clove garlic, smashed with the side of a knife
1 allspice berry, smashed with the side of a knife
Pinch salt

Escarole grows best in sandy soil, so it must be thoroughly washed before using or you may end up with gritty greens. To wash the escarole, place the chopped leaves in a large bowl and cover with water. Using your hands, slosh the escarole around in the bowl for a minute or so, wiggling the leaves through your fingers so that any sand falls to the bottom of the bowl.

Place the crushed garlic clove and allspice berry in a large pot with a lid. Without draining, lift the escarole out of the water-filled bowl and place directly into the pot. Sprinkle with a pinch of salt, place the lid on the pot, and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the escarole has wilted but still retains a firm texture. Pay close attention during cooking—the water that clings to the leaves after washing isn’t always enough; the pot should never be dry, so you may need to add a tablespoon or two of extra water while cooking.

Remove the garlic clove and serve with a slotted spoon to drain away any excess moisture.

* Nutritional info: serves four. 537 calories, 11.5 g fat, 63 g carbohydrates, 32 g protein.

Around the World in Eighty Bites - Japan

In trying to capture the spirit of my “Around the World in 80 Bites” project, I decided to vicariously visit Japan.  Japan’s two most famous foods are sushi and teriyaki, but these tend to be overdone.  I do plan to write about sushi at some point, but for now, I wanted to make something that isn’t on the menu at every Japanese steakhouse in the country. 

Like most countries where culinary traditions are an enormous part of its cultural identity, the Japanese prefer to use the freshest ingredients possible, which means that local ingredients play starring roles in the cuisine.  Japanese preparation embraces minimalism and purity of individual flavors.  Unlike other Asian cuisines, such as Thai and Chinese, the Japanese don’t typically blend ingredients, but tend to focus on one ingredient at a time, using condiments served on the side as the glue that binds the meal together.  This dinner of lightly seasoned fresh tuna and steamed pumpkin adheres to that tradition, as the fish and the vegetable share a delicious dipping sauce based on one of Japan’s most commonly used ingredients, miso.  It is the perfect meal to make before a night out with friends, as it is nutritious and filling, yet light enough that the time spent digesting it won’t keep you off the dance floor! 

Seared Sesame Tuna

1 t. coriander seeds

½ t. crushed red pepper flakes

2 T. toasted sesame seeds

12 oz. fresh tuna, cut into three to four steaks

Sesame oil

In a spice grinder, coarsely grind the coriander seeds, red pepper flakes, and sesame seeds.  Pour into a thin layer on a plate.  Rub one side of each tuna steak with a drop or two of sesame oil.  Dip the oiled side of each steak into into the spice blend to coat, set aside.  Reserve any of the unused spice blend. 

Heat a large frying pan over high heat.  Depending on the size of your frying pan, this may have to be done in batches, as overcrowding will slow down the searing process.  Brush a few drops of sesame oil to coat the pan, then add the tuna steaks, uncoated side down.  Sear for two to three minutes, depending on how rare you prefer the tuna.  Now, using tongs, turn each tuna steak over and place the coated side down.  Cook this side for only 1-2 minutes.  Set aside to cool for a minute or two. 

Now, slice each tuna steak into strips approximately 1/4 – 1/3” wide and 2 inches long (as shown in photo).  Arrange them, overlapping, on each plate.  Sprinkle the strips with the remaining spice blend. 

Miso-Beer Dipping Sauce

2 T. white miso paste (also called “mellow miso”)

1 T. soy sauce

2 T. beer (use real beer – steer clear of using something cheap that comes in a can)

A few drops sesame oil

Combine the miso and soy sauce in a small microwaveable bowl.  Microwave for approximately 15 seconds, or long enough to heat the soy sauce without boiling it.  Once it is heated, stir it together using a fork or a very small whisk and break up any lumps.

Next, add 1 T. of the beer, continuing to whisk the sauce.  Now, add the remaining beer and the sesame oil, whisk again, and divide into small bowls.  Serve as a dipping sauce for the tuna and pumpkin. 

Ginger Steamed Pumpkin

3 cups diced raw pumpkin

1 T. fresh ginger, cut into slivers

Salt

Combine the pumpkin, ginger, and salt in a mixing bowl, toss a few times to blend.  In a pot with a tight-fitting lid, place the pumpkin/ginger mix in a steamer basket over about 1 cup of salted boiling water.  Place lid on pot and steam for approximately 10 minutes, or until pumpkin is cooked through, then serve with the Miso-Beer Dipping Sauce.