Tag Archives: eggs

Israeli Couscous with Spiced Sweet Onions

If I were a good blogger, I would be sharing an amazing recipe with you all for pumpkin pie. Or pecan pie. Or brined turkey. I mean, it’s Thanksgiving week! However, I’ve never claimed to be a ‘good blogger.’ In fact, I only recently became comfortable with even using the word ‘blogger’ in reference to myself.

It’s been rough, folks. And exciting. And weird. And wonderful. There may be no going back.

Anyway, I came across this recipe for Israeli Couscous on The Novice Chef Blog, and let me tell you–it was love at first sight. She calls it ‘Warm Couscous Salad,’ but for some reason I can’t bring myself to think of it as a salad. Thus, I renamed it, made a few modifications, served it hot, and I bring it to you today.

It is delightful. Delicious. Delectable. Devilish.

Except not devilish at all, because it’s very healthy–Wikipedia tells me that couscous is “among the healthiest grain-based products,” beating out pasta hands down.

Devilish? Healthy? I love making a statement and immediately contradicting it. It keeps everyone on their toes.

I love this as a side dish, and served it with salmon. I also love this as a main dish, topped with a couple hard boiled eggs or some fried tofu. And if you’re of the meat-needing persuasion (Dave, I’m talking to you), toss in some cubed leftover Thanksgiving turkey or ham. Hah! I totally just redeemed myself by working in the holiday at hand.

Whether main dish or side dish, I would pretty much love this concoction under any circumstance, whatever its name, and however ugly its past was. I’m an all embracing person, and I embrace this couscous dish.

Ingredients

(Serves 6)

2 cups Israeli couscous

2 TBS olive oil

3 large sweet onions

1/2 tsp salt

1 TBS brown sugar

1 TBS balsamic vinegar

1 tsp turmeric

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

salt and pepper to taste

2 pints cherry tomatoes, halved or quartered

cilantro, to garnish

First, slice up your onions.

Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium high, and when hot, add the onions and 1/2 tsp of salt.

Cook for about 15 minutes, or until the onions are starting to get translucent.

In the meantime, get some salted water boiling in preparation for the couscous.

Once it boils, add the couscous and cook for about 7 minutes.

You want the couscous to feel like al dente pasta in your mouth–as soon as that happens, drain it and rinse with some cool water.

Back to the onions!

Once the onions are translucent, add the brown sugar, balsamic vinegar, turmeric, cayenne pepper, and a few more pinches of salt. I apologize for the disturbing picture. If you scroll down quickly you won’t have to look at it long.

Thankfully, no one ever said that pretty = delicious. This butt ugly sauce will soon make your taste buds sing a small anthem, and you’ll forget all about its brown gloopiness.

Stir it around and continue to cook on low heat for another 10 minutes.

See? No more brown ugly sauce. It’s magically transformed itself, and is now golden and gorgeous.

Don’t forget to add generous amounts of black pepper!

While the onions are making your house smell like a spiced paradise, quarter or halve the cherry tomatoes.

After the onions have cooked for those 10 minutes, add the cherry tomatoes and cook for 5 more minutes or until the tomatoes are heated through, but still retaining their shape.

Then ask your Nikon D5000, “why do you freak out when intense reds are in the picture? Do you really have to wig out like you do? Can’t you just balance the dang colors for me? I don’t have time for this!” Then the Nikon reminds you of all the amazing pictures not involving reds it has allowed you to take, and you make up with tears, hugs, and promises to never fight again.

I love my camera, and I can’t let our relationship stay on the rocks for more than two minutes at a time.

Adjust the seasoning to your taste.

It may seem like a lot of onions for not a lot of couscous–but don’t worry. When it comes together and you take that first bite, it will all make sense.

Combine the couscous with the onion/tomato mixture, and top it all with some cilantro.

Serve!

I resurrected this clear bowl that I had originally bought to float some candles in.

Then I didn’t touch it for 4 years, and it languished beneath my popcorn bowl, ignored and weepy.

I think this bowl has now found its purpose in life.

Let’s have a bite, shall we?

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Pad See Ew

For years I pretty much only ordered curry from Thai restaurants–green curry, red curry, yellow curry, Panang curry–I loved (and love) them all. Then something happened. In May of this year, our Bible study leaders David and Beth ordered a smorgasbord of Thai food for our group. As I sampled all the new flavors and my taste buds sang a song of celebration, I realized that I had been shortsighted in my years of curry exclusivity. I’d been missing out on fantastic dishes such as Pad Kra Pao, Pad Woon Sen, and the awesomest of awesomes: Pad See Ew.

