Indonesian Chicken Satay

Last Year's Post: Hibachi-Style Tuna
Two Years Ago:  Spring Green Pasta

I went to an outdoor art festival a few weeks ago that of course had a bunch of food trucks.  The most interesting one (at least in my opinion) was an Indonesian satay truck run by a Dutch-Indonesian family.  Say what?  Turns out, back in the exploring days the Dutch formed the East Indian Trading Company and the crown jewel of their trading network was Indonesia.  When the trading company went bankrupt, Indonesia became a Dutch colony which is why you'll see a lot of Indonesian food in the Netherlands to this day.  Now, how a Dutch family from Indonesia ended up in Phoenix, I'm not sure.  But I was impressed enough with the food to track a recipe down and re-create it myself.

The only unusual ingredient is kecap manis, which is an Indonesian sweetened soy sauce.  I found it at the local Asian market but if you can't find it or don't want to buy an entire bottle just for this recipe, you can easily make your own with equal parts soy sauce and brown sugar.  (A recipe is included below.)  The chicken becomes very flavorful from the marinade and is delicious on its own, but the peanut dipping sauce really elevates it to something special.  The food truck served their satay skewers with your choice of a salad, mixed veggies, or fried rice.  I served this recipe with white rice with shredded carrots and raisins, which was a nice complement to the slightly spicy peanut sauce.  By the way, the food truck served the same dipping sauce and presumably used the same marinade for their steak and pork skewers, so I'm assuming they would work equally well or you could do a mixed grill.

The sugar in the kecap manis lends a very slight sweetness while helping the chicken char beautifully and is balanced by the spiciness of the dipping sauce (which you can make as spicy as you want). You can grill the skewers outdoors if the weather is nice, or on a grill pan or under the broiler indoors if it's not.  Either way it's a quick, healthy and delicious meal.

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Indonesian Chicken Satay

Serves 4

Note:  kecap manis is an Indonesian sweetened dark soy sauce that can be found in Asian markets or on line.  A recipe for making your own is included below if you can’t find it.

¼ cup kecap manis

2 tablespoons reduced-sodium soy sauce

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 tablespoon peanut or canola oil

1 tablespoon rice vinegar

2 teaspoons ground cumin

1 teaspoon ground coriander

1 ½ pounds boneless skinless chicken breast, trimmed and cut into 1” cubes

¼ cup smooth natural peanut butter

¼ cup water

2 tablespoons ketchup

1-2 teaspoons hot sauce

Chopped salted peanuts, for garnish

Sliced green onions, for garnish

Combine kecap manis, soy sauce, garlic, oil, vinegar, cumin and coriander in a small bowl.  Reserve 2 tablespoons of the marinade in a medium bowl.  Place chicken in a large ziptop bag and pour the remaining marinade over.  Marinate in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours or up to overnight.

Add peanut butter, water, ketchup and hot sauce to taste to the reserved marinade and whisk to combine.  Refrigerate until ready to use.

Preheat the broiler or a grill.

Remove chicken from the marinade and thread onto skewers.  (If using wooden skewers, soak them in water for at least 30 minutes in advance.) Broil or grill the skewers until the chicken is cooked through, 3-4 minutes per side.   Garnish with chopped peanuts and green onions and serve with the peanut sauce for dipping.

Homemade Kecap Manis

¼ cup soy sauce

¼ cup brown sugar

In small pot, combine brown sugar and soy sauce.  Bring to a boil, and then lower the heat to medium-low.  Continue to cook the sauce until it thickens slightly, then let cool.

Chicken with Smoked Gouda Sauce

Last Year's Post: Baked Four Cheese Spaghetti
Two Years Ago:  Vietnamese Chicken Salad

There's a restaurant overlooking a golf course near my home that has the most amazing sunset views in addition to great food.  My favorite dinner there is chicken with smoked gouda sauce, potatoes and green beans.  I decided to try to recreate the smoked gouda sauce at home since that's the special part of the meal, and discovered that it's just a basic bechamel (white) sauce with the addition of smoked gouda.  The rest  of the meal is easy and very adaptable - cook some chicken any way you want, add some vegetables and a starch.  For this version I grilled chicken cutlets along with zucchini, red peppers and mushrooms and served pasta on the side tossed with a little of the smoked gouda sauce.  The sauce is amazing and would be equally good on fish, pork, vegetables or even eggs.  I had some sauce and grilled vegetables left over and am planning to make some pretty darn good omelets this weekend.


