Savory Chicken Wontons

My husband and I love fried potstickers, so I thought I’d try making some from scratch. We were both impressed by the results. This recipe calls for the following:

1 chicken breast

~8 pieces of thinly sliced salami

2 small red potatoes

1/2 cup diced red cabbage

2 cloves roasted garlic

1/2 cup diced onion

fresh oregano

fresh rosemary

ginger powder

dried chives

teriyaki sauce

soy sauce

peanut oil

Mince the meats into small bits. Dice the vegetables into cubes. Grease your skillet with 3 tblspoons of butter melted over medium heat. Add the chicken to the skillet and sear until the meat is mostly white. Press the garlic into the pan. Add the salami and vegetables, using vegetable oil as necessary to prevent drying. Sprinkle about 1/8 teaspoon of each of your herbs and sautée until the vegetables are soft and shiny.

Pour enough teriyaki over the dumpling filling to just barely wet the ingredients. Simmer for 5 minutes and remove from heat.

Wonton wrappers can be found in most grocery stores. They are little pastry dough rectangles measuring about 2 X 3 inches. Lay the wrappers on a flat surface 2 layers thick. I like to double the layers of pastry because it keeps the dough from tearing when fried.

Place about 1 tablespoon of filling in the center of the wonton square. Wet your fingers and run them along the outer edges of the dough. Fold the dough over the filling and press the edges together to seal them. You’ll be left with a triangle shaped wonton.

Pour peanut oil into your skillet, so that it’s about 1/2 inch deep. Heat the oil over medium. When the oil is hot, take a wonton and lay it in the oil on one side. Add as many as you can fit in the pan without overlapping edges. When the edges of the dough begin to brown, flip the wontons and fry the other side. Transfer to a basket with paper towels to absorb the excess oil.

To make the dipping sauce, you’ll need a small bowl for each person being served. Fill the bowl with 2 parts teriyaki and 1 part soy sauce. Stir in about 1/8 teaspoon of ginger until it is incorporated into the sauce. Top with a sprinkling of dried chives, and serve.

Chicken Curry Cous Cous

Chicken Curry Cous Cous is my husband’s creation. It’s his most famous dish, and everyone who’s tried it has raved. I got him to stand in the kitchen and direct me to make it just like he does. Here’s what he said:

You’ll need the following ingredients:

3 chicken breasts

1/2 a vidalia onion

1 green pepper (red also works)

1 bag of spinach

6-8 cloves of roasted garlic

Cous Cous (get the “Mediterranean Curry” flavor of “Near East” brand or add 2.5 tbl spoons of curry to some plain cous cous if you can’t find the boxed brand).

Kosher Salt

Sugar

Chili Oil (look in the Asian Foods section of your grocery store. “Mongolian Fire Oil” is the best)

Fish Sauce (look in the Asian Foods section of your grocery store)

Black Pepper

Cayenne Pepper/Paprika

Dried Chives

Ginger

Chopped Basil (from a jar. If you want to use fresh basil, just double the amount called for)

Heat about 2 tablespoons of cooking oil in a medium sized pan (enough to coat the surface). Roll the oil around so that it covers the bottom of the pan. Chop the onion and pepper into long, thin slices and let them simmer in the oil. Pour 2-3 tablespoons of chili oil over the top (using a bottle, crisscross the veggies with the oil until they’re well coated, as shown below).

Allow the peppers and onion to simmer over low to medium heat until they’re softened. Add 1/2 tbl spoon of curry powder and a teaspoon of sugar, and cook for another few minutes without stirring. When the sugar begins to caramelize on the veggies and they want to stick when you scrape them from the pan (they’ll look slightly brown in spots), remove from heat. They should look something like this:

Cut the chicken breasts into wide, flat pieces. Slice the roasted garlic. Fill a large pan with cooking oil about a half an inch deep. You want just enough oil to cover the chicken when you add it to the pan. Add 2 tablespoons of fish sauce to the oil. Fish sauce is really stinky when added at this point, but it mellows into a wonderfully mild flavor when heated. When the oil has warmed over low heat, add the chicken and garlic. Simmer until the chicken is no longer pink. This can take a little longer, but you want to cook the chicken slowly over a low heat setting for more tender, juicy bites.

When the chicken doesn’t appear pink anymore, remove the pan from the heat and pour off the excess oil, removing as much as you can. Return the pan to the burner and turn the heat up to medium. Don’t stir the chicken for a couple of minutes, allowing it to sear slightly. Stir, then allow it to sear again. When the chicken has been seared, add the spices. You’ll want to add 2 pinches of kosher salt, 1 pinch of sugar, 1 teaspoon of black pepper, 1 teaspoon of ginger powder or freshly shaved ginger, 1 tablespoon of freeze dried chives, 1 teaspoon chopped basil, and 1/4 teaspoon of cayenne pepper. If you don’t like spicy foods, then substitute 1 teaspoon of paprika for cayenne.

Following the directions on the box, make the cous cous (bring water to a boil, add cous cous and allow to sit off the heat for 5 minutes, usually). Fluff the cous cous with a fork.

Chop up the bag of spinach into long shredded pieces.

