Tag Archives: Asian

Drunken Noodles à la Heidi

Can I just point out that I’ve spent almost my entire pregnancy to date not posting recipes? Partly because I’ve had a lot of other stuff to talk about–all the fun details of housing a baby in your body for the first time. Partly because I’ve been low on energy and haven’t wanted to cook new recipes that require more thought and effort. Partly because this lack of energy causes the camera to get neglected even when I do make something new and exciting. And finally . . . because of the sickness.

But at last, I have something to share! I cooked this up near the beginning of my sickness, and it’s delicious. However, in a semi-tragic turn of events, the strong smells set me against Thai noodles from the night I made this until last week, and thus the drafted post for this recipe just sat in my blogging line-up, causing me to wrinkle my nose every time I looked at it.

However, based on my positive experience with Pad Thai last week, I’m now ready to look at this thing again without feeling the bile rise! So here goes.

My sister Heidi is a huge lover of Thai food. She experiments fearlessly and works at the recipe until it’s perfection. I had her curry during our Alaska visit last summer, and . . . oh wow. She’s got that figured out (though I have yet to get the recipe from her!).

According to her, this recipe for Drunken Noodles may not be at its peak of perfection . . . but knowing her, she will probably always strive to tweak it even further. But ignore her–I think it’s amazing! She relayed me the instructions over the phone, which I repeated back to her and then actually wrote down a few days later. Then, the next weekend, I made it. Oh baby oh. It’s definitely spicy, but not burn-a-hole-in-your-palate spicy, and the noodles are cooked to perfection using her instructions. My husband loved it, and I loved it . . . except for the whole being pregnant thing. I ate it the first night, and then couldn’t look at it again after that. But my husband appreciated having the leftovers all to himself, so it all worked out for the best.

Ingredients

(Serves 4)

2-3 TBS vegetable oil
1/3 cup water, optional
1/2 head of cauliflower
1 crown broccoli
2-3 carrots
3 jalapeño chilies
1 chicken breast
2 TBS chili garlic sauce
1/2 lb rice noodles
1 handful fresh Thai basil leaves

For the sauce:

1/3 cup light (low-sodium) soy sauce
1 TBS dark soy sauce
1/3 cup fish sauce
1/4 cup oyster sauce
1/3 cup sugar
1-2 TBS sriracha

Soak the rice noodles in warm water for 1 hour.

By the end, they should be pliable (they don’t snap when you bend them) but still firm and crunchy if you bite into them.

And yes, all of today’s pictures have a blue cast to them . . . oh well. Maybe there’s a way that I can blame pregnancy for that, too.

Slice the carrots thinly on the diagonal, and chop up the cauliflower and broccoli. Set these 3 veggies aside.

Slice the chicken into bite-sized pieces on the diagonal, and de-seed and mince the chilies. Place the chicken, chilies, and chili garlic sauce together in a bowl to marinate.

Rip the basil leaves off the stems, and glory in their smell. Heavenly.

Mix all the ingredients for the sauce. I will call this sauce . . . Blue Lagoon.

Make sure to use low-sodium soy sauce, or you’re in for a salty surprise! And not of the pleasant variety either.

Heat 1 TBS of vegetable oil in a wok over high heat. When shimmering, add the bowl of veggies.

Stir fry for 6 minutes, until crisp and browned. If they aren’t tender enough at this point (especially if you cut them in larger chunks like I did), add the 1/3 cup of water and simmer/boil over high heat for a few minutes, until the water has evaporated and the veggies are more softened.

There’s probably a word for this technique, but I don’t know what it is. I’ll call it “fryboil.”

Remove the fryboiled veggies.

Heat another tablespoon of oil in the wok and, when shimmering, add the chicken.

Let it sit and brown for about a minute before stirring. Stir fry the chicken for 6 minutes, or until cooked through. Keep that heat high, Mildred!

Add the noodles and stir fry them with the chicken for a few minutes.

Add the sauce.

Bring to a boil, stirring to mix it into the noodles.

Add the veggies back in . . .