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Chicken with Smoked Gouda Sauce

Serves 4

4 chicken breast cutlets (or small chicken breasts)

Salt and pepper

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 ¾ cups whole milk

¼ lb (4 ounces) smoked Gouda cheese, coarsely shredded

½ teaspoon smoked paprika (optional)

Pinch of freshly grated nutmeg

Grilled, steamed or roasted vegetables

Rice, potatoes or pasta

  

Season the chicken pieces on both sides with salt and pepper.  Grill or pan sauté the chicken until fully cooked through, about 4-5 minutes per side.

While the chicken is cooking, make the smoked Gouda sauce:  in a medium saucepan, melt the butter.  Add the flour and whisk over moderately high heat for 30 seconds.  Slowly add the milk while whisking constantly to avoid lumps, then bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to medium and continue whisking constantly until thickened, 4-5 minutes.  Add the cheese, paprika and nutmeg and stir until the cheese is melted.  Taste and season with salt and pepper.   (If you want a thicker sauce, let it sit off the heat for a minute or two because it thickens as it cools.)

Serve the chicken with vegetables and your choice of starch, spooning the sauce over the chicken (and everything else, if you want.)

Turkish-Style Meatballs with Yogurt Sauce

Last Year's Post: Teriyaki Citrus Chicken Salad
Two Years Ago:   Cabbage and Spring Onion Tart

I'm always interested in foods that crop up in many different cuisines around the world, like flat breads or chicken and rice, or meatballs.  This meatball recipe caught my eye because of the Turkish spices and yogurt sauce, and because it looked lighter and healthier than your average meatballs in red sauce.

I'm not normally a meatball fan because in my experience they tend to be heavy and huge.  I was really pleasantly surprised to find that these were small, moist, tender and light with a really interesting mix of spices.  The real kicker, though, is the yogurt sauce.  Wow, is that good.

The recipe specified using a plain, very tart yogurt which launched me on an internet search that led to White Mountain Bulgarian Yogurt, which is plain and tart and made with just milk and live cultures with nothing else added.  I found it at my local Sprouts store but it's also available in several supermarket chains and many health food stores.  Yes, it's tart, but in a wonderful lemony kind of way and it's absolutely perfect for this dish.  I plan to buy it as my go-to plain yogurt in the future.  If you don't have a tart yogurt, thin a plain Greek yogurt with milk and lemon juice instead.

The combination of the spiced meatballs, creamy yogurt sauce and bright herbs is just wonderful.  I had to force myself to stop eating because I kept wanting just one more meatball, which is saying something from a non-meatball person.  Note that the meat mixture is combined at least 30 minutes and up to 24 hours in advance to allow the spices to permeate the meat, so be sure to plan ahead.

I served it with orzo, but rice or couscous would work equally well.  Serve a tomato and cucumber salad on the side.  I'm planning to warm up the leftover meatballs and sauce and serve them in fresh pitas with tomato, red onion, cucumber and feta as sandwiches in the next few days, and can hardly wait.

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Turkish-Style Meatballs with Yogurt Sauce

Serves 4

Note:  the meat mixture needs to be refrigerated for at least 30 minutes and up to 24 hours in advance so plan ahead.