Pad See Ew has become one of our staple orders from what is hands down our favorite Thai restaurant in Chicago, Siam Noodle and Rice. At $6.50 for a dinner-sized portion, it’s a great deal and it has a fabulous flavor.

Pad See Ew is very simple: Chinese broccoli, wide noodles, pork, and egg are its main ingredients. I’ve been hankering to reproduce this dish at home for quite a while now. I even briefly considered accosting the owners of the restaurant and demanding a no-pay internship in their kitchen so that I could learn the secret of this dish. Though I have yet to take that bold step, my recent trip to Golden Pacific Market enabled me to make it at home. It’s not 100% like what we get at the restaurant, but it’s in the ballpark, which I am very happy with for now. Further experimentation will ensue, but I couldn’t withhold this from you until that future and possibly unattainable point of perfection . . . so here is an excellent version you can toss together in 20 minutes at home. Simple ingredients, minimal prep time, and quick cook time make this a great and interesting weeknight meal. An added plus–for you vegetarians out there, I have also made this substituting the pork chop with 2 extra eggs, and it’s equally fantastic. Let’s have at it!

Ingredients

(Serves 2)

2 TBS peanut oil

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 pork chop, thinly sliced

2 eggs, beaten

1 1/2 TBS sugar

2 TBS light soy sauce

2 TBS dark soy sauce

1 tsp fish sauce (optional)

1 lb fresh flat rice noodles

1 lb Chinese broccoli (can substitute kale or regular broccoli)

The dish comes together very quickly, so first prep all your ingredients: mince the garlic, thinly slice the pork, beat the 2 eggs together, and mix the two soy sauces, sugar, and fish sauce in a small bowl or cup.

Wash the Chinese broccoli–you can substitute kale (so I’ve been told) or regular broccoli, but this stuff is amazing and you should get your mitts on it if at all possible.

Now chop the broccoli in 2-inch slices.

You can use the broccoli stems if you split them lengthwise down the middle and then give them a rough dice, or you can just use the leaves.

Take the large flat noodle (which in my case, came in one big sheet) . . .

. . . and slice it into rectangles about the length and width of two fingers put together.

Make sure to peel the noodles apart so that they’re not stuck together. This is much easier to do if the noodles are room temperature, so if you can remember (I never do), take the noodle sheet out of the refrigerator an hour or so before you start making this.

Let’s get cooking! Heat the oil in a wok or large, deep skillet over medium-high heat. When very hot, add the garlic and fry for 30 seconds, stirring constantly.

Add the pork slivers and fry for another 1-2 minutes.

Very quickly, the pork will start to cook through:

While it’s still pink in places, add the noodles and stir to incorporate for another minute.

You’ll notice in the picture above that I hadn’t separated the noodles, thinking they would naturally come apart once they were heated. I was wrong, and this caused problems for me, but that’s why I’m here. To be your guinea pig. To help you avoid the pitfalls. So read my lips: all your noodles should be separated before you add them in!

Add the sauce mixture:

Stirfry for 2 minutes until well incorporated. Quick note–I’ve made the sauce both with and without the addition of fish sauce, and it’s really good both ways. Fish sauce is awesome and very important in Thai cooking, but its effects in this particular dish are very subtle and you may only notice its presence/absence if you’re really thinking about it.

Make a well in the middle of the pan or wok, and add the eggs.

Let them set into a half-cooked “omelette” before breaking them apart and stirring them into the dish.

Finally, add the broccoli stems (if you’re using them) and stirfry for a couple minutes before adding the leaves and stirring them in until wilted.

Give ‘er the old taste test, and if you like the dish sweeter or saltier or saucier, simply add a little more sugar and/or soy sauce.

Isn’t it beautiful? I love the bright green broccoli leaves.

Who would have though that such a simple sauce could create such a wonderful flavor?

*Note: Many recipes I found online include oyster sauce. I asked the owner of a Thai restaurant in town I frequent (Azha) about this, and he told me that their chef doesn’t use it. However, he does use a Thai sweet soy sauce, which I’ll be searching for on my next trip to Golden Pacific Market. The experimentation is not over, and if I find a better version you can be sure I will share it with you all!

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