Tom Kha Gai Soup

Recipe found here.

Ingredients

1 can (14 oz.) coconut milk 

1 can (14 oz.) reduced-sodium chicken broth 

6 quarter-size slices fresh ginger I microplanes about an inch into the broth

1 stalk fresh lemongrass, cut in 1-in. pieces 

1 pound boned, skinned chicken breast or thighs, cut into 1-in. chunks I used some leftover rotisserie chicken

1 cup sliced mushrooms 

1 tablespoon fresh lime juice 

1 tablespoon Thai or Vietnamese fish sauce (nuoc mam or nam pla) 

1 teaspoon sugar 

1 teaspoon Thai chili paste 

1/4 cup fresh basil leaves I didn't have these, so I left them out. 

1/4 cup fresh cilantro 

I added salt to taste

Preparation

In a medium saucepan, combine coconut milk, broth, ginger, and lemongrass and bring to boil over high heat. Add chicken, mushrooms, lime juice, fish sauce, sugar, and chili paste. Reduce heat and simmer until chicken is firm and opaque, 5 to 10 minutes. Discard lemongrass. Garnish servings with basil and cilantro.

Because I used rotisserie chicken, this took about 15 minutes to make. I think the flavors would be more melded if I let it simmer longer, but I just couldn't wait.

ps I am the only one who likes it in my family...

Thai Crunch Salad

We had this for dinner last night. It was really good. Nice and light for summer. If I were to do it again, I would make all the components beforehand so it was ready to go during dinner time. I think you can make most of it early. Or, you can do like I did and just cook the chicken while you're prepping the veg.

My kids ate the peanuts, chicken, and edamame (magic beans at our house). I served it with dinner rolls and cantaloupe to fill them up.

Chopped Thai Crunch Salad with Sweet and Spicy Dressing

YIELD: SERVES 4-6

The salad ingredients are very adaptable. We've made this before and omitted the red cabbage entirely, adding a bit more napa cabbage - you can definitely play around with all of the fresh salad ingredients. 

INGREDIENTS

Chicken:
• 2 tablespoons oil
• 2 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
• 1/4 cup rice vinegar
• 1 tablespoon lime juice (from about 1 lime)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts or thighs
• 
  
Vinaigrette:
• 4 tablespoons rice vinegar
• 4 tablespoons sweet Thai chili sauce (I didn't have this so I just added a dash of Siracha)
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil
• Salt and pepper (pinch of each)
• 
  
Peanut Dressing:
• 1/4 cup creamy peanut butter
• 2 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
• 1 tablespoon Thai sweet chili sauce (I didn't have this so I just added a dash of Siracha)
• 2 tablespoons very hot water, plus more as needed
• 
  
Salad:
• 4 cups chopped romaine lettuce
• 2 cups chopped napa cabbage
• 1 cup chopped red cabbage (I just used more garden cabbage instead)
• 1 cup diced cucumber, peeled or not
• 1 cup edamame
• 1 cup small diced carrots
• 1 cup chopped red bell pepper
• 4 green onions, white and green parts finely chopped
• 1 cup chopped cilantro
• Peanuts for topping (optional)

DIRECTIONS

1. For the chicken, whisk together the oil, soy sauce, rice vinegar, lime juice, salt and pepper. Place the chicken in a ziploc bag or shallow dish and cover with the marinade. Refrigerate for 20 minutes or up to 24 hours (the longer it marinates, the better the flavor). Remove the chicken from the marinade and grill 6-7 minutes per side. Remove to a plate and let cool. Chop into bite-sized pieces.
2. For the vinaigrette, combine all the ingredients in a liquid measure or small mason jar and whisk (or shake) until well combined. Refrigerate until ready to use. The dressing can be made up to a week in advance.
3. For the peanut dressing, whisk together (or again, shake in a mason jar), all the ingredients until well combined. Add additional hot water, one tablespoon at a time, until the dressing is smooth and thin enough to drizzle. 
4. In a large bowl, toss together all of the salad ingredients with the cooled and chopped chicken. Pour the vinaigrette over the top and toss until the ingredients are coated with the dressing. 
5. Serve the salad with the peanut dressing on the side to drizzle on top. We topped it with roasted peanuts and more Siracha.