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon ground coriander

1/3 cup fresh breadcrumbs

1/3 cup milk

1 pound ground turkey or lamb

1 teaspoon kosher salt

½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1/3 cup finely diced red onion

¼ teaspoon cinnamon

Pinch of cayenne

3 eggs

Extra-virgin olive oil

1 cup chicken broth

1 cup plain, very tart yogurt such as White Mountain Bulgarian Yogurt (if using Greek-style yogurt, thin it with milk and lemon juice)

1 tablespoon cornstarch, dissolved in 2 tablespoons water

2 ounces crumbled feta cheese

½ teaspoon sumac

Crushed red pepper flakes, to taste

Turmeric, for garnish (optional)

3 tablespoons chopped mint

2 tablespoons chopped dill

Cilantro sprigs

Hot cooked rice, orzo, couscous or pita bread, for serving

In a small skillet, toast the ground cumin and coriander for a minute or two, stirring, until fragrant.  Set aside to cool.

In a small bowl, pour the milk over the breadcrumbs and allow to soak for 5 – 10 minutes.  Drain the breadcrumbs, then add them to the turkey along with the salt, pepper, onion, toasted cumin and coriander, cinnamon and cayenne.  Use your hands to combine all ingredients gently but thoroughly.  Beat 2 of the eggs and add them to the meat mixture, mixing until incorporated.  Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes to 24 hours to allow the seasonings to permeate the meat.

Using wet hands, break off walnut-sized pieces (approximately 1 ounce) of the meat mixture and roll into balls.  Set aside on a baking sheet.  You should have 16-20 meatballs.

Heat the oven to 350d.  Cover one baking sheet with paper towels and a second baking sheet with aluminum foil.

In a large skillet, heat 2 tablespoons oil over medium-high heat.  When shimmering, add meatballs in one layer and brown for 2-3 minutes, then gently turn and cook 4-5 minutes more.  (You will probably need to do 2 batches to avoid crowding the pan.)  Transfer the meatballs to the baking sheet with paper towels to blot any extra oil, then to the foil-lined baking sheet.  When all the meatballs have been browned, transfer the foil-lined baking sheet to the oven to finish cooking while you make the sauce.

Using the same skillet, pour off any excess oil and turn the heat to medium-high.  Add broth and bring to a simmer, using a wooden spoon to deglaze the pan.  In a bowl, whisk together the yogurt, ½ teaspoon salt, the remaining egg (beaten), and the cornstarch mixture.   Pour yogurt mixture in a thin stream into the hot broth, whisking constantly.  Turn heat down slightly and continue whisking until the yogurt is heated through and slightly thickened, about 1 minute.  Do not let mixture boil.

Pour the hot yogurt sauce over meatballs.  Sprinkle crumbled feta, sumac and crushed red pepper on top.  Finish with pinches of turmeric, if using, and sprinkle with mint, dill and cilantro.  Serve immediately with rice, orzo, pita bread or couscous.

Citrus Chicken Bowls

Last Year's Post: Grown-Up Tuna Salad Sandwich
Two Years Ago:   Baked Oatmeal

Citrus is in season all winter and it seems particularly bright and refreshing on a cold dreary day, don't you think?  This recipe calls for two different citrus fruits in the form of lemon juice and blood orange or tangerine slices.  I used a few of both for the picture, but that's not necessary.  It was actually the result of having most of the blood orange slices fall apart on me, so its a good thing I had a tangerine in the refrigerator as well.

Like all good bowls, this one has a wide range of tastes and textures from the creamy avocado sauce to crunchy nuts, refreshing citrus, healthy kale and meaty chicken.  And it's packed full of fiber and nutrition.  The downside is that it's a fair amount of work, but it's easy if you cook the chicken and rice in advance.  Then all you have to do is a quick saute of the onion, kale and rice, and buzz the avocado sauce which means it could qualify for a weeknight meal.  I briefly debated just using avocado slices instead of making the sauce for simplicity, and I don't think you'd lose much in terms of taste if you go that route.  The major advantage to the sauce is that it's easier to get a little in every bite.

I actually used coconut rice (white rice cooked with half broth, half coconut milk) simply because I had some left over, and it tasted great in the bowl although I almost lost the coconut taste with so much else going on.  If I didn't have leftovers I'd probably cook some brown rice for the added fiber.