Combine the peppers, onions, and lettuce with the cous cous, tossing it so everything is evenly distributed. Dole out a generous portion of cous cous on a plate, and cover with chicken. I eat it as is, but my husband has a thing for insanely hot foods. He covers his plate with a good dusting of cayenne pepper. Try this for yourself, but be warned. It’s hot!

Shrimp Tempura for Sushi Rolls

The first few times I made sushi, I wasn’t quite happy with the fried shrimp. It naturally curls up when cooked, and you want to use nice straight ingredients when rolling sushi. I’ve tried a few different things, and this is the best way I’ve come up with to fry the perfect shrimp for sushi.

Begin by selecting large high quality shrimp (4 shrimp per roll). Remove the shell and tail and devein the shrimp.

Skewer the shrimp with a wooden skewer (they’re longer than toothpicks).

Sprinkle the shrimp generously with salt and pepper.

Scramble 3 or 4 eggs and 2 tablespoons of water together in a medium sized bowl. Dip the shrimp in the egg and roll them in breadcrumbs. You can find the right kind of breadcrumbs in the Asian Foods section of your grocery store.

Fry the shrimp until they’re golden brown.

Let the shrimp cool for 1-2 minutes and pull the skewer out. The result is perfectly straight shrimp that will easily roll up to make delicious, crispy sushi.

Sushi Rolls (Makizushi)

My husband and I have had an appetite for sushi lately. It’s not the type of cuisine I’m familiar with preparing, so I wondered how difficult it would be to recreate. After researching techniques and trying out the methods on my own, I’ve come up with a pretty easy, healthy, impressive dish that’s versatile enough to suit everyone’s tastes.

Sushi is made with a few simple tools and ingredients. To begin with, you will need a makisu, which is a bamboo mat that is used to roll the sushi into a tight even cylinder. On my first attempt, I didn’t have one and used a thick cloth place mat wrapped in plastic wrap. This definitely worked, but the bamboo mat that I tried next was easier to work with. Wrap the makisu completely with plastic wrap so the rice won’t stick to the mat when you are rolling the sushi.

Next, you will need:

sticky sushi rice (1 cup made 3-4 rolls)

rice vinegar

salt

sugar

nori (sheets of dried seaweed)

sesame seeds

caviar

wasabe paste

pickled ginger

soy sauce

fillings (cucumber, avocado, carrots, peppers, imitation crab meat, tuna, calamari, shrimp, etc)

Rinse the sushi rice in cold water until the water runs mostly clear. I do this by pouring the rice into a deep bowl and filling it half way with water. Once the grains have settled, pour off the excess water. Repeat about 6 or 7 times, and the water you pour off should be fairly clear.

Strain as much water off as possible, then combine the rice with 1 and 1/4 cups of water, bringing to a boil in a heavy saucepan over medium heat. Reduce the heat to low and cover the rice. Do not lift the lid, and allow the rice to simmer for 18 minutes. Without lifting the lid, remove the rice from the heat, and allow it to sit for 15 minutes. At this point, transfer the rice to a non-metal bowl and let it cool for at least 10 minutes.

Mix 1/4 a cup of rice vinegar with 2 teaspoons of salt and sugar. Drizzle the mixture over the rice, just enough to add some moisture to keep the grains from sticking too tightly and losing their texture. Cut the liquid into the rice with a spatula. Stirring the rice will not distribute the vinegar as evenly and leaves you with a clumpy mess. Next, fan the rice for about 5 minutes (an electric fan is nice). This gives the grains a nice shiny finish.

Take a single sheet of naki and place it shiny side down on your mat.

Before touching the rice, dip your fingers in a bowl of cool water. This keeps the rice from sticking to your fingers. You’ll want to rinse again as you notice the grains sticking again after a minute or so. Take about a half cup of rice in your hand and spread it evenly over the naki. Make sure it reaches the edges, and don’t press too hard.

Next, sprinkle sesame seeds over the entire surface of the rice, followed by a wide stripe of caviar.

I like to start off with a Hosomaki roll, which has the nori on the outside, so you can continue by adding ingredients lengthwise along the stripe of caviar. I thinly sliced avocado, cucumber, and carrots lengthwise, and fried shrimp to stuff my sushi.

The side closest to you should be near the edge of the mat. Lift the edge and flip it over the mound of fillings.

Pull towards you to tightly wrap the roll.

Lift the mat as you turn the roll away from you, wrapping until the last of the sheet is folded into the cylinder. Peel back the mat, and you should have a roll that looks something like this:

Run a sharp knife under water keep a damp towel close by to wipe the blade when necessary. Cut the roll in half, then halve each of the pieces twice, leaving 8 slices of sushi.

Next, I modified this technique to make a Uramaki, or inside out roll. These rolls have the rice on the outside. To do this, you will prepare the naki, shiny side down, just as before. Spread the rice, sesame seeds, and caviar stripe. This time, however, flip the naki over, so the rice is on the bottom. Spread a thin layer of mayonnaise in a stripe across the naki, followed by the fillings.

Fold the edge over as before, and roll the sushi up into a cylinder.

Slice into 8 pieces and serve.

Garnish with pickled ginger slices and wasabi paste.