. . . and stir fry everything together for a few minutes. You can use tongs to mix the noodles more easily.

Stir in the basil and serve!

Okay, these pictures aren’t at the top of my photographic “game”–but it’s so delicious that I hope you can see through the blue and through the dark into its inner core of tastiness.

Yum.

My husband was good enough to capture my reactions as I tasted this dish for the first time.

I love it! Thanks Heidi for verbally forcing me to make this.

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Indian-Style Chicken Curry with Chickpeas and Raisins

As I mentioned on Tuesday, this recipe came from my friend Beth, after I tried her leftovers at Bible study one night and demanded that she share immediately how to make it. She had gotten the recipe from her friend Susan, who in turn adapted it from Cook’s Illustrated “The Best Chicken Recipes.” I knew there was a genius behind it the moment I tasted it.

This curry . . . what shall I say about this curry. “Delicious” feels like an understatement when this rich, tomatoe-y sauce with the perfect bursts of golden raisins is concerned.

Please make it.

You know how addicted I am to making new recipes and trying new things, so hopefully this will mean something to you: since October, I’ve made this curry 1) for ourselves, 2) for ourselves, 3) for Heidi and Mike, 4) for our neighbor, and 5) for our friends Julie and Zane. I can’t get enough of it.

Ingredients

(Serves 6)

2 TBS sweet or mild curry powder
1 tsp garam masala
4 TBS vegetable oil
2 onions
1/4 tsp salt, plus more to taste
4 cloves garlic
1 TBS minced or grated ginger
1 serrano chili
1 TBS tomato paste
1 1/4 cups chicken broth
1 14.5 oz can crushed tomatoes
1 15 oz can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 1/2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 4 medium)
1 cup raisins (regular and golden, mixed)
1/3 cup heavy cream or coconut milk
2 TBS chopped cilantro

There’s a lot going on in this ingredients picture–but don’t freak out! Stay calm, stay calm–if you lose your focus now, you’re going to miss out on a truly incredible dish.

In a small nonstick skillet over medium heat, toast the curry powder and garam masala for 1 minute, stirring constantly to avoid burning them.

Set the spices aside in a bowl.

Finely dice the onions. Heat the 3 TBS of the oil in a large pot or Dutch oven over medium high heat. When hot, add the onions and 1/4 tsp of salt.

Cook for 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until caramelized. If the onions seem to be browning too quickly, turn down the heat. If you have time, cook the onions for longer and on lower heat. The more they caramelize, the more sweet depth they’ll give to the curry.

In the meantime, mince the garlic and grate the ginger, and de-seed and mince the chili (removing the seeds and membrane). Or leave the seeds in if heat doesn’t scare you.

Going, going . . .

gone!

When the onions are caramelized (about like this:)

add the garlic, ginger, chili, toasted spices, and tomato paste.

Cook for about 30 seconds, stirring, until fragrant, then add the chicken broth . . .

. . . and crushed tomatoes too (not pictured), stirring and scraping up any brown bits.

Quickly rinse the chickpeas from that nasty liquid they have in the can with ’em, and add them along with the chicken and raisins to the pot, submerging the meat.

Bring to a simmer, then cover the pot and turn down the heat to medium low.

Simmer 10-15 minutes, until the chicken is just done (160-165 in the thickest part of the chicken breast). In the meantime, chop up some good ole cilantro:

Move the chicken on to a cutting board, and using a fork and knife (it’s hot!), dice it up.

If it’s still a little raw inside, no biggie–it will finish off in the sauce momentarily.

Return the meat to the pot along with the cream or coconut milk . . .

. . . and heat through (about 2 minutes on medium high). Stir in the minced cilantro:

And we’re down to the final step! Taste, and adjust the seasoning to your liking. Serve over rice or spiced couscous!

I’m racking my brain to try and turn up ways of convincing everyone I know to make this. Why? Because I love you, and I want the best for your taste buds.

Anyway, hopefully the pictures will nudge you in the right direction. I can only hope.

Click here for printer-friendly version: Indian-Style Chicken Curry with Chickpeas and Raisins