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Citrus Chicken Bowls

Serves 4

2 boneless skinless chicken breasts

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 cup chopped yellow onion

6 cups Lacinato kale, de-stemmed and thinly sliced crosswise

¼ cup pine nuts (or other nuts of your choice)

4 cups cooked brown or white rice

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

2 blood oranges or tangerines, peeled and cut crosswise into thin slices

1 whole lemon, cut into four wedges

For the avocado sauce:

1 ripe avocado

½ cup fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves

½ cup fresh cilantro leaves

¼ cup water

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 tablespoons coarsely chopped walnuts

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1 teaspoon ground coriander

½ teaspoon white wine vinegar

½ teaspoon kosher salt

¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Lightly pound the chicken breasts if they’re very thick, then season both sides with salt and pepper.  Grill or pan sauté until the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees.  Set aside.

Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat.  Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 5 minutes.  Add the kale and nuts and cook for an additional 2-3 minutes until the kale is wilted and softened and the nuts are toasted.  Stir in the rice and lemon juice and cook until heated through, about 2 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper.   Keep warm.

To make the avocado sauce, place all ingredients in a food processor and process until smooth. 

To assemble the bowls, cut the chicken crosswise into thin pieces.  Divide the rice and kale mixture between four shallow bowls, then top with chicken slices, orange or tangerine segments, a dollop of avocado sauce and a lemon wedge.

Bacon-Wrapped Shrimp with Maple-Mustard Glaze

Last Year's Post: parmesan pork cutlets with herb salad
Two Years Ago:   Roasted Carrots with Herbs

There are plenty of bacon-wrapped shrimp recipes out there, but this is my favorite for one reason - the sauce.  Tangy and a little sweet, it kind of reminds me of honey mustard but better.  Brushed on bacon and shrimp and onion, it's one of the best shrimp recipes I've ever had.

The first few times I made this, I struggled with getting the bacon cooked enough without overcooking the shrimp.  The solution was to partially cook the bacon in advance so it crisps up faster on the grill (or grill pan, if it happens to be winter).  I read about various ways to par-cook bacon (boiling?  no thanks) but the simplest seemed to be to put it in a skillet and just cook it halfway, then blot the strips and put them in the refrigerator to firm up a tad.  Maybe the refrigeration wouldn't be necessary if you start with thick-cut bacon, but thicker bacon will be even harder to get cooked on the grill without overcooking the shrimp.  You want a thinner cut here.The shrimp are only on the grill for 2-3 minutes per side so thinner bacon has a better chance to cook than a thick cut.

These shrimp would make a fabulous appetizer, but we like them for dinner.  Last night we served them alongside polenta with spinach and it was truly restaurant quality.

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Bacon-Wrapped Shrimp with Maple-Mustard Glaze

Serves 4

1 ½ lbs jumbo shrimp, peeled and deveined with tails left on

1 strip of bacon for every 2 shrimp

½ red onion, cut into 1” chunks

Glaze

4 tablespoons butter

3 tablespoons Dijon mustard

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

¼ cup maple syrup

½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Tabasco to taste (start with 8 drops and go up from there)

To par-cook the bacon, heat a large skillet on medium-low and fry the bacon until some of the fat has rendered and the strips have softened considerably but have not started to brown or crisp.  Remove to paper towels and blot, then refrigerate for at least 30 minutes to firm up.

When ready to grill, remove the bacon strips and cut each one in half crosswise.  Wrap a piece of bacon around each shrimp and thread onto skewers.  Thread the red onion pieces on a separate skewer.  Set aside.

To make the glaze, melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium-low heat.  Whisk in the mustard until fully blended, then whisk in the remaining ingredients.  Put half the glaze in a small bowl to take to the grill, and leave the rest in the saucepan over low heat to keep warm.

Preheat a grill to medium-hot, about 400d.  Brush the shrimp and onion skewers generously with glaze and grill 2-3 minutes per side, until the bacon is brown and crisp and the shrimp are firm and pink.  Remove the skewers from the grill and brush with the glaze that was kept warm in the saucepan.  Serve any remaining glaze from the saucepan with the shrimp and onions at the table.