Sweet and Sour Citrus Chicken Stir Fry

source

This stuff is so stinking good. I'm not usually big on Chinese type food because it's so heavy, but this is light and I daresay, healthy. The leftovers are fantastic. I found it on Our Best Bites.

Sweet & Sour Citrus Chicken Stir-FryRecipe adapted by Our Best Bites from this recipe by Alice Currah

Ingredients:

Sauce
2/3 cup orange juice
Juice and grated rind of 1 lime (about 2 tablespoons juice)
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
2 tablespoons brown sugar
3 tablespoons soy sauce
5 cloves garlic, minced
2 teaspoons fresh ginger, minced or grated

Stir-Fry1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1″ chunks
Salt and pepper to taste
3 tablespoons corn starch
1 1/2 cups broccoli florets (fresh or frozen; if frozen, pull them out when you begin cooking)
1 1/2 cups green beans (fresh or frozen; pull these out of the freezer with the broccoli)
1 red, orange, or yellow bell pepper, seeded and sliced
1 small or medium red onion, halved and cut into 1/4″ slices

I added 8 ounces of mushrooms too. 

You can kind of do whatever veggies you like. 

Instructions:

In a large skillet, whisk together the sauce ingredients. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat and cook for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and pour into a heat-safe bowl. Rinse out the skillet and wipe it dry.

Season the chicken with salt and pepper, then sprinkle with corn starch and rub the corn starch into the chicken.

Add about 1 tablespoon oil to the skillet and heat over medium-high heat. Swirl the pan to coat it. Add the seasoned chicken and stir-fry for 4-5 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through. Add the onions and other veggies and stir-fry until the beans and broccoli are tender-crisp. Add the sauce, a few tablespoons at a time, allowing the sauce to bubble up after each addition. Serve immediately over hot rice. Makes 4 servings.

Peanut Sauce

source

If you like Thai anything or spring rolls, make this sauce. Now. It makes a ton, so I kept it in the fridge and thew it on Pad Thai after we were done with our spring rolls. I actually had everything on hand, which was a miracle. I was licking my fingers. Could drink this stuff actually.

Found the recipe here.

Easy Thai Peanut Sauce Recipe: How to Make My Mom’s Thai Satay Sauce

Prep time:  8 mins

Cook time:  5 mins

Total time:  13 mins

Serves: 3.5 cups

 

Ingredients

• One 13.5-ounce can of full-fat coconut milk
• 2 ounces (approximately ¼ cup) of Thai red (mom’s preference and mine too) or Massaman curry paste (milder but flavorful) I used 3-4 T. Red curry paste. Comes in a tiny bottle. Found it at Raleys I think, but I'm sure WINCO would have it too
• ¾ cup unsweetened (natural) creamy peanut butter (Do not use regular peanut butter. I use Smucker’s natural peanut butter — the kind that comes with natural peanut oil on top.) I used Adams brand. That's what we had in the cupboard
• ½ tablespoon salt
• ¾ cup sugar I think you could do less for sure. It was a bit sweet for me.
• 2 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar or white vinegar (Do not use white wine, red wine, balsamic, or anything else — not even rice vinegar)
• ½ cup water

Instructions

1. Put everything into a medium heavy-bottomed pot and bring to a very gentle boil over medium heat, whisking constantly.
2. Let the mixture simmer for 3-5 minutes over low heat; be careful not to let the mixture scorch at the bottom of the pot.
3. Take the pot off the heat, let the sauce cool down to room temperature (or slightly warmer), and serve the sauce with satay or fried tofu.

Notes

This peanut sauce keeps in a glass container in the refrigerator for weeks. Refrigerated sauce will thicken up considerably. All you have to do is thin it out with a little bit of water to desired consistency, reheat, and serve. The sauce also freezes beautifully. I prefer Maesri red curry paste. But you can also use Mae Ploy red curry paste (it’s hotter). A lot of people like to use massaman curry paste, and you can do that too. Originally, Mom used roasted peanuts, ground up in a mortar and pestle. For those who feel the use of natural peanut butter in this recipe is blasphemous, please feel free to go that route. But then, what is unsweetened, natural peanut butter if not roasted peanuts ground up into a paste? For those living in areas of the world where commercial natural peanut butter is not available, please grind up 12 ounces of roasted peanuts using whatever means most convenient for you. Then use the peanut paste in the same manner as peanut butter as directed.

lettuce wraps

I kinda did a mash up of 2 recipes.  this one and this one...

Ingredients:
1lb ground chicken breast (I used 3 boneless skinless breasts, chopped smallish)
1/2 medium onion, minced
salt & pepper, a dash of each
2 large cloves garlic, minced
1 inch nob fresh ginger, peeled & minced ( I used way more than this, I love fresh ginger)
1 Tablespoon sesame oil
2 1/2 Tablespoons soy sauce
1/2 Tablespoon water
1 Tablespoon natural peanut butter
1/2 Tablespoon honey
1 Tablespoons + 1 teaspoon rice vinegar
2 teaspoons chili garlic sauce (or more if you like it hotter)--I didn't have this, nor did i want to buy it, so I added a sprinkling of red pepper flakes.
dash of fresh pepper
3 green onions, chopped
1/2-8oz can sliced water chestnuts, drained & chopped
1/4 cup peanuts, chopped
10-12 large outer lettuce leaves, rinsed and patted dry
shredded carrots, shredded cabbage, shredded zucchini

Instructions

• Heat a large, non-stick skillet on high. Add chicken, onion, salt & pepper, and cook until chicken is nearly done, stirring often to break up the meat. Add in minced garlic and ginger, and continue cooking until chicken is no longer pink.

**Here I removed  the chicken and cooked the shredded carrots, cabbage and zucchini

• Meanwhile, in a microwave safe bowl, combine sesame oil, soy sauce, water, peanut butter, honey, rice vinegar, chili garlic sauce and pepper. Microwave for 20 seconds, then stir until smooth. Add into the skillet and stir to combine.  I doubled the sauce because I added veggies
• Add green onion and water chestnuts (I left these out, me no likey) into the skillet then cook for 1-2 minutes until the onions are soft and the water chestnuts are heated through.
• Sprinkle with chopped peanuts (I left these out too, my peanut butter was chunky and NOT natural), and serve with cold lettuce leaves
• I like wraps with fresh veggies too, so I add a thinly sliced cucumbers and carrots to it along with cilantro.
• I also like to add rice to make it more substatial, and I like to make sauce to dip it in:

Dipping/Drizzling Sauce
4 Tbs soy sauce
4 Tbs rice vinegar
3 Tbs water
2 tsp honey
1-2 tsp finely minced fresh ginger

 To prepare dipping sauce, combine all ingredients and whisk to combine.

Asian BBQ Chicken

Here's a really good marinade if you're looking to dress up some chicken for dinner.
I cooked mine on the Foreman grill.

Asian BBQ Chicken

Chicken Peanut Thai Noodles

Rob and I eat "Thai" food at least twice a month. We love it. I found this recipe from Picky Palate originally, but I've tweaked it to how we like it. This is really peanut-y, but we like it like that. A tip that I learned is that you can buy fresh ginger and freeze it. Just pull it out when you want to use it, and it's great.

1 lb whole wheat thin spaghetti noodles (I use rice noodles instead)
2 Tablespoons sesame oil
1 garlic clove, peeled
1 (1 inch) piece of fresh ginger, peeled
½ Cup smooth peanut butter (I've used crunchy too)
¼ Cup soy sauce
2 Tablespoons brown sugar
1 Tablespoon rice vinegar
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (add more if you like it hotter)
1 Cup hot water
2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
½ Cup finely chopped white onion
½ Cup finely chopped red or orange bell pepper (I put tons in. Like 3 whole bell peppers)
1 Cup cooked, shredded chicken breast
¼ Cup finely chopped cilantro leaves 
1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste
¼ Cup dry roasted peanuts, chopped (optional) (I use honey roasted. Soo good)
2 Tablespoons sesame seeds (optional)

1. Cook noodles according to package. Drain, rinse with cold water, place in large pasta bowl and toss with sesame oil. Set aside.

2. Place garlic and ginger in food processor until well chopped. Add peanut butter, soy sauce, brown sugar, vinegar and red pepper flakes. Pulse until well combined and slowly add hot water. Set aside.

3. Place olive oil in hot skillet over medium heat. Saute onion and bell pepper for 5 minutes or until softened. Stir in chicken breast, cilantro and salt. Stir until heated through.

4. Add sauce and chicken mixture to noodles. Toss to coat and garnish with peanuts and sesame seeds if desired.

6 servings